Category: News (Page 18 of 40)

Ortiz vs. Evans II set as UFC 133 main event

July 13, 2011 / Drew Ellis

null On second thought, why not?

Tito Ortiz (AP Photo) had a change of heart, and has elected to fill in for Phil Davis at UFC 133 and face Rashad Evans in the main event, according to MMAFighting.com.

It was the fight that Tito Ortiz simply couldn’t be talked into…until he was. Less than 24 hours after explaining via Twitter that he had turned down the fight because he had “a life and things to take care of,” Ortiz was in against Rashad Evans at UFC 133 according to a tweet from UFC president Dana White.
“Get ready philly for Rashad Evans vs Tito Ortiz!!! Aug 6th LIVE on PPV at the Wells Fargo Center!!!!!!” White wrote at around 7:30 pm ET.
Ortiz’s Twitter response was a more muted one some fifteen minutes before, as he wrote simply, “Only for the UFC!”
The move ended a furious day’s worth of speculation about who would fill in for the injured Phil Davis on short notice, with both Ortiz and former UFC light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida reportedly turning down the fight.

This will be a rematch of a draw that took place back at UFC 73. Ortiz was penalized a point for holding on to the cage during one of the rounds, otherwise he might have scored a win over Evans.

Events, Fighters, News, UFC

Lyoto Machida Phil Davis Rashad Evans Tito Ortiz UFC 133

Davis injured, UFC working toward Evans vs. Machida II for UFC 133

July 13, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Well, another main event has bit the dust for the UFC.

According to MMAFighting.com, Davis suffered a knee injury and he will have to pull out of the planned fight with Rashad Evans at UFC 133 on Aug. 6.

The UFC has been scurrying to find a replacement with Tito Ortiz apparently turning down an offer to take the fight.

MMAFighting.com originally reported that Lyoto Machida was taking the fight, but that has not been made official and the site has since retracted its story.

Still, the UFC is hoping it can land Machida for this fight, which would be an upgrade from the Evans-Davis fight. The real question will be if Machida can, and is willing, to take the fight on short notice.

Machida dominated Evans in their first meeting at UFC 98, as he took the light heavyweight title from Evans.

Events, Fighters, News, UFC

Lyoto Machida Phil Davis Rashad Evans Tito Ortiz

MMA Game Changers: Rashad Evans

July 9, 2011 / Drew Ellis

It’s easy to bring up the word game changer and think of one man in the light heavyweight division.

The obvious answer is current champion, Jon Jones.

But, while Jones still has a few questions to answer, one man that truly changed the landscape of the division is Rashad Evans.

The winner of Season 2 of the Ultimate Fighter, Evans is a fighter that puts together a unique combination of elite-level wrestling and devastating striking.

Evans more represents today’s growing crop of MMA stars than any other in the UFC, especially in the light heavyweight division.

Evans started as a wrestler, coming off a successful collegiate career at Michigan State University, but as he evolved in the UFC, he became one of the top knockout artists in the organization.

His head kick KO of Sean Salmon put Evans on the map, but his brutal right hand KO of Chuck Liddell back at UFC 88 is what truly signified a new time in the UFC.

Fighters, News, UFC

Chuck Liddell Forrest Griffin Jon Jones Lyoto Machida Quinton “Rampage” Jackson Rashad Evans Sean Salmon Thiago Silva

Chael Sonnen is back, and he is swinging for the fences

July 7, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Chael Sonnen is free to fight, and it looks like he wants to fight everyone, especially anyone from Brazil.

Sonnen sat down with MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani prior to UFC 132 and he was in classic form. The full 19-minute interview is below.

Sonnen throws bombs at nearly everyone from Brazil, especially Anderson Silva and Wanderlei Silva. Despite his attacks toward Team Blackhouse, it appears that Sonnen will make his return to the UFC against rising middleweight, Brian Stann.

I don’t know that Sonnen will be able to insult an American hero and make people laugh, but we will have to wait and see.

Fighters, News, UFC, Videos

Brian Stann Chael Sonnen Jose Aldo Wanderlei Silva

Top 10 Featherweight Rankings

July 6, 2011 / Drew Ellis

null The rankings schedule has made it way back to featherweight.

Not too much has changed in the division since I last came out with my 145-pound top 10, but we did have some debuts and a mild upset or too.

Here is a look at my latest top 10 for the featherweight division.

1. Jose Aldo (19-1) – Aldo is the champion and awaits his next opponent. It looks to be Kenny Florian, but a date and location have yet to be set. Aldo showed some signs of vulnerability against Mark Hominick, but still dominated a great deal of their 25-minute fight. Florian will need to be on top of his game to take Aldo’s title.

2. Chad Mendes (10-0) – The wrestling master has been labeled the No. 1 contender for Aldo, but he opted not to wait for the champion to heal up with some injuries and will now take on Rani Yahya at UFC 133, with his title shot on the line. Mendes likely has the grappling edge in this one, but will have to avoid the slick submissions of Yahya.

3. Kenny Florian (14-5) – Florian won his featherweight debut over Diego Nunes and now appears to be in line for a title shot. Florian didn’t look his best, but the first fight at a lower weight class is always the toughest. Florian will have a strong game plan to fight Aldo, the question will be if he can execute it?

Events, Fighters, News, Rankings, UFC

Chad Mendes Diego Nunes Dustin Poirier Erik Koch Hatsu Hioki Jose Aldo Kenny Florian Manny Gamburyan Mark Hominick Tyson Griffin