MMA-URLS

Maiquel Falcao beat Andreas Spang by unanimous decision in the main event at Bellator 69 to win Bellator's latest middleweight tournament.

Posted in: bellator, middleweight, falcao, spang, andreas spang

Read the full article at sportsnet.ca

Hector Lombard may have left to the UFC with his middleweight belt underneath his clothes, but a new strap is being reconstructed somewhere with the knowledge and blacksmith level high enough to create a title worthy of Maiquel Falcao or Alexander Shlemenko. Tonight Maiquel Falcao defeated Andreas Spang in the Bellator middleweight tournament finals with a convincing unanimous decision. Now all we have to do is wait for Shlemenko to mend from a broken collarbone and dislocated thumb from a car accident in his mother Russia last month and we have ourselves quite the championship fight, yes we do. Props and congrats to Falcao (who I always envision telling me to do a barrel roll), hopefully the middleweight championship fight can go down as soon as humanly possible.

Posted in: alexander shlemenko, shlemenko, middleweight, falcao, maiquel falcao

Read the full article at Middle Easy

About a month ago, we reported that Aaron Simpson was dropping to welterweight and would be facing Jon Fitch in his debut. The fight was expected to be taking place at UFC 149 on July 21st at that point, but it got switched up. Simpson tweeted the date and channel the fight would be on, which works out to UFC on Fuel 4: July 11th on Fuel TV. Trainin' hard! It is unclear whether the fight will be shown on the main card or not at this point, but you'd have to expect that it would be. Simpson went 6-3 as a middleweight in the UFC, but decided to drop down due to the size difference between himself and regular middleweights. He'll meet Fitch, who was a middleweight at one point as well and is winless in his last two bouts. The main event of the card is a five-round middleweight battle between Chris Weidman and Mark Munoz. SBN coverage of UFC on Fuel 4: Munoz vs. Weidman

Posted in: ufc, middleweight, simpson, jon fitch, fuel

Read the full article at Bloody Elbow

Strikeforce's July card has a date, a location, and a new fight. The card will take place on July 14th in the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, and the new fight is another middleweight bout. MMA Weekly has the news: The next major Strikeforce card will be headed to the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore. on July 14, and two more fights have been confirmed for the show. In addition the main event pitting Luke Rockhold against Tim Kennedy with the Strikeforce middleweight title on the line, two more middleweight bouts will also take place. First up, heavy hitter Robbie Lawler will get back in action as he faces former light heavyweight contender Lorenz Larkin. The other fight mentioned in the article is the previously-confirmed bout between Roger Gracie and Keith Jardine. Lawler (19-8, 1 NC) is coming off a win over Adlan Amagov in January after dropping his two previous bouts to Kennedy and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza. Larkin (12-0, 1 NC) was handed the first defeat of his career by Muhammed Lawal back in January, but the result was overturned when Mo tested positive for a banned substance. So far, the only bouts announced for the card are the three middleweight fights above and a bout between Tyron Woodley and Nate Marquardt for the vacant Strikeforce welterweight title.

Posted in: fight, strikeforce, bout, middleweight, july

Read the full article at Bloody Elbow

A middleweight title fight between champion Luke Rockhold and Tim Kennedy will headline a major Strikeforce show in Oregon. Strikeforce officials today announced the event, which takes place July 14 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore. Other announced bouts include middleweights Lorenz Larkin vs. Robbie Lawler and middleweights Roger Gracie vs. Keith Jardine.

Posted in: strikeforce, vs, middleweight, strikeforce show, portland ore

Read the full article at MMA Junkie

Brazilian jiu-jitsu standout Roger Gracie will be making his middleweight debut in Strikeforce against MMA veteran Keith Jardine. MMAFighting first reported the match up, which is likely to take place at a currently unscheduled Strikeforce event in July; rumors place the bout in Portland, Oregon on the fourteenth. Considered to be one of the world’s best grapplers, Gracie (4-1) suffered his first loss in mixed martial arts competition in September of last year, when Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal knocked him out in one round at Strikeforce World Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov. Prior to that, the thirty year old had submitted all of his MMA opponents. This bout against Jardine will be his first contested at 185lbs. Seasoned MMA competitor Keith Jardine (17-10-2) found his way into Strikeforce after suffering a five-fight losing streak that saw him cut from the UFC. The Dean of Mean put together couple of wins before taking a short-notice fight against Gegard Mousasi in the promotion. A draw in that effort led (somewhat confusingly) into a title shot against Strikeforce middleweight champ Luke Rockhold, which Jardine lost by first-round TKO. That was his most recent appearance and it came in early January. Rockhold is expected to defend his title against Tim Kennedy at the event. Nate Marquardt and Tyron Woodley are also likely to dispute the vacant Strikeforce welterweight title on the card.   MMAFrenzy.com

Posted in: strikeforce, jardine, middleweight, middleweight debut, shortnotice fight

Read the full article at MMA Frenzy

Grappling superstar Roger Gracie will be making the drop to 185 for his next Strikeforce fight, and he will take on a guy that recently came to the same decision. And it looks like they'll be meeting in the Pacific Northwest. MMA Fighting has the news: Roger Gracie will officially make his middleweight debut against another former light-heavyweight who shifted to the lighter division when he takes on Keith Jardine during a July Strikeforce event that is still in the planning stages. Two sources confirmed the fight pairing to MMA Fighting. Though the event is not officially announced, it is tentatively penciled in for Portland, Oregon, the sources said. A date has not yet been finalized either. Gracie is coming off the first defeat of his MMA career, a first-round TKO loss to Muhammed Lawal last September. Jardine was given a title shot in his middleweight debut, but lost to Luke Rockhold by first-round TKO. According to the article, Strikeforce middleweight champion Rockhold is expected to defend his title against Tim Kennedy in the main event of the show.

Posted in: event, keith jardine, middleweight, gracie, middleweight debut

Read the full article at Bloody Elbow

Roger Gracie will make his debut at middleweight against Keith Jardine in July at a yet-to-be-announced Strikeforce event. While nothing has been made official by the promotion, Strikeforce is expected to announce a date and location for the show soon. Rumors have Portland, Oregon as the host site with a middleweight title-fight between Luke Rockhold and Tim Kennedy serving as the main event. MMAFighting confirmed the news of the Gracie-Jardine bout and event location with several sources. Gracie (4-1) lost his last match at light heavyweight to Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, pushing him to make the drop to the ranks of the middleweights after starting out strong at 205 pounds. As his last name might indicate, Gracie is a widely respected BJJer with numerous awards at the highest level relating to his chosen discipline. Meanwhile, Jardine (17-10-2) is a UFC veteran who made his 185-pound debut in Rockhold’s first and only title-defense, losing in the opening round of action. Regardless of the stumble, Jardine has racked up a number of impressive wins in his career including those of Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell. PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Posted in: strikeforce, event, jardine, middleweight, gracie

Read the full article at Five Ounces of Pain

Yes, tonight is the UFC's return to Fox with a card that should be great fun. But the biggest event in combat sports this weekend is absolutely Floyd Mayweather vs. Miguel Cotto live on HBO pay-per-view from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. I'll be here to bring you live round-by-round results (and fight-by-fight results for the undercard) tonight. I have been covering the fight in depth at SBNation.com this week, so you can catch up on all the news from fight week in that Story Stream. The pay-per-view starts at 9 p.m. ET with Cotto and Mayweather hitting the ring at roughly midnight. The full PPV card looks like this: WBA Junior Middleweight Championship: Miguel Cotto (c) vs. Floyd MayweatherWBC Junior Middleweight Championship: Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (c) vs. "Sugar" Shane MosleyJunior Welterweight Bout: Jessie Vargas vs. Steve ForbesJunior Middleweight Bout: Deandre Latimore vs. Carlos Quintana Make sure to check back at fight time and follow along with the action. More Mayweather-Cotto Coverage From SBNBad Left Hook | SB Nation | MMA Mania | Bloody Elbow

Posted in: vs, middleweight, roundbyround results, cotto, roundbyround coverage

Read the full article at Bloody Elbow

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida was all set to make his middleweight debut inside the Octagon -- but it had nothing to do with getting choked unconscious by Jon Jones at UFC 140 last December. Instead, "The Dragon" wanted to stay active, even if it meant dropping to 185 pounds, until his coaches talked him down from the ledge and told him to "be patient." It worked. The Brazilian has since been paired off against Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 Champion Ryan Bader, who like Machida, is trying to get himself back "in the mix" at UFC on FOX 4 later this year in Los Angeles. So, how about that change in weight classes? From Globo SporTV (translated by Bloody Elbow): "I was ready to fight but the opportunity was not there. The division is lacking, it's a bit mixed, and I didn't know, right (who would be my next opponent)? I even had the intention of fighting at 185lbs so I wouldn't lose the opportunity of keeping busy. I spoke to Ed Soares and (Jorge Guimarães), but they told me to be patient. Look, I'm a guy that usually weighs at most 96kg (21lbs), so I don't think there would be a problem fighting (at middleweight). My objective is to fight at (205lbs), but to make a fight at middleweight would not be a problem. Anderson is a comrade of mine, a friend in my team. (Middleweight) is his, but I would take a fight to keep me busy. The important thing is to keep fighting, it's the adrenaline. I would like to fight there, but only with the objective of keeping me busy." Machida recently steered himself out of an uncharacteristic losing skid with a sensational front-kick knockout over Randy Couture back at UFC 129. Unfortunately, the taste of victory was short-lived because of an opportunity to challenge "Bones" for the belt he lost to Mauricio Rua two years ago. Jones ended the fight in dramatic fashion, wrapping his long arms around the throat of "The Dragon" in round two and securing a standing guillotine choke that put the Brazilian to sleep. It is certainly a memory that Machida would like to put in the rear-view mirror sooner rather than later. And there's no better way to do that than to get back inside the Octagon with a fighter who is equally as motivated to get back on top. But a loss to "Darth" and that trip south may be for more than just killing time. UFC on FOX 4 is scheduled to take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif., on Sat., Aug. 4, 2012. Other bouts include a middleweight slugfest between Hector Lombard vs. Brian Stann and a lightweight scrap featuring Joe Lauzon vs. Terry Etim. For the latest UFC on FOX 4 news and notes be sure to check out our complete event archive right here.

Posted in: ufc, fight, lb, middleweight, machida

Read the full article at MMA Mania

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida had another shot at the title at UFC 140 against Jon Jones, but got choked out in the second round. Four months later he was still waiting for another fight and was apparently starting to get antsy. He was recently booked against TUF 9 winner Ryan Bader at UFC on Fox 4 on August 4th, but before that, he just wanted to fight. He was relieved by the Bader booking, and told Globo he was even willing to take a middleweight bout just to stay active (translation via Tom Mendes): I was ready to fight but the opportunity was not there. The division is lacking, it’s a bit mixed, and I didn’t know, right (who would be my next opponent)? I even had the intention of fighting at 185lbs so I wouldn’t lose the opportunity of keeping busy. I spoke to Ed Soares and (Jorge Guimarães), but they told me to be patient. ... Look, I’m a guy that usually weighs at most 96kg (211lbs), so I don’t think there would be a problem fighting (at middleweight). My objective is to fight at (205lbs), but to make a fight at middleweight would not be a problem. Obviously his friend and teammate Anderson Silva is the UFC middleweight champion though, so that seems like a Black House conflict of interest. Machida explains: Anderson is a comrade of mine, a friend in my team. (Middleweight) is his, but I would take a fight to keep me busy. The important thing is to keep fighting, it’s the adrenaline. I would like to fight there, but only with the objective of keeping me busy. I know Machida says that 185 is Anderson's, but Silva is 37 and could possibly retire not long from now. A middleweight Lyoto Machida is an enticing thought, and it's interesting that he believes he could make the cut. It's probably not something that's going to happen anytime soon, but would you like to see Machida at middleweight?

Posted in: ufc, fight, middleweight bout, middleweight, machida

Read the full article at Bloody Elbow

There was a time when Rich Franklin was one of the most dominant fighters in the world. In 24 fights he had only been defeated once, held the middleweight belt, was unbeaten inside the UFC and riding an eight fight win streak. Then along came 'The Spider,' a relatively unknown Brazilian called Anderson Silva who had been fast tracked to a title shot after beating Chris Leben emphatically in his UFC debut. The rest, of course, is history and Silva is now widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet while Franklin's name barely even merits a mention when fight fans are discussing the 185-pound title picture. Franklin's legacy as one of the most successful middleweights of all time was already secured but by beating him not once, but twice, Silva effectively cast him into the MMA wilderness, expelling him from the weight class which he had made his own and forcing him to bounce around between 195-205 pounds, often accepting fights against much bigger men. Had Franklin been given the choice he would never have left the middleweight division but he posed a problem to the UFC who decided they could not afford to risk having him kill off any new contenders who might emerge for Silva's crown. "The UFC knew they couldn't market a third fight between me and Anderson and that is why I was encouraged to move to 205 even though many of the fighters there are much bigger than me. I have spent the last couple of months losing the muscle it took me years to put on and now I am back at 185 I want to make a run for the title." Bar the two losses to Silva, his record at 185 is immaculate. As a middleweight he is 8-2 with nine of those fights inside the UFC and five of them for the middleweight title. By contrast, the current number one challenger, Chael Sonnen's tally as a UFC middleweight, stands at a much less impressive 6-3. With the likes of Mark Munoz, Michael Bisping, Hector Lombard and Brian Stann as well as Sonnen in the UFC's middleweight division there should be plenty of big fights out there for Franklin but first he has to get past the not inconsiderable challenge posed by Cung Le. "Obviously Cung is a crafty striker to say the least…effective and unorthodox. Many people overlook his wrestling game, which makes his striking so effective. He is difficult to take down. He wasn’t Strikeforce champ for nothing." In order to prepare for this fight, which will be Franklin's first for almost 18 months, he has taken the unusual step of relocating his training camp to Singapore. He will spend eight weeks at Evolve MMA working with the decorated team of trainers there under the supervision of Chatri Sityodtong and Heath Sims. While elite Asian mixed martial artists have been heading to the US for years in search of superior training it is very unusual for a fighter to move in the opposite direction. Franklin says that he made the decision in conjunction with long term trainer Matt Hume after visiting Singapore for the first time last year. "I did a seminar with Matt Hume at Evolve a little over a year ago and I was very impressed with the instructors and facility. I thought it would be a good idea to get a fresh perspective for this training camp and a lot of the trainers here are world champions in things like boxing, Muay Thai or BJJ, there are not many places in the world where you can find all of that under one roof." Le's Sanshou based style of standup is very unusual and he has an arsenal of unconventional strikes which he has used to devastating effect throughout his MMA career. It is difficult to find sparring partners who can even emulate his style and this is something Franklin admits he has discussed. "Chatri and I spoke about bringing in a training partner specifically to mimic Cung but because the Muay Thai and boxing trainers at Evolve MMA are so experienced I don't think it will be necessary. They are world champions, some of them have been training in stand up fighting for more than two decades and they all have hundreds of fights and will have no difficulty impersonating him if asked to." Le came very close to stopping Wanderlei Silva with strikes in the first round of their fight but faded in the second stanza. Franklin has plenty of experience from facing some of the best all time strikers in MMA such as Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort, Anderson Silva and Chuck Liddell but he says he is not underestimating his next opponent. "Having faced stand up fighters in the past is not the key to my confidence because they were all different fighters than Cung, and I am a different fighter than I was when I fought each of them. I am not expecting him to get tired, in fact I am preparing for a Cung that has better stamina than myself. All of my fights in the UFC were a test…none of them were easy fights and this is no different." Franklin was originally scheduled to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 133 in August, 2011 but the fight was cancelled and the following month he tore his labrum in training.These two factors have contributed towards the longest break between fights since he started fighting in 1999 but 'Ace' says that even after such an extended period on the sidelines he doesn't feel any additional pressure to perform. "There is always something riding on a fight, a title opportunity, a winning streak, a break after a long return or even a contract renewal. If you let these external circumstances affect your nerve, you will always fail." One intriguing possibility is that Anderson Silva, who is only a few months younger than Franklin, will either retire before him or move up to 205 lbs. The coast is far from clear because two of his recent losses were to fighters who could make 185 lbs (Dan Henderson and Vitor Belfort) but Franklin is not spending too much time contemplating what would happen if the champion vacated his belt. "I don’t lose sleep either way. If I make it to the title again I will cross that path when I get there…whoever holds the belt. Just remember, I actually have to beat Cung before any of this other stuff is even possible but there are a lot of exciting match ups at middleweight." It's not impossible that Silva will lose his title inside the cage, although such is the aura of invincibility surrounding him it seems improbable at present. Whatever happens to the title itself Franklin, who says he hasn't even thought about retirement, is determined to spend the remainder of his career competing as a middleweight. By Franklin's stellar standards the stint away from 185 lbs has not been the most successful and he has gone 3-3 in his last six fights. Now that he is back where he belongs he wants to carry on where he left off by dominating the middleweight division and a win over Le at UFC 148 would be the perfect place to start. www.twitter.com/jamesgoyder

Posted in: ufc, fight, title, middleweight, franklin

Read the full article at MMA Mania

Former No. 1 welterweight contender Jake Shields is moving back up to middleweight and will fight Ed Herman at UFC 150 in Denver.

