Showing posts with label UFC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UFC. Show all posts
Kenny Florian vs Frankie Edgar possible in the future
Yesterday we reported to you that Joe Stevenson and Kenny Florian would meet in the Octagon at UFC 91 in November at either in Portland Oregon or in Boston, Massachussets. As we know this fight would have a lot of potential to be another fight of the year candidate as both fighters are well rounded and dangerous in every part of their game. Now in a interview with Kenny Florian's co-host of MMA Live Franklin McNeil, Edgar discusses his thoughts on possibly fighting Kenny Florian as well. quoted from ESPN.com"Like Kenny, I want to fight the best in my division and right now he might be the No. 1 contender. So, fighting him is kind of a no-brainer. I want to get one [fight] in before the year is out. I would prefer November, but I would wait around to fight Kenny in December."
As for having his name mentioned prominently by Florian? That's fine by Edgar.
"It kind of gives me some recognition," Edgar said. "For a guy like Kenny to consider me as a formidable opponent; he's fought for the title and he's on a lot of people's list for a possible future title shot. So, it's good for me.
"I don't think Kenny's really calling me out; he's just making a statement that he wants to fight tough opponents."
Florian and Edgar are friends. The dropping of Edgar's name was not a show of disrespect by Florian.
"As an athlete, I have a lot of respect for [Frankie Edgar] for what he's accomplished," Florian said. "I respect him as a fighter and a person.
"It was the same with Roger Huerta. I had nothing against Roger; I liked Roger. But he was the best opponent available at the time. … It's nothing personal.
"I want to fight Frankie because he's a great fighter. That's the most important thing. It's about respect, and beating someone like Frankie Edgar will get me more respect."
As for having his name mentioned prominently by Florian? That's fine by Edgar.
"It kind of gives me some recognition," Edgar said. "For a guy like Kenny to consider me as a formidable opponent; he's fought for the title and he's on a lot of people's list for a possible future title shot. So, it's good for me.
"I don't think Kenny's really calling me out; he's just making a statement that he wants to fight tough opponents."
Florian and Edgar are friends. The dropping of Edgar's name was not a show of disrespect by Florian.
"As an athlete, I have a lot of respect for [Frankie Edgar] for what he's accomplished," Florian said. "I respect him as a fighter and a person.
"It was the same with Roger Huerta. I had nothing against Roger; I liked Roger. But he was the best opponent available at the time. … It's nothing personal.
"I want to fight Frankie because he's a great fighter. That's the most important thing. It's about respect, and beating someone like Frankie Edgar will get me more respect."
As we all know Florian is fresh off of a win at UFC 87 over highly touted UFC lightweight Roger Huerta ending his undefeated win streak in the Octagon. Edgar is coming off of a convincing win over former number 1 contender to the lightweight title Hermes Franca at Ultimate Fight Night 14 in July. As we know BJ Penn is going to hold out for a fight against Georges St.Pierre either in December or February and it seems Florian is set to eliminate any other possible contenders for his title. As it stands right now Florian is rumored to be fighting Stevenson, but if it does not happen and Edgar does not have a fight at the time he would be a very good opponent for Florian.
Swick wont return until late in the year
Yesterday Dana White announced at the UFC 90: Silva vs Cote Press conference we learned that Mike Swick would also get an opponent for the Chicago event. Well the announcement may have been premature as Swick told MMAWeekly.com that the injury is still not 100% and will keep him out of the UFC 90 card. “As of right now it is still not 100%, mostly because I am training on it so much, but should be completely healed within the next few weeks. I have been doing cardio and some grappling, but haven't been able to spar for some time. I am trying to be ready by November, but it’s a safer bet to say I will be fighting in December.”
So it seems the UFC will have to look for other matches to fill the rest of the main and undercard from this point out. We will let you know when Swick does get an opponent for November or December.
