Anything MMA, except thumb wrestling

[StillUnknown]

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=4826&zoneid=2

Today the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced via their website the main event for UFC 78 in New Jersey as two Ultimate Fighter winners will square off when Rashad Evans takes on Michael Bisping on Nov. 17th.

MMAWeekly spoke with Rashad Evans just minutes after the announcement of the fight and he was just as surprised to hear about who is opponent would be.

“Joe Silva just called me and he was like ‘are you ready to fight in November?’ and I was like ‘Who Forrest (Griffin)?’ and he was like ‘no, Michael Bisping,” said Evans in his exclusive interview with MMAWeekly.

The bout comes as a surprise not only to Evans but many fans and journalists who believed the main event would be a rematch with Tito Ortiz. Evans was unsure of the reasons why Ortiz wasn’t in the fight.

“They didn’t really tell me anything but I’m thinking they probably wanted another match-up that made more sense,” Evans stated. “With Tito taking so long trying to renegotiate his contract or they’re just trying to find a better fight? I’m kind of disappointed because I wanted a rematch, but everything happens for a reason, so I’ll take this fight.”

Michael Bisping is coming off of one of the most controversial decisions in UFC history as he won a split decision over rival Matt Hamill in September. Evans doesn’t take Bisping lightly and understands the danger he presents in the fight.

“I think he’s a game opponent,” Evans said. “I think he’ll definitely be coming to fight. He’s coming off that controversial win so he definitely wants to go out there to prove himself. I’m looking to go out there and fight a very hungry opponent.”

Evans should win this easy.

[#98QBKiller]

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=4826&zoneid=2

Evans should win this easy.

I hope he was joking about fighting Forrest Griffin. Evans is one of the most mediocre fighters in the LHW division, just like Bisping actually. I don't see him taking this fight easy either, it will likely boil down to a split decision.

This fight is disappointing for several reasons.

One reason is because I just heard a rumor on the radio that Dana White was trying to set up a Bisping/Hamill rematch for UFC 78. And naturally I was expecting Tito/Rashad 2 to be Evans' next fight.

They could surprise me though and put up a good fight,I mean Bisping has been training with Rampage, but I still doubt it.

[StillUnknown]

I hope he was joking about fighting Forrest Griffin. Evans is one of the most mediocre fighters in the LHW division, just like Bisping actually. I don't see him taking this fight easy either, it will likely boil down to a split decision.

This fight is disappointing for several reasons.

One reason is because I just heard a rumor on the radio that Dana White was trying to set up a Bisping/Hamill rematch for UFC 78. And naturally I was expecting Tito/Rashad 2 to be Evans' next fight.

They could surprise me though and put up a good fight,I mean Bisping has been training with Rampage, but I still doubt it.

i don't understand why they are pushing Evans/Bisping as the main event though. that would probably be the weakest main-event for the ufc in a looooooong time.

Evans is the type that isn't dominant in anyone one area, but good enough in all to give any fighter trouble. I actually think Forrest and evans would be a damn good fight. I would give an edge to Forrest but it wouldn't surprise me at all if Evans beat Forrest. I don't like Evans much, but he is very explosive for 205 and has decent strength. His cardio is good enough to last 3 rounds with Forrest.

[#98QBKiller]

Houston Alexander vs. Thiago Silva confirmed for UFC 78

http://mmajunkie.com/2007/10/04/houston-alexander-vs-thiago-silva-added-to-ufc-78/#comments

Houston doesn't play does he? Fighting every other month...that's what I like to hear.

[StillUnknown]

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=4828&zoneid=13

Since joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Clay Guida has put on some of the most exciting fights the lightweight division has ever seen. Now he gets a chance to ply his craft in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter Finale on Dec. 8, as he faces popular fighter Roger Huerta.

“I think it was more timing than anything,” said Guida of his sudden rise to main event status. “I was out at Ultimate Fight Night a couple weeks ago at the Palms and Joe Silva approached me and mentioned it. It sounded like a good fight for the both of us. This has fight of the year written all over it.”

Huerta's getting his first true test in the UFC in this fight. I think Guida will get a decision against him though.

[mrdoctor]

Ken shamrock?? Geesh when is that old man gonna retire? How many times does Tito need to stomp him out before he gets the hint

unless its shamrocks son, if he has one i duno

[#98QBKiller]

Ken shamrock?? Geesh when is that old man gonna retire? How many times does Tito need to stomp him out before he gets the hint

unless its shamrocks son, if he has one i duno

Did I miss something?

[Chachie]

Did I miss something?

Yeah I saw that post also and wondered, "Should I go back and read the whole thread?

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

Houston Alexander vs. Thiago Silva confirmed for UFC 78

http://mmajunkie.com/2007/10/04/houston-alexander-vs-thiago-silva-added-to-ufc-78/#comments

Houston doesn't play does he? Fighting every other month...that's what I like to hear.

