Coming off of a controversial decision victory over Brandon “The Truth” Vera at UFC 105, Hall of Famer and former two-division champion Randy “The Natural” Couture will look to make it two in a row when he returns to the Octagon against fellow Hall of Famer Mark “The Hammer” Coleman in the main event at UFC 109.
Couture was originally set to face Coleman all the way back at UFC 17 in 1998, but an injury forced the bout’s cancellation. Now, well over 11 years later, the two legends will finally meet.
The world’s top-ranked female fighter, Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii, will return to action on November 23rd at Shooto: “Revolutionary Exchanges 3” at JCB Hall in Tokyo, Japan when she takes on veteran striker “Windy” Tomomi Sunaba in the lone women’s bout on the card.
With the loss of the originally scheduled main event between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez, UFC 108 will now be headlined by a light heavyweight showdown between former champion “Sugar” Rashad Evans and fellow top contender Thiago Silva.
With plans to hold as many as three events per month in 2010, Zuffa, LLC is reportedly considering merging its Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) promotions into a single brand in order to add new talent and competition to its events next year.
After suffering another severe staph infection, former UFC Interim and PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled main event bout against rising star Cain Velasquez at UFC 108. The news was confirmed by UFC President Dana White at the UFC 105 post-fight press conference.
Headlined by a pitoval light heavyweight bout between Randy “The Natural” Couture and Brandon “The Truth” Vera, UFC 105 determined the career direction for many of the participants on the main card as some aimed for title contention while others fought to stay relevant in the sport.
Less than one week after leaving the Sengoku promotion and his long-time home at the Grabaka Gym, top star Kazuo Misaki has agreed to face Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba in a featured middleweight bout on the massive K-1 Dynamite!! “Power of Courage 2009” card on New Year’s Eve.
Less than two years after rising from the ashes of Pride Fighting Championships, World Victory Road and its “Sengoku” events may soon come to an end after the promotion’s main sponsor, Japanese retail giant Don Quijote, withdrew its financial support and joined with rival MMA promotion DREAM.