Jens Pulver's Return to the Cage

Jens Pulver, the original UFC lightweight champion and formerly the only man to defeat BJ Penn at lightweight (now Frankie Edgar has done that as well), is scheduled to make another appearance in the cage in 2011. He is scheduled to fight in the main event (opponent TBD) of a CFX/Extreme Challenge co-promoted event. A loss in this fight would mark the 7th straight loss in a row for Pulver, and it’s fair to assume Pulver just wants to end his career with a win, hence this fight. A little more background on Pulver for those of you who don’t know much about him: first ever UFC lightweight champion, and once he defended his title twice, he left the UFC causing them to take out their lightweight division altogether. I hope everyone will join me in wishing Pulver luck, because I don’t think anyone wants the former dominant UFC champion rack up a 7th loss in a row.

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WEC/UFC Merger

Sure feels great to be back! Now this is a little more than a week old, but still a relevant and important topic to discuss. The WEC/UFC merger announced by UFC President Dana White on Ocotber 28. Now although this seems like great news, and really is not terrible news for MMA fans, there are some drawbacks. UFC is synonymous with MMA, along with TapouT, and not many casual fans even know of the existence of the WEC, hence the merger. Zuffa wants to bring more popularity to the lighter weight fighters, and this is great for the WEC fighters. For us fans, however, the merger is not great news. Yes, UFC cards will be even more stacked with the absorbed talent, but this means no more stacked and action packed WEC cards filled with fights that are all potential Fight of the Night candidates. Also, NO MORE FREE WEC CARDS! The last WEC card will be WEC 53 on December 16 of this year, and after that all WEC fighters (and ring card girl, Brittany Palmer!) will be televised under the UFC banner. The first lighter weight fight we will see under the UFC banner will be Jose Aldo vs Josh Grispi at UFC 125 on New Year's Day. Can't wait to see how this pans out, but this merger oddly reminds me of PRIDE...and most fans would agree that MMA would be better off with PRIDE as a separate entity.
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UFC 115-The Rumors Were True

About a month ago, rumors emerged on the internet stating Chuck Liddell would not be facing Tito Ortiz in his return to the octagon, despite being rival coaches on TUF 11. The rumors stating Liddell would now be facing Rich Franklin, former UFC middleweight champion and high school teacher. The rumors were dismissed within hours by Dana White (or so the websites said). However, the UFC website reported on their news section today that the main event of UFC 115 will now be Franklin vs Liddell in the light heavyweight division. The rumors stated Ortiz was not able to complete his role on TUF 11 and was replaced by Franklin. These rumors have not been disproven or proven yet, and Dana has stated he will not tell the fans why the change has taken place and states that we will find out by watching the Ultimate Fighter show this season. Bottom line is UFC 115 will now be headlined by Liddell vs Franklin which is probably a better fight than a third Liddell Ortiz fight in which Liddell has won both of the previous fights.

And good news for the young MMA Blogg-this is the 100th post! Thank you all for reading!

How to Watch UFC 112

Now some MMA fans, including myself, were confused leading up to UFC 112. The UFC ads only showed the 7 PM PST/10 PM EST PPV time slots available for viewing, and that this show time would air a previously recorded show. However, this is not the case! Anyone can watch LIVE on PPV at 10 AM PST/1 PM EST. Now these timings are weird, and many fans will not be able to watch the live show, but it will still be available for replay at 7/10 PM, just don't look at any MMA website, including the UFC page until you watch! Check back tomorrow at 10 AM PST/ 1 PM EST for a live stream right here on MMA Blogg!

And look below for the official UFC 112 weigh in results:

UFC Middleweight Championship

Demian Maia (184) VS Anderson Silva (185)

UFC Lightweight Championship

  Frank Edgar (154) VS BJ Penn (155)

Renzo Gracie (171) VS Matt Hughes (170)

Rafael Dos Anjos (156) VS Terry Etim (154)

Mark Munoz (185) VS Kendall Grove (185)

Phil Davis (204) VS Alexander Gustafsson (205)

John Gunderson (154) VS Paul Taylor (155)

Rick Story (169) VS Nick Osipczak (170)

Brad Blackburn (170) VS DaMarques Johnson (170)

Matt Veach (155) VS Paul Kelly (156)

Mostapha Al Turk (235) VS Jon Madsen (252)