UFC 90 bout between Sean Sherk and Tyson Griffin is now official
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has confirmed a lightweight bout between top contenders Tyson Griffin and Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk and the matchup will indeed take place at UFC 90 in Chicago, Illinois at the Allstate Arena on October 25. This fight would more than likely move the winner one step closer to a Lightweight title shot.Sean Sherk who at this point last year was the UFC Lightweight Champion, but was stripped of the title because of a failed post fight urinalysis test back at UFC 73 that supposedly came up positive, which caused him to be suspended by the NSAC. Sherk did however, appeal his case and got his suspension reduced and was able to get his chance earlier this year to regain the title he never lost, but was defeated by the current Lightweight Champion BJ Penn at UFC 84, so now Sherk will look to get back on the winning track as he takes on Tyson Griffin who is on a four fight winning streak and just recently defeated Marcus Aurelio at UFC 86 in early July, but Sherk will certainly be the toughest test in Griffin's young career to date.
UFC 90 will feature Middleweight Champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva taking on Patrick "The Predator" Cote in the main event of the evening and the event will be also live on pay per view.
Jason Day out for UFC 88 matchup with Jason Lambert (UPDATE)
Update - According to Sherdog.com it appears the UFC has found a suitable opponent to replace Jason Day in his UFC 88 matchup against Jason Lambert with fellow Canadian countryman Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald who recently just competed at UFC 87 in a loss to Brazilian jiu - jitsu technician Demian Maia. Nothing has been set in stone at the moment, but we will let you know as soon as the bout gets confirmed. Also MMAWeekly.com reports James Lee pulls out of his UFC 88 matchup with Tim "The Barbarian" Boetsch due to an unspecified injury and a newcomer by the name of Mike Patt will step in to face Boetsch at the September event in Atlanta, Ga.Day was to face Lambert as a part of the UFC 88 undercard portion of the event which is headlined by "The Iceman" Chuck Liddell taking on "Sugar" Rashad Evans as the main event. No opponent has been named as a replacement for Jason Day, but we will let you know as always when the UFC gets someone to step in and face Lambert.
Intense Debate for Comment tracking, Avatars and comment voting. Click here to sign up and comment on URDirt.com.
Rumor - Florian vs Stevenson at UFC 91 with Cain Velasquez also to compete
As reported earlier by us at URDirt.com UFC lightweight contenders Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson are in talks to have a match take place at UFC 91 in either Boston, MA or Portland, OR on November 15. Also in the works to compete at the upcoming event is Cain Velasquez who at this point does not have an opponent for UFC 90.Several sources close to us have rumored this bout since Florian defeated Roger Huerta at UFC 87. There is that and also Florian does not want to wait for a match for the title with BJ Penn. Florian says he wants to fight one more time this year which is smart on his behalf. Because the last thing Florian needs to do is wait for his shot at the title like what UFC welterweight Karo Parisyan did and have it come back to bite him. These are only rumors, but they are strong rumors and we will let you know when this bit of news come gets any confirmation.
UFC 90 One press conference, a lot of new information
The UFC 90 press conference turned up a few new pieces of interesting information that we couldn't help but share, the most interesting is that Mike Swick will be added to the UFC 90 card. He is fighting the champion of all ducked fights the infamous TBA. No word yet who will replace TBA and face Swick at UFC 90, but Swick has now won 7 of his 9 fights inside the Octagon. His only loss was at middleweight when Swick was overpowered by Yushin Okami in front of his hometown fans in Houston, Texas at UFC 69. Swick almost knocked out Okami in the second round with time winding down but Okami escaped and once again gained a take down and top control in the 3rd round. Other interesting facts about MMARated's article include the fact that Dana White once again talked about a possible Georges St.Pierre vs Anderson Silva match and that Silva could possibly move up to 205 to fight again after facing Patrick Cote at UFC 90."Chicago is the UFC's #1 market for pay-per-view revenue.
* When all is said and done, UFC 90 will be the highest-grossing event in the 28-year history of the Allstate Arena, smashing Wrestlemania 22's record of 2.4 million dollars.
* As of Noon today, UFC 90's gate has already reached the two million dollar mark.
* White said Anderson Silva could potentially move up to light heavyweight again if he defeats Patrick Cote on October 25th.
* Furthermore, he even hinted at a possible GSP vs. Silva bout at an undetermined catch weight.
