Official MMA Thread

[goalie204]

good strikeforce

[NCRadioMan]

Just finished watching the WEC card. Ok show, nothing special but there was a nice Peruvian necktie applied in one bout. StrikeForce takes the night, easily.

Jacare is going to rattle the middleweight ranks of Strikeforce, he was calling out their champ before he even made his debut and accused people of ducking him who were proposed to him. Would love to see him fight miller again, shields, diaz, or henderson.

I just read that Nick Diaz is going to fight Marius Zaromskis at Strikeforce Miami, that will be one hell of a fight.

[NCRadioMan]

Versus to air UFC matches - Sports Business Journal

The UFC is coming to Versus as part of a two-year renewal that the Comcast-owned network signed with the mixed martial arts association’s parent, Zuffa.

Versus will telecast two live UFC matches next year, in addition to seven from the WEC, MMA’s division for lighter weights, also owned by Zuffa. As part of the deal, Versus plans to stream one additional WEC fight per fight card exclusively to Versus.com.

Versus also is planning to produce many hours of shoulder programming around its WEC fights, including previews, best knockouts and a review of the best fights.

But the biggest part of the deal is UFC, which has produced some of the most popular programming for Spike TV, which will continue to telecast many of its fights.

The move to Versus, though, is important as it represents the most mainstream sports outlet to carry live UFC matches. Fox Sports Net regionals carried UFC events in the past, but those were telecast on tape delay.

Following on the ratings and ad sales success of its WEC programming, Versus didn’t hesitate to bring on the UFC.

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Fedor VS. Werdum targeted for April CBS event

Before the dust settled on Saturday night’s Strikeforce: Evolution event, the questions came fast and furious at CEO Scott Coker, prompting him for the direction the promotion is headed... and he had plenty of answers.

Foremost on everyone’s mind is the return of Fedor Emelianenko. Coker confirmed plans for Fedor’s return on the promotion’s next CBS event, slated for sometime in mid-to-late April.

“It’s not confirmed... (but) on that fight card, you’ll most likely see Fedor fighting Fabricio (Werdum),” he revealed. “It’s not guaranteed, but you will see Dan Henderson fighting on that card, and Gina Carano, we’ll invite her if she’s ready.”

Henderson’s opponent hasn’t been finalized yet either, but he is expected to challenge current middleweight champion Jake Shields under the watchful eye of CBS.

Pressed about heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, the CEO said, “We’re probably gonna invite Alistair to fight on the CBS card,” dispelling initial plans for an earlier return.

Coker also has big plans outside of the April fight card, particularly in the lightweight division. He intends to expand on Strikeforce’s relationship with Japanese fight promotion Dream.

First up are bouts for Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thomson, who had another battle in their rematch on Saturday night.

“(Shinya) Aoki and Gilbert and do (Tatsuya) Kawajiri vs. Thomson,” said Coker, mapping the road for his two top 155ers, intending to pit them against two other top lightweights in the world.

He insists those are plans for Melendez and Thomson, not just hopeful talk. He’s targeting the second quarter of 2010 to make both those fights happen.

“I think we’ve done some really big things in the last eight months. Making that Dream relationship activate, to me, is critical and important, because otherwise we’re just talking. It’s taken a long time to get to this point, but I think we’re on the cusp of making it happen.”

[NCRadioMan]

Aoki-Hirota, Kawajiri-Yokota Official for ‘Dynamite’

Dream champion Shinya Aoki will lock horns with Sengoku titleholder Mizuto Hirota in a showdown between two of the world’s top lightweights at K-1 “Dynamite Power of Courage 2009” on Dec. 31 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Aoki last appeared in October when he submitted Joachim Hansen with a second-round armbar, avenging his technical knockout loss to the Norwegian in the 2008 Dream lightweight grand prix. The 26-year-old has posted five wins in six fights and holds notable victories over Vitor Ribeiro, Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez and American Top Team dynamo Gesias Cavalcante. Aoki has delivered 13 of his 22 wins by submission and has solidified his place as one of the most feared ground fighters in the sport.

Hirota, 28, has secured back-to-back quality stoppage wins over former Sengoku champion Satoru Kitaoka and Strikeforce veteran Mitsuhiro Ishida. A 2008 knockout victory against former International Fight League titleholder Ryan Schultz strengthens his resume, which includes eight finishes. Hirota has never been finished in 16 career bouts.

The Aoki-Hirota match was not the only high-profile tilt added to the K-1 mix on New Year’s Eve. Tatsuya Kawajiri will meet Kazunori Yokota in another pivotal lightweight bout.

The 31-year-old Kawajiri has won six of his last seven fights, the lone defeat coming to Alvarez in the 2008 “Fight of the Year.” He counts victories over Cavalcante, Ribeiro, Hansen and UFC veterans Per Eklund and Yves Edwards among his 25 conquests. Kawajiri last competed two months ago, when he stopped the overmatched Melchor Manibusan on first-round strikes at Dream 11.

Yokota will carry a three-fight winning streak into the match. The 31-year-old outpointed the respected Eiji Mitsuoka at Sengoku “Eleventh Battle” last month, maintaining the momentum he gained with a spectacular knockout of Schultz earlier this year. Yokota owns other noteworthy victories over Hirota and reigning Sengoku featherweight king Michihiro Omigawa.


This will easily be the best show of the year!

[dannysguitar]

Man, she is just so unbelievably hot...

Looks like Rampage is on his way to Strikeforce. He says he is not going to renegotiate with UFC. King Mo metioned Rampage at the Evolution post fight conference as a possible opponent. You have to be a deadbeat of a president to have one your fighters as a TUF coach then drive them off with Dana's immature antics. The 2nd consecutive TUF coach to leave at that.

[NCRadioMan]

I think Rampage still has a couple of more fights on his contract before he can leave. He has stated he will definitely fight Rashad in the first one. It was Rampage that screwed everything up. He decided to do A-Team when he was already scheduled to fight Rashad and left the UFC in a lurch. I don't blame Dana for this one.

Looks like legend Don Frye has called it quits and retired from MMA to pursue acting.

My God, the Dynamite 2009 card just keeps getting bigger and better!

The event, which will feature fighters from DREAM, World Victory Road and K-1, recently added an MMA-rules match-up between hard-hitting Melvin Manhoef (23-6-1) and Kazuo Misaki (22-9-2).

Meanwhile, MMA fighter Jason High tweeted on Thursday night that Gegard Mousasi vs. Gary Goodridge will also take place on the card. Michael Kogan, Fighting and Entertainment Group's American director, told MMAFighting.com on Friday that the bout is "close" to being finalized. The fight would take place under K-1 rules.

[NCRadioMan]

I don't really care about this but news has been slow so...............

Frank Shamrock-March Return.

Despite losing three of his last four fights and finding his groove as a television broadcaster, Frank Shamrock isn't ready to hang up his MMA gloves just yet.

The 37-year-old veteran said on a recent edition of The MMA Hour that Strikeforce has asked him to fight on a yet to be announced card "in the first week or so of March."

Shamrock (23-10-2), who most recently lost to Nick Diaz via second-round TKO in April, said that no opponent has been made official just yet.

"Whoever brings ratings. I need ratings. I just need some ratings," Shamrock said when asked who he might face next.

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I thought this ruled!

[ActionAndy]

I think Mousasi's been added to this upcoming Dream card. Does anyone know how to watch these fights? I'm not a very good link hunter but I'm sure it's streamed somewhere (and if there's an official place to pay/watch, I'd prefer that).

[NCRadioMan]

Originally Posted by ActionAndy

I think Mousasi's been added to this upcoming Dream card. Does anyone know how to watch these fights? I'm not a very good link hunter but I'm sure it's streamed somewhere (and if there's an official place to pay/watch, I'd prefer that).

That's right and Mousasi should demolish Goodridge.

Gegard Mousasi vs. Gary Goodridge set for year-end "Dynamite!! 2009" event!

A recently rumored contest between Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi (27-2-1) and UFC and PRIDE veteran Gary Goodridge (23-19-1) is apparently on.

While DREAM, World Victory Road and K-1 officials have yet to make an official announcement, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today spoke with Mousasi's manager and M-1 Global executive Apy Echteld who confirmed "The Dreamcatcher" is currently en route to Japan for the matchup.

Goodridge was not immediately available for comment.

While "Dynamite!! 2009" will feature a collection of kickboxing contests in addition to mixed martial arts bouts, Mousasi and Goodridge will reportedly compete under full MMA rules.

It will be broadcast on cable's HDNet at 3am Eastern Dec. 31st. If you don't have it, Justin tv is a good alternative.

The card is HUGE and I can't wait!

MMA Bouts:

DREAM Heavyweight bout: Gary Goodridge vs. Gegard Mousasi
DREAM vs SRC, Middleweight bout: Melvin Manhoef vs. Kazuo Misaki
DREAM vs SRC, Lightweight bout: Shinya Aoki (DREAM Champion) vs. Mizuto Hirota (SRC Champion)
DREAM vs SRC, Lightweight bout: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazunori Yokota
Sengoku Raiden Championship Heavyweight bout: Satoshi Ishii vs. Hidehiko Yoshida
DREAM vs SRC, Heavyweight bout: Alistair Overeem vs. Kazuyuki Fujita
DREAM vs SRC, Featherweight bout: Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Masanori Kanehara (SRC Champion)
DREAM vs SRC, Welterweight bout: Hayato Sakurai vs. Akihiro Gono
DREAM vs SRC, Heavyweight bout: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Izumi
DREAM vs SRC, Featherweight bout: Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Michihiro Omigawa
DREAM vs SRC, Featherweight bout: Hideo Tokoro vs. Jong Man Kim
DREAM Super Hulk Grand Prix 2009 Final: Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

K-1 Bouts:

K-1 MAX bout: Masato vs. Andy Souwer
K-1 Heavyweight bout: Ray Sefo vs. Yosuke Nishijima
K-1 KOSHIEN 62 kg Class Tournament Semi-Finals: Shota Shimada vs. Katsuki Ishida
K-1 KOSHIEN 62 kg Class Tournament Semi-Finals: Hiroya vs. Masaaki Noiri
K-1 KOSHIEN 62 kg Class Tournament Reserve Fight: Tsukasa Fuji vs. Tatuya Kusakabe
K-1 KOSHIEN 62 kg Class Tournament Final: Hiroya/ Masaaki Noiri vs. Shota Shimada/ Katsuki Ishida

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Mike Swick replaces Josh Koscheck at UFC 109

With welterweight contender Josh Koscheck (14-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) forced to bow out of a planned UFC 109 contest with Paulo Thiago (12-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC), UFC officials were forced to search for a replacement.

They didn't have to look far.

Koscheck's American Kickboxing Academy teammate Mike Swick (14-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) has been tagged as Thiago's new opponent according to a report from AOL FanHouse.

An additional report from Sherdog.com states that Swick has verbally agreed to the contest, though bout agreements have yet to be distributed.

[NCRadioMan]

This is starting to get strange now..............

CANTWELL OFF UFC 108...........REPLACEMENT SOUGHT

And the curse continues...

Vladimir Matyushenko on Tuesday confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that his originally scheduled opponent for this weekend’s UFC 108 in Las Vegas, Steve Cantwell, is out of their fight due to undisclosed reasons.

The UFC has told Matyushenko that they are actively searching to find a replacement, and that he should continue his preparations to make weight on Friday and fight on Saturday.

Leading up to UFC 108, Cantwell had lost two fights in a row and appeared to be in serious need of a win to stay with the promotion. The former WEC champion was moved to the UFC last year when the WEC ceased promoting the 205-pound weight class.

Matyushenko on the other hand recently returned to the UFC for the first time in six years when he defeated Igor Pokrajac at UFC 103 in September. He is currently amidst a run that has seen him win 10 of 11 fights. His only loss during that time was to another recent UFC acquisition, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, when the two fought for Affliction in January.

Its always on Justintv

they should just put UFC 108 on Spike. Even the next 2 or 3 cards after that up until the Nog main event card.

[ActionAndy]

Let's all discuss an upcoming fight: Wandy vs. Bisping.

I think Wanderlei knocks Bisping's head out into the fifth row.

[goalie204]

Originally Posted by ActionAndy

Let's all discuss an upcoming fight: Wandy vs. Bisping.

I think Wanderlei knocks Bisping's head out into the fifth row.

yep

Hope so

Fields dynamite is at 0300, might have to take a nap and set my alarm. .

[NCRadioMan]

Originally Posted by Steelergar

Fields dynamite is at 0300, might have to take a nap and set my alarm. .

Oh, I am ready. 8 hours of MMA/K-1 action!

And yes, let's hope Wandy beats the crap out of Bisping.