Demian Maia Will Face Jake Shields in Own ‘Back Yard’


(Photo by Donald Miralle/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Well, this is kinda cool. In today’s MMA career symmetry news, MMA Fighting speaks with UFC welterweight contender Demian Maia about returning to the arena where he first made a name for himself in MMA.

“Maia became famous in the MMA world on Oct. 7, 2006, when he dominated three opponents in one night to win the Super Challenge middleweight tournament. The event took place at Jose Correa Gymnasium, the same arena that will host UFN 29,” where Maia will fight Jake Shields, they report.

The Super Challenge middleweight tournament had names like Gustavo Machado, Fabio Nascimento, Alexandre Ferreira, Katel Kubis and Leonardo Nascimento involved. In the end, the underdog prevailed for the title.

“I thought ‘okay, let’s see what happens,'” said Maia. “Paulo Vasconcelos was the promoter and he invited me to fight. I said ‘I don’t know, give me a submission or jiu-jitsu fight, but he couldn’t find an opponent to fight me. Josuel Distak, who was one of my coaches at that time, said I’d win the tournament, so I basically was thrown in there by them.”


(Photo by Donald Miralle/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Well, this is kinda cool. In today’s MMA career symmetry news, MMA Fighting speaks with UFC welterweight contender Demian Maia about returning to the arena where he first made a name for himself in MMA.

“Maia became famous in the MMA world on Oct. 7, 2006, when he dominated three opponents in one night to win the Super Challenge middleweight tournament. The event took place at Jose Correa Gymnasium, the same arena that will host UFN 29,” where Maia will fight Jake Shields, they report.

The Super Challenge middleweight tournament had names like Gustavo Machado, Fabio Nascimento, Alexandre Ferreira, Katel Kubis and Leonardo Nascimento involved. In the end, the underdog prevailed for the title.

“I thought ‘okay, let’s see what happens,’” said Maia. “Paulo Vasconcelos was the promoter and he invited me to fight. I said ‘I don’t know, give me a submission or jiu-jitsu fight, but he couldn’t find an opponent to fight me. Josuel Distak, who was one of my coaches at that time, said I’d win the tournament, so I basically was thrown in there by them.”

“I lived in Barueri for a long time, and now I live in a city close to Barueri, so it’s like my backyard. Three years ago, we never imagined that the UFC would return to Brazil again. I expected to end my career fighting only outside of Brazil, and now I have the chance to fight at home.”

A year after winning that tournament in Brazil, the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt was fighting in the UFC as a middleweight. Maia worked all the way to a 2010 title shot against Anderson Silva.

After losing a decision to now champion, Chris Weidman, Maia moved down to the welterweight division, where he is undefeated. Maia is not a star on the level of Vitor Belfort or Silva but it will be interesting to see the reception he gets from his home town crowd against Shields.

If Maia gets past the former welterweight title challenger, it will also be interesting to see if he finds himself on a short list of 170 pound contenders. The winner of Maia/Shields against the winner of Rory MacDonald/Robbie Lawler, anyone?

– Elias Cepeda

Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller Arrested Again on Felony Domestic Violence Charge, Is Currently Being Held on Bond


(We hope you find the strength to leave him, Noodles. / Image via ennvy)

For the third time since his retirement in May 2012, Jason “Mayhem” Miller has been arrested. According to records, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department arrested Miller on Thursday and the ex-fighter is being held on a $50,000 bond.

Miller’s next court appearance is scheduled for Monday. According to Bloody Elbow, “Mayhem” has been charged with corporal injury of a spouse or domestic partner which is a felony. Less than two weeks ago, on August 11th, Miller was also arrested on domestic violence charges and was released after posting bond.

In 2012, shortly after his retirement, Miller was arrested for allegedly breaking into a California church. Before that, “Mayhem” was arrested in 2011 after a fight with his sister.

We’re not really sure what to say at this point, ‘Taters. For years, it appeared as if Miller was simply having a good time, fighting hard and playing up the more silly parts of his personality. But now it’s evident that he is having problems keeping himself out of bad situations, almost all of them involving alleged violence against others.

