Thursday, December 27, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
UFC 79
- Interim welterweight championship bout:
Matt Hughes vs. 
Georges St. Pierre [6]
- Light heavyweight bout: Chuck Liddell vs.
Wanderlei Silva [2] - Light heavyweight bout : Lyoto Machida vs.
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou [4]
- Lightweight bout: Rich Clementi vs. Melvin Guillard [7]
- Heavyweight bout: Eddie Sanchez vs.
Soa Palalei[8]
Preliminary Card
- Light Heavyweight bout: James Irvin vs. Luis Cane [9]
- Welterweight bout:
Tony DeSouza vs. Roan Carneiro [10] - Lightweight bout: Nate Mohr vs.
Manvel Gamburyan [11] - Middleweight bout: Dean Lister vs.
Jordan Radev [12]
- Lightweight bout: Doug Evans vs. Mark Bocek [13]
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Fedor vs. Couture
Last night as I watched HDNet Fights I saw Couture talk about the inevitability of a fight with Fedor once his current contract with the UFC is up and was overjoyed. I always believed this would happen eventually, it was just a matter of ironing out the issues between Couture and the UFC. It looks like one of the gifts we're going to get next year is this highly anticipated fight.
Couture Awaits UFC Contract Expiration, Fight with Emelianenko
DALLAS, Texas — UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture, who resigned from the UFC in October over what he perceived to be a lack of respect from the organization, is counting down the days to his contract-expiration date, and he’s leaving open the possibility of fighting former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko.
Couture was in Dallas over the weekend for “HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon.” The event included a few Xtreme Couture fighters, including victorious Frank Trigg and Jay White. However, the 44-year-old UFC hall-of-famer couldn’t avoid the inevitable questions about his future.
While a guest on the HDNet broadcast of Saturday’s event, Couture said he’d still like to fight Emelianenko. While still with the UFC, Couture expressed his desire to battle the legendary Russian fighter, but when UFC President Dana White couldn’t make it happen, Couture cited it as a reason he wanted to leave the organization.
During the broadcast, Couture said the soonest he could fight Emelianenko would be October 2008, when both his fight contract (July) and employment contract (October) expire.
It became a hot topic again in a post-fight press conference.
“I’m not sure what’s going to happen with me at this point,” Couture said. “I have a contract with the UFC that I have to honor. I can’t breach that or I’ll end up in litigation, so I don’t intend to do that.
“That contract expires in July, and we’ll see what happens after that.“
Emelianenko recently signed a non-exclusive, long-term deal with M-1 Global, an organization that was recently purchased from Emelianenko’s manager and restructured by its American investors.
The organization is allowing Emelianenko to compete New Year’s Eve at a show in Japan against the 7-foot-2 Hong Man Choi (1-0).
Couture weighed in on the match-up.
“Obviously, it’s a big guy, and it’s still a fight,” he said. “Anything can happen in a fight… The guy can hit you across the ring as soon as the bell rings, so who knows.“
The reference was to Couture’s victory over giant Tim Sylvia in March. Couture tagged the then-champ in the bout’s first few seconds to send him to the canvas. It set up the eventual unanimous-decision victory.
Couture, though, is pulling for Emelianenko. After all, he wants to be the first to post a legitimate victory over the fighter.
“I hope it goes successfully for him because I want to be the first one to beat him,” he said.
Emelianenko’s only loss was in a 2000 RINGS event against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. The bout was stopped just 17 seconds in because of a cut caused by a glancing elbow from Kohsaka. Because of the event’s tournament format that required one fighter to continue on, the fight was ruled a loss for Emelianenko rather than a no-contest or disqualification.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Not since Louden Swain dropped to 168lbs to wrestle Brian Shute has anyone been crazier for changing weight classes.
Yet that’s exactly what Michael “The Count” Bisping plans to do: Drop to 185lbs and set his sights on middleweight deity Anderson “The Spider” Silva.
From UFC.com:
Dana thought it was a great idea, he said I’d be ‘a monster’ down at middleweight. In fact all sorts of people like Rampage (with whom Bisping is close) were telling me this was the best thing for my career. Really, I knew middleweight was the place to be. When I went to train with Rampage in America over the summer, when we’d go eat he’d have half a lettuce leaf; I’d have a pizza or a couple of foot-long Subways and a couple of sneaky cookies.
Sneaky cookies notwithstanding, dropping to middleweight could inject new life into the 14-1 Brit. After a split-decision loss to Rashad Evans at UFC 78: Validation (the first of his professional career) “The Count” was still unsure about whether or not to change weight classes.
His camp was not:
Even though I train as hard, if not harder, than anyone else for a fight, I wasn’t making sacrifices like other fighters do. I’ve had world class nutritionists like (boxer) Ricky Hatton’s strength coach Kerry Kayes tell me I could be so much stronger at middleweight, so I was getting this same advise from all sides.
Look for the new and improved Bisping to re-emerge sometime this spring. Hopefully he can find the improvement he’s looking for. I don’t want to use a chum reference here but there are plenty of gifted strikers in the middleweight division just waiting for new blood.
And it’s not like he has to fight Anderson Silva right out of the gate. I’m sure guys like Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson would be more than accommodating.
Godspeed Mike!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
News and Worlwide Rankings
1. The UFC has stripped the LW belt from Sherk so now the Penn v. Stevenson bout is for the REAL TITLE. The winner will face Sherk for sure and you can bet that little roided out freak is going to fight like a madman to take it back. In my opinion, he's not guilty for sure because there were some serious questions about the testing process and there is evidence that some of the (many) supplements who was taking might have actually caused the positive results. Either way, he won't be testing positive again.
“I think BJ Penn is a punk. Who the hell is he? He’s won one fight in a couple of years now and it’s just whatever man. He wants to make all of these rules and regulations, but who the hell is he? I’m the champ in my eyes so I don’t care if he fights me or not, there’s a whole bunch of guys that could fight me right now. It’s his loss, not mine. He needs me more than I need him.”
– Sean Sherk — who was just stripped of his lightweight title — shares his feelings on BJ Penn via FightHype.com. Penn will now challenge Joe Stevenson for the vacant 155-pound belt at UFC 80: “Rapid Fire.” The winner of the championship match up is supposed to fight Sherk next. Penn has stated that he would only fight Sherk if he was “cleared of the steroid charge.”
Props: PunchDrunkGamer.com
Quoteworthy:
“I think that both of us are very strong and it would be hard to find weaknesses in either of our games. The fight is going to come down to who is better prepared on the day of the fight. There is nothing negative that I can say about BJ, he is one of the best fighters out there…. He trains very hard for his fights and he fights at 155 lbs. so I don’t think that cardio is going to be a factor for him. Obviously BJ will have to be in shape to make the weight.”
Lightweight Joe Stevenson talks about his upcoming fight with BJ Penn at UFC 80: “Rapid Fire” on January 19, 2008, in Newcastle, England, for the interim 155-pound championship. That tag could soon change to “vacant” now that credible reports indicate that Sean Sherk will be stripped of the strap because of a positive test for illegal steroids. Stay tuned.
2. The Ultimate Fighter Season 7 might be the most entertaining entry in the series yet due to the fact that the two craziest (in a good, fun way) guys in the UFC, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (LHW champ) and Forrest Griffin, have been announced as coaches. Despite the fact that both of these guys are lightheavy, the show will feature middleweight fighters.
There is a headline currently adorning the SpikeTV Web site that pretty much sums up the banality of the Spike Video Game Awards (VGA).
It reads: Steve-O drunk at the VGAs!
If anyone feels compelled to zoom on over for all the gory details then I say to you: Godspeed my friend. For those readers over the age of 14, let us continue with the surprise announcement that nobody saw coming.
It appears that the “Big Plans” UFC President Dana White had in store for Quinton “Rampage” Jackson do indeed include a stint as coach on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).
White made the “major announcement” during tonight’s VGA broadcast on SpikeTV.
“Top contender” Forrest Griffin was first confirmed as coach following the Clay Guida/Roger Huerta war at last night’s The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 6 Finale. White refrained from announcing the addition of Rampage presumably to entice viewers to tune into the VGA’s.
I don’t think announcing Couture/Fedor could entice people to sit through that dreck.
White previously mentioned that the two coaches will fight one another sometime after the conclusion of the show. TUF 7, which begins to shoot in January and will debut on SpikeTV sometime in April 2008, will feature 16 up-and-coming middleweight (185 pounds) fighters.
Here’s a snip from UFC.com:
“Jackson, fresh from becoming the first fighter in history to unify the light heavyweight title when he defeated PRIDE champion Dan Henderson in September, will be making his first appearance on The Ultimate Fighter. On the other hand, Griffin - who stunned the MMA world with his decisive submission victory over the last man to beat ‘Rampage’, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, also in September – will be returning to the place that helped make him a superstar back in 2005, when he won the first season of the show by defeating Stephan Bonnar in one of the sport’s classic battles.”
It should not matter that Jackson and Griffin are in the 205-pound class — there’s not a pool of bankable stars at that weight to carry a program that has been struggling in the ratings.
Jackson and Griffin should provide the spark (and personality) necessary to get the mixed martial arts reality series back on track.
3. UFC 79 is coming like a 3,000 lb. freight train and will feature a title fight (Hughes/GSP), marking the third time these 170lb. champs have clashed, as well as a matchup that hardcore fans have been waiting to see for years, Liddell/Wanderlei. The official website is now up.
Props: 79.UFC.com
WORLD RANKINGS WITH MY (WORTHLESS) COMMENTARY:
Hey everyone. MMAWEEKLY puts out some of the most respected MMA rankings (there are no official rankings...even the UFC doesn't rank their fighters, at least not publicly). Anyway, I've added my commentary for what it's worth. It took me a few days to find the time to add a little tidbit about each fighter I know. Hopefully this will catch some of you up on the sport who aren't as vested in it as I am. -Danny
We take into consideration a fighter's performance in addition to his win-loss record, head-to-head and common opponents, difficulty of opponents, and numerous other factors in what is the most comprehensive rankings system in the sport.
As always, fighters who are currently serving drug-related suspensions are not eligible for top ten consideration.
Here are the current MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings, which are up-to-date as of December 5:"
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (over 205 pounds)
#1 Heavyweight Fighter in the World: Fedor Emelianenko
He is the best, he's never really been defeated (he lost because of a cut)...he's beat some of the best in world, but he simply hasn't been active. He next fight is against a freak of nature (really, it is...a Korean guy with a growth hormone problem who is like 7 feet tall and weight 365). He won't last long here as #1 unless he starts fighting some serious competition soon.
2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
UFC fighter- he may be fighting Tim Sylvia for the now vacant heavyweight title at UFC 81 (superbowl weekend)
3. Josh Barnett
Non-UFC fighter but I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the UFC sometime in 2008 (he's an ex-PRIDE fighter who has elected to stay over in Japan for the time being)
4. Randy Couture
Oh Randy, when and where and what are you going to fight? The big question with Randy is whether or not he is going to tangle with Fedor. I think it'll happen. Although Fedor is with the upstart M1 Russian MMA org, he signed a non-exclusive deal.
5. Tim Sylvia
Big Tim...goofy, cocky, just kinda weird, but he keeps the fight where he wants it, which is standing, and puts people on their asses. He's going to fight Big Nog and we'll see if he reestablishes himself as the king of the UFC's heavyweight division.
6. Gabriel Gonzaga
Personally "Napao" is my favorite heavyweight out there. Yes he got beaten by Couture, but he also had his nose broken badly early in the fight due to a headbutt (inadvertently). Gonzaga is coming back against another top ten fighter in Werdum, the only guy to have beaten him...a fight that happened early in his career and it was a decision loss. I believe in Gonzaga and I think he'll someday stand atop the HW division.
7. Andrei Arlovski
The "Pitbull" is the fastest heavyweight fighter that I know of. He once held the UFC's HW belt and he wants it again. He's technically good both on the feet and on the ground. He won a decision over Werdum that was BORING and this put him back in line.
