MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

Dana White bullish on Anderson Silva vs. Georges St. Pierre in Toronto

UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre needs to get by Thiago Alves at UFC 100, and middleweight champion Anderson Silva needs at least another win (likely at light heavyweight).

Additionally, the city would actually need to first regulate the sport of mixed martial arts, something the UFC is optimistic will happen by early 2010.

But UFC President Dana White is bullish on the possibility of a St. Pierre vs. Silva mega-fight taking place in Toronto sometime soon.

White discussed the possibility in this past Saturday's post-UFC 97 press conference.

The discussion came after White's harsh critique of Silva's UFC 97 title defense over Thales Leites. Calling it, among other things, "embarrassing" and after issuing an apology to fight fans, White said Silva's five-round unanimous-decision win could simply be a byproduct of the Brazilian fighter's remarkable power and standup game.

"I don't think that opponents don't want to engage him," White said. "I think they have a gameplan when they go in there, and they start getting kicked and hit. We've seen what this guy does with a kick and punch. Guys spin around when he leg kicks them. He's powerful. He's fast. He's elusive. He has all the tools. When he lets them go, people fall down. ... Game plans change quickly."

So how do you fix the problem? After all, some of the top contenders to challenge for Silva's title aren't necessarily going to push the pace and stand and bang with Silva. Undefeated Demian Maia is much like Leites (though he's more aggressive with his submissions and when trying to pull guard), and Yushin Okami is effective but often unspectacular when he grinds out decision wins with conservative game plans.

Perhaps Silva's next challenge will come at 205 pounds. Silva jumped to the weight class once before (to defeat James Irvin in spectacular fashion in 2008), and White isn't opposed to "The Spider" doing it again.

"I honestly think Anderson Silva needs to challenge himself a little more," White said. "Maybe we need to do another fight at 205 (pounds). Maybe we go to 205 (pounds) and do a fight [with] somebody who poses a serious threat to him."

While a light-heavyweight bout could be in Silva's immediate future, a mega-fight at 185 pounds may not be too far off – especially if Toronto warms up to MMA regulation.

"I'm focused on Toronto now," White said. "I want to do a big event in Toronto. And who knows? Like I said, I don't like to look past guys. Everybody who fights in the UFC is tough. (But) if Georges St. Pierre could get through Thiago Alves, who knows? Maybe we do Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre in Toronto."

As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) reported last week, the UFC is committed to doing shows in Boston, New York City and Toronto by early next year. The UFC has visited Canada twice now, for UFC 83 and UFC 97, and they're the two most highest attended events in North American MMA history and both rank among the UFC's top-five gates of all time. UFC 97 set a record with 21,451 attendees, and White thinks Toronto could set a new record north of 30,000.

But the UFC's head honcho was quick to issue a disclaimer about Silva vs. St. Pierre. And he issued it multiple times. Because when it comes to Alves, St. Pierre's next opponent (and a top contender who's 9-1 in his past 10 fights with seven knockouts), White thinks St. Pierre may face his toughest test yet.

If St. Pierre loses at UFC 100, Silva vs. St. Pierre probably becomes dead in the water.

"Do not overlook Thiago Alves," White said. "This guy is mean and nasty, and that's going to be a very, very hard fight for him. Georges St. Pierre can't start looking at Anderson Silva until he gets past Thiago Alves.

"Really, listen to me, guys. Alves is a very, very tough kid. Don't overlook him. ... I don't want to concentrate on Silva (vs.) St. Pierre until he can prove he can get by Alves."

For all his dominance – Silva set a UFC record with nine straight victories and tied a record with his fifth consecutive title defense with the win over Leites – the Portugese-speaking fighter has yet to prove a real pay-per-view draw. St. Pierre, on the other hand, is PPV and box-office gold, and a fight with Silva could seriously challenge UFC 66's record of 1.05 million reported PPV buys.

White, speaking just an hour after Canadian fans filled Montreal's Bell Centre with "GSP! GSP" chants during the Silva vs. Leites fight, is well aware of the interest.

