Pat Barry?s brawl with Christian Morecraft named UFC on FX ?Fight of the Night?

UFC officials certainly had their hands full this past Friday night when it came to handing out the evening?s performance bonuses after the lineup at UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller produced stoppages in eight of the ten scheduled bouts and one of the two decisions involved a hotly contested clash. However, in the end [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/01/22/pat-barry%e2%80%99s-brawl-with-christian-morecraft-named-ufc-on-fx-%e2%80%9cfight-of-the-night%e2%80%9d

Aleksander Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko Yasubey Enomoto Mark Epstein

Rashad Evans interview: ?Suga? focused on fight in front of him

Though former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans is focused on his fight with Phil Davis at UFC on Fox 2, there is another man who still gets on Evans' nerves: the current UFC light heavyweight champion. In fact, the mere mention of Jones' name caused the once friendly relationship between Evans and Davis to grow frosty.

"We've actually always been friendly to each other," Evans told Cagewriter. "I've always been a Phil fan. But when you're talking trash about Jon Jones, it kind of bothers me a little bit. I can't lie."

Though Evans and Jones were once friends and training partners, their relationship fell apart after Jones remarked to media that he would fight Evans. Since then, Evans has been irked by Jones.

"All the stuff that Jon has done, he deserves credit for and I respect that. He's been an amazing athlete in the sport, and he's accomplished so much. I have nothing but respect for him in that, but when he opens his mouth against me, it bothers me."

During the UFC on Fox 2 press conference, Davis mentioned what Jones said about Evans' lack of chin. Evans responded to Davis, a Penn State alumnus, by referring to the Penn State sex abuse scandal.

"Sometimes you say things and you didn't think about it when you say it. I can't tell somebody how they should feel about something. It was a lesson that I learned about being a little bit more conscious and watching what I say because you never know how it's going to affect people in different ways."

Both Evans and Davis were collegiate wrestlers, but Davis made a comment that he is the only one who truly has wrestling skills. According to Evans, there is a big difference between collegiate wrestling and MMA wrestling.

"What it comes down to is that he can be the best college wrestler in the world. He can have all the accolades. That's awesome. But we're not wrestling college wrestling. This is a fight. You can have the best college wrestling in the world, but you can have terrible MMA wrestling. His MMA wrestling is OK. It's not phenomenal. It's not exceptional. But his transitions from his punches to a takedown are trash," Evans said.

Davis was an NCAA Division I wrestling champion, but Evans doesn't see him as a well-rounded fighter.

"It's about timing and his timing is off. He's not comfortable standing up and punching, and it's a two-part thing. That's the other part of it. You can have a great shot. Great wrestling, but if you're afraid to get punched, or if you don't have good set-ups for your takedowns, then it doesn't matter. You can't execute because you're too afraid to get hit. Or you spend too much time thinking about it. The moment you think about the shot, the moment I see it. If I see it, it's too late. You're not going to shoot on me."

Next Saturday, Evans will fight in his adopted city of Chicago, just hours away from Michigan State, where he went to school. Logic would say that he would get a warm reception from the crowd, but Evans is usually booed by crowds. He doesn't expect any change from his fellow Midwesterners.

"Of course I expect to be booed. People always have to find the bad guy, and for some reason, the look on my face or something, people just want to boo me.That's fine. I know who I am as a person, and if they boo me, they boo me. That's OK. It doesn't make me lose sleep at night. I know who I am in real life. The same people that boo you are the same people who will ask you for a picture an an autograph. They don't know why they boo me."

Evans is often cast as a villain in fights, but he doesn't relish the role, like Chael Sonnen or Josh Koscheck does.

"It's so far from my character. People who know me in real life know that's on the extreme of the other end of who I am. So when people boo me, or they say things about me, 'Rashad thinks he's this, Rashad thinks he's that,' it does bother me to a certain extent, but then I've got to remember that it's not me they're saying it about. It's a character of who they think I am, and I've got to divorce myself from that character."

