An injury has forced TUF 5 standout Matt Wiman to withdraw from his UFC 145 bout against Mark Bocek.Stepping in on short notice to face Bocek will be a fellow Canadian, UFC and WEC vet John Alessio. Since his last fight under the Zuffa banner, Alessio …
An injury has forced TUF 5 standout Matt Wiman to withdraw from his UFC 145 bout against Mark Bocek.
Stepping in on short notice to face Bocek will be a fellow Canadian, UFC and WEC vet John Alessio. Since his last fight under the Zuffa banner, Alessio has gone 12-3 with three straight since August.
Wonderboy Gets Matt Brown at UFC 145 updated February 11 Two welterweights who scored dramatic knockouts at UFC 143 last week have verbally agreed to make a fast turnaround and face one anther at UFC 145 in Atlanta on April 21.
Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson took home the KO of the Night award for his highlight-reel head kick victory in his UFC debut. Later that night TUF 7’s Matt Brown scored a second-round knockout of Chris Cope that he felt deserved the night’s bonus.
“There is a good chance someone will earn a bonus in this fight,” said UFC president Dana White.
Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans Official for ATL updated February 6 The UFC’s spring fight card in Atlanta has its main event, as UFC president Dana White confirmed today that light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will defend his title against former-teammate-turned-rival Rashad Evans, a former beltholder in that division. The heated matchup was expected after Evans handily decisioned then-undefeated Phil Davis at UFC on FOX </a>and was made official today.
Torres vs. McDonald Plus Eight Bouts Confirmed for Atlanta updated Jan 20 Verbal agreements are in for a thrilling battle between bantamweights this spring. “What may be the hottest prospect in the 135-pound division takes on one of the all-time greats when Michael McDonald meets former WEC champion Miguel Torres at UFC 145 in Atlanta,” said UFC president Dana White.
Also at that event, former Strikeforce fighter Maximo Blanco will make his featherweight debut against last season’s Ultimate Fighter contestant Marcus Brimage. Both athletes possess a powerful striking style and have verbally agreed to the bout.
A main event is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Hominick vs. Yagin Re-Set for Atlanta Event updated January 19 The UFC is heading to Hotlanta and the first fight on the card has been announced: featherweight contender Mark Hominick will take on up-and-comer Eddie Yagin. Both fighters had agreed to the bout when it was slated to take place in Montreal; that event has since been shelved.
News of the Atlanta date was originally announced last week on FUEL TV’s UFC Tonight, which airs every Tuesday at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT.
On Friday, he held an open workout for media and fans where he was visited by Puerto Rican national hero and former three division world boxing champion Felix “Tito” Trinidad. In less than three weeks, the most personal UFC 205lbs feud since …
On Friday, he held an open workout for media and fans where he was visited by Puerto Rican national hero and former three division world boxing champion Felix “Tito” Trinidad.
In less than three weeks, the most personal UFC 205lbs feud since perhaps Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz II in 2006 will come to a dramatic conclusion. In the main event of UFC 145, undefeated UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon “Bones” Jones collides with former friend turned bitter rival Evans.
UFC 145 goes down on April 21, live on Pay-Per-View from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
Evans and Trinidad had the following to say about their meeting:
“Suga” Rashad Evans, former UFC light heavyweight champion and current No.1 contender, said:
“The visit to Puerto Rico was one of the craziest things I’ve done in my UFC career, and I’ve been here since 2005. The fans went crazy, it was so cool to be part of that. I couldn’t believe the response.
“I have a lot of regard for Tito as a fighter. He’s one of those fighters that I watched growing up and in many ways would try to emulate his style. He was very fast, had great power, but was so mart too. He brought a lot of pressure forward, always moving, always bouncing, always putting the heat on, and that’s a style I’ve tried to emulate.
“It’s exciting and kind of surreal to meet Tito. I remember watching him on TV when he was going through his thing and the spotlight was on him and all the behind the scenes coverage on him and now I get to meet him as it’s my turn.”
Felix “Tito” Trinidad, former boxing champion and national hero of Puerto Rico “The truth is MMA and UFC is something that’s taking over the world and we love it in Puerto Rico. We are what they call “hot blooded” – we love fighting and love watching UFC events.
“I’ve never thought about training an MMA fighter, but honestly, I’d love to help if it’s a Puerto Rican fighter. If he’s from Puerto Rico, I will help him with his boxing. It doesn’t matter who it is. If he’s from Puerto Rico, I will help him.
“I salute all the fans of MMA and UFC. The sport is getting bigger and bigger in Puerto Rico. This is going to be a hit. This will be a hit for real.”
Tickets for UFC®145, presented by MetroPCS, are on sale now through Ticketmaster.com, charge by phone (800) 745-3000, at all Ticketmaster Outlets, and the Philips Arena Box Office.
