UFC 80 Results

Results won't be posted until tomorrow so no one will have the results spoiled for them. The live feed is available on ppv at 3pm and will be replayed again at 10pm

Check back tomorrow for results and in depth analysis of the fights.

LET'S GET IT ON!!!

Diego Sanchez Will Fight Roan Carneiro at UFC 82

“The Ultimate Fighter 1” winner Diego Sanchez (17-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) will look to reclaim his contender status in the UFC’s stacked welterweight division when he takes on Roan Carneiro (12-6 MMA, 2-1 UFC) at UFC 82 — an event that takes place March 1 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Sanchez recently lost back-to-back fights after winning his first 17 professional bouts. The losses to Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch had the 26-year-old fighter considering a move to 155 lbs., but earlier this month, his management team told MMAjunkie.com that Sanchez had ultimately ruled against it.

Sanchez hasn’t competed since a September decision loss to Fitch — a fight he took five months after his loss to Koscheck at UFC 69. Sanchez entered the April fight with a serious staph infection. In fact, he was so sick and the illness had doctors so confused that Sanchez reportedly contemplated retirement on the eve of the fight.

His comeback begins with Carneiro, a 29-year-old Brazilian fighter who scored an impressive second-round TKO of veteran Tony DeSouza at last month’s UFC 79 event.

Carneiro, who officially joined American Top Team last week, made his UFC debut with a unanimous-decision win over “The Ultimate Fighter 4” cast member Rich Clementi at UFC Fight Night 9. He then dropped a second-round submission (via rear-naked choke) to Fitch at UFC Fight Night 10 this past June.

news credited to www.mmajunkie.com

Shamrock vs. Shamrock in 2009??

With 2008 just barely upon us, the rumor mill is flying higher than ever. Frank Shamrock has confirmed a fight should take place early in 2009 with his adoptive brother and UFC hall of famer Ken Shamrock. Here's the quote from mmaweekly.com by Jeff Cain



Frank Shamrock will defend his Strikeforce middleweight title against Cung Le on March 29 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Cali, but it's his bout planned for the first quarter of 2009 that's getting the most attention. Frank Shamrock confirmed that he will fight his adoptive brother and UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock early next year.

"Oh yea. Unless I die, it's going to happen," the younger Shamrock told MMAWeekly.

Frank is a middleweight, 185 pounds, and Ken has fought most of his career as a heavyweight, but his most recent bouts have been in the light heavyweight division, 205 pounds. Frank revealed the two will compete at light heavyweight.

Frank said, "I do know the weight will be at 205. That's what Ken wanted. The where doesn't matter. The when will be the first quarter of 2009. The how will be right hand, left hook, right hand, and then that will be it.

"The 35 year-old Strikeforce champion believes the match with the older brother that made the Shamrock name famous first will be the biggest fight in mixed martial arts history. "It's going to be because this is the story that everyone can understand. Even if you don't like fighting, you get the story. You get the storyline. You get the characters. You get the players. I think this is what breaks our sport open to the masses, for real."

Shamrock plans to promote the fight heavily, unprecedented marketing of an MMA fight. He said, "I'm going to commentate on this next (Elite XC) event. I kind of got clued in on using the Showtime vehicle to promote these pay-per-views, these matches. In particularly we're all gearing up and focusing on the Blood Brothers: Shamrock vs. Shamrock match. We're both going to get it on, on Showtime, show our faces and build this fight the way a fight should be built."

He continued, "I've been examining the sport for a while. I think HBO has got it right for boxing, doing the 27/7 series, having a term of marketing, creating a docudrama, docu-reality type atmosphere leading up to an event. We're going to do the same with Blood Brothers. This will be the first fight that has a solid 13 to 14 months of marketing behind it and real story lines, real stars. I think this is the fight that's going to change the sport of mixed marital arts, make it more talent oriented instead of company oriented."

After all these years of back-and-forth banter between both sides, will the Shamrock feud be finally put to pasture when the two legendary combatants fight for real? Frank Shamrock stated, "I think that's the big answer. I can tell you how I think it's going to be because I wrote the storyline, but that might be giving away the goods. I can tell you what it's not going to be. It's not going to be boring. It's not going to be not exciting. I think in the end it's going to be a loving, cathartic, family bringing together experience that everybody can understand, but it could just be a young brother kicking his older brother's a**. I don't really know."

No word from Ken Shamrock yet who is scheduled to fight for EliteXC against Robert Berry in March.

Evan Tanner Returns to UFC to Fight Yushin Okami

The following excerpt appeared at www.mmaweekly.com and was written by Lee Whitehead.


NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, England – Late last year, Evan Tanner announced that he had signed to once again compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Now there is a date and an opponent to round out his return.

As part of a question and answer session on Friday, UFC broadcaster Joe Rogan stated that Evan Tanner will face Yushin Okami when the promotion makes its Canadian debut. That event will be headlined by a championship bout between current welterweight titleholder Matt Serra and interim champion Georges St. Pierre. It will take place on April 19 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Joe Silva, UFC’s vice president of talent relations, confirmed Rogan’s comments about the fight.Tanner last fought more than one-and-a-half years ago at UFC 59 where he defeated Justin Levens by triangle choke. He won the middleweight championship at UFC 51, defeating David Terrell by TKO. His reign didn’t last long though, as he lost the belt to Rich Franklin four months later.

The 36-year-old fighter out of Amarillo, Texas has long been considered a nomad, never staying with one fight camp for very long. Tanner has spent time training with teams such as Team Quest and Chute Boxe USA, but is currently training at Hard Knocks Muay Thai in Las Vegas.

He has also recently traveled to Utah to train with Josh Burkman, who fights in the main event of UFC Fight Night on Jan. 23 against Mike Swick.

Rogan also stated that the UFC has been talking with Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto and Takanori Gomi amongst others, but as far as he is aware nothing is solid with any of them.

Ken Shamrock vs. Robert Berry at Cage Rage 25

UFC hall of famer Ken Shamrock, who recently signed with EliteXC along with his son Ryan, is scheduled to fight Robert Berry at Cage Rage 25.

Berry (11-7), a seven-year professional, fights out of England and has spent most of his career with Cage Rage. Oddly, in 18 professional fights, only one — his very first fight — lasted more than one round. Seven of the heavyweight’s 11 victories have come via knockout.

Shamrock is in somewhat of a legal battle with Dana White and the UFC. The sides are very different as to what the story is. Shamrock states that Dana White released him from his contract due to his coaching status in the IFL. White says it's that Shamrock can't compete at the level the UFC demands.

Gono Out of UFC 82

Akihiro Gono has been forced to withdraw from his fight with Jon Fitch at UFC 82 due to a hand injury. The welterweight bout was set to appear on the televised main card.

The withdrawal of Gono still gives the UFC time to set a replacement opponent for Fitch however most of the top welterweights are already scheduled to fight.

At this time, it's not known if the UFC will replace Gono with another opponent or just pull Fitch off the fight card.

Gono stated that he originally injured his hand in his debut fight with the UFC. He scored a second round submission over Tamdan McCrory at UFC 78 but sustained a lot of damage during the fight.

Fitch, on the other hand, is riding a 14 fight win streak and is poised to make a serious run at the welterweight crown. His last victory was a convincing one over another top contender in Diego Sanchez.

Ed Herman Scheduled for UFC 83

Ed 'Short Fuse' Herman is set to meet Demian Maia, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist, at UFC 83. Maia is the current Abu Dahbi Combat Club champion in his weight class and in his debut at UFC 77, he toyed with Ryan Jensen in a grappling session, eventually submitting him with a rear naked choke in the first round.

Herman is on a three-fight win streak after recovering from back-to-back losses to start his UFC tenure. His most recent loss was to TUF killer Jason MacDonald. The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 3 185-pound finalist most recently avenged a loss from earlier in his career against Joe Doerksen at UFC 78: “Validation” in November 2007, knocking out “El Dirte” in the 3rd round in a pretty lobsided fight.

4 of 5 of Herman's losses have come by submission so he needs to be extra careful with Maia's grappling ability or he'll get knocked down the middleweight peg again.

Gary Shaw vs. Dana White 'A War of Words'

The following is an excerpt from mmaweekly.com and is in regards to Dana White saying the UFC has the best fighters in the world. EliteXC's president Gary Shaw begs to differ. Here's the article.


The war of words between Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White and EliteXC live events president Gary Shaw continued on Wednesday when, during a media conference call, the feud was brought up and Shaw had strong words in response to what White said recently.

“All I'm saying is, and I've said it all along, there is a differentiator. If you fight for the UFC, you can't be bigger than Dana White and the UFC,” said Shaw.

“If you fight for EliteXC, as a fighter, you're bigger than Gary Shaw. It's about the fighter. It's not about me. Whether it's Kimbo, who was signed to us, or any other fighter. I believe we represent some of the greatest fighters in the world. I believe that Antonio ‘Big Foot’ Silva could knockout any heavyweight in the UFC.”

Speaking about Antonio Silva, Shaw also confirmed that he will fight on the Feb. 16 card facing Cage Rage heavyweight champion Gary Turner in a bout that could showcase two of the best up-and-coming big men in all of MMA. Shaw also had some complementary things to say about the UFC and what its done for the sport of mixed martial arts, but was quick to point out the exclusivity they keep with their fighters.

“Now, I'm not disparaging the UFC. They have some great fighters and great fights. They have a good brand,” he stated. “They do a good job marketing their brand, but they don't own MMA. They don't own the space. They have a brand."

“You know what, if you hold up the belt there, all you are is the club champion. Until Dana White is willing to fight his fighters against other brands; all they are is club champions.”

The open challenge was extended to White and the UFC to put their fighters against the fighters from EliteXC, and while Shaw made a strong gesture, a co-promoted show between the two organizations will likely never happen.

“I extend the challenge and always have. It's like Kimbo; you want to fight him? Call us up, you can come in the cage and fight him,” said Shaw. “You want to fight Jake Shields, fight Jake Shields. We're proud of the people we represent. Robbie Lawler, I could go down the whole roster.”

Despite the challenges and compliments towards the UFC and their fighters, Shaw was quick to once again point both barrels at UFC president Dana White. “For Dana White to try to convince the fans that he owns all of the best fighters in the world. To say that this is just a starting point for fighters and then they're going to go to UFC. He is full of (expletive),” said Shaw with conviction. “Let him fight our fighters.”

MMA Fully Mainstream

MMA enthusiast and former King of Queens star Kevin James was at the Bob Hope Chrysler Pro-Am yesterday wearing a 'Tapout' hat. Who would have thought the MMA world would cross with golf. It's not known if James was paid by Tapout to wear the hat.

James is known for attending all the major UFC events and has been a fan since the early 2000's.

Golf tournaments rarely, if ever, have sponsors of violence. More times than not, people are clad in Titleist, TaylorMade, and Srixon attire. Throw in the occasional health insurance logo and restaurant and the walking advertisements are complete. But I can guarantee that an MMA logo has ever been donned during a golf event.

Kevin James just proved that MMA has become fully mainstream and it doesn't appear to be stopping.

It's just odd that it's on a golf course. When Tiger Woods breaks out a Xyience logo on his hat then the MMA revolution will be complete.

Nick Diaz to Return in April

EliteXC's Nick Diaz could return to fight April 26th in Hawaii. The former UFC vet and current pot smoker signed a long term deal with EliteXC but was upset in his first fight by K.J. Noons in a lightweight title fight.

Diaz, who's younger brother Nate won season 5 of 'The Ultimate Figher,' had surgery on his eye to repair scar tissue. He should be completely healed by the time he fights.

His opponent has yet to be named but it won't be Noons, just yet. In their first fight Noons caught Diaz with a bunch of punches to the face and the fight was stopped due to cuts on Diaz's face. He was furious with the stoppage and flipped off the fight doctor as he stormed out of the ring.

Odds for UFC 80

For those new to 'recreational' money lines, all bets are based on $100.
For instance, fighter A might be favored at -150 to win the fight. That means you have to wager $150 to win $100.
Fighter B might be an underdog at +130 to win the fight. That means if you wager $100, you will win $130.

Because there are no point spreads or handicap in fighting to even things out, you simply run the risk of wagering more money for the fighter that's more likely to win.

When Matt Serra fought Georges St. Pierre for the welterweight title GSP was a huge favorite. The line read as follows:

Georges St. Pierre - 385
Matt Serra +330

If you took Georges St. Pierre, you lost $385 for every $100 wagered because he was expected to easily win.
If you took Matt Serra, you won $330 for every $100 wagered because no one expected him to win.

Here are the latest odds for UFC 80

Sam Stout -325
Per Eklund +250

Alessio Sakara -150
James Lee +120

Paul Taylor -220
Paul Kelly +180

Antoni Hardonk -350
Colin Robinson +275

Wilson Gouveia -155
Jason Lambert +125

Marcus Davis -350
Jess Liaudin +275

Kendall Grove -350
Jorge Rivera +275

Gabriel Gonzaga -225
Fabricio Werdum +185

BJ Penn -295
Joe Stevenson +235

Brock Lesnar Prepares for Frank Mir at UFC 81

MMA newbie Brock Lesnar is very confident in his preparation for his UFC debut against former champ Frank Mir. Lesnar discussed the upcoming and anticipated event with the crew of TAGG radio on Wednesday. The following excerpt is from the interview:

“I’m very excited,” Lesnar said. “Frank is more than a credible opponent for me, and it’s a true test for me. It’s a make-or-break opportunity for me to bust into the MMA world."

The Lesnar-Mir fight is set for UFC 81, which takes place Feb. 2 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The bout appears on the televised main card of the pay-per-view event.

Lesnar, a former high school and collegiate wrestling stand-out, said he would not hesitate to go to the mat with Mir, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

“I’m not afraid to take this fight to the ground,” Lesnar said. “The key for me is to be able to control his hips on the ground… and in the meantime put as much leather on his face as possible."

In just his second professional MMA fight, Lesnar recognizes that Mir will have the edge in overall cage experience, but he doesn’t see many other factors in Mir’s favor. “I don’t think Frank is going to be able to overpower me,” Lesnar said. “If he does get his hands on me, I don’t think he’s going to be able to finish it. And I’m very confident in my stand-up game… I plan to be in his face the whole time and break him. I’m going to push the pace of this fight to a limit he’s not going to be able to hang with. I do believe that."

Lesnar has been training at the Minnesota Mixed Martial Arts Academy, the home gym of former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk. Lesnar also credited Shooto veteran Erik Paulson for being the training partner most able to emulate the style of Mir in sparring sessions.

And while Lesnar admitted to the importance of this fight for his budding career, saying that he has “all to gain and everything to lose,” he’s not focused on the fact that he’s actually considered a small favorite to defeat a former champ so early in his career.

“I don’t have any added pressure,” Lesnar said. “I’ve got one plan, and that’s to go out and perform to the best of my capabilities and to win this fight."


If Mir returns to the form he once possessed prior to his motorcycle crash, it might be a humbling experience for the former WWE champ. He's a very credible opponent and we'll find out February 2nd if Lesnar jumped into the fire too soon.

GSP has Future Planned Out

Georges St. Pierre has stated that he doesn't want to dominate just the welterweight division. Once he wins his title back (he still has to defeat Matt Serra) he plans on defending it, while moving up in weight and trying to win the middleweight title.

Once he accomplishes that, he plans on moving up again and winning the light heavyweight title. While it's no secret that GSP is one of the most athletic fighters in the UFC, his task will be an extremely challenging one. Although if anyone can do it, he can.

We're not sure if this is just some gab or if he really intends to accomplish this. Who even knows what the lay of the land may be by the time he tries to accomplish his feat? Depending on who the champs may be, he might be able to complete his quest.

Considering how he thoroughly destroyed the organizations greatest welterweight champion twice, it's tough to doubt GSP's abilities.

One thing is for sure, the heavyweight division could use a bit of excitement.

Georges St. Pierre Loses All Respect for Matt Serra

Not much has been said lately but if you recall, Matt Serra had Georges St. Pierre almost blackballed from Gracie jiu-jitsu training. St. Pierre had plenty of excuses following his 1st round KO loss to Serra.

He stated that he was in a tough time in his life, had personal issues, a family member died, his dad was sick, the government was running after him, a car accident. It reads absurd but almost too absurd that it has to be true. Who would make up something that ridiculous? He also states that he didn't train hard enough and that if it was Matt Hughes he would have trained harder.

Serra was right in being insulted. Even though GSP had these issues, he completely took all credit away from Serra's victory. However, Serra retaliated in a verbal manner by saying GSP wasn't acting like a professional with his excuses, and calling him a "F-ing Frenchie".

GSP stated he doesn't want to get into any more of a verbal war and will let his fists do the talking. Their first fight not only had no hype, but both fighters were more than gracious and complimentary about each other beforehand.

It's not often that GSP talks much about his opponent so maybe this is just a tactic to get the bad blood going and filling the seats.

Condom Depot to Sponsor Gabriel Gonzaga

I don't know much about the deals between sponsors and fighters but we can all admit that the fighters of late have been looking more and more like billboards. We see Tapout, American Fighter, Xyience, things related to fighting.

Gabriel Gonzaga has sponsors just like all other fighters. Instead of the basic fighting theme that most other fighters use, he has gone to a loving theme and will be sponsored by condoms. CondomDepot.com will be printed across Gonzaga's fighting shorts. The Tampa based company is the leading distributor of condoms and safe sex education.

