Tag: Rumors

Report: The Ultimate Fighter Bound for the Philippines in 2012


(Why am I excited about this upcoming season? I can’t quite explain it…)

According to a new report, the first international edition of The Ultimate Fighter is close to being finalized in the Philippines. Officials from ABS-CBN — parent company of Balls, the TV sports network that airs UFC programming in the Philippines — informed BloodyElbow that they expect to launch a local edition of the series in 2012. This shouldn’t really come as a shock, considering that rumors of ‘TUF Philippines’ have been circulating since February, and the UFC had just planned a publicity tour of the island nation for current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones following UFC 135.


(Why am I excited about this upcoming season? I can’t quite explain it…)

According to a new report, the first international edition of The Ultimate Fighter is close to being finalized in the Philippines. Officials from ABS-CBN — parent company of Balls, the TV sports network that airs UFC programming in the Philippines — informed BloodyElbow that they expect to launch a local edition of the series in 2012. This shouldn’t really come as a shock, considering that rumors of ‘TUF Philippines’ have been circulating since February, and the UFC had just planned a publicity tour of the island nation for current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones following UFC 135.

No details have emerged in regards to possible weight classes or coaches for the series, but one name that must be in the mix is none other than “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” himself, Mark Munoz. Coming off a big win over Demian Maia at UFC 131, Munoz has gone 6-1 since his drop to middleweight, with the lone loss coming to most recent title contender Yushin Okami. Pairing him with the winner of the Belfort-Le scrap could make for an interesting title picture at 185, and with Anderson Silva riding the pine until then, the division is in need of a few high profile fights to fill the void.

With the recent success of OneFC, there is no question of the potential talent that could become a part of this series; the likes of Eduard Folayang and Eric Kelly could present some intriguing match-ups at lightweight and featherweight, respectively, though the likelihood of the UFC doing two straight seasons of lighter weight-classes seems slim.  Then again, the last heavyweight season of The Ultimate Fighter didn’t exactly leave us begging for more.

-Danga

Rumor of the Day: Vitor Belfort vs. Cung Le Set for UFC 139 *UPDATE*


An “expect a knockout, bro” joke may be cliche, but would you rather us put “Business as usual, You Guys” in the headline?

Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that we’re supposed to be pretending that Strikeforce isn’t a dead company, and is by no means being absorbed by the UFC. Cincinnati is practically dead, despite the fact that the Strikeforce Grand Prix resumes there tonight. Strikeforce fighters are beginning to speak out about the lack of promotion that the UFC gives Strikeforce events. Strikeforce’s own champions have their next fights booked with the UFC. So today’s rumored fight isn’t so much of a surprise in the sense that another top Strikeforce fighter has reportedly been absorbed into the UFC, but rather, in the sense that we’re still going along with this “Strikeforce will continue to operate as a separate organization” thing.

In a statement released via his personal website, Vitor Belfort announced that he will be fighting Cung Le at UFC 139 in San Jose. The UFC has yet to confirm the signing of Cung Le, yet alone the announcement of this fight. Still, it appears that Vitor Belfort is already training for Le as his next opponent, as he has brought in Ray Sefo to help him train. Vitor tells fans to “Prepare to see the same dedication he takes to creating his fists the fastest in MMA to his powerful trunks.” I’m not quite sure what that means, but it sounds awesome.


An “expect a knockout, bro” joke may be cliche, but would you rather us put “Business as usual, You Guys” in the headline?

Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that we’re supposed to be pretending that Strikeforce isn’t a dead company, and is by no means being absorbed by the UFC. Cincinnati is practically dead, despite the fact that the Strikeforce Grand Prix resumes there tonight. Strikeforce fighters are beginning to speak out about the lack of promotion that the UFC gives Strikeforce events. Strikeforce’s own champions have their next fights booked with the UFC. So today’s rumored fight isn’t so much of a surprise in the sense that another top Strikeforce fighter has reportedly been absorbed into the UFC, but rather, in the sense that we’re still going along with this “Strikeforce will continue to operate as a separate organization” thing.

