MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

MAYHEM AND TRIGG WEIGH IN AT HDNET FIGHTS

MMAWeekly was on location at the Renaissance Hotel for HDNet Fights "Reckless Abandon" weigh-ins. The co-main event fighters made weight and all bouts are official. The highlight of the afternoon was Yves Edwards stepping on the scales with a muffin in hand. Official weights listed below. weigh in video: http://www.sherdog.com/videos/videos.asp?v_id=1362

Jason "Mayhem" Miller (186) vs. Tim Kennedy (185)
Frank Trigg (183.75) vs. Edwin Dewees (185.25)
Yves Edwards (156.25) vs. Alonzon Martinez (156.25)
Kyzysztof Soszynski (204.75) vs. Robert Villegas (205)
Pete Spratt (170.5) vs. Tristan Yunker (174.25)
Cory Mahon (155.25) vs. Chris Bowles (154)
Freddie Espiricueta (184.75) vs. Nissen Osterneck (184.75)
Jay White (256.25) vs. Patrick Castillo (241)
Liam McCarty (185) vs. Jason House (184.5)
Lee King (155.25) vs. Marcus Lanier (154.5)

 

[Shogun Locc]

Belfort To Meet UFC Matchmaker, Hopes For Ortiz Rematch

[Vitor] Belfort will meet UFC matchmaker Joe Silva on Wednesday, the Brazilian told Sherdog.com, and is specifically looking to avenge his last bout in the UFC, a split decision loss to Tito Ortiz.

"I want to rip his big head off," said a re-motivated Belfort. "The last time I had a back problem, and he just laid on top of me with a broken nose bleeding all over me and I tired in the last round."

But now the 30-year-old "Phenom" said he no longer has "a building" on his back, referring to a slew of personal issues, and has concentrated on improving his cardio.

He also explained that while other promotions, like EliteXC and M-1, have contacted him, he is more concerned with re-establishing his legacy in the UFC, beginning with Ortiz.

"I'm willing to fight him winner take all, the loser gets nothing," Belfort said of the former UFC light heavyweight champion. "He's a millionaire, he doesn't need money -- he has to have pride."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Fedor-Choi, Akiyama-Misaki Official For Yarennoka On 12/31

A press conference was held on Thursday to announce two more official fights for the "Yarennoka" show on New Year's Eve in Saitama, Japan.

The long-rumored bout between universally ranked number one Heavyweight mixed-martial artist Fedor Emelianenko and K-1 kickboxer Hong-Man Choi is now confirmed.

You can also officially pencil in Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Kazuo Misaki for the stacked-New Year's Eve fight card.

With that now known, here's a look at the updated OFFICIAL fight card:

-Fedor Emelianenko vs. Hong-Man Choi
-Gilbert Melendez vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida
-Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Luiz Azeredo
-Gesias Calvancanti vs. Shinya Aoki
-Hayato Sakurai vs. Hidehiko Hasegawa
-Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Kazuo Misaki

Fighters still rumored to be added to the card include: Ricardo Arona, Aleksander Emelianenko and Murilo Bustamante.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Bob Sapp vs. Bobby Ologun Set For NYE Dynamite!! Show

It was announced during a press conference on Thursday, December 13th that "The Beast" Bob Sapp will fight mixed-martial arts in Japan for the first time since November of 2005, as he will work the K-1 Dynamite!! show on New Year's Eve.

His opponent will be a man who has only fought on New Year's Eve in Japan his entire MMA career, a total of 3 fights (2 wins, 1 loss) under the K-1 banner - Bobby Ologun. Ologun's last fight was his only pro MMA loss, to the giant Hong-Man Choi last year on New Year's Eve.

As long as Sapp isn't injured in this fight, he will have another MMA bout - his first ever in the United States as he makes his Strikeforce debut on February 23rd, fighting at the Tacoma Dome in Washington state.