We’ll keep you posted with updates as they occur.

Elias Cepeda


(We hope you find the strength to leave him, Noodles. / Image via ennvy)

For the third time since his retirement in May 2012, Jason “Mayhem” Miller has been arrested. According to records, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department arrested Miller on Thursday and the ex-fighter is being held on a $50,000 bond.

Miller’s next court appearance is scheduled for Monday. According to Bloody Elbow, “Mayhem” has been charged with corporal injury of a spouse or domestic partner which is a felony. Less than two weeks ago, on August 11th, Miller was also arrested on domestic violence charges and was released after posting bond.

In 2012, shortly after his retirement, Miller was arrested for allegedly breaking into a California church. Before that, “Mayhem” was arrested in 2011 after a fight with his sister.

We’re not really sure what to say at this point, ‘Taters. For years, it appeared as if Miller was simply having a good time, fighting hard and playing up the more silly parts of his personality. But now it’s evident that he is having problems keeping himself out of bad situations, almost all of them involving alleged violence against others.

We’ll keep you posted with updates as they occur.

Elias Cepeda

Ranking the Newest Additions to the UFC ‘Fight for the Troops 3? Card, By My Interest Level


(This photo of Ronny Markes was included to show Paulo Filho in happier times, and the shorts he bought at the Walmart across the street from this event when he realized he left his gym bag at home.)

Over the past twenty-four hours, ‘Fight for the Troops 3’ has seen several bouts added to a card that will be headlined by the middleweight debut of Lyoto Machida. Some of these fights are worth getting excited about (such as the Jorge Masvidal vs. Rustam Khabilov bout), while others, well, the Facebook preliminary card needs something, I guess. The following bouts are also set for the event, loosely arranged in order of how interesting they are on paper.

Nik Lentz vs. Dennis Bermudez – Lentz has been on a tear since dropping to featherweight, having won all three of his fights in the weight class. I guess I should also point out that he’s currently the #8 ranked featherweight in the UFC, in case it matters to anyone reading this. Bermudez, meanwhile, has won four in a row since being armbarred by Diego Brandao during the TUF 14 Finale – including a Fight of the Year candidate and a Submission of the Night earner at UFC 150.


(This photo of Ronny Markes was included to show Paulo Filho in happier times, and the shorts he bought at the Walmart across the street from this event when he realized he left his gym bag at home.)

Over the past twenty-four hours, ‘Fight for the Troops 3′ has seen several bouts added to a card that will be headlined by the middleweight debut of Lyoto Machida. Some of these fights are worth getting excited about (such as the Jorge Masvidal vs. Rustam Khabilov bout), while others, well, the Facebook preliminary card needs something, I guess. The following bouts are also set for the event, loosely arranged in order of how interesting they are on paper.

Nik Lentz vs. Dennis Bermudez – Lentz has been on a tear since dropping to featherweight, having won all three of his fights in the weight class. I guess I should also point out that he’s currently the #8 ranked featherweight in the UFC, in case it matters to anyone reading this. Bermudez, meanwhile, has won four in a row since being armbarred by Diego Brandao during the TUF 14 Finale – including a Fight of the Year candidate and a Submission of the Night earner at UFC 150.

George Roop vs. Francisco Rivera – This bout was originally scheduled for UFC 166, but was moved to this card to make room for Sarah Kaufman vs. Jessica Eye. Some fun facts about this fight: George Roop will be entering a fight riding back-to-back victories for the first time since 2008 for this one, and if Rivera didn’t piss hot after UFC 149, he’d be riding a five fight winning streak. It’s never a smart idea to bet money on a George Roop fight, but I think we’re in for a fun scrap.

Ronny Markes vs. Yoel Romero – Former Olympic wrestler Yoel Romero will look to follow up his devastating UFC debut with an impressive performance against a fighter who is 3-0 in the UFC and hasn’t lost since 2010. Sign me up.

