UFC 91: Randy Couture vs Brock Lesnar?

By: Jesse Holland

Hell hasn’t frozen over just yet, but the temperature is definitely dropping.

What started as an ugly rumor is now snowballing into the biggest news story of 2008: Randy Couture’s return to the UFC.

Say what?

Dave Meltzer is reporting that exiled UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture is not only negotiating a new contract, but that his return could come as early as November at UFC 91 against the albino gorilla known as Brock Lesnar.

That means an end to his nine-month legal battle with Zuffa, but does it mean an end to his desired dream match against Fedor Emelianenko?

Not so, according to Ariel Helwani. MMA Rated says the UFC is also considering a proposal from M-1 Global to co-promote a Randy Couture vs. Fedor Emelianenko bout following the Lesnar fight in November and a possible third fight against current interim champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira sometime after that.

That of course begs the question: What happens to Minotauro’s belt if Couture returns? And what happens to Couture’s?

Since Randy is reportedly negotiating a new three-fight contract and not a repair of his old one, the landscape of the UFC heavyweight division could change significantly upon his return.

Matt Hamill receives UFC 88 ‘heros send-off’ from hometown Utica NY fans (Video)

By: MMAmania

Props: WKTV.com

UFC Quick Quote: Lyoto Machida predicts fast finish in Thiago Silva UFC 89 fight

“I believe this fight won’t go to decision…. Thiago likes to fight aggressively, me too, he has good MMA techniques, so I believe this fight might finish before the third round. I’m training a lot, actually I hadn’t stop training since my last fight. Now I’m doing a specifically training focused on Thiago, preparing my strategies and working on the physical preparation.… I’m very focused.”

– Lyoto Machida tells Tatame.com that he expects his light heavyweight showdown against Thiago Silva at UFC 89: “Bisping vs Leben” at the National Indoor Arena (NIA) in Birmingham, England, on October 18, to not go the distance. It’s a sensational 205-pound match up between two undefeated fighters with identical records. Whether it goes the full distance or not one thing is certain: someone will go home with a 13-1 record and the winner will likely be on the door step of a title shot in early to mid 2009. Perhaps even sooner, depending on what happens with Chuck Liddell at UFC 88 next weekend.

mmamania.com

Iceman Rx: Chuck Liddell vs. Forrest Griffin at UFC 92 (If all goes to plan)

By: Jesse Holland

It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world — especially for fans of mixed martial arts.

Who could have ever predicted the career of Chuck Liddell would be sandwiched between two contestants from The Ultimate Fighter (TUF)?

Yet that’s exactly what’s happened to the former light heavyweight champion, who’s had an interesting 2008.

Liddell was originally scheduled to face PRIDE assassin Mauricio Rua at UFC 85 until “Shogun” re-injured his ailing knee and was forced to withdraw.

TUF Season 2 winner and undefeated light heavyweight Rashad Evans answered the call to replace Rua, but this time it was Liddell who canceled after a devastating hamstring injury.

Now fully healed, Chuck is set to honor his commitment by battling Rashad Evans at UFC 88 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Ga., on Saturday, September 6.

At that time of the announcement (June), it was sort of anti-climatic. After all, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was still the 205-pound champion. Defeating Evans meant a possible autumn superfight against Shogun Rua and not the title shot for which he was hoping.

But boy have things changed since then.

Jackson was narrowly defeated by TUF Season 1 winner Forrest Griffin at UFC 86 and spent some time after the fight ranting and raving on the highway like Dr. Miles Bennell.

And Shogun somehow ended up bypassing Liddell altogether and could go straight to a Jackson rematch (from their PRIDE days) in November/December. That’s assuming he can make it that long without his knee folding up like George Jetson’s car.

So where does that leave the Iceman? In line for a title shot against Forrest Griffin at UFC 92, according to his nutrition company Iceman Rx.

Unless of course “Sugar” Rashad Evans has anything to say about it.

Liddell will likely fight at UFC 92, but whether or not its for the gold all depends on his performance at UFC 88. At 11-0-1, Evans is no pushover and does happen to train with Keith Jardine — one of the few men to have a victory over the Icy one.

To hype December’s fight, Iceman Rx is holding a sweepstakes starting on September 1 and ending on December 27 (to coincide with Liddell’s appearance at UFC 92). The winner receives a special edition Chuck Liddell Iceman Rx Hummer H2.

