Archived News Posts - 2008 Q2
Strikeforce: Melendez vs Thomson Results
Capping off a largely successful night at Strikeforce, Josh "The Punk" Thomson captured the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship from Gilbert "El Niño" Melendez in one of the most dominant title fight performances in quite some time.The lone blemish of the night was the horrendous Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship bout between Bobby Southworth and Anthony Ruiz, which surely put many to sleep. |
Dewees To Face Nogueira At "Banned"
With Vernon "Tiger" White reportedly dropped from the upcoming Affliction: Banned event due to a failed drug test, UFC veteran Edwin "Bam Bam" Dewees has stepped in to face Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira on the July 26th card.White apparently tested positive for a banned diuretic following a recent fight in a local promotion, prompting Affliction officials to drop him from the card in favour of Dewees. |
Diaz Pulled From Dream.5
Much the same way as when he was initially removed from the Dream.3 card, Nick Diaz has once again been pulled from a DREAM event by EliteXC management. He will no longer compete at Dream.5, and is expected to face KJ Noons in EliteXC soon.Diaz is a major part of the EliteXC promotion, so the decision is not without merit, but it could potentially put into jeopardy the growing relationship between EliteXC and DREAM. |
The Ultimate Fighter 7 Results
In the finals of The Ultimate Fighter Season 7, Amir Sadollah once again submitted CB Dollaway with an armbar to win the UFC contract, while Kendall Grove managed to land enough strikes to take a Split Decision over an aging Evan Tanner.The judging in the main event seemed somewhat confusing, as one judge scored the close fight 29-28 for Tanner, while the others somehow saw it as a dominating 30-26 win for Grove. |
Kim Couture Loses Pro Debut
Making her professional mixed martial arts debut at Banner Promotions: Night Of Combat, Kim Couture, wife of UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture, was completely demolished by Kim Rose, en route to a highly lopsided Unanimous Decision loss.In the main event of the evening, UFC veterans John "The Natural" Alessio and "The Secret Weapon" Pete Spratt engaged in a highly competitive back-and-forth battle. |
Silva vs Irvin On July 19th
Confirming their rumoured July 19th event on Spike TV, the UFC has announced that the main event will feature UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva's debut at light heavyweight, as he takes on "The Sandman" James Irvin.Also on the card will be a second light heavyweight showdown, pitting Brandon "The Truth" Vera - in his light heavyweight debut - against former IFL standout Reese Andy. |
UFC Planning July 19th Event
Clearly threatened by the stacked card at Affliction: "Banned" on July 19th, the UFC is planning to hold an event on the same night, airing live on Spike TV. The rumoured main event features Wanderlei Silva taking on Brandon Vera.This is obviously nothing more than a desperate ploy by the UFC, which has seen many of its top fighters leave recently, to keep fans from tuning in to the stacked competitor's card. |
Dream.5 Tournament Matches Chosen
As part of a random drawing during Dream.4, the semi-finalists in the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix drew their Dream.5 opponents. The final two bouts will see Eddie Alvarez battle Tatsuya Kawajiri while Caol Uno takes on Shinya Aoki.The tournament semi-finals and finals at Dream.5 are set to take place on July 25th at the Osaka Dome in Osaka, Japan, and will air live on HDNet Fights in North America. |
DREAM: Olympia Dream.4 Results
Following up on the success of Dream.3, the DREAM promotion put on another incredible show at Olympia Dream.4, with Melvin Manhoef, Gegard Mousasi, Zelg Galesić and Ronalo Souza all advancing in the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix.In the first bout of the evening, Shinya Aoki used an incredible Gogoplata submission from mount position to defeat Katsuhiko Nagata and move on in the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix. |
EliteXC's Return To CBS Announced
During the EliteXC broadcast Saturday night, it was announced that EliteXC will be returning to CBS for "Saturday Night Fights" on July 26th, featuring a Middleweight Championship rematch between Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith.The event is not expected to feature EliteXC's major star, Kimbo Slice, but a number of significant fights are rumoured to be in place for the card, which could be vital to EliteXC's future. |
EliteXC: "Return of the King" Results
KJ Noons's return to his homeland of Hawaii was a triumphant success, as he stopped veteran challenger Yves Edwards early in the first round of their Lightweight Championship bout at EliteXC's "Return of the King" Saturday night.Tempers flared after the title fight when KJ's father got into a scrap with both Nick and Nate Diaz, prompting security to flood the ring to separate all parties involved. |
Adrenaline MMA 1 Results
Adrenaline MMA's debut show in Chicago was largely a success, with a number of fast-paced bouts and exciting finishes. In the heavyweight main event, highly-touted Mike Russow submitted Jason Guida with a front neck crank in round one.The lone blemishes on the card were the horrible opening bout of the telecast between Joe Jordan and Ryan Williams, and an unfortunate disqualification in the night's co-main event. |
World Victory Road "Sengoku III" Results
While attendance suffered due to an extreme lack of promotion for the event, World Victory Road put on another solid show at "Sengoku III" and Hidehiko Yoshida got back on the winning track with a submission victory over Maurice Smith.The undercard featured a number of upsets, most notably Travis "Diesel" Wiuff doing the seemingly impossible by knocking out the granite-chinned Kazuyuki "Ironhead" Fujita in round one. |
UFC 85 Results & Recap
UFC 85 was a reasonably decent event for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, especially given the number of late changes that had to be made to the card, and Thiago "Pitbull" Alves upset Matt Hughes in the final fight of the night.The event was not without controversy, with a questionable stoppage in the Fabricio Werdum vs Brandon Vera fight and excessive point deductions for Nate Marquardt against Thales Leites. |
UFC 85 Predictions
UFC 85: Bedlam is mere hours away, and MMARising.com looks over the chaotic card. While the event appears somewhat lacklustre on paper, there will undoubtedly be a number of exciting battles later tonight in London, England.The event, which has undergone more changes than perhaps any other UFC card in history, is headlined by a battle between Thiago "Pitbull" Alves and Matt Hughes. |
Alves Fails To Make Weight
Just one week after Gina Carano missed weight at EliteXC: Primetime, the UFC now faces the same issue after Thiago "Pitbull" Alves weighed in at 174 pounds for his UFC 85 bout with Matt Hughes. The fight will now be a catchweight.UFC management cannot be pleased with this turn of events, especially after the backlash when Travis Lutter missed weight before his fight with Anderson Silva last year. |
EliteXC Draws Record Ratings
Although the event was not without its share of controversy, EliteXC's "Primetime" debut on CBS was the most watched live MMA event in television history, with an average of 4.9 million viewers tuning in throughout the night.Ratings peaked between 11:30 and 11:51 P.M. Eastern time, when 6.51 million viewers tuned in to watch the final fight of the evening between Kimbo Slice and James Thompson. |
World Extreme Cagefighting 34 Results
While it started slow, WEC 34 ended with two of the best fights of the year, with Miguel Torres successfully defending his WEC Bantamweight Championship against Yoshiro Maeda and Urijah Faber defeating Jens Pulver in the main event.This card was one of the best that the WEC has put on to date, and exactly what MMA needed after the debacle the night before. |
EliteXC: Primetime Results
What began with great potential ended in controversy, as a pair of highly questionable doctor and referee stoppages plagued the final two fights of the evening at EliteXC: Primetime on CBS, leaving many questions left to be answered.One highlight of the night was the women's bout between Gina "Conviction" Carano and Kaitlin Young, which was an incredible battle, but Carano's failure to make weight created controversy. |
Carano Misses Weight
