Keith Jardine dropping to middleweight for December fight

Add Keith Jardine to the list of fighters deciding to drop down a division in hopes of having size on their side rather than entering the ring as a smaller competitor. Rather than rush things, ?The Dean of Mean? will also have a little less than four months to make the transition as his next [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/08/26/keith-jardine-dropping-to-middleweight-for-december-fight/

Matt Hamill Volk Han Joachim Hansen Antoni Hardonk

Quinton ?Rampage? Jackson Accuses Jon Jones? Team of Spying

For the past several weeks, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has lived inside the Muscle Pharm facility in preparation for his UFC 135 title fight against champion Jon Jones. Unfortunately for Rampage, it appears the Denver, Colorado gym is infested with a big rat. The former light heavyweight champ believes Team Jones has implanted a spy in [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/87114/quinton-rampage-jackson-accuses-jon-jones-team-of-spying/

Ian Freeman Don Frye Tony Fryklund Kazuyuki Fujita

The 5 Things "UFC Undisputed 3" Really Needs But Probably Won't Get

With the release of a new trailer and the countdown to early 2012 really amping up, a lot of gamers and MMA fans are once again talking about UFC Undisputed 3. Will the game be a surprise smash hit like UFC Undisputed 2009, or will it make the same mistakes as the ?sophomore slump? that [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/08/19/the-5-things-ufc-undisputed-3-really-needs-but-probably-wont-get

Vitor Belfort  Robert Berry David Bielkheden Michael Bisping 

Can Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Avoid Brendan Schaub's Bombs For Three Rounds At UFC 134?

My series ?A Closer Look At UFC 134? continues with its in-depth coverage of all the major fights from the UFC?s latest mega-card, ?UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami?. With the last entry we officially passed the half-way mark, now it?s time to focus on the three major match-ups that truly anchor this card. Here?s the [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/08/25/can-antonio-rodrigo-nogueira-avoid-brendan-schaubs-bombs-for-three-rounds-at-ufc-134

Don Barr Pat Barry  Vitor Belfort  Robert Berry

Both Jason Miller And Rasul Mirzaev Arrested And Facing Serious Charges

It?s always tough to hear when a fighter gets into legal troubles. As an emerging sport that?s regained its mainstream popularity from the depths of being labeled ?human cockfighting?, I always have to cringe whenever a fighter gets himself into trouble while wondering what it says about the sport. All too often, MMA cynics are [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/08/20/both-jason-miller-and-rasul-mirzaev-arrested-and-facing-serious-charges

Marcus Aurelio  Mikhail Avetisyan Luiz Azeredo  Luciano Azevedo 

UFC on Fox: You want cross-promotion? We?ve got cross-promotion

The UFC announced its seven-year deal with FOX on Thursday, promising plenty of cross-promotion between existing FOX entities and the UFC. To help out the network and the promotion, Cagewriter has a few ideas:

A "Glee"/"The Ultimate Fighter" crossover episode -- The fighters have to put together a song and dance to get New Directions to regionals. Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray finally solve their difference in the Octagon. Dana White and Mr. Schu smile and nod a ton. How could this go wrong?

Put the "American Idol" spin on "The Ultimate Fighter" -- Televise the tryouts, and have a panel either over-praise or break the hearts of every contestant.

"The Family Guy" goes to a UFC show -- Peter Griffin and his buddies head to catch some fights with some buddies in Quahog, only to find out that Brian has his UFC debut, with Stewie as his cornerman. Roy Nelson has a cameo.

Feed a fighter challenge on "Hell's Kitchen" -- The chefs have to create a post weigh-in dinner for Anderson Silva. It has to take into account his nutritional needs and love for fast food. Can they handle it, or will the chefs turn on each other? (Hint: It's reality TV. They're going to turn on each other.)

