MMA News Thread

[Shogun Locc]

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Luis Cane targeted for UFC 106 (Updated)

A light-heavyweight bout between Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (17-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and Luis Cane (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) will take place at UFC 106.

Sherdog first reported that verbal agreements are in place. Sources close to the negotiations confirmed the news with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) and said the fight was discussed as a possibility as early as this past weekend, though bout agreements have not been signed.

UFC 106 takes place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and airs on pay-per-view.

Rogerio Nogueira's twin brother, UFC heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, said last month during a media conference call that his brother was planning to sign with the UFC and would make his octagon debut by year's end. The former PRIDE and Affliction fighter enters the organization with a five-fight win streak, which included a dominant TKO victory over notable and recent UFC signee Vladimir Matyushenko at a January Affliction show.

However, according to sources close to the fighter, Nogueira's new UFC contract may not be completed. But a deal is expected to be completed in time for the UFC 106 fight, which both fighters' camps want.

Cane, meanwhile, looks for his fourth straight win since suffering a loss to Jame Irvin (via disqualification due to an illegal strike) at UFC 79 in 2007. Cane was winning the fight before the illegal blow, and he's since rebounded and defeated Jason Lambert, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Steve Cantwell. The Cantwell victory, which came during his most recent bout in April, was the American Top Team fighter's first to go to a decision.

While the UFC's light-heavyweight title picture remains crowded, the winner of the Nogueira vs. Cane fight will make a major stride toward contention.

The latest UFC 106 card now includes:

* Champ Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin (for UFC heavyweight title)*
* Mark Coleman vs. Tito Ortiz*
* Luis Cane vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira*
* Ricardo Almeida vs. Jon Fitch*
* Dustin Hazelett vs. Karo Parisyan*
* Marcus Davis vs. Ben Saunders*
* Phil Baroni vs. Amir Sadollah*

* - Not officially announced

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC's traditional "year-end" Las Vegas show, UFC 108, tentatively slotted for Jan. 2

Although the Ultimate Fighting Championship usually returns to its Las Vegas home for a big, year-end blockbuster pay-per-view show, this year's holiday schedule has apparently forced a slight change of plans.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has tentatively approved a Jan. 2 UFC fight date at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The event presumably would be UFC 108.

UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner first told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) in July that the organization expected to hold its "year-end show" after the new year, on Jan. 2.

Otherwise, he said, the event would be held on Dec. 26 with fighter weigh-ins on Christmas Day.

The UFC began loading its year-end cards in 2006, when UFC 66 (Liddell vs. Ortiz II), one of the biggest event's in MMA history with a record live gate of $5,397,300, took place on Dec. 30 with a rematch between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. Other year-end shows have included UFC 92 (Dec. 27) in 2008 and UFC 79 (Dec. 29) in 2007.

Currently, no fights have been booked for the show, which would mark the UFC's first Las Vegas show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena since UFC 98 in May.

 

[Shogun Locc]

UFC 102 fighters test clean for drugs

All fighters selected to undergo drug testing at last month's UFC 102 event successfully passed their tests.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) requested the results soon after the show concluded on Aug. 29 at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Ore. And the Oregon State Athletic Commission on Friday announced the results.

Six of the night's 22 fighters, including headliners Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Randy Couture, were chosen for testing.

Other tested fighters included Chris Leben, Aaron Simpson, Todd Duffee and Evan Dunham. (Because Leben was fighting for the first time since a failed drug test at UFC 89, he underwent testing before and after UFC 102.)

As with other U.S. commissions, the OSAC tests for both drugs of abuse (such as cocaine and heroin) and performance-enhancing drugs/steroids.

UFC 102 marked the the promotion's Pacific Northwest debut. Although UFC president Dana White said he regretted the pricing structure and felt ticket prices should have been lower, the event still drew 16,088 attendees for a solid $1.92 million gate.

Additionally, though disappointed the show didn't create the venue's gate record, he took solace in the final numbers.

"We didn't sell it out like I think we should have, but it was a great night," White said of UFC 102. "Like I said, in saying that, it's still one of the top-five gates in history here."

UFC 102 featured a unanimous-decision win for Nogueira in the night's headliner, a stunning TKO victory for 205-pound contender Thiago Silva, and a pivotal 21-second knockout for middleweight contender Nate Marquardt.

