Tag: Booking Roundup

Booking (Rumor) Roundup: UFC on FX Edition


(NOW we get why Kyle’s friends often refer to him as “The Poke” Noke.) 

After collecting three straight stoppage victories in as many UFC contests, EliteXC and TUF 11 veteran Kyle Noke was quickly building up a reputation as one of the top up-and-comers in the middleweight division. Being one of the few successful Australian fighters to grace the UFC (sorry, Elvis), Noke carried a bit more pressure on his shoulders than the average TUF alum, especially when heading into his UFC Live 5 match against resurgent TUF 3 veteran Ed Herman. Unfortunately Noke (and therefore the Australian MMA community), would fall to a first round heel hook in that fight, placing all Aussie UFC hopes in the hands of a man nicknamed after an animal relative to Africa.

But fret not, ye Fosters enthusiasts, for Noke’s path to redemption will begin in the land from which he was birthed. Yes, “KO” recently announced that he will be taking on Jared Hamman at UFC on FX 2, which goes down at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia. Hamman, whom we will forever be in debt to for knocking CB Dolloway out of the UFC, will also be looking to build up a win streak; he was most recently flattened in the first round by Constantinos Philippou at UFC 140. This match has yet to be confirmed by the UFC.

Join us after the jump for some juicy featherweight and bantamweight gossip…


(NOW we get why Kyle’s friends often refer to him as “The Poke” Noke.) 

After collecting three straight stoppage victories in as many UFC contests, EliteXC and TUF 11 veteran Kyle Noke was quickly building up a reputation as one of the top up-and-comers in the middleweight division. Being one of the few successful Australian fighters to grace the UFC (sorry, Elvis), Noke carried a bit more pressure on his shoulders than the average TUF alum, especially when heading into his UFC Live 5 match against resurgent TUF 3 veteran Ed Herman. Unfortunately Noke (and therefore the Australian MMA community), would fall to a first round heel hook in that fight, placing all Aussie UFC hopes in the hands of a man nicknamed after an animal relative to Africa.

But fret not, ye Fosters enthusiasts, for Noke’s path to redemption will begin in the land from which he was birthed. Yes, “KO” recently announced that he will be taking on Jared Hamman at UFC on FX 2, which goes down at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia. Hamman, whom we will forever be in debt to for knocking CB Dolloway out of the UFC, will also be looking to build up a win streak; he was most recently flattened in the first round by Constantinos Philippou at UFC 140. This match has yet to be confirmed by the UFC.

Also rumored for the UFC’s return to Australia will be TUF 5 alum Cole Miller’s featherweight debut, which will pair him against seasoned TUF 14 vet Steve Siler. Fresh off a second round submission of T.J. O’Brien, the 6’1”, Miller was already lanky for a lightweight, but will now be entering Corey Hill territory at 145 pounds. Stay away from the leg kicks is all were saying, Cole. After getting eliminated via a Diego Brandao steamrolling in his run on The Ultimate Fighter 14, Siler rebounded at the TUF 14 Finale with a decision win over Josh Clopton.

And in UFC on FX 1 news, bantamweight prospect Mike Easton will be looking to improve upon his second round TKO over Byron Bloodworth when he takes on WEC vet Ken Stone. Stone, who suffered brutal back-to-back knockouts at the hands of Eddie Wineland (via slam) and Scott Jorgensen (via punches), finally learned what it was like to be the one standing over an unconscious body when he choked out Donny Walker back at UFN 25.

UFC on FX is set to go down on January 20th from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Yours truly will be handling the liveblog duties, so make sure to stop by and inform me of how poor a job I am doing.

-Danga 

Booking Roundup: Brown vs. Cope and Edwards vs. Stumpf at UFC 143


(Who did this to my brother? I WANT HIS NAME!!) 

Another pair of interesting matches at 170 lbs. have recently been added to UFC 143’s already welterweight-stacked card. If you are anything like us, then you likely expected Matt Brown would receive his walking papers after dropping his fourth loss via submission (and second via guillotine) in his past five fights to Seth Baczynski at UFC 139. Well, it turns out Brown will be given another shot at UFC glory, and will be fighting for not only his Zuffa contract, but the chance to keep his record above .500 when he takes on TUF 13 cast member Chris Cope.

Cope will be looking to rebound from the devastating 40 second TKO loss he suffered at the hands (and more specifically, knees) of Che Mills in Mills’ UFC debut back at UFC 138.


(Who did this to my brother? I WANT HIS NAME!!) 

Another pair of interesting matches at 170 lbs. have recently been added to UFC 143′s already welterweight-stacked card. If you are anything like us, then you likely expected Matt Brown would receive his walking papers after dropping his fourth loss via submission (and second via guillotine) in his past five fights to Seth Baczynski at UFC 139. Well, it turns out Brown will be given another shot at UFC glory, and will be fighting for not only his Zuffa contract, but the chance to keep his record above .500 when he takes on TUF 13 cast member Chris Cope.

Cope will be looking to rebound from the devastating 40 second TKO loss he suffered at the hands (and more specifically, knees) of Che Mills in Mills’ UFC debut back at UFC 138.

Elsewhere on the card, Justin Edwards and Mike Stumpf will both be looking to bounce back from losses in their UFC debuts when they face one another on February 4th. Edwards dropped a tough decision to John Maguire, also at UFC 138, whereas Stumpf found himself on the wrong end of a brilliantly executed T.J. Waldburger triangle at UFN 25.

Both fights are without a doubt a must-win for the fighters involved.

-Danga 

Booking Roundup: Brookins vs. Yahya, Simpson vs. Markes at UFC on FUEL

(This is where we’d normally make some sort of Geico Caveman reference, but those jokes, like the commercials, have been played out to the point of eye-gouging redundancy. So, uh…beauty and the beast?)  Though they may not get your engine revving, a couple of sure-to-be-undercard bouts have been booked for the UFC’s debut on FUEL TV, […]


(This is where we’d normally make some sort of Geico Caveman reference, but those jokes, like the commercials, have been played out to the point of eye-gouging redundancy. So, uh…beauty and the beast?) 

Though they may not get your engine revving, a couple of sure-to-be-undercard bouts have been booked for the UFC’s debut on FUEL TV, the first of which being a featherweight match-up between grappling wizards Jonathan Brookins and Rani Yahya. After lateral dropping his way through season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter, Brookins recently saw a four fight win streak snapped at the hands of featherweight contender Eric Koch in a three rounder reminiscent of Couture vs. Vera that saw Brookins unable to get Koch to the mat.

Yahya, on the other hand, is likely fighting for his future in the UFC. Just 1-3 in his past four, with the lone win coming against a struggling (and last minute replacement) Mike Brown, we last saw Yahya on the losing end of a unanimous decision to Jose Aldo‘s next challenger, Chad Mendes. Prior to the Brown win, Yahya was outclassed by Takeya Mizugaki in another decision at WEC 48 and TKO’ed by future flyweight champ Joseph Benavidez at WEC 45.

Elsewhere on the card, Aaron Simpson will be looking to improve on the three fight win streak he has quietly built up over the year when he faces Ronny Markes in the Brazilian’s sophomore octagon bout. “A Train” rebounded from the only losing streak of his career (a two-fighter to Chris Leben and Mark Munoz) with three straight unanimous decisions over Mario Miranda, Brad Tavares, and Eric Schafer at UFN 24, UFC 132, and UFC 136, respectively.

Fresh off his own unanimous decision victory over Karlos Vemola in his UFC debut at UFC Live 5, Markes will be looking to derail *snicker* the veteran Simpson, which would be no new task for Markes. In his last fight before being signed by the UFC, Markes outpointed former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho at an IFC event in April. A win over Filho may not be what it used to, but work with me on this one.

Headlined by a welterweight bout between Jake Ellenberger and Diego Sanchez, UFC on Fuel TV is set for February 15th from the Century Link Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

You know the deal, who takes these, and how?

-Danga 

Booking Roundup: Swanson vs. Roop at UFC on FOX 2, Brenneman vs. Roberts at UFC on FX 1


(Roop: seen here enforcing the theory that a straight shot to the head will kill any zombie.) 

Looking to rebound from his controversial decision loss to Hatsu Hioki at UFC 137, featherweight contender and TUF 8 alum George Roop has recently agreed to face Cub Swanson at UFC on Fox 2. Prior to the Hikoi loss, Roop scored a brilliant thrid round TKO over Josh Grispi at the TUF 13 Finale in June. Swanson, on the other hand, is coming off a less-than-controversial second round submission via arm triangle choke to Ricardo Lamas in his UFC debut at UFC on Fox 1. The Team Jackson product has dropped three of his last five and should need a win here if he wants to continue fighting under the Zuffa banner.

Fun fact: Roop hasn’t put together a win streak since 2007 and has gone loss-win in his past 9 bouts (excluding a draw with Leonard Garcia), so pure logic dictates that he will emerge victorious from this one. You can’t argue with that science, Potato Nation.


(Roop: seen here enforcing the theory that a straight shot to the head will kill any zombie.) 

Looking to rebound from his controversial decision loss to Hatsu Hioki at UFC 137, featherweight contender and TUF 8 alum George Roop has recently agreed to face Cub Swanson at UFC on Fox 2. Prior to the Hikoi loss, Roop scored a brilliant thrid round TKO over Josh Grispi at the TUF 13 Finale in June. Swanson, on the other hand, is coming off a less-than-controversial second round submission via arm triangle choke to Ricardo Lamas in his UFC debut at UFC on Fox 1. The Team Jackson product has dropped three of his last five and should need a win here if he wants to continue fighting under the Zuffa banner.

Fun fact: Roop hasn’t put together a win streak since 2007 and has gone loss-win in his past 9 bouts (excluding a draw with Leonard Garcia), so pure logic dictates that he will emerge victorious from this one. You can’t argue with that science, Potato Nation.

In other booking news, Daniel “Ninja” Roberts announced on his Twitter yesterday that he will be facing inaugural Pros vs. Joes winner (whaa?) Charlie Brenneman in a welterweight tilt set for the UFC’s debut on FX, which features a headlining bout between Melvin Guillard and Jim Miller. Roberts has dropped two straight bouts to Claude Patrick and Rich Attonio at UFC 129 and UFC Live 4, respectively; a loss here will surely secure him a spot in the unemployment line alongside his past three UFC victims.

Brenneman recently saw a two-fight win streak, including a decision upset over Rick Story, snapped at the hands (and feet) of Anthony “Rumble” Johnson at UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson in October. Unfortunately for Brenneman, his only wins inside the octagon other than Story have similarly come over now released fighters in Jason High and Amilcar Alves, so this match-up could likely be Zuffa’s way of trimming some fat from its welterweight division.

UFC on FOX 2 goes down January 28th from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. UFC on FX transpires just eight days prior at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

-Danga