Frankie Edgar Set on Rematch with Henderson, Not Moving to 145 Pounds
Following his first loss in nearly four years and his first loss since winning the UFC lightweight title, much discussion has been made concerning Frankie Edgar’s future following UFC 144. But according to Edgar, it is much ado about nothing, as he maintains that he wants to remain at lightweight and that he feels he deserves a rematch with Benson Henderson.
Marvin Eastman Stav Crazy Bear Economou Yves Edwards Justin Eilers Jon Olav Einemo
read moreJack3d – Preworkout supplement
Been hearing lot of good things about this from credible sources, although im not taking it myself. Basically a combination of stimulants and creatine.
Rich No Love Clementi Mark The Hammer Coleman Wes Soldier Combs Ray Cooper Kit CopeÂ
read more?UFC on FOX: Diaz vs. Miller? Features Four Live Main Card Fights
On Monday, the world’s premier mixed martial arts promotion announced their third show on FOX will feature four live main card fights. A thrilling lightweight affair between Nate Diaz (Pictured) and Jim Miller headlines the May 5th festivities. The event takes place inside IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Many thought the 170-pound shootout [...]
Allan Goes Takanori The Fireball Kid Gomi Akihiro Gono Gabriel Gonzaga Lyman Good
read more?Rampage? Jackson says knee injury stymied performance at UFC 144
Quinton ?Rampage? Jackson didn?t seem like his usual self against Ryan Bader in the co-headliner of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson Saturday night. Following an entrance featuring the PRIDE theme and brought those in attendance at the Saitama Super Arena to their feet, Jackson never got on track, looking fairly sloppy throughout as Bader claimed [...]
Jai Bradney Ebenezer Fontes Braga Chris Brennan Marcelo Brito Rob BroughtonÂ
read moreUFC 144 Benson Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar Gracie Breakdown
UFC 144 Benson Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar Gracie Breakdown.
Clay Guida Jason Guida Melvin Guillard Cody Guinn Jorge Gurgel
read moreUFC 144: Frankie Edgar Calls for a Rematch
Allan Goes Takanori The Fireball Kid Gomi Akihiro Gono Gabriel Gonzaga Lyman Good
read moreMatchmaker, matchmaker: Fights for ?Mayhem,? Evan Dunham and Eddie Alvarez
Though MMA’s spring schedule is not as dizzying as its winter pace, there are plenty of fight cards that need filling. To that end:
– Jason “Mayhem” Miller will take on C.B. Dollaway at UFC 146 on Memorial Day weekend in Las Vegas. This is Miller’s first fight since losing the Michael Bisping at “The Ultimate Fighter” season 14 finale. Dollaway has been finished in his last two bouts, a TKO to Jared Hamman and a KO to Mark Munoz.
– Evan Dunham and Edson Barboza will also meet at UFC 146. Dunham just fought at UFC on Fox 2, scoring a win over Nik Lentz. Known for his powerful striking, Barboza has never lost. His knockout of Terry Etim at UFC 142 was called one of the best knockouts in UFC history.
– In Bellator, Eddie Alvarez and Shinya Aoki are expected to meet in April. Alvarez was submitted by an Aoki heel hook in 2008. After that loss, he won seven straight before losing a classic title bout to Michael Chandler. Aoki is currently holds the DREAM lightweight belt.
Who will win these bouts? Talk to us in the comments, on Facebook, or on Twitter.
Ryo Piranha Chonan Dan The Sandman Christison Logan The Pink Pounder Clark Steve The Snake Claveau Rich No Love ClementiÂ
read moreJoe Lauzon excited about opportunity to fight in Japan against an opponent like Anthony Pettis
Joe Lauzon has been competing as a professional Mixed Martial Artist since he was a teenager, fighting fifteen times before making his infamous UFC debut against legendary lightweight Jens Pulver in 2006. However, despite his experience the 27-year has never been afforded an opportunity to compete in Japan?until now, that is. Lauzon faces Anthony Pettis [...]
Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi Daniel Acacio Bernard AckahÂ
read moreDana White UFC 131 Video Blog Day 2 – UFC
Dana White UFC 131 Video Blog Day 2. Behind the Scenes of the UFC 131 press con. Dana talking to fans about fights coming up and hockey.
