Brittney and Arianny Like Their View at Weigh-Ins

Some fan took this picture at the UFC 131 weigh-ins. Tough to figure what these girls are thinking but my guess is Brittney Palmer is enjoying her view of Nick Ring but well, maybe Arianny.

Some fan took this picture at the UFC 131 weigh-ins. Tough to figure what these girls are thinking but my guess is Brittney Palmer is enjoying her view of Nick Ring but well, maybe Arianny Celeste has seen better.

On This Day in MMA History


(Back when Ken was making more than GSP…)

The TUF 11 Finale went down 1 year ago.

Why it matters:

Five of the fighters from the show are still active in the UFC and four are undefeated in the Octagon.

TUF winner Court McGee, who defeated Kris McCray in the finale by rear naked choke also beat Ryan Jensen by arm triangle at UFC 121 in October. He’s set to face Don Yi Yang at UFN “Battle at the Bayou” in September.

Kyle Noke, who was beaten by teammate McCray by unanimous decision in the quarterfinals of the show, defeated Josh Bryant by TKO at the finale and rattled off two rear naked choke submission wins against Rob Kimmons at UFC 122 in November and TUF 11 cast mate Chris Camozzi at UFC 127 at home in Australia in February. He’ll face Tom Lawlor next at UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle in August.

Brad Tavares, who lost to McGee in the semi-finals by rear naked choke is undefeated in official competition as well as 2-0 in the Octagon.He defeated TUF 11 quarterfinal opponent Seth Baczynski at the finale by unanimous decision and Phil Baroni by knockout at UFC 125 in January.


(Back when Ken was making more than GSP…)

The TUF 11 Finale went down 1 year ago.

Why it matters:

Five of the fighters from the show are still active in the UFC and four are undefeated in the Octagon.

TUF winner Court McGee, who defeated Kris McCray in the finale by rear naked choke also beat Ryan Jensen by arm triangle at UFC 121 in October. He’s set to face Don Yi Yang at UFN “Battle at the Bayou” in September.

Kyle Noke, who was beaten by teammate McCray by unanimous decision in the quarterfinals of the show, defeated Josh Bryant by TKO at the finale and rattled off two rear naked choke submission wins against Rob Kimmons at UFC 122 in November and TUF 11 cast mate Chris Camozzi at UFC 127 at home in Australia in February. He’ll face Tom Lawlor next at UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle in August.

Brad Tavares, who lost to McGee in the semi-finals by rear naked choke is undefeated in official competition as well as 2-0 in the Octagon.He defeated TUF 11 quarterfinal opponent Seth Baczynski at the finale by unanimous decision and Phil Baroni by knockout at UFC 125 in January.

Nick Ring, who was forced out of the competition due to a lingering knee injury that also left him unable to compete at the finale is undefeated in his MMA career and is 2-0 in the UFC with a February UFC 127 unanimous decision win over Riki Fukuda and a UFC 131 rear naked choke win over James Head at last weekend’s UFC 131.

Cage Potato TUF 11 guest blogger Rich Attonito beat Rafael Natal at the finale and lost a hard-fought decision to Dave Branch at the TUF 12 Finale in December. He squares off with Daniel Roberts next week at UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story.

Strikeforce Challengers: Villasenor vs. Cyborg went down two years ago.

Why it matters:

The card, which featured a ton of talent was one of Strikeforce’s “B” show’s best. Tim Kennedy made his debut with the promotion on the card, as did Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos. Kennedy defeated Nick Thompson via tapout due to strikes, while Santos dropped a split decision to Joey Vilasenor.

Also on the card were future SF women’s welterweight champion Sarah Kaufman, Dennis Hallman, Lyle Beerbohm, Luke Rockhold, Conor Heun and Duane Ludwig.

UFC 48: Payback went down 7 years ago.

Why it matters:

Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes both earned a shot at the vacant UFC welterweight title with their respective wins over Jay Hieron and Renato Verissimo.

Frank Mir won the vacant UFC heavyweight strap by defeating (and breaking the arm of) Tim Sylvia. Three months later he was in a serious motorcycle accident in which he broke his leg in several places. He didn’t compete again until nearly two years after winning the belt. Two years later he won the interim title by defeating Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira by TKO at UFC 92 in December 2008, but failed to unify the belts by beating Brock Lesnar seven months later at UFC 100 in July 2009. An impressive unanimous decision win last month over Roy Nelson at UFC 130 has elevated him back to contender status.

Evan Tanner defeated Phil Baroni for the second time in as many fights. One more win over Robbie Lawler (via triangle) at UFC 50 earned Tanner a shot at the vacant UFC middleweight strap, which he won by beating highly-touted David Terrell at UFC 51 by first-round TKO.

Ken Shamrock beat Kimo Leopolda by first-round TKO (knee). The fight would be Kimo’s last in the Octagon. Shamrock made $170,000 for the bout (including a $50,000 win bonus), while Kimo took home $55,000. St-Pierre, who was on the undercard, made $8,000, including a $4,000 win bonus.

