Wanderlei Silva Thinks Everyone Will Hate Him If He Fights Brian Stann

Wanderlei Silva was supposed to fight Brian Stann next, but it looks like talks have hit a roadblock. According to Dana White, Wand is afraid everyone will hate him because he thinks everyone loves Brian Stann. “We were actually trying to hook [Silva] up with Brian Stann,” White said. “He doesn’t want to fight Brian [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmaconvert/~3/1__rb2e4QRI/

Ivan Pack Ido Pariente Karo Parisyan Sherman Pendergarst

UFC NEWS: The Ultimate Fighter 13 to feature just 14 welterweights, no elimination round

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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The UFC is getting rid of the elimination round for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, according to a report from MMAJunkie.com.

The 13th season, which began filming today in Las Vegas, was initially expected to feature 28 welterweight competitors, but that number has now been trimmed down to 14. With that, the "wild card" round will remain in play, and the first fights for the contestants will be to enter the quarterfinals.

This season will be coached by heavyweights Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos, and the season begins airing on Spike TV on March 30.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: I'm not sure how I feel about the change. It's going back to what they had on the show for the first seven seasons, and it gives them a chance to highlight all of the fighters from the outset, but it takes away fighters earning a spot in the house as well as taking away those fights from the early broadcasts. Still, it may also be better for the fighters themselves, who have one less fight to deal with in the six weeks they're in the house, and there's a reduced chance of injury as well. It could make for better fights in the early rounds as well, as fighters don't need to pace themselves quite as much as if they would have needed to fight that extra time. They may not have had 28 welterweights they liked for the show when there was initially going to be welterweights and middleweights this season, so that cut it down, too. It will probably be for the best for this season though, and shouldn't hurt the fights themselves.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8253.shtml

Jason Reinhardt Eddy Rolon João Roque Kristian Rothaermel

PATCHING: UFC Fan Bar Without the Grill 1/21 - Fight for the Troops 2 predictions and Kimbo to pro wrestling

By: Marc Patching, MMATorch Contributor

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With a weekend of UFC action on the cards, it's only right to grab some drinks and discuss the possible outcome of the event.

A knock-off soda - Two UFC Fight for the Troops 2 preliminary card bouts coming to Facebook on Saturday night

The UFC are never afraid to try something new to bring in more fans, and this move is no different. With two fights scheduled to be shown on Facebook, that's a total of four hours of fighting for free! Now I know nothing in life is technically free, with this being some added exposure for the UFC, but this move still (partly) makes up for charging for events like UFC 119.

Spicy Boneless Wings - UFC Fight For The Troops 2 Predictions

Before I start with any predictions, let me take this opportunity to give some kudos to the UFC for holding this event. It's a simple gesture of gratitude for all that the military do, to which I also add my thanks.

Cole Miller vs. Matt Wiman

With both fighters on a two win fight streak, and both coming off impressive submission victories (Miller over Ross Pearson, and Wiman over Mac Danzig), this fight has a certain amount of potential. Take also into consideration that three out of the last five fights for Wiman have been fight of the night, and Miller's last two wins both won submission of the night, then it definitely makes for an interesting match-up. I think that a Miller win would be more appealing, due to a future fight with Donald Cerrone on the horizon.

Winner: Cole Miller

Mark Hominick vs. George Roop

The battle between these two former training partners has to go down as a must win fight for both for totally different reasons. For George Roop it's somewhat negative, with his current record since making his UFC debut not being at all impressive. Hominick on the other hand has built up a nice winning streak, remaining unbeaten in his last four fights and a win here makes him the number one contender to Jose Aldo's title.

Winner: Mark Hominick

Pat Barry vs. Joey Beltran

If any fight on this card has the potential to be "Fight of the Night" then this is it. Barry almost shocked the Croatian Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic in his last fight, when he had him rocked early in the fight. Beltran is also coming into this fight after a defeat to Matt Mitrione. Looking back, that was a fight that Beltran could have, and possibly should have, won. He landed a huge right hand followed by some ground and pound that Mitrione was able to see out. Beltran gassed pretty much after that, allowing Mitrione to capitalize and eventually gain the victory. Due to this, and the fact that Barry has some devastating kickboxing in his arsenal, I'm giving the slight edge to Barry in what should be an entertaining fight.

