UFC 142 look ahead: Anthony Johnson wants to play ?TUF Brazil? spoiler

UFC 142 look ahead: Anthony Johnson wants to play ?TUF Brazil? spoilerVitor Belfort's in an interesting spot come late January.

The Brazilian has a tough fight against Anthony Johnson, but also has a fight likely booked for the summer against Wanderlei Silva. He and Silva are the coaches on "The Ultimate Fighter Brazil." It seems like a possible look ahead spot for Belfort.

Johnson isn't bothered by the double booking.

"That's fine. I'm gonna spoil it. I'm gonna spoil it for them. I'm glad they put that [together], the coaches together for a show," Johnson told Sirius Fight Club on Sirius 94/XM 208. "It's two legends in Brazil. That's great for the Brazilian fighters and the overall MMA community, and for the world to see. Because both of those guys have a ton of knowledge," Johnson said. "Hell, I might just take his job after the fight!"

Johnson, a good prefight trash talker, sounded like he's going to dial it down a bit around the sometimes over-the-top Brazilian fans.

"Only thing I'm worried about is if I can make it out of Brazil or not," joked Johnson. He's noticed Chael Sonnen really stirring the pot around a possible Anderson Silva fight. "[Now] Sonnen needs to worry. I'm not on his level in talking as much as he talks. What he's saying is good for promotion, but it's also bad. There's some things you say and some things you don't say."

Johnson said he's not worried about trying to verbally intimidate Belfort. He's more interested in making sure he's on point on fight night.

"Of course his hands are fast, but I have to stick my gameplan and what I know and what I do best. Once I start worrying about what he can do. Then that's when you stop thinking about what you can do," said Johnson.

The matchup makes for an intriguing fight. It's strength against strength.

The 6-foot-2 Johnson has spent his entire career fighting down at 170. How will he react to a smaller weight cut? Johnson said he'll still be cutting from around 210 pounds. Will his power translate to the 185-pound division? Maybe he does catch Belfort looking ahead. He's certainly got nothing to lose. We'll find out if Belfort, who's biggest weakness is his mental game from fight-to-fight, is rock solid in Rio.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-142-look-ahead-Anthony-Johnson-wants-to-pla?urn=mma-wp10987

Tony DeSouza  Edwin Dewees  Nick Diaz  Tadhg Steamfist Dixon

Gil Martinez Blog: Early Christmas Presents

I caught Saturday night?s Strikeforce event. Strange as this may sound, I?m pretty sure Cristiane Santos could beat some of the male 145-pounders. No, not anybody in the Top 20 or so, but I think she could probably take some a few guys out there. They talked about doing a fight with Ronda Rousey, maybe [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/12/23/gil-martinez-blog-early-christmas-presents

Mark Epstein Tom Big Cat Erickson Martinsh Egle Eric Butterbean Esch

Strikeforce weigh-in: With title fights official, is Masvidal focused?

Strikeforce weigh-in: With title fights official, is Masvidal focused?

The craziest weight class miss in recent memory was the only notable highlight of the Strikeforce weigh-in earlier today.

Jerron Peoples knew he was nowhere close to welterweight limit of  170 pounds, so his camp negotiated with Roger Bowling's to meet at 179. Incredibly enough, Peoples still missed the super high catchweight. He weighed 180.5 and couldn't get down to 179.

There were no such issues with pros like Gilbert Melendez (155) and Jorge Masvidal (155) along with the females fighting for the 145-pound title. Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos and Hiroko Yamanaka both came in on point.

After reading Kevin Iole's excellent piece on Masvidal's weird diet and nightlife habits, it's a surprise the challenger didn't come in weighing 200 pounds.

Masvidal is a self-proclaimed fast food junkie.

He spends a lot of time in the nation's fast food restaurants. He said, "I'm a humungous fan of McDonald's," putting a significant emphasis on the word "humungous." "I can't tell you how much I love that place. Taco Bell. Rally's. Checker's. I don't know if you have one of those where you are, but let me tell you, that place is awesome."

One of life's pleasures, he says, is a grilled burrito at Taco Bell. But he has so many favorites, it's difficult to remember all of them.

"Wow, that is one of the toughest questions ever," he said, asked his favorite fast-food meals. "There are so many great ones."

He also loves night clubs and strip clubs.

[...] Give him four hours and he's a happy man. He's often out prowling after midnight, hanging in night clubs, stopping in strip joints, just looking for a place to spend some time and have some fun.

"I just can't sleep a lot," he says. "I'm not out partying. I don't drink; I don't smoke. I'm just out hanging with my friends. I only need about four or five hours a sleep a night at most. So if I can't sleep, I might as well be out doing something."

Unless this is a recent development, there's no reason to call Masvidal on his unconventional habits. He enters the fight winning two straight and 3-of-4. He destroyed KJ Noons back in June.

