Tag: MMA News

Former UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk is a possible opponent for up and coming fighter Evan Dunham at UFC 119 which is currently scheduled for Indiana on September 25 as reported by MMAWeekly.

Dunham is a more than worthy opponent and is currently riding a four fight win streak including a great victory over Tyson Griffin. Dunham has not tasted defeat yet in his career and a win over Sherk would be huge towards a push at the lightweight title.

Sherk, once one of the most feared fighters in the UFC lightweight division, has been injured for at least a year, and coupled with his last fight being a loss, seems to be moving towards becoming a gatekeeper for the lightweight division. A solid win against Dunham would certainly make a strong case for him to move up the ladder towards an eventual shot at the lightweight title.

Former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Josh Thomson thinks that UFC champion Brock Lesnar only has a puncher’s chance of beating Cain Velasquez, who is a teammate of his at AKA in San Jose. Thomson, who’s coming off a submission victory over Pat Healy despite breaking two ribs early in the bout, recently used Facebook to express his thoughts on the upcoming(though there’s no date decided) heavyweight bout:

“Cain is wrestling every day with this years NCAA Div 1 national champ from MO. who is about 280lbs and let me tell you that Cain coming off a knee surgery 4wks ago is getting takedowns just fine as well as not losing any. Cain is a better wrestler/striker/MMA fighter than Brock but like you said, Brock is bigger with a huge punch. That is the only chance I give Brock though is a punchers chance cuz I don’t see him holding Cain down “IF” he can get the takedown.”

Lesnar vs. Velasquez should be an interesting fight, with MMA fans lining up to tout the virtues of both fighters. No official word on when it will take place, with UFC hoping for September but Lesnar seeming to want to take some time to be with family, and for farming. We’ll keep you up to date.

It’s been some time since we’ve heard anything from Lyoto Machida’s camp, with Machida taking some time to get things organized after losing his championship to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Now, his manager Ed Soares, recently talked to MMAWeekly about his fighter, and to let people know that not only is Machida training, but that he’s ready.

Machida is no doubt looking at a rematch with Shogun, as the record puts them at one even(though most MMA fans disagree giving it a clean 2-0 sweep to Shogun) but with Rua being out of action until next March it seems that Soares is looking for other options. Two interesting names are Rich “Ace” Franklin and Vitor Belfort:

“That could be a big fight. At the end of the day that’s the first guy who gave Rich Franklin his first loss, maybe Rich Franklin would like to avenge that. That could be a good fight.”

“You know what I think would be interesting is how about a Vitor Belfort? Vitor Belfort/Lyoto Machida? I think Vitor now will get another fight before he fights Anderson Silva. Put it this way, anything can happen, you never know.”

Belfort would certainly seem a much stronger opponent for Machida, but Belfort is looking at taking a run at UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva so Franklin could be a very viable opponent. The UFC hasn’t announced anything official, but The MMA News will keep you in the loop.