Posted in: ufc, shield, middleweight, roundup, ed herman

Read the full article at sportsnet.ca

Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields has stated a few times since his win over Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 144 that he'd like to move back to 185. Well he's getting his wish, and he's getting a tough opponent in his return to the division - Ed Herman. Dana White tweeted about the UFC 150 bout a little while ago: @danawhiteDana White UFC 150 Sat Aug 11 Denver, CO Middleweight Bout Ed Herman VS Jake Shields. I like that fight! May 01 via Twitter for iPhone Favorite Retweet Reply As mentioned above, Shields (27-6-1) is coming off a win over former middleweight Akiyama in February. He was 2-2 at 170 in the UFC, but clearly felt that his skills were better suited for 185. Herman has been a beast since he came back from injury, stopping three straight opponents in the first half of their respective bouts. His last win came over Clifford Starks at UFC 143. The bout is likely to be on the main card of the Denver event. The expected main event will see Ben Henderson rematch Frankie Edgar for the UFC lightweight title. SBN coverage of UFC 150

Posted in: ufc, shield, bout, middleweight, herman

Read the full article at Bloody Elbow

Middleweight Hector Lombard will start out swimming in the deep end of the UFC’s middleweight pool when he makes his debut under the organization’s banner in August, taking on 185-pound contender Brian Stann in featured action at UFC on FOX 4. Then again, considering the 34-year old’s dominance in the ring, Lombard abandoned the need for professional floaties a long time ago. News of their August 4 bout has been confirmed by the UFC. Lombard, also the former/reigning Bellator middleweight champ, has won 24 of his last 25 fights with the lone exception being a Draw in 2007. Equally impressive, he holds an overall record of 31-2-1, stopping 24 of the opponents he’s beaten including his last four. While Stann’s success may not be as impressive on the surface, the heavy-handed veteran is certainly a threat to end Lombard’s twenty-fight winning streak, going 4-1 since dropping to middleweight with success against a handful of apt adversaries such as Chris Leben, Jorge Santiago, and most recently Alessio Sakara. UFC on FOX 4 is scheduled for Los Angeles with the only other announced match-up involving a lightweight tilt between Joe Lauzon and Terry Etim. PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Posted in: ufc, lombard, hector lombard, middleweight, stann

Read the full article at Five Ounces of Pain

Recently the UFC added one of the finest competitors outside of the Octagon to its roster by signing reigning Bellator middleweight champ Hector Lombard. For those unfamiliar with the 34-year old Olympic judoka, Lombard holds an overall record of 31-2-1 including 24 stoppages and wins over the likes of Trevor Prangley, Joe Doerksen, Brian Ebersole, and Alexander Shlemenko. Even more impressive, Lombard hasn’t lost in more than five years while racking up 24 victories over the span. While his official UFC debut hasn’t been announced yet there are a number of good options out there that would put Lombard in position for a shot at the organization’s belt by mid-2013. Granted, his credentials might merit a crack even sooner, but between Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping/Mark Munoz the UFC’s title-picture is already fairly focused for the next nine months. That being said, here are three possibilities for Lombard that make sense for multiple reasons: Kyle Noke: At first glance I suspect a few readers rolled their eyes. However, though Noke is far from a big name, he and Lombard have history including a Draw. It would be a good way to acclimate Lombard to the Octagon while also letting him avenge a semi-stumble by (likely) picking up a highlight-reel win. Noke is expected to return soon from injury so why not make it happen? Rousimar Palhares/Alan Belcher: Okay, this is kind of cheating since I’m listing two guys, but with them fighting each other next weekend it all works out since ultimately Lombard would face the winner. Both are interesting match-ups stylistically based on aggression plus neither is a particularly big 185er, a factor worth mentioning considering Lombard’s own diminutive size at 5’9”. Brian Stann: Stann came out of his recent win injury-free and has the name, plus success, to make for an intriguing opponent. He also likes to strike which makes for a nice stylistic showdown capped off by a probable knockout. Lombard Out to Be UFC Champion Truly, given Lombard’s skill-set and aggressive approach there aren’t many opponents who wouldn’t be fun to see him face – Bisping, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, Cung Le, Rich Franklin…the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, the bulk of the UFC’s best middleweights are already busy, but fortunately there are a few folks who still fit the bill as mentioned above. PHOTO CREDIT – BELLATOR Tweet

Posted in: ufc, lombard, ’t, opponent, middleweight

Read the full article at Fighters.com

Hector Lombard didn’t give up his Bellator FC middleweight title to be just another member of the UFC‘s roster. No, Lombard has his sights set on facing Anderson Silva, securing the belt, and going down in history as one of the best 185ers of all time. Recently, the Cuban Olympian signed a contract with the UFC, exiting Bellator as the champion after an extended run in the organization. However, his deal expired, no contractual issues kept him from leaving, and though Bellator had a chance to match Zuffa’s offer they opted not to. “I’ve wanted to fight in the UFC all my career,” said Lombard recently. “I want to be the UFC middleweight champion and I wan to fight Anderson Silva to do it. I have such respect for him as a fighter, it would be an honor and a dream come true to test my skills against his. I wouldn’t be in the UFC if I didn’t think I could win the UFC world title.” Lombard had previously signed to fight inside the Octagon in 2007 but visa issues kept him from making an appearance. His first foe inside the Octagon is still unknown, but with as much publicity as his signing received fans can expect a pretty strong contender in the division to test Lombard’s skills right off the bat. PHOTO CREDIT – BELLATOR

Posted in: ufc, lombard, bellator, anderson silva, middleweight

Read the full article at Five Ounces of Pain

It’s official. Former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard is now a member of the UFC’s middleweight roster. Dana White tweeted the news along with a pic of Hector’s John Hancock earlier this evening. Speaking to MMA Weekly, Lombard declared he signed with the UFC to prove he’s the best in the world and plans to [...]

Posted in: ufc, lombard, hector, champion, middleweight

Read the full article at MMA Convert

Well that didn't take long. With the ink barely dry on his new UFC deal, former Bellator middleweight champ Hector Lombard made his intentions perfectly clear. "I want to be UFC middleweight champion, and I want to fight Anderson Silva to do it," Lombard stated. "I have such respect for him as a fighter. It would be an honor and a dream come true to test my skills against his."

Posted in: ufc, lombard, deal, middleweight, ufc deal

Read the full article at MMA Junkie

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney didn’t want long to address the recent vacancy at the top of the organization’s middleweight division, confirming the title will be awarded in an eventual fight between the winner of Season 6 finalists Maiquel Falcao-Andreas Spang and Alexander Shlemenko. The title became available when Hector Lombard – the lone fighter to wear the belt in Bellator’s history – signed a contract with the UFC. Rebney confirmed the news via his Twitter account. Falcao and Spang will meet next month and then move on to face Shlemenko later this year. In addition to determining a top contender the bout will also be a grudge match of sorts after the two came to blows during a face off last Friday night. No date has been announced for their match-up. Shlemenko is currently working his way back from injuries suffered in a recent car accident though none are considered to be career-threatening. He earned his right to fight for the belt after winning the Season 5 middleweight tourney and was awaiting a return shot at Lombard after losing a five-round decision in their first encounter. PHOTO CREDIT – BELLATOR

Posted in: alexander shlemenko, bellator, shlemenko, middleweight, fiveround decision

Read the full article at Five Ounces of Pain

One of the only top-ranked Middleweights outside the UFC, Hector Lombard, has officially signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Now former Bellator Middleweight Champion, Lombard holds a highly impressive MMA record of 31-2, with 17 KO/ TKO and 7 Submission finishes. Lombard is currently on a 25-fight winning streak. At the age of 34, it looks like the Cuban-Australian 185'er will finally make his long-awaited Octagon debut, with sights on the UFC Middleweight title. The identity of Hector

Posted in: lombard, hector, middleweight, mma record, topranked middleweights

Read the full article at Low Kick

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney knew he could lose Hector Lombard once the middleweight’s four-year contract expired. Now, those fears have come true, as Lombard has signed his contract with the UFC meaning Bellator was unable to match Zuffa’s offer (or chose not to). The current Bellator middleweight champion will compete inside the Octagon for the first time in his career, bringing a 31-2-1 record with him to the promotion. “I am in the UFC it is official,” a happy Lombard posted on his Twitter account earlier today. The former Olympic Judoka has not lost since 2006 in a match against Gegard Mousasi. At 34 years old, Lombard seems to still be in his prime, having stopped Trevor Prangley in his last fight with Bellator and generally destroying all opponents he’s faced over the past few years. Lombard has competed at both light heavyweight and middleweight during his MMA caree, and owns the fastest recorded knockout in Bellator history at eight seconds. He has also won eight consecutive fights in Bellator, a record for the promotion. PHOTO CREDIT – BELLATOR/UFC

Posted in: ufc, lombard, bellator, middleweight, bellator history

Read the full article at Five Ounces of Pain

Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard has signed with the UFC and will bring a 25-fight unbeaten streak into the promotion.

Posted in: ufc, lombard, hector, middleweight, streak

Read the full article at Heavy MMA

He's here (finally). Bellator Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard was offered a contract by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) roughly one week ago and after some careful deliberation on whether or not to match it, Bellator has decided to let its champion go find out if the grass really is greener on the other side. MMAFighting.com initially brought word of the deal before "Shango" himself confirmed on Twitter that he is "in the UFC. It is official." Considering the dearth of fresh contenders for the 185-pound title, there's never been a better time for Lombard to enter the fray. His career record of 31-2 gives him instant credibility -- assuming that record isn't padded, of course, which has been the knock against him for some time now. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney thinks that's silly and, in fact, predicts his former middleweight king will assume his place at the throne inside the Octagon real soon. "We have a business model where we make decisions based on analyzing data. Since the first day we came into being, we made decisions based on real models, not hypotheticals. The UFC model is largely based on pay-per-view, and the offer they made to Hector is going to be monetized via pay-per-view. While pay-per-view could play a role in our future, today it doesn't. So, we did our due diligence to review the UFC contract, analyzed it in terms of charging our audience to see Hector vs. putting him on free TV, and we decided to allow the UFC to sign Hector, where I am extremely confident he will win the UFC middleweight title on pay-per-view." Lombard's only two losses have come by unanimous decision to Gegard Mousasi and Akihiro Gono in fights that took place nearly six years ago. He has 24 finishes, including 17 (T)KO stoppages in 31 wins. He's been called everything from professional can-crusher to top five middleweight in the world. Now we get to find out exactly what he's got to offer on the grandest stage of them all. First, though, he needs an opponent. Time for you matchmaking Maniacs to find him one. Hector Lombard's first fight in the UFC should be against ...

Posted in: ufc, lombard, hector, middleweight, payperview

Read the full article at MMA Mania

ATLANTA -- Rashad Evans has long been considered a small light-heavyweight, but even after suffering his second career loss, he plans to stay there.That said, during the UFC 145 post-fight press conference, he opened the door a crack for a possible move to middleweight following his defeat at the hands of Jon Jones. "I’m a 205-pounder," Evans said. "I’ve only lost twice and I lost to a good competitor … But if an opportunity happens at 185, I'll take it. But I like 205, I'll just have to work my way back up and get back to a title shot."Evans road back to a championship opportunity would figure to be shorter at middleweight, where he would be starting with a clean slate. In addition, due to division champion Anderson Silva's long reign, there is always a need for new contenders. Right now, while Chael Sonnen is on deck to face Silva, there's no clear-cut next challenger after him.In the light-heavyweight division, besides top contender Dan Henderson, there's veterans like Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Lyoto Machida, and rising younger fighters like Alexander Gustafsson and Ryan Bader trying to make the leap. It is simply a more crowded field.When asked about it the possibility of offering Evans a middleweight, UFC president Dana White said he had never considered the possibility."I honestly have never thought about it," he said. "We'll see what happens."White also might have offered Evans enough hope to stay at his longtime home as well, saying an eventual rematch between him and Jones could never be ruled out."Anything's possible," he said. "If they keep winning, absolutely."Evans' two career losses have both come in title fights. Besides losing to Jones, his other defeat was his championship loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 98 in May 2009.

Posted in: ufc, jone, loss, middleweight, evan

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Tonight the Bellator Fighting Championships will offer up its finest card so far this year. Bellator 66 will be going down tonight at 8pm ET in Cleveland, Ohio. Sadly it is largely being buried in the build up to UFC 145: Jon Jones vs Rashad Evans. This card headline will feature a rematch between two of the best lightweights outside of the UFC. Dream Lightweight champion Shinya Aoki squares off with former Bellator Lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez. Aoki defeated Alavrez with an impressive heel hook the first time the two met and Alavrez has spent years lobbying for a rematch. The rest of the main card will feature Lightweight and Middleweight tournament semifinals. Thiago Michel will face Brent Weedman in the opening bout of the evening. Olympic Judkoa Rick Hawn will take on the man who upset tournament favorite Patricky Freire, Llyod Woodard in the other Lightweight match. At Middleweight the hyper-violent Maiquel Falcao will be matched with combat Sambo stand out Vyacheslav Vasilevsky. And in the other Middleweight match native Ohioan and knockout artist Brain Rogers will look to put his heavy hands on Andreas Spang. Here is the full card for the evening: Main Card Eddie Alvarez vs. Shinya AokiAndreas Spang vs. Brian RogersVyacheslav Vasilevsky vs. Maiquel FalcaoLloyd Woodard vs. Rick Hawn Brent Weedman vs. Thiago Michel Preliminary Card Julian Lane vs. Joe Heiland John Hawk vs. Marcus Vanttinen Dan Spohn vs. Attila Vegh Donny Walker vs. Frank Caraballo Jessica Eye vs. Anita Rodriguez Not we will not be doing live results for the preliminary card, but join us here at Bloody Elbow for main card action and discussion. Lightweight Semifinal: Thiago Michel vs. Brent Weedman Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Lightweight Semifinal: Rick Hawn vs. Lloyd Woodard Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Middleweight Semifinal: Maiquel Falcao vs. Vyacheslav Vasilevsky Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Middleweight Semifinal: Brian Rogers vs. Andreas Spang Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Super-fight: Eddie Alvarez vs. Shinya Aoki Round 1 Round 2 Round 3

Posted in: bellator, round, vs, card, middleweight

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FUEL TV’s Karyn Bryant speaks with former UFC welterweight contender Jake Shields as he mulls over his potential move back to the middleweight division.

Posted in: jake shields, shield, jake, middleweight, move

Read the full article at MMA Convert

"I'm just trying to lift a lot of weights, eating a lot, gaining a little weight. I'm putting a few pounds on, just gotta make sure it's the right kind of weight. I imagine within the next week or two I'll have a for sure answer (on a possible move to middleweight)." Just last month it was announced on UFC Tonight on FUEL TV that former welterweight title contender Jake Shields would be moving back up to the middleweight division, where he once ruled the roost over in Strikeforce. But apparently that announcement was a bit rushed, as Shields reveals just last night that he's not quite sure on whether or not he will compete at 170 or 185-pounds his next time out. He did say he expects to know for sure within the next week or two. Which division would you rather see him in, Maniacs? Welterweight or middleweight?

Posted in: shield, week, middleweight, weight, fuel tv

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Last weekend, several X-Gym fighters were running in the sands of Barra da Tijuca beach, including UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

Posted in: coach, champ, middleweight, anderson, xgym fighters

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Our rankings roll out continues today with the middleweight division. I have a feeling this one is going to ruffle some feathers. As always, our rankings can easily be referenced on our dedicated rankings page. Middleweight Anderson Silva Chael Sonnen Mark Munoz Michael Bisping Vitor Belfort Tim Boetsch Luke Rockhold Brian Stann Chris Weidman Hector Lombard Photo credit: James Law/Heavy

Posted in: division, middleweight, ranking, referenced, rankings roll

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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion Rich Franklin will return to the 185 pound division, to face Sanshou standout Cung Le at UFC 148. After getting bested twice by current middleweight champion Anderson Silva, Franklin decided to give the light-heavyweight...

