UFC 130 "Rampage vs. Hamill" Results: An Event That Unfortunately Lives Up To The "Anti-Hype"

Another one went into the history books tonight, fans and friends. The ufc continued its long journey by holding its one hundred and thirtieth event yesterday, featuring what was expected to be several interesting matches between big-name stars. So, how was ?Rampage vs. Hamill?? Unfortunately, this is one of the rare instances where I?m wrong [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/05/29/ufc-130-rampage-vs-hamill-results-an-event-that-unfortunately-lives-up-to-the-anti-hype

Rich No Love Clementi  Mark The Hammer Coleman Wes Soldier Combs  Ray Cooper 

Marloes Coenen vs. Meisha Tate and Muhammed Lawal vs. Roger Gracie Added To Strikeforce "Fedor vs. Henderson"

Recently, it?s been confirmed that Fedor Emelianenko will be fighting Dan Henderson at Heavyweight on July 30 in strikeforce. The ?Fedor vs. Henderson? fight card has almost-immediately became one of Strikeforce?s can?t-miss events for the year. And in addition to that mega match, two more interesting matches have been slated for July 30, live on [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/06/07/marloes-coenen-vs-meisha-tate-and-muhammed-lawal-vs-roger-gracie-added-to-strikeforce-fedor-vs-henderson

Murilo Bustamante 

Mark Munoz Looking to Play 'Whack-a-Mole' Against Demian Maia

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia - For most of Wednesday's open workout, Mark Munoz did exactly what you'd expect from a NCAA national champion wrestler preparing to face a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt at UFC 131.

He worked on top control, on ground-and-pound, on extricating himself from sticky situations on the mat. Not a bad idea when you're fighting submissions expert Demian Maia.

But then Munoz apparently decided to mix it up, and suddenly he was throwing his training partner in triangle chokes and armbars, as if he might actually be considering a submission win of his own. Was this some sort of trick?

"You saw that, huh?" an excited Munoz said once his workout concluded. "My jiu-jitsu is good. I'm here to prove a point, too. I have great jiu-jitsu guys in my gym, and they know my game is great. As of late, you guys haven't seen my jiu-jitsu game. That's something I do want to prove."




But seriously. This is Maia we're talking about there. There may be no better jiu-jitsu specialist anywhere in MMA's 185-pound division. Munoz can't seriously think he's going to lock that guy into a triangle choke, can he? Is he really thinking about trying an armbar if he looks up and finds Maia in his guard?

"Yeah, what if?" Munoz shrugged. "What if can happen."

One thing Maia probably isn't worried about is Munoz's jiu-jitsu game. The man may have been an All-America wrestler at Oklahoma State, but in MMA he only has one submission win to his credit, and it came as a result of punches. It would seem like his heavy hands - both standing and on the ground - are more of a concern. But Maia doesn't seem terribly worried about being overpowered on Saturday night.

"When I see wrestlers fight, they train a lot of boxing because they don't want to end up on bottom," Maia said. "I don't have this issue. I know he's very powerful when he's on top, but I'm okay with that. I don't think it's going to be just a stand-up fight."

Even if it is, however, Maia wouldn't necessarily run from that. Earlier in his career he rushed to get opponents to the mat because, as Maia put it, he was "really afraid" of standing and trading punches. Now he's more comfortable on the feet, even if his decision to contest more fights there has led to fewer submission wins lately.

"Now I'm more relaxed, so I think sometimes I don't put enough on the ground to submit [them]. I think it's just, I'm changing my style and it will come back," he said.

Which is not to say he's in any danger of becoming a knockout artist, however.

"I enjoy [striking], but it's dangerous," Maia said. "I enjoy it more in the training than in the fight."

Munoz, on the other hand, isn't at all shy about throwing leather. He even prepared with some unconventional training methods, thanks to training partner Mike Guymon, who introduced him to the arcade game Whack-a-Mole.

"You go to Chuck E. Cheese's and you get these padded paddles, and you see a mole pop up and you whack it," Munoz said. "...I was like, man, that's an awesome analogy. I'm going to take that. So I'm playing Whack-a-Mole on Saturday night."

He may be fighting one of the most skilled jiu-jitsu practitioners in all of MMA, but Munoz doesn't seem to feel that it will be such a hard adjustment to make after fighting so many fellow collegiate wrestlers in the UFC.

"I've been fighting all wrestlers, so this is a big change. I like change. It's great, because I know what Demian has and I know what I have. You know bombs are going to fly. That's just me. I'm going to throw bombs and more bombs. Bombs away. That's what's going to happen and Demian knows that. No disrespect to him. I have so much respect for him, but this is a business. I'm here to prove a point, and I think he's afraid of my power."

At least, Maia's probably more afraid of Munoz's power than his triangle choke. But then again, MMA is a sport where the crazy 'what ifs' happen from time to time. If Munoz can somehow make Maia tap, he'll never have to worry about anyone doubting his jiu-jitsu ever again.

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/06/09/mark-munoz-looking-to-play-whack-a-mole-against-demian-maia/

Chris Dolman Edson Drago  Tomasz Drwal Joe Hybrid Duarte

Carwin interview: Heavyweight slugger is ready to throw hands with dos Santos

Come Saturday, Shane Carwin may look like a slightly different fighter from a physique standpoint. He's expecting to weigh around 255 pounds, but he's bringing the same attitude when it comes to knocking his opponent's head off against Junior dos Santos.

"I'm gonna stand toe-to-toe. That's type of fighter I am. Let's face it, that's what got both of us where we're at," Carwin told "The MMA Insiders" on ESPNRadio1100 in Las Vegas. "I like my power and I think I have a great chin. I like to stand and bang, and that's what I'm passionate about."

The key to being a knockout puncher is the willingness to stand in the pocket and absorb some big shots if necessary. If he gets blasted in the main event of UFC 131, Carwin already showed he can come off the deck. Back at UFC 96, Gabriel Gonzaga smashed Carwin's nose and floored him, but he kept his cool.

"When Gonzaga hit me, I was stunned for a second or two. We were against the fence and I knew Gonzaga was a black belt, and I didn't want to be underneath him. Once we got back up it was just swinging away again," said Carwin.

Carwin recovered from that broken nose to come back and KO Gonzaga inside of 70 seconds. Every one of Carwin's 12 career wins has come via finish. Dos Santos' resume is nearly as impressive. The power-punching Brazilian has 11 finishes amongst his 12 wins. If this one goes 15 minutes, these guys will likely be beaten and bloodied.

You can watch UFC 131 right here on Yahoo! Sports

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Carwin-interview-Heavyweight-slugger-is-ready-t?urn=mma-wp3126

Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Ao Hailin 

UFC in talks to Purchase G4 Channel, Spike TV eyes Bellator

The UFC is reportedly in talks to purchase the G4 network from Comcast as Spike TV prepares for "life without UFC." While Spike may lose the UFC, it does not appear to want out of the MMA scene. Sources within the company have reported that the channel may begin showing Bellator Fighting Championships as early as 2012.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/18816/ufc-in-talks-to-purchase-g4-network-spike-tv-eyes-bellator/

Keith Hackney Matt Hamill Volk Han Joachim Hansen

Strikeforce Champ Cris Cyborg Santos Slams Tito Ortiz While Rolling On The Mat

Strikeforce Champ Cris Cyborg Santos Slams Tito Ortiz While Rolling During A Training Session. Not a big slam but impressive strength knowing that Cris is about 80 pounds lighter than Tito. This was filmed while they were training together at Cleber Luciano’s gym in Huntington Beach in 2009.

Source: http://www.mmatko.com/strikeforce-champ-cris-cyborg-santos-slams-tito-ortiz-while-rolling-on-the-mat/

Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo 

A Closer Look At UFC 130: Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson

It?s that time again, fans and friends: time for ?A Closer Look at UFC 130?. My exhaustive look at the full UFC 130 card has hopefully been both educational and entertaining, and it?s about to reach its conclusion. There are only two fights left that I haven?t examined in detail. One of them is the [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/05/26/a-closer-look-at-ufc-130-frank-mir-vs-roy-nelson

Don Frye Tony Fryklund Kazuyuki Fujita Masakatsu Funaki