by Ariel Helwani
Rachelle Leah will reprise her role as a UFC Octagon Girl at UFC 111 on March 27 in Newark, NJ, the organization announced Wednesday.According to the report, Leah will only return for one night only. No word on whether she will replace current Octagon Girls, Arianny Celeste or Chandella Powell.
Rachelle Leah Returns as Octagon Girl at UFC 111 originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:35:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Ray HuiFiled under: News
Aleksander Emelianenko, the younger brother of Fedor, will compete against former Olympic wrestler Eddy Bengtsson at ProFC: Commonweath Cup on April 23 in Moscow.
Aleksander Emelianenko to Fight Former Olympian originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Ariel HelwaniFiled under: Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, News
Strikeforce has yet to officially announce their May show, but light heavyweight Antwain Britt told MMA Fighting Wednesday that he has agreed to fight Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante on the card. Britt said he hasn't been told when and where the fight will take place, but he believes it will air on the televised portion of the card."I think it's a good matchup for me," Britt said. "He's a big, strong guy. Of course, the fight camp he has over there, he trains with a lot of good guys, so I think he brings a lot to the table. You got a puncher's chance in this game. You know, him getting knocked out by Mike Kyle, it showed some of his weaknesses, but in the big scheme of things, anybody can get caught on any given day. So any time I train, I train for the most dangerous guy in the world, and I'm really training hard for this fight."
Antwain Britt: I'm Fighting 'Feijao' at Strikeforce in May originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:53:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Ray HuiFiled under: Strikeforce, News
Ben Holscher will fight Alex Trevino in a preliminary lightweight bout at the March 26 Strikeforce Challengers 7 event in Fresno, Calif., Strikeforce announced Wednesday.Nicknamed "The Teacher," Holscher (5-0) works as a full-time health teacher at Clovis High in Clovis, Calif., He trains out of Josh Koscheck's American Kickboxing Academy gym in Fresno. The former Division 2 wrestler has won both his fights on Strikeforce Challengers cards.
High School Teacher Ben Holscher Confirmed for Strikeforce Challengers 7 originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Michael David SmithFiled under: WEC, MMA Video Games
Saturday night's WEC 47 show on Versus featured promotional videos for Urijah Faber's upcoming fight, commercials starring Faber and an interview with Faber. In fact, it felt like Faber was on the TV screen more than any of the fighters who actually fought on the card.The reason for that is simple: Faber is, by far, the WEC's biggest draw, and the success of his pay-per-view bout against Jose Aldo next month will go a very long way toward determining what kind of promotion the WEC is going forward.
Without Urijah Faber, WEC Ratings on Versus Are Weak originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Ariel HelwaniThere are no shortage of interesting storylines surrounding the Georges St-Pierre vs. Dan Hardy UFC 111 fight, but one more has just surfaced, and this could be the most intriguing one of them all.
Check out the beginning of Hardy's latest video blog above, where it states that Hardy, who has already set up the final portion of his training camp in New Jersey, recently met with Matt Serra to talk shop and has been training at Ray Longo's gym on Long Island.
Is Matt Serra the Key to Dan Hardy's Success? originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:54:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Ariel Helwani
Georges St-Pierre says that when you see him compete at UFC 111 against Dan Hardy on March 27, you'll notice a very different fighter. In the video below, GSP talks about how he has drastically changed his game since defeating Thiago Alves last July. The welterweight champion also talks about why he has no interest in fighting BJ Penn a third time and how he's popularity has grown in Canada as of late. Check out the video below.
Georges St-Pierre Says He's a Changed Fighter, Has No Interest in Third Penn Bout originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:27:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Ray Hui
While the UFC is in town in Charlotte, N.C. for UFC Fight Night 21 on March 31, the promotion and Spike TV will hold a casting call the following day for The Ultimate Fighter 12.UFC president Dana White along with show producers will oversee the open tryouts in search of lightweights (155 pounds) and light heavyweights (205 pounds).
TUF 12 Tryouts Set for April 1 originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:06:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Mike Chiappetta
The world of boxing has for years drawn in literary giants from Ernest Hemingway to Norman Mailer to Joyce Carol Oates. Though mixed martial arts treads on similar ground as the so-called "Sweet Science," it has yet to capture the imaginations of the cognoscenti, who seem to view it as some type of combination of bar fight and circus.Progress, however, can be seen, at least in the insightful words of Sam Sheridan, a Harvard-educated author who continues his examination of the fight game in the recently released "The Fighter's Mind: Inside the Mental Game."
Though the book is not solely devoted to MMA, Sheridan delves further into the sport than most surface examinations would dare, examining the undervalued role of the mind in a sport that appears almost entirely physical. Indeed, his book serves a valuable function to MMA in an assertion that some critics may find shocking: yes, fighters actually employ brain power.
Author Sam Sheridan Goes Inside The Minds of Fighters originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Michael David SmithFiled under: UFC
The bad news for Stephan Bonnar is that his loss to Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 110 won't be overturned.The good news for Bonnar is that he's likely to get a second shot at Soszynski in June.
