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Two notable light heavyweights will clash in a summer showdown. Former UFC champion Lyoto Machida and onetime-surging contender Ryan Bader have agreed to meet on the network-televised UFC on FOX 4 fight card. UFC officials today passed along news of the fight from the Brazilian outlet esporte.ig.com.br. 

Posted in: ufc, los angeles, light heavyweights, networktelevised ufc, summer showdown

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UFC icon Chuck Liddell may be as intrigued by the issues between Jon Jones-Rashad Evans as the rest of us and he’ll certainly be tuning in on Saturday night to watch the two talented light heavyweights go at it at UFC 145, but when it comes to the root of their rivalry Liddell doesn’t necessarily understand all the animosity. Liddell was recently asked for his opinion on the entire debate surrounding teammates fighting each other and “The Iceman” went the business route rather than the personal one. “If (a teammate) can beat me, they can beat me. It is what it is. They deserve to fight me then. I’m not going to hold back some guy that’s in my camp if he wants to fight me. That’s not my thing,” said Liddell as a guest this week on The MMA Hour. “It’s just a personal choice and a personal opinion, but I think eventually, hey you guys are going at it, then go out and have two beers together afterwards. Go out there and prove who’s best that day, and go out and be friends again.” Liddell Goes Into More Detail on Jones-Evans Match Up The legendary former champion had a similar situation arise when he notoriously faced a man he’d trained with in two epic encounters – Tito Ortiz. However, by the time they actually fought the two hadn’t worked together on that level for some time and had a falling out unrelated to their relationship in the gym. PHOTO CREDIT – UFC Tweet

Posted in: saturday night, light heavyweights, liddell, hadn ’t, thing ”

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UFC contender Alexander Gustafsson gets a big stage to prove he belongs in the top tier of light heavyweights when he headlines UFC on Fuel TV on Saturday in his home country of Sweden.

Posted in: ufc, fuel tv, light heavyweights, home country, headlines ufc

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What started as a rift between teammates has spawned into one of the biggest fights in UFC history, as Jon Jones gets ready to defend his light heavyweight title against Rashad Evans on April 21 in Atlanta. Before they were ever set to face off at UFC 145, Evans and Jones were both students of famed coach and MMA guru Greg Jackson at his camp in Albuquerque, N.M. The two light heavyweights trained alongside each other, and at one time promised to never let the fight game interfere with their friendship or team.

Posted in: jone, rashad evans, light heavyweights, evan, ufc history

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Nothing fancy here, folks, just the two best light heavyweights in the world today. Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans will battle for the 205-pound championship in the main event of UFC 145, which takes place at the Philips Arena on April 21, 2012, in Atlanta, Georgia. There's more than just a title on the line, though. Hell, it's entirely possible the bragging rights and physical supremacy is far more important to each competitor than a 14-pound piece of gold with the UFC letters on it. Can't wait. Be sure to check out out the complete UFC 145: "Jones vs. Evans" fight card and rumors right here. And hit up our complete event archive for all the latest event-related news and notes you can handle right here.

Posted in: ufc, light heavyweights, rumors right, ufc letters, atlanta nothing

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This weekend is a dangerous spot for Quinton Jackson. "Rampage" sounds less than motivated to face Ryan Bader and he admits he's sick of facing light heavyweights with a wrestling base. "Sometimes it is hard to get motivated. Like when … Continue reading →

Posted in: rampage, jackson, heavyweight, light heavyweights, art

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Brandon Vera will get a second shot at Thiago Silva when the two light heavyweights meet at UFC on FX 3 on May 15 in Virginia.

Posted in: ufc, fx, silva, light heavyweights, thiago silva

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Jon Jones is one of the greatest light heavyweights out there today. He has earned his right to be champion and has very few fighters left whom he hasn't already beaten at that weight.

