Category: News (Page 21 of 40)

      Breaking: Nate Marquardt fails physical, no longer with the UFC

      June 25, 2011 /

      nullIn a big blow to the UFC Live 4 card, headliner Nate Marquardt will not be able to compete against Rick Story on Sunday after failing the pre-fight physical.

      Following the failed physical, UFC President posted this, stating Marquardt will no longer be with the UFC

      MMAJunkie.com was the first to report on the matter

      MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned that Marquardt is a late scratch from Sunday’s UFC on Versus 4 event, and opponent Rick Story (13-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) will now instead meet Charlie Brenneman (12-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) on the evening’s main card.

      With the late change, a highly-anticipated heavyweight bout between Pat Barry (6-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) and Cheick Kongo (15-6-2 MMA, 8-4-1 UFC) has now been promoted to main-event status.

      The reason for Marquardt’s last-minute withdrawal, mere hours before he was scheduled to hit the scales at the event’s official weigh-ins, wasn’t immediately evident. However, Marquardt’s camp did release a statement insisting the setback was temporary and his future still lies at 170 pounds.

      “Nate is really disappointed,” the statement read. “He really was looking forward to making his welterweight debut, and he plans to be back in there as soon as possible.”

      Brenneman is the replacement, but that probably won’t suit Story, who took this fight on short notice for a chance to really thrust himself into the title picture. This fight seems like a lose-lose situation for Story.

      For Marquardt, it is hard to know what will happen next, but clearly there is still more to this story.

      Events, Fighters, News, UFC

      UFC Live 4: A reason to get on Facebook

      June 25, 2011 /

      nullIf you weren’t on Facebook before, the UFC is giving you plenty of reason to do it now.

      Once again, the premiere MMA organization is airing preliminary fights for an event on the social media network.

      This Sunday, UFC Live 4 featured four main card bouts, but will have 7 prelim fights, and all will air live on Facebook, starting at 4:55 p.m.

      Now, I am a big fan of watching any fight, but the UFC Live 4 prelims are really an impressive set of bouts.

      The first fight of the night will feature Michael Johnson, who was a punch or two away from winning the Ultimate Fighter Season 13.

      Then you have fighters like Joe Lauzon and Daniel Roberts taking the octagon and an impressive lightweight showdown from Charles Oliveira and Nik Lentz.

      You also have the featherweight debuts from Joe Stevenson and Tyson Griffin. Griffin will face off with Manny Gamburyan in a bout that I personally think will be a PPV quality fight.

      I have to hand it to the UFC. Years ago, you used to have to buy the event DVD to watch prelim fights, but now, they are providing them through all sorts of means, including YouTube and Facebook.

      So, once again, if you haven’t “Liked” the UFC on Facebook, you better do it before 5 p.m. tomorrow, or you are going to miss out on some impressive fights.

      Events, Fighters, News, UFC

      You can’t be serious: Ken Shamrock and James Toney to fight

      June 24, 2011 /

      nullApril Fools!

      Wait…..it’s June. So does that mean this is real?

      Well, according to MMAFighting.com, it is happening.

      Most people believed the multi-divisional boxing champion was one and done in the sport after losing to Randy Couture last August, but nearly a year after the disastrous debut, Toney has decided to return for another go-round. Toney and MMA pioneer Ken Shamrock have both signed on the dotted line to oppose each other in a fall event that is still being planned.

      Toney’s trainer Trever Sherman confirmed the matchup to MMA Fighting.

      BJPenn.com first reported the matchup, attaching it to a September 23 date in El Paso, Texas. Sherman, though, said to his knowledge, neither a date or location has been finalized. He said that Toney, Shamrock, their management teams and event promoters would meet this Saturday night to further discuss particulars.

      The worst part about this matchup is that Toney could actually win and think that he is good at MMA. Shamrock is currently 2-7 in his last 9 fights and has shown little ability to still compete against anyone in MMA.

      Toney was manhandled by Randy Couture at UFC 118, his only MMA contest. Still, he has the punching power to KO Shamrock if the aging veteran can’t get the fight to the ground.

      Either way, a fighter is getting an undeserved win on his record when this bout is over.

      Events, Fighters, News

      UFC Live 4 Odds: Story Favored To Beat Marquardt

      June 23, 2011 /

      nullThe odds for UFC Live 4 have been released, courtesy of BetOnFighting.com, and there are some interesting betting lines for the event.

      In the main event, Rick Story is actually favored at -130 against Nate Marquardt, who is making his welterweight debut with a money line of +100.

      Story is on a nice run, but Marquardt seems to have the better package to me. Marquardt may not be getting the respect due to his past struggles with wrestlers, but Story doesn’t have the same size that Marquardt had to deal with when he fought the likes of Chael Sonnen and Yushin Okami.

      In the co-main event, Cheick Kongo is favored to beat Pat Barry as Kongo has a line of -205 while Barry has odds of +165.

      Kongo has the experience factor on Barry, who has still not quite lived up to his potential. Barry has really been drilling his ground game, which will be key in this contest.

      For complete odds for each of Sunday’s fights, check out the jump.

      Continue reading »

      Betting Odds, Events, Fighters, News, UFC

      UFC Live 4 Preview: Pat Barry vs. Cheick Kongo

      June 22, 2011 /

      nullThe heavyweight division is too big for the likes of Pat Barry and Cheick Kongo to both survive.

      So, that is why it is important for both men to get a win on Sunday night when they face off at UFC Live 4 from the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.

      Here is a look at both sluggers coming into this contest.

      Pat Barry (6-2) – Pat Barry is a legend in his own mind. The kickboxer has some tremendous skills, but his failure to build on those skills have led to some poor losses to Tim Hague and Mirko CroCop. Barry has the skills to beat a lot of top level fighters, but he needs to develop better grappling skills and have more of a killer instinct. In this fight, he will likely have a striking edge, but he will lack the overall size that Kongo has and may not have the grappling skills to match his opponent.

      Cheick Kongo (15-6-2) – Kongo isn’t as intimidating as he looks. He fights very stiff and doesn’t have a lot of good technique in any area of the fight game. His striking can be powerful, but it isn’t crisp. His grappling is okay, but not great. For this fight, he isn’t going to want to stand in front of Barry much, as he will have to eat some pretty bad leg kicks to do so. Look for Kongo to fight in the clinch and put his weight on Barry to tire him out.

      Who Will Win: This is a tough one to call. Both men have obvious flaws. I think Barry has more potential, but Kongo has the experience to win this fight. I think Barry’s lack of grappling skills will be a big factor in this contest. As much as I would like to see a kickboxer like Barry win, I think Kongo will pull out a decision in this one.

      Events, Fighters, News, UFC

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