News From The Corner: February 2013

Thursday, 28 February 2013

The four biggest moments from ‘The Ultimate Fighter’

If you missed Tuesday night's episode of "The Ultimate Fighter," read on to find out about who is dividing the house, at what sport Chael Sonnen beat Jon Jones, and who scored a brilliant knockout.

By the hammer of Tor: The fighters made Tor Troeng, the Swedish fighter on Team Sonnen, a hammer out of foam rollers. It instantly reminded me of "Adventures in Babysitting" and, "Take it back, Brad! Take back what you said about Thor!" Oh, that's just me?

Uriah Hall feeling divided from his team: It started when Hall and Luke Barnatt were in sparring practice. Barnatt thought Hall threw too hard. Barnatt complained about Hall's attitude. Later, Hall mentioned who he would like to fight on his own team and it all snowballed from there. Hall is now our villain of he season.

We're gonna bo-ow-ow-l tonight: While out for a night of bowling with the fighters, Chael Sonnen threw a challenge down at Jon Jones. Bowl three frames, and the loser has to wear the winner's team jersey at a training session. Well, Jones is a great fighter, but he is not a good bowler. Sonnen beat him, and Jones ran out of the bowling alley, Forrest Griffin-style.

Josh Samman vs. Tor Troeng: Late in the first round, Troeng dropped his hands, and Samman capitalized with perfect strikes. He landed a body kick and a 1-2 combo that knocked Troeng straight to the ground. Afterwards, Troeng said he got caught and there isn't much he can learn from loss. I'm no coach, but learning not to drop your hands is a good place to start.

With the win, Team Jones took control, and put Clint Hester up against Jimmy Quinlan of Team Sonnen.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/the-four-biggest-moments-from-the-ultimate-fighter-2?urn=mma,wp21517

Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz Luke Cummo Jeff Big Frog Curran Dai Shuanghai

Ronda Rousey’s Confidence Never Wavered in Clash with Liz Carmouche

UFC bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey had her hand raised once again in standard fashion last night at UFC 157, finishing foe Liz Carmouche off with an Armbar in the fight’s first frame. The stoppage was the tenth time in ten total tilts (including three amateur outings) Rousey had tapped an opponent with the technique before the scrap’s second round came into play, yet the moments leading up to her win over Carmouche were anything but typical for “Rowdy” Ronda.

Early in the round, Rousey found herself in Carmouche’s clutches and seemingly at risk of being submitted with a Rear-Naked Choke. However, as the 26-year old told Fuel TV, she never came close to suffering her first defeat.

“On the ground I feel so comfortable in every position I don’t feel I’m ever in danger, so I feel comfortable taking a lot of risks. I felt fine with her on my back. I was thinking more about trying to keep my sports bra up while she was trying to choke me, because I felt very safe and in control even though it didn’t look like that.”

“I knew she would be tough…I was expecting to go five rounds. It could have gone that way. It happened to be that I was in a good position with ten seconds. Ten seconds difference it could have gone to the next round and been very different. So yeah, she was very tough. Much respect to her.”

The complete conversation with Rousey can be seen below:

SOURCE: Fuel TV
PHOTO CREDIT: UFC

The post Ronda Rousey’s Confidence Never Wavered in Clash with Liz Carmouche appeared first on Fighters.com.

Source: http://www.fighters.com/02/24/ronda-rouseys-confidence-never-wavered-in-clash-with-liz-carmouche?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ronda-rouseys-confidence-never-wavered-in-clash-with-liz-carmouche

Dos Caras Jr Phil Cardella Roan Jucao Carneiro Shane The Engineer Carwin

‘Bellator MMA’ App Available Now for Apple Products

Bellator Logo

Have you checked out the App Store on your iPhone yet today? Well, you should because Spike TV just launched the “Bellator MMA” app for iPad, iPhone and iTouch.

Sorry, Android users. Your version will be coming to Google Play shortly.

“At Bellator, we continually look for new ways to connect with our fans in a more meaningful way,” said Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. “This innovative app will resonate with our first-adopter audience who will feel closer to the action than ever before.”

The free app works in concert with the live Spike broadcast to supply real-time fight data to fans that is only available through the app. It allows fans the unique ability to track expansive fighter analytics and participate in the on-air broadcast. As ”The 4th Judge,” users can score rounds with the help of real-time statistics powered by CompuStrike, a service providing data in 26 categories from arm strikes to submission attempts.

As The 4th Judge, fans will be able to have their opinions known during the live telecast. The Bellator broadcast team of Jimmy Smith and Sean Wheelock will announce the results of viewers’ polling to see how fan opinion compares to their own as well as the official cageside judges. Obviously, The 4th Judge voting will not factor in the real judges’ decisions.

The app also features historical statistic breakdowns for every fighter, pre-fight fan picks and Favorite Fight polling which will be sharable via social networks. The Bellator MMA app also gives fans the opportunity to watch exclusive videos and dig deep into fighter biographies.

Here’s the primary hiccup with the app – Bellator events air on Spike TV at 10PM ET/PT, meaning only those with access to an east coast feed are able to watch the shows live. Therefore, not everyone can enjoy the app’s main interactive features.

Spike TV partnered with award-winning Omnigon Communications, a digital solutions company specializing in the sports, media and entertainment industries, to create the app.

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/140383/bellator-mma-app-available-now-for-apple-products/

Dave Gomez Keith Hackney Matt Hamill Volk Han

Dana White Talks Big Fights

Dana White talks about Anderson Silva’s contract renewal. He says Silva wants to face Georges St. Pierre and Jon Jones, so that’s good news for the fans.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmaconvert/~3/8seJVkyHhqM/

Rodrigo Gracie Roger Gracie Rolles Gracie Royce Gracie

UFC 157: Rousey Vs Carmouche Salaries

The California State Athletic Commission has released the salaries for UFC 157: Rousey Vs Carmouche that took place this past Saturday in Anaheim, California. The Honda Center was the site where the UFC made history with their first women’s MMA bout in history when champion Ronda Rousey defend her belt against Liz Carmouche in the main event.

Read below to find the disclosed salaries of the fighters, though the numbers do not include any locker room/performance-based bonuses:

Ronda Rousey: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus) / Liz Carmouche: $12,000
Lyoto Machida: $200,000 (no win bonus) / Dan Henderson: $250,000
Urijah Faber: $100,000 (includes $50,000 win bonus) / Ivan Menjivar: $17,000
Court McGee: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus) / Josh Neer: $16,000
Robbie Lawler: $105,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) / Josh Koscheck: $78,000
Brendan Schaub: $36,000 (includes $18,000 win bonus) / Lavar Johnson: $29,000
Mike Chiesa: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus) / Anton Kuivanen: $8,000
Dennis Bermudez: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) / Matt Grice: $8,000
Sam Stout: $52,000 (includes $26,000 win bonus) / Caros Fodor: $15,000
Kenny Robertson: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) / Brock Jardine: $8,000
Neil Magny: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) / Jon Manley: $8,000
Nah-Shon Burrell: $12,500 (includes $7,000 win bonus) / Yuri Villefort: $6,550
- Burell missed weight and forfeited a % to Villefort

Photo Credit: UFC

The post UFC 157: Rousey Vs Carmouche Salaries appeared first on Fighters.com.

