Stephan Bonnar Out Of UFC Live 5

<B>By MATT MOLGAARD<BR> MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer</B><BR><BR> ?The Ultimate Fighter? season one finalist Stephan Bonnar will no longer compete at UFC Live 5.<BR><BR> An undisclosed injury has forced ?The American Psycho? to withdraw from his scheduled clash with Karlos Vemola. Vemola, who utilizes a bull-rush based wrestling style was poised to face his first true marquee opponent, but he?ll now be forced to settle for UFC neophyte Ronny Markes.<BR><BR> Markes however looks to pose plenty of danger himself.<BR><BR> With a professional record of 11-1, Ronny has finished nine of his opponents by knockout, technical knockout or submission. He?s also had the advantage of facing upper echelon competition in his young career, including a unanimous decision victory over the once promising Paulo Filho.<BR><BR> UFC Live 5 takes place at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 14th. The event is headlined by a welterweight duel pitting Chris Lytle versus Dan Hardy.<BR><BR>

Source: http://www.mmanews.com/home.php

Genki Sudo Amar Suloev Mike Swick Takashi Sugiura

Hostility Remains for Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber, but Only Issue Is Who's No. 1

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It is a feud born of the simplest motive: revenge, and man's simplest desire: to be the best. Many moons ago, Urijah Faber beat Dominick Cruz in a championship match, a loss that stung Cruz deeply but helped mold his future. They parted as enemies, Cruz dropping down a division to find his fortune as a bantamweight, Faber continuing on as the biggest name in the WEC even after losing his belt.

Four years later, Faber continues to see Cruz's reaction to the loss as immature, but Cruz has a trump card, his current view from the top as UFC bantamweight champion.

UFC 132's main event storyline is diametrically opposed to that of their first bout. In March 2007, Faber was the established champion facing down a young upstart. For Cruz back then, the question was, at 21 years old, was he just too young to win it all? Now though, the evolved Cruz is at the heights of his power, staring back at a veteran. For Faber, the question is, at 32 years old, and with losses in his last three title bouts, is he facing his last chance to reach for gold?

These questions have fallen into the background of the enmity between them, but larger questions remain about how the two will actually stack up against each other in the cage. Cruz used the loss as a lesson, re-tooling his game to emphasize speed and footwork in the standup, occasional takedowns and an endless gas tank.

Faber, meanwhile, has continued along with the same style that made him a champion, innovating offense but focusing mostly on his striking game. According to Cruz, that learning curve over the last few years is just one of many factors in his favor.

"The haircut and the years, that sums it up," Cruz said when asked about Faber's evolution. "With me you can look at my seven fights and see a big difference since I fought him. Kicks, ground game, wrestling. My body's changed. You name it. It's been four years. Everything's different in this fight, and he's fighting a completely different person."

Faber though, says that while he excelled at featherweight all those years, 135 is his true competitive weight, and that he's faster with less mass.

Complicating it all is the emotion of the bout. Can Cruz fight his disciplined style with his enemy standing across from him? Will Faber use his veteran wiles in an attempt to goad Cruz into a brawl? That remains to be seen.

"I've never been really an emotional fighter but that's because I usually feel kind of indifferent or kind of like the guy I'm fighting," Faber said. "But in a real situation, if I were to fight, the only reason I would fight is if I didn't like somebody. So, I think it makes it easier."

"For me, I do a pretty good job not making it emotional in my brain," Cruz said. "While I'm not real fond of Faber, at the same time, once I get in a fight, I fight just as hard with somebody I don't like as somebody I have no problem with. Once I get in there, it's no big deal. I just do my job and try to beat the crap out of whoever is in the cage with me."

That Cruz-Faber is a grudge match is welcome news to the UFC, which just recently added the bantamweight class to the promotion after absorbing the WEC. This makes UFC 132 the first UFC event ever to be headlined by a division smaller than lightweight.

Historically, grudge fights sell better than ordinary championship matches simply testing No. 1 against No. 2. But while Faber came into the UFC (he already fought at UFC 128) with a measure of fame, Cruz also faces the added pressure of trying to introduce himself to some of the sport's less fanatical fans who may have not yet seen him compete.

Cruz says he won't be "shell-shocked" by his UFC debut, but admits it's an honor to be at the top of a major pay-per-view card. But when it comes down to it, there are much more simple things at stake. There may be bad blood, but it all stems from the most basic reason fighters get into the sport in the first place, to find out just how good they are.

"Bottom line is, I'm the best 135-pounder in the world, and it's my time to prove it," Faber said.