Gonzaga's decision to sign with the prophylactic company couldn't have come (no pun intended) at a better time with UFC 80 being officially named 'Rapid Fire'.

This, of course, is purely coincidental. However if the fight venue was named 'Battle of the Boner' one would think Dana White had a few bucks involved. Hopefully good taste will prevail and we'll never see a fight event by that name.

Now Gonzaga can see things in a different light when the referee explains, "Protect yourself at all times!"

I can see the commercial now when the ref tells Gonzaga to protect himself, he stares at the camera and gives a little wink.
CondomDepot.com

I'm a marketing genius. No I'm not.

Corey Hill Explains Split From Matt Hughes' Fight Team

When “The Ultimate Fighter 5” cast member Corey Hill decided not to join an upstart fight team created by Matt Hughes (even though he planned to), he left on good terms — and he stressed that his decision was simply a matter of personal preference.

Back in August, Hughes — the UFC’s former longtime welterweight champion — decided to split from his longtime home at Pat Miletich’s camp to start his own team. Assistant coach Marc Fiore spoke about the new team - The Hughes Intensive Training (H.I.T.) Squad - and it's founding members.

In addition to Hughes, Fiore said that fighters such as Robbie Lawler, Jacob Hey and Corey Hill were all expected to be part of the team. However, Fiore later confirmed that Hill opted not to join, but he didn’t go into much detail.

The 29-year-old Hill finally shed some light on the situation today, and it appears the split was amicable.

“It was an awkward position,” Hill said during today’s TAGG Radio program. “There was some talk (of me joining the H.I.T. Squad). I don’t know Matt Hughes too well, though… Then I went to Miletich’s, and there are a lot of good fighters coming through the gym, and I wanted to be one of them."

"My personal experience with (Hughes) — I’ve never had a problem with him… As far as I know him, he’s a good guy."

Hill also said he wanted to join Miletich’s camp so he could continue to work with Jens Pulver, who served as his coach on “The Ultimate Fighter 5” and, as Hill said, has become something of a father figure to him.

Hill (1-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) makes his long-awaited UFC debut next week at UFC Fight Night 12. He faces Joe Veres (4-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on the night’s un-televised undercard.

UFC 80 Preview

Some of the undercard appears to be fillers so I'll be discussing the fights that can have some implications in the UFC.

Sam Stout vs. Per Eklund
Riding a 4 fight win streak and compiling a 14-2-1 record, Per Eklund is venturing into the UFC for the first time and is not facing a cake walk. Sam Stout is a cardio machine who can go the distance and is a tough SOB. His last fight was a decision loss to Spencer 'The King' Fisher in a tremendous fight. He'll be looking to rebound against the Swede who has yet to fight in front of the size of a crowd the UFC puts together.

Jorge Rivera vs. Kendell Grove
Jorge Rivera's jaw is healed from the brutal right hand he took from Terry Martin, and Kendell Grove's psyche is healed from the KO he received from Patrick Cote. Grove was excited to fight Cote as he finally had someone he could stand there and trade with, until he got blasted with that right hook from Cote.
Both fighters are coming off a loss and are looking to rebound in the thin middleweight division. Both are TUF alums. And both can do some serious damage in this division. Either fighter can make great strides with a win which gives this fight some serious implications. The importance for both guys gives this the potential for fight of the night.

Jason Lambert vs. Wilson Gouveia
Both fighters are secret contenders in the light heavyweight division. Gouveia has won his past 3 fights and has lost only once in the UFC, to Keith Jardine (who by the way decisioned Chuck Liddell). He has also given Jon Fitch one of his two blemishes on his superb record. Gouveia is a brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who also has tremendous standup.
Lambert, on the other hand, walked through Renato 'Babalu' Sobral with some brutal ground and pound (Lamberts specialty). Many people were surprised how Lambert crushed Sobral but he has been extremely impressive in his past fights. He rode a 3 fight win streak by beating Rob MacDonald, Terry Martin, and Brandon Lee Hinkle when he ran into the buzz saw of Rashad Evans. He's only fought once this past year and no one is certain whether or not the layoff will hurt his chances but this should be a great fight with two clashing fight styles.

