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RM211

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John Lineker meets Ian McCall at UFC Fight Night 56 in Brazil

A key flyweight matchup between top contenders John Lineker (24-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and Ian McCall (13-4-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) has been added to November’s UFC Fight Night 56 event in Brazil.

UFC officials today announced the new contest, which takes place on Nov. 8. While the venue has yet to be officially announced, UFC Fight night 56 is expected to take place at Ginasio Municipal Tancredo Neves in Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The matchup had been rumored for some time, as McCall admitted after a June win over Brad Pickett that he would welcome the contest, as long as Lineker was willing to wait while “Uncle Creepy” nursed a surgically repaired hand. Lineker made it clear he’d be happy to oblige but expects McCall to make a “real fight” in return. The bout may very well serve as a No. 1 contender fight, deciding the next opponent for the winner of UFC 178’s title fight between flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson and Chris Cariaso.

The matchup joins Rafael Cavalcante vs. Ovince Saint Preux as the only officially announced contests for the event thus far.
 

RM211

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UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture cast on Season 19 of 'Dancing with the Stars'

LOL



Randy Couture is the next MMA legend who will go “Dancing with the Stars.”

The 51-year-old Couture, a UFC Hall of Famer and one of just two fighters to win titles in two divisions for the promotion, will appear on the upcoming 19th season of the ABC competition series. He is paired with Russian pro dancer Karina Smirnoff.

Couture’s inclusion in the cast was announced on Thursday’s episode of “Good Morning America.”

Couture told the show’s hosts that dancing in the ballroom likely will be harder on him than fighting was.

“I think the dance floor is definitely going to be tougher,” Couture said. “I’ve been enjoying the training, and I’ve discovered some muscles I didn’t know I had.”

His partner, Smirnoff, who in Season 13 guided J.R. Martinez to the coveted “Mirror Ball Trophy” with a title, said: “He is (tough), but he’s working very hard.”

Couture is the second MMA fighter to be cast on the long-running show, which airs Monday nights on ABC starting Sept. 15. In Season 9, in Fall 2009, then-active UFC fighter Chuck Lidell was on the show. He and pro partner Anna Trebunskaya were the fifth pair eliminated that season.

In boxing, Evander Holyfield was cast on the show’s first season and finished fifth out of six competitors. Muhammad Ali’s daughter Laila was on Season 4 and reached the finals with Maksim Chmerkovskiy, finishing third. Floyd Mayweather Jr. was cast on Season 5 and was eliminated fifth. Like Couture for the upcoming season, he was partnered with Smirnoff. Sugar Ray Leonard was cast on Season 12 of the show; he and Trebunskaya, Liddell’s pro partner, were eliminated third. Victor Ortiz was cast on Season 16 and was eliminated fourth.

Couture is no stranger to the small screen. Along with an ever-growing filmography that includes all three “Expendables” movies, the three-time college wrestling All-American was a coach on Spike TV’s lone season of “Fight Master,” Bellator MMA’s reality competition series, and currently can be seen in Spike TV’s “Gym Rescue” along with Frank Shamrock.

Couture retired from MMA following a knockout loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 129 in Toronto. That snapped a three-fight winning streak for the legend, who is the oldest fighter to win a UFC title when he beat Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 in 2007. He went on to become the oldest to win a UFC fight when he beat Brandon Vera at UFC 105.

In recent years, Couture has had a falling out with the UFC, in large part due to Couture’s decision to work with Bellator and Spike TV, leaving in a fashion that UFC President Dana White took umbrage with after he said he had worked to get Couture a gig with UFC broadcast partner FOX Sports.

But his status in MMA history remains relatively intact as both a light heavyweight and heavyweight champion in the UFC, and thanks in part to a legendary trilogy series with Liddell.

How will he fare on “Dancing with the Stars”? Time will tell, of course. But athletes are no strangers to the show’s finals – and its title. In the spring, Olympic gold medalist Meryl Davis won the crown, and past athlete winners have included NFL receivers Donald Driver and Hines Ward, NFL Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith, Olympic medalists Shawn Johnson, Kristi Yamaguchi and Apolo Anton Ono and Indy car driver Helio Castroneves. And many other professional athletes have reached the finals, including the NFL’s Jacoby Jones, Warran Sapp, Jason Taylor and Jerry Rice.

“Dancing with the Stars” is hosted by Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews and this fall will feature a fourth full-time judge after employing three in the past. Two-time professional show winner Julianne Hough, brother of fellow pro regular Derek, will join longstanding judges Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba.

The full list of Season 19 cast members includes:

Jonathan Bennett (actor) & Allison Holker
Tommy Chong (actor, comedian) & Peta Murgatroyd
Randy Couture (MMA fighter, actor) and Karina Smirnoff
Betsey Johnson (fashion designer) & Tony Dovolani
Lolo Jones (Olympic track and bobsled athlete) & Keo Motsepe
Bethany Mota (YouTube star) and Derek Hough
Janel Parrish (actress) and Val Chmerkovskiy
Alfonso Ribeiro (actor) & Witney Carson
Sadie Robertson (reality TV star) & Mark Ballas
Antonio Sabato Jr. (actor, model) and Cheryl Burke
Travis Smiley (talk show host) and Sharna Burgess
Lea Thompson (actress) & Artem Chigvintsev
Michael Waltrip (NASCAR driver) & Emma Slater
 

RM211

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UFC Tonight ‏@UFCTonight 6m
Shogun Rua vs. Jimi Manuwa? It's not a done deal but the bout is being discussed for the Nov.8th card in Brazil.




At this point in his career i dont even know i'd favor shogun in this fight.
 

RM211

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Joe Lauzon's game plan: Win tonight, Chiesa pays for Fuddruckers, attend presser

Joe Lauzon has already mapped out how, ideally, the rest of his day will play out.

Lauzon, the veteran UFC lightweight who fights for the 17th time under the UFC banner, today joined MMAjunkie Radio to discuss tonight’s fight. When fighters call into the radio show on event day, they’ve posted an overall 41-10 record.

Lauzon (23-9 MMA, 10-6 UFC) could use a little such luck heading into tonight’s UFC Fight Night 50 event, where he meets Michael Chiesa (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in a FOX Sports 1-televised bout at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Conn. Despite being a 12-time UFC fight-night bonus winner (the most in UFC history and tied with Anderson Silva), Lauzon has been tapped a small underdog.

Despite both fighters being fan favorites, Chiesa provided some trash-talk when he recently said Lauzon is “going to get beat up.”

Rather than snipe back in the media, Lauzon said he talked to Chiesa at Thursday’s weigh-ins. Lauzon offered him a proposition as they waited in line to hit the stage.

“‘Loser buys dinner?'” Lauzon proposed. Chiesa accepted.

Still, Lauzon wanted to tweak his opponent a bit. So when Chiesa and his crew arrived at the same post-weigh-in restaurant where Lauzon and his team were eating, Lauzon had a little fun.

“We sent shots over to the table,” he said with a laugh. “I had the waiter tell him, ‘The shots are on Joe, but dinner is on you tomorrow.’

“We always get the last laugh for sure.”

Lauzon said he simply doesn’t get caught up in the trash-talk and always keeps it light. He sees it more as a fun endeavor and a way to promote the fight rather than anything to get seriously upset about. So despite Chiesa’s bold claims, Lauzon said he’s not taking it personally.

“I don’t care,” he said. “It doesn’t do any good selling the fight if he goes, ‘Joe Lauzon is going to kick my ass.’ I don’t really care. I think that if you become emotional, I feel like you make bad decisions sometimes. But I never get caught up in it. I think it’s a little fun to focus on each other. It makes it a little more enjoyable.

“I mean, it’s kind of crappy when you get two guys who are like, ‘Oh, I respect my opponent, and we’ll see what happens.’ You need to find that balance with your confidence and help sell the fight.”

