Category: News (Page 30 of 40)

Carwin excited for opportunity to face dos Santos

May 13, 2011 / Drew Ellis

When word came that Brock Lesnar was unable to fight at UFC 131 against Junior dos Santos in June, it seemed like a no-brainer to throw Shane Carwin into the main event.

The burly heavyweight was excited at the chance to step in for Lesnar and didn’t want to let an opportunity pass him by, as he said in his blog.

I was training and my phone was blowing up so I looked over and saw some missed calls from Dana and Joe Silva. I reached out to my manager to see what was going on and he informed me that we are taking Lesnar’s spot for 131.
Junior is a serious fight and not the type of fight that you would normally take on a 30 day notice but I have a dream to chase and I do not have a lot of time to chase it. This is an opportunity to put myself in contention for the title. I know my Coaches will have me ready so I have everything to gain.
My manager said “This is where you belong” and I am going to make sure I do everything I can to prove him right.
Please help make UFC 131 one of the biggest cards in the year.
I hope Brock is able to recover. I look forward to facing him again one day.

Carwin has been out of action since July 3 of last year when he lost by submission to Lesnar in the second round. Since that time, Carwin underwent back surgery.

For dos Santos, this fight is a big change in styles, as he will now face a striker that is able to match his power and ability. Carwin can wrestle too, but he looks more for the quick knockout than the takedown.

It should be an explosive fight that I can’t see getting past the first round.

Events, Fighters, News, UFC

Brock Lesnar Junior Dos Santos Shane Carwin UFC 131

Lesnar pulls out of UFC 131 due to diverticulitis

May 12, 2011 / Drew Ellis

It’s been a bad week for the UFC.

After already having its UFC 130 main event cancelled, the company announced today that Brock Lesnar is pulling out of his UFC 131 main event fight with Junior dos Santos due to a second bout of diverticulitis, the same illness that shelved the former champion a few years ago.

MMAFighting.com’s Michael David Smith had all the info.

In a blockbuster announcement Thursday afternoon, UFC President Dana White revealed that Brock Lesnar is once again suffering from diverticulitis and will not be able to fight at UFC 131. Instead, the main event on that fight card will be Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin.
“I want to thank the UFC, I want to thank Mr. White and I want to apologize to Junior dos Santos and Spike TV,” Lesnar said. “This is an unfortunate situation for me. I dodged a bullet about two years ago with diverticulitis, at that time not knowing what the problem was. … Diverticulitis is something that never goes away. It’s something I’ve dealt with since the first occurrence and I’ve been battling it.”
Lesnar said that he has been feeling sick for three months and has been on antibiotics, and that “It didn’t allow me to train to my full capabilities. I was forced to make a decision to go back to the doctor this week.” Lesnar said he spent 14 hours talking to doctors at the Mayo Clinic this week, and although he insisted that the illness won’t end his career and that he won’t retire from MMA, he said there’s simply no way he can fight as scheduled in June.

The loss of Lesnar will really hurt the PPV draw of UFC 131, as Lesnar’s last two fights brought in over 1 million buys for the company.

While the fight between dos Santos and Carwin is very intriguing, Lesnar is one of the UFC’s biggest stars. More importantly, it appears that this diverticulitis could be a problem all of Lesnar’s life and jeopardize his MMA career.

Well, these types of things like to happen in three’s, so if UFC 132 main eventers Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz are smart, they will start wrapping themselves in bubble wrap now.

Events, Fighters, News, The Ultimate Fighter, UFC

Brock Lesnar Dana White Junior Dos Santos Shane Carwin UFC UFC 131

Ortiz and Mitrione get into verbal exchange at UFC Summit

May 12, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Something interesting happened at the UFC Summit this weekend, and it wasn’t Dana White explaining to fighters how to do their taxes.

None other than “Big Country” Roy Nelson caught this little verbal exchange between Matt Mitrione and Tito Ortiz.

Now, the background behind this encounter is that Mitrione had some unflattering remarks that he made about Ortiz’ wife, Jenna Jameson.

Mitrione was joking that Ortiz would pull out of his upcoming UFC 132 fight with Ryan Bader and let Jameson take the fight instead, claiming she is good off her back and has amazing top control.

Now, granted, I wouldn’t want someone talking about my wife like that and would be pretty upset if they did. However, if I married the world’s most famous porn star, I would probably expect that to happen.

Instead of going after a younger and stronger fighter in Matt Mitrione, Ortiz should just remain focused on Bader and ending a four year winless streak.

Then again, Ortiz is probably just trying to set up another fight for himself after he loses to Bader.

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Matt Mitrione Roy Nelson Ryan Bader Tito Ortiz UFC 132

Jim Miller vs. Ben Henderson to meet at UFC on Versus 5

May 11, 2011 / Drew Ellis

A big match between two top lightweight contenders was announced late Monday night as Steve Feitl of MyJerseyCentral.com broke the news of an upcoming UFC bout between Jim Miller and Ben Henderson.

Jim Miller will get his next chance this August to stake his claim for a title shot in the crowded lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
The Whippany-based mixed martial artist is expected to face former World Extreme Cagefighting champion Ben Henderson, sources close to the UFC confirmed to New Jersey Press Media late Tuesday.
The bout is scheduled for “UFC on Versus 5” on Aug. 14 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wis.
Henderson (13-2) made his UFC debut last month, defeating Mark Bocek by decision.

This should be an exciting fight, but I think it is more dangerous for Miller, who has more to lose.

It is pretty well understood that Miller is the next in line for a title shot after Anthony Pettis gets a crack at the winner of Gray Maynard-Frankie Edgar III (assuming Pettis beats Clay Guida in June).

Henderson is not considered a top-10 lightweight by some, so a win over Miller would propel him into an immediate top contender in the UFC.

Stylistically, Henderson seems to have the grappling to contend with Miller and the two are similar fighters.

This should be a great scrap and I am looking forward to seeing it.

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Anthony Pettis Ben Henderson Frankie Edgar Gray Maynard Jim Miller UFC on Versus 5

Leave it to Sonnen: Chael doesn’t like GSP’s fighting

May 10, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Chael Sonnen is not known for biting his tongue.

I don’t know if he was provoked or not (probably not) but Sonnen decided to throw out his opinion of Georges St. Pierre on his twitter account recently

I watch hockey and rugby. Anything that has a remote chance of breaking out into a fight. Which is exactly why I stopped watching George.

I get it. It is kind of humorous, but Sonnen is quickly becoming more known for his one-liners than his fighting.

A couple of things stand out to me about this.

1. Sonnen criticizing anyone’s inability to finish fights is laughable given the fact that 15 of his 25 wins have gone to a decision. In fact every win he has in the UFC or WEC came by decision.

2. St. Pierre is a champion that actually won the title when he got the opportunity, something Sonnen managed to let slip away.

3. Maybe if Sonnen worried more about his legal issues and steroid usage, he wouldn’t have to throw out punch lines to stay relevant in the eyes of MMA fans.

I respect what Sonnen can do in the octagon, but he is far from the most exciting fighter in MMA and he has yet to hold a championship. His act is starting to grow tiresome and is starting to cause me to laugh at him rather than with him.

Fighters, News, UFC

Chael Sonnen Georges St. Pierre UFC