i'm happy for Korean Zombie to get the shot, but Pettis and Aldo was about to be one of the greatest striking fights in MMA history.
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T-Spoon and RM211
MMA News Thread
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Riddick Bowe punished in MMA debut
PATTAYA, Thailand -- Wincing in pain and clutching his shins, Riddick Bowe ended his debut in Thai kickboxing with a thud in the second round.
Former world heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe (left) took a big beating from Russian Levgen Golovin in his Mixed Martial Arts debut in Thailand.
The 45-year-old former world heavyweight boxing champion came to a rude awakening on Friday that Muay Thai is just as punishing.
"It's much harder than boxing," Bowe said after limping out of the ring.
Bowe took a big beating from his 30-year-old Russian opponent Levgen Golovin, who assaulted the former champion with repeated kicks to the shins.
Bowe lost his balance and fell five times before the bout was ended by technical knockout after his last fall.
"You can recover from a head shot or a body shot, but when you get kicked in the leg it lasts a long time," he said. "My leg is still hurting. I don't know how long it's been -- 15 minutes?"
Bowe's last boxing match was in 2008. He says he decided to try Muay Thai because he was bored with retirement and needs the cash.
He made $150,000 from Friday's fight, organized by Thai promoters trying to increase the international appeal of Thailand's national sport. The bout was held at an outdoor ring set up beside the beach in Pattaya, a Thai town best known for its seaside red-light district.
Bowe beat Evander Holyfield in 1992 to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion.
Now weighing 300 pounds, Bowe was heavy and slow and barely landed a punch in Friday's fight.
Despite the pain in his legs, Bowe smiled for the cameras after the fight and mustered some optimism.
"I had a lot of fun. I'm going to do it again. Next time it's going to be different," he said. "I'll be back soon."
Bowe's opponent shook his head in disbelief when told the aging boxer isn't giving up on Muay Thai.
"It would be a big mistake. It's not for him," Golovin said. "He's too slow and a bit too old."
PATTAYA, Thailand -- Wincing in pain and clutching his shins, Riddick Bowe ended his debut in Thai kickboxing with a thud in the second round.
Former world heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe (left) took a big beating from Russian Levgen Golovin in his Mixed Martial Arts debut in Thailand.
The 45-year-old former world heavyweight boxing champion came to a rude awakening on Friday that Muay Thai is just as punishing.
"It's much harder than boxing," Bowe said after limping out of the ring.
Bowe took a big beating from his 30-year-old Russian opponent Levgen Golovin, who assaulted the former champion with repeated kicks to the shins.
Bowe lost his balance and fell five times before the bout was ended by technical knockout after his last fall.
"You can recover from a head shot or a body shot, but when you get kicked in the leg it lasts a long time," he said. "My leg is still hurting. I don't know how long it's been -- 15 minutes?"
Bowe's last boxing match was in 2008. He says he decided to try Muay Thai because he was bored with retirement and needs the cash.
He made $150,000 from Friday's fight, organized by Thai promoters trying to increase the international appeal of Thailand's national sport. The bout was held at an outdoor ring set up beside the beach in Pattaya, a Thai town best known for its seaside red-light district.
Bowe beat Evander Holyfield in 1992 to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion.
Now weighing 300 pounds, Bowe was heavy and slow and barely landed a punch in Friday's fight.
Despite the pain in his legs, Bowe smiled for the cameras after the fight and mustered some optimism.
"I had a lot of fun. I'm going to do it again. Next time it's going to be different," he said. "I'll be back soon."
Bowe's opponent shook his head in disbelief when told the aging boxer isn't giving up on Muay Thai.
"It would be a big mistake. It's not for him," Golovin said. "He's too slow and a bit too old."
Former UFC Fighter Paul Kelly Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison for Drug Trafficking
Y! SPORTS
Former UFC fighter Paul Kelly has been sentenced to 13 years in prison after he was convicted of running a drug ring in England.
Kelly and childhood friend Christopher St. John McGirr were arrested as part of a wide spread surveillance operation. They were accused of supplying drugs to other dealers.
“You were in business with Mr. McGirr supplying heroin to other dealers,” said Judge Mark Brown, according to a report by the Liverpool Echo.
“In my judgment, you decided to supply Class A drugs when your contract with UFC was terminated. You obviously enjoyed the high life and saw selling heroin as an easy way to make money.”
Following a trial, Kelly was sentenced to 13 years in prison, while McGirr received an 11-year sentence.
Kelly fought in the UFC for three years, where he amassed a 5-4 record in the Octagon. He fought three more times after leaving the UFC, winning two and losing one.
At 28 years of age, it’s unlikely that he will ever be able to fight at the highest levels of the sport ever again.
Y! SPORTS
Former UFC fighter Paul Kelly has been sentenced to 13 years in prison after he was convicted of running a drug ring in England.
Kelly and childhood friend Christopher St. John McGirr were arrested as part of a wide spread surveillance operation. They were accused of supplying drugs to other dealers.
“You were in business with Mr. McGirr supplying heroin to other dealers,” said Judge Mark Brown, according to a report by the Liverpool Echo.
“In my judgment, you decided to supply Class A drugs when your contract with UFC was terminated. You obviously enjoyed the high life and saw selling heroin as an easy way to make money.”
Following a trial, Kelly was sentenced to 13 years in prison, while McGirr received an 11-year sentence.
Kelly fought in the UFC for three years, where he amassed a 5-4 record in the Octagon. He fought three more times after leaving the UFC, winning two and losing one.
At 28 years of age, it’s unlikely that he will ever be able to fight at the highest levels of the sport ever again.
Kenny Florian: “Dana White is 100-Percent Correct on (Referee Steve) Mazzagatti”
Y! SPORTS
Following the UFC 161: Evans vs. Henderson post-fight press conference on June 15, UFC president Dana White criticized referee Steve Mazzagatti for what took place the night before at the conclusion of the World Series of Fighting 3 main event between Josh Burkman and Jon Fitch.
Burkman stunned Fitch with punches and then applied a guillotine choke on the former UFC welterweight contender. Fitch went limp and unconscious. Burkman rolled him over, released the choke, and stood over Fitch in celebration. Mazzagatti was the referee.
White characterized Mazzagatti as “dangerous.” He went so far as to call Mazzagatti an “incompetent fool.” He also criticized the Nevada State Athletic Commission for continuing to assign Mazzagatti to referee fights.
“The Nevada State Athletic Commission will keep this guy around until he seriously hurts somebody,” said White.
Executive Director of the NSAC Keith Kizer defended Mazzagatti’s performance at WSOF 3 to MMAFighting.com, saying it wasn’t a good or a bad job. He compared Fitch going out to a one-punch knockout where a fighter walks away after landing the finishing blow.
“I would praise the referee if he did a good job. But here, there's nothing to talk about the ref. It wasn't a good job or a bad job. He had no job,” said Kizer.
On Monday, former UFC lightweight and featherweight contender Kenny Florian took White’s side in the assessment of Mazzagatti as a referee.
Reality is D @DANA white is 100% correct on Mazzagatti. Bad refereeing hurts fighters, fight orgs & can cause irreversible damage to a fighter.
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) June 17, 2013
The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 finalist disclosed that during his eight-year career, if Mazzagatti was assigned to referee one of his fights that his camp would protest and request another referee.
Anyone on my team knew that if Mazzagatti was going to ref one of my fights, we were to protest immediately & request another ref. #Truth — Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) June 17, 2013
Florian's words carry much more weight than the promoter White or the commissioner Kizer. Florian provides a fighter's perspective. And when fighters begin requesting certain referees not be assigned to their fights, it makes a profound statement.
