MMA News Thread
- Thread starter Shogun Locc
- Start date
M-1 Team Challenge - SLAMM Nederland vs Thailand IV
M-1 Global is launching a new project - M-1 Challenge that will show the best teams all over the world battle it out against each each other. The events will take place in different countries. Each team will consist of 5 MMA-fighters competing in the following weight categories: 70, 76, 84, 93, +93
The teams (and their respective trainers) from the following countries will be represented:
Russia - Fedor Emelianenko
USA - Randy Couture
Finland - Petteri Maunu
Spain - Alexandro Iglesias
Germany - Human Niklasmak
Poland - Maciej Kawulski
Skandinavia - Marco Leistens
France - Bertrand Amoussou
Holland will be represented by 2 teams under Remco Pardoel and Bob Schrijber.
March,2: The inaugural M-1 Challenge show is scheduled to take place in Holland (Topsportcentrum in Almere) where 4 teams will be placed in brackets with one fighter in each weight class competing against an athlete from another country.
Muay Thai
Anuwat Kaewsamrit vs TBA
Saenchai Sor Kingstar vs Rachid Bellaini
Samranchai 96Penang vs Menno Dijkstra
Andy Souwer vs Yodsaenklai Fairtex
Germaine de Randamie vs Maria Verheijen
Ali Gunyar vs Farid Villaume
MMA
M-1 Team Challenge Russia vs France
Red Devil (Russia) - Team Amossou (France)
-70kg Mikhail Malutin - Casimir Bendy
-76kg Erik Oganov - Khacha Mohamed (to be confirmed)
-84kg Dmitri Samoilov - Amassou Karl
-93kg Mikhail Zayats - Daffreville Christophe
+93 Kirill Sidelnikov - Assenin Akim
M-1 Team Challenge Holland vs Germany
+93kg: Jessie Gibbs vs Thorsten Kronz
-93kg: Gegard Mousasi vs Jacoub Ünül
-83kg: Jason Jones vs Daniel Weichel
-73kg: Romano de los Reyes vs Franco de Leonardis
-65kg: Jordy Peute vs Robert Scott Westermann
MMA Single Bouts
Brian Lo-A-Njoe vs Sergey Bytchkov
Dave Dalgliesh vs Kamil Uygun
Oktay Karatas vs Furdjel de Windt
M-1 Global is launching a new project - M-1 Challenge that will show the best teams all over the world battle it out against each each other. The events will take place in different countries. Each team will consist of 5 MMA-fighters competing in the following weight categories: 70, 76, 84, 93, +93
The teams (and their respective trainers) from the following countries will be represented:
Russia - Fedor Emelianenko
USA - Randy Couture
Finland - Petteri Maunu
Spain - Alexandro Iglesias
Germany - Human Niklasmak
Poland - Maciej Kawulski
Skandinavia - Marco Leistens
France - Bertrand Amoussou
Holland will be represented by 2 teams under Remco Pardoel and Bob Schrijber.
March,2: The inaugural M-1 Challenge show is scheduled to take place in Holland (Topsportcentrum in Almere) where 4 teams will be placed in brackets with one fighter in each weight class competing against an athlete from another country.
Muay Thai
Anuwat Kaewsamrit vs TBA
Saenchai Sor Kingstar vs Rachid Bellaini
Samranchai 96Penang vs Menno Dijkstra
Andy Souwer vs Yodsaenklai Fairtex
Germaine de Randamie vs Maria Verheijen
Ali Gunyar vs Farid Villaume
MMA
M-1 Team Challenge Russia vs France
Red Devil (Russia) - Team Amossou (France)
-70kg Mikhail Malutin - Casimir Bendy
-76kg Erik Oganov - Khacha Mohamed (to be confirmed)
-84kg Dmitri Samoilov - Amassou Karl
-93kg Mikhail Zayats - Daffreville Christophe
+93 Kirill Sidelnikov - Assenin Akim
M-1 Team Challenge Holland vs Germany
+93kg: Jessie Gibbs vs Thorsten Kronz
-93kg: Gegard Mousasi vs Jacoub Ünül
-83kg: Jason Jones vs Daniel Weichel
-73kg: Romano de los Reyes vs Franco de Leonardis
-65kg: Jordy Peute vs Robert Scott Westermann
MMA Single Bouts
Brian Lo-A-Njoe vs Sergey Bytchkov
Dave Dalgliesh vs Kamil Uygun
Oktay Karatas vs Furdjel de Windt
World victory Road Card
Three new fights have been announced for the first ever Sengoku event on March 5th. Takanori Gomi will finally return to the ring as he faces Duane “Bang” Ludwig, Ryo Kawamura will face undefeated Brazilian Antonio Braga Neto and Fabricio Monteiro will take on bodogFight Welterweight Champion Nick Thompson. Also note that Sanae Kikuta’s name has been take off the participants list.
