Filed under: UFC, NewsExpect the UFC marketing machine to go all out beginning this weekend. With less than two weeks until the biggest event in the promotion’s history, UFC director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright stopped by The MMA Hour Monday to d…
Expect the UFC marketing machine to go all out beginning this weekend. With less than two weeks until the biggest event in the promotion’s history, UFC director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright stopped by The MMA Hour Monday to discuss preparations for the sold-out UFC 129 event on April 30 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
“We’ve got a full plan for the eight-nine days leading up to the event. It’s called the Takeover Toronto Plan,” Wright said. “We’ve got everything you can imagine going on in the city getting ready for the big fight on the 30th.”
Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsSince we talked to Sean Pierson on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour, his UFC 129 opponent changed from Brian Foster to Jake Ellenberger after Foster suffered a brain hemorrhage.
While training for a new opponent on less than three weeks notice isn’t ideal, it definitely isn’t the toughest task the 35-year-old has been forced to confront since winning his UFC debut in December.
Shortly after his win over Matt Riddle at UFC 124, Pierson was set to begin a new job as a Toronto Police officer. However, after his Octagon debut, the Toronto Police Service asked Pierson to choose between continuing his UFC career or beginning a new one as a police officer. He couldn’t do both, they said.
Pierson, who began his MMA career in 1999, chose to stick with the UFC.
“I chose to follow the dream,” Pierson said. “I’ve been dreaming of this for 15 years to try and get into the UFC, so it’s a one-time shot, and I was going to go for it.”
The UFC confirmed the change late Wednesday night.
The opponent switch was necessary after Pierson’s original opponent, Brian Foster, was forced to withdraw after a pre-fight MRI discovered a brain hemorrhage.
UFC revealed an official UFC 129 poster and it shows Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields awash in each of their country’s flags. This is probably the only time I haven’t felt patriotic for America. America’s not supposed to be the one we root against! Why did UFC do this? Shields is no Rocky Balboa. […]
UFC revealed an official UFC 129 poster and it shows Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields awash in each of their country’s flags. This is probably the only time I haven’t felt patriotic for America. America’s not supposed to be the one we root against! Why did UFC do this? Shields is no Rocky Balboa. Today, I am not proud. Ich bin ein Berliner.
Filed under: UFC, NewsWelterweight matchups Nate Diaz vs. Rory MacDonald and Sean Pierson vs. Jake Ellenberger have been selected as the two undercard bouts to air live on Spike TV off the UFC 129 card on Saturday, April 30 in Toronto.
UFC 129: Prelims will air at 8 p.m. ET as a lead-in to the pay-per-view headlined by Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields. The new pay-per-view airtime of 9 p.m. ET begins with this event.
Filed under: UFC, StrikeforceJake Shields and Gilbert Melendez would love to be able to tell people that it was their mutual love of martial arts that first united them in friendship, but it isn’t true.
Jake Shields and Gilbert Melendez would love to be able to tell people that it was their mutual love of martial arts that first united them in friendship, but it isn’t true.
These days the top UFC welterweight contender and the Strikeforce lightweight champ seem like dedicated training partners who have successfully pushed each other toward a common goal, but it wasn’t always the case. Instead, it was their shared interest a completely different pursuit that first brought them together.
“Jake was looking for someone to party with,” Melendez recalled. “I was like, hell yeah.”
Then a student at San Francisco State, Melendez wasn’t the type to turn down that request, so the two future MMA champions got together over a drink or twelve.
Expect the UFC marketing machine to go all out beginning this weekend. With less than two weeks until the biggest event in the promotion’s history, UFC director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright stopped by The MMA Hour Monday to discuss preparations for the sold-out UFC 129 event on April 30 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
Since we talked to 
Jake Ellenberger
Welterweight matchups 