One day after scheduled title challenger Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort was forced to withdraw due to injury, jiu-jitsu ace Demian Maia has stepped in to face Anderson “The Spider” Silva for the UFC Middleweight Championship at UFC 112. The promotion confirmed the fight earlier today.
Maia was thought to be on the fast track to a title shot until his 21-second knockout loss to Nate “The Great” Marquardt at UFC 102, but he rebounded with an impressive decision win over Dan Miller at UFC 109. He will need to be even more impressive when he challenges Silva.
The injury bug continues to cause problems for the UFC, as title challenger Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming UFC Middleweight Championship bout with Anderson “The Spider” Silva. Tatame.com first reported on the cancellation of the UFC 112 fight.
Fresh off of his victory over fellow UFC Hall of Famer Mark “The Hammer” Coleman at UFC 109, former UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion Randy “The Natural” Couture may clash with former 185-pound champ Rich “Ace” Franklin at UFC 115 on June 12th. Sherdog.com first reported on the proposed light heavyweight bout.
The Ultimate Fighter 7 winner Amir Sadollah is likely to return to competition at UFC 114. The charismatic welterweight has verbally agreed to face undefeated Korean standout Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim on the May 29th card. MMAWeekly.com first reported on the bout earlier today.
Capped off by a shocking upset in the main event, GCM’s all-female Valkyrie promotion put on an excellent event tonight at “Valkyrie 4.” Rising star Mei “V Hajime” Yamaguchi captured the Valkyrie Featherweight Championship with a first-round submission of Yuka “Vale Tudo Queen” Tsuji in one of the biggest upsets in women’s MMA history.
After dropping back-to-back fights in his promotional return, former two-time title challenger Frank “Twinkle Toes” Trigg is the latest name to be cut from the UFC. MMAjunkie.com first reported on Trigg’s dismissal, which follows earlier reports that Mark Coleman, Tim Hague and Phillipe Nover had all been terminated from the UFC after losses at UFC 109.
Following losses at UFC 109 on Saturday, UFC Hall of Famer Mark “The Hammer” Coleman, heavyweight Tim “The Thrashing Machine” Hague and highly-touted lightweight Phillipe Nover have all been cut from the UFC. FiveOuncesOfPain.com was first to report on Coleman’s termination and further roster cuts are possible.
Middleweight fan favourites “Filthy” Tom Lawlor and “Crazy” Tim Credeur have verbally agreed to square off at UFC 113 in Montreal. The planned May 8th bout was first reported on The Underground MMA forum today and has since been confirmed by multiple sources.