Posted in: silva, champion, middleweight, anderson, franklin

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Jake Shields entered the UFC fresh off being named the Strikeforce middleweight champion. However, Shields did not remain in that division, instead opting to slide down to welterweight. After defeating Martin Kampmann, Shields earned a shot at UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre. GSP defeated Shields, and Jake Ellenberger earned a KO victory over Shields in his next match, as well. Now, the California fighter is contemplating a move back to middleweight, as he told Damon Martin of MMA Weekly recently. Right now, I’m trying to bulk up and see how I feel. It’s not 100-percent, but I’m waiting to see on an opponent and then I’ll take it of course. I’m in no rush. If they call with an opponent at 85, I’d take it right now cause I’ll have enough time to bulk up. I’m not opposed to fighting at 70. If they call with a good offer for a fight at 70, then I’d take that, as well. In his last bout, Shields defeated Yoshihiro Akiyama via decision. The move to middleweight would allow Shields a clearer path to a possible title shot, along with the opportunity to not worry about cutting as much weight as he currently is. Also, Shields has talked about wanting to face UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in the past, so there is always that gold at the end of the rainbow for him. Photo credit: Esther Lin/MMA Fighting

Posted in: jake shields, shield, jake, middleweight, yoshihiro akiyama

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Despite speculation to the contrary, Jake Shields isn’t closing the door on his UFC welterweight career just yet. Instead, the former Strikeforce middleweight champ is opening a different one with his interest in moving back to 185 pounds. Shields entered the UFC and was granted a shot at welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre after a decision victory against Martin Kampmann. Shields, however, was unsuccessful against GSP and followed it up with a knockout loss to Jake Ellenberger in his next bout. After rebounding to defeat Yoshihiro Akiyama earlier this year, it was reported on UFC Tonight this past week that Shields was headed to the middleweight division. “Right now, I’m trying to bulk up and see how I feel,” said Shields, in an interview with MMAWeekly. “It’s not 100-percent (the move to middleweight). I’m certainly not against it and I’m kind of leaning towards making a fight at 185.” Shields believes he could challenge the best at welterweight still, but the move to middleweight would allow him to be bigger and stronger, making his already-excellent takedowns that much more explosive. “I’m in no rush. If they call with an opponent at 185, I’d take it right now cause I’ll have enough time to bulk up,” said Shields, who is targeting late-July/early-August as a return date. “If they call with a good offer at 70, then I’d take that, as well.” Shields holds an overall record of 27-6 with wins over some of MMA’s best including Carlos Condit, Yushin Okami, and Dan Hendesron. PHOTO CREDIT – UFC/STRIKEFORCE

Posted in: shield, jake ellenberger, middleweight, move, middleweight move

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After a successful but challenging welterweight campaign, Jake Shields is returning to the middleweight division. Shields, who challenged for the UFC welterweight belt against Georges St. Pierre at UFC 129, will return to the division for the first time since defending the Strikeforce middleweight belt against Dan Henderson in 2010. Shields (27-6-1), who last fought and won at UFC 144 in February, actually debated returning to middleweight following his loss to Jake Ellenberger last September. After his first TKO loss in over ten years, Shields debated returning to the division that gave him his most recent success, along with allowing him to not have to cut so much weight prior to the fight. However, Shields remained at 170 pounds, and defeated Yoshihiro Akiyama, who was making his welterweight debut. Now, even after that win, Shields is still returning to the more desirable division. Fuel TV’s “UFC Tonight” first reported the move, specifically referencing Shields’ desire to have the pre-fight weight cut take less of a toll on his body. The former Strikeforce middleweight champion and EliteXC welterweight champion enjoyed a 14-fight win streak from 2005 to 2010 in both organizations, including a 2-0 record at middleweight. Shields won the Strikeforce middleweight title after defeating Jason “Mayhem” Miller via unanimous decision in November 2009. He then defended his crown against Dan Henderson in April 2010, upsetting the MMA legend by decision. After being knocked down in the first round, Shields recovered and went on to dominate the former Pride champion the remaining four rounds. While an opponent was not announced, Shields is expected to return to action in August. As of now, just one event has been announced for August, UFC on Fox 4 on August 4th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

Posted in: ufc, shield, welterweight, dan henderson, middleweight

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When most fighters talk about shifting weight classes, the direction is typically dropping down. Not for Jake Shields, however. He's considering a move back up to middleweight.

Posted in: jake shields, shield, jake, middleweight, weight classes

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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) number one Welterweight (170 pounds) contender Jake Shields will make the move back up to Middleweight (185 pounds) effective immediately. The announcement was made tonight (March 27, 2012) on FUEL TV's "UFC Tonight" weekly broadcast. No potential opponent for Shields was announced nor is known at this time. Shields, who is coming off a unanimous decision win over Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 144 on Feb. 25, 2012, has spent time at both welterweight and middleweight over the course of his 34-fight professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career. According to the report, Shields feels healthier at 185 pounds, revealing that the weight cut down to 170 pounds is just too much for him. The plan, reportedly, is for Shields -- who is a former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion -- to add more muscle to his frame, and then return to the Octagon in late summer (either July or August 2012). UFC.com had the following official press release on Shields' return to the 185-pound division: "The Californian is no stranger to middleweight though, having won a Strikeforce title there, and among his victims in the division are Dan Henderson Jason Miller, and Robbie Lawler. Shields is coming off a UFC 144 win over Yoshihiro Akiyama in February." Since Shields debuted for the UFC in Oct. 2010, the Cesar Gracie team member (and "Scrap Pack" alum) has gone 2-2, notching victories over the aforementioned Akiyama and Martin Kampmann, while suffering defeat at the hands of Jake Ellenberger and UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre. While he did lose to "GSP," many considered it to be the closest anyone has fought the Canadian juggernaut in a very long time. Nonetheless, the switch presents an interesting opportunity for a rematch between Shields and Dan Henderson, who lost his belt to Shields while both fighters fought under the Strikeforce banner. "Hendo" had recently commented on his dissatisfaction with the UFC's decision to give Rashad Evans the next crack at Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones' belt at UFC 145 on Apr. 21, 2012, expressing that he believes himself to be a more worthy contender. Perhaps he'll be interested in a exacting revenge. Even if he is not, there are certainly plenty of other intriguing match ups for Shields at 185 pounds. And, of course, there is always "Mayhem," who nearly scored a submission victory over Shields and then almost got killed in the cage requesting a rematch.

Posted in: ufc, shield, pound, middleweight, yoshihiro akiyama

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UFC President Dana White said last week that the Anderson Silva-Chael Sonnen rematch will take place in a Rio soccer stadium big enough to break the promotion's all-time attendance record, and the UFC is already hyping the fight as the biggest in history. I wouldn't go quite that far, but I do wonder if it's the last challenge at middleweight for the greatest champion in UFC history. Silva has so dominated the middleweight division that Sonnen is just about the only opponent who has even made Silva break a sweat inside the Octagon. So as I rank the best middleweights in MMA, I'll look at whether any of them could potentially beat Silva down the road, or whether the rematch with Sonnen is the last chance we'll have to see someone who can really threaten the best fighter the UFC has ever seen. Top 10 Middleweights in MMA 1. Anderson Silva: The best fighter in the world turns 37 in April and has talked about retiring. If he beats Sonnen in the rematch would he consider doing what so few fighters ever do and retire on top? 2. Chael Sonnen: Sonnen wasn't at his best in defeating Michael Bisping in January, but he's now beaten two Top 10 opponents since returning from his suspension and has earned another shot at Silva. 3. Vitor Belfort: Belfort hits as hard as anyone at 185 pounds, and I think he'll crush Wanderlei Silva. But I'm not all that interested in seeing the rematch with Anderson Silva that Belfort wants. Silva knocked Belfort out in spectacular fashion last time, and I think he'd do it again. 4. Mark Munoz: Munoz is an option as a future opponent for Silva: He has the great wrestling and is currently riding a four-fight winning streak. But realistically, it's hard to see Munoz as much of a challenge to Silva. If you get knocked cold by a Matt Hamill head kick, what's an Anderson Silva head kick going to do to you? 5. Luke Rockhold: The Strikeforce middleweight champion has a good chance of reigning over the division as long as Strikeforce lasts. It would be better to see him take on some of the best in the UFC, although I think the likes of Silva, Sonnen and Belfort would beat him handily. 6. Michael Bisping: Bisping put up a good fight in his loss to Sonnen and will try to rebound against Tim Boetsch at UFC 148. Bisping has always seemed to be just on the periphery of title contention without ever getting there. 7. Hector Lombard: The Bellator middleweight champion has even fewer good opponents available to him than Rockhold has in Strikeforce. I'd love to see Lombard, who's an incredible 24-0-1 in his last 25 fights, step into the Octagon, although I think he'd get messed up by Silva. 8. Brian Stann: After taking a tough loss from Sonnen, Stann will be back against Alessio Sakara in April. Stann is a fighter the UFC would love to promote as a title contender, but it's not realistic to think he could ever be on Silva's level. 9. Chris Weidman: After beating by far the best opponent of his career in Demian Maia, Weidman is a perfect 8-0. At age 27 he may become a middleweight title contender some day, but that day will likely be after Anderson Silva has hung up the gloves. 10. Tim Boetsch: I loved the heart Boetsch showed in his comeback win over Yushin Okami. He's now 3-0 since dropping down to middleweight.

Posted in: ufc, silva, middleweight, sonnen, anderson

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Middleweight Anthony Johnson, cut by the UFC after missing weight for his UFC 142 bout against Vitor Belfort by 11 pounds, will face fellow UFC vet Dave Branch in a middleweight bout at Titan Fighting Championships 22 on May 25. The fight will live air on HDNet at 10 p.m. ET. Titan FC CEO Joe Kelly announced the fight last night. "Anthony Johnson and David Branch are two of the most aggressive, powerful and athletic middleweights in the world, and to have this as the main event of Titan 22 is a defining moment for this brand," said Kelly. "Titan 22 is going to end with Rumble vs. Branch, but wait until you see the fights leading up to it, there will be more familiar faces and I will be announcing more incredible matchups soon." "David Branch versus Anthony "Rumble" Johnson is the kind of matchmaking that makes Titan Fighting Championship one of the premier MMA organizations in the world," said Andrew Simon, CEO of HDNet Fights. "Both of these guys have something to prove and they know a win on HDNet puts them right back into the conversation of the top MMA middleweights." Johnson (10-4, 7-4 UFC) mostly fought in the UFC at welterweight where he had repeated problems making the 170lb limit. He hoped to put the weight cutting issues behind him by moving up to the 185lb middleweight class but his weight-making troubles followed him to the new division. Branch (10-2, 2-2 UFC) is a BJJ black belt under Renzo Gracie and is 2-0 since being cut by the Big Show.

Posted in: ufc, johnson, titan, middleweight, branch

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Marcelo "Magrao" Guimaraes (7-0), the # 2 middleweight prospect in the 2012 BE Scouting Report, has signed with the UFC and will make his debut in July according to Tatame. Guimaraes is the current Jungle Fight middleweight champion.

Posted in: prospect, middleweight, marcelo, guimarae, tatame guimaraes

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Rich Franklin’s quest to get another shot at the UFC middleweight title begins later this year when he meets Cung Le. Franklin, a former champion in the division, will be returning after over a year off due to shoulder surgery when he meets Le at UFC 148. After bouncing around weight classes, “Ace” decided to approach the UFC about returning to middleweight and putting together what he called a “Cinderella story” in a recent interview with MMAWeekly.com. After the injury, I was talking to Monte Cox and I said what would the UFC think about me moving back down to 185? If I was able to put a title run together, even if they did do another rematch with Anderson (Silva) and I, there’s been enough time at this point that there would be interest in the fight. That would be my Cinderella story. It would be great. Franklin has met “The Spider” twice, with Silva earning a first round knockout and a second round TKO. The first cost Franklin his UFC middleweight title. With the number of challengers for Silva starting to add up, it remains a shot-in-the-dark that Franklin ever receives a third opportunity. However, a win over a contender such as Mark Munoz or Michael Bisping down the road could lead to that meeting Franklin is chasing. Photo credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog

Posted in: ufc, title, silva, middleweight, franklin

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Believe it or not, there was a time when Anderson Silva wasn't the king of the middleweight mountain. Indeed, rewind back to 2005 and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) promoters thought they had the sport's next big megastar in Rich Franklin, who defeated Evan Tanner for the 185-pound championship at UFC 53. In fact, stories abound that the powers that be did their very best to protect "Ace" from losing the strap because they saw him as the potential poster boy for the promotion, a clean cut, good looking, well-spoken former teacher from Cincinnati. But along came a "Spider" and his bite changed everything. Franklin started his mixed martial arts (MMA) career with a stellar record of 22-1. Then he ran into Silva and not only did he lose the middleweight title, he was systematically destroyed in the rematch one year later, effectively ending his run in the division and sending him into catchweight purgatory. Now, though, Franklin tells MMAWeekly.com he feels enough time has gone by that he can finally return to his old stomping grounds and make one more run at the belt, even if it's still strapped firmly around Silva's waist. "After this injury, I was talking to Monte Cox and I said, 'what would the UFC think about me moving back down to 185?' I think at this point in time, in their minds, if I was able to put a title run together, even if they did do another rematch between Anderson (Silva) and I, there's been enough time at this point there would be interest in the fight, and I guess that's what the interest is now. ... Hopefully, this is where I'll finish my career." If another title run sounds improbable to you, you're not the only one. In fact, Franklin himself admitted it would be a "Cinderella story" if he's able to accomplish this final goal before he calls it a career. The first stop on his second tour at 185-pounds is a match-up against former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le at UFC 148 on July 7 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. There's no telling how far away from a title shot he may be, or if it's even something UFC President Dana White would consider, but an impressive win against an exciting striker like Le could get the people talking. Enough to demand a trilogy against Silva though? You tell us, Maniacs. Do you dig Franklin back at 185-pounds? And would you pay for another fight against the man widely considered the pound-for-pound best in the world, maybe in history? Sound off.

Posted in: ufc, title, silva, middleweight, franklin

Read the full article at MMA Mania

Rich Franklin has not fought in the Middleweight division since 2008. That will all change on July 7 when he meets Cung Le at UFC 148, which is scheduled to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. While fight at Middleweight, Franklin captured the UFC title, defeating Evan Tanner at UFC 53. He would defend the title twice, knocking out Nate Quarry and beating David Loiseau via unanimous decision. Franklin would lose the title in his next bout, falling to Anderson Silva at the 2:59 mark of

Posted in: ufc, title, middleweight, franklin, middleweight franklin

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Rich Franklin wants to make one more run at the UFC middleweight title and hopes to close out his career at 185 pounds.

Posted in: ufc, pound, title, middleweight, franklin

Read the full article at MMA Weekly

Post-fight interviews can be a fascinating bit of performance art to watch. Whether it's Sonnen-esque declarations or Volkmann-like train wrecks, in the aftermath of wrecking another human being, anything is fair game. So when Brian Rogers' knee separated Vitor Vianna from consciousness late in the first round at Friday's Bellator 62 event, everyone knew the possibility for interview gold was in play. "That's my third flying knee knockout," Rogers went on to proclaim. "Google it! I'm going to throw it, and you're not going to stop me." Of course, the more he demanded you ‘Google it,' the more fight fans loved it. In fact, days later Rogers is still hearing about the meme-worthy phrase. "It popped in my head and it's just something I've been laughing about for a while," Rogers said with a chuckle on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour. "I had a couple different shirts made a few years ago. One said ‘I'm legit' and one said ‘Google me.' I've used that on my banner before, with like a cartoon version of me with the hair and a little predator sitting on my shoulder." Between all the googling and Rogers' stunning knockout, Friday marked a perfect start to this year's Bellator tournament run for the 28-year-old middleweight. It also provided a necessary reprieve from last year's trip, which ended prematurely with a TKO setback to eventual Season 5 winner Alexander Shlemenko. Though, if moral victories exist in sports, the loss to Shlemenko would be counted among them. "It just gave me confidence in my abilities," Rogers explained. "That, even though it was a loss, I could compete with the best guys in the world. Alexander Schlemenko is probably a top-15 or top-20 middleweight. "So it just kind of let me know that I belong on that stage." "The Predator" now heads to his home state of Ohio to take on unbeaten Bruno Santos at Bellator 66, with a spot in Season 6's middleweight finals up for grabs. And with Bellator's 185-pound division in flux, and reigning champion Hector Lombard mired in a shaky contract situation, a tournament victory would be a monumental step in Rogers' young career -- which is somewhat surprising given that he never even expected to be here. A year ago Rogers was fresh off an impressive first-round TKO win over Ian Rammel at Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson. The bout was his first with a bigtime promotion, and after such an stirring debut, he anticipated a call back. It never came. In retrospect, in the backdrop of the Zuffa-Strikeforce acquisition, bad timing was the most likely culprit. "They got rid of Rich Chou, who was the Strikeforce matchmaker at the time," Rogers said. "They told me they were interested and I'd be hearing from them, but I feel like I just got lost in the shuffle with the Zuffa purchase. Rather than wait around, Bellator offered me an opportunity and I ran with it." While the tournament format has its own faults, Rogers echoed the sentiments of new Bellator featherweight champion Pat Curran, lauding the straight-forward nature of earning your own title shot. "I like that you can make it happen for yourself," Rogers mused. "100-percent. You literally control your own destiny." "You know if you win this month, you have a fight the very next month, and you know what you're looking at getting paid and everything like that. So you can make your cash and make your name throughout the tournament."

