Archive for December, 2006

Prides Mirko Cro Cop coming to the UFC

Thursday, December 14th, 2006

Reigning PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix champion Mirko Filipovic has apparently decided to bolster the ranks of the UFC heavyweight division, a source inside the Croatian's camp informed Sherdog.com Wednesday. Rumors have buzzed of Filipovic's departure from PRIDE since his official Web site reported in recent days that he would not fight on the Japanese promoter's year-end card.

Filipovic, the No. 2 heavyweight in the world behind PRIDE champion Fedor Emelianenko, would make an immediate impact on a division that has long been considered among the weakest in the UFC. Terms are not known, but it's expected Fillipovic, 32, could sign one of the most expensive multi-fight deals in UFC history. A former K-1 star, "Cro Cop" moved from kickboxing to mixed martial arts in 2001, and has since amassed in impressive 21-4-2 record. His biggest accomplishment in MMA occurred just last September, when the Fighter of the Year candidate stopped Wanderlei Silva and Josh Barnett on the same night to capture PRIDE's Grand Prix crown. It was believed tournament victory would secure Filipovic a second crack at Emelianenko, whom the Croatian lost to by decision in epic August 2005 clash.

Filipovic's four losses have come against Emelianenko, former K-1 World Grand Prix champion Mark Hunt, a shocking knockout against former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman  and by submission in a classic battle against former PRIDE heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. "Cro Cop" is renowned for his striking skills, which features a devastating left high kick that is responsible for highlight-reel victories against the likes of Silva, Igor Vovchanchyn and Aleksander Emelianenko.

The super-striker would immediately vault to the top of the contender list for Tim Sylvia's UFC heavyweight belt, should the "Maine-iac," who is currently renegotiating his contract with the Las Vegas-based promoter, remain with the organization. There has been some discussion inside the UFC that "Cro Cop," who was not under contract to PRIDE, would make his cage-fighting debut versus Jake O'Brien, a young, undefeated fighter whose strength is on the mat.

Source: Sherdog 

Talk about Cro-Cop here

Hughes Vs GSP 3 is on!

Wednesday, December 13th, 2006

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is coming to Canada with current welterweight champion Georges St Pierre taking on former champion Matt Hughes in Montreal on April 7.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the UFC's Canadian debut in speaking to reporters Tuesday on the eve of the Ultimate Fight Night card Wednesday (8 p.m.) on a U.S. military base.

St. Pierre stripped Hughes of his 170-pound belt in dominant fashion Nov. 18 in Sacramento, scoring a second-round technical knockout to avenge a submission loss to the American in October 2004.

The 25-year-old from Montreal is set to make his first title defence in Las Vegas on Feb. 3 against Matt Serra, the winner of Season 4 of The Ultimate Fighter reality TV show.

Making the St. Pierre-Hughes rubber match in Montreal the UFC's first show in Canada is a no-brainer for the mixed martial arts circuit. St. Pierre will draw fans to the Bell Centre while Hughes is a ready-made villain, certain to help pump up the fight. 

The former champion did his bit to muddy Canada-U.S. relations prior to UFC 65: Bad Intentions in Sacramento when he sneered at Canada's foreign policies and questioned Canadians' hearts. St. Pierre also was upset at remarks Hughes reportedly made on a Los Angeles radio station about the French's lack of warrior spirit.

"How fun is that going to be," White said mischievously Tuesday of the Montreal fight. "How crazy do you that place going to be that night? How do you think it's going to be for Hughes when he walks in with 16,000 Canadians in there? They're going to kill him."
The anti-Hughes vibe will probably only serve as fuel to the former champion's fire. Hughes is a canny veteran fighter who has plenty to prove after being dismantled by St. Pierre.

Montreal, meanwhile, has already proved to be fertile ground for MMA via the TKO shows run by St. Pierre's manager Stephane Patry.
St. Pierre is already enjoying the perks of being a champion. The UFC gave him a Hummer for winning the title, no doubt a welcome but somewhat awkward gift for someone who had just splurged on a Nissan truck.

Next week, he and several other UFC big-name fighters are touring three U.S. three military sites.

"He's amazing. He's such a great champion for us," White said. "He's good-looking, he's in great shape, he's one of the nicest human beings you could ever meet. . . . Everybody loves Georges St Pierre."

White also hopes to have Canada host an Ultimate Fight Night televised card next year.

Source: Canada.com via MMAUniverse.com

Talk about Hughes Vs GSP 3 here.

Pride: Mirko & Fedor off the New Years Eve Fight card

Wednesday, December 13th, 2006

It was confirmed today that Mirko won't be  fighting at PRIDE's NYE event.
"I still can't kick like I want to. It's the best that we give more time to this injury to heal. I want to be in perfect shape for my next fights."

But there's one far more important question lately – in which promotion will Mirko fight in the future? The big decision was made and the official statement will follow soon.

Yesterday during evening training Fedor has broken a toe and now hardly can take part on New Year's display.

Talk about Cro Cop & Fedor here. 

Subsidiary of Zuffa, LLC Acquires Assets from World Fighting Alliance, Inc.

Tuesday, December 12th, 2006

Las Vegas, NV – A subsidiary of Zuffa, LLC, which owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship® brand, announced today that it acquired select assets from the World Fighting Alliance (WFA) organization. WFA Enterprises, LLC, a subsidiary of Zuffa, purchased select fighter contracts and the trademarks and other intellectual property of World Fighting Alliance, Inc., a corporation owned by Las Vegas attorneys, Ross Goodman and Louis Palazzo. The acquisition further solidifies Zuffa as the preeminent fight promoter in the world and infuses the organization with more of the world’s top MMA fighters.