Aleksander Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko Yasubey Enomoto Mark Epstein Tom Big Cat Erickson
read moreAndrei Arlovski to headline ProElite event in Hawaii
ProElite has resurfaced in the mixed martial arts world and will be holding an event at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Waikiki, Hawaii on August 27th. TJ Thompson, Proelite director of MMA operations, confirmed the news to KHON2 today while also announcing that former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski will headline the [...]
Andrei Arlovski to headline ProElite event in Hawaii is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News
Takanori The Fireball Kid Gomi Akihiro Gono Gabriel Gonzaga Lyman Good Gary Goodridge
read moreUFC 129 Predictions
by Michael David Smith
One of the biggest mixed martial arts cards in history takes place on Saturday night, with the UFC smashing its attendance record by selling 55,000 tickets to fans who will get to see the UFC’s most popular fighter, Georges St-Pierre, defend his welterweight belt against challenger Jake Shields.
What: UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields
When: Saturday, the Facebook stream starts at 6PM ET, the Spike TV fights start at 8 and the pay-per-view fights start at 9.
Where: Rogers Centre, Toronto
Predictions on the five pay-per-view fights below.
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Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves Andre AmadeÂ
read moreJoe Lauzon excited about opportunity to fight in Japan against an opponent like Anthony Pettis
Joe Lauzon has been competing as a professional Mixed Martial Artist since he was a teenager, fighting fifteen times before making his infamous UFC debut against legendary lightweight Jens Pulver in 2006. However, despite his experience the 27-year has never been afforded an opportunity to compete in Japan?until now, that is. Lauzon faces Anthony Pettis [...]
Dan Bobish Vagam Bodjukyan Kotetsu Boku Tony Bonello Stephan Bonnar
read moreJorge Masvidal Makes the Case for Title Shot – Strikeforce
Jorge Masvidal Makes the Case for Title Shot Video by Strikeforce
Tyson Griffin Karn Grigorian Karen Grigoryan Kendall Grove Clay Guida
read moreBenson Henderson Talks Title Win, Thinks Anthony Pettis Rematch Should Wait
Volk Han Joachim Hansen Antoni Hardonk Dan Hardy Lee Hasdell
read moreAnyone watching the Slam Dunk Contest
its on
Gregor Gracie Ralek Gracie Renzo Gracie Rickson Gracie Rodrigo Gracie
read moreEdgar, Henderson, Lee and Pettis awarded $65K bonuses at UFC 144
After an exciting night of fights at UFC 144, Dana White announced that the following fighters were awarded $65,000 bonuses for their efforts. Fight of the Night: Ben Henderson and Frankie Edgar Knockout of the Night: Anthony Pettis Submission of the Night: Vaughn Lee Edgar, Henderson, Lee and Pettis awarded $65K bonuses at UFC 144 [...]
Edgar, Henderson, Lee and Pettis awarded $65K bonuses at UFC 144 is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News
David Bielkheden Michael Bisping Dan Bobish Vagam Bodjukyan Kotetsu BokuÂ
read moreCulinary Union suggests Bill of Rights for MMA fighters
The Culinary Union, the biggest union representing workers in Nevada, stopped by the Nevada Athletic Commission’s meeting on Wednesday to discuss ways to improve treatment for fighters. They want to see the NAC lead the combat sports world by pushing for reforms in MMA.
1. Equal protections for all fighters. Boxers are protected under the Muhammad Ali Act, which enacts certain rules over boxers that keeps them from getting exploited. Mixed martial artists are not.
2. Right to work. This would allow fighters to sign non-exclusive contracts and would prohibit contracts from automatically renewing. Champions’ clauses, which keep champs attached to their contract as long as they hold the belt, would be a thing of the past.
3. Inalienable right to your own name, likeness and image. When Jon Fitch objected to handing over his image in perpetuity to the UFC for its video game, he was cut from the UFC and Dana White threatened to not do business with any fighters from Fitch’s gym, American Kickboxing Academy. After Fitch played ball, he was brought back into the fold. This right would allow fighters to exercise the right Fitch wanted to.
4. Free market of sponsorships. This would not just allow fighters to get whoever they would like to sponsor them, but would also let them say no to their promotion’s sponsor. In other words, Brock Lesnar could chug a Coors and Carlos Condit could have walked away from a Harley-Davidson if he wanted to pursue a sponsorship with Honda.
5. Transparency of contracts and payments. Fighters would get detailed financial statements from any event they participated in. This would be particularly important to fighters whose contracts earn percentages of pay-per-views or gates.
6. Fair share of revenues. In the NBA and NFL, athletes went through a lockout to fight for roughly half the league’s revenues. Because Zuffa is a private company, their revenues are not public, so we have no idea how much revenue the fighters earn. This right would ensure fighters get at least a quarter of revenues.
7. Freedom of association. Fighters would be allowed to unionize in any way they see fit.
8. Right to healthcare insurance for training and fighting. Zuffa fighters are given medical coverage for both fight camps and fights, but this right would ensure it continued.
9. Right to fair fights. The UFC’s matchmaking system generally provides fair and evenly matched bouts, but things get murky on subjects like who deserves a title fight. Timing often decides title matches as much as an independent ranking system. This right would call for a transparent ranking of fighters.
10. Professionalism. From the union: “You have the right to be treated with common courtesy and professional respect by other fighters and by promoters and managers. For mixed martial arts to become a mainstream sport accepted by the general public, participants in the sport must act in accordance with commonly accepted standards of courtesy, decency and respect in their public interactions with one another and in their interactions with the public.”
In other words, promotions couldn’t fire one fighter because of a tweet about rape while not firing another for jokes about child molestation. UFC executives would probably have to stop dropping F-bombs at Twitter followers.
Would you be in support of such a bill? Is it missing anything? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.
Yves Edwards Justin Eilers Jon Olav Einemo Per Eklund Jason Ellis
read moreMMATorch Interview: Sean Loeffler on surreal UFC on Fuel injury and aftermath, sponsors, surgery, and more
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
|
After 11 years in the sport of mixed martial arts, 29-year-old Sean Loeffler was finally brought into the UFC and scheduled for a bout against Buddy Roberts at UFC on Fuel TV in Omaha, Nebraska. It was the culmination of everything he had done in his career to this point, and he was ready to show the entire MMA world what he was capable of doing on the big stage.
However, his debut wouldn’t come on that card. Just minutes before he was set to walk to the cage, his foot was caught in a crack between mats during a final warmup, and he severely injured his ankle. It swelled up considerably, and the bout was called off.
“It was surreal, when I think back,” Loeffler said in a conversation with MMATorch on Thursday, reflecting on that moment. “It’s probably one of those moments in my life that I’ll never forget. You can break down things like when your kid’s born, or near death experiences and s*** like that; that’s one of those moments that I will never, ever forget. I was doing gut jumps, literally the photographer was there taking pictures of me and I made eye contact with him right before my ankle turned over.”
“It was surreal because right before I had just never felt that good. My coaches were just freaked out, they were like, ‘You’re so relaxed it’s scaring us. We just want to make sure you’ve got that killer mentality.’
“I [said], ‘I’m gonna f***ing rip this goddamned guy’s head off. You don’t even know.’ So my coaches said ‘You’re ready then, for sure.’ I looked at my coaches and said, ‘You guys have got to stop tripping, I’m gonna f***ing kill this guy.’ They just said, ‘Jesus, we’ve never seen Sean so relaxed and confident.’”
That confidence and anticipation would fade quickly, leading to one of the most painful things Loeffler has ever experienced in his career, not just physically, but emotionally as well.
“I was so relaxed; I was sweating, warmed up, and ready to go, but I felt like a professional,” he said. “I just felt like it was another day at the office. Sometimes I’ve been nervous before some big fights; I wasn’t nervous at all. As soon as I had to accept that it was over, it was surreal. I thought that I was going to wake up a couple times. I really thought I was going to wake up in my hotel room in Omaha. I just thought, ‘There’s no way. There’s no f***ing way this is really happening right now.’”
“I felt my heart hurt. I’ve never felt my actual heart hurt before. I thought that was just an expression. To me, the heart was just an organ in the middle of your chest that pumps blood to the rest of your body; but my heart was hurting, like I was going to have a f***ing heart attack or something. It was just surreal.”