In a statement released via his personal website, Vitor Belfort announced that he will be fighting Cung Le at UFC 139 in San Jose. The UFC has yet to confirm the signing of Cung Le, yet alone the announcement of this fight. Still, it appears that Vitor Belfort is already training for Le as his next opponent, as he has brought in Ray Sefo to help him train. Vitor tells fans to “Prepare to see the same dedication he takes to creating his fists the fastest in MMA to his powerful trunks.” I’m not quite sure what that means, but it sounds awesome.

Cung Le is 7-1 in MMA. His last fight, a second round knockout against Scott Smith, occurred at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum in June 2010. The victory avenged his only career defeat. Likewise, Vitor Belfort is coming off of a first round knockout over Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133.

*UPDATE* Cung Le has confirmed this on his website. It’s either true, or an exceptional troll job by both men.

Report: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Jeff Monson Slated for November M-1 Event in Russia


(Yeah, Putin’s gonna get a big kick out of that, buddy. / Photo via hookedonmma)

Nursing a three-fight losing streak following his shockingly unsuccessful run in Strikeforce, Fedor Emelianenko will reportedly return to action against heavyweight veteran Jeff Monson on November 12th in Russia. Monson announced the matchup last night on Twitter, adding that the fight will be promoted by M-1 Global and there will be a press conference on September 16th. (“Putin will be there. Gonna try and get pic with him in my ‘Communist’ t-shirt.”)

Following his unsuccessful UFC title challenge against Tim Sylvia in November 2006, Monson left the UFC to pursue a bout with Emelianenko for BodogFIGHT. Though the match was scheduled for March 2007, negotiations fell apart and Emelianenko wound up fighting Matt Lindland instead.


(Yeah, Putin’s gonna get a big kick out of that, buddy. / Photo via hookedonmma)

Nursing a three-fight losing streak following his shockingly unsuccessful run in Strikeforce, Fedor Emelianenko will reportedly return to action against heavyweight veteran Jeff Monson on November 12th in Russia. Monson announced the matchup last night on Twitter, adding that the fight will be promoted by M-1 Global and there will be a press conference on September 16th. (“Putin will be there. Gonna try and get pic with him in my ‘Communist’ t-shirt.”)

Following his unsuccessful UFC title challenge against Tim Sylvia in November 2006, Monson left the UFC to pursue a bout with Emelianenko for BodogFIGHT. Though the match was scheduled for March 2007, negotiations fell apart and Emelianenko wound up fighting Matt Lindland instead.

November 12th is the same date as the UFC’s historic debut on FOX; broadcast plans for ‘Fedor vs. Monson’ are unclear at this point. Monson, whose June decision loss to Daniel Cormier snapped an eight-fight win streak, was previously attached to the main event of W-1′s first U.S. show on October 15th. If anything changes with that fight, we’ll let you know.

Jose Aldo’s Life to Become a Major Motion Picture

Jose Aldo movie MMA photos
(“Okay, we need a relatively short actor with a prominent facial scar who can do a believeable Portuguese accent. Just kidding, we’re gonna go with Mark Wahlberg.” Photo courtesy of Esther Lin)

Following in the footsteps of the Matt Hamill biopic Hamill, a movie based on Jose Aldo‘s life is reportedly in the works. According to Fighters Only, film director Afont Poyart — who Google has never heard of, but we’re guessing it’s this guy — is making the final tweaks to the script before starting filming, and the flick is slated to come out by early 2013. Aldo is clearly psyched about the news, telling UOL Desporte:

“It’s a dream, right? My life to turn into a movie, a story…I guess those who don’t know either me or my story, will know a little more through this film that we will make. It will tell a lot of stories that previously are known only to close friends.”

Let’s just hope the barbecue pit scene is tastefully done. As for the lead actor, Aldo has an interesting casting idea…

Jose Aldo movie MMA photos
(“Okay, we need a relatively short actor with a prominent facial scar who can do a believeable Portuguese accent. Just kidding, we’re gonna go with Mark Wahlberg.” Photo courtesy of Esther Lin)

Following in the footsteps of the Matt Hamill biopic Hamill, a movie based on Jose Aldo‘s life is reportedly in the works. According to Fighters Only, film director Afont Poyart — who Google has never heard of, but we’re guessing it’s this guy — is making the final tweaks to the script before starting filming, and the flick is slated to come out by early 2013. Aldo is clearly psyched about the news, telling UOL Desporte:

“It’s a dream, right? My life to turn into a movie, a story…I guess those who don’t know either me or my story, will know a little more through this film that we will make. It will tell a lot of stories that previously are known only to close friends.”

