Remember Kongo? Remember Cro Cop? Yeah...

Remember watching this big guy Kongo last time we watched a UFC event at my house? Well, he's back and it looks like he might be Cro Cop's next opponent. He's a striker, Cro Cop's a striker, so I think we're in for a good show. The match up is still speculation at this point, but it make sense. We'll see...

Dont' forget: this Wednesday night (June 13th) we're going to watch ULTIMATE FIGHT NIGHT (UFN) the free event that takes place once every two months or so, live from the Hard Rock..it's the same deal as the last time all of us got together at my place. The event actually takes place on Tuesday night, but because of work and family, we're going to record it and watch it on Wed. June 13th @ 8PM at my place. Just like last time, I am not going to find out any of the results so that it's a surprise to me (and you?). Check out the CARD HERE.

TUF 5 Recap and Upcoming Events

TUF 5: Last night's fights were exciting. Corey Hill, the 6'5" 155lb. college wrestler who came on the show with very little experience basically tossed around Nate Diaz like a rag doll for most of the first round before using the double leg take down to put his opponent on the mat. His inexperience caused him to get caught in a triangle choke and he tapped. Diaz, who was lucky he kept his head and used his jiu-jitsu, pulled out the victory but didn't look good doing it. His striking was surprisingly weak and I think if Hill would have unloaded and had better GnP he would have beat the Stockton native.

The second fight was between "Handsome" Matt Wiman-who has fought in the UFC already by the way-and little "Manny" ( Manvel Gambaryan), Karo Parisyan's cousin. Manny was the underdog, mainly because he's 5'6"! Dana White said he looks like he's 5'3" though when he's out there. Wiman, on the other hand, has shown good strikes in the past and a decent ground game. Manny came out and put the smack down. Like a little ball of muscle, he would unload strikes when the two broke out of the clinch and took Wiman down repeatedly. He didn't due a ton of damage with his GnP, but he did cut Wiman and he wore him down. At one point Wiman took his back, but he was able to wizard himself out. The fight went the full two rounds and the judges unanimously awarded little Manny the decision. Wiman was pissed and his coach, BJ Penn, criticized him for not looking at where he was punching and for not working more actively from the bottom.

So next week's matchups are the semi-finals. After next week we'll know who's fighting on the 23rd. Now remember, these fights all happened many months ago, but we don't know who won because they all signed NDAs. So the fight on the 23rd is live and will include the final fight, the coaches fight, and other fights. It's basically a "UFC FIGHT NIGHT" like the one happening this next week but it showcases the TUF 5 guys for the $200,000 ($100,000 UFC contract AND $100,000 Xyience contract).

So, as a reminder, there are THREE events coming up during the next two weeks:

First off, Next Wednesday night (June 13th) we're going to watch UFC FIGHT NIGHT (the free event that takes place once every two months or so, live from the Hard Rock..it's the same deal as the last time all of us got together at my place). The event actually takes place on Tuesday night, but because of work and family, we're going to record it and watch it on Wed. June 13th @ 8PM at my place. Just like last time, I am not going to find out any of the results so that it's a surprise to me (and you?). Check out the CARD HERE.

Second, SATURDAY NIGHT, JUNE 16th, is UFC 72. I will be out that night so I am not planning on watching the fight live. There are some great match ups, including a huge middleweight bout between Franklin and Okami and the come back for Forrest Griffin. Walter, if you get this you better DVR it!

Then, as I mentioned previously, the TUF 5 finale is SATURDAY June 23rd in the evening. I'm planning on watching it at my place, so come by!

Updated UFC Rankings and Upcoming Events!

Check 'em out HERE

I know many of these names may not mean much, and there are plenty of other names that aren't on here that are interesting and may even be contenders, so within the next day or so I am going to post a MEGA POST in which I am going to provide the rankings with info and pics.

ALSO
Three upcoming UFC events, one per week for the next three weeks:

1) This Thursday night a few of us are going to watch TUF together since there are some great match-ups coming up. So this Thurs., my place, 8PM. Nothing special and no food, although I'll probably have some snacks.


2) Next Wednesday night we're going to watch UFC FIGHT NIGHT (the free event that takes place once every two months or so, live from the Hard Rock..it's the same deal as the last time all of us got together at my place). The event actually takes place on Tuesday night, but because of work and family, we're going to record it and watch it on Wed. June 14th @ 8PM. Just like last time I am not going to find out any of the results so that it's a surprise to me. Check out the CARD HERE.

The main bout between Spencer Fisher and Sam Stout is going to be fireworks since both guys are total strikers. This is a rematch too. Also, Jon Fitch is a stud and he's looking to continue his ascent in the welterweight division.

3) THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER FINALE Sat. June 23rd @ 9PM.

This features the final bouts between the winners of the show as well as the marquee rematch between to ex-champs trying to claw their way to the top of the lightweight division: Jens "Lil" Evil Pulver and BJ "The Prodigy" Penn. This is very anticipated fight in the MMA world.

------------------------
UFC 73: STACKED
Sat. night July 7th. This one cannot be missed. CHECK OUT THE INFO.

POST UFC 71 Interviews

Check 'em out HERE

Skip 72 and Collect $200!

UFC 72 intrigues me, but it can't hold a candle to UFC 73: STACKED because the card for 72 is, well, STACKED! Check it out:

UFC 73: Stacked - finalized fight card announced

Posted by Performify on May 31, 2007 at 5:25 pm ET (UFCJUNKIE.COM)

UFC.com’s Thomas Gerbasi announced today that the full fight card for UFC 73: Stacked has been finalized. UFC 73 is scheduled for Saturday July 7, 2007 and takes place in Sacramento’s ARCO Arena. You can see the finalized fight card on UFC.com. The aptly-named “Stacked” card officially features the following bouts:



Champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva vs. Nate Marquardt (for middleweight title)

Champion Sean Sherk vs. Hermes Franca (for lightweight title)

Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz

Heath Herring vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Kenny Florian vs. Alvin Robinson

Stephan Bonnar vs. Mike Nickels

Drew Fickett vs. Chris Lytle

Jorge Gurgel vs. Diego Saraiva

Mark Bocek vs. Frank Edgar



That's right, TWO championship fights AND Rashad Evans vs. Ortiz AND "Big Nog" Nogueira who has come over from PRIDE to terrorize the HW division. On top of that we get to see KenFlo AND Stephan Bonnar as well as a very tough WW fighter in Fickett. If you can't tell, I'm squirming with delight. Don't forget about the free fight on June 12th. We may end up watching it at my house on the 13th, but I will see what I can work out to watch it live. I have school that night so it'd have to be at 9PM as opposed to 8PM on Wednesday. What works better for you?

UFC 71 Post Fight Press Conference

Some highlights:
"During the press conference, Liddell repeatedly confirmed he will continue to fight, and backed up his team’s pre-fight assertions that he “was in great shape and healthy” and that he just “made a mistake and paid for it” in the fight with Jackson. From here, Liddell goes on suspension for 45 days due to the knockout, but both White and Liddell confirmed that he would be back training and fighting after that. Liddell was specifically asked for the record if he was healthy coming in to this fight, and he responded with “Yeah, very healthy. I had a great training camp and was in great shape”.

White was then asked about the current likelihood of a matchup between Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva. White responded “yeah, that’s probably what we’ll do - Chuck versus Wanderlei.” Rampage immediately weighed in to say “I can’t wait to see that.” When asked as a follow-up if Wanderlei’s previous announcement about taking the year off (see: PRIDE’s Wanderlei Silva Taking the Year Off) would be an impact to the planned match up, Dana said that he didn’t know, again falling back to say that they would “figure it out”.

When the subject turned to Houston Alexander, White had a great quip, telling the press that “Houston has been following me around for two days… telling me what he was going to do.. and he did it.” Alexander was clearly a topic of interest for the press, however nothing was covered in the conference that you couldn’t have seen in our prefight interview.

Karo Parisyan took a couple questions, mostly related to his post-fight song attempt and his asking for a title shot. White confirmed that Karo will have to wait for a potential title shot until after “Matt and Matt” are done shooting the reality show, saying “everyone is going to have to wait on that.“

White went on to return to a position he’s repeated in several previous press conferences, reiterating that the UFC “would have all of the best fighters,” saying specifically “We’re working on Fedor right now… everybody means everybody. They’re all going to be here.“

White also helped to clarify the list of contenders at 205, saying in regards to the upcoming Tito Ortiz vs. Rashad Evans fight at UFC 73: Stacked “If Tito wins that fight, i don’t think Tito would get an immediate title shot at Rampage. Tito has to win a couple, but yeah Tito is one of the guys in the mix.” White went on to say that if “Rashad beats Tito, he’ll be one of the top guys in the light heavyweight division too” at which “Rampage” weighed in again to say it would be time for “more black-on-black crime.“

White then closed by talking about future locations for UFC events, saying “we’re going to do montreal, we’ll be there soon” and “We’ll be in Chicago and New York for sure, hopefully by the end of ‘08.” White also stated a goal that “We’re going global and we’ll be the first company to pull off a live world-wide pay-per-view when the event happens.” He also spoke of a potential MMA event in Hawaii in a football stadium."

2007: The Year of Upsets

We had a great time over at Ned's on Sat. night. Big thanks to Ned for hosting us and for the time he put into getting the food and everything. There were some very exciting fights and a number of upsets. I give fight of the night to Parisyan for his decision win over Burkman.

