Munoz and Mousasi Set for Battle in May

UFC Middleweight contenders, Mark Munoz and Gegard Mousasi have been scheduled to face each other in a headline bout against each other on May 31.  The two men will square off in a five round fight that will headline a UFC Fight Night Card (UFC Fight Night 41) in Berlin.

Both men share a common link in their most recent outings.  Both men have been the victim of Lyoto Machida's drop down to the Middleweight Division.  Lyoto Machida dropped down to Middleweight after losing a controversial loss to Phil Davis at UFC 163.  Since dropping down to Middleweight, Machida has defeated Mark Munoz and then followed that performance with a win over Gegard Mousasi.  Both men will need to get a win to stay relevant in the title picture.  Both men are high level athletes who have lost to a superior athlete in the form of Lyoto Machida.  It will be interesting to see who will win this showdown and potentially stay in the mix at the top of the 185 lb weight class.

Bellator 114: Event Results

Main Card:

Alexander Shlemenko def. Brennan Ward via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2
Daniel Weichel def. Matt Bessette via unanimous decision
Desmond Green def. Will Martinez via unanimous decision
Brett Cooper def. Kendall Grove via knockout (punches) – Round 2

Preliminary Card:

Rad Martinez def. Edson Berto via unanimous decision
Justin Wilcox def. Jason Fischer via unanimous decision
Bubba Jenkins def. Sean Powers via unanimous decision
Linton Vassell def. Trevor Carlson via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2
Gavin Sterritt def. Mike Estus via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1
Joe Rodriguez def. Eric Wahlin via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2

Gina Carano Not Opposed to Continuing MMA Career

Film star and former MMA competitor Gina Carano has recently stated that she wouldn't be opposed to competing in MMA again.  Carano last fought in 2009 against Cris Cyborg for the Strikeforce Featherweight Championship.  The fight was Gina Carano's first and only loss and since then Carano has been focusing on her fim career.  There have been many rumors of Rousey's possible opponent being Gina Carano, but nothing has been confirmed.  In a recent interview, Carano stated that if the conditions were right, she would absolutely return to fight.

Carano is a pioneer for the sport of WMMA and it would be a privilege to watch her compete again.  Rousey says that she is willing to go up to 145 lbs for a fight with Carano.  Carano hinted at the fact that she may already have plans to compete again, but couldn't release any details.  Carano still has four fights left on her Zuffa contract after signing with Strikeforce to fight in 2009, so it makes the fight with Rousey very possible.  Rousey began her career at 145 lbs before capturing the Strikeforce Bantamweight Champion in 2012.

UFC 173: Main Event Rescheduled to UFC 175 in July

It seems that UFC Middleweight Champion, Chris Weidman, has suffered a knee injury and has been forced to pull out of his second title defense against Lyoto Machida. The match has now been moved to UFC 175 on July 5th.  This now leaves the UFC 173 card without a main event.  They could make the heavyweight clash between dos Santos and Miocic the main event, but that is doubtful.

Dan Henderson, who is coming off of a TKO win in Brazil this weekend, has petitioned for a rematch with Machida to fill in for the main event card.  I also find this rematch unlikely to replace the main event, though I wouldn't mind seeing that fight.  We will have to wait and see the fate of UFC 173.

UFC Fight Night Natal: Event Results

Main Card:

Dan Henderson def. Shogun Rua via third-round TKO
C.B. Dolloway def. Cezar Ferreira via first-round TKO
Leonardo Santos vs. Norman Parke ruled a majority draw
Fabio Maldonado def. Gian Villante via unanimous decision
Michel Prazeres def. Mairbek Taisumov via unanimous decision
Rony Jason def. Steven Siler via first-round TKO

Preliminary Card:

Thiago Santos def. Ronny Markes via first-round TKO
Jussier Formiga def. Scott Jorgensen via submission (rear-naked choke)
Kenny Robertson def. Thiago Perpetuo via submission (rear-naked choke)
Hans Stringer def. Francimar Barroso via split decision
Godofredo Castro def. Noad Lahat via first-round KO

Brittney Palmer's Fitness Gurls Gallery Finally Revealed!!!

Brittney Palmer's April 2014 Fitness Gurls gallery in high quality:
(Enjoy!)

