UFC 130 surprise: Story brawls with Alves and comes out on top

LAS VEGAS - The UFC has a new contender to put in line for Georges St-Pierre. There's nothing fancy about Rick Story, but he's tough as nails and throws everything with nasty intent. Story stood toe-to-toe with one of the most feared muay thai practitioners in the division and posted a unanimous decision victory, 29-28 on all three cards, at UFC 130 in the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Alves (23-6, 10-5 UFC) is a massive 170-pounder and anyone who can wrestle generally tries to take him down. Story, a former college wrestler, mixed in a few takedowns, but his gameplan revolved around closing space with the bruiser and slugging it out.

"My goal was to be explosive because I think that's his kryptonite," Story said. "I wanted to stay on him and let him know that I wasn't going anywhere."

Story's gameplan was brilliant. His use of the clinch along the cage forced the heavily-muscled Alves to work hard. And by standing in front of him and taking his best shots, it seemed to frustrate Alves.

"I've had a lot of hard strikes landed on me and it goes back to my conditioning. My coach, Pat White, puts me in situations in training where I have to deal with adversity and have to deal with having my conditioning tested. I was prepared for everything Thiago brought tonight and the end result is a victory for me," said Story, plus-170 underdog.

Story (13-3, 6-1 UFC) is riding a six-fight win streak. His only loss came in his UFC debut against John Hathaway. Story is still behind several fighters in the UFC welterweight division, but his skillset would give him a shot against the GSP, the division's champ.

The division has ridiculous depth. The latest USA Today/Bloody Elbow has Story all the way down at No. 23. He certainly looks like he could compete with some of the top 15 fighters  like Diego Sanchez, Josh Koscheck, Martin Kampmann and Matt Hughes.

Alves appeared shocked in the cage when the decision was read.

"To be honest, I don't think he won the fight," Alves said. "I'm fair. If I thought he won the fight, I'd tell you. But tonight, I spent more time on top and landed the better shots. I'm really surprised the decision didn't go my way."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-130-surprise-Story-brawls-with-Alves-and-co?urn=mma-wp2738

Ao Hailin  Shinya Aoki  Andrei Arlovski  Ricardo Arona 

TUF 13 Finale: Harvison and Bailey both winners

LAS VEGAS - Young fighters are fun to watch because they often fight a bit more recklessly. With that comes mismanagement of their gas tank. "Ultimate Fighter 13"  castmates Clay Harvison and Justin Edwards both ran into that problem. Completely exhausted both gutted out an fun third round. In the end, two judges gave Harvison the nod. That was enough for a split decision victory, 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28, in fight No. 3 of the night of "The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale."

"I thought the judging was fair.  That fight was extremely close and I knew the juding might end up like that.  I felt I won second and third rounds and did enough in those rounds to earn the victory," said Harvison.

Edwards scored four takedowns in the first and three more down the stretch in the third, but he didn't do much damage from top control and too often Harvison got himself to his feet quickly. Harvison was the crisper striker and landed some good knees throughout the fight.

The winner was disappointed he didn't post a more resounding victory.

"I went out there and did exactly what I needed to do to beat him.  I knew I had to take what I could get and constantly counter what he was throwing at me," Harvison said. "I was looking for the finish, but I just couldn't find it with the way we were both fighting. "

Bailey wrestles way to victory over McGillivray, but fails to wow

Shamar Bailey was tabbed an early favorite on TUF 13. He couldn't make good on the lofty expectations, lost in the semifinals and found himself on tonight's undercard. Bailey had enough to take out Ryan McGillivray via unanimous decision, 30-27 on all cards, but he still has plenty to prove.

Based on early workouts, Bailey was a big favorite of the coaches. That happens sometimes on the show without real fight footage to work with. Using his wrestling, Bailey is probably a terror in the gym. But the same thing that happenedwhen he lost in the semifinals against Chris Cope, emerged tonight against Ryan McGillivray. He's a one-trick pony. It was enough to get him the win over the young Canadian, but Bailey needs to move to the next level with his stamina and hands if he expects to make a mark with the UFC.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/TUF-13-Finale-Harvison-and-Bailey-both-winners?urn=mma-wp3017

Bao Ligao  Josh Barnett  David Baron  Phil Baroni

Jake Shields' UFC 129 Workout with Tareq Azim - UFC 129

*** Watch Complete 1/2hr HD Episodes on http://www.MMAheat.com ***MMA H.E.A.T went to Xtreme Couture in Toronto to catch up with Jake Shields, 3 days before he challenges Georges St.Pierre for the UFC Welterweight belt. Jake works the pads with his head trainer Tareq Azim: and for the record, rounds 8-10 are seen here.Be sure to visit http://www.MMAheat.com for more interviews and archived episodes of our 1/2 hour TV show. Nós falamos Português! * We're on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MMAheat * Follow MMAheat on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MMAheat * Follow Karyn on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/KarynBryant

Source: http://mmalice.com/ufc-129/jake-shields-ufc-129-workout-with-tareq-azim-video_9a88ed4fb.html

Rashad Evans Urijah Faber Wagnney Fabiano Kevin Kimbo Slice Ferguson

Frank Mir Talks UFC 130, Fedor, Dana, Overeem & Nelson - Frank Mir

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir sat down with MMA:30's Dave Farra and discussed his long history with the UFC, the motorcycle accident that almost ended his career, and where he is now with Dana White and the UFC. Mir also gives his thoughts on Fedor, Overeem and other heavyweights coming over to the UFC, and talks about his upcoming fight with Roy Nelson at UFC 130.

