Silva's talk of staying at middleweight is nonsense

It was a slow time in MMA last week so when a fighter says he's going to retire in a certain weight class people jump. It's hogwash. Anderson Silva changes his mind and states a different position on his future plans monthly. Last week, he told the media, during the UFC 117 teleconference, that he had no plans of ever leaving middleweight again. He repeated his intent during a recent Sherdog video. "I think going up to fight for the title at 205 pounds is very unlikely at the
moment. Shogun is the champion. We've trained together and been on the same
team. I find it hard to believe it will happen, but I'm speaking for myself. The
group to which I belong also has Lyoto and [Antonio] Rogerio Nogueira in that
category, so it's not interesting. Even if I had the extra weight, I have no
desire to fight at 205. If there are other opportunities in that class, I'd
fight, but I have no desire for the belt. There are other fighters who deserve
the chance. Take Lyoto, for example."Dana White should be real pleased that more teams/fight camps are looking out for their teammates instead of the best fights possible. "I'm focused on my goal, which is keeping my belt and reaching our team goals.I want to keep my belt for years to come and perhaps until the end of my
career."Remember this is the same guy who just four months was talking about leaving middleweight to face Georges St. Pierre."I'd like to test myself and I always love to take on new challenges," Silva
told Iole. "It's not that I want to go fight Georges St. Pierre for
his title. There's no doubt in my mind that he's the reigning champion, the
absolute champion, in that weight category. But I just want to test myself and
see how I'd do at that weight."Once middleweight is cleared out with wins over Chael Sonnen and Vitor Belfort, the UFC has no choice but to place Silva back up at light heavyweight. The only other option at middleweight would be Wanderlei Silva healthy and on a winning streak. Beyond that, if the champ wants to keep fighting on big cards he has to move to 205. Mark it down. Let's see who wins this war come the beginning of 2011.  mma training anderson silva chuck liddell martial art

Daniel Cormier vs. Jason Riley added to "Strikeforce: Houston" prelims

Two-time Strikeforce veteran and former Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier returns to action at August's "Strikeforce: Houston"
event to face Ohio native Jason Riley.

Strikeforce officials today announced the addition to the event's preliminary card.

Featuring a pair of title fights on the Showtime-broadcast main card,
"Strikeforce: Houston" takes place Aug. 21 at the Toyota Center in
Houston.



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Ustream.tv submits to Dana White - UFC's subpoena continued

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Howard gets crushed by elbows as Ellenberger rolls to win

John Howard has knockout power to match anyone in the UFC's welterweight division, but like so many sluggers, his glaring weakness is takedown defense. At any moment, Howard could have knocked Jake Ellenberger for a loop. He ran into problems because he couldn't keep the fight standing. Howard was taken down in all three rounds and absorbed some huge elbows that caused the left side of his face to blow up. The cageside doctor stopped the fight at 2:21 of the third round, giving Ellenberger his second victory in the UFC.Ellenberger, a wrestler by trade, was brilliant in his approach. The only way Howard was going to win the fight was to force a standup war. Ellenberger (23-5, 2-1 UFC) looked to clinch at every opportunity. He scored two first round takedowns and one more in the second round. That's when he landed the fight altering elbows. One of them blew up Howard's face. By the end of the fight, the swelling had spread from around Howard's eye all the way to his ear.UFC color voice Joe Rogan suggested that it might be a broken orbital bone that Howard (14-5, 4-1 UFC) suffered.  anderson silva chuck liddell martial art mma fight

Carmouche vs. Schneider set for Strikeforce reserve bout; tourney rules released

While Hitomi Akano, Carina Damm, Maiju Kujala and Miesha Tate will fill
the bracket in Strikeforce's upcoming 135-pound tournament, another pair
of women will also compete in a tournament reserve bout.

Liz Carmouche and Colleen Schneider have agreed to meet on the preliminary card of Strikeforce Challengers
10.

Additionally, Strikeforce officials also released the official rules for
the tournament, which call for the fights to feature three-minute
rounds and a "sudden victory" frame in case of a draw.



