Author: UFC News

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship® light heavyweight champion and current No. 1 contender, “Suga” Rashad Evans took time from training for UFC® 145: JONES vs. EVANS to meet Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) World No. 1 superstar Victoria Azarenka. The top athletes visited the MMA Masters facility in Miami and traded tennis and UFC gifts and expertise.  Evans showed Azarenka some moves in the cage while Azarenka shared a few tennis tips with Evans. The Belarusian beauty is currently in Miami playing in the Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament.

In a few weeks, the most bitter and long-running UFC feud since perhaps Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz II in 2006will 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 ‘Suga’ Rashad Evans.  UFC 145 goes down on April 21, live on Pay-Per-View from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
 
Evans and Azarenka had the following to say about their experience on Wednesday:
 
“Suga” Rashad Evans, former UFC light heavyweight champion and current No.1 contender, said:
“This was a nice break from training. It lets your mind go free and gives you a chance to not think about the fight. It was cool that she’s another pro athlete, one who goes out there and competes, mano-a-mano. It was fun.”
 
“I can tell she’s genuinely interested in MMA – it was impressive how she grasps the concepts. I didn’tshow her too much except for kicking, but she knew a lot more than I thoughtshe’d know. There were times she really looked like she knew what she was doing.”
 
“I love women’s tennis. It actually dominates men’s tennis in my opinion. You know they’re out there giving it everything they’ve got. They go through the same anxiety we do of not wanting to lose, and I respect that a lot.”
 
“I’d be alright in a tennis match because I’m pretty agile – I’m not too fast, but I’m very agile, so I mighthave a better chance at winning in a tennis match, but she might win in MMAbecause I don’t hit women.”
 
Victoria Azarenka, WTA’s World No. 1, said, “It was a great experience to meet Rashad. He seems really nice – I’m sure he’s a little bit meaner in the cage, but he’s a great guy and it’s always great to meet somebody from a completely different field. I love to follow UFC. I invited him to tennis so I hope he can come cheer me on.”
 
“I wish I had time to train more. I’m curious about how these athletes train. I could pick up something interesting for myself.”
 

Seven years after its debut in the United States, in 2005, the first international edition of the famed reality TV show The Ultimate Fighter® begins in Brazil.  Co-produced by Brazilian production company Floresta, the inaugural Brazilian version of the show is the first time a TUF series was filmed outside of the United States.

The Ultimate Fighter – Brasil® features UFC legends Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort as the coaches of the first season, which features both the featherweight (145 lbs) and middleweight (185 lbs) divisions. As is standard on this series, the coaches will face-off in a highly anticipated live rematch in June for the grand finale.

The Premiere episode will showcase elimination bouts, narrowing down the initial group of 32 fighters to the final 16 who will move into the TUF house. From there, they will be split between “Team Vitor” and “Team Wanderlei” and face weekly eliminations until the finale, where a winner from both weight classes will be declared The Ultimate Fighter® and win an international UFC contract.

The highly anticipated Premiere is scheduled to air Sunday night, March 25, on Rede Globo in Brazil after the Big Brother finale. All 13 episodes will first air on Rede Globo in Brazil Sunday nights and then on en.TUF.tv globally (not available in Brazil, India or Canada) at midnight ET / 9:00 p.m. PT.

The initial 32 contestants, in  both the featherweight and middleweight divisions, hail from 15 of the 26 states inBrazil and represent a diverse cross-section of the country including São Paulo (8), Paraná (4), Rio de Janeiro (3), Amapá (2), Santa Catarina (2), Ceará (2), Brasília (2), Rio Grande do Norte (2). Also, the states of Minas Gerais, Roraima, Bahia, Mato Grosso do Sul, Espírito Santo, Amazonas and Paraíba have one representative each.

Although many of the details will be kept under wraps until the Premiere, it has been revealed that a few famous personalities visited the house and training center during the taping. There are special appearances by UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos, UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions Lyoto Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

The series is one of the most successful sports reality shows in the US, having discovered some of the most talented fighters in the UFC. It has also helped leverage the promotion’s popularity amongst American audiences. The first edition, which had UFC legends Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture as coaches, featured big names such as Diego Sanchez (middleweight winner of that season), Forrest Griffin (light heavyweight winner), Josh Koscheck, Stephan Bonnar and Kenny Florian.