 

[Shogun Locc]

WERDUM ISN'T BUYING OVEREEM'S INJURY

Fabricio Werdum planned to make his August Strikeforce debut by challenging champion Alistair Overeem for his Strikeforce heavyweight belt. He did end up fighting at the Aug. 15 event, but against journeyman Mike Kyle, not Overeem.

The Dutch fighter cited a re-aggravated injury to his hand, originating in a bar brawl, as the reason for withdrawing from the fight.

Overeem has since been confirmed to fight Peter Aerts in a K-1 kickboxing bout on Sept. 26 in Seoul, Korea.

Werdum isn’t buying the injury.

“Overeem is running from the fight; I am pretty sure about that,” Werdum proclaimed to MMAWeekly.com.

“I cannot be 100-percent right about the reason he is taking so long to solve his issues and come to fight, but it seems either that the gummy berry juice he is taking to give him super powers is (causing) him to avoid fighting here in America or he is afraid of having no arms to fight after facing me one more time.”

The two met in Japan more than three years ago in the Pride 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix. Werdum submitted Overeem with a Kimura shoulder lock in just under four minutes of the second round.

“There is no sense he takes so long to come and fight in America," said Werdum.

Overeem became the first ever Strikeforce heavyweight champion in November 2007 by causing Paul Buentello to submit to repeated knee strikes to the body. He has not fought in the U.S. since, instead taking fights in Japan and the Netherlands.

"I want to say to him that if comes, face me and lose,” Werdum stated. “I will let him take some pictures with my belt and he will be able to keep good memories from his time as a Strikeforce champion."

 

[Shogun Locc]

MORE COUNTRYMEN CONFIRMED FOR UFC 105

As the Ultimate Fighting Championship works to fill up the rosters for a slew of autumn and winter events, the dance card for UFC 105 in Manchester, England, continues to fill up, largely with localized talent.

With Brits Michael Bisping and Dan Hardy holding down bouts near the top end of the card, MMAWeekly.com has confirmed that several of their countrymen will flesh out the mid and lower tier.

Sources close to the event confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that welterweight bouts are signed between Englishmen Paul Taylor and John Hathaway, as well as American Matt Riddle against Brit Nick Osipczak.

Taylor (10-4-1) enters the bout coming off of a win over Peter Sobotta at UFC 99 in Germany, but has met mixed results in the Octagon amassing a 3-3 record during his UFC tenure.

Looking to keep his spotless record intact, Hathaway (11-0) has wins over Tom Egan and Rick Story in his first two UFC bouts. Still, Taylor will be his toughest test to date in the Octagon.

Riddle’s (3-0) entire professional career has been spent in the UFC. He emerged from Season 7 of The Ultimate Fighter and is still working towards establishing himself in a crowded welterweight class.

His opponent, Osipczak (4-0) also made his way to the UFC via The Ultimate Fighter as a cast member of Season 9. He defeated Frank Lester in that season’s finale in his lone UFC appearance.

A headline bout for UFC 105, which takes place at the M.E.N. Arena, has yet to be announced.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Dan Henderson holds out hope for more money, Anderson Silva

“I’m holding firm for what I think I deserve. I think I’ve earned that…. If they sign me I’ll fight who they want me to fight. Even if I get Silva now, after I beat him Marquardt would be the top contender, so I’d have to fight him next. Beat him now or beat him later, it doesn’t matter. I’ll have to fight [Nate] Marquardt eventually…. If I was the UFC I wouldn’t waste a fight between [me and Marquardt]. If they want challengers for the middleweight belt they shouldn’t want one of us to beat the other…. It all depends on Anderson Silva,” Henderson said. “If he’s not going to fight until April, I don’t want to wait that long. But I’ll do what I have to do to fight him…. I’m getting in shape like I’m going to fight,” Henderson said. “I want to stay in the UFC.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Filho: “Mousasi will pay me inside the ring”

With sunglasses, mustache and a Flamengo t-shirt, Paulo Filho made weight for his fight tonight against Alex Shoenauer, at Bitetti Combat 4. After the weight-ins, the black belt spoke with TATAME.com about the polemical with Gegard Mousasi, who said he used steroids in the fight against Melvin Manhoef.

“People gets sad because I say the truth in my interviews, but I think he’s not enough to beat be and that’s it. Mousasi didn’t like with the truth I said”, guarantees Paulo, who said last week to TATAME.com that he’d submit Mousasi.

“He’s very competent, has a beautiful future in MMA, but he said that and will have to be a man to face me inside the rings, after that he can say whatever he wants”, said, believing in his BJJ game. “He can be better in striking, what don’t say a shit to me, but we’ll fight and I have my jiu-jitsu and that’s it”.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Anderson Silva Interview

The UFC middleweight king, Anderson Silva spoke with TATAME.com in an exclusive interview and spoke about his future in the event, the possible fight against Randy Couture, his next title defense and the end of his polemic with former Pride champion Wanderlei Silva.

You’ve showed a lot of superiority in your last fights. Do you think the level of your opponents decreased recently?
No, man, I think all the UFC fighters are good. Everybody who fights there is a high level athlete, but we train a lot, study a lot… My life is that, I just do this, so I have to do it really well. I try to do my best, and I think the result is being positive because of the training, the work of all my team, my dedication to training…

Everybody is wondering who’ll be the next contender to your title. Do you think Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt should fight each other before that?
I don’t think anything, man. Whoever comes, I’ll fight. They both are great fighters, are doing their jobs too, so I’ll fight anyone.

You want to do your next fight at 185 or 205?
I don’t know too… Wherever they (UFC) put me, I’ll go. My last fight was at 205, so i think the next one will be for the title. Let’s wait and see what they want.

Randy Couture said he’s moving to light heavyweight and he wanted to fight against you. How do you think would be a fight against him?
It’s hard to say, it’s a tough fight. We’re training here to fight the best. Life is made of challenges. It’d be a honor to fight the best of the world, and I hope I can fight the best until the end of my career. I don’t have much to talk, we’re working hard here.

In Rodrigo Minotauro’s last training video at TATAME TV, we noticed that you were imitating Randy Couture during a sparring training with him. If you ever fight one day, it’d already know his moves, right?
We have a study from all UFC fighters, from 170 to the heavyweights. We have videos f any fighters, even those who aren’t so recognized. We try to study a lot all the games, because we have to be prepared if one day we have to fight them. From 170 to heavyweights, we see everybody.

Watching your archive, which names do you think the fans don’t know much, but you think has potential to be on the tops one day?
There are a lot of names to say, many fighters and al of them has their qualities. We have to respect, everybody is trained and are dangerous. Coming from victory or loss, they are moving on and trying to be a champion one day, and we have to be prepared to don’t be surprised.

At the UFC back stages, you and Wanderlei Silva met and ended your problems, and I heard you two could even train together…
It never happened any problem, it was a misunderstanding. We spoke, everything is ok now... If he needs my help, I’ll help him like I help all my friends. We’re together. If I can help him, like I always did…

And what you thought about his new face surgery?
Man, he’s more handsome (laughs)… I said to him “Wanderlei, you’re much more handsome… If you had a long hair and a pretty mouth, you’d be like Angelina Jolie (laughs)”. But he’s ok, he did that surgery because of a nose problem and that’s important. The rest is rest, the guys joke with him and that’s normal.

 

[Shogun Locc]

SENGOKU New Year Event! H2H, Collaboration, Or January 3rd?

A SENGOKU new year press conference is rumored to take place on the 14th or early next week.

From Gryphon’s Blog:

SENGOKU Producer Kokuho takahiro said,

“ISHI Satoshi(2008 olympic Judo Gold medalist)debut event is New year eve…or Junuary 3″

This is important news!

because FEG aleady announce that Dynamite! 2009 is hold in NY eve(K-1fighter MASATO do retirement match in this event)

If SENGOKU determine NY eve event,it becaume big business war,Fighter’s fightmoney also up and up….

or,K-1 owner ISHII kazuyoshi confirm that He propose SENGOKU office do big event together.

KOKUHO’s “NY EVE ISHII Satoshi Debut EVENT”means DREAM-SENGOKU-K1 aliance?

Even if SENGOKU avoide butting event and decide 1.3event,SENGOKU’s NY event is big news.

especially in Japan,ISHII’s MMA debut is national issue.many ordinary people is interested in this event.

Card is ISHII Satoshi vs YOSHIDA Hidehiko?

From Kamipro’s cell phone site:

They received a release from WVR yesterday evening (after the SENGOKU press conference of yesterday). It was an advance notice about a SENGOKU new years event press conference. Since it said new year, the people at Kamipro thought it meant that the even will take place at January 3rd. However, when querying WVR about this, WVR replied with: “New year is from Christmas and after”.

