Jon Jones, Rampage Jackson, Nate Diaz and Josh Koscheck Earn UFC 135 Bonuses

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Jon Jones kicks Rampage Jackson at UFC 135.For UFC fighters Jon Jones, Rampage Jackson, Nate Diaz and Josh Koscheck, their UFC 135 paydays got bigger after their fights.

UFC President Dana White announced at the UFC 135 post-fight press conference that Jones, Jackson, Diaz and Koscheck had each won $75,000 bonuses.

Jones and Jackson won the Fight of the Night award for their main event performance, in which Jones forced Jackson to tap out to a rear-naked choke in the fourth round. Jackson was a game opponent who didn't back down from Jones' constant attacks, and that made it an entertaining fight, even though it wasn't a particularly competitive fight, as Jones dominated throughout.



Jones had previously won a Submission of the Night award against Ryan Bader, and a Knockout of the Night award against Brandon Vera. Jackson has won two previous Fight of the Night awards (against Keith Jardine and Forrest Griffin) as well as Knockout of the Night awards against Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva.

Diaz won the Submission of the Night for his arm bar of Takanori Gomi in the first round of their fight, which started the pay-per-view. It's the third time in Diaz's career that he has won the Submission of the Night award. Diaz has also received four Fight of the Night bonuses.

Koscheck got the Knockout of the Night award for stopping Matt Hughes with one second left in the first round. It's the second Knockout of the Night award for Koscheck, who has also won a Fight of the Night and a Submission of the Night bonus previously in his career.

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/09/24/jon-jones-rampage-jackson-nate-diaz-josh-koscheck-earn-ufc-13/

Ricardo Arona  Noboru Asahi Marcus Aurelio  Mikhail Avetisyan

Boxing fan Dana White hammers the ref in Floyd-Ortiz debacle

Boxing fan Dana White hammers the ref in Floyd-Ortiz debacle

If I heard "that's boxing at its best" one more time on Sunday, I was going to scream.

What was shaping up as a good fight, was destroyed by a chain of events that left fight fans shaking their heads or completely enraged at the ending of the Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz fight.

After a headbutt by Ortiz, the fight was stopped and eventually re-started by one of the fighters. Floyd Mayweather took advantage of Ortiz's naivety and knocked him silly when his hands were down. Many are blaming referee Joe Cortez for losing control of the fight, including UFC president Dana White. White tweeted:

"Ref never sent a fighter to a neutral corner to take a point. Especially after a intentional head butt! That's why u have a ref!!!!"

White didn't choose sides between Mayweather and Ortiz, he blasted Cortez.

"You can't blame the fighters. The ref is in there to stop that [expletive] from happening! That is the worst ref'n I have ever seen in boxing EVER."

In his own sport, White has never been shy about going after judges or referees.

Frankly, everyone in the ring had a part in this mess, but clearly Cortez failed to do his job. The shocked look on his face says it all.

Boxing fan Dana White hammers the ref in Floyd-Ortiz debacle

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Boxing-fan-Dana-White-hammers-the-ref-in-Floyd-O?urn=mma-wp7034

Justin Eilers  Jon Olav Einemo Per Eklund Jason Ellis

Maximo Blanco dropping to featherweight for UFC run

Despite the illegal kicks and attempted fence-grabbing, two things were very apparent when Maximo Blanco mixed it up with Pat Healy this past weekend at “Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov? ? his skill and his size, or lack thereof as the case may be. As a result of the defeat it appears the smallish lightweight will move [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/09/14/maximo-blanco-dropping-to-featherweight-for-ufc-run

Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio

A Sneak Peek at TUF 14

With less than a week remaining before the debut of TUF 14 the UFC has provided a detailed glimpse into the upcoming season including a basic breakdown of what fans can expect and Dana White?s standard speech to contestants. However, this go-round a new twist has been thrown in ? the opportunity for fighters to [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/09/15/a-sneak-peek-at-tuf-14

Zelg Benkei Galesić Mauro Galvao Arman Gambaryan Manvel Gamburyan

Dan Henderson vs. ?Shogun? Rua headlining UFC 139

It appears two former champions, both MMA legends in their own right, will meet on November 19 in San Jose, as Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua have apparently agreed to face off in the main event of UFC 139. Though both light heavyweights were superstars within the PRIDE organization the two never crossed paths in [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/09/19/dan-henderson-vs-%e2%80%9cshogun%e2%80%9d-rua-headlining-ufc-139

Shinya Aoki  Andrei Arlovski  Ricardo Arona  Noboru Asahi

Bellator 51 Weigh-In Results

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Joe WarrenJoe Warren's attempt to simultaneously hold two Bellator championships begins on Saturday night with entry into Bellator's bantamweight tournament.

On Friday night, Warren and the seven other tournament entrants successfully made weight, paving the way for Bellator 51's Canton (Ohio) Civic Center event.

"I'm bringing some fury in the cage," Warren said after tipping the scales at 135 pounds during the weigh-in event at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

His opponent Alexis Vila was just one-half pound lighter than Warren. While the two have traded barbs in recent weeks leading up to bout, they shook hands and had a routine staredown photo.

Vila and Warren share impressive wrestling pedigrees. Vila won a bronze medal in his weight category for his native Cuba during the 1996 Summer Games, while Warren was a U.S. favorite for the 2008 Summer Games before failing a drug test and missing out.

Warren captured the Bellator featherweight championship in Sept. 2010. He's 7-1 overall while Vila is 9-0.