“As a fighter you can train for almost anything that can happen in a cage EXCEPT FOR bad refereeing & bad judging,” continued Florian via Twitter.
Florian also criticized Kizer's defense of Mazzagatti, saying instead the referee should have been reprimanded.
Mazzagatti has been a ref for so long yet still doesn't know the sport & now Kizer is defending him. Unfortunate. He should be reprimanded. — Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) June 17, 2013
Florian did give an endorsement to two referees that he considers the best in the sport, “Big” John McCarthy and Herb Dean.
To be positive now, J @JohnM cCarthyMMA & H @HERB DeanMMA are two exemplary referees in the sport of #mma who consistently do an amazing job.
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) June 17, 2013
Y! SPORTS
Following the UFC 161: Evans vs. Henderson post-fight press conference on June 15, UFC president Dana White criticized referee Steve Mazzagatti for what took place the night before at the conclusion of the World Series of Fighting 3 main event between Josh Burkman and Jon Fitch.
Burkman stunned Fitch with punches and then applied a guillotine choke on the former UFC welterweight contender. Fitch went limp and unconscious. Burkman rolled him over, released the choke, and stood over Fitch in celebration. Mazzagatti was the referee.
White characterized Mazzagatti as “dangerous.” He went so far as to call Mazzagatti an “incompetent fool.” He also criticized the Nevada State Athletic Commission for continuing to assign Mazzagatti to referee fights.
“The Nevada State Athletic Commission will keep this guy around until he seriously hurts somebody,” said White.
Executive Director of the NSAC Keith Kizer defended Mazzagatti’s performance at WSOF 3 to MMAFighting.com, saying it wasn’t a good or a bad job. He compared Fitch going out to a one-punch knockout where a fighter walks away after landing the finishing blow.
“I would praise the referee if he did a good job. But here, there's nothing to talk about the ref. It wasn't a good job or a bad job. He had no job,” said Kizer.
On Monday, former UFC lightweight and featherweight contender Kenny Florian took White’s side in the assessment of Mazzagatti as a referee.
Reality is D @DANA white is 100% correct on Mazzagatti. Bad refereeing hurts fighters, fight orgs & can cause irreversible damage to a fighter.
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) June 17, 2013
The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 finalist disclosed that during his eight-year career, if Mazzagatti was assigned to referee one of his fights that his camp would protest and request another referee.
Anyone on my team knew that if Mazzagatti was going to ref one of my fights, we were to protest immediately & request another ref. #Truth — Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) June 17, 2013
Florian's words carry much more weight than the promoter White or the commissioner Kizer. Florian provides a fighter's perspective. And when fighters begin requesting certain referees not be assigned to their fights, it makes a profound statement.
“As a fighter you can train for almost anything that can happen in a cage EXCEPT FOR bad refereeing & bad judging,” continued Florian via Twitter.
Florian also criticized Kizer's defense of Mazzagatti, saying instead the referee should have been reprimanded.
Mazzagatti has been a ref for so long yet still doesn't know the sport & now Kizer is defending him. Unfortunate. He should be reprimanded. — Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) June 17, 2013
Florian did give an endorsement to two referees that he considers the best in the sport, “Big” John McCarthy and Herb Dean.
To be positive now, J @JohnM cCarthyMMA & H @HERB DeanMMA are two exemplary referees in the sport of #mma who consistently do an amazing job.
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) June 17, 2013
Ricardo Lamas off UFC 162, Tim Boetsch-Mark Munoz promoted to main card
Ricardo Lamas will not remain on next month's UFC 162 card, and instead a preliminary-card fight between Tim Boetsch and Mark Munoz will be promoted to the main card. That fight had been set as the featured prelim on FX.
The announcement was part of Tuesday night's edition of "UFC Tonight" on FUEL TV, with correspondnet Ariel Helwani getting word from UFC officials.
UFC 162 takes place July 6 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The show is headlined by a middleweight title fight between champion Anderson Silva and top contender Chris Weidman. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and Facebook.
This past Saturday at UFC 161 in Winnipeg, UFC President Dana White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Lamas (13-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) will be paid his show money for next month's UFC 162 event in Las Vegas – even though he's not likely to remain on the card. White said the promotion was actively seeking an opponent for him after original opponent Chan Sung Jung (13-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) was pulled from the fight on Thursday to face Jose Aldo for the featherweight title at UFC 163 in August.
It's the second straight time Lamas has been passed over for a possible title shot. The Chicago-area fighter has won four straight, including a brutal first-round stoppage of Erik Koch in January. After that fight, he thought he had done enough to earn a shot at Aldo – and he even was miked up cageside the following week at UFC 156 to watch Aldo beat Frankie Edgar, meaning even the UFC thought there was a chance that would be the next fight they'd make.
But after that fight, Anthony Pettis, who had been named the next challenger for Benson Henderson the week prior in Chicago, decided he wanted to drop to featherweight to challenge Aldo. And with the potential for that blockbuster superfight, Lamas was passed over. This past week, when Pettis pulled out of the UFC 163 headlining fight vs. Aldo with a knee injury, the UFC decided to go with "The Korean Zombie" instead of Lamas.
Now Lamas may be faced with a dilemma that is growing more common in the UFC – sit back and wait and hope he's offered the winner of Aldo-Jung after their Aug. 3 fight, or take another fight in the meantime to stay active, and risk an injury or a loss.
Boetsch (16-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) will look to get back into the win column after a third-round TKO loss to Constantinos Philippou in December at UFC 155. That loss snapped a four-fight win streak for him that included a split-decision win over Hector Lombard.
Munoz (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will return for the first time in almost a year when he meets Boetsch. He had a four-fight win streak snapped in July 2012 when he was brutally stopped by Weidman with a second-round knockout.
The full UFC 162 card now includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman - for middleweight title
Frankie Edgar vs. Charles Oliveira
Roger Gracie vs. Tim Kennedy
Dennis Siver vs. Cub Swanson
Tim Boetsch vs. Mark Munoz
PRELIMINARY CARD (FX, 8 p.m. ET)
Andrew Craig vs. Chris Leben
Norman Parke vs. Kazuki Tokudome
Edson Barboza vs. Rafaello Oliveira
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Dave Herman
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 7 p.m. ET)
Seth Baczynski vs. Brian Melancon
David Mitchell vs. Mike Pierce
Ricardo Lamas will not remain on next month's UFC 162 card, and instead a preliminary-card fight between Tim Boetsch and Mark Munoz will be promoted to the main card. That fight had been set as the featured prelim on FX.
The announcement was part of Tuesday night's edition of "UFC Tonight" on FUEL TV, with correspondnet Ariel Helwani getting word from UFC officials.
UFC 162 takes place July 6 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The show is headlined by a middleweight title fight between champion Anderson Silva and top contender Chris Weidman. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and Facebook.
This past Saturday at UFC 161 in Winnipeg, UFC President Dana White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Lamas (13-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) will be paid his show money for next month's UFC 162 event in Las Vegas – even though he's not likely to remain on the card. White said the promotion was actively seeking an opponent for him after original opponent Chan Sung Jung (13-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) was pulled from the fight on Thursday to face Jose Aldo for the featherweight title at UFC 163 in August.