After desperate struggles to make the 140-pound limit in each of her last two fights, Gina Carano officially failed to make weight for her EliteXC bout tomorrow, weighing in at 144½ pounds. Her fight with Kaitlin Young is still on.Young was given the option of declining the fight and walking away with her "show" purse, but opted to allow the fight to go on as planned, and will receive 12.5% of Carano's fight purse as a penalty. |
EliteXC: Primetime Predictions
Mixed martial arts makes its debut on primetime network television this Saturday, at EliteXC: Primetime on CBS, and MMARising.com offers a complete analysis of the event's main card, with predictions for each historic fight.EliteXC: Primetime will air live this Saturday night on most CBS affiliates. Don't miss this historic night of action as mixed martial arts invades primetime network television for the first time. |
UFC 84 Results & Recap
Putting on one of their best events in years, the Ultimate Fighting Championship had great success with UFC 84, as BJ Penn, Wanderlei Silva, Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva all emerged victorious in their bouts on the main card.The night was filled with stoppage victories, with a series of fights ending in knockouts and two early bouts ending with extremely slick submissions. |
UFC 84 Predictions
As we get ready for UFC 84: Ill Will tomorrow night, MMARising.com breaks down the card from top to bottom, with the usual blend of humour, insight and predictions for one of the better events that the UFC has recently assembled.The event showcases a UFC Lightweight Championship bout between champion "The Prodigy" BJ Penn and challenger Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk, with two solid co-main events as well. |
Dream.4 Fights Announced
At a press conference earlier today, DREAM producer Keiichi Sasahara announced the four Middleweight Grand Prix matchups for Dream.4, including Kazushi Sakuraba vs Melvin Manhoef and Ronaldo "Jacaré" Souza vs Jason "Mayhem" Miller.The other two second-round bouts will see Gegard Mousasi take on Dong Sik Yoon, while Zelg Galesić will fight a rematch with Taiei Kin after their previous bout ended prematurely due to a cut. |
Major Changes To UFC 87
Injuries continue to plague the UFC, as former UFC Heavyweight Champion Mark Coleman has been forced to withdraw from his bout with Brock Lesnar after tearing his MCL. Georges St. Pierre will now face Jon Fitch in the main event.The UFC 87 announcement comes on the heels of a series of changes to the upcoming UFC 85 card, where injuries have cancelled many of the main card bouts that were originally scheduled. |
More Changes To UFC 85
The changes keep coming to the shell-shocked UFC 85 card, after James Irvin has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled bout with Rashad Evans. A potential Evans vs Luis Cane match has also been shelved, with Evans now out entirely.The nickname for the event, "Bedlam," now more accurately describes the disaster of the card itself, which has suffered over half a dozen changes since its initial announcement. |
World Victory Road "Sengoku II" Results
In its second event, World Victory Road once again put on a quality show with many excellent fights, on a night that culminated with "The Babyface Assassin" Josh Barnett defeating Jeff "The Snowman" Monson in a hard-fought battle.While not yet on the level of recent DREAM events, World Victory Road does appear to have a bright future in the sport, provided that they continue to showcase talented fighters and great fights. |
DREAM: Heiwa Dream.3 Results & Recap
Certainly the best event to date in 2008, Heiwa Dream.3 featured excellent matches from start to finish, with Tatsuya Kawajiri, Eddie Alvarez and Caol Uno all advancing to the next round of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix.The event served as the first true step back to major prominence for mixed martial arts in Japan, after Dream.1 and Dream.2 suffered from controversy and a handful of lacklustre fights. |
Hardcore Championship Fighting Folds
Confirming weeks of speculation, Hardcore Championship Fighting CEO Keith Crawford announced earlier today that HCF would be ceasing operations after complications arising from their proposed sale to The Score television network.The announcement comes as a surprise to many, given HCF's meteoric rise to prominence in Canada in just nine months, but reports of inner turmoil have surfaced in the past few weeks. |
