Chael Sonnen Could Sell Water to a Drowning Man; is Fighting Akiyama (UPDATE)

Despite an impending sentence on March 28th for pleading guilty to Federal Money Laundering, it looks like Chael Sonnen will be facing Yoshihiro Akiyama on March 18th at UFC 128. The prospective fight may pose more concern than the rumored 20 years and half million dollar fine, Sonnen was expected to face, as it […]

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Despite an impending sentence on March 28th for pleading guilty to Federal Money Laundering, it looks like Chael Sonnen will be facing Yoshihiro Akiyama on March 18th at UFC 128. The prospective fight may pose more concern than the rumored 20 years and half million dollar fine, Sonnen was expected to face, as it has been reported that Sonnen took a deal of a $10,000 fine and 2 years probation in exchange for his guilty plea.

Chael Sonnen seems to be above the law at this point. Should we all be despising him by now? I might be a little… but I take in solace the knowledge that he has (and I’ll borrow the term from the poker world) small ball(s) and that his real estate license has now been revoked, and that his political career is in the toilet. Let’s hope Sexyama can throw him one final blow and quiet the smooth talker, at least for the rest of the year, as the MMA world may have had its fill of this shameless self-promoting salesman.

*UPDATE: MMAWeekly is reporting that Dana White is putting Chael Sonnen on suspension for the time being and the Akiyama fight is off. Ah…some retribution after all…

Wild-Ass UFC Booking Roundup: Miller vs. Shalorus, Faber vs. Wineland, Bruce Leroy, Kid Yamamoto + More

("This big horsemeat-eating motherf*cker is next.")
There’s been a veritable orgy of UFC fight-bookings happening over the last couple days, and we might as well throw them all at you in one lump sum. We’ll start with one that might…


("This big horsemeat-eating motherf*cker is next.")

There’s been a veritable orgy of UFC fight-bookings happening over the last couple days, and we might as well throw them all at you in one lump sum. We’ll start with one that might not be the biggest of the bunch, but definitely struck us as the strangest…

Jim Miller vs. Kamal Shalorus – UFC 128:
When Dana White proclaimed that Miller’s impressive kneebar submission win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 124 put him in the mix of  lightweight contenders, nobody figured that would mean that he’d be paired with an Octagon newcomer in his next bout. But this is the UFC, and sometimes the organization’s MMA math just doesn’t make a hell of a lot of sense. The Sparta, New Jersey native will attempt to increase his winning streak to seven when he takes on  (7-0-2) WEC veteran Shalorus at UFC 128 in his backyard in New Jersey.

Dan Miller vs. David Branch – UFC 128:
Considering that his brother is on the card and they can save on cornermen hotel rooms and plane tickets, it’s a no-brainer that the UFC would have another local fighter like Miller on the card for UFC 128. The fact that they now have to pay Chuck Liddell’s seven-figure salary,  bar and strip club tabs has not been lost on the accounting department who have undoubtedly suggested some cost cutting measures that will be implemented in 2011. Wait until you see the beat-up budget ex-strippers they bring in to replace Arianny and Chandella.

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Brendan Schaub – UFC 128:
It turned out that reports earlier this week that a rumored bout between Schaub and Stephan Struve had been verbally agreed to by both fighters were incorrect. Instead, Schaub will look to climb over former PRIDE wrecking machine, Cro Cop on his way to a top five opponent in 2011.

Filipovic will attempt to prolong his rapidly shortening career by defeating the up-and-coming fighter who is riding a three-fight winning streak which includes a "W" over Gabriel Gonzaga — the last man to put Cro Cop to sleep prior to Frank Mir turning his lights out in his last outing at UFC 119.

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Ricardo Almeida vs. Mike Pyle Targeted for UFC 128

Filed under: UFC, NewsA welterweight bout between local favorite Ricardo Almeida and Mike Pyle is slated for UFC 128 in Newark, NJ, MMA Fighting learned through sources close to the fight.

UFC 128 is expected to take place March 19 at the Prudential C…

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A welterweight bout between local favorite Ricardo Almeida and Mike Pyle is slated for UFC 128 in Newark, NJ, MMA Fighting learned through sources close to the fight.

UFC 128 is expected to take place March 19 at the Prudential Center, headlined by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Rashad Evans for the UFC light heavyweight title.