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Down to earth Howard ready for next step

John Howard has been yeoman-like during his early days in the UFC. Sure the dude can talk trash with the best of them, but it's his down-to-earth nature that may take him into deep waters in the welterweight division. Howard has slowly worked his way up the ladder with wins over Dennis Hallman, Daniel Roberts, Tamdan McCrory and Chris Wilson. All solid fighters but none spectacular. He was staring at an opportunity for a signature win against the highly touted Anthony Johnson but that fight was cancelled because of a Johnson injury. But you didn't hear Howard whine and he isn't complaining that his next opponent is a relative no name. In fact, he's giving Jake Ellenberger an unusual level of respect. From Heavy.com: "I’m expecting him to come out hardcore and I’m prepared for that," Howard said. "I know he has heavy hands but I have heavy hands too. If he wants to brawl with a boxer then all power to him. Obviously I’m nervous, but I’m actually excited too. We have main card, on TV, and we’re going to have some fun."You'd expect that kind of straight talk from a guy who grew up in a gritty section of New England. The guy has made pretty nice money thus far with the promotion, having earned two bonuses on fight night. Yet he still hasn't replaced his 1994 Honda Accord."It’s messed up. The locks are messed up, the tires. It’s my favorite car. I love it," Howard said. "That’s what makes me happy. That’s the type of guy I am. I don’t need certain things to make an impression. I tell people be happy with what you got. I am too."Howard (14-4, 4-0 UFC) and Ellenberger (22-5, 1-1 UFC) square off on Sunday during UFC on Versus 2. Ellenberger has less UFC experience than Howard but his competition may have been stronger, splitting fights against Mike Pyle and Carlos Condit.  chuck liddell martial art mma fight mma training

Revealing recent Fedor Emelianenko interview - last entrance song, his injury, life

courtesy of sherdog.com

Came across another recent Fedor Emelianko's interview from from his official site posted on 08/08/2008. Cool date!  He talks about finding religion, his entrance song and a few other interesting things. Read on for details.

Correspondent: Fedor, first fight according to your contract this year took place. It became one of the fastest out of Your stellar record. Did You expect such a desicive victory over Tim Sylvia?


Fedor Emelianenko: I never exect when a fight is going to end and can never tell ahead of time what is going to happen. Of course, I do want it to end as soon as possible, though I always mentally prepare myself for a long and gruelling fight.


Correspondent: Traditionally fighter's entrance is accompanied by music. This time it was a complete surprise a complete surprise when you came out to a kazak song "Stepan Razin's Dream" (Son Stepana Razina) , better known as a fold song "Oi, to ne veter" (Oi, that's not wind). What made you choose it, and who was it performed by? MMANinja's Note: as Fedor said he had father Andrei record it for him. From little searching that I did I found a version sung by a folk band. Download it here.


Fedor Emelianenko: It was my choice, I really like the song. With God's help I met a wonderful man - a priest from Nizhnii Novgorod father Andrei. When I heard him chant prayers and sing this song, I asked him to record it for me and he agreed.


Correspondent: After the fight cameras zoomed in on a moment when Your coach Vladimir Voronov placed a cross on you. You haven't had it that long. Are you a person of faith?


Fedor Emelianenko: Yes, I'm a person of faith and recently my life has changed, I will try to live my life according to God's teachings...


Correspondent: First step back to church many people make after something happened: serious illness, loss of a loved one, other tragic events... What was the reason for you to make that decision?


Fedor Emelianenko: When I met father Andrei, all my doubts left me...After being around this man, I realized that its the only right way. Through father Andrei God brought me to people who helped me realize how I used to live and how I should live going forward.


Correspondent: A disappointing incident from your last fight became an injury: a broken thumb, the same one that You already had a surgery on, put a metal plate on and so on, it happened again...According to international standards, after a fracture you can not even talk about fighting until after half a year. Does that mean that in 2008 You will not be able to fight?


Fedor Emelianenko: In reality, I don't feel a lot of pain, hand is healing and I'll hope that everything will work out. My next performance is planned in November: Combat Sambo world championships will take place in St. Petersburg.


Correspondent: Do you have plans to participate in "Affliction-2" in October?


Fedor Emelianenko: I would like to take part in "Affliction-2", but I'm not sure yet if it will happen.


Correspondent: Your younger brother Alexander was going to participate in the last "Affliction" event. What was the reason for him not being allowed to fight? Many fear if the same situation will happen at the next event?


Fedor Emelianenko: I can't comment on the situation. Alexander was in fact barred from performing from some blood tests. That's why I can't really say anything.


Correspondent: Last few years you have not trained with your brother. He moved to St. Petersburg and your training, mostly, takes place in Starii Oskol. Any plans to resume training together?


