Mixed Martial Arts (Official Thread)

[MD Buckeye]

ESPN - Opponents lining up for chance at welterweight champ St. Pierre - MMA

Opponents lining up for chance at welterweight champ St. Pierre

Order has been restored in the UFC welterweight ranks, courtesy of Georges St. Pierre's dominant second-round TKO over Matt Serra at UFC 83.

The 26-year-old from Montreal followed his game plan to perfection: St. Pierre took Serra down from the get-go, demonstrating that Serra's jiu-jitsu could not blunt the relentless attack. St. Pierre put Serra down and kept him there, muscling him on the ground. During the rare times they were on their feet, St. Pierre used straight jabs to hurt Serra and keep him at bay.

"He looked like the real Georges St. Pierre [on Saturday]," said an admiring UFC president Dana White.
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[MD Buckeye]

Hughes-Alves Main Event for UFC 85

Hughes-Alves Main Event for UFC 85

Matt Hughes and Thiago Alves have agreed to fight in the main event of UFC 85, scheduled for June 7 in London, England.

Hughes announced the bout on his Web site Friday. Sherdog.com has confirmed Alves verbally agreed to the fight.

The welterweight contest became necessary after Chuck Liddell was knocked off the card earlier this week with a badly torn quadriceps muscle. Liddell was scheduled to fight Rashad Evans, himself a replacement for Mauricio Rua. Evans is expected to fight James Irvin.

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[MD Buckeye]

Travis Lutter cut from the UFC - MMA - Yahoo! Sports

Travis Lutter cut from the UFC

UFC middleweight and ?The Ultimate Fighter 4? winner Travis Lutter, who most recently suffered a second-round TKO to Rich Franklin at UFC 83, has been released from the UFC.

Lutter confirmed the news with a recent blog post.

The cut is the latest from the UFC, which has been trimming its roster of fighters in recent months. As MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) previously reported, one of the highest-profile cases included Jake O?Brien earlier this month.
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[MD Buckeye]

ESPN - ESPN The Magazine

MMA SUBMISSION: ICEMAN SAYS, "I'LL BE BACK."

For a decade now, Chuck Liddell has been "The Iceman." But for the next four weeks he'll just be the iced man, icing his torn right hamstring every day as he tries to come back in late summer to the UFC.

Liddell first felt a pop during a sparring session earlier this month after hyper-extending his leg. When he tried to bounce back up, he couldn't. Eventually, he scraped himself off the ground, had it checked out and limped home to call UFC president Dana White to tell him he was iffy for his June 7 fight.

It was a big blow for the UFC's London card, since Liddell's scheduled opponent, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, had already been scratched with a torn ACL. Rashad Evans, winner of The Ultimate Fighter's second season, stepped in, which made Liddell/Evans a legit headline event.

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The speculation now is that Liddell could return this September against Shogun. But he also wants a piece of Keith Jardine, who decisioned him a year ago, and believes a win against Shogun would put him in position for a title shot against champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson or challenger Forrest Griffin.

Liddell also wanted to clarify his recent exchanges with Elite XC's Kimbo Slice: He doesn't dislike Slice, he just isn't sold on the former street brawler.

"Until he fights somebody real, it's impossible to say he's a great fighter," he says.

But what about trainer Bas Rutten's repeated declarations that we should take Slice seriously?

"Well, Bas' word means a lot," Liddell says. "And I see that he's saying that everywhere. If he comes up to me and swears that Kimbo is great, then I'll believe it. But he hasn't done that."

 

[MD Buckeye]

Penn-Sherk showdown should be classic grudge match - Boxing - CBSSports.com

Penn-Sherk showdown should be classic grudge match

At UFC 84, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will present the most high profile lightweight fight in the company's history. B.J. Penn and Sean Sherk will fight to determine the best lightweight in UFC and to settle what has become a personal issue between the two.

In July 2007, Sherk successfully defended his UFC Lightweight Title with a decision victory over Hermes Franca. Following the fight, Sherk tested positive for Nandrolone, an anabolic steroid. Sherk protested the test result vehemently, but he was stripped of his title and suspended from fighting.