Exclusive Video: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Discusses Rebound Match Against Tito Ortiz

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira interview – Watch more Funny Videos
If the recent reports are accurate, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will take on Tito Ortiz in a light-heavyweight feature at UFC 128 (March 19th, Newark). Lil’ Nog will be looking to boun…

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira interview – Watch more Funny Videos

If the recent reports are accurate, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will take on Tito Ortiz in a light-heavyweight feature at UFC 128 (March 19th, Newark). Lil’ Nog will be looking to bounce back after Ryan Bader handed him his first loss in three-and-a-half years at UFC 119. Meanwhile, Ortiz hasn’t tasted victory in over four years. (Seriously. We can’t believe he’s still around either.) Despite the career tailspin of the HBBB, Nogueira isn’t taking him lightly. As he tells our Brazilian correspondent Brian D’Souza:

"I think he’s a very tough guy. He’s an ex-champion, he [was] undefeated for many years. I think he’s a very good wrestler…he has very good Muay Thai. I think he’s dangerous, but I’m gonna do my best for sure. I want to make a better fight from last time. I’ve had two or three fights with wrestling guys, I think I’ve proven my wrestling…I want to do a very good fight with Tito. I can do better."

Nogueira also discusses his new gym in San Diego, and his training partner Anderson Silva’s upcoming bout with Vitor Belfort. It will not surprise you to discover that Lil’ Nog has his money on the Spider.

Related: Win or lose, Tito Ortiz vows that the Nogueira fight won’t be his last.

Upcoming 2011 UFC Headlining Possibilities

As the rumors and confirmations swirl online, 2011 is shaping up for the UFC with about 3 or 4 fights expected in March. Today we were given the official fight card for UFC 125 which takes place on the very first day of the new year, headlined by Lightweight Champion, Frankie Edgar and Gray […]

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As the rumors and confirmations swirl online, 2011 is shaping up for the UFC with about 3 or 4 fights expected in March. Today we were given the official fight card for UFC 125 which takes place on the very first day of the new year, headlined by Lightweight Champion, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. Moving on to February 5th, we will see another title on the line as Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva goes head-to-head with contender, Vitor Belfort at UFC 126. We close out the month with UFC 127 headlined by Jon Fitch and BJ Penn’s Welterweight battle at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia. Then somewhere in March we start a little UFC traffic jam with UFC on Versus 3 expected to be held March 3rd and headlined by another Welterweight tilt, Martin Kampmann vs Diego Sanchez. Rumors are now circulating that Frank Mir and Brendan Schaub could face each other on this card or perhaps they will meet on the UFC 129 card taking place in Newark, New Jersey on March 19th and expected to be headlined by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Rashad Evans…Oh! But wait…What about UFC 128? That will have to happen somewhere in March, as well to keep sequence. And now we are hearing talks of UFC 131 going down in Toronto, Ontario which would be headlined by none other than “Canada’s Most Famous Athlete” Georges St. Pierre as he picks through another Welterweight titleshot contender, Jake Shields on April 30th… But before that, UFC 130 will have to take place; unfortunately, no rumors have begun for that one just yet…Anyone want to throw in Chael Sonnen vs Wanderlei Silva or Miguel Torres vs Urijah Faber or even bring the newly retired via social media outlets, Randy Couture to fill in those slots? To be continued….

Report: Shogun vs. Evans, Lil’ Nog vs. Ortiz Moved to March 19th in Newark

(Brazilian Vinny, Mauricio Rua, and Brazilian Steve-O celebrate their big moment. Photo courtesy of the Las Vegas Sun)
According to a new report from Sportsnet, the UFC light-heavyweight title fight between Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Rashad …

Mauricio Rua UFC MMA Lyoto Machida UFC 113 photos
(Brazilian Vinny, Mauricio Rua, and Brazilian Steve-O celebrate their big moment. Photo courtesy of the Las Vegas Sun)

According to a new report from Sportsnet, the UFC light-heavyweight title fight between Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Rashad Evans is expected to headline a March 19th event at the Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey. Tito Ortiz’s last-last chance against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is also slated for the show. Both fights had been previously tied to a March return to Abu Dhabi, leading to speculation that the event might not happen at all. As UFC U.K. president Marshall Zelaznik said back in November:

"I know there’s been talk of March 19 potentially happening. While we’re looking at delivering a pay-per-view (event) around that time, nothing’s been defined in terms of whether Abu Dhabi gets it or someone else."

March 2011 is already a busy month for the UFC, with UFC on Versus 3 slated to take place on 3/3 and a possible UFC Fight Night event on 3/26. In March 2010, Newark hosted UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy, which drew a passionate East Coast fan contingent. Until New York gets its head out of its ass, this might be the closest thing to an annual NYC event that we’ll get.