MMA News Thread

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UFC Fight Night 19 official for Sept. 16 in Oklahoma City, tickets on sale July 9

The UFC's first trip to Oklahoma in nearly 15 years is now official.

As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) first reported in May, UFC Fight Night 19 – which will serve as the lead-in for Spike TV's "The Ultimate Fighter 10" debut – will take place in Oklahoma City.

With the Ford Center currently closed for renovations, the neighboring 15,000-seat Cox Convention Center will house the event.

Tickets for the UFC Fight Night 19, which range from just $35 to $200, are scheduled to go on sale to the general public on Saturday, July 11, at Ticketmaster.com.

UFC Fight Club members will have the first shot at tickets on Thursday, July 9, while UFC Newsletter subscribers will receive a password that will allow tickets to be purchased on Friday, July 10.

UFC Fight Night 19 is the UFC's first-ever trip to Oklahoma City, and only the second-ever to the state of Oklahoma. "UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors," which saw Royce Gracie earn his third and final eight-man tournament title with wins over Ron van Clief, Keith Hackney and Dan Severn, took place Dec. 16, 1994 in Tulsa, Okla.

The event mirrors the UFC's recent strategy of entering new markets with the UFC Fight Night series. The Spike TV-televised events have recently ventured to cities in Colorado, Nebraska, Florida and Tennessee.

Following UFC Fight Night 19, the UFC will move 200 miles south to the American Airlines Center in Dallas for UFC 103, held just three days after the Oklahoma City event.

 

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GSP SAYS FLORIAN WILL BE A GREAT CHAMPION

On Aug. 8, Kenny Florian will take a second crack at the UFC lightweight title, this time battling current champion B.J. Penn at UFC 101, and while the Boston native has always had a top-notch camp, he decided to venture out this time for some extra support.

The extra support comes in the form of UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, the only fighter to have two wins over Penn, and who himself is in final preparations for his UFC 100 bout against Thiago Alves.

St. Pierre spoke to MMAWeekly Radio recently about the work he did with Florian in Montreal, and says that it's a good bet that it's "Ken-Flo" who will leave Philadelphia with the championship around his waist.

"I've trained with him two times and he looked really sharp. I put my money on him against B.J. Penn," St. Pierre stated.

The Canadian has put together some of the most legendary camps to prepare for his title fights, so his physical and mental strategy could be a key edge that Florian will carry into the fight in August.

St. Pierre complemented Florian for the work they did together while in Montreal, and he's confident that Penn will have no answer for what Florian will bring into the title fight.

"Kenny Florian is a great training partner, and is going to be a great champion, and he's also a greater person and human being (than B.J. Penn)," said St. Pierre.

Much like his own strategy and gameplan, he wouldn't let anything out of the bag as to what Florian will do to beat Penn, but he is boastful that it will happen.

"A lot of things, but they are part of his gameplan so I can't talk too much about it," St. Pierre commented about what Florian will bring into the fight against Penn. "It basically consists of using his strength and putting it against his opponent's weaknesses."

Following his upcoming title fight against Alves, St. Pierre will then head straight back into camp to help his friend and training partner Nate Marquardt get ready for his September fight against Demian Maia.

Still, if time permits, he says he'd love to be in Philadelphia to sit front row for Kenny Florian vs. B.J. Penn.

"I would like to see that," St. Pierre said in closing about Florian winning the title.

 

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LAWLOR READY FOR MIDDLEWEIGHT MOVE AT UFC 100

A natural athlete, Tom Lawlor first made himself known to mixed martial arts fans around the world with his stint on Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter. Part of Team Mir, Lawlor won his preliminary fight against Ryan Lopez via rear naked choke, allowing him to continue in the competition and make his way into one of the most controversial seasons of said show.

Though he would eventually lose in the quarterfinals to light heavyweight winner Ryan Bader, Lawlor left a lot to be remembered.

More infamously known for ‘tainted’ fruits and a highlight reel knockout of good friend, teammate, and lightweight competitor Dave Kaplan, who claimed he couldn’t be knocked out, after a drunken debauchery filled rant.

Proving his worth, the Massachusetts native was invited on the undercard of the season eight finale this past December against fellow TUF veteran Kyle Kingsbury. Proving why he was a three-time NCWA (National Collegiate Wrestling Association) champion for the University of Central Florida, he earned the judges' nod by defeating Team Nogueira’s unofficial leader via unanimous decision.

Making the move to the middleweight division, “The Filthy Mauler” will look to impress once again when he takes on fellow wrestling and Ultimate Fighter standout C.B. Dollaway at the historic UFC 100 event on July 11 in Las Vegas.

While a guest on the MMAWeekly.com radio show, the always-colorful Lawlor shared his thoughts on the decision to move to the middleweight division and how his time spent on the Ultimate Fighter hindered the movement.

“I learned it real early on in the season. When we got in the house and all the other guys, as most of you saw, were eating my food and I started looking around and I’m thinking ‘man, I really want to go after these guys and beat the crap out of them,'" explained Lawlor.

“But Junie (Browning) had already push-kicked me to the ground; he was a 155’er. I didn’t feel like picking a fight with these guys that were 225 and cutting to 205, so I’m like, Junie's at 155, I’m scared to go down to that weight, those guys have good push kicks. These 205’ers are pretty big, so I think I’ll settle in between."

A bout pitting two Ultimate Fighter veterans of adjacent seasons, the highly touted collegiate wrestlers at first glance appear to have all the makings of an exciting wrestling affair. While Dollaway presents several skills and attributes going into the fight, Lawlor could not ask for a better opponent... sort of.

“Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a better – well, I could have asked for a better match-up. I could have asked to fight like a 145’er or something, or 135, but even than victory is not guaranteed,” he joked.

“I’m real happy with the match-up. Stylistically, I think it works out well. Obviously we both come from a wrestling background. He’s a little more of a decorated wrestler than I am, but MMA wrestling is a little bit more different than amateur wrestling, scholastic wrestling. I think his offense, his wrestling offense, may not translate as well into MMA as some of the other guys that are a little bit more powerful. He comes straight forward."

While Lawlor's drop in weight could be the equalizer, as he may very well be the stronger and bigger of the two, what he is counting on is the precision and technique that he has undoubtedly been able to hone with time spent in the world renowned American Top Team camp alongside Thiago Alves, who is set to co-headline the card against Georges St. Pierre.

“In his fights, if you look, Jesse Taylor was able to take him down. Technically, he’s a better wrestler than Jesse Taylor. He was able to outwork Mike Massenzio, but Massenzio’s leg was busted up. I’m not saying that’s the reason C.B. beat him, but I’m sure it helped a little bit. I really think it’s a good match-up for me. He comes forward a lot and I think I’ll be able to exploit that a little bit."

His own worst critic, Lawlor felt that his first fight in the UFC was of no indication of his talent or ability and looks at his upcoming bout with “The Doberman” as a chance to redeem some fan fair.

“If anybody even saw the (Kyle) Kingsbury fight, they would think that I am not the real deal. I would rather poke my eyes out with needles or wipe my butt with a cheese grater than watch that Kingsbury fight if I was a fan."

Now with his last week of training winding down and time dwindling towards the fight, the now-Florida resident looks forward to a bout of epic proportions, both adorning his rightful spot on the UFC 100 card and a chance to make a name of his own in a crowded middleweight division.

“I promise to go out there and make this fight more exciting, put on a better show for the fans, for myself, for my family. I do it for the kids. I’m going to go out there and put on a better fight for the kids who are out there watching. It’s going to help me to go out there against somebody who was in the finals of The Ultimate Fighter, definitely.

“Definitely in this fight against C.B., he has a little bit more name recognition than I do, but I’m going to go out there and take it to him. I’m ready to fight.”

 

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MICAH MILLER TURNS THE CORNER, WEC IN FUTURE?

After an up and down time in the WEC and a frustrating loss against Yoshihiro Maeda at Dream 7, a fight which many felt he should have won, American Top Team fighter Micah Miller appears to be back on track.

He recently secured his second straight victory, a second round submission of JC Pennington, at UCFC, the debut of sanctioned mixed martial arts in Pittsburgh. Coming on the heels of a third round TKO the month before, Miller feels like he's turned a corner.

"Right now, I'm just putting in the work to get better. I feel like I really hit another level here lately," he told MMAWeekly.com.

"After that fight in Dream, it left a really bad taste in my mouth. I thought I won the fight. A lot of people thought I won the fight. That, that, feeling of like I won, but still not getting the W it just really motivated me to get back in the gym."

Like any fighter, he wants to jump back up in the spotlight of the bigger promotions.

"I'm a free agent. Whoever wants to pick me up, WEC, Strikeforce, Dream, whoever, I'll fight anywhere 35, 45, whatever."

Currently fighting without a home, Miller, however, already has another fight scheduled. He faces Anthony Morrison as part of Shine Fights' American Top Team vs. The World on Aug. 1 in Miami.

 

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‘Spider’ Man: An MMAmania.com interview exclusive with Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva needs no introduction. He is arguably the best mixed martial arts fighter on the planet.

With a record-breaking nine consecutive UFC wins to his credit (and counting), he has been as dominant as any fighter in the history of the sport during his reign.

Recently however, his showings against Patrick Cote and Thales Leites have been the subject of criticism from fans, media and even the UFC management.

In both match-ups, Silva appeared content being cautious, counter striking and staying mistake free.

As a result of his less-than-spectacular performances, the UFC has paired him up against a guy who likes nothing better than to get in your face and force you to engage.

That man is former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin who will take on Silva in the main event at UFC 101 on August 8.

It will be the second trip to the light heavyweight division for Silva.

“The Spider” took some time out of his busy UFC 101 preparations to answer a few questions regarding his recent fights, Lyoto Machida, Forrest Griffin and his uncertain future in MMA.

Check it out:

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): I want to go back to UFC 97 for a second. A lot of people including Dana White were critical of your fight against Thales Leites. Dana went as far as to say he was “embarrassed” by your performance. What goes through your head when you hear Dana say something like that after one of your fights?

Anderson Silva: Of course I want to please the fans and Dana White. I feel I did my job right. I want to focus on my next fight and on training harder for now.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Did the Leites fight go like you had anticipated? Were you satisfied with your performance?

Anderson Silva: I followed the game plan that I had trained. It’s not always possible to please all the fans, but I know that I did my job right.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Some critics out there feel like you may lack motivation or that you have lost your killer instinct at this juncture in his career. How do you respond to those claims?

Anderson Silva: I haven’t lost my motivation. I am still very motivated to put on great fights and keep my belt.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): You’re a long time champion, undefeated in the UFC, and a big name in the sport. Do you feel any burden to be cautious or defensive in the octagon because you know you have a lot to lose at this point?

Anderson Silva: Being the champion has added a lot of responsibilities, but that is part of the job.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Recently, Wanderlei Silva has been vocal about you in the media saying you’re “too cocky” and that “war is declared” against you. Is there bad blood between you two that needs to be resolved?