Penn at the time was in line for a lightweight title shot, and he strongly bashed Sherk for the positive test result.

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[MD Buckeye]

ESPN - Penn out to prove he's the man at lightweight - MMA

Penn out to prove he's the man at lightweight

B.J. Penn may hold the UFC lightweight title, but he didn't beat Sean Sherk to become champion. Beating Sherk at UFC 84 will establish Penn as the true champion at 155 pounds, as well as solidify his place as one of the greatest lightweights of all time.

It is a fight that anyone vaguely familiar with MMA has heard about, and one that should certainly live up to its considerable hype.

"This is a big fight," UFC president Dana White told ESPN.com. "Whether you are a hard-core fan, or just someone who recently got interested in the UFC, people are pumped about this fight. For me, the other fighters and a lot of my staff, this is the big one.

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[MD Buckeye]

ESPN - Ortiz ready to take his show on the road after UFC 84 - MMA

Ortiz ready to take his show on the road after UFC 84

If the UFC's ancillary video producers are on their game, they'll have a camera fixed on company president Dana White during the Lyoto Machida-Tito Ortiz bout Saturday -- preferably one in high definition, all the better to capture every dripping bead of sweat on White's reflectively smooth head.

After a years-long war of words that would make Vince McMahon glow with pride, White and the Huntington Beach Bad Boy are finally set to go their separate ways, with White to continue chairing the biggest, most self-aggrandizing MMA organization in the world and Ortiz to ply his trade for one of the UFC's many upstart competitors.

The emotional volume of Ortiz's exit will go up considerably should he beat Machida, a 12-0 fighter being groomed as a future contender for the light heavyweight title. Ortiz certainly would see a victory as one final shot at White and his flagrantly insulting disposition, and a Machida win would act as a springboard for White to continue burying Ortiz in the media.

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[MD Buckeye]

Affliction prepares to make big splash in mixed martial arts - Boxing - CBSSports.com

Affliction prepares to make big splash in mixed martial arts

The Affliction clothing brand announced plans Tuesday in Los Angeles for its debut MMA show July 19 in Anaheim. Affliction has signed an all-star lineup of fighters in an effort to challenge the industry-leading Ultimate Fighting Championship.

In the main event of the show, former Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko will return to the United States to fight former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. It is the stiffest challenge for Emelianenko in years, and a major opportunity for Sylvia to cement his legacy as a fighter.

"It's finally going to happen," Sylvia said. "I'm excited about that. He's obviously a great fighter and I consider myself to be one of the greats as well."

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[bearonu]

That Affliction fight card, if it actually comes to fruition, will be pretty sick.

Fedor vs. Sylvia
Ben Rothwell vs. TBA (artical states it MIGHT be Arlovski)
Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo
Babalu vs. Mike Whitehead
Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Nascimento
Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Paul Buentello
Savant Young vs. Mark Hominick

 

[The Man]

"It's finally going to happen," Sylvia said. "I'm excited about that. He's obviously a great fighter and I consider myself to be one of the greats as well."

errrrr, wrong again Tim.

 

[BuckNutJoeHall]

Agreed....I mean I guess its good that he thinks so highly of himself. But hes a BORING heavyweight

 

[starBUCKS]

ESPN - ESPN The Magazine


This come up has been crazy. He's always had that underground legend that has stretched beyond Miami... but, shit just 2-3 years ago he was working my door on Memorial Day weekend in Miami. I'm super excited to watch him live up to all they're billing him as.

 

[OCBucksFan]

I just want to see Anderson Silva fight again.

 

[Bucks21]

I just want to see Anderson Silva fight again.

Pretty curious to see in the near future who is going to move up to his weight class or move down to weight class to fight him. IMO GSP and A. Silva are the best fighters period right now.

 

[leroyjenkins]

Pretty curious to see in the near future who is going to move up to his weight class or move down to weight class to fight him. IMO GSP and A. Silva are the best fighters period right now.

I think BJ might have put himself in the conversation after his domination of Sherk.