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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's doctor explains why he dropped out of UFC 149

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

When Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira accepted a fight with Cheick Kongo for UFC 149 next month, he had received initial clearance from his doctors to return to full training after suffering a broken arm against Frank Mir in December.

However, he was forced out of the bout with Kongo over the weekend when difficulties in training made it clear the arm wasn't fully ready to go. In an interview with Fighter's Only, his physiotherapist Angela Cortes commented on the reasoning behind him stepping out of the bout.

"The objectives that were set to reach the prime of the preparation in the period of training had been obtained," she said. "But during the intense sessions of sparring Rodrigo related discomfort followed by pain in the arm that went under surgery, caused by takedowns and impact from punches on the region where the screws are placed."

Penick's Analysis: It's unfortunate that he took the fight without knowing fully whether he'd be ready or not, but he was cleared by doctors to return to training. Finding out after the fact that the arm wasn't yet ready certainly didn't do the UFC any favors, and it took another fight off the UFC 149 card, but there's not a lot that can be done when the injury just isn't yet healed. Hopefully the ill effects of recovery will fade soon enough, and perhaps he'll be back by early fall.

[Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_13625.shtml

Taki Inoue Innes Ireland Eddie Irvine Chris Irwin Jean Pierre Jabouille

UFC 148 to feature six-fight pay-per-view card

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Next month's UFC 148 event will feature a six-fight pay-per-view card, as the UFC has bumped up both the Chad Mendez vs. Cody McKenzie and Mike Easton vs. Ivan Menjivar to the night's main card. Here's the full lineup for the July 7 event in Las Vegas:

Main Card

Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen (Middleweight Championship)
Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz
Patrick Cote vs. Cung Le
Dong Hyun Kim vs. Demian Maia
Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie
Mike Easton vs. Ivan Menjivar

FX Preliminary Card

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Gleison Tibau
Fabricio Camoes vs. Melvin Guillard
Riki Fukuda vs. Constantinos Philippou
John Alessio vs. Shane Roller
Yoislandy Izquierdo vs. Rafaello Oliveira

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/quicknews/article_13638.shtml

Roberto Guerrero Maurício Gugelmin Dan Gurney Hubert Hahne Mike Hailwood

Roy Nelson notches quick UFC 146 KO

On a night of great knockouts, Roy Nelson's stiffening KO of Dave Herman at UFC 146 on Saturday evening stood out.

Nelson used an overhand right to knock Herman out. Herman immediately sat down, and dazed, tried to wrestle the referee. The bout was called 51 seconds into the first round. Afterwards, Nelson jumped to the top of the cage and did his signature celebration move of rubbing his belly.

[Kevin Iole: Junior dos Santos rocks Frank Mir at UFC 146]

The win was important for Nelson, who lost three of his previous four bouts. He needed a win to stay relevant in the heavyweight division.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/roy-nelson-notches-quick-ufc-146-ko-033800639.html

Scott Russell Riggs Hiroshi Fushida Beppe Gabbiani Bertrand Gachot Patrick Gaillard

UFC President Dana White calls NAC the “worst athletic commission in the country”

Outspoken UFC executive Dana White has been quick to criticize athletic commissions in the past based on some of the issues with officiating, judging, and policy in general. However, few issues have pushed White’s buttons like this weekend’s scoring fiasco in Las Vegas when Timothy Bradley was awarded a Split Decision over Manny Pacquiao despite [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/06/11/ufc-president-dana-white-calls-nac-the-%e2%80%9cworst-athletic-commission-in-the-country%e2%80%9d

Brad Keselowski Ruby Tuesday Dodge Carl Edwards Copart Ford Denny Hamlin

Making Ace - Franklin's Defining Moments

Source: http://www.ufc.com/news/Rich-Franklin-Defining-Moments-2012

Hans Klenk Peter de Klerk Christian Klien Karl Kling Ernst Klodwig

Cheick Kongo vs. Shawn Jordan now official for UFC 149 in Calgary

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Cheick Kongo vs. Shawn Jordan is now official for UFC 149, as UFC officials on Monday confirmed reports over the weekend of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's removal from the card.