A part last season’s featherweight winner, Diego Brandão, the first Brazilian to ever win the show, other Brazilian fighters have appeared on previous editions. Heavyweight icons Rodrigo “Minotauro” and Dos Santos have been coaches. Minotauro appeared on the eighth edition, which aired in 2008, against former UFC Heavyweight Champion FrankMir. Both winners from that season, light heavyweight Ryan Bader and lightweight Efrain Escudero, were members of “Team Nogueira”. Brazilian fighter Vinicius “Pezão” Magalhães was one of the finalists from that edition, but lost the title to Bader. Dos Santos competed against former champion Brock Lesnar on the 13th season. The Brazilian TUF pioneer was Jorge Gurgel, eliminated on the eighth episode of the second season.

This season’s contenders include:

Featherweight

Name: Alexandre Ramos
Nickname: Sangue
Age: 23 years old
Record: 5-0
Fighting out of: Curitiba (PR)
Features: Single, no kids, Sangue built his career on Brazilian events, like Brave FC, where he made his debut, and also on Brazilian Fight League. Aside from his win via decision over Marcos Bicudo, all his bouts were finished in the first round by submission or knockout.

Name: Rony Mariano Bezerra
Nickname: Jason
Age: 27 years old
Record: 10-3
Fighting out of: Mossoró (RN)
Features: Single dad with two kids, “Jason” won seven of his fights via submission. One of them, over Felipe Sertanejo who now fights in the UFC, via triangle choke. Bezerra also fought Renan Barão, in2006, with a loss via split decision.

Name: Godofredo Pepey
Nickname: None
Age: 24 years old
Record: 8-0
Fighting out of: Fortaleza (CE)
Features: Single, no kids, Pepey teaches Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai, showcasing his versatility. Six of his wins were by submission and the other two by knockouts.

Name: Marcos Vinicius Borges Pancini
Nickname: Vina
Age: 31 years old
Record: 19-3-1
Fighting out of: Curitiba (PR)
Features: Single, no kids, Vina’s record shows he’s good both standing and on the ground. Six wins by knockout and 13 by submission. None of his wins were decided by the judges.
Name: Anistávio Medeiros
Nickname: Gasparzinho
Age: 23 years old
Record: 12-7
Fighting out of: Natal (RN)
Features:  Single, no kids, Anistávio has plenty experience for a 23 year old. Of his 19 bouts, he has two losses over big names like Renan Barão and Willamy Freire.

Name: Johnny Gonçalves
Nickname: Cabeça
Age: 22 years old
Record: 4-0
Fighting out of: Taubaté (SP)
Features:  Single, no kids, the student is a specialist in Muay Thai, which he also teaches. Two of his four wins were by knockout. The other ones were by decision.

Name: Hugo Viana
Nickname: Wolverine
Age: 29 years old
Record: 5-0
Fighting out of: Salvador (BA)
Features: Single, no kids, the physiotherapist Wolverine in undefeated in MMA, but yet, as never submitted or knocked out an opponent. All his wins are by decision.

Name: Fernando Duarte Guerra
Nickname: None
Age: 28 years old
Record: 10 -1
Fighting out of: Dourados (MS)
Features: Married, with no kids. Fernando is a physical education teacher. Fighting MMA professionally since 2009, most of his wins (six) were earned by decision.

Name: Rodrigo Damm
Nickname: None
Age: 31 years old
Record: 9-5
Fighting out of: Vila Velha (ES)
Features: Married and father of three kids, Damm is the most experienced flyweight on the show. He fought in big international events, such as Bodog Fight, Sengoku and Strikeforce.

Name: John Teixeira
Nickname: John Macapá
Age: 25 years old
Record: 12-0-1
Fighting out of: Macapa (AP)
Features: Single, no kids, Teixeira began his career with four wins by armbar. He has managed eight victories by submission, two by knockout and three by decision.

Name: Rafael Bueno
Nickname: None
Age: 24 years old
Record: 7-1
Fighting out of: Bragança Paulista (SP)
Features: Single no kids, Rafael is a fighter, but also makes a living as a coach. In his career, he has fought eight bouts, won seven and lost only the last one. He finished five of his fights and knocked out two opponents.

Name: Wagner Campos
Nickname: Galeto
Age: 30 years old
Record: 11-3
Fighting out of: Pinhais (PR)
Features: Married with two kids, Galeto is a pro in MMA since 2006. He likes to fight standing up and has won six fights by knockout. One of his losses was to Jonn Lineker, the Brazilian who recently signed with the UFC.

Name: Peter Noble
Nickname: None
Age: 25 years old
Record: 10-0-1
Fighting out of: Rio de Janeiro (RJ)
Features: Single no kids, Peter Noble is one of the great promises of the famous Brazilian Top Team gym. He has finished all of his fights – with seven knockouts and three submissions.

Name: Fabricio Guerrero
Nickname:
Age: 21 years old
Record: 10-0-1
Fighting out of: Santana (AP)
Features: Single father with a son Fabricio is the youngest fighter in the show. Although he’s just 21 he’s been here for quite some time and proved to be tough in the ring, undefeated, he won ten matches and had one draw.

Name: Lim Dileno
Nickname: None
Age: 27 years old
Record: 7-0
Fighting out of: Manaus (AM)
Features: Single no kids, the fighter and master of Jiu-Jitsu Dileno Lopes honors the tradition of the soft art. Seven of his victories came by submission, showing variations between guillotine (four), rear naked choke (two) and armbar.

Name: Giovanni da Silva Santos Jr
Nickname: Soldado
Age: 24 years old
Record: 10 – 1
Fighting out of: João Pessoa (PB)
Features: Married, with kids, Soldado made his debut in MMA with a loss in 2006. Later he recovered and started a 10 consecutive winning streak, five by knockout, a submission and four by decision.

Middleweight

Name: Sergio Moraes
Nickname: None
Age: 29 years old
Record: 6- 1
Fighting out of: Sao Paulo (SP)
Features: Single father of two kids, Moraes is a four-time Jiu-Jitsu world champion. Of his six career wins, five have been by submission and one by decision. His only loss was to Brett Cooper by knockout, at Jungle Fight 16 in 2009.

Name: Cezar Ferreira
Nickname: Mutante
Age: 26 years old
Record: 4 – 2
Fighting out of: Belo Horizonte (MG)
Features: Married, has a son, Mutante’s last two fights were in the US, with a win over Chaun Sims, and a loss to Elvis Mutapcic. Strong standing up, three of his four wins came by knockout.

Name: Leonardo Mafra
Nickname: Macarrão
Age: 22 years old
Record: 5-0
Fighting out of: Balneário Camboriú (SC)
Features: With an MMA career in southern Brazil, Macarrão has three wins by knockout – all in the first round – and two by decision. Aggressive in his standup game, the Chute Boxe Academy fighter bets on his punch power to win in the Octagon.

Name: Daniel Sarafian
Nickname: None
Age: 29 years old
Record: 7 – 2
Fighting out of: Sao Paulo (SP)
Features: Strong in the ground game, with six of his seven victories won by submission, Sarafian shows a wide range of moves, including guillotine, armbar, and triangle choke. Of his two losses, one was by knockout.

Name: Gustavo Sampaio
Nickname: Labareda
Age: 35 years old
Record: 5 – 1
Fighting out of: Brasília (DF)
Features: Specialist in kickboxing, Labareda is also strong on the ground, getting three of his five wins by submission. He has some international experience, with two wins in two tournaments in Spain.

Name: Fabio Luiz Vital Coast
Nickname: Bolinho
Age: 28 years old
Record: 9-0-1
Fighting out of: Natal (RN)
Features: Undefeated in 10 MMA fights, Bolinho won eight of his 10 fights by decision. Of those, only one was a split decision. He also won by TKO against Nilton Santos, at Platinum Fight in 2009, where he last fought.

Name: Richardson Moreira
Nickname: Monstrão
Age: 27 years old
Record: 3 – 0
Fighting out of: Campinas (SP)
Features: With three wins in three fights, Monstrão has yet to be pushed past the first round. Adding up the time of his three fights, this Team Nogueira athlete has only fought a total of 4 min. 56 sec. Outside the ring, Monstrão is a graduate in Engineering.

Name: Renee Strong
Nickname: None
Age: 24 years old
Record: 7 – 1
Fighting out of: Fortaleza (CE)
Features: With two victories by knockout, two by submission and three by decision, Forte has a good career in MMA. His only loss was by knockout, against Mario Sartori, in IFC, in August 2011. Fighting professionally since 2006.

Name: Joao Paulo de Souza
Nickname: Tuba
Age: 28 years old
Record: 8 – 4
Fighting out of: Curitiba (PR)
Features: With 12 fights on his record, including one at Wembley Stadium in London, Tuba has good experience in MMA. His last five fights went to the judges’ decision, and he lost only the last one to Valentino Petrescu.

Name: Francisco Drinaldo
Nickname: Massaranduba
Age: 33 years old
Record: 10 – 1
Fighting out of: Brasília (DF)
Features: Fighter hired by Jungle Fight, Massaranduba is undefeated in his last four fights. With four knockouts, three submissions and three wins by decision, he only lost to the experienced Yuri Marajó in Jungle Fight 22 in September of 2010.

Name: Thiago Rela
Nickname: None
Age: 22 years old
Record: 3 – 1
Fighting out of: Itatiba (SP)
Features: With his three victories by submission, his only loss in 2010 came when he was submitted by Alvaro Head in a Campinas Fight. His specialty is the rear naked choke, which has won him three bouts.

Name: Charles Maicon
Nickname: None
Age: 33 years old
Record: 8 – 1
Fighting out of: Sorocaba (SP)
Features: Undefeated in his last eight fights, his only loss came in his fighting debut, losing by knockout to Sergio Junior in 2007. After that, he built an eight-win streak by knockout, and all in the first round. His nine fights in the Octagon lasted only 6 min. and 26 sec.

Name: Gilberto Galvão
Nickname: Giba
Age: 28 years old
Record: 17 4 -1
Fighting out of: Balneário Camboriú (SC)
Features: With 11 of his 17 victories by submission, Giba shows he is an expert on the ground. He is strong and also relies on his “ground and pound” to halt his opponents.

Name: Thiago de Oliveira Perpetual
Nickname: Bodão
Age: 24 years old
Record: 8 – 1 -1
Fighting out of: Santo André (SP)
Features: Coming off four consecutive wins, Bodão last six of eight wins have come by knockout. His last – and only – loss was in 2009, to Danilo Pereira, in Full Fight 2 via submission by a rear naked choke.

Name: Samuel Trindade
Nickname: None
Age: 25 years old
Record: 6- 1
Fighting out of: Boa Vista (RR)
Features: With his career built in MMA in Northern Brazil, Trindade had been undefeated in his last six fights, following a loss to Ronys Torres in 2009. He won three fights by submission, one by knockout and two by unanimous decision.

Name: Delson Heleno
Nickname: Pé de Chumbo
Age: 34 years old
Record: 23 – 6
Fighting out of: Teresópolis (RJ)
Features: The veteran Pé de Chumbo is an expert in the ground game winning 12 of his fights by submission. The Jiu Jitsu World Champion had his last fight in November 2011, in the MMA contra a dengue event in Rio de Janeiro.

LAS VEGAS – STRIKEFORCE® announced today that it will return to HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. on Saturday, May 19 with another highly-anticipated STRIKEFORCE event. HP Pavilion hosted STRIKEFORCE’s inaugural mixed martial arts event in March 2006 before a crowd of more than 18,000, and most recently hosted the 2011 Fight of the Year between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Dan Henderson at UFC® 139.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, April 6 at 10 a.m. PT. 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 UFC.com.

Official fights scheduled for the event will be released shortly. The event will be broadcast live on Showtime Networks, Inc. For more information or the latest STRIKEFORCE news, follow STRIKEFORCE on Twitter and Facebook. All bouts live and subject to change.

In TUF seasons past, the strategy has been to pick off the weaker fighters in the early bouts. But bantamweight champ and current coach Dominick Cruz flipped the script last week when he had control of the matchups. Instead of finding an easy mark, he pitted his top pick – Black House MMA kickboxer Justin Lawrence – against Team Faber’s Cristiano Marcello, a Gracie BJJ black belt who’s trained Chute Boxe fighters like Wanderlei Silva and Shogun Rua.

“By choosing Marcello and Lawrence, I’m making both those athletes better fighters, because they weren’t expecting it,” explained Cruz. “There’s a lot of eyes on these guys and that’s the type of pressure that builds champions.”

When it came up to living up to the pressure, 21-year-old Lawrence did not disappoint, meting out his strikes before finishing with a knockout at 3:16 of the second round. The defeat also took down Team Faber’s second pick, which Cruz described as the strategic equivalent of “taking out one of their legs.”

The first round was a slow feeling-out period: Marcello planted in the center of the cage and Lawrence circled and feinted, trying to find his range on the Brazilian with a 5-inch reach advantage. Combos were few and far between as fighters lobbed single punches and kicks with increasing success as the round wore on, one push kick from Lawrence knocking Marcello onto the mat.

The action heated up in the second, as Lawrence came out with an array of kicks like the ones he wielded impressively in the series premiere. More comfortable with his range, Lawrence’s mission was to get in, strike, then move out of danger before he could get taken down into Marcello’s world.

Lawrence easily tossed his opponent to the mat once from the clinch and later in the round knocked him down with a left hook. Though Marcello tried to goad Lawrence into playing on the ground, Lawrence refused, forcing the jiu-jitsu player and oldest competitor on the show to stand back up and chase him around the cage.

As the round wore on, Marcello appeared increasingly tired. With Faber yelling for his fighter to keep his chin down, Lawrence began landing his signature left hook at will, each time moving quickly backward to avoid getting tied up — which also gave Marcello no chance to recover from the peppering punches. Dazed from a good half dozen or so left hooks, Marcello was finally finished with another that laid him out flat on his back.