See for yourself:

Continue reading ‘Iceman Rx: Chuck Liddell vs. Forrest Griffin at UFC 92 (If all goes to plan)’

WEC 36 Preview: Jens Pulver vs. Leonard Garcia

Bloody Elbow August MMA Meta-Rankings: Light Heavyweight

by Kid Nate on Aug 26, 2008 3:01 PM EDT in News

Fighter	Points	Promotion	Last Rank
1. Forrest Griffin	492	UFC	1
2. Quinton Jackson	473	UFC	2
2. Chuck Liddell	473	UFC	4
4. Lyoto Machida	446	UFC	3
5. Mauricio Rua	406	UFC	5
6. Wanderlei Silva	395	UFC	6
7. Keith Jardine	333	UFC	7
8. Rashad Evans	282	UFC	8
9. Thiago Silva	264	UFC	9
10. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou	263	UFC	10
11. Dan Henderson	204	UFC	11
11. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira	204	Affliction	12
13. Tito Ortiz	145	Unsigned	13
14. Vladimir Matyushenko	123	Affliction	14
15. Renato Sobral	112	Affliction/Strikeforce	16
16. Stephan Bonnar	89	UFC	17
16. Brandon Vera	89	UFC	18
18. Goran Reljic	82	UFC	15
19. Ricardo Arona	78	Unsigned	19
20. Luis Arthur Cane	74	UFC	18
20. Wilson Gouveia	74	UFC	21
22. Rich Franklin	73	UFC	NR
23. Rafael Calvacante	71	EliteXC	22
24. Glover Teixeira	70	PFC	20
25. Travis Wiuff	66	YAMMA	NR

This is one of the weirder Meta-rankings I've compiled since beginning this project. There hasn't been any relevant action in the last month and yet the rankings have been pretty changeable.

For one thing, Chuck Liddell continues to climb, I assume due to anticipation of his fight against Rashad Evans and a likely title shot if he wins that one. The more time goes by, the more I'm convinced that Lyoto Machida was the real loser of the Rampage/Forrest fight. Had Rampage won, Machida would have been very hard to deny a title shot. He had worked his way up to #2 on the Meta-rankings not long ago. Now he's at #4 without having lost a fight.

The other strangeness was at the bottom levels. MMA-ELO's decision to move Rich Franklin to middleweight due to his upcoming fight at 205lbs against Matt Hamill caused Franklin to come in at #3 on their charts. They were the only site ranking him in the top 25 at all but it was enough to get him on the charts at 22. Travis Wiuff also wormed his way into the standings but via several sites ranking him in the top 25.

It also annoys me that so many sites continue to rank Dan Henderson at 205 when he's showing no indication of ever fighting at 205 again.

The UFC continues to utterly dominate this division with 17 of the top 25 and all of the top 11 signed to Zuffa. But you have to hand it to Affliction, they've went out and signed the best available light heavyweight -- #14 Vladdy Matyushenko -- and are putting him in against Little Nog (#11) in October. Hopefully the winner will face Sobral at the third Affliction show. It's too bad Tito thinks he's priceless because I'd much rather see Babalu vs Tito than Babalu vs Bobby Southworth Anthony Ruiz.

The upcoming Liddell/Evans bout will either get Chuck one last title run or establish Rashad as a real contender. I'm much less intrigued by the Rich Franklin/Matt Hamill match. It's not a good matchup for either fighter. IMO with Anderson Silva talking about moving up to 205 to fight Chuck Liddell et al, Franklin should be consolidating his position as the 2nd best middleweight in the world. I'd much rather see Rich vs Dan Henderson than Franklin/Hamill or Henderson/Palhares.

Does anyone know if the Wilson Gouveia/Jeremy Horn fight will be at 205 or 185? There's another fight that makes no sense unless the UFC just wants to give a gimme to Gouveia.

UFC 89 on the other hand will have a huge impact on the rankings. You've got #4 Lyoto Machida vs #9 Thiago Silva in a battle of the undefeated fighters. It'll be hard to keep the winner away from a title shot in 2009. Plus #7 Keith Jardine vs #16 Brandon Vera in a bout that could send the loser's career into a death spiral. And #10 Sokoudjou vs #20 Luiz Cane in what should be a war and should establish the winner as a contender for a 2009 title shot.

Then of course you've got the rumored Rampage vs Shogun rematch in December. The UFC clearly still sees Shogun as a marketable fighter with a big future. My question is what's next for Wanderlei? And with Liddell (or maybe Evans), Shogun or Rampage and Wanderlei all likely to get title shots, how long will the winner of Machida/Thiago Silva have to wait for a shot?

And lastly, is anyone ever going to sign Ricardo Arona?

Anderson Silva vs. Chuck? It's a Possibility

UFC Quick Quote: Anderson Silva vs Chuck Liddell?

By: Jesse Holland

“At the end of the day, this is a business, and [the UFC] needs to sell fights. They need to sell a lot of pay-per-views, and they need to sell tickets. So, we want to be involved with those types of fights. We’re not looking past Patrick Cote, but I think we’ll take one step at a time and see what happens. But yeah, if a Chuck Liddell fight came up, we’d take it. Whoever the UFC wants to put in front of us, he wants to fight the best, and whoever that may be at the time, that’s who he wants to fight.”

– Ed Soares, manager of UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva, makes it clear via MMA Weekly that “The Spider” is not content to just rest on his laurels and will continue to hunt down the best fighters in the world - including UFC icon Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell. Megafight? Don’t expect to see that one on Spike TV.

Kenny Florian: ‘People are still doubting me’

Yeah, why you doubtin' Chris Hunt? (;

By: MMAmania

Props: Sherdog.com

Quoteworthy:

“I wouldn’t be surprised if I went out there and knocked out Joe Stevenson in the first 10 seconds and they were like, ‘Kenny got lucky, and he still has to prove himself; he’ll never beat Sean Sherk or B.J. Penn, and Tyson Griffin’s a better fighter.’.. For whatever reason, people are still doubting me. It’s normal.”

Even with five straight wins — and likely no need to take a fight anytime soon because he’s emerged as the top contender in the lightweight division — Florian still doesn’t feel the love. In fact, even if he scores a knockout over Joe Stevenson at UFC 91 in Portland, Ore., on November 15, Florian still feels the doubters will remain. Maybe he needs a tattoo (sarcasm).

Kimbo Slice vs Ken Shamrock Elite XC main event fight October 4

What's the world coming to?
By: MMAmania

Ken Shamrock (26-13-2)– the 44-year-old mixed martial arts pioneer who has not won a professional fight in more than four years — is the next man to challenge Elite XC’s most coveted possession, Kimbo Slice (3-0), according to Sherdog.com.

The bout will serve as the main event of “Saturday Night Fights” on CBS from the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., on October 4.

Shamrock was a among a short list of possible opponents for the Miami native that also included Sean Gannon — the only man to defeat the YouTube.com sensation in underground fisticuffs — and Brett Rogers.

Out of the trio Rogers was far and away the most qualified and would have likely given Slice the stiffest competition. However, that could have been the problem — Elite XC matchmakers still feel the need to shamelessly build its biggest star.

And what better way then to have him wallop an over-the-hill, past-his-prime UFC veteran on national television.

Shamrock — a UFC Hall of Fame inductee — dropped his first and most recent bout under the ProElite banner, losing to Robert “Buzz” Berry via first knockout at Cage Rage 25: “Bring it On” earlier this year.

That, too, was supposed to be a warm-up for the “World’s Most Dangerous Man” to groom him for a big money match down the road against either Slice, or his younger brother, Frank.

It seems like it didn’t matter — at least one of those fights (Slice) is going to happen. Although a win against Berry would have made this appear (to the casual fan at least) to be somewhat of a fair fight.

Shamrock has lost eight of his last 10 fights dating back to 2001 and he’s on a five-fight losing skid.

The only thing in his favor going into this fight is experience and his submission game. Shamrock has won more than 80 percent of his fights via submission, which poses somewhat of a threat provided he can get close enough to Slice to take him down.

Don’t count on it. But then again stranger things have happened … kind of like this match up in the first place.

MMA Rankings (Non-organization specific)

MMA Rankings- Heavyweights:

1. Fedor WAMMA Champion
2. Big Nog (+220)
3. Andrei Arlovski (+220)
4. Josh Barnett (+320)
5. Fabricio Werdum (+260)
6. Randy Couture (+340) contract dispute
7. Tim Sylvia (+280)
8. Aleks Emelianenko (+420)
9. Alistair Overeem (+360)
10. Cheick Kongo (+420)
11. Gabriel Gonzaga (+420)
12. Ben Rothwell (+420)
13. Brock Lesnar (+420)
14. Antonio Silvia (+420)
15. Cain Velasquez (+600)

MMA Rankings-Light Heavyweights:

1. Forrest Griffin
2. Quinton Jackson
3. Lyoto Machida (+80)
4. Shogun Rua (+80) knee injury
5. Dan Henderson (+20)
6. Thiago Silva (+60)
7. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (+100)
8. Vladimir Matyushenko (+120)
9. Wanderlei Silva (+160)
10. Keith Jardine (+120)
11. Chuck Liddell (+120)
12. Sokoudjou (+120)
13. Ricardo Arona (+160)
14. Rashad Evans (+220)
15. James Irvin (+220)
16. Houston Alexander (+220)

MMA Rankings-Middleweights:

1. Anderson Silva
2. Dan Henderson (+60)
3. Paulo Filho (+260) personal issues
4. Robbie Lawler (+100) EliteXC Champion
5. Yushin Okami (+140)
6. Matt Lindland (+140)
7. Rich Franklin (+240)
8. Gegard Mousasi (+200)
9. Thales Lietes (+260)
10. Nate Marquardt (+200)
11. Nate Quarry (+200)
12. Kazuo Misaki (+200)
13. Cung Le (+200)
14. Yoshihiro Akiyama (+200)
15. Melvin Manhoef (+200)
16. Frank Trigg (+240)
17. Jorge Santiago (+240)
18. Demian Maia (+260)
19. Kendall Grove (+260)
20. Frank Shamrock (+260) broken wrist
21. Drew McFedries (+300)
22. Scott Smith (+310)

MMA Rankings-Welterweights:

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Thiago Alves (+220)
3. Josh Koscheck (+220)
4. Jon Fitch (+240)
5. BJ Penn (+240)
6. Jake Shields (+240)
7. Matt Hughes (+240)
8. Diego Sanchez (+240)
9. Brock Larson (+420)
10. Carlos Condit (+420) WEC Champion
11. Karo Parisyan (+420)
12. Mike Swick (+420)
13. Marcus Davis (+420)
14. Rory Markham (+420)
15. Matt Serra (+460)

MMA Rankings-Lightweights:

1. BJ Penn
2. Takanori Gomi (+100)
3. Joachim Hansen (+220) Dream LW GP Winner
4. Eddie Alvarez (+180)
5. Shinya Aoki (+220)
6. Gesias Calvancante (+260)
7. Tyson Griffin (+100)
8. Sean Sherk (+200)
9. Joe Stevenson (+120)
10. Kenny Florian (+200)
11. Josh Thomson (+220)
12. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (+160)
13. Tatsuya Kawajiri (+200)
14. Jamie Varner (+200) WEC Champion
15. Frankie Edgar (+220)
16. Gray Maynard (+220)
17. Roger Huerta (+220)
18. Rich Clementi (+220)
19. Vitor Ribeiro (+220)
20. KJ Noons (+260)
21. Gilbert Melendez (+260)
22. Marcus Hicks (+360)

MMA Rankings- Featherweights:

1. Urijah Faber WEC Champion
2. Akitosha Tamura (+200)
3. Antonio Carvalho (+220)
4. Jens Pulver (+240)
5. Hideo Tokoro (+240)
6. Cub Swanson (+240)
7. Wagnney Fabianno (+280)
8. Darren Uyenoyama (+280)

Martial arts gone bad: Taekwondo referee gets punished after loss at Beijing Olympic games

This dude got banned FOR LIFE by the Int. Judo whatever it's called...
By: MMAmania

Props: SportsNet.ca

Quoteworthy:

“Angel Valodia Matos (L) of Cuba kicks referee Chakir Chelbat of Sweden after he lost his bronze medal contest in the men’s +80 kg taekwondo competition against Aman Chilmanov of Kazakhstan during the 2008 Beijing Olympic in Beijing on August 23, 2008.”

So much for the spirit of international competition — Citius, Altius, Fortius!

(Thanks to the MMAmania reader who sent this in … I can’t seem to find who it was.)

I love "Ace" but I got Hamill In This One

ESPN's MMA Live

Fall brawl: UFC heads to Portland; Penn and St. Pierre get a date

By: Jesse Holland

Westward Ho!

UFC President Dana White has confirmed with Yahoo! Sports that UFC 91, featuring the lightweight match-up between Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson, will indeed take place at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon — not Boston or Montreal as some had hoped.

White also penciled in the inevitable showdown between BJ Penn and Georges St. Pierre for UFC 93 on January 31, 2009 (Superbowl weekend). That fight was rumored to be at UFC 92 in December, much like the next fight for light heavyweight superstar Wanderlei Silva.

“The Axe Murderer” went on the record during an August 8 session with UFC Fight Club members about fighting at UFC 92, but White was very non-committal about the date and instead hinted at something early in 2009 for the former PRIDE star.

Not to worry Wandy, most fans will agree with me that some things are worth the wait.

Here is a tentative schedule for some of the upcoming UFC events:

Continue reading ‘Fall brawl: UFC heads to Portland; Penn and St. Pierre get a date’

UFC Quick Quote: Dan Henderson is pissed

By: Jesse Holland

“I think this is a good match up for me. I’m going to be the guy that’s a lot more dangerous on my feet and it’s somewhere he doesn’t want to be with me. So it’s going to be his task to get me into his world on the ground. I’m not the easiest guy to take down, you know—so the determining factor of the fight is who can defend takedowns, who can get their takedown and if I can knock him out coming in or whatever. [Pretty] much all Palhares has is submissions. I try to come up with a game plan not to fight right in the guy’s strengths, so obviously I’m going to be trying to stay up on my feet with him. I just see myself knocking him out. I was pretty pissed at my last performance and I’m probably going to be a little bit pissed when I go out there and fight this guy. I’m ready to do a 15-minute grappling match with him if I have to, but I’m not going to lose.”

– Former PRIDE champion Dan “Hollywood” Henderson talks to UFC.com about fighting grappling phenom Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares at UFC 88 in Atlanta, Georgia on September 6. “Hendo” has his back against the wall after dropping his first two UFC matches (against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 75 and Anderson Silva at UFC 82). Has time run out on the 37 year-old superstar? Or is he going to wreak havoc on the up-and-coming Palhares? We’ll know soon enough.