"I like the fight as much as anyone," he said.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Dana White: Cheick Kongo "in the mix" as a heavyweight contender

Falling well short of saying the fighter could get an immediate title shot after UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar and interim title-holder Frank Mir meet at UFC 100, UFC President Dana White nonetheless said Cheick Kongo is a legitimate contender following UFC 97.

This past weekend's event took place at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

In the night's lone heavyweight bout, Kongo scored a second-round TKO of a game Antoni Hardonk in a televised main-card bout.

It was Kongo's third consecutive victory (all of which have come via knockout) and his fifth in his past six fights. Only 40-fight veteran Heath Herring defeated Kongo in the past two-and-a-half years, and that loss came via close split decision.

"Yeah I think he is (a top contender)," White said in the post-UFC 97 press conference. "I think Cheick Kongo's win [over Hardonk], you know, he's in the mix. Getting the next title shot, I can't answer that question right now. But there's no doubt he's in the mix."

If Kongo (14-4-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) were to earn the title shot, the main criticism over the choice could stem from his quality of competition during his recent stretch. Hardonk is a better fighter than most fans give him credit for, and Kongo did score a significant victory when he edged then-top-10 heavyweight Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic via unanimous decision at UFC 75. Outside of those wins, though, he's defeated Assuerio Silva (who's since been released by the UFC) unconvincingly with a majority decision and two UFC newbies, Dan Evensen (10-4) and Mustapha al Turk (6-4).

And although Kongo defeated Hardonk from the mat with a brutal ground-and-pound assault, his ground game still leaves something to be desired. Against Lesnar (a former NCAA Division I national wrestling champion) or Mir (a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt), he could find himself in serious trouble. And that's not even taking into account the potential issues of marketing a title fight with Kongo, a well-known veteran but one who hasn't had any sort of top billing outside of a UFC 82 co-main-event fight with Herring in March 2008.

Still, with the likes of Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos arguably in need of more seasoning; former champs Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira already tied up with an expected UFC 102 fight date in late August; and with the likes of Gabriel Gonzaga and Heath Herring probably at least one or two wins from a title shot, Kongo could soon become the best and even most deserving contender.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Referee Wiped Down Silva Before UFC 97 Bout

Referee Yves Lavigne says he wiped down Anderson Silva and got approval from Thales Leites’ corner prior to their main event bout Saturday at UFC 97.

An SI.com live blog observed that as Silva entered the Octagon, he rubbed lubricant -- applied to his face by a commission-approved cutman -- onto his torso. In the wake of “greasing” allegations against Georges St. Pierre’s corner at UFC 94, the observation received critical attention.

However, Lavigne, who watched a replay of Saturday’s event, said the cameras did not reveal that both himself and Leites’ corner had noticed Silva repeatedly touch his face and body during his warm-up lap around the Octagon. Lavigne said Leites’ corner motioned for the referee to inspect Silva’s body, although Lavigne said he would have proceeded regardless.

“I saw he had a little Vaseline on his chest and I wiped it from his chest and arms, as I saw him touching them as well,” Lavigne told Sherdog.com on Tuesday.

Lavigne said he then motioned to Leites’ corner and was given a “thumbs up” of approval.

“I took care of it, and the other corner felt OK with it,” said Lavigne.

Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro, who was one of Leites’ cornermen that night, supported Lavigne’s recollection of events.

“I remember Yves Lavigne toweled and cleaned the body,” Ribeiro said. “I don’t think [the cutman] put a lot of grease on his face and [Silva] put it on his body. I think everything was pretty fair.”

Ribeiro said he did not see his corner signal to Lavigne after Silva had been wiped down, but the world-renowned lightweight said Leites’ head coach, Andre Pederneiras, could have done it without him noticing.

Lavigne said both Silva and his corner were apologetic, and the fighter tried to assist the referee as he tended to him.

“While I wiped one glove, Silva took the end of the towel and wiped his other glove. He was helping me,” Lavigne said. “Both corners were aware of it and approved [of] it.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Anthony Ruiz vs. Aaron Rosa set for Strikeforce's May 15 "SHO MMA"

Strikeforce today announced a light-heavyweight bout between former Strikeforce top contender Anthony Ruiz (21-12) and Aaron Rosa (11-2) that will take place at the organization's May 15 "SHO MMA: Strikeforce Challengers" event.

