Only after Maia's triangle attempt and it lasted under 12 seconds until Maia reversed it. and he only escaped full mount when Maia attempted a armbar with 30 seconds left in the round. Any advance in position J mac got was given to him then quickly reversed.
[Reply]

You're right, I just went back and watched it. For some reason I guess I was shocked how well JMac was holding up, I thought he was going to get subbed easy in the first round.

Either way I still can't see Maia beating Silva. His standup is still way too poor to compete with the likes of Anderson, it is going to take a real special fighter to beat Silva, I think we all know that already though.
[Reply]

UFC 104 ON OCTOBER 24 IN L.A. ANNOUNCED

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Monday officially announced the return of the promotion to California. UFC 104, featuring a main event pitting light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida against challenger Mauricio Shogun Rua, will take place on Oct. 24 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Cain Velasquez and the newly acquired Ben Rothwell will also square off in a heavyweight battle at UFC 104.

Its been two years since the UFC was in Southern California and we knew we had to bring something special for our return to the capital of mixed martial arts, said UFC president Dana White.
[Reply]

Fedor vs. Brett Rogers Announced:
http://mmamania.com/2009/08/26/fedor...ght-announced/

Strikeforce announced today at an open media workout in New York City that its prized free agent acquisition, Fedor Emelianenko (30-1), will make his promotional debut against undefeated hard-hitting heavyweight prospect, Brett Rogers (10-0).

No confirmed date or location is available at this time; however, the showdown is likely to happen on a Showtime-produced card sometime in November.

Emelianenko — a former Pride FC Heavyweight Champion and Affliction MMA headliner — recently signed a multi-fight contract with the San Jose-based mixed martial arts promotion under a special co-promotion agreement with M-1 Global.

“The Last Emperor” was in cruise control under the Affliction MMA banner after back-to-back wins over former UFC heavyweight champions Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski.

He was in line for a WAMMA title defense against Josh Barnett at the Aug. 1 “Trilogy” event until “The Babyface Assassin” got popped for steroids in a random pre-fight drug test.

The cash-strapped promotion closed up shop shortly thereafter, leaving Emelianenko (once again) the hottest free agent in mixed martial arts. After a hot and heavy pursuit from the UFC, Emelianenko opted to sign with Strikeforce primarily because of the co-promotion caveat.

Rogers is coming off a devastating knockout win over former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski at the “Lawler vs. Shields” event from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo., on June 6.

Rogers was a +300 underdog heading into the fight but needed just 0:-)2 seconds to put “The Pitbull” to sleep — the second time for Arlovski in as many fights.

“The Grimm,” now 10-0, looks poised to capitalize on his new found stature. “This sport is all about timing,” he said. “This fight took me to the next level and now is definitely my time. Everyone saw tonight that I am not one to play with.”

We’ll find out soon enough as he now prepares to take on arguably the top mixed martial arts fighter on the planet.
[Reply]

I tuned into the Scotty Farrell show on Sirus radio tonight and was treated to hear Fedor, Mousasi, and Rodgers being interviewed. Scotty asked Fedor all types of questions and Fedor gave his usual diplomatic response. One caller asked Mousasi about fighting Machida and Mousasi responded that it is a fight everybody wants to see and that he has better stand up skills than Machida but nobody gives him credit for that. Fedor also said that he has been training in a cage for the fight.
I'm expecting some good fights tomorrow night in the M1 event. While alot of the fighters don't have name reconition now they might after tomorrow.
On another note Quinton Rampage Jackson is going to play Mr T in the new A-Team movie.
[Reply]

I love listening to Farrell. I don't travel as much at night anymore so don't get to hear him as much which is unfortunate because he has a GREAT show and has always been very pro-MMA on it.
[Reply]

Yeah, didn't Ferrell do some backstage stuff with Affliction? I have listened to him since I first heard him on the old One-On-One Sports Network back in the early 90's

IS WEC ON THE COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION?
by Ken Pishna - MMAWeekly.com

Perhaps Dana White has grown a little gun shy over the years, with all the media miscues on possible TV deals The Ultimate Fighter had several before it finally came to fruition in January of 2005 but the UFC president has all but confirmed the promotions intention to fold World Extreme Cagefighting into the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

White and co.s decision appears to be more or less a timetable issue and negotiation between the sibling promotions television partners.

In a rather telling exchange at the pre-fight press conference for this weekends UFC 102 in Portland, Ore., White was asked about adding more weight classes to the UFC, to which he replied, If we do any more weight classes, its gonna be lower, adding lighter weight classes.

Asked what the chances of such additions actually were, he replied, very good, and indicated that a plausible timeframe for the additions was probably real soon.

