Leave Brittney alone! Fans asking if Octagon Girl will re-emerge at UFC 133

There was a lot of big news that came out around UFC 133 this week. Zuffa is done with Golden Glory fighters and even bigger, the great Fedor Emelianenko is done with Strikeforce. But there's still a little unfinished business to tend to with regards to the Octagon Girls. Last month, it appeared fan favorite Brittney Palmer was dropped from the roster, then there was some confusion. Since then everyone's been mum on the topic.

The guys at MMAFix are dying to get an answer and tracked the tweets of Arianny Celeste, Chandella Powell and the lovely Brittney.

So? today the UFC Ring Girls flew out to Philly for UFC 133 as tweeted here by Arianny Celeste:

Great to be back 2 work! Weigh ins tommorow and shooting ultimate insider! Now ordering a movie..anyone seen Sucker Punch?

and by Chandella Powell:

Just landed! Hello Philly!!!!!;)

But when I read Brittney Palmer's tweets, things went a little different:

Had a blast today at th #USopenofsurfing with the fantastic crew from @daily_habit @FuelTV! Check it out @ 8pm tonight.. Pole dancing??

MMAFix says it doesn't sound like Palmer is going to pop up in the City of Brotherly Love.

Might I say first, yes Brittney (to pole dancing) and second? Hmmm? last time I checked, there's no Huntington Beach in Philadelphia. And I'm pretty sure she was definitely at this US Open of Surfing today as evidenced by this patriotic gentleman who posted this picture with Palmer:

Now the question that's weighing heavily on all of us - if the UFC has parted ways with Brittney, will it find a replacement or go with two-woman team for the near future? That's a lot of walking around the cage, smiling and taking photos. The Philly heat is brutal. Let's hope Arianny and Chandella are up to the task.

MMAFix followed up with an update that bright and early this morning Palmer tweeted she's headed to Philadelphia! Woo!

You can watch UFC 133 right here on Yahoo! Sports

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Leave-Brittney-alone-Fans-asking-if-Octagon-Gir?urn=mma-wp5402

Steve The Snake Claveau  Rich No Love Clementi  Mark The Hammer Coleman Wes Soldier Combs 

Sneak Peek: A Preview of Strikeforce, UFC, and Bellator Events For August 2011

It?s that time again: with another month set to kick off, here?s the latest ?Sneak Peek?! Alongside my monthly ?Top 5 Most Anticipated Fights? post, ?Sneak Peek? is a once-a-month post giving fans a look at what they can expect as we?re about to start another month of MMA action. ?Sneak Peek? will give fans [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/08/01/sneak-peek-a-preview-of-strikeforce-ufc-and-bellator-events-for-august-2011

Zelg Benkei Galesić Mauro Galvao Arman Gambaryan Manvel Gamburyan

5 Oz. MMA Link Club

Welcome back to another ediition of ?MMA Link Club?, Five Ounces of Pain?s weekly smorgasbord of offerings from our brothers and sisters in the MMA community. Enjoy… Eddie Alvarez Not as Interested in the Octagon as Fans May Think (5thRound.com) Joseph “Insert Nickname Here” Benavidez Talks Fan-Friendly Contest (MMAMania.com) Pat Barry Demonstrates New Technique for [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/08/11/5-oz-mma-link-club-55/

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger 

5 Oz. MMA Link Club

Welcome back to another ediition of ?MMA Link Club?, Five Ounces of Pain?s weekly smorgasbord of offerings from our brothers and sisters in the MMA community. Enjoy… Eddie Alvarez Not as Interested in the Octagon as Fans May Think (5thRound.com) Joseph “Insert Nickname Here” Benavidez Talks Fan-Friendly Contest (MMAMania.com) Pat Barry Demonstrates New Technique for [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/08/11/5-oz-mma-link-club-55/

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger 

Dana White Talks Shaquille O'Neal, GSP vs. Nick Diaz and 'TUF 14'

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Dana White met with the MMA media following Saturday night's UFC 133 event. The UFC president talked about Shaquille O'Neal's possible future involvement in the sport, Chad Ochocinco calling out UFC fighters, working with Nick Diaz again and his high hopes for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter.

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/08/09/dana-white-talks-shaquille-oneal-gsp-vs-nick-diaz-and-tuf-14/

Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen 

Strikeforce done with Overeem, heavyweight champ reportedly dropped by Zuffa

There's a new sheriff in town and he's not messing around. Strikeforce fighters were sent a message tonight by their new boss Zuffa - play the game or play it elsewhere.

Back on July 18, the promotion's heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem got in a public beef over a fight date. Overeem said he wasn't available to fight on Sept. 10 on Showtime. It took less than 12 hours for Zuffa to pull him from the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix. Now less than two weeks later, he's a free agent as Zuffa released Overeem from his contract according to HDNet's "Inside MMA."

Sources close to the situation have told "Inside MMA's" Ron Kruck that Strikeforce has exercised its right to eliminate the one remaining fight on Overeem's contract effective July 22nd.

