Lesnar vs. Velasquez Set for October 23rd in Anaheim + More UFC Booking News

(They don’t like smiling. Put that in your little notebook.)
Dana White confirmed with MMAFighting.com over the weekend that Brock Lesnar’s expected title defense against Cain Velasquez will come at UFC 121, slated for October 23rd at the Honda …


(They don’t like smiling. Put that in your little notebook.)

Dana White confirmed with MMAFighting.com over the weekend that Brock Lesnar‘s expected title defense against Cain Velasquez will come at UFC 121, slated for October 23rd at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The meeting will come nearly four months after Lesnar’s comeback submission win over Shane Carwin at UFC 116, and eight months after Velasquez stormed through Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110.

Though betting odds for the fight opened with Lesnar as a minor favorite (-125 to Cain’s -105), Lesnar has already moved as high as -160, due to money flooding in on the champ. At this point, the only other matchup reported for UFC 121 is a lightweight scrap between Sam Stout and Paul Taylor. In other booking news…

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Report: Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama to Headline UFC 120

(We’re a little freaked-out too, Mike.)
UFC 120 (October 16th, London) is one of those international events that will be shown for free on Spike, so we didn’t really expect a massive headliner, but still, this is a bit of a slap in the nuts. Fighters…

Michael Bisping UFC
(We’re a little freaked-out too, Mike.)

UFC 120 (October 16th, London) is one of those international events that will be shown for free on Spike, so we didn’t really expect a massive headliner, but still, this is a bit of a slap in the nuts. Fighters Only reports that the card’s main event will be a middleweight contest between soap-opera star Michael Bisping and Yoshihiro Akiyama. Yes, that Yoshihiro Akiyama, the one who was submitted by Chris Leben last weekend. Akiyama deserves a headlining spot about as much as Mark Hunt deserves a UFC contract after going winless for four years.* Of course, the prospect of Bisping beating up a foreign fancy-boy will probably be enough to get the locals to come out. We’re just glad we don’t have to pay for this one. The rumored UFC 120 lineup currently looks like this…

Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
Dan Hardy vs. Carlos Condit
Cheick Kongo vs. Travis Browne
John Hathaway vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Spencer Fisher vs. Kurt Warburton
Rob Broughton vs. Vinicius Quieroz
Alexander Gustafsson vs. Cyrille Diabaté
James Te-Huna vs. Tom Blackledge

* Turns out, the UFC contractually owes Mark Hunt fights due to their 2007 purchase of PRIDE.

UFC 119 Picks Up Big Nog vs. Frank Mir, Lil’ Nog vs. Ryan Bader, and Mark Hunt, Of All People

(Always be specific when you order "Brazilian twins" from the local escort service. You could get badly burned. Trust me guys, *badly* burned…)
Sherk vs. Dunham? Who cares! Lots more UFC 119-related news just came over the wires, and it l…

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Rodrigo MMA UFC brothers
(Always be specific when you order "Brazilian twins" from the local escort service. You could get badly burned. Trust me guys, *badly* burned…)

Sherk vs. Dunham? Who cares! Lots more UFC 119-related news just came over the wires, and it looks like the people of Indianapolis are going to be in for a wild night, even if the main event is somewhat lacking in importance. Here’s what we’re dealing with…

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir: This will reportedly be the evening’s headliner. Hmm. If you’ll recall, the two former champions coached against each other on TUF 8, then Mir shocked our asses by TKO’ing Nogueira at UFC 92. Nogueira blamed his weak performance on a staph infection, so maybe this fight will turn out differently, but basically we’re being given another UFC main event where both guys are coming off losses, and the winner doesn’t even become the division’s #1 contender. Personally, I was more interested in a Big Nog vs. Cro Cop rematch. 

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Ryan Bader: Now we’re talking. Lil’ Nog needs to redeem himself after nearly getting beat by late replacement Jason Brilz at UFC 114, while Ryan Bader is looking sharper every time out, most recently knocking out Keith Jardine at UFC 110. If Bader can out-hustle the Brazilian vet, he’ll land directly in the light-heavyweight title mix.

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Sean Sherk vs. Evan Dunham Penciled In for UFC 119, Barring Injury

(Dunham and Escudero at UFC Fight Night 20. Tickets to the gun show are free, but nobody leaves without paying. Photo courtesy of washingtonpost.com)
Returning from a decision loss to Frank Edgar at UFC 98 and a year of injuries, Sean Sherk will…

Evan Dunham Efrain Escudero UFC Fight Night 20 MMA photos
(Dunham and Escudero at UFC Fight Night 20. Tickets to the gun show are free, but nobody leaves without paying. Photo courtesy of washingtonpost.com)

Returning from a decision loss to Frank Edgar at UFC 98 and a year of injuries, Sean Sherk will attempt to return to the Octagon (fingers crossed) at UFC 119 (September 25th, Indianapolis), where he’ll face undefeated rising star Evan Dunham. With a 4-0 record in the Octagon and big wins this year over Tyson Griffin and Efrain Escudero, Dunham may finally experience what it’s like to be a favorite against the former UFC lightweight champ. To be honest, Sherk isn’t much of a step up for Dunham, who soundly defeated Griffin last month, but it’s another solid opportunity for the 28-year-old Xtreme Couture product to build his name.

Sherk was supposed to return to action last October at UFC 104 against Gleison Tibau, but had to pull out due to a shoulder injury. He was rescheduled for a UFC 108 meeting against Jim Miller, but again withdrew after suffering a cut over his eye in training. In March, Sherk was slated to face Clay Guida at UFC on Versus 1. You can probably guess how that turned out.

Despite earlier reports, Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez are not slated to meet at UFC 119. A headliner for the event is yet to be determined, though a Quinton Jackson/Antonio Rogerio Nogueira match is still possible for the main card. Other reported fights include CB Dollaway vs. Joe Doerksen, Melvin Guillard vs. Jeremy Stephens, and Chris Lytle vs. TBA

UFC Fight Booking Alert: Hardy vs. Condit, Gomi vs. Griffin

(Y’know, if you two got to know each other, you’d realize you aren’t so different after all.)
As first reported by MMA Weekly, Dan Hardy will return to the Octagon at UFC 120, tentatively slated for October 16th at the O2 Arena in London. After gett…



(Y’know, if you two got to know each other, you’d realize you aren’t so different after all.)

As first reported by MMA Weekly, Dan Hardy will return to the Octagon at UFC 120, tentatively slated for October 16th at the O2 Arena in London. After getting slept on for five rounds in his unsuccessful welterweight title grab against Georges St. Pierre in March, Hardy will look to rebound against Carlos Condit, who’s coming off a dramatic third-round TKO over Rory MacDonald at UFC 115; the stoppage came with seven seconds left in the final frame, and Condit would have likely lost the fight on points. No other fights have been reported for UFC 120, although the event is rumored to host the UFC’s first U.K. Fan Expo.

In other booking news, Tyson Griffin has stepped up to face Takanori Gomi at UFC on Versus 2 (August 1st, San Diego), replacing Joe Stevenson who suffered a knee injury in training. Griffin was most recently outworked by Evan Dunham at UFC 115, losing by split-decision. Gomi might be facing a must-win situation against Griffin, as he was choked out by Kenny Florian in his Octagon debut in March.