UFC 144 Weigh-In Results: Title Fight On, Rampage Misses The Mark

All of the fighters on the "UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson" fight card tipped the scales today at the Saitama Super Arena; all but Quinton "Rampage" Jackson hit the mark for their respective bouts, meaning the lightweight title fight between Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson is official. Read more for the full weigh-in results.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/27703/ufc-144-weigh-in-results-title-fight-on-rampage-misses-the-mark/

Wes Soldier Combs  Ray Cooper  Kit Cope  Wesley Cabbage Correira 

UFC 144 video: The search for hardcore UFC fans in a Tokyo square

In what is a very unofficial study of Japan's interest in MMA, Ariel Helwani hit the streets in Tokyo to find hardcore UFC fans.

He combs through a bunch of 18-34 year olds and it was hard to find many that had more than a passing interest in the sport. Is this any worse than you'd find on the streets of most American cities? We're guessing yes. In any case, it's an interesting watch.

On the back end of the video, some of the more educated fans point to a lack of television, poor marketing and few good stories as the reasons for mixed martial arts' downturn in Japan. Others says with a recent spike in crime and the earthquake, people are shying away from events built around violence.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-144-video-search-hardcore-ufc-fans-toyko-221028977.html

Mauro Galvao Arman Gambaryan Manvel Gamburyan Sean Gannon

UFC Announces Lightweight Roster for Season 15 of The Ultimate Fighter

The UFC has announced the roster of lightweight fighters who have been selected to partake in the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter. This season, the 15th edition, will air live on FX, starting every Friday on March 9th. The season will debut with a two and a half hour premiere, which will feature all 16 of the first round fights, with the winners earning a spot in the competition along with a spot in the house.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/27726/ufc-announces-lightweight-roster-for-season-15-of-the-ultimate-fighter/

Marcus Davis  Tony DeSouza  Edwin Dewees  Nick Diaz 

UFC 144 weigh-in extra: GTL, new Octagon girl and ?Rampage? vs. Franklin

Sure the weigh-in for UFC 144 was a little later than normal, but it certainly delivered. There was a new Octagon girl, one fighter appeared to have just walked off the set of "Jersey Shore" and Quinton Jackson already booked himself his next fight.

Yoshihiro Akiyama brought it big time channeling the powers of GTL. We're not sure about the laundry part, but Akiyama certainly hit the gym to get down from his old weight of 185 to his new division down at 170. He also put Snooki to shame with a beautiful tan.

Meanwhile, it was pretty clear Jackson missed a lot of his gym time. Jackson, who gave hints that he might miss weight during the Dana White's second vlog (2:03 mark), clocked in at a hefty 211 for his fight at 205 pounds. Fuel TV's guest analyst Rich Franklin was exasperated and basically called it a joke. "Rampage" got wind of the comments and snapped at Franklin.

"My friend already texted me what Rich Franklin said and Rich Franklin need to watch his mouth before I smack him the next time I see him. He a fighter the same way I'm a fighter, he should watch what he say," Jackson said (1:50 mark). "You don't question if a fighter is taking his fight serious or not. I'm a fighter, I take all my fights serious and I'm tired of people saying that."

Jackson is dead wrong here. Franklin did his job and Jackson's focus for the fight is absolutely in question.

Looking for further satisfy the Japanese audience, the UFC held auditions for a new UFC 144 Octagon girl. They came up with a former Miss Japan contestant in Azusa Nishigaki.

Fuel TV's Ariel Helwani caught up with Nishigaki here.

Watch UFC 144 right here on Yahoo! Sports

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-144-weigh-extra-gtl-octagon-girl-rampage-151411443.html

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

James Toney and Ken Shamrock Nearly Fight at a Press Conference - James Toney

James Toney and Ken Shamrock are supposed to fight sometime in the fall of 2011. The two had a short press conference in Van Nuys, California to announce the fight, but started to get physical a little early.

Source: http://mmalice.com/james-toney/james-toney-and-ken-shamrock-nearly-fight-at-a-press-conference-video_184a34575.html

Dan Henderson Josh Hendricks Ed Herman Heath Herring

UFC 144 Real Time Weigh-In Results

The UFC is less than 24 hours away from making its official return to one of MMA’s birthplaces after more than a decade away. However, before the fighters can face off inside the Octagon at UFC 144 they’ll have to battle the bulge as it were, attempting to make weight despite the travel and time/cultural [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2012/02/24/ufc-144-real-time-weigh-in-results/

Per Eklund Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko