maudlin career Posted September 21, 2009 Author Share Posted September 21, 2009 Blurcat November MMA News World MMA News for Week 2 of November -Kazushi Sakuraba has announced PFC 38: Sweet Pain for Monday, December 5th. -In addition to Palace FC’s next event, Dave Houshiar has announced RAW Combat: Brave New World for Sunday, December 4th. -WEC will debut on the IN Demand 2 PPV service in December. -Kazushi Sakuraba has extended Aaron Rosa’s Palace FC’s contract for an additional two matches. -Joey Villasenor and Hector Lombard join Gavin Banks and Alex Emerson for Sunday’s edition of Crackdown. UFC News for Week 2 of November Signings Rodney Sapir has signed a two fight six-month deal with UFC Re-Signings Andre Galvao has re-signed a five fight multi-year deal with UFC Cuts Zuffa has decided not to extend Justin McCully’s contract with UFC *Globosat Programadora 2 has agreed to extend UFC’s PPV deal for an additional eight shows. *IB Sports 1 has agreed to extend UFC’s PPV deal for an additional eight shows. *Bell Express VU 2 has agreed to extend UFC’s PPV deal for an additional eight shows. Thiago Alves: I’m Bringing My A-Game, I Hope Fitch Will Too Thiago Alves sat down with Jim Archibald for an exclusive Blurcat interview. In said interview, Thiago Alves says he hopes that he and Jon Fitch fight as soon as possible, because he’s ready to avenge his loss. He finishes by saying he hopes Fitch will be at his very best when they meet. 133 and 134 Fight Cards Finalized As announced at the UFC 131 Post-Fight Conference, both UFC 133 and 134 are officially up on the UFC website. While we could reveal the card ourselves, we’d rather not ruin the surprise and just direct you to this link here! Scheduled UFC Events UFC 132: Modern Warriors (December 3rd. Nevada) Preliminary Card Welterweight: Jake Ellenberger vs. Dan Hardy Light Heavyweight: Tim McKenzie vs. Hector Ramirez Lightweight: Aaron Riley vs. Corey Hill Welterweight: Danillo Villefort vs. Carlos Condit Heavyweight: Tim Hague vs. Heath Herring Lightweight: Shannon Gugerty vs. Jose Aldo Main Card Welterweight: Anthony Johnson vs. Ben Saunders Lightweight: Hermes Franca vs. Mac Danzig Middleweight: Wilson Gouveia vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama Heavyweight: Bobby Lashley vs. Todd Duffee Heavyweight: Andrei Arlovski© vs. Cain Velasquez for the UFC Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fight Night: Silva vs. Cane (December 21st. Indiana) Preliminary Card Welterweight: Jessie Sanders vs. Kevin Burns Middleweight: Mike Massenzio vs. Drew McFedries Welterweight: Marius Zaromskis vs. Mike Pyle Lightweight: Daisuke Nakamura vs. Phillipe Nover Main Card Lightweight: Benson Henderson vs. Cole Miller Welterweight: Jason High vs. James Wilks Light Heavyweight: Brandon Vera vs. Ryan Bader Welterweight: Martin Kampmann vs. BJ Penn Light Heavyweight: Wanderlei Silva vs. Luis Arthur Cane UFC 133: Year of the Dragon (January 7th. California) Preliminary Card Welterweight: Dan Cramer vs. Jonathan Goulet Welterweight: Paul Taylor vs. Ricky Story Middleweight: Gerald Harris vs. Nate Quarry Welterweight: Frank Lester vs. Chris Wilson Light Heavyweight: Kyle Kingsbury vs. James Lee Lightweight: Donald Cerrone vs. Efrain Escudero Main Card Welterweight: Jesse Lennox vs. Dong Hyun Kim Middleweight: James Irvin vs. Amir Sadollah Lightweight: Joachim Hansen vs. Clay Guida Heavyweight: Kimbo Slice vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Light Heavyweight: Lyoto Machida© vs. Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. UFC 134: Redemption (February 11th. Ohio) Preliminary Card Lightweight: Gleison Tibau vs. Jim Miller Middleweight: Dan Miller vs. Sugita Yamanaka Lightweight: Mark Bocek vs. Kurt Pellegrino Welterweight: John Howard vs. Paulo Thiago Welterweight: Rory Markham vs. Scott Jorgensen Main Card Lightweight: Junie Browning vs. Joe Stevenson Heavyweight: Chris Tuchscherer vs. Junior Dos Santos Welterweight: Johny Hendricks vs. Matt Serra Middleweight: Jake Rosholt vs. Nate Marquardt Light Heavyweight: Quinton Jackson vs. Alexandre Ribeiro Heavyweight: Anderson Silva vs. Gabriel Gonzaga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 Blurcat November MMA News World MMA Headlines for Week 3 of November -James Thompson has re-signed a three fight deal with DREAM -Dream Stage Entertainment have confirmed DREAM 34 for Sunday, December 11th -Be sure to check out the Bellator FC 35 results here! -Jake Shields will defend the DREAM Middleweight Championship against Paulo Filho at DREAM 34 -Duane Ludwig joins Matt Natchios and Ned Charles on Big Cat Show. -Kazushi Sakuraba is looking to sign Chael Sonnen to mix things up in Palace FC’s Middleweight Division -World Victory Road is looking to sign Alexandre Ferreira World MMA Results for Week 3 of November Bellator FC 35 (Monday, November 14th) Main Card Ryan Healy defeated Thomas Schulte via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Decent Lyman Good defeated Koa Ramos via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round)Blurcat Verdict: Poor Yosmany Cabezas defeated Damien Stelly via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round)Blurcat Verdict: Poor Uriah Hall defeated Benji Radach via TKO (:23. First Round) Blurcat Verdict: Great Ivan Serati defeated Allan Goes via Knock Out (4:39. First Round) Blurcat Verdict: Good UFC News for Week 3 of November Signings Zak Jensen has signed a three fight 18-month deal with UFC Xavier Foupa-Pokam has signed a three fight 18-month deal with UFC Bill Whitworth has signed a three fight 18-month deal with UFC Re-Signings Muhammed Lawal has re-signed a seven fight multi-year deal with UFC Frederick Pendergarst has re-signed a three fight one-year deal with UFC Josh Neer has re-signed a three fight 18-month deal with UFC Chris Wilson has re-signed a three fight 18-month deal with UFC Cuts No fighter has been released from their current UFC contract Michael Russow to Sign With Adrenaline? For those who didn’t know, Mike Russow’s current contract with UFC has expired here recently. Upon hearing the news, Monte Cox, who is looking to expand Adrenaline’s Heavyweight Division has apparently contacted Russow’s camp. Dana White has yet to comment on the situation. We’ll report more info as we here it. Scheduled UFC Events UFC 132: Modern Warriors (December 3rd. Nevada) Preliminary Card Welterweight: Jake Ellenberger vs. Dan Hardy Light Heavyweight: Tim McKenzie vs. Hector Ramirez Lightweight: Aaron Riley vs. Corey Hill Welterweight: Danillo Villefort vs. Carlos Condit Heavyweight: Tim Hague vs. Heath Herring Lightweight: Shannon Gugerty vs. Jose Aldo Main Card Welterweight: Anthony Johnson vs. Ben Saunders Lightweight: Hermes Franca vs. Mac Danzig Middleweight: Wilson Gouveia vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama Heavyweight: Bobby Lashley vs. Todd Duffee Heavyweight: Andrei Arlovski© vs. Cain Velasquez for the UFC Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fight Night: Silva vs. Cane (December 21st. Indiana) Preliminary Card Welterweight: Jessie Sanders vs. Kevin Burns Middleweight: Mike Massenzio vs. Drew McFedries Welterweight: Marius Zaromskis vs. Mike Pyle Lightweight: Daisuke Nakamura vs. Phillipe Nover Main Card Lightweight: Benson Henderson vs. Cole Miller Welterweight: Jason High vs. James Wilks Light Heavyweight: Brandon Vera vs. Ryan Bader Welterweight: Martin Kampmann vs. BJ Penn Light Heavyweight: Wanderlei Silva vs. Luis Arthur Cane UFC 133: Year of the Dragon (January 7th. California) Preliminary Card Welterweight: Dan Cramer vs. Jonathan Goulet Welterweight: Paul Taylor vs. Ricky Story Middleweight: Gerald Harris vs. Nate Quarry Welterweight: Frank Lester vs. Chris Wilson Light Heavyweight: Kyle Kingsbury vs. James Lee Lightweight: Donald Cerrone vs. Efrain Escudero Main Card Welterweight: Jesse Lennox vs. Dong Hyun Kim Middleweight: James Irvin vs. Amir Sadollah Lightweight: Joachim Hansen vs. Clay Guida Heavyweight: Kimbo Slice vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Light Heavyweight: Lyoto Machida© vs. Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. UFC 134: Redemption (February 11th. Ohio) Preliminary Card Lightweight: Gleison Tibau vs. Jim Miller Middleweight: Dan Miller vs. Sugita Yamanaka Lightweight: Mark Bocek vs. Kurt Pellegrino Welterweight: John Howard vs. Paulo Thiago Welterweight: Rory Markham vs. Scott Jorgensen Main Card Lightweight: Junie Browning vs. Joe Stevenson Heavyweight: Chris Tuchscherer vs. Junior Dos Santos Welterweight: Johny Hendricks vs. Matt Serra Middleweight: Jake Rosholt vs. Nate Marquardt Light Heavyweight: Quinton Jackson vs. Alexandre Ribeiro Heavyweight: Anderson Silva vs. Gabriel Gonzaga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 Alex Emerson’s UFC 132: Modern Warriors Press-Conference Notes & Recap (Monday, November 21st) My 2-Cents Over the last two years, we’ve witnessed one of the best Cinderella Stories in MMA history with Andrei Arlovski. Now, in twelve days, we get to see if that same Cinderella Story was merely luck or if Andrei Arlovski is back for good. For those of you who are unaware, after Arlovski left UFC back in 2008, he fought in both EliteXC and Affliction. In Affliction, he suffered a horrible knock out loss to Fedor Emelianenko. Five months later, Arlovski would step into Strikeforce to meet Brett Rogers. In 22 seconds flat, Brett Rogers managed to pull a TKO victory off on ‘The Pitbull’. With that loss, many people, including Arlovski himself, deemed his career to be on the brink of being over. Arlovski resurfaced in Adrenaline to challenge Adrenaline Heavyweight Champion Jeff Monson. Arlovski showed up as a last minute fill in opponent, and many thought he was doomed to lose. Monson controlled the first three rounds, but Arlovski scored a surprising counter-jab to win the Adrenaline Heavyweight Championship in twenty-three seconds of the fourth round. Arlovski would go on to pick up an additional two wins in Affliction, defeating Neil Grove and Roy Nelson. This would put him in a Championship match against Affliction Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem. However, Affliction closed down before the fight itself to come to fruition. Dana White, wanting to expand his Heavyweight Division, immediately picked up Overeem and Arlovski’s contracts. Arlovski and Overeem would get their match inside the Octagon where the winner would be the first to take on Kimbo Slice. Twenty-seven seconds into the first round, Arlovski trapped Overeem against the cage and picked up a TKO win. Andrei Arlovski would finally get his chance at the UFC Heavyweight Championship once more, fighting Kimbo Slice. Though it appeared that Kimbo Slice was out-striking him, Arlovski managed to take Slice to the ground and pick up a submission win and the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Needless to say, Arlovski has made a huge comeback in his career. In twelve days, he meets new Heavyweight Contender Cain Velasquez. Will the Cinderella Story of Andrei Arlovski reach another chapter, or will Cain Velasquez finally get his big break? Press Conference Notes & Report -Andrei Arlovski is the first to say anything at the conference. He looks at his UFC Heavyweight Championship and says he can’t believe that he’s back at the top again. Arlovski gives Cain Velasquez all the credit in the world, but says he refuses to let anyone stop his comeback. -Cain Velasquez says he feels like he’s waited forever to get a title shot and that he’s happy for Arlovski, but that his story is coming to an end. Velasquez says he’s leaving Nevada as the UFC Heavyweight Champion. -Todd Duffee speaks next and says that all the Heavyweight Title talk is getting him excited and says that he hopes a win over a solid wrestler like Bobby Lashley will put him next in line for a title shot. He says he’s not sure what he’ll do if Lashley manages to get him to the ground, but he does say he’s going to win for sure. -Bobby Lashley said he’s proven that he belongs in the MMA game after pulling off four consecutive wins over big name UFC fighters, including Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos. He feels that his fight with Todd Duffee is an important fight and agrees that one of them will definitely be looking at title shots with a decisive win next Saturday. -Anthony Johnson jokingly says he’s upset with Dana White and wants to know why he wasn’t chosen to participate in the Welterweight Tournament. He gets serious and says that Ben Saunders is a dangerous dude, but promises the Nevada audience another knock out. -Ben Saunders replies that he thinks he and Anthony Johnson are a shoe-in for fight of the night and also promises some serious scrapping inside the Octagon. -Mac Danzig comments on his rebound from his five fight losing streak, and hopes he can add Hermes Franca as his second victim. He says he’s been training hard for this fight and thinks the win will propel him further up the Lightweight ladder. -Hermes Franca doesn’t want to suffer a third loss in a row and says he’s looking to break the drought by beating Danzig in a big way. Franca promises that things are going to get ugly on the 3rd. -Yoshihiro Akiyama says he has the spirit of Korea and Japan fighting with him in Nevada and says Wilson Gouveia has no chance of winning. Akiyama also says that he would love a rematch with fellow Japanese native Yushin Okami. -Wilson Gouveia says he isn’t sure if he’s considered the underdog of this fight or not, but says if it is, consider his win to be upset of the night. -Dana White finishes the conference with some Q&A and some photo-ops. Another conference is in the books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 Blurcat November MMA News World MMA Headlines for Week 4 of November -Kurt Otto has announced Bellator FC 36 for Sunday, December 18th. -Joseph Benadvidez joins Ned Charles and Matt Natchios on Tuesday’s Big Cat Show. -Bellator FC 36 to feature Welterweight Championship bout between Jesse Taylor and Kevin Knabjan. -Trevor Prangley calls it quits at 39. -Chael Sonnen signs with DREAM. -Join us for WEC 68: Takaya vs. Rios Weigh-In Roundtable. Our special guest for the evening will be Urijah Faber! Be sure to check for results tomorrow night. -Join us for Sengoku 30 Weigh-In Roundtable. Our special guest for the evening will be Carlos Newton. Be sure to check for results tomorrow. -WEC President Scott Adams has been fired from his current position as WEC President. This will put into question WEC’s future, who have now fallen in popularity due to Adams’s mis-management. More news as we get it. -Adrenaline: Parisyan vs. Liles results are up. Check them out here! World MMA Event Results for Week 4 of November Sengoku 30 (Friday, November 25th) Preliminary Card Takashi Nakakura defeated Fabricio Camoes via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round) Luigi Fioravanti defeated Katsuya Inoue via Submission (3:50. Third Round) Ryan McGivern defeated Travis Lutter via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round) Jared Hamman defeated David Heath via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round) Main Card Frank Shamrock Defeated Virgil Lozano via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Average Din Thomas defeated Masakazu Imanari via TKO (1:12. First Round) Blurcat Verdict: Great Roman Zentsov defeated Assuerio Silva via Knock Out (1:43. Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Decent Nick Diaz defeated Josh Burkman via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Average Ryo Chonan defeated Hayato Sakurai via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Poor WEC 68: Takaya vs. Rios (Friday, November 25th) Preliminary Card Josh Grispi defeated Rumina Sato via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round) Main Card Masakatsu Ueda defeated Jeff Curran via TKO (1:59. Second Round) Blurcat Verdict: Good Clay French defeated Luciano Azevedo via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Average Takeya Mizugaki defeated Joseph Benavidez via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Very Poor KJ Noons defeated Cristiano Marcello via TKO (:25. First Round) Blurcat Verdict: Great Albert Rios defeated Hiroyuki Takaya via Split Decision (5:00. Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Poor Adrenaline: Parisyan vs. Liles (Saturday, November 26th) Preliminary Card Rolles Gracie defeated Dan Evensen via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round) Joseph Beneteau defeated Tim Petty via Submission (4:54. First Round) Main Card Monkhon WiWasuk defeated Derrick Noble via Unanimous Decision to retain the Adrenaline Lightweight Championship (5:00. Fifth Round) Blurcat Verdict: Decent Lew Polley defeated Po’ai Suganuma via Submission (4:54. Second Round) Blurcat Verdict: Average Raymond Daniels defeated Logan Clark via TKO (1:38. Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Good Mike Kyle defeated Brad Imes via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Average Karo Parisyan defeated Donnie Liles via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Decent UFC News for Week 4 of November Signings Matt Brown has signed a three fight 18-month deal with UFC Re-Signings Dan Cramer has re-signed a two fight one-year deal with UFC Heath Herring has re-signed a three fight 18-month deal with UFC Cuts Michael Russow has opted out of his UFC contract and has signed with World Victory Road James Irvin: A Win Over Sadollah Will Be Huge Steven Monk sat down with UFC fighter James Irvin to discuss his upcoming match with Amir Sadollah at UFC 133. In the interview, Irvin told Monk that he thinks a win over Sadollah will decide his future standing with UFC. He calls Sadollah a tough man and thinks that by beating him, he will get closer to fighting for a chance to win the Middleweight Championship. John Hathaway On Crackdown UFC Fighter John Hathaway joined Alex Emerson and Gavin Banks on the latest edition of Crackdown. Hathaway commented on Anderson Silva’s move to the Heavyweight Division by saying that a lot of guys at the 265lb weight class were in for some trouble. Hathaway says he expects to be fighting inside the Octagon by May of 2012 at earliest. For the full Crackdown show, click here! Dan Henderson Announces Last Match—It’s A Surprise Dan Henderson has confirmed his last MMA fight: Last July. Sound confusing? Well Dan Henderson has come forth and announced that after his loss against Jake Rosholt in July, he realized that his career was sadly coming to an end. At the age of 41, Dan Henderson has officially put an end to his illustrious MMA career. Scheduled UFC Events UFC 132: Modern Warriors (December 3rd. Nevada) Preliminary Card Welterweight: Jake Ellenberger vs. Dan Hardy Light Heavyweight: Tim McKenzie vs. Hector Ramirez Lightweight: Aaron Riley vs. Corey Hill Welterweight: Danillo Villefort vs. Carlos Condit Heavyweight: Tim Hague vs. Heath Herring Lightweight: Shannon Gugerty vs. Jose Aldo Main Card Welterweight: Anthony Johnson vs. Ben Saunders Lightweight: Hermes Franca vs. Mac Danzig Middleweight: Wilson Gouveia vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama Heavyweight: Bobby Lashley vs. Todd Duffee Heavyweight: Andrei Arlovski© vs. Cain Velasquez for the UFC Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fight Night: Silva vs. Cane (December 21st. Indiana) Preliminary Card Welterweight: Jessie Sanders vs. Kevin Burns Middleweight: Mike Massenzio vs. Drew McFedries Welterweight: Marius Zaromskis vs. Mike Pyle Lightweight: Daisuke Nakamura vs. Phillipe Nover Main Card Lightweight: Benson Henderson vs. Cole Miller Welterweight: Jason High vs. James Wilks Light Heavyweight: Brandon Vera vs. Ryan Bader Welterweight: Martin Kampmann vs. BJ Penn Light Heavyweight: Wanderlei Silva vs. Luis Arthur Cane UFC 133: Year of the Dragon (January 7th. California) Preliminary Card Welterweight: Dan Cramer vs. Jonathan Goulet Welterweight: Paul Taylor vs. Ricky Story Middleweight: Gerald Harris vs. Nate Quarry Welterweight: Frank Lester vs. Chris Wilson Light Heavyweight: Kyle Kingsbury vs. James Lee Lightweight: Donald Cerrone vs. Efrain Escudero Main Card Welterweight: Jesse Lennox vs. Dong Hyun Kim Middleweight: James Irvin vs. Amir Sadollah Lightweight: Joachim Hansen vs. Clay Guida Heavyweight: Kimbo Slice vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Light Heavyweight: Lyoto Machida© vs. Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. UFC 134: Redemption (February 11th. Ohio) Preliminary Card Lightweight: Gleison Tibau vs. Jim Miller Middleweight: Dan Miller vs. Sugita Yamanaka Lightweight: Mark Bocek vs. Kurt Pellegrino Welterweight: John Howard vs. Paulo Thiago Welterweight: Rory Markham vs. Scott Jorgensen Main Card Lightweight: Junie Browning vs. Joe Stevenson Heavyweight: Chris Tuchscherer vs. Junior Dos Santos Welterweight: Johny Hendricks vs. Matt Serra Middleweight: Jake Rosholt vs. Nate Marquardt Light Heavyweight: Quinton Jackson vs. Alexandre Ribeiro Heavyweight: Anderson Silva vs. Gabriel Gonzaga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 Blurcat.com – Your Number One Source for All Things MMA Blurcat’s UFC 132: Modern Warriors Weigh-In Roundtable (Friday, November 4th) Alex Emerson: Though it is an opinion, many say UFC is arguably the best promotion in the MMA World. While many MMA purest would like to argue that, the numbers tend not to disagree. Once again, we’ll see Zuffa’s own UFC potentially pull millions of buy-rates when they return to PPV with UFC 132. Personally, I’m excited as I believe tomorrow night’s card will be one of the best we’ll ever see. I’ll just sum it up with one of many reasons: Andrei Arlovski’s first title defense. Joining me at the Roundtable tonight are Gavin Banks, Tom Bradburn, Stuart Teacher, and recent retiree Dan Henderson. Henderson: What’s up guys? Teacher: Dan, first off, I’m going to go ahead and announce your big news. You will officially be inducted into the Blurcat MMA Hall of Fame Class of 2011 come this January. I believe so far you and Randy Couture are the only ones to have been given the honor this year. How does it feel to know that you have joined the likes of Royce Gracie, Chuck Liddell, Masakatsu Funaki, and the aforementioned former UFC Heavyweight Champ? Henderson: Well, quite frankly, it’s an honor. I’ve busted my butt day in and day out. Whether it was PRIDE or UFC, I gave it my 100% every time. And it’s special to me to know that people are recognizing it. I guess you never realize how much the fans really supported you and your endeavors until it’s all over. Banks: I’ve gotta ask: Do you wish things could be different? Henderson: I do. I thought long and hard about it: Do I want to continue or is it time to call it a day in the office? Then I suffered two TKO losses and followed up by just getting outwrestled by Jake Rosholt. It was my time. I wish I could pull an Arlovski comeback, but I’m getting old. Emerson: That was the best segueway on the history of our show. You should stay with Blurcat, man. So now that Dan has perfectly lead us up to Arlovski, let’s go ahead and get to the Roundtable discussion! First Question: Is Andrei Arlovski’s Story Coming to an End? Tom Bradburn says Cain Velasquez is one of the most aggressive wrestlers out there. In all honesty, Arlovski has yet to be tested in this department. Think about it, he’s never fought Randy Couture or Brock Lesnar—Who I think are the toughest wrestlers to ever enter the Heavyweight scene. Since being back he’s fought Alistair Overeem—who is a great fighter in his own right—has been inconsistent since joining UFC, and Kimbo Slice a guy who still needs to work on his ground game. While I won’t say this is the last we’ll see of Arlovski, I do think he’ll lose this one. Gavin Banks says When Brett Rogers knocked him out in Strikeforce, I think Arlovski really took it hard. I mean you guys remember all those retirement rumors right? Many people really thought that Andrei Arlovski was going to stop fighting. Instead he went back to the gym trained harder than he ever did in the past, and look at where he’s at now: Two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion. I don’t think Arlovski is going to let Cain Velasquez stop his ascension. Alex Emerson says All stories come to an end, that’s all I’m going to say. Dan Henderson says All stories do come to an end, but in Arlovski’s case, his is just beginning. Stuart Teacher says Cain Velasquez is beyond hungry. Many thought Velasquez would be a Champion by 2010, but after suffering a loss to Josh Barnett, it never happened. Nearly two years later, Velasquez finally gets that title shot. It will certainly be a battle of will, and right now, I think Velasquez has more riding in this fight. Sure, Arlovski’s could lose the belt, but we know he’ll still be around after we’ve seen what he did to his last two opponents. But with Velasquez, if he loses tomorrow night, who knows how long it’ll be before he gets another chance. That mentality alone is what will help Cain Velasquez in this fight. The Verdict: Majority says The Storybook comes to a close. Second Question: Anthony Johnson vs. Ben Saunders? Dan Henderson says Anthony Johnson is a very inconsistent fighter, but when he brings his A-Game, everyone knows it. I think Anthony Johnson might have been a shoe-in for the Welterweight tournament had someone not politicked their way into it. We’ll see Johnson’s A-Game tomorrow night, because of that. Gavin Banks says A BJ Penn vs. Dan Henderson fight would be interesting. Oh wait, I wasn’t supposed to reveal who you were referring to was I? Ha, in all seriousness, I agree with the Hall of Famer. Anthony Johnson would have been in that Tournament, and because he’s not, he’s going to want that first crack at the future Champion. Ben Saunders is going to be in trouble. Alex Emerson says Saunders’s only losses in the UFC were due to Swick and Hughes and we all know they’re tough fighters. Like Anthony Johnson, Ben Saunders is looking for a way to climb back up the Welterweight ladder, and this is it. He knows that and as such he’s going to give Anthony Johnson his all. My money is on Ben Saunders in this one, guys. Stuart Teacher says If it wasn’t for Johnson’s inconsistency, I’d be willing to put him on a list of pound 4 pound fighters—maybe not the Blurcat Top 10, but a Top 25 or 30 at the very least. Saunders just hasn’t fought as many quality opponents as Johnson has. Anthony Johnson should be able to comfortably pick up a win tomorrow night. Tom Bradburn says I could see Anthony Johnson in a Top 30 P4P, like The Teach said, minus the inconsistencies in his performance, Top 30 P4P is very realistic. I don’t think Ben Saunders will be able to hang with the guy for very long. The Verdict: Majority says Anthony Johnson Question Three: Hermes Franca vs. Mac Danzig? Alex Emerson says First off, can anyone explain to me how four straight losses and then an awful decision win over George Roop can get you on the main card—let alone in a fight with a guy like Hermes Franca? Franca will be all over this guy. Stuart Teacher says If there’s one thing UFC 131 taught me, it’s never underestimate a fighter. Actually, no, Hermes Franca just defeated Kenny Florian recently. Sorry Danzig, this one isn’t happening. Dan Henderson says This is a fight that just doesn’t seem to work in favor of Danzig. I don’t want to take anything away from him, he’s not a bad fighter. It’s just that there’s a major difference between fighting George Roop and fighting Hermes Franca. Danzig is going to find that out tomorrow night. Gavin Banks says After we called the Simpson/Jardine fight embarrassingly wrong last time, I’m going to play it safe and say Mac Danzig. You guys have no idea how badly I wish I could have picked Simpson last time just so I could rub it in all of your faces. Tom Bradburn says Yeah, there’s nothing to calling this one. Hermes Franca is leagues ahead of Mac Danzig currently. If Danzig wins, then that’s great for him, but I just don’t see it happening in any possible way. The Verdict: Majority says Hermes Franca Question Four: Wilson Gouveia vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama? Dan Henderson says Akiyama is a guy I wish I could have fought. He’s a tough competitor. I really see him in the Middleweight title picture in the near future. I like Gouveia a lot, but Akiyama is dangerous. The guy had a 15-fight win streak until he fought Marquardt. Gouveia is looking at a big win here, but I just don’t see that happening with Akiyama. Tom Bradburn says Henderson said it best. This is a big fight for Gouveia, but you’re looking at Akiyama—who I, too, think will be in the title picture next year. Yeah, this fight could do huge favors for Gouveia if he wins, but think about what it means if Akiyama loses…Akiyama is going to bring the fighting spirit with him tomorrow night to prevent that from happening. Alex Emerson says You guys covered the topic fairly well. Akiyama is my pick. Gavin Banks says I firmly believe Gouveia is looking at this in an entirely different light. Gouveia has been training non-stop for this fight and I think we’re going to see a different fighter in Gouveia tomorrow night. I’m going to pick Gouveia. Stuart Teacher says Well there goes our unanimous pick, thanks Gav. You guys all know that Akiyama is one of my favorite fighters. I can’t really pick against him, especially in this fight. The Verdict: Majority says Yoshihiro Akiyama Question Five: Todd Duffee vs. Bobby Lashley? Stuart Teacher says So far, I think Bobby Lashley has been doing a good job for himself. He’s another WWE cross-over fighter, and has managed to pick up victories over Cheick Kongo, Heath Herring, Junior Dos Santos, and Brock Lesnar. I was really going to pick Todd Duffee in this fight, but realistically, has Todd Duffee fought anyone on the level of Lashley’s opponent. I’m picking the pro-wrestler in this one. Dan Henderson says You know a lot of people dismissed Brock Lesnar when he debuted and those same people are doing the same with Bobby Lashley. Lashley is seriously a dangerous wrestler. The man made Brock Lesnar tap out. I like Duffee, he’s a great kid, but he’s going to be hurting tomorrow. Gavin Banks says Man this is a tough one, actually. Todd Duffee is young and hungry, but as you guys have said, he hasn’t really fought anyone too tasking with the exception of Heath Herring. Bobby Lashley came in and due to his cross-over status was thrown into main card fights against marquee fighters. He’s beaten them though. If you asked me this question before Lashley joined the UFC, I would have picked Duffee. Now that I’ve seen what the former TNA Superstar can do, I really think this fight is Lashley’s. Alex Emerson says If we’re going off of track records, then I guess you could pick Lashley. But I’ll ask you this: How many of you are going to pick Kimbo Slice in his fight with Nogueira? I mean didn’t Kimbo knock out CroCop, Dos Santos, Lesnar, and Gracie? But you guys won’t pick Slice because you know Nogueira has more experienced and is more skilled. To me, the same applies for Duffee and that’s my final answer. Tom Bradburn says I’m actually picking Kimbo Slice in that fight. Call me fickle, but I’m a firm believer on the “you’re only as good as your last fight” statement. I think Lashley will be able to wrestle Duffee to the ground and I think that’ll be it. The Verdict: Majority says Bobby Lashley Final Question: Andrei Arlovski vs. Cain Velasquez? Alex Emerson says We covered this in the first question, so I guess a simple final answer will be appropriate for this one, guys. Cain Velasquez Dan Henderson says Andrei Arlovski Tom Bradburn says Velasquez Stuart Teacher says Velasquez Gavin Banks says ‘The Pitbull’ The Verdict: Majority says Cain Velasquez Alex Emerson: And that wraps up this edition of Weigh-In Roundtable. I hope you guys enjoyed and as always, be sure to check out UFC 132 tomorrow to see how right we all were. Also, as always, participate in our Roundtable contests by sending your predictions to Emerson-blurcat@aol.com. The one who gets the most fights correct will receive PRIDE 33 on DVD where Dan Henderson made MMA history by owning two titles in two different weight classes. The DVD will also be signed by Mr. Hall of Famer himself. Thanks for tuning in! Full UFC 132: Modern Warriors Card Preliminary Card Welterweight: Jake Ellenberger vs. Dan Hardy Light Heavyweight: Tim McKenzie vs. Hector Ramirez Lightweight: Aaron Riley vs. Corey Hill Welterweight: Danillo Villefort vs. Carlos Condit Heavyweight: Tim Hague vs. Heath Herring Lightweight: Shannon Gugerty vs. Jose Aldo Main Card Welterweight: Anthony Johnson vs. Ben Saunders Lightweight: Hermes Franca vs. Mac Danzig Middleweight: Wilson Gouveia vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama Heavyweight: Bobby Lashley vs. Todd Duffee Heavyweight: Andrei Arlovski© vs. Cain Velasquez for the UFC Heavyweight Championship I hope to hear from you all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted September 24, 2009 Author Share Posted September 24, 2009 Blurcat December MMA News Scheduled MMA Events for December PFC 38: Sweet Pain (Palace FC. Thursday, December 1st) UFC 132: Modern Warriors (UFC. Saturday, December 3rd) RAW Combat: Brave New World (RAW Combat. Sunday, December 4th) Ultimate Fight Night: Silva vs. Cane (UFC. Wednesday, December 21st) Bellator FC 36 (Bellator FC. Sunday, December 25th) World Headlines for Week 1 of December -Be sure to check out Monday’s PFC 38: Sweet Pain Weigh-In Roundtable. Our special guest for the evening will be none other than Karo Parisyan. Come back tomorrow for full results. -The World Victory Road staff have confirmed Sengoku 31 for December 31st -World Extreme Cagefighting have announced their 69th event for December 31st as well. -Adrenaline will not have an event in December, but President Monte Cox announces a January 3rd event to take place in Iowa. -After an eight month disappearance, Luke Rockhold returned to the MMA world at The Ohio River Fighting Challenge. He won a TKO victory over Phil Collins in what was dubbed to be the greatest fight of the night. The fight has been uploaded on Youtube, courtesy of [/i]Ohio River Fighting Challenge[/i]. World MMA Results for Week 1 of December PFC 38: Sweet Pain (Thursday, December 1st) Preliminary Card Shinichi Kojima defeated Yuki Shoujou via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round) John Gunderson defeated Naoyuki Kotani via Unanimous Decision to win the PFC Lightweight Championship (5:00. Third Round) Main Card Atsushi Yamamoto defeated Damacio Page via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Decent Abe Wagner defeated Eli Joslin via TKO (:21. First Round) Blurcat Verdict: Great Ian McCall defeated Seth Dikun via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Average Pete Sell defeated Luis Sapo via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Poor Matt Brown defeated Chris Lytle via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Average UFC News for Week 1 of December Signings No signings were announced this week. Re-Signings No re-signings were announced this week. Cuts No cuts were announced this week. Tim Hague Joins Crackdown Tim Hague sat down with Alex Emerson and Gavin Banks to discuss his upcoming Preliminary Bout with Heath Herring. Hague says he knows it’s an important fight for two reasons: 1) Heath Herring, though has had some unfortunate losses, is a very talented and dangerous fighter. 2) This fight could very well determine his future with UFC. He said he’s been training hard for this fight, because the Octagon is his home, and if losing this fight threatens to kick him out of his home, then Herring needs to be ready for war. Matt Brown Injured Recent UFC signee and current PFC fighter Matt Brown will be out of action for up to four months following his victory over Chris Lytle. In the fight, it was believed that he tore his pectoral muscle near the end of the second round. This could spell trouble for Brown in the UFC for several reasons. He still wants to fulfill his PFC contract obligations and has lost three fights in a row in PFC while being signed to UFC, he’s yet to debut in the Octagon, and his recent injury will only delay his first fight in the Octagon. Expect to see Brown show up sometime in the near future in the Cuts list. UFC 132 Full Report Did Andrei Arlovski continue his story or has Cain Velasquez finally reached the top of the mountain? We have the full report here! If you didn’t see UFC 132 last night, then go ahead and click the link. Go ahead, nobody’s looking. Scheduled UFC Events Ultimate Fight Night: Silva vs. Cane (December 21st. Indiana) Preliminary Card Welterweight: Jessie Sanders vs. Kevin Burns Middleweight: Mike Massenzio vs. Drew McFedries Welterweight: Marius Zaromskis vs. Mike Pyle Lightweight: Daisuke Nakamura vs. Phillipe Nover Main Card Lightweight: Benson Henderson vs. Cole Miller Welterweight: Jason High vs. James Wilks Light Heavyweight: Brandon Vera vs. Ryan Bader Welterweight: Martin Kampmann vs. BJ Penn Light Heavyweight: Wanderlei Silva vs. Luis Arthur Cane UFC 133: Year of the Dragon (January 7th. California) Preliminary Card Welterweight: Dan Cramer vs. Jonathan Goulet Welterweight: Paul Taylor vs. Ricky Story Middleweight: Gerald Harris vs. Nate Quarry Welterweight: Frank Lester vs. Chris Wilson Light Heavyweight: Kyle Kingsbury vs. James Lee Lightweight: Donald Cerrone vs. Efrain Escudero Main Card Welterweight: Jesse Lennox vs. Dong Hyun Kim Middleweight: James Irvin vs. Amir Sadollah Lightweight: Joachim Hansen vs. Clay Guida Heavyweight: Kimbo Slice vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Light Heavyweight: Lyoto Machida© vs. Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. UFC 134: Redemption (February 11th. Ohio) Preliminary Card Lightweight: Gleison Tibau vs. Jim Miller Middleweight: Dan Miller vs. Sugita Yamanaka Lightweight: Mark Bocek vs. Kurt Pellegrino Welterweight: John Howard vs. Paulo Thiago Welterweight: Rory Markham vs. Scott Jorgensen Main Card Lightweight: Junie Browning vs. Joe Stevenson Heavyweight: Chris Tuchscherer vs. Junior Dos Santos Welterweight: Johny Hendricks vs. Matt Serra Middleweight: Jake Rosholt vs. Nate Marquardt Light Heavyweight: Quinton Jackson vs. Alexandre Ribeiro Heavyweight: Anderson Silva vs. Gabriel Gonzaga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted September 24, 2009 Author Share Posted September 24, 2009 Alex Emerson’s UFC 132: Modern Warriors Full Report (Saturday, December 3rd) One of the last major UFC events of the year has been one of the most talked about events in recent months. There’s no GSP or Anderson Silva superfight. There’s no Champion vs. Champion dream match. No, tonight, all eyes are on one man: Andrei Arlovski. If you told anyone two years ago that Arlovski would be a two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion, many would laugh at you and question how much MMA knowledge you really have. In reality though, Arlovski took his 2009 losses quite seriously and took his training to a level that’s never been seen. Now we’re in 2011 and the man that everyone doubted has picked up a six-fight win streak and is the current and two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion. Many, including Hall of Fame Bound Dan Henderson, have called it the greatest Cinderella Story in MMA History. I’d have to agree. Tonight, a young man looks to end that story and begin his own. Not for greed, envy, or hate, but because it’s what he has to do if he wants to make it to the top. That man is Cain Velasquez. Thought to be a destined UFC Heavyweight Champion in 2009, Velasquez suffered some unfortunate losses and was knocked back to the beginning of the food chain. At the end of 2011 Velasquez made a come back, picking up some very big wins over Brett Rogers, Rich Franklin, and Alistair Overeem. These wins have put him across the Octagon, opposite of Andrei Arlovski. Will Velasquez finally achieve his destiny? Let’s start the show and find out. UFC 132: Modern Warriors (Saturday, December 3rd) My story isn’t over. Being the UFC Heavyweight Champion is everything to me. – Andrei Arlovski I want that belt. If that means ruining his comeback, then that’s unfortunate, but that belt is why I fight. – Cain Velasquez This win will get me to the places that I need to be; Arlovski, Velasquez, Lashley, or whoever…I will be the next Champion. – Todd Duffee I’m going into that Octagon to make a statement, like I’ve been doing. Everyone’s right, this isn’t pro-wrestling. That’s why I get in there and hurt people…Duffee is going to find that out – Bobby Lashley Gouveia is good, but the spirit of Korea and Japan are within me. I will NOT disappoint my people. – Yoshihiro Akiyama I’m not going to let Akiyama ruin my streak. He’s going to bring his best game out there tonight, but that’s not going to be enough. I need to ascend this Middleweight ladder. – Wilson Gouveia I’m going for a knock out. Simple as that. – Anthony Johnson All I can say is good luck to Anthony Johnson. If he’s going to try a stand-up war with me, I’ll just give him some Muay Thai and boom lights out. That’s all there is to it. – Ben Saunders The vignettes finally wrapped up and “Bring the Pain” by Stemm hit the PA System and spread across the Las Vegas arena. The camera panned on Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg who welcomed MMA fans to another exciting night of UFC action. They both ran down the main card and followed up by hyping the main event for tonight. Rogan says he wants Arlovski’s story to continue, but says Velasquez is a tough, hungry dude so Arlovski has a lot of work ahead of him. Mike Goldberg says the main event will be an important one not only for UFC history, but for both fighters involved. He supports his statement by saying if Arlovski loses that means he’s right back at the drawing board in his career. Then he says if Velasquez loses, who knows if he’ll ever get another chance at the gold. The Tale of the Tape for Anthony Johnson and Ben Saunders displays on the screen and Goldberg directs our attention to Mike Buffer for an exciting night of action.[/i] Welterweight: Anthony Johnson(10-6) vs. Ben Saunders(10-2-2) The Fight In the opening round both fighters are looking for a comfort zone: Saunders via taking the fight to the ground and Johnson via throwing bombs. Both fighters were a little hesitant in the opening minutes, neither wanted to make a match costing mistake. Saunders finally breaks the monotony by throwing a low kick that Johnson tries to grab for. Saunders slips away from Johnson’s grasp, but stumbles and Johnson sees some opportunity. Johnson hits a jab-straight combo, and Saunders does at least manage to cover up on the straight. Saunders quickly circles away from Johnson to prevent being pinned up against the cage, and that sums up the round. I’m assuming Saunders’s corner feels that Johnson picked up the first round, because Saunders pins Johnson against the cage via a clinch. Saunders hit a couple of shots to the body, and Johnson fires a knee on the inside. The knee forces Saunders to back up a little, but it gives enough space for Johnson to turn the tides! Johnson is now firing away on Saunders against the cage, and Saunders replies with a standing guillotine. Saunders knows that he needs to apply more pressure and thus falls to the ground. Johnson slips out and begins firing away on Saunders! Saunders grabs Johnson’s head and gains side control after a confusing scramble. Saunders scores a couple of knees to the ribs of Johnson, but both fighters make it to the final round. Saunders fakes a shoot and instead pulls Johnson into a grapple. The two hit the fencing and Johnson slips out and hits Saunders with a jab. The jab stuns Saunders and Johnson looks to tee off! Saunders is playing possum and uses the opportunity to take Johnson off of his feet. From guard, Saunders forces Johnson to cover up after throwing some nice punches. Johnson uses his feet to push Saunders away and succeeds. Johnson turns to get to his feet, and Saunders immediately tackles him back to the ground. Saunders has Johnson’s back. Johnson struggles, but Saunders eventually slips the wrist under Johnson’s chin. Saunders hooks his legs! The rear naked choke is in. Johnson taps out! Winner via Submission – Ben Saunders (4:28. Third Round) The Post-Fight Saunders tells Rogan that he doesn’t care who he fights, he just hopes it’s a top opponent like Johnson, because he wants to fight the best and prove to all that he deserves to be here. The Verdict Man, the last two rounds of the fight completely made up for the lackluster first. Based off the first round alone, I thought Johnson would firmly pick up a win. Saunders increased his game by 100 in the last two rounds and Johnson could do well to hang for long. Las Vegas was treated to a good opening fight on the main card of UFC 132. Lightweight: Hermes Franca(20-9) vs. Mac Danzig(19-9-1) The Fight There’s lots of cage control in the opening round. It starts off with Franca looking to take Danzig to the ground, but has to settle for pushing him into the cage. From there, Franca begins to fire some rabbit punches on Danzig and then switches up by looking to trip Danzig to the mat. Danzig shows excellent balance and causes Franca to lose his own. This leads to Danzig taking control of the clinch with Franca against the cage. Danzig tries for his own takedown, but eats a knee that forces him to relinquish control. At the end of the round, Danzig and Franca box a little before heading to their corners. Franca must be tired, because Danzig has him stuck against the cage. At several instances Franca tries to slip out, but Danzig keeps him pinned. Danzig is looking for a takedown, but it’s not working. As a result, Danzig begins firing some punches to the midsection of Franca. Franca fires back and we get a small war at the cage. Danzig slips through a jab and catches Franca with an elbow. Franca is cut bad and in almost no time Franca is covered in blood. Oh man, the cut looks like it’s just above the eyelid, and it looks like the Yves Lavigne is breaking the fight up to allow the ringside doctor to look at the cut. There’s several seconds of debate before Hermes Franca’s corner erupts in anger. The doctor’s have called an end to the fight. Wow! Winner via Doctor Stoppage – Mac Danzig (4:13. Second Round) The Post Fight Hermes Franca is visibly upset, and Danzig tells Rogan that he’s not happy about it either, but does say that a win is a win. He tells Franca that they will settle this fight in a rematch. Franca nods his head and he and Danzig shake hands. The Verdict Oh yeah, there’s definitely going to be a rematch, that’s for sure. As far as the fight goes, it honestly looked like Mac Danzig had control for the entire fight. This is a big win for Danzig who now adds a second win to his current streak. As far as the fight itself, it was a decent crowd pleaser that did its job. Middleweight: Wilson Gouveia(14-6) vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama(15-2) The Fight The two step in and Gouveia catches Akiyama with a punch that rock Akiyama. Akiyama stumbles back and Gouveia shows relentless offense by hitting Akiyama with a hook. Then Gouveia follows up with a left. Akiyama tries to grab Gouveia, but eats an uppercut that knocks Akiyama to his knees. Gouveia stands over him and continues to fire away. Mario Yamasaki pulls Gouveia off! Gouveia runs around the Octagon ecstatic about his win. Winner via