MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

Two fights added to "WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone," bout order set

"WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone" was recently finalized with the addition of two preliminary card matchups, and the official bout order for the event was released on the organization's official website.

A featherweight bout between Dominick Cruz (11-1 MMA, 1-1 WEC) and Ian McCall (7-1 MMA, 1-1 WEC) as well as a welterweight contest between Blas Avena (5-2 MMA, 3-2 WEC) and Jesse Lennox (9-1 MMA, 0-0 WEC) were the final additions to the card.

WEC 38 is scheduled for Jan. 25 at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, Calif. The main card will air live on VERSUS.

Cruz will be looking for his third-straight win, including his second straight in the WEC. The Rage in the Cage veteran has earned five of his 11 victories by knockout or TKO, and his lone career loss was a March 2007 submission defeat at the hands of Urijah Faber.

The 24-year-old McCall is coming off of a decision win for Total Combat. McCall last appeared for the WEC in December 2007 in a losing effort to Charlie Valencia. Four of McCall's seven career victories have come via TKO.

Avena will be making his sixth appearance for the WEC. All five of Avena's career victories have come by stoppage, including four submissions. Avena last fought in August, earning a TKO win over Dave Terrel in just 67 seconds.

Lennox will be making his WEC debut. After losing the first bout of his career in his lone appearance for the now-defunct IFL, Lennox has won two-straight bouts via submission. Only three of Lennox's 10 career bouts have made it out of the first round -- and none have gone the full 15 minutes.

The official bout order now includes:

MAIN CARD (TELEVISED)

Champ Jamie Varner vs. Donald Cerrone (for WEC lightweight title)
Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver
Mike Campbell vs. Danilo Villefort
Jose Aldo vs. Fredson Paixao
PRELIMINARY CARD (UN-TELEVISED)
Anthony Njokuani vs. Ed Ratcliff
Edgar Garcia vs. Hiromitsu Miura
Dominick Cruz vs. Ian McCall
Frank Gomez vs. Scott Jorgensen
Blas Avena vs. Jesse Lennox
Seth Dikun vs. Charlie Valencia

 

[Shogun Locc]

HANSEN VS. CALVANCANTE CANCELLED LAST MINUTE

As the K-1 Dynamite 2008 event was set to begin at the Saitama Super Arena near Tokyo, Japan, Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante entered the ring and announced his scheduled bout with Joachim Hansen was canceled due to Hansen's inability to pass pre-fight medicals.

Sherdog.com reports the Dream 2008 lightweight grand prix champion is currently hospitalized for a "head injury."

The severity and nature of the injury is unknown, but Hansen did attend the pre-fight press conference on Tuesday.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Twelve fighters tapped for UFC 92 drug testing

A total of 12 fighters – including co-headliners Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin, Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira – were selected to undergo drug testing at UFC 92, which took place Dec. 27 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer today emailed the list of fighters to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

Results from those tests will be available in the coming weeks.

Others tested include UFC 92 winners Quinton Jackson, C.B. Dollaway, Brad Blackburn, Matt Hamill, Antoni Hardonk, Yushin Okami, Cheick Kongo and Patrick Barry.

The NSAC tests for steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, as well as drugs of abuse such as cocaine, marijuana and heroin. All of the competitors tested negative for both classifications of drugs.

The NSAC traditionally tests all main-event fighters, all winning competitors, and any fighters who have previously failed drug tests.

 

[Shogun Locc]

BLACKBURN TAKES STEP UP WITH WIN OVER CHONAN

By now, Brad Blackburn is used to having his nose broken. In eight years of mixed martial arts competition, it’s happened six times.

“I just don’t want it to get any flatter,” he says with a laugh.

His opponent, Ryo Chonan, caught his nose with a punch in the final moment of the third round, giving him not-so-lucky number six. It was hard to breath after that.

“That was a long minute,” he notes.

The damage was a small price to pay for a victory over an opponent with international recognition. Chonan’s luck had been mixed in the UFC, with a win and loss inside the Octagon, but he did have a respectable resume, punctuated by a quick submission win over reigning middleweight champ Anderson Silva.

Three months back when Blackburn first learned of the fight, he said he needed to do three things right.

“One was be in great shape,” Blackburn told MMAWeekly.com on Monday. “Two was not let him take me down, not to fall for any of his tricks. (Three was) to keep it simple. I wanted to keep it a kickboxing match.”