Sengoku I
Date: March 5th, 2008
Place: National Yoyogi Stadium in Tokyo, Japan
Fights:
Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Josh Barnett
Kazuo Misaki vs. Siyar Bahadurzada
Makoto Takimoto vs. Evangelista Cyborg
Takanori Gomi vs. Duane Ludwig
Ryo Kawamura vs. Antonio Braga Neto
Fabricio Monteiro vs. Nick Thompson
Kazuyuki Fujita vs. TBA
Three new fights have been announced for the first ever Sengoku event on March 5th. Takanori Gomi will finally return to the ring as he faces Duane “Bang” Ludwig, Ryo Kawamura will face undefeated Brazilian Antonio Braga Neto and Fabricio Monteiro will take on bodogFight Welterweight Champion Nick Thompson. Also note that Sanae Kikuta’s name has been take off the participants list.
Sengoku I
Date: March 5th, 2008
Place: National Yoyogi Stadium in Tokyo, Japan
Fights:
Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Josh Barnett
Kazuo Misaki vs. Siyar Bahadurzada
Makoto Takimoto vs. Evangelista Cyborg
Takanori Gomi vs. Duane Ludwig
Ryo Kawamura vs. Antonio Braga Neto
Fabricio Monteiro vs. Nick Thompson
Kazuyuki Fujita vs. TBA
Kimbo training and other footage
http://www.sho.com/site/sports/KimboVSTank.do?source=SEP_banners_2/16media
http://www.sho.com/site/sports/KimboVSTank.do?source=SEP_banners_2/16media
'Cro Cop,' Royce Gracie & 'JZ' Speak at DREAM Press Conference
LINK:http://www.sherdog.com/videos/videos.asp?v_id=1444
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (Pictures), Royce Gracie (Pictures) and Gesias "JZ" Calvancante (Pictures) addressed the media Wednesday in Toyko, where FEG and former PRIDE staff held a press conference to announce the formation of a new mixed martial arts promotion titled "Dream."
LINK:http://www.sherdog.com/videos/videos.asp?v_id=1444
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (Pictures), Royce Gracie (Pictures) and Gesias "JZ" Calvancante (Pictures) addressed the media Wednesday in Toyko, where FEG and former PRIDE staff held a press conference to announce the formation of a new mixed martial arts promotion titled "Dream."
More on Mirko’s Departure: Emelianenko vs. Cro Cop II Now Possible
More on Mirko’s Departure: Emelianenko vs. Cro Cop II Now Possible
Posted by MMA Junkie on February 13, 2008 at 4:11 pm ET
During today’s press conference to announce that Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic has left the UFC to fight for the new DREAM organization, the company’s executives announced that they had struck a deal with M-1 Global, which could mean a future bout between DREAM’s Filipovic and M-1 Global’s Fedor Emelianenko.
The news comes from Yahoo! Sports, a content-partner site of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
According to reporter Dave Meltzer, the two upstart organizations have signed a business deal — a move that could open the door for the promotions to share talent. Melzter said that Emelianenko (as well as free agent UFC hall-of-famer Royce Gracie) both appeared in videotaped messages saying they planned to compete for DREAM.
DREAM was created by former Dream Stage Entertainment staff members (who operated PRIDE Fighting Championships before it was bought out by the UFC’s owners last year) and FEG, the parent company of K-1 kickboxing and HERO’S MMA. DREAM will replace HERO’s as the organization’s MMA arm.
The Japanese-based organization appealed to the Croatian Filipovic.
“I never liked fighting in the cage,” Filipovic said at today’s press conference. “I always liked fighting in the ring. The second thing is that I like fighting in Japan… I don’t want anyone to think that I’m running away from the UFC.“
Emelianenko and Filipovic first met in a highly anticipated bout at PRIDE Final Conflict 2005, where Emelianenko earned a hard-fought unanimous-decision victory. During the August 2005 bout, the two fighters were among the most popular and dominant anywhere in MMA.
