MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

UFC Fight Night 17 scheduled for February 7

The 17th installment of Spike TV’s “UFC Fight Night” fight series is set to take place on Saturday, February 7, 2009.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com confirmed the news on Tuesday morning after contacting a source close to the event who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

As of now, few details are known about the planned Spike TV special as a venue has yet to even be finalized.

The next UFC Fight Night, “UFC Fight Night 16: UFC Fights for the Troops,” is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 10 at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The event is being held to help raise contributions for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which is a charity dedicated to providing aid to veterans of the United States Armed Forces who are recovering from brain injuries.

UFN 16 will be a three-hour telecast and will feature Josh Koscheck vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida, Mike Swick vs. Jonathan Goulet, and Matt Wiman vs. Frankie Edgar.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Seven UFC 91 fighters, including Lesnar and Couture, issued medical suspensions

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has issued medical suspensions to a total of seven fighters who competed at this past weekend's UFC 91 event.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently requested and received the list of suspensions from NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer.

Main-event fighters Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture, and five other fighters, will all serve mandatory medical suspensions following the Nov. 15 event, which took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Lesnar, who defeated Couture with a second-round TKO for the UFC heavyweight championship, is suspended until Dec. 16 with no contact during training until Dec. 7 for precautionary reasons. Couture, meanwhile, has been suspended until Jan. 15 with no contact until Dec. 31, also due to precautionary reasons.

Josh Hendricks, a UFC newcomer who suffered a 61-second TKO to Gabriel Gonzaga, has been suspended until Dec. 16 with no contact until Dec. 7 for precautionary reasons.

Tamdan McCrory, who dropped a first-round submission loss to Dustin Hazelett in a main-card bout, needs his right foot and ankle X-rayed to rule out factures. If the X-rays come back positive, McCrory is suspended until May 15 unless cleared early by a doctor.

Aaron Riley, who defeated Jorge Gurgel via unanimous decision in the UFC 91 Fight of the Night, has been suspended until Dec. 16 with no contact until Dec. 7 for precautionary reasons. Gurgel, meanwhile, must have an MRI on his left shoulder and an X-ray on his right ankle to rule out fractures. If fractures are detected, Gurgel is suspended until May 15 unless cleared early by an orthopedic doctor.

Finally, Rafael dos Anjos, who loss to Jeremy Stephens via a stunning third-round TKO, has been suspended until Jan. 15 with no contact until Dec. 31 for precautionary reasons.

 

[coldasice]

Does Fedor's loss count on his MMA record?

 

[BROWN GUERRERO]

Does Fedor's loss count on his MMA record?

Nope.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Does Fedor's loss count on his MMA record?

It's not MMA It's Combat Sambo.

 

[Shogun Locc]

WEC 38: BIG PLANS TO OPEN YEAR IN SAN DIEGO

Despite faltering in his performance against Mike Brown at WEC 36 in Hollywood, Fla., earlier this month, former World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion Urijah Faber is still in the promotion's plans when it comes to putting together a blockbuster fight card.

That is exactly what the UFC's sister promotion has on tap for January.

Reliable independent sources confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that the WEC is looking to kick 2009 off in style, going big right out of the gate. Current plans call for the promotion to make its first stop ever in San Diego on Jan. 25 with one of its most loaded cards to date.

As mentioned, Urijah Faber is set to be part of the fight card, although he won't get the immediate rematch with Mike Brown that he had hopes for. Brown suffered torn rib cartilage in winning the belt from Faber on Nov. 5 and is unlikely to return to action before March. It is currently unknown whom the WEC will match Faber up against, but the short list includes Leonard Garcia and Jose Aldo.

"Urijah wants to fight in January,” his manger, Mike Roberts, stated in a recent interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “We’re still trying to sort out who he’s going to fight."

