UFC 169 Results

Main Card:

Renan Barao def. Urijah Faber via TKO due to strikes, Round 1
Jose Aldo def. Ricardo Lamas via unanimous decision
Alistair Overeem def. Frank Mir via unanimous decision
Ali Bagautinov def. John Lineker via unanimous decision
Abel Trujillo def. Jamie Varner via knockout KO punch, Round 2

Preliminary Card:

Alan Patrick def. John Makdessi via unanimous decision
Chris Cariaso def. Danny Martinez via unanimous decision
Nick Catone def. Tom Watson via split decision
Al Iaquinta def. Kevin Lee via unanimous decision
Clint Hester def. Andy Enz via unanimous decision
Rashid Magomedov def. Tony Martin via unanimous decision
Neil Magny def. Gasan Umalatov via unanimous decision

Sonnen/W. Silva to Be Paired With Weidman/Belfort

UFC President, Dana White, has expressed an interest in having the Light Heavyweight bout between Wanderlei Silva and Chael Sonnen be placed on the same card as the UFC Middleweight Championship fight between Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort.  The date is not final for that bout, but the fight is scheduled to occur in Las Vegas sometime in May or Fourth of July weekend.  Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva have been exchanging words with each other for the last year or so and they will finally get to back up all of their talk in the cage.  The two men have already come to blows while filming TUF Brazil 3.

Who wins Sonnen vs. W. Silva?--Tough Spar MMA

Chael Sonnen

Wanderlei Silva

Poll Maker

UFC 169: Weigh-in Results

Main Card:

Renan Barao (135) vs. Urijah Faber (134.5)
Jose Aldo (145) vs. Ricardo Lamas (144.5)
Alistair Overeem (257) vs. Frank Mir (256.5)
John Lineker (126) vs. Ali Bagautinov (126)
Jamie Varner (156) vs. Abel Trujillo (155.5)

Preliminary Card:

John Makdessi (155) vs. Alan Patrick Silva Alves (155.5)
Chris Cariaso (125) vs. Danny Martinez (125.5)
Nick Catone (185.5) vs. Tom Watson (185.5)
Al Iaquinta (155) vs. Kevin Lee (155.5)
Clint Hester (185.5) vs. Andy Enz (184.5)
Tony Martin (155.5) vs. Rashid Magomedov (155)
Neil Magny (170.25) vs. Gasan Umalatov (170)

Bisping and Kennedy Ready for Battle

After an eye injury that has left "The Count" Michael Bisping has finally been cleared by his doctor to compete again.  Bisping was pulled from his last fight against Mark Munoz before it could even happen due to the injury. Bisping already had agreed to fight Tim Kennedy whom he had been feuding with via the MMA schoolyard known as Twitter.  The two men will meet at the TUF Nations finale in Quebec.  This will be Tim Kennedy's biggest name opponent in his professional career and also the toughest test since joining the UFC.

Duhnam and Bocek Meet at TUF Nations Finale

A clash in the UFC's Lightweight Division has been added to the TUF Nations Finale card as it has been reported that Evan Dunham and Mark Bocek have been scheduled to fight each other.  Both men are great talents in the UFC that have been unable to find success against top ten opponents in the UFC.  This fight should be pretty entertaining with their individual skill sets coming together in this clash.

UFC 172: Jessamyn Duke to be Featured at UFC 172

According to Brazilian MMA outlet, Combate, TUF 18 Muay Thai standout, Jessamyn Duke is being scheduled to face Bethe Correia at UFC 172.  Jessamyn Duke is coming off of a decision victory over Peggy Morgan who was also featured on the Ultimate Fighter 18 as well at the TUF 18 Finale.  Bethe Correia made her UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 33 in Australia where she defeated MMA veteran Julie Kedzie by split decision.

UFC 171: Raquel Pennington Meets Jessica Andrade

TUF 18 Alumni, Raquel Pennington has now be slated to face Jessica Andrade in place of Julianna Pena.  It was reported earlier this week that TUF 18 winner, Julianna Pena has suffered a serious knee injury that has forced her to pull out of her post-TUF debut at UFC 171.  There are mixed messages about how the injury occurred, but Pena will not be fully recovered by UFC 171.  Pennington made it all the way to the semifinals of the Ultimate Fighter Season 18 in the first ever TUF to feature female fighters.

Pennington is an excellent replacement for Pena.  Pennington already has an impressive resume despite only having seven professional fights in MMA.  She has faced top level competition already such as Kim Couture, Sarah Moras, Cat Zingano, Leslie Smith and most recently a victory over WMMA vet and TUF cast mate, Roxanne Modafferi in her UFC debut.  Pennington matches up well with Jessica Andrade.  Before the UFC announced Pennington as Pena's replacement, both Sarah Kaufman and Shana Baszler wanted the fight with Andrade.

UFC 171: Julianna Pena Out of Jessica Andrade Fight

Female Bantamweight Ultimate Fighter, Julianna Pena has suffered a serious knee injury and will no longer be able to face her first UFC opponent, Jessica Andrade, at UFC 171.  Both Sarah Kaufman and Shana Baszler have shown an interest in filling in for Pena to face Andrade.

Who would you rather see fight Jessica Andrade in place of Julianna Pena?--Tough Spar MMA

Sarah Kaufman

Shana Baszler

Other

Please Specify:

Poll Maker

White Thinking Aldo and Pettis

UFC President, Dana White has publicly stated that upon a successful title defense against Ricardo Lamas, Jose Aldo will likely be moving up to 155 lbs to challenge Anthony Pettis for the title.  Thomson was originally set to face Anthony Pettis for the title at UFC on Fox 9 before he pulled out due to an injury.  With Thomson losing to Henderson in their five round clash at UFC on Fox 10. With Thomson and TJ Grant out of the running, there is no one else left in the UFC Lightweight Division is in the running for a title. Jose Aldo and Anthony Pettis were originally scheduled to fight for Aldo's Featherweight title at UFC 163 before Anthony Pettis got "injured" only to become healthy enough to return to action a few weeks later at UFC 164 where he earned the Lightweight title from Henderson. After Pettis won the title Aldo still wanted to face Pettis, but it will just be a matter of time before it will happen.

Johny Hendricks the New Middleweight Champion??

Despite the fact that Johny Hendricks hasn't fought Robbie Lawler for the vacant UFC Welterweight Championship, he already has his future all planned out.  He plans on winning the vacant title and defending it a few times and then moving up to Middleweight and earning that title and staying there to defend that belt.  Hendricks believes that the weight cut to Middleweight would be a lot better for his body than the cut to 170 lb as he normally walks around at 220 lbs.  He is also interested in a fight with the current 185 lb champ, Chris Weidman.

I'm on the fence about Hendricks moving up in weight.  Hendricks is a large welterweight in terms of natural weight and strength, but Hendricks isn't a large welterweight in terms of height and reach.  I feel that Hendricks would be able to throw more power at middleweight, but the weight cut hasn't been a negative in his performance.  He went five rounds with the champ at a high pace with grappling and striking.  He has figured out a way to make the cut and to make it work without losing explosiveness and cardio.  I would love a fight with Weidman at some point, but I don't want him to stay at middleweight as I feel he wouldn't stand a chance at some of the UFC's large Middleweights that are 6'4" while Hendricks stands at 5'9".  I think right now he should worry about getting through a hungry Robbie Lawler in Dallas at UFC 171.

WSOF 9 Main Event and Co-Main Event Announced

The MMA World Series of Fighting has announced it's next card's main event and co-main event.  The main event will feature UFC cast-off Rousimar Palhares' WSOF debut in a title fight with recently crowned Welterweight Champion Steve Carl.  In the co-main event, WSOF Bantamweight stand-out, Marlon Maraes will be facing Josh Rettinghouse for the vacant WSOF Bantamweight Championship.

UFC on Fox 10: Gonzaga Has a Broken Hand

The picture below was released of the broken hand of Gabriel Gonzaga who lost his recent fight to Stipe Miocic at UFC on Fox 10 this past weekend in Chicago.

Antonio 'Minotauro' Nogueira Only Has a Few Fights Left in MMA

Former Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion and former Pride Heavyweight Champion, Antonio 'Minotauro' Nogueira  only has three fights left on his current UFC contract and anticipates his retirement will occur within the next two or three years.  Right now Nogueira doesn't have an opponent set for his next fight.  His last fight was a loss to fellow heavyweight submission expert, Fabricio Werdum in June of 2013.

'Minotauro' is one of the sport's pioneers and like many of the pioneers, he is coming to the point in which he needs to hang up the gloves.  I am glad that Nogueira is getting out of the sport shortly and not trying to hold on too long especially considering he will not be fighting for the title ever again.  Chuck Liddell was a great warrior who stuck around too long and it slightly took away from his legacy by getting knocked out by Rashad Evans, Mauricio Rua and Rich Franklin consecutively.  It is good that Nogueira is smart enough to know that he is on the downside and is smart to get out without tarnishing his legacy with even more losses.

UFC on Fox 10: Could This Be the End for Thomson

After coming up short to Ben Henderson in a split decision victory, that many feel that he won, Josh Thomson has not come out and said that he is retiring, but he has hinted towards it.  At the post-fight conference Josh Thomson said that he will need to think about things before proceeding with the rest of his career. Josh Thomson stated that "this may be it" when referring to his loss to Benson Henderson.

I feel that Thomson may still be able to make a run for the title, but only if he wants to.  Sure he is 35-years-old, but Randy Couture win the UFC Heavyweight Championship for the third time at the age of 43?  Thomson is a spectacular fighter with all the tools to get to the top.  Thomson just needs to press forward with his career despite his disputable loss to the former champion on Saturday.  Thomson just needs another impressive dominate win such as the one over Nate Diaz to elevate him back to the top.

UFC 169: Countdown to UFC 169

Cerrone Wants Six Fights in 2014

Donald Cerrone looked impressive as he landed a head kick to Adriano Martins at UFC on Fox 10 this weekend and earned the Knockout of the Night.  Cerrone is now looking to set a UFC record by fighting five more times this year.  Cerrone has stated that he wants to break this record and stay very busy this year.

If Cerrone is able to be as sharp as he has been since November, I think that this might benefit his career.  He could potentially work his way back to the spot he was in January 2013 when he and Pettis were fighting to see who was next in line for the title.  If he can get wins over some top ten guys such as Khabib Nurmagomedov or Gilbert Melendez, he might be able to get another shot in late 2014 or early 2015.  Cerrone has it in him to be the future UFC Lightweight Champion, but he needs to tweek his style a little and be a shoot-first fighter instead of getting off to a slow start as he has a habit of doing.  We predict big things for Cerrone who has competed for the WEC on three occasions and has impressive wins over big name competition.

UFC on Fox 10 Results

Main Card:

Benson Henderson def. Josh Thomson via split decision
Stipe Miocic def. Gabriel Gonzaga via unanimous decision
Donald Cerrone def. Adriano Martins via first-round KO
Jeremy Stephens def. Darren Elkins via unanimous decision

Preliminary Card:

Alex Caceres def. Sergio Pettis via submission (rear-naked choke)
Eddie Wineland def. Yves Jabouin via second-round TKO
Chico Camus def. Yaotzin Meza via unanimous decision
Hugo Viana def. Junior Hernandez via unanimous decision
Daron Cruickshank def. Mike Rio via second-round TKO
George Sullivan def. Mike Rhodes via unanimous decision
Nikita Kyrlov def. Walt Harris via first-round TKO

UFC 172:Tarec Saffiedine and Jake Ellenberger Rescheduled

Earlier this year, the UFC  broughtin the new year with a UFC Fight Night card in Singapore.  The card was originally scheduled to have Tarec Saffiedine and Jake Ellenberger, but Ellenberger was forced to pull out due to an injury. It has been announced that the two men will now go to war at UFC 172 which is headlined by a title fight between Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira.

Bellator Bantamweight Title on the Line at Bellator 118

Bellator has announced that Bellator Bantamweight Champion, Eduardo Dantas, will be defending his title against former Bellator Featherweight Champion, Joe Warren on May 2nd. This fight will be the headlining fight for Bellator 118.  Warren won the most recent Bantamweight tournament to earn his shot at the title.

UFC on Fox 10 Weigh-in Results

Main Card:

Josh Thomson (155) VS Benson Henderson (156)
Gabriel Gonzaga (258) VS Stipe Miocic (245)
Adriano Martins (155) VS Donald Cerrone (155)
Jeremy Stephens (146) VS Darren Elkins (145)

Preliminary Card:

Sergio Pettis (135) VS Alex Caceres (135)
Yves Jabouin (135) VS Eddie Wineland (135)
Yaotzin Meza (135) VS Chico Camus (135)
Hugo Viana (136) VS Junior Hernandez (136)
Mike Rio (155) VS Daron Cruickshank (155)
Mike Rhodes (171) VS George Sullivan (170)
Nikita Krylov (218) VS Walt Harris (241)