It's the second straight time Lamas has been passed over for a possible title shot. The Chicago-area fighter has won four straight, including a brutal first-round stoppage of Erik Koch in January. After that fight, he thought he had done enough to earn a shot at Aldo – and he even was miked up cageside the following week at UFC 156 to watch Aldo beat Frankie Edgar, meaning even the UFC thought there was a chance that would be the next fight they'd make.
But after that fight, Anthony Pettis, who had been named the next challenger for Benson Henderson the week prior in Chicago, decided he wanted to drop to featherweight to challenge Aldo. And with the potential for that blockbuster superfight, Lamas was passed over. This past week, when Pettis pulled out of the UFC 163 headlining fight vs. Aldo with a knee injury, the UFC decided to go with "The Korean Zombie" instead of Lamas.
Now Lamas may be faced with a dilemma that is growing more common in the UFC – sit back and wait and hope he's offered the winner of Aldo-Jung after their Aug. 3 fight, or take another fight in the meantime to stay active, and risk an injury or a loss.
Boetsch (16-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) will look to get back into the win column after a third-round TKO loss to Constantinos Philippou in December at UFC 155. That loss snapped a four-fight win streak for him that included a split-decision win over Hector Lombard.
Munoz (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will return for the first time in almost a year when he meets Boetsch. He had a four-fight win streak snapped in July 2012 when he was brutally stopped by Weidman with a second-round knockout.
The full UFC 162 card now includes:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman - for middleweight title
Frankie Edgar vs. Charles Oliveira
Roger Gracie vs. Tim Kennedy
Dennis Siver vs. Cub Swanson
Tim Boetsch vs. Mark Munoz
PRELIMINARY CARD (FX, 8 p.m. ET)
Andrew Craig vs. Chris Leben
Norman Parke vs. Kazuki Tokudome
Edson Barboza vs. Rafaello Oliveira
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Dave Herman
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 7 p.m. ET)
Seth Baczynski vs. Brian Melancon
David Mitchell vs. Mike Pierce
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Georges St-Pierre vs. Johny Hendricks slotted for Nov. 16, likely as UFC 167
The recently announced title fight between UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre (24-2 MMA, 18-2 UFC) and top contender Johny Hendricks (15-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) now has a date.
The show will headline a pay-per-view on Nov. 16, likely UFC 167.
MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps*–*MMAjunkie.com) previously reported the likely date, and UFC officials confirmed it with Ariel Helwani on Tuesday's edition of "UFC Tonight" on FUEL TV.
Although a venue isn't set, the event will take place in Las Vegas, likely at MGM Grand Garden Arena or Mandalay Bay Events Center. Following St-Pierre's latest title defense in March, UFC President Dana White said he wanted the champ's next fight to be in Las Vegas rather than his home country of Canada.
No other fights currently are rumored for the card.
St-Pierre currently is ranked No. 1 and Hendricks No. 2 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA welterweight rankings. Additionally, St-Pierre is No. 3 and Hendricks No. 10 in the pound-for-pound rankings.
Hendricks defeated Carlos Condit in March at UFC 158 and was promised the next title shot. On the same card, St-Pierre topped Nick Diaz in the main event. Diaz had actually jumped the line ahead of Hendricks despite the fact he was coming back from a yearlong suspension and a loss to Condit in his previous outing.
Hendricks, who gets a title shot now two years in the making, now has won six straight fights, which includes impressive first-round knockouts of Jon Fitch and Martin Kampmann. St-Pierre, meanwhile, has defended his title eight consecutive times with 11 straight victories overall. His win over Diaz came after a long layoff due to a knee injury and subsequent surgery.
The recently announced title fight between UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre (24-2 MMA, 18-2 UFC) and top contender Johny Hendricks (15-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) now has a date.
The show will headline a pay-per-view on Nov. 16, likely UFC 167.
MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps*–*MMAjunkie.com) previously reported the likely date, and UFC officials confirmed it with Ariel Helwani on Tuesday's edition of "UFC Tonight" on FUEL TV.
Although a venue isn't set, the event will take place in Las Vegas, likely at MGM Grand Garden Arena or Mandalay Bay Events Center. Following St-Pierre's latest title defense in March, UFC President Dana White said he wanted the champ's next fight to be in Las Vegas rather than his home country of Canada.
No other fights currently are rumored for the card.
St-Pierre currently is ranked No. 1 and Hendricks No. 2 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA welterweight rankings. Additionally, St-Pierre is No. 3 and Hendricks No. 10 in the pound-for-pound rankings.
Hendricks defeated Carlos Condit in March at UFC 158 and was promised the next title shot. On the same card, St-Pierre topped Nick Diaz in the main event. Diaz had actually jumped the line ahead of Hendricks despite the fact he was coming back from a yearlong suspension and a loss to Condit in his previous outing.
Hendricks, who gets a title shot now two years in the making, now has won six straight fights, which includes impressive first-round knockouts of Jon Fitch and Martin Kampmann. St-Pierre, meanwhile, has defended his title eight consecutive times with 11 straight victories overall. His win over Diaz came after a long layoff due to a knee injury and subsequent surgery.
UFC's Hector Lombard officially headed to welterweight, wants Nate Marquardt
After his much-anticipated arrival in the UFC middleweight division provided mixed results, Hector Lombard is officially dropping a weight class.
Lombard (32-4-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) today confirmed the move to welterweight via Twitter. Additionally, FUEL TV's "UFC Tonight" confirmed the move on Tuesday, with reporter Ariel Helwani reporting Lombard is interested in a fight with Nate Marquardt (32-12-2 MMA, 10-5 UFC).
UFC officials haven't confirmed a date or an opponent for the former Bellator champion's next bout.
Lombard, who's ranked No. 12 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA middleweight rankings, joined the UFC in 2012 on the strength of a 25-fight unbeaten streak (24-0-1). The run saw the Olympic judoka win Bellator's inaugural middleweight tournament and make a lone title defense over Alexander Shlemenko.
However, in his UFC debut, Lombard looked flat in suffering a split-decision defeat to Tim Boetsch (though most media outlets scored the fight for Lombard). He rebounded with a first-round knockout of Rousimar Palhares, but in his most recent bout, Lombard dropped a split decision to perennial contender Yushin Okami at UFC on FUEL TV 8 back in March.
Marquardt, who's also a former middleweight, is a former Strikeforce champion who returned to the organization in March. However, he suffered a knockout loss to Jake Ellenberger at UFC 158, which marked the first back-to-back losses of his career.
After his much-anticipated arrival in the UFC middleweight division provided mixed results, Hector Lombard is officially dropping a weight class.
Lombard (32-4-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) today confirmed the move to welterweight via Twitter. Additionally, FUEL TV's "UFC Tonight" confirmed the move on Tuesday, with reporter Ariel Helwani reporting Lombard is interested in a fight with Nate Marquardt (32-12-2 MMA, 10-5 UFC).
UFC officials haven't confirmed a date or an opponent for the former Bellator champion's next bout.
Lombard, who's ranked No. 12 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA middleweight rankings, joined the UFC in 2012 on the strength of a 25-fight unbeaten streak (24-0-1). The run saw the Olympic judoka win Bellator's inaugural middleweight tournament and make a lone title defense over Alexander Shlemenko.
However, in his UFC debut, Lombard looked flat in suffering a split-decision defeat to Tim Boetsch (though most media outlets scored the fight for Lombard). He rebounded with a first-round knockout of Rousimar Palhares, but in his most recent bout, Lombard dropped a split decision to perennial contender Yushin Okami at UFC on FUEL TV 8 back in March.
Marquardt, who's also a former middleweight, is a former Strikeforce champion who returned to the organization in March. However, he suffered a knockout loss to Jake Ellenberger at UFC 158, which marked the first back-to-back losses of his career.
Nick Diaz's WAR MMA debut event to stream online – for name-your-own price
It won't be the first time an entertainer has gone the name-your-own-price direction, but it probably will be a first in MMA.
Recent UFC welterweight title challenger Nick Diaz is trying his hand at running his own promotion. WAR MMA holds its first event Saturday at Stockton Arena in Diaz's home city of Stockton, Calif.
But what will be unique about the venture is that fans not in attendance can purchase an online stream of the event – for a price they set themselves. Or for nothing at all.
According to the WAR MMA site, fans can click in to give a donation to watch the fight card – or once there, they can backtrack and watch for free.
But for those who do donate, the highest donation will receive a pair of fight gloves signed by Diaz and his brother, fellow recent UFC title challenger Nate Diaz.
Diaz announced WAR MMA this past month. The promotion will use a modified ring, not a cage, and contrary to the unified rules of MMA, elbow strikes will not be allowed on the ground.
Diaz essentially announced his retirement following a March title fight loss to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 158 – though retiring and coming back is something the former Strikeforce champion has done before. But if WAR MMA is successful, perhaps he'll have found his new calling.
If nothing else, the pay-what-you-want tactic for the online stream of the card is outside-the-box thinking in the MMA world.
WAR MMA's debut show features a welterweight bout between UFC vet Daniel Roberts (13-4) and Justin Baesman (12-4) in the main event.
The WAR MMA 1 fight card currently includes:
Justin Baesman vs. Daniel Roberts
Caleb Mitchell vs. Evan Esguerra
Mike Persons vs. Clayton McKinney
Darin Cooley vs. Cody Gibson
Roy Boughton vs. Liron Wilson
Dominic Clark vs. Chris Quitiquit
It won't be the first time an entertainer has gone the name-your-own-price direction, but it probably will be a first in MMA.
Recent UFC welterweight title challenger Nick Diaz is trying his hand at running his own promotion. WAR MMA holds its first event Saturday at Stockton Arena in Diaz's home city of Stockton, Calif.
But what will be unique about the venture is that fans not in attendance can purchase an online stream of the event – for a price they set themselves. Or for nothing at all.
According to the WAR MMA site, fans can click in to give a donation to watch the fight card – or once there, they can backtrack and watch for free.
But for those who do donate, the highest donation will receive a pair of fight gloves signed by Diaz and his brother, fellow recent UFC title challenger Nate Diaz.
Diaz announced WAR MMA this past month. The promotion will use a modified ring, not a cage, and contrary to the unified rules of MMA, elbow strikes will not be allowed on the ground.
Diaz essentially announced his retirement following a March title fight loss to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 158 – though retiring and coming back is something the former Strikeforce champion has done before. But if WAR MMA is successful, perhaps he'll have found his new calling.
If nothing else, the pay-what-you-want tactic for the online stream of the card is outside-the-box thinking in the MMA world.
WAR MMA's debut show features a welterweight bout between UFC vet Daniel Roberts (13-4) and Justin Baesman (12-4) in the main event.
The WAR MMA 1 fight card currently includes:
Justin Baesman vs. Daniel Roberts
Caleb Mitchell vs. Evan Esguerra
Mike Persons vs. Clayton McKinney
Darin Cooley vs. Cody Gibson
Roy Boughton vs. Liron Wilson
Dominic Clark vs. Chris Quitiquit
Props:
MRTHECOSE
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic, Aleksander Emelianenko reportedly booked for November
It appears that the MMA retirement of Mirko Filipovic might not have stuck.
"Cro Cop" (28-10-2) reportedly will continue his return to MMA to face Aleksander Emelianenko (22-6) in November in Russia. That news comes from Russian outlet ValeTudo.ru.
The two heavyweights, according to the report, are set to rematch for Russia's Legend Fighting Show. Emelianenko just this past month competed for that promotion, stopping Bob Sapp 78 seconds into the fight in Moscow.
Filipovic and Emelianenko first met in August 2004 at "PRIDE: Final Conflict 2004." Filipovic won that fight with a first-round knockout stemming from one of his already legendary head kicks. The loss was the first of Emelianenko's career. Now, more than nine years later, he'll have a shot at avenging that loss.
Filipovic retired from MMA after a rough end to his second stint in the UFC. After PRIDE was dissolved, "Cro Cop" came to the UFC in 2007 and won with a first-round knockout. But then he was stopped with a head kick by Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 70, a knockout that has become one of the most replayed in MMA history. He followed that up with a decision loss to Cheick Kongo and departed the organization with a 1-2 record.
But he returned in 2009 and started out 3-1 with stoppages of Mostapha Al-turk, Anthony Perosh and Pat Barry and just a loss to Junior dos Santos in the middle. But at UFC 119, he was knocked out by Frank Mir, then knocked out by Brendan Schaub at UFC 128, and at UFC 137, Roy Nelson stopped him – all in the third round.
"Cro Cop" did return to MMA this past December and got a first-round armbar win over Shinichi Suzukawa at IGF's Inok Bom-Ba-Ye 2012 event in Tokyo. And he's also reported to be facing Satoshi Ishii this December – so he may not be retired from MMA to focus solely on kickboxing (he's 6-0 in his original sport since leaving the UFC, including K-1's World Grand Prix title) after all.
Emelianenko, brother of legendary heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, has won five of his past six bouts. Before his May win over Sapp, Jeff Monson submitted him at M-1 Challenge 35 in Russia. But before that, he had a four-fight win streak with three stoppages.
Since PRIDE's end, Emelianenko has mostly fought in his home country. But in his days fighting in Japan, he fought the likes of Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett (both submission losses). Like his brother, he's a combat sambo expert. Of his 22 career MMA wins, 19 have come by stoppage. And of his six losses, all have been stoppages.
It appears that the MMA retirement of Mirko Filipovic might not have stuck.
"Cro Cop" (28-10-2) reportedly will continue his return to MMA to face Aleksander Emelianenko (22-6) in November in Russia. That news comes from Russian outlet ValeTudo.ru.
The two heavyweights, according to the report, are set to rematch for Russia's Legend Fighting Show. Emelianenko just this past month competed for that promotion, stopping Bob Sapp 78 seconds into the fight in Moscow.
Filipovic and Emelianenko first met in August 2004 at "PRIDE: Final Conflict 2004." Filipovic won that fight with a first-round knockout stemming from one of his already legendary head kicks. The loss was the first of Emelianenko's career. Now, more than nine years later, he'll have a shot at avenging that loss.
Filipovic retired from MMA after a rough end to his second stint in the UFC. After PRIDE was dissolved, "Cro Cop" came to the UFC in 2007 and won with a first-round knockout. But then he was stopped with a head kick by Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 70, a knockout that has become one of the most replayed in MMA history. He followed that up with a decision loss to Cheick Kongo and departed the organization with a 1-2 record.
But he returned in 2009 and started out 3-1 with stoppages of Mostapha Al-turk, Anthony Perosh and Pat Barry and just a loss to Junior dos Santos in the middle. But at UFC 119, he was knocked out by Frank Mir, then knocked out by Brendan Schaub at UFC 128, and at UFC 137, Roy Nelson stopped him – all in the third round.