Current WEC lightweight champ Jamie Varner will make the second defense of his title when he faces Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone in what is likely to land as the main event at WEC 38. Cerrone earned a shot at Varner with his "Fight of the Night" performance against "Razor" Rob McCullough at WEC 36. Cerrone overcame two knockdowns in the opening round to batter McCullough en route to a three-round unanimous decision.

Welterweight kingpin Carlos Condit will also don the card, looking to keep his eight-fight winning streak intact. No opponent has been locked down at the time of publication, but indications are that a rematch with Brock Larson could be in the works for Condit, who recently made the move to train at Arizona Combat Sports with Varner.

In a recent conference call, WEC vice president Peter Dropick stated that pay-per-view is in the works for the promotion, "Do I have anything scheduled (for PPV)? No. Do I have plans? Yes."

The plan isn't to put WEC 38 on pay-per-view event, however. Sources indicate that it will be carried live on Versus.

 

[Shogun Locc]

SENGOKU announced 2 additional fights in "Sengoku no Ran 2009"

On November 18, SENGOKU official website reported their press conference in Tokyo regarding “Sengoku no Ran 2009” at Saitama Super Arena on January 4. In the conference, two additional fights "Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Sanae Kikuta" and "Takanori Gomi vs. Satoru Kitaoka" were officially announced, and all four fighters showed up.



Yoshida:
"I knew SENGOKU was preparing a big surprise, but I never imagined that they arranged Kikuta for me. We were teammates in our high school judo team. I'm very confused, yet I cannot lose this fight with many reasons. I don't let him hurt my pride. I'll be very cautious of his excellent ground work. I'll lose 10 kg to be ready for the light heavy weight fight with him."

Kikuta:
"I couldn't believe when I was first offered this fight. I wonder if I can throw punches to his face without any hesitation. We both represent our teams, and cannot show a boring fight. I suppose the winning team will seize initiative in SENGOKU. I will control his power by my techniques."

Gomi:
"I recently had a very miserable fight. I will condition well and bring my best to to get a belt. By experiencing the loss, I realized what I was missing. My training menu for last couple of fights weren't enough. Now I train with someone bigger and stronger to develop my skills."

Kitaoka:
"I won the tournament, yet I haven't been satisfied yet. I want a belt to make my life better."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Satoshi Ishii opened his management office "Twill33"

Sportsnavi updated about Satoshi Ishii on November 19.

Satoshi Ishii opened his management office, “Twill33”, on Nov 17. All Beijing Olympic Gold medalists were honored with the medal with a Purple Ribon (for contributions to education and culture,) and he attended the ceremony conducted Japanese government in Tokyo on November 18.

In the interview after the ceremony, he said “I thought about not belonging to any organization for a year. However, I made up my mind to concentrate to my training. I have never talked to Sengoku. I'm going to pursue my dream. I will make an official announcement shortly. I'm going to prepare to fight at least once next year.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Fedor Emelianenko, M-1 welcome "superfight" with UFC's Brock Lesnar

In the wake up former UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture's recent loss to Brock Lesnar, M-1 Global and WAMMA heavyweight title-holder Fedor Emelianenko have publicly stated their desire for a "superfight" between the famed Russian fighter and the UFC's new heavyweight champion.

M-1 today released the official statement of the proposed bout with Lesnar while Emelianenko granted interviews with select media members.

M-1 executive Jeremy Millen and Emelianenko clarify that the fight would need to be a "co-promoted event between the UFC, M-1, and Affliction Entertainment" -- something that could be difficult given, what they argue, has been the UFC's "anti-Fedor policy."

Up until Couture's second-round TKO loss to Lesnar, Emelianenko and Couture had worked diligently toward their own fight. In fact, Couture cited his desire for the Emelianenko bout as one of the reasons he wanted to leave the UFC last year. The contract dispute lasted more than a year and culminated with Couture's loss to Lesnar this past weekend.

While Emelianenko is still open to fighting Couture, he and M-1 now also want to meet Lesnar. However, they don't feel it would be much of a contest.

"In a match between Fedor and Lesnar, we do not feel that at this stage Lesnar would be able to make it out of the first round," the statement read.

