Fearsome foursome of heavyweights open up about UFC 137 match-ups

At UFC 137 on Saturday there will be two big heavyweight fights. One of them featuring PRIDE and K-1 veteran master striker, Mirko Filipovic, and TUF 10 winner Roy Nelson. And the other showcasing, former NFL lineman and fellow Ultimate Fighter 10 alum Matt Mitrione and slick striker Cheick Kongo. Both Nelson and “Cro Cop” [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/10/26/fearsome-foursome-of-heavyweights-open-up-about-ufc-137-match-ups

Gerard Gordeau Jonathan Goulet Wilson Gouveia Jason Grace

UFC 137: Yahoo! Sports and Heavy present Fight Day Live

UFC 137: Yahoo! Sports and Heavy present Fight Day Live

The UFC's only official pre-fight show returns when Fight Day comes to you live from the sold-out Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, the home of "UFC 137: Penn vs. Diaz."

Hosts Dave Farra and Megan Olivi will break down all of the latest news from the UFC, including the stunning cancelation of the main event after an injury to Georges St-Pierre forced him to withdraw from the event.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will join the show to discuss his career and what's next for him, and we'll have a panel of journalists ready to break down the entire card.

Tune in to Fight Day at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT.

Heavy is also giving away UFC 137 tickets. Your chance at being a part of all the UFC fighting action is only a couple of clicks away. Log on to HeavyMMA's Facebook page.

From there, you must "like" the page and leave a comment about how much you'd love to go to the show. From there, the folks at Heavy conduct a random drawing and the lucky winner will receive two tickets to the big fight card on 10/29/2011. It's that easy! So head over to HeavyMMA's Facebook page now and good luck.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-137-Yahoo-Sports-and-Heavy-present-Fight-D?urn=mma-wp8628

Jonathan Goulet Wilson Gouveia Jason Grace Crosley Gracie

As Fight Nears, Boxing Big Topic of Diaz-Penn UFC 137 Matchup

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LAS VEGAS -- The many elements of the sport are what make it so unpredictable. When a fighter can chain together combinations like a punch into a takedown into side control, that's what separates the elite from the masses. But it's hard to digest a fight that way. Like looking at the stars in the sky, it's too infinite. Too many possibilities. Instead, we tend to focus on a few key elements.

And in Saturday's UFC 137 main event, all the fight talk seems to center around the participants' boxing. For years, BJ Penn has been considered to have some of the best hands in MMA. And his opponent Nick Diaz recently made waves after nearly turning his back on the sport to try his hands in the squared circle. Given their pedigrees, contrasting styles and differing body types, the standup figures to produce compelling, unpredictable action.

Even to the learned eye of Penn's boxing coach Jason Parillo, who was undefeated in an eight-fight pro boxing career, it's a hard one to analyze. As Parillo noted in an interview with MMA Fighting, the many options a fighter has at his disposal make it hard to determine how a fight will develop.

"You've got a guy who loves to box and wants to fight Roy Jones, Jr, and you've got another guy who's been recognized as one of the best boxers in the MMA game," he said. "You've got two high-voltage submission guys. Realistically, I think Nick's going to try to keep BJ in a boxing match. I believe he feels he's got something to prove with his boxing ability. He loves boxing and I think he wants to prove something using BJ to show he's the best boxer in the MMA game. This fight can go anywhere. It really can. It's tough to predict MMA fights in general, but this one can go in so many ways."

On their feet, their styles are very different. Penn relies on speed, accuracy and power with crisp combinations. But the rangy Diaz uses his length and non-stop volume to keep opponents at distance and to set up his occasional power strikes.

Given the way their styles and bodies match up (Diaz has a four-inch reach advantage), Penn said getting inside might prove to be the biggest challenge for him.

"That's huge, that's huge," he told MMA Fighting. "You've got to get in on Nick Diaz. He's got that reach, and not only does he have that reach, he knows how to put you in the perfect spot. He's not really a big footwork guy but if you come forward he'll take one step back and just keep you on the end the whole time. We're going to have to -- without giving anything away -- use a lot of smarts and technique to get in there, get after him and attack him."