Posted in: bellator, year, tournament, roger, middleweight

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Tim Boetsch’s dramatic come-from-behind TKO victory over Yushin Okami at UFC 144 has earned him a shot at another one of the UFC’s top middleweights. The UFC announced today that Boetsch will take on none other than Michael Bisping at UFC 148 in a middleweight fight that could have “major title implications.” In another middleweight matchup, top ten middleweights Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch and Michael “The Count” Bisping will square off in a battle that could have major implications for the 185 title picture. Many Bisping haters have longed to see him get knocked out again ever since Dan Henderson dropped him like a sack of potatoes at UFC 100. Tim Boetsch certainly has the power to do that, but it definitely won’t come easy if it comes at all. The UFC also announced today that Renan Barao will take on Jeff Hougland in a bantamweight bout on the card. Rich Franklin vs. Cung Le was announced last night. Image via Esther Lin for MMA Fighting

Posted in: ufc, bisping, boetsch, middleweight, tim

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Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin is dropping back to middleweight to face former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le at UFC 148. In addition, UFC lightweight contenders Gray Maynard and Clay Guida will meet in a five-round main event at UFC on FX 3, the UFC announced Sunday. UFC 148 will take place July 7th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. An unnamed UFC on FX event was previously announced to being held in Atlantic City, N.J., but no venue has been named as of this time. Franklin, 37, last fought at UFC 126 in February of last year, losing a decision to former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin. The Ohio native was originally scheduled to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 133 in August of 2011, but was forced to withdraw due to a torn labrum. Franklin's return against Le marks his first fight at middleweight since defeating Travis Lutter at UFC 83 in April of 2008. However, the former middleweight champion fought two catchweight bouts of 195 pounds in 2009 against Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort. Le, 39, is still looking for his first UFC win in what will be his second fight inside the Octagon. The former Strikeforce champion faced Wanderlei Silva at UFC 139, losing in the third round by TKO due to strikes. Both Maynard, 32, and Guida, 30, enter their fight having most recently suffered losses. Maynard returns to action after losing to now former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar at UFC 136 in October of 2011. The former Michigan State wrestler also left his longtime camp Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Nevada for Nova Uniao under the direction of Andre Pedernerias. Guida has not fought since losing a number-one contender match to now UFC lightweight champion Ben Henderson at UFC on FOX 1 in November of 2011. The bout between Maynard and Guida will serve as the main event for the UFC on FX and is scheduled for five, five-minute rounds.

Posted in: ufc, fight, champion, middleweight, maynard

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It seems “The Barbarian” is getting his wish, as Tim Boetsch is set to face Michael Bisping at UFC 148 in July. After openly campaigning for a matchup with “The Count”, Boetsch will now face Bisping in a middleweight bout to take place on July 7th. Boetsch (15-4) was probably very convincing, likely showing tape of the uppercuts he landed against Yushin Okami at UFC 144 in February. Boetsch earned the biggest win of his career, defeating the former middleweight title contender in the third round after being pummeled throughout the first two rounds. The win continued his winning streak since moving down to middleweight after a loss to Phil Davis at light heavyweight in November 2010. Since the transition, Boetsch has won three straight, with wins over Okami, Nick Ring, and Kendall Grove. The graduate of Lock Haven University has had much more success in his second go-round in the organization, after having gone 2-2 in his first stint. Boetsch will face Bisping (22-4), who is coming off a tough loss against Chael Sonnen at UFC on Fox 2 in January. Prior to that, Bisping had won four consecutive fights, which included wins over Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Yoshihiro Akiyama. The winner of The Ultimate Fighter season 3, Bisping has become the most successful British fighter in UFC history. The outspoken Brit has become a top contender since dropping to middleweight in 2008, but was unsuccessful in earning a title shot against Sonnen earlier this year. UFC 148 takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on July 7th in Las Vegas. The event will be headlined by a bantamweight championship bout between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber, along with another middleweight matchup between Rich Franklin and Cung Le. For complete coverage of UFC 148, stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com

Posted in: ufc, bisping, boetsch, middleweight, july

Read the full article at MMA Frenzy

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced today on its website a pair of bouts to be contested this summer had been reached by verbal agreement. Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin is dropping back to middleweight and returning for injury layoff to face former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le at UFC 148. In addition, UFC lightweight contenders Gray Maynard and Clay Guida will meet in a five round main event at UFC on FX 3. UFC 148 will take place July 7th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC on FX 4 was previously announced to being held in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but no venue has been named as of this time. Franklin, 37, last fought at UFC 126 in February of last year, losing a decision to former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin. The Ohio native was originally scheduled to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 133 in August of 2011, but was forced to withdraw due to a torn labrum. Franklin's return against Le marks his first fight at middleweight since defeating Travis Lutter at UFC 83 in April of 2008. However, the former middleweight champion fought two catchweight bouts of 195 pounds in 2009 against Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort. Le, 39, is still looking for his first UFC win in what will be his second fight inside the Octagon. The former Strikeforce champion faced Wanderlei Silva at UFC 139, losing in the third round by TKO due to strikes. Both Maynard, 32, and Guida, 32, enter their fight having most recently suffered losses. Maynard returns to action after losing to now former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar at UFC 136 in October of 2011. The former Michigan State wrestler also left his longtime camp Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Nevada for Nova Uniao under the direction of Andre Pedernerias. Guida has not fought since losing a number-one contender match to now UFC lightweight champion Ben Henderson at UFC on FOX 1 in November of 2011. The bout between Maynard and Guida will serve as the main event for UFC on FX 3 and is scheduled for five, five-minute rounds.

Posted in: ufc, champion, middleweight, maynard, guida

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The UFC's annual Independence Day card is generally one of the biggest cards of the year, and the UFC announced the first official bout for it today. Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin will make his return to 185 and take on former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le at UFC 148. UFC.com shared the news along with the Clay Guida vs. Gray Maynard matchup: UFC 148 on July 7th will feature a middleweight showdown between former champion Rich Franklin and striking standout Cung Le. Franklin hasn't competed in over a year, when he dropped a decision to Forrest Griffin at UFC 126. He was expected to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 133, but a late injury to Nogueira forced the bout to be scrapped. Shortly after that, Franklin injured his shoulder and underwent surgery in October. This will be his first middleweight bout in almost four years, with the last being a TKO win over Travis Lutter at UFC 83. Le signed with the UFC last year after an extended break from fighting due to his acting schedule. He was expected to debut against Vitor Belfort at UFC 139, but an injury changed that to a bout with Wanderlei Silva. He lost the bout via TKO in the second round. The only other bout rumored for the card at this point is the third fight between UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. SBN coverage of UFC 148

Posted in: ufc, bout, year, middleweight, franklin

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Four fighters moved on to the Bellator Season 6 Middleweight Tournament Semifinals after four exciting quarterfinal bouts at Bellator 61 on Friday night.

Posted in: night, bellator, fighter, middleweight, quarterfinal bouts

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The Bellator Fighting Championships Season 6 middleweight semifinals have been set, promotion officials announced Friday at the Bellator 61 post-fight press conference

Posted in: bellator, middleweight, semifinals, promotion officials, middleweight semifinals

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Bellator 61 took place tonight in Bossier City, LA. The event featured the start of the middleweight tournament with Brian Rogers delivering the highlight of the evening with a nasty flying knee knockout of Vitor Vianna. UFC veteran Maiquel Falcao, Vyacheslav Vasilevsky, and Bruno Santos also advanced with wins tonight. Hot prospect Vyacheslav Vasilevsky notched his fifteenth straight win Friday night. The two-time world SAMBO champion, recovered from a slow start to batter his opponent, Victor O’Donnell, for the last two rounds. The twenty-three year old fighter was making his US and middleweight debuts. Main Card (MTV2 and EPIX HD) Middleweight Quarterfinal: Maiquel Falcao def. Norman Paraisy via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Middleweight Quarterfinal: Vyacheslav Vasilevsky def. Victor O’Donnell via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28 Middleweight Quarterfinal: Bruno Santos def. Giva Santana via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) Middleweight Quarterfinal: Brian Rogers def. Vitor Vianna via knockout (flying knee) 4:14 of Round 1 Local Card (Spike.com) Josh Quayhagen def. Brent Taylor via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) * Derrick Krantz def. Eric Scallan via technical submission (brabo choke)  3:01 of Round 1 Jason Sampson def. Jeremy Myers via submission (rear-naked choke)  2:25 of Round 3 Trey Houston def. Jeremiah Riggs via submission (armbar) 3:30 of Round 1 *took place after the main event

Posted in: decision, middleweight, quarterfinal, vasilevsky,  round

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As with every major show, Bloody Elbow will be here to bring you live results, play by play and commentary for Bellator 60. Our live coverage will start with MTV 2 broadcast (8 p.m. ET) so make sure to make Bloody Elbow your home for this event. We will not be doing play-by-play of the undercard, but you can discuss those fights in the comments as well. That undercard stream runs on Bellator.com and Spike.com and begins at 7 p.m ET. Due to the strange cancellation of the re-match between Thiago Santos and Eric Prindle, tonight's main event is a middleweight tournament quarterfinal bout between Maiquel Falcao and Norman Paraisy. The rest of the main card has the other middleweight quarterfinal bouts. Giva Santana will open up the television bout as he takes on Bruno Santos, the #5 ranked middleweight prospect from the 2011 Bloody Elbow Scouting Report. Vyacheslav Vasilevsky, the #4 ranked middleweight prospect from the same 2011 report, will fight Victor O'Donnell, the #9 ranked middleweight prospect from that awesome 2011 report. The now-shorn-of-his-amazing-dreadlocks Brian Rogers will battle Vitor Vianna, the Season 5 MW tournament finalist and #3 ranked prospect from the 2011 report in the third main card bout. Hit the jump for the live play-by-play and results. Have a fun time in the comments as we settle down for this night of fights. Giva Santana vs. Bruno SantosSeason 6 Middleweight Quarterfinal Round 1: Round 2: Round 3: Vyacheslav Vasilevsky vs. Victor O'DonnellSeason 6 Middleweight Quarterfinal Round 1: Round 2: Round 3: Vitor Vianna vs. Brian RogersSeason 6 Middleweight Quarterfinal Round 1: Round 2: Round 3: Maiquel Falcao vs. Norman ParaisySeason 6 Middleweight Quarterfinal Round 1: Round 2: Round 3:

Posted in: round, vs, middleweight, quarterfinal, middleweight prospect

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Greetings all,The sixth season of Bellator Fighting Championships kicked off with Bellator 60 last Friday, featuring Pat Curran winning the featherweight championship from Joe Warren and also seeing the opening round of the featherweight tournament.The season continues with Bellator 61 going down tonight in Bossier City, Louisiana. The preliminary fights get underway 6:00 PM local time (Central time), which translates to 7:00 PM on the east coast, 4:00 PM on the west coast. If you are watching in the UK the action begins when the clock strikes midnight. The event features the first round of the season six middleweight tournament, which includes former UFC fighter Maiquel Falcao. Also fighting are three highly regarded welterweight prospects from the Bloody Elbow World MMA Scouting Report: Vitor Vianna, Vyacheslav Vasilevsky, Victor O'Donnell and Bruno Santos. All four appeared on the 2011 version of the report, with Vianna, Vasilevsky and Santos all rated as better prospects than current UFC middleweight Costa Phillipou. If the success that Phillipou has had this year in the UFC is any indication of the level of talent these guys have, we could easily be seeing the future of the middleweight division in action tonight. And lest I forget, the male version of Ronda Rousey is also competing in the tournament, as Giva Santana has finished a ridiculous 13 of his 17 wins by armbar. The only downside? He's 40, so the rigors of the tournament could be tough for him to overcome. You can catch all the preliminary action at Spike.com and Bellator.com. After an hour of prelims, the main card can be seen on MTV 2 and Epix.The scheduled fight card and some questions to keep in mind during the event after the jump Here is the fight schedule: Catchweight (165 lbs) bout: Brent Taylor vs Josh QuayhagenMiddleweight bout: Trey Houston vs Jeremiah RiggsWelterweight bout: Derrick Krantz vs Eric Scallan Catchweight (140 lbs) bout: Jeremy Myers vs Jason Sampson Middleweight Quarterfinal bout: Giva Santana vs Bruno SantosMiddleweight Quarterfinal bout: Brian Rogers vs Vitor Vianna Middleweight Quarterfinal bout: Victor O'Donnell vs Vyacheslav VasilevskyMiddleweight Quarterfinal bout: Maiquel Falcao vs Norman Paraisy A FEW QUESTIONS TO KEEP IN MIND DURING THE EVENT: 1. Does Bellator have more young talent at middleweight than the UFC?As mentioned above, half the guys in this tournament are highly regarded prospects. No one wants to talk about it, but most of the best fighters in the UFC are all growing old together, and the organization has far less young talent in the heavier weight classes than it would like to admit. Chris Weidman and Alan Belcher are the best young middleweights under 30 in the UFC, but after them? Not a single guy in the top 25. Yikes. Bellator has assembled a group of fighters that the UFC would probably like to have on their roster. Of course you won't hear it from them. 2. Will Maiquel Falcao finally perform on the American Stage?Falcao is the headliner and probably the biggest name in the tournament. He brings a lot of violence, although he did not deliver much of it in his one fight in the UFC when he earned a decision victory over Gerald Harris (Falcao did have Harris in a fully locked in rear naked choke at the end of the first round but a timekeeping error robbed him of the precious few seconds he had left in the round to earn the finish). This is only his second fight in America and while it isn't completely necessary for him to get a finish, it would go along way towards legitimizing him as a top middleweight. Complicating matters is the fact that he is going to be fighting for the first time since suffering a heart attack in November of last year. I will be watching him very carefully.3. Will the event run a little smoother than last week?I heard a decent amount of complaining from the MMA twitterverse about the length of time in between fights last week. I understand that things need to be planned out and the live show is different from the one that is shown on TV but part of being a world class promotion is making sure that you can hold the viewer's attention. Especially on a night like tonight, when Bellator is going up against The Ultimate Fighter on FX. I hope to see a little more fighting and a little less of the other stuff this week. Join us here at Head Kick Legend to discuss these questions and everything else that arises from the event.

Posted in: ufc, bellator, bout, vs, middleweight

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According to the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, by rolling a die you open up at least six potential future timelines but unless you are Luke Rhinehart, the appearance of a six instead of a three probably won’t affect your life. However if you were a stockbroker, there’s every chance using a die to decide which stocks to buy and sell could improve your career. It certainly couldn’t hurt. “But what does this have to do with MMA?” I hear you cry. Well, if there’s one thing the MiddleEasy staff love to talk about more than MMA, it's food. If there are two things; they are food and science fiction. After discussing the many-worlds theory we wondered what would happen when you combine a fighter’s unflinching confidence that they will win with the infinite possibilities in a multiverse. With the Bellator season six middleweight tournament just around the corner, we are provided the perfect opportunity to examine each fighter as if they existed in their own self-determined universe before watching these bubble universes collide on live television. There are eight fighters in the tournament so at least eight possible futures opened up when the matches were made. Through the magic of imagination, we’re there; the fighters are in the cage and we join them for the post fight announcements. Perhaps in another universe Maiquel Falcao isn’t released from the UFC for reasons relating to his 2002 assault, things could be very different. That's a thought experiment for another day however; right now we're concerned with the potential parallel universes which stem from this tournament. In this timeline, the crowd roars as one-time UFC fighter Maiquel Falcao’s hand is raised with Jimmy Lennon Jr.’s distinctive voice in the background. “What a fight!” yells Sean Wheelock before passing over to his broadcasting partner Jimmy Smith inside the cage. After the obligatory replay of his first round knockout victory, Jimmy Smith asks Falcao who he would prefer to fight next in his bracket. Upon hearing from his translator what Smith has asked him, Falcao, with a focus only on honey replies, “I don’t care. I want Hector Lombard”, and walks out of the cage. The outcome of the fight could have been predicted, given his record of winning almost all of his fights in the first round by knockout. Calling out the Bellator middleweight champion? Not so much.   Maybe it was the unanimous decision win over former WEC champion Paulo Filho. Perhaps the Cage Warriors 43 KO win over Jack Mason did it. Whatever it was, at some point after losing to Dave Menne back at Bellator 34 Norman Paraisy stopped being known as “that French guy from TUF” and started being seen as a genuine threat. Standing in the centre of the cage with his arm raised, visibly drained from the grueling three-round ground battle he has just won by unanimous decision, he gets the respect of the fans. In retrospect, maybe he shouldn’t have gone for that flying knee which had led to him being taken down and probably losing the third round but nonetheless, he’s just eliminated one of the favourites to win this tournament. Whoever he drawn next, he knows that he’s gone one stage further than most people predicted.   Although this sport as known as mixed martial arts, with proponents often emphasizing the ‘mixed’ aspect, it’s rare to see a 2nd degree BJJ black belt with the calm and patient striking of Vitor Vianna but then again, he is the main training partner for Wanderlei Silva. This makes opponents wary of both striking with him and taking him down. The post-fight replay shown to the crowd enforces this, as we see Brian Rogers’s strategy of pressing Vianna into the cage and dirty boxing his way to victory backfire in the second round.. A simple inside trip brings Rogers to the ground and in the ensuing scramble Vianna takes his back in a snake-like transition. Making it look easy, as if he was Ryan Hall fighting a drunken restaurant patron, Vianna sinks in a rear naked choke. As this replay loops, an emotional Vitor Vianna tells Jimmy Smith that he wants to finish what he started in season five by winning the tournament and taking the belt back to Wand Fight Team.   “In some ways, this fight is very similar to your season five fight with Victor O’Donnell” yells Jimmy Smith, his arm around Brian Rogers’ shoulder. “You’ve come out aggressive, thrown Vitor in to the cage with your power whizzer and eventually forced the referee to stop this fight giving you your eighth first round win by knockout. How do you feel?” “My last fight with Victor O’Donnell had a lot of haters saying it was a bad stoppage, and that I’d have lost if the referee didn’t end the fight short. I want to prove them wrong. Here’s hoping Victor can win tonight so I can meet him in the semi-finals” Rogers is visibly pumped by the win, and the camera follows him down the aisle back to the dressing room as he slaps hands with fans and celebrates earning $25,000 for less than five minutes in the cage.   Winning the M-1 Global light heavyweight strap is one thing, but to move down a division and try to win the Bellator middleweight tournament is a completely different challenge. Still slick with sweat, his sponsor’s t-shirt still only half covering him, Vyacheslav Vasilevsyn has belied the expectations people may have had based on his age by outlasting Victor O’Donnell. While troubled early by the aggression of O’Donnell, the 23-year-old Russian found his rhythm in the second round and controlled the rest of the fight by moving in and out of range, firing off stiff jabs to keep his opponent at bay and at a number of points backing him up with sloppy but effective one-two combinations. Concluding his post-fight interview he tells Jimmy Smith that he must now have his hand raised three more times before his Bellator journey is finished. As he walks out of the cage, Sean Wheelock reminds us that this was a solid display of striking from an international master of sport in Sambo and a Judo brown belt in his first fight on American soil.   Victor O’Donnell has been given a second chance to progress in a Bellator middleweight tournament after being eliminated by Brian Rogers in last year’s quarter-finals and after this victory, he is visibly excited at the prospect of avenging this loss in the semi-finals. Holding Jimmy Smith tight, he explains how he transitioned to the fight winning armbar after being thrown by Vasilevsyn with a rarely seen drop seoi nage as the footage is slowed down and displayed on the big screens in the arena and for the viewers at home. His face lights up like a three year old being presented with a huge slice of chocolate cake as Jimmy mentions Brian Rogers’ name. “This isn’t about Rogers, this is about me” he tells the crowd. “I want to fight for that belt and if Brian’s in my way, I see him as just another obstacle in my way”. Strong words follow a strong performance and the viewers at home are treated to another viewing of his armbar victory before the commercials kick in again.   Thirteen wins by armbar in an eighteen-fight long MMA career has qualified Givanildo Santana to be known as “the arm collector.” All but one of these armbar victories have come in the first round. It wasn’t as if nobody seen this coming. Bruno Santos came into the fight with a 12-0 record but left with his first loss to a first round armbar. Before the outcome is made official, the camera pans across the crowd before stopping on a fan with a home-made sign on which is penned “all your arm are belong to us”, bringing laughter from the commentary booth and everyone at home who played Zero Wing. The reigning Tachi Palace Fights middleweight champion stands in the centre of the cage with his arm raised, and likely not for the last time in this tournament. He looks defiant, as if he is saying to the rest of the middleweight fighters “your arm has no chance to survive, make your time.”   Bruno Santos The “Schrödinger's cat" paradox can be seen as a simplified version of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics in which each outcome results in the creation of a separate universe so as to accommodate for the uncertainty of both a dead and a live cat inside the box. Bruno Santos has no care for this type of paradox after winning his tenth fight in a row by unanimous decision. Entering each fight, Santos knows how the fight will end; with the referee throwing his arm in the air. Even fighting three men in one night couldn’t put a stop to his decision winning spree. For Santos, each fight is not the branch point for the birth of as many different universes as there are potential outcomes because there are no other potential outcomes. He has just beaten Giva Santana by unanimous decision and the only variable he sees in his next fight is the opponent. So, that’s just one of the many outcomes for each fighter in the Bellator middleweight tournament. The beauty of this is that we won’t know which potential timeline real life will follow, and which ones will float off alone as theoretical quantum mechanical constructs. I guess we’ll all just have to tune into MTV2 on Friday night to see which branch of reality the middleweight tournament finds itself on.