Fedor Emelianenko: It's more convinient and better for me to train in Starii Oskol. That doesn't work for Alex. From what I understand from his recent interviews, he likes it in St. Petersburg and he isn't planning to go anywhere for training.


Correspondent: A considerable group of fans went with you to America. How important is that for you?


Fedor Emelianenko: For me, of course, it's important to have people close to me, who always support me, worry about me and pray for me. I wish all of them could come with me, but none the less it was great to see guys who cheered for me at the event.


Correspondent: Are you planning to fly to Beijing to support russian athletes?


Fedor Emelianenko: Unfortunately, they way things are working out I will not be to go to Beijing. But I wish I could.


Correspondent: One of the organizers of the "Affliction" event was world famous make of stylish clothing, gothic style. You came out in an "Affliction" t-shirt as well. Do you prefer such "brave" style?


Fedor Emelianenko: I prefer a more simple style in clothing. Though I do really like "Affliction" clothes, it's comfortable. And on my t-shirt there was nothing that was against Russian orthodox, so I came out to the ring in it.


Correspondent: In one of your recent interviews we spoke about a project "Fighting Fedor". Are the participant already picked? When will it start?


Fedor Emelianenko: That's a question for Vadim Finkelstein - he leads that project. I don't know the exact time frames.


Correspondent: What are your plans for the near future?


Fedor Emelianenko: I am leaving for America to participate in a press conference. I will also be negotiating with "Affliction" company.


Check out and learn Fedor's MMA style from his new book:  Fedor: The Fighting System of the World's Undisputed King of MMA


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Japanese fighters make waves at UFC on Versus 2

The rap on Japanese fighters is that they do well in hometown promotions like DREAM and Sengoku, but when forced to fight in a cage in the U.S., they buckle. A Japanese fighter has never held a title belt from the UFC or WEC. Before his Strikeforce title bout with Gilbert Melendez, lightweight Shinya Aoki said that if he lost, MMA in Japan would be over. Well, he lost.Someone didn't tell that to Yushin Okami and Takanori Gomi. Both fighters won handily at UFC on Versus 2. Though Gomi said that he "learned to fight American," he won by returning to his bread and butter striking. Okami did it with textbook takedown defense. His sprawl — laces down with flexible hips — was good enough to stop an elite collegiate wrestler in Mark Munoz. Now, Okami may get the shot to be the first Japanese fighter to win a UFC championship. UFC president Dana White said last week that a win might put Okami in line for a shot at the middleweight belt. From MMAjunkie.com: "Winning this fight would be big," White said. "I say it all the time, you know, Yushin Okami is one of the best 185-pounders in the world and has been for a while. This guy's due for a title shot."Apparently, Japanese MMA is far from over. It looks as if it's just getting warmed up. anderson silva chuck liddell martial art mma fight

Supermiddleweight Groves stops Contreras on US debut in Las Vegas

Londoner George Groves earned a stoppage victory on his American debut, halting Alfredo Contreras in the sixth round of their eight-round super-middleweight bout in Las Vegas, but the Londoner showed he is also still raw.� Groves moved to 10 fights unbeaten, but the signs are that he is still a neophyte in the [...]mma training anderson silva chuck liddell martial art

MC Hammer: MMA 'Got My Fire Stoked'

MC Hammer is clearing closet space in his world of parachute pants to make room for perhaps, MMA shorts.

No, he won't be fighting, but these days the 48-year-old rapper and entrepreneur's work affects the livelihood of fighters such as Nate Marquardt, Vladimir Matyushenko, Tim Kennedy, James McSweeney and more.

Hammer is the CEO of Alchemist Management, a marketing and management company officially launched last week specifically for a roster of MMA fighters.

"It's just over the years I watched the world of MMA grow," Hammer said on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. "It's really exciting. I don't see anything more exciting today than MMA and it got my fire stoked."martial art mma fight mma training anderson silva

UFC Fight Night Anderson Silva vs James Irvin thoughts

I'm sure it's been talked about to death by other MMA outlets, but I'm going to chime in on this anyways. Dana White says he isn't "threatened by a T-Shirt company" (Affliction Clothing's first PPV event evah), YET he goes out and puts on a free Fight Night on Spike TV with a STUPID main event with only a few decent match ups.  Ya, I get why UFC did it but as most I'm sure predicted it turned out for the worse. Anyways... I still watched it.