Nogueira's arm, which was broken by a kimura from Frank Mir in December at UFC 140, has not fully healed, taking him out of the planned return on the July 21 card in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Kongo hopes to bounce back from a knockout loss to Mark Hunt in his last bout. The 34-year-old Frenchman had a four-fight unbeaten streak snapped with that loss. It was his fifth overall loss in 16 appearances in the Octagon, and first by knockout. It was also his first since a submission loss to Frank Mir in December of 2009.

The 27-year-old Jordan has fought 16 times since making his MMA debut just three years ago, appearing in Bellator Fighting Championships and Strikeforce before making his UFC debut earlier this year. In that debut at UFC on FX 2 in March, Jordan knocked out Oli Thompson in the second round to move to 13-3 overall in his career. Of his 13 wins, 12 have come by stoppage, and he's only gone to a decision twice in his career.

Penick's Analysis: It's certainly unfortunate not to have Nogueira returning for this fight, as the matchup with Kongo was an interesting one, but at this point it doesn't even matter for this UFC 149 card. It's been ravaged far beyond what it was to begin with, and much like UFC 146, every fight is different than it was planned to be. This fight itself isn't a huge name for Kongo to fight, but Jordan's got a solid skill set, and this is a big opportunity for him.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_13622.shtml

Al Herman Hans Herrmann François Hesnault Hans Heyer Damon Hill

Video: Frank Shamrock with Luke Rockhold and Tim Kennedy, in what is supposed to be a funny...

Source: http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/6/19/3096469/luke-rockhold-tim-kennedy-and-frank-shamrock-in-what-is-supposed-to

Jean Pierre Jarier Max Jean Stefan Johansson Eddie Johnson Leslie Johnson

Tickets for UFC® on FOX: Shogun vs. Vera at Staples Center on Sale June 22!

Source: http://www.ufc.com/news/Shogun-vs-Vera-Tix-Available-June-22-0618

Gus Hutchison Jacky Ickx Yuji Ide Jesús Iglesias Taki Inoue

UFC Interim Champ Carlos Condit comments on testosterone use in MMA - "It muddies the waters"

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"I think it's a slippery slope, you know what I mean? You let guys start using testosterone and it's – where does it end? You know what I mean? I wonder, especially for younger guys, I know Frank Mir's a little bit older and of course your testosterone levels kind of dip as you get older, but some of these younger guys, you know, guys maybe in their late twenties and thirties using testosterone replacement therapy, I wonder, I wonder why is their testosterone low in the first place? And I, my theory is they may have been using something in the past, because when you use steroids, your body, after you get off has a hard time bringing yourself up to natural levels. I don't know man. I'm not going to judge anybody, but that's just, that's not – I got to where I am without ever ever using any performance enhancing drugs. I love MMA because of the purity of the sport and I think it just muddies the water when you start throwing stuff like that in there. And ultimately, it's not up for me to decide. That's for Athletic Commissions and I guess Dana White and the UFC brass to figure out what they're going to do with that. But, you know, personally, that's just, I have to just, you know, continue with what's worked for me, and that's just being clean."

-Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit weighs in on the testosterone replacement therapy conversation in an interview with GracieMag (transcribed by FightCove.com).

Penick's Analysis: With a growing acceptance of TRT in many circles of the MMA world, the divide on this issue will continue to grow. There are a lot of fighters who are clean athletes in this sport, and the continued allowance and acceptance of things like testosterone really don't seem right to them. At the same time, some consider TRT to be right along the lines of reconstructive surgery or other medical procedures that allow athletes to get back to a physical level they used to be at after suffering an injury. As Condit says here, though, the way TRT is being used definitely muddies the waters, and on the surface it certainly doesn't seem like it's anything less than fighters using a legal loophole for a performance enhancing substance. Still, it's something that's not going to come to an end anytime soon, and indeed it may continue to permeate as more fighters are named as TRT users.

