Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos make weight for heavyweight title bout at UFC 166

HOUSTON ? There were few surprises at the weigh-in for UFC 166 on Friday at the Toyota Center, with both heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and former champion Junior dos Santos declaring themselves fit and ready for their rubber match Saturday for the belt.

Velasquez, who routed dos Santos at UFC 155 in December to retain the title, weighed in at 241. Moments earlier, dos Santos, who won the belt with a first-round knockout of Velasquez on Nov. 12, 2011, at UFC on Fox 1, was 240.

[Related: By all appearances, Roy Nelson worth watching at UFC 166]

Dos Santos promised more fireworks.

"I'm here to give you guys one more knockout," dos Santos told the loud pro-Velasquez crowd.

Velasquez had little to say, as usual, other than saying he expects a tough fight.

"He's a tough dude and I expect this fight to be tougher than the second," Velasquez said. "That's what I trained for. That's what I'm ready for. I trained for a five-round fight and I'm ready for whatever comes."

Other weights:

Daniel Cormer, 224, vs Roy Nelson, 249.

Gilbert Melendez, 156, vs. Diego Sanchez, 156.

[Related: Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos is UFC's first big-time rivalry]

Gabe Gonzaga, 257, vs. Shawn Jordan, 255.

John Dodson, 125, vs. Darrell Montague, 126.

Tim Boetsch, 186, vs. C.B. Dollaway, 186.

Nate Marquardt, 171, vs. Hector Lombard, 169.

Jessica Eye, 135, vs. Sarah Kaufman, 135.

George Sotiropoulous, 155, vs. K.J. Noons, 156.

T.J. Waldburger 170.5, vs. Adlan Amagov, 171.

Tony Ferguson, 155, vs. Mike Rio, 156.

Andre Fili, 148.5, vs. Jeremy Larsen, 145.5. (Fili was 2.5 pounds over and the UFC decided not to re-weigh him. He forfeits 20 percent of his purse to Larsen for missing weight.)

Kyogi Horiguchi 135, vs. Dustin Pague.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/cain-velasquez-junior-dos-santos-weight-rubber-match-222650195--mma.html

Kit Cope  Wesley Cabbage Correira  Patrick The Predator Cote  Randy The Natural Couture 

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir ponders retirement ahead of Alistair Overeem fight

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir is usually too cocksure to even publicly consider a fight not going his way but on Monday he broached the topic of the big ?R? ? Retirement. Mir has lost three straight fights and is next scheduled to fight Alistair Overeem at UFC 169 in February on Super Bowl weekend.

Mir told MMAFighting on Monday that though he has not really considered retirement before, if he were to get cut by the UFC after a fourth straight loss, he might very well end up retired.

"Obviously I have no real desire to fight for another organization, so if I were to be let go that would be a huge step in the form of retirement," the 12-year veteran said.

UFC President Dana White has said that the heavyweight clash between Mir and Overeem is a do-or-die situation for both men. Mir didn?t make predictions but seemed dubious that the loser will be released by the UFC.

"As far as the UFC wanted to release us, I?ve heard the same thing that Dana [White] said absolutely, I find it hard to believe that they?re going to let Alistair to be picked up by another organization," Mir argued. "I still think he could sell a ton of tickets. Myself? I keep my opinion to myself on me. I guess I would have to see what I?m selling afterwards."

Even though Mir now has a new matchup to look forward to, he is still smarting from his recent loss to Josh Barnett at UFC 164. Barnett attacked Mir early and managed to hurt the former champion with a knee, prompting the referee to call a halt to the action.

As he did then, Mir still strongly objects to the stoppage and maintains that he should have been allowed to continue fighting.

"The ruling kind of goes [that a ref stops the fight] if you can?t defend yourself intelligently. I was never even given the opportunity to defend myself intelligently, because there was no follow-up strikes," Mir said.

"Had [Barnett] been throwing even mild shots and teeing off on me, I think that the argument of, well, you know, you were protecting yourself -- you can?t even make an argument that I was able to defend myself intelligently because there was no attack. The referee never gave it enough time for Barnett to do the next maneuver. I think that in itself says it was stopped too soon."

What do you think about the ref calling it in Mir vs. Barnett and who do you think will come out on top when Overeem and the dangerous jiu -jitsu specialist clash Feb. 1 at UFC 169?

