Official MMA Thread

[NCRadioMan]

More MMA "news":

Fedor Emelianenko, the man most agree is the world’s best heavyweight, returns to action Saturday in Hoffman Estates, Ill., against the less experienced but still dangerous Brett Rogers.

The duel is the main event of Strikeforce/M-1 Global’s debut on CBS. Fedor is a fierce striker and an even deadlier submission player. He’s a resounding favorite at the sportsbooks and he should be.

While Rogers is not as big an underdog as James “Buster” Douglas was on Feb. 11, 1990, when he shocked the world with his dramatic 10th-round knockout of then-invincible Mike Tyson, a Rogers win would send similar shockwaves throughout the MMA world nevertheless.

So who will win? Sherdog.com caught up with dozens of professional fighters and trainers from the MMA community to gauge their opinions.

Chael Sonnen: Two fatties swinging like bums. Yawn, stretch, back to sleep.

What an idiot.

More mma stars picks for this fight here: http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles...s-rogers-20724
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Report: Mirko Cro Cop vs Ben Rothwell being considered for UFC 111

Famed heavyweight striker Mirko Filipovic (25-7-2) is reportedly considering a return to the Octagon to face fellow MMA transplant Ben Rothwell (30-7) at UFC 111, tentatively scheduled for the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 21 according to Sherdog.com.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GSP ready to defend UFC Tittle against Hardy-Swick

When Dan (The Outlaw) Hardy takes on Mike (Quick) Swick next week at UFC 105 in Manchester, England, the most interested observer cageside will be Canadian Georges St. Pierre.

"Apparently I will probably fight the winner of this fight so I'm going to be watching it very carefully," St. Pierre told The Canadian Press.

The welterweight champion from Montreal has recovered from the abductor muscle tear - in three places - that he sustained in beating Thiago Alves at UFC 100 in July.

"My injury is 100 per cent now, I'm ready to go. I'm waiting to see what's going to happen next with the UFC. . . . I look forward to fighting again and I can't wait to see what's going to happen between Swick and Hardy," he added.

St. Pierre is more concerned that the winner of Hardy-Swick might leave the cage injured Nov. 14.

"Maybe one of these guys is going to break a hand. We don't know. it's mixed martial arts. it's a brutal sport. We don't know what's going to happen. Hopefully the winner of the fight is going to be 100 per cent and we'll be able to do it early next year."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tito Ortiz wants Chuck Liddell badly, again?

In an era in which Lyoto Machida and Anderson Silva are openly petitioning management for heavyweight fights, the idea of Tito Ortiz trying to chip away at the ego of Chuck Liddell should underwhelm you like nothing else.

"I think if I call him out enough times, I think he'll be a man and step up," Ortiz told MMAWeekly. "Why wouldn't he? That's a huge fight and a big payday for him. It will be good."

Why wouldn't he? Because Liddell, unlike Ortiz, had a gamesman's attitude toward the sport: Taking bouts that risked his guaranteed title bids, never turning down a fight and generally looking happy to be in there. He never headhunted graying fighters, something Ortiz does with alarming regularity.

After being slaughtered twice by Liddell, Ortiz has seen him softened up on successive occasions by Rashad Evans and Mauricio Rua. If you can't beat a fresh Liddell -- and he clearly could not -- then the next best thing must be to wait for an encouragingly bad MRI scan to come in before pursuing a third fight. Picking at a carcass doesn't flatter him.

Talk about yesterday's news.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

More talk about Renzo Gracie coming to UFC

Well-known Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert Renzo Gracie could be the latest member of the legendary Gracie family to grace the Octagon.

UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta hinted on his official twitter account that the promotion is in negotiations to acquire Renzo Gracie's services.

When a fan tweeted a request to Fertitta saying, "bring Renzo to the octagon asap!!!", the UFC co-owner replied, "We are workin on it!"