Chonan got the memo on the kickboxing match, because the two spent almost no time on the ground. When given the opportunity to get back up, Blackburn took it.

A few days removed from the experience, Blackburn feels best about the first thing he did right. Their fight had little let up, little time to reset, as Chonan pressed the action in later rounds.

“I was in good shape, so he was in great shape,” he said. “I’m glad I was in good shape, because if not, he probably would have been able to take a brother out.”

Instead, Blackburn returned fire when Chonan attacked, often letting a straight and overhand right go as the Japanese fighter entered the pocket.

Blackburn says it was business as usual for his camp. Since his days in the International Fight League, he’s focused on keeping the fight standing, using what he feels are his superior kickboxing skills. He trains with the usual boxers and kickboxers at West Coast Fitness outside of Seattle, Wash., but counter intuitively, focuses specifically on wrestlers.

“So I’m comfortable throwing even knowing that someone wants to take me down,” he explains. “I have confidence in my wrestling now. I’m able to open up more and more. The way I see it, if you want to kickbox, you better be a good wrestler, or you’re not going to get to.”

After he gets his nose reset, Blackburn is going to spend some time with his kids, then drop them off at the babysitter for some partying on New Year’s. The win over Chonan was a good step towards building career momentum, and he’s got just enough time to start up that ranking ladder.

“I’m 31, I’ve been fighting for a long time, so it’s time to see what’s up,” he said. “You’ve got to beat somebody with a name to have one, you’ve got to beat a champ to be a champ. So I want to beat people that have been names or are ranked above me. That’s all.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Shinya Aoki submits Eddie Alvarez at Fields Dynamite!!; earns WAMMA title of worlds best lightweight

While the New Year has yet to arrive in North America, New Year’s celebrations have already begun in other regions of the world. In Japan, the New Year has already been ushered in with its annual tradition of promoting major combat sporting events.

With FEG holding a massive 17-bout show combining fighters from its K-1 kickboxing and DREAM mixed martial arts rosters, the promotion held one of the biggest shows ever with their presentation of “Dynamite!!” at the Saitama Super Arena.

“Dynamite!!” featured the crowning of the second-ever undisputed champion in World Alliance Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) history with Shinya Aoki defeating Eddie Alvarez via heel hook submission at 1:32 of round 1. In the process, Aoki became the first-ever WAMMA lightweight champion.

WAMMA would like to publicly congratulate Shinya Aoki on his historic victory and looks forward to presenting him with his championship belt at a ceremony to be scheduled at a later date.

“Dynamite!! was phenomenal event and quite possibly one of the best New Year’s Eve shows in Japan’s history,” said WAMMA Chief Operating Officer Michael Lynch. “We’re also delighted to have a fighter the caliber of Shinya Aoki representing WAMMA as its lightweight champion. On behalf of WAMMA, we’d like to congratulate Mr. Aoki on his sensational victory.”

WAMMA would also like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. The organization is already looking forward to a big 2009 with its recognized undisputed heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko scheduled to defend his WAMMA belt against Andrei Arlovski on January 24 in Anaheim, California during Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Jackson would rather have revenge before the championship

After Quinton Jackson defeated Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92, Dana White said that Jackson would most likely be first in line to challenge new champion Rashad Evans. However, if Jackson had it his way, his next fight would not be for the title.

“I want to fight Forrest (Griffin) because that’s the fight that haunts me,” Jackson said. “I want the belt. I want to be champion, but I want Forrest first.”

Not only does Jackson want another fight with Griffin, he also has his sights set on a rematch with another man who defeated him earlier in his career.

“I want to get Shogun too,” Jackson said, “but I want Forrest first.”

A potential fight with Griffin would have to wait though. Griffin was hurt during the Evans match.

“Forrest went to the hospital with a broken hand,” White said.

With Griffin’s injury and Mauricio (Shogun) Rua’s scheduled fight with Mark Coleman at UFC 93, Jackson is not likely to get his first or second choice. Instead, he will likely get his third choice - a fight with Evans for the UFC light heavyweight championship.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Dana White talks about Nogueira’s defeat; claims former champ suffered from Staph infection

While a guest on “The Carmichael Dave Show” this past Monday night on KHTK in Sacramento, UFC President Dana White spent a good portion of the interview breaking down the action witnessed from this past Saturday’s UFC 92 event.

