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Lyoto Machida Says He "Felt More Aggressive" Against Randy Couture at UFC 129

Lyoto Machida silenced his detractors and reentered himself into the title picture following his knockout of Randy Couture at UFC 129. Machida, who was on a two-fight losing streak, attempted a flying crane kick that landed precisely on his oppone…

Lyoto Machida silenced his detractors and reentered himself into the title picture following his knockout of Randy Couture at UFC 129.

Machida, who was on a two-fight losing streak, attempted a flying crane kick that landed precisely on his opponent’s chin, dropping him in the process. It’s a win he desperately needed and a win he credited to his training regiment.

“I increased my training, demanding more from my sparrings, and I felt comfortable in every single situation,” Machida explained to TATAME.com following his victory.

Machida continued saying he focused more on his karate and implemented different training techniques and a nutrition plan in order to prepare for the light heavyweight bout. And while he did change a few things during his training camp, “The Dragon” said he stuck to his roots that helped him become UFC light heavyweight champion not too long ago.

“I felt myself more aggressive… I kept my style, but with an upgrade,” Machida said.

He credits the upgrade to his father, Yoshizo Machida and actor / martial artist, Steven Seagal, who helped Machida perfect his flying crane kick, ultimately earning “Knockout of the Night” honours.

“When I started my preparation, after I did a hernia surgery, I couldn’t do everything in training, so my father told me to train three or four types of kicks and use them in sparring, but very carefully, because they hurt a lot, it’s like the elbow. When I came to Canada I met Steven Seagal, and he told “Lyoto, this kick will hit”. But I wasn’t worried to use it or not, I’d do it if the opportunity came. I came more relaxed to the second round and hit that.”

The highlight reel knockout has drawn comparisons to friend and teammate, Anderson Silva, who also landed a front kick that knocked out his opponent, Vitor Belfort at UFC 126.

And now that Machida has regained his form after picking up the win, there have been fans demanding Machida take on newly crowned champion, Jon Jones as there are some who believe Machida’s style could potentially pose problems for the 23 year old.

But for now, Machida is content to wait and see the division work itself out and look to inch closer to title bout one fight at a time.

“I don’t think too much far away, I take step by step. I know every fight is important to become better. I don’t have that pressure to become the champion again. I’ll get that chance,” Machida said.

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MMA News: Jason “Mayhem” Miller Talks About Beef with Strikeforce & UFC 132

Notorious MMA fighter and host of MTV’s Bully Beatdown, Jason “Mayhem” Miller has a bone to pick with Strikeforce over his contract or lack thereof. Miller was involved in the infamous “Strikeforce: Nashville Brawl” which …

Notorious MMA fighter and host of MTV’s Bully Beatdown, Jason “Mayhem” Miller has a bone to pick with Strikeforce over his contract or lack thereof.

Miller was involved in the infamous “Strikeforce: Nashville Brawl” which aired live on CBS in April of 2010.

For his participation in the scrap, Miller received a three month suspension, a $5,000-$7,500 fine and was pulled from the card of his scheduled bout with Robbie Lawler, but that’s not specifically what Miller’s beef is about.

Once the fines were paid and suspension was up, Miller still had heard no word from Strikeforce as to when, where or who his next fight would be.

According to Ben Fowlkes of MMAFighting.com Miller stated, “All I knew is that I sat on the bench for a year…that’s all I knew.”

Even though Miller was still under contract with Strikeforce, the promotion apparently “refused to offer him a chance to fight and without ever explaining why”, said Fowlkes.

When Miller’s contract with Strikeforce was up, he signed with the UFC and it wasn’t until then, that he learned the reason he was never given another fight with Strikeforce.

Fowlkes said, Dana White explained that Miller had been banned from Showtime and CBS for the Nashville incident; news that neither Strikeforce management nor CEO, Scott Coker thought was important enough to tell Miller.

“I asked, and guess what? Nobody would tell me. This is a political environment. Nobody’s going to tell you. They’re just going to be cowards about it. That’s the way of the world. Nobody’s going to tell the crazy ultimate fighter guy to his face, ‘Hey, screw you.’ They’re not going to do that,” Miller told MMA Fighting.

Miller has had one fight since his suspension against MMA legend, Kazushi Sakuraba in Japan with the DREAM promotion, which he won by submission.

Since Zuffa LLC’s acquisition of Strikeforce and now that Miller’s contract has expired, he will face Aaron Simpson at UFC 132 in his first UFC middleweight bout and first fight back in the UFC since losing a welterweight matchup against Georges St-Pierre in April of 2005.