The full text of the statement can be found below. Additionally, stay tuned to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) for our interview with Emelianenko in which he discusses Couture, Lesnar and the Russian's upcoming "Affliction: Day of Reckoning" main event with Andrei Arlovski.

M-1's Official Statement on Brock Lesnar's victory

M-1 would like to congratulate Brock Lesnar on his UFC heavyweight title victory as well as acknowledge Randy Couture's return to active competition after a layoff that lasted over a year.

Couture and WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko had publicly acknowledged a desire to fight each other multiple times over the course of the past year. While M-1 and Fedor remain interested in a match against Couture, we would also like to publicly state for the record that we would welcome a superfight between Fedor and Lesnar that would be held as a co-promoted event between the UFC, M-1, and Affliction Entertainment.

We've invited the media to speak with us today to not only make it clear we would welcome a Fedor vs. Lesnar matchup but to act in a preemptive fashion to address the possibility that UFC officials will try and position Lesnar as the No. 1 heavyweight in the world, much like they have tried to use a marketing ploy to brand Anderson Silfva as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

In the past, UFC president Dana White and Zuffa, LLC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta have tried to claim that Fedor was "overrated" and that his "record was irrelevant." They make these claims in spite of the fact that Fedor holds career victories over UFC champions past and present. While we have tremendous respect for the contributions Mr. Fertitta and Dana have made to this sport, we do not believe they are sincere in their statements.

It is the position of M-1 that the UFC has adopted an anti-Fedor policy because multiple attempts to sign him have not been fruitful. For a company that has tried to market itself as the number one promotion in the world, they are unable to accept the fact that the number one fighter in the world does not reside on its roster of contracted fighters.

We believe that the UFC has determined that it's much more inexpensive for them to use their marketing resources to use smoke and mirrors to brand a fighter as the pound-for-pound best as opposed to actually paying the pound-for-pound best what he is truly worth on the open market.

While Brock Lesnar is an accomplished athlete and a talented fighter, we do not consider him to be the number one heavyweight in the world. Until someone beats him, we strongly believe that Fedor should continue to be recognized as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. In a match between Fedor and Lesnar, we do not feel that at this stage Lesnar would be able to make it out of the first round.

For those who feel our statements in regards to Fedor are self-serving, we'd like to refer you to a video interview on the website RawVegas.tv in which at his UFC 91 after-party Couture himself acknowledges that "Fedor would probably tear Brock up at this point."

Jerry Millen, M-1 Vice President

 

[WXS STOMP3R]

Fedor Emelianenko, M-1 welcome "superfight" with UFC's Brock Lesnar

In the wake up former UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture's recent loss to Brock Lesnar, M-1 Global and WAMMA heavyweight title-holder Fedor Emelianenko have publicly stated their desire for a "superfight" between the famed Russian fighter and the UFC's new heavyweight champion.

M-1 today released the official statement of the proposed bout with Lesnar while Emelianenko granted interviews with select media members.

M-1 executive Jeremy Millen and Emelianenko clarify that the fight would need to be a "co-promoted event between the UFC, M-1, and Affliction Entertainment" -- something that could be difficult given, what they argue, has been the UFC's "anti-Fedor policy."

Up until Couture's second-round TKO loss to Lesnar, Emelianenko and Couture had worked diligently toward their own fight. In fact, Couture cited his desire for the Emelianenko bout as one of the reasons he wanted to leave the UFC last year. The contract dispute lasted more than a year and culminated with Couture's loss to Lesnar this past weekend.

While Emelianenko is still open to fighting Couture, he and M-1 now also want to meet Lesnar. However, they don't feel it would be much of a contest.

"In a match between Fedor and Lesnar, we do not feel that at this stage Lesnar would be able to make it out of the first round," the statement read.

The full text of the statement can be found below. Additionally, stay tuned to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) for our interview with Emelianenko in which he discusses Couture, Lesnar and the Russian's upcoming "Affliction: Day of Reckoning" main event with Andrei Arlovski.