TKO – Wilson Gouveia (2:13. First Round) The Post Fight Once Gouveia manages to calm down he tells the Rogan that this is the new Gouveia and then proceeds to warn the Middleweight Division. Gouveia also says that he hopes th be in the Octagon again soon. The Verdict Wow. Wow. Wilson Gouveia has NEVER looked that good. Simply put, the fans got a great first round fight ender and Gouveia pulls off a huge upset. Heavyweight: Bobby Lashley(8-2) vs. Todd Duffee(8-1) The Fight Lashley shows absolute power by picking Duffee off of his feet and slamming him down to the Octagon. Lashley begins firing away at Duffee, but Duffee is a tough bastard. Lashley looks like he’s tiring himself out and begins to slow down the rate of his punches. Duffee grabs an arm and tries for a kimura, but there’s a war for position that sees Duffee take side control. Lashley isn’t satisfied with giving Duffee a dominant position, and another scramble develops that sees both fighters end up on their feet. In the second round, Duffee is getting pushed against the cage, but some how manages to slip to the side of Lashley. Duffee just tosses Lashley into the cage and begins to strike on him. Lashley absorbs the blows and picks Duffee up slamming him again! Lashley swivels and gains side control, but for whatever reason stands up. Duffee isn’t looking too hot this round and is looking for a takedown out of despearation. Lashley pancakes Duffee and begins firing off some punches that are just destroying Duffee. There’s a small boxing exhibition in the opening minutes of the final round. Duffee hits Lashley with a couple of jabs and then decides to go low for the legs. Lashley pancakes him again, but Duffee manages to roll out and hits Lashley with a punch. Duffee and Lashley end up against the cage, but it’s really a rest-period for both fighters. Duffee is still fixated on getting Lashley to the ground, but Lashley force his weight on Duffee to flatten him against the mat. There are some punches from Lashley, but they’re not enough to put Duffee away before the round ends. Once both fighters cool-off they meet in the middle of the ring where Bruce Buffer announces the Judges’ Score Cards. The score is 30-27 across the board in favor of Bobby Lashley. Winner via Unanimous Decision – Bobby Lashley The Post Fight Lashley bluntly tells Arlovski and Velasquez that he’s coming for them. I think I can see Bobby Lashley possibly getting the next shot after a win like this. Actually no, I’d suggest putting him in the ring with winner of Nogueira/Slice in January to determine the next challenger. The Verdict A very decent main event lead-in that saw Bobby Lashley display raw power at various instances in the fight. I think Lashley is slowly proving to be more of a threat to the HW Division than Brock Lesnar ever did. Heavyweight: Andrei Arlovski©(21-7) vs. Cain Velasquez(11-2) for the UFC Heavyweight Championship The Fight A right hook hits Velasquez right on the button and Velasquez could be done. Arlovski follows it up by throwing a roundhouse kick, but in a random effort of defense, Velasquez takes Arlovski off of his feet. Arlovski rolls around, but Velasquez is quick to keep up with Arlovski. Velasquez has Arlovski’s back and begins firing some elbows. Arlovski’s head bounces against the elbows like some warped looking basketball. Oh man Arlovski needs to do something. Herb Dean’s seen enough and steps in. Ladies and gentlemen we have a new Champion! Winner via TKO and new UFC Heavyweight Champion – Cain Velasquez (4:04. First Round) The Post Fight Arlovski looks defeated both mentally and physically. The fans show Arlovski some support and begin clapping for him. He congratulates Velasquez and says he will be back before departing from the Octagon. Velasquez is very excited about this win and promises the fans that he will have an exciting title run. He tells Rogan that he would love to fight Nogueira, Slice, Lashley, Arlovski again, it doesn’t matter. Arlovski finishes the interview by saying that the punch really hurt him, but he had worked hard for this fight and wouldn’t take a loss that easily. The Verdict: The fans got it all in this one: Andrei Arlovski almost had this fight with a punch; Velasquez used a desperation takedown to make a comeback. There was some brutal ground and pound. And to top it off, a first round win from the new champion. Simply fantastic UFC 132: Modern Warriors Final Verdict On the entire card, including the Preliminaries, only one fight ended in Decision and that Decision fight saw some amazing power from Bobby Lashley. Las Vegas was treated to a title match—the first title match in two months, in fact—that saw Velasquez outright destroy and put an abrupt end to Andrei Arlovski’s second title run. Honestly, I think UFC 132 was a fantastic event for the UFC brand. As always, be sure to send your input on the event to Emerson-blurcat@aol.com. I’m always curious to see what the Blurcats think about any and all MMA events. That’s a wrap for UFC 132. I’ll see you in two weeks time for Ultimate Fight Night! UFC 132: Modern Warriors Full Card Breakdown Preliminary Card Dan Hardy defeated Jake Ellenberger via Knock Out (:39. Third Round) Tim McKenzie defeated Hector Ramirez via Knock Out (4:53. First Round) Aaron Riley defeated Corey Hill via TKO (2:05. Third Round) Carlos Condit defeated Danillo Villefort via TKO (:40. First Round) Heath Herring defeated Tim Hague via Submission (2:09. First Round) Jose Aldo defeated Shannon Gugerty via TKO (4:59. Second Round) Main Card Ben Saunders defeated Anthony Johnson via Submission (4:28. Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Good Mac Danzig defeated Hermes Franca via Doctor Stoppage (4:13. Second Round) Blurcat Verdict: Decent Wilson Gouveia defeated Yoshihiro Akiyama via TKO (2:13. First Round) Blurcat Verdict: Great Bobby Lashley defeated Todd Duffee via Unanimous Decision (5:00. Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Decent Cain Velasquez defeated Andrei Arlovski via TKO to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship (4:04. First Round) Blurcat Verdict: Fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted September 25, 2009 Author Share Posted September 25, 2009 Blurcat.com – Your Number One Source for All Things MMA Alex Emerson’s UFC 132: Modern Warriors Post-Fight Conference Report (Saturday, December 3rd) -Dana White had a few announcements before getting to the Award Bonuses. Firstly, Ultimate Fight Night would not get the typical press-conference treatment, because White and his team need to do some small promoting in and outside of Indianapolis to make sure the attendance for UFN makes the trip worth it. After that, he announced that if Luis Cane defeats Wanderlei Silva, then he’ll become the next Light Heavyweight contender. He also announces that the winner of Quinton Jackson and Alexandre Ribeiro will meet with Forrest Griffin to determine who will be next in line. A Forrest Griffin/Rampage Jackson rematch would be amazing. As far as future events go, White has announced UFC 135. However, there’s no date, there’s no location, and there’s no fight announcements. White did state that he’s talking to a few fighters and it’s looking like the second round Welterweight Tournament fights might wrap up at that event. Again, though, he’s not entirely sure yet. -As far as the awards are concerned, Ben Saunders walked away with two bonuses: He gained Submission of the Night for his rear naked choke on Anthony Johnson, and both he and Johnson received Fight of the Night for opening the event with one of the closest fights in recent history that almost went the distance. The Knock Out of the Night went to Preliminary fighter Tim McKenzie for buckling Hector Ramirez near the end of the first round. -Since we’ve already received confirmation on the next two or three Light Heavyweight contenders, Dana White addresses the Heavyweight title picture. As of now there are seven fighters in the current Heavyweight Division that White is looking at as far as potential title contenders go: Andrei Arlovski, Roger Gracie, Kimbo Slice, Antonio Nogueira, Satoshi Ishii, Bobby Lashley, and Aleksander Emelianenko. He’s not sure what he’s going to do about the aforementioned list of contenders, but does say depending on the outcome between Nog and Slice, either one could be the very next in line. He also says Andrei Arlovski definitely deserves a rematch, because the punch he caught Cain Velasquez with almost ended the fight. He comments on Satoshi Ishii, by saying you don’t just come into the UFC on your first fight and make a guy like Cheick Kongo submit like Ishii did. For once it looks like the Heavyweight Division has entered a period of constant turmoil, especially considering that there’s still Anderson Silva, Frank Mir Brock Lesnar, and Gabriel Gonzaga to think about. -The first to speak on their win tonight is Mac Danzig. He’s kind of disappointed that the fight ended the way it did, but says that he spoke to Dana White about a potential rematch. Danzig says he’d be more comfortable taking a Hermes Franca rematch before moving up in fights. White confirms it and says they’ll rematch at one of the upcoming 2012 Ultimate Fight Nights. -Wilson Gouveia is still on his winning high. He looks terribly excited, and I say good for him. He says a win like that has shown everyone that he has what it takes to be fighting the good Middleweights. White actually follows up by considering either Michael Bisping or Yushin Okami as his next opponent. Either/or would be a pretty solid match-up. -Andrei Arlovski arrives looking mentally diminished. He stands up and shakes hands with Cain Velasquez calling him the better fighter. Andrei comments on a potential Velasquez rematch, and says he’d rather fight someone else on the contender list before being thrown right back into the spotlight. I think a possible Arlovski/Emelianenko match would be huge. -Ben Saunders hints at the possibility of a Matt Hughes rematch, but isn’t sure if it’s too possible right now. Dana White says there’s a kid on the Preliminary Card who would love to get his big break by fighting a guy like Saunders, but doesn’t say who. I could be wrong, but I’m at least 99.9% sure he's referring to Carlos Condit. -Cain Velasquez says it’s a scary time to be Heavyweight Champion, because there are a number of people in the Division who can beat you at any time. He says he’s going to stay on his toes and spend even more time at the gym, because he’s looking to cement his name in the Hall of Fame. He finishes up by saying right now even he’s thinking about who his next opponent could be. -Once there are no more questions, Dana White & Co round up and leave the conference room. That’s a wrap for UFC 132! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted September 25, 2009 Author Share Posted September 25, 2009 Blurcat December MMA News World Headlines for Week 2 of December -RAW Combat: Brave New World results are up. You can check them out here! -Hayato Sakurai will fight under the World Victory Road banner for another four fights. -World Victory Road is looking at Tito Jones and Eddie Wineland in an effort to expand Sengoku’s Featherweight Division. -Dave Houshiar has announced RAW Combat: Gangland for Wednesday, January 11th. The event will be headlined by David Faulkner and Brock Larson -Jameel Massouh picked up a victory at Calgary’s Maple Leaf Martial Arts Fight League by picking up a Unanimous Decision over Alonzo Martinez. This is a big win for Massouh who had been on a six-fight losing streak prior to the event. World MMA Event Results RAW Combat: Brave New World (Sunday, December 4th) Main Card Brendan Barrett defeated Bill Mahood via TKO (1:34, Second Round) Blurcat Verdict: Good Jim Wallhead defeated Rowan Cunningham via Submission (4:14, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Good Joe Riggs defeated Che Mills via Submission (3:50, First Round) Blurcat Verdict: Good Joseph Duarte defeated Rich Clementi via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Decent Andrew Riddles defeated Kazuhiro Nakamura via Submission (3:31, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Average UFC News for Week 2 of December Signings Joseph Beneteau has signed a three fight 18-month deal with UFC Re-Signings There are no re-signings to announce this week. Cuts Michael Bisping has left UFC after not coming to an extension agreement with Zuffa Scheduled UFC Events Ultimate Fight Night: Silva vs. Cane (December 21st. Indiana) Preliminary Card Welterweight: Jessie Sanders vs. Kevin Burns Middleweight: Mike Massenzio vs. Drew McFedries Welterweight: Marius Zaromskis vs. Mike Pyle Lightweight: Daisuke Nakamura vs. Phillipe Nover Main Card Lightweight: Benson Henderson vs. Cole Miller Welterweight: Jason High vs. James Wilks Light Heavyweight: Brandon Vera vs. Ryan Bader Welterweight: Martin Kampmann vs. BJ Penn Light Heavyweight: Wanderlei Silva vs. Luis Arthur Cane UFC 133: Year of the Dragon (January 7th. California) Preliminary Card Welterweight: Dan Cramer vs. Jonathan Goulet Welterweight: Paul Taylor vs. Ricky Story Middleweight: Gerald Harris vs. Nate Quarry Welterweight: Frank Lester vs. Chris Wilson Light Heavyweight: Kyle Kingsbury vs. James Lee Lightweight: Donald Cerrone vs. Efrain Escudero Main Card Welterweight: Jesse Lennox vs. Dong Hyun Kim Middleweight: James Irvin vs. Amir Sadollah Lightweight: Joachim Hansen vs. Clay Guida Heavyweight: Kimbo Slice vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Light Heavyweight: Lyoto Machida© vs. Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. UFC 134: Redemption (February 11th. Ohio) Preliminary Card Lightweight: Gleison Tibau vs. Jim Miller Middleweight: Dan Miller vs. Sugita Yamanaka Lightweight: Mark Bocek vs. Kurt Pellegrino Welterweight: John Howard vs. Paulo Thiago Welterweight: Rory Markham vs. Scott Jorgensen Main Card Lightweight: Junie Browning vs. Joe Stevenson Heavyweight: Chris Tuchscherer vs. Junior Dos Santos Welterweight: Johny Hendricks vs. Matt Serra Middleweight: Jake Rosholt vs. Nate Marquardt Light Heavyweight: Quinton Jackson vs. Alexandre Ribeiro Heavyweight: Anderson Silva vs. Gabriel Gonzaga UFC 135 (Date TBA. Location TBA) Card to be announced Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted September 27, 2009 Author Share Posted September 27, 2009 Blurcat.com – Your Number #1 Source for All Things MMA Blurcat’s Ultimate Fight Night: Silva vs. Cane Weigh-In Roundtable (Tuesday, December 20th) Alex Emerson: Hello Blurcats! For some, tomorrow is just another night of MMA action, for others tomorrow night is FREE UFC! There are no thematic questions to this one. I mean, there’s no need to debate if it’ll be a success or not, even if Dana White is worried about the Indianapolis attendance being a little light, it doesn’t matter…people will watch free MMA, there’s no doubt about it. So I guess we all know what that means. It’s Tuesday night, tomorrow is Ultimate Fight Night, we’re doing a show…could it be? Gavin Banks: Why yes, I think it could. Weigh-in Roundtable, suckas! Alex Emerson: Since tonight isn’t one of the big shows, we’re going to do things a little differently. First off, there’s no overall question to ask. We’re going right to the fight card. Also, we do not have a special guest for tonight’s event. Tonight it’s going to be me, Gavin Banks, Tom Bradburn, Stuart Teacher, and Roundtable alternate Matt Natchios. Natchios: I love how unimportant you guys make me seem. Teacher: We hate you, get over it. Natchios: I’m not going to take this abuse all night, you know what, screw it. Emerson let’s just cover the card so I can get the hell out of here. Bradburn: Language, bud! Emerson: Ok, since Natchios apparently has better to do, let’s get this thing underway. First Question: Ben Henderson vs. Cole Miller? Matt Nachios says You gotta go with ‘Smooth’ on this one. Ben Henderson was one of the shining stars of WEC and out of him, Faber, Cerrone, and Pettis, Henderson is the only one to come into the UFC and walk through most of the competition. While Cole Miller is good, Ben Henderson is a future Lightweight Champion, he’ll show that in this fight. Alex Emerson says Yeah, I see what Matt Natchios is saying. Henderson has lost what? One out of five fights in the UFC? That’s a pretty good track record and I doubt Miller will have the tools to stop Henderson in this one. Gavin Banks says You guys are terribly underestimating Cole Miller. The guy has only two losses so far in the UFC and they’re both to Jeremy Stephens. Yeah, Ben Henderson is good, but in my opinion, Cole Miller has fought much tougher opponents, including Garcia, Cerrone, and Browning. I think this is Miller’s fight. Tom Bradburn says You know, either way, this is going to be a pretty solid fight. I guess if I was forced to pick a winner, I’d agree with Banks and say Cole Miller. Stuart Teacher says Ben Henderson. The guy was on the cusp of attaining the WEC Lightweight Championship and we all know there aren’t any pushovers in the WEC. I agree that Miller has fought tougher opponents in UFC, but Banks, you’re totally overlooking Henderson’s WEC Career. I’d say they’re at a pretty even level in terms of their track record. The Verdict: Majority says Ben Henderson Second Question: Jason High vs. James Wilks? Tom Bradburn says Ah man, James Wilks is tough, but so is Jason High. You know, I think High will be hungrier because of that knock out loss he took from Anthony Johnson. He’ll push himself to pick up a win in this fight. Gavin Banks says James Wilks is a UFC Top 10 Welterweight. High couldn’t even beat Johnson, who is #15 at the very least. I know rankings don’t gauge a fighter’s skill, but this is, no pun intended, high level competition for Jason High. Last time he was given a high profile fight, again no pun intended, he took a huge loss. I see the same happening tomorrow night. Stuart Teacher says I think both of you guys explained it well enough, so I’m just gonna call Jason High. Alex Emerson says Jason High is a very game opponent, but like Banks says, he seems to lock-up when he’s given a big fight. Also consider this: This is going to be live on TV. Can you imagine what that’s going to do to Jason High? Matt Natchios says I gotta agree with you three. Things aren’t looking too good for Jason High going into this fight. The Verdict: Majority says James Wilks Third Question: Brandon Vera vs. Ryan Bader? Gavin Banks says It’ll be interesting to see how Ryan Bader’s training with Xtreme Couture will play into this, but the two fought before and it wasn’t pretty for Bader. I’ll just pick Vera by default. Alex Emerson says Yeah, uh the first fight Vera dominated Bader. It’ll happen again. Stuart Teacher says History does tend to repeat itself. Brandon Vera Tom Bradburn says Why is this rematch happening so soon anyway? There’s no way Ryan Bader’s received enough Xtreme Couture training to put up a decent fight. Matt Natchios says Brandon Vera based on their last fight alone. The Verdict: The Roundtable unanimously says Brandon Vera Fourth Question: Martin Kampmann vs. BJ Penn? Matt Natchios says Kampmann is a lethal striker, but this is BJ Penn we’re talking about. The guy has granite chin and some very dangerous jiu-jitsu. Kampmann would be lucky to survive past the first round. Gavin Banks says Y’know, there are some fights where you just have to throw caution on the win and bet against the odds. I think Kampmann will win a very close fight. Alex Emerson says Nah..no way for Kampmann. BJ Penn is simply better in every aspect. Stuart Teacher says Don’t get me wrong, Kampmann is a great fighter, but I don’t think he and Penn are in the same league. Tom Bradburn says You guys covered this perfectly. Now I have no need to explain why I’m picking Penn. The Verdict: The Roundtable unanimously says BJ Penn Final Question: Wanderlei Silva vs. Luis Arthur Cane? Tom Bradburn says You’re looking at the future Light Heavyweight contender, Luis Cane is winning this one. Matt Natchios says Remember when everyone though Alexandre Ribeiro would beat Wanderlei to get a title shot and Wanderlei ended up knocking him out? I see the same thing happening. Alex Emerson says Yeah, I think Silva will pick up another knock out, as well. Stuart Teacher says I gotta go with Bradburn, Luis Cane is one of the best Light Heavyweight fighters out there. I will say this: Wanderlei is going to give him a great fight, but I do believe Cane will walk away as winner. Gavin Banks says I don’t know, there’s been so much to think about in the MMA world, that I haven’t been able to really think about this one too deeply. I guess this is Luis Cane’s ticket into a headlining fight, so I don’t think he’s going to go in there and take a man as dangerous as Wanderlei Silva lightly. The Verdict: Majority says Luis Arthur Cane Emerson: And that concludes another Weigh-In Roundtable. As always, you’re welcomed to send your predictions via e-mail to Emerson-blurcat@aol.com for a chance to win a free Blurcat T-Shirt. We hope you tune in tomorrow night to catch one of the most solid fight cards ever offered on free TV. Preliminary Card Welterweight: Jessie Sanders vs. Kevin Burns Middleweight: Mike Massenzio vs. Drew McFedries Welterweight: Marius Zaromskis vs. Mike Pyle Lightweight: Daisuke Nakamura vs. Phillipe Nover Main Card Lightweight: Benson Henderson vs. Cole Miller Welterweight: Jason High vs. James Wilks Light Heavyweight: Brandon Vera vs. Ryan Bader Welterweight: Martin Kampmann vs. BJ Penn Light Heavyweight: Wanderlei Silva vs. Luis Arthur Cane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BHK1978 Posted September 27, 2009 Share Posted September 27, 2009 I love the new diary (I know it has been around for some time)! I really like the Weigh-In Roundtable, how you write up the pre-show interviews for the fighters and the Post-Fight Conference Report. These enhance the diary for me and they are welcome additions. Keep up the great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Thomato Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 This is an incredible diary you've got going here. I'll be sure to keep reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted September 29, 2009 Author Share Posted September 29, 2009 Blurcat.com December MMA News World Headlines for Week 3 of December -Join us for DREAM 34 Weigh-In Roundtable! Our special guest for the night will be Stephen Quadros! Come back tomorrow night for full results! -Eddie Wineland has signed a 3 fight deal with World Victory Road -Lyle Beerbohm sat down with Tom Bradburn on Friday to discuss his recent and future fights in the World Victory Road Sengoku events. For an audio file of the interview, click here! -Tom Murphy discussed retirement plans with Mark Johnson in an exclusive Blurcat interview. For the entire interview, click here! World MMA Events Results for Week 3 of December DREAM 34 (Sunday, December 18th) Preliminary Card Kiril Sidelnikov defeated Valentijn Overeem via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Second Round) Dan Lauzon defeated Hideki Kadowaki via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Second Round) Carl Seumanutafa defeated Marcio Cruz via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Second Round) Jeff Lawson defeated Luke Caudillo via Submission (6:20, First Round) Main Card Akitoshi Tamura defeated Manny Tapia via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Second Round) Blurcat Verdict: Decent David Terrell defeated Ralek Gracia via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Second Round) Blurcat Verdict: Average Luke Stewart defeated Phil Baroni via Uanimous Decision (5:00, Second Round) Blurcat Verdict: Very Poor Fabricio Werdum defeated Shane Carwin via Submission (2:09, First Round) Blurcat Verdict: Fantastic Paul Filho defeated Jake Shields via Submission to win the DREAM Middleweight Championship (4:50, First Round) Blurcat Verdict: Good UFC News for Week 3 of December Signings There are no signings to announce this week. Re-Signings Urijah Faber has re-signed a five fight multi-year deal with UFC Cuts Zuffa has decided not to extend Marius Zaromski’s current UFC contract Dana White Speaks on Bisping Leaving Dana White, always notorious for letting his feelings out, has decided to come out and address Michael Bisping's departure from UFC. To put it cleanly and family-friendly, in the interview, White more or less calls Bisping a moron. He goes on to explain that Michael Bisping left, because he wanted a ridiculous (again family friendly word replacement) bonus on his extension. Dana White dissects what he means by saying that during negotiations, Bisping wanted an additional 90% of what he already makes in the event that he wins. He then says that he's never given anyone a $600,000 signing bonus, especially when they've only won two of their last five fights. White ends the harassment by calling Bisping a piece of trash. Ouch. UFC 132 Report Zuffa continues to roll in the dough as the early figures for their Velasquez/Arlovski headlined UFC 132 are $1,946,720 in ticket sales and $4,755,200 in PPV buys. With numbers like these, it doesn’t look like the MMA craze is slowing down anytime soon Shogun Rua and Dan Hardy on Crackdown Mauricio Rua and Dan Hardy were the special guests on Blurcat Radio Network’s Crackdown. On the show, Rua told Emerson and Banks that he’d be very interested in taking on Muhammed Lawal. He feels that Lawal would bring out the best in him and that a solid win over Lawal just might add stock to his name. He also said he’s very interested in fighting Jake O’Brien again. Ed Herman showed up later on the show and said he felt like he was a solid pick for next crack at the Middlweight Championship until Thales Leites defeated him. Herman follows up by saying he’s not letting the loss get to him too much and is hoping to be back in the Octagon by spring of next year. For the full episode of Crackdown, click here! Ultimate Fight Night Results Will Luis Arthur Cane be next in line for Machida? Who will be facing Andre Galvao? We have your results, and we’ll it be known right now: Ultimate Fight Night was worth watching. If for some odd reason you missed it, click here! Paul Kelly On Big Cat Show UFC Lightweight Paul Kelly joined in on Thursday’s Big Cat Show. He basically went down his training regiment with the crew and said that UFC probably has the deepest Lightweight Division in the world, and exemplified this by running down a list of ten people he thinks could hold the belt at any given time. Although UFC has no current plans for him, he hopes he’ll be back to fight soon. For the full audio, click here! Lesnar on Saturday’s Big Cat Show To close off this week in MMA, former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar sat down to do an interview. In the interview, Lesnar confirmed that his next opponent in the UFC would be Alistair Overeem. He said that it won’t be at the upcoming 135 show, but that it should be around that timeframe. He calls Overeem a lethal striker, but says he’s been training harder than ever and hopes to be headlining again in no time. For the full audio, click here! Scheduled UFC Events UFC 133: Year of the Dragon (January 7th. California) Preliminary Card Welterweight: Dan Cramer vs. Jonathan Goulet Welterweight: Paul Taylor vs. Ricky Story Middleweight: Gerald Harris vs. Nate Quarry Welterweight: Frank Lester vs. Chris Wilson Light Heavyweight: Kyle Kingsbury vs. James Lee Lightweight: Donald Cerrone vs. Efrain Escudero Main Card Welterweight: Jesse Lennox vs. Dong Hyun Kim Middleweight: James Irvin vs. Amir Sadollah Lightweight: Joachim Hansen vs. Clay Guida Heavyweight: Kimbo Slice vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Light Heavyweight: Lyoto Machida© vs. Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. UFC 134: Redemption (February 11th. Ohio) Preliminary Card Lightweight: Gleison Tibau vs. Jim Miller Middleweight: Dan Miller vs. Sugita Yamanaka Lightweight: Mark Bocek vs. Kurt Pellegrino Welterweight: John Howard vs. Paulo Thiago Welterweight: Rory Markham vs. Scott Jorgensen Main Card Lightweight: Junie Browning vs. Joe Stevenson Heavyweight: Chris Tuchscherer vs. Junior Dos Santos Welterweight: Johny Hendricks vs. Matt Serra Middleweight: Jake Rosholt vs. Nate Marquardt Light Heavyweight: Quinton Jackson vs. Alexandre Ribeiro Heavyweight: Anderson Silva vs. Gabriel Gonzaga UFC 135 (Date TBA. Location TBA) Card to be announced Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted September 29, 2009 Author Share Posted September 29, 2009 Alex Emerson’s Ultimate Fight Night: Silva vs. Cane Full Report If memory serves me correctly, I do believe this is the first time UFC has ever made an appearance in the Midwest state of Indiana. This is exciting news for various reasons: 1) MMA is continuing to expand and become more accepted 2) UFC is continuing to gain in popularity 3) Indiana MMA fans finally get a big show…and what a show it is. Tonight, Indianapolis plays host to another episode of Ultimate Fight Night in what many consider to be one of the biggest Ultimate Fight Night cards in history. From top to bottom, the event will display many exciting fights. You have Ben Henderson who continues to gain popularity in the UFC taking on Cole Miller. Then there’s the final fight in the opening round of the Welterweight Tournament featuring former Lightweight Champ BJ Penn taking on the very lethal Martin Kampmann. The most important fight, however, is perhaps the main event. ‘The Axe Murderer’ will return to the Octagon to take on potential title contender Luis Arthur Cane. But the most exciting aspect of this card: it’s all on free TV. Looking at this event, I could easily call it a must-buy PPV event, but as Dana White once said a year or so ago, “When UFC does huge numbers; I’m going to give back to the fans.” And give back he did. To be honest, I’m not even sure why I’m doing a report, because you’d have to be living under a rock to miss this event. I do realize some of us have lives outside of this sport, and for whatever reason, some of you were not able to catch the event. So, let’s get right down to it. Ultimate Fight Night on Spike TV! Ultimate Fight Night: Silva vs. Cane -That Welterweight Championship is mine. I’m not interested in fighting at any weight class, but Welterweight. If Martin Kampmann thinks he’s going to derail me, I feel sorry for him ¬– BJ Penn -I know BJ Penn is considered one of the most dangerous fighters in the Lightweight Division, but this is different. Last time he fought in Welterweight, he was giving too much weight to GSP, and we all saw what happened to Faber. Penn is out of his element. – Martin Kampmann -I’m not afraid of Wanderlei Silva, some prefer not to trade punches with him. I’m not worried about taking a punch, and I’m more than willing to exchange with him. – Luis Arthur Cane -I’ll do what I do best: hurt him. – Wanderlei Silva As usual, the familiar song from Stemm plays throughout the Indianapolis venue. The camera starts off by panning around the audience while Mike Goldberg welcomes those watching on Spike TV to one of the most stacked Ultimate Fight Night cards in history. The camera then focuses on Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan. They do their usual pre-fight build up and go through the rules for the night. Joe Rogan plays up the main event and says some one is going to get hurt in the Silva/Cane fight. Mike Goldberg highlights the Penn/Kampmann fight and says we’ll finally see who will make it to the next round. Ben Henderson makes his way to the Octagon, and Goldberg directs our attention to Bruce Buffer to get the fights underway. Lightweight: Ben Henderson(15-3) vs. Cole Miller(18-4) The Fight It looks like they’re going to start off with some grappling, but Miller suddenly changes his mind and backs away. Henderson doesn’t take the bait and Cole Miller gets away scot free. While trying to shoot in on Miller, Henderson gets rocked by a nasty uppercut, but apparently Henderson is the next name to add on the list of granite chins as he’s able to take the punch and closes off the round by still trying to take Miller off of his feet. Henderson starts off the next round with a different game-plan and begins swinging on Miller. Miller eats two or three punches, and he looks stunned! In an effort to defend himself, Miller clinches in with Henderson, but Henderson just pushes him into the fencing. Henderson fires off an uppercut and the grapple is broken! Henderson is teeing off on Miller, and is just feeding his opponent some punches. Before the Yamasaki can step in, Miller covers up and fights his way out of the fence. Henderson fairs much better this time around Miller throws a kick and is caught by a jab that takes him off of his feet. Henderson keeps himself calm and allows Miller to stand back up. Miller throws a jab, but Henderson fires off on him. Miller is stumbling backwards and uses this chance to shoot in. It doesn’t work and Henderson uses his strength to push Miller into the fencing. Henderson closes off the round by shooting a couple of knees into Miller’s ribs. The fighters find their way back to the center of the Octagon where two judges score the fight 29-28 and the other scoring it 30-27 in favor of Ben Henderson. Winner via Unanimous Decision – Ben Henderson The Post-Fight Henderson tells Rogan that he’s happy he picked up a big win tonight, and says he’ll keep fighting whoever they put him in there with. He also says he hopes the Indianapolis people enjoyed the fight. The Verdict On free TV, the fight probably seemed amazing. In front of the Indianapolis crowd, it was probably exciting. However, this was another dime a dozen UFC fight. I’m not saying it was bad, because it wasn’t. Just an extremely average fight for a UFC event. Welterweight: Jason High(12-2) vs. James Wilks(8-2) The Fight The two open the round up with some light striking, that doesn’t really seem to go anywhere nor give either one any sort of advantage. High eventually finds his rhythm and manages to catch Wilks with a couple of decent counter punches. Wilks begins to realize he can’t out-strike High, and as such looks to shoot-in. High clinches in tight with him before Wilks can go low and the two end the round against the cage. Wilks comes into the second round still looking for a takedown, but High uses some jabs to keep at Wilks at a distance. High fakes a low kick and clinches tightly with Wilks. Wilks looks to shift his weight to throw High off balance, but High is a much dominant wrestler and as such Wilks is pinned against the cage again. Wilks can’t seem to do much to get out and it looks like he loses another round. Wilks finally manages to get High to the ground, but High shows amazing ground defense, and as such, Wilks can’t seem to get anywhere. In what seems like forever, Lavigne finally forces the fighters back to their feet. Wilks once again looks for a takedown, but High sprawls to escape. High turns the sprawl into a clinch and hits Wilks with a couple of good knees. Wilks looks to escape, but is instead saved by the bell. To much of no surprise, Jason High is awarded a 29-28 Unanimous Decision Winner via Unanimous Decision – Jason High The Post-Fight Neither fighter conducted a post-fight interview. The Verdict It looked like High was looking for a finish throughout the entire fight, whereas Wilks was just hoping to outscore via lay and praying and takedowns. The fight wasn’t great by any means, but it definitely wasn’t Hammill/Johnson bad. I guess one could call the fight decent Light Heavyweight: Brandon Vera(12-6) vs. Ryan Bader(10-4) The Fight The first round is a snore. Bader shows some incredible wrestling by forcing Vera into the cage. At several instances, Vera tries to get out, but nope, Bader just isn’t having it. After about a minute or so of keeping Vera against the cage, I begin to wonder why Yamasaki isn’t asking for a restart. He finally grants my wishes and the two separate. Vera takes this opportunity to shoot in, but Bader pancakes him and begins to fire down some wild punches to end the round. Bader pins Vera against the cage…again…Wait, no Vera gets out. The two clinch up, but then break apart and afterward Vera throws a jab that’s blocked. Bader catches a kick and trips Vera taking him down to the mat. Bader explodes on Vera, but obviously Bader has tired himself out. Bader lowers his head to catch his breath, and Vera wraps his arm around Bader’s neck. Bader tries standing up, but damn that guillotine is locked in tight! Any minute Bader will ta-there it is! Ryan Bader taps out. Oh man! Winner via Submission – Brandon Vera (4:50, Second Round) The Post-Fight Brandon Vera says that Bader gave him a tougher fight this time around, but when he saw Bader trying to catch his breath, he knew that was his moment to strike. Vera says he’s hoping a few more wins will put him up there with the other title contenders, because he wants a chance to win the Light Heavy belt The Verdict A pretty good fight. Bader looked much improved, but his cardio got him stuck in a pretty nasty guillotine. Hopefully White and Zuffa see Bader’s improvements and keep him around for at least two or three more fights. Welterweight: BJ Penn(17-7-1) vs. Martin Kampmann(17-5) The Fight Penn catches Kampmann with two snapping jabs before taking ‘The Hitman’ off of his feet. Kampmann tries to show a little resistance, but the superior Penn manages to find a way to get side-control. Penn hits Kampmann with a few solid punches from side and looks to mount; Kampmann knows what being mounted means and manages to shift away. There’s a bit of a scramble on the ground, and Kampmann manages to end the round by forcing Penn back into his guard. Penn catches a kick and knocks Kampmann down with a jab. Penn immediately mounts Kampmann. Kampmann tries covering up but after six consecutive elbows, Kampmann’s hands leave his face. Penn continues to drive elbows into Kampmann and Kampmann is looking hurt! Yamasaki has seen enough and pulls Penn off of Kampmann! Andre Galvao might be in trouble. Winner via TKO – BJ Penn (1:51, Second Round) The Post-Fight BJ Penn tells Rogan that he wants his belt and that Fitch, Alves, and Galvao will get what he calls ‘The Kampmann Treatment’. The Verdict The crowd loves a good TKO or Knock Out, and they definitely got one tonight. With a crowd as hot as Indianapolis, an early TKO like that makes for a good fight. Light Heavyweight: Luis Arthur Cane(14-2) vs. Wanderlei Silva(34-12-1) The Fight Cane keeps his promise and decides to stand-up with Silva and looks good doing it. He hits a couple of jabs on Silva that seem to prevent Silva from going wild. Silva hits a low kick, but loses balance doing it. Cane pushes in and gets a Muay-Thai plum. Silva breaks through and hits some punches! Cane responds back and fires off on Silva! A straight right from Cane catches Silva right on the button and Silva topples over. Cane follows him to the mat, and begins to fire down, but Wanderlei shows that he’s a veteran and manages to pull Cane in, giving up his side in the process. Though Cane being in side control could prove to be dangerous for Silva, he manages to make it past the first round. Wanderlei and Cane step in and Cane fires off a right-hook. The punch catches Silva cleanly and Silva’s mouth-piece ejects from his orifice and slides across the mat. Silva crashes down to the mat and that’s the fight! Cane has knocked out Wanderlei Silva! Winner via Knock Out – Luis Arthur Cane (:28, Second Round) The Post-Fight Luis Arthur Cane tells Lyoto Machida and Jon Jones that he’s coming for either of them so they better be ready. The Verdict Ultimate Fight Night just ended with one of the greatest knock outs in UFC history. I’ll say it again: the knock out was great. I honestly think both Jon Jones and Lyoto Machida will be in serious trouble against Luis Cane. Ultimate Fight Night: Silva vs. Cane Final Verdict On free TV, you got to see BJ Penn dismantle Martin Kampmann and you saw a guy as dangerous as Wanderlei Silva get knocked out in just 28 seconds of the second round. I’m not going to type a long piece about what makes this an excellent event. No, just know that it was an excellent event and if for whatever reason you missed out on it, shame on you. Ultimate Fight Night: Silva vs. Cane Full Card Breakdown Preliminary Card Kevin Burns defeated Jesse Sanders via Submission (4:35, Third Round) Drew McFedries defeated Mike Massenzio via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round) Mike Pyle defeated Marius Zaromskis via Split Decision (5:00, Third Round) Phillipe Nover defeated Daisuke Nakamura via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round) Main Card Ben Henderson defeated Cole Miller via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Average Jason High defeated James Wilks via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Decent Brandon Vera defeated Ryan Bader via Submission (4:50, Second Round) Blurcat Verdict: Good BJ Penn defeated Martin Kampmann via TKO (1:51, Second Round) Blurcat Verdict: Good Luis Arthur Cane defeated Wanderlei Silva via Knock Out (:28, Second Round) Blurcat Verdict: Great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted September 29, 2009 Author Share Posted September 29, 2009 Blurcat.com – Your #1 Source for All Things MMA Alex Emerson’s Ultimate Fight Night: Silva vs. Cane Post-Fight Conference Report (Wednesday, December 21st) -Dana White comes out with a rather nice smile on his face, which can only mean good things for UFC. He announces that the show was more than a success and says that more than a million was made at the gate, and that the official number will come in later in the week. That’s pretty good news for UFC. -It looks like UFC 135 is set to go. Dana White announces that the card will be headlined by Aleksander Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski. Diego Sanchez and Eddie Alvarez will be co-headlining the card. As always, White baits everyone by suggesting we go to the UFC website to see the full card. -In the Bonus Awards category, Luis Arthur Cane picked up Knock Out of the Night after ejecting Wanderlei’s mouthpiece in just twenty-eight seconds in the second round and Kevin Burns, who opened up the show, took the other two bonuses: Submission of the Night for pulling a triangle choke near the end of the third round on Jesse Sanders. Then the two earned Fight of the Night bonus for having an exciting back and forth opening fight to start off the night. -Brandon Vera starts off tonight’s Q&A by saying that Ryan Bader was a lot tougher tonight, but that he looked very tired going into the second round and that when he saw Bader trying to take a breather, he had to go in for the kill. Brandon Vera finishes by saying he has no idea who he wants to fight next, but he’s already thinking about it. -Jason High is disappointed in his performance against James Wilks. He’s glad that he won the fight, but hoped he could have won a more decisive battle. Dana White tells him he’s too hard on himself and says a win is a win. White also says the UFC audience will be seeing much more of High and Ben Henderson. -Upon hearing his name, Ben Henderson was the next to address some Q&A. He tells the conference room that he hopes to be Lightweight Champion by 2012. He also says he wants to be back in the Octagon by late March at least. As far as opponents go, Henderson is very interested in fighting any top ranked Lightweight. -BJ Penn says there’s no one in the Welterweight Tournament that poses a threat. He does compliment the other fighters, but is 100% positive that none of them will be a major issue. He says that as far as he goes, anyone who steps in the ring with him will get what Martin Kampmann got. Penn does say that he’ll need at least two months off to mentally prepare for the next fight, which is pretty good considering that Andre Galvao will be medically cleared in that same time frame. -Luis Arthur Cane had very little to say, but did say that he would be in attendance at UFC 133 and will be watching Jones and Machida very closely. Cane doesn’t care which one he’ll have to end up fighting, because he firmly believes he’ll be leaving the Octagon as champ anyway. -The questions wrap up and Dana White confirms a UFC 133 on New Year’s Day. The group rounds up and that concludes Ultimate Fight Night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted September 29, 2009 Author Share Posted September 29, 2009 Blurcat.com December MMA News World Headlines for Week 4 of December -Join us for Bellator FC 36 Weigh-In Roundtable! Our special guest for the evening will be Nick Diaz. Be sure to check back for results tomorrow night. -Rumors of Jesse Taylor leaving Bellator FC are surfacing. This is a big deal, as many see the twenty-eight year old fighter as being a major player in the future of the MMA scene. We’ll keep you updated on the happenings as we hear them. -Bellator FC fighter Brett Cooper joined Ned Charles and Matt Natchios on Tuesday’s Big Cat Show. Check it out here! -Abe Wagner conducted a Blurcat exclusive interview with Steven Monk Wednesday night. To see the video in its entirety, click here! -Former UFC fighter Justin McCully has signed a two fight deal with Adrenaline -Ricardo Arona sat down with Ned Charles and Matt Natchios on Thursday’s edition of the Big Cat Show. On the show, Arona called out a specific UFC Light Heavyweight. To find out who he was talking about, click here! -Kurt Otto confirms Bellator FC 37 for Sunday, January 15th. World MMA Event Results for Week 4 of December Bellator FC 36 (Sunday, December 25th) Main Card Joey Beltran defeated Tom Murphy via TKO (:49, First Round) Blurcat Verdict: Great Daniel Tabera defeated Jaime Fletcher via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Good Nicholas Salmon defeated Brett Cooper via Split Decision (5:00, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Decent Jamie Varner defeated Toby Imada via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Average Jesse Taylor defeated Kevin Knabjan via Submission to retain the Bellator FC Welterweight Championship (3:04, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Decent UFC News for Week 4 of December Signings There are no new signings to announce this week. Re-signings Wanderlei Silva has re-signed a five fight multi-year deal with UFC Martin Kampmann has re-signed a five fight multi-year deal with UFC Cuts There are no cuts to announce this week Ultimate Fight Night Financial Report It looks like Dana White wasn't lying when he announced that the Indianapolis hosted Ultimate Fight Night earned over a million in ticket sales. The official number coming in is $1,260,210. Looks like Ultimate Fight Night was more than just a success. Jake O’Brien: My Next Fight? Not Soon Enough. Jake O’Brien conducted a Blurcat exclusive interview with Stuart Teacher. One of the main things Jake O’Brien addressed was not being on any of the upcoming UFC fight cards. He said he’s going to talk to Dana White later in the week to hopefully discuss future UFC plans. At the current moment, O’Brien has expressed interest in maybe fighting Thiago Silva. For the full interview, click here! Scheduled UFC Events UFC 133: Year of the Dragon (January 7th. California) Preliminary Card Welterweight: Dan Cramer vs. Jonathan Goulet Welterweight: Paul Taylor vs. Ricky Story Middleweight: Gerald Harris vs. Nate Quarry Welterweight: Frank Lester vs. Chris Wilson Light Heavyweight: Kyle Kingsbury vs. James Lee Lightweight: Donald Cerrone vs. Efrain Escudero Main Card Welterweight: Jesse Lennox vs. Dong Hyun Kim Middleweight: James Irvin vs. Amir Sadollah Lightweight: Joachim Hansen vs. Clay Guida Heavyweight: Kimbo Slice vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Light Heavyweight: Lyoto Machida© vs. Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. UFC 134: Redemption (February 11th. Ohio) Preliminary Card Lightweight: Gleison Tibau vs. Jim Miller Middleweight: Dan Miller vs. Sugita Yamanaka Lightweight: Mark Bocek vs. Kurt Pellegrino Welterweight: John Howard vs. Paulo Thiago Welterweight: Rory Markham vs. Scott Jorgensen Main Card Lightweight: Junie Browning vs. Joe Stevenson Heavyweight: Chris Tuchscherer vs. Junior Dos Santos Welterweight: Johny Hendricks vs. Matt Serra Middleweight: Jake Rosholt vs. Nate Marquardt Light Heavyweight: Quinton Jackson vs. Alexandre Ribeiro Heavyweight: Anderson Silva vs. Gabriel Gonzaga UFC 135 (Saturday, March 17th. Pennsylvania) Preliminary Card Middleweight: Tom Lawlor vs. Rob Kimmons Welterweight: Danillo Villefort vs. Nick Osipczak Lightweight: Corey Hill vs. Melvin Guillard Light Heavyweight: Caremlo Marrero vs. Karen Grigoryan Heavyweight: Zak Jensen vs. Bill Whitworth Main Card Welterweight: Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Dan Hardy Heavyweight: Heath Herring vs. Ben Rothwell Middleweight: Jason Miller vs. Patrick Cote Welterweight: Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves Lightweight: Eddie Alvarez vs. Diego Sanchez Heavyweight: Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted September 30, 2009 Author Share Posted September 30, 2009 Blurcat.com – Your #1 Source for All Things MMA Blurcat Staff Presents: 2011 End of the Year Awards Alex Emerson: Hello all, and happy New Year! While the majority of you are probably already drunk, and I, myself will undoubtedly be drunk in due time, we here at Blurcat have decided to do what we do best before anything else: talk MMA. Since tonight is the first night of the year of 2012, and the world thankfully didn’t end, it’s time to hand out those special awards. With me I have Blurcat staffers Gavin Banks and Steven Monk. Monk: 2011 was a very solid MMA year, so much stuff happened. Affliction went under, Andrei Arlovski made a big comeback, and of all people, Kimbo Slice became UFC Heavyweight Champion. Banks: Plus there was GSP vs. Anderson Silva II and we saw Paulo Filho dethrone Jake Shields at the end of the year. Emerson: As you all can see, 2011 had many memorable moments. So with that, let’s get down to the awards. Fighter of the Year The Breakdown This award is given to a fighter that we all deem as just being beyond impressive. For the entire year, said fighter has been on a tear, by not only keeping a very credible win streak, but by also beating quality opponents. We had many names to look at this year, and it was pretty damn hard to pick just one. However, after his recent performance, it was pretty easy to pick out he we thought deserved it. And the winner for Fighter of the Year: Cain Velasquez Blurcat Staff says The man had a total of four fights this year: Brett Rogers, Rich Franklin, Alistair Overeem, and Andrei Arlovski. None of the four managed to even make it past the first round. To the uninformed, this might not seem like a big deal, but in reality, all four fighters are considered to be major threats. To go in there and make them seem like amateurs is just unheard of, especially for someone as young as Velasquez. Female Fighter of the Year The Breakdown Like Fighter of the Year, the same qualities apply. However, since female fighting has just gotten off of its feet here in the last two or three years, it’s much easier to just give them their own category as opposed to comparing them to the male fighters. Since Strikeforce was the only promotion to have a Women’s Division, it’s been much harder to really follow and determine a winner of this award. After doing some extensive regional and independent event reports, a winner was determined. And the winner for Female Fighter of the Year: Kaitlin Young Blurcat Staff says Since the closing of Strikeforce of EliteXC, many of the female fighters have found other vocations to take up their time. Gina Carano, for instance, is making movies and Cristiane Santos is spending more time training with the Chute Boxe camp. Meanwhile, Kaitlin Young has stuck to the game and in the year of 2011 alone has picked up a five-fight winning streak in the American regional scene. Way to go Kaitlin! Rookie of the Year The Breakdown Pretty self explanatory. This award is all about a relative newcomer making a name for himself in a big way. Again, this was a hard one as there were a ton of young up and coming fighters who were beyond impressive this year. However, we did manage to find one that we felt broke out of the pack. And the winner for Rookie of the Year: Tyron Woodley Blurcat Staff says Though he only had two fights in the year of 2011, he came into the year on a three-fight win streak. Then, in his first 2011 fight, he defeated Karo Parisyan to take the Adrenaline Welterweight Championship and then followed up by successfully defending it against Luke Cummo. If that’s not enough, the man only has one loss in his ten fight career. At the age of 29, Tyron Woodley is definitely a guy to look out for in 2012. Rise of the Year The Breakdown This award is fairly similar to Rookie of the Year, but as opposed to being a fresh newcomer, it’s more so adjusted to those who have been in the game for a little bit of time and are finally beginning to show how much of a threat they really are to those in their division. Honestly out of all the awards, this one was fairly easy. And the winner for Rise of the Year: Bobby Lashley Blurcat Staff says The man completely outwrestled Todd Duffee, Heath Herring, and Cheick Kongo this year; to add to that, he not only had his way with Brock Lesnar, but forced him into submission via a guillotine. Keep in mind this is all in the year of 2011. If this is a taste of things to come, the UFC Heavyweight Division could be in trouble. Fall of the Year The Breakdown Think of this as the opposite of Rise of the Year. This is a fighter who looked impressive at first, but in the end, had succumbed to a set of losses that really put to question his true skill set. In the last two year end awards, some very combat hardened veterans took the fall of the year mantle, but now in what looks like a first, a former Rise of the Year runner-up has now taken the Fall of the Year award. And the winner for Fall of the Year: Brett Rogers Blurcat Staff says After running through Arlovski and Nelson in Strikeforce, Rogers would make his next appearance in UFC. He displayed horrible ground game against Gabriel Gonzaga and took two separate submission losses. He then took two TKO losses from Cain Velasquez and Todd Duffee. After being released from his UFC contract, he showed up at Bellator FC 33 where he took a submission loss to Dan Christison. One wonders if Rogers will ever be able to bounce back. Promotion of the Year The Breakdown Another self-explanatory award. This award is handed out to an MMA promotion for a number of reasons: Consistency, roster, fanbase, and booking. In all honesty, there were at least four promotions, but here recently one stood out among them all. And the winner for Promotion of the Year: RAW Combat Blurcat Staff says The Canadian MMA promotion has been spiking in fan attendance here recently. They also have recently acquired a very solid roster featuring the likes of Mike Ciesnolevicz, Alexandre Ferreira, David Faulkner, and Juro Hayami. And when it comes to consistency, RAW Combat has it down pat. Twelve events throughout the year of 2011 and all received the Blurcat Verdict of being good to great. Will RAW Combat keep up the good work in 2012? We shall see. Team of the Year The Breakdown This is an award where we focus on the different fight camps. Every year, we break down each Fight Camp and look at what fighters they have to offer, and how those fighters perform based on Camp training. As always, there are a lot of solid Camps out there to choose from, but here recently, we’ve only been looking at one. And the winner for Team of the Year: American Top Team Blurcat Staff says Bobby Lashley, Thiago Silva, Thiago Alves, Wilson Gouveia, Yves Edwards, Ben Saunders, Gesias Calvacante, Mike Brown, and Denis Kang are only a small percentage of the names worth mentioning from ATT. You’ve seen Lashley outright control his opponents. You’ve seen Silva get knock out after knock out. Alves almost knocked out Swick. Gouveia pulled off a shocking upset on Akiyama. And Calvacante and Mike Brown headlined one of the more recent DREAM events. American Top Team is the way to go for anyone looking to take their training seriously. Show of the Year The Breakdown To put it simply, this award is handed out to what we dubbed to be the best show of the year. Whether it be anticipation, a solid card from top to bottom, or even that one main event that just had everyone talking for months to come. For those requirements, there’s only one promotion to look at. And the winner for Show of the Year: UFC 120: Couture vs. Machida Blurcat Staff says Many were expecting UFC 129 to win this one, and really we did consider picking that for a long time. However, we finally looked back at UFC 120, and man it was amazing. Whether it was realized at the time or not, those who saw UFC 120 witnessed a piece of history; PRIDE Legends Mirko CroCop and Antonio Nogueira rematched, Quinton Jackson tied up his feud with Wanderlei Silva to 2-2, and Lyoto Machida outright destroyed MMA Legend Randy Couture. Fight of the Year The Breakdown When picking a Fight of the Year, we look for that one fight that had consistent high points in a fight. Everyone loves a good first round knock out or submission (which we’ll get to later), but the fights that go the distance with both fighters getting a fair amount of offense are almost always overlooked. There were plenty to pick from this year, but there was one that took place just last night that had many MMA fans flooding the Blurcat message boards. And the winner for Fight of the Year: Gilbert Melendez vs. Adriano Martins Blurcat Staff says This was an excellent brawl for the Sengoku Lightweight Championship. In the first round, Martins had clear control of the fight for the first two and a half minutes, but then Melendez turned up the heat and it turned into a fast and exciting striking war that saw both Melendez and Martins get rocked on several occasions. Somehow, they made it to a second round where Martins dropped Melendez with an uppercut. Melendez showed a superior chin and managed to scatter back to his feet. Martins used Melendez’s recover time against him and tried firing off a barrage of punches. The two ended up on the ground, where somehow, someway, Melendez pulled off an armbar that saw the fight come to an end at 2:49. It was definitely one of the most exciting fights in company has ever put on in recent years. Worst Fight of the Year The Breakdown Worst Fight of the Year is to Fight of the Year as to Fall of the Year is to Rise of the Year. I’m sure with that sentence alone; this doesn’t need much of an explanation. To clarify it to those who still don’t understand, this award is given out to only the worst of the worst. They can be deemed bad for many reasons: Not a lot of action, too much running from one fighter, inexperience, or general lack of fan interest in the participants involved. With that, it looks like World Victory Road does the impossible and takes an award for both Best and Worst Fights of the Year And the winner for Worst Fight of the Year: Antonio McKee vs. Kiuma Kunioku Blurcat Staff says Thankfully, the fight itself was only a Preliminary Fight. That means those who actually anticipated the event didn’t have to sit through a fifteen minute snore-fest. However, if you paid attention at all during Sengoku 25, you’ll notice there were a ton of people in the background watching the event. In the business world, we call those people the audience. And yes, that very audience had to sit through fifteen minutes of two fighters too afraid to strike on each other. If you’ve ever wished you could see a World Victory Road event, just be glad it wasn’t this one. Knock Out of the Year The Breakdown A knock out is a knock out. As such, this award only goes to the nastiest, most brutal of knock outs. We’re talking, mouth pieces firing out of mouths. We’re talking about ragdollesque bodies flopping to the mat. We’re talking “is that guy still alive?!” after the fight has been deemed over. This was by far the easiest one to pick. And the winner for Knock Out of the Year: Kimbo Slice on Brock Lesnar Blurcat Staff says Kimbo Slice has taken his second consecutive Knock Out of the Year and oh man did this one topple his 2010 knock out of Mirko CroCop. To put it simply, Lesnar looks like he wants to shoot in on Slice. Slice throws a wild looking punch in hopes of stopping Lesnar. Lesnar’s head bobs back, his eyes roll to the back of his head, and the former UFC Heavyweight Champion goes crashing down like a Raggedy Ann doll. And considering the sheer size of Brock Lesnar, that’s not something anybody can ever say they’ve done…except Kimbo. Submission of the Year The Breakdown Take everything that was said about Knock Out of the Year, and replace it with things that apply to submissions. Think Toby Imada on Jorge Masvidal style or even Antonio Nogueira on Bob Sapp style. Basically, we’re talking about those submissions that either came from out of no where to end the fight, or the ones that looked so painful that we had to look away. And the winner for Submission of the Year: Paulo Filho on Jake Shields Blurcat Staff says No one in the Blurcat Staff saw this fight ending the way it did. Shields looked impressive, and many wondered if he would be the one to dethrone GSP and Anderson Silva in the Middleweight Division. While not necessarily dominating Filho, Shields still looked like he had the fight firmly in his favor. Then Shields turned his game up ten-fold and took Filho down to the mat with a beautiful slam. Big mistake; a transition or two later and Shields was locked tightly in a beautiful triangle choke that forced him to hand over his DREAM Middleweight Championship to the Brazilian fighter. Main Event of the Year The Breakdown The one ending fight that made the entire show worth it, even if the rest of the fights were garbage. No matter who you are, there’s always been that one show that made you mind numbingly bored. Whether it be because the fights stunk or because you generally just weren’t interested in the undercard, the fact is, you felt the show was awful. Then the fight that you had been waiting for finally arrives. The show closer that, while the rest of the card stunk, you knew would be a solid fight through and through. And in truth, it really was good…no…better than even you thought it would be And the winner for Main Event of the Year: Gilbert Melendez vs. Adriano Martins Blurcat Staff says There’s not enough words in the dictionary to describe how excellent this fight was. The first round alone was amazing for all the back and forth striking that took place. Then you have the second round where it looks like Melendez is hurt, but only leads to Melendez pulling off an amazing submission to win the fight and retain his title. A lot of people are probably upset that Machida/Couture, Silva/GSP, or Filho/Shields didn’t pick up this award, but those same people probably didn’t see this Sengoku 31 main event. Look it up if you haven’t already. Upset of the Year The Breakdown You know those times when the Blurcat Staff have a Weigh-In Roundtable and completely call one fighter to destroy the other, but then the exact opposite happens? Yeah…it happens a lot, blame it on their lack of fanboyism or just plain idiocy. Whatever the case may be, those kind of fights half-way define Upset of the Year. The other half come from the moments where logic dictates one fighter to have his way with another, only to have the direct opposite happen in the actual match-up. And the winner for Upset of the Year: Siala-Mou Siligia defeats Fabricio Werdum Blurcat Staff says Yeah…talk about completely miscalling a fight. We predicted Werdum via submission in the early first round. Hell, considering that Werdum just made Shane Carwin many of us would still look back at that fight and call it the same. However, for fifteen minutes, Werdum was dominated by the much more aggressive Siala-Mou Siligia. Werdum tried for several takedowns, but Siligia wasn’t having it and even almost threatened a victory by way of TKO. In the end, Werdum was saved by the clock, but still took a Unanimous Decision lost by way of 30-27. Who would ever see that one coming? Blurcat MMA Hall of Fame 2011 Inductees Randy Couture (19-12) Blurcat Staff says ‘The Natural’ Randy Couture completed the UFC Trinity with Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell that saw UFC and MMA in its entirety reach heights that never seemed possible in the United States. The man won the UFC Heavyweight Championship on four and the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship twice, thus making him the first fighter to hold two different titles in two different weight classes in MMA. The man closed his career by defeating Brock Lesnar in a highly anticipated rematch to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship for the fourth time, and then went on to face Lyoto Machida in what many deemed an unthinkable dream fight. Though he may not have the most impressive record in MMA, the guy has done a lot for the sport. That alone makes him a no-brainer for this year’s Hall of Fame. Dan Henderson (27-10) Blurcat Staff says From the moment Dan Henderson won the UFC Middleweight tournament at UFC 17, we all know that his future looked very bright, we just underestimated how bright. The man went on to win the RINGS King of Kings tournament and then won the 2005 PRIDE FC Welterweight GrandPrix, becoming the first Welterweight Champion in the process. Then at PRIDE 33 he met Wanderlei Silva for the Middleweight Championship where he knocked out ‘The Axe Murderer’ to become the first man to ever hold two different titles simultaneously. Dan Henderson continued to find success in the UFC and even had two amazing performances against Anderson Silva. And how could we even begin to forget that brutal knock out punch he delivered to Michael Bisping? Like Randy Couture, Henderson getting inducted was a no brainer. Emerson: And that concludes our 2011 Year-End Awards. As always, send all comments and critiques to Emerson-blurcat@aol.com. Be sure to check back later as we go through the Year-End Blurcat Rankings! Until then, enjoy your New Year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted October 1, 2009 Author Share Posted October 1, 2009 Blurcat.com – Your #1 Source for All Things MMA Blurcat’s Year-End Rankings Report As always, along with the End of the Year Awards comes the Blurcat Year-End Rankings Report. What that means is we’ll now take the next several minutes or so in giving you an extensive list of who the Blurcat Staff considers to be the best of the best from Heavyweight to Flyweight, from male to female. Remember, though these are the Year-End Rankings, the Rankings themselves are updated quarterly, and thus the next official update will be in March. So if you’re curious to see how future fights will affect the Blurcat Ranking System, check back on the first of March. With that out of the way, let’s get this taken care of. Pound 4 Pound The Breakdown The most used phrase when MMA fans talk about their favorite fighter. To put it in easy terms, Pound 4 Pound usually describes a fighter who is considered to be the best fighter relevant to his weight class to the point that one could make an argument that he could step out of his natural weight and still present a challenge to the top fighters who represent other divisions. 10. Mike Brown (27-5) Blurcat Staff says The guy made Urijah Faber seem like a pushover to win the WEC Featherweight Championship. The American Top Teamer then went on to have four successful Featherweight title defenses before leaving WEC for the Japanese based DREAM. While in Japan, Brown decided to move up a weight-class, and proceeded to defeat top DREAM Lightweights, Andre Dida, Takanori Gomi, and Marcelo Garcia. Brown would be much higher on the list if it weren’t for our next entrant. 9. Gesias Calvacante (18-4-1) Blurcat Staff says Considered by many to be the best fighter to never hold a major title. Gesias Calvacante has proved to be a consistent threat to DREAM Lightweights. He avenged a previous loss to Tatsuya Kawajiri by putting him to sleep with an arm triangle. Chase Beebe felt the power of his hands and suffered a TKO loss. Takanori Gomi fell to a first round heel-hook. If that resume wasn’t impressive enough, Calvacante ended the 15-fight win streak of Mike Brown by dominating the #10 P4P for an entire 15-minute bout. Only at the age of 28, the sky is the limit for Gesias Calvacante 8. Josh Thomson (22-2) Blurcat Staff says There’s possibly no one in the sport who has had as many accolades as Thomson. The man entered Strikeforce and reigned as Lightweight Champion for a successful three defenses before the company went under. Upon hearing of Strikeforce’s demise, Affliction President, Tom Atencio immediately scooped up a handful of Strikeforce alumnus, including Josh Thomson. After defeating three of Affliction’s top contenders, Josh Thomson added the Affliction Lightweight Championship to his list accomplishments. However, bad luck followed with Thomson and thus Affliction folded too. Dana White, very keen on Thomson, signed him to the UFC brand. After destroying Josh Neer in the first round in his UFC debut, a Champion vs. Champion match was booked, Penn vs. Thomson. Thomson, who looked like he was being controlled for the duration of the fight, showed that it was all in his game-plan and made a tired out BJ Penn submit to a Kimura lock. To add on to that, the man is currently enjoying a nice 12-fight win streak. 7. Eddie Alvarez (24-2) Blurcat Staff says The man has been undefeated since 2008 and has added the likes of Satoru Kitaoka, Kenny Florian, and Takanori Gomi to his list of recent victims. Since his loss to Shinya Aoki, no one has even been able to score a round off of him. And in the event that he is able to defeat Diego Sanchez in March, a meet-up with our #8 P4P pick, Josh Thomson is inevitable. 6. Forrest Griffin (20-7) Blurcat Staff says The man rebounded from a 2009 loss to Anderson Silva in some major ways: He picked up a TKO victory in a fight that more or less made Chuck Liddell face his skeletons and call it quits in the sport of MMA. He avenged a previous loss to fellow TUF winner, Rashad Evans. He managed to look good even in losing against Lyoto Machida. And most recently, he defeated Muhammed Lawal, who at the time was looking to be a major threat in the UFC. Because of these feats, Forrest Griffin comfortably fills the #6 spot. 5. Anderson Silva (28-6) Blurcat Staff says Oh, how the might have fallen. There was a time where we all considered Anderson Silva to be the P4P King. He destroyed everyone who came his way in the UFC Middleweight Division. He took a few fights in the Light Heavyweight Division, including one that saw Forrest Griffin get outright demolished in the opening round. Enter Georges St. Pierre. Not only did he nullify Silva’s striking with excellent wrestling, but he also killed that Supermanesque aura by exposing what lack of submission defense ‘The Spider’ really has. With Anderson Silva stepping up to Heavyweight, he just may very well reclaim his throne as the ultimate P4P King. 4. Jon Fitch (24-4) Blurcat Staff says If Mike Brown made Urijah Faber look like a pushover, then Jon Fitch made him look like a sparring dummy. In Faber’s UFC debut, Fitch had very little trouble taking the former WEC Featherweight to the mat and locking in an armbar for the submission victory and in his second encounter with Georges St. Pierre, Fitch managed to wrestle the former Welterweight Champion to the mat on many occasions. If he can manage a victory of Thiago Alves and the winner of Penn/Galvao, we could be looking at the next dominant Welterweight Champion. 