UFC 114 Fight Card Finalized

The epic grudge match which was promoted heavily by TUF 10 is finally set to take place. Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans had their share of smack talk on the reality show, and will be headlining UFC 114. Not only will this fight provide entertainment for the fans, but will also determine the next challenger for the shot at the light heavyweight title against the winner of the UFC 113 Maricio Rua Lyoto Machida fight. The Rampage Rashad fight will not be the only fight fans will want to see either, check out the full fight card listed below:
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Rashad Evans
Forrest Griffin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Michael Bisping vs. Dan Miller
Todd Duffee vs. Mike Russow
Diego Sanchez vs. John Hathaway
Amir Sadollah vs. Dong-Hyun Kim
Efrain Escudero vs. Dan Lauzon
Melvin Guillard vs. Thiago Tavares
Luiz Cane vs. Cyrille Diabate
Aaron Riley vs. Joe Brammer
Jesse Forbes vs. Ryan Jensen
The UFC is going all out with the upcoming events, giving us star-studded cards. Strikeforce is also putting out some great events (especially the upcoming Strikeforce:Nashville card with 3 title bouts) and these next few months will be great for MMA fans out there! UFC 114 has great fighters throughout the card and the main card is packed. I would have liked to watch Sadollah fight on the main card but hopefully Spike will be broadcasting this fight for free on May 29!

Post Fight Night 21

What an exciting night of fights from North Carolina! Let's start off with Big Country. He is the real deal, and if there were any nay-sayers out there after he won the Ultimate Fighter season 10 competition, they have probably been silenced by now. It took Roy Nelson only 39 seconds in the first round to take out Stefan Struve. Skyscraper's reach is 83 inches and dwarfed Nelson's reach of 74 inches, but this did not make the slightest difference as Nelson rocked Struve with a big overhand right and finished the fight by raining down shots on Struve who remained grounded after being buckled by Nelson. And Nelson handled himself after the win by showing his humor and graciousness by complimenting Struve and jokingly calling out James Toney.

Takanori Gomi was the last Pride Lightweight champion and seemed to be one of Kenny Florian's biggest challenges yet. However, KenFlo stuck to his game plan and looked like a champ in his fight. He threw many jabs (similar to BJ Penn's jabs) to The Fireball Kid's head and landed a vast majority of them. Florian also studied Gomi's game and that showed when he took caution to cover up against Gomi's right hooks. After an impressive and entertaining stand up battle which favored Florian, KenFlo was able to submit Gomi with a rear naked choke. This win brought Florian closer to another title shot, and maybe the third time will be the charm for Florian who has suffered two losses in title bouts to Sean Sherk as well as BJ Penn.

And how can this post be complete without mentioning the power mishap in the Bojangles Coliseum. This was a UFC first, and was a major problem for the event, as the power was cut during the announcement of the Roy Nelson vs Stefan Struve fight. The power could not be brought back fast enough and for the viewers watching on their televisions, Caol Uno's fight against Gleison Tibau was broadcasted (Uno lost in round 1 in 4 minutes 13 seconds via TKO).

UFC 111 Fight Videos

Mark Bocek vs. Jim Miller:




Kurt Pellegrino vs Fabricio Camoes:


Frank Mir vs Shane Carwin:

Georges St. Pierre vs Dan Hardy:
Part 1:


Part 2:

Post UFC 111

It seems UFC fans have developed a theory that fighters are only great
when they have standup wars with their opponents. Dan Hardy, had he
practiced takedown defense, could have lit up fireworks in his title
shot against Georges St. Pierre. The Outlaw's standup is incredible
and could have knocked out GSP. However the champion was able to take
down Hardy at will and utilize his ground game, perhaps his greatest
strength aside from his wrestling. Rush was 100% with his takedown
attempts and was able to attempt a few submissions while Hardy
defended all of them-2 of the greatest moments of the fight was Hardy
getting trapped in an armbar and kimura but did not tap and was able
to fight out of both of the champion's submissions attempts. I was
watching the fights live in Newark and the crown responded negitavely
whenever the fight stayed on the ground. This response by fans
continued post fight on Twitter as Dana White recieved angry tweets
stating how boring the fight was. MMA has many aspects to it and the
ground game is a significant part, and fans need to realize that. The
excitement of a fight should not be measured by the stand up battle as
it was last Saturday. Some tweets included fans stating that if they
wanted to watch a wrestling match they would watch their local college
matches. Well if fans just want to see standup brawls, why not watch
boxing?