I predicted that Liddell would lose his belt this year and it came to pass as 2007 continues to be a year in which the sport is being shaken up by upsets, although the only reason I'm calling the Liddell v. Jackson an upset is because that's what popular opinion was. Most "true" MMA fans, however, knew that Rampage posed a threat to Chuck thanks to his natural abiliy, raw strength, experience, and the fact that he handled Chuck once before when Chuck went over to terrorize PRIDE a few years back.

Liddell will be back and I think he'll be more dangerous than ever, but he'll have to step into a lion's den with the likes of Shogun, Hendo, Rampage and up and coming fighters such as Rashad Evans. Ouch.

Ned's Place

2908 S. Whispering Lakes Lane #18 Ontario 91761

I have one more seat in my car.

UFC 71 Card and Details

It's on this Sat. night! I don't have Ned's address on hand, but I'll post it soon. Check out the card at the official website and read the article below.

UFC 71 OFFICIAL SITE

UFC 71: Liddell vs Jackson

ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP® PRESENTS

UFC® WORLD LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

UFC 71: LIDDELL vs. JACKSON

SATURDAY, MAY 26

LIVE FROM THE MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA IN LAS VEGAS

Tickets Go On Sale Friday, March 30 at 10 a.m.

Las Vegas, NV – Over the last four years Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell has been unstoppable. He has dominated his last seven fights and gained legendary status in the Octagon™ as the UFC® World Light Heavyweight Champion. In what will be the mega-fight of the summer, Liddell will meet Quinton “Rampage” Jackson for the second time in an attempt to avenge his loss to the last man who defeated him. Liddell will face his greatest challenge to date when The Ultimate Fighting Championship® organization presents UFC 71: LIDDELL vs. JACKSON live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena Saturday, May 26.

“I'm excited to make this long awaited rematch a reality for UFC fans,” said UFC President Dana White. “Chuck has been on a mission to avenge all of his losses. He avenged Randy Couture, then Jeremy Horn and now standing in the way is Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Rampage is extremely excited to finally be in the UFC, and is very confident that his second fight in the UFC will earn him the light heavyweight championship. This is without a doubt the blockbuster fight of the summer.”

Tickets for UFC 71: LIDDELL vs. JACKSON (not including applicable services or taxes) are priced at $750, $500, $300, $200, $100 and $50 and go on sale Friday, March 30 at 10 a.m. Tickets are available at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office, all Ticketmaster locations, and by telephone at 800-929-1111 or 702-891-7777 (Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Macy’s stores and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.ufc.com, www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

UFC 71: LIDDELL vs. JACKSON is available live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $39.95 ($39.99 CAD).

UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the first opportunity to purchase tickets to this event Monday, March 26 via www.ufc.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers starting Wednesday, March 28 at 10 a.m. PST. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through www.ufc.com. There also will be a special auction for Octagon-side floor seats available only through www.ticketmaster.com beginning Friday, March 30 at 10 a.m. PST and ending Wednesday, April 18 at 4 p.m. PST.

Liddell (20-3-0) fighting out of San Luis Obispo, Calif., is a devastating striker with an incredible takedown defense. He is the reigning UFC World Light Heavyweight Champion and has knocked out his last seven opponents including Randy Couture (twice), Vernon White, Horn, Renato “Babalu”

Sobral and most recently Tito Ortiz at UFC 66. Liddell is considered by many to be the most recognized mixed martial arts fighter in the world, earning the reputation by delivering incredible knockouts and dominating the UFC light heavyweight division. He has no fears of facing Jackson, the last man to defeat him, and is sure the outcome of this heated rematch will end with yet another knockout.

“I’ve been waiting for this fight with Rampage for a long time. I’m excited about it and I will knock him out,” said Liddell. “This is the last loss on my record that I have to avenge so I want to put that behind me and then look at new challenges.”

Jackson (26-6), fighting out of Irvine, Calif., is known and respected for his raw strength, power slams and equal striking ability. He marched into the UFC in February and blazed his way through his first challenger – Marvin Eastman – by stopping him with a TKO in the second round. When he returned to the UFC, he came with a motive and a plan to capture the UFC light heavyweight crown, and now his dream rematch with the reigning UFC Light Heavyweight Champion has come true. Confident that he can handle the “Iceman” and take him out a second time, “Rampage” is ready to do battle in the Octagon and walk out with the light heavyweight belt.

“This is my job. This fight is just another day at the office for me and I predict that someone is going to get whipped,” said Jackson. “On May 26, it’s going to be on. I’m going to train the hardest I’ve ever trained in my life and it’s going to be lovely!”

The remaining bouts for UFC 71: LIDDELL vs. JACKSON will be announced in the near future. All bouts are subject to change.