3. Miguel Torres (41-1) Blurcat Staff says Many naysayers will discredit Torres, for the simple fact that he fights at what is considered by many to be a skeptical weight division. However, no matter what weight class you’re in, claiming a 41-1 win/loss record is something no one on this list can claim. Not only that, but keep in mind that Miguel Torres now fights in DREAM where he has moved up to the Featherweight Division and already has two victories under his belt. Love him or hate him. Miguel Torres has proven that he’s no fluke. 2. Lyoto Machida (19-0) Blurcat Staff says After defeating Rashad Evans, Joe Rogan went on to say that the Machida Era has officially begun. Almost three years later, we’re only now beginning to realize how prophetic that statement really was. Thus far, no one has even come close to being a threat to the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Not ‘Rampage’ Jackson, not Forrest Griffin, not ‘Shogun’, and not even Randy Couture. This May will mark his sixth year since turning pro and he’s still undefeated! Jon Jones will have to bring his absolute best if he expects to defeat Machida. 1. Georges St. Pierre (26-2) Blurcat Staff says Only two fighters have been able to defeat GSP: Matt Hughes and Matt Sera. George St. Pierre made sure to avenge those losses, doubly so for Matt Hughes. If that’s not impressive enough, George St. Pierre went on to have SEVEN Welterweight Championship defenses. Georges St. Pierre also set another standard for he is thus far the only man to hold two different championships at the same time after dethroning Middleweight King, Anderson Silva. How much of a threat GSP will pose in the Middleweight Division will be seen when he faces either Jake Rosholt or Nate Marquardt. As of now though, not many people can say they’ve managed to beat Anderson Silva twice…and dominate him at that. You’re looking at the new King of the Mountain, ladies and gentlemen. Division Rankings The Breakdown Now that we’ve gotten the much anticipated Pound 4 Pound Rankings out of the way, it’s time we breakdown who we consider to be the best of the best for every single weight class. Since there is so much to follow in so little time, we’ll just give you a general breakdown. There have been some major changes since the last year-end awards. For instance, with Strikeforce gone, Women’s MMA has gone back to the State-side scene. As such it’s gotten harder to extensively cover women fights. While we have compiled a decent Women’s rankings, the Women’s P4P category has officially been removed. Also, you’ll notice that a few fighters will show up in weight divisions they no longer fight in. That is simply because those aforementioned fighters have not had enough fights in their weight division to gauge where their standing is in that weight class. So if by the end of this you’re wondering why Aleksander Emelianenko shows up at Super Heavyweight, or why Anderson Silva is considered the #2 Middleweight, there’s your answer. With that taken care of, let’s get the rankings down. Super Heavyweight 1. Shane Carwin (15-1) 2. Aleksander Emelianenko (19-6) 3. Carl Seumanutafa (11-4) 4. Siala-Mou Siligia (8-4) 5. James Thompson (18-14) 6. Mark Hunt (7-9) 7. Benjamin Berik (4-0) 8. Sebastian Martinez (5-0) 9. Hong-Man Choi (3-5) 10. Rob Broughton (10-4-1) Heavyweight 1. Andrei Arlovski (21-8) 2. Cain Velasquez (12-2) 3. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (33-7-1) 4. Roger Gracie (8-1) 5. Tyler East (6-0) 6. Satoshi Ishii (7-0) 7. Fabricio Werdum (16-5-1) 8. Josh Barnett (26-8) 9. Gabriel Gonzaga (14-5) 10. Frank Mir (13-7) Light Heavyweight 1. Lyoto Machida (19-0) 2. Forrest Griffin (20-7) 3. Quinton Jackson (33-9) 4. Rashad Evans (16-3-1) 5. Muhammed Lawal (11-1) 6. Jon Jones (15-1) 7. Luis Arthur Cane (15-2) 8. Ricardo Arona (18-5) 9. Thiago Silva (16-2) 10. Vladimir Matyushenko (27-5) Middleweight 1. Anderson Silva (28-6) 2. Nate Marquardt (30-9-2) 3. Paulo Filho (22-2) 4. Uriah Hall (8-0) 5. Jorge Santiago (25-7) 6. Jake Shields (28-5-1) 7. Michael Bisping (21-4) 8. Vitor Belfort (23-9) 9. Thales Leites (16-3) 10. Robbie Lawler (20-7) Welterweight 1. Georges St. Pierre (26-2) 2. Jon Fitch (24-4) 3. Thiago Alves (18-6) 4. Karo Parisyan (21-6) 5. Josh Koscheck (15-6) 6. Mike Swick (18-3) 7. Paul Daley (27-8-2) 8. Andre Galvao (8-1) 9. Nick Diaz (26-7) 10. Martin Kampmann (17-6) Lightweight 1. Eddie Alvarez (24-2) 2. Josh Thomson (22-2) 3. Gesias Cavalcante (18-4-1) 4. Mike Brown (27-5) 5. BJ Penn (18-7-1) 6. Mitshuhiro Ishida (23-5-1) 7. Shinya Aoki (24-6) 8. Gilbert Melendez (20-3) 9. Diego Sanchez (24-3) 10. Joachim Hansen (22-8-1) Featherweight 1. Miguel Torres (41-1) 2. Jose Aldo (21-1) 3. Takeshi Inoue (23-3) 4. Brian Bowles (11-2) 5. Urijah Faber (25-6) 6. Josh Grispi (18-3) 7. LC Davis (20-3) 8. Leonard Garcia (16-6) 9. Joe Soto (12-1) 10. Akitoshi Tamura (18-8-2) Bantamweight 1. Masakatsu Ueda (13-3-2) 2. Atsushi Yamamoto (16-8-1) 3. Joseph Benavidez (14-2) 4. Takeya Mizugaki (17-5-2) 5. Jeff Curran (33-14-1) 6. Joe Warren (7-3) 7. Damacio Page (16-5) 8. Abel Cullum (21-4) 9. Koetsu Okazaki (5-2-1) 10. Daniel Lima (11-6-2) Flyweight 1. Shinichi Kojima (14-3-5) 2. Mamoru Yamaguchi (23-6-3) 3. Rambaa Somdet (11-2) 4. Yasuhiro Uru****ani (19-6-6) 5. Jesse Taitano (9-4-2) 6. Yuki Shoujou (9-10-2) 7. Ryuichi Miki (10-8-3) 8. Pat Runez (3-3) 9. Ulysses Gomez (4-4) 10. Denbe Jippensha (2-3) Female Rankings Featherweight 1. Gina Carano (7-0) Bantamweight 1. Tara LaRosa (20-1) 2. Shayna Baszler (12-6) 3. Sarah Kaufman (15-1) 4. Kaitlin Young (8-4) 5. Roxanne Modafferi (13-7) 6. Patiricia Scott (6-0) 7. Joyce Diaz (4-0) 8. Ginele Marquez (7-9-1) 9. Miesha Tate (6-3) 10. Carina Damm (9-4) Flyweight 1. Megumi Fujii (17-0) 2. Leiticia Pestova (0-2) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted October 1, 2009 Author Share Posted October 1, 2009 Alex Emerson’s UFC 133: Year of the Dragon Press Conference Notes & Report (Monday, January 2nd) My 2-Cents In one week, we’ll witness another fighter enter the dragon as Jon Jones faces off with Lyoto Machida in an attempt to claim the Light Heavyweight mantle. A lot is riding into this fight. For instance, Jon Jones presents a new challenge that Lyoto has yet to face. The man has defeated every top ranked Light Heavyweight they threw his way and has done so in convincing fashion. That’s not to say the same for Lyoto, who since debuting in UFC, is still undefeated. In a recent UFC interview, UFC President, Dana White referred to 2012 as the year of ‘The Dragon’ which is why they’ve sub named the UFC 133 event as such. However, one has to wonder if getting that kind of endorsement from employer will put extra pressure on the employee and if so who? Could it be Jon Jones, whose first main show headlining fight will be against the very dangerous and tactile Lyoto Machida? Or will it be ‘The Dragon’ himself, who not since his UFC debut in 2007 has been promoted as heavily as he has been recently? When Jon Jones enters the dragon, will he be the first one to slay it? Press Conference Notes & Report -Dana White does fight hyping for 133. He says he’s 100% positive this will be one of the most exciting fights to ever be had in the 205 Division. He compliments both fighters and tells those in the conference room that they’d be crazy to miss out on this fight. -Kimbo Slice is asked if he’s ready for a submission fighter at the caliber of Nogueira, and he replies by saying that after suffering such a fast armbar loss to Arlovski, he’s been really working on his ground game. He finishes by saying he has a few tricks up his sleeve for Antonio Nogueira. -Jon Jones says he’s not nervous at all about his fight with Lyoto. He continues to say that he’s been training very hard and will not make the mistakes all of Machida’s other opponents have. Jones feels that the time for him to be Light Heavyweight Champion is now and that he’s not going to disappoint himself. -Both Jones and Machida are asked if they’re thinking about the upcoming fight with Luis Cane? Both respond by saying that at the current time, the only fight on their mind is the fight with each other. -Jesse Lennox calls Dong Hyun Kim a dangerous opponent, but says if beating him brings him that much closer to the Welterweight Championship, he’ll do whatever it takes. -Antonio Nogueira simply says that boxing with Kimbo Slice is out of the question. Nearly everyone in the conference chuckles at the statement. Nogueira gets serious and says if he can’t get Slice on the ground early, it could present some serious problems. -Dong Hyun Kim’s translator speaks up by saying Kim has spent at least 9 hours a day in the gym for the past four months and that he will be at his very best condition at UFC 133. This could spell out issues for Jesse Lennox. -Clay Guida says he knows he’ll need this win over Joachim Hansen if he ever wants to be back in the Lightweight title picture. He says you can sum his game plan in one word: relentless. -Amir Sadollah states that his training with Wanderlei Silva has really gotten his striking game down. In the fight, he’ll be looking to stand up with James Irvin, and he promises the crowd that you will see fireworks. -Joachim Hansen says that Clay Guida is a very dangerous opponent, but that he’s fought against that kind of style before. He finishes off by saying if Guida’s game plan is relentless, then he better bring a bucket of ice with him to the Octagon. -James Irvin says Amir Sadollah is a fighter not to be taken lightly, especially with his Wanderlei Silva training. Irvin does say that he’s in no way intimated, though and will give Sadollah the fight of his life. -Finally, the Champ speaks; Lyoto Machida says he never goes into a fight thinking he’s going to win, because it’s a terrible mindset to be in. He says when he sees Jon Jones on January 14th, he sees a man that could very well be the Light Heavyweight Champion, and that alone is fueling his drive to bring out his very best to beat Jones. He wishes Jon Jones the very best of luck and says he’s looking forward to a great fight. -Once the Q & A wraps up, the fighters gather round for some photo-ops to wrap up the conference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted October 1, 2009 Author Share Posted October 1, 2009 Blurcat.com January MMA News Scheduled MMA Events in January Adrenaline: Starnes vs. Devela (Adrenaline. Tuesday, January 3rd) Palace FC 39: Payback’s A Bitch (Palace FC. Saturday, January 7th) RAW Combat: Gangland (RAW Combat. Wednesday, January 11th) UFC 133: Year of the Dragon (UFC. Saturday, January 14th) Sengoku 32 (World Victory Road. Saturday, January 21st) Bellator FC 37 (Bellator FC. Saturday, January 22nd) World Headlines for Week 1 of January -Join us as we do a two-in-one Weigh-In Roundtable for December’s very last MMA events, Sengoku 31 and WEC 69. Our special guest for the night will be Dominick Cruz! Be sure to check back tomorrow night for the full results -Fighting & Entertainment Group has announced DREAM 35 for Friday, January 27th. -The Adrenaline: Starnes vs. Devela results are up. For those interested, click here! -Fighting & Entertainment Group has announced a Lightweight encounter between Vitor Ribeiro and Tatsuya Kawajiri for DREAM 35. -Cory Foster will now be training with Team Rough House. -The Fertitta Brothers look to extend WEC’s name to Japan as they are currently in the midst of working out a PPV deal with Japanese broadcaster, WOWOW2 -Join us for the PFC 39: Payback’s A Bitch Weigh-In Roundtable. Our special guest for the night will be Ron Waterman. Be sure to check back later on for the results. World MMA Event Results for Week 1 of January Adrenaline: Starnes vs. Devela (Tuesday, January 3rd) Preliminary Card Aaron Brooks defeated Randall Peck via Submission to retain the Adrenaline Heavyweight Championship (3:10, First Round) Dan Hornbuckle defeated Matt Makowski via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round) Main Card Tim Kennedy defeated Jorge Rivera via TKO (4:07, First Round) Blurcat Verdict: Good Tommy Speer defeated John Alessio via TKO (:21, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Decent Alvin Robinson defeated Jason Ireland via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Average Matt Grice defeated Joe Jordan via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Decent Corey Devela defeated Kalib Starnes via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Very Poor Palace FC 39: Payback’s A Bitch (Saturday, January 7th) Preliminary Card Yuki Kondo defeated Crafton Wallace via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round) Tenkei Fujimiya defeated Jesse Moreng via Knock Out (1:23, Third Round) Main Card Nathan Coy defeated Richie Hightower via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Awful Roy Nelson defeated Rex Richards via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Decent Jason Lambert drew with Kyacey Uscola via Unanimous Draw (5:00, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Good Harris Sarmiento defeated Lance Wipf via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Average Brendan Schaub defeated Brett Rogers via TKO (2:50, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Good UFC News for Week 1 of January Signings There are no new signings to announce this week Re-Signings Ricky Story has re-signed a three fight 18-month deal with UFC Jake O’Brien has re-signed a five fight multi-year deal with UFC Brandon Vera has re-signed a five fight multi-year deal with UFC Cuts There are no cuts to announce this week Scheduled UFC Events UFC 133: Year of the Dragon (January 7th. California) Preliminary Card Welterweight: Dan Cramer vs. Jonathan Goulet Welterweight: Paul Taylor vs. Ricky Story Middleweight: Gerald Harris vs. Nate Quarry Welterweight: Frank Lester vs. Chris Wilson Light Heavyweight: Kyle Kingsbury vs. James Lee Lightweight: Donald Cerrone vs. Efrain Escudero Main Card Welterweight: Jesse Lennox vs. Dong Hyun Kim Middleweight: James Irvin vs. Amir Sadollah Lightweight: Joachim Hansen vs. Clay Guida Heavyweight: Kimbo Slice vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Light Heavyweight: Lyoto Machida© vs. Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. UFC 134: Redemption (February 11th. Ohio) Preliminary Card Lightweight: Gleison Tibau vs. Jim Miller Middleweight: Dan Miller vs. Sugita Yamanaka Lightweight: Mark Bocek vs. Kurt Pellegrino Welterweight: John Howard vs. Paulo Thiago Welterweight: Rory Markham vs. Scott Jorgensen Main Card Lightweight: Junie Browning vs. Joe Stevenson Heavyweight: Chris Tuchscherer vs. Junior Dos Santos Welterweight: Johny Hendricks vs. Matt Serra Middleweight: Jake Rosholt vs. Nate Marquardt Light Heavyweight: Quinton Jackson vs. Alexandre Ribeiro Heavyweight: Anderson Silva vs. Gabriel Gonzaga UFC 135: Arlovski vs. Emelianenko (Saturday, March 17th. Pennsylvania) Preliminary Card Middleweight: Tom Lawlor vs. Rob Kimmons Welterweight: Danillo Villefort vs. Nick Osipczak Lightweight: Corey Hill vs. Melvin Guillard Light Heavyweight: Caremlo Marrero vs. Karen Grigoryan Heavyweight: Zak Jensen vs. Bill Whitworth Main Card Welterweight: Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Dan Hardy Heavyweight: Heath Herring vs. Ben Rothwell Middleweight: Jason Miller vs. Patrick Cote Welterweight: Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves Lightweight: Eddie Alvarez vs. Diego Sanchez Heavyweight: Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted October 1, 2009 Author Share Posted October 1, 2009 Blurcat.com - Your #1 Source for All Things MMA Blurcat’s UFC 133: Year of the Dragon Weigh-In Roundtable Alex Emerson: And you guys thought you saw the last of us? Well shame on you, because Blurcat Radio Network is back with another edition of Weigh-In Roundtable. Exactly 24 hours from now, Dana White & Co will be setting up in California for UFC’s 133rd and as you all know, that means we get to sit around here and act like we know what we’re talking about. With me tonight I have Gavin Banks, Tom Bradburn, Stuart Teacher, and special guest, and former Strikeforce President, Scott Coker. Mr. Coker, welcome to the show. Coker: I must say, the set-up is pretty interesting. Blurcat takes its MMA serious, and it’s refreshing to see something like this done. Banks: As you all know, Coker helmed Strikeforce as it went under. Coker: Haha, you make it seem like I was responsible. Banks: Well that’s the point I was going to make. None of Strikeforce’s misfortunes was your fault, in fact you probably set up some of the best events in that period. Teacher: So what exactly happened behind the scenes? Coker: Ultimately, and I should have known this then, the Showtime suits just wanted too much involvement in the show. I had all these ideas and different directions I wanted to take the shows, but I had to pass the information along four or five Showtime executives before I could even get an OK. Being a Showtime proved to be a burden more than anything else. They switched our Strikeforce timeslot lord knows how many times. I mean, they’re telling us that we’re not bringing in enough viewers, but how can you gain a steady viewership when your events switch between late evening and graveyard time slots? Then to make matters much worse, they thought they knew matchmaking better than our own matchmakers. At the end of the day, we all know Strikeforce was going; we were just waiting for when. Bradburn: And I think that will be a problem when and if any of these MMA promotions look for consistent network access which is why you’ll never go beyond seeing the occasional four or five UFC events a year on free-TV. Emerson: While I know we could spend two hours extensively talking about the role television execs will play on MMA in the future, and undoubtedly we will on Tuesday’s Crackdown…cheap plug…we gotta get down to business. First Question: Is 2012 The Year of the Dragon Scott Coker says Weren’t the last two years the Year of the Dragon? Who has defeated Lyoto Machida? No one. Who has Lyoto Machida defeated? Well that’s easy, Randy Couture, Shogun, Rampage Jackson, and Forrest Griffin. I think a better question would be will the Machida Era ever end? Tom Bradburn says You know, even if Jon Jones or Luis Cane beat him, Machida will still have a firm holding on the MMA scene. Honestly, the only reason why I think Jones and Cane are even being given title shots are a Griffin/Machida or even Jackson/Machida rematch just doesn’t sound interesting at this moment. Alex Emerson says Yeah I really do think Lyoto Machida has a very high chance of being the best mixed-martial-artists of all-time. Like Bradburn said, even if Jones somehow beats him, Machida will still remain dominant. Stuart Teacher says Scott Coker said it best: Every year since 2009 has been the Year of the Dragon. Gavin Banks says I still think he’s boring. As a matter of fact, since his fight with Rashad Evans, the only fighter Lyoto Machida has even been able to finish was Randy Couture. Is a successful champion? Yes, but he’s a very stale fighter and thus he’ll never really be that amazing superstar fighter that you’re all making him out to be. Final Verdict: Majority says 2012 will be the Year of the Dragon Second Question: Jesse Lennox vs. Dong Hyun Kim? Gavin Banks says Who cares? No, seriously, when was the last time we’ve ever talked about either of these fighters? Why is this the opening fight of the card when you have a fight like Donald Cerrone and Efrain Escudero on the Prelims? If deciding a winner of this fight is the difference between life and death, I’m picking Dong Hyun Kim. Stuart Teacher says Jesse Lennox is completely outmatched in every form. I know he’s hungry, but I really don’t believe he’s in the same league as Dong Hyun Kim. Scott Coker says I’ll pick the underdog just to make it interesting, Jesse Lennox Alex Emerson says If what Dong Hyun Kim said at the press conference is true, then like I said in my notes, Jesse Lennox will be in trouble. Tom Bradburn says Dong Hyun Kim. Though I more or less agree with Gav more than anything else. Final Verdict: Majority says Dong Hyun Kim Third Question: James Irvin vs. Amir Sadollah? Tom Bradburn says If Irvin decides to stand-up with Sadollah he might as well just forfeit the fight. I’m not too sure if the fight will fair better for Irvin on the ground, but considering Sadollah has a pretty solid submission game, it might not even matter. Alex Emerson says I’m still trying to figure out when Amir Sadollah was ever known for having incredible hands. You do realize that out of his five wins, three were by submission and the other two were by decision. I don’t think three months worth of striking is going to make him an incredibly fierce stand-up artist. I see Irvin completely out-gunning him in every aspect. Scott Coker says Regardless of what Amir can do on his feet, having a man as dangerous as Wanderlei Silva at his corner can only mean good things for The Ultimate Fighter winner. Stuart Teacher says I think that if Sadollah’s striking fails, he’ll at least be able to get Irvin from the ground, and judging from Sadollah’s last couple of wins, the ground is the last place you want to be with this guy. Gavin Banks says I’m going with Amir Sadollah. You know what? I’ll say it now, this kid is going to be a future Middleweight Champion. Final Verdict: Majority says Amir Sadollah Fourth Question: Clay Guida vs. Joachim Hansen? Scott Coker says I had the pleasure of working with Clay Guida in the past, so I have to go with him on this one. Gavin Banks says Joachim Hansen is lethal in every way. If Guida tries to shoot in, guess what? Knee to head. If Guida gets him on the ground, guess what? Guida’s tapping out. Joachim Hansen is picking up an easy win tomorrow night. Alex Emerson says Did I just hear you correctly? Did you call Clay Guida an easy fight for Joachim Hansen? Undoubtedly, ‘Hellboy’ is a very solid Lightweight and from a statistical perspective, Guida’s odds of winning this fight are pretty slim. However, Guida is not the kind of guy you should doubt. I bet he’s going to go in that Octagon and put it on overdrive in this fight. I see sheer endurance being the key in Clay Guida picking up a win. Stuart Teacher says As ridiculous as Gavin Banks usually sounds, he made the most sense. I don’t see any kind of strategy working in Clay Guida’s favor. Tom Bradburn says Every time I doubt Clay Guida, he pulls off the win. I think this will be one of those times. He’ll go in there and completely dominate Joachim Hansen. I’m sure of it. Final Verdict: Majority says Clay Guida Fifth Question: Kimbo Slice vs. Antonio Nogueira – Knock Out of the Night or Submission of the Night? Scott Coker says After what Nogueira did to Bob Sapp back in PRIDE’s day, it’s hard not to say Submission of the Night. Stuart Teacher says The much more experienced Nogueira will get the Submission of the Night. Gavin Banks says Junior Dos Santos – Knocked Out, Mirko CroCop – Knocked Out, Brock Lesnar – Knocked Out, Roger Gracie – TKOed. Gotta go with Mr. Ferguson on this one. Youtube doesn’t lie. Alex Emerson says Andrei Arlovski proved that if you can see past Slice’s punches, you can defeat him. Antonio Nogueira arguably has the strongest chin in the game. Therefore, I don’t see Slice getting anywhere with the punches. Tom Bradburn says Submission of the Night. Final Verdict: Majority says Submission of the Night. Final Question: Lyoto Machida vs. Jon Jones? Alex Emerson says This was more or less the first question reworded. I’m sticking with Lyoto Machida. Gavin Banks says I think…no…I hope Jon Jones beats him. Someone needs to put ‘The Dragon’ to rest. Scott Coker says Lyoto Machida. He’s the very best at this moment. Tom Bradburn says Sorry Gav, Lyoto Machida. Stuart Teacher says It’ll be a long time before I pick opposite of Lyoto Machida Final Verdict: Majority says Lyoto Machida Emerson: And that concludes another successful Weigh-In Roundtable. If you’re not ordering the Pay-Per-View, be sure to check back tomorrow night for a full report of the show. And as always, send your predictions via e-mail to Emerson-blurcat@aol.com. Winner will receive the Scott Coker endorsed and signed Strikeforce: Crash & Burn DVD which features the very best and very worst in Strikeforce’s four year history. We hope we’ll hear from you soon! Full UFC 133: Year of the Dragon Card Preliminary Card Welterweight: Dan Cramer vs. Jonathan Goulet Welterweight: Paul Taylor vs. Ricky Story Middleweight: Gerald Harris vs. Nate Quarry Welterweight: Frank Lester vs. Chris Wilson Light Heavyweight: Kyle Kingsbury vs. James Lee Lightweight: Donald Cerrone vs. Efrain Escudero Main Card Welterweight: Jesse Lennox vs. Dong Hyun Kim Middleweight: James Irvin vs. Amir Sadollah Lightweight: Joachim Hansen vs. Clay Guida Heavyweight: Kimbo Slice vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Light Heavyweight: Lyoto Machida© vs. Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 <p><span style="font-size:8px;"><strong>Blurcat.com January MMA News</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>World Headlines for Week 2 of January</strong></span></span></p><p> </p><p> -After suffering a brutal TKO loss to <strong>Brendan Schaub</strong>, <strong>Brett Rogers</strong> has been given a three month medical suspension.</p><p> </p><p> -<strong>Monte Cox</strong> has announced the next <strong>Adrenaline</strong> event to take place on Sunday, January 29th.</p><p> </p><p> -Join us for the <em>RAW Combat: Gangland Weigh-in Roundtable</em> tonight. Our special guest for the evening will be <strong>Chad Mendes</strong>.</p><p> </p><p> -After his <strong>RAW Combat</strong> meet with <strong>Jay Hieron</strong>, <strong>Jeff Joslin</strong> has been issued a four month medical suspension.</p><p> </p><p> -<strong>Kazushi Sakuraba</strong> has announced <em>Palace FC 40: Rip It Out</em> for Wednesday, February 8th.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>World MMA Event Results for Week 2 of January</strong></span></span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>RAW Combat: Gangland (Wednesday, January 11th)</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Main Card</strong></span></p><p> <em>Eiji Mitsuoka defeated Soa Palelei via Submission (3:59, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Decent</em></p><p><em> Bryan Travers defeated Luiz Azeredo via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Poor</em></p><p><em> Henry Martinez defeated Jean Silva via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Poor</em></p><p><em> Jay Hieron defeated Jeff Joslin via Submission (4:58, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Average</em></p><p><em> Brock Larson defeated David Faulkner via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Good</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span style="font-size:12px;">UFC News for Week 2 of January</span></span></strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Signings</strong></p><p> <em>There are no new signings to announce this week</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Re-Signings</strong></p><p> <em>There are no re-signings to announce this week</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Cuts</strong></p><p> <em>There are no cuts to announce this week</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Urijah Faber Announces Special Catchweight Fight</strong></p><p> <em>Just this Tuesday, </em><em><strong>Urijah Faber</strong></em><em> has announced that he will be making a special appearance at the upcoming </em><em><strong>WEC 70</strong></em><em> on February 3rd. Well we have gotten official word and apparently, it’s more than just a special appearance. Urijah Faber will be headlining the upcoming WEC event by taking on </em><em><strong>Fredson Paixao</strong></em><em> in a long-awaited rematch. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The fight itself will be held at Catchweight since Urijah Faber will in no way be able to make 145 in time and as such will be meeting somewhere between the 155 to 163 lb mark. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Since </em><em><strong>WEC</strong></em><em> basically functions as </em><em><strong>UFC’s</strong></em><em> sister promotion, </em><em><strong>Dana White</strong></em><em> has absolutely no problem with making this fight happen. Fans of WEC rejoice!</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>UFC 133 Recap</strong></p><p> <em>Did </em><em><strong>Jon Jones</strong></em><em> slay ‘The Dragon’ or is 2012 really the year for </em><em><strong>Lyoto Machida</strong></em><em>? We have all the answers, come check them out </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">here</span></em><em>!</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Scheduled UFC Events</strong></span></span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>UFC 134: Redemption (February 11th. Ohio)</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Preliminary Card</strong></span></p><p> <em>Lightweight: Gleison Tibau vs. Jim Miller</em></p><p><em> Middleweight: Dan Miller vs. Sugita Yamanaka</em></p><p><em> Lightweight: Mark Bocek vs. Kurt Pellegrino</em></p><p><em> Welterweight: John Howard vs. Paulo Thiago</em></p><p><em> Welterweight: Rory Markham vs. Scott Jorgensen</em></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Main Card</strong></span></p><p> <em>Lightweight: Junie Browning vs. Joe Stevenson</em></p><p><em> Heavyweight: Chris Tuchscherer vs. Junior Dos Santos</em></p><p><em> Welterweight: Johny Hendricks vs. Matt Serra</em></p><p><em> Middleweight: Jake Rosholt vs. Nate Marquardt</em></p><p><em> Light Heavyweight: Quinton Jackson vs. Alexandre Ribeiro</em></p><p><em> Heavyweight: Anderson Silva vs. Gabriel Gonzaga</em></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>UFC 135 (Saturday, March 17th. Pennsylvania)</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Preliminary Card</strong></span></p><p> <em>Middleweight: Tom Lawlor vs. Rob Kimmons</em></p><p><em> Welterweight: Danillo Villefort vs. Nick Osipczak</em></p><p><em> Lightweight: Corey Hill vs. Melvin Guillard</em></p><p><em> Light Heavyweight: Carmelo Marrero vs. Karen Grigoryan</em></p><p><em> Heavyweight: Zak Jensen vs. Bill Whitworth</em></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Main Card</strong></span></p><p> <em>Welterweight: Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Dan Hardy</em></p><p><em> Heavyweight: Heath Herring vs. Ben Rothwell</em></p><p><em> Middleweight: Jason Miller vs. Patrick Cote</em></p><p><em> Welterweight: Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves</em></p><p><em> Lightweight: Eddie Alvarez vs. Diego Sanchez</em></p><p><em> Heavyweight: Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski</em></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 <p><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Alex Emerson’s </strong></span></span><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong><em>UFC 133: Year of the Dragon</em></strong></span></span><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong> Full Report (Saturday, January 17th)</strong></span></span></p><p> </p><p> 2011 came and went and in its place, 2012 welcomes all to another twelve months of highs, lows, and everything in between.</p><p> </p><p> In the <strong>UFC</strong> world, we left 2011 knowing <strong>Luis Arthur Cane</strong> would be the next one to get a Light Heavyweight title shot, we just didn’t know against whom. 2012, gracefully welcomes us by solving that problem for us: <strong>Jon Jones</strong> or <strong>Lyoto Machida</strong>.</p><p> </p><p> Many in the business are calling 2012 the Year of the Dragon. In Chinese astrology, this proves to be true, but I doubt <strong>Dana White</strong> had that in mind when naming this event. You see, ‘The Dragon’ he’s referring to is none other than Light Heavyweight Champion, Lyoto Machida. </p><p> </p><p> Meanwhile, Jon ‘Bones’ Jones is the next valiant knight to take arms and enter the dragon. When he comes out of that eight sided cavern, will he have the dragon’s head? Or will he erupt in flames like everyone else before him?</p><p> </p><p> There’s only way to find out, and that’s to keep reading.</p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:12px;"><strong><em>UFC 133: Year of the Dragon</em></strong></span><span style="font-size:12px;"><strong> (Saturday, January 14th)</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <em>I cannot let James Irvin beat me.</em> – <strong>Amir Sadollah</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>He keeps talking like I should be worried about his hands, but he has yet to finish anyone with a punch.</em> – <strong>James Irvin</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>Like I said, I just gotta be relentless…that’s the only way to beat a guy like Joachim Hansen</em> – <strong>Clay Guida</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>If Clay Guida tries his Energizer Bunny routine on me, he won’t make it past the first round</em> – <strong>Joachim Hansen</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>I’m here to leave an impression. Kim will find that out.</em> – <strong>Jesse Lennox</strong></p><p> </p><p><em> At this moment, my spirit is unbeatable.</em> – <strong>Dong Hyun Kim</strong></p><p> </p><p><em> **** the haters. I’m a do me and show Nogueira what I’m all about.</em> – <strong>Kimbo Slice</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>He’s dangerous, but my submissions will get me through.</em> – <strong>Antonio Nogueira</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>I came here to slay ‘The Dragon’. That’s what I’m going to do. Failure is not an option.</em> – <strong>Jon Jones</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>He’s going to bring his very best and as such I’m going to give him my very best. That’s all I’ll need.</em> – <strong>Lyoto Machida</strong></p><p> </p><p><em> Once the vignettes finished up, “Bring the Pain” filled the PA which immediately got the California audience off of their feet. The camera panned throughout the audience, picking out only the most excited of fans as a testament to show how exciting UFC 133 was going to be.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Mike Goldberg</strong></em><em> welcomed everyone to the broadcast which prompted the cameras to switch where both he and </em><em><strong>Joe Rogan</strong></em><em> were now the main focus. Once Mike Goldberg went through his usual spiel, he welcomed Rogan’s input. As always, Rogan ran down the card before posing our very own Blurcat question: Is 2012 The Year of the Dragon?</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> That question led to UFC 133’s Texting Poll: Who will win between </em><em><strong>Jon Jones</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Lyoto Machida</strong></em><em>? By pressing the number 1, it signified a vote for Jon Jones and 2 for Machida.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Once the Texting Poll image disappeared from the screen, </em><em><strong>Jesse Lennox</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Dong Hyun Kim’s</strong></em><em> Tale of the Tape took the center stage. With this now on the main screen, Mike Goldberg directed all attention to ‘The Voice of the Octagon’ </em><em><strong>Bruce Buffer</strong></em><em>.</em></p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="24540" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>Welterweight: Jesse Lennox(12-1) vs. Dong Hyun Kim(14-5-1)</strong></span><p> </p><p> <strong>The Fight</strong></p><p> <em>Jesse Lennox uses some feint jabs to keep Kim back. Once Kim looks tentative with a defense plan, Lennox switches up by shooting in for a takedown. Kim is ready for it and manages to reverse the situation and ends up with a side mount. Kim fires an awkward knee to Lennox’s ribcage, and Lennox uses this time to scuffle away from his aggressor. Kim tries to keep up with him, but slips up and Lennox pushes him over and Kim is now the one with his back to the mat. Somehow, someway, Kim gets his legs around Lennox and locks him in a triangle. Just when it looks like it’s all over for Lennox, he picks Kim up and just slams him! The triangle is broken and the round ends with Lennox covering a dazed Kim with a side mount.</em></p><p> </p><p> <em>Lennox blocks an early takedown attempt and locks his arms tightly around Kim. Lennox tosses Kim to the mat and Kim has no choice, but to pull guard. Lennox begins firing away on Kim with some right hands. Once the punches start winding down, Kim grabs Lennox’s right hand and looks to complete a Kimura from the bottom. Lennox takes his time to find a way out, but Kim switches up and catches the unaware Lennox with a guillotine! Lennox almost has his head out, but no Kim is able to shift Lennox off of him to lock it in tighter Lennox taps out!</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner via Submission – Dong Hyun Kim (4:34, Second Round)</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>The Post-Fight</strong></p><p> <em>Kim’s translator tells Rogan that he trained hard for this fight and that he’s glad it all paid off. He finishes off by saying he would love a fight with any of the Top Ten ranked UFC Welterweights.</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>The Verdict</strong></p><p> <em>The first match of the night was a very solid back and forth display that ended with some very slick submission work from Kim. I was totally impressed with both of their performances and felt that this was a very </em><em><strong>good</strong></em><em> match to open UFC 133 with.</em></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="24540" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>Middleweight: James Irvin(16-7) vs. Amir Sadollah(5-3)</strong></span><p> </p><p> <strong>The Fight</strong></p><p> <em>To Irvin’s surprise, Sadollah opens up the round with some striking. Firstly, Irvin catches a solid kick to the thigh and then has to cover up to prevent himself from catching a jab-straight combo. Sadollah doesn’t ease off the pressure and continues to throw jabs Irvin’s way. Finally, Irvin manages to counter with a straight and it forces Sadollah to go into Plan B and clinch up with his opponent. The two find their way against the cage, but the clock winds down and puts the action on halt.</em></p><p> </p><p> <em>Sadollah is looking great in the second round by snapping some nice kicks to the ribs and thighs of Irvin. Irvin throws a jab, but Sadollah steps away and follows up with a kick to the knee that forces Irvin to stumble. Sadollah takes the opportunity to clinch in with Irvin. Irvin tries firing some punches to the side of the head, but Sadollah uses it to his advantage to cinch in a Muay Thai plum. Sadollah doesn’t even get a chance to fire off a solid knee before the round ends.</em></p><p> </p><p> <em>Sadollah catches Irvin with a jab and Irvin steps to the side. Sadollah feints with a left and steps forward for a…WHOA a roundhouse kick that nearly knocks Irvin’s head right off of his shoulders! Irvin collapses to the ground, and the fight is over! I take back everything I said about Sadollah’s stand-up game!</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner via Knock Out – Amir Sadollah (1:56, Third Round)</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>The Post-Fight</strong></p><p> <em>Joe Rogan immediately tells Amir Sadollah that he looked great in the Octagon tonight, and Sadollah replies by saying he’s only going to get better as the months go by. Sadollah then warns everyone in the Middleweight Division that he’s coming for them.</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>The Verdict</strong></p><p> <em>Sadollah promised fireworks in the UFC 133 Press Conference, and he delivered. The fans were all over this fight, and that knock out kick will inevitably find its way on Youtube in due time. I gotta say, this was a pretty damn </em><em><strong>good</strong></em><em> fight through and through.</em></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="24540" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>Lightweight: Joachim Hansen(22-8-1) vs. Clay Guida(27-14)</strong></span><p> </p><p> <strong>The Fight</strong></p><p> <em>Guida storms right into Hansen and takes him off of his feet with a beautiful tackle. Guida looks to rain down some punches, but Hansen switches between covering up and rolling his head through the strikes. Once the punch from guard tactic fails, Guida decides to try to change positions, but Hansen keeps his legs wrapped firmly around him. The two stay motionless on the ground and Mario Yamasaki is forced to bring them back to their feet. From then on, it’s Hansen’s game who hits Guida with three consecutive jabs. The last jab forces Guida into the cage and Hansen throws a flying knee. Guida, through sheer will blocks the knee and takes Hansen back down to the ground. Guida begins to pound away on Hansen, but can’t get the finish before the round closes.</em></p><p> </p><p> <em>Hansen looks to come in and out-strike Guida once more, but Guida smothers him against the cage to nullify any punches. Guida just manhandles Hansen against by dragging him around before trying for a takedown. Hansen, manages to prevent himself from being taken to the ground and also manages to slip away from Guida in the process. Guida however, continues to show his relentless game plan and immediately storms after Hansen. He somehow manages to pick Hansen up and drop him to the mat. Hansen tries to lock in a guillotine, but Guida slips out and fires off an elbow. With the second round coming to an end, things aren’t looking good for ‘Hellboy’</em></p><p> </p><p> <em>Guida forces Hansen to the ground again and begins firing off elbows! Hansen covers up and Guida shifts position and gains side control. Guida fires off some knees to the ribs, and they look like they’re doing damage. Hansen tries to roll away, but Guida gets a hold of Hansen’s left arm. I think he ma be going for an armbar…wait no…there’s an Americana. Damn, is it locked in tight! ‘Hellboy’ agrees and he taps out. Guida looked unstoppable!</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner via Submission – Clay Guida (4:12, Third Round)</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Post Fight</strong></p><p> <em>Clay Guida tells Joe Rogan that being relentless is going to be his new game plan for every fight. Guida does say that there’s always the possibility of gassing out, but that right now, his cardio is simply at its best.</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>The Verdict</strong></p><p> <em>Clay Guida just outright controlled this fight. I’ve never seen Joachim Hansen get handled like that…ever. Three fights in and the fans have yet to be disappointed. As always Clay Guida is an exciting fan favorite, and seeing how he controlled Joachim Hansen for a third round submission, you can call this one another solid, </em><em><strong>good</strong></em><em> fight for UFC 133</em></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="24540" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>Heavyweight: Kimbo Slice(7-2) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira(33-7-1)</strong></span><p> </p><p> <strong>The Fight</strong></p><p> <em>Nogueira plays it smart by working on Slice with some leg kicks to make it easier for takedown attempts later on in the fight. Slice has had enough of the kicks and manages to catch Nogueira with a light jab. Nogueira fires off a kick to the knee and tries to soften up Kimbo with some punches, but a right hook rocks Nogueira. Nogueira displays his granite chin and is somehow still standing. He fires off a couple of more leg-kicks to end the round.</em></p><p> </p><p> <em>Kimbo looks for the knock out punch, but Nogueira goes low and takes Slice to the ground. Nogueira softens Kimbo up with some decent punches and looks to shift to side. At the Press Conference, Kimbo said he had some tricks up his sleeve, and apparently he does: Antonio Nogueira cannot get past his guard! Kimbo hits Nogueira with an elbow and Nogueira grasps his arm for an Americana. Kimbo blocks it, but it was only used as a diversion for Nogueira to get side control, which he successfully does. Nogueira fires off a couple of knees to Kimbo’s ribs to end the second round.</em></p><p> </p><p> <em>Kimbo catches Nogueira with a violent swing, but ‘Minotauro’ is still on his feet. Kimbo is looking a little gassed, and as such, can’t capitalize on the moment. Nogueira gets his wits about him, but catches another wild punch from Slice and Nogueira drops to the floor. ‘Minotauro’ is still very much in the fight, and Slice sees that as well. To prevent Nogueira from recovering like last time, Slice hovers over Nogueira. Nogueira however fools Slice by moving to guard to anticipate Slice’s next move. Slice backs up and waits for Nogueira to stand up. The two begin to strike on each other, and a war of the leather has started. Nogueira rocks Kimbo with a couple of punches and uses the opportunity to take Slice to the ground. After a brief tussle, Nogueira ends up pulling at Slice’s arm for an armbar attempt. I thought I’d never say this, but Slice rolls through and the armbar is no more. The two are back on their feet, and the crowd is all over this one. Before it can go anywhere else though, the bell sounds.</em></p><p> </p><p> <em>Both fighters hug each other after the fight and the audience gives a standing ovation. Once everything calmed down Bruce Buffer announces the Judges’ Scores of 29-28 across the board in favor of Kimbo Slice.</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner via Unanimous Decision – Kimbo Slice</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>The Post-Fight</strong></p><p> <em>Kimbo Slice says this was by far the biggest fight he’s ever had. He said this fight with Nogueira was more important to him than even winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship. He finishes by saying if he had to call the MMA game quits tonight, it’s an honor to know his last fight would be with a man like Antonio Nogueira.</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>The Verdict</strong></p><p> <em>This fight was simply unforgettable. This was MMA Casual fan vs. MMA Purist fan and tonight, both had very valid arguments to present to the table. Kimbo Slice caught Antonio Nogueira with some very fight threatening punches, but at the same time, Nogueira almost walked away with a submission victory at several instances in the fight. This fight was </em><em><strong>great</strong></em><em>, and as such, I’m betting it will be talked about for months, if not years.