Posted in: fight, ’t, cage, tournament, middleweight

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BAMMA, Europe's leading Mixed Martial Arts promotion, is proud to announce that BAMMA 9 will be broadcast on Extreme Sports Channel in the UK. The two hour TV event will air on Saturday 31st March at 10pm GMT and will be broadcast on Sky Channel 419 and Virgin Channel 527. The broadcast adds to BAMMA's current global reach which includes HDNet in the United States, The Fight Network in Canada, Setanta in Africa and Red Media in Russia. BAMMA 9 sees BAMMA-Lonsdale's British Middleweight Champion, Jack Marshman challenge Tom 'Kong' Watson for the BAMMA World Middleweight title on Saturday 24th March at Birmingham's National Indoor Arena. BAMMA's Middleweight champs have made waves as two of the promotion's most iconic faces. Etched into UK mainstream memory as the man who beat Alex Reid at BAMMA 4, World Middleweight Champ Tom Watson is known by fight fans for his catalogue of tough victories over fighters that include the UFC's John Maguire at BAMMA 1 and Maurilo Rua whom he famously blasted into retirement at BAMMA 6. BAMMA-Lonsdale's British Middleweight Champion and serving British Armed Forces Afghan vet, Jack Marshman comes into the fight undefeated with a record of 10-0-0. Marshman wowed audiences at BAMMA 7 with his tremendous heart, after he came back from a sustained Ground 'n' Pound attack at the hands of Carl Noon, turning fortune around at the final hour to secure an unforgettable victory. The clash between BAMMA's World Middleweight and British Middleweight champions is bound to have fight fans on the edge of their seats. Extreme Sports Channel has a heritage of supporting MMA; and this deal represents the first partnership with BAMMA. BAMMA's director, David Green said: "Extreme Sports is the one-stop TV channel that showcases cutting edge sports 24-7, from snowboarding through to fighting sports, promoting grassroots heroes alongside stellar talent. British MMA with its raw, all-out attitude is well suited to Extreme and we are thrilled to have found a home there for BAMMA 9." BAMMA fans can tune into Extreme Sports Channel on Sky channel - 419 or Virgin Channel - 527 How to watch Extreme: Extreme is available through subscription to Sky's 'Entertainment plus' package. For more information, please contact Sky on 08442414243, or check out their webpage at: http://www.sky.com The channel is also available via the Virgin Media XL package. For more details on how to receive the channel on Virgin Media please check out : http://allyours.virginmedia.com/websales/product.do?id=21 or call 0845 840 7777.

Posted in: sport, middleweight, channel, bamma, sports channel

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It appears that Bellator's Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard is about to test the market as a free agent for the first time in over two years. This is an extremely exciting idea because across promotions the middleweight division is lacking a real depth of star power. A fighter of Lombard's caliber being added into the UFC's welterweight division would be fantastically exciting. This forces us to ask a question: what caliber of fighter is he? The answer to that question is slippery. Let me be perfectly clear, Hector Lombard would make one heck of a UFC fighter. Lombard certainly has the skills, prestigious power in both hands and a strong grappling background. He was a member of Cuban's Olympic Judo team which, if you are a follower of the gentle way you know, is no small feat as Cuba is a powerhouses in International Judo. On top of that he is also a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by way of American Top Team. Throw in his aggressive demeanor and he is a very intimidating man to see across the cage. The questions that surround Lombard simply stem from that we have never seen him succeed in MMA against top level competition. The only time we've seen Lombard against upper level opponents was in Pride in 2006 and those represent his two losses in MMA. The first loss came to Akihiro Gono, who by Pride rules was a Middleweight but in modern weight-classes would be a welterweight. Gono survived the early onslaught from Lombard and then took the fight over as Lombard emptied his gas tank in ardent attempts to finish. His second loss to Gegard Mousasi, Lombard showed more restraint in the early moments of the fight but ended up simply getting out grappled by the Dutchman. Now neither of these fights were crushing losses as Lombard acquitted himself well at times in both matches. And Lombard has corrected some the mental mistakes he made in those fights. For instance Lombard has adopted a much more controlled approach, today he sets up his power shots while still maintaining his aggression rather than charging in widely. Also in both fights he sacrificed position trying to force footlocks, and in both fights that decision cost him dearly. Clearly these issues were one of fighter young in MMA still learning how to fight to maximize his chances of winning. But since the fall of the Pride there are questions that haven't been answered about Lombard. He still slows down in later rounds, and considering his frame and muscle mass he is likely never to become a cardiovascular machine. While this isn't a huge concern, it does compound his other problem. We have not idea what he looks like in an MMA context against an elite grappler. How would Lombard respond to the grinding assault of a Yushin Okami, Mark Munoz or Chael Sonnen? In his entire career Lombard has not faced an elite wrestler and it seems the kind of style match that would give the Cuban fits. The hybrid attack of Chris Weidman also seems tailor made to drain Lombard's energy. While it seems clear Lombard could compete and win in the UFC, what isn't clear is if he is indeed a Top 10 Middleweight or will be able to challenge for a title in the UFC. Lombard is thirty-four and his prime is coming to an end, so if his goal is a UFC Middleweight Title he can't really afford a serious set back. I personally think a path to a title shot for Lombard would need to be very friendly and avoid wrestlers. And even if he gets a title shot, I don't think his striking will challenge Anderson Silva, who is more than equipped to handle a head hunter. But that said, I welcome the chance of Lombard in the UFC and I am positively giddy at the prospect of possible match ups with Rousimar Palhares or Tim Boetsch. I just think we all need to temper our expectations of Lombard in the UFC.

Posted in: ufc, fight, lombard, loss, middleweight

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Bellator returns for its second show of the year on Friday night, with its Season 6 middleweight tournament getting underway. The planned main event -- Thiago Santos vs. Eric Prindle to complete Bellator's Season 5 heavyweight tournament -- has been pushed back a week, but that's just as well: The middleweight action is going to be better than that heavyweight fight. What: Bellator 61 When: Friday, the MTV2-televised card begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Where: Horseshoe Riverdome, Bossier City, Louisiana Predictions on the four middleweight tournament fights below. Maiquel Falcao vs. Norman Paraisy Falcao signed with the UFC in 2010, was dropped by the promotion amid questions about a prior assault charge, and is now back in the U.S. and fighting for Bellator. He's a fearsome striker who I think has to be viewed as the favorite to win the entire tournament, and I certainly think he'll beat Paraisy, who's a fine fighter but not really on the same level as Falcao. Pick: Falcao Vitor Vianna vs. Brian Rogers Rogers and Vianna both lost to Alexander Shlemenko in last season's middleweight tournament, and now they draw each other in the first round of this season's tournament. Rogers hits hard enough that he could put Vianna in some trouble standing up, but Vianna is a world-class Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner and I think he'll make Rogers tap. Pick: Viana Vyacheslav Vasilevsky vs. Victor O'Donnell O'Donnell is back after losing to Rogers in last year's Bellator middleweight tournament, and he gets a tough draw in Vasilevsky, a very exciting prospect who is currently on a 14-fight winning streak but has never fought outside Eastern Europe. It's possible that O'Donnell could take Vasilevsky down and submit him but I think Vasilevsky will prove to be too good a striker and win by TKO. Pick: Vasilevsky Giva Santana vs. Bruno Santos I was extremely excited when Bellator signed Santana, who's nicknamed "The Arm Collector" because he's won 13 fights by armbar while building up a 17-1 record. The 12-0 Santos may be savvy enough to avoid falling into Santana's trap, but I believe Santana will win even if he can't force Santos to tap. Pick: Santana

Posted in: bellator, tournament, roger, middleweight, vasilevsky

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All Season 6 middleweight tournament participants hit their contracted marks at the Bellator 61 weigh-ins on Thursday, save for Maiquel Falcao, who tipped the scales at 186.6 pounds prior to his clash with former Season 1 welterweight tournament qualifier Norman Paraisy (186).

Posted in: maiquel falcao, tournament, season, bellator, middleweight

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All Season 6 middleweight tournament participants hit their contracted marks at the Bellator 61 weigh-ins on Thursday.

Posted in: bellator, tournament, middleweight, point, participant

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All Season 6 middleweight tournament participants hit their contracted marks at the Bellator 61 weigh-ins on Thursday, though it took Maiquel Falcao a second attempt to make his required weight.

Posted in: bellator, tournament, middleweight, falcao, maiquel falcao

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Bellator 61 takes place tomorrow night live from Bossier City, LA. Despite the main event being delayed, the card is still loaded with talent as the Season 6 middleweight tournament kicks off. Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy for full coverage of tomorrow night’s MTV2 (EPIX for HD) aired card. Main Card (MTV2 and EPIX HD) Middleweight Quarterfinal bout: Maiquel Falcao (186.6)* vs. Norman Paraisy (186) Middleweight Quarterfinal bout: Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (185.6) vs. Victor O’Donnell (186) Middleweight Quarterfinal bout: Giva Santana (186) vs. Bruno Santos (185.2) Middleweight Quarterfinal bout: Vitor Vianna (185.6) vs. Brian Rogers (186) Local Card (Spike.com) Catchweight bout (165lbs.): Brent Taylor (165.2) vs. Josh Quayhagen (164.6) Welterweight bout: Derrick Krantz (170.4) vs. Eric Scallan (170.4) Catchweight bout (140lbs.): Jeremy Myers (141) vs. Jason Sampson (134.6) Middleweight bout: Trey Houston (185) vs. Jeremiah Riggs (185.8) *Falcao has two hours to make weight

Posted in: bout, vs, card, middleweight, quarterfinal

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In an interview with MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani, Ed Soares has confirmed that Roger Gracie is signing with Black House management and more importantly, he is dropping to the 185 pound Middleweight Division. This is not the most shocking news as it has been rumored Gracie had been mulling a weight drop for some time and he has reportedly being working members of Black House, including UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva on Tatame.com a few months ago. Roger's run at Light Heavyweight sparked some hope for the resurgence of the Gracie family legend, but his biggest wins were over an aged Kevin Randleman and Trevor Prangley. In his most recent fight with Muhammed Lawal, Gracie was knocked out within the first round. For Gracie, this move makes a great deal of sense, for while he is long and tall, he lacks the heft and mass that the majority of elite Light Heavyweights enjoy. It is likely in any major fight Gracie entered at 205 lbs he would have been at a serious strength and size disadvantage. Furthermore, the top of the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight division is populated by strong wrestlers, who would likely be able to stop the Brazilian's attempts to take him down and win the striking battle decisively, as Lawal did. At Middleweight, Gracie will be on the tallest fighters in the division at 6'4" and be on more equal footing in terms of physical strength. Throw in that the talent pool is a bit shallower at Middleweight and Gracie's grappling abilities could make him a real contender at that weight. As of right now, Gracie is still in Strikeforce which is searching for new Middleweight talent to challenge current champion Luke Rockhold after the likely Tim Kennedy title shot. The arrival of Gracie opens up the possibility of a rematch of sorts with Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, one of the handful of men to beat Gracie in a Brazilian jiu jitsu match. The match at the 2004 Mundials was a controversial one though, as Gracie broke Jacare's arm in the match only to see Jacare, who was up on points, stall out the rest of the time limit to claim the "win". It is a fight that could be an excellent and exciting title eliminator for a promotion looking for any way to generate excitement amongst a fan base that may have written certain divisions of Strikeforce off as dead.

Posted in: strikeforce, jacare, division, middleweight, gracie

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With 13 Octagon appearances to his credit, Demian Maia has become a staple of the UFC’s middleweight division since joining the promotion in 2007.

Posted in: ufc, pound, middleweight, maia, demian

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Demian Maia's days of fighting as a middleweight are over ... for now. The former 185-pound middleweight contender announced via Twitter on Wednesday that his next fight will be as a welterweight. He did not announce who he will face in his 170-pound UFC debut and when the fight will take place.Maia (15-4) has lost two of his last three fights, most recently dropping a unanimous decision to Chris Weidman at UFC on FOX 2. Since losing a middleweight title fight against Anderson Silva at UFC 112, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist is 3-2 inside the Octagon. The 34-year-old Maia holds notable UFC wins over Chael Sonnen, Dan Miller, Kendall Grove and Nate Quarry.

