Jens Pulver returns to winning ways at XFO 38

Former UFC lightweight champ Jens Pulver picked up his first win in more than three years over the weekend by tapping Mike Lindquist out a little less than a minute into the opening round of their headlining bout at XFO 38. The performance snapped a significant skid for ?Little Evil? including five first-frame finishes. Comparably, [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/01/23/jens-pulver-returns-to-winning-ways-at-xfo-38/

Paweł Nastula Kazuhiro Nakamura Yoshihiro Nakao Roy Nelson

Bellator Confirms Season 4 Featherweight Tournament

CHICAGO, Ill. ( January 24, 2011) ?Bellator Fighting Championships officially announced today that it will hold a Featherweight Tournament in the promotion?s highly anticipated fourth season airing LIVE on MTV2. Eight world class 145 lb. fighters will face off for a chance at claiming the Season 4 Featherweight Tournament Championship, a check for $100,000, and more importantly, a shot at the title against current Bellator World Featherweight Champion, World?s #2 ranked Featherweight and self proclaimed ?Baddest Man on the Planet,? Joe Warren.<br><Br> While announcements regarding all eight participants will follow, collegiate wrestling phenom Eric Larkin has been confirmed for Bellator's third Featherweight Tournament. No stranger to Bellator fans, Larkin (3-0) enters the competition fresh off of an impressive first round submission victory over the previously undefeated Marcus Andrusia at Bellator 28 (Watch Here: http://bit.ly/hstwoe). The decorated wrestler has wasted no time in his MMA career to date, finishing all three of his fights as a professional in the very first round.<br><Br> ?I?m thrilled to announce Eric Larkin as our first confirmed participant in our upcoming Featherweight Tournament,? said Bellator chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. ?Eric has unlimited potential in this sport, and I?m excited to see how he does in this stacked tournament.?<br><Br> Fighting out of the Lion?s Den in Scottsdale, Arizona alongside Bellator World Welterweight Champion Ben Askren, Larkin began his professional MMA training in early 2009. Before his journey into the cage, Larkin wrestled his way to a 2003 National Championship at 149 pounds for Arizona State University, earned the prestigious Dan Hodge Trophy, and picked up a 2003 ESPN ESPY Award nomination for best collegiate athlete. After nearly making the 2008 US Olympic squad, Larkin decided a new challenge was needed in his life, and MMA was the perfect opportunity. Now a confirmed participant in the Bellator Season 4 Featherweight Tournament, Larkin is ready to establish himself as one of the best in the division.<br><Br> ?I'm definitely looking forward to this upcoming tournament,? Larkin said. ?I know there are going to be some really tough guys in there. I'm not taking anyone lightly. I'm going to do my thing and get after it. I like fighting back-to-back so it's going to be fun.?<br><Br> The tournament will mark the first time Larkin will fight as a featherweight, as his previous three victories came as a lightweight. While cutting weight can often be a challenge, Larkin sees it as anything but.<br><Br> ?The major benefits I'm going to get from dropping down to 145 are primarily going to be strength and leverage,? said Larkin. ?I definitely feel like I'm going to be stronger at 145 than I would be at 155. At lightweight, there are guys cutting down from 180 and 190 to make the weight and I'm not even close to that. I think this cut to featherweight is going to be great for me.?<br><Br> For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator

Source: http://www.mmanews.com/home.php

Josh Hendricks Ed Herman Heath Herring Branden Lee Hinkle

The good and bad of Lesnar vs. dos Santos on TUF

Yesterday, the UFC announced that heavyweight Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos will coach the 13th season of "The Ultimate Fighter" on Spike. This will bring about both good and bad aspects of the show.

The good

1. Getting a better look at Brock Lesnar: The heavyweight fighter is enigmatic to say the least. He trains in the backwoods of Minnesota, and brings coaches and training partners to him. Media are rarely allowed at his gym, which is a departure from the open nature of many top MMA gyms. Featuring him on TUF will help fans get to know Lesnar better.

2. Black House MMA's involvement: Junior dos Santos is a member of Black House MMA, a group of elite fighters that includes Anderson Silva, Jose Aldo, the Nogueira brothers and Lyoto Machida. If dos Santos brings just one of these fighters on the show, both his fighters and the viewers will benefit. 

3. Lesnar's coaching crew: Wrestling fans know Marty Morgan as the longtime assistant coach at the powerhouse at the University of Minnesota, but he isn't as well known to MMA fans. His presumable involvement in the show will give Lesnar fans a better look at Morgan and Lesnar's other training partners like Bellator champ Cole Konrad.

4. The fight at the end of the tunnel: Lesnar's first fight back after losing his belt to Cain Velasquez is a tough test -- so tough that dos Santos was supposed to get a shot at Velasquez's belt before he was injured. If it's true that Lesnar doesn't like to get hit in the face, a striker like dos Santos will make things difficult for Brock.

The bad

1. Welterweights ... again: This is the fourth time welterweights will be featured on "The Ultimate Fighter." Before the UFC/WEC merger, it would be fine to feature 170 lbs. again, but Zuffa missed on an opportunity to not only showcase their newest additions, but also stock up some of the smaller weight classes.

2. Why not heavyweights? If not the little guys, why not take advantage of having two of the best heavyweights in the UFC and have them coach fighters at the same size? Heavyweights make interesting television -- remember season 10? -- so we may as well watch them.

3. Think of the doors: Considering that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson wrecked a few doors in anger during his times coaching on the show, what will behemoths like Lesnar and dos Santos will do? Hopefully, the foundation of the TUF gym is strong.

From our vantage point, the good outweighs the bad. When the show debuts at the end of March, will you be watching? 

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/The-good-and-bad-of-Lesnar-vs-dos-Santos-on-TUF?urn=mma-306626

Naoya Ogawa Sean O Haire Yushin Okami Bobby Ologun

UFC NEWS: Weigh-in results for UFC Fight for the Troops 2

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Weigh-ins took place this afternoon for tomorrow night's UFC Fight for the Troops 2 event at Fort Hood in Texas. The event, headlined by a lightweight bout between Melvin Guillard and Evan Dunham, airs live on Spike TV, with an hour long prelims broadcast being made available on Facebook.com. Full weigh-in results for the event are below:

Main Televised Card

* Evan Dunham (156) vs. Melvin Guillard (155)
* Tim Hague (256.5) vs. Matt Mitrione (260)
* Mark Hominick (145.5) vs. George Roop (145)
* Pat Barry (240) vs. Joey Beltran (230)
* Cole Miller (155.5) vs. Matt Wiman (155)

Facebook Prelims

* Yves Edwards (155) vs. Cody McKenzie (155)
* Mike Guymon (170.5) vs. DaMarques Johnson (170)

Preliminary Card

* Mike Brown (146) vs. Rani Yahya (145)
* Willamy "Chiquerim" Freire (155) vs. Waylon Lowe (156)
* Amilcar Alves (171) vs. Charlie Brenneman (171)
* Chris Cariaso (135) vs. Will Campuzano (135)

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8231.shtml

Tyson Griffin Karn Grigorian Karen Grigoryan Kendall Grove

Paul Daley vs. Yuya Shirai Signed for BAMMA 5

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Paul Daley's next fight will not be under the Strikeforce banner after all.

"Semtex" has agreed to fight Yuya Shirai at BAMMA 5 on February 26 at the Manchester Evening News Arena, MMA Fighting has confirmed with Daley's publicist Zara Shirwan and the organization. The fight, which will mark Daley's first in the UK in close to two years, will be for the vacant BAMMA welterweight title.

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/01/24/paul-daley-vs-yuya-shirai-signed-for-bamma-5/

Frank Mir Daniel Moraes Scott Morris Johnnie Morton