Hell yeah. He's 35, but a very stout prospect. I wouldn't be suprised if we see him as champ one day. The guy is a maniac with technical skills to the moon.

The one thing I saw in his fight against Jardine was that Jardine did put him to the canvas. Nobody talks about it because Jardine attacked and got counter-chinned. About 4 times, at that. But even though Houston said he "slipped", it wasn't the case. So while I do think Houston may get caught, the guy has an offense up there with the best in the weight class.

[SkinsOrlando]

Ken shamrock?? Geesh when is that old man gonna retire? How many times does Tito need to stomp him out before he gets the hint

unless its shamrocks son, if he has one i duno

Huh???

[StillUnknown]

But even though Houston said he "slipped", it wasn't the case. So while I do think Houston may get caught, the guy has an offense up there with the best in the weight class.

Joe Rogan: Did he hurt you with punch that knocked you down?

Houston Alexander:

if houston said he slipped, then he slipped dammit!!!! :laugh:

[#98QBKiller]

Right, he slipped after a hook to the chin.

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

Report: Fedor Emelianenko to M-1

Thursday, October 11, 2007

by Sherdog.com Staff

Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) has committed to the Russian-based promotion M-1, according to a report published by The Fight Network.

Speculation has abounded regarding Emelianenko (26-1-1), the man most pundits see as the top mixed martial artist in the world, since the implosion of his former home, PRIDE. The UFC and K-1 had been grabbing most of the headlines in the Emelianenko sweepstakes.

Citing an anonymous source, the Fight Network report claims that M-1, an organization formerly run by Emelianenko's manager, Vadim Finkelstein, has been purchased by a company with ties to the American entertainment industry, and its first order of business was inking Emelianenko to a deal.

Sherdog.com has learned the new organization will run under the M-1 Global moniker and plans to promote shows in Russia, Japan and the United States with the first event possibly coming to fruition as soon as New Year's Eve.

A news conference has been tentatively scheduled for Oct. 23 in New York City to announce the signing as well as to introduce the new promotion to the media.

__________________

Anybody else smell the notion, "I need to get used to these roids being out of my body?" I dunno, is he SCARED of 44 year old Couture? Does he see Shogun get beat handily by a good prospect and say to himself, "I'm not ruining my reputation going in there against guys that know what I came from.?" Something is VERY fishy here. God Dammit. No, I'm not going to beat around any bush here. The UFC is where it's at, not M-freakin-1.

[#98QBKiller]

Wow, so who's his next opponent? Josh Barnett?

[Chachie]

I'm not a very big "behind the scenes" expert. Can anyone tell me why Fedor would not want to come fight in the UFC?

[#98QBKiller]

I'm not a very big "behind the scenes" expert. Can anyone tell me why Fedor would not want to come fight in the UFC?

They agreed to pay him more than any heavyweight has ever been offered in MMA but they refused to let him fight in his combat Sambo tournaments with his Red Devil team.

Fedor and his camp said that he's doing fine financially and that his participation in combat Sambo is more important to him than big money right now. I'm not sure why UFC are being so stubborn, I guess they don't want him to get hurt but in Sambo they use heavy padding and it's a lot like Judo, where if it's used on the streets someone can get hurt but in tournaments the safety aspect is so great that people do not get injured a lot in it.

If I were Dana White I'd stop being so damn stubborn and sign Fedor. He's one half of possible the biggest selling PPV ever and possibly the most anticipated fight ever, and if you haven't guessed I'm talking about Randy Couture.

[Sebowski]

They agreed to pay him more than any heavyweight has ever been offered in MMA but they refused to let him fight in his combat Sambo tournaments with his Red Devil team.

Fedor and his camp said that he's doing fine financially and that his participation in combat Sambo is more important to him than big money right now. I'm not sure why UFC are being so stubborn, I guess they don't want him to get hurt but in Sambo they use heavy padding and it's a lot like Judo, where if it's used on the streets someone can get hurt but in tournaments the safety aspect is so great that people do not get injured a lot in it.

If I were Dana White I'd stop being so damn stubborn and sign Fedor. He's one half of possible the biggest selling PPV ever and possibly the most anticipated fight ever, and if you haven't guessed I'm talking about Randy Couture.

That was one sticking point. Fedor Also didn't like the contract stipulation the UFC always uses that a Fedor would be required to defend the belt if he won it. He couldn't leave as champion. It is similar to the idea that they will not give a fighter a title fight if he only has one fight left on his contract (see: Brandon Vera). Fedor also loves to fight in Russia, and the UFC is not planning on that any time soon.

I don't blame Fedor for this. Money isn't everything to everybody. I just hope he fights Josh Barnett. That is the only fight out there that makes sense. Barnett is the only heavyweight not signed by the UFC that is anywhere in Fedor's league.

And I think Barnett beats him.