Posted in: ufc, fight, middleweight, maia, demian maia

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Anthony Johnson has found a new home following his release from the UFC after missing weight and losing to Vitor Belfort in his middleweight debut at UFC 142. Johnson revealed on The MMA Hour today that he has signed with Titan Fighting Championship and has his first fight scheduled for May 25 in Kansas City. He’s obviously disappointed that he’s no longer with the UFC, but seems to be taking the setback in stride. “I’m going to fight a few times and eventually come back,” he said. “There’s a time for everything and right now just isn’t my time to be with the UFC. But when my time comes again, if that’s what UFC wants, you know I’m there.” “As far as if it was fair, life isn’t fair sometimes,” he said. “You’ve got to roll with the punches. Either you can sit on your ass and cry about it or get up and do something. And I’m not going to just sit around boo-hooing and not do anything.” Johnson was 11 pounds off his mark when he weighed in for UFC 142, but says he was actually only 1.5 pounds away from 186 when his legs “stopped working” and doctors determined that it was too dangerous for him to continue his cut. Despite failing to make 185 in his first attempt, Johnson still plans on making the middleweight division his new home. He’s completely done with the welterweight division and is currently walking around now between 210-215. It’s unclear who Johnson will face on May 25. A few fighters accepted the fight said Johnson but then backed out for unknown reasons. Nevertheless, Johnson believes there are plenty of quality middleweights for him to fight outside the UFC. If he can beat those fighters and just as importantly make weight for those bouts, chances are the UFC will let him back in sooner or later. Image via MMA Junkie

Posted in: ufc, fight, time, johnson, middleweight

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Sixteen middleweights and 16 featherweights will comprise the starting field of 32 Brazilians selected for the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil. The contestants were revealed today by the UFC's Brazilian TV broadcast partner, Globo, and features mostly a host of young but unfamiliar names. Among those that might be recognizable to North American fans are former Strikeforce fighter Rodrigo Damm and IFL veteran Delson Heleno. As is customary on the U.S. version of the show, the biggest names belong to coaches Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva. The oldest (Gustavo Sampaio, 35) and youngest (Thiago Rela, 22) fighters in the field both come from the middleweight category. Meanwhile, Heleno with his 29 pro fights, is the most seasoned while 3-0 Richardson Moreira is the least experienced. The elimination round is set to debut on March 25, and will air on UFC.com. The UFC and FUEL TV have both acknowledged a hope of airing the show on television, but as of yet, a deal that would make it possible has yet to be officially announced. The full list of competitors for TUF: Brazil is as follows: MiddleweightsSergio MoraesCezar FerreiraLeonardo Mafra TeixeiraDaniel SarafianGustavo Sampaio Richardson MoreiraFabio Luiz Vital da CostaRenee ForteJoao Paulo de SouzaFrancisco DrinaldoThiago RelaCharles MaiconGilberto GalvaoThiago de Oliveira PerpetuoSamuel TrindadeDelson Heleno FeatherweightsAlexandre RamosRony Mariano BezerraGodofredo PepeyMarcos Vinicius Borges PanciniAnistavio MedeirosJohnny GoncalvesHugo VianaFernando Duarte GuerraRodrigo DammJohn TexeiraRafael BuenoWagner CamposPedro NobreFabricio de Assis Costa da SilvaDileno LopesGiovanni da Silva Santos, Jr.

Posted in: fighter, middleweight, brazil, field, middleweight category

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Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight contender Alan Belcher is known as “The Talent,” but considering his focus on local charitable ventures, it may not be long before people take notice of more than just the middleweight’s in-cage skills

Posted in: belcher, middleweight, notice, alan, talent ”

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With The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil set to debut on March 25, the UFC is trying to create some anticipation by releasing preview videos. The latest came out Sunday featuring one of the coaches, Wanderlei Silva. The short clip opens with Silva and UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos saying hi and signing autographs for fans at an outdoor press event. One of the fans asks Silva, "When are you going to kill Chael Sonnen?" and he replies, "Soon." Silva then shows up at Rio's X-Gym, giving some words of encouragement to a group of fighters that includes former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Ronaldo Souza and former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Rafael Cavalcante. Silva will coach against Vitor Belfort on the first ever TUF to record outside the U.S., expected to lead the way for future international TUFs. The two will coach featherweights and middleweights. Stateside, TUF Brazil will air on UFC.com and on Globo in Brazil. Belfort vs. Silva and the finals of the competitions will air during a summer PPV in Brazil, the same expected to be headlined by Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II. See the video after the jump.

Posted in: silva, champion, tuf, middleweight, brazil

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Sometimes it's as much a case of where you do it as much as what you're doing in the first place. And for Tim Boetsch, the hard-charging middleweight made a huge statement last night (Sat., Feb. 25, 2012) at UFC 144 against Yushin Okami that will go a long way in a relatively thin division. The UFC's 185-pound class is a weird one. The champion, Anderson Silva, is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, a man so wildly gifted and capable of doing anything that at times his aura itself paralyzes opponents. Witness Silva's hands-down, dare-you-to-swing-at-me visage moments before sending Okami to the showers, or his destructive pair of performances in the 205-pound division against Forrest Griffin and James Irvin. Last August, when I wrote that a Silva vs. Jon Jones showdown would be seriously discussed by the end of 2012, it was based on the mutual trajectories of two great fighters that will ultimately need each other, if for vastly different reasons. Silva will have to accept Jones, who seems poised to inherit the helm as the game's best fighter once "The Spider" retires. There's a lot of drop-off after the champ. The middleweights lack the depth of the lightweights, the scourge of rising young talent at welterweight, the veteran-heavy 205-pounders, and the excitement of the heavies. That's where Boetsch can take advantage. Top contender Chael Sonnen is expected to secure a rematch with Silva sometime this summer, but compared to other beltholders, betting-wise, Silva probably has more 7-1 mismatches at the sportsbook window than in any other champ's top 10. He's put a vast distance between himself and the rest of the weight class, and it doesn't help that three of the best, Luke Rockhold, Jacare Souza and Tim Kennedy, are currently mired in Strikeforce, a certifiable wasteland for the division. That's why Boetsch's comeback K.O. of Okami means a lot more than it would in any other division. It was equal parts inspiring and exciting. Personally, I'm fascinated with how they match Boetsch next. He's 3-0 at middleweight, and seems to have acclimated to the cut quite well since dropping from 205-pounds. A showdown against Mark Munoz would be a natural, because it's a win-win. Both are heavy-handed wrestlers. Boetsch probably has the better chin, Munoz the edge in takedowns, scrambles and ground-and-pound. But win or lose, Boetsch's performance Saturday night showed that with him, it isn't over until it's sure as hell over. That's the kind of guy that can generate some buzz, especially if Silva continues to steamroll title challengers. Jason Probst can be reached at Jason@jasonprobst.com or twitter.com/jasonprobst.

Posted in: silva, division, boetsch, middleweight, okami

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Middleweight mixed martial arts fighter Nate Marquardt has signed with Strikeforce.

Posted in: strikeforce, middleweight, art, marquardt, strikeforce middleweight

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Former UFC middleweight Nate Marquardt has signed with Strikeforce. The move was announced by Ariel Helwani on tonight's episode of UFC Tonight on Fuel. Fuel TV's twitter account verified the news as well: @FUELTVFUEL TV #BREAKING: @arielhelwani announced on #UFCTONIGHT - former #UFC Middleweight @NathanMarquardt has signed to @Strikeforce. Feb 22 via web Favorite Retweet Reply Marquardt, who went 10-4 in his middleweight run in the UFC, was released by the promotion shortly before UFC on Versus 4, where he was going to make his welterweight debut against Rick Story. Marquardt had issues with his testosterone replacement therapy and couldn't get his levels under the Pennsyvlania Athletic Commission's set limit, which forced Dana White to remove him from the fight (and the company) and replace him with Charlie Brenneman. Nate had signed with BAMMA a few months ago, but card delays led to him never fighting for the organization. He was released from his contract with them a few weeks ago, and will now join Strikeforce. It is unclear at this point if he will be competing at 185 or 170.

Posted in: ufc, strikeforce, nate, middleweight, marquardt

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A bout that I've been hoping to see for quite some time will finally come to fruition, as top middleweights Alan Belcher and Rousimar Palhares will face each other at the third UFC on FOX card, scheduled for May 5th in New Jersey. Belcher is 6-4 in the UFC middleweight division, although he does have two other victories in the organization, one at 195 pounds and one at 205 pounds. He has put together a three fight winning streak stretching back to 2009 despite spending considerable time on the shelf due to a serious eye injury. He returned from that injury to stop Jason Macdonald in the first round at UFC Fight Night 25 this past September. Palhares is also riding a three fight winning streak, his most recent triumph over Mike Massenzio at UFC 142. Considered one of the most dangerous submission fighters in the world, Palhares is 7-2 in his UFC career, having lost only to Dan Henderson by decision and to Nate Marquardt by TKO, although the Marquardt fight has to be considered a bit of an anomaly, as Palhares was finished after pausing to complain to the referee about potential grease on Marquardt's leg. The winner of this fight could easily find themselves as the number one contender to the middleweight title. Alan Belcher is the 14th ranked middleweight in the world. He fights out of Roufusport.Rousimar Palhares is the 15th ranked middleweight in the world. He fights out of Brazilian Top Team. UFC on FOX 3 102 Days Out: Nathan Diaz vs Jim Miller, Lightweight Division.102 Days Out: John Dodson vs Darren Uyenoyama, Flyweight Division.96 Days Out: Tony Ferguson vs Dennis Hallman, Lightweight Division.94 Days Out: Lavar Johnson vs Pat Barry, Heavyweight Division.93 Days Out: Mike Massenzio vs Karlos Vemola, Middleweight Division.92 Days Out: Louis Gaudinot vs John Lineker, Flyweight Division.88 Days Out: John Cholish vs Danny Castillo, Lightweight Division.88 Days Out: Pascal Krauss vs John Hathaway, Welterweight Division.84 Days Out: Josh Koscheck vs Johny Hendricks, Welterweight Division.83 Days Out: Alan Belcher vs Rousimar Palhares, Middleweight Division.

Posted in: ufc, day, vs, division, middleweight

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(Feb. 9, 2012) BAMMA, Europe's leading Mixed Martial Arts promotion, is excited to announce that BAMMA-Lonsdale's British Middleweight Champion, Jack Marshman, is set to challenge Tom 'Kong' Watson for the BAMMA World Middleweight belt at BAMMA 9. BAMMA 9 takes place on Saturday 24th March at Birmingham's National Indoor Arena. BAMMA's Middleweight champs have made waves as two of the promotion's most iconic faces. Etched into UK mainstream memory as the man who beat Alex Reid at BAMMA 4, World Middleweight Champ Tom Watson is known by fight fans for his catalogue of tough victories over fighters that include the UFC's John Maguire at BAMMA 1 and Maurilo Rua whom he famously blasted into retirement at BAMMA 6. BAMMA-Lonsdale's British Middleweight Champion and serving British Armed Forces Afghan vet, Jack Marshman comes into the fight undefeated with a record of 10-0-0. Marshman wowed audiences at BAMMA 7 with his tremendous heart, after he came back from a sustained Ground 'n' Pound battering at the hands of Carl Noon, turning fortune around at the final hour to secure an unforgettable victory. Marshman went on to a three round war at BAMMA 8 in which he defeated title challenger Leeroy Barnes, who will be also fighting at BAMMA 9 against Nick Nembhard. The clash between BAMMA's World Middleweight and British Middleweight champions is bound to have fight fans on the edge of their seats. BAMMA Matchmaker, Jude Samuel, says: "It's great to see Tom Watson back in action at BAMMA to defend his title after time out due to injury. It's a true testament to his gritty and hardworking character that he has stood up to the challenge of Jack Marshman. Jack will be looking to take advantage of Tom's inactivity, but ring rust is something that Watson has never suffered from; while Jack, on the other hand, has been extremely busy over the past 7 months, honing his skills for such a test. This makes for a very interesting and explosive fight as both men are putting so much on the line." MAIN EVENT 185 lbs.: JACK MARSHMAN VS TOM WATSON MAIN CARD 185 lbs.: ANDREW PUNSHON VS MATT HOWARD205 lbs.: FRASER OPIE VS ANTHONY TAYLOR155 lbs.: JASON BALL VS COLIN FREAKSHOW FLETCHER185 lbs.: NICK NEMBHARD VS LEEROY BARNESUNDERCARD 170 lbs.: RUS SMITH VS TOM BREESE155 lbs.: CHRIS FISHGOLD VS DALE HARDIMAN265 lbs.: MARC GODBEER VS CATALIN ZMARANDESCU185 lbs.: LEE JOHNSON VS SAM HOOKER155 lbs.: ROBERT TRUESDALE VS SAM MENSAH155 lbs.: JAKE MURPHY VS DAVID ROUND For more on BAMMA 9 click here.

Posted in: vs, lb, middleweight, bamma, tom

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Remember Super Fight League, that show in India to be headlined by Bob Sapp vs. James Thompson? They're promising to be a different mix of spectacle and sport, and while one would think that they've already accomplished that with their headliner, it looks like there's a lot more planned for the event. MMA isn't as popular in India as it is on other Asian countries, but the show, which will be run by millionaire tycoon Raj Kundra, actor Sanjay Dutt, and MMA agent Ken Pavia, will have different ways to gather in the crowd. They will have eight fights, but to start the show, they'll be having concerts from popular musicians in India to draw the crowd in. Another strategy they're taking is to have celebrities, personalities and popular fighters on the event. One of those personalities, as BloodyElbow.com has learned through sources close to the situation, is the "New York Bad Ass" Phil Baroni, who will be returning to the commentator's booth and will be calling the action for the March 11 event. Although not yet finalized, sources have also informed us that Jeff Osborne is being offered as Baroni's partner for play-by-play commentary. Baroni has also served as color commentator several times in the past, most notably on the recent bout between Roger Huerta and War Machine in Texas: Also on the news coming out of the Asian region, the ROAD FC 006 Middleweight Grand Prix recently concluded. Following an upset victory over Denis Kang last December, PRIDE vet Shungo Oyama ran through two opponents this past weekend to win the GP and take the Road FC Middleweight title. Watch all the fight videos after the jump, and don't forget to follow me on twitter -- @antontabuena. ROAD FC 006: Final 4 Opening Video: Middleweight Grand Prix Semi-Final 1: Hae Suk Son vs. Eun Soo Lee Middleweight Grand Prix Semi-Final 2: Shungo Oyama vs. Jong Dae Kim Middleweight Grand Prix Finals: Shungo Oyama vs. Hae Suk Son

Posted in: vs, middleweight, prix, baroni, color commentator

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BAMMA 9 was supposed to go down on February 11 and feature the promotional début of Nate Marquardt however that date was rescheduled and Nate subsequently negotiated his way out of his BAMMA contract. This chain of events is like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife, or a traffic jam when you’re already late: unfortunate. While we wait on the full BAMMA 9 main card line up for the newly arranged date of March 24 we can have a look instead at the preliminary card which has quietly taken shape. While short of internationally recognizable names, the BAMMA 9 preliminaries does feature some fighters you should keep an eye on. For example, middleweight Andrew Punshon comes from a Muay Thai background but has won 8 of his 10 fights via submission and will take on 9-0 Team Rough House standout Matt Howard, who has finished eight of these nine fights with his fists in the opening frame. Jason Ball (18-10) lost a decision to Andre Winner on BAMMA 7 and our friends over at Woah! TV have put on Youtube for you to watch. He will fight on BAMMA 9 against 7-1 Colin ‘Freakshow’ Fletcher. Freakshow got his moniker from his propensity to dress and act like Captain Spaulding from House of 1000 Corpses. Kidding, he got it from his freaky submission skills which have secured every one of his seven career wins. We recommend you watch this video of Neil Grove wearing the biggest MiddleEasy tee we have available talking to Colin Fletcher after his last fight, a first round win at BAMMA 8. In addition to this, Wolfslair fighter and BAMMA fan favourite Leeroy Barnes comes off his decision loss to Jack Marshman at BAMMA 8 to fight Nick Nembhard (2-1). The as-yet unannounced main card is expected to consist of four fights and the card so far looks like this: Preliminaries Middleweight Bout:Andrew Punshon Vs Matt Howard Lightweight Bout:Jason Ball Vs Colin ‘Freakshow’ Fletcher Middleweight Bout:Nick Nembhard Vs Leeroy Barnes Undercard Light Heavyweight BoutFraser Opie Vs Anthony Taylor Welterweight BoutRus Smith Vs Tom Breese Lightweight BoutChris Fishgold Vs Dale Hardiman Heavyweight BoutMarc Godbeer Vs Catalin Zmarandescu Middleweight BoutLee Johnson Vs Sam Hooker Light Heavyweight BoutRobert Truesdale Vs Sam Mensah

Posted in: fight, vs, card, middleweight, bamma

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The UFC has started to flesh out the two events they have scheduled for May, adding several fights today to the UFC on Fox 3 card at the IZOD Center New Jersey on May 5th, and the UFC on FX 3 show in Fairfax, Virginia on May 15th. In middleweight action on the New Jersey card, Garden State native Mike Massenzio will meet Karlos Vemola who's dropping down in weight class yet again. On the FX card in Virginia, another pair of middleweights will face off when Tom Lawlor meets Jason MacDonald, according to UFC.com: Verbal agreements are also in for a middleweight matchup at that (Virginia) event between "Filthy" Tom Lawlor and Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald. Plus, Karlos Vemola has verbally agreed to drop down to middleweight to face New Jersey’s own Mike "The Master of Disaster" Massenzio. Massenzio, now in his second stint with the UFC, is coming off a quick submission loss to Rousimar Palhares at UFC 142 last week, but it appears he didn't suffer any serious damage from the Brazilian's dangerous heel hook, as he'll step right back into the Octagon just four months later, and against a very different type of opponent in Vemola. The Czech native started out his UFC career at heavyweight, but after getting smothered by larger opponents, he cut down to light heavyweight, where, despite thrashing Seth Petruzelli, he again got ragdolled by Brazilian prospect Ronny Markes who exploited Vemola's inability to get off his back. Now hoping that middleweight is the finally the right weight class for him, Vemola will have to deal with Massenzio's improving boxing and solid submission grappling. Lawlor, a fan-favorite from the eight season of The Ultimate Fighter, is perhaps best known for his elaborate entrances rather than his fighting prowess, and with his current UFC record sitting at 3-3, and having most recently gotten choked out by uber-prospect, Chris Weidman, the Florida resident will have to do more to impress inside the cage, rather than outside of it. MacDonald, a longtime veteran of the Canadian scene and with 11 UFC fights under his belt will certainly hold the experience edge over Lawlor, while his dangerous submission game is always a threat, and has earned him three submission of the night bonuses in his UFC career. Although "The Athlete" has struggled to put together consecutive wins and is coming off a quick loss to Alan Belcher back in September, he's fought some of the best fighters the UFC's middleweight division has to offer, including Rich Franklin, Yushin Okami, Demian Maia, and Ed Herman and Chris Leben, both of whom fell victim to MacDonald's submissions, proving that the Canadian always has a chance to pull a rabbit out of his hat. UFC on Fox 3 coverage UFC on FX 3 coverage

Posted in: ufc, submission, macdonald, middleweight, vemola

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Yet another fight was announced last night by the UFC for the upcoming UFC on FX 3 card in Virginia. Jason MacDonald and Tom Lawlor will meet in a middleweight bout. MacDonald is coming of a first round TKO loss to Alan Belcher back at UFC Fight Night 25. This is his second go-round in the UFC and he is 6-7 in his UFC middleweight career. Lawlor is also coming off a loss, by submission, to phenom Chris Weidman at UFC 139. He is 2-3 in his five fights at middleweight for the company. A couple of interesting tidbits to note for this fight: Lawlor will be fighting on his birthday and this will be the third Canadian he has fought in his last four fights, defeating Patrick Cote and losing to Joe Doerkson. MacDonald is unranked. He fights out of Pure Fitness MMALawlor is unranked. He fights out of Lauzon MMA. The fight card now has two matches scheduled: 104 Days Out: Thiago Silva vs Brandon Vera. Light Heavyweight division.104 Days Out: Jason MacDonald vs Tom Lawlor. Middleweight division.