Anderson Silva: Anyone can say whatever they want to say, it doesn’t affect me. I am still training as always.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Your next fight will be against Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 at 205 pounds. This will be your second fight at this weight. How is the 205-pound Anderson Silva different from the 185-pound version?

Anderson Silva: I feel comfortable fighting at the 205 pound division, but I still want to focus on defending my belt at 185 pounds.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Where is your UFC 101 camp taking place at?

Anderson Silva: I have been training in Rio (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) with my team.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Who are some of the fighters and coaches you will be working with during camp to help you prepare?

Anderson Silva: Rafael “Feijao,” the Nogueira brothers, Andre Galvao, among others.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): What do you feel is Griffin’s biggest weakness?

Anderson Silva: Forrest Griffin is a tough fighter with a lot of heart but like everyone he has his weak spots. It’s going to be a great fight.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): How do you see this fight playing out in your head and what is your official prediction for the fight?

Anderson Silva: I don’t know. I can’t predict it. We will have to wait until August 8.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Your teammate Lyoto Machida earned his belt with an incredible performance against Rashad Evans at UFC 98. What were your thoughts on his performance?

Anderson Silva: Lyoto is an incredible fighter and we are all very proud of him. This is really the Machida Karate era. I believe he will keep the light heavyweight belt for a long time.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Are you officially done fighting at 205 for good (after the Griffin fight) now that Machida has the belt?

Anderson Silva: I don’t know what will happen in the future. My main focus is to defend my 185 pound title. Lyoto and I are friends and I feel that he really deserves the belt. I have no intention in fighting for the 205 pound title.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Who at 185 pounds in the UFC would you still like to fight or is there anyone outside the UFC you’ve seen from a distance and always wanted to fight?

Anderson Silva: I would love to fight my clone one day.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): If Georges St. Pierre beats Thiago Alves at UFC 100 and you are able to defeat Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 would you be open to challenging St. Pierre? Does that fight interest you at all?

Anderson Silva: I train to fight the best but it is up to Dana White and the UFC to decide that.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): Do you still plan on retiring when your contract is fulfilled, likely in 2010 around your 35th birthday?

Anderson Silva: I don’t know yet what will happen. I haven’t made any definite plans.

Derek Bolender (MMAmania.com ): If you do retire is it still your desire to get back into boxing and subsequently pursue a match-up with Roy Jones Jr.?

Anderson Silva: It is a dream of mine but I don’t know what will happen.

 

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Spencer Fisher headed to the WEC?

It appears as though eleven fight UFC veteran Spencer Fisher may be entertaining thoughts of switching things up a bit and possibly heading over to the WEC .

Thirteen days ago Fisher started a thread at the MMA Underground Forums following his most recent victory at UFC 99, a hard fought unanimous decision over the highly regarded Cao Uno, where “The King” had this to say,”I just wanted to thank Uno for the chance to get in ring with him. He is a great fighter as well as a person. It was a good close fight. And as far as anything else that is said and done I have to hype any fight anyway I can.”

Just this evening Fisher posted this question on the same thread,”Maybe to the WEC, what do you guys think?”

It would be a little bit odd if Fisher switched over to the WEC following three consecutive wins in the UFC, but it would undoubtedly be a place where he would make an immediate impact, and very likely challenge for a title in the not so distant future.

 

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Thiago Alves: ‘I’m going to knock [GSP] out, so don’t blink’

In just over a week twenty five year old Thiago Alves will be in the fight of his life as he takes on Georges St.Pierre at UFC 100 in a welterweight championship match that will validate one man’s claim to being the best fighter on the planet currently competing at 170 pounds.

Seven consecutive wins in the toughest welterweight division in the world have propelled Alves to the title shot he has coming to him next Saturday evening.

His last three bouts have been a progression of impressiveness as he knocked Karo Parisyan out of contender status at UFC Fight Night 13, pulverized Matt Hughes at UFC 85, and made Josh Koscheck look terrible at UFC 90.

The string of recent success in the octagon make it no mystery as to why the phenom from the American Top Team is feeling close to invincible heading into UFC 100.

“I don’t think [GSP] has any advantage in this fight,” said the abundantly confident Alves in a recent video interview on UFC.com. “The only advantage he has is that he has the belt and a bigger name.”

As far as the game plan goes for the most pivotal bout in the dangerous Brazilian’s career, it’s just going to be business as usual for Alves once the cage door slams shut.

“You want to take me to the ground? I’m going to get back up and I’m going to kick your ass as soon as you make a mistake,” the feared striker explained calmly.

“When that cage closes,I’m going to shock the world,” promised Alves. “I’m going to take the best pound for pound fighter and I’m going to knock him out, so don’t blink.”

 

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GSP on Thiago Alves: ‘I can stand with him’

Even though UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre has faced some of the toughest men the world has to offer at 170 pounds during the course of his career, the dominant Canadian will be the first to tell you that he expects for his next title defense to be one of the toughest tests he has faced inside of a cage.

St. Pierre is just one week away from UFC 100 where he will meet one of the most dangerous welterweight strikers in the history of the octagon in Thiago Alves.

According to GSP in a recent video interview on UFC.com, the fight is his to lose.

“I have many ways to win that fight,” explained the ultra-confident champion. “I have more tools than he has.

“I’m going to be the one to dictate the pace. I’m going to be the one to control the fight.”

Alves is the most dangerous on his feet, with devastating kicks and heavy hands, but St. Pierre feels confident regardless of where the battle ends up.

“I think I can stand with him, I think I can wrestle with him, I think I can go on the ground with him, I can do everything with him,” said GSP.

Just because the defending champion isn’t overly worried about ultimately exchanging with Alves at some point, he’s no fool, St. Pierre plans on taking the fight where he needs to in order to leave the octagon with his had raised one more time.

