Tag: gilbert melendez

Four Rubber Matches That Absolutely Need to Happen

(We should all be that fired up, at least once in our lives. Props: UFC.com)
When BJ Penn knocked out Matt Hughes at UFC 123, one of the greatest rivalries in MMA history finally got its conclusion. And while not every two-fight series needs an immed…

BJ Penn UFC 123
(We should all be that fired up, at least once in our lives. Props: UFC.com)

When BJ Penn knocked out Matt Hughes at UFC 123, one of the greatest rivalries in MMA history finally got its conclusion. And while not every two-fight series needs an immediate tie-breaker — the Internet has already informed Dana White what we think of Lesnar vs. Mir III — there’s something incredibly dramatic and satisfying about a good rubber-match. Off the top of our heads, here’s a few others we’d like to see…

Jason "Mayhem" Miller vs. Tim Kennedy
Tim Kennedy Jason Mayhem Miller MMA photos
History: Kennedy def. Miller via decision @ Extreme Challenge 50 (2/23/03), Miller def. Kennedy via decision @ HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon (12/15/07)
Why it needs to happen again: Look, I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for Jason Miller to agree to a catchweight fight with Nick Diaz under 185 pounds. Mayhem hasn’t even fought for Strikeforce since he squashed Tim Stout in April, and Kennedy is still without an opponent himself after dropping a decision to Jacare Souza in August — and he’s already mentioned that he wants another go-round with Mayhem. Strikeforce has two talented, unattached middleweights at their disposal with a storyline already in place. It doesn’t take rocket appliances to figure this out, guys.

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Jake Shields on Beating Kampmann, UFC Title Shot, Facing GSP and More

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, interviewAfter over a decade winning titles around the world, Jake Shields finally made a trip down the aisle to the octagon at last Saturday night’s UFC 121. Squaring off against the underrated Martin Kampmann, Sh…

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After over a decade winning titles around the world, Jake Shields finally made a trip down the aisle to the octagon at last Saturday night’s UFC 121. Squaring off against the underrated Martin Kampmann, Shields held off a major scare before prevailing via split decision in the night’s co-main event.

With the win, Shields is likely to finally get a crack at UFC gold when he faces the winner of December’s Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck welterweight title match in 2011.

Shields spoke to MMA Fighting about the victory, weight issues and back problems, the possibility of bringing his Cesar Gracie teammates to UFC , and the prospect of facing St. Pierre on enemy territory.

Eddie Alvarez Confronts Scott Coker About Gilbert Melendez Fight

Filed under: Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, Bellator

On Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour, we put Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker together in the virtual same room because Alvarez was looking to find out wh…

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On Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour, we put Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker together in the virtual same room because Alvarez was looking to find out why a super-fight against Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez wasn’t being made.

Alvarez appeared to be a annoyed that Melendez was calling him out, so he put the pressure on Coker to find out the real story behind this potential co-promotional bout. Watch the segment above.

The MMA Hour With Dan Hardy, Gilbert Melendez, Mark Hunt, Marcus Aurelio

Filed under: DREAM, UFC, Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, VideosThe MMA Hour returns Monday with another live, loaded episode. Below is a look at who will be appearing on the show.

* “The Outlaw” Dan Hardy will stop by to talk about his UFC 120 fight …

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The MMA Hour returns Monday with another live, loaded episode. Below is a look at who will be appearing on the show.

* “The Outlaw” Dan Hardy will stop by to talk about his UFC 120 fight against Carlos Condit and the recent news he made when discussing the state of wrestling in MMA.

* Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez will discuss when he expects to defend his title again.

* MMA veteran Mark Hunt will weigh-in on his Octagon debut at UFC 119 this weekend and how he ended up with the organization.

* And Marcus Aurelio will preview his DREAM.16 fight against Shinya Aoki and explain why he had to pull out of last week’s Shine Fights event.

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

Download this show and previous episodes of The MMA Hour on iTunes here.

The MMA Hour begins below beginning at 1 PM ET.

Sarah Kaufman Says Fighters Need to Stand Up for What They Deserve

Filed under: StrikeforceStrikeforce 135-pound women’s champion Sarah Kaufman will get her wish when she takes on Marloes Coenen on the main card of Strikeforce’s next big Showtime event on October 9 in San Jose, and she has no regrets about what she ha…

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Strikeforce 135-pound women’s champion Sarah Kaufman will get her wish when she takes on Marloes Coenen on the main card of Strikeforce’s next big Showtime event on October 9 in San Jose, and she has no regrets about what she had to do to make it happen.

“I think it’s important for fighters to stand up for what they deserve,” Kaufman said on Friday afternoon’s Strikeforce media call, responding to questions about her post-fight remarks following a victory over Roxanne Modafferi on a Strikeforce Challengers card in July.

“You don’t want to make your organization look bad, but if your issue needs to be said, I’m happy I said what I said and I think my fight kind of backed that up,” Kaufman added. “Whether it was me talking or the fans reacting or the fight itself getting highlighted on ESPN, I think they all worked together in helping push the division and have a title [fight] on the main card.”

That title fight pits the undefeated Kaufman against a Dutch challenger who posted a loss in her last outing – a 145-pound title scrap against Strikeforce champ Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos – only don’t try telling Coenen that she doesn’t deserve back-to-back title shots in different divisions.

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.