The show, headlined by Billy Evangelista vs. Mike Aina, takes place at the Save Mart Center in Frenso, Calif., and airs on Showtime.

The organization also confirmed a recently reported bout between Xtreme Couture Vice President Kim Couture (1-1) and the surging Meisha Tate (5-1).

Ruiz returns to competition for the first time since a unanimous-decision loss to Trevor Prangley in September at "Strikeforce at the Playboy Mansion II." It was Ruiz's second loss in three fights, which included a decision defeat to then-champ Bobby Southworth in a June 2008 Strikeforce light-heavyweight title fight. Prior to the recent skid, Ruiz had won six consecutive fights and eight of his previous nine.

He now meets the tough Rosa, who's also looking to bounce back from some recent setbacks. After starting his career with 10 consecutive wins, including an EliteXC appearance, Rosa suffered back-to-back ShoXC losses to Jared Hamman and Jaime Fletcher. However, he got back in the win column with a June victory over Ron Fields at the debut Adrenaline MMA show. He'll return to the cage for the first time in nearly a year.

In the night's only announced female bout, Couture returns to action for the first time since her lopsided first-round TKO of over-matched Lina Kvokov in November. Tate, who enters the contest with a four-fight win streak, has lost only to notable Kaitlin Young during her career and is the most experienced fighter to take on Couture.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Tomasz Drwal and Eric Schafer agree to meet at TUF 9 Finale in June

June's "TUF 9" finale is quickly running out of spots for cast members to compete, as a light heavyweight bout between Tomasz Drwal (15-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and Eric Schafer (11-3-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) is being finalized for the event.

Sources close to the negotiations informed MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that verbal agreements have been made and contracts are expected to be finalized shortly.

MMAFrenzy.com first reported the possibility of the fight on Sunday.

The "TUF 9" finale is scheduled for June 20 at the Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

Schafer is currently riding a four-fight win streak, including two wins in the UFC over Antonio Mendes and Houston Alexander.

Despite being ushered out of the organization for a brief period in 2008, Schafer earlier this year told MMAjunkie.com he felt he was now better prepared for success in the UFC.

"I was a part-time fighter," Schafer said. "You train, you do kind of mini-camps. But when you're in the UFC, it's like your life. You feel like you've got to live up to it. It forced me to get better. It forced me to get a striking coach and a conditioning coach, to eat perfectly, health-wise. Just the fact of being in the UFC, I've changed my whole lifestyle. If I was still fighting in the small leagues, I wouldn't be the same guy I am today."

Drwal will be looking to build on the momentum of his first career UFC win, a first-round knockout of Italian slugger Ivan Serati at UFC 93 in January. The Polish-born Drwal previously appeared for the organization in a September 2007 loss to Thiago Silva at UFC 75.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Strikeforce: Title fight off, "Feijao" seeking opponent for June event

Brazilian light-heavyweight prospect Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante (7-1) finds himself without an opponent for Strikeforce's June 6 event, "Lawler vs. Shields," as original foe Renato "Babalu" Sobral (32-7) has been forced to withdraw from the event.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) learned of the change late Monday night from sources close to the event.

Sobral reportedly pulled out of the fight for personal reasons, though "Babalu" and Strikeforce officials were not immediately available for comment.

Sobral had been slated to defend his Strikeforce light heavyweight title against Cavalcante. The bout would have been the UFC and Affliction veteran's first defense of the belt he won in a first-round stoppage of Bobby Southworth in November 2008.

Cavalcante still hopes to fight on the card, which is just over six weeks away. The Brazilian hasn't seen action since a July 2008 win over Travis Galbraith under the EliteXC banner.

"Feijao" is currently riding a three-fight win streak, and his seven career wins have all come by stoppage.

"Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields" is headlined by a catchweight fight between EliteXC imports and former champions Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields. The event is scheduled for June 6 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Bobby Lashley signs to fight super heavyweight Bob Sapp on June 27

Former World Wrestling Entertainment star and up-and-coming mixed-martial-arts heavyweight fighter Bobby Lashley (2-0) will fight former NFL lineman and kickboxer Bob Sapp (10-3-1) on June 27.