After winning the 2006 PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix, Filipovic (22-6-2) signed a six-fight, two-year deal with the UFC. The signing turned out to be a fairly significant flop. Although he defeated Eddie Sanchez in his debut, he then suffered a stunning first-round knockout to Gabriel Gonzaga and a lackluster unanimous decision to Cheick Kongo. His split with the UFC was amicable and neither side has ruled out his return to the organization, according to published reports.
Emelianenko (27-1), one of the world’s top-ranked heavyweights, is the only fighter who’s been confirmed as an M-1 Global signee. The former PRIDE heavyweight champion owns a 27-1 mark, though he’s faced largely outmatched or sub-par competition over the past two years. A fight with Filipovic could change all that, though.
DREAM officials today stated that Filipovic could fight at its inaugural show on March 15 — possibly for a new heavyweight title. However, if Emelianenko isn’t booked as an opponent, they’ll have future opportunities. The 2008 schedule released by DREAM includes:
March 15: Heiwa Dream 1 at Saitama Super Arena
April 29: Olympia Dream 2 at Saitama Super Arena
May 11: Heiwa Dream 3 at Saitama Super Arena
Mid-June: Olympia Dream 4 at TBD
July 21: Heiwa Dream 5 at Osaka Castle Hall
Mid-September: Dream 6 at Saitama Super Arena
For more about this story, check out MMAjunkie.com’s earlier report.
153 Comments | Posted
More on Mirko’s Departure: Emelianenko vs. Cro Cop II Now Possible
Posted by MMA Junkie on February 13, 2008 at 4:11 pm ET
During today’s press conference to announce that Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic has left the UFC to fight for the new DREAM organization, the company’s executives announced that they had struck a deal with M-1 Global, which could mean a future bout between DREAM’s Filipovic and M-1 Global’s Fedor Emelianenko.
The news comes from Yahoo! Sports, a content-partner site of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
According to reporter Dave Meltzer, the two upstart organizations have signed a business deal — a move that could open the door for the promotions to share talent. Melzter said that Emelianenko (as well as free agent UFC hall-of-famer Royce Gracie) both appeared in videotaped messages saying they planned to compete for DREAM.
DREAM was created by former Dream Stage Entertainment staff members (who operated PRIDE Fighting Championships before it was bought out by the UFC’s owners last year) and FEG, the parent company of K-1 kickboxing and HERO’S MMA. DREAM will replace HERO’s as the organization’s MMA arm.
The Japanese-based organization appealed to the Croatian Filipovic.
“I never liked fighting in the cage,” Filipovic said at today’s press conference. “I always liked fighting in the ring. The second thing is that I like fighting in Japan… I don’t want anyone to think that I’m running away from the UFC.“
Emelianenko and Filipovic first met in a highly anticipated bout at PRIDE Final Conflict 2005, where Emelianenko earned a hard-fought unanimous-decision victory. During the August 2005 bout, the two fighters were among the most popular and dominant anywhere in MMA.
After winning the 2006 PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix, Filipovic (22-6-2) signed a six-fight, two-year deal with the UFC. The signing turned out to be a fairly significant flop. Although he defeated Eddie Sanchez in his debut, he then suffered a stunning first-round knockout to Gabriel Gonzaga and a lackluster unanimous decision to Cheick Kongo. His split with the UFC was amicable and neither side has ruled out his return to the organization, according to published reports.
Emelianenko (27-1), one of the world’s top-ranked heavyweights, is the only fighter who’s been confirmed as an M-1 Global signee. The former PRIDE heavyweight champion owns a 27-1 mark, though he’s faced largely outmatched or sub-par competition over the past two years. A fight with Filipovic could change all that, though.
DREAM officials today stated that Filipovic could fight at its inaugural show on March 15 — possibly for a new heavyweight title. However, if Emelianenko isn’t booked as an opponent, they’ll have future opportunities. The 2008 schedule released by DREAM includes:
March 15: Heiwa Dream 1 at Saitama Super Arena
April 29: Olympia Dream 2 at Saitama Super Arena
May 11: Heiwa Dream 3 at Saitama Super Arena
Mid-June: Olympia Dream 4 at TBD
July 21: Heiwa Dream 5 at Osaka Castle Hall
Mid-September: Dream 6 at Saitama Super Arena
For more about this story, check out MMAjunkie.com’s earlier report.
