Top 5 Reasons To Watch UFC 131: "Dos Santos vs. Carwin"
Source: http://www.fighters.com/06/10/top-5-reasons-to-watch-ufc-131-dos-santos-vs-carwin
Dennis George Kultar Gill Allan Goes Takanori The Fireball Kid Gomi
Source: http://www.fighters.com/06/10/top-5-reasons-to-watch-ufc-131-dos-santos-vs-carwin
Dennis George Kultar Gill Allan Goes Takanori The Fireball Kid Gomi
Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, Videos
The MMA Hour is back in your life on Monday with another two-hour live show. Here's a partial list of who will be stopping by: * KJ Noons, who faces Jorge Masvidal at Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum on Saturday night. * UFC heavyweight Roy Nelson will discuss what's next for him after his UFC 130 loss to Frank Mir. * Dave Herman, who defeated John-Olav Einemo at UFC 131 and won the Fight of the Night award. * Danny Downes, who became the talk of the MMA world following his loss to Jeremy Stephens at TUF 13 Finale. * Chad Griggs, who faces Valentijn Overeem at Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum. We'll also look back at UFC 131 and ahead to Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum. And of course, we'll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193, 212-254-0237 or 212-254-0714. *** You can now stream the show live on your iPhone or iPad by clicking here. Watch the show live below beginning at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT. Subscribe to The MMA Hour on iTunes: audio feed here; video feed here. Download previous episodes here. Listen to the show via Stitcher here.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/06/13/the-mma-hour-with-kj-noons-danny-downes-chad-griggs/
Jon Olav Einemo Per Eklund Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko
You think you're having a bad day? Imagine Tim Credeur's position as he left a doctor's office in April of 2010 after being told he had an unknown mass in his brain that could be potentially fatal. Then Credeur called his wife and was greeted by the unbelievably great news that the couple was pregnant with their first child. That's a rough spot.
The 33-year-old's health and longevity were in question. It appeared certain that his fighting career was over as well, but he was supposed to snap right into celebratory mode.
"My brain scan came back and they didn't know if it was a brain tumor, if it was the beginning of an aneurysm and it was inoperable," Credeur told us in the RawVegas video. "My wife calls me to tell me she's pregnant with our first baby. That's a tough 10 minutes for anybody to go through. I kind of shelved my problems and I was excited for her, and I didn't tell her anything for a week."
Credeur eventually told his wife and went through nine months of consistent brain scans and check ups to find out that the anomaly in his brain was similar to a birthmark. He's at no risk and it's safe to continue fighting. After 21 months away from active fighting, he's thrilled to be back.
"Feeling like I'm not going to be able to participate in the sport I love and appreciate, and that it was going to get taken away from me for some weird medical scare was kind of tough to swallow," Credeur said. "So having the opportunity to come back and fight and do what I love to do is a huge opportunity."
Credeur's outlook on life, family and friends has changed.
"Having something like that happen to you, you know you re-evaluate a whole bunch of things in life. You realize that some of the most important things in your life are your relationships, who you are and how people view you. That's stuff important," Credeur said. "The integrity of a man defines who he really is. So I'm worried about that."
Credeur is part of "comeback night" in his fight against fellow veteran Ed Herman. Herman, one of the only fighters left in the UFC from Season 3 of TUF, deal with two knee surgeries during his 19 months away.
Filed under: Strikeforce, News
Paul Daley will face Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos on July 30's Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson card, the Brit's management team has confirmed to MMA Fighting in a press release. The heavy-handed strikers, both coming off losses, have agreed to meet in a welterweight clash prior to the heavily anticipated main event. Interestingly, both fighters are coming off losses to Nick Diaz, who recently abandoned his welterweight championship to move over to the UFC and challenge its long-reigning 170-pound kingpin Georges St-Pierre. Daley (27-10-2) faced Diaz last, losing via technical knockout at 4:57 of round one. That bout took place on April 9. "I'm happy to be fighting again," Daley said in the press release. "It's a big fight. For those who haven't seen the Melvin Manhoef vs. Cyborg fight, watch it and expect the same outcome for Cyborg ... He'll be knocked out." Santos, meanwhile, had his crack at Diaz in January, surviving into the second before losing via armbar submission. With the loss, he fell to 18-14. The July 30 event takes place at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. To date, the heavyweight bout pitting legends Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson is the only officially announced match.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/06/12/paul-daley-vs-cyborg-santos-added-to-strikeforce-fedor-vs-hen/
Jorge Gurgel Andre Gusmao Alexander Gustafsson Jaime Gutierrez
Filed under: MMA Videos, UFC, Videos
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - MMA Fighting caught up with UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez after the UFC 131 main event. Velasquez talks about Junior dos Santos' performance, whether the ref should have stopped the fight in the first round, when he might be able to return and much more in an exclusive interview.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/06/12/cain-velasquez-excited-to-face-junior-dos-santos-next/
Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida Eddie Alvarez Thiago AlvesÂ
Mark Munoz was shocked early by Demian Maia, but stuck with his gameplan and picked up a big win by testing the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace's ground game. Munoz was given the unanimous decision, 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27, in a pivotal middleweight fight at UFC 131 in Vancouver.
