Category: News (Page 35 of 40)

Silva: GSP fight is something that “must happen”

April 24, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Anderson Silva likes a challenge. Right now, his only challenge may be Georges St. Pierre.

The pound-for-pound king and reigning middleweight champion spoke to Mike Straka on his show “Fighting Words with Mike Straka” and had this to say about a potential superfight with GSP (courtesy of MMAJunkie.com):

“Georges St-Pierre is one of the best,” Silva said through an interpreter. “He’s shown that he’s a great athlete, and I really train hard everyday to fight the best. I do believe it’s a superfight, and it’s a fight that must happen someday.”

Both men still have one test in front of them for this fight to happen as GSP must get past Jake Shields next Saturday and Silva will now face Yushin Okami at UFC 134 in late August.

Both champions seem to be heavy favorites to win their fights but both of their opponents have the skills to pull off the upset.

Shields has the best submission grappling that St. Pierre has ever faced and Okami has the strength and wrestling background to get Silva to the ground.

If both champions win, it likely sets up the long-awaited GSP-Silva showdown around the end of 2011. It would be the biggest fight in UFC history and truly be the showcase of the top two fighters in all of MMA, in my opinion.

Fighters, News, UFC

Anderson Silva Georges St. Pierre Jake Shields UFC Yushin Okami

Matchmaking Update: Franklin, Mayhem find next opponents

April 23, 2011 / Drew Ellis

This weekend has been pretty quiet for MMA news, but a few interesting UFC bouts were announced for upcoming events.

The most notable fight will take place at UFC 133 in August from Philadelphia where light heavyweights Rich Franklin and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will collide.

Both fighters are coming off decision losses in their last fight. Franklin was beaten by Forrest Griffin at UFC 126 while Nogeuira was beaten by Phil Davis at UFC Fight Night 24 by decision.

This fight will be important for both men as each is struggling to stay relevant in the always-growing light heavyweight division. It should be a kickboxing contest, as both men are known for their striking.

Another fight that has been made is newly-signed Jason “Mayhem” Miller taking on Aaron Simpson at UFC 132 on July 2 from Las Vegas.

Miller has won his last two fights, but not been in action since September 25 of last year. Simpson is coming off a decision win over Mario Miranda at UFC Fight Night 24. That win ended a two-fight losing streak for Simpson. The bout should be a classic striker vs. grappler showdown and will be a good litmus test for where Miller fits in the UFC middleweight division.

Events, Fighters, News, UFC

Aaron Simpson Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Forrest Griffin Jason “Mayhem” Miller Phil Davis Rich Franklin UFC 132 UFC 134

“Mayhem” Miller signs with UFC

April 22, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Let the jail break begin.

The first Strikeforce fighter to defect to the UFC since Zuffa purchased the rival company is middleweight Jason “Mayhem” Miller.

The news broke earlier today from Ariel Helwani at MMAFighting.com.

The 30-year-old Miller (24-7, 1 NC) was able to sign with the UFC due to the fact that his contract with Strikeforce had expired. No word just yet on when his first fight back inside the Octagon will take place.
“Mayhem” had not competed for Strikeforce since last April when he defeated Tim Stout on the undercard of Strikeforce: Nashville. He went on to defeat one of his MMA idols, Kazushi Sakuraba, at DREAM.16 in September, which stands as his last fight to date.
“I will beat the brakes off most of the guys in the middleweight divisions in the UFC,” he said. “I guaran-damn-tee it.”

Miller fought once previously in the UFC, at UFC 52 against Georges St. Pierre. GSP dominated Miller for three rounds to earn the decision.

This move is pretty intriguing as Miller was one of Strikeforce’s biggest names. While they can say his contract had run out, it seems like some string may have been pulled to make that happen.

Now the question is, when will more strings be pulled and whose strings will they be?

Fighters, News, Strikeforce, UFC

Georges St. Pierre Jason “Mayhem” Miller Strikeforce UFC

Brock Lesnar top paid MMA star

April 21, 2011 / Drew Ellis

In the world of not surprising news, ESPN released the list of top paid athletes in 30 different sports and Brock Lesnar was the top-paid MMA star of the last year.

Lesnar brought in $5.3 million according to the report, which factors in all the money he made through the UFC as part of base salary and earnings. That total doesn’t include endorsements, appearance fees, or sponsorship money.

Needless to say, Brock Lesnar is doing pretty well.

Some may argue that Lesnar shouldn’t be the highest-paid athlete in MMA, but the numbers back up the fact that he should. Lesnar’s PPV events do over $1 million buys, which put more money in the UFC’s pocket, thus putting more money in his pocket.

Love him or hate him, he is a draw, and the UFC is paying based on who will make them the most money, not just who is the best fighter.

Jon Fitch is a great fighter, but people aren’t lining up to see him fight on the main event of a card.

Lesnar made a base salary of $400,000 for his win over Shane Carwin at UFC 116, which means that he has some hefty bonuses and gate percentages in his contract.

On a side note, Lesnar ranked 12^th on this list of highest paid athletes in each sport, just edging women’s tennis star Kim Clijsters. Essentially that means that MMA ranks about 12^th on the pay scale of all sports.

While it is unknown just how much money most fighters make these days, it is clear that you can make a healthy living in MMA if you climb your way to the top and you are a polarizing figure.

Fighters, News, UFC

Brock Lesnar ESPN Jon Fitch Shane Carwin UFC

Rocktagon MMA strikes deal with GFL

April 20, 2011 / Drew Ellis

The GFL Combat Sports Network recently announced in a press release that it has struck a deal with emerging MMA organization, Rocktagon MMA.

The promotion will now start airing fight events through GFL’s video on demand service beginning with this Saturday’s Amateur Elite Series 5 event in Elyria, Ohio.

Keith Evans, Vice President of Operations at GFL had the following to say about the deal:

“We at GFL are excited about Rocktagon. We believe Rocktagon has their finger on the pulse of “Raw and Uninhibited” MMA. They approach the amateur game in a music underground way with big emphasis on fighters putting their future and their hearts on the line. These fight cards are not Tenderfoot Try Outs…They’re fully fledged Rock-On Battles. Another thing that really works for them is the way they promote events more like a Warped Rock Concert versus a regional High School wrestling tournament. Fans at the amateur level don’t generally see poor competitions; they mostly see poor fight presentations. There are number of amazing amateur fighters springing up and it’s promoters like Rocktagon that is helping to elevate the amateur MMA platform to another level.”

Amateur Elite Series 5 will feature a lightweight title unification bout as reigning lightweight champions Garret “The Sickness” Sahene and Marcus Washington will go head to head to determine who will become the undisputed Rocktagon MMA Lightweight Champion.

Events, Fighters, News

Garret Sahene GFL Combat Sports Network Marcus Washington Rocktagon MMA