TUF 14 cast revealed. International TUF in the works for Australia vs. United Kingdom. Chael Sonnen wouldn’t fight friend and training partner, Yushin Okami; and still wants Anderson Silva title-shot or not, since he’s “already.
Rachelle Leah and Brittney Palmer were out on the town last night in Los Angeles, celebrating Leah’s birthday. More pics below of the fun-filled birthday bash, which left Leah tweeting:
Koscheck said on his Twitter feed Sunday night that he is the latest addition to the UFC 139 card that takes place in San Jose on Nov. 19 – in the heart of his training ground.
But perhaps more interesting is Koscheck saying the fight, against a yet-unnamed opponent, is likely to be at middleweight, moving him up from 170 pounds for the first time since 2005. “My next fight is in San Jose …,” Koscheck said. “Good chance fighting at 185lbs. Should know real soon who.”
After a three-fight win streak – a KO of Frank Trigg, a submission of Anthony Johnson and a decision over Paul Daley that got the Brit booted from the UFC for a post-fight sucker punch – Koscheck got a Season 12 coaching spot on “The Ultimate Fighter” opposite St. Pierre.
In their welterweight title fight at UFC 124 last December, St-Pierre peppered Koscheck (15-5, 13-5 UFC) with jabs throughout the bout and broke his right orbital bone. The subsequent surgery has kept Koscheck on the shelf, and his Nov. 19 return will mean a layoff of nearly a year.
Koscheck fought at middleweight on Season 1 of TUF, but dropped from 185 to welterweight after his win over Chris Sanford on the TUF 1 Finale in April 2005. His 18 fights in the UFC make him one of the promotion’s longest-standing veterans. His five losses include two to St-Pierre and one to former title challenger Thiago Alves in a fight he took on short notice.
Koscheck is the second fighter to get a “home” fight on the UFC 139 card. Cain Velasquez, his training partner at the American Kickboxing Academy, located in San Jose, headlines the card to defend his heavyweight title for the first time against Junior dos Santos.
Koscheck’s move to middleweight is one he has talked about in the last several months. He has said often he will not fight his AKA teammates, and Jon Fitch is one of just a few welterweights that would make sense for Koscheck to fight who don’t already have a match booked.
But the move up also gets him one weight class closer to Stephan Bonnar, one of his housemates on TUF 1. Bonnar and Koscheck have been trading barbs on Twitter and in the media after Bonnar’s Trash Talkin’ Kids t-shirt line made an “Osh Kosh B’Gosh’ shirt mimicking Koscheck. Though other fighters, including St-Pierre, Roy Nelson and Brock Lesnar, took the playful shirts in good humor, Koscheck threatened a lawsuit, obtaining former UFC fighter Christian Wellisch as his legal representation. Earlier this year, Bonnar’s company, NGauge Inc., shut the shirts down entirely and started a new line called Punch Buddies in its place.
But a fight between Koscheck and Bonnar would mean Bonnar would have to move down from light heavyweight – or that Koscheck would have to move up even more to light heavyweight, or to an agreed-upon catchweight fight. Bonnar has not fought since last December, and had to pull out of a scheduled fight against Karlos Vemola at UFC on Versus 5 earlier this month with a knee injury.
UFC 139 will be the company’s first fight in San Jose, the former home base of one-time rival Strikeforce before its purchase by Zuffa earlier this year. Though not yet made official, it will take place at the HP Pavilion. Aside from Koscheck’s return to middleweight and the heavyweight title bout between Velasquez and dos Santos, UFC 139 will feature a bantamweight contenders bout between former champions Brian Bowles and Urijah Faber, plus a welterweight bout between Martin Kampmann and Rick Story.
After healing from an injury that forced him out of a blockbuster rematch against B.J. Penn, Jon Fitch is scheduled to make his return to the Octagon at UFC 139. Although Fitch has earned a spot among the best fighters in the welterweight division, he …
After healing from an injury that forced him out of a blockbuster rematch against B.J. Penn, Jon Fitch is scheduled to make his return to the Octagon at UFC 139. Although Fitch has earned a spot among the best fighters in the welterweight division, he won’t be returning against a fellow contender.
Instead, MMA Junkie is reporting that Fitch could fight Johny Hendricks on Nov. 19 in San Jose, California.
A two-time NCAA Division I Wrestling champion with wins over Charlie Brenneman and Mike Pierce, Hendricks is more than deserving of a shot against one of the top fighters in the division. However, Fitch does not deserve to be used as gatekeeper at this point in his career.