One of the major topics discussed during the interview was Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira losing the interim UFC heavyweight title to Frank Mir following a second round TKO. The win by Mir was considered a major upset and White shared his thoughts as to why the surprise outcome may have occurred.

“Nogueira had some other problems too going into [UFC 92]. Nogueira had just gotten over a Staph infection and he had some other problems but when [Nogueira] fought in PRIDE. PRIDE put on such freak shows — guys fighting out of their weight class, things like that. That’s why I’m so against it. That’s how you ruin guys early. If you’re a professional athlete, time is not good to you. Time catches us all.”

One of the “freak show” fights that White was referencing was Nogueira’s 2002 bout vs. Bob Sapp during PRIDE’s “Shockwave” event. Sapp is a 350-plus pound former NFL offensive lineman who outweighed Nogueira by over 100 pounds.

Despite the disparity in weight, Nogueira still submitted Sapp with an armbar at 4:03 of round 2. However, the win came with a price as the former PRIDE heavyweight champion suffered a sustained amount of punishment during the vast majority of the content.

What’s next for Nogueira is not know, however, White did not rule out the possibility of a fight between him and former UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Alvarez vs. Kotani and Reis vs. Ferguson set for Extreme Challenge’s “War at the Shore”

Despite having lost to Shinya Aoki in a match to decide the first-ever WAMMA lightweight champion during FEG’s “Dynamite!!” event on New Year’s Eve, Eddie Alvarez is set to compete again on January 23 during Extreme Challenge’s “War at the Shore.”

And after traveling half-way around the world to challenge Aoki, Alvarez (13-2) will be fighting much closer to his native Philadelphia when he squares off against Naoyuki Kotani (17-8-4) at the Tropicana Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Joining Alvarez on the card will be two of his teammates from the Philadelphia Fight Factory with both former BodogFIGHT women’s champion Tara LaRosa and former Division I wrestler Zach Makovsky scheduled to compete as well.

LaRosa’s opponent has yet to be determined while Makovsky is set to John Hosman, an 11-4-1 fighter who trains out of Colin Oyama’s Team Oyama. Makovsky, 4-1, is one of the top fighters competing at 135 pounds not currently in the WEC. His most recent fight took place on the undercard of EliteXC’s “Primetime” event on May 31 in Newark, N.J. Facing American Top Team’s Andre Soares, Makovsky was declared the victor by unanimous decision.

Also scheduled to compete on the card is current EliteXC bantamweight (140 pound) champion Wilson Reis. Reis, 5-0, is a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil but has called Philadelphia home for the past four years. His homecoming fight is scheduled to take place against Josh Ferguson, 6-1.

Former EliteXC competitor and Joes vs. Pros season one winner Charlie Brenneman is also set for action against Edward O’Daniel.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Spike TV Will Lose 13 Million Homes

You can follow the full he said, she said here of the brickmanship that could result in Spike/UFC losing several million households as a result of the current fee dispute between Viacom and Time Warner Cable. The dispute has received a good amount of coverage in the MMA world, with the tone suggesting that it is a real possibility that Viacom will go dark on Time Warner shortly, leaving Spike and the UFC out in the cold.

TVByTheNumbers.com, one of the leading TV blogs, has a more sober analysis of the situation, suming up the odds of Viacom actually disappearing from Time Warner in one word: “doubtful:”

Viacom is hurting in general, and this isn’t a deal where it’s looking to get paid, it’s looking to get paid $.25/mo./subscriber more than it’s already receiving from TWC. I do not in any way immediately jump to the conclusion that Viacom deserves a $.25/month increase across all subscribers, and Time Warner is armed with data about how much time its customers spend watching Viacom channels.

I seriously doubt Viacom will give up all the revenues it receives from TWC in the name of earning an additional few million or so a month, but I also seriously doubt that TWC can handle the customer service hit. You can’t go dark on Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and MTV, etc. without running into a customer service nightmare.

Right now it seems like just an interesting game of chicken heading into the New Year, and the stuff Nikki Finke posted is pure Viacom propoganda in hopes of gaining some negotiating leverage. My bet is one of them, probably Viacom, blinks before the networks go dark on TWC. Can Viacom afford to lose the TWC subscriber base? Hell no. It would be looking at all kinds of make goods if that happened.

