UFC 132 picks videos: Lots of betting steam on Cruz over Faber

Urijah Faber may think Dominick Cruz is a mental wreck and jealous of him, but the betting public isn't buy that the champ is in jeopardy tonight. The betting on the main event of UFC 132, has mostly one-sided. Cruz opened as a minus-140 favorite and has blown up to minus-175.

It looks like bettors are looking for value in some of the undercards fights. Heavy favorites George Sotiropoulos, Melvin Guillard and Denis Siver have all come down. Matt Wiman has attracted a lot of attention. His fight with Siver has moved 30 cents.

UFC 132 betting odds (Courtesy Venetian Casino, Hotel & Resort Las Vegas)

Urijah Faber (+135) vs. Dominick Cruz (-175) - UFC bantamweight title

Chris Leben (+150) vs. Wanderlei Silva (-180) - Middleweight

Tito Ortiz (+350) vs. Ryan Bader (-500) - Light heavyweight

Carlos Condit (-110) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (-120) - Welterweight

Matt Wiman (-105) vs. Denis Siver (-115) - Lightweight

Shane Roller (+225) vs. Melvin Guillard (-275) - Lightweight

Rafael dos Anjos (+185) vs. George Sotiropoulos (-225) - Lightweight

Takeyu Mizugaki (+270) vs. Brian Bowles (-330) - Bantamweight

Brad Tavares (+200) vs. Aaron Simpson (-250) - Middleweight

Andre Winner (Even) vs. Anthony Njokuani (-130) - Lightweight

Jeff Hougland +170 vs. Donny Walker (-200) - Bantamweight

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-132-picks-videos-Lots-of-betting-steam-on-C?urn=mma-wp4259

Yves Edwards  Justin Eilers  Jon Olav Einemo Per Eklund

UFC embraces Sonnen, looks like he?ll return in Texas against Stann

After all the commission drama, we know where the UFC stands on Chael Sonnen and licensing issues.

Heavy.com and MMAjunkie are reporting that Sonnen will face Brian Stann at UFC 136 in Houston. The wrestler vs. striker matchup will be the lead-in to what could be a mega-card.

His spot in California purgatory expired at the end of June. A few days later, he was featured in a video on UFC.com speaking about the Wanderlei Silva-Chris Leben fight and now it looks like the controversial Sonnen is due to return to the Octagon in October.

It's unclear if Sonnen will ever return to California to have his license re-instated. In the meantime there's always Texas, the new home for fighters banned by the Golden State. Antonio Margarito spurned California by landing the Manny Pacquiao fight in Dallas and MMA's Josh Barnett just did the same so by fighting Brett Rogers in Big D.

Two title matchups have been rumored for Oct. 8. If Gray Maynard can get cleared, his trilogy fight with UFC lightweight champ Frank Edgar could go down. Health is also a concern for Jose Aldo. If the 145-pound champ is over his back issues, Aldo may face Kenny Florian. The UFC is also planning a fan expo around the Oct. 8 card.

It'll be interesting to see how Sonnen handles the lead up to the fight. Could he possibly come up with an angle to trash the Iraq-war veteran Stann?

Do you like the matchup? The first comment on UFC.com's story trashed the fight.

Tim Daraitis- This fight makes no sense stylistically, for marketing, or to advance either to a better spot. Stylistically, Stann's wrestling defense isn't the best, and Chael will have an easy fight. For marketing, the UFC needs Sonnen to trash talk, which he shouldn't/can't do against American Hero Brian Stann. Both fighters won't advance because what does either beating the other prove? Odds makers will undoubtedly make this another -600 Chael to +400 Stann or something ridiculous, like they do with other bad matchups.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-embraces-Sonnen-looks-like-he-ll-return-in-?urn=mma-wp4491

Mark The Hammer Coleman Wes Soldier Combs  Ray Cooper  Kit Cope 

James Toney Talks David Haye?s Toe Injury And Ken Shamrock MMA Fight

James Toney Talks David Haye’s Toe Injury And Ken Shamrock MMA Fight. For those that don’t know, David Haye cited a broken toe he got while training caused him to lose the fight with Wladimir Klitschko. Also on note: The father of heavyweight boxing champions Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko has died at the age of 64 [...]

Source: http://www.mmatko.com/james-toney-talks-david-hayes-toe-injury-and-ken-shamrock-mma-fight/

Daiki DJ taiki Hata He Peng David Heath Delson Heleno

Mirko Cro Cop vs. Roy Nelson Announced For UFC 137, And It's A "Do Or Die" Fight For Both

Following his recent loss to Brendan Schaub, many fight fans wondered if we had seen the last of Mirko Filipovic. But it was recently announced that Mirko Cro Cop would fight at least one more time, fulfilling his current contract with the UFC. And should this be Filipovic?s last fight under the UFC banner or [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/07/13/mirko-cro-cop-vs-roy-nelson-announced-and-its-a-do-or-die-fight-for-both

Jon Olav Einemo Per Eklund Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko

Tito Ortiz's UFC 133 Dilemma Spotlights Reward vs. Risk in Late-Notice Fights

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Tito Ortiz before UFC 132Less than two weeks ago, Tito Ortiz arrived in Las Vegas like any other visitor looking to beat the odds. But the game he was playing wasn't poker or baccarat, it was a real-life gamble for his livelihood. He had already been marked for dismissal, a pink slip waiting for him at the completion of a match which odds suggested he had little chance of winning. Though he was a onetime UFC champion standing across the cage from a fighter who had just barely scratched his way into the division's top 10, Ortiz was considered a massive underdog.

He wasn't just competing against an opponent, he was fighting for his job. And with a stunning win, he saved it. But Ortiz didn't have much time to celebrate his Vegas longshot. Within days, he was faced with the difficult proposition of facing Rashad Evans with less than four weeks to prepare.




After initially declining the opportunity, he changed his mind. Win or lose, it is the correct choice.

First off, let's just point out that the decision is no easy one for any number of reasons. While Ortiz faced some immediate backlash for his initial rejection of the fight, we don't yet know his specific reasoning. Fighters put much of their real lives aside during 8-10 week training camps. That means less time with significant others, children, business interests, etc. Ortiz may have made commitments to catch up on some of the things he was missing out on while preparing for Bader. It's easy to suggest that dropping everything for the next four weeks would be a snap when it's not your life, your family and your schedule.

Ortiz was apparently able to put all of it aside. How?

"I didn't ask him. I didn't give a s---," White said on Thursday. "I was just happy he was taking it. I wanted to get off the phone with him as quick as I could before he changed his mind."

When other factors are gone, you're left with debating the risk of facing Evans on short notice vs. losing the momentum of that upset win in record time. While taking a short-notice fight can be a complex decision for a fighter, in the minds of the fans, it is a simple risk-reward analysis.

So let's look at it this way: What would Ortiz gain by winning, and what would he lose out on if he fell to defeat?

When you examine it in these terms, it becomes clear that Ortiz has more to gain than to lose.

The first thing he gains is simple: money. For his UFC 132 fight with Ryan Bader, Ortiz earned a base salary of $450,000, as well as a $75,000 bonus for Submission of the Night. In the leadup to the fight, Ortiz repeatedly mentioned that he took a pay cut to stay in the UFC, so it's likely that he either no longer gets a percentage of pay-per-view revenue, or has a reduced percentage from his previous contract.

Still, we're talking about serious coin. But fighters don't always make decisions based on cash alone, so Ortiz would also consider the benefits of a potential win.

As previously mentioned, two weeks ago, he was on a short leash, with his career nearly over. Defeating Bader was a strong win, but a single victory in his last six outings does little to move him closer to his stated goal of recapturing the light-heavyweight championship that was last around his waist in 2003.

Should he upset Evans -- and Ortiz is again a massive underdog -- it would be a giant step in that direction. Suddenly, after failing to win in five fights over four-and-a-half years, he would boast two wins over two top 10 light-heavyweights in little over one month.

Remember, Evans was considered the No. 1 contender to face champ Jon Jones before a Jones' injury reshuffled the deck. While revisionist historians may suggest that Bader was not quite as good as once believed, an Ortiz win over Evans can not be discounted in that way or otherwise ignored. Evans has faced and beaten big names, he's a former champion and he's well respected. A win over him would mean something.

If Ortiz wins, everything changes. He's back in the mix. He's on a streak. It's crazy to write this, but one of the loudest, brashest fighters in MMA history will become the sport's most unlikely feel-good underdog story. And maybe he gets those pay-per-view points back.

"I'll tell you what," White said on Thursday afternoon. "If Tito beats Rashad, we'll talk."

What does he risk? How does he suffer by losing? Not much. Since he is doing the UFC a huge favor by stepping on short notice, it is assured he will not be cut if he loses. So he's guaranteed two paydays by taking this fight. If he loses in a close fight -- and historically, Ortiz isn't easily blown out -- that might actually serve to show people that the Bader win was no fluke. Even if he gets controlled for three rounds, well, it came against the No. 1 contender on less than four weeks' notice. There's no huge shame in that.