This is a very rewarding win. All of the sacrifices that my family has made and all of the work my training partners put in to help me get ready for this fight ? it all came to fruition tonight. Demian is obviously an excellent jiu-jitsu artist, but fortunately, my wrestling really helped me grind this one out," said Munoz.
Munoz got a wake up call in the first round. Maia came out throwing hard lefts that the former Oklahoma State wrestler simply wasn't picking up. Just 45 seconds into the fight, Maia nailed him with grazing left. Munoz's legs went out as he stumbled backwards, but Maia didn't seem to pick up on the fact that the Filipino was in trouble. Munoz quickly regained his wits and started firing back with his own hard shots.
"His standup got a lot better. His punches were crisp and a lot straighter than I expected. We had expected more looping punches, but he definitely tightened that part of his game up," Munoz said. "At the end of the day, I was able to persevere and grind out a tough decision."

In the second and third rounds, the fight was highlighted by some solid exchanges on the feet, but it turned into a battle of who would win the clinch game along the game. Munoz played a dangerous game. pretty much anyone who's tested Maia in tight, has been tossed or dominated into a submission. When the fight did hit the ground, Munoz controlled the position and avoided getting in a real predicament.
Munoz (11-2, 6-2 UFC) is now 6-1 down at middleweight and probably deserves a shot at someone like Chael Sonnen or Brian Stann. Maia (14-3, 8-3 UFC) came out of this fight a winner as well. His improved standup certainly keeps him in the mix to continue fighting top 10 opponents at 185.
Thirteen seasons in, any television show is going to feel stale, and "The Ultimate Fighter" has not escaped that fate. The show failed to excite throughout its 10-episode season.
In sitcom-land, this is usually when a long-lost daughter with a cute child who has a sassy catchphrase is introduced. Unfortunately for the UFC, Brock Lesnar had no sassy catchphrase, as his oft-repeated "Are we chicken s*** or chicken salad?" only served to confuse his fighters, and didn't prop up the ratings.
With just the live finale to go, we can now look back at the season and see what needs to be done to improve next season.
Go with exciting coaches over an "important match-up." The Brock Lesnar-Junior dos Santos match-up was to decide who the next heavyweight contender. That alone made that fight significant and exciting. It didn't need the TUF build-up to create interest. Lesnar and dos Santos showed themselves to be nice guys, but nice guys don't make watchable television.
Luckily, the UFC has already remedied that with the selection of Jason "Mayhem" Miller (pictured) and Michael Bisping for the coaches of TUF 14. Both men excel at getting under people's skin and running their mouths, which makes for much better television.
Share more about the fighters' stories. On this TUF cast, we had a devout Muslim, the son of a Baptist pastor, a man who was going through child-custody problems, and another father who kept the picture of his daughter with cornermen while he fought. They came from a diverse set of backgrounds and regions, and yet we only caught a glimpse of what made them interesting.
Let us get to know them, and we'll want to tune in and and cheer for (or against) these fighters. Not only that, it will make fans more interested in the fighters once they do reach the UFC.
Don't do anything to the Coaches Challenge. The episode where the coaches engage in a competition that has nothing to do with MMA is usually a highlight. This season, dos Santos, a Brazilian who knew nothing about American football, defeated Lesnar in a challenge that centered around American football. Leave it as is, unless the payout to coaches and fighters is upped.
Bring back the fight-in bouts. Taking away the requirement that fighters had to fight their way onto the show took away the action-packed first episodes. Fortunately, Dana White has already said that eliminating the fight-in bouts was a mistake, and that they will return for season 14.
What other changes would you like to see for "The Ultimate Fighter?" Will you tune in next season? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook.
Yasubey Enomoto Mark Epstein Tom Big Cat Erickson Martinsh Egle