The UFC Blog

Nutrabolics, a leader in the supplement industry has just signed Frank Mir!  

Anderson Silva was signed earlier by Nutrabolics.   We recently got an interview with Anderson, check it out here.

Check out the attached press release on the signing.

Post by: webmaster

Well, sort of.

Due to the unusual landscape of the UFC’s Heavyweight division over the last year or so, we have a champion (Brock Lesnar) and an interim champion who used to be Antoinio Rodrigo Nogueira. Yes, used to be. In a stunning upset, former champ, Frank Mir, not only defeated Big Nog…he stopped him for the first time in his 36 fight career with a perfectly executed dismantling via strikes that led to a second round TKO. Frank’s stand up looked the best it has ever been as he knocked Nog down twice in the first round alone and continued the course in round two, flooring Antonio and then pouncing on him and pounding him until the referee had seen enough. Now, Frank will face Brock Lesnar to unite the heavyweight division title. Yes, the same Brock Lesnar that Frank welcomed to the UFC with a first round submission. According to Dana White, they expect the fight to take place sometime in the Spring of 2009.

If you want to hear about the fight straight from the horse’s mouth, Frank will be doing his first radio interview right here on Pro MMA Radio, sponsored by Bodybuilding.com! Make sure to come and here from the new champ on Monday at 6PM PST or check out the replays, available that night On Demand, 24/7.

A less stunning upset, in my opinion, saw Sugar Rashad Evans put an end to Forrest Griffin’s reign as the 205 chamo come to an end before it ever got started. Forrest controlled the first two rounds of the fight in his first ever title defense after decisioning Rampage Jackson. But then Sugar found his range. He caught one of Forrest’s kick and got the fight to the ground where Rashad scored some heavy blows from a loose Griffin guard and followed that by a series of punches that put Forrest out and gave Rashad a well deserved title…UFC Light Heavyweight World Champion!

One of the biggest differences you will see when going to a bodybuilding show vs a fight is the fans.  The UFC was built by the fans and the UFC knows that.  The fighters know it… the fans know it!  The aora of being at a real UFC fight in person is undescribable, i suggest everyone to go to a UFC fight some time in their life.

There is really nothing like it!  Here is a picture that I shot of the crowd.

Wow, what a fight!  Forrest wins the first 2 rounds, but in round 3, Rashed starts to take care of business.  Another pretty messed up stoppage… Forrest was out and Rashed got 6-7 solid blows on him before the ref came over to stop the fight. Congrats to Rashed, the new undefeated light-heavyweight champion of the world!

Forrest is classic!  When asked if he was hurt, he says ‘I dont remember getting hurt, I just remember waking up’.

Everyone is trying to get out of here like the cows when they see the McDonalds truck.  

Off to the press conference…

The old Frank Mir is back!  The first round Frank dominates Nogueira with 3 knockdowns.  He looks like he is all gased out, but starts off the 2nd round strong again and continues to take Norueira out.  The same left hook the Quinton used earlier in the night to knockout Silva!  Frank jumps right on Nogueira and the referee is forced to stop the fight.  Nogueira looks dazed for minutes after the fight is done.  

After the fight, Frank says that going into this fight he was the most scared he has ever been going into the octagon.  Immediatly, he points out to Brock Lesner… when will they fight again?  Can Frank brake Lesners arm like he did to Tim Sylvia?  We will see!

In a weird twist of events, C.B. starts off getting his ass kicked, taps out, the referee doesn’t see it and he turns it around and wins the fight!

How will the UFC explain C.B.’s victory after all the blogs post pictures and video of when C.B. tapped out…

Because of the lack of a plug in, I am unable to blog play by play.  I am in a different section this time, but the seats are awesome as usual.  Here are the results so far, we have Forrest-Rashed and Norgoria-Mir coming up… I am super suprised that CB’s fight is on the main card?

Brad Blackburn def. Ryo Chonan via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Matt Hamill def. Reese Andy via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 2:19.
Antoni Hardonk def. Mike Wessel via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 2:09.
Yushin Okami def. Dean Lister via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Cheick Kongo def. Mostapha Al-Turk via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 4:37.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson def. Wanderlei Silva via KO (punch) — Round 1, 3:21.

After losing twice to Silva in Pride (both by knockout), Quinton gets his revege with a vicious left hook followed by 3 more punches after Silva hit the ground, knocked out cold.  The ref should have pushed him out of the way a little faster.  Not very good for Quintons rep in my opinon.  The look on Chuck Liddells face in the audience was priceless.