[Carlos Condit art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_13620.shtml

Danny Kladis Hans Klenk Peter de Klerk Christian Klien Karl Kling

Karo Parisyan comes up short at ShoFights 20, Kendall Grove ekes out decision win

This weekend’s ambitious offering by ShoFights 20 featured a number of notable fighters in action including veterans from Strikeforce, Bellator, and the UFC. However, simply being well-known is never enough to ensure victory as was once again proven at last night’s show. In one of the evening’s featured fights, the sad story of Karo Parisyan’s [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2012/06/17/karo-parisyan-comes-up-short-at-shofights-20-kendall-grove-ekes-out-decision-win/

Michael Duane Bliss Kurt Thomas Busch Kyle Thomas Busch Jeffrey Tyler Burton Richard Allen Craven

Monday, June 18, 2012

Mike Tyson says he's heading back to the ring

Following an ultra controversial decision that saw unbeaten Timothy Bradley awarded with Manny Pacquiao’s WBO welterweight championship after clearly losing a majority of the twelve rounds, several boxing fans are on the brink of kicking the sport to the curb like a bad date that puked on their lap after a late-night drunken escapade to [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/06/17/mike-tyson-heading-back-to-the-ring

Narain Karthikeyan Ukyo Katayama Ken Kavanagh Rupert Keegan Eddie Keizan

Wanderlei Silva Reflects on Coaching TUF Brazil

TUF Brazil coach, UFC 147 headliner, and MMA legend Wanderlei Silva recently caught up with UFC cameras to reflect on his time as coach on the UFC's inaugural TUF Brazil show. Silva will rematch Rich Franklin on June 23 in the headlining bout of UFC 147 live on PPV.

MMAFrenzy.com

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/29041/wanderlei-silva-reflects-on-coaching-tuf-brazil/

Mike Hawthorn Boy Hayje Willi Heeks Nick Heidfeld Theo Helfrich

Rafael Cavalcante suspended for a year after testing positive for banned substance

Strikeforce has lost one of its key players in the light heavyweight division in the form of Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante who tested positive for a banned substance after a May 19 victory over Mike Kyle. As a result he has been suspended for a year and fined $2,500. No specific information was offered in terms [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2012/06/16/rafael-cavalcante-suspended-for-a-year-after-testing-positive-for-banned-substance/

Kevin Paul Lepage William Ashton Lewis Jr Sterling Burton Marlin Mark Anthony Martin Jeremy Allan Mayfield

Anderson Silva is the greatest commercial actor of our time

It's possible UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is the greatest mixed martial artist in the sport's brief history. With a record of 31-4, a 15-fight win streak, wins at middleweight and light heavyweight and eight fight night bonuses, it's easy to make that case.

But what he might excel at even more is making commercials. Seriously, watch the above for a razor and tell me you don't want to buy it. His ads for Burger King and Budweiser were instant classics.

The man has some range. Whether you need a kick to the face or a reliable pitchman, Silva's your guy.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/anderson-silva-greatest-commercial-actor-time-181041362--mma.html

Romain Grosjean Olivier Grouillard Brian Gubby André Guelfi Miguel Ángel Guerra

Rich Franklin Pre-Fight Interview vs Silva at UFC 147 - UFC 147

After a 16-month layoff, Rich Franklin is ready to step back into the Octagon and face the "tornado"known as Wanderlei Silva. Will "Ace" be able to make it 2-0 against Silva at UFC® 147?

Source: http://mmalice.com/ufc-147/rich-franklin-pre-fight-interview-vs-silva-at-ufc-147-video_03bb864c3.html

Z Line Designs Toyota Parker Kligerman Trevor Bayne Out! Pet Care Toyota Jason Leffler

Anderson Silva is the greatest commercial actor of our time

But what he might excel at even more is making commercials. Seriously, watch the above for a razor and tell me you don't want to buy it. His ads for Burger King and Budweiser were instant classics.