"Cro Cop" did return to MMA this past December and got a first-round armbar win over Shinichi Suzukawa at IGF's Inok Bom-Ba-Ye 2012 event in Tokyo. And he's also reported to be facing Satoshi Ishii this December – so he may not be retired from MMA to focus solely on kickboxing (he's 6-0 in his original sport since leaving the UFC, including K-1's World Grand Prix title) after all.
Emelianenko, brother of legendary heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, has won five of his past six bouts. Before his May win over Sapp, Jeff Monson submitted him at M-1 Challenge 35 in Russia. But before that, he had a four-fight win streak with three stoppages.
Since PRIDE's end, Emelianenko has mostly fought in his home country. But in his days fighting in Japan, he fought the likes of Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett (both submission losses). Like his brother, he's a combat sambo expert. Of his 22 career MMA wins, 19 have come by stoppage. And of his six losses, all have been stoppages.
UFC on FOX Sports 1 3 official for Brazil with Bader-Teixeira, Okami-Souza
The UFC's third event in less than a three-week span on the new FOX Sports 1 cable channel is official for Brazil.
UFC on FOX Sports 1 3 will take place in Belo Horizonte with a main event between light heavyweights Ryan Bader (15-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) and Glover Teixeira (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC). The co-main event will feature middleweights Yushin Okami (29-7 MMA, 13-4 UFC) and Ronaldo Souza (18-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC). Also official for the show is a flyweight bout between Joseph Benavidez (18-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) and Jussier Formiga (15-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC).
UFC officials made the card's location and top-billed fights official overnight. UFC on FOX Sports 1 3 takes place Sept. 4 and will serve as the lead-in to the new season of "The Ultimate Fighter." The event will be the promotion's return to Belo Horizonte after first visiting for UFC 147, which took place at Estadio Jornalista Felipe Drumond a year ago.
Bader and Teixeira finally will meet after being booked to fight this past May at UFC 160. Bader suffered an injury in training that knocked him off the card. He was replaced by James Te Huna, who was submitted by Teixeira in the first round.
Bader has won three of his past four fights after suffering the first two losses of his career to Jon Jones, which got Jones a shot at the light heavyweight title he won and has yet to relinquish, and an upset setback to Tito Ortiz. Since then, he has stopped Jason Brilz, outpointed Quinton Jackson and submitted Vladimir Matyushenko in just 50 seconds in January. His lone loss in his past four fights was a second-round knockout this past August against Lyoto Machida.
Teixeira has a 19-fight win streak and is unbeaten in the UFC. His win over Te Huna was a "Submission of the Night" winner, and he has stoppages over Kyle Kingsbury and Fabio Maldonado, as well as a decision win over "Rampage" Jackson in January.
Teixeira is ranked No. 7 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA light heavyweight rankings, while Bader checks in at No. 9.
Okami returns to Brazil for the first time since he lost a title fight to middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 134 in August 2011. He lost to Tim Boetsch his next time out, but has since put together a three-fight streak with wins over Buddy Roberts, Alan Belcher and a split decision in March over Hector Lombard.
"Jacare" Souza, a former Strikeforce middleweight champ, won his UFC debut in May at UFC on FX 8 with a "Submission of the Night" over Chris Camozzi. That ran his win streak to four after closing out his Strikeforce career with three straight wins over Bristol Marunde, Derek Brunson and the UFC's Ed Herman after losing his title to Luke Rockhold in September 2011.
Okami is No. 4 in the most recent USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA middleweight rankings. Souza currently is ranked No. 7.
Benavidez is on a two-fight streak since losing the UFC's inaugural 125-pound title fight to champ Demetrious Johnson with a split decision at UFC 152. Since then, he has outpointed Ian McCall, then stopped Darren Uyenoyama with a second-round TKO in April. Formiga dropped his UFC debut to John Dodson with a second-round TKO in October that got Dodson an upcoming title shot. But he rebounded May in Brazil with a unanimous decision win over Chris Cariaso. Benavidez and Formiga are ranked No. 2 and No. 6, respectively, in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA flyweight rankings.
The UFC's third event in less than a three-week span on the new FOX Sports 1 cable channel is official for Brazil.
UFC on FOX Sports 1 3 will take place in Belo Horizonte with a main event between light heavyweights Ryan Bader (15-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) and Glover Teixeira (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC). The co-main event will feature middleweights Yushin Okami (29-7 MMA, 13-4 UFC) and Ronaldo Souza (18-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC). Also official for the show is a flyweight bout between Joseph Benavidez (18-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) and Jussier Formiga (15-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC).
UFC officials made the card's location and top-billed fights official overnight. UFC on FOX Sports 1 3 takes place Sept. 4 and will serve as the lead-in to the new season of "The Ultimate Fighter." The event will be the promotion's return to Belo Horizonte after first visiting for UFC 147, which took place at Estadio Jornalista Felipe Drumond a year ago.
Bader and Teixeira finally will meet after being booked to fight this past May at UFC 160. Bader suffered an injury in training that knocked him off the card. He was replaced by James Te Huna, who was submitted by Teixeira in the first round.
Bader has won three of his past four fights after suffering the first two losses of his career to Jon Jones, which got Jones a shot at the light heavyweight title he won and has yet to relinquish, and an upset setback to Tito Ortiz. Since then, he has stopped Jason Brilz, outpointed Quinton Jackson and submitted Vladimir Matyushenko in just 50 seconds in January. His lone loss in his past four fights was a second-round knockout this past August against Lyoto Machida.
Teixeira has a 19-fight win streak and is unbeaten in the UFC. His win over Te Huna was a "Submission of the Night" winner, and he has stoppages over Kyle Kingsbury and Fabio Maldonado, as well as a decision win over "Rampage" Jackson in January.
Teixeira is ranked No. 7 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA light heavyweight rankings, while Bader checks in at No. 9.
Okami returns to Brazil for the first time since he lost a title fight to middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 134 in August 2011. He lost to Tim Boetsch his next time out, but has since put together a three-fight streak with wins over Buddy Roberts, Alan Belcher and a split decision in March over Hector Lombard.
"Jacare" Souza, a former Strikeforce middleweight champ, won his UFC debut in May at UFC on FX 8 with a "Submission of the Night" over Chris Camozzi. That ran his win streak to four after closing out his Strikeforce career with three straight wins over Bristol Marunde, Derek Brunson and the UFC's Ed Herman after losing his title to Luke Rockhold in September 2011.
Okami is No. 4 in the most recent USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA middleweight rankings. Souza currently is ranked No. 7.
Benavidez is on a two-fight streak since losing the UFC's inaugural 125-pound title fight to champ Demetrious Johnson with a split decision at UFC 152. Since then, he has outpointed Ian McCall, then stopped Darren Uyenoyama with a second-round TKO in April. Formiga dropped his UFC debut to John Dodson with a second-round TKO in October that got Dodson an upcoming title shot. But he rebounded May in Brazil with a unanimous decision win over Chris Cariaso. Benavidez and Formiga are ranked No. 2 and No. 6, respectively, in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA flyweight rankings.
Semmy Schilt Retires Due To Heart Condition
Report: Semmy Schilt retires due to heart condition - Mixed Martial Arts News
Semmy Shilt is perhaps the greatest kickboxer in history, with four K-1 World GP championship titles, three of them consecutive. He is also a veteran of MMA, starting with Pancrase in 1996, and then going on to stints in the UFC and Pride.
Now it appears "The Hightower" will fight no more forever.