Will we see Quinton-Silva 4 or Liddell-Quinton?  We will see!

In the first fight of the night, Patrick Barry def. Dan Evensen via TKO (injury)

Check out the live coverage of UFC 92 here!  Sitting ringside with the man, the myth, Larry Pepe.

WW

All fighters made weight and there were some fireworks as well between Rampage and Wanderlei!

</br />

Some horrible news hit the MMA world in the face yesterday. UFC vet Justin Eilers was shot during his Christmas Family get together last night.

It was about 10:30 last night that the incident occurred. James Robert Malec is being charged with second degree murder and is currently being held at the Canyon County Jail.

Eilers has been in the fight game for along time and will be missed.

Many prayers go out to his family, and everyone here at Bodybuilding.com sends their condolences.

Eilers (19 - 6 - 1) in his career fought such stars as Andre Arvloski and Brandon Vera was 3-3 in the UFC/WEC.

He was an Idaho native who went on to play football at Iowa State University before returning to the fight game and making a career out of it. He has been training with Miletech for some time now and was loved by the many he trained with.

The most stacked card of the year is less than 48 hours away and with three main event quality fights about to go down and Christmas in the rear view mirror, the excitement level of UFC fans is moving toward a fever pitch. On this week’s Pro MMA Radio, Percy Crawford of Fight Hype joined me in "The Opening Round" and we broke down all five fights on the televised card. The episode is right here on Bodybuilding.com in the Pro MMA Radio section for you to listen to at your convenience. Make sure to check it out before Saturday night to get ready for this amazing card. Here’s the link…

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/pro_mma_radio_archive.htm

Enjoy the fights!

Pep

Just got back from the UFC 92 Press Conferrence this afternoon. Dana and the six fighters from the big three fights on the card were all there…Forrest/Rashad, Big Nog/Mir and Rampage/Wandy. Dana opened the event by thanking the fighters for getting ready for an event that runs right into Christmas and would interfere with celebration of the holidays as well as thanking the media for attending.

Nothing too new came out of the press conference with the fighters. To see all the relevant exchanges with them, head over to UFC.com where they already have the videos posted on the site.

I did get the chance to talk to former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Frank Mir, and book him for this Monday’s Pro MMA Radio right here on Bodybuilding.com. Frank and I talked about whether it was tough for him to fight Nog when he had so much respect for him and zero animosity. He said that it was actually easier than when he fought Brock because there is no pressure since Nog is the more decorated fighter. When Frank fought Brock, he felt that there was enormous pressure on him to win because he was representing MMA. We’ll get way deeper with the former, and perhaps, new UFC Champ on Monday at 6PM PST.

Dana White held court for a few of us toward the end of the presser. A few interesting points…

-He is very confident that Massachusetts and New York will sanction MMA very soon and then the UFC will turn its attention to getting an event in Toronto.

-The business of the UFC is alive, well and expanding. As much as the economy is headed toward a serious recession, the UFC has had no slow down in sales on UFC.com, tickets or PPV. In fact, the company just hired four more employees and is expanding their office space here in Vegas.  

-Forrest Griffin is, in fact, as quirky as he seems. Dana laughed that he questioned if it was an act, but that having spent significant time with Forrest over the last few years, what you see is what you get.

-Dana loves inspirational stories, and Frank Mir coming back from the knee injury and whatever issues he developed with drugs and alcohol during the rehab period after that event is a great example of what someone can come back from.

Have a great Christmas and don’t forget to check back here for the latest from UFC 92. It’s going to be one hell of an event.

Pep

MMAmania reports there is one more reason to head to Columbus the first weekend of March. The UFC will be returning once again to the Arnold Classic weekend…

Happy holidays, Ohio-area fight fans.

UFC 96 tickets for the annual pay-per-view (PPV) event that coincides with the Arnold EXPO — the largest health and fitness expo in the nation — will go on sale to the general public on Saturday, December 27.

UFC Fight Club members and UFC Newsletter subscribers, naturally, will be able to scoop up tickets for the show at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus prior to them being available for public consumption.

It will be the fourth major UFC event to be held in the “Buckeye State” since the promotion invaded Ohio for the first time ever in March 2007.

While no bouts have been announced to date, heavyweights Shane Carwin and Gabriel Gonzaga are expected to collide and light heavyweight Brandon Vera will look to get back on the winning track against area native Mike Patt.

– Read the Full Story Here.

PMR’s visit with TUF Semifinalist Krystoff Soszynski is ready and On-Demand for our listeners. FightHype’s Percy Crawford also joined Pep to break down the biggest card of the year, UFC 92: Ultimate 2008, with two big title fights and Rampage/Wandy 3 this weekend at the MGM Grand Garden Arena here in Las Vegas.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/pro_mma_radio_archive.htm

Enjoy!

Class act hope he does well this Saturday in Vegas!

Las Vegas, NV (Dec. 27) – The Ultimate Fighting Championship ends a stellar year of fights, with one of its most stacked cards in recent memory.  UFC 92 “Ultimate 2008” will have two championships on the line as light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin defends against “Sugar” Rashad Evans and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defends his interim heavyweight title against Frank Mir.  

The MGM Grand Garden Arena will also see part three in the trilogy of fights as former LHW champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson looks to settle a score with Wanderlei Silva.  

Rounding out the night’s main card will be C.B. Dollaway vs. Mike Massenzio and Mustafa Al-Turk vs. Cheick Kongo.

The Ultimate Fighter reality series has produced a lot of good fighters since its 2005 debut.  However none have been more successful than the season one LHW winner Forrest Griffin.  

Fresh off his five round war with former champion, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, the newly crowned light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin(16-4-0); finds himself in an unfamiliar role.   Coming into this fight he is no longer the underdog and defending his UFC title for the first time.  

Since his devastating loss to Evans’ teammate Keith Jardine two years ago, Griffin has been on a tear.  With wins over Hector Ramirez, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Jackson, Griffin has quieted the doubters and proven he is a force to be reckoned with.  

Standing in his way will be the undefeated Rashad Evans, who was the heavyweight winner of TUF2 and is quickly adding a nice resume of highlight reel knockouts.

With a record of 17-0-1, Rashad Evans is a collegiate wrestling standout from Michigan State with knockout power in his hands and feet.  Evans last fought at UFC 88 against Chuck Liddell, where he scored a brutal knockout with an overhand right making him the number 1 contender for Griffin’s belt.  Evans possesses notable wins over Stephan Bonnar, Michael Bisping and most recently Liddell.  

Both fighters come from the best Mixed Martial Arts camps around.  Griffin trains in Vegas with Xtreme Couture with the likes of Wanderlei Silva and Randy Couture.  Evans trains with Greg Jackson out of New Mexico with Nate Marquardt, GSP and Jardine.  

Griffin is undoubtedly a cardio freak and has a monster heart.  He is able to sustain a good amount of punishment and has proven he can go five rounds if necessary.  He may not have the knockout power of Evans, but his submissions are top notch.  On the other hand, Evans is a beast when it comes to wrestling and has showcased that he can beat the best standing up.  His teammate, Keith Jardine, is the last man to defeat Griffin and was also the last man to beat Liddell before Evans did at UFC 88.  

Will that play a part in their title fight?  I think it will, Greg Jackson will come up with the game plan to defeat Forrest Griffin and Evans will find “the button” knocking Griffin out in the third round!

The Ultimate Fighter 8 finale was last Saturday with Team Noguiera sweeping both titles.  Next Saturday the coaches of this season, “Minotauro” Noguiera and Frank Mir will duke it out for the UFC interim heavyweight championship.

The former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir (11-3-0) is coming off a huge victory over the current heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar at UFC 81.  The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt will now face is idol, Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera.

At 31-4-1 “Minotauro” Noguiera (31-4-1) has beaten the who’s who of MMA.  He’s the former PRIDE heavyweight champion and current UFC interim heavyweight champion.  With wins over Tim Sylvia, Josh Barnett and Heath Herring (3X) this BJJ black belt has proven time and time again why he is considered to be one of the best.  His four losses have all come by decision and he’s never been knocked out or submitted.  Noguiera has the uncanny ability to win fights when it looks like he’s on the brink of defeat.  

Considered by many to be the top two BJJ black belt heavyweights currently fighting MMA, the similarities between these two are frightening.  Both stand 6’3 and weigh in around 240.  Both have submitted Tim Sylvia in title fights and neither fighter has been submitted professionally.  

