Category: News (Page 14 of 40)

UFC on Versus 5 Betting Odds: Main Event Even

August 9, 2011 / Drew Ellis

UFC on Versus 5 will take place this Sunday from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the card features some very intriguing fights.

Oddsmakers from BetOnFighting.com have released odds for four of the main card bouts, and each fight has some pretty close money lines.

The main event features a welterweight clash between sluggers Dan Hardy and Chris Lytle. Both men come into the fight with a money line of -115. This should be an entertaining fight if nothing else, as both men are fearless strikers. Lytle should have the edge on the ground, while Hardy may have a little more power in his hands.

In the co-main event, Jim Miller looks to become the No. 1 contender to the UFC Lightweight Championship when he takes on Ben Henderson. Miller has the odds slightly in his favor, at -150, while Henderson has a money line of +120. This should be a great grappling contest, as both men have strong wrestling and submission backgrounds.

For the rest of the odds for UFC on Versus 5, check out the jump.

Betting Odds, Events, Fighters, News, UFC

Amir Sadollah Ben Henderson Charles Oliveira Chris Lytle Dan Hardy Donald Cerrone Duane Ludwig Jim Miller UFC on Versus 5

Matt Hamill retires from MMA

August 8, 2011 / Drew Ellis

If you thought Matt Hamill’s heart might not have been into his UFC 133 fight with Alexander Gustafsson, you might be right.

On Monday, Hamill announced through his website, that he is retiring from competition.

Today is a sad day for me. After six years and 13 fights in the UFC I’m ready to hang up my gloves and retire from this amazing sport.
The UFC has been extremely good to me and given me an opportunity to make a great living. That exposure has allowed me options outside the Octagon as well. I just don’t have it in me to fight anymore and my last two performances have shown that.
I was ready to make this decision after UFC 130 but my friends, family coaches and most importantly my daughter encouraged me to give it one last chance. My career has been plagued by injuries starting with The Ultimate Fighter and disrupted my training ever since.
There hasn’t been even one training camp where I’ve been able to train without training around an injury. I have not been kind to my body and it has nothing left after 28 years of non stop competition. It’s time to finally give it a rest.
I can’t continue to fight without having the hunger and desire to do so. I can’t let my performances reflect on my coaches who are the best in the world and the reason I’ve made it this far.
I have fallen in love with the sport of Mixed Martial Arts and I will continue to coach at our gym Mohawk Valley MMA along side my teammates and help the next generation of fighters make it to the UFC. I also look forward to continuing my business ventures outside the UFC including “Hamill” the movie based on my life story set to be released this fall.
I want to thank Dana White, Joe Silva Lorenzo Fertitta and everyone at the UFC for the opportunity to make something special out of my life.
Thank you to Duff, Holmes, Bruno Tostes, Dave Kingwater, Renzo Gracie, Tim Greene, Daniel Gracie, Pat Popolizio, Ron Gross, Doug Blubaugh and Mark Dellagrotte.
Thank you to all my training partners who have shared their blood sweat and tears with me along the way. Thank you to all my friends and family for their unconditional support and most of all thank you to my fans! It’s the fans that have made this the truly special experience it has been.
The UFC has become family to me and I hope to be involved with the number one mixed martial arts organization in the world as a coach, ambassador and fan for a long time to come.

It’s unfortunate that Hamill is ending his career abruptly. Hopefully he will find success in whatever he does.

Events, Fighters, News, UFC

Alexander Gustafsson Matt Hamill UFC 133

UFC 133 Weigh-In Results: All main card fighters make weight

August 5, 2011 / Drew Ellis

null UFC 133 weigh ins took place on Friday evening and all of the main card fighters made weight for the event.

Rashad Evans and Tito Ortiz (AP photo) had an intense stare down following their weigh ins. Evans played the role of the villain to the Philadelphia crowd while Ortiz pandered to the audience by wearing Philadelphia sports clothing. Despite just weighing a pound more at 205.8 to 204.4, Ortiz looks like a much bigger fighter than Evans.

In the co-main event, Vitor Belfort (185.4) and Yoshihiro Akiyama (184.6) made weight for their middleweight contest. The two are battling for position in division with Belfort possibly earning a title shot with an impressive win.

In an interesting contest, welterweights Rory MacDonald (170.6) and Mike Pyle (170.8) had an intense stare down of their own following their weigh ins. Pyle is the veteran looking to upset the promising star in MacDonald.

The lone fighter to not make weight on Friday was bantamweight, Ivan Menjivar, who weighed in at 138 pounds and opted to take the financial hit as opposed to attempt to lose two more pounds.

For complete weigh in results, check out the jump.

Events, Fighters, News, UFC

Ivan Menjivar Mike Pyle Rashad Evans Rory MacDonald Tito Ortiz UFC 133 Vitor Belfort Yoshihiro Akiyama

Strikeforce, Zuffa done with Fedor Emelianenko

August 4, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Fedor Emelianenko may not be ready to retire, but Zuffa thinks he probably should.

While the company didn’t specifically say that, it was made pretty clear that they have no more interest in Fedor when they decided they will not pursue a new contract with him.

According to MMAFighting.com, Dana White made his feelings about Fedor pretty clear.

Fedor Emelianenko will be cut from the promotion following his loss to Dan Henderson at last Saturday’s Strikeforce/M-1 Fedor vs. Henderson event.
UFC president Dana White — a co-owner of Strikeforce parent company Zuffa LLC — confirmed the news following the UFC 133 press conference on Thursday.
“He’s being cut, yeah,” White told the media. “Why? Do you think we should keep him?”
“You guys thought he was the pound-for-pound best in the world, but I thought he was overrated for years.”

After being unbeaten for 10 years, Fedor has now lost three straight, all by stoppage.

While he still seems competitive, it is clear the mystique behind “The Last Emperor,” has clearly dissolved. His drawing power is not what it was, and Zuffa is no longer interested.

You can’t blame Zuffa from a business stand point, as dealing with Fedor’s extra management of M-1 Global was hard enough when he was on top of the MMA world, it could be even more ridiculous now that he doesn’t have the same credibility.

Fighters, News, Strikeforce

Antonio Silva Dan Henderson Dana White Fabricio Werdum Fedor Emelianenko

Anderson Silva lands deal with Nike

August 3, 2011 / Drew Ellis

The UFC has clearly been working its way up the sponsorship ladder over the years.

Bud Light has been very visible in the octagon for years and AMP Energy, a product of Pepsi, has been making a big sponsorship push as well.

Just this past year, Gatorade has gotten their hands on Georges St. Pierre, and Under Armor has been adding more UFC names to its roster.

Well, the biggest brand has finally put its mark on the UFC, Nike.

According to Sherdog.com, Anderson Silva has landed a sponsorship deal with Nike.

When Anderson Silva enters the cage to defend his UFC middleweight title Aug. 27 in Rio de Janeiro, he will do so as the first Brazilian mixed martial artist to be sponsored by Nike.
The 36-year-old Silva, who meets Japan’s Yushin Okami later this month in the main event of UFC 134, recently closed a sponsorship agreement with the sports apparel mega-brand. Nike Brazil Director of Sports Marketing Luis Alexandre confirmed the deal to UOL.com.br Tuesday; exact terms were not disclosed.

Nike is the big dog in the athletic sponsorship world and it is a big deal for all of MMA for Nike to be on board with the sport.

While it is not surprising that Silva was the one to break through, because of his talents, it is surprising that they would go the international route to start. But, hopefully Nike Brazil can market “The Spider” well and it will lead to more sponsorships for other UFC and MMA stars.

Fighters, News, UFC

Anderson Silva Nike