Source: http://www.fighters.com/02/27/ufc-157-rousey-vs-carmouche-salaries?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ufc-157-rousey-vs-carmouche-salaries

Jon Fitch Kenny Florian Jesse Forbes Xavier Foupa Pokam

Michael Chiesa UFC 157 Post-Fight Interview

Source: http://mmasportsreport.com/2616/michael-chiesa-ufc-157-post-fight-interview

Phil Baroni Don Barr Pat Barry Vitor Belfort

Bellator Season 8 on Spike TV – Promo Video

Check out the new promo video for Bellator MMA which will be making the move to Spike TV in January 2013. The new year also kicks off the Season 8 tournaments which will be competed in 5 divisions: featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight and light heavyweight.

Source: http://www.mmainterplay.com/bellator-news/bellator-season-8-on-spike-tv-promo-video-60578/

Kultar Gill Allan Goes Takanori The Fireball Kid Gomi Akihiro Gono

Wednesday, 27 February 2013

TUF 17 Finale has Fly weight title fight

Sorry if this has been discussed while I was away.

Here is the card so far

The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale Fight Card

Bout Info

Main Event | Title Fight | Flyweight | 125 lbs (56.7 kg)
Demetrious Johnson vs. John Moraga

Main Card
Miesha Tate vs. Cat Zingano
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Travis Browne

Prelims
Maximo Blanco vs. Sam Sicilia
Cole Miller vs. Bart Palaszewski
Daniel Pineda vs. Justin Lawrence

Source: http://ninjashoes.net/forum/showthread.php?80154-TUF-17-Finale-has-Fly-weight-title-fight&goto=newpost

Gerard Gordeau Jonathan Goulet Wilson Gouveia Jason Grace

Lyota Machida: “I Think Who Wins Deserves a Title Shot”

Source: http://mmasportsreport.com/2611/lyota-machida-i-think-who-wins-deserves-a-title-shot

Bernard Ackah Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama Gilbert Aldana

The Ultimate Fighter 17: Episode 5 Recap

Josh Samman scored a first round victory over Tor Troeng in a highly-anticipated match up on The Ultimate Fighter Tuesday night. Samman, representing UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, used a body kick-combo to floor Troeng before finishing him on at 4:40 of the opening round. With the win, Team Jones improved to 2-3 against [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmaconvert/~3/9-PgEJFF9G4/

Wes Soldier Combs Ray Cooper Kit Cope Wesley Cabbage Correira

Dana White: If UFC Champ Jose Aldo beats Anthony Pettis and moves up, he'll stay there

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

UFC President Dana White commented on the Jose Aldo-Anthony Pettis negotiations on Tuesday, clarifying some things on Fuel TV's "UFC Tonight" program about the nature of concessions that were made to the Featherweight Champion.

While it's true that Aldo will get a shot at the UFC Lightweight Championship with a win over Pettis, there won't be any division hopping from there. He also added that Pettis himself won't be jumping back up to the lightweight division for a shot at the belt as he may have assumed.

"It wasn't difficult to get the fight," White said. "I called Andre [Pederneiras] yesterday and it took two minutes to get the fight done. He said that after Aldo beats Pettis, he wants to move up to 155 and fight there. I said that was fine, but one of the matchmakers called and said there was a misunderstanding, that he wants to go to 155, win the title, and go back to 145. That's not happening. If he moves to 155, he stays at 155 and he holds that belt. If Pettis wins the fight, Pettis is going to have to stay at 145 and defend that belt a couple of times."

Penick's Analysis: That's got to be relief to Ricardo Lamas and other fighters in the featherweight field, because an Aldo win means he'll drop the belt and move to Lightweight (according to White), and a Pettis win will mean they've got someone to fight next. At least, that's what White is saying here in March, and his tune may change come August. Pettis may not have been thinking about the possibility the UFC would want him to stay at 145 for awhile if he beats Aldo, but White's making his message clear on that. Again, at least for now.

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Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_16071.shtml

David Baron Phil Baroni Don Barr Pat Barry

Thiago Tavares suspended after testing positive for a banned substance at UFC on FX 7

UFC on FX 7 happened weeks ago, but drug testing results just became public today. One fighter tested positive for a banned substance, while another was given a testosterone therapeutic use exemption.

-- Thiago Tavares, who lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov, tested positive for drostanalone. He is suspended for nine months, and will have to submit a clean drug test before he fights again. Taking a long break from fighting could hurt Tavares financially, because he only fought once in 2012.

-- Vitor Belfort received a therapeutic use exemption for the use of testosterone. The UFC said he was diagnosed with hypergonadism. Belfort tested positive for an anabolic steroid in 2006, and rumors swirled that he was the fighter who tested positive. UFC president Dana White said after Saturday's fights that it was not Belfort.

These fights were the first ones governed by Brazil's sports commission, and the testing was done by an independent lab.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/thiago-tavares-suspended-testing-positive-bannd-substance-ufc-222955022--mma.html

Tomasz Drwal Joe Hybrid Duarte Aldrin de Jesus Todd Duffee

Jose Aldo will fight Anthony Pettis but not for the belt

UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo has decided to take a stand against the UFC’s recent practice of taking fighters with questionable resumes and awarding them title-shots based on name value rather than performance in a given division. In Aldo’s case, he is coming off a bout against Frankie Edgar (making his debut at 145 pounds after losing back-to-back bouts as a lightweight) and lined up to face Anthony Pettis (also a former lightweight who has yet to notch a win at featherweight).

Though Aldo was initially open to action against Pettis, some recent reflection produced the conclusion that “Showtime” should not leapfrog contenders who have been putting in work at 145 for years.

“Who deserves a chance in the first place, is Ricardo Lamas, because he has beaten Erik Koch, who was the next contender. He earned the chance after the victory,” said Aldo in an interview with TATAME. “Cub Swanson is another too. They are athletes in the division, struggling for a long time for a shot at the belt, which never arrives according to opponents the UFC is scheduling. If the UFC wants a superfight, I do not see any problem. I fight whoever, but the belt has to be against Lamas or Swanson.”

“They created a ranking that is not serving for anything, because they’re pulling people from other divisions. This is only happening on my weight, I see it nowhere else,” Aldo continued, pointing to the UFC’s recent decision to create an official system of sorting their fighters out. “It is an injustice to others.”

UFC President Dana White has said Aldo will suffer some sort of consequences if he refuses to face Pettis. However, with it being a matter of principal, chances are the 22-1 Brazilian may not waver on his stance, setting up what could be a nasty feud between the sides over the next few months.

Aldo-Pettis are tentatively scheduled to scrap in early August.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

The post Jose Aldo will fight Anthony Pettis but not for the belt appeared first on Five Ounces of Pain.

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2013/02/25/jose-aldo-will-fight-anthony-pettis-but-not-for-the-belt/

Shane The Engineer Carwin Jason Hollywood Chambers Ryo Piranha Chonan Dan The Sandman Christison

UFC 157 picks from Kevin Iole, Maggie Hendricks and Cagereaders like you

After months of build-up, we're almost to the historic bout between Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche, which headlines UFC 157 in Anaheim. Here is how we think the fights will go. A big thank you to all the Cagereaders who contributed their picks.