Check out the preview for UFC 88

UFC 88: BREAKTHROUGH Preview <---Click to Watch Video

- UFC PRES CONFIRMS OREGON, FLORIAN VS STEVENSON

Thursday, August 21, 2008 - by MMAWeekly.com Staff

---

Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White on Thursday confirmed that the promotion will head to Portland, Ore. on Nov. 15 with a bout between top lightweight contenders Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson in tow, as MMAWeekly.com reported on Tuesday. White confirmed the news to Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports.

The Nov. 15 event will be the UFC’s first in Oregon as the company looks to expand its brand across the nation and the world. It will take place in the 20,000-seat Rose Garden Arena.

Although there was much speculation that a rematch between current welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and lightweight titleholder B.J. Penn would take place at UFC 92 on Dec. 27, White told Iole that the bout would now be moved to the UFC’s Super Bowl weekend event on Jan. 31.

The bout between St. Pierre and Penn will see the lightweight champion retain his belt for a later defense, but he will go up in weight to 170 pounds for the rematch.

The announcements round out a busy end of the year for the UFC in 2008 and start to lay the foundation as 2009 approaches:

- UFC 88: SEPTEMBER 6 IN ATLANTA

- UFC FIGHT NIGHT 15: SEPTEMBER 17 IN NEBRASKA

- UFC 89: OCTOBER 18 IN ENGLAND

- UFC 90: OCTOBER 25 IN ILLINOIS

- UFC 91: NOVEMBER 15 IN PORTLAND

- ULTIMATE FIGHTER 8 LIVE FINALE: DECEMBER 13 ON SPIKE TV

- UFC NEW YEAR'S: DECEMBER 27 IN LAS VEGAS

- UFC SUPER BOWL WEEKEND: JANUARY 31 IN LAS VEGAS

Brock back in November?

Brock Lesnar next fight could be at UFC 91 in November

By: MMAmania

Brock Lesnar could return to heavyweight action at UFC 91 on November 15, according to TwinCities.com.

Here’s the snip:

“Former Gophers wrestler Brock Lesnar, who is 2-1 as a mixed martial arts fighter, found out this week that Ultimate Fighting Championship would like him to compete next on a November card, but his opponent and site remain undetermined.”

The pay-per-view (PPV) event, which is tentatively slated to take place in Portland, Ore., is currently without a marquee main event. Top lightweights Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson, however, are expected to compete on the card, providing a solid complement to whatever headline match up is booked.

Lesnar — who earned his first victory inside the Octagon over Heath Herring with a unanimous decision at UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” — is rumored to be facing Cheick Kongo next. Nothing at this point, however, is official.

He, too, is a big draw regardless of his opponent, which makes him a viable option for this card if indeed a main event-caliber fight cannot be coordinated to carry the show on its own.

Stay tuned for more details on UFC 91, Brock Lesnar and more.

Affliction II

This is a good fight at LW and I'm putting my proverbial money on Maynard!

Gray Maynard vs Rich Clementi UFC 90 fight on tap

By: MMAmania

Surging lightweights Gray Maynard (5-0) and Rich Clementi (32-12-1) will collide at UFC 90: “Silva vs. Cote” at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Ill., on October 25, according to Sherdog.com.

“The Bully” has kept his professional win streak intact inside the Octagon, winning three straight fights since a bizarre simultaneous knockout/tapout against Rob Emerson at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 Finale in June 2007.

He sustained a broken hand in his unanimous decision win over Frank Edgar his last time out, which has kept him on the sidelines until now. It was a big win for Maynard, proving that he belongs near the top of the crowded 155-pound division.

And a win over “No Love” would only bolster that claim.

Clementi, however, will not go down without a fight. He’s on a blistering six-fight tear, winning seven of his last nine fights since appearing on TUF 4 in 2006. Clementi is a very dangerous veteran who could catch the aggressive, forward-charging Maynard in a submission if he’s not careful.

This is a solid match up. To check out all the rest slated and rumored for UFC 90 click here.

You Want More Great Fights at Lightweight? Here ya go...

Joe Stevenson vs Kenny Florian in the works for November 15 UFC event

By: Jesse Holland

UFC lightweight contenders Joe Stevenson (29-8) and Kenny Florian (10-3) are reportedly set to do battle this November at a yet-to-be-named UFC event that could determine whether or not Florian gets another shot at the 155lb title.

MMAmania.com has been able to confirm with credible sources that the proposed fight has indeed been offered to each fighter and while they are expected to sign, have yet to do so.

Stevenson is coming off an impressive rebound victory over Gleison Tibau at UFC 86 after watching his title hopes fade away under the tightly wrapped guillotine of current lightweight champion BJ Penn in their title bout at UFC 80.

Penn of course is taking a second crack at welterweight deity Georges St. Pierre this December in an attempt to avenge his controversial loss to the Canadian back at UFC 58.

