Author: Matt Erickson

Spike to Air UFC 119 Prelims Live From Indianapolis

Filed under: UFC, NewsSpike TV on Tuesday announced it will once again have a live broadcast of preliminary card fights leading into a UFC pay-per-view.

The cable network, as it has regularly done since UFC 103 in Dallas last September, will show two…

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Spike TV on Tuesday announced it will once again have a live broadcast of preliminary card fights leading into a UFC pay-per-view.

The cable network, as it has regularly done since UFC 103 in Dallas last September, will show two preliminary card fights live. The UFC 119 heavyweight bout between Matt Mitrione and Joey Beltran and middleweights C.B. Dolloway and Joe Doerksen will serve as a lead-in to the pay-per-view broadcast.

As is typical, additional taped fights from the preliminary card could be shown depending on the length of the two live fights.

Jake Shields Officially Signs With UFC, Will Face Martin Kampmann at UFC 121

Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, NewsAfter a relatively short courting period that was really more formality than anything else, Jake Shields officially signed with the UFC on Monday.

Shields (25-4-1) was looking for a new promotion to call home after …

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After a relatively short courting period that was really more formality than anything else, Jake Shields officially signed with the UFC on Monday.

Shields (25-4-1) was looking for a new promotion to call home after he couldn’t reach an agreement with Strikeforce. Over the past few months, all the speculation focused on not whether he would wind up in the UFC, but when.

In April, at the WEC 48 pay-per-view, Shields was shown on camera sitting next to UFC president Dana White, who mouthed the words, “He’s mine.” Shields was also a coach for Chuck Liddell on Season 11 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which filmed earlier this year.

MMA Fighting reported last week that despite reports Shields had put ink to paper, the deal wasn’t signed just yet. Today, on his official Twitter account, Shields told the world he had signed a contract and confirmed, as MMA Fighting first reported last week, his first opponent will be Martin Kampmann at UFC 121 in Los Angeles on Oct. 30.

Strikeforce Completes Challengers 9 Card; Shane Del Rosario-Lolohea Mahe in Main Event

Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsStrikeforce on Thursday made official the full fight card for its Challengers show July 23 in Everett, Wash.

Heavyweight Shane Del Rosario (9-0) puts his unbeaten record on the line against Lolohea Mahe (4-1-1) in the mai…

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Strikeforce on Thursday made official the full fight card for its Challengers show July 23 in Everett, Wash.

Heavyweight Shane Del Rosario (9-0) puts his unbeaten record on the line against Lolohea Mahe (4-1-1) in the main event.

All nine of Del Rosario’s fights have been stoppage victories and just one has gone to the second round. His last win came more than eight months ago, an omoplata victory over Brandon Cash. Mahe is coming off a loss in his Strikeforce debut in March against Lavar Johnson.

In the co-main event, Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion Sarah Kaufman (11-0) puts her title on the line against Roxanne Modafferi (15-5), who upset Tara LaRosa by split decision at Moosin’s God of Martial Arts show in Massachusetts in May. It will be Kaufman’s first defense of the title.

UFC Champs Georges St-Pierre, Frankie Edgar Fall Short at ESPN’s ESPY Awards

UFC champions Georges St-Pierre and Frankie Edgar came up short at the ESPYs on Wednesday night.

The annual awards ceremony held by the ESPN cable network, now in its 18th year, took place at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles and aired live on ESPN. T…

UFC champions Georges St-Pierre and Frankie Edgar came up short at the ESPYs on Wednesday night.

The annual awards ceremony held by the ESPN cable network, now in its 18th year, took place at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles and aired live on ESPN. The broadcast was hosted by “Saturday Night Live” performer and writer Seth Meyers. And once again, the awards show coincided with the day after the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, one of the few “dead days” of the year in major sports.

St-Pierre, the UFC’s welterweight champion, was nominated for Best Fighter. Edgar was up for Best Upset for his lightweight title win over BJ Penn at UFC 112 in April.

Jens Pulver, Tim Sylvia Highlight War on the Mainland’s Aug. 14 Debut

Filed under: NewsJens Pulver said in May that he doesn’t have a choice; he’s got to fight. Released by Zuffa last month following his fifth straight WEC loss, it didn’t take Pulver long to find his next match.

Pulver (22-13-1), the first UFC lightwei…

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Jens Pulver said in May that he doesn’t have a choice; he’s got to fight. Released by Zuffa last month following his fifth straight WEC loss, it didn’t take Pulver long to find his next match.

Pulver (22-13-1), the first UFC lightweight champion, will face Diego Garijo (4-1) on the War on the Mainland debut event Aug. 14 in Irvine, Calif.

Pulver will try to have his hand raised for the first time since beating Cub Swanson in his WEC debut at WEC 31 in December 2007. Since then, losses to Urijah Faber (twice), Leonard Garcia, Josh Grispi and Javier Vazquez chased him from the WEC. His last four losses have been in the first round with three straight by submission. Pulver is one of just two fighters to beat former UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn at 155 pounds. The other is Frankie Edgar, who beat Penn for the title in April.

The main event features another former UFC champion, Tim Sylvia, against former UFC, Strikeforce and Affliction heavyweight Paul Buentello. Sylvia will be fighting for the first time since submitting five-time World’s Strongest Man winner Mariusz Pudzianowski with strikes at a Moosin event in Massachusetts last month.

Midseason MMA Awards: Biggest Upset

Filed under: UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, BellatorThe midway point of the year brings with it hot dog-eating competitions, all-star games, heat strokes and fireworks. And some of those fireworks come inside the cage.

It also brings an opportunity to look b…

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The midway point of the year brings with it hot dog-eating competitions, all-star games, heat strokes and fireworks. And some of those fireworks come inside the cage.

It also brings an opportunity to look back on the first half of the year that has been in mixed martial arts.

All week, MMA Fighting will hand out its awards for the half-year’s best knockouts, submissions, fights, fighters, fight cards and a Sunday special from Ben Fowlkes you won’t want to miss.

But Monday, we kick things off with the top upsets through the first half of 2010. And wouldn’t you know it? Ray Hui and Matt Erickson had to duke it out over the biggest upset – and they fought … to a draw.