With three title fights planned for Strikeforce's April return to CBS,
the producers of "Strikeforce: Nashville" could run into a real problem.Properly timing three contests that could each potentially run 25 minutes - or 25 seconds - could leave the promotion with a bit of downtime to fill.
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker recently told MMAjunkie.com that in order to fill the void, the promotion will likely air a preliminary card fight for the first time.
(Alessio Sakara turns Thales Leites's face all doofy at UFC 101.)
After a few weeks of thumb-twiddling, the UFC has finally decided that the previously announced fight between Alessio Sakara and James "Most Cursed Fighter in MMA History" Irvin will kick off the UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones broadcast next Sunday (3/21) on Versus. The middleweight contest was originally slated for the prelims, but the card's lineup shifted a bit after Sean Sherk and Anthony Johnson pulled out due to injuries. Sakara is riding back-to-back victories over Joe Vedepo and Thales Leites, but hasn't competed since last August, while Irvin hasn't been inside the Octagon since his KO loss to Anderson Silva in July 2008. The current lineup of "UFC on Versus" looks like this...
MAIN CARD
Brandon Vera vs. Jon Jones (LHW)
Junior dos Santos vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (HW)
Cheick Kongo vs. Paul Buentello (HW)
Alessio Sakara vs. James Irvin (MW)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Clay Guida vs. Shannon Gugerty (LW)
Eliot Marshall vs. Vladimir Matyushenko (LHW)
John Howard vs. Daniel Roberts (WW)
Brendan Schaub vs. Chase Gormley (HW)
Mike Pierce vs. Julio Paulino (WW)
Eric Schafer vs. Jason Brilz (LHW)
After the jump: Kongo vs. Buentello video hype, plus a list of international TV stations showing the event courtesy of MMA Junkie.
A lightweight match-up between Matt Wiman (11-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) and Mac Danzig (19-7-1 MMA, 3-3 UFC) is expected for UFC 115.Sources close to the bout told MMAjunkie.com on Tuesday that both fighters have agreed to meet one another and are expected to put pen to paper soon.
While not yet officially announced, UFC 115 is expected to take place June 12 at GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia. The night's main card airs on pay-per-view.
A welterweight matchup between Martin Kampmann and Paulo Thiago is currently in the works for UFC 115.The potential bout was first reported by The Las Vegas Sun, and MMAjunkie.com has since confirmed that both fighters have verbally agreed to the fight, and bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly.
While not yet officially announced, UFC 115 is expected to take place June 12 at GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia. The night's main card airs on pay-per-view.
DirecTV subscribers, stop reading now.
While U.S. subscribers of the satellite television service are still waiting anxiously to hear if DirecTV and Versus will resolve their differences in time for this month's debut UFC event on the network, the fight promotion is ensuring MMA fans worldwide will see the event.
The UFC recently announced that "UFC on Versus 1: Vera vs. Jones" will air on a host of countries outside of the U.S., including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the U.K.
A potential slugfest between Alessio Sakara and James Irvin has been promoted to main-card status at UFC on Versus 1 and brings to four the number of televised bouts for the event, MMAjunkie.com has confirmed with event officials. UFC on Versus 1 takes place Sunday March 21 at the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo.
It's the first UFC card televised live on the cable channel, and light heavyweights Brandon Vera and Jon Jones fight in the evening's main event.
Just because you didn't get to see it on the live broadcast of WEC 47 this past weekend, the good people at Versus.com don't see any reason why you shouldn't get to enjoy the event's "Fight of the Night" between George Roop and Leonard Garcia. We think that's mighty friendly of them, so we won't even get on their case for the poll question on the MMA page that, perhaps very purposely, reveals fans' overwhelming disapproval of the WEC's upcoming move to pay-per-view (81% say they won't buy it when last we checked, and we could not be any less surprised). Instead we'll just applaud their efforts to allow fans to see one hell of a slobberknocker between two gutsy fighters, and offer no commentary whatsoever on their passive-aggressive website polls.
Once you're done enjoying part one of Roop/Garcia, check out the conclusion after the jump.
In the past year, the California-based Strikeforce promotion has gone
from solid regional promotion to counter-programming-worthy opponent of
the UFC.While the company's handling of its champions and current relationship with M-1 Global and Fedor Emelianenko have come under a bit of fire, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker recently told MMAjunkie.com that he's just fine with the current path of his fight promotion.
"I think every goal that we set out last year, we've done that and then some," Coker said.
By Cage Potato contributor Matt Kaplan
Like fellow New Jersey native Frank Sinatra, UFC lightweight Jim Miller has been doing things his way. A former Cage Fury Fighting Championship and Reality Fighting title holder, Miller has used his ferocious style to catapult himself to the bright lights of the UFC Octagon, but the fire in Miller’s belly is not lit by the prospect of championship gold or the adulation of the masses. Instead, he maintains a deep commitment to his own personal standard of excellence and is poised to fulfill his own destiny, win or lose.
