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Showing posts with label WEC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WEC. Show all posts
Miguel Torres hinting at fighting at Faber?
Miguel Torres is the current WEC Bantamweight Champion who has been rumored to have been in hundreds of underground fights back in the "Dark days" of MMA. Torres is possibly one of the Zuffa owned promotions best fighters and owns a better record than Fedor at 34-1. He has won 15 straight fights and has not loss a fight since 2003 by decision to Ryan Ackerman. A loss he later redeemed when he beat Ackerman by Armbar. Now in a interview with MMAMadhouse Torres expressed his frustration of waiting for his next possible fight with either Manny Tapia or Brian Bowles. The interesting part comes at the end when he mentions fighting opponents from different weight classes, hint, hint Urijah Faber."I think Tapia is at the front of the line, but he just messed up his knee. So I don’t know. I’ll fight Bowles — he looks good. And if he doesn't get the next shot I’m sure we’ll cross paths one of these days if he keeps winning. I don’t really care. I’ll fight anybody, anywhere. He dosen’t even have to be 135 pounds.”
As we all know neither Faber or Torres have made it a secret about possibly fighting in the future in a WEC super fight. This would easily be a fight the WEC will use to sell its two younger stars on Versus, as the last event that had both fighters had solid ratings. This would be a treat for fans who have asked themselves the same question since we began watching both fighters on cable TV last year. As we all know Dana White has given his blessing to BJ Penn to go back up in weight to compete at Welterweight against Georges St.Pierre in December. The fight could also possibly happen down the road as WEC looks to separate itself from the UFC's shadow.
MMA Live to be broadcasted on ESPN
MMA Live is a well put together show that is currently on ESPN.com every Thursday evening at 6pm nationally. The webcast is doing so well that the network is in talks to air the show on the famed sports channel.UFC lightweight contender and MMA Live co - host Kenny Florian was a guest Monday night on TAGG Radio which is a partner of MMAjunkie.com and they asked him about the possibility of the show being aired on network TV and here is what he had to say, "I don't want to let the cat out of the bag, but soon," Florian said. "The next couple of months, we're hoping to get [MMA Live] on ESPN or ESPN 2, and the sponsors are getting on board as we speak, so we should have a deal very, very soon. We're all very pumped."
I for one hope this show goes on the air nationwide on ESPN. Not only would it be a great move, but it would help keep the sport of mixed martial arts in the mainstream. MMA Live is also co - hosted by Jon Anik and MMA/Boxing analyst Franklin McNeil.
Source - MMAjunkie.com and TAGG Radio
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Chael Sonnen talks about the possibility that Paulo Filho won't fight Sept.10
Chael Sonnen interview with Ariel Helwani of MMARated.com
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WEC signs Bart Palaszewski
The WEC who has really good fighters in their lighter weight classes announced the signing of former IFL star and lightweight competitor Bart Palaszewski. The organization signed Palaszewski to a six fight deal and says he could be ready to compete as early as September 10, which happens to be the date for WEC 36, but only if he is needed.Palaszewski was supposed to have fought this past Saturday at an XFO event, but his opponent for the bout Eric Wisely failed his medicals. Palawzewski said, "The commission doesn't allow last- minute replacements, so I didn't get to fight." That changed quickly when he found out the WEC officially contracted his services for the next couple of years to come.
Palazewski's friend and mentor Jeff Curran who is in the WEC and recently made the move to the 135 pound weight class made the announcement in front of the gym where they train, “I guess he wanted to make it a big deal, which it is,” said Palaszewski upon learning of his new contract. “He made the announcement in front of our whole gym, family and friends. That’s phenomenal, very cool. It’s definitely the way I would like to find out.” Palazewski with a record of 29-11 just recently defeated Jeff Cox at the inaugural Adrenaline MMA event back in June by way of TKO.
Source - Sherdog.com
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Dana White's take on WEC/UFC merger
Earlier tonight UFC president Dana White was a guest on TAGG Radio and he was discussing the potential merger between the WEC and UFC and he did confirm that the process was indeed underway. During the topic when he was asked about the merger this is what White had to say,"The answer is yes, and we're working on that right now."