Posted in: jon, jone, jon jones, heavyweight, light heavyweights

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and former training partner-turned bitter rival Rashad Evans, absolutely do not like each other. The pair have engaged in a well-publicized war of words over the last year and a half that caused former UFC light heavyweight champion Evans to split from long time training camp, Jackson's MMA, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "Suga" packed his bags and headed east to sunny Florida to become a member of the "The Blackzillians" alongside mixed martial arts (MMA) stars Jorge Santiago and Antonio Silva just to name a few. Jones, meanwhile, stayed with Jackson's and has since been coaches Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn's prized pupil. So it makes you wonder, in a rivalry that seems to be "as real as it gets," why would "Bones" be rooting for Rashad to best Phil Davis when the two tangle next week (Jan, 28, 2012) at UFC on Fox 2? The 205-pound champion explains in his comments at the "UFC on FUEL TV: Post-Fight Show" after the jump" "I'm picking Rashad Evans. I'm in his corner. I want to fight Rashad. He's the antagonist of my career. There's no just pumping up pay per views when it comes to me and Rashad. Everything about us disliking each other is true. After we fight each other it'll all be clear and he can go have a seat somewhere." No playing for cameras going on around here. Jones is coming off of one of the most impressive years in MMA history, defeating Mauricio Rua, Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida, three of the best light heavyweights in the world, in brutal fashion. He also pulled it off in a span of nine months. Evans, on the other hand, is riding a three win streak himself, defeating Thiago Silva, Tito Ortiz and the aforementioned "Rampage" Jackson in his last three outings. The much anticipated bout between two of the best light heavyweights in the world has been canceled on more than one occasion due to injuries from both parties. However, if all cards fall into place and Evans can get past the wrestling powerhouse that is "Mr. Wonderful" in Chicago, Ill., the fight just may finally go down and both Jones and Evans will finally have the chance to cash those hefty checks that their mouths have written over the last year. What say you Maniacs, will this fight finally go down later this year? Or will Davis play the role of spoiler in "Chi-Town?" Sound off!

Posted in: jone, jackson, rashad, light heavyweights, evan

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"King" Mo Lawal won't be able to face the world's top light heavyweights under the current structure.

Posted in: heavyweight, light heavyweights, king, lawal, ceiling

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If it was good enough for UFC 133, it's good enough for FOX. According to ESPN, UFC officials have booked Rashad Evans and Phil Davis for a headlining slot in the promotion's sophomore effort on network television. The two top light heavyweights, who were expected to meet at this past August's UFC 133 before Davis was forced to withdraw due to a knee injury, will now headline UFC on FOX 2, which takes place Jan. 28 in at Chicago's United Center.

Posted in: ufc, fox, phil davis, light heavyweights, davi

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Six former champions will do battle when the UFC debuts in San Jose tomorrow night with a stacked UFC 139 fight card. Set to headline is two legendary Light Heavyweights in Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Dan "Hendo" Henderson, who will go head to head with hopes of re-establishing themselves as division title contenders, while top Bantamweights Urijah Faber and Brian Bowles will do the same, with each man's eyes set on a rematch with Dominick Cruz. Also featured will be a Middleweight showdown pitting...

Posted in: ufc, light heavyweights, middleweight showdown, dominick cruz, brian bowles