“I’m a smart fighter,” said St. Pierre. “I’m going to fight against his weaknesses, not his strengths. The key for me is to win, and to win I’m going to do anything that I can.”

 

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Yoshihiro Akiyama planning to show that Judoka can be successful in the UFC (Video)

 

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Gesias at Dream 11, but not against Alvarez

After the rumors about a possible fight between Gesias Cavalcante and Eddie Alvarez at Dream 11th edition, which is scheduled for September 23 in Japan, we went after the Brazilian to know more about the confrontation. Gesias guaranteed that will be on Dream 11’s card, but his opponent won’t be Alvarez. "They offered me Eddie Alvarez and I was excited, but it seems that he’s injured or had some other problem and won’t be able to fight in the event. I’m confirmed in Dream 11, but I still have no opponent", said JZ.

 

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An agressive Leonardo Santos at Sengoku

With five consecutive victories in the Brazilian MMA, Léo Santos had the chance to return to the Japanese rings, and came back to Brazil with a controversial loss in the split decision, against Kazunori Yokota. Back to the trainings in Nova União, the lightweight spoke about the return to the Sengoku, promising news for the next challenge, still with no date set yet. "I dominated four minutes and, with one minute to end (the rounds), he came like a crazy guy, made things to impress the judges. I have to become smarter, I can’t accept his game, I have to impose my own, be more aggressive and go over them", said the black belt, waiting for a call of the event to fight this year.

"I'm waiting for the next event. If I win my next fight, is the chance for me to fight for the belt. The future belongs to God. I‘ll train and be well prepared for what comes", said Santos, who believes he won the fight against Yokota. "I don’t know if I felt a little the time zone, but I think I won the fight... I lost the first round, but won the last two, but that defeat was good for me to see that I have a few flaws in my game, and one of them is be more aggressive and fight under the rules", complains, helping the team fellows and returning to the trainings in Rio de Janeiro. "The training doesn’t stop at the Nova União. We have guys fighting all the time, then I'm helping, giving some tips to them, who always helps me too. I’m just maintaining, I’m not forcing anything, and trying to correct some basic things".

THE LIGHTWEIGHTS IN THE BJJ WORLDS 2009

Considered for many years the number one in the lightweights in Jiu-Jitsu, the Nova União athlete commented the battles of the 2009 Worlds, which happened at June in California, USA, and crowned Michael Langhi. "The light category was always with epic battles, only had tough guys... What happens, today, is that everybody is very level and Michael Langhi is with a good tactic and a good game, he highlights on it. He’s with a very good team, which gives him the ideas, and he’s smarter", praises Santos, recalling the times in which he competed with kimono. "It isn’t like old times. The tops were tops, ran over, but Langhi is making the difference in this details. I saw him fighting, he has a great guard, but what is making the difference is that, details”, analyzed the black belt.

 

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Ishii In Las Vegas! Convinced Of Growth

An American Ishii at Xtreme Couture article has been written and posted at the Cagewriter Yahoo! blog.

Zach Conley is just beginning to try his hand at mixed martial arts. The former Idaho State linebacker works out of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. With top notch instructors like Shawn Tompkins running the place, it’s a great opportunity. But there is a downside. You may have to roll with someone that’s a bit out of your league. Conley is just 1-0 as an amateur but in a 20 minute span he found himself being dumped on his head by 2008 Olympic Judo Gold medalist Satoshi Ishii

After rolling with Ishii, Conley, trying to cover up that he’d just been smoked, said “man, that guy’s pretty good at Judo.” Gym veterans laughed as they told him
“that guy” just won the gold medal.

“I had no idea, it was a rude awakening,” Conley told Cagewriter. “That guy’s got crazy judo, I got my ass tossed all over the place. I was a state champ wrestler (in Idaho) and he tossed me like I was my little sister.”

He speaks little English but is getting along just fine. K-1 veteran Ray Sefo often serves as a translator. Believe it or not, the only guy at the gym late on Wednesday who could communicate with Ishii, was the very eloquent “New York Bad Ass”, Phil Baroni.

 

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Minnesota MAA's Greg Nelson happy in background as Brock Lesnar moves to UFC's forefront

As the athletes of the UFC continue to gain attention, so, too, do the teams that help them prepare for each bout.

While most hardcore fans can run off a quick list of the best trainers and academies in the sport, Minnesota Martial Arts Academy Head Instructor and Owner Greg Nelson's name doesn't always come directly to mind.

And though UFC stalwarts Brock Lesnar, Sean Sherk and Brock Larson, among others, call the academy home, Nelson doesn't mind staying in the background.

"I don't mind being behind the scenes," Nelson recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "The limelight goes to the fighters. My goal is to get them ready for it and to work out with them and to train them.

"A lot of guys would always say, 'You've got to do this or that.' I'm fine with doing this. I've really have always been I guess a little bit reluctant to toot my own horn, so I don't. I'm pretty fine with being the guy that's in the background. I really enjoy seeing guys get their hands raised and see them doing the best that they can and knowing that I'm a part of it."

Nelson knows a thing or two about helping his fighters to victory. After all, he started martial arts training in 1983 and was watched the sport of MMA develop from its modern roots.

"I would have to say that our school was really ahead of the curve," Nelson said. "We started training mixed martial arts in, well, it was 1992, but even before I had my own school we were already mixing Thai-boxing and shootwrestling, and I wrestled for the University of Minnesota. We just always had been putting stuff together and combining. That's kind of how I did things.