Penn made some headlines recently when he called Diaz the best boxer in MMA. Diaz was flattered to hear the comments but believes he might have put in more time training with high-level boxers than anyone in the UFC.

And regardless of the compliment, Diaz isn't letting it go to his head.

"This is MMA too, so regardless of how you win a fight, whether standup, winning on punches, I don't think it has anything to do with boxing," he said. "Just throwing more martial arts in than boxing, when it's MMA, everything changes. Stance is different, you have to defend the takedown, you have to defend the leg kick. You can't really say or judge."

That's true, of course. If a fighter gets too reliant on his hands and having success with it, his opponent can always change levels and go for the takedown. Penn has that in his arsenal, though it's a weapon he only occasionally decides to use. In his last five fights, he has four takedowns in just six tries. But for Diaz, it's not his strongest weapon. In his last five fights, he has completed just two takedowns in 10 tries.

Given their usual reluctance to use wrestling, it's not a stretch to think that collectively, the two might shun it altogether and decide things on their feet. So will Diaz's constant activity and volume overwhelm Penn, or will the former two-division champion find a way to get inside of his opponent?

"Nick's got a lot of confidence to use that style," Parillo said. "He's not the most devastating, heavy puncher, but he knows how to set up the big shot, for sure. And he understands boxing. BJ's got speed, and he's cleaner and sharper. I feel the fire more from him than I have in the last couple fights. He wants to show he can beat guys at the top tier. If he makes a decision to be there and has the hunger to win, he's going to do it."

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/10/27/as-fight-nears-boxing-big-topic-of-diaz-penn-ufc-137-matchup/

Luiz Cane  Dos Caras Jr   Phil Cardella Roan Jucao Carneiro

Martin Kampmann UFC 139 Blog: Avoiding Scorecards, Supporting Teammates

This is my second blog for Fighters.com where I?m keeping fans updated on the road to November 19 when I fight Rick Story in San Jose at UFC 139. Like each entry, I’ll tell a little bit about how my preparation for the bout is going and share whatever else is on my mind. Training [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/10/26/martin-kampmann-ufc-139-blog-avoiding-scorecards-supporting-teammates

Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade 

Streaking Donald Cerrone Willing to Drop Weight to Face Nam Phan at 145

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LAS VEGAS -- Just days away from a possible sixth straight win, Donald Cerrone is embodying the true spirit of a gambling town, with his eyes already turned on lucky seven.

But it's not what you might expect. Cerrone isn't thinking about asking for a lightweight title shot or even to face one of the division's top contenders. Instead, he says after UFC 137, he wants to shed a few more pounds to drop to featherweight and face Nam Phan.

If you're scratching your head at that one, Cerrone has a very specific reason, and it basically amounts to defending the honor of his camp.

Phan recently beat Cerrone's Team Greg Jackson stablemate and friend Leonard Garcia, and afterward, he made some comments that apparently rubbed Cerrone the wrong way.



"He said if our coaches were any good they'd teach Leonard to throw straight punches, but [he doesn't] know Leonard," he said. "You could teach him one thing, but as soon as he gets hit, he turns into that wild caveman and that's just how he fights. Nam just wants to talk s---. So I'll show him what our training looks like, 100 percent."

As post-fight comments go, Phan's sounded fairly innocuous, but Cerrone insists he's genuinely ticked off, and he's willing to go to extreme lengths to get the fight.

In fact, Cerrone -- who has a big fight against Dennis Siver on Saturday -- mentioned just how much of a sacrifice he would have to make in order to get down to the division's limit of 145 pounds.

"Lifestyle change, 100 percent," he said. "I eat a lot of candy, I can't survive without candy. Milk-Duds and Hot Tamales are what I love. It's going to be a lifestyle change. I'm going to have to hire a nutritionist and I'm going to have to be really strict, and I'm going to have to have my friends there to die because I'm going to die. When I was in Houston I was almost 180. It's going to be a lifestyle change. I'm going to have to start walking around at 160-165 and just keep dieting. I'm going to make it. I will make it. The give me that money, I will make it."

Cerrone, who once had a memorable feud with Jamie Varner, seems to find rivalries in the strangest places. He acknowledged that it's those thoughts that keep him motivated to train, and that he found the challenge of competing in two weight classes intriguing.

"Why couldn't I do them both?" he said. "They're going to say you're 145, you can't do 155? Whoa. Stop, no way. BJ Penn did it. Why can't I do it? Why can't I go to 145 and let Nam Phan know."

Even though Penn has gone back and forth between weight classes in his career, he has had long shifts at each weight. Cerrone would be attempting to go back and forth for specific fights, something that's never been done before. Apparently, he has no concerns about how the process of continually bulking up and then slimming down will have on his body. True to his "Cowboy" roots, he'll fire off his guns and let the bullets land where they may.

"I don't know, I don't care," he said. "I'm sure going out and getting drunk hurts me too, but I'm going to do that also."

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/10/26/in-midst-of-streak-donald-cerrone-willing-to-drop-weight-to-fac/

Roger Gracie Rolles Gracie Royce Gracie Royler Gracie

Martin Kampmann UFC 139 Blog: Avoiding Scorecards, Supporting Teammates

This is my second blog for Fighters.com where I?m keeping fans updated on the road to November 19 when I fight Rick Story in San Jose at UFC 139. Like each entry, I’ll tell a little bit about how my preparation for the bout is going and share whatever else is on my mind. Training [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/10/26/martin-kampmann-ufc-139-blog-avoiding-scorecards-supporting-teammates

Gabriel Gonzaga Lyman Good Gary Goodridge Gerard Gordeau

Bellator CEO Rebney talks his fighters, Spike and the Olympics

Bellator CEO Rebney talks his fighters, Spike and the OlympicsAs Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney looks at what has happened in the fifth season, he can't help but still be amazed at how well his fighters perform week in and week out. He talked to Cagewriter about some of his favorite moments of the season and Bellator's future.

"The thing that's made me happy is the level of fights. From event no. 3 on, they've just been great. Dantas' flying knee, Alexis [Vila], the way that he knocked out Joe Warren was crazy, Brian Rogers, and saying to me in the incredibly articulate way he speaks as a teacher, 'I'm going to bring it.' And then he did. Shlemenko pulling of a submission victory, there's all these things that have been jumping out at me. There's just been moment after moment," Rebney said.

One of the fights that he is most looking forward to is the Nov. 19 title fight between champ Eddie Alvarez and tournament champ Michael Chandler. He says that no one should count out Chandler.

"Nobody is talking about Chandler in the upper echelon of the division. I'll be honest with you. I don't know if I can count on one hand the guys who can beat him."

That fight will air on MTV2, but with the UFC ending their relationship with Spike TV, there's a chance that Bellator could switch to the station that is aimed towards young men. Bellator's preliminary fights air on Spike's website, and Bellator's deal is with MTV's parent company.

"We're a great position in that our deal is with MTV networks, so it's that larger corporate umbrella. They control Spike, MTV, MTV2. You never know what the future will bring. The foreseeable future will be what it is, which is MTV2 and Spike.com for the prelims, but Spike is better than anyone in this space. They get it better than anyone."

Rebney is also excited about some of the challenges coming up for his fighters, both in and out of Bellator. He said that they are working on a match-up between DREAM fighter Shinya Aoki and Alvarez, but that it will likely happen in February, after Aoki fights in DREAM's New Year's Eve show.

Warren is working on returning to his wrestling roots and will try to make the 2012 Greco-Roman wrestling Olympic team. Rebney supports the world champion wrestler in trying to go for the gold.

"It's a great platform for Warren. If he can be our champion at 145, and then go and make the U.S. Olympic team, what a great thing for Bellator and for MMA."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Bellator-CEO-Rebney-talks-his-fighters-Spike-an?urn=mma-wp8194

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