Alexander Gustafsson is NOT the ?next? Jon Jones

One of the most familiar debates in any sport pertains to an athlete being the ?next? all-time great. Is Sidney Crosby the next Mario Lemieux? Is LeBron James the next Michael Jordan? Is Alexander Gustafsson the next Jon Jones? I?ll leave the first two up to pundits more familiar with both sports but as far [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/04/16/alexander-gustafsson-is-not-the-%e2%80%9cnext%e2%80%9d-jon-jones

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

Nick Diaz to face world champion BJJ player Braulio Estima in grappling superbout

Nick Diaz has never been submitted in an MMA bout. While that streak may be safe as he sits out a suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission for testing positive for a banned substance after his loss to Carlos Condit, his BJJ will be tested soon. Diaz will participate in a bout with Braulio Estima. (Since it's not an MMA bout, he doesn't need a license so he's not violating the suspension.)

Estima is a highly-credentialed blackbelt in jiu-jitsu. He has won a world championship and numerous titles in BJJ and has two gold medals and a silver from the respected Abu Dhabi grappling tournament. In other words, he's one of the best around at groundwork.

Diaz and Estima will not wear gis (the traditional garment for BJJ) in their bout, making it more like an MMA bout. Diaz has eight wins by submission, but few opponents have the grappling skill of Estima. Will Diaz be able to win this bout? Tell us in the comments, on Twitter or on Facebook.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/nick-diaz-face-world-champion-bjj-player-braulio-205337632.html

Marcus Davis  Tony DeSouza  Edwin Dewees  Nick Diaz 

UFC 147 date in question because of United Nations convention

Though the trash talk and training camps for Anderson Silva's title bout with Chael Sonnen are underway, the date of their fight is in question. A United Nations convention set for the same time as UFC 147 in Rio de Janeiro may force the UFC to move from the June 23 date.

UFC president Dana White talked about it after UFC on Fuel 2 on Saturday.

"The problem is, they don't like the idea of us coming the same time this United Nations convention is going on," he said. "The other problem is hotel rooms. Most of the hotel rooms are being taken up. And we don't think, we know that the Anderson Silva-Chael Sonnen fight is one of the biggest sporting events this year, in the world."

A lack of hotel rooms in a city the size of Rio is an ongoing problem. They are building hotels to deal with the upcoming Olympics in 2016 and the World Cup in 2014, but that won't help the UFC this June.

Since the UFC generally plans their events well after conventions of all stripes are set, it's surprising that this snafu would just come up now. Rio+20 has been planned since January 2011. Checking what's going on in a town before booking an event is event-planning 101. That doesn't matter if you're planning a birthday party or a major sporting event.

This isn't the first scheduling problem the UFC has faced this year. In January, they were forced to postpone a planned March event in Montreal because they didn't feel the bouts were good enough for an event of that size. The postponement was the reason for the recently-ended six-week Zuffa drought.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-147-date-because-united-nations-convention-192144583.html

Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz

Alexander Gustafsson vs. Thiago Silva official after UFC on Fuel 2 weigh-ins

Everyone made weight at the UFC on Fuel 2 weigh-ins at the Ericsson Arena in Stockholm. Dennis Siver needed a second chance to make it, and preliminary card fighters Yoislandy Izquierdo and Reza Madadi's staredown involved a lot of snarling.

Main eventers Alexander Gustafsson and Thiago Silva had no problem making weight. Read on for complete results, care of the good people at MMA Junkie:

MAIN CARD (FUEL TV)

Alexander Gustafsson (205) vs. Thiago Silva (205)
Alessio Sakara (186) vs. Brian Stann (185)
Siyar Bahadurzada (170) vs. Paulo Thiago (170)
Diego Nunes (146) vs. Dennis Siver (147)
DaMarques Johnson (171) vs. John Maguire (170)
Damacio Page (135) vs. Brad Pickett (136)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

Papy Abedi (171) vs. James Head (170)
Tom DeBlass (205) vs. Cyrille Diabate (206)
Francis Carmont (186) vs. Magnus Cedenblad (185)
Yoislandy Izquierdo (155) vs. Reza Madadi (155)
Simeon Thoresen (170) vs. Besam Yousef (170)
Jason Young (145) vs. Eric Wisely (145)

Join Cagewriter tomorrow for a live chat for the Fuel TV card, starting at 3 p.m. ET.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/alexander-gustafsson-vs-thiago-silva-official-ufc-fuel-154725830.html

Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio

Bellator 65 Highlights - Bellator

In one of the most memorable title fights in Bellator history, Eduardo Dantas reigned supreme as he became the new Bellator Bantamweight Champion. Daniel Straus earned his spot in the finals of the featherweight tournament with an impressive victory and Marcos Galvao and Luis Nogueira earned their spots in the semifinals of the Bellator Season Six Bantamweight Tournament Friday night at Bellator 65 from Caesars Atlantic City, New Jersey LIVE on MTV2 and in HD on EPIX.

Source: http://mmalice.com/bellator/bellator-65-highlights-video_f5ff7a294.html

Josh Hendricks Ed Herman Heath Herring Branden Lee Hinkle

Ryan Ford (16-4) vs Ricky Goodall (9-4) (Feb 11, 2012) - Ryan Ford

Ford defeats Goodall ref stoppage 3:37 of RD1 due to unanswered blows (TKO - Elbows) @ Aggression MMA9 (MAIN EVENT) in Edmonton, AB CANADA Sat.Feb 11/2012. Ford improves record to 17-4.Filmed and edited by Steve Mayer

Source: http://mmalice.com/ryan-ford/ryan-ford-16-4-vs-ricky-goodall-9-4-feb-11-2012-video_d157c747f.html

Joe Hybrid Duarte Aldrin de Jesus  Todd Duffee  Marvin Eastman 

Brandon Vera battling James Te Huna at UFC on Fuel 4

Light heavyweight Brandon Vera looks to have his next opponent in place after originally hoping to face Thiago Silva in hopes of avenging the result of their previous meeting. Silva, who fights Alexander Gustafsson in headlining action tomorrow at UFC on Fuel 2, beat Vera last year but had the win overturned based on a [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/04/13/brandon-vera-battling-james-te-huna-at-ufc-on-fuel-4

Vagam Bodjukyan Kotetsu Boku  Tony Bonello Stephan Bonnar