M-1's Official Statement on Brock Lesnar's victory

M-1 would like to congratulate Brock Lesnar on his UFC heavyweight title victory as well as acknowledge Randy Couture's return to active competition after a layoff that lasted over a year.

Couture and WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko had publicly acknowledged a desire to fight each other multiple times over the course of the past year. While M-1 and Fedor remain interested in a match against Couture, we would also like to publicly state for the record that we would welcome a superfight between Fedor and Lesnar that would be held as a co-promoted event between the UFC, M-1, and Affliction Entertainment.

We've invited the media to speak with us today to not only make it clear we would welcome a Fedor vs. Lesnar matchup but to act in a preemptive fashion to address the possibility that UFC officials will try and position Lesnar as the No. 1 heavyweight in the world, much like they have tried to use a marketing ploy to brand Anderson Silfva as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

In the past, UFC president Dana White and Zuffa, LLC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta have tried to claim that Fedor was "overrated" and that his "record was irrelevant." They make these claims in spite of the fact that Fedor holds career victories over UFC champions past and present. While we have tremendous respect for the contributions Mr. Fertitta and Dana have made to this sport, we do not believe they are sincere in their statements.

It is the position of M-1 that the UFC has adopted an anti-Fedor policy because multiple attempts to sign him have not been fruitful. For a company that has tried to market itself as the number one promotion in the world, they are unable to accept the fact that the number one fighter in the world does not reside on its roster of contracted fighters.

We believe that the UFC has determined that it's much more inexpensive for them to use their marketing resources to use smoke and mirrors to brand a fighter as the pound-for-pound best as opposed to actually paying the pound-for-pound best what he is truly worth on the open market.

While Brock Lesnar is an accomplished athlete and a talented fighter, we do not consider him to be the number one heavyweight in the world. Until someone beats him, we strongly believe that Fedor should continue to be recognized as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. In a match between Fedor and Lesnar, we do not feel that at this stage Lesnar would be able to make it out of the first round.

For those who feel our statements in regards to Fedor are self-serving, we'd like to refer you to a video interview on the website RawVegas.tv in which at his UFC 91 after-party Couture himself acknowledges that "Fedor would probably tear Brock up at this point."

Jerry Millen, M-1 Vice President

UFC AREN'T GOING TO LIKE THOSE STATEMENTS

 

[killahoe666]

I don't think UFC would go for it, it would hurt them if Brock lost....The only way they would fight is if the UFC could sign Fedor if not don't look forward on this fight happening

 

[WayCide-Ridah]

give brock 2 years and he might give fedor a go...but yeah...right now fedor would eat brock alive

 

[King Spadez]

WEC 38: BIG PLANS TO OPEN YEAR IN SAN DIEGO

Despite faltering in his performance against Mike Brown at WEC 36 in Hollywood, Fla., earlier this month, former World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion Urijah Faber is still in the promotion's plans when it comes to putting together a blockbuster fight card.

That is exactly what the UFC's sister promotion has on tap for January.

Reliable independent sources confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that the WEC is looking to kick 2009 off in style, going big right out of the gate. Current plans call for the promotion to make its first stop ever in San Diego on Jan. 25 with one of its most loaded cards to date.

As mentioned, Urijah Faber is set to be part of the fight card, although he won't get the immediate rematch with Mike Brown that he had hopes for. Brown suffered torn rib cartilage in winning the belt from Faber on Nov. 5 and is unlikely to return to action before March. It is currently unknown whom the WEC will match Faber up against, but the short list includes Leonard Garcia and Jose Aldo.

"Urijah wants to fight in January,” his manger, Mike Roberts, stated in a recent interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “We’re still trying to sort out who he’s going to fight."