As for Florian, he seems to be able to do no wrong as of late, steamrolling the competition since his decision loss to then-champion Sean Sherk at UFC 64. “KenFlo” is the winner of five straight and eight of his last nine.

Florian will likely face Penn if he can successfully get past Stevenson (once “The Prodigy” comes back from his vacation at 170lbs). While exciting for fans, Joe “Daddy” will be a dangerous test for the Boston native and could possibly interfere with his plans to go for the gold.

Tyson Griffin has been penciled in to oppose former lightweight champion Sean Sherk at UFC 90. A Florian loss coupled with a Griffin win and we could be looking at Penn vs Griffin in early 2009.

Stay tuned over the next few days for an official announcement from the UFC regarding the details of this fight, including its location. The November 15 event has recently been rumored to be taking place in Portland, Oregon.

We’ll keep you posted.

McDonald. vs. Lambert a MiddleWeight

Jason MacDonald vs Jason Lambert UFC 88 fight booked with Jason Day injury

By: MMAmania

It’s Jason mania.

Jason MacDonald (20-10) will fill-in for an injured Jason Day and take on Jason Lambert (23-8) in a middleweight bout at UFC 88: “Breakthrough” at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Ga., on September 6, according to Sherdog.com.

“Dooms” apparently hurt his biceps muscle while training for the fight and was forced to withdraw, opening the window of opportunity for another Canadian to claim redemption.

“The Athlete” is coming off a third round submission loss to Demian Maia at UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” earlier this month. It marked the third loss in his last five attempts inside the Octagon — quite a departure from his early success that earned MacDonald the nickname “TUF Killer.”

Lambert appears to be making the drop to middleweight after competing most of his career in the heavyweight and light heavyweight divisions. Perhaps back-to-back losses to 205-pounders Wilson Gouveia and Luis Arthur Cane, respectively, convinced Lambert to try his luck in the 185-pound division.

“The Punisher” — like MacDonald — has three losses in his last five attempts within the eight-sided cage.

To checkout the latest UFC 88 card and rumors click here.

Free, Flash Based MMA Online Video Game

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Props: Spike.com

UFC 88: Breakthrough- Sept. 6th in Chino Hills

Event: UFC 88: “Breakthrough”
Date: Saturday, September 6, 2008, at 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view (PPV)
Location: Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia

Main event:

Chuck Liddell (21-5) vs. Rashad Evans (11-0-1)

Main card (televised):

205 lbs.: Rich Franklin (23-3) vs. Matt Hamill (4-1)
170 lbs.: Karo Parisyan (18-5) vs. Yoshiyuki “Zenko” Yoshida (10-2)
185 lbs.: Dan Henderson (22-7) vs. Rousimar Palhares (8-1)
185 lbs.: Nate Marquardt (26-8-2) vs. Martin Kampmann (16-2)

Under card (may not be broadcast):

155 lbs.: Thiago Tavares (13-2) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (15-4)
205 lbs.: Tim Boetsch (7-2) vs. James Lee (13-3)
170 lbs.: Matt Brown (7-6) vs. Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim (10-0-1)
170 lbs.: Roan Carneiro (12-7) vs. Ryo Chonan (14-8)
185 lbs.: Jason Lambert (23-8) vs. Jason Day (17-7)

*All fights officially confirmed by UFC.com.

Pictured: The horrific moment Olympic weightlifter turns his elbow back to front

Ok, this doesn't have a lot to do with MMA...OK, it has nothing to do with MMA, but it's crazy!

By Daily Mail Reporter

This is the moment Hungarian weightlifter Janos Baranyai's first Olympics ended in agony when he dislocated his right elbow in the ugliest moment yet of the Olympic weightlifting competition.

Baranyai was trying to snatch 148kg in his third lift in the men's 77kg division, when his elbow popped out of its socket.

No longer able to support the weight of the barbell, his right forearm bent backward. The 24-year-old Hungarian fell to the floor in shock, shaking and crying out in pain.

Hungary's coaching staff and competition officials rushed to Baranyai's aid as he lay trembling on the floor, his arm limp and twisted out of position.

Going wrong: Baranyai loses control of the barbell twisting his left arm

Enlarge

Impact: Baranyai's legs buckle as his arm bends around the barbell

Agony: Baranyai screams in pain

Enlarge

Pain: Baranyai crumbles to the ground

Baranyai was carried off the platform on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment, said Benny Johansson, a technical controller at the event.

It was not immediately clear how serious the injury was.

More...

• Tears of joy for British cyclist after she scoops Team GB's SEVENTH Olympic medal
• ITV journalist arrested and 'roughed up' in China at Free Tibet protest

'It looked really awful,' Johansson said. 'If the ligaments are damaged then it could take several months to heal."

