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The UFC® returns to Seattle for an epic night of free fights, headlined by a lightweight title bout between Benson Henderson and Nate Diaz. Plus a light heavyweight showdown between Shogun Rua and Alexander Gustafsson and BJ Penn returns to the Octagon to face rising star Rory MacDonald.
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The UFC® returns to Seattle for an epic night of free fights, headlined by a lightweight title bout between Benson Henderson and Nate Diaz. Plus a light heavyweight showdown between Shogun Rua and Alexander Gustafsson and BJ Penn returns to the Octagon to face rising star Rory MacDonald.
Press Release – KANSAS CITY, Kan. (Dec. 3, 2012) – Power puncher Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith (4-2-1) of Pleasant Hill, Calif. will square off with submission specialist Raquel “Rocky” Pennington (3-2-1) of Colorado Springs, Colo. in a bantamweight (135 pounds) main card fight at the star-studded 12-bout Invicta Fighting Championships professional women’s Mixed Martial Arts […]
Leslie Smith
Press Release – KANSAS CITY, Kan. (Dec. 3, 2012) – Power puncher Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith (4-2-1) of Pleasant Hill, Calif. will square off with submission specialist Raquel “Rocky” Pennington (3-2-1) of Colorado Springs, Colo. in a bantamweight (135 pounds) main card fight at the star-studded 12-bout Invicta Fighting Championships professional women’s Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event at Memorial Hall in Kansas City on Saturday, Jan. 5.
“Leslie and Raquel have both proven to be ferocious and determined competitors in the Invicta FC cage, so we are excited to be able to match them up against each other and create what should be a barnburner of a fight,” said Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp.
The 30-year-old Smith performed brilliantly in her last start at Invicta FC 3 at Memorial Hall on Oct. 6, scoring a furious TKO on rival Kaitlin Young with an onslaught of punches from mount position in the second round (2:19) of action. The bout marked a rematch to the pair’s epic, three-round slugfest, which ended in a draw at the inaugural Invicta FC event on April 28.
Smith, who turned professional in March 2009 after compiling a perfect 3-0 record as an amateur, has earned three of her four victories as a pro by way of TKO with her hands. She is product of the Cesar Gracie Academy.
The 24-year-old Pennington, who has competed five times since turning professional just nine months ago, is looking to return to the win column after struggling with undefeated Cat Zingano in an Invicta FC 3 main card matchup that saw Zingano submit Pennington with a rear-naked choke in the second round (3:32).
Prior to the defeat, Pennington had reeled off two straight wins – a unanimous decision over Sarah Moras at Invicta FC 2 at Memorial Hall on July 28 and first round (3:52) submission (guillotine choke) of Raquel Pa’aluhi in Honolulu, Hawaii on Sept. 8.
Pennington amassed a stellar 7-1 record under amateur status between Feb. 2009 and Aug. 2011. She earned five of her seven amateur victories by way of submission.
Tickets for Invicta FC 4: Gadelha vs. Esparza, priced from $25, are on sale at Memorial Hall box office (913-549-4853), online at Ticketmaster.com and InvictaFC.com and by phone at 800-745-3000.
In the main event and first-ever Invicta FC world strawweight (115 pounds) championship bout, Claudia Gadelha (9-0) of Mossoro, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil will face streaking star Carla Esparza (8-2) of Redondo Beach, Calif.
In the bantamweight co-main event, crowd-pleasing submission ace Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler (15-7) of Sioux Falls, S.D. will battle fellow top-ranked star Alexis Davis (12-5) of Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada.
Hard-hitting KO artist Amanda “Lioness of the Ring” Nunes (7-2) of Salvador Bahia, Brazil will take on submission specialist Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio (6-3) of San Jose, Calif. at bantamweight.
JEWELS star Hiroko Yamanaka (12-2) of Kisarazu, Japan will battle Invicta FC 3 winner Ediane Gomes (8-2) of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. in a featherweight (145 pounds) contest.
In the event’s opening main card bout, undefeated Joanne Calderwood (4-0) of Glasgow, Scotland will square off with Invicta FC newcomer Bec Hyatt (4-1) of Brisbane, Australia at strawweight.
After scoring her second consecutive, five-second KO on July 8, Veronica Rothenhausler (0-0) of Reno, Nev. will make her much-anticipated professional debut on the Invicta FC 4 undercard against fellow heavy-handed featherweight competitor Katalina Malungahu (2-1) of Las Vegas, Nev.
The six-bout preliminary card will be capped off with an atomweight (105 pounds) matchup between Stephanie Frausto (4-4) of Cincinnati, Ohio and Cassie Rodish (3-3) of Des Moines, Iowa.