Current WEC lightweight champ Jamie Varner will make the second defense of his title when he faces Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone in what is likely to land as the main event at WEC 38. Cerrone earned a shot at Varner with his "Fight of the Night" performance against "Razor" Rob McCullough at WEC 36. Cerrone overcame two knockdowns in the opening round to batter McCullough en route to a three-round unanimous decision.

Welterweight kingpin Carlos Condit will also don the card, looking to keep his eight-fight winning streak intact. No opponent has been locked down at the time of publication, but indications are that a rematch with Brock Larson could be in the works for Condit, who recently made the move to train at Arizona Combat Sports with Varner.

In a recent conference call, WEC vice president Peter Dropick stated that pay-per-view is in the works for the promotion, "Do I have anything scheduled (for PPV)? No. Do I have plans? Yes."

The plan isn't to put WEC 38 on pay-per-view event, however. Sources indicate that it will be carried live on Versus.

Hell fuckin yea! I'm there!

 

[Shogun Locc]

Viva MMA? Bellator Knocks On ESPN Deportes’ Door

Bellator Fighting Championships is banking that a mix of the “old school” tournament style and modern-day storytelling is the right recipe to keep it afloat in an increasingly difficult to weather MMA market.

The promotional newcomer will debut its 12-week fight series on ESPN Deportes in April 2009, and will center around four eight-man tournaments utilizing the 145-, 155-, 170- and 185-pound divisions. Live fight events will be taped on a Friday in venues across the country and aired Saturday nights on the Spanish-language channel, which has more than four million subscribers out of the nine million recognized Hispanic cable homes.

It’s an industrious schedule not for the faint-hearted, but one that former boxing promoter and Bellator co-founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney believes will produce a plethora of exciting bouts for the public.

Rebney knows a thing or two about quantity. The former CEO and president of Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing aired 66 live boxing events on ESPN 2 the first Friday of every month under the “Friday Night Fights” moniker from 2001-2004.

Rebney and Leonard parted ways under strained circumstances in 2004 when the legendary boxer joined the cast of NBC’s “The Contender” series. However, the former agent of Oscar De La Hoya said he already had his sights set on the combat sports’ alternative since its 1993 inception with UFC 1.

Maybe its Rebney’s long memory that drew him to revitalize the tournament format used in the flagship promotion’s early days. Though the Bellator tournaments won’t be waged in one night –- few, if any, athletic promotions would allow it –- Rebney prides himself in giving back a certain amount of control to the fighters themselves.

“What it allows us to do is basically keep everything in the fighters’ hands, which I can’t tell you how strongly we feel about it,” said Rebney. “I’ve always had the strong belief that fighters should be able to control their destiny.”

There is at least one moment in Bellator’s structure which dictates that a matchmaker step in to pair up the fighters. In the first round, Bellator will resemble the system utilized in the NCAA college basketball’s “March Madness” tournament, where the top-ranked seed meets the lowest rated opponent. Bellator’s rankings will be determined by its matchmakers, who Rebney didn’t name.

In the first round, fighters will make $10,000 to show with a $15,000 win bonus if they advance on. The second round graduates to a $25K/$25K pay scale and the final round nets the fighter $40,000 for his efforts with an attractive $60,000 victory purse. Higher profile prospects are being lured to the promotion with signing bonuses.

Bellator’s pay scale is significantly above the industry average, which usually rewards a fighter a $3,000-4,000 starting wage in the upper echelon events, and double that for a follow-up effort.

The numbers have already drawn fighters like American Top Team’s Jorge Masvidal, who signed on to fight in the lightweight bracket. Rowdy TUF alumnus War Machine, formerly Jon Koppenhaver, has also been secured for the welterweight ranks, while manager Monte Cox confirmed that he’ll have standout client Eddie Alvarez join as well if the Dream star’s tricky contract will allow it.

But beyond a few notables, Bellator’s real test will be finding 32 applicants to fill its four tournaments. Most of the top names in those divisions are spoken for, which opens the door for newcomers but makes it imperative that the lesser-known commodities are promoted with gusto to peak viewer interest.