The plan for both organizations like White stated in another interview he would go on to say that the UFC would be for the heavier weight divisions and the WEC's focus would be on the lighter weight divisions.
The WEC just does not have enough fighters in their 185 and 205 pound classes, so it would be a great move for the UFC to add such good fighters as Chael Sonnen, Brian Stann and Paulo Filho to their already deep roster. We will spread the word once we get more information on the reshuffling of the WEC stable of fighters.
Source -MMAjunkie.com, TAGG Radio
UFC/WEC Talent merger in progress
“We have had some discussions about our weight divisions, but nothing has been set or finalized,” Harris said. “We’ve heard the same rumors. We’ve had those discussions since day one. About what weight classes (might be involved), I really have no official statement. I know people are talking about it. I’ve had reporters call me and ask the same questions for eight months about it.” UFC president Dana White had this to say sometime after UFC 83 in Canada, "We're going to make the WEC the smaller weights and the UFC will be the heavier weights,” White told The Canadian Press. “We'll probably take some of the guys in the higher weights, the champions over there and bring them into UFC. We're still trying to figure that out."
It looks like the move will eventually happen, but until then we just have to sit and wait on when such a move will go through. We as always will keep you posted on the matter.
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WEC 35 fighter paydays
Last night at the WEC 35 event at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas there was a lot of non stop fast paced action with 3 champions defending their titles. Carlos Condit who successfully defended his Welterweight title and earned top dollar with an event high of $44,000 with Lightweight Champion Here are the fighter salaries for the event:
Carlos Condit ($44,000) defeats Hiromitsu Miura ($5,000)
Jamie Varner ($30,000) defeats Marcus Hicks ($16,000)
Steve Cantwell ($10,000) defeats Brian Stann ($11,000)
Brock Larson ($30,000) defeats Carlo Prater ($7,000)
Brian Bowles ($6,000) defeats Damacio Page ($6,000)
Blas Avena ($12,000) defeats Dave Terrel ($3,000)
Shane Roller ($12,000) defeats Todd Moore ($4,000)
Mike Budnik ($6,000) defeats Greg McIntyre ($2,000)
Scott Jorgensen ($6,000) defeats Kenji Osawa ($5,000)
Please note that fighter salaries does not include sponsorship, licenses or taxes.
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Condit and Varner retain titles; Stann loses to Cantwell in first title defense
Last night at WEC 35 a really good card was put together as 3 champions made defenses of their titles. We start off with the Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner who was taking on Marcus Hicks. Varner appeared to be in some trouble in the opening round when Hicks almost applied a guillotine choke, but Varner would recognize the hold and Varner slipped away. Varner would than go on to finish the fight with a beautiful flurry of strikes and knocking out Hicks with a straight right to the chin and retaining the gold in his first defense. We go on to the second title match with Brian Stann the Light Heavyweight Champion making his first title defense against Steve Cantwell. In the first meeting Stann defeated Cantwell rather quickly this time it was a back and forth stand up battle between the two, but in the second round Cantwell mixed it up a little more and got Stann winded and that gave Cantwell the advantage to capitalize by knocking out the champ in the second round making him the new WEC Light Heavyweight Champion.
In the main event it was Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit taking on Hiromitsu Miura and these two really took it to each other with Miura making some beautiful judo throws and sweeps and with Condit making his points up in the stand up game and on the mat with some really good ground -n- pound. As the fight went along both fighters were showing fatigue and in the fourth round Condit would get Miura on the ground and would finish him off with some punches to make it a third straight title defense victory for the "Natural Born Killer".
Here are the results of the event:
Carlos Condit defeats Hiromitsu Miura by TKO (strikes) Rd.4
Steve Cantwell defeats Brian Stann by TKO (punches) Rd.2
Jamie Varner defeats Marcus Hicks by TKO (strikes) Rd.1
Brock Larson defeats Carlo Prater by TKO (strikes) Rd.1
Brian Bowles defeats Damacio Page by submission (guillotine choke) Rd.1
Josh Grispi defeats Micah Miller by TKO (strikes) Rd.1
Blas Avena defeats Dave Terrel by TKO (strikes) Rd.1
Shane Roller defeats Todd Moore by submission (guillotine choke) Rd.1
Mike Budnik defeats Greg McIntyre by submission (triangle choke) Rd.3
Scott Jorgensen defeats Kenji Osawa by unanimous decision
Carlos Condit's take on the UFC 170lb. division
Carlos Condit (22-4) who is the current WEC Welterweight Champion made a strong statement in an interview with Carlos Arias of the OC Register saying that he knows he can reach his full potential. Condit would also go on to talk about the top fighters in the UFC's welterweight division. This is what he had to say, "But I feel, me being the champion, I can deal with any one of those guys in the UFC and beat quite a few of them and give them a run for their money."
