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.

First of all, UFC 77 is in the books and I must say I’m quite disappointed that Franklin couldn’t pull it off against the always dangerous Anderson Silva who dropped so many devastating strikes that the ref decided to stop the fight to protect Franklin at the beginning of the second round. Fortunately Silva is a good person, a great champ, and he’s exciting to watch. He has ended all of his fights in the UFC by either KO, TKO, or sub. Now the question is: Who can beat this guy? The UFC has already signed on new talent and there are a few middleweight contenders, but no one stands out as the guy to beat Silva. That night also saw Tim Sylvia notch a win over the younger, faster Brandon Vera. It was a unanimous decision victory for Syliva who spent most of the time tying up Vera in the clinch sort of the same way Couture tied up Sylvia! Ironic eh?

Ok, so let’s get optimistic. First off, in respect to Couture, he’s probably going to fight again and it’s going to be against the only person we want to see him fight: FEDOR EMELIANENKO . Now that Fedor is in M1, the upstart org based in Russia (I think that’s the case at least), that means Randy will eventually fight him because he definitely has that fight left in him. So basically Couture is a free agent and when you look at all of the reasons why he did what he did, I have to admit I agree with his departure. A guy of his age and caliber doesn’t need to get busted up by some young buck because he has nothing to prove anymore.

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. 29^th 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 Brazil as Wanderlei Silva, who came over and was supposed to kill Forrest Griffin and violently tear the belt away from Rampage. Then he lost. Ha! I was so torn about the outcome of that fight because I love Forrest Griffin. He’s funny, smart, and talented…and he goes balls to the wall. Now that the dust has settled at least two truths have settled: Forrest deserved AND Shogun will be back. I’m looking forward to seeing both of these guys fight again and no matter who they fight, it’s going to be good! I’d like to see Griffin vs. Jardine II.

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]

News from UFCMANIA.COM:

Team Link: Thiago Silva and Paulo Filho join Gabriel Gonzaga in Ludlow, Mass., camp

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.

36 Comments October 24th, 2007

Ricardo Almeida re-signs with the UFC to fight at middleweight

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.

17 Comments October 24th, 2007

Who does Tim Sylvia really want to fight next? (Video)

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.

51 Comments October 24th, 2007

UFC 79: Melvin Guillard on Rich Clementi fight (Video)

32 Comments October 24th, 2007

UFC 77: Fighter paydays and salaries for ‘Hostile Territory’

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.

66 Comments October 24th, 2007

UFC 79: Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva official

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.

News from UFCJUNKIE.COM:

UFC 77 Fighters Salaries: Tim Sylvia Gets Reported $200,000; Anderson Silva Gets $120,000

Posted by MMA Junkie on October 24, 2007 at 9:14 am ET

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:

• UFC 77 results and recap
• UFC 77 weigh-ins
• UFC 77 bonuses
• UFC 77 Performify’s Picks

108 Comments | Posted in UFC 77, UFC Fighter Salaries |

October 23, 2007

Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79 — It’s Finally Official

Posted by MMA Junkie on October 23, 2007 at 10:27 pm ET

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.

First off, let me say thanks to Walter for having us over last minute (even if Dave and JC mostly spent their time playing with their fantasy football league on Walt's notebook).

SEE UFC 76 RESULTS HERE (THANKS TO UFCMANIA)

Now, onto UFC 76: WHAT THE HIZELL? First, UFC 76: Knockout had no Knockouts, at least on the televised card! Man, I know I shouldn't be disappointed ever by anything that happens in MMA since it's such a dynamic sport in which anything can happen, but I can't help but feel a little let down by the way Shogun and Liddell performed. Oh, and mad props to both Griffin and Jardine, I love both of those guys since they bring an almost "every man" mentality to sport, not to mention how funny Griffin is, BUT they weren't supposed to win! (:


VIDEOS AND LINKS about the shakeup and aftermath (ufcmania):

UFC Quick Quote: Liddell camp eyes fight with Shogun

“He’s [Chuck Liddell] already said he’ll be back in the gym next Monday. He’s going to fight again, hopefully as soon as possible, maybe in December. We’re looking at ‘Shogun.’ … Chuck will face anyone they put in front of him… You’re dealing with a guy that just lost a fight, is totally depressed right after a humungous loss. Of course, he’s disappointed. We didn’t get into details about the fight, especially after a loss, because that’s not the time you want to talk about it. We usually talk about it when we get back in the gym.”

