Author: Ray Hui

Paulo Filho on Fighting: ‘I Don’t Want This Anymore’

Filed under: NewsFormer WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho says he is ready to close the book on his competitive MMA career.

In a recent interview with Brazil’s Tatame, Filho says he plans on retiring after his Nov. 26 fight at KSW 17 against Mamed…

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Former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho says he is ready to close the book on his competitive MMA career.

In a recent interview with Brazil’s Tatame, Filho says he plans on retiring after his Nov. 26 fight at KSW 17 against Mamed Khalidov — if that fight even happens.

“I may fight in November because I already signed the contract, after that I will retire,” he tells Tatame. “I don’t want this anymore.”

In his prime, in 2006-2007, Filho was widely considered to be the No. 2 middleweight in the world, just under Anderson Silva. But since the two are friends, a fight between the two never went past what-if discussions by fans and media. At the time, Silva touted Filho as the best middleweight in the world.

After going 16-0 in the first seven years of his career, Filho suffered his first loss at WEC 36 against Chael Sonnen and never quite recovered. His battles with depression and substance abuse (in the Tatame interview, Filho said his only drug issue was with rohypnol, a prescription sedative) had impacted his work inside the cage.

Following the loss to Sonnen, Filho was not picked up by the UFC and has since compiled a 6-3-2 record. In his last fight, Filho fought Satoshi Ishii to a draw, a decision rendered by what appeared to be partisan judges in the Brazilian event. Filho himself after the fight said Ishii should have been awarded the win.

Past the Nov. 26 fight, the 33-year-old Filho is unsure of what he wants to do next. But it’s not MMA.

“I’m not thinking about that right now, but I don’t wanna know about fighting anymore,” Filho said. “I had good and horrible moments. I did what I could, it’s over. I was far from what I could have been, but I’m satisfied. It’s over.”

 

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Kerry Vera Could Return to MMA Early 2012

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After over two years on the sidelines, Kerry Vera will look to return to the cage in early 2012, says her husband and UFC light heavyweight Brandon.

Vera (2-0) made her Strikeforce debut in November 2009, putting on a kickboxing clinic in a dominant win over Kim Couture. She then seemingly disappeared from the MMA scene, but now, according to Brandon, is working her way back to active competition.
“Kerry actually just started training two-and-a-half weeks ago,” Brandon said Monday on The MMA Hour. “She blew out her knee and when she blew out her knee, she fractured her spine, her o4, o5. It’s a super small hairline fracture. They couldn’t do any surgical procedures on it.”

Brandon said since no procedure was possible, all Kerry could do was wait for the year to a year-and-a-half for her spine injury to heal. Brandon guesstimates that Kerry is now 96% and is looking to return early next year, “maybe February-March.” Kerry remains under contract with Strikeforce.

“She’s so excited about training again, getting back in there and getting some,” Brandon said. “She watches all the girl fights. Yeah, she’s amped. She’s super, super excited to get back in [the cage].”

 

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After over two years on the sidelines, Kerry Vera will look to return to the cage in early 2012, says her husband and UFC light heavyweight Brandon.

Vera (2-0) made her Strikeforce debut in November 2009, putting on a kickboxing clinic in a dominant win over Kim Couture. She then seemingly disappeared from the MMA scene, but now, according to Brandon, is working her way back to active competition.
“Kerry actually just started training two-and-a-half weeks ago,” Brandon said Monday on The MMA Hour. “She blew out her knee and when she blew out her knee, she fractured her spine, her o4, o5. It’s a super small hairline fracture. They couldn’t do any surgical procedures on it.”

Brandon said since no procedure was possible, all Kerry could do was wait for the year to a year-and-a-half for her spine injury to heal. Brandon guesstimates that Kerry is now 96% and is looking to return early next year, “maybe February-March.” Kerry remains under contract with Strikeforce.

“She’s so excited about training again, getting back in there and getting some,” Brandon said. “She watches all the girl fights. Yeah, she’s amped. She’s super, super excited to get back in [the cage].”

 

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ProElite Fight Card: Sylvia vs. Kraniotakes

Filed under: ProEliteTim Sylvia vs. Andreas Kraniotakes and Andrei Arlovski vs. Travis Fulton will lead the Nov. 5 ProElite 2 fight card at the i wireless Center in Moline, Ill.

Also on the card will be an eight-man heavyweight tournament as well as t…

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Tim Sylvia vs. Andreas Kraniotakes and Andrei Arlovski vs. Travis Fulton will lead the Nov. 5 ProElite 2 fight card at the i wireless Center in Moline, Ill.

