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Kenny Florian Makes Featherweight Debut at UFC 131

Filed under: UFC, NewsFormer top lightweight contender Kenny Florian will make his featherweight debut at UFC 131.

Florian said earlier this month he would be dropping down to featherweight, and his first test will come against Diego Nunes. Florian m…

Filed under: UFC, News

Former top lightweight contender Kenny Florian will make his featherweight debut at UFC 131.

Florian said earlier this month he would be dropping down to featherweight, and his first test will come against Diego Nunes. Florian made the announcement on ESPN’s “MMA Live” late Friday night. As he did Friday, Florian often serves as co-host of the show.

“It’s a new challenge,” Florian said of the drop in divisions. “I’ve never been afraid of a new challenge. I see it as an exciting opportunity to possibly face what in my opinion is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, which is Jose Aldo. He’s a tremendous fighter and I have a lot of respect for that guy. (But) I still have an opponent before I get there.”

Video: MMA Live with Bjorn Rebney, Rashad Evans and Kenny Florian

(Video courtesy ESPN)
If you missed last night’s episode of MMA Live, not to worry, we got you covered, mang.
If you couldn’t be bothered to actually watch it and expect us to give you the pertinent stuff in a nutshell, we got you covered there, too.He…

(Video courtesy ESPN)

If you missed last night’s episode of MMA Live, not to worry, we got you covered, mang.

If you couldn’t be bothered to actually watch it and expect us to give you the pertinent stuff in a nutshell, we got you covered there, too.

Here’s what you missed:

– Kenny Florian says he would be interested in a fight with Jim Miller at UFC 129 in Toronto if his injured knee (which did not require surgery to repair a torn meniscus and ACL) heals in time.

– Bjorn Rebney says that the new Bellator deal with MTV will ensure that their events are not pre-empted if they go over their broadcast time, which will be the same each week.

– Rebney also said that despite his efforts the Strikeforce co-promoted Gilbert Melendez-Eddie Alvarez match-up is pretty much dead in the water at this point.

– Junior Dos Santos has been training his Muay Thai with Brandon Vera at Alliance in San Diego.

– Dos Santos has said that he is planning to keep his championship bout with UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez (which is rumored to be slated for the April show in Toronto) standing.

– Both Rashad Evans and Ken-Flo believe that their teammate Georges St-Pierre will fight Jake Shields in Toronto.

ESPN Report Incorrect According To UFC: Matt Brown Has Not Been Released

Earlier this week, ESPN’s MMA Live reported that Matt “The Immortal” Brown had been cut by the UFC following his third straight loss. It seems as if the “worldwide leader” jumped the gun on Brown’s release. Ariel Helwani posted the following on his Twitter feed after other sites picked up the ESPN report, “FYI – Matt […]

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ESPN Report Incorrect According To UFC: Matt Brown Has Not Been Released

UFC 122 Marquardt vs. Okami on ESPN: TV Review

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to Germany this past Saturday night as Nate Marquardt faced Yushin Okami in the main event of UFC 122, shown live on ESPN here in Britain.
The broadcast began with welterweight action as Duane Ludwig faced Ni…

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UFC 122 Marquardt vs. Okami on ESPN: TV Review

ESPN Host’s Remark That UFC is Starting Its Own TV Network Fuels Speculation That Announcement is Imminent

It may have been a speculative remark fueled by an interview Dana White did with Broadcasting Cable this week in which the UFC president intimated that his promotion was considering starting its own television network, but to many MMA news sites, an eight-second conversation the hosts of ESPN’s Pardon The Interruption show had on the subject yesterday was enough to prompt speculation that this is the major announcement that will be made during today’s media conference call.

Here’s what White told BC’s Ben Grossman:

"A lot of people don’t realize we are in a half a billion homes around the world. You know all the things we’ve been through in the United States, but this sport travels well. Cricket will never be big here and the NFL will never be big around the world. But we are all human beings and fighting is in our DNA. We get it and we like it. So we are working on a couple moves now and should be in a billion homes around the world in the next couple months. Sports Business Journal just came out with a survey asking big names in the industry which sport could start its own network and 4 out of 5 said us. They are right. I agree. That will happen within the next couple years.You are starting to see now ESPN is starting to cover us more. I think this is one of those things ESPN will probably kick themselves in 10 years saying, ‘We could have fucking had that.’"

It is possible that if it is true that ESPN got wind of the news, considering they have a deal to broadcast UFC events and to produce satellite pre and post-event MMA Live programs, but it’s more likely that PTI is just throwing the scenario out there to create dialogue on the possibility.

Dana Vlog: The Boss Pals Around at the Worldwide Leader

(VidProps: YouTube/UFC)
One of the things the mainstream media loves to crow about Dana White is that he appeals to MMA fans because we view him as a “normal guy” who talks like we talk, dresses like we dress and isn’t afraid to spe…

(VidProps: YouTube/UFC)

One of the things the mainstream media loves to crow about Dana White is that he appeals to MMA fans because we view him as a “normal guy” who talks like we talk, dresses like we dress and isn’t afraid to speak his mind when the time comes. Of course, like a lot of things the mainstream media says about our sport, that’s total bullshit. There’s nothing “normal” about Dana White. Normal guys don’t take their kids to Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory for their birthdays, flit around on private planes or have sit downs with Mike Tyson.

In fact, one of the main reasons to like Dana White is that he’s not a normal guy. One of the reasons to like Big DW is that after the mainstream media told MMA fans to collectively go fuck themselves for, oh, about a decade Dana White smiled at them and basically said, “You’ll be begging me to be on your shows someday.” You know what? That cocky fucker was right, and it’s hard not to admire him for it. As evidence, witness DW’s new video blog, where he’s basically given the run of ESPN’s Bristol, Conn. “campus” for a day while he’s out promoting UFC 118.