Ronda Rousey earns $32,000 for title-win over Miesha Tate

The growth of women?s MMA is still a work in progress but with fighters like Ronda Rousey leading the charge it appears things should continue in a positive direction. Not only was Rousey part of a much-anticipated Strikeforce headliner against Miesha Tate this past weekend but she, along with Tate and fellow female Sarah Kaufman, [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/03/06/ronda-rousey-earns-32000-for-title-win-over-miesha-tate

Jason Hollywood Chambers Ryo Piranha Chonan  Dan The Sandman Christison  Logan The Pink Pounder Clark 

UFC champion Dominick Cruz set to play role at upcoming NASCAR race

UFC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz will follow in the footsteps of UFC light heavyweight title-holder Jon Jones as the honorary pace car driver for today?s SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 NASCAR race. Jones was involved in pre-race festivities for the Daytona 500, also televised live by FOX. The UFC and FOX signed a multi-year deal last [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2012/03/04/ufc-champion-dominick-cruz-set-to-play-role-at-upcoming-nascar-race/

Ryan Bader  Siyar Bahadurzada Bao Ligao  Josh Barnett 

New previews surface for UFC 145, Ultimate Fighter 15

The UFC production staff has been working overtime as of late but you certainly wouldn?t know it based on the quality of the material surfacing from their offices as of late. Over the weekend the team unveiled two new previews attached to the Ultimate Fighter 15 and UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans. As might be [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/02/26/new-previews-surface-for-ufc-145-ultimate-fighter-15

Keith Hackney Matt Hamill Volk Han Joachim Hansen

Anthony Pettis, Hatsu Hioki impressive at UFC 144

Anthony Pettis was already known for one of the most memorable kicks in MMA history. He added to that legend with a left kick that knocked out UFC veteran Joe Lauzon at 1:21 in the first round of their bout at UFC 144 at Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

With that perfectly-placed kick, Pettis won his second fight in a row. After the fight was stopped, he jumped on top of the fence and gestured for the belt.

[Video: Watch Pettis-Lauzon fight highlights]

"Winning that fight is an amazing feeling.  I was on a bit of a down streak in 2011, but 2012 is my year and I'm getting a title shot.  I'm back, focused and ready to go, I didn't get touched.  I think I confused him with my southpaw, had him biting on the jab then threw the high kick and it landed.  I wanted to put on a good show for the fans because without them, I wouldn't be Anthony Pettis," Pettis said after the fight.

A title shot was supposed to be his after he won the WEC's lightweight belt in December of 2010. However, a loss to Clay Guida in June squashed those plans. Now, with an impressive knockout of Lauzon and a win over Jeremy Stephens, he's making a case that he belongs at the top of the UFC's stacked lightweight division.

Heading into the fight with Pettis, Lauzon was riding a high after stopping both Melvin Guilland and Curt Warburton in the first round. This loss sends him back to the drawing board.

Hioki wins over Palaszewski

In just his second UFC bout, Hatsu Hioki showed that he should be the next challenger for Jose Aldo's featherweight belt with a 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 dismantling of Bart Palaszewski.

In the first round, Hioki knocked Palaszewski down early. Palaszewski returned to his feet only to be taken down again. Hioki moved to side guard and threw repeated punches. To avoid strikes, Palaszewski gave up his back. As he tried to move out, Hioki pulled Palaszewski's arm into an armbar. He defended and moved out, but Hioki got back on top and threw several strikes. Palaszewski was more comfortable in the second round, keeping the bout standing. He was able to land more combinations than Hioki.

[Video: Watch Hioki-Palaszewski fight highlights]

In the third, Hioki brought the fight to the canvas immediately, taking down Palaszewski with a nasty trip. Hioki moved to side control and again used repeated shots to Palaszewski's head. When Palaszewski tried to escape, Hioki took his back. Palaszewski avoided the submissions, but Hioki's dominance was clear.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/lauzon-pettis-hioki-pal-035749883.html

Tony Bonello Stephan Bonnar Lorenzo Borgomeo  Kyle Bradley 

Ronda Rousey has a history of using her voice to make change

Ronda Rousey used her voice to get her a title shot. She will take on Miesha Tate for the Strikeforce bantamweight belt on Saturday in part because she persistently asked for the fight. She knows how to use her mouth to get what she wants.

