UFC 123 Shirts for Rampage, Machida, Penn, Hughes, and More

FightTrends.com has already previewed the UFC 123 tees for "Rampage" Jackson, Lyoto Machida, BJ Penn, and more, so now it's time to take a look at the full slate of UFC 123 shirts we'll be seeing at "UFC 123: Rampage vs. Machida" on Saturday (Nov. 20) from Detroit.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/16638/ufc-123-shirts-for-rampage-machida-penn-hughes-and-more/

Ryan Schultz Pete Sell Andrei Semenov Ivan Serati

Lauzon ready for challenges from Sotiropoulos and ?Call of Duty?

DETROIT -- Joe Lauzon lucked out. The release of "Call of Duty: Black Ops" came just a week before his UFC 123 bout with George Sotiropoulos, so the noted gamer could spend time on the latest video game as he tapered down workouts. 

"It came last week, which was my taper week, so it didn't interfere, but I was a little worried. If it would have been one or two weeks earlier, it would have been bad," Lauzon said.

He is ready to make the jump to the top of the UFC's lightweight division, and Lauzon plans to use George Sotiropoulos as a springboard.

"I'm excited for it, because it means I don't have to beat that lower level guy. I can just jump right up," Lauzon said. "Beating a guy whose 6-0, 7-0 in the UFC and close to a title shot definitely puts me close to the top." 

To get that win, Lauzon is going to do what he can to make sure that Sotiropoulos has no extra advantages, including his controversial practice of wearing knee and ankle braces that cover most of his leg.

"I've asked the commission what my choices are.  In the past, all the commissions that I've dealt with have said he can wear something soft as long as the opponent agreed. People are saying I'm calling him a cheater. I'm not."

Lauzon doesn't want to allow Sotiriopoulos even the slightest advantage, because if he loses a close decision, he doesn't want to look back and wonder, "What if?"

"I'm leaning towards telling him no knee pad, no ankle brace. I don't think he's wearing him because he has bad knees and bad ankles. I think he wears them because he does a lot of high rubber guard, and it helps with the slipping. If I could take away that advantage, I will." 

He was pleasantly surprised when he was offered a fight with Sotiropoulos, a fighter who is on a six-fight winning streak in the UFC.

"It's a huge jump. I think I was building pretty good momentum, and then I lost to Sam Stout. Sam beat me fair and square. He was the better guy that night, but I think if I wouldn't have rushed coming back from knee surgery so much, it would have been a different fight.  I think to the UFC, that fight never happened, so that's why I'm getting such a big fight now."

As he's done in previous fights, Lauzon designed a special shirt for his cornermen, friends and family. It takes a swipe at the Australian-born Sotiropoulos, reading, "According to Australian Game and Wildlife, 100 people are killed every year by adult Joeys. You've been warned." 

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Lauzon-ready-for-challenges-from-Sotiropoulos-an?urn=mma-287429

Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio 

ROUNDTABLE (pt. 1 of 2): Who is your favorite fighter to watch in 2010? Hansen, Lee, Hyden, Hobaugh, Perez and Carter

MMATorch_Droid_App_logo_180_21.jpg

Who is your favorite MMA fighter to watch in 2010 and why? 

RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

Carlos Condit is as money as it gets.  The dude can grapple, finish on the ground, possesses one-punch KO power, is impossible to break, and absolutely will not quit.

ERIC LEE, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

My favorite fighter of 2010 and probably my favorite fighter overall has got to be Junior Dos Santos. He's been tearing right through all the competition he's had all year long and the whole way up to his title shot. He's torn right through the top striker's in the heavyweight division and even Cain Velasquez has declared him the best in the weight class. But he's not all stand up. He currently has a brown belt under the Nogueira brothers, who we all know have some of the best BJJ skills in MMA. I'm very excited to see him fight for the belt and looking forward to his long future at the top of the division.

FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I've got to go with Brock Lesnar for this one. He was in two of the most exciting fights of the year, and Brock's fights with Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez were must-see events. A close second would be Shane Carwin. I remember watching as Shane took Frank Mir apart. I also remember when Shane almost beat Brock for the title. Those were great moments. I also want to give kudos to Jon Jones. The guy keeps getting better and better with each fight. I'm excited to see how far he can go.

ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH SPECIALIST

Cain Velasquez restored my faith in the heavyweight division.  He is a great and humble champion who is good for the sport.  He deserved his shot and took down Brock with respect and honor.  I was always excited to see him fight and now I can not wait for him to defend his title against Junior Dos Santos.  These fighters know how to act and honor the sport each time they fight.  I believe Cain will have the longest reign as the UFC Heavyweight Champion in history. He is my favorite fighter of 2010.

ANWAR PEREZ, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

Plain and simple Brock Lesnar is my favorite to watch.  Is he my favorite fighter? No.  But, he elicits such emotion, either pro or con, and you can just feel the excitement for the fight.  Either with his return against Shane Carwin or his defeat at the hands of Cain Velasquez, it was something that you had to watch.  He makes a fight (the entire card really) that much more exciting to watch and be a part of.

