Tag: UFC 139

UFC 139: Miguel Torres Returns Against Nick Pace

Former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres will be returning come late-fall. In his way will be top prospect Nick Pace. The two will clash at UFC 139, which takes place on November 19 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, where a light heavyweight m…

Former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres will be returning come late-fall. 

In his way will be top prospect Nick Pace. The two will clash at UFC 139, which takes place on November 19 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, where a light heavyweight match pitting PRIDE veterans Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua will take place.

The news was originally broke by Pace via Twitter, though the east-coaster eventually withdrew a previous tweet stating “UFC 139 in Cali. Nick Pace vs Miguel Torres. #HATERS.”

The New Yorker was last seen in action when he took on the grizzly Ivan Menjivar. Both men met last August for UFC 133, where they engaged in a tooth-and-nail, back-and-forth battle that eventually went to the score cards, where Menjivar took a close decision. The loss has left Pace 1-2 under the Zuffa banner, and he is likely a prime candidate for the chopping block. 

Torres, meanwhile, was recently in talks to be in line for a shot at the 135-pound title, before being derailed. The TriStar product was last seen in action against bantamweight spitfire Demetrious Johnson. “Mighty Mouse” eventually walked away with a contentious decision win, and inevitably earned the right to challenge for the promotion’s title, as he will now face champion Dominick Cruz next Saturday at UFC on Versus 6. 

The loss snapped a two-fight win streak for Torres, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, which now evens his UFC record to 1-1. 

A win for the former world champion will mean he still has the gusto to defeat developing talent, while a loss for Pace will likely mean the 24-year-old will be seeking employment elsewhere. 

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Miguel Torres, Nick Pace Slated for UFC 139 Bantamweight Bout in San Jose

Filed under: UFC, NewsA pair of bantamweights coming off losses will meet in San Jose, Calif., looking to get back in the win column.

Former WEC 135-pound champion Miguel Torres and Nick Pace have verbally agreed to a fight at UFC 139 in November. Bot…

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A pair of bantamweights coming off losses will meet in San Jose, Calif., looking to get back in the win column.

Former WEC 135-pound champion Miguel Torres and Nick Pace have verbally agreed to a fight at UFC 139 in November. Both ex-WEC fighters won their UFC debuts, but suffered setbacks in their second outings with the promotion.

Pace said on his Twitter account Friday that he was fighting Torres – but later removed the Tweet from his page. But early Saturday, sources close to the fight confirmed to MMA Fighting that the bout has been agreed to.

Torres (38-4, 1-1 UFC) lost a unanimous decision to Demetrious Johnson at UFC 130 in May – a fight most analysts and observers believe Torres won. That loss snapped a two-fight winning streak for Torres. But more importantly for Johnson, it got him a title shot against Dominick Cruz next week.

Torres went nearly six years without a loss, catapulting himself into the conversation of pound-for-pound top fighters in the world. But in his fourth defense of the WEC bantamweight title, he suffered the first knockout of his career, surrendering the belt to Brian Bowles at WEC 42. He followed that loss up with a submission to Joseph Benavidez – his first tapout loss. That defeat prompted him to change his training strategy, and rather than mostly training himself at his gym in Northwest Indiana, he moved his camps to the Tristar Gym in Montreal under the direction of Firas Zahabi.

Pace (6-2, 1-1 UFC) was the Ring of Combat bantamweight champ before signing with the WEC last year. His first loss under the Zuffa banner came to Johnson by unanimous decision. After a submission win over Will Campuzano at the TUF 12 Finale last December, Pace dropped a unanimous decision to Ivan Menjivar at UFC 133 in August.

UFC 139 was expected to feature a heavyweight title fight between champ Cain Velasquez, who trains in San Jose, and Junior dos Sanots. But that fight was moved to the UFC’s debut on the Fox network Nov. 12. Instead, Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson will return to the UFC and headline the event against former champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

Also on the card, Wanderlei Silva faces Cung Le in Le’s UFC debut. Former champs Urijah Faber and Bowles meet in a bantamweight bout. TUF 8 winner Ryan Bader faces Jason Brilz. And TUF 1 runner-up Stephan Bonnar meets Kyle Kingsbury.

 

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UFC 139: Winner of Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio Rua Likely for Title Shot

As the UFC begins to slowly pull in talent from its sister organization Strikeforce, perhaps its biggest acquisition to date has been the re-signing of ex-light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson.The Californian recently relinquished his title in an ef…

As the UFC begins to slowly pull in talent from its sister organization Strikeforce, perhaps its biggest acquisition to date has been the re-signing of ex-light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson.

The Californian recently relinquished his title in an effort to have a successful return to the UFC, moving into a high-profile bout with fellow PRIDE veteran Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. 

The two men will serve as the main event for UFC 139, in a five-round, non-title affair, taking place November 19 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

President Dana White recently discussed the implications that the pivotal 205-pound matchup will have on it’s division, which will likely determine the next contender in the weight class.

“It would be tough not to give the winner of that fight the next shot after Rashad [Evans],” said White to MMAJunkie.com, proceeding today’s UFC 135 pre-fight press conference. 

Henderson has now re-entered the organization on the heels of a three-fight win streak, with all victories ending in a dramatic finish. In his last outing, the Team Quest product fought the legendary Fedor Emelianenko in a heavyweight affair, starching the Russian with a first-round TKO last July.

Rua, meanwhile, has also returned to contender status with a vengeance. After recently dropping his title to champion Jon Jones last March, “Shogun” met fellow former champion Forrest Griffin at UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro, blitzing The Ultimate Fighter season one winner, finishing him with strikes in less than two minutes.

