The UFC Blog

like a referee’s whistle.  Tito Ortiz is back in the UFC.  Fight will be most likely in December the opponent is still unknown.

I have some extra time on my hands so…

Many think that current UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar is the best in the world, that no one in the UFC can slay this vanilla gorilla.

That may be true, but…..

There is a certain Russian, that may be a free agent due to the sudden demise of Affliction.

His name is Fedor Emelianenko:

Dana White has a "big" press conference this Friday.  Hopefully he will be announcing the return of my boy; Tito Ortiz and I would love for him to sign the "baddest man in the planet" Fedor!

Lesnar VS Fedor UFC 10? "Who’s number 1?"

from Danas Twitter:

danawhiteufcI am going on espn 1100 in vegas at 6pm. I will be talking anything mma. Call in number is 702 364 1100! Oh yea and welcome back tito
1 minute ago from TwitterBerry

I hope so!

Props MMAWeekly:

In a sea change for the promotional landscape of mixed martial arts, Affliction has agreed to cease promoting fights and become an official sponsor of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports first reported the news on Friday afternoon, and a UFC official confirmed the report to MMAWeekly.com.

A joint announcement between the Las Vegas-based promotion and California-based clothing maker is expected soon.

Few details about the deal are known, but the popular clothing brand could be seen on Zuffa fighters as soon as Aug. 8, when UFC 101 lands in Philadelphia.

A similar deal was first proposed last October after the postponement of Affliction’s second event, “Day of Reckoning.” Executives from the UFC and Affliction met in secret in Las Vegas and offered to take Affliction on as a sponsor and co-branded apparel maker in exchange for ceasing to promote fights. Affliction executives rejected the offer after a fiery confrontation between co-founder Todd Beard and UFC co-owner Lorenzo Ferttita.

The fate of fighters marooned by Affliction’s cancellation of its third show, “Trilogy,” is unknown at this time.

Pro MMA Radio and celebrity radio personal Larry Pepe joined Bodybuilding.com at the UFC Fan Expo during the weekend of UFC 100.

Check out some of the action as Larry sits down for some interviews with many top MMA Stars including Nate Marquardt, Rashad Evans and more.

Check out the replays as Larry became part of history at this event!

To hear the replays, click here.

Don’t forget to check out the full Pro MMA Radio archives here.

Also join Larry Pepe every Monday night for Pro MMA Radio live 9:00 p.m. ET (6:00 p.m. PT). For more information click here.

UFC 100 Fallout

The milestone that was UFC 100 has come and gone and not without a little controversy.

The fight capital of the world, Las Vegas, NV was a buzz with tens of thousands fight fans from all over the world.  A sold out Mandalay Bay Arena hosted the sold out event, this ticket was hotter than the dry desert weather!

Revenge is a dish best served cold and Brock Lesnar was dishing out platefuls all night to Frank Mir.  

Frank Mir was unable to control the baby gorilla that is Brock Lesnar and wasn’t able to get any offense going during their main event championship fight Saturday night.  Lesnar used his superior strength and size advantage to keep Mir on his back for two rounds.

Lesnar controlled the arms of Mir and punished his face with huge right after huge right.  Mir was a bloody mess and Lesnar got his revenge, but the action didn’t stop there.

Lesnar seemed to forget that he was no longer in the WWE and disrespected Mir, the fans, and Bud Lite, who sponsored UFC 100.  

After spitting out his mouthpiece and ramming his face into the cage, he continued his war of words with a beaten Frank Mir.

Before leaving the cage, Lesnar had this to say,” Frank Mir had a horseshoe up his ass. I told him that a year ago. I pulled it out of him and beat him over the head with it. [Now] I’m going to drink a Coors Light. That’s right a Coors. Bud Light don’t pay me nothing even get on top of my wife tonight.”

Classy guy?!?!

Lesnar would later go onto apologize and even drank an ice cold Bud Lite during the post fight presser.  Seems like the only man that intimidates him is UFC President Dana White.

So who’s next for the champ?

Both Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez are big, strong wrestlers and will fight each other soon, but I only see Carwin with the legitimate shot at dethroning the champ.  He has knockout power and Lesnar’s chin is untested.

