After Twitter campaign, UFC to air Mighty Mouse vs. Kid on Facebook

The UFC announced today that they will air the Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson vs. Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto bout on their Facebook page, just as they did for two preliminary bouts from "Fight for the Troops 2." If you hadn't already "liked" their page from Fight for the Troops, do it this week to see the Mighty Mouse/Kid bout.

Over the past few weeks, Johnson had campaigned to have his bout aired. He encouraged his Twitter followers to contact UFC president Dana White, also through Twitter, to urge the UFC to put his fight on TV. Though the fight won't be on television, it will be free and available to anyone with internet access and a Facebook account.

This is another occasion of the UFC understanding social media like few other sports companies. In Johnson, they have a fighter who rallied fans to use Twitter to get what he wanted. The UFC was smart enough to give the fans what they wanted it, but still leverage it to expand the reach of their Facebook page.

With this bout airing on Facebook, three fights from UFC 126 will air before the pay-per-view begins. After Johnson and Yamamoto's bout airs on Facebook, Paul Kelly vs. Donald Cerrone and Chad Mendes vs. Michihiro Omigawa will air on Spike TV.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/After-Twitter-campaign-UFC-to-air-Mighty-Mouse-?urn=mma-315890

Randy Couture Chuck Liddell Quinton Jackson Forrest Griffin

Champion Zoila Frausto likely to meet Karina Hallinan in Bellator 35 non-title fight

Bellator Fighting Championships' 115-pound champion Zoila Frausto likely will meet Karina Hallinan at next month's Bellator 35 event.

A source close to the negotiations told MMAjunkie.com verbal agreements are in place for the non-title fight, though bout agreements have not been signed.

Bellator 35, which kicks off the organization's fourth season, takes place March 5.


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmajunkie/~3/-pQlVmRVgKc/champion-zoila-frausto-likely-to-meet-karina-hallinan-in-bellator-35-non-title-fight.mma

Renato Verissimo Marcus Vinicios Falaniko Vitale Igor Vovchanchyn

I Don't Know Where Herschel Walker Goes From Here, But I'll Certainly Be Watching

Herschel Walker?s story is one filled with twists, turns, surprises, and unexpected outcomes. Walker recently competed for the second time as a professional Mixed Martial Artist, dismantling Scott Carson at Strikeforce ?Diaz vs. Cyborg?. Always humble, Walker recently gave both fans and detractors a look inside of his mentality as he continues his MMA excursion. Here [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/02/02/i-dont-know-where-herschel-walker-goes-from-here-but-ill-certainly-be-watching

Soa Palalei Bart Palaszewski Rousimar Palhares Mike Patt

Gabe Ruediger brushes off weight-cutting jokes, plans quick finish at UFC 126

The good far outweighed the bad when Gabe Ruediger made the decision to fight his Joe Lauzon, a former castmate on "The Ultimate Fighter 5," at UFC 118.

It was his opportunity to fight in the UFC again for the first time in roughly four years. It also was a nice paycheck for Ruediger, who next fights at Saturday's UFC 126 event.

Conversely, the UFC 118 fight had to be arranged at the last minute after Terry Etim pulled out due to injury. It also essentially took place in the backyard of Lauzon, who is from the Boston area.


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmajunkie/~3/kJeZqEnbqw4/gabe-ruediger-brushes-off-weight-cutting-jokes-plans-quick-finish-at-ufc-126.mma

Ryan Jensen DaMarques Johnson Jon Jones Nathan Jones 

Nazareno Malegarie completes the Bellator featherweight tournament roster

The roster for the Bellator Fighting Championships eight man featherweight tournament has been finalized with the addition of Nazareno ?Naza? Malegarie. The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu specialist enters the tournament undefeated at 19-0 with 12 wins coming by submission. Malegarie tells Bellator.com that he is ready to showcase his skills; I?m just very excited to finally [...]

Nazareno Malegarie completes the Bellator featherweight tournament roster is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

Source: http://www.mmainterplay.com/bellator-news/nazareno-malegarie-completes-the-bellator-featherweight-tournament-roster-53287/

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Marloes Coenen defends title against Miesha Tate at "Strikeforce: Columbus" coming up in March

While the Cesar Gracie team has been well represented with champions Gilbert Melendez and Nick Diaz standing at the top of their weight classes, perhaps one team has been overlooked. Golden Glory fighters are coming in bunches into the Strikeforce organization, including former PRIDE star Sergei Kharitonov, the estranged Sengoku veteran Siyar Bahadurzada, and champions [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/01/31/marloes-coenen-defends-title-against-miesha-tate-at-strikeforce-columbus-coming-up-in-march

Tony Fryklund Kazuyuki Fujita Masakatsu Funaki Zelg Benkei Galesić

Thanks to Firas Zahabi, UFC 126's Miguel Torres ditches "guts and glory" brawling

Miguel Torres still is signing the praises of trainer Firas Zahabi eight months after he packed up his things and went to work with him at Tristar Gym in Montreal.

Torres, a former WEC bantamweight champion who makes his UFC debut Saturday at UFC 126, said it took but 15 minutes for Zahabi to win him over, and the trainer has influenced not only his fighting philosophies but his personal ones, as well.

But fighting is what he's here to do, and Torres said the most important of Zahabi's contributions is the idea that he doesn't need a barnburner every time he fights.


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmajunkie/~3/dmKW8LvLdok/thanks-to-firas-zahabi-ufc-126s-miguel-torres-ditches-guts-and-glory-brawling.mma

Alexandru Lungu Travis Lutter Stevie Lynch Adam Lynn

Strikeforce World Grand Prix Heavyweights - Behind-the-Scenes Andrei Arlovski, Bigfoot, Brett Rogers - Strikeforce

Go behind the scenes as Showtime Sports and Strikeforce assemble six of the world's top heavyweight fighters. Scott Coker, Andre Arlovski, Antonio Bigfoot Silva, Brett Rogers, Fabricio Werdum, and Josh Barnett.

Source: http://mmalice.com/strikeforce/strikeforce-world-grand-prix-heavyweights-behind-the-scenes-andrei-arlovski-bigfoot-brett-rogers-video_1fd513bf5.html

Noboru Asahi Marcus Aurelio  Mikhail Avetisyan Luiz Azeredo 

Strikeforce "Diaz vs. Cyborg" Medical Suspensions, Gate Receipts, and Live Attendance Numbers

strikeforce ?Diaz vs. Cyborg? was a great way to start out the new year for the surging Strikeforce promotion, with a great main card televised on Showtime that featured four straight finishes, all of them memorable. Recently, everything from the fighter?s salaries to the live gate receipts and attendance figures have been released to the [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/01/31/strikeforce-diaz-vs-cyborg-medical-suspensions-gate-receipts-and-live-attendance-numbers

Katsuyori Shibata Jake Shields Akira Shoji Anderson Silva