Anderson Silva vs James The Scrub Irvin - well, they circled for a while, sure enough Irvin throws a low kick, Silva catches it, counters and Irvin folds for a paycheck. WTF was the point?


Brandon Vera vs Reese Andy - I used to make excuses for Vera and his crappy performances after his contract disputes, which didn't do him any good, but after his tonight's performance I say stick a fork in him for a while and let him go see Tony Robbins, who did wonders for Chuck Liddell. I don't buy Vera's lack of any type of triggerering mechanism against a guy who can't take you down or strike with you on weight cutting. After the first round even a strategerist like Tito Ortiz would have realize that his opponent had nearly non-existent offence and that all Vera had to do is jab Andy's chest and follow up with some crosses or jumping knees or high kicks or wtfever. Seriously, I like Lloyd Irving's Grappling Plan and all, but he isn't doing anything for Vera's obvious flaws with his mental aspect of the fight game.


Hermes Franca vs Franky Edgar - at first I thought - cool, former title challenger vs rising star but then the fight took place. Franky Edgar kept a fast pace and Franca didn't care at all about getting taken down.  So Edgar took him down and worked him over with repeated elbows. Joe Rogan tried to defend Franca's relaxation routine under elbow assault saying he's just waiting to explode. Good timing for Rogan cause Franca did almost pull off a nice armbar, but Edgar just as nicely escaped and proceded to gift Franca with face swelling elbows. It was all Edgar most of the fight for a relatively unanimous decision.  This fight left me wondering though why would Franca just give the fight away? He's just one of those guys that tries to do everything last minute, unfortuntely for him the hard workers of the world will cosistenly come out on topof the slackers.


Cain Velasquez vs Jake O'Brien - Heavyweight division is kinda hurting so it was good to have this fight to expose Velasquez a bit. He was on a mission and he completed it with non stop punching of trapped O'Brien's head. Kudos to Yamasaki for letting it go for a while so that there weren't any doubts.


Anthony Johnson Vs. Kevin Burns - Burns did impress everyone by beating a really tough Roan Carneiro with a submission in his last fight. However Anthony Johnson made him look very average. The fight was ok until Johnson started feeling more comfortable in the second round and began to pick Burns apart, however lazy. Burns poked Johnson in the eyes about three times in second and in the third round he did it again and really deep. Johnson falls downs, he can't continue, replays show a finger jab going straight into his eye and they award victory to Burns? WTF?


Jesse Taylor Vs. CB Dollaway - I'm glad Jesse was brought back, but at the same time why make such a big deal on the TV show, take him off the Finale show and bring him back not a month later. When did he have time to go to the Alchoholics Anonymous, EH? Anyways, the fight was good, Jesse was controlling CB pretty well, till CB pulled a nice Marcello Garcia move to get behind Jesse and set up his now famous peruvian neck tie choke.


On it's own and without the stupid main event, this Fight Night was ok for me. But considering why it was put on, it was bust. Especially knowing how the competing event went. Dana should be ashamed of his ego, not willing to set up Randy vs Fedor and trying to be a bastard when others do it without him.


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UFC 118: Demian Maia vs Mario Miranda set for main card in Boston

mma fight mma training anderson silva chuck liddell

Lightweights Paul Sass vs. Mark Holst slotted for UFC 120 preliminary card

It looks like the final piece of UFC 120's puzzle is in place.

Lightweights
Paul Sass and Mark Holst have
been slotted into the preliminary card of the U.K. event, which takes
place Oct. 16 at the O2 Arena in London.

Sources close to the event
today told MMAjunkie.com that verbal agreements are
in place and the bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly.



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Takanori Gomi still 'can't believe' knockout of Tyson Griffin at UFC on Versus 2 (Video)

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Torres says Shields is afraid of Silva and may struggle at 170

