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MattE on Mixed Martial Arts
November 2009
Sunday November 22, 2009
Posted by: MattE at 2:52PM EST on November 22, 2009
LAS VEGAS | Tonight during my live Bears vs. Eagles in-game chat for The Times of Northwest Indiana at nwi.com, I’ve got bunches of great prizes to give away in trivia challenges and contests — including my program from UFC 106 on Saturday at Mandalay Bay! That’s right — I’m giving away my UFC 106 program to a lucky fan, and I’ve got a slew of other sweet prizes, too, including more MMA and NFL memorabilia. So if you’re a fan of the NFL, you’ve gotta be there to break down this week’s Sunday Night Football game on NBC with MattE. And if you’re a fan of MMA, we’re going to squeeze in some talk about WEC 44 and UFC 106, which I just covered cageside from here in Las Vegas. So spread the word and join the party, and we’ll see you tonight at nwi.com!
Posted by: MattE at 2:38AM EST on November 22, 2009
MATT ERICKSON LAS VEGAS | This time, the roles were reversed. Tito Ortiz, fighting for the first time in 18 months, found himself on the losing end of a close split decision to Forrest Griffin. The last time the two fighters met, at UFC 59, Ortiz won a split decision. The first round was close. Ortiz used his superior wrestling to score a takedown and was able to land several shots on the ground. For the most part, he weathered Griffin’s standup attack, though Griffin was able to catch Ortiz with a few kicks and combinations. In the second, Ortiz was able to take Griffin down twice and bloodied Griffin’s forehead with an elbow. Late in the round, though, Griffin rallied and reversed Ortiz and was in top position on the ground. The third was never in doubt. Ortiz was gassed and could do very little but take whatever Griffin was able to dish out. From the second the fight was over, it reeked of another split decision — just like their last fight. And when the scores were read, Griffin came out ahead 28-29, 30-27, 29-28. After the fight, UFC president Dana White said he doesn’t know how he would score the fight, but the 30-27 for Griffin was off base. “The 30-27 is outrageous,” White said. “I can understand 10-8 in the last round, but 30-27?” Ortiz said he believed he won the fight. “I gave my heart and soul out there,” Ortiz said. “I put myself up in Big Bear (training) for seven weeks. We put in ground work, the weightlifting, the running. I come in and I fight. I thought I won the fight. I thought I pulled it off two rounds to one.” Griffin, who arrived at the press conference late after needing stitches, was in high spirits and joked by asking himself a question and then answering it. In the end, he, as well as Ortiz — and, to some degree, White — thought the two coaching against each other on a future season of “The Ultimate Fighter” would be a good idea. And presumably, the rubber match in a potential Ortiz-Griffin trilogy would take place after that. Ortiz, at one point, got choked up mentioning that he fights to feed his family, including his new twins with his wife, adult film star Jenna Jameson. But he repeated that “it is what it is.” In the night’s co-main event, Josh Koscheck survived some big shots from Anthony Johnson, ate a glancing knee while he was on the ground and an inadvertent eye poke and went on to take Johnson down and submit him with a rear naked choke. The win won him two UFC bonus awards — Submission of the Night and Fight of the Night — and an additional $140,000 to go with his show check and win bonus. After the fight, Koscheck called out fellow welterweight Dan Hardy, who was sitting Octagonside, and said it should be he, not Hardy, who gets next crack at Georges St-Pierre’s welterweight title. Hardy just beat Koscheck’s American Kickboxing Academy teammate Mike Swick at UFC 105 last week. But White said at the post-fight press conference that Hardy would still get St-Pierre next. Koscheck, though, remains squarely in the mix with his second straight victory, third in four fights — and his first submission in more than three years. Also on the main card, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, twin brother of UFC star Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, earned Knockout of the Night honors with his first-round stoppage of Luiz Cane. Paul Thiago stopped Jacob Volkmann in a back-and-forth unanimous decision. And Amir Sadollah punished Phil Baroni, fighting in the UFC for the first time since UFC 51, for three rounds to win a unanimous decision.
Posted by: MattE at 1:46AM EST on November 22, 2009
MATT ERICKSON LAS VEGAS | UFC president Dana White, opening the UFC 106 post-fight press conference, said he was “blown away” by Josh Koscheck. Then he handed him two bonus checks for $70,000 a piece. Koscheck weathered a storm against Anthony Johnson, survived a knee to the head while on the ground that was glancing, but wound up giving him a poke in the eye at the same time. Then Koscheck turned on the heat, got Johnson to the ground and submitted him with a rear naked choke. For his efforts, White gave two post-fight bonus awards to Koscheck for both Submission of the Night and Fight of the Night, sharing with Johnson. The Knockout of the Night award went to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, making his UFC debut, for his win over Luiz Cane. The bonus awards were up $10,000 from typical UFC pay-per-view bonuses of $60,000 and up $30,000 from UFC 105, which was broadcast on Spike TV. “Everyone knows Josh and I have butted heads in the past,” White said. “But this kid always steps up and wants to fight the best in the world, and I was blown away by his peformance tonight.” Koscheck said he’s ready for a shot with welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, though White confirmed at the press conference that St-Pierre will next defend his belt against Dan Hardy. Hardy beat Koscheck’s American Kickboxing Academy teammate Mike Swick at UFC 105 last week. “I love to fight, I’m healthy and they know I ready to go again,” Koscheck said. “I’ll fight every month. It’s better than being in the gym. I’d rather be out here entertaining you guys and fighting. He did crack me with a couple good shots and I just had to keep composed and went in for the kill after I took him down. My goal was to weather the storm in the first round. What’s next for me, I don’t know?”
