Breaking News | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

Jose Aldo vs. Anthony Pettis for UFC Featherweight Title Official for Aug. 3

Looks like superfights are becoming standard procedure for UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo. After defeating former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar at UFC 156 Saturday, “Scarface” has now been officially booked to take on the last WEC l…

Looks like superfights are becoming standard procedure for UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo.

After defeating former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar at UFC 156 Saturday, “Scarface” has now been officially booked to take on the last WEC lightweight title holder, Anthony Pettis.

USA Today broke the story early Tuesday morning.

UFC president Dana White gushed about the blockbuster title fight booked for Aug. 3.

“Two of the baddest dudes in the fight business are going to fight at 145 pounds,” White told USA TODAY. “These guys are two of the most amazing, gravity-defying athletes in the sport. I am so pumped for this fight.”

All signs pointed to “Showtime” getting a long-awaited rematch with current UFC lightweight champ Benson Henderson after the innovative striker made short work of Donald Cerrone at UFC on FOX 6 10 days ago.

However, “Bendo” is already linked to a fight with former Strikeforce 155-pound kingpin Gilbert Melendez at UFC on FOX 7, which doesn’t take place until April.

Pettis, who has won three in a row and seven of his past eight fights, decided he didn’t feel like waiting to see the outcome of that bout and texted White after UFC 156, stating that he wants to fight Aldo instead.

Despite the fact that Pettis has fought all 18 of his professional fights at lightweight, the UFC’s head honcho clearly seemed keen on the idea.

Following the win over Edgar, Aldo has now won an impressive 15 bouts in a row, including six title defenses and eight finishes.

Outside of “The Answer,” no one has really presented any kind of a challenge to Aldo’s stand up, an area where Pettis clearly shines.

This match up leaves featherweight contenders Ricardo Lamas and Chan-Sung Jung, best known by his nickname, “The Korean Zombie,” on the outside looking in and quite possibly on a collision course to fight each other.

Should Pettis pull off the upset this summer, he’d like to head back to lightweight and become the first dual title holder in UFC history.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Melvin Manhoef Training with Black House, Would Welcome Shot at UFC, Bisping

Look out. Melvin Manhoef—one of the most dangerous knockout artists in MMA history—is in the United States. And he’s training with the vaunted Black House MMA team, the Brazil-based home of current and former champions like Anderson Silva, …

Could a UFC debut be far behind? Manhoef certainly seems to hope so.

“I think everyone would want to fight in the UFC,” Manhoef told journalist Ariel Helwani on Monday on The MMA Hour broadcast. “I’m a fighter who wants to entertain people, so for me it would be nice to fight in the UFC. If the chance is there I’m going to do it 100 percent. For every fighter it’s an achievement on his road.”

The new alliance began to coalesce about a year ago, when Manhoef said he started talking seriously with Black House co-founders Ed Soares and Jorge Guimaraes.

“Like a year ago, me and Ed and Jorge started to talk,” Manhoef said. “They said ‘yeah you have to come and train with us.’ They’re helping me now…we have a commitment with each other.”

A former kickboxer, Manhoef (27-9-1-1) has earned 25—or 93 percent—of his pro MMA wins by knockout or technical knockout. After going winless over a four-fight stretch between 2010 and 2012 and subsequently facing retirement questions, Manhoef, 36, won three straight in the final four months of 2012, capping the run on New Year’s Eve with a knee-to-the-body knockout of UFC and Pride veteran Denis Kang.

Despite having a pro MMA career reaching back to 1995, Manhoef has never fought in the UFC Octagon.

But the first order of business with Black House, Manhoef said, is helping new gym-mate Machida prepare for his light heavyweight showdown with bomber Dan Henderson at UFC 157. The training appears to be taking place at Black House MMA’s California facility.

Manhoef also confirmed during the interview that he is planning to fight April 5 under the ONE Fighting Championship banner.

Manhoef said he hopes to fight several times in 2013. And if the UFC comes calling, the Dutch-Surinamese middleweight said he would be well-prepared, despite being at an age that might suggest he’s past his prime in the sport. A substandard ground game has always been Manhoef’s main Achilles’ heel. Working with Black House jiu-jitsu standouts like Silva and Roger Gracie would surely help him on that front.