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/former-ufc-heavyweight-champion-frank-mir-ponders-retirement-220320600--mma.html

Rashad Evans Urijah Faber Wagnney Fabiano Kevin Kimbo Slice Ferguson

Jessica Andrade: The Mind of a Finisher

Source: http://www.ufc.com/news/Jessica-Andrade-The-Mind-of-a-Finisher

Vagam Bodjukyan Kotetsu Boku  Tony Bonello Stephan Bonnar

Junior Dos Santos: Three Ain't Enough

Source: http://www.ufc.com/news/Junior-Dos-Santos-Three-Aint-Enough

Renzo Gracie Rickson Gracie Rodrigo Gracie Roger Gracie

Sean Sherk, aka ?The Muscle Shark,? announces his retirement

Sean Sherk, one of the top fighters in the early days of the Zuffa-owned UFC, announced his retirement on Monday. A former lightweight champion, the 40-year-old Sherk hadn't fought since defeating Evan Dunham on Sept. 25, 2010, at UFC 119.

He tried to return several times, but was plagued by a series of injuries and was finally forced to retire.

Sherk retires with a 38-4-1 overall mixed martial arts record and a 9-4 record in the UFC. He defeated Kenny Florian at UFC 64 on Oct. 14, 2006, to win the vacant lightweight title. He successfully defended it against Hermes Franca at UFC 73 on July 7, 2007, but tested positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone following the bout.

He was initially suspended for a year by the California State Athletic Commission, but he denied the allegations and on appeal, the suspension was reduced to six months.

Sherk also had notable wins over Nick Diaz and Tyson Griffin. His losses were all to men that held a UFC title at some point in their careers -- Matt Hughes, Georges St-Pierre, B.J. Penn and Frankie Edgar.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/sean-sherk-aka-muscle-shark-announces-retirement-000336070--mma.html

Bao Ligao  Josh Barnett  David Baron  Phil Baroni

MMA fighter quits by jumping the cage and leaving arena in the middle of fight

Even in the crazy world of MMA, something happens every once in a while that manages to shock onlookers. This past weekend, an MMA fighter in Brazil did just that by jumping out of the cage in the middle of his fight and walking out of the arena.

Evilasio Silva (8-12) beat Claudinei Angelo (4-5) at the JF Fight Evolution in Juiz de Fora, Brazil after Angelo decided he?d had enough of that night?s fight and quit. Angelo didn?t quit by ?tapping out? as is the custom in MMA, however.

Angelo found himself with his back to the cage in Silva?s clinch but managed to break free. Right after doing so Angelo made a ?T? with his hands, appearing to ask the referee for a ?time out,? which is not allowed in MMA. The referee and his opponent were both visibly perplexed as to what Angelo meant and was doing.

A few moments later, however, he made perfectly clear ? sort of ? what he was up to. Angelo paced the mat and then walked over to a side of the cage, pulling on it in an apparent effort to open it up and leave. When that didn?t work, the fighter walked across the ring and hopped up onto and then over the cage fence.

[Photos: Best action from UFC 165]

Angelo walked along the ring curtain for a period then jumped onto the arena floor, shaking his head. He then walked through the crowd and out of the arena as he was pelted with boos. While that portion of the fight was caught on tape, the entire fight has not yet been released.

Perhaps if we saw the entire thing, we?d see something that could possibly help make more sense out of Angelo?s actions. He didn?t appear to be physically hurt beyond normal and he was not fairing too poorly in the portion of the bout that the video above shows.

Perhaps it finally hit the fighter that he was taking on a guy named Evilasio which, if you think about it, would be pretty creepy. Let us know if you can remember a more bizarre turn of events in a fight in the comments section.

The head-scratching finish was first reported by MMAFighting's Guilherme Cruz.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/mma-fighter-quits-jumping-cage-leaving-arena-middle-191900674--mma.html

Dan Bobish Vagam Bodjukyan Kotetsu Boku  Tony Bonello

UFC 161 ? Jake Shields Wants A Top-5 Welterweight Next

Jake Shields talks to the media after his win against Tyron Woodley at UFC 161. Shields addresses Dana White's opinion of the fight and talks about his striking.

Source: http://www.themmanews.com/ufc-161-jake-shields-wants-a-top-5-welterweight-next/

Karn Grigorian Karen Grigoryan Kendall Grove Clay Guida

Series of injuries costing ex-Strikeforce champ Tarec Saffiedine momentum and potential big fights

Tarec Saffiedine had built a lot of momentum following his dominant victory over Nate Marquardt on Jan. 12, when he used a series of brutal leg kicks to defeat Marquardt and win the Strikeforce welterweight title.