"I want to fight anyone who is above me. I don't put too much thought into who I'm going to fight next or anything like that. I focus on improving myself and being the best that I can be. I know that if I reach my potential, then I can beat those guys, I can beat guys like GSP, I can beat guys like (Jon) Fitch. I can fight any of these guys. When I reach my prime, it's going to be a scary, scary thing for everybody in the welterweight division."
Condit really is a good welterweight fighter and deserves to be mentioned as one of the top welterweights in the world, but fighters like Georges St.Pierre and Jon Fitch will be at the top of their class for quite a long time because these guys are still learning and get even better with each fight that comes along in their careers. However; Condit is still young (only 24 years old) and hardcore MMA fans could agree that he will reach full potential and be one if not the best welterweight in the division sometime in the near future. But for now Georges St.Pierre is the top guy in the class
Source - OC Register
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Paulo Filho training with Andrei Galvao
Paulo Filho (16-0) has not fought since his win over Team Quests Chael Sonnen at WEC 31 by Armbar. The fight ended in controversy after Sonnen was beating the "drained" looking Filho easily standing and on the ground until he locked in a Armbar and Sonnen screamed, the referee stopped the fight thinking he was verbally submitting. Filho's armbar was tight but Sonnen did not submit. After the fight Sonnen requested a rematch as did many fans. A short while later the rematch was granted to Sonnen later on for WEC 33 but never materialized for a second time after Filho went into a rehab facility for substance abuse. Now at WEC 36 Filho will get his chance to prove his first fight was no fluke. In preparation for his upcoming fight Filho has been training with BJJ Champion Andrei Galvao."With André Galvão’s partnership on trainings, Paulo Filho celebrates the presence of the two time world BJJ champion to get prepared for his WEC title defense at September 10th, and bets on Galvão for his debut on MMA. “I believe a lot on BJJ, and he’s not a rookie, his an expert, he’s a star. I’m sure he’ll debut with a victory, I trust on BJJ a lot more than any other martial art. It’ll be hard to find an opponent with better BJJ than his”, guarantees Filho, that believes Galvão helping him on training will be excellent. “He trained with Wanderlei (Silva) and will help a lot on the ground work. I hadn’t a great material to work with for a long time”, celebrates Paulão."
Galvao is also training for his upcoming MMA debut and has trained Wanderlei Silva for his fight at UFC 79 against Chuck Liddell. There is a lot of buzz surrounding Galvao as small whispers and comparisons of him having the potential of "Jacare" being a success in MMA. As many MMA fans can tell you the transition from a Jiu-Jitsu Champion to a MMA Champion can be a difficult one as many have tried with relative success and others with tons of hype only to be out of the game a few years later like Francisco Bueno (Fast Forward to 3:30) who after 6 fights was out of MMA. I for one look forward to seeing his debut fight along with Filho's return at WEC 36 in the near future.
Jens Pulver vs Leonard Garcia at WEC 36 in September
Jens Pulver (22-9-1) who lost for first time in his career at featherweight to Champion Urijah Faber back in June at WEC 34 will look to get back on the winning side of things and climb up the ladder for another Featherweight title shot as he will be taking on Leonard Garcia (11-3) in September for WEC 36 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
The fight would add to an already good card with Urijah Faber defending the Featherweight Championship against ATT standout Mike Brown and Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho will be looking to retain his title in a rematch with Chael Sonnen. Garcia who was in trouble with the law was cleared of all charges and recently said in an interview with MMAjunkie.com that he hung out with the wrong person for three years and paid for the consequences. Garcia says he will choose his friends much more carefully now. The fight was agreed on by Garcia and it could be finalized by next week at the earliest. We will keep you up to date when the fight becomes official
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