Jake Shields finally jumped on board with the UFC last week and has been the recipient of some criticism from several directions. Some called his fighting style boring. Others wonder why the middleweight champ from Strikeforce is fighting for his new boss at welterweight. Miguel Torres, a former champ down at 135, suggested that Shields was afraid to fight Anderson Silva."I think he's getting out of 185 because he's a little bit afraid of Anderson (Silva)," Torres said during last week's stint as a guest host on ESPN2's "MMA Live" (starts at 26:30 left mark). "Anderson's a tough guy to fight at that weight class and he's thinking St. Pierre's an easier fight."ESPN was nice enough to include me in the discussion. I disagree with Torres. Shields' biggest strength is his grappling. Takedown defense might be Silva's only weakness. So in theory St. Pierre, with his excellent MMA wrestling, is actually a more difficult challenge for Shields. Shields explained to MMAWeekly Radio that it was simply a case of looking at the quickest path to a title shot (video below). "Obviously if I'm close to getting a title shot it's a huge factor," Shields
commented about his weight class choice. "I'm not really sure if this is going
to be a number one contender's fight or not, it hasn’t been mentioned to me, but
there's a good chance if I go out there and look really good doing it, it's
definitely a possibility." He might be right. If GSP beats Koscheck, the UFC may be looking for a fresh face to step up. That could be the winner of Shields and his opponent at UFC 121 in October, Martin Kampmann.Torres also didn't the like the choice because he believes Shields is now a natural middleweight."I think it might be too much of a weight cut," Torres said on MMA Live. Sometimes trying to cut that it's a little bit too much for you and I think Shields is going to find out right off the bat. He'a a great wrestler but at that weight class, cutting that weight is going to be rough," said Torres.
By the numbers, Shields is far from a natural middleweight. Sure, he looked physically big enough when he faced guys like Robbie Lawler and Dan Henderson, but he told MMA Weekly he's at 195 right now. Most of UFC middleweights are much bigger walking around 205-220 pounds. mma training anderson silva chuck liddell martial art

Shake weight finally lands an MMA spokesperson

Every guy's favorite piece of exercise equipment, Shake Weight, has arrived on the MMA scene. Not really. But one jokester posted a GIF of heavyweight powerhouse Shane Carwin using Shake Weight. As "Saturday Night Live" pointed out, it seems like a product that might be more appropriate for an MMA spokesperson on the female side.mma training anderson silva chuck liddell martial art

Matyushenko can't keep up with this Jones

The UFC lines up solid veterans for Jon Jones and he keeps on blowing through them. Jones made Vladimir Matyushenko look like he'd never grappled before. The 23-year-old light heavyweight took advantage of a sloppy punch by Matyushenko, got the fight to the mat and quickly converted it into a dominant position Sunday. Jones moved into a crucifix and dropped 11 nasty elbows in a matter of seconds. Referee Herb Dean was forced to stop the fight, giving Jones his fifth UFC victory in just under two minutes in the main event of UFC on Versus 2 in San Diego.  "I didn't think it would end that quickly," Jones told UFC color analyst Joe Rogan. "I trained the hardest I've ever trained. I knew Vlad would be the toughest test of my career and things went really well."Jones is 11-1 (5-1 UFC), but really should be unbeaten. He suffered his only loss to Matt Hamill when he was disqualified for throwing an illegal elbow at "The Ultimate Fighter 10" finale. Jones is beginning to provide UFC officials with a matchmaking conundrum, because matchmaker Joe Silva and president Dana White don't want to move him too quickly, but he's destroying opponents so easily that they may have to throw him into deep waters next time out. Jones wouldn't choose a name he'd like to face next. Finding him a top-10 UFC light heavyweight may be tough. Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Ryan Bader, Tito Ortiz, Matt Hamill and Rashad Evans are all tied up until at least late 2010. Evans is apparently going to wait for UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio Rua to return from injury in early 2011. The other problem is that Jones is now training in the same camp as Evans in Albuquerque, N.M. If Randy Couture gets by James Toney in late August that's a possible matchup that would sell well. Forrest Griffin is expected back in October from shoulder surgery. Rich Franklin is also out there waiting for a big fight.Jones looked superior in every aspect Sunday night. When the fight was standing, his 84 1/2-inch reach made Matyushenko uncomfortable. The Belarussian panicked a bit and threw a wild left hook. Jones ducked and scored the takedown that led to the finish of the fight. On the ground, Jones was deliberate. Matyushenko had an arm early but Jones stayed calm and quickly extricated himself from any danger. He then passed to side control where he attempted a few elbows. He made a nice veteran move by pinning Matyushenko's left arm with his left hand and locked it down with his leg to  set up the crucifix. The thing that separates Jones from a lot of MMA fighters is his viciousness. He wasted no time in throwing those brutal elbows into the side of the Belarussian's head and ears.  Other popular Sports stories on Yahoo!:• Controversial NCAA football star makes transfer official• Video: Shaquille O'Neal serenades teenage heartthrob• Golfer posts incredible score at Greenbrier Classic anderson silva chuck liddell martial art mma fight