8. Mirko Cro Cop
Mirko hasn't looked good in the UFC but don't count him out just yet. I think the UFC will give him somebody a bit softer so he can demonstrate his knockout power and rebuild some confidence. Mirko is by no means washed up...but only time will tell if he'll ever become a champ.
9. Fabricio Werdum
Relatively unknown on this side of the pond, Werdum is a good, well rounded fighter with slick submissions. He's not big though so I pick him to lose to Gonzaga.
10. Aleksander Emelianenko
The ghetto brother of Fedor. Prison tattoos...scary...check him out on YouTube. He looks like some scummy guy you'd see walking around the streets of Russia with a gold chain on.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (205-pound limit)
#1 Light Heavyweight Fighter in the World: Quinton Jackson
Quinton brings the pain...strong, good at striking, good in the clinch, good wrestling...I don't think he has great jiu-jitsu, but who cares? It'll be fun to see him defend his title. He's been resting up since he broke his hand on Dan Henderson's head.
2. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
Rua got beaten fair and square to an inferior fighter in Griffin. Don't get me wrong, I love Griffin and they guy lays it all out. Indeed, he's one of my favorite fighters, but I think Griffin is a bit wild and I think that's always going to keep him from shining. In the same token, Shogun is similar. Maybe that's why Shogun, who is consistently ranked near the top of the LHW division, lost. I'm very excited to see Shogun in his next fight with healthy knees (he underwent knee surgery not longer after the bout with Griffin).
3. Dan Henderson
"Hendo" is a straight up cowboy. He's not afraid of anyone and he showed that by putting Quinton through a war...and he never looked like he was going to lose that fight by getting knocked out or submitted. He was then asked to drop down to middleweight, a fighting weight he can easily get to since he's a smaller LHW, which he eventually agreed to (he'll be fighting the extremely dangerous Anderson Silva at MW). I like Henderson for his soft spoken, tough nature and the fact that he wrestles very well and throws bombs.
4. Chuck Liddell
The Iceman is a great striker and, perhaps, the most famous fighter in the UFC in terms of appealing to the uninformed throng. In my opinion he was, is, a paper tiger. I knew someone was going to go in there and not be afraid to stand with him or was going to aggressively go for the take down...and lo, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson did just that, knocking out the long reigning champ in a matter of minutes. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Chuck, I just think he is one of the most overrated fighters out there. If he loses to Wanderlei Silva on the 29th it'll make his third loss in a row and if that happens I think he needs to drop out of the top 10.
5. Wanderlei Silva
The "Axe Murderer," from the famed Chute Boxe camp, ruled the PRIDE LHW division for a while and fought against some of the best competition in the world. He is putting it on the line this month against Liddell. He, like Liddell, is coming off of a two fight losing streak. Look for him to be aggressive yet careful not to get caught by one of Chuck's devastating rights.
6. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
The Jungle Fighter, straight outta Afrikka, is making his UFC debut early in 2008 against the undefeated Machida. Despite his lack of MMA experience (only 5 fights under his belt), he is a world class Judo artist and has knocked out two great fighters consecutively.
7. Keith Jardine
AKA Satan...not a bad guy, he just looks like the devil. An Ultimate Fighter contestant turned top 10 contender, Jardine knocked out Forrest Griffin, got knocked out by Houston Alexander, and then beat Chuck Liddell by sticking to a technical game plan. Look for Jardine to make a rush for the title, but first he'll have to meet one of the other guys on this list and win.
8. Forrest Griffin
The "Everyman" of the UFC...funny, goofy, and extremely aggressive. He goes balls to the wall in every fight and, in his last fight, beat SHOGUN, the fighter whom everybody is looking for to eventually take the title and stand atop the division. Much like Jardine, Griffin's next fight will put him at the very front of the line for the title if he wins.
9. Ricardo Arona
A PRIDE veteran who is strong on the ground and has been tested over and over again. In my opinion he probably won't be a champ, but he'll definitely make life miserable for a few of these guys. I bet they'll feed him someone not in the top 10 for his first fight to build some interest around him here in the states. He's got great takedowns, mean GnP, and slickety slick jiu-jitsu. I'll be looking forward to watching him in the octagon.
10. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
If his brother is "Big Nog" then he's "Little Nog." I don't know much about him other than that he is a PRIDE veteran who is in the top 10 and is undoubtedly worthy of being here.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION (185-pound limit)
#1 Middleweight Fighter in the World: Anderson Silva
Knees, elbows, shins, fists...you'll see them all land, and usually in combination, when this guy fights. The Spider has made everyone who's fought him look bad. He has finished every fight with a KO, TKO, or submission. He seems unstoppable right now, but the answer to his style just might be Dan Henderson's wrestling ability and raw strength and that's why they've matched the two of them up. Henderson's last fight was his decision LOSS to Rampage and now they're giving him a title fight against Silva, if that doesn't speak to Henderson's abilities, then nothing does.
2. Paulo Filho
This guy fights for World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), a Zuffa company and, therefore, the sister organization of the UFC. I've never seen Filho fight, but he's the number 2 MW in the world so obviously he's one of the best. It seems to make the most sense to bring him over to the UFC and have him challenge Silva, but Zuffa has no intentions of doing so as I believe they think it would muddle things up and they want to build up the WEC in order to make sure the only competition the UFC has is also Zuffa. Stupid. Things like this demonstrate that it's not about the best fighting the best all the time but about $$$$.
3. Matt Lindland
Crazy Matt Lindland...an ex-UFC fighter, trainer, and tough-as-nails guy with a good all around game. He's especially well versed in wrestling and jiu-jitsu. His last fight was against Fedor who outweighs him by A LOT. He cut Fedor and almost had him mounted, but then Fedor almost broke his arm with a kimura to armbar. Lindland COULD fight in the UFC again, but he clashes way to much with Dana.
4. Rich Franklin
Rich might be #1 in the world if it weren't for the Spider. Ex-high school math teacher turned cage fighter. Good at everything, not really great at any one thing. He wears down his opponents since he is big at MW. Likeable, professional, tough, and definitely someone I'd like to see winning again.
