Author: John Morgan [kingofabuelos]

After Danish striker Martin Kampmann was forced off of the UFC 111 card
with a nasty cut suffered in practice, Jake Ellenberger (22-5 MMA, 1-1
UFC) volunteered his services for the card.

Today, the UFC made the change, which was first reported by MMAjunkie.com, official, and Ellenberger’s bout with
Ben Saunders (8-1-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) will remain on the evening’s main
card.

“UFC 111: St-Pierre vs. Hardy” takes place March 27 in Newark, N.J. The main card airs live on pay-per-view.

After the UFC’s first trip to Abu Dhabi suffered a major subtraction on
Thursday with the announcement that Vitor Belfort had been forced to
withdraw from the card, the organization made one official
today.

The UFC officially announced that John Gunderson (22-7 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
meets Paul Taylor (10-5-1 MMA, 3-4 UFC) at UFC 112 in a bout that was
originally reported by MMAjunkie.com.

UFC 112 takes place April 10 in Abu Dhabi at Concert Arena at the Ferrari World theme park on Yas Island.

Following a week that saw the release of Mark Coleman, Tim Hague,
Phillipe Nover and Frank Trigg, UFC officials have added heavyweight
Rolles Gracie (3-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) to the list of post-UFC 109 roster
cuts.

The move was first reported by The Wrestling Observer and has subsequently been confirmed by multiple outlets.

Gracie was defeated by fellow UFC newcomer Joey Beltran on the
preliminary card of this past weekend’s “UFC 109: Relentless” event in
Las Vegas.

Tickets for the UFC’s third-ever Canadian card will go on sale Feb. 20,
and the promotion hopes to answer a lingering debate in the main event.
 
The world’s largest MMA promotion on Thursday evening officially
announced that “UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun II” is scheduled for May 8 at the Bell Centre in
Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and features a light heavyweight title
rematch between Lyoto Machida (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) and Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua (18-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC).
 
The two first met in Los Angeles this past October at UFC 104 and ignited a firestorm of controversy over judging in MMA.

The WEC’s first pay-per-view effort now has its first 135-pound match-up.
 
Bantamweight fighters Antonio Banuelos and Damacio
Page have signed to fight at “WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber.” MMAjunkie.com confirmed the fight Wednesday with sources close to
the event.
 
WEC 48 takes place April 24 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, Calif.,
and features two title matches: Featherweight champion Jose Aldo in his
first title defense against former title holder Urijah Faber and newly
crowned lightweight champ Ben Henderson squares off against former
training partner and current top contender Donald Cerrone.

After making a name for himself jiu-jitsu, 2009 Abu Dhabi Combat Club
Absolute Division winner Braulio Estima is hoping to do the same in
MMA.
 
The 29-year-old grappler, whose full name is Braulio de Oliveira
Estima, long considered a move into fighting but finally signed a
contract with the upsart Shine Fights organization after reaching the
top of the competitive grappling circuit.

“I think overall no other people than us who
fight at a good level in jiu-jitsu represent (the sport well),” Estima
recently told MMAjunkie.com. “A lot of people
represent jiu-jitsu, but it’s not like a world-class level yet.”