153 Comments | Posted
From Cindy Ortiz on the UG
From: CindyO
Date: 02/13/08 06:02 AM
Member Since: 02/10/2006
4234 Total Posts Ignore User
I just talked to DW and this is what he had to say:
The split was amicable and the terms were decided on in advance. Cro Cops $350k (plus bonuses) contract had a clause in it stating that if he lost two consecutive fights Zuffa had the right to void the existing agreement and negotiate a new one.
CC never dreamed that he would be so overwhelmed by the level of competition he has faced in the UFC so far and and the losses have impacted him mentally.
The UFC did NOT cut Cro Cop from the roster nor did they threaten to make him sit out until his contract expired if he didn't take the pay cut deal.
Rather than negotiate a new contract with the UFC right now (and risk racking up more losses), Cro Cop wants to get a couple of tune up fights (and wins) in some of the smaller shows (no more tune up matches for him in the UFC) in hopes of rebuilding his confidence and getting himself back on track.
DW understood completely and supported Cro Cop in his decision. The last thing DW wants to do is shell out a six-figure purse to a fighter that isn't fighting worth a dayum. Even though it would have been lower than the original figure, it would still be a waste of money and resources.
Cro Cops ultimate goal is to win the UFC HW championship belt and DW believes he still has the potential to accomplish that goal. CC's plan when he signed with the UFC was, "I will become Champion after three matches. I will need two and a half or three months off between each match. I expect to hold the UFC belt by the Summer. Then I want Pride Champion Fedor Emelianenko, Vs Me the UFC Heavyweight Champion on New Years Eve."
http://www.mmaplayground.com/discussion/topic/cro-cop--mean-goodbye-pride-329p1.html
------------
Only 4 months later CC announced his intent to retire:
---
MMA Phenom Mirko "Cro Cop"? Filipovic To Retire 2007-05-26 13:43:00
The Fight Network is reporting that Mirko "Cro Cop"? Filipovic announced (today on Croatian television) his intentions to retire from mixed martial arts after his contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship expires, says Nikkan Sports.
Cro Cop says he has four fights remaining on his contract with the Las Vegas-based promotion, beginning with his next fight he confirmed for September 8’s UFC 75 in London, England.Source: http://www.mmaontap.com/
By: Inside Bodybuilding
http://www.blogtoplist.com/rss/cro-cop.html
------------
There's an arrangement/understanding that if CC is able to rack up a couple of wins in some of the smaller shows (and can get his head screwed back on straight) DW will let him come back to the UFC (if he wants to) and go after the title again.
DW likes CC and respects and supports his decision on this. He completely expects to see CC back inside the Octagon in the future landing head kicks just like before... if not better.
Just thought I'd pass this along
Cindy
From: CindyO
Date: 02/13/08 06:02 AM
Member Since: 02/10/2006
4234 Total Posts Ignore User
I just talked to DW and this is what he had to say:
The split was amicable and the terms were decided on in advance. Cro Cops $350k (plus bonuses) contract had a clause in it stating that if he lost two consecutive fights Zuffa had the right to void the existing agreement and negotiate a new one.
CC never dreamed that he would be so overwhelmed by the level of competition he has faced in the UFC so far and and the losses have impacted him mentally.
The UFC did NOT cut Cro Cop from the roster nor did they threaten to make him sit out until his contract expired if he didn't take the pay cut deal.
Rather than negotiate a new contract with the UFC right now (and risk racking up more losses), Cro Cop wants to get a couple of tune up fights (and wins) in some of the smaller shows (no more tune up matches for him in the UFC) in hopes of rebuilding his confidence and getting himself back on track.
DW understood completely and supported Cro Cop in his decision. The last thing DW wants to do is shell out a six-figure purse to a fighter that isn't fighting worth a dayum. Even though it would have been lower than the original figure, it would still be a waste of money and resources.
Cro Cops ultimate goal is to win the UFC HW championship belt and DW believes he still has the potential to accomplish that goal. CC's plan when he signed with the UFC was, "I will become Champion after three matches. I will need two and a half or three months off between each match. I expect to hold the UFC belt by the Summer. Then I want Pride Champion Fedor Emelianenko, Vs Me the UFC Heavyweight Champion on New Years Eve."
http://www.mmaplayground.com/discussion/topic/cro-cop--mean-goodbye-pride-329p1.html
------------
Only 4 months later CC announced his intent to retire:
---
MMA Phenom Mirko "Cro Cop"? Filipovic To Retire 2007-05-26 13:43:00
The Fight Network is reporting that Mirko "Cro Cop"? Filipovic announced (today on Croatian television) his intentions to retire from mixed martial arts after his contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship expires, says Nikkan Sports.