Athletically, Mir is the favorite, but his cardio and heart have been questioned in the past.  Noguiera has the edge stand up wise and possesses a better chin.  He has a slight edge on the ground as well and that is why he’ll have his armed raised.  This fight will go all five rounds and be something special.  “Minotauro” will win 4 out of 5 rounds and set up a blockbuster title unification bout with Brock Lesnar.

The Godfather 3, Back to the Future 3 and Ocean’s Eleven 3 some trilogies should be left as a sequel.  Silva VS Griffin III doesn’t fall under these rules.  

It’s been over five years since these two great warriors first met up at PRIDE Final Conflict 2003.  A middleweight tournament in Japan where 8 fighters such as Chuck Liddell, Kazushi Sakuraba, Quinton Jackson and Wanderlei Silva tested their wills to become the worlds best 205’er.  “Rampage” (28-7-0) was able to defeat Liddell and Silva won his semifinal fight as well; setting up a championship fight between the two.  With an hour rest, they were set to fight.  Rampage score early with a takedown and began his ground and pound.  The ref decided to stand them up and Silva took advantage scoring a first round TKO with some vicious knees to the head.

Controversy swarmed their first fight, so there was no other choice than to set up the rematch.  Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1) had no qualms about the rematch stating, “I don’t like Jackson; I will fight him again any time for pleasure.”

During their PRIDE 28 “High Octane” bout, Rampage was able to find success in the first round with a mix takedowns and a big right hand that dropped Silva late in the round.  The second round was a different story as Silva came out guns a blazing.  Rampage was able to get him down, but was quickly swept and hit with a soccer kick to the head by Silva.  Silva was relentless with five knees that knocked Rampage silly.  Rampage was hung out to dry, literally, by Silva.

Since then Rampage has a record of 7-2 with losses to “Shogun” Rua and most recently Forrest Griffin.  The Four years since they last fought has seen a dramatic improvement in Jackson, where he’s been able to capture and defend the UFC LHW title.  

“The Axe Murderer” bounced back from his three fight losing streak with a crushing victory over Keith Jardine at UFC 84.  Now training with Xtreme Couture, the former PRIDE middleweight champion was unbeaten for over four years from 2000 to 2004 and is quickly returning to that form.  

Both fighters carry dynamite in their hands, feet and knees.  Rampage may be a bit stronger and his wrestling is a bit better.  However, Silva does hold a BJJ black belt and undoubtedly holds the physiological edge over “Rampage.”

We haven’t seen Rampage in action since his reckless driving debacle earlier this year and his split with trainer/mentor Juanito Ibarra.  Since then he’s been training in England with Wolf Lair’s Academy.

The UFC rules should help Rampage, the cage as well.  It will be easier for him to ground and pound Silva against the cage and he won’t have to worry about any soccer kicks to his dome.

There is a lot of history between these two fighters and a ton of bad blood as well.  All those things will make for one hell of a fight reminiscent to the Liddell/Silva fight.  I’ll go against the grain and predict a three round blood bath, with Silva coming out 3-0 against Jackson and earning him a title shot.

CB Dollaway VS Mike Massenzio
Both fighters are outstanding wrestlers coming off their first wins in the UFC.  Dollaway was able to submit Jesse Taylor and Massensio submitted UFC veteran Drew McFedries.  

Dollaway defeated Massenzio for the JUCO national championship years ago and neither fighter has forgotten.  Dollaway has shown weakness to submissions in the past and Massenzio is a BJJ blue belt.  Look for Massenzio to catch Dollaway with an arm bar in the second round.

Cheick Kongo Vs. Mostapha Al Turk
UFC newcomer Mostapha Al Turk is the Cage Rage British champion and ADCC European champion.  His strengths are his takedowns, ground and pound and submissions.  He’ll have his hands full with the French giant known as Cheick Kongo.

Kongo who trains with “Rampage” in England is a very talented kick boxer with wins over Mirko Cro Cop and recently Dan Evensen.  His strengths are his kickboxing and Muay Thai, however his weaknesses are Al Turk’s strengths.  Kongo has had trouble with wrestlers and Jiu-Jitsu grapplers.  If Kongo can stay on his feet it’s his fight to win.  If this fight goes to the ground, Al Turk will score the upset.  

Should be a great night of fights come Saturday the 27th.  

PRELIMINARY CARD
• Dean Lister vs. Yushin Okami
• Mark Burch vs. Antoni Hardonk  
• Reese Andy vs. Matt Hamill
• Brad Blackburn vs. Ryo Chonan
• Pat Berry vs. Dan Evensen