One crazy note from all this mess is that people often criticize Ortiz for how inactive he's been over the last few years, but since the start of 2009, Evans has fought three times, with eight rounds of cage time. Ortiz has fought three times, with seven rounds of cage time. Evans is 2-1 with two decisions and was knocked out once. Ortiz is 1-2 with one stoppage victory, and one of his losses by split-decision. Perhaps most importantly, Ortiz is coming off a full camp, a win, and should be relatively close to peak shape. Meanwhile, Evans hasn't fought in over 14 months, his longest layoff since joining the UFC in 2005. It's certainly possible that he struggles with timing after so much time away. Given all those factors, it may not be so crazy to suggest that maybe these guys aren't as far apart as the odds suggest.

Ortiz has little to lose in this late-notice scenario. He will wake up on the morning of August 6 far from a title shot. When he walks out of the cage later that night, he'll either still be far from it -- meaning no difference -- or he'll have leapfrogged over a slew of mid-tier fighters after beating the rightful No. 1 contender. Either way, he'll still have at least one more payday coming.

"If Tito beats Rashad on August 6, how could anybody deny ... he beats a top 10 contender in Ryan Bader and then comes in and knocks off the guy many people believe is the No. 1 contender for the title," White said. "It would definitely put him in the mix. I wouldn't say he's necessarily the No. 1 contender after this fight, but he's top three."

When the potential rewards of winning far outweigh the risks of losing, the decision really makes itself. Ortiz accepted a fight that will be difficult and grinding, but with it comes the chance to move farther and faster up the rankings than any other opportunity would provide. Some people would view a short-notice offer to fight Evans as an unnecessary risk. But when you peel back the layers in this case, it's clear it's more like a gift.



 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/07/14/tito-ortizs-ufc-133-dilemma-spotlights-reward-vs-risk-in-late/

Alexander Ustinov Umer W Chheena Victor Valimaki Mike Van Arsdale

John Cena Responds To The Rock?s Latest Video

Earlier today, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson posted an epic 10-minute video running down John Cena for talking trash about him on WWE’s recent Australian tour. The Rock vowed to whoop John Cena’s ass before WrestleMania and made a few comments that some people might consider borderline homophobic, including saying that Cena’s wristbands make him look like a “bloated transvestite Wonder Woman.” Cena responded to The Rock on Wednesday afternoon with the following statement on Twitter: “CeNation. Just saw Dwayne’s statement. Via satellite of course. Sad, really. It was like an episode of ...

Source: http://www.ifight365.com/2011/07/john-cena-responds-to-the-rock%e2%80%99s-latest-video/

Tony Vartanian Cain Velasquez Brandon Vera Renato Verissimo

UFC 132 picks videos: Lots of betting steam on Cruz over Faber

Urijah Faber may think Dominick Cruz is a mental wreck and jealous of him, but the betting public isn't buy that the champ is in jeopardy tonight. The betting on the main event of UFC 132, has mostly one-sided. Cruz opened as a minus-140 favorite and has blown up to minus-175.

It looks like bettors are looking for value in some of the undercards fights. Heavy favorites George Sotiropoulos, Melvin Guillard and Denis Siver have all come down. Matt Wiman has attracted a lot of attention. His fight with Siver has moved 30 cents.

UFC 132 betting odds (Courtesy Venetian Casino, Hotel & Resort Las Vegas)

Urijah Faber (+135) vs. Dominick Cruz (-175) - UFC bantamweight title

Chris Leben (+150) vs. Wanderlei Silva (-180) - Middleweight

Tito Ortiz (+350) vs. Ryan Bader (-500) - Light heavyweight

Carlos Condit (-110) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (-120) - Welterweight

Matt Wiman (-105) vs. Denis Siver (-115) - Lightweight

Shane Roller (+225) vs. Melvin Guillard (-275) - Lightweight

Rafael dos Anjos (+185) vs. George Sotiropoulos (-225) - Lightweight

Takeyu Mizugaki (+270) vs. Brian Bowles (-330) - Bantamweight

Brad Tavares (+200) vs. Aaron Simpson (-250) - Middleweight

Andre Winner (Even) vs. Anthony Njokuani (-130) - Lightweight

Jeff Hougland +170 vs. Donny Walker (-200) - Bantamweight

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-132-picks-videos-Lots-of-betting-steam-on-C?urn=mma-wp4259

Colin Robinson Ricco Rodriguez Jason Reinhardt Eddy Rolon

Best of the half-year of MMA in pictures

2011 is only half over, but there's been enough craziness in MMA to fill a decade. Take a look through the best of images so far this year to see reminders of Tito Ortiz's resurgence, Steven Seagal's effect on two fights, the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix and a whole lot of blood.