MAIN CARD (Showtime - courtesy MMAjunkie)

Gilbert Melendez (155) vs. Jorge Masvidal (155)
Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (145) vs. Hiroko Yamanaka (145)
Gegard Mousasi (206) vs. Ovince St. Preux (206)
Billy Evangelista (156) vs. K.J. Noons (156)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Caros Fodor (156) vs. Justin Wilcox (156)
Roger Bowling (170) vs. Jerron Peoples (180.5)* - 179-pound catchweight fight
Devin Cole (248) vs. Gabriel Salinas-Jones (265)
Fernando Gonzalez (186) vs. Eddie Mendez (186)
Chris Brown (170) vs. Herman Terrado (170.5)

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Strikeforce-weigh-in-With-title-fights-official?urn=mma-wp10832

Renzo Gracie Rickson Gracie Rodrigo Gracie Roger Gracie

Friday Link Club: Holiday Edition, Urijah Faber Shaves His Head For Recovering Sister

Urijah Faber shaves his head to join his sister who just went through brain surgery after a terrible car accident All I Want for Christmas: Six Fighter Letters to Santa | Cage Potato 15 Must-Buy Holiday Gifts for the MMA Fan in Your Life | Bleacher Report Top 10 Biggest MMA Upsets in 2011 ?| [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmaconvert/~3/z9ywghW1yl8/

Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè 

Two Fights Added to ?UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit? Roster

Who’s on vacation mode? On Friday morning, the UFC added a pair of welterweight scraps to their Super Bowl Saturday extravaganza. Veteran Matt Brown, who has dropped four out of his last five bouts, meets Chris Cope (Pictured), while Justin Edwards will face Mike Stumpf at UFC 143. It is anticipated that both fights will [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/100819/two-fights-added-to-ufc-143-diaz-vs-condit-roster/

Ryan Gracie Peter Graham Forrest Griffin Tyson Griffin

Jon Jones wins the chess match, puts Lyoto Machida to sleep to defend his title at UFC 140

Jon Jones wins the chess match, puts Lyoto Machida to sleep to defend his title at UFC 140

Jon Jones refers to the often brutal sport of mixed martial arts as "a game he loves to play." It's seems like a strange way to refer to MMA, but Jones showed again tonight that he's quickly becoming the master of the game.

The UFC champ was getting outmaneuvered early in the fight, but as always made the necessary moves to first cut Lyoto Machida and then turns the lights out with a standing guillotine in the second round to successfully defend his UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 140.

"He's just smart. He kicked really hard. He knew his range. He has great tactics and definitely he was a very tough puzzle," Jones told UFC analyst Joe Rogan.

Jones, who won the title back in March at UFC 128, has successfully defended in two times. All four of his wins in 2011 have come via stoppage.

Amazingly, he's posting these dominant victories by different means each time out. His physical gifts are off the charts, but it's the way he's mastering the mental game that makes him look more unbeatable each time out.

Machida (17-3, 9-3 UFC) is also a brilliant tactician, who really confused Jones in the opening round. The champ looked sloppy with his fists and landed a few leg kicks, but it was the challenger who landed the heaviest shots with a few well-timed flurries. When drilled Jones with overhand left with 5o seconds left, Machida locked up the first round.

"He didn't have me hurt, but he did punch me pretty good and it wobbled me a bit," Jones said. The champ looked at eating that punch as a positive. "It was good. One of my biggest critic points is that I can't take a punch, so I'm glad to prove it to myself, and to everyone that I can take a legit hit."

Jon Jones wins the chess match, puts Lyoto Machida to sleep to defend his title at UFC 140

Instead of turning up the aggression on Jones, Machida dialed it down a bit in the second. He let Jones get comfortable again.

With three minutes left in the round, Jones landed a right that stopped Machida in his tracks and worked the clinch for a big slam takedown. That's Jones' world and he immediately went to work from half guard. At 6-foot-4, Jones is a huge 2o5er. He imposed his size from the top and scraped a nasty elbow across Machida's forehead. The result was a deep gash that leaked blood into Machida's eyes.

"I know Lyoto's a black belt so I was expecting a lot more motion on the bottom, but he didn't move a lot and i was able to open him up," said Jones.

Machida got to his feet, the stop was stopped to check the cut for a few seconds and then reset. The fighters separated momentarily and both tried to throw the left hand. Machida's was a wide left hook and Jones was a short chopping left. The Jones shot landed and Machida went to his knees. His head was exposed as he stood back up where Jones landed a knee and locked on the standing guillotine along the cage.

The taller athlete cranked up and eventually Machida's right arm went limp. Referee John McCarthy stopped it and when Jones released the choke Machida fell flat on his face. He was out cold.

"It's not really a move that I practice. I think it's something that comes natural from wrestling for years. But yeah, it was a great lock. I realized that I had it, that I just needed to be tough and hold the position and eventually he'd run out."

Jones is showing off new weapons all the time. The fact that he finished off a top five light heavyweight with a move he's never practice is more proof of his greatness.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Jon-Jones-wins-the-chess-match-puts-Lyoto-Machi?urn=mma-wp10631

Viacheslav Datsik Marcus Davis  Tony DeSouza  Edwin Dewees 

Brian Ebersole shaves sponsor name into chest at UFC 140

Fighters rely on sponsors to supplement their fight purses, and will sometimes come up with creative ways to advertise their sponsor. Brian Ebersole, who has shaved an arrow into his chest hair for previous fights, had the logo for Tapout manscaped onto his chest for his win over Claude Patrick.

Brian Ebersole shaves sponsor name into chest at UFC 140

That's some dedication to a sponsor, folks. Whoever actually did the shaving deserves kudos, as well.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Brian-Ebersole-shaves-sponsor-name-into-chest-at?urn=mma-wp10610

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