UFC®145 will be available live on Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on UFC.TV, iN DEMAND, DirecTV, DISH Network, Avail-TVN, and in Canada on BellTV, Shaw Communications, Sasktel, and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.99 US/$49.99 CAN for Standard Definition and $54.99 US/$59.99 CAN for High Definition.
Las Vegas, Nevada – A new welterweight contender will emerge on Friday, June 1 at the Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas when rising stars Jake Ellenberger and Las Vegas resident Martin Kampmann lock horns in a pivotal five-round main event. P…
Las Vegas, Nevada – A new welterweight contender will emerge on Friday, June 1 at the Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas when rising stars Jake Ellenberger and Las Vegas resident Martin Kampmann lock horns in a pivotal five-round main event. Plus, a phenomenal season of The Ultimate Fighter® Live will come to an end as the UFC® crowns its next Ultimate Fighter with a six-figure contract to compete in the world’s premiere mixed martial arts organization.
The event will air live on FX at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
“The welterweight division is stacked and Jake Ellenberger and Martin Kampmann are going to fight for the chance to earn a title shot,” UFC President Dana White said. “They will headline the season finale of TUF Live on FX to crown the next Ultimate Fighter. There’s a lot at stake for the guys competing on this card at the Palms.”
Tickets for The Ultimate Fighter® Live Finale go on sale Friday, April 13 at 12 p.m. PT and are priced at $354, $204 and $104. Tickets will be available at the Pearl box office, online at ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations, or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000. Ticket prices do not include service charges.
UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, April 11 at 10 a.m. PT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, April 12 15, starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.
Additional fights will be announced in the weeks to come at www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.
LAS VEGAS – The much-anticipated conclusion of the STRIKEFORCE® GRAND PRIX HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT has been announced for Saturday, May 19, as STRIKEFORCE® returns to HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. Former UFC® title holder Josh Barnett will meet t…
LAS VEGAS – The much-anticipated conclusion of the STRIKEFORCE® GRAND PRIX HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT has been announced for Saturday, May 19, as STRIKEFORCE® returns to HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. Former UFC® title holder Josh Barnett will meet two-time Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier live on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast), to determine the eight-man tournament champion.
The fight card will also feature a rubber match for the STRIKEFORCE lightweight championship between two long-time rivals when champion Gilbert Melendez defends his title against number one contender Josh Thomson. Additionally, former STRIKEFORCE light heavyweight champion Rafael ‘Feijão’ Cavalcante takes on the heavy-handed Mike Kyle and Bobby Voelker clashes with Nah-Shon Burrell in a welterweight tilt.
STRIKEFORCE® GRAND PRIX HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT FINAL will air live on SHOWTIME® at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast), while preliminary fights will be shown live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® at 8 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on West Coast). Additional fights scheduled for the event are expected to be released shortly.
“STRIKEFORCE is coming back to where it all started – San Jose,” STRIKEFORCE CEO Scott Coker said. “The Bay Area has some of the best fight fans in the world and we can’t wait to get back with an event like this on May 19. With the Heavyweight Grand Prix final between Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier, along with Gilbert Melendez’s lightweight title defense against longtime rival Josh Thomson, you don’t want to miss this card!”
Tickets for the STRIKEFORCE® GRAND PRIX HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT FINAL go on sale to the general public on Friday, April 6 at 10 a.m. PT and are priced at $175, $125, $75 and $45. Tickets will be available at the HP Pavilion ticket office, all Ticketmaster locations, online at Ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000.
UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Thursday, April 5 at 10 a.m. PT until 12 p.m. PT, via the website www.UFCFightClub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter and STRIKEFORCE Insider subscribers Thursday, April 5, starting at 12 p.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through www.UFC.com.
Currently riding an eight-fight win streak that includes tournament victories over Brett Rogers and Sergei Kharitonov, Josh Barnett (fighting out of Fullerton, Calif.) is hoping to conclude his run in the heavyweight tournament with an exclamation point by finishing his third opponent and claiming the trophy belt. At 31-5, the catch wrestling expert has proven he possesses a complete MMA skill set to compete with anyone he stands across the cage from. Now known as “The Warmaster”, Barnett owns career wins over legendary veterans including Randy Couture, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Pedro Rizzo and Dan Severn, and will look to add Daniel Cormier to his long list of conquests.
Daniel Cormier (fighting out of San Jose, Calif.) has experienced an incredible ascension through the heavyweight ranks since he began his professional MMA career in September 2009, after representing the U.S. at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics as a member of the freestyle wrestling team. Training at the famed American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Cormier has had the advantage of training with some of the sport’s best athletes. The Oklahoma State University All-American wrestler earned his way into the tournament as an alternate after defeating experienced veteran Jeff Monson last summer in a reserve bout and went on to knock out Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in dramatic fashion in his semi-final matchup. With a record of 9-0, “DC” looks to stay undefeated and make the most of this opportunity that will surely catapult him to the top of the heavyweight division.
