UFC Fight for the Troops 2: Matt Mitrione KOs Tim Hague

Filed under: UFC, NewsMatt Mitrione needed only a couple minutes to whoop Tim Hague at the UFC Fight for the Troops 2, keeping the fight standing and using powerful punches to beat on Hague, then pounding him some more on the floor before the referee s…

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Matt Mitrione needed only a couple minutes to whoop Tim Hague at the UFC Fight for the Troops 2, keeping the fight standing and using powerful punches to beat on Hague, then pounding him some more on the floor before the referee stepped in at the 2:59 mark to stop the fight, handing Mitrione a first-round technical knockout.

“I’m here to fight,” Mitrione said afterward. “I’m here to get a piece of gold.”

Matt Mitrione Issues Challenge to Doubters

When Tim Hague was recently asked by MMACanada.net his thoughts on Matt Mitrione, the big Canadian shied away from openly criticizing his opponent on Saturday night at Fight for the Troops 2.

“I don’t want to criticize the guy because he’s 3-0 in the …

When Tim Hague was recently asked by MMACanada.net his thoughts on Matt Mitrione, the big Canadian shied away from openly criticizing his opponent on Saturday night at Fight for the Troops 2.

“I don’t want to criticize the guy because he’s 3-0 in the UFC,” he said, “but there’s just a couple of things I’ve picked up on that I think I can exploit. I don’t really want to put him out there too much, but I think I can get the victory.”

Not the harshest pre-fight trash talk you’ve ever heard, right?

Well, when we played the clip for Mitrione on Wednesday’s episode of The MMA Hour, it seemed to light a fire under the former NFL lineman.

2011: Year of the Heavyweight

Filed under: UFC, StrikeforceIf 2011 goes as planned, we’ll see more good, competitive, high-level mixed martial arts fights than we’ve ever seen in any year of the sport’s existence.

Strikeforce’s eight-man heavyweight tournament was getting all the …

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If 2011 goes as planned, we’ll see more good, competitive, high-level mixed martial arts fights than we’ve ever seen in any year of the sport’s existence.

Strikeforce’s eight-man heavyweight tournament was getting all the headlines last week, but the UFC did a nice job of bouncing back with the news that Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos will coach the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, that Shane Carwin expects to return in June, and that Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson and Stefan Struve vs. Travis Browne are slated for May.

Assuming a best-case scenario for both promotions, we’ll have good heavyweight fights from Strikeforce, the UFC or both every month for the next 10 months or so, culminating with the return of Cain Velasquez and the Strikeforce tournament final toward the end of the year. Remember, I started this with an “If”: Looking ahead to fights that we hope to see in the future is always risky business. But below we’ll look at the fights that will make this the year of the heavyweight.

Matt Mitrione Squashes WWE Rumors

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsRoy Nelson, Shonie Carter — they’re all clearly interested in pursuing a career in World Wrestling Entertainment.

Matt Mitrione, on the other hand, is not. And quite frankly, he isn’t sure why you think he is…

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Roy Nelson, Shonie Carter — they’re all clearly interested in pursuing a career in World Wrestling Entertainment.

Matt Mitrione, on the other hand, is not. And quite frankly, he isn’t sure why you think he is.

A rumor began circulating around the MMA world following Mitrione’s win over Joey Beltran at UFC 119 that the former NFL player turned MMA fighter was going to cut short his promising fighting career to pursue a life as pro wrestler.

Not so, says Mitrione.

“That’s such a weird situation that my name got thrown in the mix, and then after that, that Pat Barry’s name got thrown in the mix,” Mitirone said on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour. “Like, why is my training camp getting assaulted by the WWF people, man?”

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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Video Evidence: The Weekend’s Knockouts (Literal and Figurative), Plus People Talking

(Guess who’s coming to dinner? PicProps: Cagewriter)
A bit of a slow weekend for those of us out there with more refined tastes, as the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final 16 pretty much dominated the scene. If striking is your bag, you’ll probably d…


(Guess who’s coming to dinner? PicProps: Cagewriter)

A bit of a slow weekend for those of us out there with more refined tastes, as the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final 16 pretty much dominated the scene. If striking is your bag, you’ll probably dig the video after the jump of some guy named Gago Drago knocking out some guy named Su Hawn Lee at that event. Pretty good scrap, there. On the MMA front, reports are all but confirming Jon Jones vs. Ryan Bader will happen early next year and that after UFC 125 Antonio McKee might have to go to church and pray for the eternal soul of Jacob Volkmann.

Also after the jump, one more K-1 knockout, a short clip of Tim Hague handling Travis Wiuff at AMMA 5 north of the border, Arianny Celeste talks to an extremely creepy-voiced dude from MMA Digest, Evan Dunham shows off his scars and — in honor of his signing — a quick flashback to some of McKee’s best work.

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