Archive for February, 2010
New Blog Writer!
The staff at MMASlayer.com is happy to announce Lance Young as our newest contributor to the site. Lance has previously had his own MMA column call “The Third Round”.
Here are two articles written by Lance.
Interview with former PRIDE FC commentator ”The Fight Professor” Stephen Quadros.
Interview with Cam McKid.
Look for upcoming articles from Lance in the next couple of weeks.
Bonnar plans to appeal UFC 110 loss
Bonnar plans to contest UFC 110 loss to Soszynski
Feb 24, 2010 | by MattE |
http://www.caged-in.com/?p=1697
By Matt Erickson
cagedin.mma@gmail.com
Munster native Stephan Bonnar plans to contest the result of his loss at UFC 110 in Sydney, he told Caged In on Tuesday.
Stephan Bonnar connects with Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 110 in Sydney. (Photo courtesy of UFC)
In the third round of his light heavyweight bout against Krzysztof Soszynski, Bonnar and “The Polish Experiment” accidentally clashed heads. The result was a cut on Bonnar’s forehead that was deep enough for the doctor to stop the fight.
Soszynski was awarded a TKO victory, which Bonnar believes should be overturned. It was Bonnar’s third straight loss, dropping him to 5-6 in the UFC and 11-7 overall.
“It’s only fair to get this overturned to a no contest or draw,” Bonnar said. “In the rules, if after two rounds a fighter suffers a cut from an illegal blow, they go to the scorecard. The judges had it one round a piece, which would have made it a draw.”
Bonnar said the fight’s referee, John Sharp, missed the head butt and claimed the cut came from a legal strike.
“Right after (it) happened, I pointed to my head and told him, ‘Head butt,’” Bonnar said. “Why he didn’t look up at the replay, which they showed about 30 times, I have no idea.”
After the decision was announced, Bonnar pulled his arm away from Sharp, clearly disappointed in the official result. Soszynski, after the fight, went to Bonnar and even lifted him up to show his respect. Bonnar said both he and Soszynski want a rematch.
“Krzysztof acknowledged the cut was from a head butt and would like to finish the fight as well,” Bonnar said. “He was a good sport and a class act. We gave each other credit for a great fight. He knew the clash of heads opened the cut, and like myself would like a rematch. It just shows what kind of sportsman he is. He earned my respect as well.”
Bonnar, who first came to international MMA prominence for his fight with Forrest Griffin to close out the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show, said UFC president Dana White spoke to him after the bout.
“He just told me it was a great fight and sorry I got screwed like that,” Bonnar said.
Bonnar said this situation is a first for him.
“I have never been wronged so bad in a situation that was so obvious,” he said. “I still can’t understand the referee. Yes, I will appeal this decision. I just want what is fair. How do 20,000, people including my opponent and the commentators, see that a clash of heads occurred and the referee not see it? I feel like I’m in a pro wrestling match, where one of the wrestlers hits his opponent over the head with a chair when the referee’s back’s turned. Everyone in the arena sees what happened but the ref, then the ref gets down and gives the three-count and gives the guy the win. It really feels like that.”
Craig Waller, executive officer for Combat Sports Authority, the New South Wales-based commission that oversaw UFC 110, said Tuesday that Bonnar had not yet filed anything to contest the result, but did say a draw would be possible.
“A technical points draw would be the only result if a protest was received and upheld,” Waller said.
Bonnar said he expects to remain in Australia for another week before returning to his home in Las Vegas.
Belfort out of UFC 112 and “Bash Brother” to StrikeForce?
Belfort out of UFC 112 and Canseco moving up in the MMA world?
By BRIAN LINDER, T&D Sports Editor Monday, February 15, 2010
http://www.timesanddemocrat.com/articles/2010/02/15/sports/doc4b78cf93f3d75306612783.txt
A glance at the lineup for UFC 112, and it was quickly evident that Zuffa meant business with its show, scheduled for its April 10 show in Abu Dhabi.
The original card featured lightweight champion B.J. Penn taking on Frankie Edgar, Matt Hughes vs. Renzo Gracie and some guy named Anderson Silva, maybe the best fighter in the world, defending his middleweight title against the quick, heavy handed striker Vitor Belfort.
But, last week, Belfort was forced to pull out of the anticipated matchup with Silva due to an injury. In his place, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion Demian Maia, fresh off a decision victory over Dan Miller at UFC 109, has agreed to fill in against Silva.
The selection of Maia as Belfort’s replacement is an interesting one. Potentially, the UFC could have pulled a young, up-and-coming and exciting fighter like Jon “Bones” Jones, who is scheduled to take on Brandon Vera at the company’s Fight Night, scheduled for March 21, or perhaps legendary fighter Randy Couture, who took minimal damage in his victory over Mark Coleman in the main event of UFC 109 to face Silva.