Leben Out, Day In At UFC 85
After Chris Leben suffered legal issues that will see him in stuck jail for 35 days, Canadian Jason "Dooms" Day has stepped in to take on Michael "The Count" Bisping at the upcoming UFC 85 event on June 7th in London, England.Leben had voluntarily turned himself in earlier in the week after violating the terms of his parole from a DUI arrest in 2005, and was sentenced to 35 days in prison on Thursday. |
DREAM News: Diaz Back In
Just two days after initially being removed from the card, Nick Diaz will, in fact, compete at Dream.3 this Sunday. His trainer, Cesar Gracie, has confirmed that Diaz will battle Katsuya Inoue in a previously announced bout.Gracie stated that he would believe the bout when he saw it, after the repeated scheduling changes, but Diaz cut the necessary weight and later departed for Japan to take on Inoue. |
Rizzo vs Barnett II On July 19th
In a rematch of their storied battle at UFC 30 in 2001, Pedro "The Rock" Rizzo will look to make it two for two when he takes on top-3 heavyweight "The Babyface Assassin" Josh Barnett in Affliction's debut event on July 19th.The fight will serve as a co-main event on the card, with Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia taking on "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko in the final bout of the night in California. |
Diaz Pulled From DREAM Event
EliteXC President Gary Shaw has pulled Nick Diaz from this Sunday's Dream.3 battle with Katsuya Inoue in Japan, due to scheduling conflicts with Diaz's upcoming bout with Muhsin Corbbrey on June 14th at an EliteXC event.Shaw had originally allowed Diaz to compete for the Japanese promotion when Diaz was scheduled to fight on April 29th, but Diaz's bout was later changed to May 11th. |
Aoki Remains In DREAM Grand Prix
Just days after withdrawing from the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix due to injury, FEG has announced that Shinya Aoki will remain in the tournament but will compete on June 25th at Dream.4, rather than at Dream.3 this Sunday.Aoki had previously stated that he would be unable to compete at Dream.3 due to injuries, but this arrangement will allow him to remain in the Grand Prix. |
Fickett vs Shields Postponed Again
Originally scheduled to take place on March 29th, the EliteXC Welterweight Championship fight between Jake Shields and Drew Fickett will no longer take place on June 14th, after Fickett aggravated a knee injury and had to withdraw.Fickett originally injured the knee in preparation for the March 29th bout with Shields, then re-aggravated it that night when he faced Jae Suk Lim after Shields withdrew with a back injury. |
Dream.3 Fights Announced
Fighting and Entertainment Group has announced four additional bouts for its upcoming Dream.3 event on May 11th, including bouts featuring Nick Diaz, Katsuya Inoue, Jason "Mayhem" Miller and feared Dutch striker Melvin Manhoef.Manhoef will compete against Dae Won Kim in a reserve bout for the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix, in what is a continuance of Manhoef's recent string of fights against Judo practitioners. |
Aoki Withdraws From DREAM Grand Prix
Just one day after his victory over Gesias Calvancante, Shinya Aoki has officially withdrawn from the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix after suffering a facial injury against Calvancante that has prevented him from continuing.DREAM officials contacted Calvancante about taking Aoki's place in the next round of the tournament, at Dream.3 on May 11th, but Calvancante has decided against doing so. |
DREAM: Olympia Dream.2 Results & Recap
The opening round of the inaugural DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix was almost overshadowed by the lightweight rematch between Shinya Aoki and Gesias Calvancante, but Gegard Mousasi made a huge impact by submitting Denis Kang.Victorious in his battle with Calvancante, Aoki will now move on to the second round of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix, at Heiwa Dream.3, in just two weeks, where he will face Katsuhiko Nagata. |
SmackGIRL World ReMix Tournament Semi-Final Results
