fight bookings | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

Tim Boetsch Has Slugged/Talked His Way Into a Meeting With Michael Bisping at UFC 148

(Jeez…relax, Tim. It’s not like you rolled a ball into some pins or anything.)

Following his monumental comeback win over Yushin Okami at UFC 144 — you know, the one that made Joe Rogan soak his seat? — Tim Boetsch respectfully called out Michael Bisping, telling MMA Junkie Radio: “I had wanted to fight [Bisping] even when we were both back at light heavyweight. I’ve had an eye on him…For some reason, I think Bisping rubs a lot of people the wrong way. That’s not the reason I want to fight him, though. I want to fight him because he’s ranked higher than me. I think I can take that from him…I like being the underdog. I like going into somebody else’s house and knowing everybody wants the other guy to win…That fires me up and gets me excited.”

At the time, we let this little tidbit pass us by without mention because come on, Bisping vs. Boetsch? It’s exactly the kind of fight that the Count would turn up his well-bred nose at. But according to the UFC, it’s actually happening. The fight is slated to be on the main card of UFC 148 (July 7th, Las Vegas), which already features Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le, and a cruel bantamweight mismatch between Renan Barao and Jeff Hougland.

(Jeez…relax, Tim. It’s not like you rolled a ball into some pins or anything.)

For Tim Boetsch (now 3-0 as a UFC middleweight), the July matchup is a chance to launch himself in the upper ranks of MMA competition for the first time in his five-year career. For Michael Bisping, it’s yet another opportunity to insult a surging veteran for not being on his level before inevitably kicking the snot out of him. (See also: Jason Miller, Jorge Rivera.) Bisping’s last performance, a unanimous decision loss to Chael Sonnen at UFC on FOX 2, snapped a four-fight win streak for the Count. He’s never lost two consecutive fights in his entire career. Let the colorfully-accented trash-talk begin…

Edson Barboza vs. Evan Dunham Booked for UFC 146 in Las Vegas

(In Brazil, it’s customary to destroy your own cornermen with flying knees after an impressive victory.)

With a flawless 10-0 record, three Fight of the Night awards, and a legendary spinning wheel-kick knockout of Terry Etim in his last performance, Brazilian lightweight Edson Barboza is arguably the greatest undefeated prospect on the UFC’s roster. And he’ll be going for his fifth win in the Octagon on May 26th, when he faces Evan Dunham at UFC 146 in Las Vegas. UFC president Dana White confirmed the pairing yesterday via Twitter.

Dunham, who was a much-hyped undefeated prospect himself at one time, is back on the upswing after compiling back-to-back victories against Shamar Bailey and Nik Lentz, which snapped a two-fight losing streak. Dunham’s biggest advantage against Barboza should be on the mat, but if he can’t get the fight there, he’ll be in for a long, painful night, full of feet flying at his face and shins slamming into his thighs. Anybody think Evan can derail the Edson Barboza hype-train?

(In Brazil, it’s customary to destroy your own cornermen with flying knees after an impressive victory.)

Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller Booked for ‘UFC on FOX 3?, May 5th in New Jersey

(Nate Diaz poses with future UFC bantamweight champ Ronnie Ortiz-Magro.)

The UFC confirmed this morning that their third FOX show will take place May 5 at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. Though it hasn’t been officially marked as the headliner, a high-profile lightweight bout between Nate Diaz and Jim Miller will be featured on the main card.

Diaz is coming off a three-round domination of Donald Cerrone at UFC 141 — arguably the greatest performance of his career — making it two wins in a row for Diaz since he returned to lightweight last fall. Meanwhile, New Jersey native Jim Miller bounced back to the win column last Friday with a first-round submission of Melvin Guillard, proving that he still belongs among the division’s elite. Though the fight probably isn’t a #1 contender’s match, it’ll certainly bump the winner very close to a title shot. Fun fact: In 27 combined UFC fights, neither man has ever been stopped.

(Nate Diaz poses with future UFC bantamweight champ Ronnie Ortiz-Magro.)

In other UFC on FOX 3 booking news…

Also returning to the cage on May 5th is TUF 14 bantamweight winner John Dodson, who will be dropping back down to 125 pounds for his first post-TUF appearance. His opponent will be Darren Uyenoyama, who will also be dropping to flyweight after outpointing Norifumi Yamamoto in a bantamweight bout during his Octagon debut on the “UFC on FOX 1″ undercard. We’re pulling for Dodson here, just so we can see the victory celebration.

Report: Keith Jardine to Challenge for Strikeforce Middleweight Title, Because Who Even Cares at This Point

(Unlicensed plastic surgery: It rarely works out the way you want it to.)

