Derek Brunson meets Chris Leben on two weeks' notice at UFC 155

http://www.mmafighting.com/2012/12/1...s-leben-on-two

All's well that end's for Derek Brunson.

Months after he was pulled off "The Ultimate Fighter" season 16 right before filming began due to a contractual issue with Showtime, the now former Strikeforce middleweight has agreed to step up on short notice to fight Chris Leben on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas. A slot opened up for Brunson after Karlos Vemola, Leben's original opponent, withdrew from the fight due to an injury.

MMAJunkie.com first reported the news Tuesday night.

Brunson (9-2) will look to get back on the winning track after going 0-2 in 2012, thus far. He lost to Kendall Grove via controversial split decision in June and was then knocked out in just 41 seconds by Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza in August.

Then, on a recent episode of The MMA Hour, Brunson said he felt like his luck was getting worse this year after he was pulled off TUF.

"It's a nightmare," Brunson said "Throughout the day I'm like, man, that was the worst-case scenario that actually happened.

"This has not been my year," he said. "What can happen? Nothing, nothing good at this point can happen. I'm thinking all the things that could go possibly wrong are going on at this point."

But just hours before New Year's Day, Brunson can turn his nightmare into a dream. Amazingly, he will be the first Strikeforce fighter to make his UFC debut since it was reported that Strikeforce will fold following its Jan. 12 event.

As for Leben (22-8), he'll look to bounce back from an inactive 2012 due to his year-long suspension for a positive drug test following his UFC 138 loss to Mark Munoz in Nov. 2011.

The Leben vs. Brunson tilt is expected to kick off the pay-per-view, which will be headlined by Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez for the UFC heavyweight title, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Source: http://ninjashoes.net/forum/showthread.php?79752-Derek-Brunson-meets-Chris-Leben-on-two-weeks-notice-at-UFC-155&goto=newpost

Vitor Belfort  Robert Berry David Bielkheden Michael Bisping  Dan Bobish

UFC 155 FX Prelims Recap: Wineland takes split, Perez rolls, Varner gets past Guillard, Jury surprises

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The FX preliminary card for Saturday's UFC 155 event provided some solid action in three fights that went the distance, along with another highly impressive showing from a rising prospect in the UFC.

Capping off the prelims was a good, but not great fight between bantamweights Brad Pickett and Eddie Wineland. It was a highly anticipated fight coming in, and nearly provided a great highlight in the first round, but Pickett's chin allowed him to continue. That first round saw Wineland stagger Pickett with some big counter strikes on more than one occasion, but Pickett managed to stay on his feet and recovered well.

He pressed the action throughout the remainder of the fight, landing some nice strikes of his own, but Wineland's counter-striking continued to be effective, and he kept Pickett off his game for much of the fight. Though the second and third rounds were close enough for Pickett to edge them on one judges' scorecard, the other two saw it for Wineland, who earned the split decision for his second straight win.

Prior to that, bantamweight Erik Perez continued the impressive start to his UFC career, winning his third straight fight with a brutal first round stoppage of Byron Bloodworth. Perez dropped Bloodworth with a knee to the body in the clinch midway through the round, and after a minute and a half of ground and pound, Bloodworth was finished. Perez is now 3-0 in the UFC's bantamweight division, and seems to have a bright future ahead of him.

One fighter who may not have a future in the UFC is Melvin Guillard. After winning five straight fights in 2010-2011, Guillard entered Saturday's preliminary card bout with Jamie Varner on a 1-3 run, and he left the event at 1-4 over his last five fights.

Varner took control of the fight from the final minute of the first round. A tentative start saw Guillard open things up with a series of leg kicks, but Varner came back with a flurry late in the round to take the frame. From there, he out-struck a tepid Guillard, and in the third round took him down thrice while still out-striking him. It was a smart, effective performance from the former WEC Lightweight Champion, who may have secured "Comeback Fighter of the Year" honors with his second win in three fights since his Octagon return.

In the opening bout on the night's FX broadcast, two Ultimate Fighter vets clashed in a fight that was seen beforehand as a step down for one of them. However, it was the underdog who came out on top, as Myles Jury dominated Michael Johnson for the entire 15-minute fight to cruise to an easy decision win.

Johnson had won three straight fights, and off his knockout win over Danny Castillo in October, Jury was seen as a strange opponent for his next fight. But it was Jury who surprised everyone, keeping his record perfect at 11-0 with a smart, one-sided performance. He took Johnson down in each round, and kept pressure on him throughout with punches and elbows to earn his second UFC win.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_15452.shtml

Xavier Foupa Pokam Hermes Franca Rich Franklin Ian Freeman Don Frye

Ian McCall: “I’m 0-1-1, and I’m definitely not happy about it.”

There is no questioning that Ian McCall is one of the best flyweights in the world, but “Uncle Creepy” isn’t satisfied with his current status in the UFC. McCall has fought the champion Demetrious Johnson twice now, and he still doesn’t have a win in the Octagon. McCall currently has Joseph Benavidez in his cross hairs for their match-up at UFC 156, but as of right now the fan-favorite is directly south of satisfied with the way things have gone for him so far in the world’s foremost MMA promotion.

McCall told MMAJunkie:

“I’m no longer happy with my career at this point. I need a win. I came to the UFC claiming to be world champion. Now I’m 0-1-1, and I’m definitely not happy about it.”

On Being a number one contender:

“People keep saying, ‘Oh, you’re going to get a title shot after this. I mean, think about. Honestly, neither of us deserve it. I think Demetrious beat both of us. I would say maybe this one, if I win it convincingly, and then fight whoever else after this. Then maybe…. Honestly, I’ll take a title shot at any point. I’m not going to turn that down. But I don’t mind working for it. I’m not some guy that’s just going to talk and talk and talk and say, ‘I deserve this,’ and ‘I deserve that.’ I deserve a fight. Once I win, we’ll talk about what I deserve and what I should be doing.”

The post Ian McCall: “I’m 0-1-1, and I’m definitely not happy about it.” appeared first on Fighters.com.

Source: http://www.fighters.com/12/22/ian-mccall-now-im-0-1-1-and-im-definitely-not-happy-about-it?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ian-mccall-now-im-0-1-1-and-im-definitely-not-happy-about-it

Dan Cramer Alberto Crane Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz Luke Cummo  Jeff Big Frog Curran

Strikeforce confirms January card will be its last

From the second Ronda Rousey's UFC bout with Liz Carmouche was announced, Strikeforce's end was rumored. The promotion has been teetering since having to cancel two cards in a row in September and November. Now, the Zuffa-owned, Showtime-backed promotion has confirmed that their January show will be their last.

“Since 2009, Showtime has been a great partner and we appreciate its support of Strikeforce and our athletes,” Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said via the promotion's website. “For our final event, we’ve loaded the card with some outstanding fights. This is going to be a memorable night for the sport of mixed martial arts.”

The event takes place Jan. 12 in Oklahoma City, and will feature:

Nate Marquardt vs. Tarec Saffiedine
Daniel Cormier vs. Dion Staring
Josh Barnett vs. Nandor Guelmino
Gegard Mousasi vs. Mike Kyle
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Ed Herman
Pat Healy vs. to be determined
Roger Gracie vs. Anthony Smith
Tim Kennedy vs. Trevor Smith
KJ Noons vs. Ryan Couture
Jorge Gurgel vs. Adriano Martin
Estevan Payan vs. Michael Bravo

It's a fun card for the finale to a promotion that has provided memorable moments but was plagued with inconsistency.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/strikeforce-confirms-january-card-last-022952137--mma.html

Yves Edwards  Justin Eilers  Jon Olav Einemo Per Eklund Jason Ellis

Post fight Presser, yo!

http://www.ufc.tv/ufc/video/ufc-155-...866?watch=true


starting now, breadbins :)

Source: http://www.mmaforum.com/ufc/108113-post-fight-presser-yo.html

Fedor Emelianenko Yasubey Enomoto Mark Epstein Tom Big Cat Erickson Martinsh Egle

Demetrious Johnson talks about life as the champ, the skill of flyweights and more

At UFC 152, Demetrious Johnson became the UFC's first flyweight champion. He will attempt to defend that belt against John Dodson at UFC on Fox 6 in Chicago. He spoke with Cagewriter about the fight, life as the champion, and training during the holidays.

Cagewriter: How has life changed since becoming the champion?
Demetrious Johnson: Life has pretty much stayed the same. A lot more people are noticing me. Training is the same. It's still good.

CW: With people noticing you, have you had any weird fan encounters?
DJ: Actually yes. On my Facebook page, there's a guy from Belgium who fights in the Shooto Belgian League. He wants to fight me. I didn't respond, and he said, 'You're scared to fight me.' I didn't even say anything back to him.

CW: With your fight on Fox, casual fans will get to see flyweight fights. What should they expect?
DJ: Flyweights are the most exciting weight class in the UFC. We've got the cardio, the power, the technique, the speed. Fans say I want to see fights finished, but you're going to see great fights in general.

CW: What do you say to people who criticized the lighter weights?
DJ: You have to give us a chance. People are used to seeing heavyweights in boxing and seeing knockouts and all that. When you watch guys from 125-155, we're more skillful and tactical. It's harder for them to respect it. But in the long run, they can see it's smart.

CW: During your win over Joe Benavidez, fans booed and UFC heavyweight Pat Barry stood up and yelled at the booing fans on your behalf. Have you talked to Pat since then?
DJ: No, not at all, but I appreciate Pat doing that. It shows a lot of character. What he did was fantastic. People out there don't understand. Anyone out there who says, 'Flyweights suck,' I can run them through the ringer and show them what I do every day. Show them what's up.

CW: Were you aware of the booing during your fight?
DJ: I was aware a little bit of it. It just happened. You put into play that it was one of the last fights of the night. There was alcohol involved. People getting tired, and I think that's all part of it.

CW: After being an underdog in your last fight, you're a 3-1 favorite in this fight. Does that change anything for you?
DJ: Not at all. It doesn't change anything for me. It changes things for people outside the fight. I'm still focused. I still have to prove myself to the world and prove that I'm the no. 1 flyweight in the world.

CW: On another note, why do you wear neon green shorts?
DJ: One of my sponsorships with Xbox 360, and I wear the green for them. I wear the spandex because they're more comfortable. Everybody loves them. My lady appreciates them.

CW: Does the Xbox sponsorship mean you get games ahead of release date?
DJ: Sometimes I'll get them a few days early. Nothing crazy.

CW: The holidays fall smack in the middle of your training camp. How do you avoid all of the unhealthy treats of the season?
DJ: I'm pretty self-motivated person. I typically eat healthy year-round, so I just keep motivated and keep my eyes on Jan. 26.

CW: Finally, what are you asking Santa for?
DJ: Nothing. I pretty much have everything I want. As long as I have a roof over my head, I'm healthy and my wife is healthy, I can keep training, I'm happy.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/demetrious-johnson-talks-life-champ-skill-flyweights-more-233102251--mma.html

Rashad Evans Urijah Faber Wagnney Fabiano Kevin Kimbo Slice Ferguson Paulo Filho

so you think you are aware?

take this simple awareness test then try to say that you cannot be fooled

Source: http://ninjashoes.net/forum/showthread.php?79785-so-you-think-you-are-aware&goto=newpost

Akihiro Gono Gabriel Gonzaga Lyman Good Gary Goodridge Gerard Gordeau