Tag: News

Thiago Alves, Martin Kampmann Agree to Face Off at UFC on FX 2

Filed under: UFC, NewsFresh off respective wins within the last month, Thiago Alves and Martin Kampmann have agreed to face each other at the second installment of UFC on FX, in March 2012.

The UFC confirmed the fight booking on Tuesday, though they d…

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Fresh off respective wins within the last month, Thiago Alves and Martin Kampmann have agreed to face each other at the second installment of UFC on FX, in March 2012.

The UFC confirmed the fight booking on Tuesday, though they did not offer a precise date or location for it.

Kampmann competed just over one week ago, snapping a hard-luck two-fight losing streak by earning a decision over Rick Story at UFC 139. That improved Kampmann’s career record to 18-5.

Alves, meanwhile, notched his first finish since a June 2008 TKO over Matt Hughes when he choked out Papy Abedi with a rear naked choke at UFC 138, upping his overall record to 19-8.

The two have been longtime members of the UFC‘s welterweight division, with Alves making his octagon debut in October 2005 and Kampmann following in August 2006.

Through the years, Alves has gone 11-5 under the UFC banner while Kampmann has gone 9-4. The two do share a recent common opponent, as Kampmann beat Story while Alves lost to him by decision in May.

While a date and location for UFC on FX 2 is pending, several reports have indicated March 3 is the target date for the show.

 

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Rivera vs. Schafer, Brown vs. Rocha Among Fights Added to UFC on FX Debut

Filed under: UFC, NewsA series of fights have been added to the upcoming UFC on FX debut event on January 20 in Nashville, Tennessee, providing depth to the previously announced Melvin Guillard vs. Jim Miller headliner.

Among the fight agreements rele…

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Jorge RiveraA series of fights have been added to the upcoming UFC on FX debut event on January 20 in Nashville, Tennessee, providing depth to the previously announced Melvin Guillard vs. Jim Miller headliner.

Among the fight agreements released by the UFC on Tuesday include a middleweight fight between Jorge Rivera and Eric Schafer, as well as featherweight and light-heavyweight bouts.

Rivera will be looking to snap a two-fight losing streak after dropping back-to-back bouts against Michael Bisping and Constantinos Philippou. Prior to that, Rivera (18-9) had won three straight.

Schafer (12-6-2) is coming off a three-round unanimous decision loss to Aaron Simpson at UFC 136.

Meanwhile, former WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown will attempt to forge his first multi-fight win streak since mid-2009, and will need a win over Vagner Rocha to do it. After a two-fight losing streak, Brown (25-8) found the win column at UFC 133 with a unanimous decision victory over Nam Phan.

Rocha (7-2) recently captured his first octagon win when he forced Cody McKenzie to tap out to a rear naked choke at September’s UFC Fight Night event in New Orleans.

The third announced fight features the UFC debut of Ryan Jimmo, a Canadian light-heavyweight who hasn’t lost since his career debut in 2007, winning 16 in a row. Jimmo had been the current reigning champion in Canada’s Maximum Fighting Championships before vacating that belt to sign with the UFC. In his last fight, he earned the judges’ nod in a win over former UFC fighter Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou.

Jimmo will face Czech fighter Karlos Vemola (8-2), who dropped his last fight in an August decision at the hands of Ronny Markes.

UFC on FX will be hosted by Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

 

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Michael Bisping Has Multiple Snitches in His Camp, According to Mayhem Miller


(More proof that being on the right side of any photo immediately makes Bisping fall asleep. / Photo via CombatLifestyle)

While preparing for this Saturday’s TUF 14 Finale grudge match against Michael Bisping, Jason Miller recently wrote the following on his website:

“I just want everyone to understand how fricken hard I am training. I have never trained this hard or smart for a fight in my life. In ironic twist news- I’m totally getting reimbursed for John Dodson’s insubordination. I’m not even asking about Michael’s training, but for some reason all the friends that I’ve had for years that are working with him seem to be inclined to tell me about his camp and what he’s doing. I don’t want or need this info, I’m going to beat him regardless, just found it interesting. Pretty karmic.”

Hmm. Michael Bisping’s TUF 14 assistant coaches Tiki Ghosn and Rob McCullough train in the same Huntington Beach circles as Miller — could they be moles infiltrating the Brit’s camp in the name of American patriotism? Or is Mayhem just trying to get in the Count’s head? Bisping is convinced that it’s the latter, telling InsideMMA:


(More proof that being on the right side of any photo immediately makes Bisping fall asleep. / Photo via CombatLifestyle)

While preparing for this Saturday’s TUF 14 Finale grudge match against Michael Bisping, Jason Miller recently wrote the following on his website:

“I just want everyone to understand how fricken hard I am training. I have never trained this hard or smart for a fight in my life. In ironic twist news- I’m totally getting reimbursed for John Dodson’s insubordination. I’m not even asking about Michael’s training, but for some reason all the friends that I’ve had for years that are working with him seem to be inclined to tell me about his camp and what he’s doing. I don’t want or need this info, I’m going to beat him regardless, just found it interesting. Pretty karmic.”