It was the final bout in Strikeforce history and Saffiedine was heading into the UFC in a good position.

But nearly eight months since that win, Saffiedine hasn't fought again and has no idea when he will. Saffiedine had to pull out of a planned July 27 bout with Robbie Lawler with an injury. Last month, UFC president Dana White told Fox Sports he was planning to pit Saffiedine with Matt Brown, who had won impressively over Mike Pyle at Fox Sports 1 on Aug. 17 in Boston, in a match in December.

That fight, though, has essentially gone by the wayside because no one knows when Saffiedine is going to be able to train again. His performance against Marquardt proved he deserves a top opponent, but all of the top UFC welterweights who aren't injured are going to be booked before much longer for fights before the end of the year. Saffiedine has an uncertain return date, and that will leave him in a difficult spot.

Saffiedine said he had hoped to meet either Brown or ex-interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit, or any top 10 welterweight. But now is when the UFC is going to begin booking the end-of-the-year matches and that may leave Saffiedine on the outside looking in.

"I'm shooting to come back end of this year, beginning of next year," Saffiedine told Cagewriter. "The thing is, I won't know for a few weeks from my doctor when I'm going to have the green light to come back and train. I can't train right now because of the injuries."

Saffiedine said he has two injuries, which he declined to divulge. One, he said he had when he fought Marquardt, and another he got while training for Lawler.

The uncertainty has put him in a very bad place. The welterweight title will be decided on Nov. 16, when Georges St-Pierre defends against No. 1 contender Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in Las Vegas. The UFC would like to have a top contender's fight sometime this year so that there is an obvious title challenger prepared to meet the St-Pierre-Hendricks winner sometime next year.

If that happens, though, it looks like it won't be Saffiedine.

"Obviously, not being able to train and to fight is, for me as a fighter and an athlete, definitely frustrating," Saffiedine said. "Especially for me, I'm someone who really, really enjoys training. Even when I don't have a fight, I'm always at the gym trying to get better and learn new skills.

"It's pretty frustrating for me, but I'm not sitting on the couch all day eating pizza. I can't do that. I'm trying to stay in shape and live a healthy lifestyle as best as I can."

He can only sit and wait and hope to be cleared physically soon and that when he is, it's not too late.

Otherwise, despite the spectacular way he opened 2013, it could wind up being a lost year for him.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/series-injuries-costing-ex-strikeforce-champ-tarec-saffiedine-003530669--mma.html

Aleksander Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko Yasubey Enomoto Mark Epstein

Eddie Wineland was a quarter-pound over weight, or he might not have been, but public will never know

TORONTO -- There was a minor controversy Friday near the end of the UFC 165 weigh-in at Maple Leaf Square, when Eddie Wineland appeared to weigh a quarter-pound more than the 135-pound bantamweight limit for a championship fight.

Wineland will challenge interim champion Renan Barao for the bantamweight belt in the co-main event of the fight card at the Air Canada Centre. Fighters in non-title fights get a one-pound allowance over the divisional limit, but championship fighters must hit the weight on the limit.

UFC television analyst Joe Rogan was announcing the fighter weights, and he relayed Wineland's weight as given to him by an official from the Office of the Athletics Commissioner of Ontario. Rogan announced Wineland's weight as 135 1/4 pounds. That would mean he is a quarter-pound over the weight.

No one from the commission was available to comment.

It isn't that big of a deal because Wineland could easily have made it, but the purpose of the weigh-in is to make sure the fighters meet the contracted weight. At 135 1/4, Wineland didn't make it.

UFC president Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva, who were on stage, said they did not hear it announced as 135 1/4. Silva showed Yahoo Sports a sheet he was keeping in which he recorded the weight as 135.

"Joe Silva is anal about that kind of thing and he'd jump up and scream, 'That's not 135! He's got to make 135!' but he didn't say a thing," White said. "And I didn't hear it."

Several reporters sitting together near the stage where the fighters were being weighed heard it, however, as did UFC executive Marc Ratner. Clearly, Wineland would have been able to drop his shorts and make the weight, but the commission still needs to go through the formality and do it. They blew it in this case.

This is similar to an event at UFC 158 earlier this year, when welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre reportedly weighed "up to 0.9 pounds" over the 170-pound divisional limit before a fight in Montreal against Nick Diaz.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/eddie-wineland-quarter-pound-over-weight-might-not-214323649--mma.html

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