* The winner of the Diego Sanchez vs. Thiago Alves bout will receive a welterweight title shot.
* Speaking of Alves, he vowed to have no more issues making weight at 170 lbs"
* When all is said and done, UFC 90 will be the highest-grossing event in the 28-year history of the Allstate Arena, smashing Wrestlemania 22's record of 2.4 million dollars.
* As of Noon today, UFC 90's gate has already reached the two million dollar mark.
* White said Anderson Silva could potentially move up to light heavyweight again if he defeats Patrick Cote on October 25th.
* Furthermore, he even hinted at a possible GSP vs. Silva bout at an undetermined catch weight.
* The winner of the Diego Sanchez vs. Thiago Alves bout will receive a welterweight title shot.
* Speaking of Alves, he vowed to have no more issues making weight at 170 lbs"
As we reported earlier in the week there had been some speculation that Anderson Silva and Chuck Liddell could possibly fight at New Years Eve weekend if St.Pierre and BJ Penn did not fight at the event. The article out of NBCsports.com said the fight was in consideration to the card and can be its most stacked of the year. Another interesting note is the fact that White talked about the winner of Sanchez vs Alves could possibly get a title shot down the line against Georges St.Pierre. If St.Pierre's next fight is against BJ Penn and happens in early 2009 the winner of that fight would possibly have to take another fight on their way to the title because the title might not get defended until the middle of 2009. That would leave Alves or Sanchez in the same predicament that Karo Parisyan was in when Alves knocked him out at Ultimate Fight Night 13, after he side stepped a possible Jon Fitch fight so he would not risk his title shot. We will let you know of new facts that we come upon in the coming days as usual.
Anthony Johnson looking for an October return
UFC lightweight competitor Anthony "Rumble" Johnson who is recovering from an eye injury he sustained in July 19 bout with Kevin Burns at Ultimate Fight Night 14 could be cleared to compete as soon as September, but is taking a little more time to rest the eye and could look to get back in the mix by October.Johnson discusses the injury with MMAWeekly.com saying, “I had laser surgery to reattach my retina and I got stitches in my eyeball right now,” Johnson also added. “The laceration on my eye was from one end of my eye to the other.”
Ken Pavia who is Johnson's agent is still trying to get an appeal on the outcome of the fight, but Johnson seems to be at peace with the decision and is moving forward,
“I wasn’t really big on the whole appealing the fight anyway,” he commented. “Every single champion has a loss on his record. I’m trying to see myself as the bigger and better guy. If he’s the champion one day, I’ll accept an ‘L’. “Everybody was hating on (Steve) Mazzagatti because of the call, but he was on the side I was blocking on, so he actually didn’t see the guy eye gouge me. All he saw was the uppercut… he called what he thought he saw and I respect him.”Johnson continued. “I was disappointed because I did lose like that… when it should have been a no contest or a DQ. He saw what he thought he saw, so I’m not hating on him about it.”
Johnson still does not deserve the loss, but now he just looks focused to take it out on his next opponent whoever that may be and we at URDirt.com wish AJ a speedy recovery and hope to see you back in the Octagon very soon.
Intense Debate for Comment tracking, Avatars and comment voting. Click here to sign up and comment on URDirt.com.
James Irvin admits use of Painkillers
Today in a letter sent to the Nevada State Athletic Commission UFC light heavyweight fighter James Irvin admits to using painkillers during his preparation for a fight with Anderson Silva on July 19 at Ultimate Fight Night 14 and also confirms that he took the medication without a prescription.Irvin who was defeated at UFN 14 by Silva took a post fight urinalysis and it came out that he had tested positive for methadone and oxymorphone which are non approved pain medications. Irvin had this to say in his letter to the NSAC, “In the days leading up to my fight with Anderson Silva, I experienced some residual pain in my foot from a previous injury,” wrote Irvin in an Aug. 14 letter. “I made the extremely poor choice to take some pain medications that I did not have a prescription for. I realize this was an ignorant and dangerous decision.”
When Chuck Liddell pulled out of his match with Rashad Evans at UFC 85 it was Irvin who stepped in to replace Liddell and face Evans, but had to pull out with the foot injury that has caused him to make the decision to take the banned medications.
