Sylvia to Meet Germany’s Kraniotakes in ProElite Headliner
(sherdog.com)German heavyweight Andreas Kraniotakes has agreed to replace three-time UFC heavyweight title contender Pedro Rizzo as the opponent for former UFC champion Tim Sylvia in the headliner of ProElite’s Nov. 5 event in Moline, Illinois, Sherdog.com has learned from a source close to the situation.
Rizzo announced Monday via Twitter that he had sustained a partially torn tendon in his left arm while training in Holland and would be unable to face Sylvia.
Kraniotakes (Pictured), who originally applied for the promotion’s eight-man heavyweight tournament, was in San Diego preparing for his Nov. 26 main event fight at a Superior Fighting Championship/M-1 Global joint show in Duren, Germany, when he got the call from ProElite matchmaker Rich Chou.
Brown, De Fries Receive New Opponents for UFC 138, 139
(sherdog.com)Injuries suffered by Englishmen John Hathaway and Oli Thompson have altered the card of UFC 138, the promotion’s Nov. 5 event at LG Arena in Birmingham, England.
An undisclosed injury forced Thompson to withdraw from his heavyweight matchup against countryman Philip De Fries, but UFC officials announced Monday that Rob Broughton has verbally agreed to step in and meet De Fries on Nov. 5.
Hathaway was also scratched from the card with an unknown ailment. His opponent, American Matt Brown, will now get to fight on home soil, as “The Immortal” has verbally agreed to fight Seth Baczynski (Pictured) at UFC 139, Nov. 19 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
Vinny Magalhaes Upset With M-1 Global, Looking for Way Back to UFC
(bloodyelbow.com)"After rewatching the whole fight, i just realized that everytime i fought for M-1 against a Russian fighter, i was the hand picked guy... i mean, i am assuming that after seeing one of the M-1 directors rooting for my opponent everytime he'd hit me, but not having any reaction when i'd hit him nor when dropped him. Thanks M-1, i appreciate your business, you can have your belt back."
- Vinny Magalhaes
Five UFC 137 prelim fights to stream on Facebook
(mmajunkie.com)he five UFC 137 fights not chosen for the night's television broadcasts will stream for free on Facebook, officials recently confirmed.
UFC 137 takes place Oct. 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
In addition to the Facebook stream – which includes notables such as Brandon Vera, Ramsey Nijem, Brad Tavares and Jeff Curran – the main card airs on pay-per-view.
Additionally, as MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) first reported, a Spike TV "UFC Prelims" special features lightweights Donald Cerrone (16-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) vs. Dennis Siver (19-7 MMA, 8-4 UFC) and featherweights Bart Palaszewski (35-14 MMA, 0-0 UFC) vs. Tyson Griffin (15-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC).
Among those fights slated for the Facebook stream are middleweights Dustin Jacoby (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) vs. Brad Tavares (7-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC), bantamweights Jeff Curran (33-13-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) vs. Scott Jorgensen (12-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC), light heavyweights Eliot Marshall (10-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) vs. Brandon Vera (11-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC), lightweights Ramsey Nijem (4-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) vs. Danny Downes (8-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), and middleweights Chris Camozzi (15-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) vs. Francis Carmont (16-7 MMA, 0-0 UFC).
Matt Hamill biopic film 'The Hammer' set for limited nationwide release
(mmajunkie.com)The story of Matt Hamill is coming to theaters across the country.
The biopic "The Hammer," a critically acclaimed film about the recently retired UFC fighter's life, is set for a limited nationwide release.
The movie (which previously was called "Hamill") debuts early later this month in 25 U.S. states and approximately 100 cities, project officials recently announced.
Most of the selected theaters will show the film during a two-day run. However, The Uptown Theatre in Utica, N.Y., has set aside five dates, the first of which is Oct. 27. The other theaters debut the film on Oct. 27 or in early November.
"The Hammer" won awards from eight major film festivals.
Though focused on Masvidal, Strikeforce champ Melendez thinks Edgar is beatable
(mmajunkie.com)At a press conference in support of "Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal," Gilbert Melendez notes Frankie Edgar did a good job defending his belt at UFC 136.
But he scrunches his face a bit in a way that says there's something else on his mind.
The truth, found beside the podium after the gathering, is that he's salivating at a chance to beat the UFC champ.
"If you can find that target, it looks like you could put him on the ground," Melendez told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "We need someone to find that target more than once, and I think I could find that target."
At the moment, his thoughts are academic. A UFC title shot is not next. What's next is a defense of his Strikeforce belt, and it could be the toughest fight of his life.
Injured Pedro Rizzo out of ProElite 2 main event with Tim Sylvia
(mmajunkie.com)An arm injury has forced Pedro Rizzo out of next month's ProElite 2 headliner with fellow ex-UFC heavyweight Tim Sylvia.
Rizzo today announced via Twitter that he recently suffered a partial tear of his left triceps tendon.
MMAjunkie.com could not immediately reach ProElite officials to determine if a Plan B is in place or if a replacement is being sought.
New York Jets Call on Frankie Edgar for Inspiration Ahead of Monday Night Football
(bloodyelbow.com)I'm a lifelong Buffal Bills fan, so writing an article about the New York Jets needing to look for inspiration is only fun for me because they need inspiration.
Still, the Jets are turning to Frankie Edgar to help motivate them to a win for a second time. The first was before week 11 last season, a game which the Jets won 30-27 over the Houston Texans. Now they're bringing Edgar back in ahead of tonight's Monday Night Football game against the Miami Dolphins.
MMA Fighting has a quote from Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez on Frankie's words the first time around:
"Perfect timing. Just talking about never giving up, being counted out, playing until the end, fighting and believing in yourself, believing in your team and the people around you. Those were the only people telling him he could win the fight. Everybody else counted him out. ... Perfect timing for Rex to bring somebody in like that and give us a little extra inspiration. So it was great for Frankie to come in."
HDNet's 'Inside MMA' moves to live Monday-night time slot beginning tonight
(mmajunkie.com)HDNet's weekly MMA news show, "Inside MMA," makes a permanent move to a Monday time slot starting tonight.
Additionally, the long-running program now airs live.
Tonight's first Monday episode airs at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) with guests Phil Davis, Roy Nelson, Frank Mir and Matt Hume.
The show includes hosts Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten, as well as veteran reporter Ron Kruck.
Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney says events could move to new night in sixth season
(mmajunkie.com)With Bellator Fighting Championships' fifth season in full swing, many things are going right for the promotion.
Bellator's tournament format continues to produce intrigue, some major title fights are just weeks away, and the organization is reaching more viewers thanks to broadcast/streaming deals with the high-definition EPIX channel and Spike.com.
But as CEO and chairman Bjorn Rebney recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), those Saturday-night time slots remain a constant source of discussion.
Bellator, which has promoted 54 shows since its 2009 debut, now airs on MTV2 on Saturday nights. But those events frequently face competition from the UFC, Strikeforce and other weekend-loving promotions. And though it's hard to determine if it's solely that competition that's affecting ratings – season-five Bellator events have peaked with up to 269,000 viewers and recently bottomed out with 103,000 – MMA fans often are forced to make a choice.
Rebney, of course, knows that.
MMAPlayground Interview Series - Vol. 9 (Rich "The Raging Bull" Attonito)
(mmaplayground.com)As with any successful professional, mixed martial artists eat, sleep and breathe their craft. They put everything on the line when they wake up, hit the gym and pour their blood, sweat and tears into the sport we all love. When they enter that cage, for the fan, it's all about the entertainment, but these athletes go through the daily rigors with more in mind. For some fighters, it's a paycheck. For others, it's the glitz and glamour, but for some it's a lifestyle fueled by a deep passion and connection to the sport of mixed martial arts.
In our newest site feature, MMAPlayground would like to introduce you to some of these men and women of MMA that you may not know much about.
Our mission? To introduce. To educate. To spread the word.
UFC welterweight contender, Rich Attonito, is a seven year veteran of mixed martial arts. He’s best known for his stint on the eleventh season of the Ultimate Fighter. Attonito is coming off a successful welterweight debut against Daniel Roberts in June. He is currently scheduled to take on Claude Patrick at UFC 140. The Raging Bull took some time to answer some questions for us.
* * * * *
MMAPG: First of all, thanks so much for taking time to answer some questions, Rich! I’m sure you have to be one busy man. I know it’s late, but congratulations on your victory over Daniel Roberts back in June. That marked your welterweight debut? What was your motivation to drop down, and how comfortable are you feeling at 170 lbs?
ATTONITO: Thanks, I still appreciate the congratulations. That was my first fight at welterweight and I felt great. It's the weight class I should be competing in. When I was fighting at middleweight I felt short and undersized compared to most of the guys in the division, so that's why I decided to drop down.
MMAPG: So you’re scheduled to take on Claude Patrick in December. How are you feeling right now?
ATTONITO: I feel good. After my last fight I only took a short rest and then was back in the gym working on getting better. I've had a lot of time to develop and improve my skills since a few months ago.
MMAPG: How do you feel about having to fight Claude in his hometown of Toronto, of all places? Is that something you think makes a big difference?
ATTONITO: It doesn't really make a difference to me who I fight and where I fight them. It's just him and I in the cage, that's all I need to concern myself with, everything else is secondary. I will say that being in his hometown I know I have to win the fight decisively, you can never leave anything up to those screwy judges. So I’m gonna do everything in my power to avoid letting them have anything to say about the outcome.
Bjorn Rebney: Anderson Silva is the only man on Earth that could beat Hector Lombard
(mmamania.com)"We have an incredibly dominant champion. It's not easy. I think, right now, when you look at Vitor Vianna and Alexander Shlemenko, we could provide a good test for Hector Lombard. I think he's one of the best two middleweights on earth. I think Hector is an absolute monster. I think there's one guy on earth right now that I would look at and say to myself, ‘He could beat Hector.' His name is Anderson Silva. I don't know that I would pick Anderson to beat Hector, but it would be one heck of a fight. We'll see what happens with Alexander and Vitor, and one of those guys is going to come out with a big win."
- Bjorn Rebney
Bellator ring girl Mercedes Terrell making name for herself in ascending promotion
(mmajunkie.com)Chances are if you've ever seen a Bellator Fighting Championships event you know who Mercedes Terrell is.
The striking 27-year-old is a cageside fixture as one of the promotion's ring girls and never seems to be too far out of frame each Saturday night for MTV2 television producers.
With the ascension of Bellator into the de facto No. 2 MMA promotion in the world (behind the UFC) over the past year, Terrell's own brand has grown considerably along with it over said span.
She's become synonymous with the Chicago-based promotion and one of a small handful of their public faces. No longer is she Jane Doe, cookie cutter ring girl like when she started prior to season two.
More than a year and a half later in season five, she's known and addressed by the mononym "Mercedes."
Back injury sidelines Shane Carwin again, heavyweight seeks 2012 return to UFC
(mmajunkie.com)Onetime UFC title challenger Shane Carwin (12-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) will have to wait a little longer to return to the win column.
The injury bug has struck yet again, and an ailing back has forced Carwin to go under the knife and remain on the sidelines until spring or summer of 2012.
Carwin announced his condition on his official website, Shane-Carwin.com.
"I have spent my entire fighting career dealing with injuries from my football career," Carwin wrote. "I have done my best to get through my training, and I have been blessed to get through my fights with relatively little to no damage.
"As I ramped up my training for UFC 141, my body locked up during training. It wasn't like the (Brock) Lesnar fight, but my back just tightened up and I froze. I scheduled an MRI, and the results showed that my disc in my lower back is into the nerves. My doctor gave me two options: retire and I could probably go on for a few years without surgery or I could undergo surgery and continue my career.
"The decision was easy. I have unfinished business. The UFC had me lined up to face one of the best in the world and I am confident I have everything I need to be a champion. I am scheduling surgery and I hope to return to the octagon by spring or summer 2012."
Longtime UFC announcer Bruce Buffer to release autobiography in 2012
(mmajunkie.com)With mixed-martial-arts autobiographies currently among the most popular book titles in the sports category, the "Veteran Voice of the Octagon" is getting in on the action.
Bruce Buffer, the longtime emcee of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, recently announced his plans to pen an autobiography, which he says has already been purchased by Random House.
While the project has not yet been officially announced, Buffer said it's currently titled, "It's Time!" and will debut between sometime around Christmas 2012.
Buffer, the half-brother and manager of fellow famed announcer Michael Buffer, made his octagon debut way back in 1996 at UFC 8. It would be UFC 13 before he became a staple of the company's broadcasts, and even that came only after he was able to get the UFC featured in an episode of "Friends."
Alexander Shlemenko vs. Vitor Vianna meet in tourney final at Bellator 58
(mmajunkie.com)An already impressive Bellator 58 just got a little more stacked as the promotion's season-five middleweight tournament bout will also be contested on the card.
Bellator officials announced that Bellator 54 semifinal bout winners Alexander Shlemenko (42-7 MMA, 6-1 BFC) and Vitor Vianna (12-1-1 MMA, 2-0 BFC) will meet at the Nov. 19 event.
Already featuring a lightweight title fight between Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler, as well as a non-title fight with champ Hector Lombard and Trevor Prangley, Bellator 58 takes place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
The evening's main card airs on MTV2 while the prelims stream on Spike.com.
Former UFC fighter Joe Stevenson signs with W-1, set to make debut in Feb.
(mmamania.com)"Daddy's" back.
After losing four fights in a row, Joe Stevenson was cut from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) roster earlier this year.
Tonight (Oct. 15, 2011), during the W-1 MMA: "Reloaded" broadcast, it was announced that Stevenson would be making his return to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) by joining the Warrior MMA roster.
Stevenson was on hand in the broadcast booth to help with the color commentary, as well as to divulge that he plans to make his return sometime in February of 2012.
No word yet on who Stevenson's opponent will be.
Bellator announces signing of UFC veteran Maiquel Falcao
(mmajunkie.com)"Big Rig" is apparently trucking on back to the U.S.
Bellator Fighting Championships CEO Bjorn Rebney today announced that Brazilian middleweight slugger Maiquel Falcao will soon make his debut for the promotion.
Rebney made the announcement during the Spike.com-streamed prelims of Saturday's Bellator 54 event. Falcao and his management weren't immediately available for comment.
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