Kevin Iole —Ronda Rousey SUB1 Liz Carmouche: Scottie Bowman, the greatest hockey coach ever, always would say he'd stick with the hot hand. In this case, the hot hand is Rousey. She's got a far better athletic pedigree and she's looked unbeatable against elite competition in Kaufmann and Tate. First-round arm bar win for Rousey

Maggie Hendricks — Ronda Rousey SUB1 Liz Carmouche: The thing about Rousey's armbar is that it's going to be unstoppable until someone stops it. Brilliant, right? Because of the move's unpredictability, it's equally difficult to predict who will be the one who can stop it.

[Also: Ronda Rousey doesn't want to touch UFC title belt before fighting]

Cagereader — My pick: Ronda Rousey by first round armbar. Yes, again. I don't think anyone's got her figured out yet, and her aggression is too much to deal with for anyone at this point. -- Dan Butera

Cagereader — Rousey. She has more to offer than Carmouche. I think it will be Rousey's longest fight ever since Carmouche is a scrappy chick. She definitely has her work cut out for her. -- Charlotte Petroskey

***

Kevin Iole — Dan Henderson TKO2 Lyoto Machida: Henderson is going to grind on Machida and wear him down until he gets enough space to land his big right hand.

Maggie Hendricks — Dan Henderson W3 Lyoto Machida: As Kevin Iole points out in his column, Machida is not the elusive fighter he once was. Henderson will wear him down and take the bout.

Cagereader — I'll take Machida over Henderson. Machida's height, reach, and long torso is going to make it very hard for Hendo to impose his will. Throw in Machida's speed advantage, faster punches, better cardio, and youth, and this one could end up being lopsided. Dan Henderson, as always, does have a puncher's chance, but that is about it in my opinion. -- Buddy Kreutzer

***

Kevin Iole — Urijah Faber SUB3 Ivan Menjivar: Faber hasn't fought like a star in a while and the pressure is on him to do so. He's primed for a good performance and I think he delivers it.

Maggie Hendricks — Urijah Faber SUB2 Ivan Menjivar: Fighting in California, Faber should be able to get back on the winning track and outgrapple Menjivar for a win.

[Also: How Dana White's about-face on women's MMA became official]

Cagereader — Though both Faber and his opponent are very dynamic and multidimensional, predict the intense energy will lead to an unpredictable TKO with Faber winning! -- Ernie Brewer

***

Kevin Iole — Josh Neer W3 Court McGee: This is a flip-a-coin match so I'm going to go with the guy with more experience.

Maggie Hendricks — Court McGee W3 Josh Neer: Yep, pretty much what Kevin said, so my coin flipped to McGee.

Cagereader — Hard not to like McGee's drop to 170. His smothering style should win the day. McGee by Decision. - John Wilcox

***

Kevin Iole — Josh Koscheck W3 Robbie Lawler: Lawler is simply not the same fighter he once was. I think Koscheck wins a pretty wide decision here.

Maggie Hendricks — Josh Koscheck W3 Robbie Lawler: Though Koscheck is coming off of a loss, Lawler hasn't done much to show he can stop Koscheck's wrestling or striking.

Cagereader — I think Koscheck to beat Lawler. Kos will be desperate to get back into the win column and I see him wearing down Robbie with his outstanding wrestling ability and finishing him late on as Lawler tires. Koscheck by RNC round 3. - Craig Donaldson

Forgot to make your picks on Facebook in time for this post? That's OK. Post them here, on Facebook or on Twitter.

UFC video on Yahoo! Sports:

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-157-picks-kevin-iole-maggie-hendricks-cagereaders-171043268--mma.html

Delson Heleno Dan Henderson Josh Hendricks Ed Herman

Tuesday, 26 February 2013

UFC on FUEL TV 8 In Focus: Silva vs Stann (Full Episode)

FUEL TV presents ‘In Focus: Silva vs Stann’, a fascinating in-depth look at the main event of UFC On FUEL TV 8. ‘In Focus’ paints a vivid picture of MMA legend Wanderlei Silva and his opponent, ex-United States Marine Brian Stann. These warriors do battle in the Octagon on Saturday, March 2 at UFC On FUEL TV 8.

MMAFrenzy.com

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/32980/ufc-on-fuel-tv-8-in-focus-silva-vs-stann-full-episode/

Gilbert Aldana José Aldo John Alessio Houston Alexander

Melvin Manhoef meeting Brock Larson at ONE FC 8

Asian promotion ONE FC is busy booking their April 5 event in Singapore, recently adding an interesting match-up of styles featuring two familiar faces from the MMA world. According to an official press release, hard-hitting Dutch kickboxer Melvin Manhoef will take on mat technician Brock Larson in middleweight action at ONE FC 8, joining other notable players on the lineup including the likes of Jens Pulver and Shinya Aoki.

The 36-year old Manhoef mentioned interest in signing with the UFC before calling it a career and will definitely have an opportunity to stake his claim if successful against Larson. “No Mercy” is already on a three-fight winning streak with a fifty-second finish of Denis Kang in his last outing. The strike-based stoppage improved his overall mark to 27-9-1 with 25 TKOs.

As deadly as Manhoef may be on his feet, Larson is equally apt on the ground with a 36-7 record featuring 26 tap-outs. He too has emerged with his hand raised in his last three tilts.

PHOTO CREDIT – DREAM/UFC

The post Melvin Manhoef meeting Brock Larson at ONE FC 8 appeared first on Five Ounces of Pain.

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2013/02/26/melvin-manhoef-meeting-brock-larson-at-one-fc-8/

Tomasz Drwal Joe Hybrid Duarte Aldrin de Jesus Todd Duffee

WWE SmackDown! Taping Draws 1,600 Paying Customers

Last Tuesday’s SmackDown! taping in Toledo, Ohio was one of the worst attended WWE events in years as it drew 3,200 fans, with only 1,600 paid.

Following the event’s poor advance, WWE only sold tickets facing the camera so the Huntington Center would appear full on television. SLAM! Wrestling columnist Matt Bishop, who attended the event, described the venue’s appearance: “Tuesday’s tapings of WWE Smackdown, Superstars and NXT wasn’t notable because of what happened in the ring, but rather because of what was happening outside the ringside area. Or more appropriately, what wasn’t happening.

“Toledo’s second WWE show of 2011, this time at Huntington Center, was notable because of the lack of fans inside the facility, with almost all of the camera side tarped off, along with a large part of the upper bowl, including all of the seats in the end zone.”

Wrestling News

Source: http://www.ifight365.com/2011/09/wwe-smackdown-taping-draws-1600-paying-customers/

Alberto Crane Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz Luke Cummo Jeff Big Frog Curran

good name for the grappling forum?

I want to give the grappling forum a unique name, it will still be the grappling subforum obviously but I want to give it a trendy name like Arkham Asylum(originally The Asylum but changed to Arkham Asylum due to copyright issues with Ironlife).

Source: http://ninjashoes.net/forum/showthread.php?80137-good-name-for-the-grappling-forum&goto=newpost

Masakatsu Funaki Zelg Benkei Galesić Mauro Galvao Arman Gambaryan

Randy Couture will coach on Bellator reality series

Randy Couture is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame. He fought in the Octagon 23 times, and held the heavyweight and light heavyweight UFC belts. But according to a report from Sports Illustrated, his next move will be with Bellator.

Couture has reportedly signed on to do multiple projects with Viacom, the media conglomerate that has a major stake in Bellator and owns Spike TV, Bellator's TV partner. Couture's first project will be to coach on an upcoming MMA reality TV series.

This won't be Couture's first time in that role. Along with Chuck Liddell, Couture was a coach on the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter." That show helped catapult the UFC to the level it is on today.

Bellator is smartly banking on Couture's popularity as a fighter and an actor to help grow their promotion.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/randy-couture-coach-bellator-reality-series-231006398--mma.html

Shinya Aoki Andrei Arlovski Ricardo Arona Noboru Asahi

Dana White plans to attend Strikeforce show, disappointed with turn of events

Dana White never has been one to mince words.

In recent months, when it comes to Strikeforce, the Zuffa president has forced himself to be mum on the topic of the UFC's sibling promotion. "I don't have anything to do with them" was a common response when reporters wanted to get his take on Strikeforce.

White recently, though, admitted he's disappointed with how things have turned out for the promotion.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmajunkie/~3/YAMogZRYgEI/dana-white-plans-to-attend-strikeforce-show-disappointed-with-turn-of-events.mma

Clay Guida Jason Guida Melvin Guillard Cody Guinn

WAR FUCKING JASON BBRO

FUCK ALL THE HATERES

Source: http://ninjashoes.net/forum/showthread.php?80162-WAR-FUCKING-JASON-BBRO&goto=newpost

Mark The Hammer Coleman Wes Soldier Combs Ray Cooper Kit Cope

Urijah Faber and Court McGee take UFC 157 wins

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Urijah Faber and Court McGee got back on the winning track at UFC 157 on Saturday.

Faber got a first-round submission win over Ivan Menjivar. Faber and Menjivar started the fight with a rolling takedown and Faber ended up on top. He worked the top position until Menjivar got back to his feet. Faber held on, and while attached to Menjivar's back, Faber swung around and sunk in a rear naked choke. Menjivar tapped at 4:34 in the first round. The Anaheim crowd erupted for "The California Kid."

It was an important win for Faber after he lost a title fight to Renan Barao in July. The win puts him at 27-6, with five of his losses coming in title fights.

[Also: Ronda Rousey survives UFC debut, wins via first-round arm bar]

In earlier action, Court McGee punched his way to a decision win over Josh Neer. McGee used an effective strategy early on of working Josh Neer's body. Throughout the first round, Neer was hobbled by McGee's body punches. But in the second, McGee worked more on headshots. Though it wasn't as effective, McGee outstruck Neer. In the final round, McGee worked the ground game and controlled Neer while still leading on strikes. All three judges saw it 30-27 for McGee.

It was McGee's first fight at welterweight.

“I felt great at 170 lbs. This was a great move for me. I felt stronger, faster and had a lot more gas. I was told by FightMetric that I broke the record for most significant strikes ever in a welterweight fight and feel great. I could have stopped it, maybe, early with body shots but I was glad I put on a good performance.”

After the win, McGee's record is 15-3. Though he won "The Ultimate Fighter," he also lost two fights in 2012.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/urijah-faber-court-mcgee-ufc-157-wins-042110004--mma.html

Andrew Gardner Tiki Ghosn Dennis George Kultar Gill

Monday, 25 February 2013

Dana White says he’d support a gay male fighter and would ‘fix’ any potential discrimination

ANAHEIM, Calif. — When she steps into the cage at UFC 157 this weekend, Liz Carmouche will be the first openly gay fighter in the UFC.

To date, no male UFC fighter has come out of the closet. UFC president Dana White, however, said he knows how he will react —not only if a male fighter comes out, but also if his opponent would threaten to refuse a fight against a gay athlete.

"Most of the guys that are in this sport are really good people," White said during Friday's question and answer session. "I honestly don't see a situation where that would happen, but if it did, I'd fix it."

White has been criticized by gay groups in the past for using homophobic language, which he discussed.

"Some of our guys, and I have said some things that make it look like we're homophobes," White said. "But we're not, and we've apologized."

No active athletes in in the four major sports have come out of the closet. Some athletes, like the NBA's John Amaechi, came out after retirement.

It appears, however, that attitudes are changing in the athletic world. Just this week, NFL quarterback Tim Tebow pulled out of a speaking engagement at a church led by an anti-gay pastor.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/dana-white-says-d-support-gay-male-fighter-230312959--mma.html

Jason Grace Crosley Gracie Gregor Gracie Ralek Gracie

Dana White says Jose Aldo vs. Anthony Pettis back on as UFC Champ agrees to fight

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Jose Aldo's manager tried to throw a wrench in the UFC's plans earlier this month, telling UFC President Dana White that they didn't believe Anthony Pettis deserved to fight Aldo for the UFC Featherweight Championship.

This came despite the bout having already been announced for an event on August 3, and it led to some strong comments from White Saturday night after UFC 157. He claimed that Aldo was refusing to fight Pettis, and if it continued that way it wouldn't end well for the Featherweight Champion.

Well, it appears that message got across, as White revealed on Monday night during a MetroPCS fan chat that Aldo has changed his stance. White subsequently followed that up with a simple Tweet:

Aldo vs Pettis is ON!!!!!
— Dana White (@danawhite) February 26, 2013

The fight is once again on for August, as White said Aldo has accepted the fight officially, and the two will square off for Aldo's Featherweight Title.

Penick's Analysis: There was no question White would win out on this. It just didn't make sense for Aldo or his camp to remain steadfast against the Pettis fight. It could be a big fight for each of them, both financially and professionally, and it's a fight that is going to inspire a lot of excitement in fans come this August.

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Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_16054.shtml

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves Andre Amade Dean Amasinger

Video - Highlights from UFC 157, featuring Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche

Did you miss Saturday's UFC 157 event from Anaheim? If so, you missed out on a number of exciting highlights on the card, none more so than the night's main event between Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche. But you can catch a glimpse of it below in the highlight video released by FoxSports.com:

Video URL: http://msn.foxsports.com/video?videoid=dabe4fd0-3eb7-40be-bef6-ae18bb151d4c&src=v5:share:sharepermalink:&from=sharepermalink

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_16035.shtml

Karen Darabedyan Viacheslav Datsik Marcus Davis Tony DeSouza

Steven Siler-Jimy Hettes Signed for UFC 159

A new featherweight bout between Steven Siler and Jimy Hettes has been added to the UFC 159 event. Siler took to Twitter to make announcement that the two would fight April 27 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The bout was supposed to happen at UFC on FX 4, but Hettes was forced off the card with an injury.

UFC 159 features a light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen, and fans around the world can watch the event on pay per view.

Photo Credit: UFC

The post Steven Siler-Jimy Hettes Signed for UFC 159 appeared first on Fighters.com.