Cro Cop says he has four fights remaining on his contract with the Las Vegas-based promotion, beginning with his next fight he confirmed for September 8’s UFC 75 in London, England.Source: http://www.mmaontap.com/
By: Inside Bodybuilding
http://www.blogtoplist.com/rss/cro-cop.html
------------
There's an arrangement/understanding that if CC is able to rack up a couple of wins in some of the smaller shows (and can get his head screwed back on straight) DW will let him come back to the UFC (if he wants to) and go after the title again.
DW likes CC and respects and supports his decision on this. He completely expects to see CC back inside the Octagon in the future landing head kicks just like before... if not better.
Just thought I'd pass this along
Cindy
BJ Penn On Sean Sherk: "The guy was cheating, trying to steal somebody else’s dream."
BJ Penn is set to face Sean Sherk at UFC 85 in a highly anticipated battle for supremacy in the UFC's lightweight division. Penn and Sherk have engaged in a very personal war of words over Sherk's apparent steroid use and have publicly expressed their personal distaste for one another. MMAWeekly recently caught up with BJ Penn to discuss his thoughts on his upcoming fight with Sherk, his training, and get his take on steroids use.
Penn On His Training:
I took a week off, and then I came back and I trained for a week, and then I trained half of last week, and now I’m back in the gym and I’m just training full speed. I’m going to go in there and show this man of cardio what cardio really is.
Penn On His Verbal Spat With Sean Sherk:
For me, honestly, it’s not personal at all. The man was cheating. I called him a cheater; then he got all personal. So I think all the personal stuff is on him. He said this is the first time a fight’s personal and this and that and whatever. I couldn’t care less. I’m just going to go kick his ass. How can you sit around saying you’re the champ, say the other guy’s the fake champ, and you got busted for (steroids)? We knew he was doing ’roids the whole time, and all this stuff, and about it’s nothing personal, he went and made it all personal. I was calling a spade, a spade. I’m not going to say, ‘Oh, Sean Sherk is doing something illegal!’ I could care less about that. The guy was cheating, trying to steal somebody else’s dream, and that’s where it’s just a joke.
Penn On Performance Enhancing Drugs:
Everybody has questioned my heart, questioned my training ethics, this and that, but I never did something as cowardly as to take any sports enhancement drug. That’s one thing no one can ever say about me, you know? That I was a coward and took sports enhancement drugs, because I was afraid I was going to get my ass kicked in front of millions of people. So anybody out there who said I never had no heart, at least I wasn’t a coward.
BJ Penn is set to face Sean Sherk at UFC 85 in a highly anticipated battle for supremacy in the UFC's lightweight division. Penn and Sherk have engaged in a very personal war of words over Sherk's apparent steroid use and have publicly expressed their personal distaste for one another. MMAWeekly recently caught up with BJ Penn to discuss his thoughts on his upcoming fight with Sherk, his training, and get his take on steroids use.
Penn On His Training:
I took a week off, and then I came back and I trained for a week, and then I trained half of last week, and now I’m back in the gym and I’m just training full speed. I’m going to go in there and show this man of cardio what cardio really is.
Penn On His Verbal Spat With Sean Sherk:
For me, honestly, it’s not personal at all. The man was cheating. I called him a cheater; then he got all personal. So I think all the personal stuff is on him. He said this is the first time a fight’s personal and this and that and whatever. I couldn’t care less. I’m just going to go kick his ass. How can you sit around saying you’re the champ, say the other guy’s the fake champ, and you got busted for (steroids)? We knew he was doing ’roids the whole time, and all this stuff, and about it’s nothing personal, he went and made it all personal. I was calling a spade, a spade. I’m not going to say, ‘Oh, Sean Sherk is doing something illegal!’ I could care less about that. The guy was cheating, trying to steal somebody else’s dream, and that’s where it’s just a joke.
Penn On Performance Enhancing Drugs:
Everybody has questioned my heart, questioned my training ethics, this and that, but I never did something as cowardly as to take any sports enhancement drug. That’s one thing no one can ever say about me, you know? That I was a coward and took sports enhancement drugs, because I was afraid I was going to get my ass kicked in front of millions of people. So anybody out there who said I never had no heart, at least I wasn’t a coward.