Can TWC really take on the customer service nightmare and lost local ad revenues for those channels? Not paying any fees at all would more than make up for the local ad revenue, but at the expense of screaming customers, and increased defection to satellite, and where available, FiOS. Though TWC seems in a better position than Viacom, TWC is clearly not going to be able to reprise Michael Corleone in The Godfather, part II and take a position like:

Viacom, you can have our answer now if you like. Our final offer is this: nothing. Not even the monthly fees we we’re already paying you…

…but it’s fun to think about.

 

[Shogun Locc]

ARLOVSKI SIGNING WITH GOLDEN BOY; NEXT FIGHT IN A BOXING RING
link: http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content4057.html?PHPSESSID=037aa26f23572d601d8ed594175ae2b5
Sources close to the situation have informed us that former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski is set to announce his signing with Golden Boy Promotions and that win, lose or draw against Fedor Emelianenko on January 24th, his next fight will take place inside of a boxing ring. "If Andrei wins against Fedor on the 24th, I would put him right into a title fight with Nikolai Valuev right away. It would be Belarus vs. Russia and that's huge marketing for PPV and Andrei has a huge crowd in that area. He will cross over into boxing though; that is a definite! His next fight after Fedor will be a boxing match," stated world-class trainer Freddie Roach, who's been working with Arlovski for his last few fights.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Mirko 'Cro Cop' to undergo knee surgery on Jan. 3

Mirko "Cro Cop" will undergo knee surgery on Jan. 3 in Switzerland, Nikkan Sports reports.

"Cro Cop" announced after his fight against Hong-Man Choi at "Dynamite!! 2008" that he will need at least six months to recover.

The Croatian won via TKO over Choi at 6:32 of the first round.

 

[Shogun Locc]

DREAM to hold Featherweight, Welterweight GPs in 2009

The two DREAM Grand Prix tournaments in 2009 will be in the featherweight and welterweight divisions.

No date has been set yet for the next event but DREAM event producer Keiichi Sasahara said at the "Dynamite!! 2008" post-fight conference that the DREAM featherweight tournament will begin in March.

Sasahara added that the promotion is planning on at least six events for the year and will also crown a light heavyweight champion.

Middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi and lightweight champion Joachim Hansen will defend their belts.

 

[rylor206]

ARLOVSKI SIGNING WITH GOLDEN BOY; NEXT FIGHT IN A BOXING RING
link: http://www.fighthype.com/pages/content4057.html?PHPSESSID=037aa26f23572d601d8ed594175ae2b5
Sources close to the situation have informed us that former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski is set to announce his signing with Golden Boy Promotions and that win, lose or draw against Fedor Emelianenko on January 24th, his next fight will take place inside of a boxing ring. "If Andrei wins against Fedor on the 24th, I would put him right into a title fight with Nikolai Valuev right away. It would be Belarus vs. Russia and that's huge marketing for PPV and Andrei has a huge crowd in that area. He will cross over into boxing though; that is a definite! His next fight after Fedor will be a boxing match," stated world-class trainer Freddie Roach, who's been working with Arlovski for his last few fights.

Damn man there going to give Arlovski a title fight in his first boxing match. He must be a pretty good boxer

 

[Shogun Locc]

Zuffa Adds to WEC 38 Menu

World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight contender Jose Aldo will lock horns with three-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Fredson Paixao at WEC 38 “Varner vs. Cerrone” on Jan. 25 at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, Calif. The WEC announced the bout, along with several others, earlier this week.

Aldo (12-1) will enter the match on a five-fight winning streak, having dispatched Jonathan Brookins and the highly regarded Alexandre Franca Nogueira by technical knockout in his first two appearances inside the WEC cage. The talented 22-year-old Brazilian, himself a decorated grappler, has delivered nine of his 12 career wins by knockout, TKO or submission. Aldo’s lone defeat came at the hands of accomplished Pride Fighting Championships veteran Luciano Azevedo in 2005.

Paixao, meanwhile, will carry some momentum into his WEC debut. The 29-year-old has won back-to-back fights, including a majority decision against Masakazu Imanari inside the Deep promotion in August 2006. However, Paixao has not competed since he submitted the well-traveled Thomas Denny with a first-round armbar at a Gracie Fighting Championships show 20 months ago. He has never been finished in 10 career MMA bouts, losing only to WEC veterans Marcos Galvao and Yoshiro Maeda.