Then again I do know of one man from Russia who could slay this monster.

Fedor!

After these antics, Dana White seems more interested in signing the former PRIDEFC champ.  Here’s what he had to say after the fight,

“This whole Fedor thing has been going on and on and on. I keep saying this and that about him and he keeps waiting. Eventually, Fedor’s going to be here. I want Fedor. I want him to come to the UFC and everything else. [Lesnar] just became the heavyweight champion. We’ll end up getting that deal done. And then we’ll do Brock vs. Fedor, and it’ll be a huge fight.”

Let’s pray this happens but I have my doubts.

Georges St. Pierre held onto his welterweight strap after outclassing Thiago Alves.

GSP used his superior wrestling skills to keep Alves on his back for five rounds en route to the unanimous decisions.  

The champ continues to dominate everyone in the welterweight division and who would be next?

The winner of the Mike Swick/Martin Kampmann fight at UFC 103 is rumored to be next in line.

But who wouldn’t want to see a super fight between GSP and Anderson Silva?

With chants of USA echoing throughout the Mandalay Bay Arena, Dan Henderson shut up the loud mouth Brit Michael Bisping with a huge right hand.  

After realizing Bisping doesn’t pack a punch, Henderson relentlessly stalked him for the first round looking for the knock out punch.  

The punch didn’t come till the second round but it was quite a doozy.  As Bisping circled to his left he met square on with huge Henderson right that put him asleep on his feet.  Hendo followed it up with an equally powerful forearm for good measure.

I believe I [shut him up] for a little while, I don’t know if he’ll ever shut his mouth completely, though. Normally, I’m not that way in fights. I know if a guy is out. I tend to stop. I knew I hit him out. I think that last one was just to shut him up a little bit.”

First right hand = good night, the second = sleep tight!

Hendo should be considered the number one contender for Anderson Silva after three straight victories.  He has also stated he would take a fight in the light heavyweight division.  

Japanese super star Yoshihiro Akiyama made a successful UFC debut with a controversial split-decision victory over Alan Belcher.

Both fighters seemed to gas after the first round and the fight was real sloppy but did earn fight of the night honors; earning both fighters a cool $100,000.

Top Middleweight contender Jon Fitch secured yet another victory over unbeaten Paulo Thiago.

Fitch outwrestled and fended off the submissions from Thiago and exacted a little revenge for teammate Josh Koscheck.

UFC 100 was entertaining and I can’t wait for what the future holds for MMA!

OFFICIAL RESULTS
• Jon Fitch def. Paulo Thiago via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Brock Lesnar def Frank Mir via knockout (punches) - Round 2, 1:48 to retain UFC heavyweight title
• Georges St-Pierre def. Thiago Alves via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-44, 50-45) to retain UFC welterweight title
• Dan Henderson def. Michael Bisping via knockout (punches) - Round 2, 3:20
• Yoshihiro Akiyama def. Alan Belcher via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
PRELIMINARY CARD RESULTS
• Mark Coleman def. Stephan Bonnar via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Jim Miller def. Mac Danzig via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Jon Jones def. Jake O’Brien via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 2, 2:43
• Dong Hyun Kim def. T.J. Grant via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
• Tom Lawlor defeats C.B. Dollway via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 0:55
• Shannon Gugerty def. Matt Grice via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 2:36

You had to be there to see it live, but for those who weren’t heres a funny video from Joe Rogan himself!

Well Ladies and Gentlemen, this past weekend marked the date for the first ever UFC Fan Expo!

The event was a hit with thousands of MMA fans from around the world and hundreds of vendors attending this historical event.

Larry Pepe with Pro MMA Radio joined Bodybuilding.com at the Expo for interviews with some of the top MMA fighters in the world.

Here is a preview of what is to come, this is an interview with Joseph Benavidez. More interviews will be posted tomorrow including Nate Marquardt, Stitch Duran, Martin Kampmann and Rashad Evans!

We will keep you posted with updates when these are finished being put up.

Check out Larry Pepe and Joseph Benavidez on Pro MMA Radio right here!

UFC 100’s Main Card is set to begin live and on Pay Per View. We’ll have a full wrap up with Yahoo’s Kevin Iole and ESPN’s Jon Anik on this Monday’s Pro MMA Radio. Make sure to check it out!

UFC Hall of Famer Mark "The Hammer" Coleman is known as the Godfather of Ground and Pound. The collegiate All-American wrestler literally changed the game in the early UFC days by introducing the world to the concept of taking a guy down and beating on him until it’s all over. After a long hiatus from the UFC, he returned to the promotion to face Shogun Rua in his first trip down to 205. He lost by third round stoppage after neither fighter displayed any noticeable cardio after the first minute or two of the fight. His opponent, Stephan Bonnar, also comes in off a loss. After a 15 month absence from the cage to have reconstructive knee surgery, he fought rising UFC star Jon Jones and got manhandled. Both fighters came into this one with plenty to prove.

The first round saw Coleman succeed in taking Bonnar down only to find himself in several bad positions as a result of Stephan’s very underated jiu jitsu game. Most damaging was Stephan’s ability to get a kneeling crucifix and hammer "The Hammer" with elbows that opened a small cut on the legend. In the second round, Bonnar rocked Coleman and went for a spinning leg kick that backfired. He got taken down and opened up badly by a vintage Coleman elbow. Mark kept Stephan on the ground for the remainder of the round escaping some submissions and winning the round. Coleman came out for the third round with plenty of energy, like a different fighter than we saw against Rua. He took Bonnar down again and maintained top position for the final three minutes and scored a unanimous 29-28 decision. Wow!  

Jim Miller entered the Octagon tonight after suffering his first loss since coming to the UFC against Xtreme Couture standout Gray Maynard. His opponent, fellow Couture trainee and Ultimate Fighter champ, Mac Danzig, came in on a two fight losing streak, deeply in need of a victory or risk being in danger of getting released from the UFC’s stacked lightweight division.

The first round saw Jim take Mac down and rain down a huge elbow on the forehead that opened him up immediately…and badly. He was bleeding so bad after the dominant Miller round that famed cutman Stitch Duran couldn’t even stop it from bleeeding between rounds. Round 2 saw Miller repeat the pattern, taking Danzig down in the first minute and dominating until the final seconds of the round when Mac locked in a tight guillotine that might have ended it if the round were a few seconds longer.

The first two and a half minutes of the final round saw a back and forth stand up battle. Miller again took it to the ground and looked like he might finish with a choke before Danzig reversed the position in a wild scramble but it was much too little too late. Miller wins a unanimous decision 30-27.

Jon Jones remained undefeated in three fights in the UFC with a nice mix of diverse striking, a spinning elbow and a no arm D’arce choke that forced Jake O’Brien to tap in round two seconds before he went unconscious. Jon never used his wrestling offensively against the fellow wrestler, instead opting to use his reach advantage, take down defense and never displayed submission game to secure the win.

We all heard that Stun Gun Kim was the most popular Korean MMA fighter in the world. But his first two fights, a narrow split decision victory over Matt Brown and a loss later ruled a no contest against Karo Parysian, showed that the big welterweight had talent and very poor cardio.

Kim showed improved cardio tonight and a judo clinic that saw him take a dominant top position in each round against TJ Grant en route to a clear unanimous decision. It really looked like a mismatch from the opening bell to the end of the fight, with TJ having only a brief moment of connecting in the stand up in the third round.

After having Grice in several submission attempts, the end comes early as Shannon locked in a guillotine, rolled Matt over and put him to sleep. Referee Herb Dean realized Grice was in serious trouble and put an end to his early nap late in the first round.

Next up Tom Lawlor granted CB Dolloway and quick nap in 55 seconds with a guillotine. This was Lawlor’s first fight at 185 and was very impressive. Lawlor has a great sense of humor and joked in the post fight about going up to heavyweight and calling out the winner of the Lesnar/Mir fight and then going down to 170 and asking for the winner of GSP/Alves. One guy who I’m guessing doesn’t find Lawlor amusing…CB Dolloway.

We’re live at 4:30 PST. The biggest event in MMA history is underway with Shannon Gugerty vs. Matt Grice. Gugerty showed great submission skills in his first UFC fight while Grice was the vicitim of an early ref stoppage, in my opinion, when he debuted against Vreech.

Here we go!

Las Vegas, Nevada – The Ultimate Fighting Championship continues to make fighting history with yet another huge night of stellar fights.  The monumental 100th show boasts some of the biggest names in UFC history.  

A heavyweight title fight between Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir will headline this monster card Saturday night.  Champion versus champion, these two monsters look to settle the bad blood that continues to boil between the two.

The behemoth known as Brock Lesnar is fresh off his victory over Randy Couture back in November where he captured the UFC heavyweight strap.  Revenge is undoubtedly on his mind as Frank Mir spoiled his UFC debut.  

Frank Mir, who is never at a loss for words, continues to take jabs at the former WWE star only adding more fuel to the fire.  

Mir is a talented BJJ fighter with improving standup.  He showcased how well his striking has improved with his latest victory over Noguiera.  He stood up with Pride legend and knocked him down time after time and finished him for the first time in the second round.

Lesnar as we all know is a stud wrestler and continues to improve in all facets of MMA.  The power he possesses is godlike and he uses his lunch box hands to cause brain damage.  

Mir has said he’s willing to stand and trade with Lesnar and that might be a huge mistake, it only takes on of those powerful punches from Lesnar to turn yo lights out!

Mir needs to utilize his superior ground game and hopes he catches Lesnar with yet another submission.  Can Mir put his whole game together Saturday night or will Lesnar continue his reign of dominance?

Georges St. Pierre has been a man possessed since his third fight with Matt Hughes.  Since recapturing the UFC welterweight title GSP has look unbeatable.  He’ll face his biggest test to date in form of the Brazilian Thiago Alves.

Alves is a big strong welterweight with a tight muay thai game.  His leg kicks are punishing and has strong clinch game with dangerous knees.  He dismantled UFC legend Matt Hughes knocking him out with a flying knee and dominated Josh Koscheck not long ago.

Alves’ leg kicks are his bread and butter, but will he be exploited by the superior wrestling of the champion?

GSP has proven to be the best wrestler in the welterweight division and this may pay dividends with the kick happy Alves.  If GSP can take Alves down and ground and pound him, it could be an early night for the challenger.  

This might all be too premature if Alves can’t make weight.  He’s a huge welterweight and has had his troubles in the past cutting weight.  His cardio might be affected due to this as well.  The longer the fight lasts, the better the odds for the champion.  

Alves has the knockout power but GSP is just too damn good and polished for him to take his title away.

With a potential middleweight title shot in the future, Dan Henderson will face Michael Bisping.  Team UK dominated Team USA during this latest season of TUF, but how will the coaches fare?

Bisping is quick and uses his agility to stay out of harms way.  He may not have knockout power in his hands, but his hands are quick and over time will take their toll.

Henderson will look to out wrestle Bisping and keep him on his back.  Henderson is known for his huge right hand, but that’s all he’s got standing up.  

Henderson has shown weakness to submissions over the years and Bisping might want to look for submissions throughout the fight.  

Bisping is the underdog, but I like his footwork and he might pepper himself to a title shot.

Yoshihiro Akiyama, a Japanese Judoka makes his much anticipated UFC debut against Alan Belcher.  Belcher has been known to spoil debuts of stars coming from over seas.  

Jon Fitch seeks revenge for Josh Koscheck as he faces submission specialist Paulo Thiago.  

UFC 100 – Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas

MAIN CARD
• Champ Brock Lesnar vs. interim champ Frank Mir (heavyweight title unification)
• Champ Georges St. Pierre vs. Thiago Alves (for welterweight title)
• Jon Fitch vs. Paulo Thiago
• Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson
• Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alan Belcher
PRELIMINARY CARD
• Stephan Bonnar vs. Mark Coleman
• Mac Danzig vs. Jim Miller
• Jon Jones vs. Jake O’Brien
• C.B. Dollaway vs. Tom Lawlor
• Matt Grice vs. Shannon Gugerty
• T.J. Grant vs. Dong Hyun Kim

It all started November 12, 1993 in Denver, Colorado where Royce Gracie put on a Brazilian jiu-jitsu clinic capturing the first ever Ultimate Fighting Championship title.  