Over the last few months there have been various reports that four-time K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, 2012 Glory Grand Slam, and Glory Heavyweight Champion Semmy Schilt will no longer be fighting. The rumors were first centered around his participation in future tournaments, as after his victory on New Year's Eve in 2012 he stated that he would not participate in future tournaments, although it was quickly brushed off. Since then there has been talk about him fighting Gokhan Saki with the Heavyweight title on the line, but there has also been talk of Schilt no longer fighting at all.
Since last night LiverKick has received numerous reports from reliable sources that Semmy Schilt is retired, effective immediately. The decision was apparently not an easy one for Schilt, who was instructed to retire from his medical team due to a heart condition that was discovered.
Report: Semmy Schilt retires due to heart condition - Mixed Martial Arts News
Semmy Shilt is perhaps the greatest kickboxer in history, with four K-1 World GP championship titles, three of them consecutive. He is also a veteran of MMA, starting with Pancrase in 1996, and then going on to stints in the UFC and Pride.
Now it appears "The Hightower" will fight no more forever.
Over the last few months there have been various reports that four-time K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, 2012 Glory Grand Slam, and Glory Heavyweight Champion Semmy Schilt will no longer be fighting. The rumors were first centered around his participation in future tournaments, as after his victory on New Year's Eve in 2012 he stated that he would not participate in future tournaments, although it was quickly brushed off. Since then there has been talk about him fighting Gokhan Saki with the Heavyweight title on the line, but there has also been talk of Schilt no longer fighting at all.
Since last night LiverKick has received numerous reports from reliable sources that Semmy Schilt is retired, effective immediately. The decision was apparently not an easy one for Schilt, who was instructed to retire from his medical team due to a heart condition that was discovered.
Props:
RM211 and B-Buzz
Spike TV adds GLORY kickboxing to its combat sports programming lineup
Spike TV, which has been in the MMA business since 2005, now will add kickboxing to its arsenal.
The cable channel on Thursday announced a deal with kickboxing promotion GLORY Sports International to air events on select Saturday nights starting this fall.
The multiyear deal will see the network broadcast two-hour primetime events, Spike and GLORY said.
GLORY got its start in 2006 in Holland as Ultimate Glory. But in its current incarnation, the promotion began staging events in mid-2012. This past Saturday, GLORY 9 took place in New York with Tyrone Spong winning the one-night, eight-man light heavyweight tournament with a unanimous decision and a pair of quick knockouts.
Other notable kickboxers in GLORY's stable include Gokhan Saki, Daniel Ghita, Peter Aerts and Remy Bonjasky.
GLORY has held 11 events so far in 2013 – five numbered events and six tournament cards. Six of those shows have taken place in the United States, but GLORY also has been to Tokyo, London, Istanbaul and Milan so far this year.
Spike TV started broadcasting MMA in 2005 with the UFC's reality series, "The Ultimate Fighter." Live events followed, as did much ancillary and library programming. "TUF" ran on Spike TV for 14 seasons before the UFC moved to the FOX networks.
Starting in 2013, Spike TV began airing Bellator MMA events. Bellator's first season on the channel this past spring earned the promotion's highest ratings yet after seven seasons on several other cable platforms. Spike TV currently is airing Bellator's first reality series, "Fight Master," on Wednesday nights. Season 9 starts for Bellator in September.
"We are thrilled to partner with GSI in bringing Spike TV's audience the incredible action and intensity of GLORY's fight league, which features the best kickboxers in the world," stated Jon Slusser, Spike TV's senior vice president for sports and multiplatform programming. "Viewers will quickly see this as the perfect complement to our coverage of Bellator, the world's leading tournament-based MMA promotion."
"Spike has established itself as the home of combat sports in a way that is unique," stated Andrew Whitaker, GLORY's CEO. "Its audience will expect the most exciting ring action, and we promise to deliver it. GLORY kickboxing is the next big thing, and Spike clearly knows something about spotting aces in the sports programming space."
No first event date has been announced. Spike TV, owned by Viacom Media Networks, is broadcast to nearly 100 million homes.
Spike TV, which has been in the MMA business since 2005, now will add kickboxing to its arsenal.
The cable channel on Thursday announced a deal with kickboxing promotion GLORY Sports International to air events on select Saturday nights starting this fall.
The multiyear deal will see the network broadcast two-hour primetime events, Spike and GLORY said.
GLORY got its start in 2006 in Holland as Ultimate Glory. But in its current incarnation, the promotion began staging events in mid-2012. This past Saturday, GLORY 9 took place in New York with Tyrone Spong winning the one-night, eight-man light heavyweight tournament with a unanimous decision and a pair of quick knockouts.
Other notable kickboxers in GLORY's stable include Gokhan Saki, Daniel Ghita, Peter Aerts and Remy Bonjasky.
GLORY has held 11 events so far in 2013 – five numbered events and six tournament cards. Six of those shows have taken place in the United States, but GLORY also has been to Tokyo, London, Istanbaul and Milan so far this year.
Spike TV started broadcasting MMA in 2005 with the UFC's reality series, "The Ultimate Fighter." Live events followed, as did much ancillary and library programming. "TUF" ran on Spike TV for 14 seasons before the UFC moved to the FOX networks.
Starting in 2013, Spike TV began airing Bellator MMA events. Bellator's first season on the channel this past spring earned the promotion's highest ratings yet after seven seasons on several other cable platforms. Spike TV currently is airing Bellator's first reality series, "Fight Master," on Wednesday nights. Season 9 starts for Bellator in September.
"We are thrilled to partner with GSI in bringing Spike TV's audience the incredible action and intensity of GLORY's fight league, which features the best kickboxers in the world," stated Jon Slusser, Spike TV's senior vice president for sports and multiplatform programming. "Viewers will quickly see this as the perfect complement to our coverage of Bellator, the world's leading tournament-based MMA promotion."
"Spike has established itself as the home of combat sports in a way that is unique," stated Andrew Whitaker, GLORY's CEO. "Its audience will expect the most exciting ring action, and we promise to deliver it. GLORY kickboxing is the next big thing, and Spike clearly knows something about spotting aces in the sports programming space."
No first event date has been announced. Spike TV, owned by Viacom Media Networks, is broadcast to nearly 100 million homes.
Props:
InfamousICON
UFC's Melvin Guillard receives suspended sentence for 2010 assault charge
UFC lightweight Melvin Guillard's fight career will proceed as usual after receiving a suspended sentence on a pair of assault charges from 2010.
Guillard (30-12-2 MMA, 11-7 UFC), who is scheduled to fight Mac Danzig next month at UFC on FOX 8, was ruled guilty on two counts of aggravated battery and given 364 days in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Bernalillo County, N.M., all of which were suspended by a judge.
In avoiding jail, the 30-year-old fighter was given supervised probation through June 25, 2015, and must complete 40 hours of community service in addition to paying court fees.
Sports Illustrated's Melissa Segura first reported the sentence, which was later confirmed by MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps*–*MMAjunkie.com).
The assault charges came to light this past March when Guillard attempted to move from the Blackzilians MMA team to his previous home at Jackson-Winkeljohn's MMA. A source close to the New Mexico-based team said the fighter wasn't welcome back at the gym.
After a brief limbo, Guillard took residence at Wheat Ridge, Colo.'s Grudge Training Center to work with the gym's head trainer Trevor Wittman, with whom he'd briefly trained.
Guillard pleaded not guilty to the assault charges and told ESPN.com he was actually the victim in the assault case, which stemmed from an altercation with five bouncers at a nightclub.
A career turnaround is badly needed for "The Young Assassin," who's lost four of five in the octagon after a five-fight win streak that put him on a short list of contenders in the 155-pound division.