Despite fighting to a draw in their last fight, Fitch and Penn are being given very different opponents. Penn is scheduled to fight Carlos Condit, who is on a four-fight winning streak and riding tons of momentum. Meanwhile, if he is matched with Hendricks, Fitch will meet a fighter who is widely believed to be outside of the top 10 fighters in the division.
Even worse, Hendricks is an awful matchup for Fitch. Hendricks is strong in the clinch and has a better wrestling pedigree than Fitch. Essentially, this is a lose-lose situation for Fitch, who has been in the running for a rematch with UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre for quite some time.
While it may look like the UFC has something against Fitch by making this matchup, there really aren’t too many other options. In fact, Josh Koscheck is the only welterweight fighter without a scheduled bout who is more highly regarded than Hendricks. A long-time teammate of Koscheck at American Kickboxing Academy, Fitch and Koscheck have refused to fight each other for years.
Ultimately, this unfortunate matchup with Hendricks is just a matter of bad timing for Fitch, who could have avoided the whole situation with a win over Penn in their last meeting. A win in that fight would have guaranteed Fitch a shot at the title, but the draw severely damaged his chances at ever earning a rematch with St-Pierre.
Undefeated in his last six fights, Fitch is going to have to take a similar approach to his run at the belt as he does to each of his fights. If Fitch can continue to grind out win after win, just as he grinds out round after round in his fights, he will someday get his chance to taste UFC gold.
Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. Sean has also had his work featured on UFC.com. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @SeanSmithMMA.
UFC welterweight Jon Fitch has been cleared to continue fighting.According to MMAJunkie.com, Fitch posted on his Twitter account that his doctor had medically cleared him to resume training following his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery.”Dr. Kavitn…
UFC welterweight Jon Fitch has been cleared to continue fighting.
According to MMAJunkie.com, Fitch posted on his Twitter account that his doctor had medically cleared him to resume training following his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery.
“Dr. Kavitne gave me the OK to fight,” Fitch said.
The American Kickboxing Academy product was originally scheduled to rematch BJ Penn at UFC 132 after their first bout went to a unanimous draw at UFC 127.
However, since recovering from his shoulder injury, their bout has been scrapped in favour of Penn being lined-up against Carlos Condit at UFC 137 in October. Although nothing has been confirmed, MMAJunkie.com reports Fitch could return at UFC 139 against Johnny Hendricks.
Shawn Tompkins death ruled a heart attack. Tompkins’ manager, Gary Ibarra reveals family’s history of heart disease. Jon Fitch expected back in the cage at UFC 139 in San Jose, rumored opponent is Johny Hendricks..
Shawn Tompkins death ruled a heart attack. Tompkins’ manager, Gary Ibarra reveals family’s history of heart disease.
Jon Fitch expected back in the cage at UFC 139 in San Jose, rumored opponent is Johny Hendricks.
UFC on Versus 5 produces 6 indefinite medically suspended fighters including: Jim Miller, Amir Saddolah, Duane Ludwig, C.B. Dollaway, Kyle Noke, and T.J Obrien. Full breakdown of all 12 suspensions: here.
UFC on Versus 5 salaries and bonuses released. Chris Lytle highest paid at $200,000. More here.
UFC on Versus 6 to feature Fabricio Maldonado vs. Aaron Rosa.
Rick Story called out Dong Hyun Kim, but now he is set to face Martin Kampmann at UFC 139 in a welterweight clash.Straight from MMAFighting.com, the UFC has confirmed that Story and Kampmann will in fact meet at UFC 139. UFC 139 is suppose to take plac…
Rick Story called out Dong Hyun Kim, but now he is set to face Martin Kampmann at UFC 139 in a welterweight clash.
Both Kampmann and Story are coming off losses going into this fight.
Story is coming off of a loss to Charlie Brenneman at UFC on Versus 4 at the end of June. Brenneman took the fight on very short notice and took the fight away from Story via unanimous decision. Story had previously fought a month prior at UFC 130 and beat top-ranked welterweight, Thiago Alves, by unanimous decision.
Kampmann is currently on a two fight losing streak with a split decision loss to Jake Shields, and more recently, a controversial unanimous decision loss to Diego Sanchez.
Kampmann was suppose to fight on the same UFC on Versus 4 card as Story, but Kampmann was forced to withdraw from his bout with John Howard after he sustained an injury.
UFC 139 is allegedly going to be UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez’s return to the cage in what will be his first title defense since he took the heavyweight crown from Brock Lesnar in October of 2010.
For unfunny jokes, MMA news and reaction from events, you can follow me on Twitter: @SalDeRoseMMA.
After a lengthy layoff following his title shot against 
