Tag: George Sotiropoulos

MMA Top 10 Lightweights: Edgar Is the Best, Maynard on His Heels

Filed under: DREAM, UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, LightweightsNo one can doubt Frankie Edgar anymore.

After Edgar beat B.J. Penn by unanimous decision in April, a lot of people believed that the fight was a fluke, that the judges erred, and that Penn wa…

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No one can doubt Frankie Edgar anymore.

After Edgar beat B.J. Penn by unanimous decision in April, a lot of people believed that the fight was a fluke, that the judges erred, and that Penn was still the best lightweight in mixed martial arts. But now that Edgar has defeated Penn once again at UFC 118, there’s no room for debate: Edgar is the undisputed champion.

Except that Edgar has one loss on his record, and that one loss is to Gray Maynard, who has been anointed the next challenger to Edgar’s title. Maynard could make a case that he deserves to be considered the top fighter in the division, but unless he makes that case again in the cage, I’m sticking with Edgar at No. 1. The rest of the rankings are below.

Exclusive: Kurt Pellegrino to Train Rocky 4-Style With GSP’s Camp in Montreal for Next Fight

(I understand having to run in the cold, but why do I have to wear these thrift store clothes to do it?) 
Prior to his UFC 116 bout with George Sotiropoulos, Kurt Pellegrino raised a lot of eyebrows when he proclaimed that if he lost the fight, …


(I understand having to run in the cold, but why do I have to wear these thrift store clothes to do it?) 

Prior to his UFC 116 bout with George Sotiropoulos, Kurt Pellegrino raised a lot of eyebrows when he proclaimed that if he lost the fight, he would promptly retire from the sport. 

At only 31-years of age, it isn’t like Pellegrino’s best years were behind him — in fact, some might argue that he is better than he ever was, which made his vow even more newsworthy.

Following the fight, Pellegrino, who held his own in the bout and nearly finished Sotiropoulos at the final bell, revealed that he had torn his meniscus and ACL in the first round of the fight and that he wasn’t goin’ out on a loss that just didn’t sit well.

We spoke to Kurt yesterday to discuss the fight, the injury and the surgery he has to undergo as well as his roles as a fighter and family man and his future in the sport.

The interview is after the jump.

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Armchair Matchmaker: UFC 116 Edition

(Chris Leben wades through punches at UFC 116 like a drunk man on steroids. Oh. Sorry, dude. Bad choice of words. / Photo courtesy of LasVegasSun.com)
Brock Lesnar already has a date with Cain Velasquez — potentially at UFC 119 in September &m…

Chris Leben UFC 116 punch face mma photos
(Chris Leben wades through punches at UFC 116 like a drunk man on steroids. Oh. Sorry, dude. Bad choice of words. / Photo courtesy of LasVegasSun.com)

Brock Lesnar already has a date with Cain Velasquez — potentially at UFC 119 in September — but the fates of all the other winners and losers from Saturday night are still up in the air. So let’s run down a few of the notables and try to determine who they should take on next. You’re really gonna have to start paying us, Joe.

Shane Carwin: Word on the street is that the winner of Junior Dos Santos vs. Roy Nelson at UFC 117 will receive the next heavyweight title shot after Velasquez, which means the loser could be a good opponent for Carwin’s return fight. Cigano and Big Country are both skilled enough to drag Carwin into round 2, where he’ll either crumble again, or prove to everyone that cardio is not his achilles heel.

Chris Leben: He called out Wanderlei Silva following his unbelievable submission victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama, and the Axe Murderer is down with it. Seems like a no-brainer to us. Who wouldn’t want to see two of the UFC’s most beloved brawlers beat the stuffing out of each other? Dana White says he wants to have Leben fight again soon rather than have him sit out the rest of the year while Silva’s knee heals up. But after two fights in two weeks (and $100,000 in bonus money), we think Leben could use a nice vacation.

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George Sotiropoulos: ‘I’m Here to Stay’

Filed under: MMA Videos, UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, VideosLAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting caught up with George Sotiropoulos in his locker room following his UFC 116 win over Kurt Pellegrino Saturday night.

The Australian talked about executing the perfect ga…

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LAS VEGAS — MMA Fighting caught up with George Sotiropoulos in his locker room following his UFC 116 win over Kurt Pellegrino Saturday night.

The Australian talked about executing the perfect game plan in the fight, gaining confidence due to having his trainer Eddie Bravo in his corner, his place in the lightweight division and what he thinks the UFC will do with him next.

Check out the video interview below.

UFC 116 Post-Fight Press Conference

(Now who’s laughing? I mean at my MMA career, not my tattoo.)Just a reminder that we will have the post-fight presser right here at approximately 1:00am ET.
Will Chris Leben get Submission of the Night and Wanderlei Silva as his next opponent?
Wi…


(Now who’s laughing? I mean at my MMA career, not my tattoo.)

Just a reminder that we will have the post-fight presser right here at approximately 1:00am ET.

Will Chris Leben get Submission of the Night and Wanderlei Silva as his next opponent?

Will Sotiropoulos-Pellegrino or Soszynski-Bonnar get fight of the night?

Will Gerald Harris get Knockout of the Night for his slam KO of David Branch or will Dana give it to a main card fighter?

Who is getting dropped and who is getting a title shot next?

All of these questions and more will be answered below.

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Writer vs. Fighter: UFC 116 Predictions With Mike Swick

Filed under: UFCAfter finishing 10th out of over 2500 competitors in last week’s World Series of Poker, UFC fighter Mike Swick must be feeling pretty lucky. Either that, or he was not intimidated by my 0-3 record in Writer vs. Fighter and saw a chance …

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After finishing 10th out of over 2500 competitors in last week’s World Series of Poker, UFC fighter Mike Swick must be feeling pretty lucky. Either that, or he was not intimidated by my 0-3 record in Writer vs. Fighter and saw a chance for an easy victory. Whatever the reason, Swick was gracious enough to agree to face me in a UFC 116 prediction contest this afternoon, and for that I thank him.

I may have gotten smoked by “Babalu” Sobral in last week’s match-up, but I’m trying to stay positive. I figure it can only help me that I got Swick to make his predictions after he’d stayed up until 5 a.m. playing poker in Las Vegas, where he says he’s been doing “very well.”

Well Mr. Swick, prepare to have your fortunes changed. Maybe. Hopefully.