Chris Camozzi vs. Lorenz Larkin – Yeah, I know, both guys are coming off losses. But before accepting a fight against Jacare on short notice, Camozzi was riding a four fight win streak that included victories over at least three guys you’ve heard of. Likewise, you can make the argument that Lorenz Larkin should still be undefeated; his loss against Francis Carmont this past April was debatable, to say the least. It’ll make for a decent midcard fight.

Neil Magny vs. Seth Baczynski – It’s win or go home for both fighters. That should at least provide a dramatic finish to a fight I otherwise wouldn’t be able to care less about.

Colton Smith vs. Michael Chiesa – The two TUF champions you don’t remember (HINT: They won the seasons you didn’t even pretend to watch.) will square off in a bout that you won’t care about for the honor of fighting more bottom-shelf lightweights.

‘Fight for the Troops 3′ will go down on November 6, 2013 in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

@SethFalvo

[VIDEO] Wanderlei Silva Responds to Chael Sonnen

(Video via WandFightTeam Youtube)

It doesn’t look like Wanderlei Silva is interested in retiring just yet. The former Pride champion and perennial bridesmaid Chael Sonnen are eager to face one another but UFC President Dana White recently seemed to put the kibosh on the match up because he didn’t want to make the fight a pay per view bout and give Silva percentages of the buy rates – something often done for big stars.

“[Silva] said he won’t fight [Sonnen] unless he gets PPV [points] so I guess he’s gonna retire,” White told MMA Fighting.

You can see what we think about that nonsense here, and in the video above you can see, hear and feel what Wand himself thinks. In the video, we get the Wanderlei standard lines – that Sonnen is disrespectful, a less accomplished fighter than champions like himself, Anderson Silva and Shogun Rua, and that he cowardly says things on twitter and in front of cameras that he wouldn’t dare say to someone’s face. You know, well established facts about Chael P. Sonnen.

However, in the video we get all those undoubtedly sincerely-felt expressions from Silva in a seemingly forced and corny presentation. There’s a spot light, horribly bland stock metal guitar music and Silva telling fans to let Dana White know they want to see the fight. Clearly, this is Silva’s way of proving that there is interest in the bout and that White should reconsider giving him back-end money for a potential Sonnen vs. Silva pay per view main event.

Listen, Wanderlei has accomplished more in MMA than Sonnen ever has or likely will, has legions of fans for the way he conducts himself in and out of the ring and already called Sonnen out in the only way that matters – face to face. He’s also taken ungodly amounts of damage throughout his career and should have retired for his health half a decade ago.

There is no need for Wanderlei to fight Sonnen – who still appears in his prime and has avoided excessive damage with a career filled with screaming and tapping out – especially because he has a chance to go out on a win. Silva’s last fight was a brutal affair where he stopped and retired Brian Stann in what is the front-runner for nastiest fight of 2013.

But Silva is the master of his own fate and makes clear above that he wants to fight Sonnen just as much as Sonnen wants to fight him. Some of our favorite Silva quotes from the video after the jump:


(Video via WandFightTeam Youtube)

It doesn’t look like Wanderlei Silva is interested in retiring just yet. The former Pride champion and perennial bridesmaid Chael Sonnen are eager to face one another but UFC President Dana White recently seemed to put the kibosh on the match up because he didn’t want to make the fight a pay per view bout and give Silva percentages of the buy rates – something often done for big stars.

“[Silva] said he won’t fight [Sonnen] unless he gets PPV [points] so I guess he’s gonna retire,” White told MMA Fighting.

You can see what we think about that nonsense here, and in the video above you can see, hear and feel what Wand himself thinks. In the video, we get the Wanderlei standard lines – that Sonnen is disrespectful, a less accomplished fighter than champions like himself, Anderson Silva and Shogun Rua, and that he cowardly says things on twitter and in front of cameras that he wouldn’t dare say to someone’s face. You know, well established facts about Chael P. Sonnen.

However, in the video we get all those undoubtedly sincerely-felt expressions from Silva in a seemingly forced and corny presentation. There’s a spot light, horribly bland stock metal guitar music and Silva telling fans to let Dana White know they want to see the fight. Clearly, this is Silva’s way of proving that there is interest in the bout and that White should reconsider giving him back-end money for a potential Sonnen vs. Silva pay per view main event.

Listen, Wanderlei has accomplished more in MMA than Sonnen ever has or likely will, has legions of fans for the way he conducts himself in and out of the ring and already called Sonnen out in the only way that matters – face to face. He’s also taken ungodly amounts of damage throughout his career and should have retired for his health half a decade ago.

There is no need for Wanderlei to fight Sonnen – who still appears in his prime and has avoided excessive damage with a career filled with screaming and tapping out – especially because he has a chance to go out on a win. Silva’s last fight was a brutal affair where he stopped and retired Brian Stann in what is the front-runner for nastiest fight of 2013.

But Silva is the master of his own fate and makes clear above that he wants to fight Sonnen just as much as Sonnen wants to fight him. Some of our favorite Silva quotes from the video after the jump:

“I fight with all of my heart. I don’t go in there to give up, like Sonnen did against Jones in the very first round. Like he did against Anderson when he took a knee to the chest and stayed down like a little girl. Sonnen is a lower level fighter.”

“Now you’ve messed with the wrong guy and I will beat you up.”

I’ve already shut you up, face to face, and you were not man enough to step up to me. Sonnen, you are afraid of me and I can see it in your eyes every time we meet.”

“I will go into this fight not only to fight but to hurt you…I don’t go in to fight, I go in to brawl. I go in to punch the face. I go in to draw blood, to break noses.”

“I want to see you repeat what you said, this time face to face.”

When Wanderlei says he’ll fight, you’ve got to believe him. But, nation, do you really want to see this fight happen?

Elias Cepeda

Vinny Magalhaes Was Just Kidding About Retirement, Will Fight Jeff Monson in November


(“A humiliating 14-second knockout loss? Nah…I definitely think I’d remember something like that.” / Photo via MMAFighting)

In case you’ve made the mistake of following the strange things Jiu Jitsu world champion and TUF finalist Vinny Magalhaes has said over the course of his career, here’s his latest verbal turn: He’s not retiring, and will fight this fall.

In the past, Vinny challenged Phil Davis and called him a relatively easy fight before backing out of the very matchup he proposed when it was offered to him, and eventually losing to Davis at UFC 159. (For the record, Vinny also predicted that Chael Sonnen was going to submit Jon Jones on that card.)

Following the Davis fight, the Brazilian was matched up with Australian veteran Anthony Perosh at UFC 163 in Brazil. Vinny said that the 41-year-old Perosh “sucks” despite the fact that “The Hippo” had three times as many UFC wins as Magalhaes had at the time. Vinny said that if he were to lose to the Aussie, he should be cut.

Well, he lost. Really fast and really easily. Then, Vinny said he would retire from the sport if he were cut by the UFC. Vinny was cut by the UFC and the world waited for the 29-year-old to keep his word and retire. Well, that’s not happening either, and so, another CagePotato ban has been shamefully defied.

“I never really thought of retiring,” Vinny told MMA Fighting recently. “I made those comments within twenty four hours after I had lost a fight, so I was still a little frustrated, and I was being too emotional with my responses. That’s why I haven’t said a thing since. I needed to clear my mind before starting to speak about my next moves.”


(“A humiliating 14-second knockout loss? Nah…I definitely think I’d remember something like that.” / Photo via MMAFighting)

In case you’ve made the mistake of following the strange things Jiu Jitsu world champion and TUF finalist Vinny Magalhaes has said over the course of his career, here’s his latest verbal turn: He’s not retiring, and will fight this fall.

In the past, Vinny challenged Phil Davis and called him a relatively easy fight before backing out of the very matchup he proposed when it was offered to him, and eventually losing to Davis at UFC 159. (For the record, Vinny also predicted that Chael Sonnen was going to submit Jon Jones on that card.)

Following the Davis fight, the Brazilian was matched up with Australian veteran Anthony Perosh at UFC 163 in Brazil. Vinny said that the 41-year-old Perosh “sucks” despite the fact that “The Hippo” had three times as many UFC wins as Magalhaes had at the time. Vinny said that if he were to lose to the Aussie, he should be cut.

Well, he lost. Really fast and really easily. Then, Vinny said he would retire from the sport if he were cut by the UFC. Vinny was cut by the UFC and the world waited for the 29-year-old to keep his word and retire. Well, that’s not happening either, and so, another CagePotato ban has been shamefully defied.

“I never really thought of retiring,” Vinny told MMA Fighting recently. “I made those comments within twenty four hours after I had lost a fight, so I was still a little frustrated, and I was being too emotional with my responses. That’s why I haven’t said a thing since. I needed to clear my mind before starting to speak about my next moves.”

Magalhaes will next fight fellow accomplished submission grappling world champion Jeff Monson November 9th in Hawaii at Global Warrior Challenge 2: USA vs. Brazil. The two will face one another in a heavyweight contest.

Monson, 42, has been fighting professionally since Magalhaes was 13 years old, and will be looking for the 50th win of his career. Monson, like Magalhaes, has lost two straight heading into the November fight, most recently a submission loss to Alexey Olenik. So, we’re not exactly talking about elite-level MMA here. But any event that gives Monson a reason to cut more unintentionally hilarious web-promos is good by us…

– Elias Cepeda

Friday Link Dump: Update on Donald Cerrone’s ‘Boat Rage’, Palhares Gets First Welterweight Opponent, 35 Fun Facts About Kobe Bryant + More

(New “Possibilities” commercial from Nike. Jon Jones shows up at 0:43)

UFC: Donald Cerrone Cooperating With Authorities on Alleged Boating Incident (MMAJunkie)

Bjorn Rebney: ‘Tito Ortiz and Rampage Are 2 of the 4 Faces on MMA Mt. Rushmore’ (BleacherReport)

Frighteningly Unsafe Underground Combat League Still Plugging Along (BloodyElbow)

Rousimar Palhares Cuts to Welterweight, Meets Mike Pierce at UFC Fight Night 29 (Sherdog)

Ratings Report: UFC 163 and UFC 161’s Low PPV Numbers Are Just Latest Indicator of Trend (MMAFighting)

*swoon* (Facebook.com/CagePotato)

Free Fight: Martin Kampmann vs. Jake Ellenberger (YouTube.com/UFC)

The Bella Twins Are Total Divas (MadeMan)

35 Things You Didn’t Know About Kobe Bryant (Complex)

Bob Harper: Diet Trumps Exercise (Men’s Fitness)

Bizarre Crimes You Won’t Believe Actually Happened (DoubleViking)

What to Do When Someone Is Treating You Like an Asshole (EgoTV)

15 Of The Funniest Reactions To Ben Affleck As Batman (Break)


(New “Possibilities” commercial from Nike. Jon Jones shows up at 0:43)

UFC: Donald Cerrone Cooperating With Authorities on Alleged Boating Incident (MMAJunkie)

Bjorn Rebney: ‘Tito Ortiz and Rampage Are 2 of the 4 Faces on MMA Mt. Rushmore’ (BleacherReport)

Frighteningly Unsafe Underground Combat League Still Plugging Along (BloodyElbow)

Rousimar Palhares Cuts to Welterweight, Meets Mike Pierce at UFC Fight Night 29 (Sherdog)

Ratings Report: UFC 163 and UFC 161′s Low PPV Numbers Are Just Latest Indicator of Trend (MMAFighting)

*swoon* (Facebook.com/CagePotato)

Free Fight: Martin Kampmann vs. Jake Ellenberger (YouTube.com/UFC)

The Bella Twins Are Total Divas (MadeMan)

35 Things You Didn’t Know About Kobe Bryant (Complex)

Bob Harper: Diet Trumps Exercise (Men’s Fitness)

Bizarre Crimes You Won’t Believe Actually Happened (DoubleViking)

What to Do When Someone Is Treating You Like an Asshole (EgoTV)

15 Of The Funniest Reactions To Ben Affleck As Batman (Break)