Unbeaten Tamikka Brents (1-0) of Springfield, Illin. will take on Amanda Bell (0-0) of Medford, Ore. at featherweight.
Jodie Esquibel (2-0) of Albuquerque, N.M. and Liz McCarthy (1-0) of Tigard, Ore. will square off at atomweight.
Emily Kagan (2-0) of Albuquerque, N.M. will put her undefeated record on the line against Rose Namajunas (0-0) of Milwaukee, Wis. In a strawweight matchup.
Paige Van Zant (2-0) of Sparks, Nev. will face off with Tecia Torres (1-0) of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. at strawweight.
About Invicta Fighting Championships:
Invicta Fighting Championships (www.invictafc.com) is a world championship Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight series dedicated to providing female athletes with a major platform to hone their skills on a consistent basis. Founded in 2012 by longtime MMA executive Shannon Knapp and sports aficionado Janet Martin, Invicta is committed to pioneering the future growth of women’s MMA by promoting the best possible matchups between female competitors and identifying and developing future superstars of the sport.
(“Why must we have to wait until February for the next episode of The Walking Dead? WHY?!”)
If their backstories are any indication of how they will perform, then Rory MacDonald best prepare himself for hell against B.J. Penn come Saturday night. Not only is BJ looking to be in the best shape of his (welterweight) career, but the manner in which “The Prodigy” was portrayed in the UFC’s recent UFC on FOX 5 “Road to the Octagon” featurette has all but set him up for an epic career comeback. The “champion hoping to reignite legacy for family’s honor” angle has been played up plenty of times by similar countdowns, fight previews, or whathaveyous in the past, but very few cases have been as emotionally gut-wrenching as Penn’s.
The normally stoic Penn, whose daughter turned 4 around the time of the filming, revealed a completely unseen side of himself as he broke down in front of the cameras while describing how hard it has been to see his children grow up while he has been away fighting to secure their future (14:25). Credit is due to the editing department for brilliantly juxtaposing Penn’s fatherly plight (but did they have to have impose BJ’s breakdown over the Happy Birthday song for his daughter? TOO MUCH EMOTIONS DAMN YOU) with that of MacDonald’s, who admits that his own father wasn’t around much during his childhood. Nice try, Rory, but you are now the Max Bear to Penn’s James Braddock and we will root against you until Penn breathes his final breath. ATTICA! ATTICA!!
Anyway, a full replay of the special is after the jump, and it features an equally compelling handling of the Gustafsson/Rua and Henderson/Diaz fights, so check it out, won’t you?
(“Why must we have to wait until February for the next episode of The Walking Dead? WHY?!”)
If their backstories are any indication of how they will perform, then Rory MacDonald best prepare himself for hell against B.J. Penn come Saturday night. Not only is BJ looking to be in the best shape of his (welterweight) career, but the manner in which “The Prodigy” was portrayed in the UFC’s recent UFC on FOX 5 “Road to the Octagon” featurette has all but set him up for an epic career comeback. The “champion hoping to reignite legacy for family’s honor” angle has been played up plenty of times by similar countdowns, fight previews, or whathaveyous in the past, but very few cases have been as emotionally gut-wrenching as Penn’s.
The normally stoic Penn, whose daughter turned 4 around the time of the filming, revealed a completely unseen side of himself as he broke down in front of the cameras while describing how hard it has been to see his children grow up while he has been away fighting to secure their future (14:25). Credit is due to the editing department for brilliantly juxtaposing Penn’s fatherly plight (but did they have to have impose BJ’s breakdown over the Happy Birthday song for his daughter? TOO MUCH EMOTIONS DAMN YOU) with that of MacDonald’s, who admits that his own father wasn’t around much during his childhood. Nice try, Rory, but you are now the Max Bear to Penn’s James Braddock and we will root against you until Penn breathes his final breath. ATTICA! ATTICA!!
Anyway, a full replay of the special is after the jump, and it features an equally compelling handling of the Gustafsson/Rua and Henderson/Diaz fights, so check it out, won’t you?
Two top light heavyweights will reportedly clash at the upcoming UFC on Fox 6 card in Chicago, Illinois next month as Ryan Bader takes on Vladimir Matyushenko.ESPN confirmed the bout with inside sources today, citing that they would join the …
Two top light heavyweights will reportedly clash at the upcoming UFC on Fox 6 card in Chicago, Illinois next month as Ryan Bader takes on Vladimir Matyushenko.
ESPN confirmed the bout with inside sources today, citing that they would join the January card.
