Category: UFC (Page 37 of 55)

A look at the UFC 130 prelims

May 24, 2011 / Drew Ellis

With the recent addition of the WEC roster, the UFC now has stacked Pay-Per-View cards from top-to-bottom.

That includes the prelims, which now typically includes a few fights that are worthy of being on the PPV broadcast, but don’t quite make the cut.

At UFC 130, to top bantamweights collide as Miguel Torres (39-3) faces Demetrious Johnson (8-1). The winner of this fight immediately jumps into the top-5 contender status. Torres may already be there and there are plenty of exciting fights for him. Johnson is on the rise after beating “Kid” Yamamoto in his UFC debut back at UFC 126. Torres is now training at Tri-Star Gym in Montreal and his style has changed. He isn’t quite the reckless fighter he was before, but now he is taking criticism for being too cautious. Johnson will look to get inside the long reach of Torres and score takedowns to work his way for a victory on the ground.

Another featured prelim is a middleweight contest between Kendall Grove (12-8) and Tim Boetsch (12-4). Boetsch is making his middleweight debut and both fighters may need a win in order to keep a job in the UFC. Boetsch will come in looking to strike with his powerful fists while Grove will look to get the fight to the ground or in the clinch where he can use his knees. The big question for this fight will be Boetsch ability to not get winded against Grove, who pushes a fast pace.

Other bouts on the prelim card include Renan Barao vs. Cole Escovedo in a bantamweight contest, Chris Cariaso vs. Michael McDonald in a bantamweight fight, and Gleison Tibau vs. Rafaello Oliveira in a lightweight clash.

Events, Fighters, UFC

Demetrious Johnson Kendall Grove Miguel Torres Tim Boetsch UFC 130

Diaz opting out of boxing match, is match with GSP set to happen?

May 23, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Nick Diaz made it pretty clear that he wants to get paid.

To get paid, the Strikeforce Welterweight Champion was set to enter the boxing ring or accept a champion vs. champion match against UFC welterweight kingpin, Georges St. Pierre.

On Monday, Diaz’ boxing manager, Don Chargin, said in a press release that Diaz will stick with MMA and not enter the boxing ring.

Diaz’ manager, Cesar Gracie, told MMAFighting.com’s Ray Hui that an opportunity has come along that Diaz couldn’t pass up.

“[Boxing] wasn’t just out of nowhere but at this point in time, there’s a certain chance that comes along once in a very long while and it only makes sense to stick to MMA as of right now,” Gracie said. “Nick’s been working really hard to get to this point in his MMA career and it wouldn’t make sense for us to make that transition into boxing right now. If this were a couple months ago or if certain fights had played out differently, we’d definitely be ready to go into boxing, but that’s not how it played out. Don Chargin is a great boxing promoter and he understood our dilemma completely and I thank him for that.”

After meeting with Dana White recently, it seems pretty obvious that Diaz may be getting a bout with St. Pierre in the future. That, or White offered Diaz a big pay increase. My guess is a little bit of both.

Fighters, News, Strikeforce, UFC

Cesar Gracie Georges St. Pierre Nick Diaz Strikeforce UFC

Early Betting Odds for UFC 130: Rampage, Mir favored

May 23, 2011 / Drew Ellis

This Saturday, UFC 130 takes place from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and Bodog.com has released its odds for the five main card bouts.

In the main event, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (31-8) takes on Matt Hamill (10-2) in a light heavyweight contest. This was originally scheduled to be the co-main event, but injuries to both Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar cancelled the planned lightweight title fight.

Jackson comes into the bout as the clear favorite with a money line of -275 while Hamill comes in at +215. Jackson is a former champion and powerful striker while Hamill is more wrestling based and likes to use his long reach to keep from getting into a slugfest. Hamill has won his last five bouts while Jackson has won three of his last four. The winner is likely to be discussed as one of the top contenders to Jon Jones’ championship.

In the co-main event, heavyweights Frank Mir (14-5) and Roy Nelson (15-5) face off. Mir comes into the bout as the slight favorite with odds of -135 while Nelson has odds of +105. Nelson has not fought since August of last year when he suffered his first loss in the UFC to Junior dos Santos. Mir has alternated wins and losses over his last five bouts but is still considered one of the top fighters in the division. Both men bring powerful hands and solid grappling. Mir may be the better submission fighter but Nelson has better striking in my opinion.

For the rest of the odds to UFC 130’s main card, check out the jump.

Events, Fighters, News, UFC

Frank Mir Matt Hamill Quinton “Rampage” Jackson Roy Nelson UFC UFC 130

Your weekly MMA TV Schedule update

May 22, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Another Sunday night means another MMA on TV update for the week.

Here is a look at all the MMA events you can see on tv or the internet this week.

– On Wednesday, the ninth episode of The Ultimate Fighter will air on SpikeTV at 9 p.m. ET. The quarterfinals continue as both teams picked up a win in the opening two quarterfinal bouts.

– Also on Wednesday, following The Ultimate Fighter, UFC In The Moment: Rampage Jackson debuts at 10 p.m. ET on SpikeTV and then Countdown to UFC 130 follows at 10:30 p.m.

– On Friday, Titan Fighting 18 takes place in Kansas City. The card features former UFC stars Jens Pulver, Drew McFedries, and Rory Markham, among others. The card will air on HDNet Fights starting at 7 p.m. ET.

– On Saturday, UFC 130 takes place from Las Vegas. The main event is a light heavyweight contest between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Matt Hamill. The co-main event is a heavyweight clash between Roy Nelson and Frank Mir. The main card will air on PPV at 9 p.m. ET while two prelims will air on SpikeTV at 8 p.m. ET.

– Sunday has Dream 17 taking place in Saitama, Japan. The Bantamweight Grand Prix quarterfinals will be taking place at the event and also Shinya Aoki will face off with Rich Clementi. Caol Uno and Joachim Hansen will also be in action. Check listings for TV availability.

Dream, Events, Fighters, News, The Ultimate Fighter, UFC

Brock Lesnar Dream Frank Mir Junior Dos Santos Matt Hamill Quinton “Rampage” Jackson Roy Nelson Shinya Aoki UFC UFC 130 Ultimate Fighter

Frank Mir likes himself some Frank Mir

May 21, 2011 / Drew Ellis

Frank Mir has never been one to be shy about telling you how great he is.

The former UFC Heavyweight Champion has always been quick to deliver a good sound byte and that hasn’t changed heading into his UFC 130 bout with Roy Nelson.

Our good friends at MMAMania had all the details of Mir’s ~~PR tour~~ interviews this week.

Here are his thoughts on his opponent Junior dos Santos:

“I just think I match up well with (Dos Santos). He’s a very good boxer. I think he has excellent hands but sometimes falls into a pattern of only using his boxing and not utilizing his jiu-jitsu and all his other skills.”

How about the criticism he has faced for his lackluster bout with Mirko CroCop last fall?

“The guys in the UFC are very tough. You’re always trying to be the best mixed martial arts fighter. At the end of the day, there’s somebody else in the ring that’s trying to avoid everything that I want to happen. If the other guys start cooperating more, maybe I’d look better.”