Gabriel Gonzaga Off UFC 108 Card Due to Staph Infection
by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 25, 2009 6:17 PM EST
in News
72 comments
Yahoo! Sports' Cagewriter Blog has the unfortunate news:
The hits keep coming for the UFC, Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva. The fellas have to scrounge up a quality heavyweight to fight Junior Dos Santos Jan. 2 in Las Vegas at UFC 108. Sources with the UFC confirmed that Gabriel Gonzaga is off the card because of staph infection.
The Dos Santos fight was huge for the heavyweight division and now yet another big fight is off. It is amazing just how many fights have been canceled as a result of injury as of late. There isn't much to say other than that the UFC's luck has to get better at some point.
72 comments | 0 recs |
BJ Penn talks Diego Sanchez
Brock Larson Cut by UFC; Blames Undercard Status for Performances
by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 25, 2009 4:31 PM EST
in News
47 comments
MMAJunkie.com with the report:
With a TKO loss to Brian Foster at this past weekend's UFC 106 event, UFC welterweight Brock Larson will now look for work outside the organization.
The veteran fighter today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com he was cut from the UFC's roster following the Nov. 21 defeat.
Larson leaves the organization with a 26-4 record, which included a 3-3 mark in the UFC and a 4-1 record in the WEC.
"It's probably a good thing," Larson stated via text message. "I was having a hard time getting motivated for my last two fights. I needed a change. The undercards just didn't do it for me."
Far be it from me to question the motivations of a professional athlete but the idea that Larson was unable to get motivated by being on the undercard seems like a cheap excuse. The idea that he was so upset by being on the undercard that he couldn't focus would seem to fly in the face of the logic that suggests "put on a show and give them a reason to move you to the main card."
Getting beat by Mike Pierce wasn't going to move him up to the main card. If rebounding from the loss and proving himself wasn't enough to motivate Larson than I have some serious questions about how successful he will be in the future. Instead, Larson was dominated in every aspect of the game by a heavy underdog in Brian Foster.
The truth is, most fights on UFC shows make the air these days. Is fighting for Strikeforce, DREAM or WVR really going to provide enough "visibility" to motivate him that much more?
47 comments | 0 recs |
Wanderlei Silva talks Michael Bisping:
"I'm going to sign this week. All my friends say 'Hey kick his ass.' I don't know this so much...but for my fans, I'm going to kick the Bisping ass."
Strikeforce: Evolution Trailer -
Main Card:
Josh Thomson (16-2) vs Gilbert Melendez (16-2) [LW Title Unification]
Cung Le (6-0) vs Scott Smith (16-6)
Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal (5-0) vs Mike Whitehead (24-6)
Matt Lindland (21-6) vs. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza (10-2)
Robbie Lawler (18-5) vs TBA [Rumored Benji Radach (19-5)]
Will Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin III Be the Focus of TUF 11?
by Leland Roling on Nov 25, 2009 3:00 PM EST
in News
51 comments
Following his split decision loss to Forrest Griffin at Saturday's UFC 106, Tito Ortiz made a number of statements that angered fans and fellow fighters. He felt Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson didn't deserve a "Fight of the Night" award, told fans that a "cracked" skull had hindered his training, and spouted off to media about being "robbed" by the judges. It was a typical Tito Ortiz loss. But one of the truly interesting pieces of information that came from both Ortiz and Griffin was when they were asked about a potential rubber match showdown within the structure of an eleventh season of The Ultimate Fighter.
Ortiz stated that it would be "awesome" and "break records" while Griffin said he'd do whatever Dana wants him to do. Dana White's comments didn't deny the possibility of Ortiz and Griffin's rubber match being a part of The Ultimate Fighter season eleven, and it seemed like White and company hadn't made their minds up as to who would coach the middleweights and light heavyweights that would make up the show.
The past rumors have all centered around Georges St. Pierre and Dan Hardy as potential coaches with Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell also looming in the shadows as a possibility. The real problem for the UFC is that the heavyweight, light heavyweight, and middleweight divisions are somewhat on hold currently with the lightweight title being fought for at UFC 107. It doesn't leave too many options for the UFC to put title bouts on their cards for the beginning of next year, so tying up Georges St. Pierre vs. Dan Hardy within the structure of the show would ensure the fight wouldn't take place till the summer of 2010.
That really only leaves Ortiz, Liddell, and Griffin in the mix with the possibility of new candidates coming forward. With two months left before taping, the UFC will need to decide fairly quickly.
I'm not a huge fan of The Ultimate Fighter by any means. This season has been particularly bad for viewing exciting action, and I've been a strong proponent of bringing in the WEC's talent to bolster not only the UFC's excitement factor on UFC Fight Night cards and pay-per-views but seasons of The Ultimate Fighter as well. I won't be getting that wish any time soon, but from a business standpoint -- Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin's rubber match, while stylistically uninteresting, should bring in some viewers due to their personalities.
Sure, it won't be multiple seasons of Ortiz talking massive trash to Ken Shamrock and curbstomping him into near retirement, but it should provide some added drama to a lineup of fighters that should be more exciting than the current season's talent. It is also a match-up that has no title implications, which takes it out of the picture as a fight that could have detrimental effects to the top of the division due to the lengthy period of time each fighter will be off.