Jess Liaudin vs. Marcus Davis
Someone has to lose this fight which neither fighter has done in a long time. Liaudin has won five in a row, while the ever improving Davis has won his past ten contests. This fight should be a brawl. Both guys like to trade punches (Davis was a professional boxer) and both guys have well rounded submission games. It seems they like to beat down their opponents and instead of going for the knockout they pull off a submission instead. This fight also has great potential for fight of the night. Don't blink.

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Fabricio Werdum
This is a rematch of a 2003 contest that saw Werdum win by TKO over Gonzaga. However, neither fighter is at all the same as they were that night. Both are extremely improved and both are coming off a loss. If either fighter loses, they might also lose any chance of becoming the heavyweight champion in the UFC. Although as weak as this division is, no one should be completely exempt from ever getting a title shot.
Werdum is coming off a lackluster loss to all but forgotten Andrei Arlovski. A fight in which he didn't appear to be in very good shape. A loss by Werdum would be more detrimental than if Gonzaga loses, however neither fighter can expect good things with a loss.
Gonzaga had a chance to win the UFC heavyweight crown and was outclassed by Randy Couture. He came into the fight with great momentum after crushing Mirko Cro Cop with a head kick that will be a highlight real for years to come. A tremendous underdog in that fight, Gonzaga looked very comfortable against Cro Cop and dominated. As a favorite against Couture, he never looked comfortable and respected Couture's wrestling a bit too much and got taken down at will because of it. It might have been that Gonzaga had a bit of jitters fighting for the title, so expect a different fighter this time. A win by Gonzaga could vault him right back into contention and he has the most potential to be a champion.

BJ Penn vs. Joe Stevenson
lightweight title fight

The winner of this fight becomes the new lightweight champion, and will fight Sean Sherk in their first title defense in May. BJ Penn, when he's on, is possibly the best fighter in all of MMA. He is so good that he simply toys with his opponents on occasion. His condition has been the only part of his game he has lacked and because it has been scrutinized, I'm certain he'll be in great shape. He appears re-dedicated and has his sights set even after this fight. Penn states that if he wins, he'll defend against Sherk, than possibly move up to 170 and avenge a loss to Georges St. Pierre. He also added that he'd like to fight Matt Hughes again but isn't sure if Hughes would accept the fight. In his last fight with Hughes, Penn dominated the first 2 rounds but caught a shot to the ribs in the 3rd which depleted his breathing. The fight was stopped shortly thereafter as he was eating a slew of unanswered punches. There are no holes in BJ Penn's game. He can trade punches, he can work in the mount position, he can work off his back, and he'll be, by far, Joe Stevenson's toughest fight ever.
Joe 'Daddy' is also a very complete fighter and has been improving ever since he won TUF 2 at 170. He did lose to Josh Neer early in 2006 and immediately dropped to the lightweight division where he's been on a tear ever since. Stevenson is not as talented as Penn (no one is) but there are very few people as physically and mentally strong as Stevenson. While Penn may be more talented, Stevenson more than makes up for it in heart and dedication.
This fight should be outstanding. Penn is the favorite but you can't underestimate Stevenson. Penn works on instinct while Stevenson rarely makes mistakes. As Dana White always preaches, styles make fights, and this one has the makings to be legendary.

There you have it. UFC 80 is a great card with some really big fights. It's going to be televised live at 3pm this Saturday on ppv, then replayed at 10pm.

UFC Suing Randy Couture

The Following in an excerpt from the Review-Journal

Heavyweight champ in breach of contract, MMA group claims
By ADAM HILL
REVIEW-JOURNAL.

The strained relationship between the Ultimate Fighting Championship and its heavyweight champion Randy Couture has taken another bad turn -- directly into a Las Vegas courtroom.

Lawyers for Zuffa, LLC, the UFC's parent company, on Monday filed suit in Clark County District Court, alleging chiefly that Couture's comments about the UFC and its senior management caused the business irreparable damage and that he is in breach of the contract he signed with the company in December 2006. "We are alleging numerous intentional torts, which have caused Zuffa and the UFC significant harm," attorney Donald J. Campbell said. "Based upon that harm we are seeking to address these matters before a court of law. "The lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $10,000 and states that the amount of both compensatory and punitive damages would be proven at trial. It also seeks an injunction restraining Couture from participating in any way in any promotion competing against the UFC".

The lawsuit is the latest episode of discord between Couture and UFC President Dana White, who said he has considered Couture a friend for eight years. "What's really tough for me, to be honest, is we have been friends for a very long time," White said. "The hard part is that he is not living up to his obligations. Captain America is not keeping his word."

