QUOTABLES: Paul Daley doesn't know why Dana White doesn't like him, winning away from the UFC his redemption

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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"What we were trying to do is assure we had security away from the Zuffa people prior to the fight. But the truth be told, when I am the Strikeforce champion, I'll have even more bargaining power, and it will be even more of a kick to the teeth of the guys that don't like me in the organization. To negotiate before the fight would show a lack of confidence in myself, and I'm very confident I'm going to beat Nick Diaz. Once a champion, I have more power to negotiate...

I don't particularly know why [Dana White] has dislike for me, but it's obvious he does have dislike for me. If no explanation or reason is given for disliking me, I'm generally going to dislike someone in return. If Dana gives me an honest opinion -- aside from hitting Koscheck after the bell -- as to why he genuinely dislikes me, then at least I'd get some explanation. But there's too many incidents in the history of the UFC that prove it's more personal. Many of the UFC fighters have done a lot worse things to bring the company into disrepute, and they're still there. So it must be personal...

The fact that I'm winning away from the UFC is enough redemption for me. I'm winning in front of fans, I'm making decent money. That's enough for me. I have redemption already, from every fight since the UFC. Getting 'Knockout of the Year,' which is something all the real fans in MMA were talking about in 2010, that was enough redemption. That was the icing on the cake for 2010. I think Dana definitely saw that and I guarantee he didn't like for that knockout not to be in the UFC."

-Paul Daley talks to MMAFighting.com about why he contemplated pulling out of the Nick Diaz fight when Zuffa took over Strikeforce and not understanding why Dana White still has a grudge against him.

Penick's Analysis: I think what Daley's forgetting is the way he reacted when White approached him in the cage after the sucker punch. It was his initial attitude when White confronted him after the sucker punch that incensed the UFC President and led to him saying Daley was banned for life from the UFC. But Daley is right that there are many instances of fighters getting back into the UFC's good graces. What he's missing is that hatchets were buried in those previous instances. It's going to take the same thing happening here to move forward. I still think it can happen, and should he beat Diaz I think there's a definite chance he'll end up in the Octagon again, but he also needs to not go out of his way to make things more difficult than they need to be.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8922.shtml

Royler Gracie Ryan Gracie Peter Graham Forrest Griffin

Bellator 40 Results: Askren Dominates, Hieron and Chandler Advance

Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren dominated veteran Nick Thompson en route to a unanimous decision win in their non-title superfight that headlined Saturday's Bellator 40 event. Jay Hieron escaped with a split decision to advance to the welterweight finals, while Michael Chandler was also victorious in his lightweight semi.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/18175/bellator-40-results-askren-dominates-hieron-and-chandler-advance/

Wang Guan Wang Sai Ron Waterman Roman Webber

MMA Marketplace: Limited edition Korean Zombie shirt

We've professed our love for Tri-Coasta's Korean Zombie shirts in the past. The shirt for Chan Sang Jung's twister win over Leonard Garcia is no less awesome.

This one reminds me of playing "Super Mario Brothers," "Mike Tyson's Punch-Out," and "Duck Hunt" on my old Nintendo. (Am I the only one who tried to shoot the dog on Duck Hunt? Stupid thing was always laughing at me.) Considering the way he fights, Jung would make one heck of an old-school video game character.

Get this very cool, limited edition shirt for $25 right here.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/MMA-Marketplace-Limited-edition-Korean-Zombie-s?urn=mma-wp745

Akira Shoji Anderson Silva Antonio Silva Assuerio Silva

UFC Fight Night 24 "Davis vs. Nogueira" brings 2.2 million viewers to Spike TV

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Last weekend's UFC Fight Night 24 event drew well for the UFC and Spike TV, as the network today announced that the card brought in an average of 2.2 million viewers, peaking with 2.4 million during the night's co-main event between Anthony Johnson and Dan Hardy.

The event, which took place from the KeyArena in Seattle, Wash., was the UFC's first in the state, and the main event saw Phil Davis defeat Antonio Rogerio Nogueira to run his record to 9-0 overall, with five of those coming inside the Octagon.

The numbers were right in line with recent Spike TV events, coming just under the peak viewership for January's Fight for the Troops 2 card, but besting that event's overall average viewership, which was 1.85 million.

UFC Fight Night 24 also featured Amir Sadollah defeating DaMarques Johnson in the second round due to strikes, as well as "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung getting his revenge on Leonard Garcia with a never-before-seen-in-the-UFC twister submission.

Penick's Analysis: These are very good numbers for the Fight Night series, and it shows the major difference between the UFC's exposure on Spike and what they get on Versus. Davis vs. Nogueira wasn't any bigger from a drawing standpoint than Diego Sanchez vs. Martin Kampmann, yet the Versus event did sub-700,000 viewers on the lesser network. This bounce back was positive for Spike, and the event itself was an enjoyable night of fights for the 2.2 million fans that tuned in.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8916.shtml

Aldrin de Jesus  Todd Duffee  Marvin Eastman  Stav Crazy Bear Economou 

Best Performance Of The Night: Caros Fodor At Strikeforce "Challengers 15"

It?s that time once again, fans and friends. Another major MMA event has come and gone, and it?s time for my unofficial ?Best Performance of the Night? award. And with four of the five televised fights ending in finishes, it was tough to pick a winner for Strikeforce?s fifteenth ?Challengers? event. But after careful consideration, [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/04/04/best-performance-of-the-night-caros-fodor-at-strikeforce-challengers-15

Aaron Stark Kalib Starnes Joe Stevenson Luke Stewart

Strikeforce Live Blog: Gegard Mousasi vs. Keith Jardine Updates

Filed under:

SAN DIEGO --This is the Strikeforce live blog for Gegard Mousasi vs. Keith Jardine, a light heavyweight bout on tonight's Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley event at the Valley View Casino Center.

