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UFC on Versus 4: Info and Predictions for Every Fight on the Card

Zuffa will continue a huge month of June with its fourth MMA event this Sunday night, UFC on Versus 4 from the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA. As always, Bleacher Report will be your home for the latest news, predictions and results of the even…

The main event will feature the welterweight debut of former middleweight contender Nate “The Great” Marquardt as he fights up-and-comer Rick Story in what will likely be a very important bout when it comes to future title aspirations for both men.

That fight will replace the original main event which was scheduled to be Marquardt against Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, who recently thoroughly beat Dan Hardy at UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis in late-March. Johnson was forced out of the bout, though, with a rotator cuff injury.

The event will air on Versus in the U.S. and Rogers Sportsnet in Canada, with the preliminary fights being available on Facebook. The following is the official finalized fight card.

Preliminary Card (on Facebook):

Michael Johnson vs. Edward Faaloloto (lightweight bout)
Ricardo Lamas vs. Matt Grice (featherweight bout)
Nik Lentz vs. Charles Oliveira (lightweight bout)
Charlie Brenneman vs. TJ Grant (welterweight bout)
Daniel Roberts vs. Rich Attonito (welterweight bout)
Joe Lauzon vs. Curt Warburton (lightweight bout)
Joe Stevenson vs. Javier Vasquez (featherweight bout)
Tyson Griffin vs. Manny Gamburyan (featherweight bout)

Main Card (on Versus):

Matt Mitrione vs. Christian Morecraft (heavyweight bout)
Matt Brown vs. John Howard (welterweight bout)
Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry (heavyweight bout)
Nate Marquardt vs. Rick Story (welterweight bout)

If you’re looking for a more in-depth look at each fight with some predictions, read on!

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Frankie Edgar’s Corner Nearly Threw in the Towel at UFC 125

UFC light champion Frankie Edgar had a war with No. 1 contender Gray Maynard at UFC 125, surviving a vicious first round onslaught and battling back for a draw. In a very captivating piece of news, Couch Potato reports that Mike Straka, the hosts of Ta…

UFC light champion Frankie Edgar had a war with No. 1 contender Gray Maynard at UFC 125, surviving a vicious first round onslaught and battling back for a draw.

In a very captivating piece of news, Couch Potato reports that Mike Straka, the hosts of TapouT Radio, let fans know that one of Edgar’s cornermen was ready to throw in the towel during this epic showdown at 155 pounds.

Straka pointed out that by watching the fight on UFC.com, it could clearly be heard that Mark Henry, Edgar’s boxing coach, was calling for the towel to be thrown in as Maynard was unleashing a serious hurting on the champ in the first round.

Edgar did not try denying this claim, and actually addressed the issue head on.

“Yeah, I think that he was just getting a little overwhelmed, a little excited. You know, out of everybody else in my corner, no one felt that it was the issue.”

The assistant coach of the Rutgers University wrestling team added, “I don’t think anyone else was callin’ for that. I think Mark, he just puts so much into us and he’s so passionate that it kinda got a hold of him for that one round.”

When Straka jokingly asked “The Answer” if he “would have kicked his (Henry’s) ass” for throwing in the towel, Edgar did not seem to be in a joking mood.

“I would have. I told him afterwards when I heard he was calling for the towel, which I don’t think you can throw the towel in the UFC, which is a good thing. But I told him, ‘Dude, don’t you ever, ever throw the towel in.’”

This news is not very astonishing to hear from a champion that has as much heart as Frankie Edgar.

One interesting piece of discussion here comes from the official rules regarding to throwing in the towel.

UFC rules state that “the towel throw (or corner stoppage) is a foul that is usually punishable by the opposing fighter being awarded the win due to disqualification or a point deduction at the discretion of the referee.”

Given the rarity of the towel throw these days, it is highly unlikely any referee would award a fighter a disqualification victory as his opponent’s corner threw in the towel.

However, a point deduction does seem pretty reasonable, and that would have given Maynard an unprecedented 10-7 round at UFC 125.

This easily would have been the difference maker in whether or not a new UFC lightweight champion was crowned on New Year’s Day.