5. Denis Kang
I don't know much about Kang, other than he's obviously a great fighter. From wikipedia: "Kang
6. Robbie Lawler
Soft spoken ex-UFC fighter. This guy likes to bang it out on his feet. He recently beat Frank Trigg. I'd like to see him back in the UFC. He works with Hughes now and was a co-trainer on The Ultimate Fighter Season 6.
7. Nathan Marquardt
Nathan is one of my favorite fighters although I've only seen him a handful of times. His last showing against Anderson Silva was not his best (he was TKO'd with strikes in round 2). He is very well rounded. He recently signed a contract extension with the UFC and we'll see him at least once this year. He is a technical fighter and someone who, in my opinion, will be ranked higher by year's end.
8. Kazuo Misaki
?? Japanese
9. Yushin Okami
UFC fighter...just lost to Franklin this year, barely, and then posted a win over McDonald. This guys is very strong for a middle weight and likes to wear guys down and then go for GnP. I look forward to seeing more of him.
10. Yoshihiro Akiyama
?? Japanese
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION (170-pound limit)
What a division...and the UFC has most of these guys.
#1 Welterweight Fighter in the World: Matt Serra
A paper champ? Maybe. Did he knock out St. Pierre? Yes. Was it a looping, lucky hook that landed on the back of the neck/head of St. Pierre. Yes. Ok, ok, although Serra is a bit annoying at times, he's generally a very nice person. He drops too many curse words for my liking, but he's good at jiu-jitsu. As happy as I am that Hughes and St. Pierre are going to fight again, I did want to see Serra/Hughes simply because I think Hughes would have squashed him. The one good thing is that the winner of St. Pierre/Hughes WILL fight Serra for sure come spring time.
2. Georges St. Pierre
My favorite fighter, period. The most well rounded fighter out there. Crisp striking, amazing wrestling (take down defense is astounding!) and he's got jiu-jitsu too. If he loses to Hughes it won't be the worst thing that could happen to him since he beat him decisively the last time the two met.
3. Matt Hughes
Matt Hughes is a hall-of-famer. No one has dominated a division like he has in his career. His wrestling is top-notch and he's strong. Perhaps his best asset is his heart and determination.
4. Jon Fitch
Jon Fitch is a force to be reckoned with. Hailed for quite some time as the next big thing at 170 by hardcore MMA fans, he burst into the spotlight in 2007 notching victories over some very tough competition including Diego Sanchez. He didn't totally dominate Sanchez, but he won the decision without getting into any real trouble at all. With his strong wrestling many would like to see him against Hughes. I just want to see him in a title fight before 08 is up.
5. Josh Koscheck
Fellow American Kick Boxing Academy member along with Fitch, Koscheck is a powerful wrestler with the best takedowns of anyone in the WW division. He looked nearly unstoppable until St. Pierre humbled him at UFC 74 by stuffing his takedowns and punishing him for three round, earning a unanimous decision of the fuzzy, blond haired cocky #&$@*. Ok, I was trying to be objective...yes Kos is a great fighter but he rubs me the wrong way. I'd like to see him in a title shot just to watch him lose.
6. Karo Parisyan
Karo, Karo, Karo...we wanted so much more from your last fight...but you tried. Karo is a great judo artist who doesn't usually finish fights, but he wins them and they're usually interesting. Indeed, in 2006 he had fight of the year when he threw down with Diego Sanchez. He's now fighting like a guy with something to lose...namely his shot at the title. He had one back in the day and had to back out because of injury. He has been on a tear, winning something like eight of his last nine fights. I think they'll give him one more fight, but he may just hold out most of the year to wait for a title shot to open up. People want to put him up against Fitch to determine a number one contender.
7. Jake Shields
Young, tough, and, well, that's about all I know (non-UFC...I think Strikeforce).
8. Diego Sanchez
The Nightmare was/is the great Latin hope. Slick jiu-jitsu hasn't been enough to keep him undefeated and he's now lost two in a row (Koscheck and then Fitch). Look for a comeback...this kid will be MOTIVATED to put the hurt on whomever he faces next.
9. Carlos Condit
Another fighter I hear a lot about but don't know much about. He's in the WEC so he's another guy the UFC could bring over at any time but probably won't.
10. Marcus Davis
Man, one of the most exciting fights this year came from Davis, aka The Irish Hand Grenade. He was getting the screws put to him by Paul Taylor and the fight was almost stopped after Taylor dropped Davis with a shin and was hammer fisting him. Davis recovered, however, and ended up catching Taylor in a nasty arm bar, ending the fight and giving the fans a wild ride.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION (160-pound limit)
Lightweight is quickly becoming one of my favorite divisions to watch. The UFC has a very deep lightweight division but despite this fact, the majority of the fighters in the top 10 come from other organizations mainly because so many fighters in Japan are smaller and MMA is huge over there.
#1 Lightweight Fighter in the World: Takanori Gomi
Gomi is widely recognized as the best at 155. I have only seen a few of his fights.
2. Hayato Sakurai
?
3. Gilbert Melendez
WEC- undefeated.
4. Tatsuya Kawajiri
?
5. Shinya Aoki
?
6. Gesias "JZ" Calvancante
?
7. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro
?
8. Joe Stevenson
UFC- aka Joe Daddy. He'll be taking on BJ Penn for the interim LW belt in January. This is a very anticipated match up. The winner will take on Sherk when he's done with his suspension.
9. Mitsuhiro Ishida
?
10. Kenny Florian
Kenny is th soft spoken, nerdy lookin' dude who nearly beat Sherk late in 2006 when the LW division was resurrected and they needed to crown a champ.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
FEATHERWEIGHT DIVISION (145 pounds and under)
#1 Featherweight Fighter in the World: Akitoshi Tamura
2. "Lion" Takeshi Inoue
3. Urijah Faber
Man, this kid is on fire...very exciting. He's WEC and I'd love it if he went up to 55 and came to the UFC.