– John Hackleman — the long-time trainer for former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell — clears up all the retirement talk with FightNetwork.com and even mentions a possible opponent, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Liddell and Shogun were both upset over the weekend in their respective bouts. In the post-fight UFC 76 press conference, UFC President Dana White also mentioned that Liddell-Shogun was a possibility.

36 Comments September 24th, 2007

UFC 78: Karo Parisyan vs. Hector Lombard

Top welterweight contender Karo Parisyan (17-4) will fight UFC newcomer Hector Lombard (11-2-1) at UFC 78 on November 17 in Newark, New Jersey.

Rumors have swirled for sometime now that the two accomplished Judo-based fighters would clash; however, FightNetwork.com appears to be the first reliable source to confirm the 170-pound tilt.

Parisyan is on a two-fight win streak and has been victorious in seven out of his last eight bouts dating all the way back to 2004. “The Heat” most recently defeated Josh Burkman via unanimous decision at UFC 71 in May.

The Armenian-born Judo specialist has been clamoring for a title shot since he missed his chance against Matt Hughes in 2005 because of an injury sustained during training. However, Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre are already lined up in front of Parisyan, meaning he won’t get his crack at 170-pound glory until mid 2008 at the earliest.

Lombard will make his Octagon debut, hoping that his vast experience fighting overseas can be enough to topple a veteran who will be making his tenth appearance within the eight-sided cage.

The Cuban has appeared twice under the PRIDE FC banner (his only losses) in Japan, as well as with the DEEP organization also in “The Land of the Rising Sun.” Lombard — a Judo specialist and Olympian — has been successfull of late throughout Australia where he now lives and competes.
For the latest UFC 78 fight card from the Prudential Arena in Newark, N.J., click here.

(Note: It appears the the rumored bout between Parisyan and Hayato “Mach” Sakurai did not work out.)

29 Comments September 24th, 2007

UFC 77 Web site for ‘Hostile Territory’ is now up

Props: 77.UFC.com

(Note: Site is not complete with fighter interviews, etc. but has the trailer and a slick design. Check it out when you can.)

Keith Jardine post-fight interview after win over Chuck Liddell (Video)

31 Comments September 24th, 2007

UFC 79: BJ Penn to fight Sean Sherk or Joe Stevenson

BJ Penn has been bumped from the UFC 78 card in Newark, N.J., on November 17 and will instead fight at UFC 79 on December 29 in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to FightNetwork.com.

Here’s the snip:

“… it appeared that Penn has been patiently awaiting a new opponent for Nov. in the interim, the popular Hawaiian’s camp has confirmed their leader is now preparing for a Dec. 29 match-up at UFC 79….”

The reason for the switch has everything to do with the uncertainty involving the status of the lightweight title. Current champion, Sean Sherk, was penciled in to defend the 155-pound crown against Penn; however, Sherk tested positive for steroids after his win over Hermes Franca at UFC 73 in July.

“The Muscle Shark” is scheduled to appeal the finding before the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) on October 31 — little more than two weeks prior to the Newark event.

Put simply, the UFC can’t promote a show for which it has no main event set in such a short amount of time.

Therefore, Penn will fight for the title one month later on New Year’s Eve weekend against Sherk, or he will face Joe Stevenson for the vacant strap if the Sherk ruling is upheld and he is stripped of the title.

Here’s a snip from “Daddy:”

“I was told I was definitely fighting in December or January. I think there’s a strong possibility I’ll face B.J. Penn.”

That means that two championships will be on the line on December 29 — UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Serra takes on Matt Hughes in the main event of the evening. However, the recent news means that UFC 78 is now void of championship main event.

So can the potential rematch between Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans slated for the newly-built Prudential Arena be a big enough draw?

You tell us. In the meantime check out the latest UFC 78 fight card right here.

Liddell-Silva ‘never meant to happen;’ ‘Iceman’ contemplates retirement?