Even 'Big Nog' made it into 'The Expendables'

Sylvester Stallone definitely has respect for mixed martial artists. During this inside look at his new movie "The Expendables" he talks about trying to cast soldiers for the flick. While in Brazil he had trouble finding guys who looked the part so he hit an MMA gym headed up by former UFC and PRIDE heavyweight champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. He found plenty of guys with cauliflower ears who didn't look like male models. Nogueira plays one of the soldiers (2:30 mark). The movie also includes another former UFC champ in Randy Couture, in a much more prominent role along with former pro wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Terry Crews and Mickey Rourke.  martial art mma fight mma training anderson silva

James Irvin at peace with possible UFC release, vows to keep fighting

James "Sandman" Irvin today told MMAjunkie.com that while he expects to be released from the UFC, he remains positive about his fighting future and wants to compete again in three months.

The veteran suffered his third consecutive loss this past Sunday at UFC on Versus 2 when Igor Pokrajac submitted him in the first round of their preliminary-card meeting.

"I think I need to have two or three fights in smaller shows and then get back into it," Irvin said.



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UFC on Versus 2 preliminary-card recap: Volkmann, Riddle and Stann victorious

SAN DIEGO - With mounting bills, a struggling chiropractic business, a third child on the way, and his UFC career in jeopardy, Dr. Jacob Volkmann picked up a victory when it mattered the most.

Facing well-rounded British welterweight Paul Kelly, Volkmann dominated on the ground and ultimately scored a unanimous-decision victory.

The fight capped off the untelevised preliminary-card action of UFC on Versus 2, which took place at the San Diego Sports Arena in California.



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Miguel Torres Has a Sense of Humor

Not too often do we see a fighter who can crack jokes at a recent loss. �Miguel Torres has no problems doing it though. �On his recent doctor visit to get his “axe wound” taken care of he shows off this sense of humor.
Chief Complaint: �My insurance went up 30% Obama Stinks
Location: Forehead
Severity: Yes
Timing: Bad
Signs/Symptoms: [...]chuck liddell martial art mma fight mma training

The NFL's best MMA prospect is ...

NFL insider/MMA trainer Jay Glazer was the fill-in host on the nationally syndicated Dan Patrick Show on Friday morning. Give him credit, he mixed in several segments of MMA discussion during the three-hour show. The day's poll question was "Which NFL player would make the best MMA fighter?"The candidates were Jared Allen, Ray Lewis, Shawne Merriman and Stephen Neal. If hardcore fans were voting, the results may have had Neal winning with 99 percent while the other three split the remaining 1 percent. After all, Neal was the NCAA heavyweight wrestling champ back in 1999. He won the title by downing current UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar.Neal actually finished last in the poll with just 6 percent of the vote. Ray Lewis smashed the field with 45 percent. Glazer said several times that Lewis has an amateur boxing and wrestling background. Are you buying that he'd have a chance against someone with Neal's pedigree? mma fight mma training anderson silva chuck liddell

UFC on Versus 2 fighter bonuses: Gomi, Oliveira, Stann, Massenzio get $40K awards

SAN DIEGO - Takanori Gomi, Charles Oliveira, Brian Stann and Mike Massenzio each earned $40,000 fight-night bonuses for their performances
at Sunday's UFC on Versus 2 event.

Gomi earned the "Knockout of the Night" award, Oliveira picked up the
"Submission of the Night" bonus, and Stann and Massenzio earned
"Fight of the Night" honors.


MMAjunkie.com learned of the award winners and bonus amounts while at the UFC on Versus 2 post-event press conference.



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UFC on Versus 2 Live Blog: Jake Ellenberger vs. John Howard Updates

This is the UFC on Versus 2 live blog for Jake Ellenberger vs. John Howard, a welterweight bout on tonight's televised UFC card in San Diego, Calif.

Howard enters this fight on a seven-fight win streak, four of which in the UFC. Ellenberger is coming off a TKO win over Mike Pyle at UFC 108 in January.

The live blog is below.