The Aldo-Paixao showdown was not the only match added to the WEC 38 menu.

One-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Danillo Villefort will square off with undefeated World Championship Fighting veteran Mike Campbell in a welterweight bout pairing two WEC rookies.

Based out of American Top Team, Villefort (8-2) has rattled off four consecutive victories -- all of them by submission or TKO, three of them inside one round. The 25-year-old Brazilian last appeared in May, when he submitted Mike Massenzio with a kneebar at an International Fight League event.

Campbell (4-0), meanwhile, has posted three straight knockout wins. A former power lifter who honed his MMA skills inside the WCF and Reality Fighting promotions, he has not competed since he stopped Rob Moskowitz on strikes in just 85 seconds at WCF 5 last summer.

In another welterweight affair, Japanese standout Hiromitsu Miura will take on unbeaten newcomer Edgar Garcia, who has finished five of his first six foes in the opening round.

A decorated Judo player and Sambo fighter, Miura (9-5) gave WEC welterweight kingpin Carlos Condit all he could handle in the WEC 35 main event back in August. The 27-year-old ultimately succumbed to strikes and fatigue in the fourth round, but he opened some eyes in what was one of the more competitive WEC title bouts last year. Miura has never been submitted in 14 career fights.

Having cut his teeth inside the Total Combat and Desert Rage promotions, Garcia last competed in August when he finished Waylon Kennell with first-round strikes at TC 30. Garcia graduated from the same high school as Efrain Escudero, the lightweight winner on season eight of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series.

A lightweight championship bout pairing 155-pound titleholder Jamie Varner against the undefeated Donald Cerrone will headline WEC 38, along with a rematch between former WEC featherweight king Urijah Faber and one-time UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Damn man there going to give Arlovski a title fight in his first boxing match. He must be a pretty good boxer

well freddie roach is his boxing trainer and he has been wanting to box for quite some time.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Coleman Still Young at Heart

Like most 40-something professional athletes, Mark Coleman hears the question often. How and when does he envision the curtain closing on his career?

“That question does present itself all the time to me,” he says. “I guess it’s a question that any athlete doesn’t like to deal with or hear. I consider myself very fortunate because there has been a lot of time off over the last 10 years, and that’s been a blessing. My body still feels relatively fresh. I don’t see the end being that near.”

Nine years after his last appearance inside the Octagon, Coleman (15-8) -- one of five men enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame -- will meet Brazilian standout and 2005 Pride middleweight grand prix winner Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 93 “Franklin vs. Henderson” on Jan. 17 at the O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland.

Throughout Coleman’s storied 12-year career, he has tested himself against some of the world’s premier mixed martial artists, from the sport’s pioneers -- Don Frye, Dan Severn and Maurice Smith -- to modern-day pound-for-pound contenders -- Rua, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fedor Emelianenko.

A member of the 1992 Olympic team and an NCAA national wrestling champion at Ohio State University, Coleman has not competed since he submitted to a second-round armbar from Emelianenko at Pride 32 in October 2006. During his two years away from competition, Coleman came to grips with himself, inside the cage and out. A father to two daughters, parenthood kept him busy.

Now primed for a rematch against an opponent 17 years his junior, Coleman must confront naysayers who question the wisdom behind his decision to return to competition after more than two years away from it. However, the thought of hanging up the gloves never crossed the 44-year-old’s mind, as the extended layoff afforded him time to reflect on what he wanted to accomplish with the rest of his career.

“Retirement was never an option,” Coleman says. “I had offers to fight since then, but my goal was to get back into the UFC. I waited and turned down some pretty good paychecks in the process. The reason for the layoff is because I really wanted back into the UFC. Fortunately, [UFC President Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva] decided to bring me back, and I’m grateful.”

UFC matchmakers had no intention of easing Coleman back into the rotation, however, as they immediately pitted him against Brock Lesnar at UFC 87 in August. Coleman saw a mirror image of himself in Lesnar, a decorated amateur wrestler who was being showered with the “physical specimen” and “unstoppable” labels. Fate had other plans for both men.