This match will be Bader‘s 11th fight with the UFC, not counting three exhibition appearances during Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter.
Bader walks into this bout coming off a second-round KO loss against former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, who shut down “Darth” with a clean counter shot at UFC on Fox 4. Bader is currently 2-3 in his last five fights, with his most recent victory coming against Quinton Jackson at UFC 144 in Japan.
Matyushenko is also trying to get back into the “win” column following a loss against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 141 last December.
“The Janitor” was previously expected to face returning top light heavyweight Matt Hamill last September at UFC 152, but pulled out of the fight due to a torn Achilles tendon suffered during a training accident.
Both fighters will likely be fighting on Fox’s televised broadcast, as Bader has been a main card staple in all but two of his 10 UFC appearances. Matyushenko hasn’t been promoted as heavily by the UFC, but nonetheless has headlined one card (against Jon Jones) in addition to two main card spots.
UFC on Fox 6 will be headlined with a flyweight title fight between champion Demetrious Johnson and challenger Jon Dodson. Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis and Quinton Jackson vs. Glover Teixeira are also expected for the main card, while Clay Guida drops to featherweight to face Hatsu Hioki on the preliminary set.
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Urijah Faber was expected to fight in February, but the card and opponent are now different. MMAWeekly.com is reporting that verbal agreements are in place for Faber to square off in a rematch against Ivan Menjivar at UFC 157.The bantamweight…
Urijah Faber was expected to fight in February, but the card and opponent are now different. MMAWeekly.com is reporting that verbal agreements are in place for Faber to square off in a rematch against Ivan Menjivar at UFC 157.
The bantamweight bout would be taking place on February 23 from the Honda Center in Anaheim with Dan Henderson vs Lyoto Machida on the card as well.
It was reported by Tatame.com nine days ago that Faber was going to face Vaughan Lee at UFC 156 on February 2 in Las Vegas. Lee, though, told Fighters Only on Saturday that the fight was just a rumor and nothing more.
We last saw Faber in the cage at UFC 149 in July, where he lost by unanimous decision to Renan Barao for the UFC interim bantamweight championship.
The last time we saw Menjivar step into the Octagon was at UFC 154 last month when he defeated Azamat Gashimov by first round submission.
Faber and Menjivar fought in 2006 under the TKO Promotion based in Canada. Faber won the fight by disqualification as Menjivar kicked Faber while he was down on the mat.
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If Randy Couture is truly looking for a fight, Steven Seagal won’t back down from the UFC Hall of Famer.During an appearance on G4TV’s “Attack of the Show,” Couture stated (via MMAWeekly.com) that he planned on staying retired from fighting, unless Sea…
If Randy Couture is truly looking for a fight, Steven Seagal won’t back down from the UFC Hall of Famer.
During an appearance on G4TV’s “Attack of the Show,” Couture stated (via MMAWeekly.com) that he planned on staying retired from fighting, unless Seagal wanted to sign up.
Seagal, who considered Couture a friend, was completely dumbfounded by the comment.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani on “The MMA Hour,” the Hollywood action star responded to Couture’s challenge (via MMAFighting.com):
I have to wonder what his intentions may have been in saying that. I always thought that Randy was my friend and a gentleman. I’m kind of confused why he would say that, but I’m here, anybody can find me any time and any place. If Randy really wants to fight me, he can fight me any time he wants.
Couture’s comments were initially perceived as a joke from media and fans, but Seagal isn’t one to take challenges lightly.
As a movie star, people tend to forget that Seagal comes from a legitimate martial arts background. As a seventh degree black belt in Aikido, he has earned the opportunity to travel all over the world and teach martial arts to young students.
He has even helped MMA legends Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida prepare for several UFC bouts.
Still, Seagal realizes his own limitations when it comes to all-around fighting skills. He would likely suffer a similar fate as James Toney if he agreed to step into the Octagon with Couture.
At 60 years old, Seagal would fight Couture any time and any place, but there would have to be strict conditions.
He explains in his interview with Helwani:
It would be for free, and it would be some place where there are no witnesses. I’m hoping it wouldn’t get to that, and I don’t know why it would come about, but if that’s what he wants, he can get it any time he wants.
Luckily for MMA fans, the bout won’t happen in the UFC Octagon. It’s still impossible to shake the thought of Couture manhandling an overweight Toney at UFC 118.
Seagal isn’t interested in any MMA circus fights. If he fights Couture, he’ll make up his own rules:
I don’t play by the rules. I’m sure one person will walk out. I’m a man of honor. I’m a gentleman, but I am a warrior, and if he needs to find me, he knows where to find me.
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