Sam Stout?s scintillating finish of Yves Edwards named UFC 131 ?Knockout of the Night?

One of the more memorable moments of the UFC 131 weigh-ins on Friday involved veteran lightweight Yves Edwards sharing an Oreo Cookie with opponent Sam Stout after the two had stepped on the scale and made their marks. However, come showtime it was Edwards eating an offering from Stout in the form of a perfectly [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/06/11/sam-stouts-scintillating-finish-of-yves-edwards-named-ufc-131-knockout-of-the-night/

Marcelo Brito  Rob Broughton  Mike Brown  Junie Browning

Henderson interview: ‘I’m not done yet’

CHICAGO -- Sitting at a restaurant in Chicago with Strikeforce boss Scott Coker and a handful of reporters, Dan Henderson answered questions on a variety of topics, from his future with Strikeforce to the his opponent on July 30, Fedor Emelianenko. He made it clear that he was not done yet, and is looking forward to this next challenge.

"With both of our careers, we've done a lot in the sport. You match two guys up like that, and with me probably being the underdog and a smaller guy, I have a lot more to gain than he does. I have a lot less to lose, and those fights are always the most fun for me," he told Cagewriter

Henderson will fight in a weight class much larger than any of his other fights, against a man who, until recently, was considered unstoppable. At 40 years old and with a legacy in combat sports set, why do it?

"The challenge of things, and things like fighting Fedor. That's the biggest challenge of my career. Those are things that excite me and motivate me to keep going," Henderson said.

In this bout, he won't defend his recently-won Strikeforce light-heavyweight belt. That hardly matters to Henderson.

"No, when I'm out there, I don't think, [expletive], the belt's not on the line. I better not hit this guy. I'm just as motivated when I train."

But the prospect of uniting light heavyweight titles across Strikeforce and the UFC does interest Henderson. When Henderson signed with Strikeforce, it seemed an impossibility, but Zuffa's purchase of Strikeforce changed that.

"As soon as Zuffa bought Strikeforce, Jon Jones fought right after that. Everybody was blowing up my Twitter about fighting Jon Jones. I think that fight would be fun for me because he's so unorthodox. It's something that probably needs to be built up after I defend the belt once or twice."

Focused on Fedor

And it's not the fight that Henderson is focused on at the moment. Though he says that he never bought into the mystique of Fedor Emelianenko, he does respect what the Russian fighter has accomplished.

"I knew that he was talented and tough and there every fight. Those are the types of guys that are pretty consistent and I would never bet against him."

Like all fight fans, Henderson has wondered what happened to Emelianenko in his last few fights, which were losses to Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva.

"Looking on the outside, his heart hasn't been into it. He's hardly trained. Ever since PRIDE, he doesn't look like he's put much into it. I'm hoping he gets rejuvenated."

Timing was a key part in putting this fight together.

"It was something that was interesting to me, that could possibly make everyone a lot of money, but things had to fall in the right way. With me losing my first fight, and then him losing, I thought it wasn't going to happen. Just the way things have gone in the light heavyweight division and then Fedor getting mugged by a really big heavyweight, they started looking at fighting littler guys. I'm probably about as little as he'll get to fight ever in his life. "

Henderson, who normally walks around at 204 lbs., has no plans of getting bigger to fight Emelianenko, who weighed in for his last fight at 230 lbs.

"It won't change a whole lot at all, except at weigh-ins, I'll drink water to make sure I'm over 205 lbs. I don't typically weigh over 205 much at all."

With a loss to Henderson, Emelianenko's management indicated that he might retire. Henderson doesn't want to see him walk away from MMA, but that doesn't mean he intends to hold back on July 30.

"No, I'm a fan of his like everyone else. I don't want to see him retire. But that won't stop me from beating him, either. "

Retirement isn't on Henderson's mind. He still wants to accomplish more, but he thanks his open approach to the sport for his long, successful career.

"My first fight, I hadn't done any training in MMA. I was just a wrestler. To learn along the way has been fun, and to evolve with the sport, and having the mentality that I could learn from anybody. That, and being smart over the years with my training."

That open-minded work ethic, and one other thing.

"Viagra," he said with a laugh.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Henderson-interview-I-m-not-done-yet-?urn=mma-wp3302

Phil Baroni Don Barr Pat Barry  Vitor Belfort 

Bellator FC Will Possibily Replace The UFC On Spike TV... And That's A Good Thing

There have been a huge amount of rumors floating around the internet now that Spike TV and the UFC are poised to end their relationship after so many years. One very popular rumor is that Spike TV is already preparing for life without the UFC: they?ve got the upstart Bellator promotion square in their sites. [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/06/13/bellator-fc-will-possibily-replace-the-ufc-on-spike-tv-and-thats-a-good-thing