"When people say, 'mixed martial arts,' we've been doing that since day one. Having a background and wrestling and then doing Thai-boxing since 1983, that was a good structure. Then we started doing submission stuff, and guys started coming in. We started fighting, literally, in 1993."

The hard work and rugged training that have quickly become the hallmark of Lesnar, Sherk and Larson is simply the way the full academy goes about its business, according to Nelson.

"Coming from a wrestling background, we've always trained like that, throwing weights around a little bit differently than just lifting weights," Nelson said. "I've trained quite a bit in Thailand. Those guys don't have nice gyms and lifting weights and such. They put stuff together like cement and Folger's cans and just do reps.

"It comes down just to old-school hard work. Coming from the Midwest, you see how many guys ... come from farms where they just work hard their whole life, lifting things, throwing things around. It all comes down to hard work, desire and having the discipline and patience to pursue a goal. That's really what we've had our success based on."

As the UFC's current heavyweight champion, Lesnar is currently Minnesota Martial Arts Academy's highest-profile fighter. And with a UFC 100 bout with Frank Mir set for July 11, Nelson said Lesnar is better than ever.

"We've had a really good training camp, a lot of guys in there," Nelson said. "This has been an extremely good camp because we've had a lot of guys that are big and can move. We brought in a guy from Arizona who was an all-armed forces boxing champion who is 300 pounds and can hit like a Mac truck."

In addition to increased focus on his striking skills, Nelson said Lesnar has matured in the course of his short career.

"Brock is a very smart fighter," Nelson said. "Since his first fight, he went in there and that was more just pure get-in-there, raw aggression, try to run them over like a truck. You could see from that fight to Heath Herring to then with Randy Couture, you see a steady growth in his striking development and ability to pace himself – control to not be so anxious in the ring.

"He's got the ability to really run through you like a freight train, ... but at the same time he now has a lot more movement."

Should Lesnar avenge his February 2008 loss to Mir and walk away with the UFC's unified heavyweight title, perhaps a little bit more attention will be paid to the Minnesota academy. And while Nelson doesn't mind remaining in the background, he has no problem predicting the potential success of his current star.

"[Lesnar's] ground game has been seriously upgraded with the people we brought in, and he always, always, always is a threat with those hands because they are so big and he's so fast," Nelson said. "It's just physics at that point. There's going to be a lot of force coming down on Frank."

 

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Aaron Simpson hints at UFC Fight Night 19 return, fight with middleweight Dan Miller

Aaron Simpson (5-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) could meet fellow middleweight Dan Miller (11-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) at September's Spike TV-televised UFC Fight Night 19 event.

Simpson first posted news of the bout on his Facebook page. However, perhaps jumping the gun before he got the greenlight to officially announce the fight, he later issued a disclaimer: "Sorry. That was not official. Still waiting."

UFC Fight Night 19 takes place Sept. 16 at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Okla.

As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently reported, the officially announced event also features a lightweight bout between Roger Huerta (20-2-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) and Gray Maynard (7-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC).

Simpson, an Arizona Combat Sports fighter previously reportedly set for a return at UFC 103 in September, joined the UFC after a November 2008 victory over David Avellan in the WEC. Simpson made his octagon debut against Tim McKenzie and needed less than two minutes to post the TKO win at UFC Fight Night 18. Simpson, a two-time All-American wrestler and former coach at Arizona State University, has now posted knockout victories in all five of his professional bouts (four in the first round).

Miller, a former IFL champion, recently suffered his first loss in the UFC when he dropped a unanimous decision to Chael Sonnen at UFC 98. Prior to the loss, he had defeated Rob Kimmons (submission), Matt Horwich (decision) and Jake Rosholt (submission) in UFC contests to extend his overall win streak to nine straight fights.

 

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Michal Bisping isn’t feeling the love

Michael Bisping is fighting mad. Fortunately for him, UFC 100 is only a week away.

He's mad at his opponent, Dan Henderson. He's peeved at what he senses is a lack of respect within the fighting community. And he knows that a win over Henderson, the only man ever to simultaneously hold two major weight class titles, would force his skeptics to eat their words.

"I think Dan Henderson is an [expletive], and I'm going to knock him out," said Bisping.

Bisping feels that Henderson calling him a "douche bag" in the final episode of "The Ultimate Fighter 9" reality show, to him, was too personal and between that and other statements he's heard, that Henderson has crossed the lines of hyping a fight.

As he counts the days down, the line that he's focused on was hearing that Henderson, his opposing coach on "TUF 9," downplay how hard he needed to work to win the fight, and he wasn't happy about Henderson claiming that Bisping's record looks so impressive because of getting lucky decisions.

"He's a two-faced [expletive]," said Bisping. "He never said anything to my face (when they were filming "TUF 9").

"He disgusts me. I'm 18-1, and he said he doesn't need to train anything but cardio, and he would still beat me. He's taking me way too lightly. When people piss me off, I fight a lot better."

"I don't know why people continue to underestimate me," said Bisping, who is the face of the sport in the United Kingdom. "I don't know what it is. Nobody rates me in the top 10. I think it's because I'm from the U.K., and they don't give me the credit. It baffles me."

Henderson (24-7) is currently a 9-to-4 favorite in the sports books and has gone to a decision 17 times during his career, winning 13 of them, including an 8-1 record in split-decision finishes.

Bisping has a 3-1 record in fights that have gone the distance, with his only loss, via split decision, coming against future light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, though he does have a split-decision win over Matt Hamill that the vast majority of those watching believed he should have lost.

Evans and Hamill, the two men who gave Bisping the most trouble, came from a high-level wrestling background like Henderson, but Bisping said this fight will be different because he's concentrating on fighting his own fight. In those two matches, he was so concerned with defending takedowns that he wasn't attacking as much as he should have.

Luckily for Bisping, the committee of one, UFC president Dana White, who means more than any ratings when it comes to a fighter's upward mobility, has positioned this fight as Bisping's big chance. If he beats Henderson, he would likely get the next UFC middleweight title shot at Anderson Silva. And if everything works out, that match would take place on Nov. 14 in Manchester, England, not all that far from Bisping's home in Liverpool, and it would probably be the biggest MMA event ever in Europe.

Of course that's far easier said than done. Henderson held the PRIDE championships at 183 and 205 pounds when the company was sold to UFC's parent company, Zuffa LLC, two years ago. And Henderson also is chasing a match with Silva, who beat him via second-round submission last year. Henderson won the first round of that fight and blames training incorrectly for his loss.

"In terms of a game plan, I want to knock him out," said Bisping. "He's got God-awful stand-up. But he's got a very powerful right hand that everyone talks about that hasn't KO'd anyone for a long time, and you can see it coming because he's so slow with it."

Bisping senses part of the problem causing a lack of respect is that, generally, the British fighters lag behind the Americans in wrestling. Many American fighters have wrestling backgrounds from childhood, and the sport isn't offered in schools in the U.K.

"I've improved massively," said Bisping about the wrestling end, though he will be facing a guy who went to the 1992 and 1996 Olympics as a Greco-Roman wrestler. "I've caught up. Rashad had a hard time taking me down, and I even took him down once. I can match up with him well in every part of the game."

Bisping left the U.K. a month ago to avoid all home-life distractions and has been in Las Vegas, noting he's doing nothing but eating, sleeping and training. At 30, he believes he's training smarter than ever, learning lessons from his belief he had been overtraining before fights for years because of his drive to always want to work harder.

"You have to learn to listen to your body," he said. "Before, if I was so sore I could barely get out of bed and walk, I'd still go to the gym and try and go all out. Now, I may take a day off or a weekend off if my body needs it."

He's also listened to advice about weight. For years he had been told he was better off fighting as a middleweight, but he still resisted the idea of dropping down.

"I was way too small for light heavyweight," he said. "But I was stubborn. When it would be brought up, I'd say that, 'I'm still winning.' I make the (185-pound) weight easy. I'm not even a big middleweight."

With his hardest physical training over, he's turning his concentration this week on getting his diet down perfectly, bringing in a nutritionist who will monitor everything he eats. Right now he's at 195 pounds, and he would like to keep near that weight when he gets into the cage. In his last few fights as a middleweight, he went into the cage about 190, which would be small in the days in which the state-of-the-art practice is to cut 10 to 20 pounds of mostly water in the last few days and then try to gain as much of it back by match time.

He also recognizes and expects he's the "bad guy" and will be heavily booed next week in the fight. He got a taste of it on June 20 when he was at the TUF 9 Finale in Las Vegas. Bisping beat Henderson in the "TUF" coaching battle, coaching three of the four finalists and both champions, James Wilks and Ross Pearson. He said he believed he took the coaching job more seriously and was more hands-on in helping his team's fighters, saying Henderson was more there for the television exposure.

He was the coach of Team U.K. in a television battle against Henderson's Team U.S. But unlike someone such as Dan Hardy, who relishes the bad-guy role, Bisping doesn't want to be seen that way.

"I wasn't at all comfortable with the Team U.K. vs. Team U.S. format," he said. "I'd rather it was Team Henderson vs. Team Bisping. I don't want to alienate Americans. Fans are going to be booing me, but I hope they're cheering for me at the end."

 

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WINNING MIR OVER 1 HR A DAY, HAHN LIFTS HIM UP

Getting Frank Mir to listen is no easy task. If you don’t have an intelligent argument, you’re not getting anywhere.

The current interim heavyweight champion had been in the game five years when he found Ken Hahn. He had settled into a routine: train for fights when they were booked, work the Spearmint Rhino at night, read a lot, hang out.

It wasn’t serving him well. He had made it back from the motorcycle accident that threatened his career, but after several lackluster performances in the Octagon, fans were ready to write his talent off as a casualty of inactivity.

“I think after the accident I got back in the gym, and the people around me were all about making money and showing up for fights just to get in shape, and I kind of approached it that way, and obviously, with not very successful results,” said Mir on a Thursday teleconference promoting his rematch with Brock Lesnar at UFC 100 next Saturday.

“I would never be in the gym learning anything extra, or improving on anything, it was just like you have a fight in eight weeks, you have to show up for this many hours and this is what’s required of you. It’s very monotonous and very much like a job and I lost my enthusiasm for training.”

Hahn had eight weeks with Mir before his fight with Antoni Hardonk at UFC 74. First on his agenda was to change Mir’s mindset about fighting. That would require some convincing.

“I told him if you’re a martial artist, you always talked about how you had a school and you did karate when you were younger,” Hahn told MMAWeekly.com. “Do you consider yourself a martial artist? ‘Yes.’ Okay, then you have to be one.

“‘What do you mean?’ Well, right now you’re living like a fighter. You’re not living like a martial artist. You work at the nightclub so you can work minimally doing things that you don’t have to stress your body out. You make a lot of money so you don’t have to earn as much. But what are you really doing now? You’re a vampire. You’re the club life guy, putting yourself in harm’s way because people are drunk and you have to help them out the door. Two, you’re in an environment where everyone’s always smoking, so that’s not good for you. If the UFC pays you a certain amount of money so you don’t have to do anything but train, that’s what you should do.”

But it wasn’t going to be that easy.

“He’s like, ‘well, I don’t feel motivated to train,’” continued Hahn. “Why aren’t you motivated to train? It’s because you’re not learning anything new. You’re not being pushed in the right direction. So, when people are tired, the last thing they want is to be yelled at, ‘you’re tired.’ So why don’t we change the environment you’re in, so instead of going for time, let’s just go for however long we can go. Instead of putting a five minute timer on and going as hard as you can and trying to survive that five minutes, let’s just spar for however long we can spar for, so that eventually, it wasn’t like, ‘how much time do I have left.’

Hahn’s goal was to get Mir sparring an hour straight.

“Everybody says his cardio is bad; that’s because whenever he got tired, people would yell at him and beat him up,” said Hahn. “If you’re always going to have negative reinforcement, you’re going to go into a survival mode of thinking. You’re gonna do the bare minimum and conserve your energy so you can go five minutes, so that at the end of the day, you’re coach is saying ‘he’s getting better, because he’s lasting.’ No, he’s not. He’s learning to conserve his energy so that in the last thirty seconds, he can show him something, so he won’t get yelled at.”

Training at Hahn’s level of commitment meant Mir had to train year-round. If he wanted to compete at the highest level, he couldn’t just show up eight weeks prior to a fight and hope to be his best.

“Once he realized that he could go longer and put it all on the table and I will recover, he trained harder,” said Hahn. "Before I got him he was going on talent alone. Now he’s 30 years old – there’s no more talent. You have to actually train your body.”

Mir started to win again, and convincingly. He railroaded Hardonk, came from behind to defeat Lesnar, and out-struck idol Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Equally important, he was back in the gym when he wasn’t booked.

"I went back the following Monday and was training again,” said Mir. “Not at the same intensity as you would before a fight; just back at the gym moving around, holding pads for the other guys, shadowboxing, and constantly keeping that flow going. That’s not something I would have done had I not met Ken.”

Hahn continues to believe Lesnar’s relative lack of experience will once again be his undoing next Saturday.

“I think the best thing for Brock would be get as crazy as possible and come out of the box like that,” said Hahn. “That’s how he’s going to beat Frank. If he tries to get technical and try to play the striking game, he’ll get crushed. If he tries to do the jiu-jitsu game, he’ll get crushed. He hasn’t been training long enough. How can somebody get better in six months?

“One, you have to have a really good instructor. Two, you have to have a bunch of really good guys that are willing to work with you at your level. If you go to Couture’s gym, there’s so many guys that are high level and famous, that they’re fighting each other for spots. Are they really trying to help you? No, they’re just waiting for someone to get hurt so they can slide into the spotlight.”

Like the few others that have faced Lesnar, Mir has been doing his best to find training partners who replicate the former pro wrestler’s size. It is, as he says, an almost impossible task. Too tall or too heavy – it’s one or the other.

Hahn says the key to a successful rematch is keeping Mir focused on the gameplan. The good thing is, he doesn’t have to argue as much to do so.

“We’re not gonna throw kicks like we did in the first fight,” he said. “In the first fight, he was still a little anxious with me and wanted to show he had learned. It’s a beginner’s mistake; why are you gonna throw a kick in the open field? This time, I think he’s going to feel him out, box him, frustrate him, because I think Brock’s going to throw hands and try to knock him out and I don’t see how that’s going to happen. Brock has no kicks, so we’re not worried about his kicks or knees. It will probably be a boxing match, then Brock will get hit with something, and get submitted or knocked out. Then in the third or fourth round, here come the low kicks, so we can further frustrate him. The biggest thing is if Frank stays relaxed and moves laterally, you’ll see a seminar.”

 

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FABER HEALING, MAKING PUSH FOR WEC & NEW DEAL

In his rematch last month with Mike Brown, Urijah Faber once again ended up on the wrong end of the fight with American Top Team fighter. The two went five rounds with Faber losing a unanimous decision.

That doesn't sound so out of the ordinary, until you realize that Faber broke his right hand in the first round then injured his left in the third, yet he still managed to finish the fight.

"It was during the first round. I hit him right on top of the head," he said of the injury that required surgery and the insertion of metal plates. "It wasn't until the third round that I hurt my left hand, though."

Many fighters would have cashed it in soon after the broken hand in the opening round, but not the former WEC featherweight champion.

"I just went back to the corner and told Master Thong, who is my Muay Thai trainer, 'my hand is broke, my hand is broke.' He told me to shut up, and he said, 'you're a champion,' and hit me in the heart. I wasn't planning on quitting, but it was heavy on my mind. When push came to shove, I don't have any quit in me."

The injury to his right hand was severe.

"The fourth and the fifth metacarpal were completely snapped. The fourth one was completely displaced. The fifth one... I could feel the bones grind together, so what was happening is it was splintering away," he recounted. "They basically put in some steel plates and some screws (to help the healing process)."

With one fight left on his WEC contract, Faber isn't wasting any time sitting back and waiting for his hand to heal up on its own. He's gone to great lengths to move the process along.

"I'm a proactive person... I'm trying to do all sorts of unconventional things and stuff that is gonna stimulate it. I'm getting the cast off early even though the bone's not gonna be healed, I'm gonna get a removal cast so I can start moving my hand and getting it better."

And when he is healed up, he wants to get right back into action. Of course, with one fight left on his contract, that's one more thing for him to focus on while he is healing up. But not only is Faber looking to extend his contract with the promotion he has helped build, he is pushing for WEC parent company Zuffa to start putting more focus on the UFC's sibling.

"What we have is a company that's growing right now; they're kind of putting that on the shoulders of some of the people. I feel like we should be looked at as investments," he commented. "If they're not making money right now, they're spending money on a lot of other stuff to help build their business and the fighters are part of that.

