Vinicius Quieroz Fired by the UFC After Testing Positive for Steroids

Just a month and a half after Chael Sonnen tested positive for performance enhancing drugs following his middleweight title fight against Anderson Silva, the UFC has more dirty urine on its hands. MMA Junkie broke the news yesterday that Octagon firs…

Vinicius Quieroz MMA steroids UFC 120

Just a month and a half after Chael Sonnen tested positive for performance enhancing drugs following his middleweight title fight against Anderson Silva, the UFC has more dirty urine on its hands. MMA Junkie broke the news yesterday that Octagon first-timer Vinicius Quieroz — who was submitted by Rob Broughton in his debut at UFC 120 in London — tested positive for the anabolic steroid Stanozolol after the match and has been fired by the UFC.

As they usually do for overseas events, the UFC conducted its own drug screening at #120, testing main event fighters Michael Bisping and Yoshihiro Akiyama, as well as six other fighters selected at random. Quieroz was the only fighter who tested positive. In addition to his release from the promotion, the 5-2 Chute Boxe product will forfeit an undisclosed discretionary bonus from the UFC; his test results will also be given to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which could affect Quieroz’s ability to get licensed to fight in the U.S.

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Mike Swick Returns Against David Mitchell at ‘Fight for the Troops 2’

(Swick is back, and he’s got a new nutritionist.)
Reeling from back-to-back losses against Dan Hardy and Paulo Thiago — which he partly attributed to a medical misdiagnosis that screwed with his health for years — UFC welterweight contend…

Mike Swick Lyoto Machida AKA gym UFC
(Swick is back, and he’s got a new nutritionist.)

Reeling from back-to-back losses against Dan Hardy and Paulo Thiago — which he partly attributed to a medical misdiagnosis that screwed with his health for years — UFC welterweight contender Mike Swick has a lot to prove in his next fight. According to MMA Weekly, Swick will compete at Fight for the Troops 2 on January 22nd, meeting up with David Mitchell (10-1, 0-1 UFC). Mitchell suffered the first loss of his career in his Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 22, dropping a decision to fellow first-timer TJ Waldburger — making Swick vs. Mitchell a true must-win for both fighters.

In 2006, Swick was incorrectly diagnosed with dyspepsia, and was put on a restrictive diet that made it impossible for him to keep weight on, which directly resulted in Swick’s drop from middleweight to welterweight. This year, Swick learned that he actually had "esophageal spasm with acid reflux," a condition that you don’t need to treat by starving yourself. At this very moment, Swick is taking the first step towards fixing his health problems once and for all, undergoing an "experimental medical procedure" that involves getting his esophagus injected with a neurotoxin. Sounds painful, but the ability to eat Thai food again should more than make up for it. Here’s to a "Quick" (yeah, yeah) recovery.

According to Heavy.com, Fight for the Troops 2 will be headlined by Kenny Florian vs. Evan Dunham, a matchup that was originally thought to take place at UFC 126.

Jake Ellenberger Tries to Trash-Talk His Way Into Jake Shields Fight, Gets Jon Fitch Instead

(In case you’ve completely forgotten what he looks like, this is Jake Ellenberger.)
Immediately after Jake Shields notched an ugly decision win over Martin Kampmann at UFC 121, welterweight vet Jake Ellenberger logged onto Twitter and started posting…

Jake Ellenberger UFC
(In case you’ve completely forgotten what he looks like, this is Jake Ellenberger.)

Immediately after Jake Shields notched an ugly decision win over Martin Kampmann at UFC 121, welterweight vet Jake Ellenberger logged onto Twitter and started posting short-message bombs directed at the former Strikeforce champ. Highlights included, "Jake Shields, you’re as exciting as watching a bowl of mash potatoes get cold…Your days are numbered" and "Jake Shields’ cardio won’t be a factor if he fights me next. I won’t keep him around long enough to get tired."

(As cheap as it is for Ellenberger to talk smack over Twitter — without even including ‘@jakeshieldsajj‘ in his posts so that Jake will actually see them — we have to commend him for being the first MMA fighter in Twitter history to understand the difference between "you’re" and "your." Okay, nerdy grammar rant over.)

Since Ellenberger is just 2-1 in the UFC with wins over fellow mid-packers Mike Pyle and John Howard, we didn’t think for a second that he’d get Jake Shields pulled from his impending title fight just on the strength of his eDisses. And he didn’t. Instead, Ellenberger got a fight against Jon Fitch.

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UFC Booking Notes: Leonard Garcia Crosses Over Early, ‘Meathead’ to Meet Returning Hague + More

(What Leonard lacks in striking technique and conditioning, he more than makes up for with his unshakable sense of humor.)
Despite coming off a disappointing performance at WEC 51 in which he was outstruck to a split decision loss against Mark H…

Leonard Garcia Chan Sung Jung
(What Leonard lacks in striking technique and conditioning, he more than makes up for with his unshakable sense of humor.)

Despite coming off a disappointing performance at WEC 51 in which he was outstruck to a split decision loss against Mark Hominick, former featherweight title contender Leonard Garcia will be one of the first 145-pounders to debut in the Octagon, when he meets Tyler Toner at the TUF 12 Finale (December 4, Las Vegas). The match will be Garcia’s first in the UFC since his 1-2 stint as a lightweight in 2007. Garcia is 1-2-1 in his last four fights in the WEC, with his only victory coming in a very questionable decision against Chan Sung Jung. Tyler Toner most recently dropped a decision against Diego Nunes at WEC 51. The TUF 12 finale takes place four weeks before the "official" debut of WEC talent at UFC 125, and 12 days before the WEC’s last event.

Speaking of the TUF 12 Finale, our guest-blogging friend Rich Attonito will reportedly take on Renzo Gracie product Dave Branch in a middleweight contest on the card. After being forced out of the competition on TUF 11 due to a broken hand, Attonito came back to shut Jamie Yager’s big mouth at the TUF 11 finale, then outscored Rafael Natal at UFC Fight Night 22. Branch was the victim of a Gerald Harris body-slam KO in his Octagon debut at UFC 116, but rallied back to win a decision over Tomasz Drwal, also at UFC Fight Night 22.

In other booking news…

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And Now He’s Fired (And Possibly Retired): Gabriel Gonzaga

(Don’t worry Gabe, the world will always need drinking instructors… / Props: gonzagabjj)
Following two consecutive losses to Junior Dos Santos and Brendan Schaub (at UFC 121), former heavyweight title contender Gabriel Gonzaga has been released …

(Don’t worry Gabe, the world will always need drinking instructors… / Props: gonzagabjj)

Following two consecutive losses to Junior Dos Santos and Brendan Schaub (at UFC 121), former heavyweight title contender Gabriel Gonzaga has been released by the UFC. "Napao" confirmed the news via Twitter today, writing: "Official now – Out of UFC – Thanks for all your support – back to normal life and BJJ forever." Could Gonzaga really be retiring from MMA altogether? Come on bro, all you need is a new camp and a strategy that doesn’t focus on the absolute weakest part of your game

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The Big Announcement: UFC Absorbs WEC, Featherweights/Bantamweights Debut in January

(Props: MMAFighting)
The cat’s out of the bag, and the "major announcement" turned out to be pretty damn major after all. Dana White announced during a media call today that the UFC is absorbing the WEC beginning in January 2011; the UFC…

(Props: MMAFighting)

The cat’s out of the bag, and the "major announcement" turned out to be pretty damn major after all. Dana White announced during a media call today that the UFC is absorbing the WEC beginning in January 2011; the UFC will now feature seven championship weight classes. Here’s how it’ll work…

Jose Aldo is automatically the UFC Featherweight Champion; he’ll defend his UFC featherweight title at UFC 125 on January 1st against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.

WEC 53 (December 16th; Glendale, Arizona) will be the final WEC event. The winner of the bantamweight title fight between Dominick Cruz and Scott Jorgensen will become the UFC Bantamweight Champion. The winner of the lightweight title fight between Ben Henderson and Anthony Pettis will automatically face the winner of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard at UFC 125.

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