Mike Swick was born 31 years ago.

Why he matters:

Of the 16 contestants from the show, only seven are still in the UFC. Although he hasn’t enjoyed the same level of success as cast mates like Forrest Griffin, Josh Koscheck, Diego Sanchez, Kenny Florian or Chris Leben, Swick, like Stephan Bonnar, has some personal victories to his credit.

Beating a former number one contender like David Loiseau like he did at UFC 63 was a huge upset. Beating the career-threatening stomach ailment that hindered his training and ability to put on and cut weight is another notch in his belt. Although his job with the UFC is at risk coming off two straight losses, a year and a half away from the game spent training in places like Thailand and medical treatment to cure his misdiagnosed dyspepsia will hopefully have done the welterweight good and help to rejuvenate his career.

His next fight is against Erick Silva at UFC 134 in Rio in August.

UFC 131 Undercard Live Blog: Soszynksi vs. Massenzio, Ring vs. Head, More

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia – This is the UFC 131 live blog for all five preliminary bouts in support of tonight’s UFC pay-per-view at the Rogers Arena.

The undercard bouts are Michihiro Omigawa vs. Darren Elkins, Joey Beltran vs. Aaron Rosa, Dustin Poirier vs. Jason Young, Nick Ring vs. James Head and Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Mike Massenzio.

The live blog is below.




Michihiro Omigawa vs. Darren Elkins

Round 1: A very calm Omigawa walks to the center of the cage with his hands down low. They feel each other out with punches from far out. Omigawa has the better head movement early, but Elkins is outworking him with punch combos. Good lead left hook from Omigawa jacks Elkins’ jaw. Elkins comes back moments later with a hard right hand that backs Omigawa up. Elkins clips Omigawa behind the ear and makes his legs go shaky for a second. Omigawa leaps in and Elkins takes him down, but is forced to relinquish top position when Omigawa looks for a heel hook. Very active first round by both men. Omigawa looks to be loading up for one big punch, and Elkins corner implores him to get off before the Japanese fighter can throw. Elkins is landing more punches, but a lot of them look like arm punches. He gets after Omigawa in the final twenty seconds and has him reeling a bit before the horn. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Elkins.

Round 2: Omigawa starts the second much more aggressively, chasing Elkins across the cage with punches. Elkins corner assures him that Omigawa can’t keep it up the whole round. Almost on cue, Omigawa’s pace slows. Elkins tags Omigawa, but it’s Elkins who seems to be cut around his right eye. Elkins backs Omigawa against the fence and throws a combo, but Omigawa slips most of the punches and fires back one of his own that connects. Omigawa throws a left hook and Elkins beats him with a right hand counter. Good right hand by Omigawa. Elkins unloads a flurry in response, with Omigawa avoiding most of the blows. Omigawa ducks under a punch and lands a nice right. Elkins dives for an awkward takedown, but it’s not even close. Omigawa is the fresher, less damaged fighter at the end of two. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Omigawa.

Round 3: They touch it up to start the final frame and the crowd cheers their efforts so far. Omigawa wastes little time getting a takedown. Elkins thinks about a guillotine, but it isn’t there. Omigawa goes to work with some nice elbows in Elkins’ guard. Elkins thinks about a triangle/armbar combo, but Omigawa escapes and looks to pass. In the process, Elkins scrambles and tries to take top position before they eventually work back to their feet. Elkins’ face is a bloody mess now. Omigawa is still bobbing and weaving well, while Elkins might have tired a bit. Neither man is terribly active in the final thirty seconds, but the crowd cheers them anyway. Good first fight. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Omigawa.

Darren Elkins def. Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).

The crowd is…not pleased.

Joey Beltran vs. Aaron Rosa

Round 1:

Dustin Poirier vs. Jason Young

Round 1:

Nick Ring vs. James Head

Round 1:

Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Mike Massenzio

Round 1:


Round 2:

Round 3:

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Filed under:

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – This is the UFC 131 live blog for all five preliminary bouts in support of tonight’s UFC pay-per-view at the Rogers Arena.

The undercard bouts are Michihiro Omigawa vs. Darren Elkins, Joey Beltran vs. Aaron Rosa, Dustin Poirier vs. Jason Young, Nick Ring vs. James Head and Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Mike Massenzio.

The live blog is below.




Michihiro Omigawa vs. Darren Elkins

Round 1: A very calm Omigawa walks to the center of the cage with his hands down low. They feel each other out with punches from far out. Omigawa has the better head movement early, but Elkins is outworking him with punch combos. Good lead left hook from Omigawa jacks Elkins’ jaw. Elkins comes back moments later with a hard right hand that backs Omigawa up. Elkins clips Omigawa behind the ear and makes his legs go shaky for a second. Omigawa leaps in and Elkins takes him down, but is forced to relinquish top position when Omigawa looks for a heel hook. Very active first round by both men. Omigawa looks to be loading up for one big punch, and Elkins corner implores him to get off before the Japanese fighter can throw. Elkins is landing more punches, but a lot of them look like arm punches. He gets after Omigawa in the final twenty seconds and has him reeling a bit before the horn. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Elkins.

