UFC Betting Sites – The Best MMA Online Bookies

Another Aussie has been booked for the UFC’s next show Down Under.

Kyle Noke will meet Seth Baczynski at UFC on FX 6 in December. UFC officials late Wednesday announced the fight booking.

UFC on FX 6 takes place Saturday, Dec. 15, at Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre in Broadbeach, Gold Coast, Australia. The event’s main card airs live on FX (on Friday, Dec. 14, in the U.S. due to the time difference) following prelims on FUEL TV.

As a perennial contender in the UFC’s welterweight division, Jon Fitch always has plenty of eyes on him. On Saturday night, when he battles Erick Silva in UFC 153 main card action, the two most important ones will belong to the fighter’s newest fan, his son Mason, who Fitch and his wife Michelle welcomed into the world in February.

The arrival of the newest Fitch, a life-altering event any way you slice it, was also a rebirth of sorts for the 34-year-old father, who could count the birth of his son as the day when one of the most discouraging 12 month periods of his career ended.

In the year preceding Mason’s birth, Fitch had battled to a disappointing draw with BJ Penn at UFC 127, underwent shoulder surgery, then got shockingly knocked out in 12 seconds by Johny Hendricks at UFC 141, a bout he entered with a second degree tear in his MCL.

“I didn’t get to wrestle, didn’t get to grapple the whole time,” said Fitch of the lead-up to the Hendricks fight last December. “I just boxed and did cardio, that was it. I know I should have pulled out and postponed the fight, but even if my leg would have been broken or cut off, I would have walked into the cage that night. I’m strong headed and I still believed I was going to be able to win the fight with one leg.

It’s an attitude Fitch was born with, and one honed by years of wrestling in high school and then Purdue University. If you can walk, you can fight. If you can’t walk, crawl. Then you can fight.

“As a wrestler, you push through injuries, push through pain, and you forget sometimes what you are capable of because you are being held back by physical limitations,” said Fitch, who finally paid the price for his stubbornness against Hendricks. But when you couple the birth of his son with a nice long break to heal up and get back to one hundred percent, Fitch is finally back to feeling like himself again.

“My body’s been kind of broken over the last year and a half and this is the first time I’ve really been healthy in that time. I haven’t really felt like this in a long time.”

He pauses.

“This is the first time I’ve been able to kick in over a year.”  

You can hear it in his voice, that excitement building for what has turned into one of the UFC 153 card’s most intriguing matchups. But the time off after the Hendricks fight wasn’t all full of rehab and champing at the bit to get back into the Octagon. Remember, the former world title challenger is a dad now. That means no more video games. Well, not as many. But he’s cool with that.

“He’s like my live-action hero now,” Fitch laughs. “I get a hand in helping to create him and build him up and level him up instead of a video game. It just takes a little bit longer.

“It’s different, but it’s a natural change, because your instincts just take over,” he continues. “Your priorities shift and it’s not like something that had to be forced. I find myself wanting to play with my son and hang out with my son. It’s not like I had to give anything up; I just found something better to do.”

Fitch also saw the long-awaited release of the documentary about his challenge for Georges St-Pierre’s welterweight title in 2008, “Such Great Heights,” a critically acclaimed look inside the fighting life and those surrounding Fitch as the American Kickboxing Academy. And despite it being filmed over four years ago, there’s not a dated feel to it.

“It’s a really cool thing, and so much has changed since the movie was filmed,” he said. “We remodeled the (AKA) gym after that and it looks different than what it was in the movie, and then we moved locations, so the gym that was in the movie doesn’t even exist anymore. And to see the team grow and the individual people grow, and to see people’s careers go to where they are today, it’s pretty cool to see that little time capsule. I’m very lucky that opportunity came along for me and the guys who put that movie together did such an amazing job telling that story.”

And unlike some MMA documentaries, Fitch’s tale – despite the loss to St-Pierre – isn’t a 90 minute downer. It’s the story of a bunch of hard-working athletes chasing their dreams. In other words, it’s real without being real depressing.