Also on the card will be an eight-man heavyweight tournament as well as the second fight for Reagan Penn, the younger brother of B.J.

Check out the current ProElite 2 lineup below.
The event will air live on HDNet.

Non-Tournament Pro Bouts
Tim Sylvia vs. Andreas Kraniotakes
Andrei Arlovski vs. Travis Fulton
Reagan Penn vs. TBA
Waylon Lowe vs. TBA

Heavyweight Tournament Bouts
Mark Ellis vs. Ryan Martinez
Richard Odoms vs. Jason Bosler
Jake Heun vs. Chris Birchler
Esteves Jones vs. Walter Harris
Todd Monaghan vs. TBA (tournament reserve bout)

 Amateur Bouts
Kelly Skeffington vs. Jonathon Thomson
Daniel DeCamp vs. Nick McClean

 

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Pedro Rizzo Pulls Out of ProElite Main Event Against Tim Sylvia

Filed under: News, ProEliteUPDATE: German Andreas Kraniotakes (12-4, 12 finishes) has agreed to meet Sylvia, sources close to the fight confirmed to MMAFighting.com.

Veteran heavyweight Pedro Rizzo has suffered an arm injury and will not be facing for…

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UPDATE: German Andreas Kraniotakes (12-4, 12 finishes) has agreed to meet Sylvia, sources close to the fight confirmed to MMAFighting.com.

Veteran heavyweight Pedro Rizzo has suffered an arm injury and will not be facing former UFC champ Tim Sylvia at ProElite 2 on Nov. 5 in Moline, Ill.

Rizzo announced his withdrawal Monday morning on Twitter.

“Unfortunately I got injured, training here in Holland, had a partial tear in the triceps tendon of my left arm,” Rizzo tweeted. “… So I would like to apologize to the ProElite and especially to Tim Sylvia because I can’t be in the ring on November 5th to face him … I think I am in the prime of my condition and I’m really very frustrated with what happened.”

Rizzo, 37, was looking to return to the ring for the first time since his TKO win over Ken Shamrock at Impact FC 2 in July 2010. The former UFC title contender has been saying he wants to make another run in the UFC before he retires.

The 35-year-old Sylvia is 1-1 in 2011, losing via TKO to Abe Wagner in January and then stopping Patrick Barrentine in August.

The ProElite 2 card features Andrei Arlovski vs. Travis Fulton and an eight-man heavyweight tournament.

 

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UFC 141 Fight Card: Lesnar vs. Overeem

Filed under: UFCBrock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem headlines the UFC 141 fight card on Dec. 30 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Lesnar, a former UFC heavyweight champ, welcomes former Strikeforce champ Overeem into the UFC with this five-rou…

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Brock Lesnar faces Alistair Overeem at UFC 141.Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem headlines the UFC 141 fight card on Dec. 30 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Lesnar, a former UFC heavyweight champ, welcomes former Strikeforce champ Overeem into the UFC with this five-round contest to determine the No. 1 contender.

Check out the current UFC 141 fight card below.

Slated Bouts
Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem
Dong Hyun Kim vs. Sean Pierson
Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko

 

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UFC 136 Prelims Show Draws Low Ratings

Filed under: UFC, NewsDespite two pay-per-view caliber matchups, the UFC 136 Prelims show on Spike TV Saturday drew an unusually small audience of only 1.0 million viewers and a household rating of 0.8.

The viewership for the UFC 136 prelims show is t…

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Despite two pay-per-view caliber matchups, the UFC 136 Prelims show on Spike TV Saturday drew an unusually small audience of only 1.0 million viewers and a household rating of 0.8.

The viewership for the UFC 136 prelims show is the lowest for a live prelim show on Spike TV and surpasses only the two preliminary shows aired on ION.

As a lead-in to the UFC 136 pay-per-view, the UFC offered popular ex-WEC champ Anthony Pettis taking on power puncher Jeremy Stephens and former title challenger Demian Maia facing off against former Sengoku champ Jorge Santiago.

The preliminary bouts series was coming off a strong performance from the Sept. 24 UFC 135 undercard show, which drew an average of 1.6 million viewers and an average 1.0 household rating. The live fights for the UFC 135 undercard featured Tony Ferguson vs. Aaron Riley and Tim Boetsch vs. Nick Ring.

The next UFC Prelims card, for UFC 137 on Oct. 29, is expected to feature Donald Cerrone vs. Dennis Siver and Tyson Griffin vs. Bart Palaszewski.

 

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