Let’s just hope the barbecue pit scene is tastefully done. As for the lead actor, Aldo has an interesting casting idea…

Aldo is a big fan of Brazilian soap operas and suggested actor Malvino Salvador to play his role. “I watch so many soap operas and I am a big fan of him. He’s a guy who gives me a good energy. For me, it would be Malvino Salvador.”

To summarize, Aldo is a soap opera fanatic, and this guy “gives [him] a good energy.” Oh, Jose, you funny little dreamer…

Quick Hit: Dana White Says Japan Show May Happen “This Year”

Well, the marketing people are ready. ImageSource: UFCStore.com

In the week leading up to pay per views, there’s a good chance that Dana drops an interesting tidbit either at a press conference or during a conversation with one of the few members of the MMA media that he can stomach being around. (For those of you who are just joining us, CagePotato is not in that exclusive club.)

The PPV this week is UFC 132 (which you should really be stoked for, by the way), and the interesting tidbit is BigDaddyWhite saying that a show in Japan could be right around the corner.

“The rumor is true. We’re going to come to Japan, and probably soon.” White did not include any detail of where the event could take place, and when pressed for details on when, he simply said, “This year.”

Japan has long been a target for Dana and the UFC, and he’s spoken before about the difficulty of breaking into the Japanese scene. With the major promotions in Japan floundering, American promotions have poached quite a bit of top talent, which could help give them an in when putting a show together. [Insert Yakuza joke here]

(via MMAJunkie)

[RX]

Well, the marketing people are ready. ImageSource: UFCStore.com

In the week leading up to pay per views, there’s a good chance that Dana drops an interesting tidbit either at a press conference or during a conversation with one of the few members of the MMA media that he can stomach being around.  (For those of you who are just joining us, CagePotato is not in that exclusive club.)

The PPV this week is UFC 132 (which you should really be stoked for, by the way), and the interesting tidbit is BigDaddyWhite saying that a show in Japan could be right around the corner.

“The rumor is true. We’re going to come to Japan, and probably soon.” White did not include any detail of where the event could take place, and when pressed for details on when, he simply said, “This year.”

Japan has long been a target for Dana and the UFC, and he’s spoken before about the difficulty of breaking into the Japanese scene. With the major promotions in Japan floundering, American promotions have poached quite a bit of top talent, which could help give them an in when putting a show together.  [Insert Yakuza joke here]

(via MMAJunkie)

[RX]

Report: UFC Heading to San Jose for ‘Velasquez vs. Dos Santos’ in November

Cain Velasquez UFC MMA photos Junior Dos Santos
(The phrase “f*cked with the wrong Mexican” comes to mind. Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly)

Lorenzo Fertitta has revealed that Cain Velasquez‘s first heavyweight title defense against Junior Dos Santos is slated for UFC 138 (November 19th; HP Pavilion; San Jose, CA), according to a new LA Times report. It would be the UFC’s first event at the “Shark Tank,” which has been the longtime home-base for Strikeforce events. It’s a natural fit, considering Velasquez’s affiliation with San Jose’s American Kickboxing Academy.

Cain Velasquez UFC MMA photos Junior Dos Santos
(The phrase “f*cked with the wrong Mexican” comes to mind. Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly)

Lorenzo Fertitta has revealed that Cain Velasquez‘s first heavyweight title defense against Junior Dos Santos is slated for UFC 138 (November 19th; HP Pavilion; San Jose, CA), according to a new LA Times report. It would be the UFC’s first event at the “Shark Tank,” which has been the longtime home-base for Strikeforce events. It’s a natural fit, considering Velasquez’s affiliation with San Jose’s American Kickboxing Academy.

Velasquez vs. Dos Santos was previously rumored for UFC 136, October 8th in Houston, but Velasquez’s recovery from shoulder surgery has taken slightly longer than expected. UFC 136 still doesn’t have any major fights officially booked — which could be a problem, considering that the next UFC Fan Expo is pegged to the event.

Velasquez and Dos Santos have both compiled outstanding 7-0 runs in the Octagon. Velasquez has been inactive since beating the crap out of former champ Brock Lesnar last October, while Dos Santos just finished demonstrating to the world how much heart Shane Carwin has.