Considered by most to be one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in MMA today, current STRIKEFORCE lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez (fighting out of San Francisco, Calif. by way of Santa Ana, Calif.) is looking to continue his dominance and extend his six-fight unbeaten streak with a successful title defense in the finale of this exciting fight trilogy. In addition to splitting wins with Thomson, “El Niño” also owns victories over Jorge Masvidal, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Shinya Aoki and Clay Guida, bringing his overall record to an impressive 20-2. Former STRIKEFORCE lightweight champ and UFC veteran Josh Thomson (fighting out of San Jose, Calif.) steps back into the cage looking to reclaim what he feels is his and to earn his spot back atop the division. With a record of 19-4, 1 NC, “The Punk” recently outpointed KJ Noons in a number one contender’s match, and has defeated top stars such as Melendez, Duane Ludwig, Nam Phan and Pat Healy. Fans can expect these fighters to leave it all in the cage and pull out all the stops in this historic all-Bay Area championship matchup.
In what many considered a huge upset at the time, Rafael “Feijão” Cavalcante (fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil) was defeated by the always dangerous Kyle in June 2009 in his STRIKEFORCE debut. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt would rebound nicely and go on to defeat “King Mo” Lawal for the STRIKEFORCE light heavyweight championship, and more recently he knocked out Olympic wrestler Yoel Romero. At 11-3, he will look to even the score when he gets his rematch with American Kickboxing Academy powerhouse Mike Kyle (fighting out of San Jose, Calif.). Never one to settle for an easy fight, “MAK”’s wars with fighters like “Bigfoot” Silva and Fabricio Werdum are well noted throughout his career. This matchup seems tailor-made for the 19-8-1, 1 NC kickboxing pro who is looking to build off his win over Marcos Rogerio de Lima in September and firmly establish himself in the division.
Bobby Voelker (fighting out of Kansas City, Mo.) steps back into the cage for the first time since defeating Roger Bowling in back-to-back welterweight battles. With a current record of 24-8, “Vicious” has developed a reputation for being an exciting fighter who never likes it to go to the judges, as evidenced by his 19 finishes. He meets Nah-Shon Burrell (fighting out of Philadelphia, Pa.) who owns an 8-1 overall record and is currently riding a six-fight win streak, including a victory over James Terry. At only 22, “The Rock-N-Rolla” is looking to make a name for himself in the welterweight division with an impressive performance over an MMA veteran.
For more information or the latest STRIKEFORCE news, visit the STRIKEFORCE Twitter page. All bouts live and subject to change.
Music fans, get ready for another bad boy from Boston to hit the set of FOX’s American Idol, as it was announced today that Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, along with fellow judges Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson, will be joined by UFC President Da…
Music fans, get ready for another bad boy from Boston to hit the set of FOX’s American Idol, as it was announced today that Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, along with fellow judges Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson, will be joined by UFC President Dana White on the hit series’ judging panel sometime in the 2013 season.
For White, a role on the show is more than just a ratings stunt. American Idol was the inspiration behind the original Ultimate Fighter series. The show’s development team reportedly enjoyed the competitive nature of the program and quickly realized it would be better with punching, kicking, wrestling and submissions.
Officials from both organizations confirmed that the guest appearance by White will be set by April 1st of 2013.
I’m back for another edition of the Ultimate Recap Live, and not just because I spent my rent money on Mega Millions tickets without winning a cent. Well, actually that’s most of the reason, but let’s both make the best out of a bad situation.The…
I’m back for another edition of the Ultimate Recap Live, and not just because I spent my rent money on Mega Millions tickets without winning a cent. Well, actually that’s most of the reason, but let’s both make the best out of a bad situation.
The show opens up with a recap of last week’s fight. Dana criticizes BJJ black belt Cristiano Marcello’s stand-up gameplan and calls kickboxer Justin Lawrence a real contender. The fighters themselves have your typical reactions. Lawrence is downright giddy. I’m pretty sure if they continued the tape we’d hear him say that he’s going to use the $5000 bonus to buy a box full of lottery tickets. Don’t do it, Justin! Marcello is disappointed, but he knows that the season is still young and wants to help train his teammates any way he can.
The coaches then review the choice for the current fight — Al Iaquinta vs. Myles Jury. Cruz doesn’t help his Count Dracula moniker by saying that he wants to, “Go straight for the jugular.” Faber feels that Cruz overreached in this selection and simply says that when he heard the announcement he thought, “Yes! Thank you.”
We then get a look inside Team Cruz’ training. Dominick sums up his training philosophy as , “If you grind yourself to the bitter end, the fight is easy.” The guys on the team talk about how Cruz pushes everyone. A highlight here is when Dominick tells someone to, “Pick it the [expletive] up,” in the most casual way possible. If they didn’t beep it out of the broadcast, I would have thought he was just asking about the weather.
The downside of training to the limit, though, is that injuries happen. That’s exactly what happens to Mike Rio. Sparring with Myles Jury, he catches a spinning backfist that causes his knee to buckle under him. Cruz brushes it off by saying that “he’s hurt, not injured,” but I’m not so sure that the distinction would be widely recognized by the medical community.
We cut back to the house where the guys are dealing with the cabin fever that comes along with being on a TUF season. Andy Ogle writes love letters, Cruickshank stuffs his face and Myles Jury is a loner. The guys show their true desperation by playing charades. Honestly, I never knew people actually played that game. I just thought that it was one of those things that only happen on TV and movies — like how playing in toxic waste gives you super powers. Well, at least this lesson didn’t make me sterile…
From there we have Iaquinta’s training montage. While it may have lacked the cinematic flair of a Journey song, we do learn that he has no plans on being defensive in this fight.
We watch another snapshot of Rio trying to work through the knee injury. He says that he doesn’t want it to get in the way, but it’s clearly affecting him. Again, Cruz doesn’t seem too sympathetic.
Back at the house, Urijah stops by and brings a life coach to talk to everyone. Our buddy Tickle is none too impressed telling us, “I don’t need no damn life coach.” Doth the Tick protest too much!? Sadly, this is the only real Tickle-ing we get this episode.
From there, Jury’s training package starts. He, too, says that this his strategy will be to force his opponent to go backward. Later, as Team Cruz gets ready to break training for the day, they interrupt him in the shower and the cameraman gives viewers an uncomfortable up-skirt angle of Jury’s towel.
Back at the house, Team Faber is already looking ahead to next week and saying that they should take out Rio because he’s “old” and “hurt” (Rio: 30. Faber: 32.) Ogle says that he’ll take the fight because he wants revenge against Rio for beating his friend to get into the house, but I call BS. That’s like saying you’re going to the Chinese Buffet by your house for the ambience and the decor.
Weigh-ins occur without incident and we witness one last look into the locker rooms before the fight starts. Usually at these we get nothing of note, but Dominick Cruz says some interesting things. As he pumps up Jury, he tells him that Myles is way more prepared than the guys on Team Faber. Apparently, they’ve been, “painting each other’s faces, making flags and oiling each other’s backs.” Why did we not see this? Did the cameraman capture an erotic TUF thriller featuring these scenes that FX deemed too racy? C’mon, FX, you aired The Shield!
The fight begins and Iaquinta sticks to his gameplan just like he said. He keeps moving forward and doesn’t give Jury a lot of space. Myles does a decent job countering, but he seems too hesitant to let his strikes go (something Cruz criticized him for earlier). This continues for most of the round until about a minute left when Iaquinta puts in Jury in what wrestlers call a spladle (pictured above) and what everyone else in the world calls a “what the eff is that?!” Jury eventually escapes and the round ends.
Round two opens with a low blow that slows the pace, but it soon picks up. Although both fighters start to open up more, Iaquinta is still the aggressor. Jury continues to get pushed backward, but shows nice movement by not getting pinned on the cage. Unfortunately, halfway through the round he starts to noticeably slow down and Iaquinta capitalizes and catches him with some strong shots as the round closes.
The fight is scored a draw after two, so we head to the “sudden victory” round. Calling Jury gassed would be an overstatement, but he definitely doesn’t have much pep left. I think the long pause between the second and third round while they calculated the scores likely contributed. Iaquinta controls the third much like he handled the second — he pushes forward and Myles doesn’t answer back with much. Even though I thought he clearly took the third, the judges give Iaquinta a split decision win and Team Faber earns their first victory. Read fight play-by-play
The only thing more frustrating than MMA judging is Jon Anik trying to get an answer to his questions in the post fight interviews. Iaquinta says that if he wins the best-fight-of-the-season bonus, “I’m gonna go finish college just like grandma wanted,” and Jury just rambles on about whatever he wants. We head to the fight selection where Urijah Faber opens by saying that he chose this matchup because it would be an easy
fight, but then immediately backtracks by saying everyone there is tough
and, “Anything can happen.” Although he’s trying, it seems Urijah just doesn’t have it in him to really insult people (paging life coach Chael!). He then reveals that next week’s contest will be between Mike Chiesa and Jeremy Larsen (Cruz’ last pick).
How will Chiesa keep his emotions in check after the death of his father? Can Team Cruz bounce back from their first defeat? Will the cameraman make one of the coaches dress up as a pizza delivery boy for his next film? Find out next week!
In the meantime, be sure to follow me on twitter @dannyboydownes, the show at @InsideTUF and leave comments. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to see if that cameraman has any job openings before they shut off my electricity…