More: Ellenberger Batters Howard's Eye, Wins by TKO | UFC on Versus 2 Results
martial art mma fight mma training anderson silva

Howard gets crushed by elbows as Ellenberger rolls to win

John Howard has knockout power to match anyone in the UFC's welterweight division, but like so many sluggers, his glaring weakness is takedown defense. At any moment, Howard could have knocked Jake Ellenberger for a loop. He ran into problems because he couldn't keep the fight standing. Howard was taken down in all three rounds and absorbed some huge elbows that caused the left side of his face to blow up. The cageside doctor stopped the fight at 2:21 of the third round, giving Ellenberger his second victory in the UFC.Ellenberger, a wrestler by trade, was brilliant in his approach. The only way Howard was going to win the fight was to force a standup war. Ellenberger (23-5, 2-1 UFC) looked to clinch at every opportunity. He scored two first round takedowns and one more in the second round. That's when he landed the fight altering elbows. One of them blew up Howard's face. By the end of the fight, the swelling had spread from around Howard's eye all the way to his ear.UFC color voice Joe Rogan suggested that it might be a broken orbital bone that Howard (14-5, 4-1 UFC) suffered.  anderson silva chuck liddell martial art mma fight

Howard gets crushed by elbows as Ellenberger rolls to win

John Howard has knockout power to match anyone in the UFC's welterweight division but like so many sluggers his glaring hole is takedown defense. At any moment, Howard could've knocked Jake Ellenberger for a loop. The problem arose when Howard couldn't keep the fight standing for more than four minutes combined. Howard was taken down in all three rounds, took some huge elbows that caused the left side of his face to blow up. The cageside doctor stopped the fight at 2:21 of the third round, giving Ellenberger his second victory in the UFC.Ellenberger, a wrestler by trade, was brilliant in his approach. The only way Howard was going to win the fight was to engage in a standup war. Ellenberger (23-5, 2-1 UFC) looked to clinch at every opportunity. He scored two first round takedowns and one more in the second round. That's when he landed some huge elbow. One of them blew up Howard's face. By the end of the fight, the swelling had spread from around Howard's eye all the way to his ear.UFC color voice Joe Rogan suggested that it might be a broken orbital bone that Howard (14-5, 4-1 UFC) suffered.  chuck liddell martial art mma fight mma training

Bellator: Zuffa lawsuit "a big pile of nothing," company moving forward undistracted

While Zuffa, LLC - the parent-company of the Ultimate Fighting
Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting - has traditionally been
voracious in terms of protecting its product, Thursday night's
revelation that the company was suing the Bellator Fighting
Championships, as well as influential agent Ken Pavia, came as quite a
surprise.

Bellator officials were just as taken aback, according to the company's newly hired attorney, Patrick English.

"I was asked to represent Bellator yesterday when they heard there had
been a lawsuit filed," English told MMAjunkie.com.
"Originally, they had no idea what it was about. It was actually Kevin
Iole who was kind enough to tell me what it was about."



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MMA Grappling & Takedowns : Russian Tie-Up Throw in MMA

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UFC 92 picks Forrest Griffin vs Rashad Evans Wanderlei Silva vs Quinton Jackson Nogueira vs Mir

As usual, I say these will be super quick fight picks for UFC 92, but then I'll probably end up writing for an hour. Besides the fact that this is a really star studded event, like the old Pride year end event used to be, here are my picks.


Forrest Griffin Vs. Rashad Evans - what a tough pick this is for me, Rashad has been winning steady and last fight was a huge statement, especially for this confidence in his skills. Even though Forrest beat on Rampage a bit in their last fight, Rampage wasn't nearly at his best, but he has that advantage of going through that tough 25 minute championship fight and after being knocked down in the very first. So I like both guys, but I'm leaning towards Rashad and his power. Picking Rashad Evans.


Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Vs. Frank Mir - I'm honestly not sure what Mir can do to Nogueira. His striking is still isn't good enough for Noguiera and his latest submissions were against guys that are inexperienced at them. I give Nogueira striking advantage, stamina and submissions for that matter. He'll wear Mir out in the very first round, peper him with all kinds of striking. In the second he'll proceed to doing the same and finish Mir in the third. Picking Nogueira by just being better at everything and experience.


