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      Top 10 Bantamweight Rankings

      July 17, 2011 /

      nullUFC 132 established who the top bantamweight in the world is.

      The rankings haven’t changed too much in the last few months, but here is the latest top 10 in the 135-pound division.

      1. Dominick Cruz (18-1) – Cruz (AP Photo) avenged his only loss in the division by taking a decision win over Urijah Faber. Cruz controlled the style and pacing of the fight and landed a lot more strikes. The bout was close, but Faber didn’t show me much to think he deserved to get the title.

      2. Urijah Faber (25-5) – Faber gave Cruz the toughest fight he has to date in the division. He landed a few big punches and avoided the takedowns of Cruz. Faber proved he still has something left in the tank, but he needs to make some adjustments to beat Cruz. It will be interesting to see who is next for “The California Kid.”

      3. Joseph Benavidez (14-2) – Benavidez has been relatively quiet as of late as he hasn’t fought since UFC 128, but he will take on Eddie Wineland at UFC Live 5. Benavidez has been in a tough spot as his teammate, Faber, has been contending for the title. Benavidez now has a chance to get back into the spotlight, but he needs an impressive showing.

      4. Brian Bowles (10-1) – Bowles has earned a rematch for his title as he has two solid wins since coming back from his injury. Bowles lost to Cruz because of a broken hand, not because he was clearly beaten by the champion, so there is some question as to what he could do against Cruz. Given the way he lost the title, I think he deserves the next shot at it.

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      Events, Fighters, Rankings, UFC

      UPDATE: UFC 136 to feature two title fights

      July 15, 2011 /

      nullIt has been a busy 24 hours for the UFC.

      There have been a number of big bouts announced, most of which will take place at UFC 136. As always, MMAFighting.com was the first to report on many of the contests.

      – In the biggest news, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard will finally settle the score in a lightweight championship clash at UFC 136 on Oct. 8 from the Toyota Center in Houston. This is the second attempt for the UFC to put on this bout, as the two were originally schedule to fight at UFC 130, but both suffered injuries.

      – The UFC also announced via Twitter that Jose Aldo will defend his featherweight championship against Kenny Florian at UFC 136. This will be Florian’s third attempt to win UFC gold while Aldo will be defending his UFC strap for the second time.

      – Also set for the UFC 136 card in Houston is another lightweight showdown when Melvin Guillard faces Joe Lauzon. Guillard has quickly skyrocketed up the lightweight ladder with five-straight wins. However, Guillard has struggled in the past with submission fighters and Lauzon is a pitbull on the ground. Lauzon won’t back down from Guillard and the first five minutes of this fight should be very explosive.

      – A third bout for UFC 136 was announced as middleweights Demian Maia and Jorge Santiago will square off. Both fighters are coming off of losses and need this win in order to remain a top-10 contender in the division.

      – For UFC 137 on Oct. 29 in Las Vegas, heavyweight strikers Matt Mitrione and Cheick Kongo will battle it out. Both are coming off KO wins at UFC Live on Versus 4, with Kongo knocking out Mitrione’s friend, Pat Barry. This will be the biggest test to date for Mitrione, who is now 6-0 in his pro career.

      Events, Fighters, News, UFC

      Ortiz vs. Evans II set as UFC 133 main event

      July 13, 2011 /

      nullOn 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

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

      July 13, 2011 /

      nullWell, 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

      UFC putting together Condit vs. Penn for October

      July 12, 2011 /

      nullForget Penn vs. Fitch II, the UFC is apparently setting up Penn vs. Carlos Condit.

      MMAFighting.com is reporting that the two will likely meet this fall after agreeing to the bout via Twitter.

      The UFC is targeting a fall matchup between top five welterweight contenders Carlos Condit and BJ Penn, putting aside for now thoughts of a potential rematch between Penn and Jon Fitch.

      Both sides have been approached about the fight and have shown interest.

      Condit, a winner of four straight fights, agreed to the bout immediately, and publicly challenged Penn to accept, tweeting to Penn, “The people have spoken [BJ], they want to see us scrap. Let’s give ’em what they asked for.”

      Later, Penn tweeted back, “Yup. Let’s do it! October 29th.”

      Condit is considered by some to be the next in line for a UFC Welterweight title shot, but I personally feel like he needs one more legit win to get that shot, and a win over Penn would do just that.

      Condit (27-5) has won four straight with three straight knockout victories. He holds wins over the likes of Dan Hardy and Jake Ellenberger.

      Penn (16-7-2) has been in a bit of a rough patch, going 1-2-1 in his last four fights. Despite the struggles, Penn is still considered one of the all-time greats and a threat to win any fight.

      The most appealing aspect of this fight is that both fighters won’t back down and will really bring the fight to one another. It should be a great scrap when, or if, it happens.

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