Brad Epstein, producer of feature films like the Steve Carrell vehicle “Dan in Real Life,” and Hugh Grant’s “About A Boy,” will oversee the biographical montages that accompany the fights themselves. Epstein is a co-founder and COO of Bellator.

“We’re going to be actually going to their homes with crews. We’re going to be going to their gyms,” said Rebney. “When the fighters appear on our show, you’re going to see a legitimate back story and feature piece on these guys that are competing in the tournament, so you understand something about them.”

Bellator -- which translates to “warrior” in Latin –- will undoubtedly need a little good fortune to get things off the ground. On an 84-day shooting schedule, fighter injuries and suspensions will be paramount to the show’s success, though 30- to 60-day medical suspensions are commonplace nowadays. To stack the odds more in their favor, Bellator will outlaw elbows on the ground in the first round and re-introduce them in the second and final sets. Reminiscent of Steve Jennum’s coup at UFC 3, fighters that don’t win their first-round bouts will serve as alternates in later rounds, if necessary. Bellator fights will take place in a circular cage.

Rebney said the two-hour episodes will be shot with separate Spanish and English-speaking commentary teams. The English version is currently in negotiations to find its home, said Rebney.

If Bellator is renewed for a second season, Rebney said a pay-per-view event could be launched after 24 episodes.

With promotions like the International Fight League failing without live event broadcasts, Rebney said the one-day tape delay is only a temporary fix. MMA's most successful television vehicle, Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter,” will not be a model either.

“I’m not a fan of reality programming. This isn’t about reality programming,” said Rebney. “This is absolutely the opposite of reality television. What we’re doing here is two hours of programming, once a week, primetime Saturday nights, and it will be as pure athletic competition as you could hope to see.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Riley Talks 'Fight of the Night' at UFC 91
videolink: http://sherdog.com/videos/recent/Riley-Talks-Fight-of-the-Night-at-UFC-91-1836
Sherdog.com sat down with Aaron Riley to discuss his victory over Jorge Gurgel, which was named UFC 91’s “Fight of the Night.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

What’s Next for Filho?

Former World Extreme Cagefighting middleweight champion Paulo Filho’s career took another turn for the worse last week when Zuffa LLC, parent company of both the WEC and UFC, released the troubled Brazilian from his contract.

Filho’s manager, Ed Soares, confirmed his client’s release on Tuesday. Filho -- who suffered his first career loss in a bizarre and uninspiring performance against Chael Sonnen at WEC 36 on Nov. 5 -- had one fight remaining on his contract, according to Soares. Zuffa representatives did not provide the middleweight or his manager with a reason for his dismissal.

“They don’t have to,” Soares said. “It was obvious why.”

Once universally received as one of the world’s premier 185-pound fighters, Filho’s has been a rapid fall. He was behind in his first bout with Sonnen before he snatched a second-round armbar, and he mounted virtually no offense in their rematch. To make matters worse, he came into the second fight four pounds overweight, which forced the WEC to switch the bout to a non-title affair.

“Before the fight, I thought he was ready,” Soares said. “I thought he looked good. Obviously, by his performance, he wasn’t. Back to the drawing board.”

Filho’s ailing father, who bears the same name, remains one of his son’s most ardent supporters despite his deteriorating health. The 68-year-old, who has undergone three heart surgeries, also serves as his son’s toughest critic.

“He deserved to lose,” his father said. “Fortunately, he gave his belt to Sonnen after the fight. I hope that this first loss can wake him up, because I always tell him when things start wrong, they finish wrong.”

The elder Filho believes his son’s lack of commitment to proper training led him to this dead end in his career. A few weeks ago, Filho seemed ticketed for the UFC. Now, he faces limited options as he tries to get his life and mixed martial arts career back on solid ground.
“He didn’t realize how professional this sport is nowadays,” his father said. “He didn’t have training partners or sparring partners and had just one boxing coach. How can one coach substitute for a whole training center?”

Soares -- who also manages reigning UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva -- points to Filho’s father’s poor health and recent bouts with depression and substance abuse when discussing his current state.

“He’s had a rough year,” Soares said. “He needs to get focused, start training again and start taking this thing a little more seriously. That’s not to say that he wasn’t taking it seriously before. He needs to focus on getting through this year. His father’s not doing well, he had his first loss … he’s had a lot to absorb.”

Filho’s father, who turns 69 in December, still believes his son can reclaim his spot as one of the sport’s elite competitors. Still only 30, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt rose to prominence inside the Pride Fighting Championships promotion, where he scored victories against Ryo Chonan, Kazuo Misaki and one-time Elite XC middleweight champion Murilo "Ninja" Rua.

“When he fought ‘Ninja’ he was in his best shape,” his father said. “If he’s in his best shape, I don’t see anyone who can beat him in the [middleweight] or [light heavyweight] divisions. You can ask many top fighters who trained with him, like [Antonio Rodrigo] ‘Minotauro’ [Nogueira], [Ricardo] Arona, Frank Mir and Anderson Silva what it means when Paulo Filho’s in good shape. I truly hope that after this defeat he starts to work in the proper manner. Otherwise, it will be the biggest waste of talent in MMA history.”

Filho (16-1) thinks his loss to Sonnen and the post-fight fallout will prove to be turning points. He plans to move to Los Angeles in an effort to rebuild his image and career.

“My dad and my mom are two of the most important things in my life, and I will not disappoint them or my fans anymore,” he said. “I have no excuses. [Sonnen] went there and did his job to neutralize me, and that’s what happened. He did the right job and deserves all the credit.”

Soares has high hopes for a man who opened his professional MMA career with 16 consecutive victories -- more than a third of them by submission.

“Paulo’s a true warrior who’s going through some issues in his life now,” Soares said. “You learn a lot more from your losses than you do your wins. Hopefully, he’ll take these negatives and turn them into something positive.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Exclusive: Couture Reflects on Loss
videolink: http://sherdog.com/videos/recent/Exclusive-Couture-Reflects-on-Loss-1837
Even a “master strategist” doesn’t think of everything from time to time.

Though UFC President Dana White fittingly hyped Randy Couture’s reputation for coming up with odds-defying game plans in the days leading up to UFC 91, the 45-year-old veteran says there was one overlooked detail of Brock Lesnar’s game Couture wished he’d thought of before they entered the Octagon last Saturday in Las Vegas.

“I think the thing that surprised me the most and I don’t think I was prepared for, which is always an issue with any fighter, is figuring out that range,” said Couture. “He’s got ten inches of reach on me and I didn’t anticipate that. I didn’t think of that. I didn’t know that little tidbit of information that his reach is what it was.”

In his first exclusive one-on-one video interview captured by Loretta Hunt and Mike Sloan just a couple of hours after his second-round defeat to Lesnar, Couture described how the monstrous Lesnar felt in the clinch and named who he thought was stronger from his 25 fights over 11 years. The UFC Hall of Famer also revealed a few tricks he had waiting up his sleeves that fans never got to see, which included front headlocks and taking back control at every available turn.

Relaxed and resting in his hotel room, Couture offered some pointers to those that will face the mountain of a man next, and what the six-time champion will set his sights on now –- including early chatter of the 220-pound fighter’s return to the light heavyweight division.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Johnson vs. Burns II to headline The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale

A previously reported rematch between Anthony Johnson (5-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and Kevin Burns (7-1 MMA, 2-0) set for The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale in December will headline the event, Spike TV today announced.

Additionally, officials have confirmed a previously reported middleweight fight between Jason MacDonald (21-10 MMA, 5-3 UFC) and Wilson Gouveira (11-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) will serve as the night's co-main event.

The event takes place Dec. 13 at the The Palms Las Vegas and airs live on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET.

The event will also crown lightweight and light heavyweight winners from the current season of "The Ultimate Fighter." The reality show, which features a team headed by UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira versus a team led by former champ Frank Mir, currently airs Wednesday nights on Spike TV.

Tickets for The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale, which range from $150 to $350, are now on sale.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) first reported the Johnson-Burns rematch in September. During their original meeting at a July 19 UFC Fight Night event, referee Steve Mazzagatti repeatedly warned Burns about eye pokes, and a final third-round poke crumpled Johnson to the mat. Mazzagatti did not initially see the illegal strike, and Burns was awarded the TKO victory.

With no guidelines allowing the Nevada State Athletic Commission to overturn the decision, the TKO was upheld despite Johnson's appeal.

News of the Gouveia-MacDonald fight surfaced last week. Gouveia, who posted a solid 4-2 record while competing in the UFC as a 205-pounder, dropped to middleweight after he suffered a TKO to Goran Reljic earlier this year. He then defeated Ryan Jensen via second-round submission at UFC Fight Night 15 in September.

He now meets MacDonald, a UFC veteran who most recently defeated Jason Lambert at UFC 88. The victory sustained a dubious streak for the Canadian fighter; since a victory over Chris Leben in December 2006, MacDonald has followed a win with a subsequent loss three times. The streak will reach four unless he tops Gouveia in December.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Marcus Aurelio joins lists of recent fighters cut by the UFC

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has learned that lightweight competitor Marcus Aurelio is the latest fighter to depart the UFC.

The American Top Team member was released from his contract with the promotion soon after his unanimous decision loss Hermes Franca last month at UFC 90.

The Franca bout marked Aurelio’s second consecutive loss on the heels of his unanimous decision defeat to Tyson Griffin this past July at UFC 86.

Aurelio signed with the UFC in 2007 after having earned a reputation as one of the top lightweight fighters in the world while competing for PRIDE Bushido in Japan. During his PRIDE tenure, Aurelio recorded the most notable victory of his career at PRIDE Bushido 10 when he submitted Takanori Gomi at 4:34 of round 1 courtesy of a arm triangle choke.

While he entered the UFC amidst high expectations, Aurelio failed to gain traction after losing his Octagon debut at UFC 74 when he dropped a split decision to Clay Guida. He rebounded with consecutive victories against Luke Caudillo at UFC 78 and against Ryan Roberts at UFC Fight Night 13 but his career record in the UFC fell to 2-3 after the losses to Griffin and Franca.

Aurelio joins a list of high-profile fighters such as Fabricio Werdum, Paulo Filho, and Jason Lambert that have been released from their contracts with Zuffa.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Couture on NY MMA Legislation

UFC legend Randy Couture recently spoke with the New York Post on the subject of legalizing MMA in the state of New York. Couture notes the significance of New York in the combat sport canon and his own desire to perform at Madison Square Garden before he calls it a career:

“It’s a historical thing,” he said. “Some of the biggest and best fighters in the history of combative sports and boxing have fought in New York state and Madison Square Garden. I would love to fight there. To say I fought in the same place as Joe Louis or Muhammad Ali would be a dream come true.”

Couture is an excellent ambassador for the sport in situations as this. Couture would serve as an competent back-up man to the efforts of Marc Ratner in fighting for MMA legalization. His response below would be an excellent counter to the likes of Assemblyman Bob Reilly, who often decries the violent nature of the sport:

“It’s an uneducated view that somehow thinks the sport is dangerous or barbaric,” said Couture, who has been in the UFC since 1997. “If you look at our track record, it speaks for itself. We’ve had no deaths in the UFC. I’ve seen a couple of broken bones over the course of a 12-year career, one of which was my arm. Those are things that heal. You see minor cuts and all the things you’re used to seeing in combative sports. You see an occasional knockout. The submission holds are very controlled. They’re a very technical and tactical. They’re not that invasive. Guys tap out, get up and live to fight again another day.”

Later he added, “People just need to get past the initial shock of seeing ground fighting and take a real look at the tactics, the discipline and the sacrifice of these fighters.”