Posted in: ufc, fight, macdonald, middleweight, lawlor

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They were on opposite ends of decision wins Saturday night, but Chris Weidman and Michael Bisping are logical next opponents for one another. Each offers precisely what the other guy needs in terms of that "next big win" to bump up a few notches on the middleweight ladder. For Weidman, a name opponent like Bisping is a solid test, especially after edging out the crafty Demian Maia on the heels of weight cut that was reportedly more than 30 pounds for the short notice fight. The unbeaten prospect, now 8-0, had been a substitute soldier previously. In his UFC debut, he decisioned Alessio Sakara on two weeks' notice in what was probably as impressive a first-time performance as you'll see. Bisping offers him a chance to secure a win over a respected veteran, one whose stock was raised considerably with a competitive showing in defeat to Chael Sonnen. For Bisping, while the bout against Sonnen didn't go his way, he showed excellent takedown defense and, in spots, was able to negate Sonnen's attack entirely. If the Brit had been able to land a couple more telling combos in the feet, he may well have been able to steal another round and the bout. A bout against Weidman would be a great opportunity for him to prove he can beat a talented fighter. For the UFC, it's a win-win, as they build a viable challenger for the middleweight title to be plugged in after the rematch between Sonnen and Anderson Silva is made (assuming it gets made next). At this point, Bisping is no longer a high-value marketing attraction that needs to be protected in terms of choosing opponents, which seemed to be the case in spots when they wanted to build the U.K. product. He's proven himself a legitimate middleweight contender. He might not secure a title shot, but he's certainly capable enough to warrant getting one if you can beat him. If Weidman does it more definitively than Sonnen did, that only reinforces the fact that he has earned one. There is a decidedly thin bench at 185-pounds, but outside of Sonnen, who else is there? The interesting thing about Silva's run of terror through the division -- Sonnen bout notwithstanding -0 is that he's basically bookended by Georges St. Pierre and Jon Jones, both of whom would present megabouts with fan interest than would far surpass future middleweight defenses (outside of the Sonnen rematch, of course). I'm not sure either of those fights will happen, but the longer Silva remains champion, the more the public will gravitate toward seeing him against St. Pierre or Jones. Jason Probst can be reached on Twitter or at jason@jasonprobst.com.

Posted in: bout, bisping, middleweight, sonnen, weidman

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The gangster from West Linn, Ore., has struck again. After going 1-2 in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) half a decade ago, it seemed as if Chael Sonnen would be one of the many fighters who would only amount to being a footnote in the big book of mixed martial arts (MMA). He had his chance in the spotlight, but the sport is as unforgiving as any other. Chewed up and spit out as the old saying goes. But then something strange happened. Sonnen signed with the online gambling website-backed bodogFIGHT and rattled off four straight victories, including wins over future UFC fighter Tim Credeur and old school Russian stalwart Amar Suloev. It was impressive enough for Zuffa -- parent company of the UFC -- to give Sonnen a buzz and offer him a middleweight title shot in its recently acquired World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). And just like that, "The People's Champion" was back and our lives have never been the same since. From becoming the uncrowned king of the middleweight division in the WEC after defeating an overweight Paulo Filho to crowning himself the king of the UFC's 185-pound crowd, despite not winning the belt from Anderson Silva at UFC 117, there is always a hubbub surrounding the Team Quest fighter. Now, after outlasting Michael Bisping tonight (Jan. 28, 2012) in the co-main event of UFC on Fox 2, a rematch with "The Spider" is all but signed in what could be the biggest fight in the promotion's history without Brock Lesnar or Georges St. Pierre's name attached to the bill. Sonnen hasn't shut his mouth over Silva for more than two years and with a second chance at UFC gold, it's only going to get (depending on your point of view) much better or much worse. Growing up as an enormous professional wrestling fan, I enjoy what Sonnen does when promoting fights. But more than enjoying it, I appreciate it. Sonnen gets people -- fans or not -- to care. And in the fight game, that's the most important thing. There is a very clearly divided line when it comes to the number one middleweight title contender. There are MMA fans who love Sonnen's shtick -- and let's not mince words, that's exactly what it is -- and on the other side, there are those who have either grown tired of it or downright abhor it. But what those in the latter half don't realize is that Sonnen outside of the Octagon is as much a carnival barker as his boss, Dana White. Both men will say anything and everything under the sun to get someone to pluck down 50 bucks for a pay-per-view (PPV) or tune into Fox on a Saturday evening. They'll make up pound-for-pound rankings, assign labels like "world class" where it obviously doesn't belong or even channel "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes for a post-fight interview. Sonnen has two jobs: 1) fight and 2) make people care about number one. If no one is tuning in, the financial incentive for the middleweight fighter becomes insignificant. Before he became outspoken, saying ... well, flat-out crazy stuff, Sonnen's name wasn't in the headlines, he wasn't spoken in the same breath as the greats in his division. A few wins coupled with eight times as many outlandish statements and fans can't shut up about him. And that's a bad thing how? You either want to see Sonnen make good on his insane claim he'll wrest the middleweight strap away from Silva or revel in seeing his face get pounded in like the fraud he is. Whatever the reason, you want to see him fight. Sonnen is a fight promoter as much as he is a fighter. The trash talking, the elevated testosterone, the dominating performances, the felony convictions ... all of that and so much more paint the very complicated picture of who Chael Sonnen is. One thing is for certain, however. After his win last night over Bisping, Sonnen is the number one contender to Silva's middleweight title. Brace yourself, folks, it's going to be quite a ride.

Posted in: ufc, fight, fighter, middleweight, sonnen

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Middleweight contender Chael Sonnen brought his own championship belt to a UFC news conference Thursday.

Posted in: middleweight, sonnen, chael, championship belt, middleweight sonnen

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The quarterfinal matchups for Bellator Fighting Championships’ sixth-season middleweight tournament are now set.

Posted in: bellator, tournament, middleweight, matchup, quarterfinal matchups

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What's this? Kind words for Michael Bisping? The British bad boy, lambasted by fans for his behavior on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 14, as well as his saliva-to-air missile on Jorge Rivera at UFC 127 last year in Australia, has an unlikely fan in the middleweight division. UFC on FOX 2 opponent Demian Maia. The grappling wizard, who faces "The Count" on the network-televised special from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on Jan. 28, 2012, has no reason to think bad of his fellow 185-pound contender. From his interview with YourMMA.tv: "I think he is a very good fighter, with a solid record, underrated in many senses and well-rounded. In theory, his ground game should be a little weaker than his striking and wrestling, but the people he has fought usually haven’t capitalized on that during his fights, and he has proven himself a lot! So I have to say he is very well rounded. I don't have any problems at all with Bisping. He was always very respectful and polite whenever we met, so I have no reason to think bad of him. I think he is an intelligent guy and has helped our sport to grow a lot in the UK and Europe, and that can't be denied." For Maia, the middleweight tilt represents an opportunity to re-establish his place among the division's elite. After a five round dance with Anderson Silva at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, the decorated grappler has gone 3-1, with his lone defeat coming by way of close unanimous decision to fellow contender Mark Munoz. A convincing win in "The Windy City" will surely "Count" towards getting him back "in the mix." For Bisping, it could be the final hurdle in the 185-pound title chase. UFC on FOX 2, which will mark the promotion's second appearance on network television, will be headlined by a light heavyweight number one contender bout, as Rashad Evans and Phil Davis return from injuries to battle for the right to fight Jon Jones. Also penciled in for the FOX fight card is a middleweight title eliminator that pits former championship challenger Chael Sonnen against streaking 185-pound wrecking ball Mark Munoz. For the latest UFC on FOX 2 news and notes check out our comprehensive event archive right here.

Posted in: ufc, fox, bisping, michael bisping, middleweight

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Native Russian and former M-1 light-heavyweight champ Vyacheslav Vasilevsky is the latest addition to Bellator's season-six middleweight tournament. MMAjunkie.com today confirmed his participation with sources close to the fighter. The season-six eight-man middleweight tourney kicks off in March on MTV2.

Posted in: bellator, middleweight, vyacheslav, seasonsix, vyacheslav vasilevsky

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This is a guest post by Rory MacLeod (smoogy) A year ago, we selected the inaugural class of fighters that would make up the first edition of the World MMA Scouting Report. It's been a gratifying experience to see some of the athletes we selected go on to succeed in major fight opportunities, and a heartbreaking one to see others come up just short. For each pick that claimed a significant title in 2011, there were at least two that didn't make their breakthrough, or fell off the rails entirely. Here's a recap to give you a sampling of the highlights (and lowlights) from a tumultuous time in the careers of these MMA prospects. 1. Papy Abedi (8-1) As expected, Ultimate Fighting Championships' matchmaker Joe Silva came calling for Papy Abedi in 2011. However, Abedi made his November debut in a different weight class than expected, and against a much higher level of opponent than he had seen in his eight fight pro career: perennial welterweight contender Thiago Alves (19-8). Surprisingly, Abedi set the pace early with his kickboxing, but after a hot start he was clipped by Alves and rounded up on the ground for a rear naked choke finish. Even though Papy took a beating, the short and violent affair turned heads. He returns in April as the presumptive favorite when he greets James Head (7-2) in his home city of Stockholm Sweden. 2. Chris Weidman (7-0) What is there to tell about Chris Weidman that followers of the UFC don't already know? He made his debut in style by tenderizing fan favorite Alessio Sakara as a late replacement in March. A follow-up submission over fellow sophomore Jesse Bongfeldt (16-5-1) in June looked effortless. Weidman capped off his perfect rookie year by tucking in six-fight UFC veteran Tom Lawlor (7-4) with a brabo choke in November. Expectations for the Hostra wrestling product are sky-high headed into 2012, and if his kickboxing improvement can keep up with his uncanny aptitude for grappling, Chris Weidman could break into the upper-echelon of the middleweight division quickly. 3. Vitor Vianna (12-2-1) Expectations were high for Vitor Vianna in 2011. He entered the Bellator season five middleweight tournament as one of the buzzed-about newcomers due mostly to his protege status under Brazilian legend Wanderlei Silva. Vitor was unimpressive in his quarterfinal bout against Sam Alvey (16-3), grappling his way to a lethargic decision. In the semifinals his chances of upsetting tournament regular Bryan Baker (16-3) were written off, but "The Beast" charged right into Vianna's wheelhouse and was floored by punches early in round one to restore faith in the Brazilian-born, Las Vegas-based prospect. In the finals, Vitor put up a respectable effort but came up short of preventing Russian stalwart Alexander Shlemenko (44-7) from capturing his second consecutive tournament crown. Vianna is rumored to return for the upcoming sixth season tournament, but so far has not been confirmed. 4. Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (15-1) Vyacheslav Vasilevsky continued to make his case as the top middleweight on the European circuit in 2011, taking out a variety of foreign opposition including Spain's Enoc Solves (10-4) and Czech journeyman Tomas Kuzela (18-15). It was announced that Bellator Fighting Championships had added "Slava" to their ranks in the lead-up to their sixth season, but previous employer M-1 Global claimed that they still retained exclusive rights to promote the Russian standout. The issues has yet to see a publicly disclosed resolution and so far Vasilevsky's name has not been among those added to the upcoming middleweight tournament. 5. Bruno Santos (12-0) Jon Fitch's incredible streak of decisions may have come to a sudden end in 2011, but the futility continued for Bahia, Brazil's Bruno Santos. In total he has compiled a stunning nine-fight, thirty-one round streak of decisions since his lone stoppage due to strikes in 2008. Still, Bruno notched some noteworthy wins; he won the eight-man BItteti Combat Cup tournament, besting Angel Orellana (3-1), Vitor Nobrega (11-5) and Julio Cesar Dos Santos (5-2-1) in one night. Now he'll have a shot in a different format and for a much bigger prize when he makes his Bellator Fighting Championships debut in their season six middleweight tournament. 6. Constantinos Philippou (9-2) After taking a decision over #8 selection Uriah Hall (5-2) in February, Team Serra-Longo's Costa Philippou got a late replacement opportunity on March's UFC 128 card in Newark, New Jersey against fellow local Nick Catone (9-2). Philippou lost the decision in that fight, but he's managed to stick around in the UFC, outworking veteran Jorge Rivera (19-9) in August and laying waste to Jared Hamman (13-4) in December to emerge as a fresh face in the middleweight division. Next up, Costa will look to lay his heavy hands on The Ultimate Fighter 11 winner Court McGee (14-1) at April's UFC on FX 2 card in Sydney, Australia. 7. Jordan Smith (17-2-1) Splitting a busy schedule between bouts in Brazil and his home state of Utah, Jordan Smith has had mixed results as he crawls closer to a major fight opportunity. His advance was halted by an eleven second dusting at the hands of UFC veteran Tim Mckenzie in April. Jordan returned from the humbling loss to post the best win of his career (on paper, at least) over former UFC contender Karo Parisyan (19-8) in September. Add in a follow-up victory over California's Josh MacDonald (8-5) to put Jordan firmly back on track for 2012. As a known commodity at this point, he'll have to improve his defense, particularly his boxing guard, to make it on the world stage. 8. Uriah Hall (5-2) Considering Uriah Hall lost to fellow New Yorker Chris Weidman shortly before making the 2011 report, expectations for his career trajectory were tempered from the get go. He went on to drop his next fight to another 2011 selection, Costa Philippou, in February. Hall bounced back with a knockout over local instructor Aung La Nsang (8-6) in April. Fighting exclusively under New Jersey's Ring of Combat banner, Uriah will look to keep up his momentum when he takes on Daniel Akenyemi (2-0) in February on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. 9. Victor O'Donnell (11-3) As a regular on the East Coast MMA circuit Victor O'Donnell caught the attention of Bellator Fighting Championships, parlaying a February win over Andrew Riddles (5-1) in New Jersey into a place on Bellator's season five middleweight tournament roster. O'Donnell did not advance in the tournament, getting smoked out by powerhouse kickboxer Brian Rogers (8-3) early in round one of their quarterfinal bout. Victor loudly objected to the stoppage, and it evidently made an impression; he has been granted another shot in the upcoming season six middleweight meet. 10. Assan Njie (11-2) Assan Njie looked as sharp as ever at April's Super Challenge 7 in Stockholm, Sweden, catching Beslan Isaev (18-5) in the first round with a guillotine choke. Unfortunately, Superior Challenge seems to have fallen off the map and taken Njie along with it, as he hasn't seen action since the win. He would make a fine addition to the first UFC card in Sweden if matchmaker Joe Silva can make room on the April card.

Posted in: ufc, season, tournament, middleweight, april

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Middleweights Bruno Santos and Maiquel Falcao are the latest additions to Bellator's season-six middleweight tournament. Bellator officials today confirmed the selections with MMAjunkie.com. Sherdog first reported Falcao's inclusion. The eight-man tourney kicks off in March on MTV2.

