Michihiro Omigawa Discusses Return to UFC, State of Japanese MMA

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LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to Michihiro Omigawa about his return to the Octagon against Chad Mendes at UFC 126. The Japanese MMA star talked about why he chose to come back to the UFC now, how he has improved as a fighter since dropping down to featherweight and the state of Japanese MMA.

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LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting spoke to Michihiro Omigawa about his return to the Octagon against Chad Mendes at UFC 126. The Japanese MMA star talked about why he chose to come back to the UFC now, how he has improved as a fighter since dropping down to featherweight and the state of Japanese MMA.

Chad Mendes Shares Game Plan for UFC 126 Fight Against Omigawa

Filed under: UFCFeatherweight Chad Mendes was “stoked” when he was offered Japanese star Michihiro Omigawa for his UFC debut this Saturday at UFC 126 in Las Vegas.

“I think for me it’s a perfect matchup,” Mendes said Monday on The MMA Hour. “Omigawa i…

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Featherweight Chad Mendes was “stoked” when he was offered Japanese star Michihiro Omigawa for his UFC debut this Saturday at UFC 126 in Las Vegas.

“I think for me it’s a perfect matchup,” Mendes said Monday on The MMA Hour. “Omigawa is the type of guy that likes to get his hands on you, he needs to bear hug to take you down to the mat.”

The MMA Hour With Daley, Mendes, Johnson, Mitrione and Bahadurzada

Filed under: MMA Videos, UFC, Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, VideosThe MMA Hour is back in your life on Monday with another two-hour live episode. On this week’s show we will be talking to:

* Welterweight Paul Daley on his upcoming BAMMA 5 fight and…

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The MMA Hour is back in your life on Monday with another two-hour live episode. On this week’s show we will be talking to:

* Welterweight Paul Daley on his upcoming BAMMA 5 fight and his future in Strikeforce.

* Featherweight Chad Mendes, who faces Michihiro Omigawa at UFC 126 on Saturday night.

* DaMarques Johnson about his Fight for the Troops 2 win over Mike Guymon.

* Siyar Bahadurzada about his contract issues with Strikeforce and what’s next for him.

* As always, Matt Mitrione will stop by to deliver his ever popular “Mitrione Minute.”

* MMA Fighting’s Ben Fowlkes will look back on Saturday’s Strikeforce event and ahead to UFC 126.

And of course, we’ll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193 or 212-254-0237.

Watch the show live below beginning at 1 PM ET / 10 AM PT. Download previous episodes of The MMA Hour on iTunes here.

MMA Top 10 Featherweights: New Year, New Faces

Filed under: DREAM, UFC, Sengoku, Featherweights
An injury forced featherweight champion Jose Aldo to drop out of his scheduled fight at UFC 125, and while Aldo was on the sideline for New Year’s, the featherweight division underwent some radical chang…

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An injury forced featherweight champion Jose Aldo to drop out of his scheduled fight at UFC 125, and while Aldo was on the sideline for New Year’s, the featherweight division underwent some radical changes.

The New Year’s cards for the UFC, Dream and Sengoku all had big featherweight fights that featured several surprise results, and now that the dust has settled, the featherweight division looks a whole lot different heading into 2011 than it did for most of 2010 — with the exception, of course, that Aldo is still the king.

Check out our rankings of the rest of the featherweight division below.

Falling Action: Best and Worst of WEC 52

Filed under: WECWhen the WEC disappears from the series of tubes and dishes that comprise cable TV at the end of this year, there’s some stuff I certainly won’t miss. The local news quality graphics, the budget-saver production values, the pint-sized p…

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When the WEC disappears from the series of tubes and dishes that comprise cable TV at the end of this year, there’s some stuff I certainly won’t miss. The local news quality graphics, the budget-saver production values, the pint-sized paychecks – all that can be easily forgotten.

But, as WEC 52 showed on Thursday night, the loss of this guaranteed night of action-packed fights on free TV is something that’s going to leave a void in our lives. Once again the little fighters delivered, bringing us several entertaining scraps for 145 pounds or less. For consistent quality of performances over the years, no organization has delivered like the WEC.

Getting the call to move up to the big show is good for the fighters and their bank accounts, as well as the sport in general, but it’s still bittersweet for those of us who are only now realizing how much we took for granted over the years.

But enough brooding, on to the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between from WEC 52.