Winner: Pat Barry

Matt Mitrione vs. Tim Hague

Honestly, I would never have seen Mitrione lasting this long in the UFC, even after he defeated Kimbo Slice. I thought it would only be a matter of time (i.e. his next fight), before he was found out and cut, so credit goes to Mitrione for lasting this long. Tim Hague, on the other hand, has struggled since his seven second defeat to Todd Duffee back at UFC 102. This is his third and possibly final chance to make any sort of career in the UFC. He is on a two win fight streak, but I think Mitrione has enough to make this stop a last one for Hague.

Winner: Matt Mitrione

Evan Dunham vs. Melvin Guillard

I'm not completely sold on this fight, especially being the main event of the evening. I was more looking forward to the originally announced fights of Evan Dunham vs. Kenny Florian and Melvin Guillard vs. Yves Edwards. That being said, it is what it is, and this one should still be competitive with a lot on the line for both fighters. Dunham's recent defeat to Sean Sherk is one that he will want to put behind him. If he would have won that fight, he would more than likely be facing someone higher up on the fight-chain than Guillard. By all means, that's no disrespect to Guillard who has managed to rebound nicely since his defeat to Nate Diaz back in 2009.

Winner: Evan Dunham

Well that's it for the main card of the evening, as for anything else... a possible win for Cody McKenzie with the guillotine.

Some blue cheese dressing to go with those wings ? Kimbo Slice takes pro wrestling gig in Japan

This is a far more sensible option for Kimbo, rather than seeing him attempting to forge some sort of career in boxing. Least in wrestling, much like his street fighting, he can have more of a say on who his opponent will be and more importantly the outcome of the match-up! I'm just kidding about the last part. It seems too late for the WWE to make any money off Kimbo, but there are some rumblings of him playing a possible enforcer role at Wrestlemania. At the end of the day, he still has a look that wrestling fans, especially Japanese fans will go for (see Brock Lesnar, Steve Williams, and others for further examples).

That's it for this week, and next week, hopefully I'll have decided if I'm more interested in seeing UFC 126 or UFC 127 in February.


Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/specialists/article_8235.shtml

Evan Tanner Rich Franklin Anderson Silva Pat Miletich

UFC NEWS: UFC presents new study suggesting MMA events could generate $23M annually for New York, announces plans to run MSG

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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The UFC held a press conference at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Thursday to officially announce their intent to bring an event to the venue as soon as the state concedes to regulating the sport.

New York remains one of four states with an established athletic commission that does not regulate mixed martial arts, and as such the UFC has lobbied furiously over the last several years to convince lawmakers in the state to change that fact. With Thursday's press conference, the UFC presented the findings of a new economic impact study conducted on their behalf by HR&A Advisors that outlines what they believe are "conservative" estimates to what the sport could bring the state financially.

The report assumes that the UFC would bring two events to the state during the first year, one at MSG and another upstate at Buffalo's HSBC Arena. Those two events alone would bring $16 million in revenue to the state, along with the creation of nearly 140 jobs, the study claims.

In addition, using information from several other states with local MMA events, the study predicts an additional $6.7 million in revenue and 75 new jobs for nearly 70 total events in the state on an annual basis.

The UFC is hopeful that legislators in New York will pass regulation on the sport this year, and they are sure to be the first MMA organization to run at the famed Madison Square Garden as soon as that regulation is passed.

Link to HR&A Economic Impact Study.

Penick's Analysis: This most recent push from the UFC will hopefully get the job done, and fans in New York can hope to see the UFC at MSG if not before the end of 2011, then certainly early in 2012. It's far past the time where this sport is accepted across the country, and the fact that New York has continually failed to recognize the UFC's tremendous impact in the surrounding areas is a sad testament to their stubbornness and to how misinformed they've been. This needs to get done, and hopefully this study helps move things forward.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8152.shtml

Jimmy Smith Maurice Mo Smith Patrick Smith Scott Smith

Strikeforce Challengers 13: Woodley's game shows holes in clinch-fest win

There's been some talk of Tyron Woodley facing Strikeforce welterweight champ Nick Diaz in the near future. That hype may need to be dialed down a bit. Tarec Saffiedine didn't win tonight in Nashville, but he showed that Woodley needs a little more seasoning before he faces a top 10 welterweight. Woodley used his wrestling to keep the fight in close quarters and take a unanimous decision, 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28, in the main event of Strikeforce Challengers 13 in Nashville, Tenn.

"Tarec's a very tough guy. He's got some power, got some pop. I endured, I pressed him," Woodley told Showtime's Mauro Ranallo. "The game plan was to be dynamic, in and out."