At the moment Irvin who was temporarily suspended until August 12 due to a separate pending disciplinary hearing is planning on meeting with the commission in person. Irvin could possibly be out of action for 6 to 12 months and pay a percentage/fine out of his salary for his bout with Anderson Silva. We will keep you up to date when the NSAC makes a ruling on Irvin.
Source - Sherdog.com
Intense Debate for Comment tracking, Avatars and comment voting. Click here to sign up and comment on URDirt.com.
UR Dirt E "Quick Fix"
UR Dirt E "Quick Fix" for August 18, 2008
- The Strikeforce event that will take place in Denver, Colorado at Broomfield Event Center on October 3rd will be aired on the cable premium channel HDNet. The event will feature a bout with Duane "Bang" Ludwig taking on Sammy Morgan and Frank Trigg facing Falaniko Vitale. Also to compete on the card are Phil Baroni and Pete Spratt.
- According to FCFighter.com UFC middleweight fighter Nate "Rock" Quarry is recovering from a broken orbital floor (which is a bone that keeps an eye in its place) due to someone taking a backswing with a golf club. Quarry had this to say about the accident, “I’m just glad it was me and not some kid or other woman. We had grown men swinging these clubs. If it would have hit a kid or a woman, it would have smashed their face.” Quarry is doing well and says he looks to get a fight in towards the end of the year. There is a rumor that the UFC could hold an event in Quarry's home state of Oregon in November and I'm sure he would like to compete on that card if it becomes a reality.
- In other Strikeforce news the organization has officially announced it's third "Young Guns" card where the promotion will utilize a series of these events to develop the young talent they have to further bolster their roster. The "Young Guns 3" event will be held at the San Jose Civic Auditorium in San Jose, California on September 13. This would be the first of three Strikeforce events with the second event being at the Playboy Mansion on Sept. 20 and the third event in Denver, Colorado on October 3.
Intense Debate for Comment tracking, Avatars and comment voting. Click here to sign up and comment on URDirt.com.
Tito Ortiz still a free agent
There were reports last week that former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz had openly stated that he signed a "ground breaking" contract with Affliction, but all that did not pan out for Ortiz. Now according to Dan Stupp of MMAJunkie.com says in his column for the Dayton Daily News that Ortiz is back out on the market and is in negotiations with other MMA organizations.In the report it says that Ortiz is still in talks with Affliction, but is also talking with EliteXC, the upstart AFL and last but not least the UFC. The real question is if Tito Ortiz is really serious about fighting this year? A quote on the column was said by an unnamed fight company rep and he said, “I don’t know if we’re really negotiating, or simply helping Tito stroke his giant ego.”
So another question is where does Tito want to go and fight for? The AFL is looking to promote an event for pay per view and they have recently signed former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley along with highly regarded female fighter Tara LaRosa. They could make a strong bid for Tito's services. Than there is EliteXC, but that could prove to be highly unlikely with ProElite in some financial trouble. Affliction is still a possibility, but as much as they are already paying Fedor Emelianenko (an amount of about $1.6 Million) just how far would they go to pay Ortiz. And finally there is his original home in the UFC. Tito Ortiz and Dana White aren't exactly the best of friends, but White never really shut the door on him to come back and maybe, just maybe Tito could work things out with White or negotiate with Lorenzo Fertitta to possibly continue his fight career in the Octagon where he has already spent 11 years in. Stay tuned!
Intense Debate for Comment tracking, Avatars and comment voting. Click here to sign up and comment on URDirt.com.
Georges St. Pierre responds to comments made by Matt Hughes
Georges St. Pierre responds to comments made by Matt Hughes last week in regards to his fight with Jon Fitch at UFC 87 and talks about his (Hughes) next fight with Matt Serra. Interesting!!
Intense Debate for Comment tracking, Avatars and comment voting. Click here to sign up and comment on URDirt.com.
Intense Debate for Comment tracking, Avatars and comment voting. Click here to sign up and comment on URDirt.com.