“It’s a positive story, it’s something upbeat, and it shows you behind the scenes of what MMA is about and what these fighters are about and what they’re going through,” said Fitch. “Even if you remove me from the movie, it’s a really compelling film with the guys who are up and comers and just starting out. It’s real interesting stuff.”

On Saturday, the story continues. Four years and seven fights after the St-Pierre bout, Fitch will be looking for his first win since 2010 against Brazil’s latest phenom in Silva. “Indio” is an explosive athlete who is dangerous everywhere, and if he’s for real, it’s this fight that will prove it. Fitch knows the kid is good, but he expects that he’ll be better on fight night.

“I know what I need to do, and it doesn’t matter who’s in front of me,” he said. “It’s about making them come to my world, and not worrying about them. I’ll be ready for what he has to bring to the table, but I’m fully confident that me being healthy and being in this mindset, there’s nothing that he’s going to come in that night with that I won’t be able to handle.”

Is that the part we sometimes forget, that this is a fist fight, where the one leaving with his hand raised is the one that implements his game plan, and not who adjusts to his opponent’s plan?

“It’s about enforcing your will on the other guy,” said Fitch. “You can pick and dissect as much as possible, but at the end of the day, it’s a fight. It’s a matter of who wants it more and who is able to establish their game on the other guy.”

Fitch wants this one, and he’s well aware that there are naysayers out there waiting to bury him while anointing Silva as the next big thing. It’s a downside of life in the fight game, as you’re in one day and out the next when it comes to public perception. So as a new father, what Fitch say to Mason, knowing the pitfalls of the sport, if his son wanted to follow in dad’s footsteps one day?

“I’m gonna prepare him for a life,” said Fitch. “I’m a big believer that a parent’s true and only responsibility is to prepare your child to survive. Your job is to prepare that child to take care of himself and the sooner the better. So he’s gonna be wrestling, he’s gonna learn jiu-jitsu, and he’s gonna learn fighting, but it’s not going to be anything he’s forced into. It’s kind of the family trade. Regardless of whatever he chooses to do in life, he’ll always have that to fall back on. I would like to be able to give him that skill set to be able to go and teach someday, so then I can be confident that he’ll always have a job because he’ll always this set of skills that people will always want to learn. So if he decides to be a scientist or a race car driver, or whatever, no matter what happens, he’ll always have something to fall back on where he can make money and take care of himself.”

And what about the downside?

“Even with the downsides of this business, it’s still pretty damn fun,” he said. “I still think it’s a much better life than living inside the box where most people do. Most people live inside this structure where they have to wake up a certain time of day, they have to put in eight hours a day, they have to report to a boss, and do this and this. And I don’t like living in that system.”

Yeah, not Jon Fitch. He likes to train and he likes to fight. The former is over, the latter is coming up on Saturday. Time for Mason to watch daddy go to work.

In the cage, Pat Barry has fashioned a 7-5 record. At the dinner table, however, the UFC heavyweight is virtually unbeaten. Broach the subject of food around the Louisiana native and brace yourself for an earful. When the 33-year-old talks food, his pupils dilate, his speech accelerates and his voice rises. His approach to diet: There are no rules. Barry eats vegan a lot of the time, but spontaneously hits up fast food drive-thrus and pizza joints regularly, too. We caught up with the loquacious wonder and quickly determined that no heaping plate of food, no all-you-can-eat buffet, is safe around this man.

A TYPICAL DAY OF EATING IS …

Barry: My mom will make a turkey roaster of spaghetti, freeze it and then (send it) overnight to me in Minneapolis.

My diet hasn’t necessarily changed since I’ve become a pro fighter; my diet has changed since I’ve gotten older and become more aware of my body. Now, my wife and I cook a lot. But we are both not opposed to stopping at a drive-thru on the way home to get cheeseburgers from McDonald’s. I know it’s not for everybody, but personally, eating makes me happy. And when I’m happy I’m DANGEROUS.