 

[Shogun Locc]

HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon
American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
Saturday 12/15/07
Live on HDNet at 8:00 PM ET

Jason Miller vs. Tim Kennedy

Frank Trigg vs. Edwin Dewees

Yves Edwards vs. Alonzo Martinez

Pete Spratt vs. Tristan Yunker

Freddie Espiricueta vs. Nissen Osterneck

Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Robert Villegas

Chris Bowles vs. Corey Mahon

Patrick Castillo vs. Jay White

Jason House vs. Liam McCarty

Lee King vs. Marcus Lanier

 

[BROWN GUERRERO]

 

[UCDgreek]

^^looks pretty gay to be honest

 

[Shogun Locc]

fuck that poor excuse of a mma movie. Never sumbit is going to shit all over this mma film because it will feature real fighters.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Ryan Gracie Found Dead at 33

Ryan Gracie (Pictures) was found dead Saturday in a jail cell at the 91st police station, in Vila Leopoldina, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The 33-year-old Gracie, who fought as a mixed martial artist exclusively for the now defunct PRIDE Fighting Championships and was the brother of Renzo Gracie (Pictures), was arrested on Friday for stealing a car and trying to steal a bike. The fighter had been transported to the station after a toxicological examination held in the Medical Legal Institute.

According to the Secretary of Public Security, the body of Gracie was found around 7 a.m. when police were checking the cells of prisoners. Gracie was alone and was found fallen into a corner.

Experts of the Medical Legal Institute could not be reached Saturday to make the necessary examinations and direct the body of the fighter to the institute. According to his lawyer, Rodrigo Souto, the cause of death has not been disclosed by police.

Gracie was 5-2 as a mixed martial artist. After starting 1-2, including a decision loss to Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures) in December 2000, Gracie went 4-0. His last win -- and fight -- came on Dec. 31, 2004, when he defeated Yoji Anjo by armbar.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Gary Shaw Wants To Make A Match Between Kimbo And Tito Ortiz

Gary Shaw is calling out Tito Ortiz. According to Shaw, Tito's been making comments about his newly acquired meal ticket, Kevin Ferguson aka "Kimbo Slice".
“I keep seeing on TV Tito Ortiz talking about 'Kimbo Slice,'” said Shaw. “My answer to Tito Ortiz on the record is ‘come and get it buddy.’”

"Kimbo Slice" is coming off of a strong performance, against journeyman Bo Cantrell. Fighting in his first official mma bout, the infamous internet street brawler took just 19 seconds to dispatch of Cantrell via knockout in the first round.

Tito Ortiz is filming episodes of Donald Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” for NBC and has just one fight remaining on his UFC contract.

 

[BROWN GUERRERO]

Hahaha yeah it looks like a MMA version of fast and the furious. Sucks that it's one of the very first MMA movies.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Couture: Could Fight Fedor in October '08

In Dallas, Texas, to corner several Xtreme Couture fighters, including middleweight Frank Trigg (Pictures), Randy Couture (Pictures) said he hopes to fight Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) as early as October 2008.

"Unless the UFC wants to do a co-promotion with M-1 and make the Fedor fight happen, I'm going to have to wait 'til my contract expires," Couture told HDNet's Ron Kruk. "I have no intention of breaching that contract; that expires in July. My employment contract expires with them in October. So I would assume the soonest you'd see me fight Emelianenko would be in October."

Couture gave up his standing as UFC heavyweight champion on Oct. 11 via fax from South Africa, where "The Natural" was on location shooting a feature film. The two-division champion also resigned from his roles as ambassador for the UFC and on-air personality during the promotion's broadcasts.

While Couture sits on the sidelines for another 10 months, Emelianenko, widely regarded as the No. 1 heavyweight in MMA, will make his live debut on HDNet Fights with a return to the ring on New Year's Eve against 7-foot-2, 350-pound novice Hong Man Choi

 

[Shogun Locc]

COUTURE WILL WAIT TO FIGHT FEDOR

Randy Couture appeared at HDNet Fights on Saturday night and reaffirmed to fans that he will return to fighting, but not in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as he will stay out until his current contract expires and wait for a fight with Fedor Emelianenko.

“I am not retired,” said Couture at the HDNet Fights show in Dallas, Texas. “I am waiting for my UFC contract to expire. I will fight Fedor Emelianenko.”

Couture’s statement will surely come as a shock to many fans who were waiting to see if the current UFC heavyweight champion would return to the Octagon, but it looks as if now he has decided sit out and wait for the dream match-up with Fedor at some point in the future.

Another embattled UFC heavyweight was a guest at the HDNet Fights show, as former champion Andrei Arlovski was present at the show and post fight press conference.