Daily Sports Online:

According to their “collection of data” TBS are also interested in Ishii’s debut fight. They hope/expect/anticipate an all-star dream event from the two major organizations in Japan.

—————–

I wouldn’t be surprised whatever happens. If they can’t find a good channel and slot for Ishii’s debut and FEG/TBS have offered something good, they might go for it. It wouldn’t surprise me if TV Tokyo give them a slot to show it live on January 3rd. It wouldn’t surprise me if one of the major channels want to air the main fights of the SENGOKU event on NYE or January 3rd, but just for that event. A lot of other things can happen as well.

I feel like there’s something going on. The WVR PR yesterday looked so calm and “happy”. The front men of MMA organizations in Japan usually look tired/stressed like: “The next event must go well or else I’m gonna get a visit from the “higher-ups” (if you know who I mean)”.

NYE is always the most exciting part of the year in Japanese MMA.

 

[007SYBORG]

Randy Couture Vs. Brandon Vera Could Main Event UFC 105

From MMAMania.com via The Sun in the UK:

Former heavyweight and light heavyweight champion, Randy Couture (16-10), could return to the 205-pound division to take on Brandon Vera (11-3) in the main event at UFC 105 from the Manchester Evening News (MEN) Arena in Manchester, England, on Nov. 14, according to The Sun.

The report indicates that UFC sources have confirmed the showdown, which was cobbled together when the lightweight championship match between division kingpin BJ Penn and number one contender Diego Sanchez was booked for UFC 107 on Dec. 12 to compensate for the postponed fight between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans.

In fact, the report indicates that Evans turned down the opportunity to challenge “The Natural,” forcing the promotion to seek “The Truth.”

 

[lenbiasyayo]

^^ hope randy smashes vera. either way whoever wins has to leap that dude into possible title contender

 

[Shogun Locc]

"Pee Wee" Herman earns swift TKO win over Don Frye at Shark Fights 6

Rising heavyweight prospect Dave "Pee Wee" Herman picked up a signature career win over a notable opponent on Saturday with a swift, 60-second TKO victory over MMA trailblazer Don Frye.

The fight headlined the latest offering from the Texas-based Shark Fights promotion.

"Shark Fights 6: Stars & Stripes" took place at the Amarillo Civic Center Coliseum in Texas and aired via online pay-per-view.

Herman, a former EliteXC fighter also under contract with Bellator Fighting Championships, defended a takedown and quickly blasted away and connected with a series of shots. The referee halted the action at the one-minute mark of the scheduled three-rounder.

Herman, a former Indiana University wrestler, moves to 15-1 with the win. All 15 victories have come via stoppage, and the Frye win was his 14th to come in the first round. The 25-year-old fighter's lone loss came to Choi Mu Bae at World Victory Road's "Sengoku no Ran 2009" event back in January.

Frye, meanwhile, drops to 20-9-1 with the defeat, which was his third in four fights. The 43-year-old fighter, who won heavyweight tournaments at UFC 8 and UFC 11.5, had been slated to fight another top prospect ("King" Mo Lawal) but recently pulled out of "M-1: Breakthrough" to take the Herman fight instead.

In the night's co-main event, Gerald Harris, a cast member on "The Ultimate Fighter 7" who never got to compete in the UFC, picked up his seventh straight victory with a swift win over one-time UFC fighter Nissen Osterneck.

The win earned Harris the Shark Fights middleweight belt.

Although scheduled for five rounds, Harris needed just 46 seconds to deliver enough strikes to force a knockout stoppage. The victory (his fourth via stoppage) moves his career mark to 12-2.

Osterneck, who also previously fought with the WEC, falls to 6-3.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Bitetti Combat results: Ricardo Arona wins headliner, Paulo Filho and Pedro Rizzo victorious

In his first fight in two and a half years, former PRIDE Fighting Championships notable Ricardo Arona made a successful return to competition with a unanimous decision win over UFC veteran Marvin Eastman.

The fight headlined the newest offering from Bitetti Combat, a Brazil-based organization founded by Amaury Bitetti.

The show took place at the 19,000-seat Maracanazinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and aired nationally on pay-per-view.

Arona struck early with leg kicks, even scoring a knockdown with one low kick, before using takedowns and an effective ground game to ride out a decision victory over Eastman. Arona, though, slowed in the final two rounds due to an apparent foot injury and an obviously taxed gas tank.

Still, Arona, one of many Brazilians competing on the card, moved to 14-5 with the win. Eastman has now lost three of four to drop to 16-10-1.

Also earning a fairly lackluster (but much-needed) win was former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho. Filho topped "The Ultimate Fighter 1" cast member and longtime IFL fighter Alex Schoenauer via unanimous decision.

Filho, who fell off the MMA map after a bizarre and lopsided loss to Chael Sonnen in November (one in which Filho stunningly missed weight by seven pounds), is now 2-0 since the non-title debacle. Filho also picked up a first-round submission win over Melvin Manhoef at DREAM.10 in July.

The former WEC title-holder is now 18-1. Schoenauer drops to 14-10 with his third loss in four fights.

In heavyweight action, Pedro Rizzo used superior striking and an effective takedown defense to score a lopsided unanimous-decision victory over former top UFC heavyweight contender Jeff Monson. Rizzo repeatedly sprawled to keep the fight standing, where he used his reach advantage to tag Monson with crippling leg kicks and repeated blows to the face.

Rizzo, fighting for the first time since a brutal loss to Gilbert Yvel at an "Ultimate Chaos" event in June, snapped a two-fight losing streak and rebounded from four losses in a six-fight span. The Brazilian was slowed by a pre-fight arm injury, but he kept a fairly solid pace even late into the fight to win all three rounds on the judges' cards.

Rizzo snapped his opponent's seven-fight win streak with the victory and is now 17-9. Monson falls to 31-9.

In the night's other notable fight, veteran Murilo "Ninja" Rua, a late replacement for the UFC-bound Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, connected flush on a head kick and then followed with a barrage of punches to post a swift knockout win over Alex Stiebling early in the first round.

Rua, a former PRIDE and EliteXC middleweight, snapped a two-fight losing streak with the victory and moves to 17-10-1 with the win, which came at light heavyweight. Stiebling, who had trouble making weight for the event, is now 18-11-1 with six losses in his past seven fights.

The full Bitetti Combat results included:

* Ricardo Arona def. Marvin Eastman via unanimous decision
* Paulo Filho def. Alex Schoenauer via unanimous decision
* Pedro Rizzo def. Jeff Monson via unanimous decision
* Murilo "Ninja" Rua def. Alex Stiebling via TKO (strikes) - Round 1
* Milton Vieira def. Luciano Azevedo via split decision
* Fabio Maldonado def. Vitor Miranda via unanimous decision
* Glover Teixeira def. Leonardo Nascimento via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1
* Luis Dutra def. Henrique Nogueira via TKO (strikes) - Round 1
* Cassiano Tytschyo def. Fausto Black via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1
* Alexandre Pimentel def. Luciano Correa via unanimous decision

 

[007SYBORG]

I ALSO HEARD HENDERSON VS MARQUARTT FOR 105 MAIN EVENT TOO,BUT EITHER ONE WOULD BE A GREAT FIGHT.
NATE VS DAN RUMOR
http://mmafighting.com/
UFC 105 may have found its main event.

FanHouse has learned that the UFC is looking to book a middleweight bout between Nate Marquardt and Dan Henderson for the Nov. 14 show at the Manchester Evening News Arena in Manchester, England. As of Thursday afternoon, though, official bout agreements had yet to be finalized.

The winner of this potential bout would likely receive another title shot against current middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Marquardt was last seen knocking out Demian Maia at UFC 102 in just 21 seconds, while Henderson defeated Michael Bisping via second-round knockout at UFC 100 in July.

Despite the fact that both men have already suffered losses to Silva in the past, they are clearly the top two contenders in the UFC's middleweight division. Marquardt lost to Silva via TKO at UFC 73 in July 2007. Since then, he has won four of five fights. Meanwhile, Henderson lost to Silva at UFC 82 via rear-naked choke submission. He has since rebounded to win his last three fights in a row.

One of the potential holdups could be Henderson's current contract status with the UFC. Earlier this week, SI.com MMA writer Josh Gross tweeted that Henderson was a free agent and contract negotiations were characterized as "slow."

Other match-ups expected for the event include Bisping vs. Denis Kang, Dan Hardy vs. Dong Hyun Kim and James Wilks vs. Matt Brown. UFC 105 is scheduled to air via tape delay in the United States on Spike TV.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Horn tops Guida, Prangley and Beerbohm victorious at Arena Rumble

Picking up his second win since a three-fight losing skid and subsequent release from the UFC, Jeremy Horn stopped Jason Guida via first-round submission at Saturday's "Arena Rumble" event.