Lashley, an American Top Team fighter, announced the super-heavyweight fight with a Monday Twitter posting.

Lashley, who defeated Joshua Franklin and Jason Guida in his first two pro bouts, will now take on a competitor who will surely sell some tickets but likely to do little to help him mover up the MMA ladder.

The fight takes place at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Miss., for an upstart (and currently unnamed) MMA promotion.

While a victory over Sapp will likely do little to help Lashley's reputation in the industry, the K-1 kickboxer does present a legitimate challenge based on his size alone. The approximately 350-pound Sapp will likely outweigh Lashley by 100 pounds on fight night, and his 6-foot-5 frame should give him a reach advantage.

However, given Lashely's wrestling credentials (he's a two-time NAIA national collegiate wrestling champion), Sapp could be in serious trouble if the fight goes to the ground.

Sapp is 5-1 in his past six MMA fights. He last competed at the Dec. 31 K-1 Dynamite!! show in Japan, where he defeated Akihito Tanaka (who was dressed as a cartoon character) with a first-round TKO.

 

[Shogun Locc]

SHOGUN BELIEVES HE'S BACK WITH WIN OVER LIDDELL

There were a great number of questions about which Mauricio "Shogun" Rua would show up to face Chuck Liddell on Saturday night at UFC 97. Long forgotten were the days of Shogun's reign as the top 205-pound fighter in the world while competing in Pride. The Brazilian was able to silence a great many of his critics, however, with a first round TKO over former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell.

From a loss to Forrest Griffin to multiple knee surgeries to a lackluster showing in victory over Mark Coleman, Rua hadn't seemed like the destructive force he once was when fighting in Japan, but he says that everything fell into place for the fight with Liddell and the old Shogun is back.

"I did everything that I could do right. I prepared right. I ate right. I dedicated myself to the most," Rua said at the UFC 97 post-fight press conference. "So I can say that I gave a good performance and I showcased my best and I hope to stay like this."

The knee injuries and subsequent surgeries sidelined Rua for over a year following a loss to Forrest Griffin in his UFC debut, but while he admits that he was healthy going into his fight against Mark Coleman, he still wasn't completely acclimated to his surroundings yet.

"When I fought Coleman, my knees were already heeled. I was already clinically 100-percent, but with fight rhythm, I still need to adjust to the space of the Octagon. I needed more fights in a row, more rhythm, and now I can say I feel much better acquainted to the UFC and to the Octagon," Rua stated.

The biggest question heading into Saturday night was Rua's cardio, which seemed to fail him in both of his previous two fights, but now that he's healthy and fighting regularly, he says that has all changed.

"(I'm) in much better shape because of the continuous training," said Shogun.

Knowing that Liddell presented problems in several areas for the fight, Rua admits he stepped in with a very specific strategy to try and get the win, thus propelling himself back into contender's status in a stacked light heavyweight division.

"My strategy was to fight the three rounds with him standing up, because I understand that he is a very good wrestler, and that I could get very tired trying to take him down, and forcing takedowns," commented Shogun. "So I understood I had to train stand-up and exchange blows with him. That was the only way to fight him."

The gameplan worked to perfection and Rua got the TKO win in the first round in what may be Chuck Liddell's last fight ever in the UFC. The former Pride champion looks to stay very active in 2009, and start gunning for more top contenders to vault himself back to the top of the 205-pound weight class.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Matt Veach vs. Evan Dunham set for UFC 102 in August

An intriguing matchup between undefeated lightweight prospects Matt Veach and Evan Dunham has been agreed upon and is slated to take place at UFC 102 on Aug. 29 in Portland, Oregon.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com confirmed the new matchup with sources close to the fight within the past 24 hours.

Veach and Dunham both made their UFC debuts in February as short notice replacements. Veach, who trains under Matt Hughes at the H.I.T. Squad near St. Louis, MO, recorded a TKO victory over Matt Grice at UFC Fight Night 17 at 4:34 of round 1 on Feb. 7. The win improved his record to 11-0.