Posted by: MattE at 1:06AM EST on November 22, 2009
MATT ERICKSON LAS VEGAS | The preliminary card at UFC 106 on Saturday night had some exciting and unique moments. After all, how often to MMA fans get to see a 10-7 round? But fans at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas got to see that oddity — and a few more — on the preliminary card Saturday. Welterweight Brian Foster, fighting out of Granite City, Ill., where he trains with Eastern Illinois University product Matt Hughes at his H.I.T. Squad camp, took two kicks to the head from Brock Larson. Coupled with a dominating performance in the round, Foster won it 10-7 before delivering more punishment to Larson in the second, when the bout was halted at the same time Larson was tapping from the punishment. Foster said finding a way to be dominant on the ground was part of his strategy. “Yeah, that was part of the game plan, to ground and pound him,” Foster said after the fight. “I counted on him being strong, so I didn’t come in trigger happy. I waited.” The win was Foster’s first in the UFC. At UFC 103 in Dallas in September, he lost an exciting fight to Rick Story that was given the promotion’s Fight of the Night bonus award — $60,000 for Foster despite the loss. But he said he hopes the win gives him momentum. “I knew he was going to be a rough fighter,” Foster said. “I plan on staying in the UFC for a long time.” For the third straight pay-per-view, the UFC showed a portion of its preliminary card on cable partner Spike TV. To open that broadcast, Hawaiian Kendall Grove, a cast member of Season 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” pulled a victory from the brink of defeat. Jake Rosholt, who beat Chris Leben in his UFC debut at UFC 102 in August, was beating Grove on the feet, landing punches and knees and keeping his opponent scrambling. When Rosholt took Grove back to the ground, Grove gave his back. Rosholt looked as if he would posture up and throw some strikes. But Grove, the UFC’s tallest fighter, threw his legs up, wrapped them around Rosholt’s neck and then pulled his head down with his hands for a fight-ending triangle choke. Grove, who got back in the win column and has three wins in his last four fights, told UFC broadcast analyst Joe Rogan after the fight that he was dedicating the fight to his grandmother, who died of cancer last week. And he said his speciality — the triangle choke — was a natural. “Triangle’s my thing, dog,” Grove said. “Ever since I started doing jiu-jitsu — my long legs, that’s what works for me. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Also on the preliminary card, Fabricio Camoes and Caol Uno fought to a rare majority draw. Thanks to a point deduction for Camoes in the second round when he worked for a triangle from the ground and wound up kicking Uno in the head, two judges had the fight a 28-28 draw while a third had it 29-27 for Uno. Ben Saunders, a 2-to-1 underdog, stopped Marcus Davis with two big knees, becoming the first fighter to ever finish “The Irish Hand Grenade.” And George Sotiropoulos finished Jason Dent with an armbar in the second round to lead off the card.
Saturday November 21, 2009
Posted by: MattE at 5:39PM EST on November 21, 2009
LAS VEGAS | Approximately 30 minutes after the end of UFC 106 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Caged In will host live streaming video of the post-fight press conference. Return here after the fights and get near-instant reaction from the fighters and UFC president Dana White about Saturday’s pay-per-view.
Posted by: MattE at 3:49PM EST on November 21, 2009
Saturday’s main event is a rematch of two former light heavyweight champions in Tito Ortiz, the most dominant light heavyweight champ of all time, and Forrest Griffin, winner of Season 1 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” The co-main event features a welterweight contenders showdown between Josh Koscheck and Anthony Johnson. Caged In will have live round-by-round and fight-by-fight coverage of the five-fight preliminary card as well as the five-fight main card, and the news from the scene in between. Two bouts from tonight’s preliminary card will be shown live on the Spike cable network between 8-9 p.m. Central leading in the pay-per-view broadcast. Live coverage here at Caged In will start around 6 p.m. Central (7 Eastern, 4 Pacific). Caged In will also provide a live streaming video of the UFC 106 post-fight press conference. So bookmark us and spread the word for the guaranteed fastest UFC 106 live updates on the Web!
Posted by: MattE at 10:59AM EST on November 21, 2009
 Tyron Woodley wraps up Rudy Bears in a fight-ending arm triangle in the main event of a Strikeforce Challengers show in Kansas City on Friday night. (Photo by Esther Lin, Strikeforce)
Welterweight prospect Tyron Woodley moved to 5-0 by submitting Rudy Bears (13-6) with an arm triangle choke in the first round (2:52) Friday night in the main event of the Strikeforce Challengers show in Kansas City, Kansas. And in a women’s 135-pound event, Kerry Vera, wife of UFC fighter Brandon Vera, improved to 2-0 with a first round TKO of Kim Couture (1-2). Main Card
Friday November 20, 2009
Posted by: MattE at 8:11PM EST on November 20, 2009
 Welterweights Josh Koscheck, left, and Anthony Johnson square off after making weight for their Saturday co-main event fight at UFC 106 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. (Photo by Matt Erickson)
MATT ERICKSON LAS VEGAS | At the very least, it’s apparent Anthony Johnson has a pretty good sense of humor. The welterweight walked slowly up the stage stairs to weigh in for his Saturday fight at UFC 106 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and shot a look across the stage at UFC president Dana White. Then he shook his head with a look to White as if to say, “Yeah — it happened again.” At UFC 104 in Los Angeles last month, Johnson, one of the promotion’s fastest rising welterweight prospects, took missing weight to a brand new level. He weighed in at 179 pounds, eight pounds over the non-title limit of 171 for the division. His fight with Yoshiyuki Yoshida went on anyway, with Johnson losing 20 percent of his fight purse. He won with a quick first-round knockout — and White said Johnson would have won the Knockout of the Night bonus award of $60,000 — had he made weight. But when Johnson got on the scale Friday, White’s face lit up a little when “Rumble” hit it on the button at 170 pounds for his co-main event with Josh Koscheck, who weighed in at 171. Main event fighters Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz, both former UFC light heavyweight champions and both looking for a return to the win column, were on target. Ortiz weighed in at 204; Griffin was 205. All other fighters made weight for Saturday’s event, which will be aired on a combination of the Spike cable network and pay-per-view. As the UFC has done for its last two pay-per-views, two preliminary card fights are guaranteed to be shown live on Spike leading into the pay-per-view. Spike will air Jake Rosholt vs. Kendall Grove and Ben Saunders vs. Marcus Davis starting at 8 p.m. Central on Saturday. The pay-per-view ($44.95 for the high-definition or regular feed) begins at 9 p.m. Here are the official weigh-in results: Main Card Spike TV Prelims Preliminary Card
Posted by: MattE at 6:25PM EST on November 20, 2009
MATT ERICKSON LAS VEGAS | UFC president Dana White got a chance to speak out about welterweight Karo Parisyan on Friday, 24 hours after going public with a Twitter-lashing. On Thursday, White reporter on his Twitter feed that Parisyan, who was scheduled to fight Dustin Hazelett on the main card of Saturday’s UFC 106 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, had pulled out of the fight. “Karo Parisyan has (screwed) over the UFC, the fans and his opponent again!!!,” White said through Twitter. “He will not be fighting saturday or ever again in the UFC!!” It was not the first time Parisyan had pulled out of a fight late. And in February, he was suspended for nine months after failing a post-fight drug test. UFC 106 was to be his first fight after that suspension. Rumors immediately began to circulate as to the reason Parisyan pulled out. Sources close to Hazelett’s camp indicated to Caged In and The Times of Northwest Indiana’s MMA site that Parisyan had some issues with painkillers that he was unable to break. On Friday at Mandalay Bay, during a question-and-answer session with UFC heavyweight Cain Velasquez, White fell short of confirming that Parisyan had a problem with substances that would’ve meant a certain failed post-fight drug test. But he did express concern for his apparent former fighter. “Karo Parisyan has a lot of problems,” White said. “Mentally, physically, emotionally — he has more problems than I can even talk about or care to talk about. He needs to get his personal life fixed and taken care of before he ever thinks about fighting again.” On Thursday, through Twitter, White seemed angry, soon after hearing the news: “Pulled out of the fight the day before weigh ins again with a laundry list of excuses!!!,” White posted. “Let the press ask karo why! Let him explain.” A day later, he seemed more worried than upset. “The things that he’s done the last three fights have been so unprofessional, it’s just — it’s ridiculous and it’s unforgiveable,” White said in front of a crowd of several hundred UFC Fight Club members and press members. “I like Karo Parisyan, and he’s had his days where he’s had some pretty good fights. But he hasn’t been that Karo Parisyan in a long time. He needs to get his life together.” White did say on Thursday that Hazelett will be paid both his show money and the money he would’ve made for winning. Sources close to Hazelett’s camp told Caged In that amount was $36,000, but also reported that Hazelett did lose the sponsorship money he was to be paid for fighting. Hazelett told several media outlets that the UFC assured him it would work to get him another fight soon.
Posted by: MattE at 12:41PM EST on November 20, 2009
 Tito Ortiz, left, the most dominant UFC light heavyweight champion in history, and Forrest Griffin, himself a former 205-pound champ and winner of the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter," square off in the main event of UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin II on Saturday from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. (Photo by Matt Erickson)
LAS VEGAS | Caged In is in Las Vegas for live coverage of UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin II, and readers can watch the weigh-ins for Saturday’s pay-per-view live. Caged In will carry a live streaming feed of the weigh-in event on Friday at 6 p.m. Central. The weigh-ins take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. UFC 106 features a main event rematch of Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin, two former light heavyweight champions. Ortiz (16-6-1 UFC) hasn’t won a fight in more than three years. His last three wins have come against Frank Shamrock twice and Griffin. His win over Griffin was a split decision. He returns to the UFC with a new six-fight contract after squashing a highly publicized clash with Dana White. Ortiz is also coming off major back surgery and claims he will be fighting at 100 percent for the first time in years. Griffin (16-6 UFC) has lost two straight fights — he lost his light heavyweight title to Rashad Evans in his first defense, then lost a superfight against middleweight champ Anderson Silva in August. In the co-main event, welterweight contenders Josh Koscheck and Anthony Johnson square off, both filling in on relatively short notice for injured fighters. Johnson is coming off a win at UFC 104 in which he missed the 171-pound weight limit by eight pounds. He told members of the media on Wednesday that he was at 180 pounds and on track to make the cut this time. Koscheck last fought at UFC 103 in September, scoring a first-round TKO of Frank Trigg. So be sure to return here at 6 p.m. Central (7 Eastern, 4 Pacific) to watch the UFC 106 weigh-ins live. Thursday November 19, 2009
Posted by: MattE at 3:11PM EST on November 19, 2009
By Matt Erickson Hoosier Fight Club will announce some of the fighters signed for its second show at its debut tonight. After tonight’s first fight card for the promotion, the team behind the new mixed martial arts organization will get right to work on its second show, which will be held Jan. 2 at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond. The Venue hosted the now-defunct EliteXC for a fight card in Oct. 2008. HFC’s Paul Vale told Caged In that the main event for HFC 2 will be a bout between UFC veteran Pete Spratt and region fighter Keith Wisniewski, who has fought in the UFC and International Fight League and also promotes shows in Northwest Indiana. The co-main event will be between Joe Benoit of Gilbert Grappling in Tinley Park, a WEC veteran, and UFC veteran Derrick Noble. Vale said HFC expects to make the announcement for HFC 2 at The Venue tonight at the Porter County Expo Center. Spratt, a Muay Thai fighter, went 3-4 in his UFC career and was a contestant on Season 4 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” His career resume includes wins over Rich Clementi, Zach Light and Robbie Lawler. He’s also fought UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, Chris Lytle and Josh Koscheck, who fights in the co-main event of UFC 106 on Saturday. Wisniewski, who fights out of his Duneland Vale Tudo camp in Valparaiso, has fought across the world, including one fight in the UFC and a bout against one of the world’s best lightweights, Shinya Aoki. Noble’s lone UFC bout was a loss to Thiago Alves at UFC 59. It was Alves’ second fight in the UFC and his TKO win over Noble avenged a submission loss to him two and a half years earlier at an Absolute Fighting Championships event. At 24-12-1, Noble has a solid lineup of opponents on his resume, including Alves, Eddie Alvarez, Lytle, Josh Neer, Gideon Ray (who fights on HFC’s first card tonight), Chris Wilson and, most recently, a decision win over UFC and TUF 4 veteran Shonie Carter. Benoit’s lone WEC fight was a loss to Blas Avena at WEC 30 in Sept. 2007.
Posted by: MattE at 3:02PM EST on November 19, 2009
Tonight, the Region gets a new mixed martial arts organization. And if the promoters and organizers get their way, it’s something fight fans will be talking about. Hoosier Fight Club is the brainchild of Danielle and John Vale of L.A. Boxing in Merrillville and Portage-based MMA veteran John Kolosci, who has fought for the likes of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and, most recently, Strikeforce, playing the role of matchmaker. HFC’s debut show happens tonight at the Porter County Expo Center in Valparaiso, and plans are already in place for its second show on Jan. 2 at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond.
Paul Vale said the impetus for starting a promotion in Northwest Indiana, which has several successful promotions already, was that, for them, MMA is beyond sport. “John was doing a great job coaching our fighters (at L.A. Boxing), taking them all over the state for fights,” Paul Vale said. ”We had seen some great shows and some not so great shows. We see MMA as the fastest growing sport in the world right now, and we also saw that local fight fans want great shows at affordable prices. We consider MMA to be a way of life, not just a hobby. We want to share that with all the local fans.” Paul said Danielle Vale, HFC’s CEO, has done much of the groundwork in getting the promotion started, including working with the state athletic commission, for the first two shows. He said HFC looked to the biggest names in MMA right now for inspiration. “Obviously, we looked at the UFC and WEC,” Paul said. “They have it right. We want to model ourselves after the best … We even have (Chesterton-based WEC fighter) Eddie Wineland as our ‘Joe Rogan,’ interviewing the fighters after the fight and analyzing it. No detail is to small, and Danielle has thought of them all.” Paul said HFC events will be fought inside a 24-foot cage, not a ring, because “real MMA takes place in a cage. Too many fighters use the ropes in a ring to their advantage.” He said HFC’s goal is to bring in big-name fighters, not just local talent. “We want to bring in ‘name’ guys who have been in the big show with hopes of getting back ,and we want to match them up with local guys needing that big fight to get them to the next level,” Paul said. Tonight’s debut card will feature seven pro and four amateur fights. Notable fighters on the card include WEC veteran Joe Benoit; Jay Buck, who has fought the likes of Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Shonie Carter; Jake Rosenbaum, who recently moved from the Region to Sacramento to train with former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber at Team Alpha Male; WEC and Strikeforce veteran Ryan Healy, who trains at the renowned Team Quest in Portland; and UFC and IFL veteran Gideon Ray. And if the thrill of launching the new promotion wasn’t enough, Kolosci will marry his fiancee, Cathy Cisneros, inside the cage tonight in what Cisneros said recently was thought to be a first in mixed martial arts. —————————————- Hoosier Fight Club: Raise Up —————————————- Professional Fights Amateur Fights
Posted by: MattE at 12:30AM EST on November 19, 2009
MATT ERICKSON, matt.erickson@nwi.com, (219) 933-3275 LAS VEGAS | World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion Mike Brown was fairly adamant in the days leading up to WEC 44 that someone was going to get knocked out. His opponent, Jose Aldo, felt the same way. So did WEC general manager Reed Harris. In the end, the predictions proved to be prophetic — even if the result wasn’t the one Brown was looking for. Brown, defending his title for the third time, was dropped by Aldo in the second round and couldn’t fend off repeated ground-and-pound strikes from the challenger. Referee Steve Mazzagatti stepped in to stop the fight, and the WEC crowned yet another new champion.
Aldo, a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, has yet to really put those skills on display in the WEC. Now at 6-0 in the promotion, Aldo has won all his bouts by way of knockout. After the fight, Aldo said Brown’s strength wasn’t a factor. “I did feel (Brown) was strong, but there was nothing I couldn’t handle,” Aldo said after the fight. “Everything, thank God, just worked the way I wanted.” Harris said his new featherweight champion could dominate the division for a while. “Obviously, it’s MMA and anything can happen in the blink of an eye,” Harris said. “That’s why I love this sport. But after Jose’s performance tonight, whoever’s going to fight him next had better prepare.” Harris said that opponent won’t be decided for a couple weeks, saying he will sit down with WEC matchmaker Sean Shelby to figure up an opponent — but that he has two or three fighters in mind. Aldo, who knocked out Cub Swanson in June in a record eight seconds, battled back and forth with Brown in a close first round. But in the second, he took the champion to the ground, mounted him, took his back and was soon finishing him with strikes. To go along with his fight purse and win bonus, which won’t be disclosed until Monday, Aldo also won one of the WEC’s customary $10,000 post-fight bonuses for Knockout of the Night. Brown said after the fight he wasn’t sure yet how he got in position to lose the fight. “I should’ve probably thrown more punches in combination, so that’s probably my fault,” Brown said. “I wasn’t improving position. I wasn’t hurt. He had me in a bad position, and I wasn’t getting out of there any time soon. I could’ve battled my way out of there, but I shouldn’t have gotten caught in that position.” In a fight that could determine one of the contenders for Aldo’s belt, former UFC lightweight Manny Gamburyan beat Leonard Garcia in a unanimous decision. Gamburyan said if a title shot comes he’ll be ready. “It’s up to the WEC nad Mr. Reed,” Gamburyan said. “Wherever they want me to fight, I’m down. (Aldo) is an incredible fighter. He stepped up today and beat the champion. If I have to stand up with him, I’ll exchange hands. Every champion has a way of losing, but this guy’s for real.” Also on the main card, WEC newcomer Kamal Shalorus, a former Olympic wrestler in Iran, dominated jiu-jitsu player Will Kerr on the feet and dropped him for a knockout in under 90 seconds to open up the Versus cable broadcast. In a back-and-forth fight, Shane Roller changed course on Danny Castillo and locked in a fight-ending guillotine choke that wound up winning him a Submission of the Night bonus. And former WEC lightweight champion Rob McCullough dropped a split decision to WEC newcomer Karen Darabedyan. It was a rare case of judges seeing 30-27s each way. Darabedyan won 30-27, 27-30, 29-28. In preliminary card action, Frank Gomez won a unanimous decision over Seth Dikun; Chicago fighter Ricardo Lamas won on all the scorecards to stop James Krause; Antonio Banuelos won 29-28 on all three cards against Kenji Osawa; Cub Swanson stopped John Franchi with a guillotine choke with just 10 seconds left in the fight; and L.C. Davis, fighting out of Davenport, Iowa, dominated Diego Nunes for a 30-26 win on all three cards.
Posted by: MattE at 12:05AM EST on November 19, 2009
World Extreme Cagefighting general manager Reed Harris announced the promotion’s bonus awards for WEC 44: Brown vs. Aldo on Wednesday night. Jose Aldo, Shane Roller, Cub Swanson and John Franchi each took home post-fight bonus awards of $10,000 each. Aldo won Knockout of the Night for his second-round TKO of Mike Brown in the night’s main event. The win gave Aldo the WEC’s featherweight title. “I did feel (Brown) was strong, but there was nothing I couldn’t handle,” Aldo said after the fight. “Everything, thank God, just worked the way I wanted.” In a competitive, back-and-forth fight, Roller reversed course on Danny Castillo and sank in a guillotine choke for a come-from-behind victory. That choke gave him the Submission of the Night award. And the Fight of the Night award went to Cub Swanson and John Franchi for a highly competitive fight that Swanson won by submission with just 10 seconds left in the third and final round. The win and bonus did have drawbacks, though, as the WEC reported that Swanson broke his left hand and right index finger in the bout. WEC 44 took place at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas. Wednesday November 18, 2009
Posted by: MattE at 11:33PM EST on November 18, 2009
LAS VEGAS | For Tito Ortiz, what a long, strange trip it’s been. The light heavyweight, who headlines UFC 106 in Las Vegas on Saturday, was once the face of the organization and one of its most popular fighters of all time. A love-him-or-hate-him type of personality, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” won the UFC’s light heavyweight title quickly into his mixed martial arts career and defended it five times over a four-year stretch — longer than any other champ. But when he began clashing with company president Dana White, his former friend and manager, his road got a lot rockier. Before the last fight on his contract in May 2008, Ortiz wore a shirt disparaging White to the weigh-ins. And after his loss to Lyoto Machida, the war of words between he and White escalated to seemingly unforgivable levels. Time heals some wounds, and smart business sense heals others. White and Ortiz sat down earlier this summer and worked out their differences. Ortiz was welcomed back into the UFC fold with a six-fight deal. And after Hall of Famer Mark Coleman had to pull out, Ortiz got a rematch for his new opponent — Forrest Griffin, winner of Season 1 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” The two fought at UFC 59, with Ortiz winning a split decision. For Ortiz, patching things up with White and getting back surgery to repair some ongoing issues has him feeling like a new fighter — and he wants to win another belt. “I don’t think there’s anything left for me to prove besides winning another light heavyweight title, and that’s my goal right now,” Ortiz said on Monday. “I wouldn’t have signed a six-fight contract if I didn’t think I was going to be fighting for the next couple of years. Me and Dana talked already and I plan on finishing my career with the UFC. And after these six fights, I plan on doing another six fights. I’m only 34 years old. Randy Couture started in MMA when he was 34. I got a new back, and now that I got that fixed and I’m able to get to the level to put me in the top five in the world, I’ve gotta beat guys — and Forrest is one of those guys. I just wanna get a world title around my waist, so one fight at a time — just work my way up the ladder.” While Ortiz hasn’t won in two years and hasn’t fought in 18 months, Griffin, too, is in desperate need of a win. His last fight, at UFC 101 in Philadelphia, had him knocked out quickly by an Anderson Silva straight jab. Griffin, recently married, said getting back in the Octagon was so important, he shortened his honeymoon. “I was coming down the mountain from my honeymoon and (Dana) said, ‘You’re fighting Tito,’ and I said, ‘Well let’s do it Dec. 12 — give me a little more time,’ ” Griffin said. “And they called me back and said it’s Nov. 21, and I said, ‘”Fine, let’s do it.’ I cut my honeymoon short and drove back right then and started training. It’s a headline fight coming off two losses, and that’s a big deal for me. I’m really excited about this fight. I get to get in there and be the last fight of hte night, and that’s really an honor.” White said it was important for him to get Griffin back in a fight quickly. “When these guys lose, you gottta get back on the horse,” White said. “Especially Forrest. Forrest is a real emotional guy, and he didn’t take that loss easily. He wasn’t Forrest after that fight, and I think it’s better to jump right back in there and fight again rather than sit around and comiserate until you fight again. I don’t think I’ve ever had to twist Forrest Griffin’s arm to fight.” The clash of personalities between Ortiz and Griffin should be interesting. Ortiz is often as much showman as he is fighter, while Griffin is cut from the it’s-just-a-fight cloth. “Every single one of my fights is the Tito Ortiz (show), of course,” Ortiz said. “Every one of my fights, I come in as, ‘It’s a show.’ I’m a fighter, I have a lot of heart and determination, and when it’s fight time, I give it my all. It’s not just a fight to me, it’s entertainment value. I’m fighting for my life. I’ve got nothing to fall back on. I’m trying to finish guys.” But Griffin said all that matters to him is what happens when the cage door closes. “I don’t put any stock into personalities,” Griffin said. “It’s the actual 15 minutes that make a difference. Personality? Tito’s got a good personality. I’m relatively likeable. It doesn’t really matter. The fight’s the fight. Why waste your time and energy thinking about anything else?”
Posted by: MattE at 6:04PM EST on November 18, 2009
We’re at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas for WEC 44: Brown vs. Aldo. The preliminary fights get underway shortly after 5 p.m. Central, so be sure to check back in throughout the night for round-by-round and fight-by-fight coverage of the prelims and main card, which is being shown live on the Versus cable network. ======================================== PRELIMINARY CARD Lightweight Bantamweight Tuesday November 17, 2009
Posted by: MattE at 9:10PM EST on November 17, 2009
 Cain Velasquez delivers some ground-and-pound to Ben Rothwell en route to a TKO victory at UFC 104 in Los Angeles in October. (Photo courtesy of the UFC) UFC heavyweight contender Cain Velasquez will take part in the promotion’s question-and-answer session for Fight Club members on Friday. The Q&A session will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas prior to the weigh-in event for UFC 106. The Q&A, open to UFC Fight Club members and the media, will take place from 4-5 p.m. Central time and will be available for Caged In and Times readers via a live streaming broadcast. Velasquez is coming off a second-round TKO of Ben Rothwell at UFC 104 in Los Angeles last month. The win kept Velasquez (7-0, 5-0 UFC) unbeaten in both the UFC and his MMA career. Velasquez’s decision win over Cheick Kongo at UFC 99 in June was the only time in his career he had to go the distance. Return to Caged In on Friday to the link above for the Q&A. And if you can’t watch live, the Q&A can be replayed through the video player.
Posted by: MattE at 8:58PM EST on November 17, 2009
The UFC’s Fight Club question-and-answer session for fan club members will be broadcast via live streaming video here at Caged In. The UFC 106 Fight Club Q&A will take place from 4-5 p.m. Central on Friday and will feature heavyweight contender Cain Velasquez. The Q&A session will be hosted by UFC play-by-play man Mike Goldberg. Caged In will also make available live streaming video for the WEC 44 post-fight press conference, the UFC 106 pre-fight press conference, UFC 106 weigh-ins and the UFC 106 post-fight press conference. Check back at Caged In and click the appropriate tab on the top navigation bar (WEC or UFC) for complete coverage of WEC 44 and UFC 106.
Posted by: MattE at 6:39PM EST on November 17, 2009
Tuesday’s weigh-ins for WEC 44: Brown vs. Aldo can be seen here at Caged In — live! At 6 p.m. Central, we’ll host the live weigh-in event from The Palms in Las Vegas, site of Wednesday’s fight card, which will be broadcast on Versus. Caged In will be onhand to provide live round-by-round and fight-by-fight updates throughout the night on Wednesday, and we’re staying put in Vegas to bring you all kinds of coverage of Saturday’s UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin II pay-per-view. But first things first — the weigh-ins for WEC 44. Right here at Caged In.
Posted by: MattE at 5:37PM EST on November 17, 2009
MATT ERICKSON Mike Brown has been champion for a year, and in some ways, he’s still flying under the radar. The native of Maine upset Urijah Faber last November to win World Extreme Cagefighting’s featherweight (145 pounds) title, and he promptly had to fight off the “lucky punch” comments. His first title defense, in opponent Leonard Garcia’s home state of Texas, was on enemy ground — but even after a first-round submission victory, many critics still put Faber ahead of him in the division. When he again beat Faber this past June, this time in a five-round war that was instantly called one of the WEC’s best fights of all time and a certain Fight of the Year candidate, Brown finally started getting some respect. Until, that is, everyone was reminded his next test would be Jose Aldo, owner of five straight TKO victories, including a record eight-second knockout of Cub Swanson in June. Brown puts his WEC featherweight strap on the line tonight in Las Vegas at WEC 44 for the third time as champion, and he’s just a slight favorite over Aldo. But Brown said that bothers him none. “It’s a little bit different (this fight), I was an underdog in a lot of my last fights,” Brown said. “I might be a favorite — but some people think I’m not a favorite. It’s gonna be interesting. I do have a little momentum on my side this time. It feels nice for a change.” In Aldo, Brown goes up against a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. But gameplanning for him has been difficult since Aldo has proven to be a formidable striker since joining the WEC and his jiu-jitsu skills haven’t been showcased. Brown said Aldo presents a unique set of challenges — almost a best-of between Faber, Garcia and even Chicago-area fighter Jeff Curran. “There are many great fighters that I’ve fought, so he has his own difficulties,” Brown said. “He’s got great knees and the best striking of (Garcia and Faber). Leonard might hit harder, but he’s not as technical. Jose might have good jiu-jitsu, but we haven’t seen it. It looks like it’s difficult to take him down. There’s only one way to find out — if I can get him there and test it myslef. That’s the only way.” Should the fight go to the ground, Brown’s wrestling background could come into play. But though he’s known as a powerful standup fighter, Brown said his training at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla., has made him a more solid jiu-jitsu player than most realize. “All my submission losses are before I joined ATT,” Brown said. “I was training in Maine, and I wasn’t with the caliber of jiu-jitsu guys we have here. We have the best submission guys in the world. Since I joined the team, I’m 12-1 and the only loss was when I got caught in a leglock and tore my ACL. Now I’m with so many great world-class black belts, that’s my strength now. As a team, our strength is jiu-jitsu. But we’ve got great strikers, too — I’ve been training a lot with Thiago Alves for this fight.” Still, the consensus — from Brown to Aldo, from WEC general manager Reed Harris to most fans — is that someone is going to get knocked out. “If Mike beats Jose Aldo, I think he’ll be considered the greatest featherweight in the history of MMA,” Harris said. “He’s never been knocked out. Jose Aldo — no one really knows how good he is. He’s gone through everybody in our (featherweight) division. Mike Brown said he’s not sure what’s gonna happen, but somebody’s going down.” Aldo, through his translator, said he’s been putting in the training necessary for a five-round title fight instead of a three-round non-title bout, and that the odds are good the fight ends with a knockout. “I respect Mike very much,” Aldo said through the translator. “I’ve been training really hard for the fight and I’m ready for whatever happens. And I agree with Mike that someone’s going down in the fight. Both of us have a pretty good chance to knock each other out, but Mike’s pretty hard to knock out.” Brown, who said he has been able to become more focused on the sport in the last year since becoming champion because he was able to quit his day job, said he respects his opponent’s love of mixed martial arts. “I think he’s emotional,” Brown said. “He gets excited when he wins, and that’s great. He’s very passionate about what he does. You see true excitement in him. I’m a fight fan. If I wasn’t fighting (tonight), I’d be amped to see this fight.” Amped might be an understatement. “Reed is 100 percent correct — someone’s going down in this one, that’s for sure,” Brown said. If I fight like I can, I’ll beat anyone in the world — no doubt about it. But there’s only one way to find out, and that’s get in there and throw down. It’s a crazy sport, and you never know what’s going to happen … but someone’s going down.” ============================== WEC 44: Brown vs. AldoWhen: Today, 8 p.m. Tuesday November 10, 2009
Posted by: MattE at 11:45PM EST on November 10, 2009
By Matt Erickson Let’s get the age thing out of the way. Yes, for a mixed martial arts fighter, Randy Couture is old. At 46, Couture has nearly always been at least a decade older than the men he’s stood across from in fights. But like George Burns or the Rolling Stones, age hasn’t seemed to matter much to “The Natural.” On Saturday, Couture takes on Brandon “The Truth” Vera in the main event of UFC 105 at the Manchester Evening News Arena in Manchester, England. And once again, he’ll be taking on a much younger opponent — and looking for his first win in more than two years. Couture, a UFC Hall of Famer, is a three-time heavyweight champion and two-time light heavyweight champ. Saturday’s fight will be his return to the light heavyweight division after four fights at heavyweight — and that could prove to be a bigger story in the long run than his age. Couture, who lost his heavyweight title to Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 a year ago, wants to make another run at the light heavyweight belt currently held by Lyoto Machida. “I would love to be a six-time UFC champion, to set the bar very high in that regard, and that’s what I want to accomplish at 205 pounds,” Couture said. “That is my immediate goal. I’m very intrigued by the current light heavyweight division. There are some great matchups for me here, and I believe I have the tools to win back the 205-pound title.” Couture, a former All-American, Olympian and wrestling coach, has toggled back and forth between light heavyweight and heavyweight in his career. He began his career at heavyweight before moving to 205 pounds at UFC 43 six years ago. After retiring in 2006, he came out of retirement at heavyweight at UFC 68 and reclaimed a title he hadn’t held since 2001.
“When I moved to heavyweight a couple years ago, I saw openings for someone with my skill set,” Couture said. “I think it will be harder to get to the top of the heap at 205 pounds right now, but I want challenges.” One of those challenges for most heavyweights dropping down a division would be the weight cut. But Couture, on the small side at heavyweight, said it shouldn’t be a problem for him. “Making 205 pounds won’t be an issue,” Couture said. “I have to eat and eat to fight at heavyweight. I won’t even have to cut weight to get back down to light heavyweight.” In Vera, Couture gets someone who can go toe-to-toe with his wrestling abilities — and someone he’s spent time training with in the past. “He’s known for his stand-up in the UFC, but I know from experience that his wrestling is outstanding,” Couture said “He represents some interesting tactical problems. He’s looked very sharp, very dangerous, in his last few fights. His stand-up is very good, he is very fast and accurate with his kicks and he can hurt you to the legs with those weapons. He also proved he has the power to hurt big heavyweights, and that he can be patient and take advantage if you make a mistake.” Couture, who has also been called “Captain America” to go along with his most common nickname, “The Natural,” will fight for the first time in the United Kingdom — and the first time outside the U.S. in nearly nine years. UFC president Dana White said Tuesday on his Twitter account that sales for UFC 105 have been good — and Couture, one of the most widely known fighters in MMA history, certainly helps that cause. “I was at the last UFC in Manchester and I couldn’t believe the reception I got as I took my ringside seat,” Couture said. “The British fans go crazy for the UFC. The fans were very humbling and it was a big factor in taking this fight — I thought it would be something to fight in front of these fans.” ———————————————— UFC 105 Main Card Preliminary Card Monday November 9, 2009
Posted by: MattE at 5:08PM EST on November 9, 2009
Caged In will be on hand in Las Vegas for coverage of UFC 106, including fighter workouts, pre-fight press conferences, weigh-ins, Q&As and, of course, live fight-by-fight coverage of both the preliminary and main cards. UFC 106 features the much-anticipated return of former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz. Ortiz has been out of action for 18 months due to back surgery as well as a highly publicized spat with UFC president Dana White. But over the summer, White and Ortiz patched things up and “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” signed a new deal with the organization. Ortiz was set to fight Hall of Famer Mark Coleman, but injury forced Coleman out of the bouth. Stepping up in his face is fellow former 205-pound champ Forrest Griffin, who won Season 1 of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2005 by beating Munster native Stephan Bonnar. The Ortiz-Griffin fight moved up a peg on the main card to main-event status when a scheduled heavyweight title fight between champion Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin had to be scrapped when Lesnar pulled out with a severe flu. It has since been reported that Lesnar actually has mono, which could set that fight back even further. The first time Ortiz and Griffin met, at UFC 59, Ortiz won a split decision 30-27, 28-29, 29-27. The new co-main event for UFC 106 will be a welterweight fight between Josh Koscheck and Anthony Johnson. Koscheck most recently fought at UFC 103 in Dallas in September and scored a quick TKO win over Frank Trigg. Johnson fought just two weeks ago at UFC 104 in Los Angeles, knocking out Yoshiyuki Yoshida in 41 seconds. Rounding out the pay-per-view broadcast will be the return of Phil Baroni to the UFC, taking on TUF 8 winner Amir Sadollah; the UFC debut of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (”Little Nog,” or “Minotoro”), twin brother of UFC fighter Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (”Big Nog,” or “Minotauro”), taking on fellow Brazilian Luiz Cane; and Karo Parisyan vs. Dustin Hazelett. It hasn’t yet been announced, but it is expected that the UFC and Spike TV will again broadcast two preliminary card fights at 8 p.m. Central on Nov. 21 to lead in to the pay-per-view broadcast. The preliminary card currently features Marcus Davis vs. Ben Saunders; Kendall Grove vs. Jake Rosholt, who was born in Sand Point, Ind.; Paulo Thiago vs. Jacob Volkmann; Brock Larson vs. Brian Foster, who trains with Matt Hughes’ H.I.T. Squad ; Caol Uno vs. Fabricio Camoes; and George Sotiropoulous vs. Jason Dent. Tickets for UFC 106 at the Mandalay Bay are available through Ticketmaster and are priced at $1,000, $750, $500, $300, $200 and $100. The pay-per-view price is $44.95 for either the standard feed or the high-def broadcast. Saturday November 7, 2009
Posted by: MattE at 6:14PM EST on November 7, 2009
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. | The Times’ MMA site is live at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates for tonight’s nationally televised Strikeforce show — “Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers.” We’ll have round by round and fight by fight coverage of all 10 bouts — four on the CBS main broadcast and six on the untelevised preliminary card, including many Northwest Indiana and Chicago-area fighters. Check back in at 6 Central as we get all the coverage underway! ————————————– Preliminary card Jonatas Novaes (156) vs. Christian Uflacker (155.5) Louis Taylor (185.5) vs. Nate Moore (184) John Kolosci (171) vs. Shamar Bailey (170) Jeff Curran (145) vs. Dustin Neace (150.5) Marloes Coenen (145) vs. Roxanne Modafferi (140) Main Card Antonio Silva (263) vs. Fabricio Werdum (242) Light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi (205) Jason “Mayhem” Miller (184) vs. Jake Shields (184.5) Fedor Emelianenko (232) vs. Brett Rogers (264) |
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LAS VEGAS | Caged In and The Times of Northwest Indiana are in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Events Center for coverage of UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin II.
The UFC on Monday announced its official bout lineup for UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin II, which will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on Nov. 21.