“I knew I was going to have to go into that fight at 100 percent,” Coleman says. “I was full speed every day at practice, and when you do that, you risk injury. I tore my [medial collateral ligament]. I was working on my kicks, believe it or not, and I got a little kick happy. I threw a lazy one out there and tore my MCL pretty good.”

Having missed out on a golden opportunity, Coleman was left to watch Lesnar from the sidelines, as the former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar dominated Heath Herring at UFC 87 and began his rapid climb to a title shot with little in his way to slow him down.

“It was frustrating,” Coleman says. “I would have preferred to have been there myself. Who knows? Maybe in hindsight everything happens for a reason.”

Coleman predicted success for Lesnar, who went on to defeat another hall of famer, Randy Couture, for the UFC heavyweight crown at UFC 91 in November.

“When I first heard Brock Lesnar was coming into the game, I predicted he would do very well, depending on how much he committed himself,” he says. “This sport will force you to commit yourself, or you will end up getting humiliated. As long as he stays dedicated, he’s going to be tough to beat.”

While Coleman will face Rua (16-3) at 205 pounds later this month, he has not ruled out a future return to the heavyweight division, especially if he finds a bout against Lesnar on the table.

“At this stage of my career, I can’t look past the next fight,” he says. “If you want to look in the future and the UFC offered up Brock Lesnar to me, I realize it would be one hell of a challenge. I’d certainly give it a shot. If that offer presented itself, I would definitely take it.”

Itching to meet the challenge placed before him, Coleman opted not to stay in his comfort zone. Rather than train exclusively in Columbus, Ohio, he ventured across the state line into West Virginia in order to focus on refining his stand-up. Critics have long knocked Coleman’s perceived dependence on his wrestling skills. Stuff his takedowns, they claim, and he becomes quite ordinary. Coleman -- who has not tasted victory inside the Octagon since he submitted Severn at UFC 12 in 1997 -- knows his shortcomings better than anyone.

“Unfortunately, there is a lot I’ve got to learn still,” Coleman says. “I get better every time I go to the gym; I’m still picking stuff up. It’s my own fault I don’t already know all this stuff, but the truth is I’m learning every day.”

Rua, like Coleman, finds himself on the mend after tearing a knee ligament. The 27-year-old Brazilian lost his promotional debut against Forrest Griffin at UFC 76 and went under the knife soon after.

Coleman defeated Rua at Pride 31, though it was not without controversy. The bout ended when Rua broke his arm while trying to brace himself during a successful Coleman takedown. Bad blood still flows.

“He wants me to say it was a lucky win, but I’m not going to come out and say that,” Coleman says. “I feel I’m the one who hit the single leg, then turned it into a double leg, and he is the one who posted his arm and broke it. You create your own luck in this sport.”

Trumping Rua again will be no easy task, and Coleman has drafted a unique strategy for the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. He plans to go against his instincts and put aside 40-plus years of amateur wrestling experience. Can he prove the pundits wrong?

“I’ve been trying to let my hands go for 10-12 years,” Coleman says. “I do it pretty well in practice, but when the lights come on, I resort back to wrestling. If I want to take him down, I will. I do consider ‘Shogun’ very slick and dangerous on the ground, so hopefully we can try to turn this into a stand-up war. That’s the game plan, which is subject to change at any time.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Neer Arrested for Hit-and-Run

UFC lightweight Josh Neer spent the first hours of the new year in a jail cell, after he was arrested for a hit-and-run incident and high-speed chase early Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa.

Neer, 25, faces charges of Operating a Vehicle while Intoxicated, hit-and-run, eluding police and other traffic violations, according to Sgt. Jeff Phillips with the Des Moines Police Department. This was Neer’s second OWI offense. Eluding police is a felony charge.

Neer allegedly struck two vehicles –- the second of which was a police car -- and then led authorities on a chase that reached speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour. After attempting a PIT maneuver, police reportedly deployed spike strips in an attempt to bring the pursuit to an end. Neer was arrested after blowing a tire and later posted bail.

Neer was released at 8:26 a.m. CST from Polk County Jail on $2,000 bond for the OWI and $5,000 for the felony eluding.

Neer (24-7-1) is currently scheduled to face Mac Danzig in a lightweight bout at UFC Fight Night 17 on Feb. 7 at the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla.