“I will fight very soon,” Arlovski stated about his fight career.

Sources close to the fighter confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that Arlovski is also waiting out his UFC contract which according to them expires in April and at that time the Belarus native will look to move on to another organization.

Also at the show was former UFC and Bodog Fight middleweight contender, Matt “The Law” Lindland who was brought in by the show’s promoters to commentate as a part of the broadcast team.

While no announcement was made towards his future involvement as a fighter for the organization, Lindland’s promotion, SportFight, will be seen on HDNet next Saturday night as a part of the networks extensive mixed martial arts coverage.

 

[Shogun Locc]

PROELITE AQUIRES HAWAII'S ICON SPORT

Entertainment and media company ProElite announced today that they have acquired ICON Sport, Hawaii’s largest MMA organization.

EliteXC is the live fight division of ProElite. The acquisition of ICON Sport, formerly known as Superbrawl, will help ProElite and EliteXC continue to establish itself as one of the premier MMA organizations today.

“This is an exciting day for all of our organizations, but the biggest winners will be fans in Hawaii," stated EliteXC President Gary Shaw said. “In a short span of twelve months, EliteXC has already got the well-deserved reputation for staging sensational fights with the world’s top fighters.

The ICON organization has been around since 1995. ICON’s T.J. Thompson said,” From day one we have discovered the raw talent that make up Hawaiian MMA in Kaleo Kwan, Kala Kalohe Hose, Mark Oshiro, and Hawaiian trained EliteXC Lightweight Champion KJ Noons.”

Many of MMA’ greatest fighters have fought on the ICON’s (formerly Superbrawl) stage, including Frank Shamrock, Vitor Belfort, Matt Hughes, Rich Franklin, Tim Sylvia, Robbie Lawler, Mayhem Miller, Frank Trigg and Takanori Gomi.

T.J continues, ”Hawaii grows warriors and will continue to give rise to MMA’s future champions.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Bustamante to Meet Takimoto at ‘Yarennoka!'

Former UFC middleweight champion Murilo Bustamante (Pictures) will return to Japan on New Year's Eve to face Olympic judo gold medalist Makoto Takimoto (Pictures) at Yarennoka!.

The 41-year-old founding member of Brazilian Top Team confirmed the bout on the team's official Web site.

The fight with the Japanese judo ace is a silver lining for Bustamante, who watched BTT -- once considered the strongest fight team in the world -- fall to pieces this summer. Many of his former teammates, including former PRIDE heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures), Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Pictures), WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho (Pictures) and Mario Sperry (Pictures), have left the Rio de Janeiro gym.

Bustamante, a four-time Brazilian champion in jiu-jitsu and one-time BJJ world champion, is trailing only Randy Couture (Pictures) as the oldest fighter still competing at a top level. His performances against Japanese opposition have been particularly impressive throughout his career.

Wins over Yoji Anjo, ADCC winner Sanae Kikuta (Pictures), former DEEP champion Ryuta Sakurai (Pictures), former Shooto champion Masanori Suda (Pictures) and fan-favorite Ikuhisa Minowa (Pictures) are opposed by only one single loss against top judo player Kazuhiro Nakamura (Pictures). "Busta" also submitted Matt Lindland (Pictures) and went the distance with Chuck Liddell (Pictures) during his stint in the UFC.

Takimoto, a Yoshida Dojo teammate of Kazuhiro Nakamura (Pictures) and Michihiro Omigawa (Pictures), was 3-3 during his three-year mixed martial arts career in PRIDE. Four of his six fights have gone the distance, which is an indication of his well-planned and controlled fighting style.

Although the 33-year-old ground-fighting specialist has had some problems with dangerous strikers in the past -- he had his orbital bone broken in his opening round fight of last year's Bushido Grand Prix against Gegard Mousasi (Pictures) -- Takimoto has always done well against fellow grapplers. Japanese fans will certainly hope for this trend to continue in what will likely be a ground war.

Takimoto is also scheduled to compete at the inaugural event of upstart promotion World Victory Road, which is set to take place March 5 at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo.

