A light heavyweight bout between former PRIDE ace Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira and ex-UFC champ Forrest Griffin is now planned for UFC 114 on May 29th. MMAjunkie.com first reported on the date change for the fight, which was originally targeted for UFC 113 on May 8th in Montreal.
Nogueira made a big impact in his UFC debut when he stopped rising contender Luiz “Banha” Cane in less than two minutes at UFC 106, but has been sidelined due to injury. Griffin rebounded from a pair of knockout losses when he edged old rival Tito Ortiz on the same UFC 106 card.
After months of speculation, World Extreme Cagefighting has announced plans to hold its first pay-per-view event on April 24th at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. The stacked card will feature at least two explosive title fights and will be available at a cost of $44.95.
After an unsuccessful title bid in the lightweight division, Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez is set to return to 170 pounds and may face undefeated British prospect John “The Hitman” Hathaway at UFC 114. Sanchez confirmed plans for the fight earlier today.
Following an impressive run in the DREAM Featherweight Grand Prix last year, decorated wrestling standout Joe Warren will return to mixed martial arts competition in 2010. The confident and outspoken 33-year-old signed with Bellator Fighting Championships and will be a part of the promotion’s upcoming featherweight tournament.
Strikeforce came to the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida tonight for Strikeforce: Miami, which was headlined by a pair of title bouts. Nick Diaz became the first Strikeforce Welterweight Champion by defeating DREAM champ Marius “The Whitemare” Zaromskis in the night’s main event.
The Freestyle Cage Fighting Women’s Grand Prix kicked off tonight at FCF 39 at the FireLake Grand Casino in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Eight of the top female bantamweights in the sport clashed in hopes of advancing on and earning a guaranteed Strikeforce contract.
Showcasing a card filled with entertaining Japan vs USA bouts, King of the Cage travelled to the island of Okinawa, Japan on Saturday for KOTC: “Toryumon.” In the night’s headliner, Shooto ace Mamoru Yamaguchi captured the KOTC Junior Flyweight Championship with a second-round submission of Frank Baca.
Undefeated Canadian prospect Rory “The Waterboy” MacDonald may be a part of the UFC’s first card in his native British Columbia. The 20-year-old has verbally agreed to face former WEC Welterweight Champion “The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit at UFC 115 on June 12th in Vancouver.