Tito Ortiz Looking For An October Or November Return.

UFC light heavyweight fighter Tito Ortiz is looking at returning to the ring in October or November of this year, according to a recent interview with Sherdog.com. The popular and yet strangely unpopular fighter has been fighting series back injuries and is coming off another surgery to repair damage done to disks. While […]

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UFC light heavyweight fighter Tito Ortiz is looking at returning to the ring in October or November of this year, according to a recent interview with Sherdog.com. The popular and yet strangely unpopular fighter has been fighting series back injuries and is coming off another surgery to repair damage done to disks. While it will be a short time before he can train completely, it seems that Ortiz has everything planned for his return to training:

“I get a little tingling sensation down my arms and the back of my neck but I guess that’s normal because of all the nerves are reconnecting,” he said. “I feel really good, though. The soreness I have now is from lifting weights. I haven’t had this kind of soreness in a while. July will really be the test for me because I’ll be wrestling and stuff and starting to get into it. On July 1, I’ll start doing jiu-jitsu and start drilling. Nothing live — just drilling to get my body back into shape.”

Many MMA fans have questions about whether Ortiz will ever be able to compete at the highest level again, but there’s no doubt that he can still sell tickets. The UFC certainly could put on another Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell match which would no doubt produce good to great pay per view numbers but it seems premature to speculate. For now Ortiz continues to look to the future to return to the Octagon, healthy and ready to make a run at the light heavyweight title.

UFC Won’t Allow Vuvuzelas

Thank God, really.
From the AP:
UFC president Dana White says Wednesday that vuvuzelas — the beehive-sounding noisemakers that have become famous during soccer’s biggest event — are being banned at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.
That’s when heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will fight interim belt holder Shane Carwin.
“This decision was pretty simple,” White […]


Thank God, really.

From the AP:

UFC president Dana White says Wednesday that vuvuzelas — the beehive-sounding noisemakers that have become famous during soccer’s biggest event — are being banned at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.

That’s when heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will fight interim belt holder Shane Carwin.

“This decision was pretty simple,” White said. “Vuvuzelas make the most horrific sound I’ve ever heard. I’d rather let Brock punch me in the face than hear 15,000 people blow on those things.

“This is the biggest heavyweight fight we’ve ever done. We’ll make enough noise this weekend when Brock and Shane finally step inside the Octagon.”

Report: Alistair Overeem vs. Ricco Rodriguez Unlikely for Dream 15?

Earlier today a few eyebrows likely were raised when it was reported by MMA Junkie, that sources had informed the outlet, that Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem would fight Ricco Rodriguez, at Dream 15 on July 10th. Why may have a few people spit out their early morning brew (ok, maybe it wasn’t that shocking)? […]

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Earlier today a few eyebrows likely were raised when it was reported by MMA Junkie, that sources had informed the outlet, that Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem would fight Ricco Rodriguez, at Dream 15 on July 10th. Why may have a few people spit out their early morning brew (ok, maybe it wasn’t that shocking)? Well, most of the talk surrounding Overeem lately has been tied to a certain Mr. Fedor Emelianenko and a certain Mr. Fabricio Werdum, and not former UFC champ Ricco Rodriguez, who hasn’t fought under big-major-promotion lights for some time.

In an updated report from MMA Fighting this afternoon, however, a source close to Overeem has apparently told the site that there is a  “90% chance” the fight is not happening. The story also cites a report on Mauro Ranallo’sThe Fight Show”, where apparently Overeem’s trainer Martijn de Jong, denied the Dutchman is set to fight Rodriguez. On the other hand, sources from Dream and the camp of Rodriguez are saying that each man has verbally agreed to the fight. So WTF right? Guess we’ll wait and see what happens.

So why does any of this matter? Well, if you’re new to the sport you may only recognize Rodriguez from a stint on Celebrity Rehab, but there was a time when the veteran was a top ranked heavyweight. Although Ricco appears to have got things back in order, lost a ton of weight , and won 7 straight, a win over Overeem would certainly blow the minds of a lot of people…

Rogerio Noguiera Says Anderson Silva is Going to Kick Chael Sonnen’s “Ass”

It kind of seems like it’s been a little quieter on the Chael Sonnen front lately (or other matters are grabbing headlines) which may or may not have anything to do with the outspoken wrestler’s recent on and off again relationship with a certain Twitter account. Now, all that said, it wasn’t too long ago […]

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It kind of seems like it’s been a little quieter on the Chael Sonnen front lately (or other matters are grabbing headlines) which may or may not have anything to do with the outspoken wrestler’s recent on and off again relationship with a certain Twitter account. Now, all that said, it wasn’t too long ago that the Team Quest fighter tossed one of his infamous ‘Sonnens’ in the direction of the renowned Nogueira brothers, who of course, awarded Anderson Silva his black belt in BJJ. You may recall Sonnen didn’t think Silva’s affiliation with Antonio Rodrigo and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira was such a big deal, stating “One is a punching bag and the other I just ignore.” Now don’t hold anything back Chael…

Yes, it takes some serious bollocks to make such a statement; Nog is right up there on the all time greats and “Lil Nog” is likely a title threat at 205. In a recent interview with Tatame Magazine, Rogerio was asked for his thoughts on the upcoming Sonnen / Silva; anyone surprised by this answer?

“It’s the way he found to bring Anderson to wherever he wants. He’s provoking Anderson to see if he bits the bait, lose his head and goes for the knockout. Anderson will kick his ass. He doesn’t have a ground game… He was submitted by Jeremy Horn and by Paulão… He won (on a fight against Nate Marquardt) because the guy ran out of gas, otherwise he’d get that guillotine.”

Yup; it’s only going to get more interesting as August 7th draws near….to bet on the fight head here.

Dana White UFC 116 Video Blog Episode 1.

Once again UFC president Dana White has started his video blogs before UFC pay per view events, this time it’s UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin. These videos give us some impressive insights into how White lives, what he does for fun, and how hectic the week leading up to a major event. Look […]

Click here to view the embedded video.

Once again UFC president Dana White has started his video blogs before UFC pay per view events, this time it’s UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin. These videos give us some impressive insights into how White lives, what he does for fun, and how hectic the week leading up to a major event. Look for episodes to run for the next few days and expect several UFC fighters to be in the videos behind the scenes as it were.

Shane Carwin Still Working His Job Even While Preparing To Fight Brock Lesnar.

UFC 116 will feature Shane Carwin getting his chance at the UFC heavyweight title when he takes on current champion Brock Lesnar, and Carwin has been training hard for the biggest test of his career(literally). Success, however, hasn’t gone to Carwin’s head, as he’s kept his full time job through out his run in […]

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UFC 116 will feature Shane Carwin getting his chance at the UFC heavyweight title when he takes on current champion Brock Lesnar, and Carwin has been training hard for the biggest test of his career(literally). Success, however, hasn’t gone to Carwin’s head, as he’s kept his full time job through out his run in the UFC and even during his recent training for Lesnar as he told MMAFighting.com

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They work with me on my hours. I am thankful I do not have a job or an employer that expects me to clock in at 8am and out at 5pm. I have a lot of free reign as long as I am doing my job, staying on or ahead of schedule and give them 110 percent when I am not in camp. I have been in camp for a long time (over a year) so I am sure they are ready for me to come back a bit more regularly.

Carwin’s definitely a rare example of an athlete that can compete at the highest levels of his chosen sport, in this case MMA, while maintaining a full time job. Pretty impressive indeed.