The victory avenged a 2007 defeat to Griffin, who greeted the Brazilian upon his UFC debut, submitting him in the third round with a rear-naked choke.

It’s a PRIDE-esque throwback that the fans have been asking for and now the organization has delivered in kind. 

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UFC: Can Dan Henderson Legitimately Knock out Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in San Jose?

Dan Henderson is officially (and without question) in the debate for not only being the one true test left for Jon “Bones” Jones’ UFC light heavyweight crown, but also for being known as the greatest of all time—at least, some would say so, and t…

Dan Henderson is officially (and without question) in the debate for not only being the one true test left for Jon “Bones” Jones’ UFC light heavyweight crown, but also for being known as the greatest of all time—at least, some would say so, and they would not get an argument to the contrary from me.

He’s fought the best, beaten the best and has not severely deterred, despite having been beaten by some of the best also. His streak of fighting the best fighters in MMA will continue as he headlines UFC 139 opposite one Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, the former UFC light heavyweight champ.

Now, anyone who has followed Shogun’s career knows his UFC patterns: He loses one after a knee surgery, wins a couple, then loses the next one, but rebounds easily.

That’s how it’s been for Shogun. The key thing about his losses so far is that they have all come either when Shogun was somewhat rusty or—in the case of his UFC 104 loss to Lyoto Machida—on account of atrocious ringside judging.

As a result, we’re forced to ask if Henderson will be added to the collection of heads that Shogun possesses.

All things considered, will Henderson’s be the next head collected by Shogun?

Ask one man and he’ll tell you that the KO will happen with Shogun on the receiving end, but he will be as healthy of a fighter as he’s ever been.

Shogun will hit Henderson with everything—including the dishwasher and the garage—in order to find the finish. But just like Rafael Cavalcante, just like Michael Bisping, just like Renato Sobral and even just like the great Fedor Emelianenko, he will not be able to obliterate the most legendary iron jaw in combat sports.

Ask another man and he’ll tell you that Henderson will somehow survive the onslaught and will lay Rua out in a more devastating fashion than he did Michael Bisping en route to facing either Jones or Rashad Evans for the first time or Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in a UFC 75 rematch.

It’s not a foregone conclusion that a healthy Shogun will be knocked out by Hendo in San Jose—anything can and always does happen in MMA—so I won’t be so quick as to say Shogun cannot escape this fight without getting knocked out.

That said, is it always possible that Henderson will knock out a healthy Shogun?

It absolutely is, whether it’s on Shogun’s best night or Henderson’s worst night.

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Hump Day Headlines with Stephanie Ann Cook

Vitor Belfort injured, forced off UFC 139 fight with Cung Le. Wanderlei Silva will replace Belfort. Jon Olav Einemo back in UFC despite his team, Golden Glory‘s ongoing with the promotion. Alistair Overeem announced his.

Vitor Belfort injured, forced off UFC 139 fight with Cung Le. Wanderlei Silva will replace Belfort.

Jon Olav Einemo back in UFC despite his team, Golden Glory‘s ongoing with the promotion. Alistair Overeem announced his split from the Holland-based team yesterday.

Welterweight, Mark Scanlon pulls out of UFC 138 bout with James Head for undisclosed reasons. John Maguire will replace Scanlon.

UFN 25 draws 1.8 million viewers on Spike TV to Bellator 50′s 114, 000 viewers on MTV2.

Eddie Alvarez injured. Bellator 34 Lightweight Championship fight against Michael Chandler on October 15th is now delayed.

Vitor Belfort Injured, Wanderlei Silva to Replace Against Cung Le in UFC 139 Co-Headliner


(As it turns out, Belfort-brand bottled water mostly consists of hydrochloric acid. Good to know. Photo via LasVegasSun)

Due to an undisclosed injury, UFC middleweight Vitor Belfort will not be showing off his “powerful trunks” against Cung Le at UFC 139 (November 19th, San Jose). Dana White broke the news via Twitter, adding that Le’s new opponent will be another Brazilian legend — none other than Wanderlei Silva.

Silva vs. Le will serve as the co-main event of UFC 139, which will be headlined by the PRIDE-era fantasy match between Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua. Silva is coming off his 27-second knockout loss to Chris Leben at UFC 132, while Le will be making his Octagan debut 17 months after his rematch victory over Scott Smith.


(As it turns out, Belfort-brand bottled water mostly consists of hydrochloric acid. Good to know. Photo via LasVegasSun)

Due to an undisclosed injury, UFC middleweight Vitor Belfort will not be showing off his “powerful trunks” against Cung Le at UFC 139 (November 19th, San Jose). Dana White broke the news via Twitter, adding that Le’s new opponent will be another Brazilian legend — none other than Wanderlei Silva.

Silva vs. Le will serve as the co-main event of UFC 139, which will be headlined by the PRIDE-era fantasy match between Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua. Silva is coming off his 27-second knockout loss to Chris Leben at UFC 132, while Le will be making his Octagan debut 17 months after his rematch victory over Scott Smith.

After the booking switch was announced, Belfort tweeted that his injury isn’t serious, and he should be ready to roll again in December. But my God, Belfort’s string of bad luck is unbelievable. From a broken hand before his fight against Matt Lindland, to an injured shoulder before his fight against Anderson Silva, to a bout of hepatitis before his fight against Yoshihiro Akiyama, the dude can’t seem to string together a full year of good health. Lets hope the UFC has another good fight for him when he’s intact again.