Sam Stout Explains Why He Withdrew From UFC 137, Jake Shields Will Still Fight at UFN 25 Following Father?s Death

If you didn’t already know, Sam Stout withdrew from his fight against Dennis Siver at UFC 137 earlier this week. It wasn’t exactly clear why Stout withdrew, but most suspected Shawn Tompkins’ untimely death was the reason It turns out they were right. As Stout explained on The MMA Show with Mauro Ranallo (via CagePotato) [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmaconvert/~3/EC-fqDXPDlk/

Peter Graham Forrest Griffin Tyson Griffin Karn Grigorian

At UFC 134, Both Ross Pearson And Edson Barboza Will Attempt To Take A Crucial Step Towards Top-Division Status

Hello and welcome back, it?s now time for the second full day of posts in my special mini-series ?A Closer Look At UFC 134?. The first day of postings took a look at the entire preliminary card across both Facebook and Spike TV as well as the opening fight of the official UFC 134 Pay-Per-View. [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/08/25/at-ufc-134-both-ross-pearson-and-edson-barboza-will-attempt-to-take-a-crucial-step-towards-top-division-status

Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana 

Official Picks And Predictions For UFC 134 "Silva vs. Okami"

We?re now only a day away from UFC 134 ?Silva vs. Okami?, also known as ?UFC: Rio?. In the main event, Anderson Silva defends his UFC Middleweight Championship against the last man that beat him: Japanese powerhouse Yushin Okami. The co-main event will also be an interesting match-up, as Mauricio Rua and Forrest Griffin lock [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/08/26/official-picks-and-predictions-for-ufc-134-silva-vs-okami

Antoni Hardonk Dan Hardy Lee Hasdell Musse Hasselvall

The Top 5 Best Moments Of UFC 134 Highlights "Big Nog", Anderson Silva, And More

UFC 134 saw some pretty crazy finishes, and overall, it was a night that showcased the UFC?s Brazilian stars, as many top Brazilian athletes came away with huge wins. But which stars shined brightest, and what moments will fans be talking about in the following weeks? Here?s my take on the matter: my top 5 [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/08/28/the-top-5-best-moments-of-ufc-134-highlights-big-nog-anderson-silva-and-more

Tom Big Cat Erickson Martinsh Egle Eric Butterbean Esch Efrain Escudero

Former UFC heavyweights Rodriguez, Gormley, McCorkle and Sylvia post mixed results

If you think the UFC and Strikeforce have trouble finding heavyweight depth beyond their top 10, imagine what it's like around the rest of the world. This weekend's smaller promotion fight slate gives us a good read.

Tim Sylvia, Chase Gormley, Ricco Rodriguez and Sean McCorkle were all in action. They didn't fight world beaters and the group still barely managed a split.

Rodriguez got a wake up call at Bellator 48. A UFC heavyweight champ way back in 2002, the 229-pound Rodriguez still needs to make the final cut to 205. He was overwhelmed and overpowered by Seth Petruzelli. Petruzelli, another UFC vet and an "The Ultimate Fighter" alum, shredded Rodriguez on the feet. The 34-year-old looked gassed towards the end of the first, ate a few kicks and then charged right into an overhand right. He went down like a ton of bricks and Petruzelli, a true light heavyweight, dropped a couple of hammer fists to finish the fight. Petruzelli posted win No. 14 of his career at the 4:21 mark of the first.

It was even worse for Gormley, who lost at a local Las Vegas show, Superior Cage Combat. The 6-foot-3, 275 pounder fought someone named Beau Tribolet. Tribolet (7-1) was called in on two days notice and knocked Gormley silly in less than three minutes. Gormley (7-4) was 0-2 with the UFC losing to Stefan Struve (UFC 104) and Brendan Schaub (UFC on Versus 1). Tribolet, a former power lifter, is a police officer in Tucson, Az.

In Illinois, Sylvia, the UFC heavyweight champ on two occasions, smashed Patrick Barrentine. Barrentine (9-6) hadn't fought in two years. Sylvia (28-7) has won 5-of-6, but is still trying to erase the memory of three one-sided losses in the last three years against Fedor Emelianenko, Ray Mercer and Abe Wagner.

McCorkle's fight may have been the oddest of the bunch. McCorkle (12-2) defeated Alex Rozman, who has a 3-13 record. McCorkle was 1-2 with the UFC. He was released after a loss to Christian Morecraft.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Former-UFC-heavyweights-Rodriguez-Gormley-McCo?urn=mma-wp6127

Gerard Gordeau Jonathan Goulet Wilson Gouveia Jason Grace

Nedkov shows off scary power in UFC 134 slugfest against Cane

In his UFC debut, Stanislav Nedkov delivered some clear messages tonight. He's one tough dude and future opponents better look out for that right hand.

The Bulgarian UFC newcomer was getting drilled on the feet by Luiz Cane until he landed a great left hook and followed it up with an thunderous overhand right that changed everything. Cane was finished on his feet as he retreated. Twenty unanswered shots later, the Brazilian was upset on his home turf by Nedkov at the 4:13 mark of the first round at UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro.

