?Mega Megu? confirmed for NYE action in Japan

Fans who enjoyed this past weekend?s performance from top female featherweight Cristiane Santos will no doubt be glad to hear another of the elite women in Mixed Martial Arts has action coming up before year?s end as well. According to an official announcement, Megumi Fujii has been booked for a bout against well-rounded Spaniard Karla [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/12/19/%e2%80%9cmega-megu%e2%80%9d-confirmed-for-nye-action-in-japan

Peter Graham Forrest Griffin Tyson Griffin Karn Grigorian

Alistair Overeem Brings In 3 Time All American Collegiate Wrestler Jared Rosholt

Alistair Overeem getting some help for his upcoming fight with Brock Lesnar. Wrestling heavyweight Rosholt finished second in the 2010 NCAA Championships after losing to Iowa State’s David Zabriskie. Jared Rosholt now has a 4-0 MMA record and is the brother of UFC vet Jake Rosholt. Hayabusa Alistair Overeem UFC 141 Walkout Shirtfrom: MMAWarehouse.com

Source: http://www.mmatko.com/alistair-overeem-brings-in-3-time-all-american-collegiate-wrestler-jared-rosholt/

Mac Danzig  Karen Darabedyan Viacheslav Datsik Marcus Davis 

King Mo Backs Off 'Cancer Patient' Comments, Wants to Fight Where Money Is

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King MoIn September, "King" Mo Lawal said he viewed Strikeforce as something like "a dying cancer patient," saying he was just waiting for the promotion he's been fighting in since 2009 to die. But Lawal doesn't feel that way anymore.

With Lawal set to fight Lorenz Larkin on the January 7 Strikeforce card -- the first card on a new agreement between Zuffa and Showtime to keep Strikeforce alive through 2012 -- Lawal now views Strikeforce as alive and well.

"I was wrong to say it was a cancer patient. The cancer went into remission and Strikeforce is back," Lawal said on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour.

That doesn't necessarily mean, however, that Lawal will be part of Strikeforce in the long term. Lawal has made no secret that he'd like to be involved in bigger fights (and bigger paydays) in the UFC. And although he said his request for a fight with Rampage Jackson in Japan never came close to fruition, he said he's hoping for big fights and big money next year, after his current contract expires following the fight with Larkin.

"I've got one more fight on my contract and then my contract ends in February," Lawal said. "King Mo just wants to go where he can get paid and get paid without the check bouncing."


Lawal said he has no problem remaining with Strikeforce, and he wasn't upset to learn that Zuffa will continue to operate the UFC and Strikeforce separately, rather than absorb Strikeforce fighters into the UFC.

"I just hope they can get us good fights and get us paid well," Lawal said. "I'm not disappointed."

The 12-0 Larkin, who has come up through the Strikeforce Challengers series, represents an interesting challenge for Lawal. If Larkin can pull the upset, it would certainly hurt Lawal's negotiating position as he looks to sign a new contract, but Lawal doesn't see that happening.

"Get this win, which I will," Lawal said. "And then I'll see what the options are and see what happens."

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/12/20/king-mo-backs-off-cancer-patient-comments-wants-to-fight-wher/

Luke Cummo  Jeff Big Frog Curran Dai Shuanghai  Mac Danzig 

Brock Lesnar puts hunting incident behind him with fine and apology

Brock Lesnar puts hunting incident behind him with fine and apologyFormer UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar paid a fine and made an apology in a hunting incident in Canada from last year that made major news on the Internet last week when he was accused of several violations.

Lesnar was charged with failing to properly tag a deer, unlawful possession of wildlife and abandonment/wasting of the edible flesh of big game. Lesnar paid a fine for failing to tag a mule deer he shot, but the charge of abandonment was dropped.

The incident occurred during a hunt in Alberta, Canada, in 2010.

Lesnar released a statement in which he said, in part:

"In Alberta, Americans can't hunt without a licensed outfitter. The outfitter is there to make sure you follow the rules. I had two deer tags for the trip, which meant I could legally shoot two deer. On the first day of the trip, I shot a mule deer. On the second day, I shot a white tail. Video from the hunt has been on the Internet for over a year. After I shot the mule deer, I failed to immediately tag it. As far as I was involved, that's all there is to it.