</em></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="24540" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>Light Heavyweight: Lyoto Machida©(19-0) vs. Jon Jones(15-1) for the Light Heavyweight Championship</strong></span><p> </p><p> <strong>The Fight</strong></p><p> <em>Machida completely dominates Jones in the stand-up game in the opening round. Jones catches several kicks to the leg that will ultimately play against him if the fight goes to the later rounds. Out of desperation, Jones goes for a Superman Punch, only to catch a crisp counter-punch from Lyoto that takes Jones off of his feet. Lyoto follows Jones to the ground and mounts him, but Jones is back to his senses and somehow manages to slip back into guard to end the round.</em></p><p> </p><p> <em>Jones tries to smother Machida against the cage, but it doesn’t work. Machida slips away and hits Jones with a couple of jabs as he backs away. Machida looks to fire away on Jones some more, but Jones catches Machida with an uppercut that puts any of Machida’s actions on halt. Jones looks to come in, but Machida grapples with him. Both fighters end up against the cage where Jones actually looks like he has control. However, the round winds down and Jones has no other choice but to give up his position.</em></p><p> </p><p> <em>Jones pushes Machida against the cage and begins to hit a couple of inside punches. Machida throws Jones off balance and pushes Jones off of him. Jones throws a punch, but Machida counters with a kick, but it looks like that was part of Jones strategy! Jones catches the foot and moves his foot on the inside to trip Machida to the ground! Jones fires a couple of punches, but seeing that they aren’t going anywhere, he stands up and waits for Machida to do the same. Jones tries to go for a punch, but a counter punch makes him stumble over his own footing. Machida doesn’t capitalize, but only because the round is over.</em></p><p> </p><p> <em>Jones tries to get in close to Machida, but eats a counter punch. Jones is stumbling around again, and Machida uncharacteristically looks for a takedown. Apparently Jones knew Machida was going to go for it and shows so by playing possum and pancaking Machida to the ground. Jones hits Machida with some nasty punches, but Machida is able to pull away before taking too much damage. Machida is actually looking tired and Jones exploits it by cinching in a Muay Thai plum! Jones fires off three kness, but none of them look like they’re doing much. We’re anticipating the upset of the century at any moment, but the bell sounds to end the round.</em></p><p> </p><p> <em>Machida catches Jones with some excellent counter jabs, but Jones springs to life by hitting and rocking Machida with his own counter punch in the process. Machida stumbles into the cage and Jones follows up by pinning him there. Jones fires off a couple of inside knees and then backs away and catches Lyoto with an on the mark jab. Lyoto tries to fight back, but gets rocked with an uppercut. The bell sounds and I’m pretty ****ing sure we might have a new Light Heavyweight Champion.</em></p><p> </p><p> <em>The fans show their approval of the five round war by giving an ovation that rivals that of the Nogueira/Slice one. Once Buffer steps to the center of the ring everyone quiets down to see what the judges have scored it.</em></p><p> </p><p> <em><strong>48-47</strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Machida</strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>48-47</strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>Jones</strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong>48-47</strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>JONES</strong></span></em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <em>My God! Jones has done what no man has done before! Jones has slain the dragon!</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Winner via Split Decision and new Light Heavyweight Champion – Jon Jones</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong>The Post Fight</strong></p><p> <em>Jones is at a loss for words and breaks up the silence by going over to Lyoto’s corner where the two have that typical post-fight emotional hug out. Lyoto raises Jones arm and calls him simply the best. While this goes on Rogan welcomes the next contender, Luis Cane to the Octagon who congratulates both fighters on an amazing performance but then breaks up the positive vibes by telling Jones that he better not let this win go to his head, because when they fight, he’s going in for the kill.</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>The Verdict</strong></p><p> <em>My God, these guys tore it up in there. For five rounds, these guys gave it their all. Think about it, for twenty-five minutes, these guys did their thing and there wasn’t even a second of slowdown. Whether you realize it or not, history has been made to night, and someone has actually put an end to the Machida era. Does that mean the ‘Bones’ era has started? We’ll find out when he fights Cane. As far as this one goes though, this was a </em><em><strong>good</strong></em><em> fight to end the show with. Wow.</em></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> <strong>UFC 133: Year of the Dragon Final Verdict</strong></p><p> </p><p> You know, somehow, someway I can see someone out there saying this was a <strong>very poor</strong> event for stupid reasons. For instance, you had <strong>Kimbo Slice</strong> beat <strong>Antonio Nogueira</strong>, <strong>Clay Guida</strong> outright dominate <strong>Joachim Hansen</strong>, and <strong>Jon Jones</strong> hand <strong>Lyoto Machida</strong> his very first defeat.</p><p> </p><p> As hard as a fact that is to accept, the truth is, most MMA fans are pretty fickle and when they get disappointed, they completely show their disgust. However, I went to the event with an open mind as did the thousands in attendance and the millions watching at home. This event was a classic, probably the best UFC has ever had. And it’s a damn shame, because fickle MMA fans will probably **** on this one for years to come.</p><p> </p><p> As always, you can voice your own opinion, however invalid it may or may not be, by shooting e-mails my way at <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Emerson-blurcat@aol.com</span>. I’ll be seeing you all again at UFC 134, where Anderson Silva makes his Heavyweight Debut!</p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:12px;"><strong><em>UFC 133: Year of the Dragon</em></strong></span><span style="font-size:12px;"><strong> Full Card Breakdown</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Preliminary Card</strong></span></p><p> <em>Jonathan Goulet defeated Dan Cramer via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round)</em></p><p><em> Ricky Story defeated Paul Taylor via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round)</em></p><p><em> Gerald Harris defeated Nate Quarry via TKO (3:30, First Round)</em></p><p><em> Chris Wilson defeated Frank Lester via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round)</em></p><p><em> Kyle Kingsbury defeated James Lee via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round)</em></p><p><em> Donald Cerrone defeated Efrain Escudero via Knock Out (:23, Third Round)</em></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Main Card</strong></span></p><p> <em>Dong Hyun Kim defeated Jesse Lennox via Submission (4:34, Second Round) Blurcat Verdict: Good</em></p><p><em> Amir Sadollah defeated James Irvin via Knock Out (1:56, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Good</em></p><p><em> Clay Guida defeated Joachim Hansen via Submission (4:12, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Good</em></p><p><em> Kimbo Slice defeated Antonio Nogueira via Unanimous Decision (5:00, Third Round) Blurcat Verdict: Great</em></p><p><em> Jon Jones defeated Lyoto Machida via Split Decision to win the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (5:00, Fifth Round) Blurcat Verdict: Good</em></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted October 3, 2009 Author Share Posted October 3, 2009 <p><span style="font-size:8px;"><strong>Blurcat.com - Your #1 Source for All Things MMA</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>Alex Emerson’s UFC 133: Year of the Dragon Post Fight Conference Report (Saturday, January 14th)</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <em>-As per usual, </em><em><strong>Dana White</strong></em><em> spens several of the opening minutes discussing UFC’s schedule. With </em><em><strong>UFC 133</strong></em><em> out of the way and having one of the best fight cards he’s ever seen put together, it’s given him clear direction on what he wants to see happen for the rest of the year. With that said, expect to see the </em><em><strong>Jon Jones/Luis Cane</strong></em><em> title clash take place sometime in either June or July. He then announces that if </em><em><strong>Eddie Alvarez</strong></em><em> successfully defeats </em><em><strong>Diego Sanchez</strong></em><em> in March, he will be the first to get a crack at </em><em><strong>Josh Thomson</strong></em><em>, and that the winner of an upcoming </em><em><strong>Clay Guida/Shinya Aoki</strong></em><em> fight will get next dibs.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> In the not so far off future, Dana White confirms a </em><em><strong>UFC 136</strong></em><em> for April 21st. He goes on to say that the card has been finalized and will be headline by a meet up between </em><em><strong>Roger Gracie</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Bobby Lashley</strong></em><em> and the already confirmed </em><em><strong>Alistair Overeem/Brock Lesnar</strong></em><em> fight will be the lead-in. In addition, the semi-finals of the tournament will wrap up as </em><em><strong>BJ Penn</strong></em><em> will face off with </em><em><strong>Andre Galvao</strong></em><em>. He also hints that if Bobby Lashley gets an impressive victory over Gracie, then he could possibly be the next Heavyweight Championship contender.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> In the final news of the UFC’s schedule, White announces that he wants another </em><em><strong>Ultimate Fight Night</strong></em><em> to bridge 135 and 136. In other words, some time around the end of March, expect another UFC event to take place on free TV. He does say that nothing has been confirmed yet, but if he’s talking with </em><em><strong>Spike TV</strong></em><em> now, so it could happen.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -We next move on to the Bonus Awards. W</em><em><strong>hite</strong></em><em> says that this was by far some of the best night of fights he’s seen so it was hard to pick distinct winners in some of the categories. He proves this true as both </em><em><strong>Clay Guida</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Dong Hyun Kim</strong></em><em> earn </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Submission of the Night</span></em><em>. </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Knock Out of the Night</span></em><em> was a much easier choice as </em><em><strong>Amir Sadollah</strong></em><em> picks it up with almost no competition, save for the </em><em><strong>Donald Cerrone’s</strong></em><em> own knock out. Obviously though, Sadollah’s looked more damaging and will ultimately serve its purpose in a highlight reel for years to come. In the </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Fight of the Night</span></em><em> department, </em><em><strong>Antonio Nogueira</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Kimbo Slice</strong></em><em> barely edge out </em><em><strong>Jon Jones</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Lyoto Machida</strong></em><em>.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -</em><em><strong>Amir Sadollah</strong></em><em> is the first fighter to speak and says that he’s been exclusively working on his stand-up game in these recent months and is very glad to see that all the training came through. Sadollah thinks that a win like this has put him back on the map and wants to fight top-ranked guys immediately. </em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -</em><em><strong>Clay Guida</strong></em><em> speaks next and the subject matter is </em><em><strong>Shinya Aoki</strong></em><em>. He admittedly says his relentless game-plan may not work on Shinya Aoki, because if they end up on the ground, he knows he’s done for, but says if you thought he was aggressive tonight, wait until he steps in there with Shinya Aoki.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -</em><em><strong>Lyoto Machida</strong></em><em> calls </em><em><strong>Jon Jones</strong></em><em> the better martial artist tonight, and would definitely love a rematch sometime. Dana White says whether it’s for the Light Heavyweight strap or not, it will happen again. As far as Machida’s upcoming plans, he says he’s just going to take some time to wind down, but when UFC has a fight for him, he won’t turn it down. He finishes by saying he will be Light Heavyweight Champion again before the year is over.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -</em><em><strong>Dong Hyun Kim</strong></em><em> doesn’t speak much, but when he does, he says he wants any Welterweight that they’re willing to put in there with him.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -</em><em><strong>Kimbo Slice</strong></em><em> speculates about his next fight and thinks it may be against the winner of </em><em><strong>Arlovski</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Emelianenko</strong></em><em> or even </em><em><strong>Lashley</strong></em><em> or </em><em><strong>Gracie</strong></em><em>. He says he knows the fans are interested in a Gracie rematch, but he personally would love to fight Arlovski again to make up for his one UFC loss.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -</em><em><strong>Jon Jones</strong></em><em> speaks and says he would love to celebrate tonight, but knowing that a fighter as lethal as </em><em><strong>Luis Can</strong></em><em>e is his next opponent forces him to hit the gym and get back to work. However, he is still ecstatic and speechless about being the first man to defeat </em><em><strong>Lyoto Machida</strong></em><em>, and tells the former champ that as far as a rematch is concerned, he’s ready whenever the matchmakers are.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> -After the Q&A dies down, </em><em><strong>Dana White</strong></em><em> wraps up the press conference by stating that he’ll see us all at UFC 134.</em></p><p><em> </em></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maudlin career Posted October 4, 2009 Author Share Posted October 4, 2009 <p><span style="font-size:8px;"><strong>Blurcat.com January MMA News</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>World Headlines for Week 3 of January</strong></span></span></p><p> </p><p> -<strong>Gegard Mousasi</strong> has signed a four fight deal with <strong>Palace FC</strong></p><p> </p><p> -<strong>Semmy Schilt</strong> and <strong>Stephane Vignel</strong> are expected to headline newly named <strong>RAW Combat: Big Bang</strong> event</p><p> </p><p> -Former <strong>UFC</strong> fighter, <strong>Chris Lytle</strong> has will return to the sport of MMA by taking on <strong>Ryan Madigan </strong>at <strong>Palace FC’s</strong> 40th event</p><p> </p><p> -<strong>Fighting & Entertainment Group</strong> have done a fantastic job of keeping <strong>Shane Carwin’s</strong> contract status hidden as they recently announced as of Thursday night that he has re-signed a three fight multi-year deal with <strong>DREAM</strong></p><p> </p><p> -Join us for <em>Sengoku 32 Weigh-In Roundtable</em>! Our special guest for the night will be <strong>‘Judo’ Jim Wallhead</strong>. Be sure to check back tomorrow for the full event breakdown</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>UFC News for Week 3 of January</strong></span></span></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Signings</strong></p><p> <em>Jay Hieron has signed a four fight 21-month deal with UFC</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Re-Signings</strong></p><p> <em>Roger Huerta has re-signed a three fight 18-month deal with UFC</em></p><p><em> Yoshiyuki Yoshida has re-signed a three fight 18-month deal with UFC</em></p><p><em> Jim Miller has re-signed a three fight 18-month deal with UFC</em></p><p><em> John Howard has re-signed a three fight 18-month deal with UFC</em></p><p><em> Nate Quarry has re-signed a three fight 18-month deal with UFC</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Cuts</strong></p><p> <em>Frank Lester has been released from his current UFC contract</em></p><p> </p><p><em> *Sky Box Office 1 has extended their Pay-Per-View deal with UFC for an additional eight shows</em></p><p><em> *Main Event PPV 1 has extended their Pay-Per-View deal with UFC for an additional eight shows</em></p><p><em> *IN Demand 4 has extended their Pay-Per-View deal with UFC for an additional eight shows</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>UFC 136 Finalized</strong></p><p> <em>As </em><em><strong>Dana White</strong></em><em> announced at the </em><em><strong>UFC 133 Post-Fight</strong></em><em> conference, </em><em><strong>UFC 136</strong></em><em> is good to go. According to the UFC homepage, the event is to be sub-named "Driven". As always, for further information on the event, head over to the UFC website.</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>UFC 133 Financial Report</strong></p><p> <em><strong>Lyoto Machida</strong></em><em> vs. </em><em><strong>Jon Jones</strong></em><em> proved to be a success as </em><em><strong>UFC 133: Year of the Dragon</strong></em><em> pulled a gate of </em><em><strong>$2,034,645</strong></em><em> with an additional </em><em><strong>$5,615,184</strong></em><em> in Pay-Per-View buys. This of course makes UFC 133 the highest grossing event next to </em><em><strong>UFC 107</strong></em><em>.</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>King Mo on Big Cat Show</strong></p><p> <em><strong>Muhammed Lawal</strong></em><em> joined </em><em><strong>Ned Charles</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Matt Natchios</strong></em><em> on Wednesday’s edition of </em><em><strong>The Big Cat Show</strong></em><em>. Lawal first opened the discussion by going over his loss to </em><em><strong>Forrest Griffin</strong></em><em> and how it affected him mentally. He says he’s been training non-stop since and hopes he gets a rematch with Griffin as he felt that he was making a great comeback in the third round. He closes the interview by hinting at possibly headlining the unconfirmed </em><em><strong>Fight Night</strong></em><em>.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> To get the Podcast, click </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">here</span></em><em>!</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Japan In Hughes’s Future?</strong></p><p> <em>According to our sources, </em><em><strong>World Victory Road</strong></em><em> has expressed intense interest on signing </em><em><strong>Matt Hughes</strong></em><em> who has recently been reported as being on the market. When we tried to contact the former UFC Welterweight Champ, we couldn’t get a response. However, several fighters who have fought on the </em><em><strong>Sengoku</strong></em><em> events have more or less confirmed that the WVR execs have been vying to sign Hughes, along with several other </em><em><strong>UFC</strong></em><em> fighters for at least the last month or so. We’ll keep you updated on the information as we hear it.</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Thiago Tavares On Crackdown</strong></p><p> <em><strong>Thiago Tavares</strong></em><em> appeared on Friday night’s </em><em><strong>Crackdown</strong></em><em> and went over his current schedule with </em><em><strong>Alex Emerson</strong></em><em> and </em><em><strong>Gavin Banks</strong></em><em>. He started off by discussing his training and how he has one of the best boxing coaches in his corner. He then said he was contacted recently about fighting on an upcoming card, but he’s not sure what card or who his opponent will be. He finalizes by saying that now is the best time to be a Lightweight in </em><em><strong>UFC</strong></em><em>, because there are so many top ranked Lightweights in the company and says that there’s at least twenty guys that can be in the Top 10 at any point in time.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> For the full Podcast, click </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">here</span></em><em>! </em></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>Scheduled UFC Events</strong></span></span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>UFC 134: Redemption (February 11th. Ohio)</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Preliminary Card</strong></span></p><p> <em>Lightweight: Gleison Tibau vs. Jim Miller</em></p><p><em> Middleweight: Dan Miller vs. Sugita Yamanaka</em></p><p><em> Lightweight: Mark Bocek vs. Kurt Pellegrino</em></p><p><em> Welterweight: John Howard vs. Paulo Thiago</em></p><p><em> Welterweight: Rory Markham vs. Scott Jorgensen</em></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Main Card</strong></span></p><p> <em>Lightweight: Junie Browning vs. Joe Stevenson</em></p><p><em> Heavyweight: Chris Tuchscherer vs. Junior Dos Santos</em></p><p><em> Welterweight: Johny Hendricks vs. Matt Serra</em></p><p><em> Middleweight: Jake Rosholt vs. Nate Marquardt</em></p><p><em> Light Heavyweight: Quinton Jackson vs. Alexandre Ribeiro</em></p><p><em> Heavyweight: Anderson Silva vs. Gabriel Gonzaga</em></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>UFC 135 (Saturday, March 17th. Pennsylvania)</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Preliminary Card</strong></span></p><p> <em>Middleweight: Tom Lawlor vs. Rob Kimmons</em></p><p><em> Welterweight: Danillo Villefort vs. Nick Osipczak</em></p><p><em> Lightweight: Corey Hill vs. Melvin Guillard</em></p><p><em> Light Heavyweight: Carmelo Marrero vs. Karen Grigoryan</em></p><p><em> Heavyweight: Zak Jensen vs. Bill Whitworth</em></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Main Card</strong></span></p><p> <em>Welterweight: Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Dan Hardy</em></p><p><em> Heavyweight: Heath Herring vs. Ben Rothwell</em></p><p><em> Middleweight: Jason Miller vs. Patrick Cote</em></p><p><em> Welterweight: Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves</em></p><p><em> Lightweight: Eddie Alvarez vs. Diego Sanchez</em></p><p><em> Heavyweight: Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski</em></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>UFC 136: Driven (Saturday, April 21st. Nevada)</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Preliminary Card</span></strong></p><p> <em>Welterweight: Jesse Sanders vs. John Hathaway </em></p><p><em> Welterweight: Dan Cramer vs. Frank Lester</em></p><p><em> Heavyweight: Dillen Michel vs. Joseph Beneteau</em></p><p><em> Welterweight: Chris Wilson vs. Brad Blackburn</em></p><p><em> Middleweight: Demian Maia vs. CB Dollaway</em></p><p> </p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Main Card</strong></span></p><p> <em>Lightweight: Frankie Edgar vs. Andre Winner</em></p><p><em> Light Heavyweight: Thiago Silva vs. Aaron Simpson</em></p><p><em> Light Heavyweight: Jake O’Brien vs. Matt Hamill</em></p><p><em> Welterweight: Andre Galvao vs. BJ Penn</em></p><p><em> Heavyweight: Alistair Overeem vs. Brock Lesnar</em></p><p><em> Heavyweight: Bobby Lashley vs. Roger Gracie</em></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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