Lauzon said he’s confident heading into the bout, which is why he believes he won’t be picking up the dinner tab tonight. Regardless, though, after such a grueling camp and strict diet, he’s ready to splurge the moment their bout is over.

“I want to eat like right after the fight,” he said. “I just want like the worst greasy cheeseburger and milkshake I can find. I’m completely fine with Fuddruckers or something like that, just something quick.

“My ideal scenario is we fight, the fight goes how it goes, then we go get burgers, and then we wait around for the press conference. I think we’re going to have a great fight regardless.”
 

RM211

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'King Mo' accidentally cut to 202.5, will give middleweight a try in 2015

Muhammed Lawal didn’t intentionally cut too much weight on Thursday, and he wasn’t trying to make some type of statement. But after weighing 202.5 pounds for Bellator 123, he said he’s soon going to give middleweight a try.

Lawal (12-4 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) co-headlines tonight’s Spike TV-televised event against late replacement and fellow light heavyweight Dustin Jacoby (10-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA). While weighing in for Bellator 123, which takes place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., Lawal tipped the scale at 202.5 pounds – a full 3.5 pounds under the 206-pound limit.

On today’s edition of MMAjunkie Radio, “King Mo” said he was just as surprised as everyone else during Thursday’s weigh-ins.

After he hopped on the scale, someone asked why he came in so light for the fight.

“‘What do you mean I’m coming in so light?'” Lawal remembers thinking.

He was then told he weighed 202.5 pounds.

“I was like, ‘whoops,'” he said.

Lawal said it wasn’t indicative of any problems or illnesses. He wasn’t trying to make a statement, and he wasn’t extra light throughout camp. Instead, he said, he simply had a bad unofficial scale, which he realized once he was on the official scale.

But did he exert himself too much by cutting the extra weight? Was it a struggle?

“Hell no,” he said. “I have no problem making 205.”

That’s why, the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion said, he’s going to give the 185-pound middleweight division a try in 2015. In fact, he said, he’s shooting for fights in three weight classes: middleweight, light heavyweight and even heavyweight.

With former Strikeforce head Scott Coker now in charge of Bellator MMA, the once-disgruntled fighter finally has some job satisfaction. It’s a reason he recently signed a new deal with Bellator.

So, as he looks to rebound from a controversial decision loss to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson earlier this year and take out Jacoby tonight at Bellator 123, he sees plenty of options next year, especially when it comes to his weight.

“I’m going to play with it a little bit in 2015,” he said. “I want to do three weight classes. I just want to get my fights, have some fun and get paid.”
 

RM211

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Feb 10, 2006
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WOW!

T @the blackzilians
We are proud to announce that Thiago Silva is officially back with the #UFC - We are truly thankful to the UFC and hope to see him fighting again by January. #mma #blackzilians G @Glen nmma @thiagoufcsilva


WAR SILVA!
 

RM211

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Feb 10, 2006
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Michael Bisping vs. Luke Rockhold set for Nov. 8 in Australia

The long-discussed middleweight grudge match between Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold is now a reality.

Bisping today announced the contest during FOX Sports 1’s pre-fight show for tonight’s UFC Fight Night 50 event.

As MMAjunkie previously reported, UFC Fight Night 55 takes place Nov. 8 at Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia. The entire event streams live on UFC Fight Pass.
 

RM211

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Feb 10, 2006
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Also, pitbull vs curran was a good fight. Can't wait for the trilogy!! I hope they throw bobby lashley some good comp.(most likely not due to the deal with tna) Tito n Stephan fiasco, ppfffttt! Also, I don't know where king mo goes from here(even tho he got the tko) he's lost twice to newton and couldn't get past rampage. Drop down to MM or just wait until Tito gets hurt and fight bonnar. You know it's gonna happen lol
 

RM211

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Feb 10, 2006
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I'm being lazy n don't want to post it, but Ben Rothwell broke his forearm from an Overeem kicc last night. Sheesh if only dude was smarter in the cage. EDIT: let me retract that, hospital says it not "broken" nonetheless Big Ben has a cast on his arm.
 
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