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Babalu vs. Manhoef to Headline One FC’s Third Event in March

(No matter how many times his trainers warned him against it, Melvin was convinced that he would become the first person to pull off the Statue of Liberty play in mixed martial arts competition.)

Exciting news today comes compliments of upstart Asian promotion One Fighting Championship. In addition to signing a ten year television partnership with ESPN Star Sports, One FC announced at a press conference this morning that their third event will be headlined by Strikeforce veterans Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Melvin Manhoef squaring off in a light heavyweight contest.

After a successful debut event back in September of 2011, One FC signed a huge partnership deal with over 15 smaller promotions and 23 gyms and announced plans to put on 3 different shows in 3 different countries in 2012. The second show, titled “Battle of Heroes,” will transpire on February 11th from Jakarta, Indonesia, and features a heavyweight tilt between Bob Sapp and Rolles Gracie as well as a headlining lightweight bout pairing Pancrase one-timer Felipe Enomoto against 5-2 K-1 veteran Ole Larson.

One FC 3, which is set to go down on March 31st from the Singapore Indoor Stadium, will also feature Japanese leglock master Masakazu Imanari facing off against undefeated prospect Kevin Belingon, Eduard Folayang, Zorobabel Moreira, and Eddie Ng taking on unnamed opponents, and Singapore’s own Nicole Chua making her MMA debut. It’s nice to see a small promotion gaining some momentum, no?

We last saw Babalu suffer a first round KO loss to Dan Henderson back in their December 2010 rematch; apparently the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion has been recovering over the past year from a brutal snowboarding accident that happened shortly thereafter. Who would’ve guessed? Fun fact: Babalu was the focus of a 2009 music video from Massachusetts based heavy metal kings Shadows Fall.

Manhoef has not fought a MMA match since falling to a first round submission (go figure) at the hands of Tim Kennedy at Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson in March of 2011, and has dropped 5 of his last 7 mixed martial arts contests. His luck in the kickboxing world has not been much better; Manhoef last competed just three days ago at It’s Showtime 2012 in Leeuwarden, where he dropped a unanimous decision to 7th ranked heavyweight contender Tyrone Sprong. You can find that video after the jump, courtesy of IronForgesIron.

(No matter how many times his trainers warned him against it, Melvin was convinced that he would become the first person to pull off the Statue of Liberty play in mixed martial arts competition.)

We last saw Babalu suffer a first round KO loss to Dan Henderson back in their December 2010 rematch; apparently the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion has spent the past year recovering from a brutal snowboarding accident that happened shortly thereafter. Who would’ve guessed? Fun fact: Babalu was the focus of a 2009 music video from Massachusetts based heavy metal kings Shadows Fall.

Manhoef has not fought a MMA match since falling to a first round submission (go figure) at the hands of Tim Kennedy at Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson in March of 2011, and has dropped 5 of his last 7 mixed martial arts contests. His luck in the kickboxing world has not been much better; Manhoef last competed just three days ago at It’s Showtime 2012 in Leeuwarden, where he dropped a unanimous decision to 7th ranked heavyweight contender Tyrone Spong. You can find that video after the jump, courtesy of IronForgesIron.

Manhoef/Spong

In other fight booking news, TUF 13 winner Tony Ferguson, who is coming off a unanimous decision win over Yves Edwards at the TUF 14 Finale, is set to take on 67 fight veteran Dennis Hallman at UFC on Fox 3 on May 5th. Hallman, who, after missing weight for his UFC 140 fight with John Makdessi and forcing the bout to be held at a catchweight, was able to score a first round submission over the Canadian to keep his Zuffa future safe for the time being. We would go into the incident that originally put Hallman on thin ice, but no one really wants to relive that.

What say you, Potato Nation, who takes these?

-J. Jones

5 Potential Main Events for UFC on FOX 3

Earlier this week, the UFC announced that their third venture into network television will take place on May 5th in New Jersey. A main card bout between Nate Diaz and Jim Miller is already set for the card, but reports have suggested that the fight wil…

Earlier this week, the UFC announced that their third venture into network television will take place on May 5^th in New Jersey.

A main card bout between Nate Diaz and Jim Miller is already set for the card, but reports have suggested that the fight will not headline the event, leaving speculation that the UFC will attempt to put another high profile bout or two on the card.

With a lot of current champions and contenders tied up in the near future, the organization will have to sit back and wait for a bit to see which high profile fighters will be available for the card, but there are several fantastic bouts that would highlight the talent that exists in mixed martial arts that can be made in the next month or so.

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Hump Day Headlines with Stephanie Ann Cook

Yes, you may be able to see through whatever the heck kind of knickers Stephanie Ann Cook is wearing [pictured above]. *Not that we tried. Thanks to Felix G Photography. UFC on Fox 3 is.

Yes, you may be able to see through whatever the heck kind of knickers Stephanie Ann Cook is wearing [pictured above]. *Not that we tried. Thanks to Felix G Photography.

UFC on Fox 3 is announced with Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller bout.

UFC on Fox 3 also to feature John Dodson vs. Darren Uyenoyama Flyweight match-up.

If you like Rashad Evans, be sure to boo him this Saturday in his UFC on Fox 2 headlining fight with Phil Davis or he might feel weird.

