State of the UFC Bantamweights

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November is a month without any title fights, which makes it a good time to take a long view of the future title picture in each weight class. Today we look at the bantamweight division.

The decision to fold World Extreme Cagefighting into the UFC will have a big impact on the smallest fighters, and the talent-rich 135-pound division might soon be considered one of the deepest in the UFC. Our look at the state of the UFC bantamweights is below.

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/11/05/state-of-the-ufc-bantamweights/

Siyar Bahadurzada Bao Ligao  Josh Barnett  David Baron 

Herschel Walker vs. Scott Carson at Strikeforce St. Louis

Herschel Walker makes a return to the cage when he faces Scott Carson on December 4th as part of the Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu card. The event takes place at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The news was confirmed by Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker on ESPN.com. This will be Walker’s second professional mixed martial arts [...]

Herschel Walker vs. Scott Carson at Strikeforce St. Louis is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

Source: http://www.mmainterplay.com/strikeforce-news/herschel-walker-vs-scott-carson-at-strikeforce-st-louis-51698/

Zhang Tiequan Igor Zinoviev Mark Coleman Maurice Smith

USC QB wants to go all Velasquez on Oregon, the Lesnars from the north

Here's more proof the kiddies between 18 and 34 years old love their mixed martial arts. The L.A. Times says USC quarterback Matt Barkley has "caused a stir" with his MMA-related Tweet regarding the Trojans' upcoming game against unbeaten Oregon. The 21-year-old from Newport Beach, Calif., must've enjoyed David toppling Goliath when Cain Velasquez pulled the upset on Brock Lesnar at UFC 121. Tweeted Barkley:

"Wow, Brock just got rocked! Lesnar is to Oregon as Velasquez is to SC. Lezgo."

Before it was deleted, the QB's Tweet was re-Tweeted by plenty of Ducks fans.

Why would Oregon fans be insulted? Their team is the bully on the block in the Pac-10. It seems like a nice comparison. Was it really an insult? The insult comes when you force a kid who makes a harmless analogy feel like he did something wrong.

"That had nothing to do with Oregon," Barkley said after practice. "I just got fired up thinking about my teammates.

"It had to do with kind of being an underdog in a big fight, like we're going into. Everyone, of course, takes it out of context and blows it up. But that was about us and about our team and the adversity we've been through."

Chip Kelly probably appreciates the comparison. After all, the Oregon coach is the guy who uses classic boxing wars to get his players fired up. Kelly had the team watch the 2002 fight where "Irish" Mickey Ward pulled the upset on Arturo Gatti.

"You can get knocked out in the seventh round -- all you can do is be ready to battle each week and make it to the eighth round,'' Kelly said.

Ward, an old friend of Kelly's, actually spoke to the team last week. Kelly likens the season to a 12-round fight.

So let's get this clear Oregon fans, your coach can use fighting references to talk about the games but USC can't?

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/USC-QB-wants-to-go-all-Velasquez-on-Oregon-the-?urn=mma-280072

Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Ao Hailin 

Daniel Cormier Remains Undefeated in Australia

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Daniel Cormier successfully defended his XMMA heavyweight title against Soa Palelei on Friday at Xtreme MMA 3 at Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre in Sydney, Australia.

Cormier, a two-time Olympian and American Kickboxing Academy product, defeated the Australian Palelei, a former UFC and PRIDE fighter, via first round submission due to strikes.

The win improved Cormier's record to 6-0. He made his pro MMA debut in September 2009, and five of his first six fights have ended in the first round.

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/11/05/daniel-cormier-remains-undefeated-in-australia/

Yoshiaki Yatsu Hirotaka Yokoi Hidehiko Yoshida Yoshiyuki Yoshida

UFC NEWS: Paulo Thiago signs new four fight deal with the UFC

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Despite losing two straight fights, UFC welterweight Paulo Thiago has signed a new four fight deal with the UFC, according to a report from Brazilian website Tatame.com.

Thiago has had one of the most difficult schedules of any fighter upon their entry into the UFC, fighting some of the top welterweights the UFC has to offer. After knocking out Josh Koscheck in his UFC debut, Thiago dropped a decision to perennial contender Jon Fitch at UFC 100.

Thiago then picked up a decision win over Minnesota Martial Arts Academy product Jacob Volkmann before submitting Koscheck and Fitch teammate Mike Swick in early 2010. The rest of the year hasn't gone as well, however, as Thiago was handily defeated by decision twice, losing to Martin Kampmann and Diego Sanchez.

But the new four fight deal means the UFC will keep him on for the time being, and he'll have a chance to turn things around in the division after this two fight skid.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: Thiago's previous deal must have been up with the Sanchez fight, so this new deal, while it is for four fights, is not necessarily going to feature all four fights. Thiago will remain on the hot seat going into his next fight, as three straight losses will likely lead to the termination of this contract by the UFC. Still, he may get a little more leeway considering the murderer's row he's gone through in the organization, but he needs to get back to winning fights to continue getting shots in the UFC.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_7373.shtml

Roman Zentsov Zhang Chuanlong Zhang Tiequan Igor Zinoviev

Anderson Silva vs. Georges St. Pierre Needs To Happen With Upcoming Wins For Both Champions

Anderson Silva is slated to fight Vitor Belfort on Super Bowl weekend.  It’s an interesting match up, as Belfort is perhaps the best striker to throw down with Silva since he entered the UFC.  He simply has very explosive hands.  In addition, Silva is coming off of his worst UFC performance to date against Chael Sonnen, which [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/11/06/anderson-silva-vs-georges-st-pierre-needs-to-happen-with-upcoming-wins-for-both-champions

Brock Lesnar Shane Carwin Brock Lesnar Frank Shamrock