Author: Riley Kontek

UFC on FOX 5: Jeremy Stephens in to Face Yves Edwards

The fight that didn’t happen due to a step-in by the law will now happen next month.Jeremy Stephens has agreed to step in on short notice to fight former potential foe Yves Edwards at UFC on Fox 5 in Seattle. John Cholish was originally supposed t…

The fight that didn‘t happen due to a step-in by the law will now happen next month.

Jeremy Stephens has agreed to step in on short notice to fight former potential foe Yves Edwards at UFC on Fox 5 in Seattle. John Cholish was originally supposed to fight Edwards but pulled out due to unknown reasons.

Stephens and Edwards were originally slated to meet at UFC on FX 5 in Minnesota before Stephens was picked up by police on an outstanding warrant in Iowa.

Stephens was arrested and despite the best efforts of UFC President Dana White to get the fighter released in time to compete, the authorities between Minnesota and Iowa, where the warrant originated from, didn’t set bail in time and the fight eventually had to be cancelled.

Despite valiant efforts to bail out Stephens to keep the fight on the card, it was not to be. Now that Stephens’ legal fiasco is out of the way (for the most part), he can focus on Edwards in the cage. 

Since returning to the Octagon from an extended period outside the UFC, Edwards has gone 3-2 with the organization.

Edwards has earned a decision over John Gunderson, a rear-naked choke of Cody McKenzie and a knockout of Rafaello Oliveira. His two losses came at the hands of Sam Stout by brutal knockout and Tony Ferguson by decision.

Stephens has been with the UFC since 2007 and has had a promising career. As of late though, he has dropped two straight to Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone. 

Previous to that, Stephens had won two in a row, including a devastating knockout of Marcus Davis.

These two love to strike, so this one could very likely end in a knockout. It also has “Fight of the Night” written all over it.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Veteran Dennis Hallman Loses Home to Thanksgiving Fire

Thanksgiving is a time for families to get together, eat a hearty meal and enjoy good times.For Dennis Hallman, this Thanksgiving almost ended in tragedy for he and his family.According to Hallman via Facebook (and reported by MMAweekly.com), Hallman l…

Thanksgiving is a time for families to get together, eat a hearty meal and enjoy good times.

For Dennis Hallman, this Thanksgiving almost ended in tragedy for he and his family.

According to Hallman via Facebook (and reported by MMAweekly.com), Hallman lost his house in Washington to a fire yesterday. He and his family got out OK, but most of his personal belongings were lost in the flames. 

Here is an excerpt from his Facebook posting:

“Sad Thanksgiving for me and my family. My house burned down early this AM,” Hallman wrote. “Thank God no one was hurt and I have that to be thankful for. Something like this makes my recent direction change all the harder…the one person that could make me feel okay about everything is no longer here. When God wants you to have a fresh start sometimes he really wants to make his point clear.”

Hallman has recently gone through some struggles. At UFC on FX earlier this year, he missed weight and had his fight cancelled so that he could go home and deal with family issues.

He was given his show money, but he was subsequently released from the UFC.

Now that he is out of the UFC, Hallman will not be getting that consistent paycheck from the world’s largest MMA promotion. That would have been useful in rebuilding what was lost. 

The holiday season is about getting together, sharing and loving. This holiday season is very much going to test Dennis Hallman and his family, as he now must rebuild his home.

Best of luck to a respected veteran of the sport.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Flyweights John Moraga and Chris Cariaso Round Out UFC 155 Card

It appears that UFC 155 has its last fight scheduled.The end-of-the-year card, which is headlined by a UFC heavyweight championship bout between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez, recently picked up a flyweight undercard fight between John Moraga an…

It appears that UFC 155 has its last fight scheduled.

The end-of-the-year card, which is headlined by a UFC heavyweight championship bout between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez, recently picked up a flyweight undercard fight between John Moraga and Chris Cariaso (via MMAJunkie.com).

The flyweight division is still very light in numbers, so this fight could play a big role in deciding who gets a title shot.

John Moraga has only had one fight with the UFC, but he was very impressive in his knockout win over Ulysses Gomez. Moraga comes from a wrestling base, but he used his dominant standup to pepper Gomez into a state of unconsciousness.

Moraga is 11-1. His only loss came against current top contender John Dodson by unanimous decision. No matter what happens in the flyweight championship fight (or this fight), you can bet Moraga wants another crack at Dodson.

Training out of Arizona Combat Sports and the MMA Lab in Arizona, you know Moraga is getting good training and training partners from the rapidly growing facilities.

As for Chris Cariaso, the former bantamweight made a successful flyweight debut in his last fight, in which he secured a dominant unanimous decision over Josh Ferguson. That was his fifth fight for the company since the WEC merged with the UFC.

Previous to that, Cariaso was considered a top bantamweight with the company. Under the UFC banner, Cariaso has defeated Takeya Mizugaki, Vaughan Lee and Will Campuzano at 135.

His only loss in the UFC came to Michael McDonald.

He also fought twice under the WEC banner, beating Rafael Rebello and falling to Renan Barao.

This is going to be a very good fight, so keep your eyes on UFC 155’s undercard. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Bellator Season 8: Creating 8-Man Tournaments in Every Division

Bellator is making the biggest move in the company’s history when it jumps to Spike TV in 2013. With that, the up-and-coming MMA promotion is going to need to bring out all of the stars.It is not known which weight classes other than welterweight will …

Bellator is making the biggest move in the company’s history when it jumps to Spike TV in 2013. With that, the up-and-coming MMA promotion is going to need to bring out all of the stars.

It is not known which weight classes other than welterweight will have a tournament. Therefore, speculation for who will make tournaments in the other weight classes can still be made.

Here are eight-man tournaments that could and should be made for their first season on Spike TV.

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UFC 154 Results: Azamat Gashimov and 7 Other Damaging Submission Losses

Arm locks and leg locks are the most dangerous submissions in MMA. If one taps too late or refuses to at all, they may face a broken bone, a dislocation or some other bad injury.Throughout MMA, we have seen numerous examples of fighters getting injured…

Arm locks and leg locks are the most dangerous submissions in MMA. If one taps too late or refuses to at all, they may face a broken bone, a dislocation or some other bad injury.

Throughout MMA, we have seen numerous examples of fighters getting injured from these painful submissions. Even this past weekend, we saw a man seemingly tap too late while locked in an armbar.

Here are nine submissions that caused serious damage due to the victim tapping too late or refusing to tap at all.

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Urijah Faber: 3 Possible Fights for His February Return

Urijah Faber is set to make his return in the early part of 2013, and many wonder who he will face upon his return.Faber is a legend in the lighter weight class. The former WEC Champion has faced many of the best fighters at 145 and 135 pounds.Here are…

Urijah Faber is set to make his return in the early part of 2013, and many wonder who he will face upon his return.

Faber is a legend in the lighter weight class. The former WEC Champion has faced many of the best fighters at 145 and 135 pounds.

Here are three opponents Faber could face in his return.

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