All pictures by Tracy Lee.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Best-of-the-half-year-of-MMA-in-pictures?urn=mma-wp4515

Randy Couture Vitor Belfort Randy Couture Chuck Liddell

Submission of the Half-Year: The Twister

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173.

That's the number of fight cards until a Twister made its way inside the UFC cage. Over 17 years after Royce Gracie first showcased Brazilian jiu-jitsu to a national audience, there are submission holds still being introduced to MMA.

"The Korean Zombie" Chan-Sung Jung's Twister against Leonard Garcia at UFC Fight Night 24 is my selection for the top submission of the year so far.

Chan's first meeting with Garcia at WEC 48 is considered to be one of the top five fights of 2010 and with highly questionable scores surrounding the popular fight, it was only a matter of time until the two would meet again. The rematch finally came into fruition this past March and although it wasn't a repeat of their ridiculously fun, reckless WEC slugfest, it managed to steal the show once again with the introduction of a submission never before seen in the UFC.

The Twister (referred to as a "guillotine" in wrestling) is a neck crank wrestling maneuver modified and popularized by jiu-jitsu instructor Eddie Bravo for submission grappling and MMA.

Yes, the submission has been done before, but not on a major league show. Jason Chambers and Jason Day, followers of Bravo's rubber guard system, have done it before in 2005 and 2009, respectively. Nick "The Goat" Thompson might have been the first when he used it in August 2004 and on the women's MMA front, Shayna Baszler recorded a Twister at a local show in Shawnee, Okla. Between upper echelon competitors, Jake Shields attempted a Twister on Jason "Mayhem" Miller at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers, but couldn't finish it. So while there have been a handful of Twisters on the local level, Chan was the first to pull it off in the UFC and live in front of a television audience.

No. 2: Richard Hale's Inverted Triangle Choke
Richard Hale repeated the 2009 Submission of the Year at Bellator 38 in March. The kicker? Hale's a light heavyweight and had never practiced the move during training, only learning of the move the night before when he watched the Toby Imada submission in a highlight package played during the weigh-ins.

No. 3: Vinny Magalhaes's Gogoplata from Mount
It's a move lightweight Shinya Aoki first executed (at least on a major show) and Vinny Magalhaes recently repeated it in a light heavyweight contest. No stranger to flashy movesets against elite competition (he landed two flying armbars at ADCC 2009), Magalhaes performed a gogoplata from mount against Viktor Nemkov to win the M-1 light heavyweight title at M-1 Challenge 25 in April. Magalhaes had a slightly different setup than Aoki, hitting the shin choke after establishing the Z-mount (also known as S-mount) instead of directly from full mount.

No. 4: Brian Bowles' Guillotine Choke
Different promotion, identical result. Not a second more and not a second less. When Brian Bowles took on Damacio Page in a rematch at UFC on Versus 3 in March, he didn't just submit Page again with a guillotine choke, he did so at three minutes and 30 seconds -- the exact same time of their previous finish three years earlier at WEC 35.

No. 5: Gledrius Karavackas' Scarf Hold Armlock
Gledrius Karavackas showcased his judo background with a scarf hold armlock against Sam Oropeza at Bellator 44. In the second round of their fight, Karavackas advanced to the scarf-hold position with a big right hand. From there he applied a keylock in the scarf hold, but instead of aiming for a submission at first, he used it more as a contol position to trap his opponent for repeated left punches. However, Oropeza refused to give up from the punches, so Karavackas finally extended Oropeza's right arm for the tap out. Just a brutal finish to a fight. Note: The move can also be found in Brazilian jiu-jitsu but Karavackas himself credited his knowledge of the move from his experience in judo.


Honorable Mentions:
Pablo Garza's flying triangle over Yves Jabouin at UFC 129
Tito Ortiz's career-resurrecting guillotine submission over Ryan Bader at UFC 132
Marloes Coenen's come-from-behind triangle choke to retain title over Liz Carmouche at Strikeforce: Feijao-Henderson

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/07/14/submission-of-the-half-year-the-twister/

Kerry Schall Nino Schembri Fabiano Scherner Semmy Schilt