Couture is listed as the UFC heavyweight champion, even though the fighter and organization have been engaged in a public dispute that included his resignation from the company. An interim title match has been scheduled. The tense relationship between Couture and the UFC, namely White and co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta, became public on Oct. 11 when Couture held a news conference at his Las Vegas gym. Couture detailed his frustrations with the company and announced he was resigning from the UFC.
Couture claimed Fertitta and White had lied to him; that the company paid "off-the-books" bonuses to fighters; that he never was paid a signing bonus that had been negotiated in his December 2006 contract; and that the company treated many of its athletes poorly. Fertitta and White held their own news conference the following week, during which they addressed Couture's allegations and produced copies of checks cashed by Couture, including the signing bonus. The checks showed the heavyweight to be making much more money than he had claimed.

In the months since, the battle of words has continued and the sides have been unable to work things out."I expect Randy to honor the obligations in his contract that he signed (a year ago). I tried to resolve it by talking to this guy that I've had a relationship with for eight years and was unsuccessful," White said. "Now this thing's in the hands of the justice system."

Monday's lawsuit claims Couture's negative statements about the company constituted "injurious falsehood and trade disparagement," that has led to significant financial losses for the UFC. The lawsuit also alleges conspiracy, stating that several unnamed parties to be identified at a later date worked with Couture to intentionally inflict harm on the UFC.

According to the lawsuit, Couture is also in breach of a stipulation that prohibits him from engaging in "direct or indirect competition" with the UFC for a period of 12 months following the termination of his contract. Thus, Couture's sponsorship and promotion of a team in the International Fight League would be in direct violation of the stipulation. Currently, the IFL's Web site lists Couture's Xtreme Couture team taking on Mario Sperry's World Class Fight Center at the IFL's Feb. 29 card at the Orleans Arena.

A message left on Couture's cell phone on Monday was not returned.


This is just another messy setback in the strained relationship between Randy Couture and the UFC. It's tough to believe either side. On one hand, Dana White gave Couture an immediate title fight coming out of retirement. On the other hand, we have no idea what goes on behind closed doors. We've heard how Dana is a great guy from some fighters, and we've also heard how he is a bit controlling.

Well, it is his company.

Miletich Considers a Comeback

Legenday trainer and fighter Pat Miletich would consider a return to the cage if the right opportunity presented itself.

Miletich is still training tons of fighters and is regarded one of the best in the business. He states that he's got so much going on, is coaching in the IFL, and is also raising 2 daughters that fighting is already a goal he's achieved as an athlete.

Basically the money is what talks. If the money was right, he would gladly fight fellow IFL coaches Renzo Gracie or Frank Shamrock.

Danzig vs. Bocek at UFC 84

TUF 6 winner Mac Danzig will make his official drop to the lightweight division at UFC 84 when he faces Canadian Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Mark Bocek.

Also confirmed is the opponent of Canadian and 'TUF killer' Jason MacDonald. He'll be facing Joe Doerksen in a fight that may or may not be televised.

UFC 84's main event will be Matt Serra defending his welterweight title against Georges St. Pierre.

Several TUF 6 Fighters Released

It was reported on Friday that Dorian Price had been released from his UFC contract. Turns out he wasn't the only TUF 6 fighter that 'packed his bags'.

Semi-final fighter John Kolosci, who lost to Mac Danzig twice was released, as was Paul Georgieff, Billy Miles, former firefighter and current weirdo Dan Barrera, and part time fighter, part time comedian, and all around good guy Blake Bowman.

Richie Hightower was also released but under the conditions that he wanted to gain some more experience in smaller organizations and will likely return to the UFC in the future. He just recently inked a 3 fight deal with California's Palace Fighting Championship organization.

EliteXC Signs Ken and Ryan Shamrock

Elite XC announced on Monday that the company has signed UFC and Pride FC legend Ken Shamrock and his son Ryan to multi-fight deals. Terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed.

Both Ken and Ryan will fight on the upcoming March 8 Cage Rage event at Wembley Arena in London.

"I am totally committed to returning to the cage injury free and anxious about fighting in London for the first time," said Ken. "It is very exciting for both Ryan and I. We will be making MMA history by being the first father and son to ever fight on the same card."

"This is a great opportunity we are getting with EliteXC. Give me a fight or 2 and I'll be ready to fight anybody."