4. Antonio Carvalho
5. Masakazu Imanari
6. Hatsu Hioki
7. Jeff Curran
8. Yoshiro Maeda
9. Tenkei Fujimiya
10. Rafael Assuncao
Friday, December 7, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Dan's Quick Hits
1. UFC 81 (Sat., Feb. 2nd) will be known as the "Super Bowl Card" because it's the same weekend as the Super Bowl and "my sources" (Sherdog's podcast) claim that it may be on CBS for free (of course it'd be free if it's broadcast on national TV). This would be the biggest thing ever to happen to MMA in that it'll be free and on national TV. We don't who'll be the main event, but some of the card has already materialized:
Hvywt.
Frank Mir (10-3) vs. Brock Lesnar (1-0)
Brock Lesnar is the first guy to fight in the UFC from pro-wrestling. Before you dismiss him note this: he as a division I wreslter and defeated his first opponent in about one minute via arm bar. Frank Mir on the other hand was one the golden boy of the UFC heavyweight division but a terrible motorcycle accident put him out of the game for a few years and he has found mixed success coming back.
155 lbs.
Tyson Griffin (10-1) vs. Gleison Tibau (15-4)*
Tyson is one of the most exciting fighters in the sport. I absolutely love to watch him fight because he never gives up and has the ability to get out of submissions regardless of how hopeless things seem.
185 lbs.
Nate Marquardt (25-7-2) vs. Thales Leites (12-1)*
Both of these guys bring it but Nate is a true contender. His last fight was a title shot against The Spider which he lost via TKO. He just didn't have an answer for the most dominating striker in the game in Anderson Silva. Leites is no joke either and this will be a true battle of these middleweights!
2. The next fight card is FREE and will go down on Dec. 8th (Sat.) at 6PM on SPIKETV. It's the Ultimate Fighter Finale. Although we don't know who the finalists are, we do know that the main event is Roger Huerta vs. Clay Guida, two of the most exciting lightweight fighters in the game. Huerta is the guy we watched fight the first time we watched fights over at Matt's house (the night Gonzaga lost to Couture)...he was the guy who used the big screen display to land reverse elbows on his opponent. These guys are both game and it will be a war. If you want to watch this we me, you're welcome too! I'll probably watch it at my place or my pop's up in Chino Hills.
Ok, it's Thanksgiving and I shouldn't be on the net, so here's the rest of the schedule for the upcoming UFC events:
Ultimate Fighter® Team Serra vs Team Hughes Finale - 12/08/2007
R. Huerta
C. Guida
Date
12/08/2007
Time
9pm ET/PT
Event Type
Spike TV - The Ultimate Fighter Finale
UFC® 79 NEMESIS - 12/29/2007
M. Serra
M. Hughes
Date
12/29/2007
Time
7pm PT / 10pm ET
Event Type
PPV Live
UFC® 80: RAPID FIRE - 01/19/2008
B. Penn
J. Stevenson
Date
01/19/2008
Time
noon PT / 3pm ET / 20:00 GMT
Event Type
PPV Live
Sunday, November 18, 2007
The BEAST vs. The SPIDER
From mmamania.com:
Day of reckoning: Henderson vs. Silva projected for UFC 82
There are main events, and there are MAIN EVENTS.
Dan “Hollywood” Henderson (22-6), after much resistance, has conceded to moving down a weight class to try and dethrone current UFC middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva (20-4).
The bout is tentatively scheduled to headline UFC 82 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on March 1st.
The announcement was made during the post-fight press conference for UFC 78, which took place Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Henderson is coming off a disappointing loss against current light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 75. While the result may not have been what he wanted, the bout was a showcase of upper-level mixed martial arts.
At the time, Henderson was steadfast in his decision to remain at 205lbs.
In addition to knocking out Wanderlei Silva at PRIDE 33, Hendo is also only one of three people to hold victories over current UFC Heavyweight contender Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira.
He’ll need every ounce of that experience against “The Spider”, who has completely dominated the UFC middleweight division with five straight wins including four devastating (T)KO’s.
Silva is also considered by many to be the sport’s top pound-for-pound fighter and may solidify that ranking with a dominant performance over Henderson, one of the few remaining fighters seen as a viable threat to the middleweight title.
Things could get very interesting in 2008.
Stay tunedSaturday, November 17, 2007
UFC 78 in the books...
The next event is on Dec. 29th, New Year's Eve (there's always a NYE fight) and then, after that, the free Ultimate Fight Night on SpikeTV will go down on Jan. 8th. Although the New Year's Eve Fight is questionable in terms of whether or not we'll be able to put that one together, the UFN on Jan 8th is a sure thing, so put it on your calendar.
Official results from mmaweekly.com:
The fight went the way most expected, Evans scoring with several takedowns and Bisping arguably getting the better of the stand-up game. After three rounds of back-and-forth action that slowed as the fight wore on, it was Rashad Evans that saw his hand raised in victory, albeit due to a split decision. Two judges scored the bout 29-28 for Evans, the third scoring it 29-28 for Bisping.
Both fighters talked a lot leading up to this bout and they had a heated exchange at the weigh-ins on Thursday afternoon, but as is usually the case, they showed much respect for each other after beating each other up for three rounds.
“I felt it went in my favor, but you’ve got to give credit to Michael Bisping,” said Evans following the bout. “My hat is off to him.”
He felt that it was his wrestling that edged the decision his way. “When it came down to it, I controlled the pace of the fight by being able to take him down.”
Asked his assessment of the fight, Bisping said, “I thought it was a very close fight. A lot of people thought I didn’t belong in here with him. I think I proved that I do belong here tonight.”
Like Evans, he thought his opponent’s takedowns were what made it decisive in the judges’ eyes. “Obviously the takedowns were the deciding factor. I’m not taking anything away from him; he did take me down. But I am happy with my wrestling and my takedown defense.”
Houston Alexander, who had spent less than a combined total of two minutes in the Octagon in winning his first two UFC bouts, had to go more than three minutes on Saturday night. It was three minutes that he’d surely like to have back though. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Thiago Silva made it a rough night for Alexander, mounting him and putting an end to his UFC unbeaten streak with a barrage of punches.
