UFC 134 prelims to air in Times Square's "Little Brazil"
(mmajunkie.com)Two fights from this weekend's UFC 134 event in Brazil will air in Times Square in New York City, officials today announced.
The two fights, which are part of Spike TV's "UFC Prelims" broadcast, will air on the digital sign above The Doubletree Hotel in the "Little Brazil" area of the iconic intersection.
UFC 134 takes place Saturday at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
Shinya Aoki vs. Eddie Alvarez Verbally Agreed For Bellator Bout
(bloodyelbow.com)A few months after his DREAM.17 bout this September, Shinya Aoki, who has moved his training camp out of Japan and into the Evolve MMA gym in Singapore, is likely to fight outside of Asia once again. Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez has been asking for a rematch against Aoki for quite some time now, and it looks like he's finally going to get his request.
The two met on Japan's New Year's Eve show almost three years ago, with Aoki only needing a minute and 32 seconds to lock in a submission.
Lozenzo Fertitta talks UFC Rio, Silva vs Henderson on FOX
(tatame.com)UFC owner Lorenzo Ferttita landed in Brazil and already got to work. After a trip to Manaus, where he met the governor, Fertitta went to Rio de Janeiro for the UFC Rio hype, and he spoke to TATAME about the expectations for the show, the possible return to Brazil in 2012, at Manaus, and a potential Anderson Silva vs Dan Henderson clash at UFC on FOX.
"We reported this Monday that Anderson Silva could put his middleweight title on the line against Dan Henderson, one he beats Yushin Okami…"
"I would love to do that. Anderson just needs a win."
UFC Announces Amazon Event for 2012 Brazilian Return
(sherdog.com)With the UFC's return to Brazil rapidly approaching with Saturday's UFC 134, the promotion has already set its sights on its next trip to the birthplace of vale tudo.
The promotion is targeting Manaus -- the Amazonas state capital -- for a show in 2012. Zuffa CEO Lorenzo Fertitta announced the news on Tuesday following a meeting with state Governor Omar Aziz, Frank Fertitta III and the United States' Brazilian ambassador, Clifford Sobel.
The show is expected to go down in at the Convention Center of Manaus -- the city's sambadrome -- which has the capacity to hold 100,000 spectators.
“The opportunity to bring the UFC to Manaus and to the home of some of our great fighters makes us so excited,” Fertitta stated at the press conference. “Our expectation is that Manaus will set a new attendance record, with 100,000 people watching the show.”
UFC on Fox: Dana White Credits Chuck Liddell for Growth, Expects Big Boom
(mmaweekly.com)When thinking about the fighters that brought the UFC to the point it’s at now, a few names come to mind. Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, and even Ken Shamrock are a few that helped propel the promotion’s popularity and land it in spotlight that it currently enjoys.
With the UFC’s recent broadcast deal with network powerhouse Fox, mixed martial arts is now getting a chance to share the mainstream stage with other major sports leagues, such as the National Football League, Major League Baseball, and the National Basketball Association.
For UFC president Dana White, recognizing the fighters that helped him and the rest of the organization get to the next level has his attention focused on one man…
Chuck Liddell.
Josh Thomson scratched from "Strikeforce Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov"
(mmajunkie.com)The injury bug has bitten Josh Thomson (18-4 MMA, 9-2 SF) once again.
The former Strikeforce champ has been forced to withdraw from a fight with Maximo Blanco (8-2-1 MMA, 0-0 SF) at "Strikeforce Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov" due to an injured foot.
The event takes place Sept. 10 at Cincinnati's U.S. Bank Arena, and Thomson was slated to compete on the Showtime-televised main card.
Report: UFC Targeting Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson for Fox Debut
(bloodyelbow.com)Following the UFC on Fox press conference last week, Matt Bishop asked me about potential matchups the UFC could put together for the debut show on November 12. I came up with Lyoto Machida and Brock Lesnar -- before UFC President Dana White announced the latter would be out until 2012 -- as the obvious big names they would have available for a main event on that date.
Stephan Bonnar vs. Kyle Kingsbury added to UFC 139 in San Jose
(mmajunkie.com)Stephan Bonnar will fight at UFC 139, but it won't be against Josh Koscheck.
After the light heavyweight and welterweight clashed over Bonnar's "Trash Talkin Kids" business venture, rumors of a potential middleweight fight between the two UFC vets gained steam.
Today, though, officials announced that Bonnar (13-7 MMA, 7-6 UFC) instead will fight fellow light heavyweight Kyle Kingsbury (11-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) at the November show.
UFC 137 gets "UFC Prelims" special on Spike TV
(mmajunkie.com)The one-hour special precedes the night's pay-per-view main-card broadcast, and it'll feature two preliminary-card bouts.
UFC 137 takes place Oct. 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. In the PPV main event, champion Georges St-Pierre puts his UFC welterweight title on the line against Nick Diaz, who vacated his Strikeforce belt to rejoin the UFC for the first time in five years.
No fights have been determined for the "UFC Prelims" broadcast, though possibilities include lightweights Sam Stout (17-6-1 MMA, 6-5 UFC) vs. Dennis Siver (19-7 MMA, 8-4 UFC), light heavyweights Eliot Marshall (10-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) vs. Brandon Vera (11-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC), featherweights Hatsu Hioki (24-4-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) vs. George Roop (12-7-1 MMA, 2-3 UFC), and featherweights Bart Palaszewski (35-14 MMA, 0-0 UFC) vs. Tyson Griffin (15-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC).
Miller vs. Palhares to UFC 134's Spike TV card, Thiago vs. Mitchell to Facebook
(mmajunkie.com)One fight has been promoted to the Spike TV card for Saturday's UFC 134 card, and one bout has been demoted to the night's Facebook stream.
The preliminary-card switch puts middleweights Dan Miller and Rousimar Palhares on Spike TV's "UFC Prelims" special, and welterweights Paulo Thiago vs. David Mitchell now head to the web stream.
UFC officials recently swapped their spots on the Brazilian card.
Bellator 48 victory staves off Seth Petruzelli's secretly planned retirement
(mmajunkie.com)He kept it quiet from all but those closest to him, but Seth Petruzelli probably would have retired had Ricco Rodriguez beat him at Bellator 48.
When he instead knocked out the former UFC champ, he experienced a rush of emotions not unlike those he experienced in his CBS-televised win over Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson some three years ago.
"If anyone watched when I fell on the ground (after the fight), I was laughing and crying at the same time," he today told MMAjunkie.com.
"The Ultimate Fighter 14" cast unveiled with 32 bantamweights and featherweights
(mmajunkie.com)Spike TV has unveiled the group of 32 fighters who appear on the upcoming season debut of "The Ultimate Fighter 14."
The reality show, which is the final season to air on Spike TV before a move to FX, is the first to feature bantamweight (135-pound) and featherweight (145-pound) fighters.
Many notable names are part of the show, including Carson Beebe, John Dodson, Matt Jaggers, Paul McVeigh, Stephen Bass, Bryan Caraway, Eric Marriott, Micah Miller and others.
"TUF 14," which features Michael Bisping and Jason "Mayhem" Miller as coaches, debuts Sept. 21 on Spike TV.
Chael Sonnen Not Attending UFC 134, Lynch Mob Has to Wait
(bloodyelbow.com)Yesterday I posted about a Facebook event calling for the "Lynching of Chael Sonnen" in Rio. While the event was made as a joke by the creators, it is very much possible that some of those "attending" were looking forward to causing bodily harm to the outspoken middleweight. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your point of view, they won't be getting the chance.
Ronny Markes to Drop to Middleweight for Next UFC Fight
(bloodyelbow.com)Ronny Markes is coming off a very impressive win over Karlos Vemola at UFC on Versus 5 last weekend, but that doesn't mean he has long-term plans for the light heavyweight division. It has been revealed that he plans to continue his UFC campaign at middleweight. Tatame shares the news:
On a chat with TATAME, the coach of Kimura team, Jair Lourenco, revealed his student will go down to the middleweight division, same weight class he was used to fight at in Brazil.
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