Source: http://www.fighters.com/02/22/steven-siler-vs-jimy-hettes-signed-for-ufc-159?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=steven-siler-vs-jimy-hettes-signed-for-ufc-159

Tony Fryklund Kazuyuki Fujita Masakatsu Funaki Zelg Benkei Galesić

UFC 157 CONTESTS: Prediction and Betting Game Results

By: Dan Moore, MMATorch UK Contributor

A record breaking 782 points were placed on Ronda Rousey and unlike the previous record holder (Alistair Overeem), she delivered the points for us and didn't let anyone down. It was a good night in general for girl power; particular congratulations should go to Julie Dunn, who on her debut, wiped the floor with her supposedly more knowledgeable partner, Chris Houten. Ouch! Only one fight produced a major upset and that is clearly shown in some of the excellent scores. Let's take a look at how you all did:

CONFIDENCE GAME FIGHT PREDICTIONS

70 people submitted entries for this card. Here’s a combined breakdown of how many confidence points you placed on each fighter (Winner in bold):

Ronda Rousey - 782
Liz Carmouche - 8

Lyoto Machida - 297
Dan Henderson - 168

Urijah Faber - 650
Ivan Menjivar - 7

Robbie Lawler - 15
Josh Koscheck - 606

Court McGee - 416
Josh Neer - 59

Brendan Schaub - 158
Lavar Johnson - 259

Michael Chiesa - 401
Anton Kuivanen - 29

Dennis Bermudez - 416
Matt Grice - 37

Sam Stout - 155
Caros Fodor - 189

Kenny Robertson - 70
Brock Jardine - 174

Neil Magny - 135
Jon Manley - 75

Nah-Shon Burrell - 92
Yuri Villefort - 87

CONFIDENCE GAME RESULTS

Nick Williams (59 points) beat Harry "Super" Cooper (58 points) to become the new MMA Torch Confidence Picks Champion. After a fantastic reign as champion, Harry was finally dethroned by first time contender, Nick. It was an extremely close fought match up with Nick getting 8 correct fight predictions as opposed to Harry's 7. Point allocation was equally crucial and Nick did just enough to earn the title. Congratulations Nick, now the hard work starts trying to defend your crown.

Next up for the new champion is Clinton Tillett who finished with an impressive 67 points. Clinton only missed picks on Matt Grice and Josh Neer which was good enough to finish just above first time player Julie Dunn and former champion, Chris Wallner. Nick and Clinton square off next weekend when the UFC heads to Japan for UFC on FUEL 8. Chris earns the right to be first reserve over Julie, because he correctly predicted 10 fights, as opposed to Julie who predicted 9.

Here are the results of the Confidence Picks pool:

67 - Clinton Tillett
65 - Julie Dunn
65 - Chris Wallner
64 - Richard Race
64 - Carll Light
64 - Bill Gallagher
63 - Kevin Seng
63 - Joe "The Prophet" Williams
62 - James Brown
61 - Jack Broadey
61 - Alex Potapoff
60 - Casey Carmody
60 - Cody Bartalone
59 - Mark Bunce
58 - Michael Douglas
58 - Seth Gipson
57 - Nick Mizesko
57 - Erwin "Skarz" Bouwman
57 - Paul Connellan
56 - Sean Simpson
56 - Steve Goobie
56 - Shaun Louis
56 - Tommy Strong
56 - Adam Tranter
55 - Mike Jensen
55 - Jimbo Slice
55 - Mandeep Singh
55 - Brent King
55 - Charles Mickael
54 - Avery "Averydamus" Clarke
54 - David Lindahn
54 - Ben Heather
54 - Clay Burley
53 - John Theis
53 - Rick Thayer
53 - JayMon1002
52 - Lee Hopwood
52 - David Little
51 - Ed Gibbons
51 - Dan Moore
51 - Rich Hansen
51 - "The American Dream" Mark Sacchetti
50 - Anthony Sinnott
50 - Chris Parkes
49 - Matt "No Nickname" Page
49 - Jason McKee
49 - Cambo "Rambo" Nelson
49 - Chris Houten
49 - Fraser McKenzie
49 - Ben Studer
48 - Dionicio "Dominus" Ortiz
48 - Brandon Ashcraft
48 - Sam Martin
47 - Adam Lindley
47 - David Clatterbuck
47 - Paul "Bad Boy" Beedham
46 - Joel "Chico Guapo" Wielenga
46 - Gareth Moores
45 - Eugene Kim
45 - Dennis Fagan
43 - Scott Pipher
43 - Futpac
43 - James "The English Phenom" Cater
43 - Jeremy Yutzy
41 - Rob Reid
38 - Hunter Long
34 - Nathaniel Adelman

Note: Should either the champion, or challenger fail to submit their picks for UFC on FUEL 8 (Silva vs. Stann), Chris Wallner will step up as a challenger, and so on. Everyone else will be fighting for the No 1 contender slot on the night, and the right to face off against Nick, or Clinton at UFC 158 (St-Pierre vs. Diaz) next month.

BETTING GAME RESULTS

Shaun Louis ($967.67) defeated Anthony Sinnott ($0) to retain his title as undisputed MMA Torch Betting Picks Champion. This one wasn't even close because Anthony lost every dollar and laid a big fat stinking goose egg last night. He unsuccessfully backed Johnson, Villefort and Fodor for individual wins, but none of those underdogs managed to pull through for him and he lost convincingly. Hero to zero in the space of one week, unlucky dude.

Shaun Louis: $967.67

$300 on Magny for $471.43

$200 parlay on Magny, Bermudez and Faber for $496.24

Anthony Sinnott: $0

Next for the reigning champion is relative newcomer Clinton Tillett who nearly quadrupled his stake money for a return of $3836.91. Clinton hit big on a parlay bet involving underdogs Robertson and Lawler which raked in $2016 alone. Well done, Clinton and I hope you put down some real money last night. Special mentions to Jason McKee and Adam Tranter who both doubled their money, but not quite enough to overhaul Clinton.

Here (in no particular order) are the results of the Betting Picks pool:

Clinton Tillett: $3836.91

$500 on Robertson for $1050

$100 on Lawler for $480

$200 on Machida for $290.91

$200 on Robertson and Lawler for $2016

Rich Hansen: $616.94

$375 on Schaub for $616.94

Richard Race: $1646.54

$75 on Stout for $168.75

$225 on Schaub for $370.16

$200 parlay on Burrell, Robertson and Chiesa for $1107.63

Sam Martin: $562.50

$250 on Stout for $562.50

Steve Goobie: $891.67

$300 on Stout for $675

$200 on Rousey for $216.67

Eugene Kim: $90.00

$50 on Burrell for $90

Dennis Fagan: $146.51

$100 on Chiesa for $146.51

Jimbo Slice: $659.30

$450 on Chiesa for $659.30

Adam Lindley: $541.67

$500 on Rousey for $541.67

"The American Dream" Mark Sacchetti: $604.83

$50 on Faber for $63.16

$500 on Rousey for $541.67

Brandon Ashcraft: $240.00

$50 on Lawler for $240

James Brown: $1440.00

$300 on Lawler for $1440

Nick Williams: $815.31

$300 on Machida for $436.36

$300 on Faber for $378.95

Kevin Seng: $1190.32

$200 on Stout for $450

$450 for Schaub for $740.32

Erwin "Skarz" Bouwman: $290.91

$200 on Machida for $290.91

Mandeep Singh: $480.00

$100 on Lawler for $480

JayMon1002: $1432.88

$300 on Schaub for $493.55

$100 on Lawler for $480

$200 parlay on Bermudez, Faber and Machida for $459.33

Avery "Averydamus" Clarke: $210.00

$100 on Robertson for $210

Scott Pipher: $541.67

$500 on Rousey for $541.67

Ben Heather: $674.29

$200 on Burrell for $360

$200 on Magny for $314.29

Jason McKee: $2698.18

$200 on McGee for $286.96

$400 on Faber for $505.26

$200 on Lawler for $960

$200 parlay on Stout, Chiesa and McGee for $945.96

Joe "The Prophet" Williams: $678.78

$275 on McGee for $394.57

$225 on Faber for $284.21

David Little: $524.64

$100 on Chiesa for $146.51

$100 on McGee for $143.48

$100 on Faber for $126.32

$100 on Rousey for $108.33

Jack Broadey: $1572.28

$150 on Schaub for $246.77

$500 on Machida for $727.27

$200 parlay on Bermudez, Schaub and Machida for $598.24

Carll Light: $1027.87

$200 on Stout for $450

$200 on McGee for $286.96

$200 on Machida for $290.91

Gareth Moores: $450.00

$200 on Stout for $450

Rob Reid: $143.48

$100 on McGee for $143.48

Dionicio "Dominus" Ortiz: $420.00

$200 on Robertson for $420

Brent King: $900.00

$400 on Stout for $900

Charles Mickael: $1361.90

$200 on Stout for $450

$100 on Chiesa for $146.51

$200 on Schaub for $329.03

$300 on Machida for $436.36

Chris Houten: $820.45

$300 on Stout for $675

$100 on Machida for $145.45

Paul Connellan: $1195.53

$200 on Stout for $450

$100 on Lawler for $480

$100 parlay on Chiesa, McGee and Faber for $265.53

Michael Douglas: $1501.06

$200 on Stout for $450

$300 on Chiesa for $439.53

$200 parlay on Chiesa, McGee and Machida for $611.53

Cambo "Rambo" Nelson: $450.00

$200 on Stout for $450

Nick Mizesko: $439.53

$300 on Chiesa for $439.53

Joel "Chico Guapo" Wielenga: $727.08

$250 on Schaub for $411.29

$250 on Faber for $315.79

John Theis: $727.27

$500 on Machida for $727.27

Clay Burley: $450.00

$200 on Stout for $450

Alex Potapoff: $616.67

$250 on Stout for $562.50

$50 on Rousey for $54.17

Rick Thayer: $942.24

$200 on Robertson for $420

$200 on Chiesa, Rousey and Schaub for $522.24

Sean Simpson: $1237.75

$350 on Stout for $787.50

$200 parlay on Schaub, Faber and Rousey for $450.25

Chris Parkes: $1187.18

$200 on Bermudez for $250

$100 on Faber for $126.32

$500 on Rousey for $541.67

$100 parlay on Chiesa, Faber and Machida for $269.19

Cody Bartalone: $952.79

$150 on Magny for $219.77

$350 on Faber for $442.11

$200 on Machida for $290.91

Hunter Long: $682.07

$250 on Faber for $315.79

$250 on Chiesa for $366.28

David Clutterbuck: $190.00

$50 on Lawler for $190

Chris Wallner: $1155.00

$300 on Stout for $675

$100 on Lawler for $480

Casey Carmody: $480.00

$100 on Lawler for $480

Bill Gallagher: $1111.15

$400 on Schaub for $658.06

$200 parlay on McGee, Bermudez and Faber for $453.09

Paul "Bad Boy" Beedham: $1057.65

$100 on Burrell for $180

$100 on Chiesa for $146.51

$150 on Faber for $189.47

$500 on Rousey for $541.67

Lee Hopwood: $703.95

$300 on Faber for $378.95

$300 on Rousey for $325

Adam Tranter: $2050.27

$150 on Chiesa for $219.77

$350 on Schaub for $575.81

$150 on Lawler for $720

$250 on Machida for $363.64

$100 parlay on Bermudez, Faber and Rousey for $171.05

Seth Gipson: $1014.23

$200 on McGee for $286.96

$500 on Machida for $727.27

Mike Jensen: $690.79

$300 on Bermudez for $375

$250 on Faber for $315.79

Ben Studer: $917.85

$100 on Schaub for $164.52

$220 on Machida for $320

$400 on Rousey for $433.33

Dan Moore: $0
Anthony Sinnott: $0
James "The English Phenom" Cater: $0
Tommy Strong: $0
Futpac: $0
Harry "Super" Cooper: $0
Ed Gibbons: $0
Matt "No Nickname" Page: $0
David Lindahn: $0

Note: Should either champion, or challenger fail to submit picks for UFC on FUEL 8 (Silva vs. Stann), Jason McKee would step up as a challenger, and so on. Everyone else will be fighting for the No 1 contender slot on the night, and the right to face off against Shaun or Clinton at UFC 158 (St-Pierre vs. Diaz) next month.

RECAP

MMA Torch Confidence Picks Championship Match Up (UFC on FUEL 8)

Nick Williams (Champion) vs. Clinton Tillett (Challenger)

MMA Torch Betting Picks Championship Match Up (UFC on FUEL 8)

Shaun Louis (Champion) vs. Clinton Tillett (Challenger)

Performer of the Night: If you win both the confidence picks and betting pools in one night, like Clinton Tillett did, you deserve to win this highly prestigious award. Congrats.

Goat of the Night: I'm giving this to Rohan Moharty who submitted his picks, after the deadline, thus meaning his entry was invalid. Had his admin been better; he would have finished second tonight and been in line for a potential title shot, should Clinton not turn up next week. Deadlines and rules are there for a reason. It's not like four days isn't enough time to enter your picks!

We're back for UFC on FUEL 8 (Silva vs. Stann) later this week. I'll post links on my Twitter account when the contests go live.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter, @MMATorchDan

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/prediction_and_betting_contests/article_16040.shtml

Delson Heleno Dan Henderson Josh Hendricks Ed Herman

Urijah Faber: The California Kid is Still Golden

“Write injuries in dust, benefits in marble.” - Benjamin Franklin

Toughness isn’t measured in tattoo ink, hair dye, or vulgar language. It can’t even be gauged by muscle mass or mean scowls. Every fighter that steps into the UFC’s cage is physically tough, but the depths of their mental toughness can only be empirically equated when a fighter overcomes adversity inside the Octagon. The truly tough fighter is the one who continues to come forward and fight no matter how little time is left or how exhausted they are or how battered their body has become.

In that definition, not many will ever be able to hold a candle to Urijah Faber.

At UFC 149, “The California Kid” battled for 25 minutes with Renan Barao in a losing effort for the interim UFC bantamweight championship. It was a conscious striker’s duel, where Barao was able to stay just out of Faber’s reach and keep the fight out of the scrambles where the Californian thrives. The near decade younger Barao managed to shave a few miles per hour off the usually fleet-footed Faber with a knee to the body that broke a rib, which Faber didn’t reveal until the post-fight interview. While fight fans have become accustomed to seeing Faber in title bouts, strangely enough, they’ve become just as accustomed to seeing Faber wear his toughness on his sleeve by fighting tooth and nail despite broken hands, feet, ribs or a severely battered leg.

“It's what we've signed up for doing the toughest sport in the world: mixed martial arts,” reveals Faber. “It wasn't an accident that Barao caught me with a knee in the ribs. We bounced off the cage and he caught me with a short knee in my back ribs and it broke it. I thought I did a really good job. I watched the fight again. I don't think anyone can tell that I broke my rib. I didn't tell my corner, I didn't tell anyone that I knew something was up. You go into a fight with the mindset that you're not going to let anything stop you, and that was the mindset I was in. I've had worse injuries, so I just did my best. I don't attribute that to the loss at all. I still fought offensively, but Barao was very tough. It didn't help, especially on extending myself for takedowns. Having a broken rib doesn't help at all (laughs).”