Wanderlei Silva Vs. Quinton Jackson - In both of their previous fights Rampage started off better than Silva and as soon as he got into any type of rhythm or a good position he was interrupted. In the first it was the ref for an odd reason, when Rampage was on top and pretty active and could have very well worn Silva out to finish him later. In the second he did great in the first round and spend good energy to get Silva on the ground and be on top before the bell rung. Silva showed why he was still great after exlusively beating up on 10+ japanese fighters and cought Rampage with some amazing forever-highlight reel shots. Again I really like both guys and both faltered lately. I hope Rampage learned from Silva-vs-Liddell, and Silva vs CroCop for that matter, that straight shots are Silva's cryptonite, Achilles's heel, whatever. Silva hopefully got some more good training in at Randy Couture's. So I want Rampage to win and hope he got whatever messed him up for the Griffin fight taken care of and is in better shape physically and metally.


CB Dollaway Vs. Mike Massenzio - picking CB Dollaway and his peruvian necktie, cause I get a feeling Massenzio is there to make CB look good again and promote him further.


Cheick Kongo Vs. Mostapha Al Turk - picking Kongo because he should be pretty hungry for a win after he basically gave away a fight he was winning a no talent hack Heath Herring.


Yushin Okami Vs. Dean Lister - So...like...wtf is Dean Lister still doing in UFC? Honestly! I know Dana hates Yushin Okami, but it is a damn sport that's already so popular that if there are a few guys that are not exiting but beat other good fighters with skill, IT IS OK. I mean, look at how boring Lyoto Machida can be, but he is damn good and in my opinion has redeemed himself when he gave Tito Ortiz the biggest humiliation of his life. Yep, and that's after Randy spaked Tito in front of millions. Anyways, hope Okami beats up Lister and moves on to the contender list for 185 right after.


Ryo Chonan Vs. Brad Blackburn- picking Ryo Chonan.


Other fights - who cares.


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Munoz looking to turn the corner and get rid of the junker

There's going to be some competition for the fight-night bonuses at UFC on Versus 2. Tuesday, we told you about John Howard and his 1994 Honda Accord. Wednesday, it's Mark Munoz and his 1992 Honda Accord. It proves two things, Hondas last and the crew of contenders on this card are still climbing the ladder to riches.Munoz, a former All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State, was having trouble supporting his wife and four kids. That's while he was the wrestling coach at UC Davis. So he decided to get into prize fighting and mixed martial arts."There were times where I couldn't even provide for my family," Munoz told the Orange County Register. "I accumulated much debt. The car got repossessed. The house foreclosed."Munoz (8-1) seems to be on the right track now as he preps to face Yushin Okami (24-5, 8-2 UFC). He's entering his fifth fight in the UFC and owns his own gym, Reign in Lake Forest, Calif. But his frugal ways continue, he still has that old Honda. He also trains a lot with Blackhouse MMA, the famed Southern California gym that houses Anderson Silva, Junior Dos Santos, Lyoto Machida and the Nogueira Brothers. Munoz has served as a stand-in for Chael Sonnen as Silva preps to defend his title next weekend at UFC 117. Silva also has a win over Okami on his ledger. Munoz said via Examiner.com: "Anderson actually told me that after sparring with me, and after fighting Okami, Yushin has nothing for me. He knows what Okami has, so we've been working really hard to understand how he moves and how to counter back. He's got a lot of great stuff that he's showing me."Okami was once considered one of the top-five middleweights in the UFC. He's a solid ground and pound fighter but his takedown defense was a big issue two fights ago against Sonnen. That would seem to play right into Munoz's hands. Okami did show a more dangerous standup game in his last fight against Lucio Linhares.   mma training anderson silva chuck liddell martial art

Light heavyweight politics puts a damper on UFC 119

The Nogueira brothers headline UFC 119 in Indianapolis. Antonio Rodrigo will rematch against Frank Mir while Antonio Rogerio will battle light heavyweight prospect Ryan Bader. It's a solid start to the card but we're left thinking what could've been. The UFC has a ton of fight cards to close out 2010 but it's being hamstrung by fighter's wishes at 205 pounds. The best fights aren't being made according to Yahoo! Sports' Dave Meltzer in his Wrestling Observer newsletter: The original idea for this show was to headline with Lyoto Machida vs. Quinton
Jackson and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Rashad Evans, but both Jackson and Evans turned
down the fight.According to Meltzer, Team Machida wants Evans for an interim title shot. That could set up a unification bout when the UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio Rua returns form another knee surgery. Rua is sidelined for a minimum of eight more months. And Jackson wanted to fight "Lil' Nog." This notion that Evans will sit on the sidelines for nearly 10 months is getting more preposterous by the day.  Tip via Bloody Elbow martial art mma fight mma training anderson silva

UFC 117 Preview

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