Round 2: Omigawa starts the second much more aggressively, chasing Elkins across the cage with punches. Elkins corner assures him that Omigawa can’t keep it up the whole round. Almost on cue, Omigawa’s pace slows. Elkins tags Omigawa, but it’s Elkins who seems to be cut around his right eye. Elkins backs Omigawa against the fence and throws a combo, but Omigawa slips most of the punches and fires back one of his own that connects. Omigawa throws a left hook and Elkins beats him with a right hand counter. Good right hand by Omigawa. Elkins unloads a flurry in response, with Omigawa avoiding most of the blows. Omigawa ducks under a punch and lands a nice right. Elkins dives for an awkward takedown, but it’s not even close. Omigawa is the fresher, less damaged fighter at the end of two. MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 for Omigawa.

Round 3: They touch it up to start the final frame and the crowd cheers their efforts so far. Omigawa wastes little time getting a takedown. Elkins thinks about a guillotine, but it isn’t there. Omigawa goes to work with some nice elbows in Elkins’ guard. Elkins thinks about a triangle/armbar combo, but Omigawa escapes and looks to pass. In the process, Elkins scrambles and tries to take top position before they eventually work back to their feet. Elkins’ face is a bloody mess now. Omigawa is still bobbing and weaving well, while Elkins might have tired a bit. Neither man is terribly active in the final thirty seconds, but the crowd cheers them anyway. Good first fight. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Omigawa.

Darren Elkins def. Michihiro Omigawa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).

The crowd is…not pleased.

Joey Beltran vs. Aaron Rosa

Round 1:

Dustin Poirier vs. Jason Young

Round 1:

Nick Ring vs. James Head

Round 1:

Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Mike Massenzio

Round 1:


Round 2:

Round 3:

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Falling Action: Best and Worst of UFC 127

Filed under: UFCUFC 127 was supposed to be the event that put an internet rivalry to bed and established once and for all the next top contender in the UFC’s welterweight division.

Maybe it was a bad idea to hold such an event Down Under, because in …

Filed under:

UFC 127 was supposed to be the event that put an internet rivalry to bed and established once and for all the next top contender in the UFC’s welterweight division.

Maybe it was a bad idea to hold such an event Down Under, because in the end neither of those things happened as planned.

It was truly a night of surprises in Sydney – some of them good, others just weird – and there’s nothing left to do now but sift through the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between.

Nick Ring Defends Controversial Decision Win

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SYDNEY — MMA Fighting spoke to Nick Ring about his controversial win over Riki Fukuda at Sunday’s UFC 127 in Sydney, Australia. Ring stated his case as to how he won the first two rounds, but admitted he was a “little bit” surprised that he ended up with the unanimous decision win.

Filed under: , , ,

SYDNEY — MMA Fighting spoke to Nick Ring about his controversial win over Riki Fukuda at Sunday’s UFC 127 in Sydney, Australia. Ring stated his case as to how he won the first two rounds, but admitted he was a “little bit” surprised that he ended up with the unanimous decision win.

Nick Ring vs. Riki Fukuda Inked for UFC 127 February 27 in Australia

("The Promise" and "Killer Bee" will clash down under.)
CagePotato.com has learned from a source close to the fight that a middleweight bout between The Ultimate Fighter 11 standout Nick Ring (10-0) and Kazuo Misaki’s Grabaka teamma…


("The Promise" and "Killer Bee" will clash down under.)

CagePotato.com has learned from a source close to the fight that a middleweight bout between The Ultimate Fighter 11 standout Nick Ring (10-0) and Kazuo Misaki’s Grabaka teammate, Riki Fukuda (17-4) has been signed for UFC 127 February 27 in Sydney, Australia.

The fight will be the first for Ring since the undefeated Canadian notched a majority decision win over eventual TUF 11 winner Court McGee while filming the show in January. After the bout, Ring, who had been competing with a lingering knee injury, was forced to pull out of the competition due to a torn ACL which would require surgery. The favorite to win the competition, the 30-year-old has been rehabbing the joint since having it surgically repaired in April and has been training in Montreal at Tristar Gym with fellow UFC fighters, welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and longtime training partner Rory MacDonald.

Fukuda, who, like Ring,  will also be making his Octagon debut at the event down under, is the DEEP middleweight champion and has not lost since 2008. An EliteXC and DREAM veteran, his most notable victory is a unanimous decision he won over Murilo "Ninja" Rua at DREAM 8 in 2009. The 29-year-old native of Tokyo who has only been finished once in his career surprised many when he took veteran Joe Doerksen to a decision in his first bout in 2004.

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