(Yang vs. Nastula @ Sengoku 4, 8/24/08)
By CagePotato contributor Dallas Winston
CagePotato.com has learned that new UFC signee Dongi Yang, a.k.a. “The Ox”, will face Chris Camozzi at UFC 121 on October 23rd in Anaheim, CA. …
(Yang vs. Nastula @ Sengoku 4, 8/24/08)
By CagePotato contributor Dallas Winston
CagePotato.com has learned that new UFC signeeDongi Yang, a.k.a. “The Ox”, will face Chris Camozzi at UFC 121 on October 23rd in Anaheim, CA. [Ed. note: "Dongi" is not a typo. Despite being previously listed as Dong Yi Yang, we’re told that Dongi is the correct spelling of his name.]
Thus far, Yang has been a complete wrecking machine overseas, with an aggressive style eerily reminiscent of his Korean Top Team training partner Chan Sung Jung. He’s finished all nine of the fights on his flawless record by way of the crushing power in his heavy hands save for one submission (a triangle choke in his pro debut against Hyung Kyo Lee) and one TKO-via-exhaustion over former PRIDE fighter and standout judoka Pawel Nastula.
(That’s Chad. Take a look at those belts, tough guy. You think anybody wants a roundhouse kick to the face while he’s wearing these bad boys? Didn’t think so. Props: myspace.com/chadgriggs)
Bobby Lashley (5-0) has long made it clear that …
(That’s Chad. Take a look at those belts, tough guy. You think anybody wants a roundhouse kick to the face while he’s wearing these bad boys? Didn’t think so. Props: myspace.com/chadgriggs)
Bobby Lashley (5-0) has long made it clear that he’ll only take fights against two kinds of opponents — champions, and random scrubs. Competing against the kind of mid-level competition that would actually gain him some cred in the MMA world? Forget it, he’s just not interested. And even though the former WWE star would make a minor exception by fighting Fedor Emelianenko — who’s not a champion but, y’know, still pretty high up there — Strikeforce is going to set him up with another low-value opponent for his next fight. No, it’s not Dave Batista…at least not yet.
MMA Mania reports that Lashley will return to the cage at "Strikeforce: Houston" (August 21st), where he’ll take on Chad "The Grave Digger" Griggs (8-1), a Tucson-based heavyweight whose most notable experience came during a 1-1 stint in the IFL back in 2007. Griggs is employed as a firefighter/paramedic, so his nickname isn’t a reflection of his line of work; more likely, it’s a tribute to his love of monster trucks. All of Griggs’s eight wins were earned via stoppage, six of which came in the first round, all against guys you’ve probably never heard of.
It will be Lashley’s first cage appearance sinch his first-round TKO over Wes "The Body" Sims at Strikeforce: Miami.
(Time to make the donuts. / Photo courtesy of Strikeforce.)
GracieFighter.com makes it official — and we can forget this nonsense about Jake staying at middleweight:
Jake Shields will be debuting at the 170lbs weight division in the UFC. After…
(Time to make the donuts. / Photo courtesy of Strikeforce.)
Jake Shields will be debuting at the 170lbs weight division in the UFC. After careful consideration and consulting with UFC representatives it was determined Jake would be finally going back to his original fighting weight. Jake’s opponent is one of the UFC’s top contenders and will be announced shortly.
It’s obviously the best way to go. If Shields can run through one or two prominent welterweights by the time Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck finish their little lover’s spat on TUF 12 (and subsequent title fight), he’ll be nicely set up for a shot at the belt. Any guesses as to who he’ll draw first?
(You got *lucky*, Soa!)
With such a volatile lineup, it was only a matter of time before names started dropping off Impact FC’s event in Sydney this weekend (which takes place Sunday afternoon local time, Saturday evening if you’re in North America)….
(You got *lucky*, Soa!)
With such a volatile lineup, it was only a matter of time before names started dropping off Impact FC’s event in Sydney this weekend (which takes place Sunday afternoon local time, Saturday evening if you’re in North America). The first casualty is Bob Sapp, whose fight against Aussie UFC vet Soa Palelei has been canceled. So what the hell happened? Well…
Bob’s side of the story (via MMA Junkie): Sapp, who is currently in Bulgaria shooting that Conan the Barbarian remake, received an e-mail from Impact yesterday informing him that they wouldn’t fly him out to Sydney because the plane ticket would be too expensive. "Just like that," Sapp said. "We had all the paperwork completed." The Beast claims he had assembled a training camp in Bulgaria for the bout, and spent at least $10,000 on coaches, training partners, and living expenses. Sapp’s team plans to draft a formal letter to Impact FC asking for reimbursement of those expenses. If they don’t pay up, he’ll file a lawsuit. "I’m not going to allow anybody to screw me over," Sapp said.
(Miguel may have lost a pint of blood, but he *gained* a pint of valuable life experience. / Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)
There was a time when Miguel Torres looked absolutely untouchable in the WEC bantamweight division. But after two consecutive sto…
(Miguel may have lost a pint of blood, but he *gained* a pint of valuable life experience. / Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)
There was a time when Miguel Torres looked absolutely untouchable in the WEC bantamweight division. But after two consecutive stoppage losses to Brian Bowles and Joseph Benavidez, the former champion finds himself in an odd position — in the middle of the 135-pound pack, fighting up the ladder like everybody else. Torres will return to competition at WEC 51 (September 30th; Broomfield, Colorado) against Charlie Valencia, who is 5-3 in the WEC and has picked up three-straight decision victories against Seth Dikun, Coty Wheeler, and Akitoshi Tamura. Not a bad resume, but Torres doesn’t plan on adding his name to it. In fact, he’s already planning to, well, return to the old Miguel. As he tells MMA Fighting:
("Okay, fine! Team Edward! Team Edward!" Joey Villasenor gets chased down by Ronaldo Souza at Heavy Artillery. Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)
It was announced on Friday that Strikeforce: Houston — which goes down August 21…
("Okay, fine! Team Edward! Team Edward!" Joey Villasenor gets chased down by Ronaldo Souza at Heavy Artillery. Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)
Strikeforce had been planning a one-night, four-man tournament in Houston to determine its next champion. The four competitors were to be Kennedy, Souza, Robbie Lawler and Matt Lindland. Those plans, however, were nixed by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation…
TDLR administrator Greg Alvarez confirmed to MMA Fighting on Saturday that Strikeforce wanted a one-night, bracket-style tournament for the Houston show, which will air live on Showtime. But Alvarez said that request was denied. "They asked if it was possible and I told them that when Tough Man was outlawed, the state also did away with tournaments back in 2001," Alvarez said.
