Cole Konrad is the Bellator heavyweight champion. He is an undefeated prospect. He is also pretty darn inactive for such a young guy. It is true that he has competed in Bellator six times in nearly two years, however he has been mostly sitting on the shelf collecting dust. Since winning the title in the inaugural tournament in October 2010 by submitting Neil Grove, Konrad has only competed once in August 2011. In that non-title bout he wrestled and controlled … Read more
Listen to the UFC 145 pre-fight interviews with Mark Hominick, Efrain Escudero & Stephen Thompson as they prepare to prove they have what it takes to have staying power in the UFC. Efrain Escudero will fight Mac Danzig in a lightweight showdown between the winners of TUF season 8 & season 6 (respectively) on the FX Prelims. Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson will showcase his skills in his 2nd UFC appearance vs the tough welterweight veteran Matt Brown, also on the FX … Read more
Is anyone else tired of hearing about the reasons New York won’t legalize MMA? It all starts to feel like a study in futility. The sport is not going to change and apparently Bob Reilly does not plan on changing his opinion about mixed martial arts anytime soon. With the MMA legalization bill being reintroduced, Reilly decided to once again criticize mixed martial arts as the time approaches. Last Monday, April 9, 2012, MMATorch reported that Republican State Senator Joe … Read more
With UFC 145 right around the corner, I wanted to take a closer look at the main event statistically. The build up to Jones vs. Evans has been intense, with Jones opening up as much as a 6-1 favorite. But do the stats warrant the betting line? Or does Rashad Evans have a better chance than most pundits believe? Take a look for yourself: Wins: Evans 17 Jones 15 Finishing percentage: Jones 87% Evans 47% KO/TKO: Jones 8 Evans 6 … Read more
The UFC is looking to rapidly expand its presence around the world. A while ago, Dana White proffered the idea of country specific fight circuits, and mentioned it again this week. In addition to committing the UFC to India by saying it’s “next up,” White says a U.K. versus Australia version of TUF is already in the works. With the “TUF: Brazil” show kicking off in South America, White speculates, “… ‘Ultimate Fighters’ in other countries, (is) going to open … Read more
2011 was not John Gunderson’s year. The MMA veteran (33-13, MMA) had a back and forth year as far as wins and losses were concerned, and also suffered from an injury the set him back. But 2012 offered a fresh slate when he submitted Justin Buchholz via kimura on February’s Superior Cage Combat (SCC) 4: Grove vs Silva fight card. The frustration hasn’t got the best of him, but he is aware of where he stands, “You’re only as good … Read more
Vinny Magalhaes (9-5, MMA), the reigning M-1 Global Light Heavyweight Champion and submission ace, is now a free-agent fighter and ready to move on to fight for a new promotion. When his contract ended in January, he wanted to be released. Vinny explained there was a 60 day re-negotiation period and M-1 made an offer that was “ridiculous.” So now, he’s required to wait through a 120 day period where M-1 can match offers made by other promotions, before he … Read more
Alexander Gustafsson is going home. Okay, it’s not like in the Forrest Gump sense or anything. At UFC or Fuel 2 the “Mauler” is fighting in the main event on his home soil. After originally being scheduled to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, he will now meet Thiago Silva this Saturday, April 14. Gustafsson has been on a tear as of late. In his last bout, at UFC 141, Alexander dispatched gritty veteran Vladimir Matyushenko by TKO in less than a … Read more
Lightweight UFC fighter Sam ‘Hands of Stone’ Stout announced tonight on the Showdown-FAN590 radio show, that there will be a memorial golf tournament to celebrate the life of Shawn “The Coach” Tompkins. The memorial tournament is confirmed to take place on Sunday August 26, 2012 at the FireRock Golf Club near London, Ontario. Stout said “this event will be a good time, lots of fun.” Registration is only $125 which includes golf, lunch, dinner and lots of prizes. Proceeds from the … Read more
Q: What do Fedor Emelianenko, Frank Mir, Cain Velasquez, Mark Hunt, Fabricio Werdum, Dan Henderson and now Jon Jones have in common? A: They’ve all been “in the mix” to replace Alistair Overeem at UFC 146 BJPenn.com recently ran a story quoting an interview Jones had with PricklyPairStudios, where he addressed the UFC 146 heavyweight title situation. See the full quote below: “You know, it’s hard to even say because of two factors: First, it would be disrespectful of me … Read more
Las Vegas, NV – The Ultimate Fighting Championship®, the world’s leader in mixed martial arts (MMA), applauds the announcement made earlier today of the creation of the new International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF). The UFC® wholeheartedly supports this new initiative as well as its leader, IMMAF President August Wallén, who will spearhead the initial growth of this Federation. UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, who has helped lead the global growth of the UFC, feels that the timing is perfect. “In … Read more
A recent report surfaced on MMAFighting.com annoucing former WWE star Bobby Lashley will take on former PRIDE and Elite XC veteran James Thompson May 6th from New Delhi, India. A former amateur and professional wrestler, Lashey holds a 7-1 professional record with his only loss coming to Chad Griggs while competing for Strikeforce. Since that loss, Lashley has won two consecutive contests, most recently submitting Karl Knothe with a keylock to capture the Shark Fights heavyweight championship. James Thompson, perhaps most known … Read more
“Sexyama” is still in the UFC. After winning his first fight in the organization, the Japanese superstar went on a huge down slide losing four stright. Akiyama then made the drop to welterwight losing to Jake Shields back at UFC 144. Nonetheless, multiple websites are reporting his next test will not be easy as he will face Thiago “Pitbull” Alves. Alves a former title contender back in 2009, lost to current champ GSP and has gone 2-3 since, with a most recent loss to Martin … Read more