The show took place at the Spokane Arena in Washington.

Horn built off his June victory over Chris Davis at Adrenaline MMA III with a submission win over Guida, perhaps best known for getting kicked off "The Ultimate Fighter 8" after failing to make weight for the show's opening elimination round.

Horn, a nearly 14-year pro fighter competing in his (officially recognized) 106th career fight, secured the fight-ending arm-triangle choke after the main-event fight went to the ground.

Horn is now 82-19-5. Guida, meanwhile, suffered his fifth straight loss and falls to 17-21.

In other action, well-rounded South African Trevor Prnagley stopped journeyman Dennis Reed with a quick knockout to pick up his fourth straight victory since a runner-up finish in Strikeforce's 2007 four-man middleweight tournament.

Prangley, a former UFC fighter, dropped his veteran opponent with a big blow to earn the knockout win in the opening minute of the night's co-headliner.

Prangley, perhaps one of the middleweight division's most underrated fighters, is now 21-5 and 10-1 over the past three years; the lone loss came to top-10 185-pounder Jorge Santiago in November 2007. Reed falls to 43-45-1.

Also picking up a first-round victory was Lyle Beerbohm, who moved to 13-0 with his 12th career stoppage with the win over former Bellator and King of the Cage fighter Josh Martin.

Beerbohm, a former incarcerated drug addict who reshaped his life through Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA, competed for the first time since his big June win over Duane Ludwig at Strikeforce Challengers II in June.

Including a perfect 10-0 record as an amateur, Beerbohm is now 23-0 in his career. Martin's record, meanwhile, falls to 6-4-1.

In other undercard action, former UFC fighter Terry Martin, who's also recently dabbled in professional boxing, suffered a knockout loss to Julio Paulino and has lost three straight MMA fights. Additionally, fellow UFC vet and "The Ultimate Fighter 2" runner-up Brad Imes suffered a third-round TKO loss to Josh Queen and has now dropped three of his past four fights.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Garcia-Gamburyan Likely for Nov. WEC

Leonard Garcia will likely return to action against “The Ultimate Fighter” finalist Manny Gamburyan at a WEC event being planned for Nov. 18 in Las Vegas, according to a source close to the promotion. The fight has been verbally agreed to by both camps and should be official shortly.

Sherdog.com initially reported that the fight was being planned for December. The source later clarified the November date.

Garcia (13-4) rebounded from a tough knockout loss to featherweight champion Mike Thomas Brown in March of this year by defeating Jameel Massouh by split decision last month. The 30-year-old Texan, who trains out of Greg Jackson’s Albuquerque gym, will need a good performance to get back into the title picture after his last two showings.

Gamburyan, 28, is also looking for a rebound of sorts. After suffering an injury in his TUF final matchup with Nate Diaz, the judoka split his next four fights, dropping the last two before moving down in weight to enter the WEC featherweight division.

A successful showing in his first WEC featherweight bout -- a decision over John Franchi in June -- has netted Gamburyan (9-4) a chance to ply his skills against a former title contender.

 

[Shogun Locc]

MELVIN GUILLARD BREAKS DOWN NATE DIAZ

Melvin Guillard, 5-3 in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, headlines UFC Fight Night 19 on Sept. 16 against The Ultimate Fighter 5 winner Nate Diaz, and Guillard believes he has the style and game plan to come away with victory.

The New Orleans native would like to keep the fight standing where he feels he could score a knockout.

"As far as Nate, there's been rumors that he's been begging Dana White and Joe Silva to get him somebody that he can stand up and bang with. I'm going to see if he's a man of his word," Guillard told MMAWeekly.com. "If he really wants to get in there, we can get us the Fight of the Night, or hopefully I get a Knockout of the Night if he really wants to get in there and stand up and bang."

"I'll stand up with anybody in the UFC. I honestly feel I am one of the best 155ers. I'm the strongest. Even looking back at a lot of the 55ers that fight, a lot of them land punches but they're not knocking anybody out. If you look back at the majority of my fights, I knock out 90% of anybody I hit if it stays on the feet," he added. "I'm not worried. I think more than anything he's coming into this fight worried about my punching power."

While Guillard would like for the fight to play out on it's feet, he isn't worried about going to the ground with Cesar Gracie trained Diaz.