I personally stumbled upon the UFC back in 1997.  I remember it like it was yesterday, I was channel surfing in my sister’s room and a channel that was usually scrambled was coming in crystal clear.  

Growing up an avid WWE fan, I quickly recognized Tony Halme or ‘Ludvig Borga’ as he’s known in the WWE community, but he wasn’t in the squared circle, but some sort of cage.  Halme, a behemoth of a man, was facing little known Randy Couture in their respected UFC debuts.  

Figuring that Halme was much larger than Couture, a boxing champion and he had to be a much superior wrestler since he’d faced the likes of the Undertaker and Lex Luger while in the WWE; he would have no problem disposing of Couture.  To my surprise he was quickly taken down and choked out by the future hall of famer and was never seen in the octagon again.  

True story!

The UFC has had its ups and downs like any business, but this Saturday night is truly a special milestone as they hit the century mark with UFC 100.

The fight capitol of the world, Las Vegas, NV will be electrified with a stellar night of fights that features two title fights.

A rematch between UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and Interim champion Frank Mir will be the main event.  

The co-main event will feature the UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre as he defends against Thiago Alves.

The coaches from this latest season of The Ultimate Fighter will finally come to blows as Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson look to inch closer to a middleweight title shot.

I’ll have an in depth preview of all the main card fights later today.  So check back!

Boise, ID – July 7, 2009 – Bodybuilding.com, the world leader in online sports nutrition, is set to rock the first-ever UFC Fan Expo at UFC 100 on Friday July 10th (10:00am to 7:00pm) and Saturday July 11th (10:00am to 4:00pm) at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. With a super-sized booth located front and center at the Expo Hall entrance, Bodybuilding.com will be a central buzz-point for this year’s Fan Expo.

Bodybuilding.com will be airing Larry Pepe’s live Pro MMA Radio show directly from the booth throughout the expo. A veteran radio personality and journalist, Larry informs listeners on how fighters mentally, physically, and emotionally prepare themselves for the octagon, how they train, what types of supplements they use to maximize their performance, and provides expert analysis with industry insiders and even the fighters themselves. Those who aren’t fortunate enough to make it to the Fan Expo this year can listen to replays of the event at:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/pro_mma_radio_shows.htm.

Both Friday and Saturday will be packed with headlining talent in the Bodybuilding.com booth. MMA celebrities Rashad Evans, Wanderlei Silva, Mike Brown, Diego Sanchez, Kenny Florian, and many others are expected to make appearances and sign autographs. Top fitness models and bodybuilders, along with MMA fighter and television personality Kit Cope, will be manning the booth and handing out freebies, including nutritional supplements, Bodybuilding.com gear, and the Fan Expo T-shirt you won’t want to go home without!

The UFC Fan Expo is scheduled to feature over 100 companies from industries including apparel, electronic gaming, food & beverages, fight gear and fitness equipment, MMA training and development, nutritional supplements, lifestyle products, and more. Among UFC Fan Expo activities will be meet-and-greets with legendary UFC and WEC fighters, MMA demonstrations, fan-inspired special events, training and development sessions, and other exciting opportunities and entertainment. All UFC Fan Expo activities are planned in conjunction with UFC 100, including a free-to-the-public weigh-in event on Friday, July 10th.

The UFC Fan Expo is a must-see event for all MMA fans, so make sure to stop by the Bodybuilding.com booth #501 to start this action-packed weekend off right!

For more information visit:
http://blog.bodybuilding.com/UFCblog/2009/06/16/bodybuildingcoms-ufc-fan-expo-booth/

Bodybuilding.com offers more than 10,000 health and fitness supplements & accessories to help people achieve their fitness goals. They offer more than 25,000 pages of FREE bodybuilding & fitness information, including more than 12,000 articles (written by 525+ writers), video & audio segments, and new content added daily.

For more information: www.bodybuilding.com
Contact: Crystal Matthews
Email: crystal@bodybuilding.com
Phone: 208.472.9311