There wasn't much out as Woodley worked his clinch game throughout the fight. He couldn't get the fight to the ground on several occasions, and Saffiedine scrambled so well off his back that Woodley couldn't take advantage of top control.

Woodley (8-0) got the slight nod in the first two rounds, but all that work along the cage sapped him, not Saffiedine. Originally from Belgium, Saffiedine was able to land the better strikes on the feet in the final round and threatened slightly on the ground as he worked for a kimura from the bottom.

Woodley was tired in the final round and took a lot of sloppy shots. He was also putting himself at risk by dropping his hands. These things happen when you're gassed. 

Before anyone gets too down on Woodley, this was probably a case of Saffiedine showing off his own skill-set. He's a versatile kid and proved a lot by grappling on an even level with a former NCAA All-American wrestler.

The 24-year-old fighting out of Dan Henderson's Team Quest camp in Temecula, Calif., is now 10-3.

It was a night filled with decisions.

After a 2010 highlighted by awesome knockouts, Ovince St. Preux ran into a much better challenge than expected against Ron Humphrey. The former Tennessee linebacker still won, but the fight went the distance. It was the third win since the beginning of November for St. Preux, who admitted he may need a little break.

Daniel Cormier (7-0) remained unbeaten, but he also failed to finish veteran Devin Cole.

The night was stolen by the lone female fight as Amanda Nunes destroyed Julia Budd.

Nunes charged hard at the start of the fight and blasted Budd, a Muay Thai specialist, with a straight left. Budd hit the ground hard and her head slammed on the mat. Nunes was a killer. The 24-year-old Brazilian jumped on top and unloaded seven hammerfists. The ref jumped in to save Budd, who had gone limp. All that in just 14 seconds. Maybe Nunes could be a challenger down the road for 145-pound champion Cristiane Santos.

MAIN CARD (results courtesy MMAjunkie) 

Tyron Woodley def. Tarec Saffiedine via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Ovince St. Preux def. Ron "Abongo" Humphrey via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Daniel Cormier def. Devin Cole via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Amanda Nunes def. Julia Budd via KO (strikes) - Round 1, 0:14
Rhadi Ferguson def. John Richard via submission (heel hook) - Round 2, 2:00

PRELIMINARY CARD

Thomas Campbell def. Jeremy Wallace via sub (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 1:26
John Salter def. Casey Huffman via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 2:59
Dustin Ortiz def. Matt Horning via TKO (strikes) - Round 3, 2:10
Dustin West def. Daniel Schmitt via KO (strikes) - Round 1, 0:09
Charles McTorry def. Krishaun Gilmore via submission (rear naked choke) - Round 2, 3:46
Chris Barnhizer def. Karl Willis via submission (armbar) - Round 1, 2:35
Jason Blackford def. Jeremy Boczulak via submission (heel hook) - Round 2, 1:54
Luke Sanders def. Josh Jarvis via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 3:15
Stoney Hale def. Gerric Hayes via split decision (28-29, 29-28. 29-28)

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Strikeforce-Challengers-13-Woodley-s-game-shows?urn=mma-304970

Hidehiko Yoshida Yoshiyuki Yoshida Yoon Dong Sik Gilbert Yvel

N.Y. Post video report: 'How can you regulate it so that there isn't serious injuries?'

The UFC's big press conference at Madison Square Garden unveiled a nice show of support. Scott O'Neil, President of Madison Square Garden Sports, is squarely behind the effort as was N.Y. assemblyman Dean Murray. There was little opposition in the room. As a result, no debate ensued.

There was one interesting moment when Megan Paznik asked this:

"If you're adding kicking and punching to mixed martial arts, how can you regulate it so that there isn't serious injuries?"

Dana White was so thrown off he had a tough time answering the question. He turned to referencing the fact that there hasn't been a death in the history of the UFC. The easiest approach would've been to mention that boxing, football and hockey are all contact sports to a certain degree and there really is no way to guarantee a sport is free of injuries. It's also worth noting that elements of MMA like Judo, karate, boxing, jiu-jitsu and wrestling are all legal in New York. Why would a combination of those disciplines be illegal? 

Paznik went on to voice this video. Yes, there is a dogfighting comparison and the producer of the video made sure to include plenty of violent looking images.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/N-Y-Post-video-report-How-can-you-regulate-it?urn=mma-307772

Efrain Escudero Rashad Evans Urijah Faber Wagnney Fabiano