Hmm. Michael Bisping’s TUF 14 assistant coaches Tiki Ghosn and Rob McCullough train in the same Huntington Beach circles as Miller — could they be moles infiltrating the Brit’s camp in the name of American patriotism? Or is Mayhem just trying to get in the Count’s head? Bisping is convinced that it’s the latter, telling InsideMMA:

“I know for a fact that none of them have been divulging secrets. I think this is a sign of Jason [being] a little bit nervous [about] the impending doom that’s coming his way this coming weekend and he’s trying to unsettle my camp. I think he’s looking at the [Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson] spygate thing and trying to jump on that bandwagon. Good luck, Jason, but better luck next time.”

Semi-related: Michael Bisping accidentally (?) spoils tomorrow night’s TUF 14 semifinal between Diego Brandao and Bryan Caraway. Don’t watch it if you don’t want to know.


(Props: IronForgesIron)

John Olav Einemo Back in UFC, Likely to Face Mike Russow at UFC on FOX 2

Filed under: UFC, MMA Fighting Exclusive, NewsShortly after losing in his UFC debut in a bout that won Fight of the Night at UFC 131, John Olav Einemo was surprisingly cut from the UFC. As it turned out, Einemo was part of the fallout from an ongoing b…

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Shortly after losing in his UFC debut in a bout that won Fight of the Night at UFC 131, John Olav Einemo was surprisingly cut from the UFC. As it turned out, Einemo was part of the fallout from an ongoing business issue between his Golden Glory management team and the UFC.

Now, it appears a resolution has been struck, as Einemo is back with the promotion and will take on Mike Russow as part of the upcoming UFC on FOX 2 card on January 28, MMA Fighting has learned.

Sources confirmed that both sides have verbally agreed to the bout.

Einemo (6-2) faced Dave Herman at UFC 131, and engaged in a hard-fought battle before falling in a second-round TKO. The fight had been his first MMA bout in over four years. But even after the spirited scrap, he was one of several Golden Glory fighters — including Alistair Overeem and Marloes Coenen to be dropped by Zuffa.

UFC president Dana White later said the issue stemmed from Golden Glory’s management practice of having promoters pay them directly instead of the fighters.

“We don’t work that way,” White said then. “It’s not the way we do business. It’s not how it works in the United States with the athletic commissions. You don’t pay the managers and the managers pay the fighters. You pay the fighters and the fighters pay the managers.”

It remains unclear how the issue was resolved, and whether Einemo — like Overeem — parted ways with Golden Glory or found a way to work within the UFC framework.

Meanwhile, Russow (14-1, 1 no contest) will be hoping to extend his impressive 10-fight win streak. In his most recent fight, Russow stopped Jon Madsen by TKO in the second round of their March 2011 encounter.

UFC on FOX 2 will take place from the United Center in Chicago. Four fights are expected to air on the network television broadcast, but the UFC has so far been mum on matchups.

 

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Aoki vs. Kitaoka, Tokoro vs. Saadulaev Added to ‘Genki Desu Ka!!’

Filed under: News, JapanA lightweight title bout between Shinya Aoki and Satoru Kitaoka and a bantamweight reserve bout between Hideo Tokoro and Yusup Saadulaev are recent additions to the New Year’s Eve “Genki Desu Ka!!” event at the Saitama Super Are…

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A lightweight title bout between Shinya Aoki and Satoru Kitaoka and a bantamweight reserve bout between Hideo Tokoro and Yusup Saadulaev are recent additions to the New Year’s Eve “Genki Desu Ka!!” event at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

DREAM last weekend made official that Aoki will be defending his DREAM belt against former teammate Kitaoka in a five-round affair. On Tuesday, Tokoro and Saadulaev, who were both ousted in quarterfinal bouts in September, were given a second chance at returning to the tournament. The reserve winner could potentially enter the finals in the event an injury replacement is needed.

Aoki (29-5), who will be fighting for the fourth time in 2011, is looking to extend his win streak to seven as well as a successful second title defense. Aoki last fought in September, submitting “Razor” Rob McCullough with a neck crank at DREAM.17. Kitaoka (29-10-9) is a former Sengoku lightweight champion who made his DREAM debut in September, beating Willamy Freire by split decision.

Tokoro (30-24-1) had a four-fight win streak snapped by Antonio Banuelos at DREAM.17. Meanwhile, Saadulaev suffered his first career loss in a unanimous decision loss to Rodolfo Marques.

The current “Genki Desu Ka!!” lineup is below.

Dream Lightweight Title Bout
Shinya Aoki vs. Satoru Kitaoka

Dream Featherweight Title Bout
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Takeshi “Lion” Inoue

Dream Bantamweight World GP
Semifinals: Bibiano Fernandes vs. Rodolfo Marques
Semifinals: Masakazu Imanari vs. Antonio Banuelos
Finals: Winner of Fernandes-Marques vs. Winner of Imanari-Banuelos
Reserve: Hideo Tokoro vs. Yusup Saadulaev

Other Bouts
Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Ryo Chonan
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazuyuki Miyata

 

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UFC News: Chael Sonnen and Ring Girl Arianny Celeste Engage in Twitter War

The fighter everyone loves to hate, UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen, seems to have begun a new feud, and this time it is not with a Black House/Brazilian fighter.  This time, Sonnen’s unlikely adversary comes in the form of a ring gi…

The fighter everyone loves to hate, UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen, seems to have begun a new feud, and this time it is not with a Black House/Brazilian fighter.  This time, Sonnen’s unlikely adversary comes in the form of a ring girl: huge fan favorite Arianny Celeste. The issue started last week, when Fighters Only […]

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UFC News: Chael Sonnen and Ring Girl Arianny Celeste Engage in Twitter War