Urijah Faber Torn Over Bantamweight Title Prospects

LAS VEGAS - It was inevitable that just one fight into his MMA bantamweight career, the questions about a title shot for Urijah Faber would come.

Faber, the most dominant featherweight champion in WEC history and the promotion's poster boy the last four years, made his debut at 135 pounds Thursday at WEC 52. And while some, including opponent Takeya Mizugaki, questioned whether the weight cut would be too much for him the first time out, Faber quickly silenced any naysayers with a devastating first-round rear naked choke victory.

Given that nine of Faber's 12 fights in the WEC have been in title fights, and that as both champion and challenger he's a proven draw, the win over Mizugaki may have fast-tracked him toward a bantamweight title shot.

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/11/12/urijah-faber-torn-over-bantamweight-title-prospects/

Hector Lombard Alexandru Lungu Travis Lutter Stevie Lynch

Dennis Siver, Andre Winner Aim to Put on a Show for German Fans at UFC 122

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European MMA fighters like Dennis Siver don't often get the chance to fight in front of a home crowd. The UFC made its first trip to continental Europe just last year, and this is only the organization's second event in Germany, where the reception to the sport has been mixed.

That's why when Siver, a German-Russian lightweight who's been with the UFC on and off (though mostly on) since 2007, takes on British "Ultimate Fighter" finalist Andre Winner at UFC 122 on Saturday, it's a fight that comes with a special kind of pressure. When your countrymen rarely get to see you ply your trade, you certainly don't want to have them pack an arena just to see you get beat up by a citizen from one of your nation's soccer rivals.

But despite all that added pressure, as Siver told MMA Fighting through a translator this week, the irony is that he's far less famous as a fighter when he's in his own country.

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/11/12/dennis-siver-andre-winner-aim-to-put-on-a-show-for-german-fans/

Scott Morris Johnnie Morton Ben Mortimer Curtis Mostat

The Early TNA iMPACT! Rating Is In ??..

- TNA iMPACT! did a 1.2 cable rating this week. That’s all we know so far. Both TNA and WWE had pretty stiff competition Thursday night with a huge college football game on ESPN, the WEC event on Versus, The Jersey Shore, and more. – Speaking of the WEC event on Versus, that show did a 0.6 cable rating TNA Wrestling News

Source: http://www.ifight365.com/2010/11/the-early-tna-impact-rating-is-in/

Kit Cope  Wesley Cabbage Correira  Patrick The Predator Côté  Randy The Natural Couture 

UFC NEWS: Darren Elkins injured, UFC newcomer Mike Lullo tapped as replacement against Edson Barbosa at UFC 123

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Next weekend's UFC 123 event has gotten a shakeup to the preliminary card, as Darren Elkins has been forced out of a scheduled bout with Edson Barbosa on the card due to a knee injury, according to a report from MMAFighting.com.

In his place steps UFC newcomer Mike Lullo to face Barbosa on a week's notice. Lullo is an 8-2 professional, who has won eight straight fights since dropping two decisions to begin his career. His last six wins have all been by submission, and he pulled off a gogoplata in a fight in June.

Barbosa is also making his UFC debut in this fight, and brings a 6-0 career record into the event. He's won all of his fights by stoppage, including five by knockout or TKO.

UFC 123 airs live on pay-per-view next Saturday from The Palace at Auburn Hills, just outside of Detroit, Mich. The event is headlined by a light heavyweight bout between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Lyoto Machida.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: Injuries are always unfortunate, and it's a definite setback for Elkins as he was looking to rebound from a loss to Charles Oliveira, but it has opened up a great opportunity for Lullo on short notice. It's on the preliminary card, so it's not likely to make the broadcast, but both newcomers will have a chance to impress both the fans in Detroit and UFC officials as the lightweight division will be getting downsized drastically with the influx of WEC talents.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_7493.shtml

Stav Crazy Bear Economou  Yves Edwards  Justin Eilers  Jon Olav Einemo

PARK: Weight-jumping possibilities abound as the UFC introduces new lighter weight classes

By: Chris Park, MMATorch UK Specialist

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The introduction of the UFC's lighter weight classes will soon spark a stampede of fighters moving up, and more likely, down in weight as the options for smaller fighters are suddenly blown wide open.

While Jose Aldo may one day try his hand at 155 lbs. - which could eventually set up a super-fight with B.J. Penn or Frankie Edgar - be prepared for several lightweights on the roster to make the trip south in the not-so-distant future.

Tyson Griffin looked - at the very least - a full weight class smaller than Takanori Gomi when the Japanese star handed Griffin the first KO loss of his career back in August. Griffin now finds himself in lightweight limbo, and as a relatively small lightweight, we may next see the Xtreme Couture man in the featherweight division as he looks to halt a current two fight slide.

In contrast, reigning Lightweight Champion Frankie ?The Answer? Edgar is currently riding high at the top of the 155 lb. division. But Edgar doesn't cut much weight, if any at all, to satisfy the scales ahead of fight night, so his long-term future is now littered with options.

At this moment in time there is no reason for Edgar to even contemplate dropping down in weight, having defeated Penn twice in 2010 to win, and then retain, the Lightweight Championship. With an opportunity to avenge his sole career loss when he defends his title against Gray Maynard at UFC 125 on January 1, life is currently looking pretty good for the New Jersey native.

But the reality here is that Edgar could make the featherweight limit of 145 lbs. with very little effort, and in all likelihood could even make the cut for the bantamweight division. These are all options which "The Answer" will no doubt consider should he lose his title to "The Bully" on January 1.

With the WEC offering a whole world of options to the lighter weighing fighters, it is fair to say that the majority moving to the UFC will remain in their current divisions. There is now an opportunity in place for fighters, like Tyson Griffin, to revive their careers in these lighter ranks.

The likes of Joe Stevenson, Sean Sherk, and Clay Guida will no doubt keep a very close eye on developments as the featherweight division takes shape, while Britain's own Ross "The Real Deal" Pearson could also be tempted to make the move.

One fighter that could be called back into the UFC fold for a third time is Japanese star Caol Uno. Uno returned to the UFC in 2009 to take on Spencer Fisher at UFC 99 after a six-year absence. The comeback ended in defeat for Uno, who went on to draw with Fabricio Camoes before being stopped by Gleison Tibau back in March.

Despite being one of the most liked fighters in the game, this inconsistent run led to Uno's release from the UFC last April. The possibility of a new challenge at 145 lbs could be just the excuse needed for the UFC to bring him back to the big show once more.

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Chris Park is the MMATorch UK Specialist and guest columnist at ESPN.co.uk. Please email any comments or questions to Chris at; mmatorchuk@gmail.com or look us up at http://www.facebook.com/mmatorchuk2 our new MMATorch Facebook home for UK Fans!

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/ukscene/article_7455.shtml

Karen Darabedyan Viacheslav Datsik Marcus Davis  Tony DeSouza