"I studied the tape of him and Clay Guida and him and Joe (Stevenson). I studied those two matches a lot. I noticed he has a lot of trouble with wrestlers, so my game plan really is to go in there and bang with him, but anytime he tries to take it down, I'm just going to turn it into a wrestling match, and I'm just going to out-wrestle him the whole three rounds," said the 26-year old fighter. "It can be the fight that he wants, or it can be the fight that he's going to hate."

"At the end of the day, Nate's a cool guy. I actually got to cut weight with him for the last fight against Gleison (Tibau). When he fought Joe, we actually cut weight together. He's not a total prick, but at the same time I'm going in there to do what I do best," commented Guillard. "If he wants a good stand up battle I'm going to give him a good stand up battle, but like I said, if he tries to take me to the ground it's going to be a long night for him because my wrestling is a whole lot better than people think. People don't talk too much about my wrestling because I'm such a good stand up fighter. I started out as a wrestler. That was my background."

"I have nothing against Nate," He continued. "He's a good guy, but I honestly, hands down, I am a way better athlete. I'm more of an athlete than he ever will be. I'm not taking anything away from his skills. He's a great BJJ guy, but BJJ and MMA are two different sports."

"I hate to predict fights, but I guarantee I'm walking out of there a winner. That's how confident I am with my skills."

 

[Shogun Locc]

ESCUDERO READY FOR MILLER ON SPIKE MINI-EVENT

Efrain Escudero, winner of Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter, is set to make his return to the Octagon at UFC 103 on Sept. 19 in Dallas against Cole Miller.

A few injuries, primarily a rib injury sustained in practice, had prevented “Echo en Mexico’s” initial return to the cage this past April at UFC Fight Night 18 in Nashville, Tenn., where he was scheduled to take on the hard-nosed bruiser Jeremy Stephens.

It marked the first time in a perfect 10-0, three-year career as a professional mixed martial artist where Escudero was forced to withdraw from competition. The limelight of the UFC made things all the more harder on the 23-year-old.

“I was very disappointed just for the fact that I’ve never actually pulled out of a fight before, so it was my first one and I was pretty devastated,” he said while speaking exclusively with the MMAWeekly.com Radio show.

“I did take the time off; they scheduled me for a pretty long away fight so I was able to let my leg healed and everything’s back to normal. I’m good, well rested and now I’m ready to get back into the Octagon.”

Never one to disappoint the public, Escudero was not prepared to go into his match with Stephens less than 100-percent. If he should lose one day, he doesn’t want to leave any excuses lingering.

“I’m in there to fight and I’m not in there to make excuses,” said the Tempe, Ariz., native.

“I hope everybody believes me when I said I was injured. I don’t want to be looked like I’m a little girl or something that I got scared. It’s nothing like that. I was never scared of Jeremy Stephens, my respect to him, but now we got to move on and move forward.”

There are no such things as easy fights in the UFC. Returning to action after a near nine-month lapse, the former collegiate wrestling All-American will face off against a fellow Ultimate Fighter alumnus when he takes on Miller, who’s riding on the success of his last two outings. He won come from behind submission victories over Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Jorge Gurgel and TUF bad boy Junie Browning.

It’s no easy feat to come back from an injury and be seemingly thrown to the wolves, but make no mistake about it Escudero is exactly where he wants to be.

“I actually do want somebody tough. I don’t want (the UFC) to baby me,” said the proud Mexican fighter.

“A lot of people believe that coming off the show that all the fighters, they’re going to baby them just because the UFC is going to try and build a name. We’re tough fighters; we got to show everybody, the public and our opponents, that we do belong in the cage with them.”

Originally relegated from main card status back to the preliminary portion of the card, Escudero insists that regardless of where he ends up, it’s irrelevant, and he will continue to fight just the same as always, fast and full of heart.

“I’m going to be a fighter no matter what happens. I’m going to go in there the same way whether it’s fighting in the main event or the prelims; I don’t really pay much attention to that.”

The Southwest MMA product will still be headlining his own unofficial event, where his matchup along with Tomas Drwal versus Drew McFedries will be featured on an hour-long block on SpikeTV prior to the start of the pay-per-view.

A sort of homecoming for Escudero, he comes full circle where it all began, and now has a whole new motivation going into the bout.

“People will be able to see me and Cole Miller’s fight, so I’m pretty excited. We’re going to go out there and just give the fans what people want to see.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Daniel Cormier vs. Gary Frazier completes Strikeforce's Sept. 25 card

The official addition of a heavyweight bout between former Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier (0-0) and native Oklahoman Gary Frazier (0-0) completes the lineup for "Strikeforce Challengers: Kennedy vs. Cummings" on Sept. 25 in Bixby, Okla.

AOL FanHouse was the first to report the bout between the two debuting professionals, and Strikeforce Director of Communications Mike Afromowitz has since confirmed with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the contest has been officially added to the event.

Headlined by a middleweight clash between rising prospects Tim Kennedy and Zak Cummings, the Strikeforce Challengers event airs live on Showtime.

Cormier's participation in the vent was announced last week. The Louisiana native was a three-time state high school champion, a two-time junior-college champ at Colby Community College, and an NCAA Division I national runner-up at Oklahoma State University. Among his many post-college accomplishments are a spot on the 2004 U.S. Olympic team and an appointment as the 2008 Olympic team's captain.

Meanwhile, Frazier passed on collegiate wrestling aspirations despite earning two state title in high school. Frazier earned a TKO win in his amateur MMA debut, though he will now make his professional debut along with Cormier.

With the addition to the card, the full lineup now includes: MAIN CARD

* Zak Cummings vs. Tim Kennedy
* Kevin Jordan vs. Ray Sefo
* Zach Light vs. Tyron Woodley
* Travis Calonoc vs. Thomas Longacres
* Daniel Cormier vs. Gary Frazier

PRELIMINARY CARD

* Lacey Schuckman vs. Jeri Sitzes
* Levi Avera vs. Paul Bradley
* Brandon Gaines vs. Trey Houston
* John Carson vs. Kenny Giddens
* Nick Gibbons vs. Josh Pulsifer
* Lemont Davis vs. Dillon Smith

 

[Shogun Locc]

While Nover's back may be against the wall, Stout coming out swinging at UFN 19

UFC lightweight Phillipe Nover (5-2-1 MMA, 0-2 UFC) is in a delicate position heading into Wednesday's "UFC Fight Night 19: Diaz vs. Guillard" in Oklahoma City.

Despite the hype surrounding "The Ultimate Fighter 8" cast member after UFC president Dana White called him "the next Anderson Silva," Nover could be served his walking papers if Sam Stout (14-5-1 MMA, 3-4 UFC) can hand the 25-year-old his third-straight loss.

Stout – who previously found himself in the same position – recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) he knows how difficult that feeling can be.

"I'm not really weighing too much on the hype," Stout said. "You never know how its going to affect him. He could be really letting it go to his head. He could be letting it weigh on his shoulders and putting pressure on him.

"For me, my mentality is just prepare like it's any other fight and be ready for anything when I come up against him."

Stout had dropped back-to-back decisions to Terry Etim and Rich Clementi prior to his UFC 97 bout with Matt Wiman in April. Stout responded in grand fashion, and with the Wiman bout promoted to the main card, the Canadian earned the win in a rousing decision in his home country of Canada.

"Before they announced the decision, I thought I had won," Stout said. "But also, if you look back you can see me with my head down making sure because I've been in some close decisions like that before – like the Clementi fight when I thought I had done enough to win, but the judges didn't think so. I've lost a couple of real close decisions.

"I was excited that one finally went my way, and to have it happen in Montreal and end up getting 'Fight of the Night' for it – and right in between the two main events on the pay per view – it was a fairy tale night for me, for sure."

Stout said he he was proud of the way he handled himself while facing the possibility of his third-straight loss.

"I definitely didn't leave anything in the cage in that one," Stout said. "I was exhausted at the end of it. I'm sure [Wiman] was, too. We both let it all hang out. It's a satisfying feeling to get a win after a fight like that."

Despite the gutsy performance, Stout finds himself relegated to the UFC Fight Night 19 preliminary card and potentially missing out on a Spike TV-broadcast slot. Stout said he's not concerned about being lost in the shuffle.

"I just love to go out there and fight," Stout said. "I just keep it in my head that if I go out there and have a great fight, then everyone will see it eventually, anyways, right?"

And while Nover's rapid-fire strikes were what earned him early comparisons the "The Spider," Stout said he's more than willing to stand and bang.

"You can expect what I always bring to the table: fireworks," Stout said. "I'm gong to come out there, and I'm not going to look to take somebody down and lay on them. I'm not going to look to run away from them for three rounds. I'm going to be in Phillipe's face for the whole fight."