Dunham improved to 8-0 after requiring just 2:13 to TKO Per Eklund at UFC 95 on Feb. 21. A pro for just slightly over two years, seven of Dunham’s victories have ended by either submission or TKO. Prior to making his UFC debut, he had competed just weeks earlier having submitted Dustin Akbari with a rear naked choke at 0:40 of round 3 during Palace Fighting Championships 12 on Jan. 22.

UFC 102 is currently slated to be headlined by a bout between former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture taking on former PRIDE and interim UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Additional matchups expected include Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt, Wilson Gouveia vs. Chael Sonnen, and Junior dos Santos vs. Justin McCully.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Roy Jones Sticking with MMA Biz, Still Eyes Anderson Bout

All-time boxing great Roy Jones Jr recently announced he would be hitting the ring again soon, in a showdown with noted boxer Jeff “Lights Out” Lacy. In speaking with Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, Jones committed to continuing the concept of providing mixed cards that showcase both boxing and MMA:

Jones will promote the fight through his Square Ring promotional company and said the undercard will again include some mixed martial arts bouts.

“I love the MMA fighting, and I know we’ve got some good fighters who’ll be part of it,” Jones said without naming names.

Jones maintains he still intends to box Anderson Silva, the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champ who successfully defended his title Saturday with a unanimous decision over Thales Leites in Montreal.

“I can’t wait for Anderson to get done with his [UFC] contract, whenever that is — I’ve heard [September] — then let’s get it on,” Jones said.

Jones’ March Badness card on PPV featured MMA heavyweights Jeff Monson, Roy Nelson, and Bobby Lashley while Jones Jr faced off in the main event against Omar Sheika. It is interesting to see he is still throwing around the Silva fight as something that is still a possibility, though his time line and knowledge of UFC contracts seems to be lacking. The UFC’s champion’s clause will preclude a fight between Anderson and Roy for as long as Silva holds the belt. While there is chatter of possibly giving Anderson another fight up at 205, a permanent move up to 205 will never happen for this very reason. In order to keep the contractual hooks in their fighter hailed as the best pound for pound in the sport, the belt has to stay on the controversial Brazilian.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Anderson Silva Interview

Anderson Silva won one more fight in the octagon, but not the way all fans were expecting. With an unanimous decision victory against Thales Leites, the champion disappointed the crowd at the Canadian arena. In exclusive interview to TATAME.com, Anderson explained his strategy, commented the fight against Thales, his future in the UFC and the motivation to keep fighting, the polemical evolving him and his ex-Chute Boxe partner Wanderlei Silva and more.

What did you think of the fight? Everything went as you’re expecting?

Once again we made our job. I was just upset to have fought with Thales, I wasn’t happy with that, but work is work. The fight was good, I think we have achieved a good recovery of what we’ve trained, our strategy was good, we’ve imagined what Thales could do and, thanks God, the coaches were able to help me and were perfect, each one in his specialty. Everybody helped me and I’m very happy with my work. The experiments we are doing, everything we are studying, has been right.

How do you fell winning the ninth victory in a row, the new UFC record?
Oh, man... Be the champion of the event that the Master Rorion Gracie introduced in the United States and being able to come close... I don’t ever want to have that comparison, who am I to be better or worse than Master Royce. But, being able to, one way or another, represent Brazil, the title remains in Brazil, then I continue honored to get this done and to keep the belt here.

What did you think of the criticisms that you’re receiving after the fight?

Every day we get older, the reflex is no longer the same... Fight with a kid like Thales and try to do things that might put me at risk wouldn’t be good for my career. One way or another he fought well, came well prepared, but I would have a lot to risk. I'm not risking something that took a long time for me to win. I think the fans are talking, criticizing... Each one has their opinion, I have to respect their opinion, after all they are always there applauding, but I'm happy, I was able to do my job well. All my team helped so that we could reach where we are and I don’t have much to say. Unfortunately, you can’t always do what people want. I try to fight and don’t get hurt and this is working over all these years. Sometimes I can fight faster, sometimes not, showing superiority, is better for me, for my career and the athletes who fight with me. Even because Thales is a dangerous athlete and I couldn’t risk something more.