Cast for The Ultimate Fighter 8 comes to light
The Ultimate Fighter season 8 which will have teams coached by UFC heavyweights Frank Mir and interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will first have to watch 32 contestants fight their way into the TUF house. This will be the same format just like this past season with Forrest Griffin and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson as the coaches.Today the names for the upcoming season according to SI.com were revealed and here are the list of names that will be set to appear on the show:
Lightweight
Jose Aguilar (17-3)
Fernando Bernstein (2-0)
Junie Allen Browning (2-0)
Rolando Delgado (7-3-1)
Joseph Duarte (3-0)
Charles Diaz (14-4)
Efrain Escudero (10-0)
Brandon Garner (4-1)
David Kaplan (3-1)
Brian McLaughlin (5-0)
Wesley Murch (4-2)
Shane Nelson (11-3)
Phillipe Nover (5-0-1)
Ido Pariente (13-4)
John Polakowski (3-1)
George Roop (7-3)
Light Heavyweight
Ryan Bader (7-0)
Antwain Britt (4-0)
Jules Bruchez (3-2)
Lance Evans (4-2)
Karen Grigoryan (5-0)
Jason Guida (26-13)
Ryan Jimmo (6-1)
Kyle Kingsbury (7-1-1)
Tom Lawlor (6-2)
Ryan Lopez (5-3)
Vinicius Magalhaes (2-2)
Eric Magee (3-1)
Eliot Marshall (5-1)
Sean O'Connell (1-0)
Shane Primm (1-0)
Krzysztof Soszynski (16-8-1)
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs Team Mir will make its debut September 17 immediately following Ultimate Fight Night 15 live on Spike TV.
Intense Debate for Comment tracking, Avatars and comment voting. Click here to sign up and comment on URDirt.com.
Brock Lesnar may be two wins away from a UFC title shot
Brock Lesnar's win at UFC 87 over Heath Herring has changed the way that people view the UFC Heavyweight division and the perception of critics who claimed that Lesnar would be out of MMA after a few fights. As we all know the UFC suffered some big losses in the division when Randy Couture, Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia and Mirko Cro Cop exited the division throughout the span of a few months all for diferent reasons. As the UFC has replenished the division with young up and coming fighters, several people saw Lesnar as a fighter who if he was trained properly could contend and dominate. Lesnar is a rare breed because of his size speed and wrestling background all mixed into one. Now in an excellent article where Sam Caplan breaks down the UFC Heavyweight division. Caplan brings up good points where he points out Lesnar may only be 2 more wins away from a title shot."after surveying the landscape, it appears very likely that at most, Lesnar is only two consecutive wins away from a shot at the title. In fact, he could even be granted a shot with just one more victory; there isn't a long line of UFC heavyweight contenders."
Now before you blow off the claim think about how big a Brock Lesnar vs Nogueira fight would be if he retains his belt at the New Years Eve card. Then think about how big a Mir vs Lesnar rematch would be after having the highlight on Sportscenter and Youtube of Mir tapping out Lesnar. That would be a gold mine for the UFC and would possibly bring in a new face to the UFC's heavyweight division as well. Lesnar would be the posterboy of the UFC for years to come and would make a major impact selling pay per views and merchandise as well. I personally think Lesnar's presence would usher in a whole other generation of WWE fans becoming UFC fans.
Make sure you read the Caplan article as it is a very good article, he breaks down the UFC's heavyweight division. Sportsline.com
UFC's NYE Rumors - Anderson Silva vs Chuck Liddell?
The UFC may be in a pickle as far as stacking its New Years Eve weekend card, but it may be a good problem for the fans. The UFC may consider another fight to put as a co-main event to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's first title defense against Frank Mir. As the UFC usually attempts to make their last show of the year its strongest. As we know last year Georges St. Pierre stepped in for an injured Matt Serra and fought Matt Hughes in a rematch for the interim Welterweight title, succumbing to St.Pierre by submission. The co-main event was an all time classic as Chuck Liddell finally fought long time adversary Wanderlei Silva, it was everything long time UFC and Pride fans expected. Now in a article out of NBCSports claims that the UFC may consider putting a Anderson Silva vs Chuck Liddell fight."One possibility if St. Pierre decides he can't go is Chuck Liddell vs. Anderson Silva. That, fight, however, also has a few obstacles in its path. Liddell is fighting in September, so assuming he wins, he’d have enough time to recover. But Silva is competing on Oct. 25 against Patrick Cote. He’d have to come out of that match unscathed and take a fight with only two months to prepare against Liddell.