Soszynski's Win Upheld, Bonnar Rematch Likely for June originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Michael David SmithFiled under: UFC, Strikeforce, M-1 Global
No one has more respect for Fedor Emelianenko than Randy Couture. For years, Couture has proclaimed Fedor the best fighter on the planet, and Couture's burning desire to test himself against Fedor was a big reason that he tried to leave the UFC in 2007.
So it's telling that Couture has now joined the growing number of people in the mixed martial arts community who are questioning what's going on with Fedor.
Couture: Time for Fedor to Step Up and Fight the Best originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Ariel Helwani
Mike Swick and Dan Hardy have never appeared to be the best of friends. Of course, Hardy beat Swick to earn a welterweight title shot in November and then Swick talked publicly about how he didn't believe Hardy had done enough to truly earn that shot.So with that in mind, you might be surprised to hear that Swick has changed his tune about Hardy's right to face Georges St-Pierre later this month at UFC 111 and his chances of pulling off the upset in Newark, NJ.
Mike Swick: Dan Hardy Deserves Title Shot Against GSP, Can 'Definitely Win' originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:49:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Michael David SmithFiled under: DREAM, Strikeforce
As Dream lightweight champion Shinya Aoki prepares for his first fight outside Japan and his first fight in a cage, he says that he doesn't see much reason for concern in going over the differences between Strikeforce rules and Dream rules.
Ring or Cage, Doesn't Matter to Shinya Aoki originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Michael David SmithFiled under: MMA Media Watch, MMA Videos, UFC
UFC Primetime, the three-part Spike TV series designed to hype the UFC 111 bout between Georges St. Pierre and Dan Hardy, debuts on Wednesday night. And the overarching theme of the series is expected to be the contrast between St. Pierre as the consummate professional mixed martial artist and Hardy as the trash-talking brawler.
UFC Primetime: Gentleman GSP vs. Trash Talker Hardy originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Ray Hui
Brandon Vera and Jon Jones, headliners of the first UFC on Versus card, have more in common than just coming off a loss where they came out looking better than the winner. At one point of each light heavyweight's respective career, they have felt what's it like to be touted as a the future of the sport. Vera, now 32, enjoyed the buzz four years ago when he ran through his opponents in the UFC. Jones, meanwhile, is a 22-year-old phenom who has drawn comparisons to Georges St-Pierre. During a media call Tuesday, I asked the two to talk about how expectations and hype have shaped them as a fighter.
Brandon Vera, Jon Jones Okay With Top Prospect Hype originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Ray HuiFiled under: Strikeforce, News
If Cung Le has it his way, the former Strikeforce middleweight champion would like the opportunity in his next fight to avenge the only loss of his career.
"I"m hoping to get a rematch with Scott Smith ASAP," Le said in the above video on the Strikeforce website.
Cung Le: 'I'm Hoping to Get a Rematch With Scott Smith ASAP' originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:37:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Michael David SmithFiled under: WEC, Bantamweights
We saw a major shift in the bantamweight division of mixed martial arts on Saturday night, when two major upsets took place at WEC 47.The bantamweight title belt, of course, changed hands when Dominick Cruz beat Brian Bowles, who suffered a broken hand and couldn't keep fighting after the second round. But in what might be an even more significant change in our perceptions of the 135-pounders, Joseph Benavidez thoroughly dominated Miguel Torres, the man who for most of the last few years has been regarded as far and away the best bantamweight in the sport.
So now we have to re-assess our thoughts about the bantamweight division as we unveil our latest Top 10 rankings below.
MMA Top 10 Bantamweights: Rise of Cruz, Fall of Torres originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Ariel Helwani
Urijah Faber recently took part in a question-and-answer session in Las Vegas, and "The California Kid" was, as always, very honest with his responses. Some of the topics he touched on included: his title fight against Jose Aldo on April 24, why he doesn't like Brock Lesnar and Dominick Cruz, future fights on his mind, why he doesn't want to see the WEC merge with the UFC and much more.Check out the video below.
Urijah Faber Not a Fan of Lesnar, Cruz; Wants Another Shot at Tyson Griffin originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Ariel Helwani
Last month at UFC 110, the organization announced Kimbo Slice vs. Matt Mitrione at UFC 113 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on May 8. However, once James Toney signed with the organization, rumors began to swirl that Slice would fight Toney instead, possibly as early as April 17.Well, the UFC squashed those rumors Monday evening by sending out a press release that the Slice vs. Mitrione heavyweight bout was official for UFC 113 after all.
Kimbo Slice vs. Matt Mitrione Finally Official for UFC 113 originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:38:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
by Ray Hui
The one reason keeping Jens Pulver from possibly lacing up his four-ounce gloves once more following Saturday's WEC 47 loss could be the very same thing he cherishes: his fans. In a video released to his fans midnight Sunday on his Facebook page, Pulver presented contradictory remarks, sounding interested in extending his 11-year fight career, but at the same time reiterating his wish to avoid risking disappointment once more with another potential loss.
"No, I'm not done," Pulver said. "I'm disappointed. I just think it's not fair to do this to all of you, to go out there and just not get the Ws.
Jens Pulver Torn Between Fighting, Potentially Disappointing Fans originally appeared on MMA Fighting on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.