Rumored Fight Card For Inaugural Dreams Event
Below are rumored participants scheduled to take place in Dreams' debut event. The event will feature a 16 man lightweight Grand Prix Tournament as well as a few main event fights and will take place at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.
Single Bout Participants:
-Mirko CroCop vs. TBA
-Denis Kang vs. TBA
-Marcelo Garcia vs. TBA
Lightweight Grand Prix Participants:
-Shinya Aoki
-Gesias Calvancanti
-Gilbert Melendez
-Tatsuya Kawajiri
-Caol Uno
-Mitsuhiro Ishida
-Joachim Hansen
-Kazuyuki Miyata
-Andre Dida
-Luiz Buscape
-Kourtetsu Boku
-Artur Oumakhanov
-Jung Bu-Kyung
Below are rumored participants scheduled to take place in Dreams' debut event. The event will feature a 16 man lightweight Grand Prix Tournament as well as a few main event fights and will take place at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.
Single Bout Participants:
-Mirko CroCop vs. TBA
-Denis Kang vs. TBA
-Marcelo Garcia vs. TBA
Lightweight Grand Prix Participants:
-Shinya Aoki
-Gesias Calvancanti
-Gilbert Melendez
-Tatsuya Kawajiri
-Caol Uno
-Mitsuhiro Ishida
-Joachim Hansen
-Kazuyuki Miyata
-Andre Dida
-Luiz Buscape
-Kourtetsu Boku
-Artur Oumakhanov
-Jung Bu-Kyung
WEC Announces Two Title Fights for March 26 Event
During Wednesday’s star-studded event that featured a total of three title fights, the World Extreme Cagefighting organization announced that two more championship bouts will take place during its next show.
The event, WEC 33, will feature WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho’s (16-0) rematch with Chael Sonnen (19-9-1), and WEC light heavyweight champ Doug Marshall (7-2) will take on Brian Stann (5-0).
The event will take place March 26 — most likely at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas (though the date hasn’t yet been confirmed with the Nevada State Athletic Commission). WEC 33 will air live on the VERSUS network.
Filho, one of the world’s top-ranked 185-lb. fighters, earned a WEC contract last year after a hugely successful career in PRIDE. He made his WEC debut in August 2007 and scored a first-round TKO of Joe Doerksen to claim the organization’s vacant middleweight title.
However, his first title defense would be a controversial one. Matched up with Sonnen, who was an All-American wrestler at the University of Oregon and Olympic team alternate, Filho would struggle to keep up as his opponent got the better of the stand-up and the ground battle. However, after getting caught in an armbar in the second round, Sonnen screamed in pain. That prompted the referee to stop the fight — a decision Sonnen would later protest.
As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) reported last month, undefeated prospect Nissen Osterneck (5-0) had been offered a fight with Sonnen, but the WEC opted to book the rematch with Filho instead. (Osterneck did, in fact, get a contact offer from the WEC and could now fight Bryan Baker, who owns a 6-0 mark, at the March 26 event.)
Also on the docket for the event is the Marshall-Stann fight. Marshall will go for this third successful title defense since taking the title from Lodune Sincaid in May 2006. Marshall has fought his entire five-year career with the WEC.
He’ll take on fellow WEC vet Stann, a hard-hitting 27-year-old who’s posted all five of his career victories with first-round knockouts. Stann most recently stopped Jeremiah Billington, who entered the bout with a 10-1 record, during September’s WEC 30 event.
During Wednesday’s star-studded event that featured a total of three title fights, the World Extreme Cagefighting organization announced that two more championship bouts will take place during its next show.
The event, WEC 33, will feature WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho’s (16-0) rematch with Chael Sonnen (19-9-1), and WEC light heavyweight champ Doug Marshall (7-2) will take on Brian Stann (5-0).
The event will take place March 26 — most likely at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas (though the date hasn’t yet been confirmed with the Nevada State Athletic Commission). WEC 33 will air live on the VERSUS network.
Filho, one of the world’s top-ranked 185-lb. fighters, earned a WEC contract last year after a hugely successful career in PRIDE. He made his WEC debut in August 2007 and scored a first-round TKO of Joe Doerksen to claim the organization’s vacant middleweight title.