I say go with Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin. Unless White wants to press Rogerio into a bout with either guy to increase his exposure for a run toward the top or potentially give either man a shot at the loser of Silva vs. Evans, Griffin and Ortiz don't have anything else going on right now. The division is deadlocked near the top until Machida vs. Rua takes place, and the show debuts in April 2010, while Machida vs. Rua takes place on May 1st, 2010. That should work out perfectly.
HT: MMAJunkie.com
51 comments | 0 recs |
Bloody Elbow Judo Chop: In a Collision of Southpaws, Luis Cane Has No Answer for Antonio Rogerio Nogueira's Left at UFC 106
by Kid Nate on Nov 25, 2009 1:30 PM EST
in Technique
29 comments
The UFC 106 bout between Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira aka "Little Nog" and Luis Arthur "Banha" Cane was a treat for fans of the striking game: a rare meeting of two southpaws. Not only were both fighters left-handed, but Nogueira is one of the most polished boxing technicians in the game, a sharp contrast to Cane's brawling Muay Thai style.
Nogueira has long competed as an amateur boxer at a very high level. In 2006 he took the Gold Medal in the Super Heavyweight division at the South American Games and in 2007 he took home the Bronze in the 2007 Pan American Games.
Despite these achievements, MMA commenters have slept on Nogueira's dramatic improvements in his striking game. In large part this is because Little Nog's MMA career took an unfortunate two year detour. In 2005, he approached the very top of the division, losing a razor thin decision to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at PRIDE Critical Countdown in 2005. Shogun went on to win the PRIDE 2005 205lb Grand Prix and cement his status as the uncrowned champion of the division. But Nogueira,, after taking an impressive TKO win over Alistair Overeem in 2006, found himself on the wrong end of a KO loss to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in 2007. Then PRIDE collapsed and Little Nog spent most of the next two years in exile, wandering from Sengoku to Affliction to Jungle Fight. Because of the dramatic drop-off in the caliber of his competition, few noticed that Nogueira was racking up a string of TKO wins -- of his 5 career TKOs, all have taken place in the last three years.
Well, this fight was a definitive announcement that Little Nog is back at the top of the division. Along with the dramatic reemergence of Shogun Rua, Little Nog's steam-rolling of the very tough Luis Cane was a powerful reminder of just how good the old PRIDE 205lb division was.
In the full entry we'll get to some technique talk, first off, a general discussion of being left-handed in boxing and kickboxing, followed by some animated gifs.
29 comments | 4 recs |
DREAM vs. Sengoku Officially Announced for New Year's Eve
by Chris Nelson on Nov 25, 2009 12:41 PM EST
in News
14 comments
At a joint press conference held Wednesday morning in Tokyo, K-1 and DREAM parent company Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG) officially confirmed the addition of a "DREAM vs. Sengoku" theme to FEG's annual New Year's Eve "Dynamite!!" show at Saitama Super Arena. The announcement comes two weeks after reports emerged that Sengoku would cancel its own December 31st event at Ariake Coliseum - a show which would have been headlined by a high-profile clash of heavyweight judokas in Satoshi Ishii and Hidehiko Yoshida.
Since then, numerous blogs and fans alike have predicted that Sengoku will begin cooperating with (or, in more severe estimations, be completely absorbed by) its former rival, and that the Ishii-Yoshida bout would be included as part of a package deal with FEG.
However, while it's now clear that a number of Sengoku fighters will be included on the planned 19-bout "Dynamite!!" card - five to seven, says FEG president Sadaharu Tanigawa - it doesn't appear that the elder Olympic gold medalist is fully on board with the crossover.
Sherdog's Tony Loiseleur reports:
"At first, I thought I was going to fight at Ariake Colosseum on New Year's Eve, so to all the fans and media, I'd like to offer my apologies for announcing so late that I won't be," said Yoshida.
Curiously, though FEG's Tanigawa insisted that the bout would happen on Dynamite, Yoshida's comments on the bout sounded less committed.
"Am I fighting Ishii? That was something that was decided by Sengoku, actually. Since then, I haven't really heard who it is I'm supposed to be facing, so I don't know. I suggest that you ask the related parties [for confirmation]," said a cryptic Yoshida about the Ishii bout.
It's safe to assume that this fight hasn't yet been signed for "Dynamite!!" yet, or it likely would have been confirmed today. In fact, no bouts were announced today, though the following Sengoku fighters were present:
Hidehiko Yoshida, Kazuo Misaki, Hiroshi Izumi, Sanae Kikuta, Akihiro Gono, Kazunori Yokota, Mizuto Hirota [LW champion], Masanori Kanehara [FW champion], Eiji Mitsuoka, and Yoshihiro "KISS" Nakao
(An aside: one Sengoku fighter you shouldn't expect to see at FEG's soiree? Welterweight heatseeker Dan Hornbuckle. BloodyElbow.com has learned that the Indiana-based "Handler" will find his way into Bellator Fighting Championships' next season.)
As for the future of Sengoku parent company World Victory Road and its rumored falling out with backer Don Quijote:
... WVR head Inamura's only comments were an insistence that parent company Don Quijote was still involved with the promotion and was devoted to supporting it into 2010. WVR said it already has plans in place to continue promoting in the new year.
Pachinko machine manufacturer FieLDS was confirmed as the official sponsor for "Dynamite!!" today, squashing rumors that the discount giant known as Donki could switch allegiances as early as New Year's Eve.
It's expected that FEG will begin making formal additions to the "Dynamite!!" fight card next week.
14 comments | 3 recs |
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