UFC 117: SILVA vs. SONNEN

Another middle-weight championship this coming August 07, 2010, Saturday.Anderson Silva Defend his belt over Cael Sonnen.

MAIN CARD

* Champ Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen (for middleweight title)
* Thiago Alves vs. Jon Fitch
* Rafael dos Anjos vs. Clay Guida
* Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Hughes
* Junior Dos Santos vs. Roy Nelson

PRELIMINARY CARD

* Tim Boetsch vs. Thiago Silva
* Dustin Hazelett vs. Rick Story
* Christian Morecraft vs. Stefan Struve
* Charlie Brenneman vs. Johny Hendricks
* Dennis Hallman vs. Ben Saunders
* Stanislav Nedkov vs. Rodney Wallace

Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez Confirmed For UFC 121 On October 23

It is now official - UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will have his next title defense against number one heavyweight contender Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 on October 23rd.

The Lesnar-Velasquez title bout will emanate from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

The 10/23 date for the title contest comes a mere seven days after the UFC 120 event scheduled for the O2 Arena in London, England with Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama as the main event, in what will be a free Spike TV version of a UFC-numbered event. The actual UFC PPV in October will be the Lesnar-Velasquez match on the 10/23 date.

Matt "The Human Crust Factory" Serra

Lately I've been more serious than I'd prefer, so I'm going to start taking random shots at fighters I don't know. Is it fair? No, but neither is my ability to levitate. CHECK MATE!

Me: Matt Serra is the Human Crust Factory. Damn he sucks.

Serra Fan: Dude, he won the Ultimate Fighter.

Me: Dude, winning that Ultimate Fighter is like being the hottest fat girl.

SF: But he's the UFC welterweight champ! He beat GSP!

Me: No, he's the chump who got lucky and I still wake up at least once a week in a cold sweat after that one. Oh, and now Zuffa's going to make him seem like a good champ by letting him hold the belt for 9 months without defending. They're setting him up to be a matchstick champ.

SF: Dude, he's a BJJ black belt under the Gracies!

Me: Yes and he must have skipped the, "taking another fighter down" class and the, "don't get hit by the spinning back fist by the 60-year-old pimp, AGAIN" training seminar. Face it he sucks.

Serra Fan: Yeah, you're right and cunningly handsome.

Me: I know. By the way, did I leave my underwear at your sister's house?

Serra Fan: Which one?

Me: Both.

Tito Ortiz

Tito Ortiz (15-5) (14-5): You think this one's controversial, wait until you see what I throw at you next. Tito, how soon we forget, was the man in the early 2000s. After his loss to Frank Shamrock, Tito took his conditioning game to a whole new level and shortly after he won the LHC. He even dominated the division until two men, Couture and Liddell, came along. It will always be arguable that the reason Tito dominated was a lack of competition and as soon as it arrived, he was out. Still he deserves to be on the Ballot.
LOST: Liddell (2), Couture, (Frank) Shamrock, Mezger
WON: (Ken) Shamrock (3), Griffin, Belfort, (Wanderlei) Silva, Matyushenko, Tanner
OTHER: Help keep the UFC on the map while winning the LHC 5TD

- UFC FIGHT NIGHT 17 REVIEW: LAUZON LOCKS IN WIN

No one could say it was an easy win at UFC Fight Night 17 in Tampa, Fla., for Joe Lauzon, but it was impressive. He and Jeremy Stephens battled deep into the second round on Saturday night before Lauzon locked on the main event ending armbar.

Stephens looked like he came close to ending the fight on a couple of occasions with the power in his hands, but Lauzon was masterful with his grappling technique, using several submission attempts and a controlling grappling game to keep Stephens off balance.

Stephens would come back strong deep in round two, opening a cut on Lauzon's forehead. The Massachusetts-based fighter patiently worked his was into full mount, however, and sprung a deep armbar on Stephens, leaving him no choice but to submit.

"He's good, he hits haaaard," stated Lauzon with a deep Bostonian accent. "Even when I had my hands up, I was feeling the power."

That wouldn't deter him from constantly searching for a finish, which he found just before the end of round two. "I knew we were getting close to the end of the round. I was trying, trying, trying; a little worried he was going to tough it out. He didn't tap against Din Thomas, but I got the stoppage."

The win is Lauzon's second straight since dropping a main event bout in Colorado to number one contender Kenny Florian early last year. Asking for no relief, Lauzon is ready to continue his climb back up the UFC lightweight ladder, saying, "I want another tough fight."

Though he has yet to face the upper echelon of the class, Cain Velasquez continued to dominate his heavyweight opposition. His opponent, Golden Glory fighter Denis Stojnic, had no answer to the relentless striking attack of the two-time All-American wrestler from Arizona State University.

Earlier in the week, Velasquez told MMAWeekly.com Radio, "I'm not just a wrestler; I'm an MMA fighter." It was a statement that he drove home on Saturday night, repeatedly to nearly every part of Stojnic's body, utilizing an array of techniques to relentlessly mix up his attack from body to head to legs.

Thrashing Stojnic throughout, Velasquez was unable to put the Bosnian away in the opening round, finishing him with a ground and pound assault in round two. It would be the first time in his career that he would see the second stanza, improving his undefeated record to 5-0.

Unhappy with his performance despite the win, Velasquez later said, "I guess what it was, I wasn't relaxed," explaining why it wasn't a more explosive finish.

Seemingly destined to contend for the UFC heavyweight title, the Team AKA fighter isn't rushing anything. "Whatever the UFC gives me," he said of whom he wants to fight next. "I have to go back to the gym start training harder again. I swear, next time you're gonna see a lot better showing."

Coming into his fight with Ultimate Fighter 6 winner Mac Danzig riding a wave of controversy over a New Year's arrest for allegedly driving while intoxicated and leading police on a high-speed chase, perhaps Josh Neer felt the weight of the controversy on his shoulders and the need to shuck it off.

The first round saw the two go back and forth, each earning his just dues. Fighting like he had nothing to lose, Neer took over in round two, punishing Danzig early with some brutal forearms that had the Xtreme Couture fighter hurt. Danzig turned the tables, going to work from Neer's guard, but it would be the controversial Midwesterner that climbed his legs up and locked on a tight triangle choke for the tapout.

He took center ring with Joe Rogan amidst a shower of boos following the fight. "Honestly, I don't care what you guys think about me man. Love me or hate me, it don't matter to me."

Addressing his constant forward pressure during the fight, he stated, "I came to this fight ready to die." It didn't have to go that far, but Neer definitely gave no quarter to Danzig.

Anthony Johnson took another step in his development Saturday night, improving his professional record to 7-2 with a crushing defeat of American Top Team's Luigi Fioravanti. The two started off slow, just kind of feeling each other out, but following a brief break due to a low blow to Johnson, the tables quickly turned. Johnson dropped Fioravanti twice with the precise power in his right hand, following him down on the second drop and finished him off with an onslaught of punches and hammerfists.

"I'm happy I got a win. My performance, I could have done so much better," said a self-critical Johnson after the fight, not as impressed with himself as fans were. "I came out sloppy, but I'm only 24 years old, I've got a lot of improving to do."

The rest of the UFC welterweight division can't be hoping for him to improve much more, Johnson is already a scary prospect to step into the Octagon with.

- UFC 99 PITS RICH FRANKLIN VS WANDERLEI SILVA

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is set to make its German debut on June 13 at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne. While several fights have been rumored for the event over the past couple of months, most have not come to fruition.

MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday, however, was able to confirm through multiple independent sources that former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin and former Pride 205-pound champion Wanderlei Silva have agreed to fight each other at UFC 99.

Franklin has fought his last two bouts at light heavyweight, returning to the division after running into a brick wall named Anderson Silva at middleweight. Even though Wanderlei Silva's fights in the UFC have all been at 205-pounds to this point, he has made public his intention of wanting to move down to the 185-pound division.

"I talk with (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva and... say no problem, I'm down for 185? He say, no problem," Silva said in a recent interview with MMAWeekly.com, but adding, "I could fight in both divisions; I could fight 185 and 205."

It appears that he may not fight at either weight come June 13. Though it is too soon for bout agreements, sources have indicated that Franklin and Silva have agreed to face each other at a catch weight somewhere in the neighborhood of 195 pounds.

With both fighters coming off of losses – Franklin to Dan Henderson and Silva to Quinton Jackson, each in the 205-pound division – a catch weight fight doesn't really damage either's hopes for a title shot, as each would likely have to win a couple of fights before being considered a contender again.

A catch weight fight is a logical step for Silva to make his transition to the middleweight division a little easier. Walking around at about 208 pounds, he's never really had to deal much with weight cutting in the past, but will obviously have to in order to compete at middleweight.

The UFC has not officially confirmed any bouts yet for Germany, and it is not yet known whether Franklin and Silva will headline the UFC 99 fight card. Considering each fighter's stature in the MMA world, their bout would likely be at least a co-main event.

The only other independently confirmed bout for UFC 99 at this point is a lightweight contest between Spencer Fisher and Caol Uno.

B.J. Penn accepts Georges St. Pierre's challenge for third meeting

After filing a formal request with the Nevada State Athletic Commission to investigate the actions of UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre's corner in their UFC 94 main-event bout, UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn has posted an informal request to settle any remaining questions between the two fighters inside the cage.

The message accepting a potential third bout between the two was posted by Penn on BJPenn.com.

Penn's camp has contended adamantly since Saturday's result that St. Pierre's corner applied a greasing agent to the welterweight champion that gave the Canadian an unfair advantage on the ground.

The full message was posted late Thursday night and is posted unedited below.


For the past several days I have been reading statements made by St. Pierre and Greg Jackson about our fight on January 31. St. Pierre claims that he is "not a cheater" and that he and Greg Jackson will have "no problem with a rematch in the summer of 2009." To the untrained eye the grease might not look like much, but every grappler knows the effect that it has. Being able to apply your submissions and sweeps or just being able to hold on to your opponent to defend yourself from being hit is absolutely critical! There is a reason why you are not allowed to put grease anywhere on your body except for the area around your eyes. Because of the grease applied to St.Pierre's Body the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s executive director, Keith Kizer has stated that the Penn-St. Pierre fight "definitely wasn’t fair." I hereby accept George St. Pierre and Greg Jackson's challenge for a fight in the summer 2009. Lets call Dana now and set it up.

- BJ Penn