At 33 years old with an overall record of 26-6, Faber is 2-2 inside the Octagon with both losses coming in five round decisions for the bantamweight crown. Unless someone blows the dust off a Youtube video shot on a handicam of Faber fighting Tyson Griffin, then MMA fans have only see Faber on the losing end of a bout with a championship belt on the line in either the WEC or UFC. Minus the first round loss to Mike Brown back in 2008, no one has been able to literally stop Faber, whether it was Jose Aldo with his devastating leg kicks or in the rematch with Brown where Faber broke both hands and a foot and still continued to throw elbows until the final bell. To best “The California Kid,” one will need to flawlessly keep him at bay for 25 minutes because there’s simply no quit switch in him.

“I think it's a mental game,” states Faber. “It's a head space you get in. Everybody that is a champion knows that there are a lot of things that go into it, but one of the most important things is the mental game, being a confident guy and preparing for worst case scenarios. I don't go into a fight thinking I hope everything goes my way and if it doesn't I'm going to turn down and cower. In practice you experience injuries and it's just a part of our life. I think about it as if I was on the street and someone was trying to beat me up and try to take my life or something that is important to me, would a broken rib stop me? Would a broken hand stop me? And there's no way it would.”

With or without a belt around his waist, the most prolific champion in WEC history, with five successful and consecutive title defenses, carries himself as the champ in and out of the cage. Incredibly, Faber has fought 16 times under the Zuffa banner of the UFC and the WEC, with 11 of those bouts with a title up for grabs. In the five scraps that weren’t for a belt, he has earned a Submission of the Night bonus in four of them, and won the other by unanimous decision. Faber’s unshakeable spot at the top of the food chain is solidified in his ability to take a loss, come back stronger, clobber his competition, and stand with his chin held high, ready to challenge the current champion again.

“My ability to separate wins and losses from who I am is the key component,” renders Faber. “I know who I am. I have a lot of positive attributes, I know where I come from, I know who my friends are, I'm secure. That allows me to put my best effort out every time to try to win. I love to win. I really don't like losing much obviously, but it doesn't change who I am. Life is good. Whenever I get caught up wanting to complain about monetary things or a fight not going my way or something else going on, I just remember why I started this sport. The fact that I get to live a life of passion where I'm doing only things that I love in this world and help people along the way. Life's good. I always remind myself of that.”

This message, and this mentality that has benefitted Faber as a professional fighter, as a gym owner, as an entrepreneur, and as a person isn’t a secret he just keeps to himself. The former NCAA Division I wrestler and graduate of University of California at Davis with a Bachelor’s degree in Human Development tries his damnedest to impart this positivity to all those that walk through the doors of his Ultimate Fitness gym in Sacramento, especially the members of his Team Alpha Male. With the help of Jim, a high school vice principal who specializes in behavior modification, and Renata Peterson, who has a masters in psychology, Faber diligently works on providing that mental edge that he has to his teammates.

“At our gym, at Team Alpha Male, we're always trying to work on the most important part of the game, which is the mental game,” says Faber. “There are a lot of people out there who want to have success, but there is an actual recipe for success. Jim and Renata Peterson are actually my neighbors, and we've developed together a system of life skills but related to sports. We have group sessions with our team that are about an hour and a half, where we talk about the subconscious, programming your future, visualizing, and things like that. We've been doing that for about five or six years with Jim and Renata.”

Team Alpha Male’s goal isn’t just to train kicking and punching, but it wants to shape minds for success in life once they hang up their sparring mitts. Faber has officially entered Mike Krzyzewski territory. For Duke University’s famed men’s basketball coach, it’s not about being a coach as much as a teacher and a leader; where he’s more concerned with making men more than athletes. If someone is going to be called the “Coach K of MMA” then Faber is ready to fill those shoes.

“It's not just about fighting in a cage - it's about life skills,” explains Faber. “I put forth the effort to do this for my team when I was coaching The Ultimate Fighter as well. Building them up. I think it's the worst thing when I see fighters who have gone through a career and have nothing to show for it. They're broken down and don't know what to do next. It's a sad thing. I want my fighters to know that this is all a building process for the next stages of your life. It's something you can be proud of and you can take it as far and have as much success as you want and that everything you do is commendable. I call it ‘feather in the cap’ mentality. Being a part of this team is something you can put down on your resume, winning a fight is something you can put down on your resume, being in a fight is something you can put down on your resume. It takes guts, it takes tenacity, it takes character. Our guys are learning about how to be successful fighters, but more importantly they are learning how to have success in life and teach their kids to have success.”

Besides this wealth of coaching for mental toughness, Team Alpha Male has their acclaimed roster of lighter weight fighters covered with great ground and standup specific coaches. For grappling, “The California Kid” has BJJ black belt Fabio Prado as well as Dustin Akbari. For striking, Faber’s ace-in-the-hole is every MMA fan’s favorite mitt holder Master Thong. But, recently, Team Alpha Male has felt they needed someone to run and create practices, to watch fight videos, to keep people accountable, and, in short, be the team’s “head honcho”. The vetting process for special position took more or less one phone call to UFC, Strikeforce, and K-1 veteran Duane “Bang” Ludwig.

“Duane is a guy who I've always respected,” affirms Faber. “Anytime I've met him I've always thought he had a good attitude. I think he is one of the best strikers in MMA, period. After that first conversation, he started doing breakdowns for the team. He was calling me and saying this is what I see with this guy and just started being a coach from a distance. He stepped into the role without any commitment or compensation. I was like, this is what we need. He came down to check out the area and the gym and we had a big barbecue and he met all the guys. It wasn't long after that that he made the move and moved all his stuff and his family out here. And he's been doing awesome. He's taken a lot of time to develop and watch video. He's got 40 something clips of my fights of things that he likes that I'm doing and things of Ivan Menjivar that he thinks we can exploit. Not only is he running team practices, but he's been going above and beyond working on individual things.”

The 34-year-old, well-traveled, and, basically self-taught kickboxer turned MMA fighter was entering a transitional period in his fight career and looking for a coaching opportunity when Faber fatefully called. While some have wrongly reported that Ludwig is replacing Master Thong, “Bang” is being brought in as a head coach and not as a new striking coach. Fight fans got a glimpse of this new union as Ludwig was a very vocal corner for Danny Castillo in his decision win over submission specialist Paul Sass at UFC on FUEL TV last Saturday. And not to worry, the enigmatic Thai kickboxing instructor with an ultra unique fashion sense will continue to hold mitts for Faber like he has for the past six years, ever since the two initially met several months prior to the first fight with Jens Pulver.

“Master Thong was really good at teaching body mechanics, which I was kind of missing,” remembers Faber. “I was learning all these different striking techniques, but I was missing the footwork, the body mechanics of striking, and defense. He implemented a lot more defensive tactics to help me be comfortable in getting hit. I had wrestled for years and years and years and been fighting for years, but I still wasn't comfortable as a straight up boxer. I think he helped quite a bit with my defense and footwork, which are the basics and really important.”

Up next for Faber is a Saturday rematch dating back to 2006 with “The Pride of El Salvador,” Ivan Menjivar. At UFC 157, the product of Tristar Gym in Montreal will look to continue his recent success, as Menjivar has gone 4-1 inside the Octagon since coming over through the WEC merger in 2010. The Salvadoran-Canadian brown belt in BJJ with 12 years of professional fighting experience is riding high off a first round SOTN armbar over Azamat Gashimov at UFC 154, which was Menjivar’s second SOTN bonus in 2012.

