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Report: The Ultimate Fighter Bound for the Philippines in 2012

(Why am I excited about this upcoming season? I can’t quite explain it…)

According to a new report, the first international edition of The Ultimate Fighter is close to being finalized in the Philippines. Officials from ABS-CBN — parent company of Balls, the TV sports network that airs UFC programming in the Philippines — informed BloodyElbow that they expect to launch a local edition of the series in 2012. This shouldn’t really come as a shock, considering that rumors of ‘TUF Philippines’ have been circulating since February, and the UFC had just planned a publicity tour of the island nation for current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones following UFC 135.

(Why am I excited about this upcoming season? I can’t quite explain it…)

No details have emerged in regards to possible weight classes or coaches for the series, but one name that must be in the mix is none other than “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” himself, Mark Munoz. Coming off a big win over Demian Maia at UFC 131, Munoz has gone 6-1 since his drop to middleweight, with the lone loss coming to most recent title contender Yushin Okami. Pairing him with the winner of the Belfort-Le scrap could make for an interesting title picture at 185, and with Anderson Silva riding the pine until then, the division is in need of a few high profile fights to fill the void.

With the recent success of OneFC, there is no question of the potential talent that could become a part of this series; the likes of Eduard Folayang and Eric Kelly could present some intriguing match-ups at lightweight and featherweight, respectively, though the likelihood of the UFC doing two straight seasons of lighter weight-classes seems slim. Then again, the last heavyweight season of The Ultimate Fighter didn’t exactly leave us begging for more.

-Danga

Its Official: Hendo vs. Shogun at UFC 139

It looks like former UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will be getting his wish. Multiple reports confirm that current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson and “Shogun” have verbally agreed to face one another, likely as the main event of UFC 139.

The originally penned headliner for this event, a heavyweight title match between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos, was moved to the UFC’s debut on Fox, which takes place Nov 12th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. I think it’s safe to say that this will be a fair replacement; Rua’s last 5 wins have come by knockout, whereas “Hendo’s” last 4 wins have ended in similarly decisive fashion, the most recent being a first round knock out of former Pride heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko.

Henderson’s last octagon appearance was highlighted by perhaps his most brutal finish to date over fellow TUF 9 coach Michael Bisping at UFC 100. Mauricio Rua on the other hand, is coming off a quick dispatching of Forrest Griffin in their rematch at UFC 134. A fight that has nothing but title implications written all over it, don’t expect this one to go to the judges, especially considering “Shogun’s” somewhat rocky history with them.

Speaking of title implications, UFC 139 will also feature former UFC light heavyweight champ and middleweight contender Vitor Belfort, taking on former Strikeforce middleweight kingpin Cung Le, as well as a bantamweight bout between former WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber and former WEC bantamweight champ Brian Bowles. That’s a lotta (former) gold for one event, son. UFC 139 goes down November 19 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.

-Danga

Jon Jones and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson Will Mean-Mug Each Other Tonight on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’

(It’ll be like their confrontation on Saturday, except with more nervous laughter from the interviewer. Props: isanoria)

Still don’t believe that the UFC likes to manufacture rivalries between fighters? Then how do you explain their decision to double-book Jon Jones and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson for a joint-appearance on tonight’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live? (ABC, midnight/11 p.m. central)

The soft-spoken UFC light-heavyweight champion and tough-talkin’ former champ are fresh off their personal-attack-heavy segment during the Shields vs. Ellenberger broadcast. Even with the two separated through the miracles of satellite technology, it felt like a fight could break out at any moment. So what will happen when they’re sharing the same couch to promote UFC 135?

As UFC.com mentions, “It’s unknown at press time whether the third guest on the show, Dr. Phil, will be brought in to try and smooth things over between the two.” Oh man. Kimmel, if you don’t make that bit happen, then Jimmy Fallon has won the war.

(It’ll be like their confrontation on Saturday, except with more nervous laughter from the interviewer. Props: isanoria)

‘Shields vs. Ellenberger’/’Warrior’ Fight-Picking Contest — The Winners!