The last time Mousasi (30-3-1) fought for Strikeforce was a year ago when he lost his light heavyweight title to Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal. He fought twice more in 2010 and picked up submission wins over Jake O'Brien and Tatsuya Mizuno. Jardine (17-9-1), who won his last two fights on smaller programs, is stepping in for the injured Mike Kyle.

The live blog is below.

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/04/09/strikeforce-live-blog-gegard-mousasi-vs-keith-jardine-updates/

Mauricio Shogun Rua Murilo Ninja Rua Marco Ruas Rodrigo Ruas

Episode No. 2 recap: "The Ultimate Fighter 13: Team Lesnar vs. Team Dos Santos"

Welcome to MMAjunkie.com's recap for episode No. 2 of "The Ultimate Fighter 13."

The welterweights-only season of the reality show, which features Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos as coaches, airs each Wednesday (9 p.m. ET/PT) on Spike TV and features 14 UFC hopefuls.

For a full rundown of the latest episode, which featured the second opening-round fight, check out this week's show summary. (Warning: Episode spoilers are included.)


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmajunkie/~3/sNJ0f7ZFNag/episode-no-2-recap-the-ultimate-fighter-13-team-lesnar-vs-team-dos-santos.mma

Oleg Taktarov Akitoshi Tamura Kiyoshi Tamura Evan Tanner

ROUNDTABLE: What do Nick Diaz and Paul Daley need to do to win their main event fight for Strikeforce on Showtime this Saturday? MMATorch staff and contributors sound off

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What do Nick Diaz and Paul Daley each need to do to win on Saturday in San Diego, and how do you see the fight going?


RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

My usual disclaimer.  I've never fought, nor have I trained, nor do I have any inclination to do either, ever.  So my opinion is as worthless as Chael Sonnen's word.  I am guessing here, nothing more.

I know if the fight is fought primarily on the ground, Diaz wins.  That's all I know.  The questions are standing.  Diaz has a granite chin, Daley is the hardest puncher in the division.  Can Diaz withstand a Daley left hook like the one that killed Scott Smith?  Will Diaz decide to stand up against Daley?  If so, can he control the stand-up with his beloved boxing game?  Too many questions.

You know what, anyone who says they know what's going to happen is either a fighter with real insight, or a stone-cold liar.  So, now that I have like 42 modifiers in place, Diaz by submission.

ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

This one is super simple. If Paul Daley can keep the fight standing, he has a good chance to knock out Diaz. If Nick Diaz can keep the fight on the mat, he has an excellent chance to submit Daley. I think Diaz's stand up is good enough to set up his take downs and he will finish Daley on the ground in the third round.

FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Well, Daley's gameplan is easy, he needs to keep the fight standing. Diaz can go either standing or on the ground. I think Diaz stands with Daley for a while until he gets tagged, then he takes Paul down and finishes the fight however he wants. This is Nick's fight to lose, and if he stands with Daley there's a much higher chance of that. I don't give Daley much chance in this fight on the ground, like maybe 2% if Diaz fights on the ground, but I think he's at least at 50% if the fight stays standing. Daley can knock out Diaz, but only if Diaz plays into his hands. I don't see that happening.

ALVIN CARTER, MMATORCH SPECIALIST

Diaz can box with Daley, but not for dive rounds. He should use the Paul Daley vs. Josh Koscheck fight as his framework and put Daley on his back.

Daley is never out as long as he can survive each round ending on his back.   Each round starts in the feet, so theoretically Daley has five solid chances to get the belt.

GRIFFIN MARSH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I think Nick Diaz needs to get this fight to the ground.  Daley is a good striker that can hold his own with Nick standing.  Daley has shown weakness once the fight hits the mat, however. Daley must do what he can to turn the fight into a brawl, so he can possibly land one of those killer punches.  My prediction?  Nick Diaz by submission 1st round.

MIKE BACIOR, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Man, I love Nick Diaz, but I have no idea how this will go. Should Diaz try to use his BJJ? Probably. Will he? Probably not. He could outbox Daley, who doesn't like jabs in his face, for five rounds, overcome him in one round, or get KO'd viciously at any moment. I have no clue.

ALEX WILLIAMS, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Nick Diaz needs to take Paul Daley down.  Daley needs Diaz to not take him down.  Happily for Daley, Diaz likely won't try to take him down.  I think Daley wins by knock out.  If Diaz wins by outstriking him, I won't doubt his striking ability again.

JAMIE PENICK, MMATORCH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

For as good as Diaz's chin is, Daley is not an opponent he wants to go toe-to-toe with for an extended period of time. Unfortunately, he's shown a propensity for doing just that regardless of the opponent. His advantage on the ground is significant, and to win this fight he'll need to bring Daley to the mat and look to submit him. But you only have to look at his last fight against Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos to see that, even when he's getting tagged and hit hard by an opponent, he'll continue striking with them. I think he'll test his luck too much against an elite MMA striker in Daley and it will spell doom for him. I'll take Daley by TKO in the second.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/roundtables/article_9002.shtml

Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira Brock Lesnar Frank Mir Brock Lesnar