Tag: UFC 122

Alessio Sakara Takes His Love of Body Art, Italian History Very Seriously

(Sakara will do absolutely anything to land this amateur modeling gig, you guys. Any. Thing. Props: MMACrypt.com)
The prevailing public opinion on Alessio Sakara has long been: Mediocre fighter, world class tattoos. Hell, even Jorge Rivera – who …


(Sakara will do absolutely anything to land this amateur modeling gig, you guys. Any. Thing. Props: MMACrypt.com)

The prevailing public opinion on Alessio Sakara has long been: Mediocre fighter, world class tattoos. Hell, even Jorge Rivera – who will fight him this Saturday at UFC 122 – admitted in interviews this week that he thinks Sakara has the best ink in MMA. With a middling 6-4 record in the Octagon (with one hard-earned no contest after Ron Faircloth kicked him in the balls at UFC 55)  it’s even been suggested (OK, maybe just by me, but whatever) that the UFC’s rationale for giving him second chance after second chance has more to do with his wicked physical appearance than his actual fighting ability.

One glance at Sakara tells you he’s proud of his Italian heritage, but we had no idea exactly how into it he was until we got a load of his interview with Fighters Only this week. Turns out, not only does Sakara actually consider himself a modern day “solider of Rome” (his words), but he named his sons Leonidas and Marcus Valerian … which is not quite as weird as naming all your sons “Rampage,” but still. That’s dedication, people. Dedication to a proud history that ended in about 476 AD.

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UFC 122 Press Conference Sound Bites

Filed under: UFCFive featured fighters from the UFC 122 event along with a pair of UFC officials entertained questions from the media at Koenig Pilsener Arena in Germany on Thursday.

Among those taking part were main event participants Yushin Okami an…

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Five featured fighters from the UFC 122 event along with a pair of UFC officials entertained questions from the media at Koenig Pilsener Arena in Germany on Thursday.

Among those taking part were main event participants Yushin Okami and Nate Marquardt, along with co-main event fighters Jorge Rivera and Alessio Sakara, and German lightweight Dennis Siver, along with UFC UK president Marshall Zelaznik and German event co-promoter Marek Lieberberg.

Below are excerpts from the fighters and officials about the upcoming event.

Nate Marquardt: ‘I Feel Like It’s My Time’

Filed under: UFCThese are strange times in the UFC middleweight division. If you don’t believe it, just ask Nate Marquardt.

Back in February he was one win away from getting another crack at the 185-pound title. A little over nine months later he’s s…

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These are strange times in the UFC middleweight division. If you don’t believe it, just ask Nate Marquardt.

Back in February he was one win away from getting another crack at the 185-pound title. A little over nine months later he’s still one win away, thanks in part to a positive drug test from the last man to beat him, but also thanks to a bizarre mid-fight mental lapse from his most recent opponent.

Now he heads off to what will be, one way or another, a career-defining bout at UFC 122 in Germany – a country where you can buy a ticket to a UFC event, but can’t find it on TV.

See what I mean? Strange times. Only for Marquardt, the weirdness has started to turn in his favor. Rather than ask questions about why or how, he’s opted to go with the flow and worry about the only thing he can control: beating Yushin Okami.

Nate Marquardt Stands Between GSP-Silva Dream Fight

Filed under: UFCIf you’re one of the many UFC fans who’s been clamoring for a fight between welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and middleweight champion Anderson Silva, you can blame Nate Marquardt’s friendship with St. Pierre for the fact that i…

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If you’re one of the many UFC fans who’s been clamoring for a fight between welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and middleweight champion Anderson Silva, you can blame Nate Marquardt‘s friendship with St. Pierre for the fact that it hasn’t happened yet, and likely won’t happen any time soon.

In a live chat with MMAFighting.com readers, Marquardt said that he believes GSP — a longtime teammate and training partner — is avoiding moving up to middleweight to challenge Silva in large part because GSP wants Marquardt to get another chance at the middleweight title.

MMA Roundtable: How Does WEC 52 Stack Up Against UFC 122?

Filed under: UFC, WECWith WEC 52 and UFC 122 teaming up to make the next few days in the MMA world Zuffa-tastic, I could think of no better way to prepare than by sitting down for a spirited internet discussion with my MMA Fighting colleague, Mike Chia…

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With WEC 52 and UFC 122 teaming up to make the next few days in the MMA world Zuffa-tastic, I could think of no better way to prepare than by sitting down for a spirited internet discussion with my MMA Fighting colleague, Mike Chiappetta.

And by spirited, I mean that I asked him some questions, he questioned the validity of my questions, then I got mad and posted a bunch of comments on his articles about what a jerk he is. What can I say? I’m a petty, mean-spirited person.

But enough of our problems. On to question one:

Say you’re living in an igloo and only have enough gas in the generator to fire up the TV for one MMA event this week. Do you go with the WEC or the UFC to take your mind off your terrible predicament?

UFC and The Best Things in Life are Free (This Week Only)

UFC and Spike TV have decided to give you a full week of free fights, leading up to UFC 122: Marquardt Vs. Okami this Saturday, November 13th. Because of the time change, this overseas fight which takes place in Oberhausen, Germany is one of the few fight cards that is not Pay-Per-View, that […]

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UFC and Spike TV have decided to give you a full week of free fights, leading up to UFC 122: Marquardt Vs. Okami this Saturday, November 13th. Because of the time change, this overseas fight which takes place in Oberhausen, Germany is one of the few fight cards that is not Pay-Per-View, that is if you don’t consider you must pay for cable to watch it on Spike.

Included in Spike’s MMA action-packed week are the TUF 12 quarterfinals. Two bouts will take place in the show’s quarterfinals this Wednesday night. Team Koscheck’s Sako Chivitchian faces Team GSP’s Jonathan Brookins. Koscheck’s nemesis Cody McKenzie meets Nam Phan in the second quarterfinal match up.