With a dominating win over the heavy-handed Duane “Bang” Ludwig at UFC 108 just two months ago, the New Jersey native is set to take on submission maven Mark Bocek at UFC 111 on March 27. I caught up and talked with Miller about his upcoming match, personifying a Creedence Clearwater Revival song, and a few of New Jersey’s finest exports.
So have you let the excitement of fighting Mark Bocek at UFC 111 in front of your hometown New Jersey crowd get to you, or have you been keeping it business as usual?
For me it really is business as usual. You know, it really doesn’t matter where I’m fighting. It’s cool that I’m going to have a lot more fans there, and that I don’t have to fly, but other than that, I’m stepping into the Octagon against a tough opponent, and that’s really what I’m focused on. Fortunately, the UFC fans have been great wherever I’ve been.
As other fight promotions scramble for relevance in the
U.S., the Ultimate Fighting Championship continues its own worldwide
expansion.The UFC today announced a new long-term distribution agreement with All Sports Network, a 24-hour high-definition sports channel in Asia.
The new deal provides UFC programming to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Macau, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.
Due to some special events at our home in the Mandalay Bay Resort &
Casino in Las Vegas, MMAjunkie.com Radio moves from its regular noon to
2 p.m. ET slot to a special evening time tonight.With a special primetime start of 9 p.m. ET, it's only appropriate that the man known as "Showtime," WEC 47 winner Javier Vazquez, joins the program.
Listen to and watch a video stream of the two-hour MMAjunkie.com Radio show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.
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.
(Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)
The WEC paid out $276,500 in disclosed salaries and bonuses for their WEC 47 card on Saturday, with bantamweight contender Joseph Benavidez taking home the biggest cut. Benavidez's $39,000 haul — including his win bonus and submission bonus — made him one of just three fighters to earn over $20,000 from the event. The numbers are below; keep in mind that they don't include income from sponsorships or undisclosed "locker-room bonuses," or deductions for taxes, insurance, and licensing fees.
Dominick Cruz: $18,000 (includes $9,000 win bonus)
Brian Bowles: $12,000
Joseph Benavidez: $39,000 (includes $14,500 win bonus, $10,000 Submission of the Night bonus)
Miguel Torres: $26,000
Javier Vazquez: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus)
Jens Pulver: $14,000*
L.C. Davis: $18,000 (includes $9,000 win bonus)
Deividas Taurosevicius: $9,000
Putting recent speculation to rest, the UFC officially announced yesterday that Kimbo Slice will indeed face off with his TUF 10 castmate Matt Mitrione at UFC 113 (May 8th, Montreal). Slice is coming off a lackluster unanimous decision win against Houston Alexander at the TUF 10 finale, while Mitrione made his professional MMA debut at the same event, knocking out Marcus "Big Baby" Jones in the second round of their fight.
The fact that the Slice/Mitrione match was briefly removed from the UFC's website, as well as the UFC's previous vagueness with Mitrione, makes it seem like the UFC was actually considering Kimbo as an opponent for James Toney, but that freak-show will have to wait for another day. At the moment, Toney's first opponent in the Octagon and the date of his debut are still question marks.
UFC 113 will be headlined by the light-heavyweight championship rematch between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Rua; the current lineup is after the jump.
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.
It wasn't that long ago that the WEC's bantamweight division appeared
little more than a showcase for then-champion Miguel Torres.My, how things have changed.
At this past weekend's WEC 47 event in Columbus, Ohio, Joseph Benavidez stunned Torres with a one-sided submission win and likely earned himself a shot at the 135-pound title. But Scott Jorgensen also landed one of the more memorable finishes in recent memory in his bout with Chad George, and he made a legitimate claim for contender status.
UFC newcomer Travis Browne (9-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will meet "The Ultimate
Fighter 10" veteran James McSweeney (4-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) on the live
finale of "The Ultimate Fighter 11."The as-yet-unannounced Spike TV event is expected for June 19 in Las Vegas, though its location is unknown at this time. MMAjunkie.com first reported the heavyweight matchup last week, though at the time, it was uncertain on which card the two would fight.
"TUF 11," which features UFC legends Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell as coaches, features middleweight fighters bidding for the much ballyhooed "six-figure" UFC contract.
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.
Light heavyweight Jared Hamman (11-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) can laugh about it now, but prior to his octagon debut against Alexander Gustaffson at UFC 105 this past November, he was in a world of hurt.Hamman, a former University of Redlands linebacker and defensive end who faces Rodney Wallace at UFC 111 on March 27, had slept just eight hours in the three days prior to the Nov. 15 fight.
"I was miserable," he recently told MMAjunkie.com.