Edgar-Penn III Set for July 6th

A few months ago, we announced that former UFC Lightweight Champions, Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn would be cast as the coaches of the nineteenth season of the hit reality show the Ultimate Fighter.  Now we have received word that a date has been set for the two men to meet for the third match of their trilogy.  Edgar and Penn will be going to war at the TUF 19 Finale at the end of the season on July 6th.  The two men first faced each other in the Lightweight Division in which Edgar defeated Penn for the UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 112.  He later defended the title against Penn in an instant rematch at UFC 118.  The two will now face each other in the UFC's Featherweight Division where Frankie Edgar has found a new home in the UFC.  BJ Penn has never fought at Featherweight in his career, but wanted the fight with Edgar so bad that he was willing to make the weight cut.

This certainly could be a barn burner between the two fighters.  In the first two fights, we saw Edgar outclass Penn.  Though Penn has never fought at Featherweight I predict that Penn will take this fight due to the fact that he has flew down to Brazil to train with Nova Uniao and Anthony Pedernieras whom he trained with early in his career.  With guys like Jose Aldo, Diego Nunes and Renan Barao to train with, I think it gives him just enough to defeat Edgar in their third fight.

Cub Swanson and Jeremy Stephens Scheduled to Fight in June

Two of the most exciting fighters in the UFC Featherweight Division have been scheduled to headline a UFC Fight Night Event in June.  Cub Swanson will face Jeremy Stephens in a 5-round slugfest inside the Octagon.  Stephens is on a five fight win streak with his last win at UFC 162 against Dennis Siver.  Jeremy Stephens is on a three fight win streak since he decided to drop to 145 lbs after spending most of his career at 155 lbs.

This is defenitely going to be a crowd pleaser.  Both men have excellent hands and aren't afraid to stand and trade shots with their opponents. I will definitely look forward to see this fight. If I had to put my money on any one, I'd put it on Swanson. Though Stephens has power, Swanson brings more weapons into the fight that allow him an advantage no matter where the fight goes.

Cain Velasquez Foresees a November Return

UFC Heavyweight Champion, Cain Velasquez has been on the sidelines for a few months due to suffering a shoulder injury that required surgery.  Velasquez had a successful surgery this past December and is still in rehab for the shoulder, so he is unable to train at the moment.  He has stated that the rehab is going well and hopes to get cleared to train shortly so then he can get back to doing what he loves.  He predicts that he should be back to training and ready for another fight by November of this year.

Hopefully the champ is able to make his return by November.  He is one of the most dominating fighters in UFC history who has the ability to make great fighters look average with his diverse skill set.  We wish him a full recovery and look forward to seeing him face the winner of Fabricio Werdum and Travis Browne.

Ben Henderson Meets Rustam Khabilov in Albuquerque

The UFC will be heading to Albuquerque, NM for the first time in it's 20 year existence, June 7th.  The event will be a Fight Night Card headlined by former UFC/WEC Lightweight Champion, Benson "Smooth"  Henderson taking on Russian standout Rustam Khabliov in a 5-round fight.

Former champ, Benson Henderson, wants to prove himself against the rising contender, Khabilov, so that he can prove that his controversial decision win over Josh Thomson was not a fluke.  A win for Khabilov will get him the respect that he deserves and join the league of contenders vying for a shot at the title.  It will not be an easy fight for either man.  It is sure to be an entertaining fight and definitely main event worthy on a Fight Night card.  It will be interesting to see if we see any of Greg Jackson's fighters on the card.  Many of the UFC's top stars fight out of Jackson's MMA in Albuquerque.  UFC FLyweight John Dodson has already began to petition for a spot on the card:

Post by John "Magician" Dodson.

Johny Hendricks Almost Didn't Fight at UFC 171

Newly crowned UFC Welterweight Champion, Johny Hendricks has come out to publicly state that he came into the UFC 171 main event with an injury to his elbow.  He stated that the injury almost took him out of the fight, but the chance at winning the title was to strong to keep him away from the fight with Robbie Lawler.  Hendricks states that the injury made it difficult to throw hooks and disrupted his ability to land takedowns.  Despite his injury, the UFC champ was able to come out of the fight with a hard-earned victory.

Brittney Palmer Appears on Fitness Gurls Cover for the Second Time

It appears that UFC ring girl, Brittney Palmer will be gracing the cover of Fitness Gurls Magazine for the second.  She will be on the April 2014 issue of the magazine.  Enjoy!

In case you missed her first magazine cover, the pictures are below:

UFC 171: Are You Not Entertained? Hendricks and Lawler Deliver!

UFC fans and MMA fans, we had a show last night.  I must say that I was absolutely entertained by the events from last night.  We saw the undefeated stay undefeated.  We saw a new UFC Welterweight Champion crowned in one of the most entertaining main event fights in a while.  I won't keep you long, for full event card results click here.


Saturday night we witnessed a slugfest in the UFC 171 main event for the UFC Welterweight Division.  We saw a fight in which both men literally gave everything and stood their ground when the bell rang for the fight to begin.  It was a back and forth fight in which both men looked like winners as they put their heart and skills to the test against each other.  In the first round, both men came out strategic, but hungry as they traded shots.  Both men stood right in front of each other with Hendricks gaining the round by a very small margin due to his diversity of strikes.  Hendricks not only threw his excellent hands, but we saw him actually attacking Lawler with leg kicks that threw off Lawler's defense.  In the second round Hendricks continued with more of the same.  Lawler continued to trade with him and land shots of his own, but it wasn't enough to earn the round.

In the third round of the clash, we saw Robbie Lawler fire some of the best blows that I've ever seen landed on Johny Hendricks in the UFC. He was able to halt the offense of Hendricks when he rocked him on a few occasions. Hendricks was in trouble for the first time in his UFC career.  There was a moment in which the crowd that was partial to Hendricks during the first two round, began to cheer for Lawler. In the fourth round, Lawler continued to rain down left and right after left and right. Johny Hendricks also came out more composed in the fourth and was able to regain his rhythm  and composure and go blow for blow with Lawler.

When the fourth round was over you knew that the fight even going into the fifth.  Hendricks took the first two rounds and Lawler taking the third and fourth.  Both men came out swinging and standing toe-to-toe.  Both men exchanged blows and didn't back down.  Neither man was willing to let the other man what they had worked so hard for.  The fight was close and hard to call all the way untile Johny Hendricks landed a successful takedown that would inevitably secure the victory.  Had Hendricks not landed the takedown, it would've been a tough round to judge.

No matter who would have won, it couldn't have been a bad decision as both men put forth their best work.  It was an amazing fight that I recommend everyone watch if you missed it.  You will not be disappointed.  It was a battle between two of the best in the UFC's Welterweight Division.

New Chael Sonnen TUF Brazil 3 Interview

UFC 171: Event Results

Main Card:

Johny Hendricks def. Robbie Lawler via unanimous decision
Tyron Woodley def. Carlos Condit via TKO injury Round 2
Myles Jury def. Diego Sanchez via unanimous decision
Hector Lombard def. Jake Shields via unanimous decision
Ovince St. Preux def. Nikita Krylov via Von Flue Choke Round 1

Preliminary Card:

Kelvin Gastelum def. Rick Story via split decision
Jessica Andrade def. Raquel Pennington via split decision
Dennis Bermudez def. Jim Hettes via TKO Round 3
Alex Garcia def. Sean Spencer via split decision
Frank Trevino def. Renee Forte by unanimous decision
Justin Scoggins def. Will Campuzano via unanimous decision
Sean Strickland def.  Bubba McDaniel via rear naked choke Round 1
Daniel Pineda def. Robert Whiteford via unanimous decision

Bellator 112: Event Results

Main Card:

Pat Curran def. Daniel Straus via submission (rear naked choke) Round 5
Andrey Koreshkov def. Nah Shon Burrell via TKO at 0:41 of Round 1
Sam Oropeza def. Cristiano Souza via KO Round 1
Adam McDonough def. Jesse Juarez via unanimous decision

Preliminary Card:

Nathan Coy def. Paul Bradley via unanimous decision
Belal Muhammad def. A.J. Matthews via unanimous decision
Darrion Caldwell def. Lance Surma via submission (guillotine choke) Round 1
Derek Loffer def. Bobby Reardanz via unanimous decision
Anthony Gomez def. Jason Guida via unanimous decision
Daniel James def. Erick Correa via submission (due to strikes) Round 2

UFC 171: Weigh-in Results

Main Card:

Johny Hendricks (170) vs. Robbie Lawler (170)
Carlos Condit (170.5) vs. Tyron Woodley (170)
Diego Sanchez (155) vs. Myles Jury (156)
Jake Shields (171) vs. Hector Lombard (170)
Ovince St. Preux (205) vs. Nikita Krylov (205)

Preliminary Card:

Kelvin Gastelum (171) vs. Rick Story (170.5)
Raquel Pennington (135.5) vs. Jessica Andrade (135)
Dennis Bermudez (146) vs. Jimy Hettes (145.5)
Sean Spencer (170) vs. Alex Garcia (170.5)
Renee Forte (157) vs. Frank Trevino (155)
Will Campuzano (125.5) vs. Justin Scoggins (125)
Robert McDaniel (184.5) vs. Sean Strickland (185)
Daniel Pineda (145) vs. Robert Whiteford (145)

Bellator Signs Phil Baroni

It appears that Bellator has signed UFC veteran, Phil Baroni and will have him make his promotional debut at Bellator 118 in May.  Baroni has fought in some of the biggest promotions in MMA. Phil Baroni is probably the most well know MMA fighter to hold a losing record.  Baroni has a professional MMA record of 15-17. Phil Baroni possesses some of MMA's quickest, most powerful hands.  Despite his raw power, Baroni just doesn't seem to be able to put together a great set of skills that can compete with today's competitors.

The only reason that I can think of for the signing of Baroni would be to bring another name into Bellator. Though Baroni is a recognizable name, he isn't the type of fighter that I feel will help them in their conquest against to be the number one MMA promotion. Baroni is beyond washed-up and he needs to walk away from the sport like yesterday.  He was never a real contender under any promotion. I'm honestly tired of this guy and I'm not giving him any more attention.

Bellator 112: Weigh-in Results

Main Card:

Daniel Straus (145.5) vs. Pat Curran (144.7)
Nah-Shon Burrell (171) vs. Andrey Koreshkov (170.7)
Cristiano Souza (170.8) vs. Sam Oropeza (170.2)
Jesse Juarez (170.7) vs. Adam McDonough (170.5)

Preliminary Card:

Paul Bradley (170.8) vs. Nathan Coy (170.5)
A.J. Matthews (170.5) vs. Belal Muhammad (170.7)
Lloyd Carter (136.1) vs. Diego Marlon (136.6)
Darrion Caldwell (145.7) vs. Lance Surma (146)
Derek Loffer (169) vs. Bobby Reardanz (169)
Jason Guida (213.5) vs. Anthony Gomez (214) Catchweight bout
Erick Correa (263.5) vs. Daniel James (265)

Rich Franklin Where Are You?

As a huge Rich Franklin fan I would first like to start off by saying that i am a little frustrated by Rich Franklin's absence from MMA.  Rich Franklin last fought in November 2012 against Cung Le in Macao live on Fuel TV.  Rich Franklin was knocked out cold by the dynamic striker within the first 2:17m of the first round.  Since then we have not seen Rich Franklin in action.  Franklin is one of the most talented individuals to walk into the Octogon.  Rich Franklin is a former school teacher who taught himself martial arts through instructional videos before he became a professional fighter. He made his UFC debut back in 2003 against Evan Tanner at UFC 42 in April of that year.  He came out and scored a spectacular TKO win.  A little over two years later he would become the UFC Middleweight Champion by defeating Evan Tanner in their rematch at UFC 53.  Franklin lost the title to the great Anderson Silva back in 2006 at UFC 64 after two successful title defenses.  Rich Franklin has competed against some of the best athletes in the world while he was active in the sport such as Marvin Eastman, Lyoto Machida Jorge Rivera, Ken Shamrock, David Loiseau, Yushin Okami, Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort, Chuck Liddell and Forest Griffin.

Whether you are a fan of Rich Franklin or not, you must appreciate Franklin's confidence to take on any man that the UFC has put in front of him.  Franklin never turned down a fight and even continued to fight with injuries in fights with David Loiseau and Chuck Liddell.  Franklin has stated within the last few months that he still has one more fight left on his UFC contract and he plans on completing his contract and taking that last fight.  Since stating his contract status, we haven't heard much out of Franklin.  If you don't follow Rich Franklin then you wouldn't know that Franklin has been busy with doing some work outside of the UFC.  Franklin has been working on studying nutrition and even opened up a successful juice bar in Beverly Hills.

Post by Rich Franklin.

In February, the UFC announced that they would be hosting a UFC Fight Night event in Cincinnati, OH and I was sure that within a few days an announcement would be made that Rich Franklin would be headlining that event for his final fight.    That announcement never came and instead it was announced that Erick Silva and Matt Brown have been named as the main event for the Fight Night event.  The longer he stays away from the cage the less likely that he will return.  I feel that there are many interesting match ups that could be made for Rich Franklin's last fight. I honestly would watch him fight anyone at Light Heavyweight or Middleweight.  Hopefully he keeps to his word and finishes the contract, but if he doesn't, it has been a pleasure to watch him compete for many years.