ALVIN CARTER, MMATORCH SPECIALIST

My favorite fighter of 2010 is Maurico "Shogun" Rua.  He was robbed of the title after his first showdown with the then unbeaten Lyoto Machida in October of last year. Then he came back and stopped "The Dragon" with a big KO.  That might have been the biggest KO of the year until Cain Velasquez bested Brock Lesnar via TKO.  I have to give an honorable mention to Jon "Bones" Jones for really building this year.  He is obviously ready for even bigger things, and I think this year will be looked back on as a proving ground year for him (even though he might not have needed it).

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/roundtables/article_7515.shtml

Ronaldo de Souza Ron The Monster Sparks Patrick Speight Mario Sperry

Mark Munoz Looking to Channel Inner Manny Pacquaio at UFC 123

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DETROIT -- MMA Fighting spoke to middleweight Mark Munoz about his UFC 123 against Aaron Simpson, what he learned about himself after losing to Yushin Okami, his doubters and the impact Manny Pacquiao, a fellow fighting Filipino, has had on his career.


Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/11/18/mark-munoz-looking-to-channel-inner-manny-pacquaio-at-ufc-123/

Johnnie Morton Ben Mortimer Curtis Mostat Gegard Mousasi

UFC fighters and Dana White have advice for LeBron

The spoofs on LeBron James' "What should I do?" commercial are plentiful. Now you can add the UFC to the list. Well, sort of. Someone made this quickie LeBron commercial with UFC characters chiming in on King James' dilemma.

Tip via MMAMania

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-fighters-and-Dana-White-have-advice-for-LeBr?urn=mma-284679

David Heath Delson Heleno Dan Henderson Josh Hendricks

Alessio Sakara's 'Flu-Like Symptoms' Could Have Been Weight-Cut Related

Jorge Rivera Alessio Sakara UFC 122 weigh-ins
(If you can't laugh at Jorge's smiley-face-tie-tuxedo underwear, something's definitely wrong with you. Photo courtesy of MMA Junkie.)

Alessio Sakara has been conspicuously silent about his health since dropping out of UFC 122's co-main event. The American Top Team fighter was slated to take on Jorge Rivera, but instead pulled out just hours before the match due to "flu-like symptoms." So what was really going on with him? British MMA journalist Gareth Davies has a theory, which he shared on MMA Live:

"I have it on good authority that 8 or 9 days before bout was due to take place; Alessio Sakara was walking around at 220 pounds. He failed to show for the fighter workouts on the Thursday in Italy. He was walking around the fight hotel looking very gaunt and ghostlike. When you take that much weigh off, that quickly, it does bring on illness sometimes and I do fear this may have happened here with Alessio Sakara. And it doesn't do him any favors with the UFC, I can guarantee you that."

read more

Source: http://www.cagepotato.com/alessio-sakaras-flu-symptoms-could-have-been-weight-cut-related

Tim Sylvia Randy Couture Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira Brock Lesnar

Despite UFC/WEC merger, Versus still committed to MMA

With the UFC and WEC merging, Versus, the television home for the WEC, seemed to be the odd man out. However, it's stepped up its commitment to MMA, and on Thursday, will try out a pre-show and post-show hosted by MMA reporter Ariel Helwani and Molly Qerim, who was formerly on ESPN's "MMA Live."

Marc Fein, the executive vice president of programming, production and business operations for Versus, told Cagewriter that Versus is just as committed to MMA as ever.

"With our relationship with the UFC and WEC, we already started with integration on 'The Daily Line.' With this show, we stepped up with the opportunity on doing a pre-show and a post-show, just like all other major sporting events do, and do a full-on 30-minute show."

"The Daily Line," a nightly show covering all sports, was canceled because the show never really gained traction with viewers. The hope is that the pre- and post-show will entice MMA viewers with a mix of interviews, highlights and fight discussions. UFC president Dana White and heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez are scheduled to appear on Thursday's pre-show. The success of Thursday's show will determine the future of the show.

"We want to get this one under our belt, see what the ratings are, see what the fan and viewer reactions are. Obviously, we need to see when the shows are scheduled to see what we can accommodate, but we're going to step back, evaluate it, and see where," Fein said. "We want to give the UFC/WEC fans a place to come where they come in and get a great, 30-minute show, then after the fight, take a look back and break down the fights."

The network will continue its relationship with Zuffa, the company which owns both the UFC and WEC, despite the merger of the two promotions. Earlier this year, it aired two different UFC events, and next year will expand to four cards.

"Having four UFC fights is absolutely a great thing. We still have rights to run our WEC library going back to 2007 of all the great WEC fights and 'WrekCages,' and things we're doing now like a pre-show and post-show. For us, we think it's great for the brand. It's a natural evolution of expanding our relationship with them."

It always wants to keep the conversation growing, but it is focused on its last two WEC events. 

"We love the sport. We love the UFC. We love the WEC and we're always looking to expand. When the time comes, we'll cross that bridge. Right now, our focus is the two fights the rest of this year which is going to have major implications for these fighters going into the UFC, and also the four UFC fights next year, and I'm sure we'll have more conversations."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Despite-UFC-WEC-merger-Versus-still-committed-t?urn=mma-284095

Mamed Khalidov Sergei Kharitonov Min Soo Kim Dong Hyun Kim