Even as the champ, Cruz has more to prove here. Faber is the bigger name, he holds a head-to-head win, and he may even have the crowd in his favor. That's what this all comes down to. Asked if the two would get along and shake hands following the conclusion of the bout, Cruz agreed there would be no problems before boiling this feud down to its real essence.

"I don't hate the guy, and I don't wish him ill will," he said. I just want to go prove that I'm a better fighter than him."

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/06/23/hostility-remains-for-dominick-cruz-and-urijah-faber-but-only-i/

Efrain Escudero Rashad Evans Urijah Faber Wagnney Fabiano

UFC 131 Prelims Set To Air Live On Facebook Again And, For The First Time, YouTube

As expected, the ufc will once again be returning to Facebook for another broadcast of ?UFC Prelims LIVE?. This time, it?ll be the prelims of UFC 131 ?Dos Santos vs. Carwin?, which takes place this Saturday, June 11. But in addition to Facebook, the UFC will be broadcasting its prelims through another online venue, one [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/06/08/ufc-131-prelims-set-to-air-live-on-facebook-again-and-for-the-first-time-youtube

Edwin Dewees  Nick Diaz  Tadhg Steamfist Dixon Joe Doerksen 

"UFC On Versus 4" Picks And Predictions

We?re now only a few days away from ?UFC on Versus 4?. In the main event, fast-rising prospect Rick Story tackles his toughest challenge to date, former title challenger Nate Marquardt. Nate ?The Great? is dropping down in weight and looking to make a statement at 170. The co-main event will also be an interesting [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/06/23/ufc-on-versus-4-picks-and-predictions

Peter Graham Forrest Griffin Tyson Griffin Karn Grigorian

Sam Stout talks about his UFC 131 KO and knocking out bullying

Sam Stout turned heads on the undercard of UFC 131 with his highlight reel knockout of Yves Edwards. With that win under his belt, he is working on stopping bullying while also thinking about his next fight. He talked to Cagewriter about his win, his future and more.

When discussing his knockout, Stout said he didn't know that he scored such a jaw-dropper when he connected with Yves Edwards.

"The thing is with the big knockout shot, when you make that perfect connection, it's like when you hit a home run in baseball. It doesn't feel like it's big. It didn't hurt my hand. It's that perfect connection right on the button."

Though it would have been permissible for Stout to jump on top of Edwards to make sure the bout was over, he didn't. As soon as he saw that Edwards' eyes were rolled back in his head, Stout held back.

"For me, mixed martial arts is a sport. I'm not out there because I'm trying to hurt anyone. Especially Yves Edwards. He's a great competitor, great guy, class act. We have a lot of respect for each other. I didn't want to do anything to hurt the guy. "

Stout now has two wins in row in the UFC, and would like to continue facing tough opponents.

"I've been so focused on this fight with Yves Edwards that I haven't been looking after him, right now, I'm still soaking it in. Enjoying it. There's a huge list of guys to choose from. I know Donald Cerrone kind of called me out, not in a disrespectful way, but he's a great opponent. There's Anthony Pettis, and so many great fighters and great possible match-ups for me right now. I want to fight another top 10, top 15 guy and keep climbing my way up the rankings."

In the meantime, he's spending working with his trainer Shawn Tompkins and teammates Chris Horodecki and Mark Hominick on teaching children about the dangers of bullying.

"That's one of our major responsibilities as fighters, to let people know that it's not OK to fight in the street. It's not OK to pick on someone because you're bigger and stronger. It's an important message for us to portray to kids who might not be able to decipher the difference between a fight in a ring and fighting outside the sport."

It's a cause that many fighters feel strongly about. Dan Henderson visited a Chicago school last week to discuss bullying's problems. Ben Henderson and Daniel Cormier have done the same, and Jason "Mayhem" Miller's television show was built around people standing up to their bullies.

Though Stout says that he was never the victim of bullies, he saw how much they tormented others.

"I was never picked on, but it's something I knew was wrong. My parents always raised me to stick up for myself, and to stick up for people who couldn't stick up for themselves."

Now, Stout shares that message with the young students of the Tapout Training Center in Las Vegas.

"It's a message we really portray with the kids program. If any of them get into trouble, especially with violence at their schools, we encourage the parents to let us know. We sit down and talk with them, and if it's something that continues, we let them know that they won't be allowed to train. Most these kids are having a lot of fun with it, so it motivates them to be better people."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Sam-Stout-talks-about-his-UFC-131-KO-and-knockin?urn=mma-wp3608

Kevin Jordan Jeff Joslin Scott Junk  Martin Kampmann