He also has learned to take any promises of title shots with a shaker's worth of salt. Evans has been promised title shots with Mauricio Rua and Jones, but injuries and timing have gotten in the way. Again, Evans has been promised a shot at Jones with a win over Davis, but he knows better than to put stock in it.

"No matter what, it's not about the next fight after this one. The only fight that matters is this fight. What comes after this is for the fans to anticipate and think about. For me? Nothing matters besides the fight that I have. And that's the way it should be. Whether I've been promised something or not. Only thing I care about, the only thing I think about is the fight in front of me."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/rashad-evans-interview-suga-focused-fight-front-him-213006869.html

Tony Fryklund Kazuyuki Fujita Masakatsu Funaki Zelg Benkei Galesić

Hockey Fight of the Day: Jake Dowell vs. Scott Nichol

As even a non-fan might guess, occasionally hockey players take exception to being checked by an opposing player. Such was certainly the case in this battle last night between the St. Louis Blues’ Scott Nichol and Dallas Stars’ Jake Dowell, as Nichol was none too pleased with Dowell after hitting him with what he thought [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/01/17/hockey-fight-of-the-day-jake-dowell-vs-scott-nichol

David Bielkheden Michael Bisping  Dan Bobish Vagam Bodjukyan

Jorge Rivera goes out a winner in retirement fight at UFC on FX 1

He doesn't rank up there with the likes of Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture, but Jorge Rivera certainly did his part as one of the building blocks for the UFC.

A long-time card filler since 2003, Rivera announced earlier in the day that he was retiring following his fight tonight. He seized the opportunity to shine in his final trip to the Octagon by wearing down and eventually punching out Eric Schafer at the 1:31 mark of the second round of the final fight on the FUEL TV portion of the UFC on FX 1 card.

"I want to thank Zuffa. I want to thank Dana White, the Fertitta brothers, Burt Watson, whose voice I'm going to miss dearly in the back," Rivera told UFC play-by-play announcer Jon Anik.

Rivera then turned his attention to thanking his family and training partners. That's when he got a bit emotional.

It was nice to see the near 40-year-old make it to the cage tonight for his 15th career fight with the promotion. He nearly retired back in 2009 after the tragic passing of his daughter Jessica.

Rivera (19-9) turned pro back in 2001. He finishes with an 8-7 record in the UFC. He rose near the top of the division facing former UFC middleweight champ Rich Franklin at UFC 50. He also lost to current contender Michael Bisping. He had to overcome some rough times in his personal life when Jessica, 17, passed away after a fatal reaction to birth control medication.

"I'm grateful I fought here in front of a lot of people. It's been a real nice trip. It's been real good to me," said Rivera.

Rivera's seen the sport come a long way. In 2003, UFC pay-per-views had trouble eclipsing 50,000 buys. Tonight, between FUEL TV and FX, all 11 fights are being televised to a nationwide audience.

The victory was typical Rivera. He never panics in the cage, so even when he was getting dominated in the grappling game, Rivera stayed composed in the first round. Schafer, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, had top control for much of the opening round, but never threatened with a submission.

Schafer (12-7-2, 3-6 UFC) is a new entry to the middleweight division. His stamina was an issue in his UFC debut fight at 185 pounds against Aaron Simpson and it happened again tonight.

"He's a strong guy. I was watching him in the back. He had a real tough [weight] cut, so I knew the longer the fight would go, he would have a harder time. And I could feel him breathing harder and harder," said Rivera.

Rivera escaped one final takedown attempt with 4:10 left in the second. With Schafer on his hands and knees, Rivera stunned him with a right uppercut. He eventually faded to the cage where he ate 23 unanswered shots. After several requests from referee Herb Dean to defend himself, Schafer didn't respond and the fight was stopped.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/jorge-rivera-goes-winner-retirement-fight-ufc-fx-020509572.html

Efrain Escudero Rashad Evans Urijah Faber Wagnney Fabiano