Silva upped his professional record to 12-0 with the TKO stoppage. He was grateful for the win afterwards saying, “My strategy going in was to fight him for three rounds, but thanks to God I was able to finish him.”
Karo Parisyan had to go all three rounds with a debuting Ryo Chonan, but he continually took the Japanese fighter down throughout and grounded and pounded him. No one will vote it fight of the night, but it was a dominating performance once again for the Armenian welterweight.
“I got the win, but it wasn’t my best showing,” said Parisyan of his performance. “I’m sorry, next time I will do better. He’s a tough guy.”
It took Ed Herman until the opening moments of the third round – after nearly succumbing to an armbar at the end of round two – but he knocked out Joe Doerksen with a left hook at the 39-second mark to capture his first win by knockout.
“That was beautiful to win like that,” said Herman after the fight. “That’s the first KO of my career … there it is baby!”
It wasn’t the most exciting fight of the night, but New Jersey native Frankie Edgar dominated Spencer Fisher before his home crowd. He took Fisher down at will and although he didn’t accumulate much damage, he was active with his ground and pound attack throughout, scoring a unanimous decision.
In a close fight that went back-and-forth, Thiago Alves came out on top as officials ruled that Chris Lytle could not continue after the second round. Lytle suffered a cut over his left eye in the first round and it gave rise to further concern in between rounds two and three as the fight was stopped.
A member of B.J. Penn’s team on season five of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Joe Lauzon made the move to Hilo, Hawaii to permanently join Penn’s team and it appears to be paying off. In little more than one minute into the first round, Lauzon tapped out the previously undefeated Jason Reinhardt with a rear naked choke.
After losing to Clay Guida in his first Octagon debut, Pride veteran Marcus Aurelio returned in impressive fashion, finishing off UFC veteran Luke Caudillo by TKO in the opening round.
In the night’s opening preliminary bout, Akihiro Gono did his best to shuck the perception that former Pride fighters can’t win in the UFC, defeating Tamdan McCrory via armbar midway through the second round.
UFC 78 RESULTS:
–Rashad Evans def. Michael Bisping by Split Decision, R3
–Thiago Silva def. Houston Alexander by TKO (Strikes) at 3:25, R1
–Karo Parisyan def. Ryo Chonan by Unanimous Decision, R3
–Ed Herman def. Joe Doerksen by KO (Punch) at 0:39, R3
–Frankie Edgar def. Spencer Fisher by Unanimous Decision, R3
–Thiago Alves def. Chris Lytle by TKO (Doctor’s Stoppage) at 5:00, R2
–Joe Lauzon def. Jason Reinhardt by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:14, R1
–Marcus Aurelio def. Luke Caudillo by TKO (Strikes) at 4:29, R1
–Akihiro Gono def. Tamdan McCrory by Submission (Armbar) at 3:19, R2
Who is Sokoudjou?
http://www.myvideo.de/watch/2299017&id=331
http://www.vsocial.com/video/?d=101234&id=1190
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
It's on...
CHECK OUT THE OFFICIAL SITE HERE FOR UFC 78
No higher resolution available.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Matt Hughes on potential rematch with Georges St. Pierre
Props: MMAMadness.com
Quoteworthy:
“I don’t want to look past Serra, but if I get to fight Georges again, things will change. Definitely. I will definitely change my stand up and maybe my take downs. I only tried one take down in our last fight and I didn’t even give it 100% percent. I promise that lots will change.”
Former welterweight champion Matt Hughes talks about doing things a bit different if he ever rematches Georges St. Pierre. “Rush” defeated Hughes almost 12 months ago via technical knockout. The winner of the UFC 79 fight between Hughes and Matt Serra will fight St. Pierre sometime in early 2008.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Holy cow!
....and no, this is not a post about Hinduism. Ok, really bad jokes aside, the last few weeks have been full of crazy upsets and I'm not just talking about fights, I'm talking about Couture’s departure from the UFC and the losses sustained by Liddell and Shogun. On the other hand you can be optimistic about these things, including the “loss” of Couture. Anyhow, I’m in class right now and as of Friday after about 4PM, I don’t have to be at work for a month, so you better believe I’m going to be doing a better job of keeping up on the news from the world of MMA, primarily UFC.
Second, let’s think about the guys who were supposed to win and then lost. Personally I’m a bit sad about the loss of Liddell but only from the larger perspective of what that meant for UFC and MMA. It was better for him to win for the sport because it meant so many exciting match ups and sort of made you guess regarding who the best fighter in the division is. Optimistic take? Well, Liddell is still the most beloved US figure in the sport (yeah, believe it or not, people and know and love Liddell which I’ve always found a bit strange because he’s not talkative…I think it’s something about his image…oh yeah, and he used to knock everyone out!) and therefore he’s going to be around for a while. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, the Dec. 29th event (UFC 79 or 80) will showcase the American knockout artist himself, Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell vs. the Pride of Brazil, Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva who, like Liddell, has had a stellar career at light heavyweight, is also coming off of two consecutive losses, the last being a knockout loss he suffered at the hands of Dan Henderson who fought and loss Quinton “Rampage” Jackson the current light heavyweight champ who knocked out Liddell less than two minutes into the first round.
Then we have Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, from the same camp in
Now there’s a lot more to talk (write) about, but I don’t have time, so I am going to add a bunch of good stories here, including the outcomes of UFC 77. Take care guys and get ready for the next big event (UFC 78) which will answer the following questions and more: did Bisping really deserve to beat Matt Hamil? If not, he is going to get handed a beat down by Rashad Evans. What a match up! Both of these guys should be fighting other people (remember Rashad vs. Ortiz was a draw and, of course, Bisping's fight was fraught with controversy). Other questions: Does Karo "The Heat" Parisyan really have what it takes for a title shot in the white hot welterweight division? Is Houston Alexander the most violent fighter ever? Will he end his third fight with a KO just like he did his last two fights. How good is Spencer Fisher? If he wins this fight does he get a shot at the lightweight belt? Is Ed Herman going to go on a tear all the way to a middleweight title fight?
