“Minotauro” Nogueira Still Says Anderson Silva Fighting Yushin Okami; Moving to 205

Yushin Okami’s performances may not always wear out the edge of your seat, but really, what does the dude have to do to get a title shot? This is a man, a rather large and strong one at that, who has won ten times in the Octagon and is coming off wins over Mark Munoz […]

anderson silva

Yushin Okami’s performances may not always wear out the edge of your seat, but really, what does the dude have to do to get a title shot? This is a man, a rather large and strong one at that, who has won ten times in the Octagon and is coming off wins over Mark Munoz and Nate Marquardt. That’s not a bad way to go about becoming a contender, but despite Okami’s accomplishments, he’s still waiting to face Anderson Silva (yes, that DQ thingy aside).

So, when recently Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira told Tatame magazine that Silva was going to fight Okami at the upcoming August 27th UFC in Brazil, the news may not have sent every MMA fan into thrilled hysteria, but it kind of made sense. Then, MMA Junkie cited sources who said the reports were “premature,” no doubt sending Okami’s booster club members into further despair. Well, in a more recent story from Fighters Only Magazine, the outlet is reporting that Nogueira has once again stated in another Brazilian mag that, yes, Silva is fighting Okami this August.

“The mystery about the UFC Rio card that takes place on Aug 27th starts to be unfolded. I have information in which my friend and current biggest phenomenon Anderson Silva will make the main fight of the event versus Japan’s Yushin Okami,”

Now hold on for the real WTF? news. Nogueira apparently went on to say that Silva could be moving to light-heavyweight, because of the lack of contenders available to him at 185. Say what? Aside from the rematch with Chael Sonnen, which everyone and their dog wants to see, hasn’t Anderson consistently said lately he’s not doing 205 anymore?

Carlos Condit Gets Fight With Dong Hyun Kim

Recently we gave Carlos Condit a cyberspace, double thumbs up for quickly doing the ‘pick, pick me’ when word came down that Jon Fitch was bowing out of his rematch with BJ Penn due to an injury. Nothing came out of it immediately, leading us to speculate that fight wasn’t happening, and now Penn has […]

Dong Hyun Kim

Recently we gave Carlos Condit a cyberspace, double thumbs up for quickly doing the ‘pick, pick me’ when word came down that Jon Fitch was bowing out of his rematch with BJ Penn due to an injury. Nothing came out of it immediately, leading us to speculate that fight wasn’t happening, and now Penn has announced that he too is injured.

Who is Condit going to fight? Today the UFC has announced that the former WEC champ will take on Dong Hyun Kim on July 2nd…yup, not exactly a guy that’s been blowing dudes out of the water in the first round, but still a reedonkously tough fighter nonetheless. Big, strong, judo black belts just seem to have a way of taking the fight right out of you; just ask Matt Brown, TJ Grant, Amir Sadollah and Nate Diaz.

So, while this fight may not produce the kind of fireworks that a Condit, Penn match-up would have, it’s still an intriguing bout. A win for either guy will say a lot about where they stand in the welterweight division, just as UFC boss man Dana White stated in the official announcement:

 “A win over Condit would break Kim into the top ten and a win over Kim would bring Condit another step closer to a world title shot,” said UFC President Dana White.

Anyone else thinking Condit needs to keep this fight standing and then some? UFC 132’s shaping up nicely; Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber, Chris Leben vs. Wanderlei Silva, Evan Dunham vs. George Sotiroupolus and more.

Chris Leben vs. Wanderlei Silva Set; Carlos Condit Waiting to Hear on BJ Penn

Any regular reader of MMA Fix knows that we’ve been on board the Wanderlei Silva vs. Chris Leben train for some time, so now that the UFC has officially confirmed the bout for July 2nd, we’re pretty stoked. Yes, yes, a rematch between Vitor Belfort and Wandy would be amazing, but it seems pretty clear […]

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Any regular reader of MMA Fix knows that we’ve been on board the Wanderlei Silva vs. Chris Leben train for some time, so now that the UFC has officially confirmed the bout for July 2nd, we’re pretty stoked. Yes, yes, a rematch between Vitor Belfort and Wandy would be amazing, but it seems pretty clear that because Silva’s coming off a lengthy layoff due to knee surgery, he’d like to fight once before facing his Brazilian foe. Not sure if fighting a guy like Leben constitutes as a warm-up though, considering his left hand could double as a sledgehammer when he’s doing odd and ends around the yard.

Last week we credited Carlos Condit for stepping up to the plate and offering to fight BJ Penn, in response to the news that Jon Fitch is injured and will no longer face Penn as scheduled. It was a ballsy move by Condit, and although most fans should be down with that fight, questions remain as to whether BJ is interested. Condit’s manager Malki Kawa informed MMA Weekly that they’ve formally approached the UFC about the fight, however, they’re still waiting to hear back.

“I’m not really sure what’s holding it up right now. Hopefully Condit’s the guy they call to do it,” Kawa stated. “I don’t know if there’s a better fight than Condit for him, but we’re excited about the opportunity and hopefully, if Joe Silva, B.J. Penn, and the UFC feel like it’s something they want to do, Carlos is itching. He texts me every day ‘any word on B.J.?’ I’m hoping that’s what happens for him.”

