Friday Link Club: UFC 144 Preview, State of Japanese MMA
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Per Eklund Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko
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Per Eklund Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko
When Johny Hendricks knocked out Jon Fitch in 12 seconds at UFC 141, he showed he was ready to be put in the elite of the UFC's welterweight division. Now, he'll have another shot at one of the division's best. UFC president Dana White announced on Sunday Hendricks will take on Josh Koschek at the UFC's May card on Fox.
Koscheck's last two bouts were a tight split decision over Mike Pierce at UFC 143 and a knockout of Matt Hughes at UFC 135. Before that, he lost a championship bout to Georges St. Pierre.
Hendricks is riding a three-fight win streak, with the KO over Fitch, a TKO over T.J. Waldburger, and a split decision over Pierce. His last loss was a decision to Rick Story in December of 2010.
This is also a bout that will make college wrestling fans happy. Two former Division I champions will meet in the Octagon for the first time. Koscheck was a national champ and four-time All-American for Edinboro, while Hendricks won two national championships and four All-America honors for Oklahoma State.
Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/27651/ufc-144-preview-joe-lauzonanthony-pettis-and-hatsu-hiokibart-palaszewski/

Fight Day Live is back on Saturday, Feb. 25 (6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT). The UFC's official pre-show, hosted by Dave Farra and Megan Olivi, will prepare you for all the fighting action at UFC 144 including the big UFC lightweight title fight featuring champion Frankie Edgar and challenger Benson Henderson.
As always, you'll get the inside information from our panel of experts, Matt Brown from HeavyMMA, John Morgan from MMAjunkie and Joe Ferraro from UFC Connected. We'll also sit down with UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre to get an update on his recovery from knee surgery, and Carlos Condit, who chats about his battle with Nick Diaz.
And finally, we'll go inside the training camp of Jake Shields. Be sure and tune in on Saturday.
Rashad Evans Urijah Faber Wagnney Fabiano Kevin Kimbo Slice Ferguson
Since Rashad Evans and Jon Jones stopped being training partners last year, the two have spewed nothing but vitriol at each other. But as UFC 144 and their title bout nears, Jones talked about how he misses their friendship with the Score in Chicago.
"We trained together and we had good times, but this competition has come between our friendship, which sucks," Jones told host Laurence Holmes. "I do miss being friends with the guy. But it's business, and he's coming after my championship. I've gotta do what I've gotta do. It might be a little awkward punching him in the face, but I'm sure the first time he swings at me, it will get reactionary."
Though fighters quite often forget their pre-fight squabbles after bouts, Jones says a renewed friendship is unlikely. He just wants respect between the two.
"I'd like to get to a point of being cordial, but to be friends again is not necessary. There's thousands of wonderful people in the world I can meet. After all that's been said, we can just live our lives. Respect is all that's necessary for me."
Hoping for respect between the two didn't prevent Jones from taking a few digs at Evans and how he performed in his win over Phil Davis.
"I don't know if it's because of changing camps, but his body looked a little softer. He couldn't finish Phil Davis, a guy who is pretty much a rookie. [Ed. note -- Davis has 10 fights.] I got even more motivated to out-train him."
Jones thinks that if the same Evans who fought Davis shows up in Atlanta in April for their bout, it will be another title defense.
"Rashad's been in the game for almost 10 years now [Ed. note -- Eight years], and he didn't really show why he's the No. 2 ranked athlete. We didn't see any legit boxing combinations, no kicking, no powerful double-leg dives. He was really just out there existing. If that's the same fighter who comes out when we fight, easier day for me."
Jon Olav Einemo Per Eklund Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko
Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/27636/edson-barboza-vs-evan-dunham-booked-for-ufc-146/