Change in UFC 111 Main Card

Today was an eventful day for the UFC, Rampage Jackson signed a 6 fight contract and is not out of the UFC as many previously thought. But that is not the top story today. Thiago Alves was scheduled to fight Jon Fitch in a Welterweight bout this Saturday at UFC 111. However, Thiago failed his medical exam after doctors found an irregularity in his brain after a CAT Scan. Dana is going to fly Alves out to see a specialist as he believes this injury could be serious and career ending while Alves is not concerned. Pitbull is, however, upset that he will not be able to fight on Saturday. Jon Fitch will not be scrapped from the main card, but Jake Ellenberger will be as Ben Saunders will now be fighting Fitch instead of Ellenberger.

UFC 111 Main Event Breakdown

UFC 111 is on March 27 is 3 days away, with the main card beginning at 7 PM PST/10 PM EST. The main card has 2 title bouts and is a huge step up from the other PPV events the UFC held since the start of this year. So here is a breakdown of the main event- Georges St. Pierre vs Dan Hardy:

GSP is considered one of the world's top pound for pound fighters, currently ranking in the top 3. His wrestling is phenomenal and he appears to be a machine when he fights. However, the holes in his game are in his standup. Now that is not to say his standup isn't great-it is just not his strong suit. Dan Hardy is an excellent striker and appears to be the one who can take out GSP. With a counter left hook and devastating knockout power, Hardy should definitely not be looked passed. If Hardy can land a few of his haymakers, even GSP could fall. And The Outlaw has confidence in his ability to take out GSP. In an interview about his upcoming title shot, he said, "Those GSP fans betting the house on him, there's going to be a lot of homeless GSP fans the day after." GSP fell to Matt Serra back at UFC 69, so he is definitely not super-human as many of his fans may argue, and this Saturday just might bring in a new UFC welterweight champion.

Dana White Video Blog is Back!

Dana White usually leads up to UFC events with Video blogs on YouTube. However, the past few events have not seen those daily videos that lead up to the events. The last videos we saw from Dana were back at UFC 108...possibly because the cards after 108 were not great. But sure enough when the card became more exciting, Dana brought back his Video Blogs and they are great! The first video is of Dana and his "crew" going to Canada to promote the UFC and it is simply hillarious! Check it out here:

The next video shows them in Ontario Canada promoting MMA and the UFC and answering questions from fans! Check it out here:

Second UFC on Versus Event Planned for August 1

UFC Live on Versus was a very exciting card and the night of fights brought Clay Guida and Cheick Kongo's careers back to life while solidifying Jon Jones' spot on the top contender list for the light heavyweight division. As a follow up event and the second of three events contracted for The Versus Network, the UFC has planned their next event for August 1. This event will take place in an unknown venue in Oakland, CA (although it is likely to be the Oracle Arena). This will be the first UFC event in Oakland, and after a the calibre of the event the UFC brought for it's premiere on Versus, we know how the UFC likes to make things big for debuts. UFC on Versus 2 in Oakland should be a great card, keep checking back for updates to the card!

UFC on Versus Post Fight

Let me start with the main event for this card. Jon Jones wowed his fans once again by stopping Brandon Vera in the first round. Vera probably knew he was losing when he threw those upkicks, especially after having a point taken away. Jones' entrance song (Jay-Z- Empire State of Mind) was pretty fitting too since he trains and lives in NY, and an important part of pumping up fans is having a good entrance song! Jones has definetely moved up in the top contender list, previously being 9th on the list, and we could see him get his title shot soon.
The co main event was also a great fight with an outcome that probably did not shock most people. No one knew wheter Gabriel Gonzaga or Junior Dos Santos would come out with a W, because these are two top contenders and very dangerous strikers. Dos Santos was able to drop Gonzaga and finish him and earn himself a TKO victory. Both fighters looked great in the fight, and Dos Santos was able to pull off the victory with his lethal striking. Paul Buentello vs Cheik Congo was a good fight, Congo has obviously been working on his wrestling and was able to secure many takedowns against Buentello. But Congo being a dangerous striker as well, it was no surprise that Buentello was finished with strikes, even though he tapped and it was not a TKO. This card was definetely stacked and a very good event especially for not being PPV.