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There's no better time to have a little bit of fun than Friday night. Right about now you should be killing time until you go out for a little end of week celebration, resting up for a big weekend or waiting around for the start of M-1 on Showtime. Whatever you're doing, I now urge you to take part in a little fun with me. As top fighters are slowly picked off from Strikeforce and brought into the UFC it seems like it's only a matter of time until we see Strikeforce shut down and the best assets brought over to the UFC. For the sake of discussion I'm setting a guideline for determining who you would bring in: Only five fighters can be brought over from each weight class. This prevents anyone from taking the easy way out of "bring them all in and let it get sorted out naturally." You must pick five though. We'll start with the heavyweights and light heavyweights, the rest of the divisions will follow shortly. Here are my picks. Heavyweight: In: Fabricio Werdum - I honestly think that the UFC's heavyweight division is a miserable place for Werdum, but he's a top 10 heavyweight with wins over Antonio Silva and Fedor Emelianenko so you can't cut him. I have to believe he loses a lot of value within 3 fights though. Shane Del Rosario - 11-0 American heavyweight who has gotten a finish in every fight and only been out of the first round once. I'm not high on him in terms of being a future superstar, but he's got enough going for him to give him the chance to become one in the UFC. Chad Griggs - Griggs is sloppy as all hell but he's also tough as nails, 11-1 overall (3-0 in Strikeforce) and could be a good fit on the prelims of UFC cards serving the same kind of role as a Joey Beltran. Josh Barnett - Honestly, I'd like to put him on the cut list for his history. Since this is as of today, though. I think you'd have to take him. Should Cormier beat him in the grand prix finals though? Goodbye Josh. Daniel Cormier - Of the five, this is the one guy I'd want more than anyone else. The steady improvement from fight to fight, the backstory, it all adds up to a legitimate and valable heavyweight comodoty. Notable cuts: Antonio Silva - I'm going to catch heat for this one, but who has Bigfoot ever truly beaten? His win over Fedor was impressive as he put together a complete gameplan and executed it. Beyond that though his biggest win is light heavyweight Mike Kyle in a fight where he was badly hurt? A completely shot Andrei Arlovski by decision in the only fight in a 4 fight stretch where Arlovski wasn't stopped? I'd rather have a guy like Griggs serving a role by testing guys out on the undercard for reasonable pay than overpay for Silva to get trucked by the UFC roster. Herschel Walker - Herschel is a fun story but the amount of extra attention he truly brings has been overstated and there's no one on the current UFC roster that you'd pick him to beat, so you can't honestly keep him. Sergei Kharitonov - There's only so much room on the UFC roster and Kharitonov just isn't a special fighter. He has wins over Alistair Overeem and Mike Russow but that was over 4 years ago now. He also got paid $100,000 to fight Josh Barnett so if the UFC kept him, they'd have to negotiate some lower pay. Lavar Johnson - Tremendous addition for Bellator. Shawn Jordan - Another guy who would fit in well on the Bellator roster. Follow after the jump for the light heavyweights. Light Heavyweights In: Rafael Cavalcante - Feijao fights with a style that UFC president Dana White would love. He is prone to the occasional slip-up but he fights his ass off and could be competitive with the mid-tier of the UFC 205 roster. Muhammad Lawal - He still has a little work to do to become a truly well rounded threat but he has charisma for days, tremendous wrestling and legitimate KO power. Lorenz Larkin - His bout with Nick Rossborough had to bring people like myself back down to earth a bit. I'd been very high on Larkin but he showed that he still has some work to do. But at only 25 years old with underrated defensive wrestling and grappling skills and a whirlwind striking game, Larkin has a very bright future. Ovince St. Preux - OSP is a tremendous athlete dating back to his time as a very talented defensive player at the University of Tennessee. His career got off to a 3-4 start thanks to an overly tough schedule as he was still learning the sport. Now riding an eight fight win streak and beating some legitimate names, OSP is one of the fastest rising 205'ers. Gegard Mousasi - I think we can all agree that Mousasi isn't proving out to be quite the rare talent many thought he would be. Still, he sports a 31-3-2 record at the age of 26. The Keith Hackney draw is an unfortunate blemish on his record for a fight that he should have won if not for reffing and judging issues. He'd have plenty of success in the UFC. Notable Cuts: Gian Villante - Just hasn't proven out. 1-2 in Strikeforce, Gian has to do some work on the regional scene (or find a cushy career in Bellator) to earn a spot in the UFC. Roger Gracie - Ignoring the last name, Roger is just not good enough at mixed martial arts. Renato Sobral - Babalu's last exit from the UFC is probably enough of a reason to not see him stick around. Antwain Britt - Britt exists in that space just below able to compete reliably at the Strikeforce/UFC level but just good enough to probably run wild on 205'ers outside of the big leagues. Mike Kyle - Too much baggage, not quite good enough.

Posted in: ufc, fight, strikeforce, heavyweight, light heavyweights

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UFC Undisputed 3, the latest entry into the popular mixed martial arts video game series from THQ, will hit store shelves in January 2012. The new edition features a bevy of interesting fresh features, including traveling back in time to fight in the now-defunct PRIDE organization ... complete with soccer kicks, stomps and Bas Rutten on commentary. Not only that, the roster has been expanded to include both featherweights and bantamweights. Speaking of which, THQ is releasing the list of names for the full roster and up first, we've got the light heavyweights (205-pounds). You can play as division champion Jon Jones, who has an all new selection of strikes, including a right back fist, or current number one contender Lyoto Machida, who boasts the front kick you watched him knock Randy Couture out with. Or, if you'd like, you can even use retired Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell to knock a few heads off for the old school. Complete light heavyweight roster after the jump. Ryan BaderJason BrilzPhil DavisCyrille DiabateRashad EvansRich FranklinForrest GriffinMatt HamillDan Henderson*Quinton "Rampage" JacksonJon JonesChuck LiddellLyoto MachidaVladimir MatyushenkoAntonio Rogerio NogueiraTito OrtizMauricio "Shogun" RuaThiago SilvaBrandon Vera *Also available to fight as a middleweight Any surprises or notable snubs? For more on the upcoming release of UFC Undisputed 3 click here, here and here.

Posted in: ufc, heavyweight, light, light heavyweights, roster

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Last weekend, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon "Bones" Jones proved one and for all he's one of the greatest fighters to ever step foot inside the Octagon. Jones dominated Quinton Jackson during three rounds, before finishing the contest via a neck-crunching Rear Naked Choke, early in Round 4. One of the most spectacular things about Jon Jones' performance was the way he adapted to Jackson's style by using kicks and clinch work to frustrate one of the most dominant Light Heavyweights in the history of

Posted in: jon, jone, jon jones, quinton jackson, light heavyweights

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The two light heavyweights once scheduled to meet at UFC 131 in Vancouver will now face each other in Toronto later this year.

Posted in: ufc, toronto, light, light heavyweights, soszynski vs

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