If I’m eating totally clean, I might be in the best shape ever, in the best physical appearance ever, but if I’m not happy then I can’t perform. I’ll sacrifice the physical appearance a pinch just to get a taste of those sweet and salty French fries.

PERKS OF BEING A HEAVYWEIGHT

I eat whatever I want. That doesn’t mean that I eat garbage all of the time. My wife and I do cook a lot and eat clean a lot, we take care of ourselves, but we are not opposed to stopping by Taco Bell like we did yesterday. Oh my God we spent $21 at Taco Bell. We ordered two Mexican pizzas and four beef meximelts.

I’M ASSUMING YOU ATE THE MAJORITY OF THAT …

Yeah, I did, but my wife has a ridiculous appetite. That’s part of how we got together. The first time I saw her eat … it was one of the things that attracted me to her, because I could finally eat however I wanted to.

The upside of being a heavyweight is that I don’t have to weigh my food when I eat it or restrict myself. I can eat whatever I want. I’ve always been a firm believer in, ‘Eat whatever you want but only if you’re willing to train that much harder.’

Me and my wife love eating. It’s what we do. I’m 33 and I’ve got a hearty appetite. But I train stupid hard, so …

THE HEALTHY STUFF

We make Beet soup. It’s a Lithuanian dish – my wife is Lithuanian. Beet soup is all vegetables and broth. It is outrageously delicious. We call it ‘mush.’ We blend broccoli, carrots and cauliflower and then pour Thai chili sauce on top of it, which makes it like a cream. We put that over rice and that right there is a spectacular dish.

We also eat a lot of Vietnamese Beef Pho (wife gets shrimp), which is probably one of the greatest flavors I’ve ever put in my mouth EVER. It’s like an addiction; we can’t stop. We probably eat that maybe four times a week.

I also eat a lot of oatmeal and clean vegetable dishes. When we cook we don’t cook any type of animal products. It’s almost like we are vegans. But we’re not opposed to hitting a fast food drive-thru, or ordering a pizza or getting a sandwich at Jimmy John’s.

IDEAL FIGHTING WEIGHT

Right around 235, 240 pounds. That’s the weight where I can last the longest (cardio) and have the most strength. When I’m 245, I can hit really hard but I might not necessarily be able to fight 25 minutes. And when I’m 230, I can last all day and night but I’m not necessarily the strongest dude in the world. You know?

205?

I could get pretty low. I’m 252 walking around. My fight weight is around 240. But with a professional dietician and scientists, telling me what to eat, when to chew … I’m pretty sure I could get to 220? 210? I could get to 205 … I could get to 170 with enough time and dedication. I mean, I’m 5’11”. But for me, right now, I don’t see the purpose of losing the weight. I can’t think of one fight that I’ve lost because I was too small. So I stay heavyweight.

DISCLAIMER

When it comes down to it, I don’t know hardly anything about diet and nutrition. So I keep it simple.

STAPLES OF CHILDHOOD DIET

I’m from New Orleans, Louisiana. I come from a heavy Cajun background – red beans and rice, shrimp, gumbo, crawfish. Meatballs and spaghetti was like our Number 1 dish because it was CHEAP and it was EASY. Mom was a single mother of two kids and she worked a lot. As a matter of fact, meatballs and spaghetti and my mom’s tuna fish were easy meals for her to make, they were cheap, and it was something that would last a long time and she could make a lot for a small price.

So I’ve been eating meatballs and spaghetti my whole life and my mom’s spectacular tuna fish for all of my life. But, at the same time, every once in a while we would have holidays … and I would have Road Runner’s pizza delivered to my house… woooh!!!

I learned how to scramble eggs, so I would make scrambled eggs sandwiches for my brother and I when I was really young.

FAVORITE INDULGENCE

Pizza. Any kind, it doesn’t matter. Even if it’s the really, leathery, crunchy one that they sell at the gas station and has been sitting there for years. The pizza jerky? Doesn’t matter. If it’s pizza, I love it. I probably eat pizza once a week.

HOW MUCH PIZZA CAN YOU EAT IN ONE SITTING?