While Warren and Vila played down their rivalry, Luis Nogueira and Ed West shared a heated staredown, shoving each other around the stage before being separated. Meanwhile, Marcos Galvao was so dehydrated from his weight cut, he declined to answer event MC Jimmy Smith's question and left the stage before the usual staredown photo opportunity.

Main Card
Alexis Vila (134.5) vs. Joe Warren (135)
Luis Nogueira (134) vs. Ed West (134)
Marcos Galvao (135) vs. Chase Beebe (135)
Wilson Reis (135.5) vs. Eduardo Dantas (134.5)

Preliminary Fights
Clint Musser (154.4) vs Joey Holt (153.5)
John Hawk (204) vs Allan Weickert (200)
Dane Bonnigson (203) vs Dan Spohn (201.5)
Farkhad Sharipov (135) vs Jesse Riggleman (135.5)
Frank Caraballo (142.5) vs Dustin Kempf (143.5)
Casey Noland (127.5) vs. Jessica Eye (125)

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/09/23/bellator-51-weigh-in-results/

Luke Cummo  Jeff Big Frog Curran Dai Shuanghai  Mac Danzig 

Couture and Larkin grind their way to wins at Strikeforce Challengers 19

Couture and Larkin grind their way to wins at Strikeforce Challengers 19

Nick Rossborough and Maka Watson were supposed to stepping stones tonight in Las Vegas. Maybe they didn't get the message, because both scatched and clawed for three rounds. Super prospect Lorenz Larkin got by Rossborough and Ryan Couture, son of UFC legend Randy, edged Watson, but they both had to earn their wins at Strikeforce Challengers 19.

The 29-year-old Couture is just four fights into his pro career but all four have been on nationally televised Showtime cards. He was coming off a loss, but showed that he's learning what his strengths are and playing to them.

Couture was a solid high school wrestler and he's taken his MMA grappling to another level, but when he lost to Matt Ricehouse back in June he relied too much on his striking. Tonight, he went back to his bread and butter to score a split decision victory, 29-28, 29-28 and 28-28, and gas Watson by the final minutes of the fight.

"He's tough as nails. That was not that fun, but I'm real glad to get the W," Couture said. "Some things went according to plan and other things I didn't do as well. I wasn't very sharp when he was on top."

Couture (4-1) turned to his grappling from the opening seconds of the fight when he jumped on Watson's back and got the fight to the mat. He controlled him on the ground and worked for various chokes for nearly four minutes. With 45 seconds left, Watson was able to escape and get top control. He got off a nasty elbow to slice open a bloody cut on Couture's forehead.

In the second, Couture once again got the fight to the mat and controlled things until two minutes left. This time when Watson, got top control he got off nasty elbows and most of his shots went unanswered. In third, Couture got it to the ground for the final 3:45 of the fight to seal the victory.

Couture and Larkin grind their way to wins at Strikeforce Challengers 19No one is expecting Couture to make a run at a title, but Larkin may be a different story. He's one the best strikers to come along in a while at light heavyweight.He got a tough draw tonight in the 6-foot-5 Rossborough, but was still able to win a unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. Larkin was a minus-700 favorite entering the fight.

Larkin is a smallish 205-pounder while Rossborough's a guy who just fought at heavyweight three weeks ago. Rossborough (18-14-2) chose to fight in close quarters along the cage and Larkin seemed willing to brawl. It actually cost him over the first two rounds as Rossborough stayed in the fight and scored well with his dirty boxing.

In the third, the big weight cut may have taken its toll on Rossborough. with four and half minutes left in the fight, he got caught by a beautiful knee to the body out of the clinch. After a delayed reaction, Rossborough fell to his back. Larkin poured it on while on top with some vicious elbows. A well-placed left elbow busted open Rossborough's forehead. He made it to the bell, but was covered with blood.

This was a good learning experience for Larkin (12-0). Because his best attributes are his speed, variety and movement, there was no need to brawl along the cage. He couldn't use any of those skills while locked up along the fence against a guy who was six inches taller.

"He came to fight. He was hungry. That's what I want. I couldn't ask for nothing better. I love how he pushed me. How he was hitting me. That's what makes me tough," said Larkin.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Couture-and-Larkin-grind-their-way-to-wins-at-St?urn=mma-wp7198

Keith Hackney Matt Hamill Volk Han Joachim Hansen

Kyle ends Strikeforce prelims with a decision win

CINCINNATI -- Mike Kyle took a decision from Marcos Rogerio de Lima in the final preliminary bout at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov on Saturday night.

In the first round, Kyle charged ahead, throwing a bevy of strikes, but de Lima didn't give up position, throwing several leg kicks of his own. A set of strikes appeared to have de Lima wobbly near the end of the round, but Kyle didn't follow up with anything that would have ended the fight.

De Lima started the second round looking woozy, and didn't improve as Kyle continued to pepper him with punches. De Lima looked a bit livelier later in the round, and he was able to land snapping leg kicks and a few strikes. As the round neared its end, Kyle knocked de Lima to the ground. He responded by throwing an upkick that appeared to be illegal, and Kyle complained to referee Greg Franklin, but no points were deducted or warnings given.

More leg kicks from de Lima and punches from Kyle filled the third round until Kyle took de Lima down late in the round. Kyle threw short strikes, holding de Lima down until the final horn. When it rang out, Kyle jumped up and yelled, "Yeah!"

Kyle has been out of the cage since December, when he lost to Antonio Silva. His record moves to 19-8-1.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Kyle-ends-Strikeforce-prelims-with-a-decision-wi?urn=mma-wp6774

Marvin Eastman  Stav Crazy Bear Economou  Yves Edwards  Justin Eilers