UFC 131 postfight: Florian likely to get Aldo next, JDS worked the ref and Herman prefers fighting fat guys

It was a jubilant atmosphere at the UFC 131 postfight press conference in Vancouver. Sure the winners were all beaming, but it was probably because of the positive aura that always surrounds Junior dos Santos. The nastiest striker in the world in the heavyweight division immediately flipped the switch once the fight was finished and was chipper in front of the media.

- Dana White was amongst the participants with a big grin. Sharing the stage this weekend with the Stanley Cup Finals, UFC 131 was a success in Vancouver. The event drew 14,685 and a gate of $2.85 million.

- Some of that money was handed out in the form of $70,000 postfight bonuses. Dave Herman and Jon Olav Einemo got the Fight of the Night bonus. Chris Weidman received Submission of the Night for his standing guillotine stoppage of Jesse Bongfeldt and Sam Stout cashed the Knockout of the Night bonus.

- Stout, previously a five-time bonus winner, was relieved to finally score a clean KO. He joked that the pressure was on because of his "Hands of Stone" nickname. He hadn't scored a KO finish since late 2007.

- White called the knockout one of the most vicious in the history of the UFC.

- Dos Santos admitted that he tried to play referee Herb Dean at the end of the first round. After blasting away at Carwin with dozens of shots, he turned to the ref and asked him to stop the fight. JDS admitted that he was simply tired and needed a break.

- There was some clarification on why the fight was delayed in the final round. White said that Dean brought doctors into the cage with a minute left because Carwin had a flap of skin hanging over his eye.

- White wouldn't officially commit to who gets the next shot at UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo Jr., but he said Kenny Florian is the most likely choice. That means he moves in front of Chad Mendes, who decided to take another fight at UFC 133 instead of waiting for Aldo to return from injury.

- The line of the night came from the UFC newcomer Herman. The shredded 6-foot-4, 231-pounder, who smiled throughout a fight where he ate some huge shots from Einemo. Answering what could've been the dumbest question of the week, Herman said he wouldn't be going down to 205. His reason? Herman said he doesn't like to cut weight, plus h'd be facing guys just as strong and faster and said, "I'll stick to fighting fat guys."

- Michihiro Omigawa will be back for at least one more fight in the UFC. He lost a disputed decision to drop to 0-4 with the promotion, but White thought the judges blew it according to MMAjunkie:

"He won," White said. "Overruled."

Omigawa also got his win bonus.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-131-postfight-Florian-likely-to-get-Aldo-ne?urn=mma-wp3455

Josh Koscheck Pascal Krauss Keigo Kunihara Mike Kyle

The UFC's Deal With Spike TV Ends In 2011... Has The UFC Outgrown Spike TV?

Where can you watch the ufc for free? In today?s cash-strapped economy, that?s a pretty big question to most MMA fans. There?s Facebook, of course. ION Television occasionally. Versus every few months. But above and beyond, the go-to location for the UFC on TV has always been Spike TV. It?s the network that took a [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/06/04/the-ufcs-deal-with-spike-tv-ends-in-2011-has-the-ufc-outgrown-spike-tv

Sean O Haire Yushin Okami Bobby Ologun Andy Ologun

Damacio Page and Norifumi ?Kid? Yamamoto Set To Scrap At UFC 135

UFC President Dana White announced today that exciting bantamweights Damacio Page (15-6) and Norifumi ?Kid? Yamamoto (18-4) have verbally agreed to face each other at UFC 135 on September 24 in Denver, Colorado. White expects an all out brawl as he described the fighters as ?two of the most aggressive sluggers in the always-exciting bantamweight division."

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/18857/damacio-page-and-norifumi-%e2%80%9ckid%e2%80%9d-yamamoto-set-to-scrap-at-ufc-135/

Sean Sherk Katsuyori Shibata Jake Shields Akira Shoji

Donald Cerrone Really Wants to Fight Sam Stout Next

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- MMA Fighting spoke to Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone about his UFC 131 win over Vagner Rocha, why he wasn't happy with the decision and the names he wants to fight next in the UFC lightweight division.