The Gun Store owner expresses disappointment with the UFC’s newly implemented weapons-related sponsorship ban.

Canadian, Mitch Gagnon unable to cross into the US forcing his scheduled Bantamweight bout with Johnny Bedford off the UFC on Fox 2 card. Heavyweights: Joey Beltran vs. Lavar Johnson promoted to Fuel TV card.

UFC Fan Expo expected in Las Vegas over July 7th weekend.

UFC on FOX 3: John Dodson vs. Darren Uyenoyama at Flyweight

The long awaited arrival of the flyweight division will add a couple of bantamweight crossovers as John Dodson takes on Darren Uyenoyama at UFC on FOX 3.MMAJunkie.com reports that the bout will take place on the May 5 card at the IZOD Center in Ea…

The long awaited arrival of the flyweight division will add a couple of bantamweight crossovers as John Dodson takes on Darren Uyenoyama at UFC on FOX 3.

MMAJunkie.com reports that the bout will take place on the May 5 card at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J. There has been no word yet as to whether this bout will be on the main card on FOX or FUEL TV’s preliminary card broadcast.

Dodson is coming off a knockout victory over T.J Dillashaw in December, winning the Ultimate Fighter 14 and taking Knockout of the Night honors. This fight will be his first since winning the show as a bantamweight and will mark his return to the flyweight division.

Uyenoyama, a longtime Dream and Strikeforce veteran, will enter the fight fresh off the biggest victory of his career, a unanimous decision win over Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto. This will be the first time that Uyenoyama will be fighting in the flyweight division, having previously competed at both featherweight and bantamweight.

The UFC also announced that the card will feature a lightweight battle between Nate Diaz and Jim Miller.

Since returning to the lightweight division, Diaz has won two straight fights, defeating Takanori Gomi and Donald Cerrone to end out his 2011. Miller will be entering the bout fresh off his submission victory over Melvin Guillard at UFC on FX 1.

Matt Juul is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.

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Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller Booked for ‘UFC on FOX 3?, May 5th in New Jersey

(Nate Diaz poses with future UFC bantamweight champ Ronnie Ortiz-Magro.)

The UFC confirmed this morning that their third FOX show will take place May 5 at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. Though it hasn’t been officially marked as the headliner, a high-profile lightweight bout between Nate Diaz and Jim Miller will be featured on the main card.

Diaz is coming off a three-round domination of Donald Cerrone at UFC 141 — arguably the greatest performance of his career — making it two wins in a row for Diaz since he returned to lightweight last fall. Meanwhile, New Jersey native Jim Miller bounced back to the win column last Friday with a first-round submission of Melvin Guillard, proving that he still belongs among the division’s elite. Though the fight probably isn’t a #1 contender’s match, it’ll certainly bump the winner very close to a title shot. Fun fact: In 27 combined UFC fights, neither man has ever been stopped.

(Nate Diaz poses with future UFC bantamweight champ Ronnie Ortiz-Magro.)

In other UFC on FOX 3 booking news…

Also returning to the cage on May 5th is TUF 14 bantamweight winner John Dodson, who will be dropping back down to 125 pounds for his first post-TUF appearance. His opponent will be Darren Uyenoyama, who will also be dropping to flyweight after outpointing Norifumi Yamamoto in a bantamweight bout during his Octagon debut on the “UFC on FOX 1″ undercard. We’re pulling for Dodson here, just so we can see the victory celebration.

UFC on FOX 3 Fight Card: Jim Miller Scheduled To Fight Nate Diaz

On the heels of a pivotal victory over Melvin Guillard, Jim Miller has already signed on to fight Nate Diaz at UFC on FOX 3. UFC president Dana White broke the news via Twitter, saying that the fight would take place on May 5 at New Jersey’s IZOD Cente…

On the heels of a pivotal victory over Melvin Guillard, Jim Miller has already signed on to fight Nate Diaz at UFC on FOX 3.

UFC president Dana White broke the news via Twitter, saying that the fight would take place on May 5 at New Jersey’s IZOD Center.

Coming off of a loss to Benson Henderson in his previous appearance, Miller faced a must-win situation against Guillard if he wanted to remain a serious lightweight contender. Early in the fight, Miller was in trouble after getting rocked by Guillard, but an ill-advised flying knee by “The Young Assassin” allowed Miller to take the fight into his domain.

Once Guillard’s back was on the canvas, the fight belonged to Miller. The jiu-jitsu black belt quickly took his opponent’s back, and handed Guillard his ninth submission defeat in 10 career losses.

The win propelled Miller back into consideration for a title fight against the winner of the upcoming bout between UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and Henderson. In order to earn that shot, it appears Miller will now have to get past one of the always game Diaz brothers.

A winner of back-to-back impressive fights against Takanori Gomi and Donald Cerrone, Diaz is also being discussed as a potential candidate to become the next top 155-pound contender.

It is unclear where the bout will fit in on the event’s final fight card, but it seems certain that this lightweight matchup between two of the division’s top contenders will be shown on the FOX televised main card.

The only other bout that has been confirmed for the event is a flyweight title between TUF champ John Dodson and Darren Uyenoyama, who recently defeated Norifumi Yamamoto in his UFC debut.

Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @SeanSmithMMA.

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