UFC lightweight Melvin Guillard's fight career will proceed as usual after receiving a suspended sentence on a pair of assault charges from 2010.
Guillard (30-12-2 MMA, 11-7 UFC), who is scheduled to fight Mac Danzig next month at UFC on FOX 8, was ruled guilty on two counts of aggravated battery and given 364 days in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Bernalillo County, N.M., all of which were suspended by a judge.
In avoiding jail, the 30-year-old fighter was given supervised probation through June 25, 2015, and must complete 40 hours of community service in addition to paying court fees.
Sports Illustrated's Melissa Segura first reported the sentence, which was later confirmed by MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps*–*MMAjunkie.com).
The assault charges came to light this past March when Guillard attempted to move from the Blackzilians MMA team to his previous home at Jackson-Winkeljohn's MMA. A source close to the New Mexico-based team said the fighter wasn't welcome back at the gym.
After a brief limbo, Guillard took residence at Wheat Ridge, Colo.'s Grudge Training Center to work with the gym's head trainer Trevor Wittman, with whom he'd briefly trained.
Guillard pleaded not guilty to the assault charges and told ESPN.com he was actually the victim in the assault case, which stemmed from an altercation with five bouncers at a nightclub.
A career turnaround is badly needed for "The Young Assassin," who's lost four of five in the octagon after a five-fight win streak that put him on a short list of contenders in the 155-pound division.
Mike Pyle replaces Thiago Alves vs. Matt Brown at UFC on FOX Sports 1 1
this succs, was looking forward to his return...
Thiago Alves' road back to the octagon will wait once again.
Alves (19-9 MMA, 11-6 UFC) has been forced out of his welterweight bout against Matt Brown (17-11 MMA, 10-5 UFC) at UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 in August, and Mike Pyle (25-8-1 MMA, 8-3 UFC) will step in as his replacement. The UFC announced the change on Wednesday. The fight is expected to be part of the six-fight main card.
UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 takes place Aug. 17 at TD Garden in Boston and will be the UFC's debut on the new FOX Sports 1 cable network.
Pyle has won four straight fights following a TKO loss to Rory MacDonald in August 2011. He started his current run with three straight knockouts, including a first-round "Knockout of the Night" stoppage of Josh Neer 13 months ago. In May at UFC 160, he took a unanimous decision from Rick Story, stretching his run to seven wins in his past eight fights.
Brown has won five straight and six of his past seven fights, quickly surging up the 170-pound ladder. At UFC on FOX 7 in April, he picked up a "Fight of the Night" bonus by stopping Jordan Mein with a second-round TKO. At UFC on FOX 5 this past December, he knocked out Mike Swick in the second round. In his current streak, he has four KO or TKO stoppages, and his one decision win, over Stephen Thompson, was a dominant performance that included a pair of 30-26 scores.
Alves was looking to return to action for the first time since a March 2012 loss to Martin Kampmann in Australia. In that fight, he was winning handily deep into the third round. But going after a takedown, Kampmann caught him in a guillotine choke to finish the fight.
Alves was expected to return at UFC 149 in July 2012, but pulled out with an injury. He then elected to take the time to rehab several nagging ailments with the hope of a stronger return. Now that return is on hold again.
With the latest change to the lineup, the UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 card now includes:
MAIN CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)
Mauricio Rua vs. Chael Sonnen
Travis Browne vs. Alistair Overeem
Yuri Alcantara vs. Urijah Faber
Matt Brown vs. Mike Pyle
Uriah Hall vs. Josh Samman*
Michael "The Menace" Johnson vs. Joe Lauzon
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 6 p.m. ET)
Michael McDonald vs. Brad Pickett
Conor McGregor vs. Andy Ogle
Mike Brown vs. Steven Siler
Diego Brandao vs. Daniel Pineda
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 4:30 p.m. ET)
Manny Gamburyan vs. Cole Miller
Cody Donovan vs. Ovince St. Preux
Ramsey Nijem vs. James Vick
this succs, was looking forward to his return...
Thiago Alves' road back to the octagon will wait once again.
Alves (19-9 MMA, 11-6 UFC) has been forced out of his welterweight bout against Matt Brown (17-11 MMA, 10-5 UFC) at UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 in August, and Mike Pyle (25-8-1 MMA, 8-3 UFC) will step in as his replacement. The UFC announced the change on Wednesday. The fight is expected to be part of the six-fight main card.
UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 takes place Aug. 17 at TD Garden in Boston and will be the UFC's debut on the new FOX Sports 1 cable network.
Pyle has won four straight fights following a TKO loss to Rory MacDonald in August 2011. He started his current run with three straight knockouts, including a first-round "Knockout of the Night" stoppage of Josh Neer 13 months ago. In May at UFC 160, he took a unanimous decision from Rick Story, stretching his run to seven wins in his past eight fights.
Brown has won five straight and six of his past seven fights, quickly surging up the 170-pound ladder. At UFC on FOX 7 in April, he picked up a "Fight of the Night" bonus by stopping Jordan Mein with a second-round TKO. At UFC on FOX 5 this past December, he knocked out Mike Swick in the second round. In his current streak, he has four KO or TKO stoppages, and his one decision win, over Stephen Thompson, was a dominant performance that included a pair of 30-26 scores.
Alves was looking to return to action for the first time since a March 2012 loss to Martin Kampmann in Australia. In that fight, he was winning handily deep into the third round. But going after a takedown, Kampmann caught him in a guillotine choke to finish the fight.
Alves was expected to return at UFC 149 in July 2012, but pulled out with an injury. He then elected to take the time to rehab several nagging ailments with the hope of a stronger return. Now that return is on hold again.
With the latest change to the lineup, the UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 card now includes:
MAIN CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)
Mauricio Rua vs. Chael Sonnen
Travis Browne vs. Alistair Overeem
Yuri Alcantara vs. Urijah Faber
Matt Brown vs. Mike Pyle
Uriah Hall vs. Josh Samman*
Michael "The Menace" Johnson vs. Joe Lauzon
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 6 p.m. ET)
Michael McDonald vs. Brad Pickett
Conor McGregor vs. Andy Ogle
Mike Brown vs. Steven Siler
Diego Brandao vs. Daniel Pineda
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 4:30 p.m. ET)
Manny Gamburyan vs. Cole Miller
Cody Donovan vs. Ovince St. Preux
Ramsey Nijem vs. James Vick
Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva II could take place at UFC 168
The UFC's traditional year-end event could very well have a new headliner if UFC President Dana White has his way.
White today told the Los Angeles Times' Lance Pugmire that he's targeting UFC 168, which takes place Dec. 28 at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena, for the rematch of this past weekend's UFC 162 headliner between Chris Weidman (10-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) and Anderson Silva (33-5 MMA, 16-1 UFC). MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps*–*MMAjunkie.com) has since confirmed White's intentions with a UFC official.
" D @DANA white just told me he's so amped about S @spider Anderson C @chris WeidmanUFC rematch, he's thinking of moving it to Dec. 28," Pugmire wrote on Twitter. " D @DANA white said he'd shift R @ron daRousey @MieshaTate bout to Super Bowl weekend, just considering it now."
Following this past Saturday night's historic UFC 162 event in Las Vegas, White officially announced UFC 168 would see women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) would face former Strikeforce title holder Miesha Tate (13-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in the evening's main event. However, he's since reconsidered his position and it seems will now attempt to book Weidman vs. Silva II for the night's featured slot.