“I’m sad for sure, I wanted to bring the victory for Faber’s team,” said the disappointed 34-year-old post-loss, though he had kind words for his opponent.. “He’s a great kid and he has a great future.”

Lawrence returned the praise, saying “He’s a legend, he’s got the most experience in the house, and he’s a champion.” Hear more from Lawrence after his win.

“BAD BOY Brands Intl Inc, a leading action sports and mixed martial arts lifestyle brand, announced today the multi-year sponsorship of Dallas Cowboys Rookie running back sensation DeMarco Murray.

“Murray is a longtime fan and practitioner of mixed martial arts (MMA). ‘Like many professional athletes, I realized that MMA training is the best way to stay in shape during the NFL off-season’ said Murray. ‘I’ve always been a fan of MMA and respected the world-class athletes associated with the sport. I began training MMA a few years ago, and quickly realized the increases in my strength, quickness, and agility.’

Read full press release

Las Vegas, Nevada – The BIGGEST collection of heavyweight title contenders will be on display this Memorial Day weekend as the Ultimate Fighting Championship® presents UFC® 146: DOS SANTOS vs. OVEREEM from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 26.

In the night’s main event, newly-crowned UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos defends his title against menacing finisher Alistair Overeem, while in the co-main event, former heavyweight champions Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir collide to determine the division’s number one contender.

Three other gigantic heavyweight fights round out the main card, including: Roy “Big Country” Nelson vs. Antonio “Big Foot” Silva; Gabriel Gonzaga vs. the unbeaten Shane Del Rosario; Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve vs. Mark “The Super Samoan” Hunt. In total, the main card of UFC 146 includes over 2,000 pounds of the best heavyweights in the world.

A press conference is planned for Tuesday, March 27 at 11 a.m. PT from the MGM Hotel Lobby in Las Vegas. The event is FREE and open to the public. Dos Santos, Overeem, Velasquez, Mir, Nelson and Silva will join UFC President Dana White at the presser.

“Our Memorial Day weekend events in Las Vegas are always big, but Junior dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem is one of the most exciting heavyweight fights ever!” UFC President Dana White said. “The all-heavyweight main card features five guys ranked in the top 10. This is the most heavyweights on a UFC card in history. You don’t want to miss this!”

Tickets for UFC® 146: DOS SANTOS vs. OVEREEM, presented by BUD LIGHT®, go on sale Friday, March 30 at 10 a.m. PT and are priced at $800, $600, $400, $250, $125 and $75. Tickets are available at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith’s Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are subject to convenience and service fees.

UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Wednesday, March 28 at noon PT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. Non-members may join at checkout at Ticketmaster. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, March 29, starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC in the “Join Newsletter” field at the top of this page.

Official UFC VIP packages are also available at http://vip.ufc.com. These packages include tickets to UFC 146, official event merchandise, as well as special VIP experiences with backstage tours and meet and greets with top UFC stars. Get closer to the action than ever before with this unique UFC VIP opportunity.

UFC® 146: DOS SANTOS vs. OVEREEM 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.

While the UFC 146 main card is loaded with roughly one ton of knockout artists and submission aces, no fight has drawn as much attention as the title tilt between the champion, dos Santos, and challenger, Overeem. Fresh off knocking out Velasquez in November to capture the title, the 28-year-old “Cigano” would love nothing more than to end the reign of terror sparked by “The Reem.” Simply put, dos Santos isn’t envisioning his run as champion being short-lived.

“My dream was to become the champion,” dos Santos said. “The minute Dana strapped that belt around my waist, my dream got bigger.  I’m not here to be a one or two-defense champion; I’m here to stay. On May 26, there’s going to be a heavyweight striking war and someone is getting knocked out.”

A devastating striker who has held world titles in organizations such as STRIKEFORCE® and DREAM, the 31-year-old Overeem (36-11) has not lost a fight in nearly five years. Owner of wins over the likes of Brock Lesnar, Fabricio Werdum, Mark Hunt and Vitor Belfort, the kickboxing star believes he has the champion’s style dissected and diffused.

“The most important objective in my life right now is to not only become the UFC heavyweight champion, but to go on and reign as champion for years,” Overeem said. “I want to be remembered as the greatest heavyweight in the history of the sport.

“Dos Santos is a very good boxer,” he continued. “I think he is the best boxer in the division and he poses some very interesting problems. But I already know how I will beat him. I will become the new UFC heavyweight champion of the world at UFC 146.”