Nedkov looked tiny compared to the 6-foot-2 Cane and was giving up six inches of reach. The problem was, Cane kept his left hand too low. It was a matter of time before the Nedkov overhand right landed on the button.

Nedkov showed some gumption too. In the middle of the first round, it appeared that he suffered a nose injury. For about a minute before the stoppage, Nedkov's output slowed down as he kept grabbing at the nose. Then came the big punches.

Cane was so out of it, he turned his back and unleashed an odd kicking motion at the cage. When he bounced off the fence and turned around, Nedkov was there to unload with some massive lefts. A right hook dropped Cane and he was unable to defend himself as referee Mario Yamasaki stepped in to save him.

Cane (11-4, 4-4 UFC) is a skilled striker, but got sloppy in this one. "Bahna" has now lost three of his last four with the promotion. This was Nedkov's first fight in the UFC. He's a perfect 12-0 overall.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Nedkov-shows-off-scary-power-in-UFC-134-slugfest?urn=mma-wp6299

Daiki DJ taiki Hata He Peng David Heath Delson Heleno

Facepalms of the week: ?Mayhem? and Bellator prospect arrested

It's been a while since Cagewriter has awarded the facepalm of the week award, but it's time to give it out for two fighters who were arrested recently.

The first one goes to Jason "Mayhem" Miller, the fighter who also hosts "Bully Beatdown" and will be featured as a coach on the upcoming season of "The Ultimate Fighter." TMZ reports that he was arrested in North Carolina for false imprisonment and simple assault after he reportedly put his sister in a headlock and wouldn't let her leave a party.

The second, heartbreaking facepalm goes out to Rasul Mirzaev, a Russian fighter who was expected to make his American debut in Bellator this fall. He was reportedly arrested and charged in the death of a student in Moscow. Mirzaev allegedly was in a verbal altercation with the student and threw a single punch, which knocked the student out. He died four days later, and Mirzaev faces up to 15 years in jail.

In both cases, fighters used their physical skills outside of the cage against people who weren't equipped to defend themselves. A facepalm isn't strong enough to show disgust in these cases.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Facepalms-of-the-week-Mayhem-and-Bellator-pro?urn=mma-wp6088

Antoni Hardonk Dan Hardy Lee Hasdell Musse Hasselvall

Bellator signs 16-1 submission specialist Giva Santana

Bellator Fighting Championships bolstered their middleweight roster this week with the addition of slick submission expert Giva Santana. The Pan-American BJJ champ joins a rising 185-pound division already featuring the likes of Bryan Baker, Zelg Galesic, Vitor Vianna, Brian Rogers, Alexander Shlemenko, and of course explosive champ Hector Lombard. ?A lot of fighters like to go [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/08/17/bellator-signs-16-1-submission-specialist-giva-santana

Spencer Fisher Jon Fitch Kenny Florian Jesse Forbes

Brazilian crowd set a high bar for every UFC crowd hereafter

In most post-fight press conferences, UFC president Dana White compliments the crowd and the city that they've just visited. It's a smart business move to lavish praise on every city the UFC visits, whether they have packed the place or not. Even if the UFC never returns, White does want that city's inhabitants to continue watching fights.

But when he called the crowd in Rio de Janeiro the best crowd he's ever been around, it was not empty rhetoric. Even through my television, it was clear that the fans in Brazil would make UFC 134 unlike any event the UFC has ever produced.

It started with the very first fight. Usually, the preliminary fights take place in a half-filled stadium, with only the fighters' loved ones truly invested in the bout. There were no Brazilians in the opening bout, but the crowd still went nuts for Ian Loveland vs. Yves Jabouin. They even chanted the name of a popular soccer player who happened to be black, like Jabouin.

The chanting never stopped. Yahoo! Sports Brazil's Fernando Zanchetta gave us insight on some of the chants that popped up over the course of the evening, which spanned from the beautiful to the profane.

The chants included, "I am Brazilian, with great pride, with love" (sou brasileiro, com muito orgulho, com muito amor) which really makes "U-S-A, U-S-A" pale in comparison. Next, was, "Uh, will die, uh, gonna die!" Zanchetta said that this is used to frighten foreigners. Finally, they had a special one for Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's win. "Ih, [expletive that rhymes with ducked]... Minotauro appeared'  (ih, fodeu... Minotauro apareceu)."

Paulo Thiago's appearance also set the crowd into a frenzy, and deservedly so. In addition to being a fighter, Thiago is a member of BOPE, Brazil's version of special forces. Much as Tim Kennedy and Brian Stann are cheered in the U.S. for serving the country, Thiago is revered there. The crowd chanted "skull" in Portugese, which is BOPE's symbol.

But the crowd hit their apex during the main card, when three Brazilian stars won with KOs. Nogueira's win put them into a beer-throwing frenzy that continued with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Anderson Silva's wins.

What should U.S. crowds learn from this? We can step it up a notch. Chants, cheers, arena-shaking yells -- let's learn from our Brazilian friends. Everything except the beer-throwing. There's no good reason in the world to waste a perfectly good beer.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Brazilian-crowd-set-a-high-bar-for-every-UFC-cro?urn=mma-wp6385

Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex AndradeÂ