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Things Are Heating Up: 10 Fights to Look Forward to over the Next Few Months

UFC 129 is now officially in the books and although the main event was less than stellar, the card as a whole has to be considered a dynamic success.The UFC did an outstanding job getting The Rogers Centre in Toronto ready for 55,000 screaming, rabid f…

UFC 129 is now officially in the books and although the main event was less than stellar, the card as a whole has to be considered a dynamic success.

The UFC did an outstanding job getting The Rogers Centre in Toronto ready for 55,000 screaming, rabid fans who were able to enjoy some memorable bouts and the end of an era with the retirement of Randy Couture.

As we move into the warmer months of the spring and summer, the weather isn’t the only thing that will be heating up. The next few months are littered with title bouts, rematches and fights that will eventually have title implications behind them.

There are fighters returning from injury as well as fighters returning to the UFC after fighting elsewhere.

Speaking of returns, the UFC will make its way back to Brazil for the first time in over a decade when they invade the HSBC Arena in August for UFC: Rio also known as UFC 134. In what promises to be an explosive event, the organization is pulling out all stops to ensure that the Brazilian fans go home happy.

Strikeforce also has some important bouts coming up, the rumored Dan Henderson-Fedor Emelianenko match-up has yet to be signed nor has a weight been determined, but it is drawing a lot of attention.

UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta has become personally involved in the negotiations, so that should tell you the company views the potential fight as an important one.

Let us take a look at a month-by-month breakdown of the most important fights scheduled over the next couple of months. I would love to go over every single match-up, but there just isn’t enough time in the day. I am sure we can come up with enough high-profile bouts to keep us talking for quite some time.

For the time, being I am going to end this article with the July 2 UFC 132 event. Next week I will go over UFC 133, 134, UFC on Versus 5 and Strikeforce in July.

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Cesar Gracie Says Nick Diaz Wants Revenge for Shields Loss

A week ago, the world was buzzing about Nick Diaz’s possible professional boxing debut, but after watching his teammate and close friend Jake Shields drop a unanimous decision to welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 129, the Stockton native i…

A week ago, the world was buzzing about Nick Diaz‘s possible professional boxing debut, but after watching his teammate and close friend Jake Shields drop a unanimous decision to welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 129, the Stockton native is eager to slip back into a pair of four ounce gloves.

“Obviously, there’s a storyline behind it,” Diaz’s trainer Cesar Gracie said in an interview with MMAJunkie.com.

“Shields just lost a decision, and Nick wants some revenge for that. Nick is very confident that he can defeat St-Pierre.”

As Strikeforce welterweight champion, Diaz has amassed a 10 fight win streak and three consecutive title defenses. He has made multiple comments in the past about his dissatisfaction with the lack of competition and big payday.

Recently, he has turned his interest to the world of boxing and a plethora of possible debut opponents have already been rumored, including Fernando Vargas and IBF champion Jeff Lacy.

What would it take to keep Diaz under the MMA umbrella and set up a superfight with St-Pierre?

“Look, [UFC executive] Lorenzo [Fertitta] can do whatever he wants at this point. The guy signing the checks is the guy making the decisions,” said Gracie.

“There’s a couple of roadblocks, and I think the least of which is Nick’s contract with Strikeforce. That would be a roadblock if we chose not to take the fight against Georges St-Pierre.

“But obviously, that wouldn’t happen. The biggest thing is that Nick’s Strikeforce contract dictates that he can box in 2011, and we’ve gone pretty far into that process. It’s still a work in progress, but we’re just about there.”

A bout between St-Pierre and Diaz could instantly become a blockbuster. Diaz’s aggressive style could force the UFC champion into some interesting positions, but does he have what it takes to succeed where Shields failed?

Skeptics would point out Diaz’s previous struggles with strong wrestlers. Towards the end of his UFC tenure, he lost three consecutive bouts to Diego Sanchez, Sean Sherk and Joe Riggs.

St-Pierre is often considered the best wrestler in all of MMA.

It could be a tough style match-up for Diaz, who hasn’t faced a high caliber wrestler since leaving the UFC, but Gracie isn’t worried about skeptics. He believes that Diaz matches up well with St-Pierre, and a bout between the two could present fans with the intriguing welterweight title fight they’ve all been waiting for.

“[Nick’s] a guy that could press the action against GSP and not let GSP dictate the pace. GSP has been a great champ, and hats off to him, but there has been criticism that he’s not really taking risks,” stated Gracie.