When pressed as to whether that meant that WEC would basically fold into the UFC, White replied as a Cheshire grin spread across his face, It doesnt really mean that, but...

It really means that.

The official company line, according to White: What that means is Ive gotta figure some (expletive) out.

In a recent article on Yahoo! Sports, Kevin Iole suggested the UFCs decision to keep the WEC a separate entity from the UFC fundamentally depriving fighters such as Miguel Torres of the biggest stage in the sport was one of the most grievous mistakes that White and company CEO Lorenzo Fertitta have made in their eight-and-a-half year tenure.

Sitting on the podium in front of a handful of reporters, including Iole, White said, I dont disagree with (the) article.

He added later, Even with all the things that we know how to do and the deal with have with Versus, which is a great deal, its still hard to make money and pay the guys what they deserve to get paid, or what they think they deserve to get paid and to run the business and make it a profitable business.

So whats holding him back? The complexities of TV land.

The WEC recently extended its television contract with the Versus network. The UFC, meanwhile, is under an exclusive basic cable contract with the competing Spike TV network. Add to that a potential network TV deal in the works for the UFC, which White has hinted at for months, and three entities are competing for Zuffas attention. Ironing out those wrinkles appears to be the likely culprit in keeping the WEC in its current bubble.

Its an obvious challenge, but White says its not insurmountable.

Ive got some (expletive) I gotta figure out, he stated in true Dana White fashion, But like I said earlier, weve had bigger problems. I will figure this out.
[Reply]

Randy Couture Vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira - I'll take Couture
Keith Jardine Vs. Thiago Silva - Slug fest; Jardine by herky-jerky
Chris Leben Vs. Jake Rosholt - Why is this on here
Nate Marquardt Vs. Demian Maia - Margquardt by well roundedness
Brandon Vera Vs. Krzysztof Soszynski - Should be a very good fight; probably the 2nd best of the night.
UC: Gabriel Gonzaga Vs. Chris Tuchscherer - I'll take Brock's training partner.
[Reply]

I agree except I will go with Vera and Gonzaga. Marquardt/Maia is too tough for me to call.

You describe Jardine perfectly. :-)
[Reply]

Dana White: WEC isn't going away, merger with UFC is unlikely
http://mmamania.com/2009/08/28/dana-...ly/#more-14815

Despite recent reports to the contrary, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) isn’t “going away” anytime soon.

UFC President Dana White reiterated the statement yesterday at the pre-fight press conference for UFC 102: “Couture vs. Nogueira,” saying that plans were not in place to merge the Zuffa-owned property and its roster of fighters into the UFC fold. In addition, there are plans afoot to possibly add lighter weight classes to the UFC — an area that is the primary focus of the WEC.

While the idea seems fun in the eyes of most MMA fans, there are many parts of the business side of the sport that would prevent such a thing from happening … mainly the television deals.

UFC currently has an exclusive deal with Spike TV while the WEC is partnered up with the Versus network. It would be very unlikely a deal could be struck involving both networks that wouldn’t leave one or both in a less profitable situation than they’re in now.

For that reason, among others, White says the two promotions are going to remain separate for now, according to a Sherdog.com report.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t changes on the horizon for the WEC.


The organization has long talked about adding a flyweight division (125 pounds) to its roster, and apparently that idea will come to fruition very soon, which is good news for a promotion starving for more marketable talent.

It’s also no secret that the WEC fighters pull in far less money on average than that of a UFC fighter. While that has a lot to do with pay-per-view (PPV) revenue, it also has something to do with the marketability of the organization as a whole.

Put simply, the WEC name just doesn’t carry the same weight as the UFC.

Here’s what White had to say about that:

“Even with all the things that we know how to do and the deal that we have with Versus — which is a great deal — it’s still hard to make money and to pay the guys what they deserve to be paid, or what they think they deserve to be paid, and to run the business and make it a profitable business. There is always going to be huge discrepancy in the pay between WEC and UFC.”

For that reason, regardless of what happens right now, the merger could still continue to remain a future possibility.

If an influx of more talent or adding another division can’t inject some life into the organization, then Zuffa might potentially have to look at it like its not marketing and pulling in money off of stars like Mike Brown, Brian Bowles, Urijah Faber, Miguel Torres, Jose Also, Donald Cerrone, and others like they could be doing if those fighters were competing in the Octagon instead.

So the WEC will remain the WEC and the UFC will remain the UFC … for now.
[Reply]

Soszynski has been rolling and impressive. Vera is going to be a big test for him, though I pick Sozynski because lately Vera fades when the stakes are raised. I'd really like to see both these guys move up the ranks @ 205.

I'm no fan of Maia, though that guy has amazing takedowns and throws.