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/06/12/donald-cerrone-really-wants-to-fight-sam-stout-next/

José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida 

Top 5 Best Moments Of UFC 130: "Rampage vs. Hamill"

UFC 130 was, as a whole, an unfortunately underwhelming event. But it was not a bad event, far from it in fact. UFC 130 saw a host of big fighters fighting in big fights, with several interesting wars of attrition and some big highlight-reel KO?s But which stars shined brightest, and what moments will fans [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/05/29/top-5-best-moments-of-ufc-130-rampage-vs-hamill

Anderson Silva Antonio Silva Assuerio Silva Paulo Silva

AMADI: Can Zuffa afford to continue the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix?

By: Jason Amadi, MMATorch Columnist

Staff10Amadi_130_49.jpg

This past weekend's lightweight tilt between Clay Guida and Anthony Pettis illustrated just how robust the talent pool is at 155 lbs. Anthony Pettis, the final WEC lightweight champion, had a four fight win streak snapped by Clay Guida, who with the win over Pettis has now put together a four-fight win streak of his own. After the bout, UFC President Dana White confirmed that even with a four fight unbeaten streak that includes three submissions and a unanimous decision victory over the former #1 contender that there is still work to be done before Clay Guida can get a crack at lightweight gold.

Some would consider the logjam at 155 lbs. to be a problem for the UFC, but with so many high profile lightweights either riding lengthy winning streaks or just coming off one, Zuffa has options at lightweight that they can only dream of for other weight categories... like the heavyweight division.

If lightweight is MMA's deepest pool, then heavyweight must be one of MMA's discarded teardrops. There just isn't any way around the fact that the depth of the heavyweight division is severely lacking. This weekend at UFC 131, Junior Dos Santos meets Shane Carwin to decide Cain Valasquez' next opponent, but beyond that fight there just isn't a fresh, established challenger for the UFC heavyweight title.

Luckily for Zuffa, once discussion of UFC 131 comes to an end, discussion of Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum can begin. This event will feature two major heavyweight clashes, as Josh Barnett takes on Brett Rogers and Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem squares off against Fabricio Werdum.

However, to be quite honest, there just isn't any way to get excited about this heavyweight tournament. The fights are still awesome, but considering the gap between when this tournament was first announced and how long it will take to be completed, there just isn't a meaningful way to connect these bouts to one another. The casual fan doesn't remember that Sergei Kharitonov lathered Andrei Arlovski, or that Antonio Silva's domination of Fedor Emelianenko served a greater purpose than sending the sport's all-time greatest heavyweight into a 220 lb. catchweight bout.

Frankly, there isn't even a conceivable way to turn the successful completion of this tournament into anything positive. Anyone but Alistair Overeem winning the heavyweight tournament would invalidate the Strikeforce championship and create a situation where Zuffa has two world heavyweight champions, a guy who defeated one of them, and possibly a third man who could wind up being the actual winner of the tournament. Conversely, if Alistair Overeem wins the tournament, he would have outlasted every possible challenger to his title, and Zuffa would be forced to find him a new opponent anyway.

If Zuffa can get Nick Diaz into the UFC to fight Georges St. Pierre, then it would serve them well to do likewise with the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion and finally give this faux tournament a proper burial. With Cain Valasquez set to return, he could defend his championship by the end of this year, and the winner of that fight could meet the Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion in early 2012, sustaining interest until the UFC can absorb Strikeforce's heavyweight division in full.


Reader Question: If Alistair Overeem defeats Fabricio Werdum this month, should he fight the UFC Heavyweight Champion next or continue on in the heavyweight grand prix? Web visitors, comment below in our new Reader Comment Area (linked to Facebook). App users, send us your thoughts at mmatorch@gmail.com or visit our desktop website to comment.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/amadis_take/article_9543.shtml

Mamed Khalidov Sergei Kharitonov Min Soo Kim Dong Hyun Kim

Report: Paul Daley vs. Evangelista ?Cyborg? Santos Added to ?Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson?

According to MMAWeekly, a welterweight shootout between Paul Daley and Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos will go down at “Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson.” Santos was originally scheduled to fight Tarec Saffiedine in the July 30th event, but it appears the company has had a change of heart. The contest could have title implications now that Nick Diaz [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/78698/report-paul-daley-vs-evangelista-cyborg-santos-added-to-strikeforce-fedor-vs-henderson/

Andrei Arlovski Tim Sylvia Randy Couture Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira