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Anthony Johnson Injured; Rick Story Steps Up to Face Nate Marquardt at ‘UFC on Versus 4?

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Anthony Johnson was slated to welcome Nate Marquardt to the welterweight division at this month’s UFC Live event (June 26th in Pittsburgh), but due to a rotator cuff injury suffered in training, ‘Rumble’ won’t be able to make that date. Coming in on short-notice against Marquardt will be rising welterweight star Rick Story, who was in action just last weekend at UFC 130, picking up his sixth-consecutive win against Thiago Alves.

It’s a gamble for Story, but taking out a longtime middleweight contender like Marquardt would earn the Washington native even more respect in the crowded contender pool at 170. Will Story be able to use his wrestling to stifle Marquardt in the same way that Chael Sonnen did at UFC 109, or is Nate going to put the welterweight division on notice, starting with Rick?

The current lineup of UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story (aka ‘UFC on Versus 4’) is after the jump…

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Anthony Johnson was slated to welcome Nate Marquardt to the welterweight division at this month’s UFC Live event (June 26th in Pittsburgh), but due to a rotator cuff injury suffered in training, ‘Rumble’ won’t be able to make that date. Coming in on short-notice against Marquardt will be rising welterweight star Rick Story, who was in action just last weekend at UFC 130, picking up his sixth-consecutive win against Thiago Alves.

It’s a gamble for Story, but taking out a longtime middleweight contender like Marquardt would earn the Washington native even more respect in the crowded contender pool at 170. Will Story be able to use his wrestling to stifle Marquardt in the same way that Chael Sonnen did at UFC 109, or is Nate going to put the welterweight division on notice, starting with Rick?

The current lineup of UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story (aka ‘UFC on Versus 4′) is after the jump…

Main Card
Nate Marquardt vs. Rick Story
Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry
Martin Kampmann vs. John Howard
Matt Mitrione vs. Christian Morecraft

Preliminary card
Tyson Griffin vs. Manvel Gamburyan
Joe Stevenson vs. Javier Vazquez
Joe Lauzon vs. Curt Warburton
Matt Brown vs. Rich Attonito
Charlie Brenneman vs. TJ Grant
Nik Lentz vs. Charles Oliveira
Ricardo Lamas vs. Matt Grice
Michael Johnson vs. Edward Faaloloto

Wednesday Morning MMA Link Club

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Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

– Gus Johnson Signs With Fox but Stays With Showtime for MMA and Boxing (MMA Fighting)

– Maiquel Falcao Cut From UFC for ‘Legal Problems’ (5thRound)

– Dana White Stresses Personal Finance Management At 2011 Fighter Summit (MMA Convert)

– Jonathan Brookins out, Danny Downes in Against Jeremy Stephens at TUF 13 Finale (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Anthony Johnson Responds to Ben Askren Calling him a ‘Coward’ (MiddleEasy)

– Director Kahleem Poole-Tejada Talks About ‘New York MMA’ documentary (TheFightNerd)

– Exclusive Interview: Ninja Rua Expects a War Against Tom Watson at BAMMA 6 (LowKick)

– Management Break-Up Splits Jon Jones, Rashad Evans (NBC Sports MMA)

– Anderson Silva and the 10 Best Southpaws in MMA (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

(Guy on the Right just got some competition. Props: Facebook.com/BigfootSilva)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

– Gus Johnson Signs With Fox but Stays With Showtime for MMA and Boxing (MMA Fighting)

– Maiquel Falcao Cut From UFC for ‘Legal Problems’ (5thRound)

– Dana White Stresses Personal Finance Management At 2011 Fighter Summit (MMA Convert)

– Jonathan Brookins out, Danny Downes in Against Jeremy Stephens at TUF 13 Finale (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Anthony Johnson Responds to Ben Askren Calling him a ‘Coward’ (MiddleEasy)

– Director Kahleem Poole-Tejada Talks About ‘New York MMA’ documentary (TheFightNerd)

– Exclusive Interview: Ninja Rua Expects a War Against Tom Watson at BAMMA 6 (LowKick)

– Management Break-Up Splits Jon Jones, Rashad Evans (NBC Sports MMA)

– Anderson Silva and the 10 Best Southpaws in MMA (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

UFC on Versus 4 Fight Card: Marquardt vs. Johnson

Filed under: UFCThe UFC on Versus 4 fight card will be headlined by Nate Marquardt making his welterweight debut against Anthony Johnson on Sunday, June 26 at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh.