About The Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship® brand is the world’s leading professional mixed martial arts organization and offers the premier series of MMA sports events. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., the UFC® organization produces approximately twelve to fourteen live pay-per-view events annually that are distributed through cable and satellite providers. In addition to its U.S. distribution, UFC fight programs are distributed throughout the world including broadcast on WOWOW, Inc. in Japan, on MAIN EVENT in Australia, Globosat in Brazil and Bravo in the United Kingdom. For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit www.ufc.com.

Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa™, The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, trademarks, trade dress or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC or other respective owners.

Couture Predicts Jackson Over Liddell

CHECK IT OUT HERE

Couture predicted Cro Cop would lose, could he be correct in regards to another big match up? We'll know on Sat. night.

UFC 71...

I am going to be deciding on where to watch the fight soon. I have heard from a few people, but if I don't get an email, comment, or phone call from others I am going to contact those few people and set something up that may not be accessible to everyone else. In other words, we may go watch it off site and one of my buddies' places and I won't be able to invite but a few of you, so let me know. It's going to be fun to see Rampage try to take down the Iceman.

UFC 71 WE'RE WATCHING IT

I don't know where, but if you're free that night, we're getting the fight. We might end up getting it in Ontario or even Chino Hills. I'll keep you posted.

May 26th Evening

UFC 71 Possibly in Riverside but not at my house

You can tell I really get a kick out of posting on this little blog, so humor me.

Anyway, we may be watching Chuck Liddell, the true face of the UFC, here in Riverside but not at my house. So save the date if you want to see the fight and are going to be free:

SAT MAY 26th EVENING (I think the show starts at about 7:00PM)

CHECK OUT THE OFFICIAL UFC 71 SITE AND WATCH THE MEDIA, ETC

UFC 71 in Chino Hills?

If we were to hold the UFC 71 viewing at my parent's home in Chino Hills, would be people be willing/interested in coming by? I'll be out there for my niece's birthday party, so if we get the fight we might do it out there. It's about 35 mins from Riverside.

UFC 71

Earlier today I sent out this email to the group in regards to UFC 72:
"Apparently people are interested in seeing these fights and one anonymous donor has expressed interest in paying for half the cost of the fight, which I don't think is necessary. The fight is $50 in HD, then there's the cost of food. The question is, do we all pitch in for the fight AND the food, and I'll get both OR do we all pitch in for just the fight and then each bring some food. The latter is easier for me since I don't have to go buy the food, etc. I can supply paper products and what not. So let me know what you'd prefer. Hit up the blog and comment if you want."

But then I got to thinking about it, and I don't know why we're worried about UFC 72 when we have UFC 71 coming up in just a few weeks and that's the LIDDEL vs. JACKSON fight. That's what we need to be talking about. Where is it going down? My place? Someone else's? It's doesn't matter to me...Sarah works that night, so I am going to watch it regardless.

INFO:

UFC 71: Liddell vs Jackson

ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP® PRESENTS

UFC®

UFC 71 Grey T-shirt Related Products UFC 71 Poster UFC 71 Black T-shirt Related News Jardine and Leben back in action as UFC 71 card is completed UFC 71: Liddell vs Jackson Preview Revenge to be served Ice cold at UFC 71 Salaverry returns this month to take on Martin at UFC 71 Who’s The Greatest?

WORLD LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

UFC 71: LIDDELL vs. JACKSON

SATURDAY, MAY 26

LIVE FROM THE MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA IN LAS VEGAS

Tickets Go On Sale Friday, March 30 at 10 a.m.

Las Vegas, NV – Over the last four years Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell has been unstoppable. He has dominated his last seven fights and gained legendary status in the Octagon™ as the UFC® World Light Heavyweight Champion. In what will be the mega-fight of the summer, Liddell will meet Quinton “Rampage” Jackson for the second time in an attempt to avenge his loss to the last man who defeated him. Liddell will face his greatest challenge to date when The Ultimate Fighting Championship® organization presents UFC 71: LIDDELL vs. JACKSON live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena Saturday, May 26.

“I'm excited to make this long awaited rematch a reality for UFC fans,” said UFC President Dana White. “Chuck has been on a mission to avenge all of his losses. He avenged Randy Couture, then Jeremy Horn and now standing in the way is Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Rampage is extremely excited to finally be in the UFC, and is very confident that his second fight in the UFC will earn him the light heavyweight championship. This is without a doubt the blockbuster fight of the summer.”

Tickets for UFC 71: LIDDELL vs. JACKSON (not including applicable services or taxes) are priced at $750, $500, $300, $200, $100 and $50 and go on sale Friday, March 30 at 10 a.m. Tickets are available at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office, all Ticketmaster locations, and by telephone at 800-929-1111 or 702-891-7777 (Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Macy’s stores and Ritmo Latino). To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.ufc.com, www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.