"So You Think You Can Dance: UFC edition" -- Fighters sure like to show off their moves on their way to the Octagon or after fights. Is it too much to ask for a UFC dance-off? No. No, it is not.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-on-Fox-You-want-cross-promotion-We-ve-got-?urn=mma-wp6044

Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio 

Pat Curran talks about Bellator, gameplanning and that KO

CRYSTAL LAKE, Illinois -- Pat Curran, Bellator's new featherweight tournament winner, was back at Curran Martial Arts for the first time since knocking out Marlon Sandro on Saturday night. The gym built by his cousin Jeff was now Pat's home, too, and the several congratulations he received over the course of our interview showed just how happy Curran Martial Arts was to have Pat on the roster.

Now, Curran credits the preparation he did with Curran Martial Arts as the reason that he has won two straight Bellator tournaments. The difference for him in the featherweight tournament, in which he submitted Luis Palomino, and won by decision over Ronnie Mann before knocking out Sandro, was film study and game planning.

Curran knew Sandro's weaknesses before Saturday night, and envisioned a knockout win.

"When he gets in exchanges, he starts going really wild. His chin is up in the air. I saw myself connecting with an overhand right, and knocking him out that way, but I also saw the head kick, too. That's exactly what happened. As he was bobbing and weaving, his hands were down and he ducked right into my kick. I saw that in the footage, but I give credit to my corners, too, because they gave me good advice," Curran said.

He knew from the moment the kick landed that the fight was going to be over soon.

"I felt it right on my shin. He dropped, and I rushed over him in. I didn't want him getting back up, so that's why I rushed over with those quick little shots."

That gave Curran his second tournament win with Bellator. He won their lightweight tournament, only to drop a five-round decision to champion Eddie Alvarez. Curran says that losing to Alvarez helped him rattle off three straight wins after that.

"I lost the fight, but I walked away with a lot of knowledge. I saw that I needed to mix up my gameplan instead of focusing on just one goal. I mixed up my gameplan, started to throw more takedowns in, throwing more kicks, start showing off my ground skills."

He also dropped down to featherweight after the loss. Curran says that though the weight cut was the toughest part of the tournament, he is much more confident fighting at 145 lbs. than he was at 155 lbs.

"I didn't have much confidence going through the 155 tournament. Nobody thought I was going to win. I was a filler fight. I ended up winning the whole tournament. I went up against Eddie Alvarez, and he was still favored to win the whole thing. I trained my ass off for that fight, and it still was a confidence booster. I stood with one of the best lightweights in the world, one of the best strikers in the world, and he didn't knock me out, and I was able to land my shots as well. Now I'm dropping down to the weight class that I originally wanted to fight at, and I was a tournament favorite. I had a lot of momentum and a lot of confidence going into it."

Those wins have catapulted Curran into the top-10 among featherweights. MMA Weekly's latest rankings put him eighth in the world.

"It is really cool to see myself in the top-10 or top-5, but I look at all the fighters in the top 5 and I see myself beating them any day. I see myself belonging with the high quality guys."

But just who he'll fight next, and when that fight will happen is a question mark. Joe Warren is Bellator's featherweight champ, and winning the featherweight tournament means that Curran should have a shot at him. However, Patricio Freire won the last FW tourney, but hasn't been able to fight Warren yet because of an injury. Also, Warren is entered into Bellator's bantamweight tournament, so Curran will have to wait and see.

In the meantime, he has no problem taking time off as he has already fought four times in 2011.

"I'm looking forward to a little time off. I had the Alvarez fight, and then I went right into the featherweight tournament. I really didn't get much of a break. I want to take a little time off and improve on my skills, and do some grappling tournaments."

He'll also help his cousin Jeff and teammate Bart Palaszewski get ready for their bouts at UFC 137. Though he'll be in Las Vegas to support them in the UFC, Curran doesn't have any questions about which promotion is right for him.

"The UFC was always a goal, but Bellator has been so good to me/ I'm making good money, I love Bjorn (Rebney, the Bellator CEO). He's treating me really well. Everyone over there is treating me well, and I see myself staying with them as long as they're around. They're a great organization."

Thanks to Eric Coleman and Bellator for the photos.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Pat-Curran-talks-about-Bellator-gameplanning-an?urn=mma-wp6150

Karn Grigorian Karen Grigoryan Kendall Grove Clay Guida