Thales’s strategy has surprised you?
No. I think we were aware and had trained all that he could do. He was prepared and determined to win, but we managed to annul his game. I would like to thank Lyoto (Machida), André Galvão, Master Sylvio Behring, (Josuel) Distak, people who were determinants to this fight to happen and that we could get this result. The work that I did with Nogushi, Rogério Camões, Macarrão and all the people who gave me strength for me to come well prepared in this fight. I think I could honor the Nogueira Jiu-Jitsu, show that I made justice to the Jiu-Jitsu I learned all the time... We were able to do what we proposed and, unfortunately, we can’t always be like people want, what can I do... We try. I want to apologize to Thales, Dedé (Pederneiras) and the Nova União team. I already trained several times in the Nova União, with Dedé, Master Shaolin, and I didn’t like to do this fight, but we are professionals. I would like to congratulate Thales, he is a great fighter.

After the third round, Feijão and Distak said to you release the game and go over him. Why have you decided to keep the strategy of the previous rounds?

We were achieving to annul Thales’ game and wouldn’t change the strategy. We were able to, from the first to the last round, annul Thales game completely, despite the scores of the judges be a little crazy, I don’t know what fight they have seen, but the strategy we did was good. Distak said that I should move more, achieve my strokes more, and all instructions that Feijão gave I did and this brought us another victory. The type of training that we do, the strategy that we do for every fight, has brought a positive result. While is like this, we doesn’t have to change anything. We will always look to surprise the opponent, confuse them and minimize the chances of mistakes.

You’ve already beaten most of the top fighters of the UFC in your category... Does this disincentive you to continue fighting in your weight?

No. I’m very motivated to fight, I continue happy to be doing my job, but is as I’ve said. I’m no longer a kid, I have much to lose. It took so long to get here and we, as the age comes, do more conservative fights, I won’t expose myself and be knocked out. I have to be the most efficient possible with any opponent that I fight and that is what we are proposing, with lot of study we have done over the opponents, trainings, watching videos, talking with several people... People have no idea, we were almost an entire month talking to the whole coach team, our doctor, physiologist, several people, to see what we could or not do during the fight. I’m very happy for the result, I was able to use people who are willing to help me on the technical, physical and theoretical part. And that’s bringing results. I’m happy, I'm motivated, I love fighting in the UFC, but people must understand that fight is fight, I’m doing a fight that preserve my health, technique, and that is always like this, superior in some moments of the fight. One day I’ll lose, I’m not unbeatable, but the control we do have nothing wrong.

What’s the next step for you at the UFC? Will you defend your belt or increase in weight?
I haven’t thought about this. I still have a job to do. Feijão will fight, Maldonado, Corvo... Now is focus on them until the work end, then we’ll see what will be done: if I’ll fight in the category above or put the belt in game. We will work, try to do our work well in a very different way, intelligent, so that we can minimize even more the chances of mistake.

And what did you think of Shogun’s victory?
Shogun is a young boy, has everything ahead. Everyone has their bad phase, he went through one and overcame, a time when he wasn’t so well, had personal problems, injuries, and he, well trained, has already proven that it is candidate to the title, despite I’m cheering for Lyoto. Shogun is in the right way, doing his job... We had the opportunity to be together, he was focused, but I consider Chuck one of the best fighters of the category. He is a legend of the UFC and has to be respected, he ended knocked out, it happens. Fight is fight and we have to relieve and think about some issues when this happens. Shogun is with congratulations, he rediscovered himself and will give a lot of trouble in this category.

Do you think Liddell should retire after this defeat?
I don’t think so. Liddell is a reference of the UFC, and, particularly, if that happens I will be very sad, because he and Couture are references of the UFC, the face of the UFC. He has to talk with his team, his family, but I think Chuck is a fantastic person, a great champion, has to be respected for everything that has already done and still does... Fight with a guy like Shogun, a young boy, its difficult... We have to get off the hat for him, because he already made memorable fights and, whether being American or not, already gave many joys to everyone who saw him fighting.