 

[Shogun Locc]

HBO Latin America Set To Air IFL Shows

Big news on the HBO mixed martial arts front. According to Sam Caplin of ProElite.com, HBO and the IFL will likely announce an agreement, coming as early as today, that HBO will begin airing IFL shows in Latin America, in 2008.
While the agreement only pertains to HBO's Latin America channel, it could give the IFL an edge in securing an HBO broadcasting partnership on it's English speaking channels as well.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Ken Shamrock vs. Frank Shamrock Looking More And More Likely

Ken Shamrock gave an interview on HDNet Fights about fighting his brother Frank. Judging from his comments it seems like it may be a done deal.
“Well first of all it’s the first time that it’s been done in any sport that brother has versed brother,” said Shamrock. “It’s not a bad thing. Me and my brother did this for a living. I brought my brother into the sport. I’ve always dominated my brother, he knows that. Now he wants a chance in front of the world since I may have gotten a little older and a little slower. He thinks that he wants to come in and show everyone that he’s the big brother but you know what, blood brothers man. We’re going to make that happen. It’s not a dirty thing, we don’t hate each other. The fact is I respect what he’s done with myself and I’m looking forward to getting in there and doing a little sibling rivalry in the ring.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

ANDRE ARLOVSKI REPRESENTATIVE REFUTES REPORT

MMAWeekly.com on Sunday reported that Andre Arlovski was reportedly planning to wait out his current Ultimate Fighting Championship contract and then explore his options with other organizations.

That information was included in a report from the HDNet Fights event this past weekend that focused on UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture stating that he has not retired and that he is waiting for his UFC contract to expire.

Leo Khorlinsky, a representative of Arlovski’s, told MMAWeekly.com on Monday that the report was not true. “It is completely false. We have a very good working relationship with the UFC. Our negotiations with the UFC are confidential, we do not talk about them.”

He continued, “Andrei is very hurt by these false statements. He is a UFC fighter and is looking forward to his next fight in the Octagon.”

Arlovski is the former UFC heavyweight champion, a title he won by defeating Tim Sylvia at UFC 51 on Feb. 5, 2005. He currently holds an 11-5 professional record having won his last two fights in the Octagon and is ranked as the No. 7 heavyweight in the world.

 

[Shogun Locc]

VITOR WANTS BACK IN UFC; CHALLENGES ORTIZ

Since last fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship almost three years ago, Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort has spent time in multiple promotions including Pride, Cage Rage and StrikeForce, but it looks like the Brazilian is hoping for a return to the UFC at some point in the near future.

Belfort recently came on Tagg Radio and confirmed a meeting he had with representatives from Zuffa and while no details were made available he sounded confident with its results and even mentioned who he’d like to fight if he returned to the Octagon.

“We had a meeting it was great,” said Belfort. “Actually what I want, everybody has pride and one thing I have unfinished business with Tito (Ortiz) being the last fight since I won the fight, most people feel I won the fight.”

The last fight between Belfort and Ortiz ended in a split decision win for “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” but the former UFC champion has a new idea for the fight if he and Ortiz meet again.

“Basically what I would like to do is I would like to fight him and I have a challenge for him,” Belfort stated emphatically. “The challenge would be winner take it all.”

Beyond the grudge match brewing with Ortiz, Belfort feels that his return to the UFC is necessary because of his long standing ties with the promotion and that the fighters there now are treading on his territory.

“The UFC’s my house,” Belfort said. “See a lot of guys there, they are at my house. The UFC’s my house, they come into my land. Even Tito, he came after, he came to my house.”

Fans have long clamored for Vitor Belfort’s return, but not the fighter who has struggled in many of his recent fights, they have long been begging for the warrior who blew through competition like Wanderlei Silva and Tank Abbot a few years ago.

“I know the fans want the old Vitor back,” stated Belfort. “I took care of my issues, took care of my problems so now I’m clean and ready to get back into the UFC.”

Belfort confirmed that he is no longer training at Black House in Brazil and now works only with a team of coaches and selective training partners.

Ultimately, Belfort understands the challenge in front of him, but he knows that to face the best fighters in the world he needs to be in the UFC.

“I want to fight with the best so you have to be around the best,” said Belfort.

To listen to the whole interview go to www.taggradio.com

 

[WayCide-Ridah]

vitor is my fav. fighter, i liked his attitude of just walking in punching ppl out...i hope he does come bacc in top form