As expected, only a small handful of you were insane enough to suggest that Jake Ellenberger would smoke Jake Shields in 53 seconds. I still can’t believe it myself. (Neither could Shields, for that matter.) But in the end, only two CagePotato fight-pickers predicted the quick TKO stoppage in Shields vs. Ellenberger and Court McGee’s unanimous decision over Dongi Yang, scoring themselves Warrior movie passes and other goodies in the process. They were…

SumDumGuy:
– Jake E. def. Jake S. via TKO 3:14 round 1.
– Court M. def Dongi Y. via UD (30-27 x 3)

RwilsonR:
– Ellenberger def. Shields via TKO, 3:28 of rd 1
– Court McGee def. Yang via unanimous decision (30-27 all)

For the record, RWilsonR made his picks first, and then SumDumGuy snuck in later, ninja style. A perfectly legal move in the fight-picking game. So fellas, if you want to claim your Warrior-related swag, e-mail [email protected] with your real names and addresses, and we’ll hook you up ASAP.

Once again, please visit WarriorFilm.com to buy tickets to the flick in your area. Seriously, you don’t want to wait until this bad boy hits Quikster.

Reminder: DREAM 17 Goes Down this Saturday

With all the buzz surrounding UFC 135, you might have forgotten that DREAM 17 transpires Saturday, and features a pretty stacked card to boot. Japanese legend Kasushi Sakuraba returns to action for the first time since nearly having his ear torn off by Marius Zaromskis, taking on undefeated submission specialist Yan Cabral. Sakuraba is currently riding a three-fight losing streak including the aforementioned loss to Zaromskis as well as a submission loss to Jason “Mayhem” Miller at Dream 16 and a unanimous decision loss to Ralek Gracie back at Dream 14. “The Gracie Hunter” is in desperate need of a win here to avoid falling into Ken Shamrock territory, though some critics out there feel he already has.

Also on the card, Shinya Aoki takes on Rob McCullough in a lightweight bout. Aoki has technically gone 5-0 fight win streak since his loss to Gilbert Melendez at Strikeforce: Nashville; this is of course excluding his embarrassing knockout loss to Yuichiro “Jienotsu” Nagashima in a mixed rules match at Dynamite!! 2010. But hey, if Sherdog doesn’t count it, then it never happened. McCullough on the other hand recently had a two fight win streak snapped by the heavy hands of Patricky Friere back at Bellator 36.

DREAM 17 also features the promotional debuts of UFC vets Antonio Banuelos, Gerald Harris, Willamy Freire, and Kazuhiro Nakamura. UFC veteran Caol Uno and inaugural DREAM lightweight champion Bibiano Fernandes will also be on the card, taking on Takeshi Inoue and Takafumi Otsuka, respectively.

And if that lineup hasn’t yet convinced you, Pride veteran Joachim Hansen will be taking on Tatsuya Kawajiri in a rematch of their 2006 Shooto welterweight title fight that ended just 8 seconds in due to an illegal groin strike by Hansen. With all these intriguing match-ups, DREAM 17 is looking to be one of the most promising outings for Japanese MMA in quite some time. Check out the new “fight order announcement” trailer below…

(Props: DREAM)

Win a ‘Warrior’ Prize Package in Our ‘Shields vs. Ellenberger’ Fight-Picking Contest!

If you still haven’t made it out out to the multiplex to see The Greatest MMA Movie Ever Filmed™, today might be your lucky day. Lionsgate just hooked us up with a box of Warrior-related goodies — free movie passes, Warrior t-shirts, and a copy of The Men of Warrior photo-book — and we’re going to unload it all in a Fight-Picking Fire Sale.

This Saturday, UFC Fight Night 25: Shields vs. Ellemberger goes down in New Orleans, featuring Jake Shields‘s battle against surging contender Jake Ellenberger, and Court McGee‘s return against South Korean middleweight prospect Dongi Yang. Submit your predictions for these two fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:

– Jake Shields def. Jake Ellenberger via unanimous decision, (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
– Dongi Yang def. Court McGee via TKO, 1:36 of round 3

Please include the judges’ scores if you think a fight will end in a decision, in case we need them for a tie-breaker. The most accurate prediction wins a pair of movie passes, a shirt, and the book. Second place just gets the movies passes. But still, not a bad deal for being the first loser, right? Entries must be in by tomorrow at noon ET, and we’ll announce the winner by Monday. One entry per person, please. Any other questions, let us know. Thanks for playing, and follow Warrior on Twitter @lionsgatemovies!