Weidman has already expressed his desire to face Silva a second time after scoring a second-round knockout over "The Spider" at UFC 162 to become just the sixth middleweight champion in UFC history. The former champ has suggested he's not interested in the reamtch right now, but White believes time will see the Brazilian reconsider his position and seek redemption against the undefeated Weidman.
If Weidman vs. Silva II does take place at UFC 168, the Rousey vs. Tate bout would likely head an as-yet-unnamed UFC event that's scheduled for Feb. 1 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. However, UFC execs to officially make the switch.
The UFC's traditional year-end event could very well have a new headliner if UFC President Dana White has his way.
White today told the Los Angeles Times' Lance Pugmire that he's targeting UFC 168, which takes place Dec. 28 at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena, for the rematch of this past weekend's UFC 162 headliner between Chris Weidman (10-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) and Anderson Silva (33-5 MMA, 16-1 UFC). MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps*–*MMAjunkie.com) has since confirmed White's intentions with a UFC official.
" D @DANA white just told me he's so amped about S @spider Anderson C @chris WeidmanUFC rematch, he's thinking of moving it to Dec. 28," Pugmire wrote on Twitter. " D @DANA white said he'd shift R @ron daRousey @MieshaTate bout to Super Bowl weekend, just considering it now."
Following this past Saturday night's historic UFC 162 event in Las Vegas, White officially announced UFC 168 would see women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) would face former Strikeforce title holder Miesha Tate (13-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in the evening's main event. However, he's since reconsidered his position and it seems will now attempt to book Weidman vs. Silva II for the night's featured slot.
Weidman has already expressed his desire to face Silva a second time after scoring a second-round knockout over "The Spider" at UFC 162 to become just the sixth middleweight champion in UFC history. The former champ has suggested he's not interested in the reamtch right now, but White believes time will see the Brazilian reconsider his position and seek redemption against the undefeated Weidman.
If Weidman vs. Silva II does take place at UFC 168, the Rousey vs. Tate bout would likely head an as-yet-unnamed UFC event that's scheduled for Feb. 1 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. However, UFC execs to officially make the switch.
Jon Jones on Anderson Silva: 'He got disrespectful, war gods made him pay'
UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones was openly critical of recently deposed middleweight champ Anderson Silva during a press conference today in support of his fight with Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165.
"I think he's got to the point where he really believes in his gift, and he abused his gift," said Jones (18-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) in Toronto, where he next will fight Sept. 21 at Air Canada Centre. "He disrespected the gift by disrespecting his opponent."
The 25-year-old champ has a reason to be upset with Silva, who was knocked out by Chris Weidman in mid-showboat at this past Saturday's UFC 162 in Las Vegas. The No. 1 and No. 2 pound-for-pound greats were expected to meet in a blockbuster pay-per-view if successful in their upcoming fights. They stood to reap millions from revenue sharing with the UFC.
Immediately after Silva's KO, Jones tweeted two words: "This sucks."
Today, the young champ expanded on his feelings about the lost opportunity, and while he said he still considers Silva one of the greats, he said the former champ's approach to Weidman got him in trouble.
"Martial arts is traditionally a sport that is based on honor and integrity and treating people with respect, and he somehow lost sight of that and he paid the ultimate price for it," Jones said. "So I'm not going for the Anderson Silva hype train. I know exactly where he's at; you can tell exactly where he's at by the way he's fighting.
"I think he just got disrespectful, and the war gods just made him pay for it. He's still that great Anderson Silva in my book."
Now, Jones must beat back another young contender looking to shock the world by taking his belt. Despite winning his past six inside the octagon, Gustafsson (14-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) is a 4-to-1 underdog in the fight. But the champ said Weidman's performance is a reminder that nothing is safe when the stakes are high.
"It actually motivates me a lot, too, to watch somebody who I look up to lose," he said. "It's just a reality check. I try to keep my ego in check when it comes to the fight game, and watching Anderson lose like that – first of all, it's something I would never do, put my hands down and fight my opponent that way. But watching Chris Weidman's dream come true, I have to make sure to be a dream crusher."
A grisly toe injury Jones suffered while defending his title against Chael Sonnen this past April is on the mend, and he's now training boxing in shoes that protect his healing foot. He said the focus would come in handy for Gustafsson, who's a slick boxer.
Although Silva has dropped from the No. 1 spot on several pound-for-pound lists, Jones said he won't believe he's taken the former champ's spot until he beats Gustafsson in September.
"At this point, it doesn't really feel real," he said. "My goal is definitely to become No. 1, and because Anderson lost doesn't really make me feel like I accomplished anything. So I'm going to continue to work extremely hard to become the No. 1 light heavyweight in the sport, and eventually, I'll creep up on some of the things Anderson Silva has done in history.
"So, it doesn't really do too much for me. It doesn't feel real, it doesn't feel earned, and winning this fight will make me feel a little bit better about it."
UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones was openly critical of recently deposed middleweight champ Anderson Silva during a press conference today in support of his fight with Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165.
"I think he's got to the point where he really believes in his gift, and he abused his gift," said Jones (18-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) in Toronto, where he next will fight Sept. 21 at Air Canada Centre. "He disrespected the gift by disrespecting his opponent."
The 25-year-old champ has a reason to be upset with Silva, who was knocked out by Chris Weidman in mid-showboat at this past Saturday's UFC 162 in Las Vegas. The No. 1 and No. 2 pound-for-pound greats were expected to meet in a blockbuster pay-per-view if successful in their upcoming fights. They stood to reap millions from revenue sharing with the UFC.
Immediately after Silva's KO, Jones tweeted two words: "This sucks."
Today, the young champ expanded on his feelings about the lost opportunity, and while he said he still considers Silva one of the greats, he said the former champ's approach to Weidman got him in trouble.
"Martial arts is traditionally a sport that is based on honor and integrity and treating people with respect, and he somehow lost sight of that and he paid the ultimate price for it," Jones said. "So I'm not going for the Anderson Silva hype train. I know exactly where he's at; you can tell exactly where he's at by the way he's fighting.
"I think he just got disrespectful, and the war gods just made him pay for it. He's still that great Anderson Silva in my book."
Now, Jones must beat back another young contender looking to shock the world by taking his belt. Despite winning his past six inside the octagon, Gustafsson (14-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) is a 4-to-1 underdog in the fight. But the champ said Weidman's performance is a reminder that nothing is safe when the stakes are high.
"It actually motivates me a lot, too, to watch somebody who I look up to lose," he said. "It's just a reality check. I try to keep my ego in check when it comes to the fight game, and watching Anderson lose like that – first of all, it's something I would never do, put my hands down and fight my opponent that way. But watching Chris Weidman's dream come true, I have to make sure to be a dream crusher."
A grisly toe injury Jones suffered while defending his title against Chael Sonnen this past April is on the mend, and he's now training boxing in shoes that protect his healing foot. He said the focus would come in handy for Gustafsson, who's a slick boxer.
Although Silva has dropped from the No. 1 spot on several pound-for-pound lists, Jones said he won't believe he's taken the former champ's spot until he beats Gustafsson in September.
"At this point, it doesn't really feel real," he said. "My goal is definitely to become No. 1, and because Anderson lost doesn't really make me feel like I accomplished anything. So I'm going to continue to work extremely hard to become the No. 1 light heavyweight in the sport, and eventually, I'll creep up on some of the things Anderson Silva has done in history.
"So, it doesn't really do too much for me. It doesn't feel real, it doesn't feel earned, and winning this fight will make me feel a little bit better about it."