As we mentioned yesterday, Strikeforce is clinging on to life despite the fact that their biggest stars have either been poached or are on hiatus from fighting, and their championship belts now have less legitimacy than that chick’s doo-doo back tattoo. So how sketchy have things gotten over there? This sketchy:

Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is slated to defend his belt against former UFC veteran Keith Jardine on Jan. 7, MMA Fighting has confirmed with sources close to the fight. The title fight is expected to headline the organization’s first event at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino…Rockhold was expected to meet Tim Kennedy in his first title defense, but according to sources, Kennedy couldn’t commit to the fight due to an undisclosed injury.

(Unlicensed plastic surgery: It rarely works out the way you want it to.)

Keep in mind that Jardine is 0-0 as a middleweight, and 0-0-1 under the Strikeforce banner, with his only SF appearance resulting in an ugly (and sort of undeserved) draw against Gegard Mousasi. And yet he’s the best available contender to Luke Rockhold’s belt? Considering who Strikeforce still has left on their middleweight roster, he very well might be — but it’s still the kind of matchup that makes a strong argument for non-title fights.

I hate to see the once-proud Strikeforce promotion limping along like this. It’s time to take Lenny out to the woods, so to speak.

Takanori Gomi vs. George Sotiropoulos Added to UFC 144 in Japan

(Gomi Head approves of this matchup. Props: Dallas Winston.)

Takanori Gomi‘s run in the UFC has resulted in an underwhelming 1-3 record, marked by submission losses to Kenny Florian, Clay Guida, and Nate Diaz. But it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the UFC is giving the Fireball Kid one more try in front of his home country’s fans — or at least the ones who will be dragging ass to the Saitama Super Arena early enough to catch the prelims.

The UFC has confirmed that Gomi will return at UFC 144 on February 26th, against Aussie grappling specialist George Sotiropoulos, who’s also had a rough go of it lately. After going 7-0 in the Octagon following his stint on TUF 6, Sotiropoulos is now riding back-to-back losses against Dennis Siver and Rafael Dos Anjos. In other words, jobs could be on the line here.

Gomi vs. GSots brings the UFC 144 card up to 12 star-studded fights, including the lightweight title headliner between Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson, and bouts featuring Quinton Jackson, Cheick Kongo, Jake Shields, Joe Lauzon, and Yushin Okami. Check out the current lineup after the jump, before injuries blow it all to hell.

(Gomi Head approves of this matchup. Props: Dallas Winston.)

MAIN CARD
Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson (for lightweight championship)
Quinton Jackson vs. Ryan Bader (LHW)
Cheick Kongo vs. Mark Hunt (HW)
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields (WW)
Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon (LW)

PRELIMINARY CARD
Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch (MW)
Riki Fukuda vs. Steve Cantwell (MW)
Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Vaughan Lee (BW)
Takeya Mizugaki vs. Chris Cariaso (BW)
Takanori Gomi vs. George Sotiropoulos (LW)
Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski (FW)
Tiequan Zhang vs. Leonard Garcia (FW)

Awesomely, Minowaman Will Be Fighting Kendall Grove in Hawaii

(Avenge us, Kendall. AVENGE US.)

Remember yesterday when we found that amazing drawing of Ikuhisa Minowa fighting Godzilla, and used it as an excuse to run a relatively pointless post confirming that Minowaman would not, in fact, be fighting Brian Stann at UFC 144? Man, the crazy antics we get up to when nobody’s watching.

The thing is, we actually have some legit news to pass along about DREAM’s reigning Super Hluk [sic] champion. MMAFighting is reporting that Minowa will make his U.S. MMA debut at ProElite 3 (January 21st, Honolulu) where he’ll face rangy UFC veteran Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove. Okay, so it’s not the kind of freak-show matchup we’re used to seeing from Minowaman — but at least Grove is really tall for a middleweight.

(Avenge us, Kendall. AVENGE US.)

After being released by the UFC earlier this year following back-to-back decision losses to Demian Maia and Tim Boetsch, Grove rebounded at Pro Elite 1 in August, choking out Joe Riggs in 59 seconds. Meanwhile, Minowa has won his last four fights in Japan against opponents who had a combined record of 4-4-1 and a combined weight of 869 pounds.

Minowa has reportedly signed a three-fight North American exclusive deal with ProElite. His debut appearance at ProElite 3 will be just the third time that Minowa has competed outside of Asia in his 91-fight career, and his first fight in the United States. And here’s another fun fact that I just learned on his Wikipedia page: Ikuhisa Minowa put together a record of 1-8-1 in his first ten fights. And now he’s a minor MMA legend. The moral of the story? Don’t give up, Lionheart.