Probably 12 slices, which is one and a half large pizzas.

NEXT FIGHT

Nothing scheduled yet. I’m healthy, ready to go and would like to fight before the end of the year.

FUTURE IN FOOD A LA GEORGE FOREMAN?

Hey man, that could definitely happen. Maybe I could just somehow become a food critic. Barry vs. Food. I could do that for sure. I watch “Man vs. Food” all the time, that’s a great show. And I’m sitting there all the time going, ‘Man, I could do that.”

Anyone who saw Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira getting slammed into the canvas headfirst by Bob Sapp in their PRIDE Shockwave bout back in 2002 won’t forget that vision anytime soon, especially knowing that “Minotauro” shook off the slams and submitted his foe in the second round.

Or what about the beating he took at the hands of a prime Mirko Cro Cop in the first round of their 2003 PRIDE fight, another match where he came back to win by submission in the second frame?

So when you ask Nogueira today why he didn’t tap out against Frank Mir at UFC 140 last December when his arm was about to be broken, the answer isn’t surprising. He thought he was going to come back and win.

“It was a fast scramble on the ground, we rolled a couple of times and I felt like I would get out of the submission and I knew I would keep trying my best to get out of it,” said Nogueira, who wound up losing the bout via technical submission when the arm was indeed broken.

It was only Nogueira’s seventh loss in 42 pro fights (two each coming against Mir and former PRIDE champ Fedor Emelianenko), but in terms of injuries, the former PRIDE and interim UFC heavyweight champ was now forced to the sidelines again, just the latest in a series of physical setbacks that have included knee surgeries and hip ailments. He wasn’t prepared to hang up the gloves though.

“It’s what I love doing,” said the 36-year-old. “I like going in to the gym and training every day and having the mindset of expecting a fight. It’s the adrenaline that keeps me going.”

And as the days of healing turned into days of arduous rehab, Nogueira’s eventual prize of walking into the Octagon once more as a healthy man kept him going through the rough times.
 
“Thinking of my return is what always motivates me,” he said. “It’s what keeps me going when I was going through physical therapy, that dream of being able to train hard every day and looking forward to a fight.”

Expected to return at UFC 149 in July against Cheick Kongo, Nogueira pulled out of the bout in order to get his arm stronger, and as it got back into fighting shape, it turned out that this Saturday’s UFC 153 card in Rio de Janeiro was going to be in jeopardy after losing a main event between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar, and the co-main event of Rampage Jackson against Glover Teixeira in the same 24-hour period. The first man to step up to save the day was middleweight champ Anderson Silva. The second? Nogueira, who jumped at the chance to fight in Rio for only the second time in his career and the first since his UFC 134 knockout of Brendan Schaub, one of the greatest nights of his life.

“I wanted the chance to fight in Rio again,” he said. “When I fought Schaub last year, it was my first time fighting in Brazil, and the crowd was unbelievable. It’s great to fight at home, and the stadium is only about one mile from my gym.”

Convenience aside, Nogueira’s bout against Dave Herman gives him a chance to regain the momentum he had after the Schaub bout and show his loyal home country fans that there’s still plenty of gas left in his fighting tank.

“He is a dangerous striker and I think he will want to keep the fight standing,” said Nogueira of Herman. “But the fans in Brazil are very loud and they motivate you a lot from when you walk out and throughout the fight. It’s an amazing energy.”

And at this point in the career of a fighter who has done it all and who has already established himself as one of the legends of mixed martial arts, it’s that roar of the crowd that can never be replaced or replicated.

“I want to keep fighting,” said Nogueira. “This is what I do. I like the rush. This will be my 43rd fight and I will do my best so that I can continue to be healthy to keep training and keep fighting.”

While he can, expect him to keep doing it, but eventually, the shorts will be hung up and the gloves put away, and Nogueira will have to be content with leading a new generation of Brazilian battlers up the ranks. When that day comes, how will he want to be remembered?

“I hope they remember a guy who could overcome struggles and always come back without ever giving up.”

That’s already a mission accomplished.