UFC 78: VALIDATION
Main card
- Light heavyweight bout: Rashad Evans vs.
Michael Bisping[2] - Welterweight bout: Karo Parisyan vs.
Ryo Chonan[4] - Light heavyweight bout: Houston Alexander vs. Thiago Silva[5]
- Lightweight bout: Spencer Fisher vs. Frank Edgar[6]
- Middleweight bout: Ed Herman vs. David Terrell[6]
Preliminary card
- Welterweight bout: Akihiro Gono vs. Tamdan McCrory[6]
- Welterweight bout: Chris Lytle vs. Thiago Alves[6]
- Lightweight bout: Joe Lauzon vs. Jason Reinhardt[6]
Props: MassLive.com
Quoteworthy:
“Gabriel Gonzaga put Ludlow on the mixed martial arts map. His manager, Marco Alvan, is trying to make sure it stays there. Alvan has added two renowned fighters to his Team Link stable, which already includes Gonzaga - a top heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Thiago Silva is 11-0 and will fight at next month’s “UFC 78″ in Newark, N.J., while Paulo Filho is the middleweight champion of UFC’s sister promotion - World Extreme Cagefighting.”
Interesting aside: In the article Filho confirms his rumored WEC 185-pound title bout against former UFC welterweight contender Frank Trigg on December 12. Good fight.
UFC veteran Ricardo Almeida recently signed a six-fight contract to return to the middleweight division and will fight sometime in early 2008, according to GracieMag.com.
The good news was confirmed over the weekend during the UFC 77: “Hostile Territory” post event press conference.
Almeida — a Renzo Gracie-trained jiu-jitsu black belt — has been absent from professional mixed martial arts competition since 2004. His resume of opponents prior to the layoff is impressive, however, including notables such as Ryo Chonan (win), Nathan Marquardt (win) and Kazuo Masaki (win), among others.
The Brazilian debuted inside the Octagon against Matt Lindland in 2001, which resulted in a loss via disqualification (multiple fouls). Almeida redeemed himself with a submission win (triangle choke) over Eugene Jackson four months later, but was defeated by Andrei Semenov via technical knockout in his third and final UFC bout in 2002.
Now he’s back … and it couldn’t come at a better time. The 185-pound division is desperate for an opponent to step up and declare himself the number one contender to challenge Anderson Silva for his middleweight crown.
With a few impressive wins — and a shiny new contract — Almeida has that opportunity.
Props: NBCSports.com
During the in-ring UFC 77 post-fight interview “The Maine-iac” called out Cheick Kongo after he defeated Brandon Vera. He did it again in the UFC 77 post-event press conference.
In the video above (also just after UFC 77), however, he says he’s fighting Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. “Minotauro” says he’s fighting Sylvia at UFC 81 in February on SuperBowl weekend.
What gives? Does Sylvia want Kongo but is facing “Big Nog” instead? Confusion.
UFCmania.com has received the fighter payouts for UFC 77: “Hostile Territory” from the Ohio Athletic Commission (OAC) for the event held on October 20 at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Former heavyweight champion Time Sylvia was the top earner, hauling in a $200,000 purse for outpointing Brandon Vera in the co-main event of the evening.
UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva brought home the next highest purse with $120,000 for his successful 185-pound title defense against Rich Franklin.
Here are all the UFC 77 payouts:
Anderson Silva — $120,000 ($60,000 to show, $60,000 to win)
Rich Franklin — $45,000
Silva defeated Franklin via technical knockout (strikes) in round two
Tim Sylvia — $200,000 ($100,000 to show, $100,000 to win)
Brandon Vera — $100,000
Sylvia defeated Vera via unanimous decision
Alvin Robinson — $6,000 ($3,000 to show, $3,000 to win)
Jorge Gurgel — $7,000
Robinson defeated Gurgel via unanimous decision
Stephan Bonnar — $44,000 ($22,000 to show, $22,000 to win)
Eric Schafer — $6,000
Bonnar defeated Schafer via technical knockout (strikes) in round two
Alan Belcher — $22,000 ($11,000 to show, $11,000 to win)
Kalib Starnes — $7,000
Belcher defeated Starnes via technical knockout (doctor stoppage because of a cut) in round two
Yushin Okami — $24,000 ($12,000 to show, $12,000 to win)
Jason MacDonald — $17,000
Okami defeated MacDonald via unanimous decision
Demian Maia — $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 to win)
Ryan Jensen — $4,000
Maia defeated Jensen via submission (rear naked choke) in round one
Josh Burkman — $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Forrest Petz — $6,000
Burkman defeated Petz via unanimous decision
Matt Grice — $6,000 ($3,000 to show, $3,000 to win)
Jason Black — $8,000
Grice defeated Black via split decision
Keep in mind the salaries listed above do not include fight bonuses, sponsorships, percentages and other unofficial payments. For example, fighters receive bonuses for “Submission of the Night,” “Fight of the Night,” and others.
In fact, UFC President Dana White announced at the post-event press conference that Silva earned a $40,000 bonus for his stoppage of Franklin. Grice and Black each earned and extra $40,000 for their scrap. And Octagon newcomer Maia pocketed an additional $40,000 for almost putting Jensen to sleep.
The total base fighter payroll for the UFC 77 was $652,000. The 16,054 fans in attendance paid a collective $2,519,850 to watch the festivities live.
For results, recaps and blow-by-blow coverage of UFC 77 click here and here.
Former champions Chuck Liddell (20-5) and Wanderlei Silva (31-7-1) will indeed clash in a light heavyweight super fight at UFC 79: “Nemesis” on December 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
UFC President Dana White made the highly anticipated (and well-known) announcement during a commercial break for the 2007 Scream Awards on the Spike television network this evening.
Here’s a bit of what he had to say:
“This is the most anticipated fight in the history of mixed martial arts…. It is the perfect way to end 2007.”
Fans can now take a collective deep sigh of relief because even though all signs pointed to a match up between the two icons it was never really official until it came from the UFC brass.