Also according to the source, Overeem has been dealing with more serious injuries than originally reported, including a broken toe and rib and elbow problems. Overeem will fight next in October in Russia for the promotion United Glory.  No word on who his opponent will be.

This is a terrible blow for MMA fans. Overeem is certainly one of the top five heavyweights in mixed martial arts. Fights against the likes of Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, Josh Barnett, Antonio Silva or even Brock Lesnar would've been big sellers. It seems unlikely Overeem will be fighting under the Zuffa umbrella anytime soon.

Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, purchased Strikeforce back in March. The organization immediately got an overhaul in the front office and with some of the support staff.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Strikeforce-done-with-Overeem-heavyweight-champ?urn=mma-wp5153

Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah 

UFC 133: Yahoo! Sports and Heavy present Fight Day Live

Fight Day is back on August 6th with another star-studded UFC pre-show, live from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA.  Hosts Dave Farra and Megan Olivi will welcome UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar to the set for a live interview.  Also appearing live on set is the always controversial middleweight contender, Chael Sonnen.  Fight Day will also sit down with a pair of UFC 133 fighters.  First, a revealing discussion with main event participant Rashad Evans, where he will discuss the roller coaster that has been his life over the last 18 months.  There will also be an inside look into Vitor Belfort's training camp that shows how the former champion plans to rebound from his crushing defeat at the hands (or foot) of Anderson Silva.  Throw in a panel of MMA experts to break down all of the night's fights and you've got 60 minutes of programming you don't want to miss. Fight Day airs live from UFC 133 at 5pm EDT/2pm PDT.

Also, Heavy will give away a pair of tickets to UFC 133. Head to their Facebook page for more information

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-133-Yahoo-Sports-and-Heavy-present-Fight-D?urn=mma-wp5315

Ricardo Arona  Noboru Asahi Marcus Aurelio  Mikhail Avetisyan

The workout that Georges St. Pierre can?t do

UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre used gymnastics in preparing for his last fight, a unanimous decision win over Jake Shields. He picked up much of the body control, strength and flexibility that comes with mastering gymnastics, but he can't do everything they can do. For example:

GSP knows that even he can't do a planche push-up. Nick Diaz, his opponent this fall, also cross trains. He recently completed a triathlon. Perhaps if their bout goes to a draw, the two can do an old-school Olympic day competition to decide who will be the UFC champ.

If Diaz, or you, would like to challenge GSP, suggest a workout on his Facebook page. While you're there, like Cagewriter on Facebook, too.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/The-workout-that-Georges-St-Pierre-can-t-do?urn=mma-wp5380

Marcus Davis  Tony DeSouza  Edwin Dewees  Nick Diaz 

Daley says his wrestling deficiency is overplayed

On Saturday night, the last thing Paul Daley wants to be doing is stare at the arena ceiling for much his fight against Tyron Woodley. In the past, he hasn't much say where the fight goes against a former college wrestler like Woodley. Daley and his wrestling Kenny Johnson say his Strikeforce bout this weekend will be different.

Johnson, a former Olympian who wrestled at Iowa, has increased his time spent with the British slugger.

"We started picking up the pace in the last few years and his wrestling has gone through the roof," Johnson said (3:50 mark). "He's really dedicated a lot of time and tried to become a mixed martial artist."

Fight fans' last memory of Daley against an elite former college wrestler was Josh Koscheck at UFC 113. Daley was taken down at will and smothered for 15 minutes. The Brit says forget that fight, Woodley isn't in Koscheck's league.

"He's not as big as Josh Koscheck. He is as athletic, but on the technical side, I don't think he can compete with Josh Koscheck," Daley told USA Today. "People are comparing this to that. People do forget in the Koscheck fight, there are takedowns that I stopped. I think that Josh Koscheck is a higher level than Tyron Woodley, so even if I'm able to stop two of his takedowns or stuff them or stall two of his takedowns back then, I think Tyron Woodley's going to have a very difficult time taking me down when I'm on form, when I'm 100%."

Daley (27-10-2) is fully dedicated to shoring up his weaknesses.

"He (Johnson) lives at my house. He eats with me. So if we're not training, we're talking about wrestling; we're looking at footage. So I think people are going to be very shocked, and I think that's an area where Tyron Woodley is underestimating me, and I think that's going to work in my benefit," said Daley.

The biggest question mark for Woodley (8-0) is his experience. He's never been in the cage with someone so seasoned.

"I'm much bigger. I'm much stronger than he thinks. I'm a lot more experienced than him. I don't think he realizes how that's going to play out in this fight," said Daley.

When talking about future opponents, Daley dropped an interesting nugget during this interview.

"There's a mystery guy. There's a mystery guy that's been signed by Strikeforce that Scott Coker's mentioned, and he said that the winner of this fight could possibly be fighting him immediately for the title. There's lots of speculation; I really have no clue, but I want to be back in a position of fighting for a title," said Daley.

Who could it be?

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Daley-says-his-wrestling-deficiency-is-overplaye?urn=mma-wp5128

Ryo Piranha Chonan  Dan The Sandman Christison  Logan The Pink Pounder Clark  Steve The Snake ClaveauÂ