He said elbow and knee injuries are the most common injuries in the sport, 'but the number of injuries are quite small in comparison with the number of athletes. You cannot even compare it with football for example.'

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Stricken: Baranyai grimaces on the platform after dislocating his right elbow

Horror injury: Baranyai's elbow clearly faces the wrong way as he lies on the ground

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Help: the Hungarian is treated by doctors

A former judo wrestler from Oroszlany, Hungary, Baranyai was competing with the so-called B-group of lifters in the 77kg division.

Hungary's lone lifter in the Olympics, he was ninth in both the snatch and clean and jerk in the European Championship earlier this year and placed 33rd in last year's world championship.

He cleared his first snatch attempts at 140kg and 145kg before loading up the bar at 148kg - a relatively modest weight in top-level competition. The world record in the snatch is 173kg.

In the snatch, the bar is pulled overhead in one continuous motion as the lifter settles into a squat, then rises with arms extended.

Baranyai was in the squat position when his elbow popped.

Wanderlei Silva Talkin' Bout Fightin'

UFC Quick Quote: Georges St. Pierre considers shutting it down for 2008

By: MMAmania

“Several people mentioned that my next opponent should be BJ Penn. Nothing is obviously signed yet, but fighting him is my number one goal. I think he deserves a chance to challenge for my belt, but we’ll see what happens in the coming weeks. I hope deeply [that my next fight is in Montreal]. The President of the UFC, Dana White, said he would like to return to Montreal before the end of the year. For my part, I do not know if I will go back in the Octagon before 2009. I had four fights in the past 12 months. So I need rest. I like my life, but sometimes I have to relax…. I make so many sacrifices for me prepare. During training camps I can hardly live. Therefore, I need to refuel psychologically.”

– UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre tells RDS.ca that he may not return to action this year because of his recent activity. “Rush” is expected to next put his 170-pound title on the line against UFC Lightweight Champion and former welterweight belt holder, BJ Penn, in a blockbuster mega fight. It was widely expected that the showdown would take place on New Year’s Eve weekend on December 27; however, with four straight wins over top contenders such as Jon Fitch, Matt Serra, Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck, it appears that St. Pierre may need more time to recharge his batteries to get up for the biggest fight of his career against “The Prodigy.” With more than four months until possible showtime let’s hope he takes a nice long vacation and reconsiders his most recent remarks.

Fedor Wants a Piece of Lesnar

UFC 87 Did NOT Disappoint!

Thanks to everyone who came over and for those who brought food over and pitched in. I hate asking for money, but as a teacher and with current gas prices, I won't turn it down! Thanks again!

We had about fourteen people in the room at one point and those who've been to my house know that our living room isn't that big. Next time I'm going to take photos and post them on here.

I pulled the results from a "real" MMA blog and have posted them below, but I'd just like to say that GSP remains my favorite fighter and he didn't disappoint as he thrashed Jon Fitch for 5 rounds. Fitch looked like a cyborg as he rose after being pummeled by GSP over and over. I have always respected him as a fighter, but he is tougher than I ever imagined. Kenny Florian also looked great and although he did not finish his opponent, the ever tough Roger Huerta, he looked very good and definitely deserves a title shot in my opinion. Brock Lesnar was a brute in his fight and he punished the veteran Herring for three rounds. Finally, Maia looked looked awesome in his bout against McDonald and threw on a rear naked choke to finish the "Athlete."

Much love to you all and see you next time!

UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” is set go off LIVE from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on Saturday, August 9, 2008.

MMAmania.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of the main card bouts, beginning with the 10 p.m. ET PPV telecast. In addition, we will deliver up-to-the-minute quick results of the under card action at around 8:30 p.m. ET.

Many of our readers check-in before, during and after the PPV telecast to share their thoughts on the action. Therefore, feel free to leave a comment or 10 before you leave and chat with many of our readers during the show — it always turns out to be a great discussion.

Keep in mind that we will also be the spot for the latest news, recaps and post-fight analysis after UFC 87.

Without further delay, see below for the latest UFC 87 results. (Note: This will go from the bottom up; therefore, scroll toward the bottom for the latest detailed round-by-round action!)

UFC 87 QUICK RESULTS:

UFC Welterweight Champion Georges defeats Jon Fitch via Unanimous Decision
Brock Lesnar defeats Heath Herring via Unanimous Decision
Kenny Florian defeats Roger Huerta via Unanimous Decision
Rob Emerson defeats Manny Gamburyan via TKO (Strikes) Round 1
Demian Maia defeats Jason Macdonald via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 3
Tamdan McCrory defeats Luke Cummo via Unanimous Decision
Cheick Kongo defeats Dan Evensen via TKO (Strikes) Round 1
Jon Jones defeats Andre Gusmao via Unanimous Decision
Chris Wilson defeats Steve Bruno via Unanimous Decision
Ben Saunders defeats Ryan Thomas via Submission (Armbar) Round 1

Georges St. Pierre: I almost had to kill Jon Fitch to win

By: Jesse Holland

I was trying to pace myself, because after the first time I rock him and I couldn’t finish him I was like ‘Man, this guy, I’m gonna have to almost kill him to win’. He’s very tough, I give him a lot of props. A big heart, good, amazing guy, very big heart, [I have] a lot of respect for this guy.

-UFC welterweight champion Georges “Rush” St. Pierre talks about trying to finish challenger Jon Fitch during a UFC 87 post fight interview. GSP successfully defended his title after fighting off a very game Fitch for 25 minutes

Faber talks about WEC title defense (Sept. 10th)

Chris Horodecki Goes to AfflictionMMA

From mmajunkie:

Aleksander Emelianenko out, Chris Horodecki in for Oct. 11 Affliction
by Dann Stupp and George Garcia on Aug 06, 2008 at 6:19 pm ET
Chris HorodeckiLAS VEGAS - Former IFL fighter and MMA prodigy Chris Horodecki (12-1) has signed a three-fight deal with Affliction and will debut with the organization at its Oct. 11 event at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

However, Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) -- a heavyweight fighter who was pulled from Affliction's debut event just seconds before he was set to weigh in for his fight with Paul Buentello -- will not be part of the October event.

Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) of the fight-card updates during today's "Day of Reckoning" press conference in Las Vegas.

Horodecki, a Canadian who turned pro just days after his 18th birthday, fought for the TKO organization before heading to the IFL. There, the now-20-year-old lightweight went 8-1 to become one of the organization's biggest stars. However, in a first-ever IFL lightweight title fight, he suffered a first-round TKO to Ryan Schultz.

Affliction executives have not yet determined an opponent for Horodecki's promotional debut.

Meanwhile, Atencio confirmed that Emelianenko -- a former PRIDE fighter and the younger brother of Affliction fighter Fedor Emelianenko -- will not be part of the Oct. 11 show, as was first planned.

Just as he was about to hit the scale for Affliction's event last month, Emelianenko was unexpectedly pulled from the fight card. (Gary Goodridge was quickly announced as a replacement.) The California State Athletic Commission stated that the 27-year-old fighter failed to meet licensing requirements, though officials could not divulge the reason why due to privacy regulations. Although it was widely reported that Emelianenko had tested positive for Hepatitis B, his camp has repeatedly denied the claims.

Emelianenko was visibly distraught after the decision and said the situation came as a complete surprise. And although he was optimistic the fighter could be cleared for the second event, Atencio said Emelianenko still faces licensing problems and that the organization had to move on without him being a part of the Oct. 11 event.

For the latest on "Affliction: Day of Reckoning," including more from today's press conference and the latest rumored fight card, check out the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

Dana White Vlog

Fitch on his fight this Sat.

I'm just starting to really think about this card and this could be a crazy night!

UFC RANKINGS

Current UFC (not MMA) Rankings According to MMAFighting:

Division Leaders:
Heavyweights - Fedor Emelianenko

Light Heavyweights - Forrest Griffin

Middleweights - Anderson Silva

Welterweights - Georges St. Pierre

Lightweights - BJ Penn

Featherweights - Urijah Faber
Home › Rankings
MMAFighting.com UFC Rankings - July 2008
Posted by MMAFighting.com 07/09/08—4:24 PM

Date: July 2008
Heavyweights
1: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
2: Randy Couture
3: Fabricio Werdum
4: Gabriel Gonzaga
5: Heath Herring
6: Cheick Kongo
7: Brandon Vera
8: Frank Mir
9: Eddie Sanchez
10: Cain Velasquez
Notable: Shane Carwin

Light Heavyweights
1: Forrest Griffin
2: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
3: Chuck Liddell
4: Wanderlei Silva
5: Lyoto Machida
6: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
7: Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
8: Keith Jardine
9: Rashad Evans
10: Thiago Silva
Notable: Matt Hamill

Middleweights
1: Anderson Silva
2: Rich Franklin
3: Yushin Okami
4: Dan Henderson
5: Thales Leites
6: Nathan Marquardt
7: Patrick Cote
8: Michael Bisping
9: Ricardo Almeida
10: Demian Maia
Notable: Chris Leben

Welterweights
1: Georges St. Pierre
2: Jon Fitch
3: Thiago Alves
4: Matt Hughes
5: Josh Koscheck
6: Diego Sanchez
7: Karo Parisyan
8: Matt Serra
9: Akihiro Gono
10: Mike Swick
Notable: Dong Hyun Kim

Lightweights
1: BJ Penn
2: Sean Sherk
3: Joe Stevenson
4: Kenny Florian
5: Roger Huerta
6: Gray Maynard
7: Frankie Edgar
8: Tyson Griffin
9: Nate Diaz
10: Joe Lauzon
Notable: Rich Clementi