However, his first title defense would be a controversial one. Matched up with Sonnen, who was an All-American wrestler at the University of Oregon and Olympic team alternate, Filho would struggle to keep up as his opponent got the better of the stand-up and the ground battle. However, after getting caught in an armbar in the second round, Sonnen screamed in pain. That prompted the referee to stop the fight — a decision Sonnen would later protest.
As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) reported last month, undefeated prospect Nissen Osterneck (5-0) had been offered a fight with Sonnen, but the WEC opted to book the rematch with Filho instead. (Osterneck did, in fact, get a contact offer from the WEC and could now fight Bryan Baker, who owns a 6-0 mark, at the March 26 event.)
Also on the docket for the event is the Marshall-Stann fight. Marshall will go for this third successful title defense since taking the title from Lodune Sincaid in May 2006. Marshall has fought his entire five-year career with the WEC.
He’ll take on fellow WEC vet Stann, a hard-hitting 27-year-old who’s posted all five of his career victories with first-round knockouts. Stann most recently stopped Jeremiah Billington, who entered the bout with a 10-1 record, during September’s WEC 30 event.
UFC Releases UFC Fight Night 13 Televised Card
The UFC has released its televised card for UFC Fight Night 13, a Spike TV event that takes place April 2 at the Broomfield Event Center near Denver, Colo.
The 10-fight event, headlined by a lightweight bout between Kenny Florian and Joe Lauzon, is arguably the deepest and most talent-rich fight card in Spike TV and Fight Night history.
As of now, the broadcast is set for two hours. However, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently spoke to a Spike TV representative who said the cable station is considering making it a three-hour broadcast to squeeze in an extra fight or two. Currently, only four fights are guaranteed TV time. However, a number of websites — with FightLinker.com leading the charge — have bombarded Spike TV with email requests for an additional hour of broadcast time.
Time will tell if it works.
The official card for the event — for now — includes:
MAIN CARD
Kenny Florian vs. Joe Lauzon
Thiago Alves vs. Karo Parisyan
Tim Boetsch* vs. Matt Hamill
Houston Alexander vs. James Irvin
PRELIMINARY CARD
Frank Edgar vs. Gray Maynard
Marcus Aurelio vs. Spencer Fisher
Josh Neer vs. Din Thomas
Clay Guida vs. Samy Schiavo
Roman Mitichyan vs. George Sotiropoulos
Anthony Johnson vs. Tommy Speer
* — Boetsch, a replacement for injured Stephan Bonnar, has not yet been confirmed by the UFC.
UFC Fight Night 13 will serve as a lead-in for “The Ultimate Fighter 7,” the latest installment of the UFC and Spike TV’s hit reality series. The seventh season of the show, which will feature 32 middleweight hopefuls, includes UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson and the original winner of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Forrest Griffin, as coaches.
The UFC has released its televised card for UFC Fight Night 13, a Spike TV event that takes place April 2 at the Broomfield Event Center near Denver, Colo.
The 10-fight event, headlined by a lightweight bout between Kenny Florian and Joe Lauzon, is arguably the deepest and most talent-rich fight card in Spike TV and Fight Night history.
As of now, the broadcast is set for two hours. However, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) recently spoke to a Spike TV representative who said the cable station is considering making it a three-hour broadcast to squeeze in an extra fight or two. Currently, only four fights are guaranteed TV time. However, a number of websites — with FightLinker.com leading the charge — have bombarded Spike TV with email requests for an additional hour of broadcast time.
Time will tell if it works.
The official card for the event — for now — includes:
MAIN CARD
Kenny Florian vs. Joe Lauzon
Thiago Alves vs. Karo Parisyan
Tim Boetsch* vs. Matt Hamill
Houston Alexander vs. James Irvin
PRELIMINARY CARD
Frank Edgar vs. Gray Maynard
Marcus Aurelio vs. Spencer Fisher
Josh Neer vs. Din Thomas
Clay Guida vs. Samy Schiavo
Roman Mitichyan vs. George Sotiropoulos
Anthony Johnson vs. Tommy Speer
* — Boetsch, a replacement for injured Stephan Bonnar, has not yet been confirmed by the UFC.
UFC Fight Night 13 will serve as a lead-in for “The Ultimate Fighter 7,” the latest installment of the UFC and Spike TV’s hit reality series. The seventh season of the show, which will feature 32 middleweight hopefuls, includes UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson and the original winner of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Forrest Griffin, as coaches.