In the opening seconds of the UFC 76: “Knockout” pay-per-view (PPV) telecast ringside announcer Mike Goldberg confirmed that Chuck Liddell would face Wanderlei Silva on December 29 with a win over Keith Jardine in the main event.

“Iceman” went on to drop a split-decision to the “Dean of Mean,” dashing the monster showdown for which fans have clamored for years once again.

UFC President Dana White seemed resigned to the fact that the biggest fight in mixed martial arts history just one year ago was perhaps “never meant to happen, according to FOXSports.com.

Here’s a snip from White:

“‘It’s just not meant to happen,’ said White, who talked about a conversation with Silva as the fight was going on, and telling Silva that he thought Jardine was going to win the fight. He noted Silva was in complete denial, seeing huge dollar signs fly out the window.”

That’s not even the half of it. In fact, there is an article on Yahoo!Sports.com that mentions Liddell is contemplating hanging up the gloves after his second consecutive loss — the first time that has happened in the illustrious career of the 37-year-old.

Here’s a snip from White in that article:

“There’s a hunger thing that you have to have to be an elite fighter and I just didn’t see a Chuck Liddell who was as hungry as he used to be. Chuck has made a lot of money in this business and he’s done a lot of things, but he wasn’t the Chuck of old…. He needs to do what’s right for him and not worry about us. This isn’t the kind of sport you can be in half-heartedly. If you don’t have the passion for it, it’s time to get out. Only Chuck really knows how he feels, but you wonder because he hasn’t looked the same, fire-wise, in either of these last two fights.”

Agreed.

All the retirement talk, however, seems to be a bit premature — we’re talking about a conversation in a locker room immediately following another disappointing loss. Put simply, this is a major life decision that is perhaps not best determined under the circumstances.

In addition, there is no question that Liddell-Silva is going to sell crazy tickets and monster PPV’s. It’s probably no longer a headliner, but it will still help fill the till to the brim.

And let’s not forget: Silva is also on a two-fight losing skid. He, too, is not getting any younger, either.

Finally, is there another fighter on this planet who Liddell would “get up” more for than “The Axe Murderer?” I don’t think so. Provided Liddell decides to not retire, then the clash with Silva makes sense .. and cents.

December 29 is now or never.

74 Comments September 24th, 2007

UFC Quick Quote: Diego Sanchez on move to lightweight

“I feel that he beat me fair and square. I was close, but close isn’t close enough. All fighters go through losses, I’m just going to have to come back stronger. I’m contemplating in my mind if I’m going to drop to (1)55 or not, because I’m a smaller welterweight. I could do more powerlifting and put some more weight on or I could lose some weight.”

– UFC welterweight Diego Sanchez (via Yahoo!Sports) talks about moving down to the lightweight division (155 pounds) after his split decision loss to Jon Fitch at UFC 76: “Knockout” on September 22. It is the second consecutive loss for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season one middleweight winner.

How much is too much? With MMA, maybe never...

FROM MMAJUNKIE:

UFC 76 Storylines (from Yahoo! Sports)

Posted by MMA Junkie on September 21, 2007 at 2:30 pm ET

by Dave Doyle/Yahoo! Sports
(Reprinted from Yahoo! Sports with permission)

Have you had your fill of the Ultimate Fighting Championship yet? Well, the company isn’t about to let their fans take a break. The UFC presents their fourth card in the past four weeks with UFC 76: Knockout, live from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. This show looks to be one of those sleeper shows, where you look at the card and aren’t impressed at first glance, but then look deeper and see the potential for an intriguing show.

Here are eight items worth following come Saturday night:

1. What’s up, Chuck? “The Iceman” Chuck Liddell (20-4) is coming off the highest-profile loss in North American MMA history. UFC 71 drew more attention than any event the company has offered. Hundreds of thousands of newcomers watched Liddell get taken out in rapid fashion by Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Those fans didn’t know much about how Chuck held the light heavyweight title for more than two years, and finished seven consecutive opponents before the loss. Can Liddell get back on the path to a title shot, or is his day in the sun done? Liddell takes step one on the road back when he faces “The Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine in the main event.

2. Can Jardine hang? Jardine (12-3-1) is well aware of the talk. People are wondering whether the big banger from Montana by way of Albuquerque deserves a spot in the main event. Jardine caught everyone’s attention back at UFC 66 with his thrashing of Forrest Griffin, but was on the wrong end of just as strong a tail-kicking when he faced Houston Alexander at UFC 71. Jardine knows the only way to silence the critics is to go out and prove he belongs, in the biggest spotlight of his career.

3. Diego’s redemption? Diego Sanchez (17-1) appeared well on his way to a welterweight title shot, until he put in a listless performance in a unanimous decision loss to Josh Koscheck at UFC 69 in April. Since then, Sanchez has moved on from Greg Jackson’s camp in New Mexico and has aligned with Saulo Ribeiro’s University of Jiu-Jitsu in San Diego. With the 170-lb. title picture more crowded by the day, can Sanchez take out Jon Fitch and re-stake his claim among the top contenders?

4. Can Fitch step up? Fitch (14-2), meanwhile, is finally getting the sort of opportunity Sanchez has long been given. The former captain of the Purdue wrestling team garnered a rep as the guy no one wants to fight at 170 pounds. Fitch is so sound on the ground that big names have been afraid to take him on and get trapped. But Fitch forced the issue by winning all six of his UFC matches (13 overall), most in convincing fashion. Now he finally gets his chance in a second-billed attraction.

5. Enter the Shogun Light heavyweight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua makes his UFC debut amid as much fanfare as any fighter who has debuted in the octagon in recent months. And it is for a good reason: The Brazilian Chute Boxe standout is ranked No. 2 in the Y! Sports September monthly poll. His record is 16-2 and he’s finished 14 opponents. But so far, Pride graduates haven’t quite torched their way through the UFC the way it was long imagined in hardcore fantasyland. Will Rua prosper like Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, or will he falter like Mirko Cro Cop?

6. Can Forrest Griffin hang with the big boys? Forrest Griffin has himself a nice little niche in the UFC. With his Ultimate Fighter 1 fame, off-kilter personality, and most importantly, his reputation for putting on one exciting fight after another, Griffin has become one of the UFC’s most popular fighters. But despite his popularity and fan base, the Georgia native has yet to beat a top name. Can Griffin deliver against one of the biggest names in the sport?

7. How good is Tyson Griffin? Tyson Griffin (9-1) made his UFC debut a year ago Saturday at what was then known as the Pond in Anaheim, where he ran over David Lee. A year later, he returns to the building with a reputation for tremendous action. Griffin’s decision loss to Frank Edgar at UFC 67 is on the short list of 2007’s best fights. You can also say that about his controversial split-decision win over Clay Guida at UFC 72. His long-term future is secure due to his penchant for putting on a show for the fans, but will he be able to break through the pack in the lightweight division? He’ll take his next step against undefeated Brazilian Thiago Tavares (13-0), who looked sharp in dispatching Naoyuki Kotani and Jason Black on successive Ultimate Fight Nights earlier this year.

8. How much is too much? The UFC has given their fans plenty to watch over the past four weeks. It started with Randy Couture’s stirring win over Gabriel Gonzaga in the main event of UFC 74 on Aug. 25 in Las Vegas. Then came the much-discussed UFC 75 in England on Sept. 8 on Spike TV, which featured Jackson’s unification of the light heavyweight title with his decision win over Dan Henderson. Wednesday night features Ultimate Fight Night 11, with a stronger card than a standard UFN show. So, after getting a Couture win, a title fight on basic cable, and another free show, will fans shell out $40 to see a card with no title fights? That, quite literally, is a million-dollar question.

Dave Doyle is the national boxing/MMA editor for Yahoo! Sports. This story originally appeared on Yahoo! Sports and is syndicated on MMAjunkie.com as part of a content-partnership deal between the two sites.

UFN Unfinished post

During my class last night I started writing this post about the UFN 11 card which premiers tonight, live from Vegas. I didn't finish it, but here's what I had so far:

I think once you become a rabid MMA fan you sort of begin to thirst for more and more. It sort of builds on itself because the more you watch, the more you understand the sport and the more fighters you get to know (and you either love or hate most of them). Although I felt I'd had my fill after UFC 75, as always now that more events are approaching I am steadily getting more and more pumped up. So here are three reasons why I am stoked to watch both UFN11 and UFC 76:KNOCKOUT.