“I’m getting stronger every day,” Manhoef said. “My speed is not normal…My ground is getting better and I’m doing it more.”

Manhoef said he’s willing to fight at welterweight as well as his natural middleweight. Not surprisingly, he said that if he had his druthers, he’d opt for a slugfest in the UFC, suggesting matchups with noted strikers like Michael Bisping and Wanderlei Silva.

“I like to fight fighters who stand and brawl,” Manhoef said. “Bisping is one of those guys. Wanderlei is one of those guys.”

Manhoef, who said he has fights in the works with Polish promotion KSW as well as ONE FC, indicated that he is not contractually prohibited from competing in the Octagon.

“The only thing missing is the UFC,” Manhoef said. “If it happens it happens, and I want it to happen.”

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 156 Medical Suspensions: 3 Potential 6-Month Suspensions Given

Twenty-two fighters competed on Saturday’s UFC 156 fight card from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. NV. More than half of that number will have some unplanned time off before their next fight as the Nevada State Athletic Commission ha…

The lengths of the suspensions range from one month to an open-ended indefinite suspension. The lengthiest potential suspensions with a time attached to them are six months, which were handed down to three fighters.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira received the indefinite suspension due to a potential eye injury suffered during his bout with Rashad Evans. Nogueira won the bout, but was poked in the eye during the third round.

The six-month suspensions were given to Frankie Edgar, Evan Dunham and Francisco Rivera. Dunham and Rivera were victorious in their bouts, while Edgar dropped his five-round contest to Jose Aldo via unanimous decision.

Fighters that walked away without any medical time off are: Jose Aldo, Rashad Evans, Demain Maia, Jon Fitch, Ian McCall, Tyron Woodley, Bobby Green, Isaac Vallie-Flagg and Dustin Kimura.

Full UFC 156 Medical Suspensions (via MMAWeekly.com):

Frankie Edgar: Must have facial CT scan to rule out a left orbital fracture. If the CT scan is positive, then he must gain clearance by a maxilla-facial doctor or he is suspended until Aug. 2, 2013. He faces a minimum suspension until April 4 with no contact prior to March 20.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: Needs clearance by an ophthalmologist before his next fight due to a right eye injury.

Antonio Silva: Suspended until March 5 with no contact prior to Feb. 24 due to a chin laceration.

Alistair Overeem: Suspended until March 20 with no contact prior to March 5.

Joseph Benavidez: Suspended until Feb. 24 with no contact prior to Feb. 17 due to a forehead laceration.

Evan Dunham: Must have right orbital blowout fracture cleared by an ophthalmologist or plastic surgeon or he is suspended until Aug. 2. He faces a minimum suspension until April 4 with no contact prior to March 20.

Gleison Tibau: Suspended until Feb. 24 with no contact prior to Feb. 17.

Jay Hieron: Suspended until April 4 with no contact prior to March 20.

Jacob Volkmann: Suspended until March 5 with no contact prior to Feb. 24 due to right eye contusion.

Yves Edwards: Suspended until March 5 with no contact prior to Feb. 24 due to left eye laceration.

Chico Camus: Suspended until Feb. 24 with no contact prior to Feb. 17.

Francisco Rivera: Must have right hand/wrist x-rayed. If x-ray is positive, then he needs clearance by an orthopedic doctor or he is suspended until Aug. 2. He faces a minimum suspension until March 20 with no contact prior to March 5.

Edwin Figueroa: Suspended until Feb. 24 with no contact prior to Feb. 27 due to left eye laceration.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Official Rankings: Anderson Silva Leads, Jon Jones Tops Georges St-Pierre

Back when the UFC first announced that the company would be doing their own official rankings, there was a lot of speculation about where the top fighters would land.Now, we have our answer.In the first update to the rankings following UFC 156, the pou…

Back when the UFC first announced that the company would be doing their own official rankings, there was a lot of speculation about where the top fighters would land.

Now, we have our answer.

In the first update to the rankings following UFC 156, the pound-for-pound list is led by none other than middleweight champion Anderson Silva, with light heavyweight champion Jon Jones not far behind at the No. 2 position.