Dana White, UFC President and Zuffa co-owner said, “Zuffa is committed to giving our fans the best fights between the best fighters in the world. This acquisition helps us continue fulfilling that goal.” White also said, “Goodman and Palazzo were working towards building a strong promotion. But bringing the WFA fighters into the Zuffa family is the best thing that could happen for the fighters – and for the fans.”

The WFA organization held four events, the most recent in July at the L.A. Forum with a solid fight card that was shown on pay-per-view television. “This is an exciting time for MMA as evidenced by the 60 Minutes story last night and we are glad that the WFA has played a leading role,” said Ross Goodman, President of the WFA. “This business opportunity presented itself and it made sense for everybody to make this transition.”

Under the terms of the purchase, World Fighting Alliance, Inc. will cease all operations.

Kurt Angle to make UFC MMA debut in 2007

Monday, December 11th, 2006

WWE Superstar Kurt Angle confirmed that he will fight MMA in May or June of 2007.

Angle mentioned Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture, Ken Shamrock and Daniel Puder as potential opponents. Angle does know who he will be fighting but doesnt want to let on just yet.

The list of fighters touted by Angle would suggest that he has signed with the UFC.

My thoughts? Idiot. He's got a history of problems with his neck, and I don't know who he thinks he is throwing those big names about. Liddell and Tito are blatantly out of his league, which leaves Couture, Shamrock and Puder. The former two having retired.

Despite what the article says, and if there is any truth in this report, then I'd say Puder would be the obvious choice in the Strikeforce promotion. Puder's notched up a 4-0 record, with his most recent three wins coming after his short period in WWE, where Puder humiliated Angle in a shoot. It'd certainly get the wrestling fans interested. I just can't see that the UFC would take a risk on such an unknown quantity.

Thanks Kieran for the news

Read about it here

Cage Warriors Enter The Rough House Fight Report

Sunday, December 10th, 2006

To see the fight report for this top show please go to http://www.loveufc.com/forum/index.php/topic,652.0.html

Cage Warriors Enter The Rough House Fight Results

Sunday, December 10th, 2006

What a Night if you missed this you missed a top night.

Dean Amasinger v Wayne Murray 

Wayne Murray TKO due to Ground and Pound 11 secs Round 2

Tamai "Big T" Harding v Dave Campos

Tamai "Big T" Harding TKO due to Ground and Pound 2.27 Mins Round 1

Rob Askew v Victor Aniolek

Rob Askew TKO due to Ground and Pound 1.23 Mins Round 1

"Psycho" Steve Tetley v Denas Bonevkgiciys

"Psycho" Steve Tetley Guillotine Choke 1.36 Mins Round 1

Christian Smith v Michael Turner

Christian Smith Tap Out due to Ground and Pound 1.51 Mins Round 1

Matt Hasland v Cliff Hall

Cliff Hall Rear Naked Choke 2.01 Mins Round 1

Chris Cooper v Przemyslaw Mysiala

Przemyslaw Mysiala Choke 33 Sec Round 1

Jimmy Wallhead v Dennis Siver

Dennis Siver Arm Bar 3.34 Mins Round 2

Gregory Bouchelaghem v Gegard Mousasi

Gegard Mousasi Tap Out due to Ground and Pound 2.70 Min Round 1

Wayne Buck v Will Coonie

Wayne Buck KO 1.55 Round 1

Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy v Alexandre "Xandinho" Izidro

Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy Ref Stoppage due to Ground and Pound 4.56 Mins Round 3

Full fight report to follow  

 

Cage Rage 19 Results

Saturday, December 9th, 2006

Wow! what a night. Here are the results.

Francesco Ligato vs Sumley Mahmoud
Suley Won with a rear naked choke hold (1st Round 0:37)

Matt Ewin vs Alan McCauley
Matt Won with a rear naked choke hold (1st Round 1:53)

Jess Liaudin vs Ross Mason
Jess Won with a heel leg lock (1st Round 2:55)

Xavier Foupa Pokam vs Alex Reid
Xavier Won Judges Decision (2nd Round 0:54) Alex had eye injury

Alan Murdock vs Dave Legino
Dave Won with a rear naked choke (1st Round 4:10)

Danilo Cherman vs Jean Silva
Danilo Won Full time Judges decision. Danilo had a broken arm in 2nd round.

Elvis Sinosic vs Mark Epstein
Elvis Won with an arm bar (1st Round 2:47)

Luiz Azeredo vs Paul Daley
Luiz Won full time Judges Decision.

Daisuke Nakamura vs Vitor Ribeiro
Vitor Won with Referee stoppage on arm bar (1st Round 3:55)

Wesley Correira vs Tengiz Tedoradz
Cancelled Fight due to someone bottling Wesley in the morning of the fight (Concussion)

Zelg Galesic vs Mark Weir
Zelg Won TKO (1st Round 0:50)

Eric Esch vs Rob Broughton
Rob Won TKO (2nd Round 2:??)

Discuss about Cage Rage 19 here.

UFC All Access Videos

Friday, December 8th, 2006





Cheers Pitbullpeebs for the links

FX3 “EXTREME” MIXED MARTIAL ARTS RETURNS TO THE UK ON SATURDAY 10th March 2007

Friday, December 8th, 2006

At the Rivermead Complex Richfield Avenue Reading Berkshire RG1 8EQ

On Saturday 10th March

Please go to for more details

http://www.loveufc.com/forum/index.php/topic,641.0.html