The Miletich Martial Arts fighter’s last appearance was a split decision loss to Nate Diaz at UFC Fight Night 15 in September 2008.

Initial attempts to reach a representative for Neer were unsuccessful.

Loretta Hunt contributed to this report.

Update notice:
This article was updated with Neer's bail information at 3:55 p.m. EST.

 

[Shogun Locc]

One third of UFC 92's 14,166 attendees were issued complimentary tickets

"UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008" narrowly missed official sold-out status by drawing 14,166 spectators out of a possible 14,823 spots.

The figure was slightly higher than 14,103 attendance figure Dana White announced after UFC 92, which took place Dec. 27 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

However, of the 14,166 attendees, a total 4,465 – nearly a third of the overall crowd – were issued complimentary tickets, according to an email today sent to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) by Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer.

Only 9,701 were paid attendees.

However, despite a lower-than-usual percentage of paid attendees, UFC 92 still garnered a live gate of $3,468,440 – just two days after Christmas. It was the fifth-highest gate total among the 12 events that have been held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in the UFC's 15-year history.

UFC 92 was one of the year's deepest UFC cards with three main-event-worthy fights on the pay-per-view broadcast. In the night's main event, Rashad Evans scored a third-round TKO of Forrest Griffin to take the UFC light heavyweight championship. Additionally, Frank Mir upset Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the interim heavyweight belt, and Quinton Jackson viciously knocked out Wanderlei Silva in a light-heavyweight bout.

Last month, UFC 91, which featured a main event between then-UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture and new champ Brock Lesnar, drew 14,272 attendees (10,845 paid) for a live gate of $4.82 million.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Chael Sonnen signs to fight Demian Maia at UFC 95

Earlier this week Demian Maia (9-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) issued a statement on his official website that he had agreed to fight former WEC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen (21-9-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at UFC 95.

On Wednesday a source close to his opponent confirmed with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Sonnen, too, had signed a bout agreement to make the fight official.

The middleweight match-up will be a featured bout at UFC 95, which takes place Feb. 17 at the 02 Arena in London, England.

In the night's main event, Diego Sanchez makes his debut at 155 pounds to take on Joe Stevenson.

As for Maia, he returns to action for the first time since a first-round submission win over Nate Quarry at UFC 91 in November. Since debuting for the organization in October 2007, the 31-year-old Brazilian has won all four of his UFC bouts via submission.

UFC President Dana White recently confirmed Maia, who recently won the World MMA Awards "Breakout Fighter of the Year" award, is in the thick of the UFC's middleweight title picture and could soon earn a shot at Anderson Silva's belt.

However, he'll first need to get by Sonnen, who had a three-fight stint with the UFC in 2006. After going 1-2 in the UFC (with a decision victory over Trevor Prangley), the 31-year-old left the organization. Sonnen has compiled a 7-1 record for the WEC, BodogFIGHT and SportFight since his departure from the UFC.

He most recently defeated Paulo Filho via unanimous decision at WEC 36. Although originally slated to be a title fight, the bout became a non-title affair when Filho missed weight by seven pounds.

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC considering July return to Chicago; Boston and New York on horizon

The Ultimate Fighting Championship could return to the Windy City for a major event in July.

The organization made its Chicago-area (and Illinois) debut in October with UFC 90. With UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva's successful title defense over Patrick Cote, the Oct. 25 event drew 15,359 attendees for a $2.85 million gate at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill.

According to UFC President Dana White, the organization could return to the area this summer.

The UFC executive confirmed the plans in a post-UFC 92 press conference.

However, the plans appear tentative, and no date, venue or participants were revealed.

The state of Illinois passed legislation only last year to begin the regulation of mixed martial arts. However, the state often issued exemptions so organizations could host MMA events prior to the new legislation, but the UFC wouldn't head to the state until official regulation by the Illinois Athletic Commission.

In addition to the return trip to Chicago, White said the organization will continue its national and international expansion this year.

"We're going everywhere," he said. "Obviously our big focus this year going into '09 is New York and Boston, and then we're going after Canada hard. We're going to go after Ontario. Then we're going to Germany.

"We're going everywhere."

The UFC has spent millions on the potential regulation of MMA in the state of New York, which currently bans the sport. White, who considers the state a potential goldmine for MMA, is optimistic legislation will be passed this year.