Instead, the company chose Maia, which makes for a vastly different fight than a Silva-Belfort matchup would have. Silva-Belfort figured to be an exciting standup battle. Maia, on the other hand, has displayed, at best, average standup skills. At worst, as he displayed in his stunning knockout loss to Nate Marquardt, his standup is very poor. So, it figures that Maia will try to take Silva to the ground.
In the end, that could be interesting. If the fight does go to the ground, Maia has the advantage. In fact, the only round that Silva has ever lost came in a fight against Dan Henderson, in which Henderson took him to the ground. Of course, if it stays standing, well, it doesn’t figure to be a long fight.
UFC 110
UFC 110 will take lace Saturday, Feb. 21 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.
The card is headlined by a heavyweight matchup between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez and a middleweight fight between Michael Bisping and Wanderlei Silva. Also, former heavyweight star and talented striker Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic will take on Ben Rothwell on the card and Ryan Bader and Keith Jardine will do battle in a light heavyweight battle.
Spike TV will air the “Countdown to UFC 110: sow Feb. 18 at 11 p.m.
Johnson injured
UFC welterweight Anthony “Rumble” Johnson was forced to pull out of his “UFC on Versus 1: Vera vs. Jones,” fight against John Howard this week with a knee injury.
Please no, please no
Here’s one for the “something nobody wants to see” department.
Jose Canseco reportedly met with Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker regarding Canseco’s MMA future.
Strikeforce doesn’t have the star power that the UFC has, but they have been putting on great shows. The company certainly doesn’t need a freak show fight in Canseco. Yes, the company did just put Herschel Walker into a cage for a fight, but Walker is a legit freak of nature. He also is a long-time MMA practitioner.
And, Walker is the guy that Canseco wants to fight. The two are not even in the same area code in terms of in-cage ability. Walker as asked about fighting Canseco, and he took it for what it was and should be – a joke.
In short, Walker said “I will hurt him.”
Do you feel Canseco stands a chance against Walker?
UFC 110 Preview
It’s right around the corner folks… Here’s some video previews of some of the carnage we can expect.
WEC decides to go PPV
It’s a first: WEC decides to go PPV
Two title bouts — including Faber vs. Aldo — will highlight April 24 card
February 5, 2010
Courtesy of: JOHN SILVER jsilver@suntimes.com
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/boxing/2030860,CST-SPT-fite05.article
World Extreme Cagefighting announced this week its first pay-per-view event.
Owned by Zuffa, the same parent company that owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the WEC has always aired for free on Versus.
Urijah Faber (left, battling Jens Pulver) will take on Jose Aldo in the WEC’s first pay-per-view April 24.
(WEC)
The organization has loaded up the April 24 card with two championship fights to entice fans into shelling out $44.95 to purchase WEC 48. The hugely popular Urijah Faber — fighting in his hometown of Sacramento, Calif. — will try to regain the featherweight title against champion Jose Aldo, a powerful Brazilian who has earned ”Knockout of the Night” honors in three of his last four fights.
WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson will defend his belt against Donald Cerrone, and former featherweight champ Mike Brown faces Manny Gamburyan in another featured bout.
It will be an interesting gamble for the WEC — lucrative if it can pay off. But it also comes during a stretch of four Zuffa pay-per-views in eight weeks. Even if fight fans pool their funds, that’s a lot of money to fork over. And if you throw the UFC’s first event on Versus (March 21), a UFC Fight Night (March 31) and Strikeforce’s return on CBS (possibly April 17), the spring will bring plenty of excitement for MMA fans.
UFC’s Super Bowl cardTraditionally, Super Bowl weekend always bring exciting fight cards from the UFC. While there isn’t a title fight at UFC 109, it is filled with solid fights.
In the main event, 46-year-old Randy Couture takes on 45-year-old Mark Coleman. It marks the first time that two current UFC hall of famers have fought each other. Couture joked the Las Vegas event should be switched from Mandalay Bay to Caesars Palace and promote the fight as the ”Geezers at Caesars.” Both fighters say that, barring major injury, this is not their final fight.
”I think win or lose, Mark and I both have a lot to contribute to the sport, and I don’t think this is a make or break fight,” Couture said. ”We both have a lot of competitive spirit left in us — so I know every time Mark and I fight, they’re going to judge us, they’re going to say, ‘Oh, he’s slowing down; oh, we maybe should think about retiring.’ I’ve been dealing with that six or eight years now, so that’s nothing new.”
The co-main event will feature middleweights Nate Marquardt against Chael Sonnen. Also, welterweight Mike Swick faces Paulo Thiago on the main card.