"Now it's resolved. I paid my fine today. It's the kind of thing that happens to hunters all the time. I want to thank the Canadian authorities for their cooperation in resolving this misunderstanding. I love Canada and I can't wait to go back to Alberta for a hunt."

Lesnar said he had nothing to do with the abandonment charge and was relying on the outfitter to comply with the rules.

Lesnar fights Alistair Overeem in the main event of UFC 141 on Dec. 30 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It will be his first bout since losing his championship to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121 on Oct. 23, 2010.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Brock-Lesnar-puts-hunting-incident-behind-him-wi?urn=mma-wp10970

Kultar Gill Allan Goes Takanori The Fireball Kid Gomi Akihiro Gono

UFC 140 postfight: Bonuses, Lesnar-Overeem rumors and flyweight division debuts on Mar. 3

UFC 140 postfight: Bonuses, Lesnar-Overeem rumors and flyweight division debuts on Mar. 3

With all the superlatives you can say about the fights this year in the UFC, tonight's event in Toronto may have produced the most spectacular set of finishes on the pay-per-view we've seen over the 12 months.

Chan Sung Jung knocked out Mark Hominick in just seven seconds and got the Knockout of the Night. Frank Mir posted a brilliant comeback and either broke and dislocated Antonio Rodrigo  Nogueira's arm. He got Submission of the Night. The main event between Jon Jones and Lyoto Machida was called the Fight of the Night. All bonus winners got $75,000. On top of that, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira appeared to have broken some ribs on Tito Ortiz during his big win.

- There was a rumor reported by Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole that Alistair Overeem was going to drop out of his Dec. 30 fight against Brock Lesnar at UFC 141. Dana White strongly denied the report and said he hadn't heard anything. Keep in mind, the possibility still exists. Last week, Overeem left his new training camp in Las Vegas to tend to his ailing mother back in the Netherlands. He's due at a Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing on Monday in Las Vegas.

- White announced the official start of the flyweight era begins Mar. 3, 2012. There will be two fights with the winners meeting for 125-pound title at a later date. Joe Benavidez will face Yasuhiro Urushitani and Demetrious Johnson battles Ian McCall. Urushitani will be making his Zuffa debut.

UFC 140 postfight: Bonuses, Lesnar-Overeem rumors and flyweight division debuts on Mar. 3- Tito Ortiz wants one more fight in the UFC. He was beaten badly by "Lil' Nog," but wants to go out a winner. White was non-committal when asked if he would give another fight to the UFC legend.

- Ortiz went to the hospital where he was joined by "Big Nog." He's a tough guy. Anyone who saw his arm snap would be surprised to see the same guy smiling in an ambulance.

Update: White said he still hadn't gotten official word on the nature of injury, but damage to both the shoulder and elbow would require surgery.

- The event at the Air Canada Centre hauled in a gate of $3.9 million and a total of 18,303 fans.

- Jones said he'd like four or five months off.

"Fighting three times in 2012 would be nice. My goal is to be a company guy. Please Dana gimme a break, though," laughed Jones. "I am actually going to take time off. My parents did a great job of raising me and my brothers. I want to give them magical vacation."

Jones was a go-to guy for the promotion this year fighting in February, March, October and December.

- Mir stirred the pot a bit in reference to the Overeem rumors saying he feels healthy and three weeks is plenty of time to get ready for UFC 143. He'd also like a shot against new UFC heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos and thinks the door is still open even though the Lesnar-Overeem winner has been promised the next shot.

"If Brock goes out there and lays on Overeem for three rounds, maybe I'll get it," said Mir.

- Mir commented on the duel of jiu-jitsu skills showcased his fight against the legendary Nogueira.

"He tried to do BJJ move for BJJ move with me, and the guys I train with are pretty good.  I'm used to guys trying to roll through on my kimura. I had a strong inclination Nog wouldn't tap," said Mir.

The Las Vegan also said Nogueira would submit nine out of 10 guys caught in a guillotine, but he's No. 10.