It might seem far-fetched, but Silva has voiced a hope to fight more frequently, and mentioned back in June that he hoped to have three more matches in ’08."
It might seem far-fetched, but Silva has voiced a hope to fight more frequently, and mentioned back in June that he hoped to have three more matches in ’08."
For those of you who may have not heard these fights are being considered as back up plans if Georges St.Pierre does not fight BJ Penn. St.Pierre in a article with a Canadian Newspaper said he was considering not fighting again this year so he can take some time off to rest. St.Pierre has now fought four times in the span of a year and wanted to be able to fight Penn at 100% health and strength. It is unknown as of this time what may be his final decision, an interesting note is Dana White said on ESPN.com's MMA Live that St.Pierre vs Penn was going to happen. We will let you know when either becomes official.
One other interesting little rumbling that we have heard are that Cain Velasquez may also fight on this card, the problem is not many people are stepping up to fight the former Arizona State wrestling sensation. There have also been rumors of Brock Lesnar's next opponent who may either be Gabriel Gonzaga or Cheick Kongo. We will bet on Kongo as Gonzaga seems as the more legitimate threat to a Lesnar title run that the UFC could profit heavily from. We have also heard Kenny Florian vs Joe Stevenson, which would be a clash of titans at lightweight. Now keep in mind none of these rumors or speculations are confirmed and are to be considered loose talk at the most. We will keep you up to date on anything we do hear as time goes on.
Rich Franklin talks Hamill fight at UFC 88
Patrick Cote "We know how to beat Anderson Silva."
We are only 2 months and 8 days away from Anderson Silva's title defense against Patrick Cote at UFC 90 in Chicago and the mental mind games have begun. Patrick Cote fresh off his less than stellar victory over Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Ricardo Almeida has already began the war of words in recent interviews with The Fight Network Radio and Toronto Sun, he had this to say about his upcoming fight with Silva. "We know how to beat Anderson Silva."
"The only way to beat him is to push the pace. Go forward all the time. You can't let him get confident and comfortable in the center of the Octagon. You have to push the pace for five minutes every round. If I do that, I can catch him. I'll take care of him."
Cote's last win was less then impressive but you can not deny the power he has in his hands. After going without a win in his first 4 Octagon appearances Cote had now won 5 consecutive fights. He has put himself in contention for the Middleweight Championship against one of mixed martial arts best fighters. One thing is for sure even though; the card is still 2 months away the anticipation for Silva's next fight began on July 19. We all love watching Silva fight and Cote should bring a tough challenge to Silva or at least we hope he will.
Thiago Alves predicts a KO win over Diego Sanchez
Thiago Alves (15-3) is coming off of back to back knockout wins over two of the top fighters in the UFC welterweight division in Karo Parysian and Matt Hughes. He is poised to make his run at Georges St.Pierre's welterweight title but one man stands in his way to that title shot, Diego Sanchez. Sanchez is also poised to make a run at the title and will also have a case for his shot if he can get by Alves in their October 25 bout at UFC 90. Alves while in a interview with the Chicago Suntimes made a prediction of knocking out the former Ultimate Fighter season 1 contestant."I showed dominance in the last two fights by stopping my opponents. That was something I was working on. I know I’m going to knock him out. It doesn’t matter what round…. I want to put on an exciting fight for the fans. Diego is a pretty tough guy, but I can knock him out. But I have to take him down and submit him, I’ll do that. I’ll be on top of my game."
This fight seems as if it has all the makings of a high energy three round battle that can go back and forth the whole fight. Alves comments only make the fight more anticipated as we know Diego Sanchez strategizes at this moment on a way to defeat Alves. Too bad this fight is still over two months away it looks as if it might be a can't miss fight.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)