The fight has been on-and-off since both 205-pound fighters held the belts in their respective organizations — Liddell for the UFC and Silva for PRIDE FC.
It almost went down during a tournament-style event back in 2003, PRIDE: Final Conflict. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, however, played the role of spoiler that night, taking out “The Iceman” in the semifinals in an upset.
He went on to lose later that night to “The Axe Murderer.”
Since that time the bout between Liddell and Silva has taken on a life of its own. In fact, when the two were reigning champions back in 2006, White made the bold move of bringing Silva into the Octagon and announced that the two champions would finally square off.
It never happened for various reasons.
Then earlier this year, as the PRIDE organization was about to fold, Silva was knocked out by Dan Henderson, losing his middleweight title.
At the time, White said that PRIDE had thrown away the biggest fight in the history of the sport.
That is until Liddell lost his belt to Rampage three months later at UFC 71, and then lost his next fight against Keith Jardine — a fight in which fans were teased again with the potential showdown.
“The Dean of Mean” stepped in for Silva at UFC 76 last month after negotiations on a date for the bout with the Brazilian fell through at the last minute.
Finally … After all these years and teases the fight is booked once and for all. And even if it doesn’t have the same value in terms of declaring an international or unified champion, it will settle one of the longest-running (and perhaps most intriguing) debates in the relatively brief history of MMA:
Who wins a fight between Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva?
We’ll find out on New Year’s Eve weekend.
See … Dreams really do come true.
For the most recent rumored UFC 79 fight card click here. Note: UFC.com has also issued an official press release on the fight that can be found here.
UFC 77 Fighters Salaries: Tim Sylvia Gets Reported $200,000; Anderson Silva Gets $120,000
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has received official UFC 77 salary information from the Ohio Athletic Commission.
UFC 77 took place at Cincinnati’s U.S. Bank Arena on Saturday, Oct. 20. The pay-per-view event produced a live gate of $2,519,850 (a U.S. Bank Arena record). A sold-out crowd of 16,054 attended the show.
Tim Sylvia, who defeated Brandon Vera in the night’s co-main event, received the highest reported salary at $200,000 (Vera earned $100,000). Anderson Silva, who defended his middleweight title in the night’s main event, earned a reported salary of $120,000. His opponent, Rich Franklin, earned $45,000.
The total disclosed payroll for the event was $652,000.
The full list of reported salaries includes:
- Anderson Silva ($120,000) def. Rich Franklin ($45,000)
- Tim Sylvia ($200,000) def. Brandon Vera ($100,000)
- Alvin Robinson ($6,000) def. Jorge Gurgel ($7,000)
- Stephan Bonnar ($44,000) def. Eric Schafer ($6,000)
- Alan Belcher ($22,000) def. Kalib Starnes ($7,000)
- Yushin Okami ($24,000) def. Jason MacDonald ($17,000)
- Demian Maia ($10,000) def. Ryan Jensen ($4,000)
- Josh Burkman ($20,000) def. Forrest Petz ($6,000)
- Matt Grice ($6,000) def. Jason Black ($8,000)
Every winning fighter earned a salary that was 50 percent to show and 50 percent as a win bonus. For example, Sylvia earned $200,000; $100,000 of that was his base salary, and the other $100,000 was earned as a win bonus. (Likewise, all of the night’s losing fighters would have doubled their salaries with a victory because of the win bonuses.)
Now, the usual disclaimer: the figures do not include deductions for items such as insurance, licenses and taxes. Additionally, the figures do not include money paid by sponsors, which can oftentimes be a substantial portion of a fighter’s income. They also do not include any bonuses paid to some of the main-card fighters who sometimes earn a small cut of pay-per-view revenue. They also do not include other special/non-disclosed bonuses the UFC sometimes pays.
In other words, these are simply base salaries reported to the CSAC and do not represent the total amounts earned by each fighter.
In addition to the salaries above, Silva earned an additional $40,000 Knockout of the Night bonus, Maia earned a $40,000 Submission of the Night bonus, and Grice and Black each earned a $40,000 Fight of the Night bonus.
For more on UFC 77, check out:
Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79 — It’s Finally Official
The worst-kept secret in UFC history was finally revealed this evening; UFC President Dana White confirmed that former UFC champion Chuck Liddell (20-5 MMA, 15-4 UFC) will face former PRIDE title-holder Wanderlei Silva (31-7-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at UFC 79 on Dec. 29.
The pay-per-view event takes place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
White made the announcement during a spot on Tuesday night’s “Scream 2007” special on Spike TV.
The one-time cross-promotion mega-fight, which had been promised a few times over the past couple years (most recently at UFC 61), never came to fruition because UFC and PRIDE officials couldn’t work out the details. However, owners of Zuffa LLC (the UFC’s parent company) purchased PRIDE earlier this year, signed Silva to a contract, and then scheduled him to fight at UFC 79.
Liddell was the likely opponent — until a split-decision loss to Keith Jardine at UFC 76 in September appeared to temporarily derail the idea. However, despite both fighters coming off back-to-back losses (Liddell to Quinton Jackson and Jardine; Silva to Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Dan Henderson), the bout remains one of the most-anticipated in MMA history, and UFC officials booked the fight anyway.
As MMAjunkie.com exclusively announced in July, Silva was expected to fight Liddell at UFC 76. However, when Silva requested a November fight date instead (to accommodate his move to the U.S.), the bout was scrapped and Jardine got the fight instead. White went on the offensive soon after, saying Silva was ducking Liddell and that the fight would probably never happen.
Three weeks later, though, White boasted that he had signed Silva — and even posted a video of the actual contract signing on UFC.com. However, he never clarified his claims that Silva was trying to avoid a fight with Liddell.
MMAjunkie.com spoke to Silva over the weekend during Cincinnati’s UFC 77 event, and the Brazilian confirmed he would be fighting Liddell. White, though, remained tight-lipped about the fight, saying only that the two fighters would face off sometime “soon.“
Now officially booked, the fight will take second billing to a main event between UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra and former champ Matt Hughes.
For the latest rumored UFC 79 fight card, check out the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