THREE REASONS WHY UFN 11 IS GOING TO BE INTERESTING:

1. Kenny Florian vs. Din Thomas (main event)

LIGHTWEIGHT FIGHT
The winner of this will be a possible contender for the belt vs. BJ "The Prodigy" Penn if the title goes vacant due to steroid allegations against the current champ, Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk. Sherk, who beat Kenny Florian for the belt and just successfully defended it against Hermes Franca who also got busted for steroids after their fight, will go before the board soon to determine his status.

These guys have both been doing very well and both of them have been competitors on The Ultimate Fighter reality show. Kenny Florian was like a second round pick that just happened to get lucky. He was fighting at an amatuer event and Dana White was there and thought, "Hey, the kid's new to the game but he's got heart!" and he signed him to compete on the show. Although he didn't win the competition, he went very far and was fighting THIRTY POUNDS heavier than he is now (in other words, he was fighting guys way bigger than him because in MMA you generally want to fight at the lowest weight at which you're still strong...so if you weigh about 165-175 naturally and you're not totally ripped, you'd probably want to fight at 155 or so).

Anyway, Florian looks like Ben Stiller and doesn't have a ton of muscle mass, but he makes up for that in determination, stratagem, and his all around mixed martial arts skill. If you look at his record and how he's completed fights, he's a finisher. If you like the perennial underdog, although he's NOT an underdog in this nor

U.F.N. Wednesday

This Wednesday night is Ultimate Fight Night 11 which is always free. It's like a mini-UFC. Although I have class that night until about 8PM, I am coming home and watching the fights afterward so if you want to come by, feel free to do so. The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Season 6 also premiers that night immediately following the fights, so DVR that if you're interested. Following the show (especially the fight at the end of each episode) will really make the finale in December a lot more interesting.

UFC Fight Night 11

Date: Sept. 19, 2007
Location: Las Vegas
Venue: The Palms Las Vegas
Broadcast: Spike TV

MAIN CARD

• Kenny Florian vs. Din Thomas
  
• Florian was the last guy to take a shot for the title besides Hermes Franca while Din is on a comeback thanks to his stint on TUF Season 5 which helped him get back to his winning ways.
  
• Junior Assuncao vs. Nate Diaz
  
• Nate Diaz is the winner of TUF 6 and we'll see how he does in his first fight that's not associated with the reality TV show.
  
• Chris Leben vs. Terry Martin
• Leben is very well known thanks to his stint on TUF season 1. He's a striker and a tough kid, but I think Martin is going to roll him up and smoke him.
  
• Nate Quarry vs. Pete Sell
• Nate Quarry...nice guy, good fighter, got rushed into a title fight with none other than Rich Franklin (who will be trying to get his belt back in Oct. from A. Silva) who knocked him out COLD. As far as I know, this is his first fight back.
  

UNDERCARD

• Jonathan Goulet vs. Dustin Hazelett
• Leonard Garcia vs. Cole Miler
• Gray Maynard vs. Joe Veres
• Thiago Alves vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka
• Edilberto Crocota vs. Luke Cummo

HAMILL and BISPING SPEAK OUT

Hey guys, thanks to mmajunkie.com who assembled some new info on the Matt Hamill thing. Fortunately for Bisping, he's come to his senses and realized (or perhaps the UFC spin doctors helped him realize) that his popularity is waning fast after he acted like a pompous jerk. He attributes a lot of it to the post fight stress/adrenaline/nerves, etc. which is good because he's basically admitting that there's at least something to the controversy. He claims he won the second and third, just like the two crazy judges did, and that is just one of the sad things about the fight game: when it goes to the judges, you never know what's going to happen, so next time ONE OF THEM BETTER FINISH THE FIGHT.

The main point is that Bisping wants the rematch because he knows literally millions of people will NEVER LET HIM LIVE IT DOWN. I expect this to be one of most closely watched fights ever with TONS OF PRIDE riding on it.

Matt Hamill: UFC 75 Judges Need to “Re-evaluate” Scoring Criteria

Posted by MMA Junkie on September 11, 2007 at 10:06 pm ET

Just hours after Michael Bisping released an official statement regarding his controversial split-decision victory at UFC 75, opponent Matt Hamill has released one of his own.