[steveo21]

LEGENDARY STREET FIGHTER KIMBO SLICE SIGNS LONG-TERM CONTRACT WITH ELITEXC

http://www.elitexc.com/

http://www.proelite.com/home

[#98QBKiller]

LEGENDARY STREET FIGHTER KIMBO SLICE SIGNS LONG-TERM CONTRACT WITH ELITEXC

http://www.elitexc.com/

http://www.proelite.com/home

Good. Kimbo will be a very good heavyweight. In all of those street fights he had never had ANY training including MMA, boxing anything. He was just a fighter. Now he's been training with Bas Rutten and he's going to whip some ass in the HW division. If he wins a few fights and proves himself we'll see him in the UFC before long in their stacked HW division.

That was one sticking point. Fedor Also didn't like the contract stipulation the UFC always uses that a Fedor would be required to defend the belt if he won it. He couldn't leave as champion. It is similar to the idea that they will not give a fighter a title fight if he only has one fight left on his contract (see: Brandon Vera). Fedor also loves to fight in Russia, and the UFC is not planning on that any time soon.

I don't blame Fedor for this. Money isn't everything to everybody. I just hope he fights Josh Barnett. That is the only fight out there that makes sense. Barnett is the only heavyweight not signed by the UFC that is anywhere in Fedor's league.

And I think Barnett beats him.

I agree with all of this except Barnett won't beat Fedor. Fedor's ground game and takedown/defense are all too good for Barnett.

And yes I hope we see that fight.

[Chachie]

They agreed to pay him more than any heavyweight has ever been offered in MMA but they refused to let him fight in his combat Sambo tournaments with his Red Devil team.

Fedor and his camp said that he's doing fine financially and that his participation in combat Sambo is more important to him than big money right now. I'm not sure why UFC are being so stubborn, I guess they don't want him to get hurt but in Sambo they use heavy padding and it's a lot like Judo, where if it's used on the streets someone can get hurt but in tournaments the safety aspect is so great that people do not get injured a lot in it.

If I were Dana White I'd stop being so damn stubborn and sign Fedor. He's one half of possible the biggest selling PPV ever and possibly the most anticipated fight ever, and if you haven't guessed I'm talking about Randy Couture.

Thank you, #53

[StillUnknown]

RANDY COUTURE QUITS THE UFC!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=4867&zoneid=2

Randy Couture has resigned from the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Not only has he relinquished his heavyweight title, he will also no longer be providing on-air fight analysis for the mixed martial arts juggernaut.

MMAWeekly on Thursday confirmed the resignation, first reported by The Fight Network’s Brian Knapp, through both Sean O’Heir and Valerie Haney, representatives of Couture’s Las Vegas-based Xtreme Couture training facility.

The focal point of his resignation appears to be the reports that Fedor Emelianenko, highly regarded as the No. 1 heavyweight fighter in the world, has agreed to forgo offers from the UFC and fight elsewhere.

A statement released by Haney, Couture’s personal assistant, read, “Fedor Emelianenko was Randy's last great challenge and with that prospect gone, he feels he's accomplished all that he can in mixed martial arts.”

wow........................

[StillUnknown]

some words from Couture on the matter: http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=9455

His success outside the ring is proof of his success inside the Octagon. But Couture said it was a lack of respect by the UFC, in particular its president Dana White, that led him to resigning.

"I think the final straw for me was meeting with White and Lorenzo (Fertitta, UFC co-owner) where they claimed I was the No. 2 paid athlete in the organization, which I know is a bold-faced lie," Couture said. Polling other athletes, said Couture, he learned that his compensation -- some $250,000 a fight with pay-per-view bonuses, according to the Couture camp -- was nowhere near what other top UFC fighters were making.

"All us athletes are all pretty tightly intertwined," he said. "You hear what other guys were paid signing bonuses and what other guys were paid on the record and off the record with bonuses. I've heard Chuck's numbers. Tito's numbers. Hughes' numbers. Quinton's numbers. Cro Cop, Wanderlei. I heard what they were offering Fedor, and it's insulting."

I knew that **** would come back to bite Dana in the ass one day

[Cooked Crack]

Got damn the UFC is really taking a loss with this move. I guess Couture

bought into the whole dream fights hype.

[Sebowski]

Wow.

So with Vera fighting Sylvia and Nog fighting Kongo they will probably have the two winners fight for the vacant title.

Looks like Nog will be the next UFC heavyweight champion.

[StillUnknown]

Wow.

So with Vera fighting Sylvia and Nog fighting Kongo they will probably have the two winners fight for the vacant title.

Looks like Nog will be the next UFC heavyweight champion.

sounds about right

the mmaweekly article said that couture can't fight for 9months. still a slim chance that he goes to M-1 to fight Fedor, we can only hope. dana would probably committ suicide over having the biggest fight in the sport, not happen in the UFC. :laugh: