Monday, August 03, 2009

On August 8, 2009 the Ultimate Fighting Championship will make its first stop in the “City Of Brotherly Love” at the Wac- hovia Center in Philadelphia, Pa. The main event for "UFC 101: Declaration" will feature the two top lightweight com- petitors in UFC when challenger Kenny “Ken-Flo” Florian (11-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) takes on UFC Lightweight Champion B.J. “The Prodigy” Penn (13-5-1 MMA, 9-4-1 UFC).  MMA Spot was able to participate in the conference call for this event.  Continue reading for highlights and the full audio of the call.

World Extreme Cagefighting prou- dly confirms the remaining bouts of an exciting card headed to Young- stown, OH on Sept. 2. In addition to the interim lightweight title bout pitting Donald Cerrone against Ben Henderson, fans at the Covelli Centre will be treated to fights featuring many of the best lighter weight fighters in the world. “This card features some of the fastest-rising stars in the sport,” WEC General Manager Reed Harris said. “WEC continually delivers fight cards that are among the year’s best. This one will absolutely deliver.”

After a week of intense negotia- tions and speculation, the hottest topic of discussion in the profes- sional fight world has come to a head as the world's number one heavyweight and most sought after mixed martial arts (MMA) champion Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelian- enko has signed a historic, multi-fight agreement that will see him headline mega-events co-promoted by world championship promotions STRIKEFORCE and M-1 Global. 

Sunday, August 02, 2009

World Victory Road's "Sengoku 9" concluded in the early morning ho- urs today, crowning the victor of the 2009 featherweight grand prix.  The event took place at the Sait- ama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan and featured the semifinals and final bout for the grand prix, as well as the main event non- tournament lightweight championship title fight.  Five additional non-grand prix fights and three "Sengoku Gold Cup" matches rounded out the affair making a total of thirteen bouts. For U.S. fans the card will air via tape-delay this coming Friday on HDNet.  Continue reading for the full results.

Saturday, August 01, 2009

It looks like Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez will get his rematch with Japanese wrestling expert Mitsuhiro Ishida a little sooner than he expected. STRIKEFORCE announced on Thursday that Ishida will replace the injured Josh “The Punk” Thomson, owner of the STRIKEFORCE lightweight belt who was unable to get medical clearance for an injured leg. Ishida and Melendez will battle for Melendez’ interim lightweight title on the Saturday, Aug. 15, “Carano vs. Cyborg” show at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Pre- sident Dana White promised a major press conference on July 31st, and he certainly delivered on his pro- mise. Today, White announced that two former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions "The Phenom" Vitor Belfort (18-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) and "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz (15-6 MMA, 14-6 UFC) would be returning to the UFC. Belfort will be returning to the 205-pound division, and White announced that his first fight back will be against former UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin on September 19th at UFC 103 in Dallas, TX at the American Airlines Arena. Belfort is coming over to the UFC after Affliction folded their fighting promotion.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Veteran Doug “Flash” Gordon (10-7-0) stunned local favorite Nate “The Future” Lamotte (10-5-0), of Manchester (NH), to win the main event last night in American Steel Cagefighting’s (ASC) inaugural mixed martial arts show at the Icenter in Salem, New Hampshire. In the co-main event, New York lightweight Pat Audinwood (8-0-0) remained unbeaten, using a triangle choke to force veteran “Mr. Big” Al Buck (6-8-0),  former Cage Fury Fighting champion, into submission in the opening round.

Fresh off a stint as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter and the brutal second round knockout of Michael Bisping at UFC 100, Dan 'Holly- wood' Henderson (25-7) recently announced that if he didn't have an automatic title shot waiting for him in the middleweight division, he would move up to light heavyweight one more time to cement his legacy.

Dana White promised big news from today’s major press conference. The news did not disappoint. Already reported Vitor ‘The Phenom’ Belfort has been signed by UFC, and will meet Rich Franklin at UFC 103. Also rumored earlier this week, but officially announced today, Ben Rothwell will face Chase Gromley at UFC 104. Other signings officially announced today were; British star Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley, Dan Lauzon, Javier Vasquez, Mark Hominick, and L.C. Davis.

UFC president Dana White, holding what he described as a “wild” press conference, had several major an- nouncements. One of the biggest of those announcements is the revel- ation that UFC signed veteran star Vitor ‘The Phenom’ Belfort. The sign- ing is an immediate spark to the organization as Belfort has always been one of the most exciting fighters in the history of the sport, with four- teen of his eighteen victories coming by stoppage.

"DREAM 11" is set to take place on October 6 at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan. This event will see the winner of the featherweight grand prix crowned, as well as the winner of the "Super Hulk"grand prix.

In a precursor to today's Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) con- ference call from Dana White, M-1 Global Co-owner/President Vadim Finkelchtein has issued a press re- lease regarding recent negotiations between the two MMA promotions.  In his comments, Finkelchtein aim- ed to downplay the rumored con- tract details circling around the internet and various media sites.  He also indicated that talks are ongoing, with the UFC, as well as other major organizations and that it is the intention of M-1 Global to continue to foster a fruitful exchange.  The full press re- lease follows.