And I just like watching Jardine fight. He has been on the wrong end of a couple of beatdowns but you'll never say that guy didn't come in to fight.

ehh! :-)
Did you see the riff with M-1 and Frye. Apparently he didn't like them changing venues 5 times. I would have liked to see that fight with Lawal.
[Reply]

There was some boring fights at the M1 event last night. Kerr looks like he needs a new job. It was fun seeing Fedor's Judo throws on Mousasi though. Also their refs are pretty bad and the ring looked crappy as well. They have alot of work cut out for them. And I can't stand the annoucers for HD net. Guy Mezger seems to belittle the fighters the whole time cause he thinks his striking is perfect. Bring back Bas Rutten.

Anybody see the UFC 102 weigh in? Maia and Nate were pushing their heads against eachother and had to be slighty separated. Its going to be a war.
[Reply]

Seems like the cards that I don't think will be good turn out to be...good. Some great fights at 102 and several surprise KO's. Nog looked really good. He had to have been hurt when he fought Mir. He had no problems with Captain America. Jardine going down so fast was a big surprise as was Maia. That one totally shocked me. Reminded me of when Arlovski got ko'd by Fedor. Seeing Leban put to sleep was nice and Vera looked great.
[Reply]

For such an unpopular card, there was a lot of great fights. Really enjoyed that one. Randy escaped a couple of close submissions and almost got TKOed. Nog looked great.

I think Nate and Dan should fight to see who really deserves the rematch with Anderson. Nate vs Rich would be a great fight too, but I don't know if Rich will come back to MW.
[Reply]

IMO, Nog should take the winner of the Carwin and Lesnar fight. Only problem with that is they're spaced apart a good amount to where it's near the point that Nog would need to possibly sit until the fight comes along with the winner of the above fights.
[Reply]

decent card for one that i expected to be so boring. Main event was exciting
[Reply]

Missed it as I was at a bachelor party last night, but shocked to hear that Nog looked that good.
[Reply]

I'm still in denial so no one mention Randy Couture to me for a while, please...
[Reply]

Card turned out to be fantastic! Some great knockouts and the main event was excellent. Nog looked great and Randy was a stud! 46yo and just rocking and ready to go on. I was impressed with how this card came out. I'd really like to see a rematch between Mir and Nog with Nog being fully healthy.
[Reply]

COUTURE INKS NEW DEAL TO FINISH CAREER IN UFC

Five-time UFC champion Randy Couture on Saturday evening inked a new six-fight contract that will replace a three-fight deal he signed in September 2008 after a contentious 11-month absence from the promotion.

At a Thursday press conference promoting UFC 102, UFC president Dana White hinted at a contract extension, saying he wanted to keep the beloved champion in the fold until retirement, whenever that came.

At the post-fight press conference for the Pacific Northwest event, White confirmed the deal, stating, (Couture) will be with us for a lot more fights.

Couture said he would end his career in the Octagon, adding the term of the deal was for 28 months.

Coutures decision loss Saturday to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira served as the first obligation of the contract. Couture representative Sam Spira on Saturday evening declined to discuss the terms of the deal, but confirmed its existence.

Matt Walker, Coutures agent, said the deal was a great showing of respect to an icon of the sport.

One source with knowledge of the negotiations MMAWeekly.com spoke with said the contract could be valued at the same amount the UFC allegedly offered Fedor Emelianenko following Affliction Entertainments collapse.

Couture said he would let the dust settle from this fight before deciding his next challenge, which could be another bout at heavyweight or a possible return to light heavyweight.

Whatever he wants to do, Im in, said White.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BRISTOL, Conn. -- Kenny Florian looks healthy and happy 19 days after his loss to B.J. Penn at UFC 101, and he says he's hoping to get back into the Octagon in November, with Clay Guida as his likely opponent.

I caught up with Florian here at ESPN's headquarters, where he moonlights as an MMA analyst for the Worldwide Leader, and he said he's feeling good and hoping he doesn't have to wait any longer than November to fight again. He said a fight with Guida at UFC 106 on November 21 in Las Vegas has not been finalized, but that he's optimistic it will get done.

"Clay's a tough guy," Florian said of his likely next opponent. "He'll keep coming at you."

Florian said he loved Guida's June fight with Diego Sanchez, which is regarded by many MMA fans as the best fight so far this year. Florian said he thought Sanchez was about to finish Guida in the first round, and that he admired Guida's tenacity in continuing to fight -- and fight well -- through the second and third.

"You could make a good case that Guida won the second and third rounds," Florian said. "He never quits."

http://mma.fanhouse.com/2009/08/27/k...06-in-november
[Reply]