A light heavyweight showdown between former UFC champions Rich “Ace” Franklin and Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell is reportedly in the works for UFC 115 in June. Both fighters have verbally agreed to the fight according to multiple reports from earlier today.
Liddell was originally scheduled to meet old rival Tito Ortiz for the third time on the card, but reports have stated that Ortiz withdrew partway through the filming of the latest season of Tle Ultimate Fighter. Franklin stepped in to replace Ortiz and is expected to take his spot in the fight.
An exciting bantamweight matchup has been added to the upcoming Dream.13 card on March 22nd. Long-time Pancrase standout and former WEC title challenger Yoshiro Maeda will square off with current Tachi Palace Fights Bantamweight Champion Cole “The Triangle” Escovedo.
In the wake of current DEEP Women’s Lightweight (106-Pound) Champion Miku Matsumoto’s abrupt retirement, former champion Hisae Watanabe has officially confirmed plans to return in April. She will face 2009 Girls S-Cup Champion Rena in a shootboxing match on April 11th.
At just 28 years of age, Hawaiian native Adrienna “AJ” Jenkins already sports one of the more impressive records in MMA’s women’s division. Now making her home in Iowa, she has battled her way through the local scene in hopes of getting a chance to showcase her skills in Strikeforce.
After being forced to withdraw from a planned UFC 111 bout due to injury, welterweight contender Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann has agreed to face Brazilian standout Paulo Thiago at UFC 115 in June. The Las Vegas Sun was first to report on the proposed fight.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has secured a long-term broadcast deal with the Hong Kong-based All Sports Network (ASN). The 24-hour sports channel provides high-definition services to nearly a dozen countries in Asia, which expands the UFC’s total coverage to over 100 countries.
Number one-ranked heavyweight “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko will likely return to Strikeforce action in June. The stoic Russian’s M-1 Global management group is currently involved in contract renegotiations with the California-based MMA promotion. Both parties confirmed to Sherdog.com last night that a reworked deal is nearly in place.
Contrary to rumours suggesting that the fight may have changed, the Ultimate Fighting Championship confirmed today that a planned heavyweight bout between Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson and Matt Mitrione will, in fact, take place at UFC 113 in Montreal, Québec, Canada in May.