Maybe the delay on this means it’s a no go….

Nick Diaz Says Fighting Friends “Disgusting Thought”

For some time now, it appeared as though the chances of two noteworthy teammates fighting was about as likely as Strikeforce being bought by the UFC…, and then, well, the friendship between training partners Rashad Evans and Jon Jones went right down the commode after the two agreed to fight.  Nick “Don’t be Scared Homie” […]

Nick Diaz

For some time now, it appeared as though the chances of two noteworthy teammates fighting was about as likely as Strikeforce being bought by the UFC…, and then, well, the friendship between training partners Rashad Evans and Jon Jones went right down the commode after the two agreed to fight.  Nick “Don’t be Scared Homie” Diaz was recently asked about the teammates fighting issue on a Strikeforce teleconference call, and the welterweight champ didn’t mince even one word, when Jones vs. Evans was raised as an example. (Thanks to MMA Weekly for the quotes)

“That’s what they’ve got them doing and they’re not focused on what’s important to them in life. I’ve got what works, and I’ve got what’s got me there and that’s my team. That’s a disgusting thought to have to fight my brother. I don’t even appreciate being asked about that,” Diaz said.

“They’re not real training partners though,” Diaz said about Jones and Evans. “You don’t understand, they’re like 10 years apart for one and they didn’t grow up training together…”

Now that Mr. Diaz is back in the Zuffa fold, Dana White and crew are no doubt looking forward to more ‘straight shooting’ from the Cesar Gracie star… In the meantime, if you’re not excited about Diaz facing Paul Daley next Saturday, you best keep that to yourself. To bet on the fight head here.

Carlos Condit Offers to Step in for Injured Jon Fitch

Recently we heaped “now that’s what’s up” praise on Rich Franklin, for saying he’s a wee bit curious about testing his skills again Jon “Bones” Jones. Well, Carlos Condit is the latest fighter to get his name on our props list, by stating on Twitter he’s willing to step in for the injured Jon Fitch […]

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Recently we heaped “now that’s what’s up” praise on Rich Franklin, for saying he’s a wee bit curious about testing his skills again Jon “Bones” Jones. Well, Carlos Condit is the latest fighter to get his name on our props list, by stating on Twitter he’s willing to step in for the injured Jon Fitch at UFC 132. (Yeah, if you’ve been offline for a day or so, sorry to break it to you, the Fitch, Penn rematch is postponed…sh-t hurts, but we’ll get through this together).

“It would be an honor to fight a legend like BJ Penn, one of my favorite fighters ever. If the call comes, I would take the fight in a second.”

Nice. Condit has won three bouts in a row and is coming off a ‘holy eff’ KO of Dan Hardy in October, and while he found himself in trouble in his victories over Jake Ellenberger and Rory MacDonald, there’s no denying that the former WEC champ is ridiculously tough. In other words, a bout between him and Penn could be pretty badass.

Will it happen though? It’s hard to say. Coming off what was a pretty memorable and impressive performance against Fitch (yeah, yeah, aside from the third round), Penn might be hesitant about taking on a guy that’s not knocking on the title shot door just yet. If Penn fights Condit and wins, he still needs to get through Fitch, if he loses to Condit, well….things won’t exactly be ‘rosy’ career wise. So does Penn wait for Fitch? Or help us fans out by taking on Condit?

At any rate, here’s hoping Fitch enjoys a speedy recovery.

Thiago Silva Admits to the Old Fake Piss Trick

Just a few weeks ago the MMA world was buzzing about Thiago Silva’s impressive beat down, nose smashing win over Brandon Vera at UFC 125. After Silva’s UD loss to Rashad Evans last January, one of the baddest looking dudes in the sport appeared to be back on track. Then, of course, the NSAC reported […]

silva hitting vera

Just a few weeks ago the MMA world was buzzing about Thiago Silva’s impressive beat down, nose smashing win over Brandon Vera at UFC 125. After Silva’s UD loss to Rashad Evans last January, one of the baddest looking dudes in the sport appeared to be back on track. Then, of course, the NSAC reported something might be funky with Silva’s drug tests, and yadda, yadda, yadda, it was confirmed this week by the commission that the pee-pee submitted by the light-heavyweight may not be human. Now that’s how you tarnish a win…

Well, apparently Silva won’t try to talk his way out of this by claiming some sort of grand conspiracy against him, or that he’s been eating nothing but discount hotdogs for months so no wonder his piss was off. In a statement posted by MMA Junkie today, Silva admitted to urine tampering, and he will now accept the NSAC’s wrath.

“I used a urine adulterant when giving a sample following my fight with Brandon Vera. I did so in an attempt to alter the results of the test and knowingly broke the rules of the Nevada (State) Athletic Commission. This was a terrible decision on my part for which I will be punished. I am prepared to accept this punishment, learn from it and move on. I apologize to the commission, the UFC, Brandon Vera and the MMA fans.”

Silva went on to say, and this is not an excuse rather a statement of what went down according to him, that he trashed his back heading into his bout with Evans, and then, reinjured it again while preparing for Vera. Thus, in order to fight on January 1st, he took “injections in my back”. Well, looks like Silva will be back on the bench anyhow.