“With Nick, you have the ultimate risk-taker. He will fight you at your game. He throws caution to the wind, really, because he’s more interested in beating you up than winning on points. I think that makes for an intriguing match-up between the two.”

At the UFC 129 post-fight presser, UFC President Dana White seemed open to the possibility of a bout between St-Pierre and Diaz, but a few hurdles would have to be cleared for the fight to actually become a reality.

Diaz will likely continue in his pursuit of a professional boxing bout, unless he gets the lucrative MMA bout he’s been waiting for.

“It would take Lorenzo and Dana to really come into this and show us how it could happen,” said Gracie.

“It would have to make financial sense for everybody. So, we’re waiting just like everybody else to see what they have in mind, and I’m more than happy to listen to their suggestions.”

(SportsHaze.com)

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Lyoto Machida Demonstrates Front Kick Two Years Before Using It at UFC 129

Another Black House fighter, another front-kick knockout victory and another claim by Steven Seagal that he trained that fighter on that particular kick.At UFC 129, Lyoto Machida used a front kick to knockout out Randy Couture that was very reminiscent…

Another Black House fighter, another front-kick knockout victory and another claim by Steven Seagal that he trained that fighter on that particular kick.

At UFC 129, Lyoto Machida used a front kick to knockout out Randy Couture that was very reminiscent of the kick that Anderson Silva used to put away Vitor Belfort at UFC 126.

If you recall, in postfight interviews, Steven Seagal was more than happy to take credit for showing Silva that kick.

After Machida’s victory on Saturday, Seagal spoke to Inside MMA, again taking credit for the knockout kick.

“It’s a little variation (on the Silva kick), I’ve been working with Lyoto very, very hard on a lot of different stuff. He did exactly what we’ve been working on and he did it well,” Seagal said.

The good folks over at MiddleEasy.com have uncovered a video that was uploaded to YouTube back in November of 2009 that shows Machida in a training video demonstrating the kick that he used to KO Couture.

Interesting stuff.

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UFC Owns Strikeforce, Will They Utilize It?

With the recent purchase of Strikeforce by the UFC, the MMA world has been a buzz as of late about the future of the sport. Mixed Martial Arts is the fastest-growing sport in our country. It has taken the model of promoting fighters and pay-per-views l…

Now that one company owns the two largest leagues in the fight game, many aspects of the sport could look to change.

The WWE has SmackDown and Raw, which play off of each other; will the UFC look to do the same?

From a company that was going under the bus just a decade ago, to a powerhouse in the entertainment business, they have showed that ambition and the willingness to gamble on a product can pay off if everything lines up. Now they have the power to actually buy out other companies. Just remember that Strikeforce had just as much talent as the UFC and many argue they have an even better Heavyweight class.

Now, the fans on the forums and blogs might actually have some their wildest dreams come true.

When Affliction folded, many fighters immigrated to their respected leagues; it really was down to Strikeforce and the UFC. Like boxing, there are multiple belts in the same weight classes. This creates debates over who is the best of the best. That creates discussion that keeps the sport in the news, but now these debates can actually come into fruition.

Even though Dana White has stated that Strikeforce will keep its name, some fighters will face each other.

This merger breeds hypothetical matchups.

In the heavyweight class, you have so much talent on both sides. In the UFC, you have Cain Velasquez, Brock Lesnar, Junior Dos Santos and Shane Carwin to name a few. In Strikeforce, you have Alistair Overeem, Fedor Emilianenko, Antonio Silva, Fabricio Werdum and other rising talent.

While Cain and Alistair hold their respected belts, many people want to see Brock Lesnar fight Fedor just because they have the star power and so much debate has been over those two fighters. Many times, matchups and talent take a back seat to star power in the fight game.

In all honesty, Alistair Overeem is probably the best heavyweight in both leagues, but that can’t be fact until he goes toe-to-toe with the fighters in the UFC.

That is just a taste of the potential of what this merger can do for MMA. Without the leagues joining, this talk would be just talk. Now that these matchups are viable, it might take MMA to another level.

With the marketing of the sport coming from all sides like clothing, DVDs, video games and training gear, the grassroots movement has taken a back seat to the marketing juggernauts. When your sport has made its way to Walmart shelves, it says a lot about how far it has come.

If the UFC wants to move away from the pay-per-view market and mix a cocktail of WWE, NFL and ESPN, this sport will shadow everything in the country but football.

If the UFC plans a well thought-out network deal, you could have your fight fix on Saturday night and the pigskin on Sunday!

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