Author: John Morgan [kingofabuelos]

Five-time UFC veteran Dennis “Superman” Hallman (41-13-2 MMA, 1-4 UFC)
will return to the lightweight division for the first time in nine
years and plans to fight in late spring or early summer.
 
The 13-year mixed martial arts veteran said he made the decision after
John Howard pulled off a come-from-behind victory in a welterweight
contest at “The Ultimate Fighter 10” finale this past December.
 
“I just got into phenomenal shape and I can’t keep on weight,” Hallman
on Wednesday told MMAjunkie.com. “I was weighing
167 pounds (before the fight) and I was literally drinking water while
I was waiting to weigh-in for John Howard.

It’s been almost five months since Strikeforce signed Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro (20-3 MMA, 0-0 SF), and he’s still on the shelf.
 
Ribeiro was set to make his debut at “Strikeforce: Evolution” this past
December, then at “Strikeforce: Miami” in January, but he was scratched
from both Showtime cards.
 
“I really, really try to push for information but it’s not so easy,”
Ribeiro told MMAjunkie.com on Wednesday. “I hope I
can fight in April. I don’t know what card.
I’m training a lot, but I don’t know any more information about opponent or the date.”

While UFC lightweight Joe Stevenson (31-10 MMA, 8-4 UFC) has generally
proved to be a pretty likable guy during his four-plus years in the
UFC, “Daddy” doesn’t expect to get much love at this weekend’s UFC 110
event in Sydney, Australia.

That’s because Stevenson is fighting Australian native George
Sotiropoulos (13-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) on the evening’s main card in the
UFC’s first-ever trip to the continent.

Stevenson recently said he’s prepared for the barrage of boos he’s
likely to encounter, but he plans on hearing chants of his name by the
time the bout is over.

The UFC’s first-ever lightweight champion, current WEC featherweight Jens Pulver has never felt better.

While that might be difficult to believe when it relates to a
35-year-old prizefighter who has just one win in his past seven trips
to the cage, “Little Evil” has always been a man full of surprises.

Since electing to end a brief retirement, Pulver has relocated to
Idaho, focused on proper nutrition for the first time in his storied
career, and most importantly, the MMA pioneer says he’ll take something
else into his WEC 47 fight with Javier Vazquez that
he hasn’t had in years: a gameplan.

MMAjunkie.com Radio today welcomes “WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz” competitor L.C. Davis in-studio to discuss his upcoming featherweight matchup with Deividas Taurosevicius.

Also calling in will be Tomasz Drwal, who meets Rousimar Palhares at UFC 111 in March, and Jeremy Stephens, who faces Sam Stout at UFC 113 in May.

MMAjunkie.com Radio begins at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. Listen to
and watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

Joseph Benavidez knows exactly how Miguel Torres feels.

As the two prepare to meet on the main card of “WEC 47: Bowles vs.
Cruz,” Torres looks to recover from his first loss in nearly six years,
and he’s made no attempt to hide his intense desire to return to the
win column.

Benavidez was in a similar spot this past December when he looked to
bounce back from his lone career loss – which he did in emphatic
fashion against Rani Yahya. Benavidez recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio
that he’s never been more prepared for a fight, and now he expects the
same from Torres.