Before the pay-per-view broadcast begins at 9 p.m., Spike will air a pair of lightweight preliminaries at 8. Scheduled to air are Mac Danzig vs. Justin Buchholz and Melvin Guillard vs. Ronnys Torres.
Herschel Walker reaxReaction to Herschel Walker’s successful debut was mixed. Many hard-core MMA fans were underwhelmed by the former Heisman Trophy winner’s third-round stoppage. I’m not sure what those critics were expecting. Walker repeatedly called himself a ”green fighter” and admitted he was a work-in-progress.
He used his athleticism to overwhelm Greg Nagy, and displayed excellent takedown defense. But you could see his inexperience when he couldn’t quite finish the fight quicker than he did. He said this week he wants to continue to fight, possibly even as early as Strikeforce’s event in April.
The localsChicago’s Rory Markham will be back at the Octagon on the preliminary card at UFC 111 on March 27. The Pat Miletich-trained fighter will face former TUF champion Nate Diaz, who will be moving up a weight class to the 170-pound welterweight division. He was slated to fight Martin Kampmann at UFC 108, but a knee injury forced him to withdraw.
Counter programmingOn Sunday, if the Big Game fails to live up to its hype, the WEC provides a marathon to satisfy anyone’s MMA fix. Starting at 6 p.m., Versus will have five hours featuring Faber’s most memorable matches — including both of his losses to Brown, wins against Jens Pulver and his most recent fight against Raphael Assuncao.
Will you purchase the WEC PPV?
Lesnar on 2010 Undisputed cover
Brock Lesnar on cover of UFC Undisputed 2010
Courtesy of: Erik Fontanez @ bleacherreport.com
Posting Lesnar’s enormous physique across the cover of what could be the most popular video game of the year will certainly gain some attention, both positive and negative. Regardless, consumers are attracted to a persona like Lesnar’s, which will help boost the possibility of having yet another Video Game Award presented on Spike TV, come year’s end.
As for the heavyweight champion himself, he is due to make his return the UFC some time this summer at a yet to be announced show.
Despite any political opinions he might have and the reaction some Americans would have to them, Brock Lesnar is one of the most popular personalities the sport has ever seen.
The highly anticipated sequel to UFC Undisputed 2009 is set to hit stores May 25, 2010 and is expected to bring in copious amounts of revenue for both THQ and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
It was announced today by video game company THQ that UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will grace the cover of UFC Undisputed 2010 .
Has Brock done enough to have earned the cover?
UFC 109 Fighter Payouts
UFC 109 Fighter Payouts
By Steve Barry @ mmaconvert.com
http://www.mmaconvert.com/2010/02/08/ufc-109-relentless-fighter-payouts/
The NSAC has released the fighter payouts for UFC 109. Keep in mind, these figures represent the base contracted pay the fighter receives from the promotion. These figures do not include any additional “locker room” bonuses, pay-per-view revenue sharing, or sponsorship money, which in many cases exceeds a fighter’s base pay. These numbers also do not account for taxes, insurance, and license fees.
Randy Couture led the pack with $250,000. He didn’t receive a win bonus, but it’s pretty well-known that he receives a cut of the pay-per-view revenue. Matt Serra wasn’t too far behind taking home a total of $210,000 with his win and knockout bonuses. Also, Chael Sonnen and Nate Marquardt broke into the six-figures with their bonuses.
Payouts
Courtesy of MMA Junkie:
- Randy Couture: $250,000 (no win bonus)
Mark Coleman: $60,000- Chael Sonnen: $64,000 ($32k + $32k win bonus)
Nate Marquardt: $45,000- Paulo Thiago: $30,000 ($15k + $15k)
Mike Swick: $43,000- Demian Maia: $62,000 ($31k + $31k)
Dan Miller: $15,000- Matt Serra: $150,000 ($75k + $75k)
Frank Trigg: $30,000- Mac Danzig: $40,000 ($20k + $20k)
Justin Buchholz: $8,000- Melvin Guillard: $28,000 ($14k + $14k)
Ronys Torres: $4,000- Rob Emerson: $24,000 ($12k + $12k)
Phillipe Nover: $10,000- Phil Davis: $10,000 ($5k + $5k)
Brian Stann: $17,000- Chris Tuchscherer: $20,000 ($10k + $10k)
Tim Hague: $7000- Joey Beltran: $12,000 ($6k + $6k)
Rolles Gracie: $15,000Bonuses
$60,000 bonus to each fighter.
- Knockout of the Night – Matt Serra
- Submission of the Night – Paulo Thiago
- Fight of the Night – Chael Sonnen & Nate Marquardt
Total Payout
A disclosed total of $1,184,000, including all bonuses, was paid out to the fighters.