Undefeated 115-pound superstar Megumi "Mega Megu" Fujii continued her reign of dominance, while Ana Michelle Tavares, Hitomi Akano and Ginele Marquez were also victorious in the SmackGIRL World ReMix Tournament Semi-Finals.Fujii and Tavares will meet in the finals of the 115-pound division of the tournament, while Akano and Marquez will battle it out for the open-weight tournament title on July 24th. |
Hughes vs Alves At UFC 85
After injuries to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and "The Iceman" Chuck Liddell forced major changes to the card, UFC 85 will now be headlined by a welterweight battle between former champion Matt Hughes and rising star Thiago "Pitbull" Alves.For Hughes, this serves as a chance to climb back up the welterweight rankings, while Alves is just one big win away from a long-awaited title shot. A win over Hughes would be huge for Alves. |
Thomson vs Melendez On June 27th
Strikeforce announced earlier today that the main event of their upcoming show on June 27th will feature an incredible title bout between Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert "El Niño" Melendez and Josh "The Punk" Thomson.The lightweight battle is still two months away, but has all of the makings of a frenzied war, with the fans tuning in to the fight as the real winners. |
DREAM Moves To PPV In Japan
After its debut event did not live up to ratings expectations in Japan, future DREAM events will no longer be broadcasted on primetime television on the Tokyo Broadcasting System. Instead, unedited events will air on SkyPerfecTV PPV.This is not all bad news, as events will no longer be subject to editing due to time constraints. DREAM's Middleweight Grand Prix begins next Tuesday, April 29th. |
Barnett vs Monson at Sengoku II
World Victory Road has announced a blockbuster heavyweight bout for its upcoming Sengoku II event, as former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett will battle the former #1 heavyweight contender in the UFC, Jeff Monson.This will mark the second consecutive event where Barnett has faced off against a friend. He defeated Hidehiko Yoshida at WVR's Sengoku I, and will face another when he battles Monson. |
Liddell Injured, Out Of UFC 85
In the latest case of injury plaguing the upcoming UFC 85 event in England, Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell has been forced to withdraw from the main event against "Sugar" Rashad Evans after severely tearing his right hamstring.The irony in the situation is that Liddell's original opponent for UFC 85, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, was previously injured and had to withdraw, vaulting Evans into the main event slot. |
Starnes Gone From UFC
Following his atrocious performance against Nate "Rock" Quarry at UFC 83, where he became the first UFC fighter to lose 30-24 on one judge's scorecard, Kalib Starnes has been relieved of his UFC contract and will not be back.It was originally reported that UFC President Dana White fired Starnes from his contract, but Starnes insists that he asked to be removed from his deal, leaving him free to fight elsewhere. |
WVR Sengoku II Fights Announced
World Victory Road has announced fights for its upcoming Sengoku II event on May 18th, including the return to action of #3-ranked heavyweight "The Babyface Assassin" Josh Barnett, who will face a soon to be determined opponent.Barnett, the former UFC Heavyweight Champion, last competed at WVR's Sengoku I event, where he submitted Japanese gold medallist in Judo and former PRIDE star, Hidehiko Yoshida. |
Akiyama Out Of DREAM GP
Earlier today, Fight Entertainment Group announced that #9-ranked middleweight Yoshihiro Akiyama had re-injured his fractured nose and will be unable to compete in the opening round of the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix.The injury occurred in Akiyama's bout with Kazuo "Grabaka Hitman" Misaki at "Yarennoka!" on New Year's Eve, and any contact with the nose would result in profuse, fight-ending bleeding. |
UFC 83 Results & Recap
The UFC's first venture into Canada was largely a success, with Rich "Ace" Franklin defeating "The Serial Killer" Travis Lutter and Georges "Rush" St. Pierre stopping Matt "The Terror" Serra for the UFC Welterweight Championship.The lone blemish on the main card was the "fight" between Kalib Starnes and Nate "Rock" Quarry, which was really less of a fight and more of Quarry chasing Starnes around the cage. |
UFC 83 Predictions
Making its way north to Canada for the first time, the Ultimate Fighting Championship enters the Bell Centre in Montreal for UFC 83, which is headlined by a Welterweight Championship rematch between Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra.MMARising.com looks over the card, which has moments of promise and moments of mediocrity, with predictions for each fight. |
Hardcore Championship Fighting Postpones May 10th Event
As a result of continued changes following its sale, Hardcore Championship Fighting CEO Keith Crawford announced earlier today that HCF's May 10th event in Calgary has been postponed. HCF's next scheduled event will be on July 5th.This comes on the heels of the announcement that Hardcore Championship Fighting has been sold and will have a new television deal in North America and Europe. |
Exclusive Interview With Denis Kang
Taking time to speak with MMARising.com, #5-ranked middleweight Denis Kang discusses the UFC, his career in PRIDE, possible rematches with Kazuo Misaki and Yoshihiro Akiyama, and his preparation for the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix.Kang is one of the best fighters to ever come out of Canada, and has compiled a record of 29-9-1, 2 NC, with just two defeats in his last 26 fights. |
YAMMA - Pit Fighting 1 Results
In the inaugural one-night tournament from YAMMA Pit Fighting, Travis Wiuff emerged victorious in the battle of the heavyweights, defeating Marcelo Pereira, Ricco Rodriguez and Chris Tuscherer en route to the tournament crown.Also, in a non-tournament "Master" fight between MMA legends, "The Russian Bear" Oleg Taktarov submitted Mark "The Titan" Kerr with his famous kneebar submission hold in the first round. |
Emelianenko vs Sylvia On July 19th
Just one week after departing the UFC, Tim Sylvia has signed to face off with the final PRIDE Heavyweight Champion, Fedor Emelianenko, at a July 19th event in Dallas, Texas, which will air live on the HDNet television network.The fight will be Emelianenko's first bout against a top-10 heavyweight since he defeated Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović at PRIDE Final Conflict in August of 2005. |
Exclusive Interview With Brad Morris
Preparing for his UFC debut at UFC 83, MMARising.com talks with up-and-coming Australian heavyweight Brad Morris in an exclusive interview as he gets ready for his bout with highly-touted wrestler Cain Velasquez on April 19th.Cain is a dangerous wrestler who has shown a tenacity for pounding his opponents out. While Cain is the overall favorite, Brad likes it that way. |
IFL "New Blood, New Battles II" Results
On another card packed with title fights, the champions reigned supreme at the second of the International Fight League's "New Blood, New Battles" events, with Vladimir Matyushenko, Jay Hieron and Wagnney Fabiano all retaining titles.The final fight of the evening ended with an unfortunate No Contest after Carmelo Marrero was badly cut very early in the first round, forcing a doctor to stop the fight. |
Aoki vs Calvancante II At Dream.2
Ending weeks of speculation, DREAM's parent company, Fight Entertainment Group, has announced that Shinya "Tobikan Judan" Aoki and Gesias "JZ Calvan" Calvancante will face each other once again, at Olympia Dream.2 on April 29th.The first bout between the two, in the opening round of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix on March 15th, ended in a No Contest after an illegal elbow strike from Calvancante. |
Exclusive Interview With Sarah Kaufman, Part II
In part two of our exclusive interview, MMARising.com speaks again with Hardcore Championship Fighting Women's Bantamweight Champion Sarah Kaufman, following her successful title defence against Molly Helsel this past Saturday.Sarah remains undefeated, now 7-0 with her TKO victory, and has solidified her place as the top female fighter in Canada. Successfully defending her title, she looks ahead to future challenges. |
UFC Fight Night 13 Results
Compiling the best Fight Night card to date, UFC's Fight Night 13 was an excellent event, with Thiago "Pitbull" Alves stopping Karo "The Heat" Parisyan, and Kenny "KenFlo" Florian defeating Joe "J-Lau" Lauzon in the main event.Just as it appeared on paper, UFC Fight Night 13 was definitely the best Fight Night to date, and is hopefully a sign of things to come from the Ultimate Fighting Championship. |