Here’s the pound-for-pound lineup so far, via the UFC’s official webpage:

1. Anderson Silva
2. Jon Jones
3. Georges St-Pierre
4. Jose Aldo
5. Benson Henderson
6. Cain Velasquez
7. Dominick Cruz
8. Demetrious Johnson
9. Frankie Edgar
10. Dan Henderson

Notably, UFC 156 co-headliner Frankie Edgar remains on the list, despite being on an 0-3 losing streak with two defeats to lightweight champion Benson Henderson and featherweight Champion Jose Aldo.

Additionally, interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao is the only UFC champion (besides Ronda Rousey) to not place on the company’s official pound-for-pound list, even though he holds a 30-fight unbeaten streak (29 wins, 1 no contest) since May 2005.

Oddly, Chael Sonnen is also absent from the update this week, with no ranking in the light heavyweight or middleweight division.

It should also be pointed out that some members of the media panel did not vote on every division, while others choose not to vote at all.

As noted by UFC president Dana White and official press releases, the UFC official rankings are judged by invitational voting from 90 members of the MMA media, with data supplied by FightMetric.

Updates to the rankings will be provided on Mondays after every major UFC event on pay-per-view, Fox, FX and Fuel TV.

Read up on the entire UFC’s official rankings to see where 88 other fighters ended up in the men’s divisions from heavyweight to flyweight, with a panelist breakdown right over here.

(Note: Since the women’s bantamweight division is still being built and has yet to host a bout, it is not yet represented in the UFC rankings.)

To provide general feedback regarding the latest round of official fighter rankings, you can send messages to the UFC’s official Twitter account or comment at the bottom of the rankings’ webpage by logging in with your Facebook account.

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Dana White: Cyborg vs. Ronda Rousey UFC Title Fight ‘Has to Go to 135 Pounds’

Stick a fork in it, folks. Negotiations for a UFC superfight between Ronda Rousey and Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino seem to be done for now.Unfortunately, the two top-ranked female MMA fighters in the world haven’t been able to agree on a set weight, as t…

Stick a fork in it, folks. Negotiations for a UFC superfight between Ronda Rousey and Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino seem to be done for now.

Unfortunately, the two top-ranked female MMA fighters in the world haven’t been able to agree on a set weight, as the massively-muscled Cyborg has continually states that a 140-pound limit is as low as she can physically go.

That’s not good enough for UFC president Dana White.

White, a firm supporter of Rousey, recently confirmed to MMA Junkie that while he’s still interested in making this fight happen, Cyborg likely won’t be fighting for a title if Rousey meets her at a 140-pound catchweight:

It’s not a title fight. If that’s what [Cyborg] is willing to do is go to 140, let’s let Ronda defend her title a few times and see if Ronda wants to go to 140. If I know Ronda, she probably would anyway, so let’s see what happens. But if [Cyborg] wants to fight for a title and have a title fight, she has to go to 135 pounds.

A fight at 140 would be a fan fight because everybody wants to see it, but it’s not one of those fights that makes sense.

White’s stance effectively kills a superfight between Rousey and Cyborg, although, it remains to be seen if the Brazilian will attempt to cut down to the 135-pound bantamweight limit.

It may be possible, as White previously told TATAME that famed MMA nutritionist Mike Dolce could possibly get Cyborg to trim the 10 pounds.

For her part, Cyborg and her trainer, Tito Ortiz, don’t seem to like this turn of events.

Taking to Instagram in response to White’s claims (via UFC Tonight) that Cyborg wanted “nothing” to do with Rousey, the former Strikeforce featherweight queen called her rival a “bitch,” challenging her to “step up” to 140 pounds.

Notably, Ortiz has also criticized Rousey on The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting) for buying into her own hype, opining that the UFC women’s champion “hasn’t proven anything” yet.

White’s response to Ortiz was explosive to say the least, as the UFC president slammed his former light heavyweight champion (via MMA Weekly), stating that Rousey’s early MMA career “smokes” Ortiz’s own achievements by comparison.

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist and FightFans Radio writer. His work has appeared in GamePro, Macworld and PC World. Talk with him on Twitter.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Anthony Pettis Wants Jose Aldo and Benson Henderson in Back to Back Fights

Anthony Pettis is on a mission to be considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, and he’s willing to do two consecutive title fights to prove it. On Saturday night just moments after Jose Aldo defeated Frankie Edgar at UFC 156, UF…

Anthony Pettis is on a mission to be considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, and he’s willing to do two consecutive title fights to prove it.

