Friday, February 12, 2010

Following this past weekend's UFC 109 pay-per-view event, the UFC has cut ties with several fighters, including the loser of the main event, Mark Coleman, and a featured fighter on the card, Frank Trigg. Among the less established fighters released were "Ultimate Fighter" finalist Phillipe Nover, Rolles Gracie, and Tim Hague.

Following a hard-fought three round win over Dan Miller at UFC 109 that showed him to be more than just a submission expert, Demian Maia will jump right back into training camp for the biggest fight of his career, an April 10th meeting with Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva in the main event of UFC 112 at Ferrari World on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.  Maia replaces countryman Vitor Belfort, who underwent emergency surgery on his left shoulder earlier this week to fix a chronic injury that got worse in his training camp for Silva.

Memorial Day weekend’s UFC 114, rumored to be headlined by the highly anticipated "Rampage" Jackson vs. "Suga" Rashad Evans showdown, is beginning to take shape. The most recent addition to the card is a clash of welterweight prospects, pitting “The Ultimate Fighter 7” winner Amir Sadollah against the undefeated prospect "Stun Gun" Dong Hyun Kim. MMA Junkie recently broke the news that both men have verbally agreed to face one-another on May 29.

Bellator Fighting Champions will expand its reach internationally during its second and third seasons thanks to a new alliance with The Score Television Network, a preeminent source of sports programming in Canada. The announcement came on the same day that Bellator added to its growing ranks of top Canadian fighters with the signing of former Canadian National Wrestling Champion Sean Pierson.

Hawaiian fighter Falaniko "Niko" Vitale has had an illustrious MMA career spanning more than a decade, appearing in major promotions such as the UFC, Strikeforce, Icon Sport, and the International Fight League (IFL). With 26 wins to only nine losses, Vitale  has fought some of the toughest opponents in the world. In the coming months, Niko will return to fighting, after a year-long layoff, in his Shine Fights debut against Murilo "Ninja" Rua. MMA Spot recently sat down with Niko to discuss his past and his training.

Ultimate Fight Night in Charlotte, N.C. should be getting even more exciting with the signing of two additional bouts. Although not officially announced, it appears that recent UFC signee and “Knockout of the Night” bonus winner Gerald “Hurricane” Harris will be taking on undefeated prospect Mario Miranda. Also expected to be announced for the March 31 live Spike TV event at Bojangles’ Coliseum are the UFC debuts of Jason High and Charlie Brenneman.

After being rumored earlier in the week, UFC president Dana White officially confirmed that Vitor Belfort is indeed injured and has been forced out of an expected middleweight title contest at the upcoming “UFC 112: Invincible” event. The bout was slated to be the main event at Concert Arena at the Ferrari World theme park on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The earlier reports stated that the injury was to Belfort's shoulder.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

At UFC 104 last October, UFC light heavy-weight champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and challenger Mauricio “Shogun” Rua engaged in a five round war that divided the mixed martial arts world when the unanimous decision verdict was rendered in Machida’s favor. On Saturday, May 8, these two warriors will have a chance to do it again and erase any doubt as to who is the best 205 pound fighter in the world, and both are vowing to take matters out of the judges’ hands, and into their own when the Ultimate Fighting Championship heads back to Montreal for "UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2," live from the Bell Centre and only on pay-per-view.

Yesterday officials for World Victory Road announced several additions for their "Sengoku Raiden Championship 12" event. Among the announced additionswere former UFC and Pride star Akihiro Gono taking on Diego Gonzalez, as well as Henry “Sentoryu” Miller against Yoshihiro Nakao. The event will take place March 7 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan, and airs on HDNet in North America.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

A fight that is guaranteed to produce fireworks is set for UFC 113, with "Crazy" Tim Credeur scheduled to face Tom "The Filthy Mauler" Lawlor, according to multiple reports. Former "The Ultimate Fighter" alumn, both fighters have posted winning records since their stints on reality show and have received "Fight of the Night" honors for their efforts. UFC 113 is scheduled for May 8, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and is headlined by the long-awaited rematch between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

MMA Spot was a part of today’s UFC 110 conference call featuring: UFC, UK President Marshall Zelaznik, former Pride and UFC Interim Champion Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira, heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez, former Pride Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva, and the face of British MMA Michael Bisping. Leading up to the event, which takes place on February 20 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia, none of the competitors were short on words. The first UFC stars to headline a card in "The Outback" seemed equally excited and humbled by the opportunity extended to them.

Less than eight weeks from his upcoming bout at UFC 111 with Martin Kampmann, welterweight fighter Ben Saunders is having to prepare for a new opponent. Kampmann has been forced to withdraw due to injury and Jake Ellenberger has agreed to replace him. UFC 111 is scheduled to take place March 27, from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey and will air live on pay-per-view.