Source: http://mmalice.com/frank-mir/frank-mir-talks-ufc-130-fedor-dana-overeem-nelson-video_b0936bfda.html

David Bielkheden Michael Bisping  Dan Bobish Vagam Bodjukyan

Michael Bisping and Jason ?Mayhem? Miller named as TUF 14 coaches

The coaches for The Ultimate Fighter 14 are set with middleweights Michael Bisping and Jason “Mayhem” Miller being tagged to lead the next group of aspiring fighters. UFC president Dana White revealed the news earlier today exclusively to The Underground. Bisping and Miller will square off in the traditional season ending battle of coaches. The [...]

Michael Bisping and Jason “Mayhem” Miller named as TUF 14 coaches is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

Source: http://www.mmainterplay.com/ufc-news/michael-bisping-and-jason-mayhem-miller-named-as-tuf-14-coaches-54683/

Frankie Edgar Ken Shamrock Dan Severn Tank Abbott

Tony Ferguson and Ramsey Nijem as Close as Can Be Entering ?TUF 13 Finale?

“The Ultimate Fighter 13″ finalists Tony Ferguson and Ramsey Nijem were the furthest thing from close confidants during their stints on the reality show. Ironically, their gambling odds couldn’t be any closer. The welterweights battle for the highly coveted six-figure UFC contract in tonight’s main event. Each will enter their big league debut at -115, [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/77759/tony-ferguson-and-ramsey-nijem-as-close-as-can-be-entering-tuf-13-finale/

Ricardo Arona  Noboru Asahi Marcus Aurelio  Mikhail Avetisyan

Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson sign on for July 30 Strikeforce bout near Chicago

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Fedor_Strikeforce150_78.jpg

Dan Henderson and Fedor Emelianenko will indeed meet in a heavyweight fight on July 30 in the Chicago area, as multiple published reports state that both fighters have signed their bout agreements for the fight.

The fight had been discussed at length for some time, and now both fighters have officially signed on to meet each other on the yet-to-be-announced card.

It will be the second fight of 2011 for each fighter, though they've each had considerably different results over the last year.

Emelianenko looks to halt the first two fight losing skid of his career, suffered in consecutive bouts with Fabricio Werdum and Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva. Prior to those fights, "The Last Emperor" had built his name as one of the greatest ever in the sport, going unbeaten for nearly a decade.

Henderson has been one of the more successful fighters in the sport as well, and at 40 years old remains a relevant force in the 205 lb. division as Strikeforce's current Light Heavyweight Champion. Though his entrance to Strikeforce was spoiled by Jake Shields last April, Henderson has since added knockout wins over Renato "Babalu" Sobral and Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante to his resume, and now takes on a fellow former Pride Champion in Emelianenko.

The fight will headline Strikeforce's July 30 event from the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, just outside of Chicago, Ill. The organization previously ran the venue in November of 2009 for Emelianko's debut fight against Brett Rogers, which was also the first of only two events for Strikeforce on CBS.

Penick's Analysis: This is great news. As has been the case for a lot of Fedor's recent fights, it has seemed the negotiating period always makes things more complicated or difficult than they need to be. However, that period for this fight is over without much of the headaches of previous fights, and now that bout agreements are signed it's just a matter of waiting to find out which fights will be joining this one outside of Chicago for what should be another entertaining and enjoyable event.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_9440.shtml

Paul Taylor Glover Teixeira Tra Telligman Ivan Titenkov

Royce Gracie: - Royce Gracie

*** Watch Complete 1/2hr HD Episodes on http://www.MMAheat.com ***MMA H.E.A.T.'s Karyn Bryant catches up with the legendary fighter Royce Gracie at the UFC 129 press conference, and gets his thoughts on Randy Couture's fight with Lyoto Machida. Royce also answers the question of whether or not he'll be fighting when the UFC goes to Rio in August, 2011, and he lets us know what his secret for staying young and in top fighting shape is.Be sure to visit http://www.MMAheat.com for more interviews and archived episodes of our 1/2 hour TV show. Nós falamos Português! * We're on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MMAheat * Follow MMAheat on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MMAheat * Follow Karyn on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/KarynBryant

Source: http://mmalice.com/royce-gracie/royce-gracie-video_3038d2c21.html

Jovany Anaconda Varela Tony Vartanian Cain Velasquez Brandon Vera

"The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale" Picks And Predictions

We?re now only a few days away from ?The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale?. In the main event, perennial UFC Lightweight contender Clay Guida faces the last man to hold the WEC Lightweight Championship, Anthony Pettis. The co-main event will also be an interesting match-up, as Ramsey Nijem takes on Tony Ferguson to crown the winner [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/06/03/the-ultimate-fighter-13-finale-picks-and-predictions

Rolles Gracie Royce Gracie Royler Gracie Ryan Gracie