The man has some range. Whether you need a kick to the face or a reliable pitchman, Silva's your guy.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/anderson-silva-greatest-commercial-actor-time-181041362--mma.html

Kerry Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr Carl Michael Edwards III William Clyde Elliott

Mike Pierce’s Split Decision Win Was Actually Unanimous

Here we go again… for the second time this year, a UFC bout has seen an athletic commission muddle up the results to a fight. After soundly dominating Carlos Eduardo Rocha for three rounds, The Oregonian looked looked just as perplexed as all those watching when one judge rendered a unanimous 30-27 for his opponent.

MMAFrenzy.com

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/29029/mike-pierces-split-decision-win-was-actually-unanimous/

Bill Homeier Kazuyoshi Hoshino Jerry Hoyt Nico Hülkenberg Denny Hulme

Floyd Mayweather Jr. wants to serve out sentence under house arrest

Less than two weeks in to a three-month jail sentence superstar boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. is already complaining about the conditions he’s in and is looking to have a Las Vegas judge remove him from solitary confinement for health-related reasons. According to a motion from the fighter’s legal team, Mayweather is losing muscle tone and [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/06/13/floyd-mayweather-wants-to-serve-out-sentence-under-house-arrest

Cuth Harrison Brian Hart Gene Hartley Masahiro Hasemi Naoki Hattori

UFC aspirations bring Finland's Tom Niinimaki to Blackzilians, Friday's Titan FC 23 card

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Finnish featherweight Tom Niinimaki is one of the latest additions to the Blackzilians camp in South Florida, and on Friday night in Kansas he's taking his next step towards earning a spot in the UFC.

Taking on Brian Pearman on the undercard of HDNet's broadcast of "Titan Fighting Championships 23: Fight for the Troops," Niinimaki looks to win his eighth straight fight in just his second bout in the U.S. The 10-year veteran of the sport has fought around the world, and now he hopes to make his mark in North America.

"Basically it was Glenn [Robinson] from Authentic Sports Management who asked if I wanted to come to train and to fight [with the Blackzilians], and I said 'yes, of course'" Niinimaki told MMATorch on Friday morning. Though he's fighting on a smaller card on Friday night, like most fighters he wants to make it to the big show with the UFC.

"Yeah, of course, of course. I want to win fights and the ultimate goal is to get into the big leagues, the UFC," he said. "[I want to] get some more challenges. I think [my experience helps]. [I've had] lots of fights, lots of hard, tough fights, so I think that is my advantage."

First up is picking up a win over Pearman on Friday night. Niinimaki has been in the cage with several known names, including current top ranked featherweight Hatsu Hioki and UFC vet Per Eklund, and Pearman represents a tough opponent, even if he's a bit unknown to Niinimaki.

"I haven't seen any fights [of his], so I don't know much [about him]," Niinimaki admitted. "But I believe he's a good all around fighter who's got a big heart. He knows how to fight."

Pearman is a 7-1 fighter whose last bout saw him hand Minnesota's Mike Richman his only career loss in a split decision in February 2011. Regardless of his familiarity, Niinimaki is simply looking to win this fight and keep himself busy until he gets a call from the UFC.

"Yes [I'm looking to fight more often]," he said. "I was supposed to fight last spring, but my opponent canceled, so I didn't fight. That's why the break has been so long. But I will fight now and as soon as possible again. I try to keep busy."

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Interviews_34/article_13610.shtml

Miguel Ángel Guerra Roberto Guerrero Maurício Gugelmin Dan Gurney Hubert Hahne

With Everything on the Line, Dan Miller Fights Through Adversity

Source: http://www.ufc.com/news/Dan-Miller-Fights-Through-Adversity

Bob Gerard Gerino Gerini Peter Gethin Piercarlo Ghinzani Bruno Giacomelli