- White said he told UFC matchmaker Joe Silva that he'd like a quick turnaround for the Korean Zombie.

UFC 140 postfight: Bonuses, Lesnar-Overeem rumors and flyweight division debuts on Mar. 3

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-140-postfight-Bonuses-Lesnar-Overeem-rumor?urn=mma-wp10641

Marvin Eastman  Stav Crazy Bear Economou  Yves Edwards  Justin Eilers 

UFC Cuts Bantamweight Cole Escovedo

The UFC has released Cole Escovedo after the bantamweight loss all three of his UFC fights to fall to just 1-5 in his last six bouts. Escovedo (17-9) suffered losses by unanimous decision to Renan Barao in his Octagon debut in May, second-round TKO to Takeya Mizugaki in September, and another unanimous decision to Alex Caceres last month.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/26948/ufc-cuts-bantamweight-cole-escovedo/

Delson Heleno Dan Henderson Josh Hendricks Ed Herman

Frank Mir is excited Strikeforce heavyweights will be coming to the UFC

Frank Mir is excited Strikeforce heavyweights will be coming to the UFCWith the new Strikeforce deal on Showtime, the lone casualty is going to be the heavyweight division.

UFC star Frank Mir doesn't look at the news as something sad, he's actually fired up about it. For Mir, it means 99 percent of the discussion about where the top heavyweight in the world resides should disappear.

"I think it's only a benefit to move them over to us," Mir said on the ESPN1100/98.9 FM's "MMA Insiders" show (9:15 mark). "I guess I have a bad taste in my mouth because of what happened when I first started my career. I had to always hear about 'oh, you guys are good, but the PRIDE guys would kick your butt.' And then that frustration of not being able to get to them."

Mir pointed out that when the elite of elite from PRIDE's heavyweight division eventually made its way to U.S.-based promotions, they struggled. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Fedor Emelianenko and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, the top three heavyweights during PRIDE's heyday, have combined for a 13-12 record since they made to transition around 2007.

"I don't want to hear that [who's the best discussion anymore]. I want to know that anybody in the division ... 'you think that you can beat me? Hey Joe Silva, is he clear? Okay cool, let's fight,'" said Mir.

Mir also spoke about the potential of younger guys like Daniel Cormier and Shane del Rosario, when he's healthy again. Co-host Kevin Iole and Mir are both confident that the UFC will welcome Josh Barnett into the fold as well. Throw in Antonio "Big Foot" Silva, Fabricio Werdum (rumored for return at UFC 143 against Roy Nelson), Sergei Kharitonov and Chad Griggs, and you've got a solid crew moving over. Also keep an eye on former LSU fullback Shawn Jordan. The squatty 250-pounder showed off sick athleticism in his last win over Lavar Johnson.

The Strikeforce big boys should be moving over immediately. Barnett and Cormier will meet for the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix title. Dana White, Scott Coker and Showtime's Stephen Espinoza said the winner will fight one more time and then the division is finished. We still wonder if that second heavyweight fight will ever happen. Regardless, the UFC heavyweight division gets some much needed depth and the probability of some damn good fights in 2012.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Frank-Mir-is-excited-Strikeforce-heavyweights-wi?urn=mma-wp10905

Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio 

Nate Diaz says he is better than Donald Cerrone on every level

When Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone meet in the co-main event of UFC 141 next Friday night fans should expect nothing but fireworks after fireworks after fireworks followed by, you guessed it – fireworks. Diaz, who has won just two of his last four fights, will be trying to slow down the freight-train that is [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/12/20/nate-diaz-says-he-is-better-than-donald-cerrone-on-every-level/

Rodrigo Gracie Roger Gracie Rolles Gracie Royce Gracie

Alistair Overeem remains positive after recent drug-testing flub

Former multi-promotional heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem has had a rough go as of late while preparing for this month?s Octagon debut against Brock Lesnar at UFC 141. After being forced to pack up camp and move back home to care for his sick mother the hulking Dutchman also nearly saw his fight fall apart based [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/12/18/alistair-overeem-remains-positive-after-recent-drug-testing-flub

Karen Darabedyan Viacheslav Datsik Marcus Davis  Tony DeSouzaÂ