Mauricio ?Shogun? Rua vs. Forrest Griffin Confirmed for ?UFC: Rio?

Less than 48 hours after announcing Anderson Silva would defend his UFC middleweight title against Yushin Okami in the Octagon?s long awaited return to Brazil, it has been confirmed Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will rematch Forrest Griffin at “UFC: Rio,” as well. UFC president Dana White verified the shootout with MMAFighting on Friday. Griffin owns a [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/73351/mauricio-shogun-rua-vs-forrest-griffin-confirmed-for-ufc-rio/

Sean Salmon Diego Sanchez Jorge Santiago Evangelista Santos

Mark Hominick and Jose Aldo respect each other's skills, preparing for epic showdown at UFC 129 in Toronto

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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The first ever UFC Featherweight Championship bout is fast approaching, as Jose Aldo enters the Octagon for the first time to defend his title against Ontario native Mark Hominick in front of 55,000 fans in Toronto at UFC 129.

The two featherweights will be in the highest profile fight of their respective careers, and Hominick is enjoying a whirl wind change in his life since blasting through George Roop in his return to the organization in January.

"It's really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Hominick said in an interview with Duane Finley at BloodyElbow.com. "If you break it down this is my tenth year fighting as a pro and to get to fight on a huge card for the UFC in my home province is a dream come true. I'm fighting for the belt and my wife is due a week after the fight so there is a lot of good news coming up."

"The atmosphere has been insane [for this fight], especially in the province. It's been unreal and there is so much anticipation. There has been such a buzz around the province about the fight and the event sold out in 10 minutes. 55,000 tickets kind of shows there is a demand and the fans want to see it. The fans understand the sport and they are rabid for MMA. You can't go to any bar that is showing the fights on a fight night and expect to get a seat. That's the kind of support Canadian fans have."

Aldo enters his first ever UFC fight after having been given the title by UFC officials after his dominance in the WEC. His 11 fight win streak has seen him blast through a number of opponents and he looks to showcase his skills against a tough opponent in Hominick.

"My expectations are always the best possible ones," Aldo said in an interview with Tatame.com. "I'm a very confident guy, I work hard and I believe in things. I'm flying and I want to go there and put on a good fight, I'm training for it, I'm dedicated, and thank God it's about time. I wanted my debut to be earlier, but now it's just about training and going for it."

"Man, [Hominick] has good striking, but his record is enough said, but it's what I've been talking about: I don't see a problem at all, I'm doing my trainings. I respect him, he's a great fighter and deserved to have this title shot."

Hominick is preparing for the best Aldo he can face, and though he extolls Aldo's skills, he believes he's ready to seize this "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"I'm hoping to see the best Jose we've seen because we are definitely going to see the best 'Machine' we've seen as well," he said. "My last five fights I've had a winning streak going, I'm 28 years old so I'm kind of hitting that peak age of my prime and this is that time for me. This is the title shot. If you break it down I'm in my home town fighting for the belt and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me, and I'm training so hard to make this happen."

"I think him being billed as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters is rightfully so. He's not just dangerous in one area. He's dangerous on the feet, on the clinch and on the ground so he can end the fight anywhere it goes. I think that is what separates him from a lot of the top fighters, especially on the pound-for-pound list, is that he can finish the fight anywhere. The biggest thing is going in there against him and not being intimidated. His last few opponents have gone in against him and were beaten even before the first punch was thrown. They let him dictate the pace of the fight and they were scared to implement their game plan or push their strengths because he does have a mystique and everyone is terrified of him. You have to go in there to fight your fight and not be intimidated."

Penick's Analysis: This is quite possibly the most intriguing fight on this card in Toronto. Because of what Aldo has done to so many opponents there are those who won't give Hominick much of a chance, but Hominick brings a very good overall game into this fight and represents a serious threat to the Brazilian Champion. This fight is huge for both fighters, and with Hominick fighting in front of a hometown crowd a victory would be massive for him. It would be a huge upset, sure, but with Aldo making a return from injury and Hominick looking fresh after his last fight, this should be a lot closer than most believe at this point.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8986.shtml

Daiju Takase Oleg Taktarov Akitoshi Tamura Kiyoshi Tamura

Mauricio ?Shogun? Rua vs. Forrest Griffin Confirmed for ?UFC: Rio?

Less than 48 hours after announcing Anderson Silva would defend his UFC middleweight title against Yushin Okami in the Octagon?s long awaited return to Brazil, it has been confirmed Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will rematch Forrest Griffin at “UFC: Rio,” as well. UFC president Dana White verified the shootout with MMAFighting on Friday. Griffin owns a [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/73351/mauricio-shogun-rua-vs-forrest-griffin-confirmed-for-ufc-rio/

Paul Taylor Glover Teixeira Tra Telligman Ivan Titenkov

Gegard Mousasi, Keith Jardine Draw in Bloody Strikeforce Fight

by Michael David SmithAs almost everyone expected, Gegard Mousasi bloodied and battered Keith Jardine on Saturday night's Strikeforce card. But as almost no one expected, Jardine showed a tremendous amount of toughness, Mousasi had a point deducted for an illegal kick, and the result was a majority draw.

It was a mess of a fight, with Jardine's face becoming a bloody mess and the referee calling a halt to the action three separate times: Once for an illegal kick, once for a low blow and once because Mousasi's mouthpiece fell out. One judge scored the fight 29-27 for Mousasi, but two judges scored it a 28-28 tie.

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/04/09/gegard-mousasi-keith-jardine-draw-in-bloody-strikeforce-fight/

Efrain Escudero Rashad Evans Urijah Faber Wagnney Fabiano

Is the UFC making a mistake honoring legendary Gracies by letting them fight?

The mixed martial arts world is fired up for the UFC to hit Brazil. The sport, built upon the backs of great Brazilian fighters like Royce Gracie, is still on the fringe in his homeland. The UFC has a chance to make it mainstream.

Once the Olympics announced it would hold the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, the UFC decided it was time to make a push in Brazil. Rumors began swirling immediately that Gracie would fight on the card.

He was the champion, in a tournament-style format, back at UFC 1 and UFC 2. Gracie was the smallest fighter in the field. That was 1993 and 1994. He's 44 years old now without a professional fight since 2007.  Gracie wants the chance to close his career in the Octagon and it sounds like the UFC is willing to give him the opportunity:

"It would be the perfect place to do my last fight," Gracie told UOL Esportes (via Bloody Elbow). "I never fought in Rio de Janeiro and I couldn't be more psyched. We are negotiating [the fight deal], but we should have it finalized in two weeks. We only had an initial contact and I don't even have an opponent yet, but we should have that finalized soon ... My weight is the same as it was twenty years ago [80kg], I am still training, keeping the blade sharp. I follow a very strict diet. I never drank, never party, Carnival, none of that... I'm ready to fight"

There's also rumors that his cousin Renzo, 43, will fight on the card as well. It may be a feel good moment for a few seconds when they enter the Octagon, but it seems like the UFC could be walking a fine line with this one.

In 2006, Royce was never in his fight against Matt Hughes at UFC 60. Hughes grounded and TKO'd him in just 4:39. Renzo was slightly better against Hughes, losing at UFC 112. But it doesn't appear either should be in there with anything resembling a top 20 welterweight.

UFC heavyweight Roy Nelson was tweeting last night asking fans for their opinion on a Royce fight:

Nelson's "on the juice" mention was a reference to Gracie's positive steroid test following his last fight against Kazushi Sakaraba.

Eliminate Matt Serra from the list of candidates. Serra, a Gracie fighting disciple, isn't going to cross his mentor Renzo to fight a member of the family. The other names are puzzling. Could Royce really be competitive against Dan Hardy or Amir Sadollah?

Tip via MMAMania

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Is-the-UFC-making-a-mistake-honoring-legendary-G?urn=mma-wp1191

Luciano Azevedo  Ba Te er  Ryan Bader  Siyar Bahadurzada

Tyson Griffin Moves to Featherweight, Will Fight Manny Gamburyan

by Michael David SmithMired in a three-fight losing streak, Tyson Griffin is in danger of losing his job in the UFC. But Griffin will get one more chance to try to turn things around, as the UFC has announced that he'll move down to featherweight to take on Manny Gamburyan at UFC on Versus 4.

For Griffin, the move down to featherweight makes a lot of sense. He has had a great deal of success at 145 pounds in the past (he beat Urijah Faber to win the Gladiator Challenge featherweight title in 2005), and he probably would have stayed at 145 all along if the UFC had had a 145-pound division. In that sense, he's a lot like Gamburyan, who left the UFC's lightweight division for the WEC's featherweight division in 2009.

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/04/05/tyson-griffin-moves-to-featherweight-will-fight-manny-gamburyan/

Fabricio Werdum Vernon White Mike Whitehead Jonathan Wiezorek

VIDEO: Patricky "Pitbull" Freire's flying knee KO of Toby Imada at Bellator 39

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Bellator Fighting Championships had another highlight reel moment on Saturday night at Bellator 39 in Uncasville, Conn., as Patricky "Pitbull" Freire knocked out Toby Imada in their lightweight semifinal bout. Freire set up the knockout with a vicious flying knee that somehow didn't drop Imada. But Imada was hurt and out on his feet, and Freire finished him off with a two punch combo that sent him to the ground. Check out the highlight below:

App Users Click Here For Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ogQhql41AY

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Bellator/article_8958.shtml

Rumina Sato Kerry Schall Nino Schembri Fabiano Scherner