Karlos Vemola drops to 205, meets Seth Petruzelli at UFC 122
More European talent is headed toward UFC 122 in Oberhausen, Germany.
MMAjunkie.com today learned from multiple sources
close to the event that Karlos "The Terminator" Vemola is moving from heavyweight to light heavyweight and is expected to
meet Seth Petruzelli.
UFC 122 takes place Nov. 13 in Oberhausen's Konig Pilsener Arena and airs stateside on Spike TV via same-day delay.
|  |
Bryan Baker vs. Jeremy Horn finalized for Bellator 30 in September
Bryan Baker fell short of Bellator gold in the promotion's second
season, but he'll soon get a chance to put a nice win on his resume.
The promotion confirmed today that Baker will meet
former UFC contender and MMA marathon man Jeremy Horn at Bellator 30, according to a press release issued today.
Bellator 30 takes place Sept. 23 at Fourth Street Live! in Louisville, Ky.
|  |
WEC officials announce "Best of WEC" DVD for Sept. 7 release
While DVD sales have long provided a consistent revenue stream for the
UFC, the company's sister promotion just recently joined the market.
Now, a little less than two months after releasing its first title, "WEC
48: Aldo vs. Faber," under an agreement with Image Entertainment, Inc.,
the promotion has announced a follow-up.
On Tuesday, Sept. 7, a selection of some of the best fights under the
WEC banner from 2008 and 2009 will be released on a "Best of WEC" DVD.
|  |
Alex Karalexis scratched; Jason Reinhardt in to face Tiequan Zhang at WEC 51
Lightweight veteran Alex Karalexis has been forced
to withdraw from a scheduled meeting with newcomer Tiequan Zhang at WEC 51.
Stepping in for Karalexis is Midwest veteran Jason Reinhardt, who will make his WEC debut at the event, which takes place
Sept. 30 at the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo. The change was first
reported by MMAFighting.com and subsequently confirmed to MMAjunkie.com by sources close to the event.
The reason for Karalexis' withdrawal is unknown at this time, and WEC officials declined comment on the shake-up.
|  |
MMAjunkie.com Radio this week: Jardine, Silva, Belfort, Cruz, Daley and more
With a holiday here in the U.S., MMAjunkie.com Radio this week has an adjusted schedule.
No shows take place today or Friday, but the radio crew offers a special "Primetime" edition on Tuesday in addition to the rest of the lineup.
Special guests this week include notables such as Keith Jardine, Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort, Dominick Cruz, Antonio Silva, Paul Daley and others throughout the week.
|  |
Danillo Villefort added to Shark Fights 13, faces Joey Villasenor
Drew McFedries' loss is Danillo Villefort's gain.
MMAjunkie.com has learned from sources close to the American Top Team
Fighter that he has verbally agreed to replace an injured McFedries on
just one-week's notice and fight Joey Villasenor on the main card
of Shark Fights 13.
Bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly.
|  |
Best Buy manager led Carey Vanier to pro MMA, Thursday's Bellator 28 event
Carey Vanier probably still would be cruising the aisles of Best Buy had one of his managers not asked him about risk.
The Bellator lightweight was interviewing for a promotion at the big-box retailer and realized he hadn't taken any.
He had always been scared that he wouldn't be able to provide for his
son if he pursued his true passion of fighting professionally in mixed
martial arts. But if he didn't give it a try, he couldn't live with
himself.
|  |
Ready to embrace heel role, Mike Pyle promises British beatdown at UFC 120
Twenty-three-year-old British welterweight John Hathaway has made a big splash in the his division. But Mike Pyle is not impressed.
Pyle, who meets Hathaway at UFC 120 as a replacement for injured Dong Hyun Kim, says his young opponent is in over his head this time.
"I will beat the [expletive] out of John Hathaway," Pyle recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio.
|  |
Friday's "Shine Fights: Lightweight Grand Prix" moves from Virginia to Oklahoma
Friday's "Shine Fights: Lightweight Grand Prix" event, which features a single-night eight-man tournament, has moved from Virginia to Oklahoma.
After issues with the Virginia Professional Boxing and Wrestling Program, Shine Fights officials were forced to find a new venue.
Today, company COO Jason Chambers posted a Twitter message confirming the Sept. 10 pay-per-view show now takes place at the First Council Casino in Norman, Okla.
|  |
MMAjunkie.com Radio: Vitor Belfort, Dominick Cruz, FightMetric creator (8 p.m. ET)
In a special "Primetime" edition of MMAjunkie.com Radio, we welcome to the show UFC middleweight contender and UFC 122 headliner Vitor Belfort as an in-studio guest host.
Additionally, we catch up with WEC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and FightMetric creator Rami Genauer, whose company recently became an official UFC partner.
MMAjunkie.com Radio "Primetime" airs at a special time of 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino's Race & Sports Book. Listen to and watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.
|  |
Poll results: Who wins the Shark Fights 13 bout between Jardine and Prangley?
The Texas-based Shark Fights organization has put together a
talent-laden card as it enters the pay-per-view market for the first
time in company history.
And while there are a number of intriguing matchups on the Sept. 11 even, the main event provides a pair of UFC veterans with big-fight
experience.
In our most recent MMAjunkie.com/"Inside MMA" poll, we asked readers to
predict whether Keith Jardine or Trevor Prangley would
claim victory in Amarillo, Texas, in the Shark Fights 13 pay-per-view headliner.
|  |
Stephan Bonnar vs. Igor Pokrajac targeted for The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale
Stephan Bonnar, finalist in the original season of "The Ultimate Fighter," returns to where it all began.
Well, kind of.
While he'll compete at a different venue that the night of his legendary April
2005 battle with Forrest Griffin, Bonnar will fight Igor
Pokrajac in Las Vegas on a live finale of "The
Ultimate Fighter." This time, it's the soon-to-debut 12th season.
|  |
Drew McFedries, Marcus Hicks scratched from Shark Fights 13 event
All mixed martial arts promotions are forced to deal with the reality of
injuries, and the upstart Shark Fights organization is no exception.
While the Texas-based promotion will host its first-ever pay-per-view
event with next week's Shark Fights 13 card, the organization will need
to secure a pair of late replacements.
Shark Fights head Brent Medley on Friday confirmed with MMAjunkie.com
Radio that both Drew McFedries and Marcus
Hicks have been forced to withdraw from the event and replacements are
currently being sought.
|  |
Nick Pace replaces Clint Godfrey, faces Demetrious Johnson at WEC 51
Undefeated New Yorker Nick Pace is WEC bound.
The bantamweight will step in for Clint Godfrey to
face Demetrious Johnson at WEC 51, which takes place
Sept. 30 at the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo.
WEC officials announced the event today via Twitter, though the reason
for Godfrey's removal was not disclosed, and the fighter could not
immediately be reached by MMAjunkie.com.
|  |
UFC releases heavyweight prospect Todd Duffee
Heavyweight prospect Todd Duffee is a free agent.
A little more than one year after Duffee burst onto the UFC scene with a
seven-second knockout of Tim Hague, the 24-year-old is no longer
employed by the sport's largest mixed martial arts promotion.
MMAjunkie.com learned of the UFC's decision from
multiple sources with knowledge of the move, and Duffee's manager, Alex
Davis, confirmed the report.
|  |
After latest opponent switch, UFC's Gunderson says Edwards a better matchup
Short-notice and last-minute are two terms that describe the bulk of
John Gunderson's career. By now, the UFC lightweight is used to opponent
switches. He grumbles for a minute, then moves on. It doesn't much
change his job in the gym.
Gunderson is from the school of year-round training. There are no fight
camps - just a never-ending loop of gym sessions broken up only by his
daughter's soccer games.
He admits he was disappointed when he couldn't fight "The Ultimate
Fighter 8" winner Efrain Escudero, who instead ended
up taking a fight with Charles Oliveira on the main
card of UFC Fight Night 22 on Sept. 15 in Austin, Texas. But Gunderson also thinks Escudero's replacement, veteran Yves
Edwards, is just as good a name, and a better
overall opponent.
|  |
Virginia commission rep refutes Shine Fights' accusations, says no bond secured
A representative for the Virginia Professional Boxing and Wrestling
Program today said that there was nothing questionable about its
handling of Shine Fights' request to hold a single-night eight-man
tournament on Sept. 10 in Fairfax.
Rather, the commission did not OK the event because the promotion didn't complete a required application to hold an event.
"That is a distinction with a difference," Mary Broz-Vaughn, director of communications for the VPBWP, today told MMAjunkie.com.
|  |
Fujii vs. Ward, Aguilar vs. Frausto tourney semifinals set for Bellator 31
The semifinal round of Bellator Fighting Championships' 115-pound women's tournament is now set for Bellator 31.
The Sept. 30 matchups, which take place at the L'Auberge du Lac Casino and Resort in Lake Charles, La., include tourney favorite Megumi Fujii vs. Lisa Ward and Zoila Frausto vs. Jessica Aguilar.
The bouts, first reported by MMARising.com, since have been confirmed to MMAjunkie.com by sources close to the fighters.
|  |
Thiago Silva vs. Brandon Vera targeted for UFC 125 in January
A pair of light heavyweights looking to rebound from recent high-profile
losses will likely meet in January in what could easily be viewed as a
"must-win" for both contestants involved.
MMAjunkie.com has learned from sources close to the contest that the UFC is targeting a
matchup between Thiago Silva and Brandon Vera at UFC 125.
At least one of the contestants has agreed to the contest, but bout agreements have yet to be distributed.
|  |
Clint Godfrey's WEC 51 scratch due to staph infection, wants 2010 return
World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight Clint Godfrey is the latest victim of a nasty staph infection.
On Tuesday WEC officials announced Godfrey had been scratched from his Sept. 30 WEC 51 bout with Demetrious Johnson and replaced by Nick Pace.
Although officials didn't specify the reason, Godfrey today told MMAjunkie.com he contracted a MRSA staph infection in his right knee. He also sent along a photo of the infection site.
|  |
Todd Duffee: UFC release caps off "good run of bad luck"
Todd Duffee knew what might be coming, but when word
finally reached him that the world's biggest mixed-martial-arts
promotion no longer needs his services, the heavyweight didn't know
exactly how to react.
After just two fights in the UFC, Duffee's time in the octagon is over.
"I've had every emotion there is to have," Duffee told MMAjunkie.com in an exclusive interview. "Right now, I'm just kind of numb."
|  |
Kendall Grove vs. Demian Maia slated for The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale
After picking up a crucial victory over Goran Reljic at UFC 116, Kendall Grove is now slated to fight former middleweight title challenger Demian Maia at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale.
Grove announced the fight via his Twitter account.
As MMAjunkie.com first reported, The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale takes place Dec. 4 at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
|  |
Gabe Ruediger vs. Paul Kelly slotted for UFC 123 in Detroit
Gabe Ruediger will get a third shot at a first UFC win.
After winning a Tachi Palace Fights title and earning his way back into the UFC, "The Ultimate Fighter 5" cast member recently suffered a first-round submission loss to Joe Lauzon at UFC 118.
But he's now agreed to fight fellow lightweight Paul Kelly at UFC 123, MMAjunkie.com has learned from a source close to the event.
|  |
Brent Weedman vs. Jacob McClintock tourney eliminator official for Bellator 30
As expected Brent Weedman and Jacob McClintock are slated to meet at Bellator 30, and the winner earns a berth into the organization's season-four welterweight tournament, officials recently announced.
MMAjunkie.com first reported the bout in August.
Bellator 30 takes place Sept. 30 at Fourth Street Live! in Louisville, Ky., and Weedman vs. McClintock is part of the night's FOX Sports Net-televised main card.
|  |
MMAjunkie.com Radio: Wanderlei Silva (in studio), Rich Clementi, Jeremy Luchau
MMAjunkie.com Radio today welcomes to the show UFC middleweight and longtime fan favorite Wanderlei Silva, who joins us an in-studio guest host. Currently on the mend, Silva discusses his planned early-2011 return.
Additionally, Rich Clementi, who makes his Bellator debut at Thursday's event, and Jeremy Luchau, events coordinator for Thursday's Tachi Palace Fights 6 event, both call into the show.
MMAjunkie.com Radio airs from 12-2 p.m. ET (9-11 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino's Race & Sports Book. Listen to and watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.
|  |
George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Lauzon slated for UFC 123, title shot may loom
A lightweight bout between George Sotiropoulos and Joe Lauzon has been verbally agreed to by both fighters for UFC 123, MMAjunkie.com has learned from sources close to the event.
Although not officially announced by the organization, UFC 123 takes place Nov. 20 at the The Palace of Auburn Hills in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Mich.
A source told MMAjunkie.com a victory could earn Sotiropoulos a title shot.
|  |
FAVOURITES
ABOUT/ADD FEEDS
MMA Junkie