“There’s nothing that I’ve ever experienced like that,” Loeffler continued. “It was a matter of two seconds; I go from ‘I’m about to fight in the UFC and shock the world or something cool; get a knockout bonus or submission bonus or fight of the night bonus; get my win bonus’ I was very confident in that. Two seconds later, I thought, ‘Am I even going to be in the UFC? Are they going to drop me because of this? Am I going to be able to fight again?’”
“It was the craziest turn around – and I’m not feeling bad for myself – but a lot of people probably never experience that complete 180 degrees of emotion in a matter of seconds.”
The fear that his UFC career was over before it even started was a near crippling thought, but one that was immediately squashed by UFC officials, who assured him that he had a place in the organization when his ankle healed. That, along with the UFC paying him his “show” money, was a major relief, but it also brought about an immediate change in complexion for Loeffler backstage.
“Obviously, it meant the world to me; it changed everything. When Joe Silva, Burt [Watson], and Dana [White] all said ‘Sean’s a UFC fighter, he’ll be back,’ and Ariel Helwani and Brian Stann confirmed it on live TV, it meant the world to me,” Loeffler said. “It didn’t make my leg hurt any less, and actually the leg started hurting worse when I heard that news because the adrenaline kind of stopped, and then it was ‘ok, now I can focus on getting my leg better.’ That was my instant focus. If we have to do surgery tonight, if we have to put me under, just get me to the hospital.
“It went from ‘Was that it? Was that minute and 15 my one chance of UFC exposure?’ And once I realized that it wasn’t over yet, then my adrenaline completely stopped, and that’s when I realized ‘wow, my leg f***ing hurts.’ I was focused on reality and less on accepting what happened. I just knew I had to accept it, I thought I might have broken my leg, and I just had to accept that and move on.”
Not only did the UFC assure him that he had a spot left in the organization, they also made it a point to put him on television, show how badly the ankle was injured, and make it clear that this was something serious, and shouldn’t be held against him. And for Loeffler, he didn’t want the fight to be called off, and tried everything he could to get himself out there before being assured that his roster spot was safe.
“Everybody that knows me [when they saw me backstage icing the ankle] probably said, ‘I bet you money the commission had to hold him down and his coaches had to yell at him.’ Which is true,” Loeffler said. “I’m just screaming, ‘This ain’t no f***ing ballet, this is a fight. You wrap this s*** up and let me go back in there!’
“They said, ‘We can’t wrap anything up unless it’s cut.’ I’m like, ‘Well give me a knife and cut my foot. Just let me get in that cage!’”
“Burt and Joe were just said, ‘Man, that kid’s a warrior.’ They were real cool, and real supportive, and I could tell by the look on their face that they knew it was just a bummer.”
Along with showing the injury to his ankle, the producers for the event also allowed Loeffler to showcase his sponsorship banner, and get TV time to those that had helped him to prepare. Unfortunately for Loeffler, that exposure didn’t lead to payment from all of them.
“It was so nice when the TV producers came down,” Loeffler explained. “I said, ‘Can I please put my sponsorship banner behind me.’ They were like ‘yeah, and we’ll make sure that we get a big long shot of it.’ It was really great of them to let me do that. A lot of my sponsors have stuck behind me, but some of the bigger ones are kind of complaining, which is heartbreaking.”
“I had to pay for plane tickets, I paid for four hotel rooms, I had to pay for the printing of the shorts and the banners, which was a few hundred bucks. I had percentages to a couple of other people who created money for me from different stuff for me that I wasn’t going to get. Then I borrowed some money from my parents to just concentrate on training and hire some coaches for my gym; I own a gym, and instead of me focusing on running the gym I hired some other coaches to come work with me for my fight, and other coaches to run my classes at the gym. So I had all these expenses.”
“If it wasn’t for the UFC giving me my show money, I would have been – no joke – about $4,000 in debt, to my parents, business partners and stuff like that,” he continued. “Because the UFC gave me my show money I ended up making about $245 when all was said and done after the fight, and obviously my leg will be taken care of. But it would be nice if some of the sponsors would step up – I’m not going to mention any names at all because most of the sponsors have been awesome – but some of the more well known ones, it would be nice if they would step up and take care of me because that money’s going to matter for covering my coaches after surgery when I can’t teach.”
“I’m not whining or being a little brat about anything, but it’d be nice because it’s like ‘Dude, you think I haven’t dealt with e-f***ing-nough already? I did everything I could to get you guys on TV.’ They probably got more exposure from that banner and my shorts than all the other guys on the undercard combined that didn’t get their walkout shown or banners or anything. My s*** was on Facebook, and Fuel TV, with a huge ankle where people were probably saying ‘Damn! Did you see that?’ I don’t know. I understand a contract says you get paid to fight, but there are sponsors that have stepped up and paid me what they said they were going to, and I couldn’t thank them enough. They couldn’t thank me enough, and I couldn’t thank the UFC enough for letting me do that.”
Loeffler is now looking at surgery on the ankle to repair the anterior talofibular ligament, as well as several other issues that have popped up. For Loeffler, the procedure can’t come fast enough, and he’s definitely reaching his breaking point without much use of his leg.
“I’m getting to the point of just kind of frustration,” he said. “I’m not trying to be a whiner or complainer or anything, but just frustration with being on crutches all the time, or being in a wheelchair half of the time. Going through places and not being able to use the leg, all the tendons are tore in my leg.”
“I’ve got surgery on Tuesday; I thought I was going to have it this Tuesday, so I was looking forward to, at least, it was the final [thing], then it’s all downhill from there, because the surgery would have been done. Yeah, I’m going to be in a wheelchair for a couple of weeks, then crutches and then rehab; but once you get the surgery that’s kind of the culmination and everything from there is just healing process and getting stronger. So when they put it off for a week it’s just kind of disheartening. I’m like ‘f***’, like I fell on my face yesterday pumping gas because my crutch went out from under me. I’m a professional athlete and I’m pretty coordinated and [it makes you] feel like a retard on stilts.”
The surgery was delayed from this week to next because a followup examination revealed an alternate path than originally planned. Loeffler explained that he initially would have been looking at 4-6 months of recovery time, but instead he’ll undergo a slightly more extensive procedure that will see him back in the gym a lot sooner than that.
“We’re doing [the surgery] on Tuesday at the San Diego Medical Center,” he said. “I haven’t gotten the surgery that I was supposed to, and they said that there is some more extensive stuff that they saw that they want to prepare for just in case. The ultrasound actually showed good news. It’s going to make for a faster healing process, but a more extensive surgery, if that makes sense. Originally, the main tear was in my anterior talofibular ligament, which is the ligament on the outside of your ankle that kind of wraps in a circle around what looks like your ankle bone there. That was completely torn; and then they saw some other slight disruptions on the medial and posterior which is on the inside and back of the ankle.”
“They were going to put a cadaver ligament in and then some pins on the inside to strengthen those; but when they did the ultrasound the doctor was really impressed with how strong my tendons were and the ligaments were, even the broken ones. So they opted out of surgery on Tuesday because they said ‘by putting a cadaver tendon in here or pins, they’re going to be weaker than your broken ligaments and tendons.’ So what he said is ‘I just want sew your tendons and ligaments back together to each other, since they’re already so strong. Some scar tissue will reattach them a little bit more, and some string will hold. It’ll be stronger that way, and then we won’t need to worry about somebody else’s tendons or pins being in there making it weaker than your natural body.’”
That’s fine for Loeffler, as it will mean a less extensive rehabilitation process, and when he can return to training he can really return to training. Knowing himself, Loeffler says he may have pushed himself too hard with the initially planned return, and now he believes he’ll be able to be a little more patient with the process.
“It makes it so once the surgery is done I’ll be able to train at 100% in about three months,” he said. “I’m still looking at a six month time to get back to the cage; but I was thinking six months to get back to the UFC would be a month of hard training and then I could conceptually fight at 100%, whereas this is like I can have a three month training camp and really be at the top of my game six months from now.”
“I would have probably tried to push myself really hard and overdue it a little bit, and who knows what would have happened there. Now, I can be patient for two months, and sit in a wheelchair and stay off it when I know the second I get cleared I can go hard on it. It’s just hard for me to think about doing f***ing band work or sitting on f***ing rubber balls for two months and that’s the training I’d have had to do; so I’d rather do nothing for two months and then BOOM just get back into fight training.”
We’ll have more from this 30-minute conversation with Sean later this weekend, featuring a couple of highly entertaining stories you won’t want to miss!
Andre Amade Dean Amasinger Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen Alex AndradeÂ
read moreLegacy Fighting 10 shakeup: Linderman misses weight, Harris-Davila now co-headliner
Former heavyweight D.J. Linderman apparently rushed his move to middleweight too quickly.
The Bellator vet and 185-pound hopeful came in 10 pounds over weight for his Legacy Fighting Championships 10 headliner, and original opponent Gerald Harris now will fight Eric Davila in the co-headliner on Friday.
Legacy promoter Mick Maynard today confirmed the card’s shakeup with MMAjunkie.com.
Viacheslav Datsik Marcus Davis Tony DeSouza Edwin Dewees Nick DiazÂ
read moreAlert for Android MMATorch Users: Please read as you may need to get new version of MMATorch
If you are using an Android Device, and if you are using our “classic” original version of MMATorch, we need you to migrate to our newer version as the “classic” version will be discontinued soon. Please click on the link below to download our latest version.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mmatorch2.android
If you phone tells you you’ve already downloaded this version, then you already have it and are using it. If it gives you the option to download it, you are likely using the older version that will soon stop being supported and updated.
This newer version of MMATorch is faster, more stable, and features a better layout than the original version.
If you have a “very old” Android phone running an early version of Android, please update your Android OS so the new version of MMATorch works. Our data shows fewer than 2 percent of you are running an old version of Android, so for most of you this upgraded version of MMATorch will work immediately and you’ll fine it a better overall experience due to the upgrades and updates compared to the classic version you may be using.
(HINT: If the headline of this article at the top of the page that says “Alert for Android…” is white letters on a black background, you are running the new version of MMATorch and don’t need to migrate. If the headline is black letters over white background, you have the older version and you need to update.)
Also, if you are using the latest version of MMATorch, we have updating the app to eliminate the need to choose a category from the menu at launch. Please manually update the app if you don’t have this app set to update automatically.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email us at mmatorch@gmail.com.
Thanks for your support of MMATorch!
Heath Herring Branden Lee Hinkle Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril AbidiÂ
read morePaula Sack Interviews Demian Maia – UFC 131
Paual talks to Demian about his preparation for his upcoming fight versus Mark Munoz at UFC 131: Dos Santos vs Carwin. Watch the event Live on Pay-Per-View or www.UFC.tv this Sat Jun 11th at 6/9PM PT/ET
Ebenezer Fontes Braga Chris Brennan Marcelo Brito Rob Broughton Mike BrownÂ
read moreUFC 132 Cruz vs. Faber Weigh-in Highlights
UFC 132 participants Dominick Cruz, Urijah Faber, Wanderlei Silva, Chris Leben, Ryan Bader and Tito Ortiz hit the scales for the official weigh-ins prior to their matches on Saturday, July 2nd The official weigh-in results for the card (courtesy of UFC.com) Dominick Cruz (134) vs. Urijah Faber (135) * Bantamweight Championship Fight Chris Leben (185) [...]
UFC 132 Cruz vs. Faber Weigh-in Highlights is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News
Rich Franklin Ian Freeman Don Frye Tony Fryklund Kazuyuki Fujita
read morePreventing Hand Injuries
Musse Hasselvall Daiki DJ taiki Hata He Peng David Heath Delson Heleno
read moreOctagon, but no fighters, in Japanese ad for UFC 144
In the United States, we’re used to seeing UFC pay-per-view ads that heavily feature the fighters on the card. Even when they break from the fight-highlight-norm-with-voiceover-and-music, like with the UFC 129 commercial featuring Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields, the advertising still revolves around the fighters.
With the ad airing in Japan before this weekend’s UFC 144 bout, the ad features the shadow of an octagon and the voice of cage announcer Bruce Buffer.
No Frankie Edgar or Benson Henderson to represent the main event, not even the more familiar Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Would that be enough to get you to tune in? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.
Luiz Buscapé Firmino Spencer Fisher Jon Fitch Kenny Florian Jesse Forbes
read moreUFC Execs Considering Annual Trips To Japan
<B>By MATT MOLGAARD<BR>
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer</B><BR><BR>
Don?t leap to any wild conclusions here, as the future is a window we can only gaze through once the door of the present is closed. But UFC 144 ticket sales have been exceptional, the buzz is stronger for this particular event than most others in recent memory, and diehard fans can?t shake the feeling that this could lead to a revival on the Japanese circuit.<BR><BR>
Speaking with MMAjunkie.com, UFC execs gushed over this weekend?s highly anticipated event. President Dana White sounds more than pleased with the buzz surrounding this spectacular card, and he?s not hesitant in the least to express his optimism.<BR><BR>
"We tried to come back to Japan earlier than this, but the deal we had put together fell apart. We stayed on it and didn't abandon coming to Japan. The deal didn't fall apart this time. We got everything done that we needed to get done to put on an event. All the things that go into bringing a live event to a new territory and not getting smashed financially, we got done." stated White. "I think the event's already been successful. We're close to a sellout already, and obviously the card we put together for this event is phenomenal."<BR><BR>
UFC Asia executive Mark Fischer also discussed potential annual trips to ?The Land of the Rising Sun?.<BR><BR>
?I think it's a little bit wait-and-see but certainly we do feel based on the strength of what we've seen so far leading into the event ? the buzz, the ticket sales so far ? that I think it's a market we'd love to come back to with a big event at least annually," Fischer said. "Whether or not we complement that with maybe one or two smaller events ? perhaps 'Fight Nights' ? and we think there's quite good potential for an 'Ultimate Fighter,' maybe in a slightly different format here.?<BR><BR>
UFC 144 isn?t even officially in the books and the future for Japanese fans already looks extremely promising. Here?s hoping this weekend?s action lives up to the tremendous hype it?s stirred thus far.<BR><BR>
Leave your feedback on this article by posting a comment directly below! You can also chat about the card in the <A HREF="http://www.mmanews.com/forums" target="_Blank"><B>MMANEWS.COM Forums</B></A> and/or the <A HREF="http://www.facebook.com/mmanewsdotcom" target="_Blank"><B>MMANEWS.COM Facebook</B></A>. If that wasn't enough, MMANEWS.COM is now on Twitter as well <A HREF="http://twitter.com/mmanewsdotcom" target="_Blank"><B>@mmanewsdotcom</B></A>.<BR><BR>
Andre Gusmao Alexander Gustafsson Jaime Gutierrez Dave Gomez Keith Hackney
read moreDana White and the UFC Continue “Make It Rain” Approach to New York Legalization
Karn Grigorian Karen Grigoryan Kendall Grove Clay Guida Jason Guida
read moreDan Hardy vs. Duane Ludwig Set for UFC 146
Amidst a four fight loss streak, Dan Hardy is ready to return to the win column. He now knows who he’ll be returning to the Octagon with, as Hardy is now set to take on Duane “Bang” Ludwig at UFC 146. The event is expected to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 26th.
Tony DeSouza Edwin Dewees Nick Diaz Tadhg Steamfist Dixon Joe DoerksenÂ
read moreReview – Joe Palooka Issues #1 and #2
If you have been called a “Palooka,” you know the term isn’t a kindly one. Essentially a term for an underdog or a scrub, the word is better known in boxing circles. The name “Joe Palooka” traces its roots back to the early 1930s, where it was a popular serial strip and adapted later into [...]
Ryan Bader Siyar Bahadurzada Bao Ligao Josh Barnett David BaronÂ
read moreGeorges Lucas? daughter wins, celebrates with Darth Vader and some Stormtroopers
Amanda Lucas, the daughter of “Star Wars” creator George Lucas, won again in Japan this weekend. She beat up on Yumiko Hotta for two and a half rounds before submitting her with a keylock. With that win, she claimed the DEEP open-weight women’s championship and improved her record to 4-1.
A record like that proves the force is strong with her. Darth Vader approved, and even showed up to celebrate. Skip to the 15-minute mark to see Lucas finish Hotta, and like he did in Cloud City, Vader just appears. At the 20-minute mark, he gives his clenched fist of approval, and then poses like a proud papa with Lucas in the final minute of the video.
Lucas had three straight submission wins in DEEP. She trains at Cesar Gracie Academy, the home of Nick and Nate Diaz and Jake Shields, as well as with Gilbert Melendez’s Skrap Pack. Perhaps Vader can stop by at Cesar Gracie’s and teach the no-hands, force-choke that served him so well as he ruled the galaxy.
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