This isn't new for her. Before becoming the first U.S. woman to win a judo medal in the Olympics, Rousey used her mouth to make a positive change in the judo community.

In 2008, when Rousey had already made the U.S. Olympic judo team, she wrote a post on her blog that shined a light on a judo official. Rousey wrote about accusations made against Fletcher Thornton. In sworn affidavits, then-teenaged judo players said Thornton had drugged and molested them.

The complaints against Fletcher didn't keep him from holding high offices within the judo community until Rousey spoke up. He resigned two weeks before the 2008 Games started.

"I felt it was the right thing to do, and I had already made the Olympic team, so there was nothing anyone could do to me," Rousey told Cagewriter during our January interview.

[ Related: Ronda Rousey can break out in Strikeforce title bout vs. Miesha Tate ]

"Someone had to speak up against this pervert. I thought, if I'm the only one who has the balls to do anything about it, then I'll deal with the consequences. I got a hold of all the affidavits, I spread it all around, and we got the New York Times to write an article about it. Now, he's never going to be around judo or any young women ever. I felt obligated as a woman to do that."

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ronda-rousey-history-using-her-voice-change-151925991.html

Shane The Engineer Carwin  Jason Hollywood Chambers Ryo Piranha Chonan  Dan The Sandman Christison 

UFC 144 weigh-in: ?Rampage? Jackson misses weight badly, Ryan Bader fight still on

Based on his condition when he stepped on the scale in Tokyo for the UFC 144 weigh-in, the rumors of Quinton Jackson having a lousy training camp were confirmed.

The former UFC light heavyweight champion missed the 205-pound limit by six pounds at 211.

The non-title fight will go on as planned with Jackson giving up 20 percent of his purse to Bader. Based on Jackson's salary from recent fights, that amount could be in the $50,000 range. Jackson was paid $250,000 in his fights at UFC 130 and UFC 135.

Even at 211, Jackson's face showed the wear of trying to make weight. He was also a little softer than normal in his chest. Both main event fighters, Frank Edgar and Benson Henderson, made weight for their UFC lightweight title fight at 154 pounds. Henderson, the much bigger fighter, was incredibly cut in the midsection.

Rich Franklin, serving as an analyst on Fuel TV, called Jackson's miss "ridiculous."

[ Kevin Iole: Benson Henderson's superhero mold may come in handy ]

During his interview with Fuel's Ariel Helwani, Jackson said he suffered an injury early in training camp and couldn't get in his roadwork. The injury, which Jackson would not disclose, was healed later in camp, but by then he was still very heavy. Jackson said he woke up at 3 a.m. local time to cut weight and he was only able to go from 232 down to 211.

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)
Frankie Edgar (154) vs. Ben Henderson (154)
Ryan Bader (205) vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (211)
Cheick Kongo (229) vs. Mark Hunt (264)
Yoshihiro Akiyama (169) vs. Jake Shields (170)
Tim Boetsch (186) vs. Yushin Okami (185)
Hatsu Hioki (145) and Bart Palaszewski (146)
Joe Lauzon (156) vs. Anthony Pettis (155)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX)
Takanori Gomi (155) vs. Eiji Mitsuoka (154)
Vaughan Lee (135) vs. Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto (136)
Steve Cantwell (185) vs. Riki Fukuda (185)
Chris Cariaso (136) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (135)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)
Issei Tamura (145) vs. Tiequan Zhang (146)

Watch UFC 144 right here on Yahoo! Sports

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-144-weigh-rampage-jackson-misses-weight-badly-044057757.html

Fedor Emelianenko Yasubey Enomoto Mark Epstein Tom Big Cat Erickson