Dan Henderson Josh Hendricks Ed Herman Heath Herring

?Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum? Betting Odds

Now that the curtain has dropped on “UFC 131: Dos Santos vs. Carwin,” let’s take a look ahead to MMA’s next major show. “Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum” will be headlined by a pair of Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinals bouts. Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett are significant favorites to dispose of their respective opponents and advance [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/78708/strikeforce-overeem-vs-werdum-betting-odds/

Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade 

UFC 131 "Dos Santos vs. Carwin" Prelims Predictions

Hello again fans and friends and welcome back to another edition of ?Prelims Predictions?. In honor of the UFC?s ?UFC Prelims LIVE? specials being crowned my new ?dark horse favorite?, I?ve recently decided to give my own separate list of predictions for upcoming ?Prelims LIVE? shows. UFC 131 looks to be a great night for [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/06/09/ufc-131-dos-santos-vs-carwin-prelims-predictions

Kendall Grove Clay Guida Jason Guida Melvin Guillard

Top 5 Best Moments Of "The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale"

After a rather long ?Spring Slump? that saw only a handful of MMA events, the UFC came roaring into June with several high-profile fights, free shows, and Pay-Per-View events. But the UFC?s first major event of the super-cramped month of June, ?The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale?, failed to live up to most expectations, although I?d [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/06/05/top-5-best-moments-of-the-ultimate-fighter-13-finale

Gesias JZ Calvancante  Luiz Cane  Dos Caras Jr   Phil Cardella

UFC 131 odds update: Over or under on Carwin-JDS lasting two rounds?

Two hard-hitting rhinos collide tonight in Vancouver when Shane Carwin and Junior dos Santos lock horns at UFC 131. Both fighters say they're willing to trade shots. If that's the case, is there any chance this main event/title eliminator makes it to the third round?

Las Vegas sportsbooks tabbed JDS a good-sized favorite and the betting public has backed the Brazilian. Dos Santos is now a minus-200 choice. There's intrigue around the round proposition bet. The over/under for the fight is one and half rounds with the under checking in as a strong favorite at minus-160.

Adam Hill joined me on "The MMA Insiders" show on ESPNRadio1100 in Las Vegas to give our selections on many of the fights at UFC 131.

The biggest moves on the card have come with Krzysztof Soszysnki, Vagner Rocha and Jon Olav Einemo.

Soszynski, a big light heavyweight, is fighting a last minute replacement in Mike Massenzio. The former college wrestler normally fights down at middleweight and only weighed in at 201 pounds for this 205-pound bout. Soszynski has steamed from minus-240 to minus-400. Bettors are either impressed with Jon Olav Einemo's jiu-jitsu resume or his pure size. His opponent Dave Herman has been bet down from minus-270 to minus-200. During the week, Donald Cerrone was a huge 5-to-1 favorite over Rocha. Bettors looking for some value have sided with Vagner Rocha, who is now down to plus-300.

Round prop bets:

Carwin Rnd 1 - 3/1
Carwin Rnd 2 - 6/1
Carwin Rnd 3 - 15/1
Carwin Dec. - 8/1
Santos Rnd 1- 9/5
Santos Rnd 2 - 5/2
Santos Rnd 3 - 7/1
Santos Dec. - 6/1
Draw 25/1

UFC 131 betting odds (Courtesy Venetian Las Vegas):

Shane Carwin (+170) vs. Junior dos Santos (-200) - Heavyweight

Diego Nunes (+220) vs. Kenny Florian (-300) - Lightweight

Vagner Rocha (+300) vs. Donald Cerrone (-400) - Lightweight

Jon Olav Einemo (+170) vs. Dave Herman (-200) - Heavyweight

Mark Munoz (-125) vs. Demian Maia (-105) - Middleweight

Yves Edwards (+130) vs. Sam Stout (-160) - Lightweight

Jesse Bongfeldt (+300) vs. Chris Weidman (-400) - Middleweight

Jason Young (+250) vs. Dustin Poirier (-350) - Featherweight

Mike Massenzio (+300) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (-400) - Light heavyweight

James Head (+105) vs. Nick Ring (-135) - Middleweight

Joey Beltran (+110) vs. Aaron Rosa (-140) - Heavyweight

Darren Elkins (+210) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (-260) - Featherweight

You can watch UFC 131 right here on Yahoo! Sports

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-131-odds-update-Over-or-under-on-Carwin-JDS?urn=mma-wp3339

Jeff Big Frog Curran Dai Shuanghai  Mac Danzig  Karen Darabedyan

Five round main events set for all future UFC cards, flyweight division coming

In a move likely to deliver more definitive finishes and a greater aura of importance, the UFC has decided to change course and will now book all future headliners as five round fights rather than three as has been the case in the past. However, any main event match-ups currently signed will still take place [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/06/09/five-round-main-events-set-for-all-future-ufc-cards-flyweight-division-coming/

Fedor Emelianenko Yasubey Enomoto Mark Epstein Tom Big Cat Erickson