On Saturday night just moments after Jose Aldo defeated Frankie Edgar at UFC 156, UFC President Dana White announced that he received a text message from Pettis asking to face Aldo next for the featherweight title.

It was an interesting moment, because Pettis is already in line for the next crack at the UFC lightweight title, but instead of waiting until current champion Benson Henderson battles Gilbert Melendez in April at UFC on Fox 7, he wants to keep busy and challenge a fighter of the caliber of Jose Aldo.

“Aldo is a great fighter, pound-for-pound one of the best fighters in the world, and I want to be on that list. The only way for me to be on that list is to beat somebody out of my weight class, and I think me and Aldo makes sense, cause I’m stuck waiting for the lightweight belt,” Pettis told Bleacher Report on Monday.

“I wouldn‘t drop down to featherweight and try to stay down there and keep the belt, I just want to fight Aldo, and it makes sense for me to drop down and try to fight him for his belt.”

There was a brief time in 2012 when Pettis was stuck waiting for a fight where he contemplated a move to 145 pounds, but because his teammate, Erik Koch was already in line to face Aldo, he opted against it out of respect for his friend and teammate.

“The thought crossed my mind, but I wouldn’t do it before because of Erik Koch,” said Pettis. “I wouldn‘t disrespect a teammate like that, and I didn’t even want to entertain the thought, I would have to disrespect my training partner. After the fight with (Ricardo) Lamas, it’s going to be a couple more fights before he’s there for a title shot, and it works for me, cause I’m stuck waiting for Gilbert Melendez and Benson Henderson, and I just fought, and I think the timing’s perfect for a super fight.”

The other major factor for Pettis‘ decision to ask for Jose Aldo comes down to his body being ready to fight. The former WEC champion was forced to sit out the biggest part of the last year because of shoulder surgery.

Now that he’s healthy, Pettis is hungry to stay busy and active, and maybe even add a couple of titles to his resume by the end of 2013.

“While I’m waiting, let me get the super fight. My biggest thing is I’m healthy. Last year I was stuck waiting, I had one fight last year, and I want to fight three or four times, and I want big fights. I think the world wants to see that fight. It has the makings for fight of the year or fight of the decade, and you put two guys like us in there, it’s going to be nothing but fireworks,” Pettis stated.

“I don’t want to leave my division, this is my home, I’ve been making a name for myself in the 155-pound division, I feel like I’m the No. 1 contender, but while I’m stuck waiting, why not do this super fight.”

Regardless of the potential fight with Aldo, Pettis isn’t giving up on facing UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson later this year either. He feels there is some unfinished business to handle there, so that’s not escaping his to-do list.

Pettis defeated Henderson in the final WEC fight ever in 2010, but now his former foe has the UFC lightweight title around his waist, so he’d love the chance to face him and beat him again.

“For sure I want to fight Ben Henderson. Ben Henderson is a guy that’s on my list, but he already had a bout contract signed, he’s fighting Gilbert Melendez, and unfortunately for me it’s a couple of months away. I’ve been here before, you never know what happens in these situations. Somebody gets hurt, somebody else makes a name for themselves. I’m going to try to make something happen before somebody gets in my way again,” said Pettis.

If Pettis really does want to end up as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in MMA, there may not be a faster path than beating the featherweight and lightweight champions inside of one year.

He’s ready for the challenge, and Pettis is excited to silence any critics left out there that don’t think he can pull it off. Give him the chance, and Anthony Pettis is ready to prove it.

“I’m the No. 1 contender at 155, but I’m just that guy, I want to fight. I don’t want to be chained to the sidelines. I hate sitting around watching everybody else get to fight. I’m healthy right now, my last fight was like two minutes long and I want to continue. That’s what I set out to do, I had a rough last two years, and I know my potential.

“Everybody’s had their opinions—Pettis is overrated, Pettis is this, Pettis is that—and what better way to shut everybody up and prove everybody wrong [than] by fighting for both these titles.”

Damon Martin is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes obtained first hand by Bleacher Report MMA unless otherwise noted.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com