Ryan Shamrock is 1-0 and fights at 135 pounds. His father Ken is regarded as a pioneer of the sport and competed on the first ever UFC card. He is a current IFC coach and got locked in a bit of a legal tussle with Dana White regarding his contract. Shamrock says he still had fights left on his current UFC contract but Dana White let him go, apparently due to Shamrock taking a job to coach the IFL. White says Shamrock simply wasn't competitive anymore and felt his last couple performances were embarrassing.

White went on to talk about how any time Shamrock needed money he would call Dana White. White would somehow market the UFC vet, Shamrock would make a few bucks, then bolt. Who knows the real story, this is how Dana White sees it. He is correct in that Shamrock's best days are way behind him. Not everyone is a Randy Couture and can fight at that age.

EliteXC might find that out the hard way but it's going to be a great marketing strategy for selling tickets.

Baroni to Fight in Japan

Phil Baroni has confirmed that he'll return to Japan and face Pancrase veteran Sanae Kikuta on World Victory Road's debut show "Sengoku".

Baroni, 'The New York Bad Ass', also confirmed his return to American Kickboxing Academy as his full time fight team in preparation for Kikuta on March 5th.

Cory MacDonald defeats Edwin Dewees in Nova Scotia

Local boy Cory MacDonald pounded out UFC vet and former TUF 4 alum Edwin 'Bam Bam' Dewees in the first round Saturday night. The fight was the main event of the Phoenix Fight Promotions show at the Halifax Forum.

Dewees, 25, has now lost his last 4 fights and is struggling to land a solid fight organization, and having to fight on short notice which doesn't give him the best chance to win. He might be best remembered for decisioning Gideon Ray during TUF 4. It wasn't that he beat Ray, he had a nasty gash opened from a sharp elbow on his forehead. Blood was pouring out as if someone had just turned on the faucet. The mat looked like a crime scene when the fight was over.

Dewees is still young but having a losing streak like this can damage a person mentally. Especially when it's not the top competition. He seemed to be a fan favorite on the show but it's safe to assume his UFC days are done. Then again, the middleweight division could always use a tough veteran to test a newcomer.

Heavyweight Superbout possible

Fedor Emelianenko and his Russian management team will travel to LA on January 19th to meet with UFC walk-away Randy Couture in person.

Couture and the UFC are locked in a legal battle which looks like he might be on the losing end. No so much that he is owed anything from the UFC but in reality he walked away from the company that gave him a title shot after he was retired for a year. Dana White, in the meantime, has been saying most of the correct things regarding the situation.

Emelianenko was the prize free agent when Pride FC folded. Dana White had the advantage with the purchase of Pride's accounts last year. Fedor's demands exceeded the UFC's worth of him, however M-1 Global was able to dip into their reserves and land the #1 ranked heavyweight.

No one knows what is expected of the meeting, or if the'megabout' is going to be discussed. While MMA is on a rapid incline, it's extremely tough to have an Ali-Frazier or, Leonard-Hearns type fight when the names Couture vs. Emelianenko are barely recognizable to average sports fans. Go back to the mid 70's or early 80's and those fighters were household names. MMA has become mainstream but in order to have a superfight, the names need to be more recognizable.

We all need to hope the Couture and Emelianenko realize that while they put in their time training, promoting, and dedicating themselves to the sport of MMA, they're not entitled to special treatment, and they're not quite household names just yet.

One can only hope that this fight does take place, and not under any unusual circumstances. The UFC is really the main company that can make this happen without any problems. The other organizations just may not have the capital or recourses to host a fight card of this magnitude smoothly.

The other problem is this fight, while huge, won't really solve anything. Couture is 44 years old and while he is a freak of nature and dominated his last 2 title defenses, he's yet to face a man of Emelianenko's stature. Even though Couture is up there in age, his skills aren't far off from when he was younger and at his best. However, not too long ago, Chuck Liddell made Couture look very mortal in back to back fights in the UFC light heavyweight division. Emelianenko walked through everyone in Pride FC which, at the time, was the UFC's rival. He won't face any competition near that of the now defunct Pride FC or the UFC at M-1 Global.

In the world of MMA this would be the biggest heavyweight fight ever. Fans of this sport can only hope that these two superstars aren't pricing themselves out of this dream matchup.

With Fedor signing with M-1 Global, he must have known he wasn't going to be facing the best of the best in MMA. I'd hate to say it but maybe Tim Sylvia was right in saying he is purposely not facing the toughest competitors out there. Or in Sylvia's words, "Fedor's being a p***y".