“I've got a lot of respect for Menjivar,” states Faber. “He's a real pioneer. People say I'm a pioneer in this sport and he is more so than I am. He was a guy who was extremely well-rounded back in 2002 when he fought Georges St-Pierre. He was taking Georges St-Pierre down. I thought it was an even fight and a really weird stoppage. He fought Matt Serra. He's fought at 155 pounds, he's fought at 170 pounds. He's always had a real high skill set. I know he's a force to be reckoned with.”

One can easily assume that both fighters have no doubt improved greatly since their featherweight fracas seven years ago. While Menjivar has gone 8-4 in the meantime and remained dangerous in all areas of the game, Faber has gone 15-5, including winning the WEC featherweight championship, defending it five times, establishing himself as the face of the WEC, and marking himself as an elite level fighter regardless of the weight class. When the two first tangled, Faber was the raw putty of potential, and now is the molded metal of a championship caliber competitor.

“I feel like he's a great style matchup for me because he is the type of guy who likes to fight everywhere and that's how I like to fight,” tells Faber. “He likes fighting on the ground, mixing it up, and he likes getting wild. My toughest fights have been against guys who are really athletic and are kind of avoiding a wild fight. Barao, he really slowed the pace down and kept distance. Jose Aldo, he picked me apart by kicking my leg and he's an incredible technician when it comes to that specifically. I've been developing and filling in those gaps and Ivan likes to fight everywhere. He's dangerous on the ground, but I'm very dangerous on the ground. I've got a lot of finishes against a lot of opponents who have never been submitted. I feel like this fight for me is a great fight because Ivan is not afraid and likes to go everywhere and I think I'm going to have a slight advantage in every aspect.”

This Saturday, two MMA veterans who only mature with age will rekindle the flame from a former fight for bantamweight fireworks. “You can tell this guy is a real mixed martial artist, he does this because he loves it, he goes out there to have fun and to perform, and I'm going out there with the same mentality,” says Faber, whose confidence and insatiable hunger to be at the top of this sport has never waned, even for an instant, thanks to his mental toughness. “I want to win, I want to have a lot of fun, I want to mix it up, and have this be a real mixed martial arts fight where you see a little bit of everything and I think that's going to happen. I'm going to come out on top, I'm going to get the finish, I'm going to get the W, and I'm going to move forward.”

Source: http://www.ufc.com/news/Urijah-Faber-The-California-Kid-is-Still-Golden

Xavier Foupa Pokam Hermes Franca Rich Franklin Ian Freeman

Ronda Rousey’s Confidence Never Wavered in Clash with Liz Carmouche

The complete conversation with Rousey can be seen below:

SOURCE: Fuel TV
PHOTO CREDIT: UFC

The post Ronda Rousey’s Confidence Never Wavered in Clash with Liz Carmouche appeared first on Fighters.com.

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Lyoto Machida’s Dominant Win Should Be Applauded

I was doing play by play during the co-main event, and admittedly it is difficult to do the write up of the fight and score the bouts at the same time. When Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson fought at UFC 157: Rousey Vs Carmouche to a decision I had pretty much the same score as the judges, and in fact I had scored the last round a draw. On the Fighters.com score card, Machida was the winner with a score of 30-28.

It wasn’t shocking to hear the boos from the fans in the arena, but the feedback on social media sites was that Henderson was screwed out of decision is what shocked me. People must have short memories when it comes to this sport, because what you saw on Saturday night at the Honda Center is exactly what makes Machida so good.

Machida has the ability to make good fighters look awful. He doesn’t do it by pounding them into oblivion, which he is definitely capable of doing, but he does it by not being anywhere near the punches of his opponents. Henderson is a great fighter, and dare I say a future UFC Hall of Famer, but Machida made him look silly by making him miss so much. His elusiveness is what prompted UFC Commentator Joe Rogan into screaming “Welcome to the Machida era” when he defeated Rashad Evans for his title.

When expert strikers fight Machida they run and try to brawl with him, and he historically picks them apart. When he fights wrestlers, he uses kicks and punches to keep his opponents on the outside, and that’s exactly what happened to Henderson on Saturday night. Henderson couldn’t get anywhere near Machida to land the big shot, barring one or two punches, and he didn’t do enough to win.

When Mauricio Rua defeated Machida everyone thought that the code had been cracked, and that it was all but a downhill slide for Machida. Machida’s win against Ryan Bader, and his win against Dan Henderson at UFC 157, are great examples as to why that is not the case. Machida will now face the winner of Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen for the light heavyweight title, and while the Machida era isn’t as impossible as Rogan made it out be, you better believe if he rematches Jon Jones he will fight differently. Lyoto Machida uses footwork and space like no other in MMA, and he should be heralded for it. Not jeered.

Photo Credit: UFC

The post Lyoto Machida’s Dominant Win Should Be Applauded appeared first on Fighters.com.

Source: http://www.fighters.com/02/24/lyoto-machidas-dominant-win-should-be-applauded?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lyoto-machidas-dominant-win-should-be-applauded

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Sunday, 24 February 2013

After first three fighters are over, UFC 156 fighters make weight

The start of the UFC 156 weigh-ins was shaky, as the first three fighters were overweight. Was there a problem with the scale provided by the Nevada State Athletic Commission? Nah, the first three fighters were just overweight. Everyone else on the card made weight with no trouble. Yves Edwards even weighed in while eating a Snickers bar. Here are the complete weigh-in results, thanks to MMA Junkie.

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
• Champ Jose Aldo (145) vs. Frankie Edgar (144)
• Rashad Evans (206) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (206)
• Alistair Overeem (264) vs. Antonio Silva (262)
• Jon Fitch (171) vs. Demian Maia (170)
• Joseph Benavidez (126) vs. Ian McCall (125)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FX, 8 p.m. ET)
• Evan Dunham (155) vs. Gleison Tibau (155)
• Jay Hieron (168) vs. Tyron Woodley (170)
• Bobby Green (155) vs. Jacob Volkmann (156)
• Yves Edwards (155) vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg (156)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 7 p.m. ET)
• Chico Camus (134) vs. Dustin Kimura (139.5)
• Edwin Figueroa (137.5) vs. Francisco Rivera (137)

A UFC spokesperson said Kimura will not weigh in again. He will be fined 20 percent of his purse. Figueroa weighed in again and was 136. Rivera still has time to make weight.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/first-three-fighters-over-ufc-156-fighters-weight-011305149--mma.html

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Khabib Nurmagomedov taking on Abel Trujillo at UFC 160

After racking up wins over Kamal Shalorus, Gleison Tibau, and Thiago Tavares in his first three Octagon appearances, it seemed as though UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov was ready to test himself against the division’s best in hopes of putting together a run at the title. While his next opponent doesn’t quite live up to that billing, Nurmagomedov should still have his hands full come UFC 160 when the two lock horns.

Earlier this week, UFC officials confirmed Nurmagomedov will see action against Abel Trujillo at the May 25 event.

Nurmagomedov is unbeaten thus far nineteen fights into his career. Also impressive, the 24-year old Russian has finished fourteen of his foes with an even split between submissions/strike-based stoppages.

The 10-4 Trujillo scored a second round TKO against Marcus LeVesseur in his UFC debut this past December. The result marked his fifth win in a row.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

The post Khabib Nurmagomedov taking on Abel Trujillo at UFC 160 appeared first on Five Ounces of Pain.

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2013/02/22/khabib-nurmagomedov-taking-on-abel-trujillo-at-ufc-160/

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