Bloody Elbow adds more food for thought when they point out that the Association of Boxing Commissions eliminated the towel throw as a foul in 2009.

This means a towel throw is again a legitimate corner stoppage in the sport of boxing.

While obviously MMA and boxing are two different animals, it is no secret that MMA organizations follow a lot of the same rules that boxing does.

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UFC News: Nate Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi Added to UFC 135

According to BloodyElbow.com, lightweights Nate Diaz and Takanori Gomi have verbally agreed to meet at UFC 135 in September. The matchup will already add to the stacked card that is beginning to shape up. This bout comes with an intriguing s…

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UFC News: Nate Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi Added to UFC 135

UFC: Nate Marquardt. Will He Ever Become a UFC Champion?

Nate Marquardt has had a very successful MMA career. He is a three-time Pancrase Middleweight Champion, which included a total of four title defenses. After only four fights in the UFC, he challenged Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight Championship, losing via TKO in the first round. Since that fight, he has worked his way into two No. 1 contender fights, losing both by decision.

He has now dropped down to the welterweight division and was slated to face Anthony Johnson, but due to injury Johnson withdrew and in stepped Rick Story.

This will be a battle of the wrestlers. Story is coming off of a huge win against title challenger Thiago Alves. Story is on the rise, but it is now Nate’s job to derail Story off of his route towards a shot for the welterweight championship.

Throughout Nate’s career, big fights have been his kryptonite. He held titles in Pancrase, and yes that is a great accomplishment but when put in the big show is where he couldn’t succeed. He has now opened up a new door by dropping to welterweight. This is his last chance at a title run in a realistic aspect, and odds are his drop is a sign that GSP will be moving up in weight or be retiring by the time he gets to a title shot (not a guarantee, just an assumption).

What must Nate hope for in order to obtain a title shot?

Odds are Nate will need to win between two and three fights to be granted a shot at the champion. Beating Story automatically places him top seven, but after that who would they put him against? Jake Shields, Jon Fitch, or BJ Penn come to mind.

Nate needs an easy path, and sadly for him the division is stacked with wrestlers which have always been his achilles heel in MMA.

Can Nate become champion at welterweight? It’s MMA anything is possible, but fighting guys like Fitch, Koscheck, Penn, Shields, etc. is not an easy task. He is going to have to get his mind right in order to be able to obtain his goal.

The odds in him being able to retire and have the claim as a UFC champion are literally slim to none. He has tons of talent, but wrestlers and elite guys are his weakness. He could prove people wrong and run the table, but if he doesn’t get his mind right then count him out.

Rick Story is the first test. Story has the momentum on his side and he will have to throw everything except the kitchen sink at him to win this fight. Expect a war and an overall great card Sunday night live on Versus.

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UFC News: Nate Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi Added to UFC 135

This bout comes with an intriguing storyline to follow, as Gomi fought Diaz’s brother, Nick Diaz, in Pride FC in 2007 that saw the Japanese star lose via submission. It is unquestionable that Gomi will be looking for redemption against Nate Diaz.

Gomi is entering this bout on a two-fight losing streak, suffering defeat to Clay Guida and Kenny Florian. While Diaz will return to the lightweight division after a disappointing stint at 170 lbs, picking up losses to Don-Yong-Kim and Rory McDonald.

UFC 135 will be live on September 24 from the Pepsi Centre in Denver, Col. The event is headlined by a light heavyweight title bout featuring Jon Jones and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, as well as a co-main event featuring welterweights Matt Hughes and Diego Sanchez set to collide.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

MMA: The 11 Most Compelling "What Ifs" in the Sport’s History

Despite the relatively short history of modern mixed martial arts there have been many crucial points at which the fate of the sport—as well as the fate of the athletes within the sport—was decided.From events taking place before the UFC wa…

From events taking place before the UFC was created up until more modern times, there have always been junctions where the swelling popularity of MMA could have taken a turn for the worse or been catapulted even further into popularity or some other calamitous/favorable could have happened.

What are these “what if” moments embedded throughout MMA history? What alternate reality would have unfolded if the historical choices/circumstances did not occur?

Read and find out!

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