The UFC Blog

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Live from Omaha Nebraska, and FREE on SpikeTV UFN 15 Diaz VS Neer!

Winner of the Ultimate Fighter 5 Nate Diaz will look to remain undfeated within the lightweight division as he squares off with Josh "The Dentist" Neer.

Diaz is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brown Belt under Cesar Gracie and has outstanding submission skills.  He loves to fight and brings that mentality to each of his fights.  He will have a tough test tonight in the form of Josh Neer.

Neer is a team Miletich fighter out of Iowa, he’s trained with Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia and Jens Pulver, so we know he has some skills.  At only 25 years old he has over 30 fights under his belt.  This will be his second fight within the lightweight division.

Should be a great night of fights!  Check out my preview!

I’m at Mick Doyle’s gym in Omaha, Nebraska. This is where Houston Alexander trains. He’s been busy doing interviews all day. Tonight I’m here photographing/filming him train one last time before his fight on Wednesday.

I just learned he will be the first fight on the brodcast. Those fights start at 7pm. Check back for more info and stay tuned this week for my video from Mick Doyle’s gym.

Light heavyweight James Irvin has tested positive for Methadone and Oxymorphone, following his first round technical knockout loss to Anderson Silva at UFC Fight Night 14 on July 19, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).

Oxymorphone is a pain reliever prescribed to alleviate moderate to severe pain. Methadone is most commonly prescribed to recovering heroin addicts or for the management of chronic pain.

The “Sandman” has 20 days to respond and request a formal hearing to dispute the finding. If the ruling is upheld he faces a possible fine and suspension.  He was the only fighter to test positive for banned substances!

After a controversial TKO loss to the eye gouge of Kevin Burns, Anthony Johnson will appeal his loss that in my opinion should have either ended in a no contest or he should’ve been give ample time to recoop.  The ref’s view was blocked so he did not see the accidental eye gouge but stuff happens.  

Quote from Johnson, "I’m going to appeal it and my agent, Ken Pavia, is going to appeal it and Dana thought it was bullshit whether it was unintentional or not. I don’t think the UFC wants fights to end that way. Right now, we just want to get this whole situation taken care of in the right way, but I would love a rematch! I was pretty disappointed in the TKO call. Burns was a test and they put a decent grappler against a decent striker and I think I held my own because he never came close to pulling off a submission on me. Everyone knows what type of person I am and this won’t set me back.”

Check out all the photos from the fights and a few from the press conference following the event. I managed to get a shot with the champ himself at the end of the night. Next time I will try to be a little more awake. Guess I’ll have to pack an energy drink or three.

We’ll be uploading and posting all the fight photos tomorrow but here are a couple to hold you over until then. It was another fun night of UFC action.If you watched the fight on SPIKE tv and saw a dude in a red jersey and blue hat - that was me. I had a few people text me and tell me they saw me which is pretty cool.  I’m wiped but will write more tomorrow when I’m back in Denver.

Anderson Silva knocks James Irvin in 1st round.

Brandon Vera wins all three rounds.

Frank Edgar wins all three rounds.

-Kevin Burns def. Anthony Johnson by TKO at 3:35, R3
-C.B. Dollaway def. Jesse Taylor by submission (peruvian neck tie) at 3:58, R1
-Tim Credeur def. Cale Yarbrough by TKO at 1:54, R1
-Rory Markham def. Brodie Farber by KO at 1:47, R1
-Nate Loughran def. Johnny Rees by submission (triangle choke) at 4:21, R1
-Brad Blackburn def. James Gaboo by TKO (strikes) at 2:29, R2
-Shannon Gugerty def. Dale Hartt by submission (rear naked choke) at 3:33, R1

Cain Velasquez  wins via TKO from at least 40 straight punches.

Kevin Burns wins via TKO at 3:35 of the third round in a very odd way. Johnson got poked in the eye and fell to the ground, the ref stopped it.

CB Dollways wins via a Peruvian necktie submission in the first round.

Here is what everyone weighed in at:

Main Event - Light Heavyweight Bout

James Irvin (206*) VS Anderson Silva (206)

Reese Andy (206) VS Brandon Vera (204)

Frank Edgar (155) VS Hermes Franca (155)
Jake O’Brien (236) VS Cain Velasquez (236)
Kevin Burns (171) VS Anthony Johnson (170)
CB Dollaway (186) VS Jesse Taylor (184)

Brodie Farber (171) VS Rory Markham (170)
Johnny Rees (183) VS Nate Loughran (183)
James Giboo (170) VS Brad Blackburn (170)
Dale Hartt (156) VS Shannon Gugerty (156)
Cale Yarbrough (186) VS Tim Credeur (185)

Just got back from the weigh ins for the event and everyone made weight with the exception of main event fighter James Irvin, who weighed in at 207.5, a pound and a half over the 206 limit. (The weight class tops out at 205, but there is a one pound grace if it isn’t a title fight). An hour later he came back and made weight at 206, same as Anderson.

This was my first event as media and I can tell you that the atmosphere is very chill. Everyone I ran into was very friendly and accommodating and you can understand why the UFC is the mega-organization that it is. Everything started on time, ran efficiently and was set up to make sure that the media members were well-positioned to observe and photograph the event for the best possible coverage. First rate all the way. BB.com photographer of the year Isaac Hinds was in the house snapping away, so make sure to check out his photos of the fighters in their most depleted state making weight. Then check ‘em out tomorrow night and you’ll get an idea of how much these guys cut to make it. Anthony Johnson told weighed in at 170 and expects to be 185 tomorrow, while his opponent, Kevin Burns, weighed in at the same 170 and said he’ll come in between 190 and 195. 20-15 pounds in a day!
From on-site reporter:

What I was most pleased about was the response of the fighters, managers and other MMA media when I introduced myself them and gave them a business card for our new show, Pro MMA Radio.

Dean Lister, Marcus Davis, Rory Markham, Cain Velasquez, Strikeforce Lightweight Champ Josh Thompson all immediately accepted invitations to come on the show as well as ESPN’s Franklin McNeil and Steve Cofield. Anthony Johnson and his manager, Ken Pavia, both thanked me for the interview we did with AJ and Ken said that we are welcome to have any of his stable of fighters on the show whenever we want to.

The bottom line is that Pro MMA Radio is growing and being recognized in the MMA community and we’ve only just begun. Tomorrow, when I go to the actual event, I’ll continue to network and gather more guests that will keep the show rockin’.

Make sure to tune in to Spike TV at 6PM PST, 9 PM EST tomorrow to see the best pound for pound fighter in the world and a great card, FREE!  

Everyone made weight and the fights are set. James Irvin had to strip down to nothing but he made it. It’s going to be a fun night in Vegas tomorrow night.

An interesting set of tactics is happening with the UFC vs Affliction BANNED. Affliction is promoting their fight on the Gold Coast sign across from the Palms. It is a direct agenda against the UFC’s fight that is taking place across the street at The Palms. I’m staying at the Luxor hotel and when I returned from the weigh-ins there was a message on my phone. The message was promoting the UFC fight and let me know where I could watch and bet on the event.

It’s a great time to be a UFC fan. Watch for me on SPIKE TV tomorrow night. I’ll be the guy where the red BSN jersey, photographing the fight ringside.

Check them out on the Pro MMA Radio show tonight:

This week we welcome Brandon "The Truth" Vera just days before his UFC debut at 205 this weekend at UFC Fight Night 14. Brandon comes off a controversial loss to Fabricio Verdum that left him fuming and wanting back in the Octagon as soon as possible.

Also on the show this week is the holder of the biggest upset in the UFC this year, welterweight Kevin Burns. "The Fire" debuted at UFC 85 against overwhelming favorite Roan Carneiro, a BJJ black belt from American Top Team. Kevin shocked the world by submitting Roan in the second round and now faces KO artist Anthony Johnson this weekend. AJ was here on Pro MMA last week, and now it’s Kevin’s turn.

And in the Opening Round, FightHype’s main man, Percy Crawford comes in to break down the loaded Affliction card going head to head with the UFC event on the 19th.

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

WW

I used to live in Omaha, Nebraska where I worked at a big advertising agency and got my learn on at an art college. That’s not really relevant to this story but anyone who has lived in Omaha or currently lives there has to be excited for the city. The web site MMAmania.com has confirmed that the next UFC Fight Night 14 will be held in Omaha. Look for Houston Alexander to bounce back from loosing two in a row in front of his hometown crowd. He is slated to fight on this card. The main event has yet to be announced but stay tuned for more details as they are announced. Midwest fans will get a taste for what the UFC is all about on September 17, 2008.

Kenny Florian vs Joe Lauzon

Kenny starts the fight with a vicious kick that you hear aroudn the ring.  Joe gets him to the ground but Kenny lands some nasty elbows to the back of the head adn the ref checks it out.  joe is bleeding badly.  Kenny hits a nasty kick to the stomach and takes Joe to the ground.  Joe is still bbleeding badly and it is all over the ring.  Joe gets to his fieet and the crowd goes wild.  Joe gets the takedown.  He is in full guard. and starts to land a few elbows.  Joe gets half guard but losses it but regains it.  Kenny is really preventing Joe from doing any real damage.  Joe locks down one of Kennys arms and grabs an anke but does nothing with it.  Kenny goes for the take down but Joe sprawls out and he gest nothing.  Joe gets another take down and is in full guard.  He goes for the ankle again and doest get it again.  Kenny gets on top of Joe and tries to get a few good punches in.  Wow, what an exciting fight!

Kenny goes for a knee to head but Joe blocks it.  Kenny goes for hte take down and getss it.  Kenny is in full guard pounding away on Joe.  Kenny gets a few good elbows to his doem and Joe gets lose, Kenyn regains control and is back in full guard.  Kenny is trying to do damaage but nothing occurs as Joe is weasles his way out of being hurt.   Joe is looking verry tired and is getting hit blow after blow while on full guard.  Kenny is really just pounding the crap out of Joe.    The fight is stopped as Joe is unable to defend himself.  Kenny wins via TKO.