UFC took place this past Saturday at the 02 Arena in London, England. In one of the night’s televised fights, Bisping defeated Hamill with scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 27-30 — despite the fact that he appeared to have clearly one the first and second rounds of the three-round fight.

In it a message posted at matthamill.com, Hamill says that the two judges who scored the fight in Bisping’s favor (Cecil Peoples and Jeff Mullen) need to re-evaluate their scoring criteria.

From the statement:

I think MMA is a great sport and I don’t believe in any kind of a fix. The two judges that scored the win for Bisping obviously need to re-evaluate the way they score a fight. You can’t win a fight when you run for three rounds. They need to study the criteria for scoring an MMA fight: effective striking, grappling, takedowns, aggression and control. Bisping did none of that in my opinion.

Because England has no athletic commission, the UFC was responsible for regulating the event. UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner was charged with the tasks of drug testing the fighters and choosing officials — including Mullen and Peoples — to judge the UFC 75 fights.

UFC President Dana White has already stated that the organization plans for Bisping and Hamill to fight again at a future event.

28 Comments | Posted in Cecil Peoples, Jeff Mullen, UFC 75, Matt Hamill, Michael Bisping |

September 11, 2007

Michael Bisping Discusses Controversial UFC 75 Victory, Requests Rematch

Posted by Sam Caplan on September 11, 2007 at 6:17 pm ET

Following his controversial split-decision win over Matt Hamill this past Saturday at UFC 75, Michael Bisping issued comments to Joe Rogan during his post-fight interview and additional comments during the post-fight press conference that angered both fans and critics.

Today, the beleaguered light heavyweight praised his opponent and requested a rematch.

In his fight-night comments, an agitated Bisping was none too complimentary toward Hamill’s performance, and the fighter has been faulted for not showing more respect to an opponent who many fans feel deserved to have his hand raised in victory.

But now that he’s had some time to cool off, Bisping has cleared the air through his personal web site, Bisping.TV.

His latest words are much more gracious toward Hamill’s performance:

“As most people will of seen the fight with me and Hamil was a close one. I have seen the controversy surrounding the decision so obviously have to reply. I personally feel he won round 1 and I took rounds 2 and 3. That said it was close and can I understand how some people would think differently. On the night I was given the decision and he wasn’t, on another occasion it could of been different.

Looking at message boards it appears that some (major understatement) people are pissed off about my comments afer the fight. Looking back I should of given Hamill more credit as he fought a great fight and has improved his all round game a hell of a lot. What you have to remember is though the adrenalin was running through my veins, I had fought a hard fight and was obviously happy to get the decision. I would like to take this opportunity to say well done to Matt for fighting great and bringing the fight to me big time, I should have commented on this on the night.

I have contacted the UFC and stated I would like to rematch Hamill at everyones earliest convenience as I’m sure most of you know, no fighter wants a win when the decision is debateable. I am happy for the fight to take place where ever, and look forward to settling the score once and for all. I personally feel we put on a great fight for the fans and perhaps people should focus on this more.

I apologise to all my fans who feel let down by anyhting at the weekend, hey Im a young man with alot of emotion and sometimes say things in the heat of the moment.

I’d like to say thanks to everyone who has sent me there messages. Theres been to many to reply to them all. I will say this though, if Matt Hammils gonna cut me next time he might need a carving knife as Ive definately got thicker skin over the last few days.“

Bisping has now gone on the record in welcoming a rematch with Hamill, though soon after the event, UFC President Dana White said he was already working on Bisping vs. Hamill II.

One possible idea is to have the two fight for free on Spike TV as the latest installment of the “Bad Blood” series that has featured grudge rematches between Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz, and Jens Pulver and B.J. Penn. If the organization wanted to get creative, rematches between Rob Emerson and Gray Maynard, and Nate Diaz and Manny Gamburyan could fill out the undercard.

(Touch of gloves: reader Richard Cartey)

Sam Caplan is a special contributor to CBSSports.com’s MMA section and also publishes his own blog at FiveOuncesOfPain.com. He is now a regular contributor to MMAJunkie.com.