"I'd like a little bit more attention, money put into the WEC brand. It doesn't grow overnight, but they really should be making a big push. We've got a lot of guys that are extremely marketable. We've got the most exciting fights in the world for sure.

"I feel like I'm making a pretty good name for myself and I'd like to be compensated for this. I don't feel like being someone that is gonna build up something and not reap the rewards, but in all honesty, they do have the fighters interests in mind."

Faber isn't saying he wants to go elsewhere. Why would he? He's logged many hours building not only himself, but the WEC brand. Plus, he's got unfinished business with Mike Brown that he would eventually like to attend to.

"I think there's a future fight between us. I have a good shot at getting a title shot real soon down the road," he told MMAWeekly.com.

"So I'm hoping that we can reach a great agreement and I can keep fighting with the WEC because I love it there."

 

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Hardy's Not Picking Next Fight, Addresses Condit

MMAInsider caught up with UFC welterweight Dan Hardy in Los Angeles as he prepared for the festivities of July 4 -- namely, taking on grill duties and eating everything in sight.

A speculative match-up that recently made the internet rounds was Carlos Condit. Good match-up: Condit has solid Muay Thai skills and is great off his back. Hardy is an excellent kickboxer and showed he's no slouch on the mat against Marcus Davis at UFC 99.

With Martin Kampmann and Mike Swick doing battle in September for what could be the next contender slot, Condit coming off a loss to Kampmann after a long run as WEC champ, and Hardy continuing to build his name, one might think, why not?

For one, Hardy is a less excited, and what's more, he's taking a backseat in the next fight of his UFC career.

"I've seen Condit come up quite a bit and a few others as well. I think it's a great fight. I really don't mind who they pick. Obviously with me being quite aggressive about picking my last fight, I'm kind of looking forward to handing this one over to Joe Silva, and letting him pick the fight for me."

Most fans believe Condit would have the advantage on the ground, and Hardy doesn't necessarily disagree. But for those who think he would be a submission victim, he begs to differ.

"Realistically, he probably does have a slight advantage on the ground if you look at his record, because he has a lot more submissions than I have. But for my last three fights, I've been destined to get my ass kicked by every one of them and it hasn't happened yet, so at some point people are going to stop doubting me and realize that I'm not such a pushover."

From his perspective, their recent records say more about the fight's likelihood.

"He's coming off a loss and I'm coming off three wins, so I don't know whether the UFC will see that as a viable fight for me," he said. "Maybe he should get someone like Davis next, I don’t know. I really don’t know what value it would be to me, to be honest, apart from being fun."

At the moment, he has nothing booked, but a fall return is his preference.

"I'm just waiting around at the moment," he said. "I think it's going to be sometime in October or November."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Jansen Leads Team USA to M-1 Sweep

Unbeaten lightweight prospect Dave Jansen submitted Amirkhan Mazikhov with a first-round guillotine choke, as Team USA West cruised to a 5-0 victory against Team Russia Imperial at M-1 Challenge 17 on Saturday at Olympic Hall in Seoul, South Korea.

Jansen (12-0) needed only 22 ticks to lock in his fight-ending guillotine choke against Mazikhov. The Sportfight veteran and Team Quest product has finished three of his last five opponents. Jansen has won all three of his bouts on the M-1 Challenge circuit.

Competing on Independence Day, all five Americans finished their Russian counterparts, three of them inside the first round.

EliteXC veteran Givanildo Santana coaxed a tapout from Radmir Gabdulin with an arm triangle choke in 3:47. Santana (13-1) has delivered all but one of his career victories by submission and has taken the moniker “The Arm Collector” for his ability to put away opponents with armbars.

Other victors for Team USA West were undefeated heavyweight Shane del Rosario, Affliction veteran Fabio Nascimento and Tony Lopez. Del Rosario (7-0), a Team Oyama product, stopped Maksim Grishin on strikes in a mere 21 seconds.

With its clean sweep of the Russians, Team USA West became the first squad to clinch a spot in the M-1 Challenge semi-finals.

Other Bouts
Niko Puhakka (Finland) def. Yanko Yanev (Bulgaria) -- TKO (Strikes) 2:16 R1
Janne Tulirinta (Finland) def. Ivan Ivanov (Bulgaria) -- TKO (Strikes) 3:44 R1
Rosen Dmitirov (Bulgaria) def. Mikko Suvanto (Finland) -- Majority Decision
Marcus Vanttinen (Finland) def. Emil Samoilov (Bulgaria) – Submission (Verbal) 3:42 R3
Toni Valtonen (Finland) def. Nikola Dipchkov (Bulgaria) -- Submission (Triangle Choke) 4:49 R1
Nam Yui Chul (South Korea) def. Hacran Dias (Brazil) -- Unanimous Decision
Eduardo Pamplona (Brazil) def. Do Hyung Kim (South Korea) -- Unanimous Decision
Daniel Acacio (Brazil) def. Jae Young Kim (South Korea) -- Majority Decision
Alexander Machado (Brazil) def. Dool Hee Lee (South Korea) -- Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) 3:26 R2
Hae Joon Yang (South Korea) def. Joaquim Ferreira (Brazil) def. KO (Punch) 0:14 R1

 

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'Babalu' Focused on Mousasi
videolink: http://www.sherdog.com/videos/recent/Babalu-Focused-on-Mousasi-2014
Renato “Babalu” Sobral discussed recent family issues and his bout against Gegard Mousasi at Aug. 1’s Affliction “Trilogy” with Sherdog.com’s Loretta Hunt.