In the co-main event, heavyweight kickboxer Pat Barr…

Filed under: UFC

The UFC on Versus 4 fight card will be headlined by Nate Marquardt making his welterweight debut against Anthony Johnson on Sunday, June 26 at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh.

In the co-main event, heavyweight kickboxer Pat Barry takes on another heavy hitter in Cheick Kongo.

The UFC announced the event Tuesday and that tickets will go on sale Saturday, April 23 at 10 a.m. ET. UFC on Versus 4 airs live on Versus at 9 p.m. ET.

Check out the current lineup below.

Falling Action: Best and Worst of UFC Fight Night 24

Filed under: UFCIf ever there was an event to make aspiring fighters get out their singlets and focus on their wrestling skills, UFC Fight Night 24 was it.

The ability to successfully complete and/or defend the takedown was the deciding factor in mos…

Filed under: UFC

If ever there was an event to make aspiring fighters get out their singlets and focus on their wrestling skills, UFC Fight Night 24 was it.

The ability to successfully complete and/or defend the takedown was the deciding factor in most of the fights on Saturday night. By the end, I think half the arena had unconsciously learned how to shoot a single-leg just from seeing it done over and over and over again. Bet that made for some interesting after-parties.

So who were the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between after Saturday night’s wrestle-fest? The answers await you below.

Anthony Johnson: ‘I Just Needed to Win’ Against Dan Hardy

Filed under: UFCRemember when Anthony Johnson said there was “absolutely no chance” he and Dan Hardy would go to the ground in their fight at UFC Fight Night 24? Yeah, well. About that.

Johnson spent most of the three rounds either taking Hardy down o…

Filed under: UFC

Remember when Anthony Johnson said there was “absolutely no chance” he and Dan Hardy would go to the ground in their fight at UFC Fight Night 24? Yeah, well. About that.

Johnson spent most of the three rounds either taking Hardy down or grinding away at him from the top position, turning what had seemed like a slugfest on paper into a grappling match in the cage. It might not have been the most popular decision he could have made, but it resulted in a unanimous decision win for “Rumble,” so you can’t argue with the results.

“I knew I could bang with him,” Johnson said at Saturday night’s post-fight press conference. “That was no problem. I knew I could do that, but I knew his weakness was his wrestling, and I know that’s one of my strengths. I just took it to my advantage and used it.”

The Korean Zombie Bandwagon Reloads, And Other Fair-Weather Tales

Filed under: UFCIf you think the stock market trades on emotion and snap judgments, what about the world of MMA, where this morning’s prodigy is tomorrow morning’s garbage? It would be comical to see the seismic opinion shifts that take place before an…

Filed under: UFC

If you think the stock market trades on emotion and snap judgments, what about the world of MMA, where this morning’s prodigy is tomorrow morning’s garbage? It would be comical to see the seismic opinion shifts that take place before and after events if it wasn’t so sad. Complaints are plentiful about how quick the UFC and other organizations are to cut fighters who lose two or three in a row, yet is there any greater sense of loyalty shown from other quarters of the MMA world?

Here’s the thing about being a pro fighter: it’s hard. Your body gets beat down, your confidence betrays you at times. The media and fans openly question you, your commitment, you endurance, and your all-around game. Matchmakers stick you in the cage with opponents that are good at the things you’re not so good at.

Where is a fighter’s safe harbor? Look, we’re not supposed to like everything shoved down our throats. There are performances that deserve to be booed, and fighters who are difficult to appreciate. There are style clashes that lead to stalemates. But the wild, overreactive swings from one fight to the next make me feel that a dramamine prescription wouldn’t be a bad idea.