Scott Coker On UFC, Fedor, and Strikeforce:Nashville+UFC 114 update

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker talks about UFC rivaling Strikeforce: Nashville's star studded event featuring 3 title bouts, their event airing on CBS, and discusses Dan Henderson's title shot right as he enters Strikeforce. And most enticing of all, Coker talks about Fedor! Watch the video here:



And now for the UFC 114 update:
Rival coaches from The Ultimate Fighter season 10 (buy from Amazon Ufc: Ultimate Fighter Season 10 (5pc) (Uncn Box)Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans have a CONFIRMED bout scheduled for UFC 114. The UFC is making the upcoming events very exciting for MMA fans, giving two title fights at UFC 111 and 112, then the highly anticipated rematch between Machida and Shogun at UFC 113. And now the grudge match that we have been waiting for since last year! And let's not forget about Vera vs Jones this Sunday! The UFC fan expo is scheduled for UFC 114 weekend as well. Another exciting bout that scheduled for UFC 114 main card: Griffin vs Noguiera!

Kimbo Slice Has Confirmed Bout and Jens Pulver Updates

After WEC 47, many speculated Jens Pulver will retire. It is now confirmed that Little Evil is officially done fighting after a devistating loss to Javier Vasquez last Saturday. But as I stated in a previous post, Chuck Liddell has "retired" twice only to be fighting again after TUF 11 airs.
 On another note, UFC 113 has a finalized bout that will interest many fans. Kimbo Slice will be fighting Matt Mitrione, a fellow TUF 10 cast member on the main card of the Machida Shogun rematch event. Keep checking in for more updates leading up to UFC on versus and UFC 111 later this month!

Diego Sanchez and the Diaz Brothers

Diego Sanchez dropped to 155 and tried his hand at a title shot against BJ Penn at UFC 107 and the fight was stopped due to an unforgettable gash on Diego's forehead. Diego announced he will be moving back up to the 170 pound weight division after his losses in fights against key competitors such as Gray Maynard and BJ Penn. Nate Diaz also confirmed he will be moving up to welterweights along with Diego. Sanchez defeated Nick Diaz(now competing in strikeforce) in 2005 and called out Nate via Twitter!
Oh and speaking of BJ Penn, he was a guest reporter on TV during the Hawaii tsunami watch, check it out here:

Cain Velasquez ready for the title shot

I think it is safe to say everyone was very impressed by Cain Velasquez's victory against Antonio Noguiera last Saturday at UFC 110. Velasquez dropped Noguiera and finished the fight at just 2:25 of the first round with vicious punches landed while Noguiera was grounded. Taking on an MMA legend and finishing him so quick definetely secured Velasquez's spot as a contender for the title. Frank Mir and Shane Carwin will be fighting on March 27 at UFC 111 for the interim title, and that winner will take on the healthy Lesnar over this summer for the undisputed heavyweight title. Up next will most likely be Velasquez challenging for the title (assuming there are no injuries). Velasquez realizes he is at the top for a title shot, and he says, "I have to fight a smart fight. Gotta get with my coaches and figure out a good game plan. Definitely with those kind of guys -- big, strong -- you have to be aware of their power. I think it's going to be a war and fight to the end. You have to try and tire them out, but it's easier said than done" after defeating Noguiera. Hopefully we'll get to see Velasquez take on teh 30 pound heavier Lesnar, who will prove to be a huge challenge to Velasquez's wrestling skills.

UFC 110 Fight Videos

Here are all the fight videos from the main card of UFC 110:

Cain Velasquez vs Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera



Michael Bisping vs Wanderlei Silva


Joe Stevenson vs George Sotiropoulos





Ryan Bader vs Keith Jardine



Mirko Cro Cop vs Anthony Perosh

Bisping Flips someone off during weigh ins

At the UFC 110 weigh ins just a few hours ago, Michael Bisping weighed in before Wanderlei Silva and flips someone off while on the scale after his weight was announced. Who could he be flipping off? Wanderlei was still back stage, and it appeared to be a joke because he laughed, but the question still remains-who was he flipping off?! Hopefully someone interviews him and asks about this. But the weigh ins for the co main event gave us a preview of the entertainment this fight will provide (Dana had to hold back Wanderlei during the staredown). Check back tomorrow for a LIVE AND FREE STREAM of UFC 110!

UFC 110 and UFC 111 Shirt

Hey everyone be sure to check back here tomorrow at 7 PT/10 ET PM for a LIVE AND FREE stream of UFC 110. My picks for the winners are listed below in a picture format, and these are my choices on fantasy UFC as well.

Also there is now a new shirt up at the MMA Blogg store at cafepress! To support MMA Blogg and GSP at UFC 111 over in Newark on March 27th, please purchase one of the shirts with "GSP" in the title! The design is the same one that is shown below:

The shirts are available in all sizes and a wide variety of colors!