What did you think of Wanderlei’s statements, commented your interview to the Sensei Sportv and saying that you’re “cocky” and that “the war is declared”?
Look, I have nothing against Wanderlei, I think every person speak what they want. He can say whatever he wants, but I don’t consider a declared war, even because I’m very well settled in relation to what I did and do in the UFC. Regardless of everything, I want to make very clear to everyone that I didn’t get here for nothing, I’m no fool. I started like any other fighter, did a well done job and Wanderlei is a great champion, deserves all my respect. People say that I commented about training... I didn’t comment about training, even because this has no sense. Is a code of honor that all black belt has... People say what they want. I respect everyone, Demian, Thales, Wanderlei, all my opponents. I never lacked with respect to anyone, but also I’m not afraid of anyone. I’m here to fight anyone, I always fought, but about this, "war"... First, to have a war there must be disagreements. I’m ok, I’m not worried about this and people have to stop talking about me. Talk about me is easy, it’s hard to be me. I don’t talk about anyone, I respect everyone. Each one has its limitations, each one has its strengths and weaknesses, but I’m not worried with this, I’m worried about helping Feijão to his fight, Corvo and, then, Minotauro’s fight.

Once again, if I suddenly said something that he said that wasn’t clear, I guess he understood wrong. We have to respect ourselves, even because, from where we came, a gossip results in fight. I like him, when he fought against Chuck I was screaming in the cheer, went to his locker room when the fight ended, but, finally... I always cheer for him to win his fights, I’ll pretend that this never happened, because it’s ridiculous. Sometimes people make us say about some things, but I never said anything that was supposedly disrespect to Wanderlei. Indeed, I talked about Demian, because I think is a bit of pretension Demian commenting that wants to dispute for the belt. I've never done this, I always respect everyone. When I fought for the first time in the UFC, I didn’t ask for the belt, I deserved that. I’ve never challenged any champion, I think that with this I would be pretentious and wouldn’t be myself. But I’m ok, each one knows what to do. I wish all these people who are talking to be happy, I’m not worried about that. My job is well done and I’m not worried in doing gossip.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Mitsuhiro Ishida vs Mizuto Hirota added to “Shooto Tradition Final”

Shooto held an event “SHOOTO GIG TOKYO Vol. 2” at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo on April 19, and announced that Mitsuhiro Ishida vs Mizuto Hirota was added to “Shooto Tradition Final” on May 10 at JCB Hall in Tokyo. This fight is considered “Dream vs Sengoku” since Ishii belongs to Dream and Hirota belongs to Sengoku. Two other Dream fighters, Akio "Wicky" Nishiura and Kotetsu Boku, also participate in this event.

Shooto Tradition Final
Date: May 10, 2009 16:00~
Place: JCB Hall, Tokyo

Takeshi 'Lion' Inoue vs. Rumina Sato (Lightweight championship fight)
Takashi Nakakura vs. Takanori Gomi
Koutetsu Boku vs. Yutaka Ueda
Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Mizuto Hirota
Megumi Fujii vs. Kim Don Hee
Kenichiro Togashi vs. Tetsuji Kato
Yusuke Endo vs. Willan "Chiquerinho" Chiquerim
Akio "Wicky" Nishiura vs. Takumi Ota
Zon Yon Ze vs. Takesuke Kume

 

[Shogun Locc]

Ryo Chonan updated his column

Ryo Chonan updated his column at Kamipro.com on April 21.

"I thought Canada was very nice place before the fight. Now, I changed my mind. Canada is where I don't want to visit again. Even if I am booed in the beginning, a great cheer arise when I have a great performance in the US. It seems to me that Canadian fans don't have much knowledge about MMA. Fans booed me because I was Japanese, and they didn't care if I had a good fight or not. I'm disappointed to lose the fight, but I believe I can do better next time. I regret that I couldn't win, but I'm motivated to beat a Canadian fighter in the US next time."

 

[PsyDaL]

^^^^ Lol Ryo has a personal vendetta against Canadians. Ryo Chonan vs GSP for a tuneup middleweight fight would be dope!!!!

 

[Shogun Locc]

^^^^^Chonan probably gonna get cut from the ufc

 

[Shogun Locc]

SHANE NELSON VS. AARON RILEY REMATCH AT UFC 101

A rematch is in the works for UFC 101 on Aug 8 in Philadelphia as lightweights Shane Nelson and Aaron Riley will do battle for the second time inside of six months after the pair fought to a controversial stoppage during their original fight at UFC 96 in March.

The bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday by a source close to Nelson's camp.

Shane Nelson came into UFC 96 just one fight removed from his time on the "Ultimate Fighter", and looked good in the early going, dropping his opponent with a big shot that put Riley on the canvas.

As Riley kicked up to defend himself once on the ground, referee Rick Fike rushed in to stop the action, declaring Nelson the winner much to the dismay of the Ohio crowd who saw that the fight seemed far from over.

"It wasn't my call," said Nelson after the stoppage. "It was out of my hands if the ref stopped it. We can do it again."

And do it again they will as Nelson will get the chance to prove the first win over Riley was no fluke when the two lightweights head to Philadelphia for the UFC's first ever event in the state of Pennsylvania.

UFC 101 will be headlined by the 155lb title fight pitting Nelson's trainer, B.J. Penn, facing off against top contender, Kenny Florian.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Thiago Alves training with Wanderlei Silva for UFC 100 fight against Georges St. Pierre (Video)

 

[Shogun Locc]

MMA Quick Quote: Alistair Overeem no longer horsing around with his diet

I changed my diet, I changed my coach and when I really think about it – I changed everything. From my girlfriend to my training and diet. Before I ate a lot of vegetables that are healthy but contained little energy. Now I mainly eat horse meat, rice and protein shakes. I got rid of my old coach who was in charge of my fight strategies. It simply wasn’t working. I just started to think about what I had to do to become a better fighter.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Consecutive losses lead to Jason Day’s depature from the UFC

FiveOuncesOfPain.com was able to confirm that welterweight Josh Burkman, a veteran from the second season of the UFC’s hit reality television show The Ultimate Fighter had departed the promotion in the weeks proceeding his unanimous decision loss to Pete Sell at UFC 90 last October.

Five Ounces of Pain has also confirmed that middleweight Jason “Dooms” Day is no longer a member of the UFC roster. It is unclear whether Day was released following his first round TKO loss to Kendall Grove last month at UFC 96 or if he had become a free agent with no attempt made to re-sign him.

Day, a Canadian fighter with a 17-8 record was signed by the UFC following a controversial split decision victory over David Loiseau last February during a Hardcore Championship Fighting event. He made his Octagon debut at UFC 83 last April, where he TKO’d Alan Belcher at 3:58 of round 1.

Following the strong outing vs. Belcher, UFC officials put Day in a co-headlining roll against Michael Bisping during last June’s UFC 85 event at the O2 Arena in London, England. Bisping was able to TKO Day at 3:42 of round 1. Day then lost his second consecutive UFC bout vs. Grove and saw his career record with the promotion fall to a disappointing 1-2.

While not confirmed, Day’s first fight since departing the UFC could take place at a yet-to-be announced event slated to take place next month in California.

Day and Burkman are a part of a list of departures from the UFC roster in recent months that also includes Antonio Mendes and Jeremy Horn.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Efrain Escudero says next fight will be vs. Cole Miller at UFC 103

According to a report by MMAMadness.com, Efrain Escudero announced during an exclusive chat on his official web site that his first fight back from injury is expected to take place at the yet-to-be announced UFC 103 event this coming September.

Escudero is claiming that his opponent will be Cole Miller, who improved to 15-3 after recording a first round submission over Junie Browning at UFC Fight Night 18 earlier this month. Neither the UFC or Miller has confirmed the possible bout vs. Escudero.

Escudero, the lightweight winner of the eight season of The Ultimate Fighter, had been slated to appear on the same card as the Miller vs. Browning bout. However, he was forced to withdraw from his scheduled bout vs. Jeremy Stephens after suffering an injury while training.

A former NJCAA All-American wrestler, Escudero has not competed since winning the 155 pound TUF 8 finals during the show’s live season finale held in Las Vegas on Dec. 13. Facing Phillipe Nover, Escudero took the lightweight crown courtesy of a unanimous decision.

Miller trains out of American Top Team and is a veteran from the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter. He is currently 4-1 while competing under the UFC banner and in addition to Browning also holds notable wins over Jorge Gurgel, Andy Wang, and Leonard Garcia.