Posted in: bellator, middleweight, falcao, maiquel falcao, mmajunkiecom sherdog

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Photo by Marcelo Alonso, Sherdog Name: Ildemar Alcantara Nickname: Marajo Age: 29 Height: 6'1" Location: Belem, Para, Brazil The theme of brotherly love continues on this year's report as Brazil's Ildemar Alcantara (12-5), the brother of UFC veteran Yuri Alcantara, claims his spot at #5 on the 2012 World MMA Middleweight Scouting Report. The 29-year-old is currently riding a three-fight win streak, besting Richard Smith, Willians Santos, and Giovanni Francisco in the latter half of 2011 to place himself in the running for a shot at the Jungle Fight middleweight crown. While the Jungle Fight strap usually garners interest from the UFC, Alcantara may not need it. In his last 8 appearances, he's accumulated a 7-1 record, only losing to current Jungle Fight middleweight champion Marcelo Guimaraes via unanimous decision at Jungle Fight 28 in May. Guimaraes used a strong takedown game and excellent top control to dominate Alcantara on the scorecards. Luckily, that seems to be the only major flaw in Alcantara's skill-set. On the feet, he employs a typical sprawl and brawl style, boxing opponents up with a polished counter-punching attack while evading advances toward the ground. The southpaw Muay Thai specialist is by no means one-dimensional, however. He still possesses the grappling chops to reverse positions and control the action from the top. The question is whether he's good enough on the ground to compete with the power wrestlers that await him stateside. At this point, he may be in over his head. If he didn't think he was already, Guimaraes certainly proved it could be an issue, and I fully expect his camp to work out the kinks with him. With improvements, it's difficult to look past Alcantara as a tailor-made prospect for the ranks of the UFC. Check out video footage of Ildemar Alcantara after the jump... FlyweightBantamweightFeatherweightLightweight #1 - #2 - #3 -#4 -#5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - #1 - Rony Mariano#2 - Aljamain Sterling#3 - Chris Holdsworth#4 - Josh Hill#5 - Fabiano Fernandes#6 - Claudio Ledesma#7 - Sirwan Kakai#8 - Kyoji Horiguchi#9 - Leandro Hygo#10 - Pedro Munhoz #1 - Hacran Dias#2 - Joey Gambino#3 - Brandon Bender#4 - Lance Palmer #5 - Jim Alers#6 - Anthony Gutierrez#7 - Max Holloway#8 - John Teixeira#9 - Cody Bollinger#10 - Bubba Jenkins #1 - Fabricio Guerreiro#2 - Alessandro Ferreira#3 - Adriano Martins#4 - Justin Salas#5 - Neilson Gomes#6 - Eduard Folayang#7 - Zorobabel Moreira#8 - Anton Kuivanen#9 - Jordan Rinaldi#10 - J.P. Vainikainen WelterweightMiddleweightLight HeavyweightHeavyweight #1 - Andrey Koreshkov#2 - Dhiego Lima#3 - Brandon Thatch#4 - Nordine Taleb#5 - Hernani Perpetuo#6 - Brock Jardine#7 - Alan Jouban#8 - Mohsen Bahari#9 - Andre Santos#10 - Stephen Thompson #1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - Ildemar Alcantara#6 - Michal Materla#7 - Elvis Mutapcic#8 - Tor Troeng#9 - Jack Hermansson#10 - Tim Ruberg #1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - #1 - #2 - #3 - #4 - #5 - #6 - #7 - #8 - #9 - #10 - Ildemar Alcantara vs. Giovanni Francisco Ildemar Alcantara vs Willians Santos Ildemar Alcantara vs. Richard Smith Marcelo Guimarães x Ildemar Marajó Ildemar Marajo x Jackson Mora

Posted in: fight, middleweight, jungle, alcantara, ildemar

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Onetime UFC talent Maiquel Falcao will make his stateside return this spring when he takes part in Bellator Fighting Championships’ sixth-season middleweight tournament.

Posted in: bellator, tournament, middleweight, falcao, stateside return

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Chael Sonnen, who took middleweight champion Anderson Silva to the limit at UFC 117 back in August 2010, is widely-recognized as the division contender with the best chance of squishing "The Spider" in a 2012 title fight. But first he has to get past Mark Munoz at UFC on FOX 2 later this month. Even if he's successful, middleweight debutante Anthony Johnson doesn't believe that makes him the top threat in the division. No, "Rumble" contends that it is he who will give the Brazilian deity the fits, if and when they ever hook 'em up. And destroying Vitor Belfort would sure do a lot to convince fans he's not just talking the talk. He'll get that chance on Saturday night (Jan. 14, 2012), when he meets "The Phenom" in the co-main event of UFC 142: "Aldo vs. Mendes" at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. A fight Johnson says he'll "dominate." "Moving up to face Vitor was a new chapter in my life, a new challenge. I’m going to stay here and I’m going to take over this weight class. I will dominate Vitor Belfort. Chael Sonnen is seen as the top threat to Anderson Silva’s title. Well, I am at 185-pounds and everyone at middleweight has to worry about me now. I’m in this division to go to the top. You will see a whole different animal now that I am at this weight class." A win over the Brazilian would certainly catapult him into the list of top contenders; however, he may still need to take a back seat to the winner of Sonnen vs. Munoz, as well as the winner of Michael Bisping vs. Demian Maia, also booked for the UFC on FOX 2 event on Jan. 28 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. But he would most definitely be "in the mix." So how about it then, Maniacs, if you're UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, who does "Rumble" fight with a win over "The Phenom?" How about a loss? Opinions, please.

Posted in: ufc, vs, middleweight, sonnen, chael

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The UFC has released another installment of 'Fighter Diary', and this time, it gives us an inside look on the camp of Anthony Johnson. He has had trouble making weight at times during his days as a welterweight, and now, he will be moving up to take on middleweight contender Vitor Belfort at UFC 142 in Brazil. Basing on looks alone, it already appears that Johnson would be a great fit at middleweight. Without having to diet and cut as much weight to make 185 lbs, he seems roughly the same size as his training partner, former light heavyweight champion, Rashad Evans. Now that he doesn't have to compromise his conditioning by cutting that much weight anymore, could this be his Alistair Overeem moment? Could this move up in weight make him perform much better? I guess we'll find out for sure this weekend. SBN coverage of UFC RIO 142: Aldo vs. Mendes

Posted in: ufc, johnson, middleweight, weight, fighter diary

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Just after winning the Strikeforce middleweight title in September, Luke Rockhold wasn't even sure he'd get a chance to defend the belt with the promotion's future in question for almost the rest of 2011.

Posted in: strikeforce, rockhold, middleweight, ufc middleweights, promotions future

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Luke Rockhold did exactly what 80% of the audience inside the Hard Rock Casino thought he was going to do and raged on Keith Jardine like some belligerent drunk with really good striking. Luke managed to finish off Jardine in the first round in relatively the same way that King Mo finished off Lorenz Larkin earlier in the night. Granted, those guys do train together so it does make a bit of sense. Rockhold then got on the mic to essentially call out the entire UFC middleweight division insisting, there's a lack of middleweights in Strikeforce for him to scrap with. Tim Kennedy, Rockhold's original opponent, may have something to say about that statement but with guys like Anderson Silva, Mark Munoz, Vitor Belfort, Okami and Bisping mixing it up in the UFC -- it seems like Rockhold (and Kennedy) are just lying dormant in Strikeforce's middleweight division. Well, that is until we truly see a promotional cross-over. Massive congratulations on Luke Rockhold's first title defense, and hopefully we'll see the twenty-seven-year-old continue his 8-0 winning streak through Strikeforce -- or UFC.

Posted in: ufc, rockhold, luke, middleweight, sense rockhold

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Who'd have guessed a guy who's come in overweight as much as Anthony Johnson has would be enjoying fighting a weight class up? Here he is during a UFC 142 press conference going over the benefits of leaving 170 for 185 and not dehydrating yourself like a California Raisin: "Right now, middleweight is where I am. That's all I'm thinking about, and I really don't mind fighting middleweight because I get to eat more now. So like I said, I feel 1000 times better than I did when I fought [at] 170, so that's why I'm so happy and want to fight really bad. This is going to be a lot of fun for me. So that's why I feel so good because I don't have to cut the weight that I used to cut and I'm more explosive; I'm more athletic. Everything has just come to where it needs to be right now. I'm peaking at the right time." As far as welterweight goes, he says that's it 'so far', leaving the door open for a future return just in case eating gets boring ... not something I'm really expecting considering his habit of going all Chubby Checker between fights. Still, if he finds he can't fall back on good ol wrestlefuckin' a dude into the mat at 185 when he needs to, it might be back to rabbit food and the occassional botched weight cut down the road.

Posted in: middleweight, im, that, guy whos, rabbit food

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“This is easy, This is going to be a lot of fun for me… Everything has come to where it needs to be right now. I’m peaking at the right time… Right now, middleweight is where I am, and that’s all I’m thinking about. I really don’t mind fighting (at) middleweight because I get to eat more now. So I feel a thousand times better than when I fought at 170. That’s why I’m so happy and want to fight really bad.” — Anthony Johnson on a UFC 142 conference call talking about fighting at middleweight It seems Anthony Johnson is finally starting to realize what everyone has been saying for years — he belongs in the middleweight division. Johnson enjoyed a considerable size advantage in the welterweight division, but it always came at a price. He was cutting ridiculous amounts of weight to make 170 and as he mentions above, his body didn’t feel like it should. Johnson says he’s done with welterweight “so far”, but that will likely hinge on how well he does at 185. Even if he loses to Vitor Belfort at UFC 142 though, I hope he gives middleweight an honest run. It’s where he belongs and where I suspect we’ll see him unlock his full potential, similar to how Alistair Overeem has since he moved to heavyweight. By the way, Johnson says he’s currently weighing 215 which means he still needs to cut 30 pounds by next Friday’s weigh-ins. Image via Johnson’s manager Glenn Robinson

Posted in: time, johnson, middleweight, vitor belfort, welterweight division

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Strikeforce's 185-pound class has had a champion presiding over the division since 2008, when Cung Le defeated Frank Shamrock by TKO. Despite two of its middleweight champions having since vacated the title (first Le, and then his successor Jake Shields), Strikeforce has also been relatively quick in establishing a new one. Most recently installed at the top spot is Luke Rockhold. Given that the weight class has more or less always had a standard bearer in place, then, it's surprising the division is in such disarray. The confusing middleweight state of affairs is no more clearly characterized than in Rockhold's upcoming title defense against Keith Jardine-a challenger who has never fought at middleweight, and whose promotional record stands at zero wins, zero losses, and one draw. And while I think Jardine is actually a much more dangerous opponent than most are giving him credit for, I don't think it's good for the organization's legitimacy when a contender is picked seemingly out of the blue, irrespective of promotional rank. More coherent matchmaking and a greater sense of divisional hierarchy is a must. I believe Strikeforce has the talent to make it happen. Let's take a look... The Top Five Former champ Ronaldo Souza has put together a 4-1-0 record in Strikeforce on the strength of his phenomenal grappling game and ever-improving, surprisingly effective striking skills. His multi-faceted approach served him well in his victory against Tim Kennedy. He nearly duplicated this success in his fight against Rockhold, but gassed badly in the third round. Despite questions about his endurance, Jacare remains one of the pillars of the middleweight division. Though he was billed early in his career as a kick boxer, Tim Kennedy has displayed a knack for the ground game during his time with Strikeforce, outwrestling Robbie Lawler and submitting Zak Cummings, Melvin Manhoef, and Trevor Prangley. He's easily in the top three of the division. Strikeforce has an interesting trio in Yancy Medeiros (9-0-0), Derek Brunson (9-0-0), and Adlan Amagov (9-1-1). All three have remained undefeated in the organization-Medeiros and Amagov throughout two bouts each, and Brunson across three-and all have a tendency to put away their opposition by either submission or TKO. They've been flying under the radar, but Amagov, at least, will soon get a chance to break away when he takes on Robbie Lawler this January. && More middleweights after the jump... Best of the Rest Neither Robbie Lawler nor Trevor Prangley have faired quite as well in Strikeforce as I'd expected. At nearly 40 years old, Prangley's best days are most probably behind him, while Lawler seems to have lost much of the fury that characterized his early career. I myself have something of a soft spot for both of them, though, and since they've both done a little bit of division-hopping for Strikeforce (Lawler in his catch-weight bout with Renato Sobral and Prangley in a light-heavyweight fight against Roger Gracie), I think they each deserve another low-key shot in Strikeforce. Lawler, at least, gets one against Amagov in January. Much the same can be said of Benji Radach. Being prone to injury, Radach hasn't had much of a chance to show that he's better than his 0-2-0 Strikeforce record suggests. Radach deserves another chance following his gutsy, if lopsided, decision loss to light-heavyweight Ovince St. Preux. Melvin Manhoef has gone winless in two Strikeforce appearances. However, given his wrecking-ball style, international cred, and relatively low fee (he received 10K in his fight with Kennedy) I think Manhoef adds a lot of valuable wattage to a card. Similar to Medeiros, Brunson, and Amagov, Andreas Spang, Nate James, and Lumumba Sayers have done some decent but little-seen work in Strikeforce. Spang remains undefeated in the organization, debuting last November with a TKO over Willie Parks. James most recently suffered a decision loss to Brunson, but a win over UFC vet Danillo Villefort remains to his credit. And though Sayers stumbled in his promotional debut (also against Brunson), he made quite a turnaround with his KO win over Antwain Britt. Being relative novices, it's hard to know where they figure in among the Strikeforce middleweights, but with a division in flux, there's no better time than now to find out. And so... As with the lightweights, I think a tournament would sort out this division in definitive and entertaining fashion. After a glance at its roster, it seems that Strikeforce has not only enough fighters but the right mix of new and veteran talent needed to keep an eight-man series both interesting and affordable. Of course, in the past year, Strikeforce had already considered and then declined to put on a middleweight tournament, though the "why" of the decision was never entirely clear. Maybe the concept will resurface now that the deal with Showtime has been firmly renewed.

Posted in: strikeforce, division, lawler, middleweight, brunson

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"What I hear from other fighters, how much they cut weight, it could be done. Only if it's really an important fight I would consider it, but otherwise I wouldn't do it. Let's say if they would give me Anderson Silva, then I would do it, but I don't think that's going to happen so it doesn't make any sense to go down to 185." -- Gegard Mousasi tells MMAWeekly.com that the only way he would put his body through the rigors of a tough weight cut back down to middleweight -- a weight class he called home for a major part of his early mixed martial arts (MMA) career -- is if he gets a chance to dethrone divisional kingpin and current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva. Mousasi, who has even competed at heavyweight, has had much success in the 185-pound division, earning the DREAM middleweight title by running through each of his opponents at the 2008 Dream Middleweight Grand Prix, which included top talents such as Melvin Manhoef, Denis Kang and Ronaldo Souza. After making the jump up to the 205-pound division, Gegard earned the Strikeforce light heavyweight title with a win over Renato Sobral; however, he would lose it to Muhammed Lawal in his first title defense, snapping his 15-fight win streak in the process. With the major announcement today that Strikeforce isn't going anywhere any time soon, the DREAM middleweight champion may not get his chance to make the jump into the UFC in the near future. In fact, with Dan Henderson vacating the Strikeforce light heavyweight title to join the UFC ranks, the Armenian kickboxer may be a prime candidate to vie for the vacant Strikeforce strap. What do you think, should he ever get the opportunity, does Mousasi stand a chance against Silva? Or would he simply be another casualty caught in "The Spider's" web?

Posted in: title, strikeforce, silva, mousasi, middleweight

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Bellator Fighting Championships' international-recruiting efforts recently netted another top prospect. Russian middleweight and light heavyweight Vyacheslav Vasilevsky signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator this past month. Now, the 23-year-old is expected to be part of Bellator's season-six middleweight tournament, sources told MMAjunkie.com.

Posted in: bellator, middleweight, vyacheslav, multifight deal, seasonsix

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Anthony Johnson initially said that his trip to middleweight was a "one-time thing." Having delved into training, however, he's ready to conquer Vitor Belfort and the other UFC middleweights.

Posted in: ufc, johnson, middleweight, vitor, vitor belfort

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"With Demetrious Johnson joining the flyweight division, former bantamweight champ Eddie Wineland will now be facing TUF 14 standout Johnny Bedford on January 28th in Chicago," said UFC president Dana White today. Both fighters have verbally agreed to the bout.More Middleweight Matchups for UFC on FOX 2 updated December 7The televised card for UFC on FOX 2 was revealed today to be a triple-header, with last weekend's TUF 14 Finale winner Michael Bisping returning to action January 28 against Demian Maia. The winner of that bout will be next in line for a middleweight title shot after the winner of Sonnen-Munoz, taking place the same night. 1024x768 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Another middleweight matchup has been verbally agreed to for the undercard of that event, as 6-1 Dustin Jacoby takes on 15-5 Chris Camozzi.Seven Fights Set for UFC on FOX 2 updated December 5The fight card for UFC </a>on FOX 2 is gathering steam as a number of bouts have been verbally agreed upon by the athletes, UFC president Dana White announced today. In the night’s main event, former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans battles the unbeaten Phil Davis to determine the next challenger to the 205-pound title. Plus, in the night’s co-feature, controversial middleweight contender Chael Sonnen takes on “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Mark Munoz in a bout that will decide which fighter gets the next crack at champion Anderson Silva.In lightweight action, 12-0 undefeated submission specialist Paul Sass will face 12-2 lightweight contender Evan Dunham. Plus, Ultimate Fighter veterans Michael "The Menace" Johnson will take on the freshly-shorn Cody McKenzie. More bouts in the works include:- Cub Swanson will take on the always-dangerous George Roop in the talent-packed featherweight division.- One of the bantamweight division's toughest competitors, Eddie Wineland, will meet one of the UFC's fastest, Demetrious Johnson.- UFC 131 Fight of the Night winner John-Olav Einemo will face Chicago’s 14-1 Mike Russow in a heavyweight throwdown

Posted in: ufc, bout, fox, winner, middleweight

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Strikeforce officially announced January 7th as the first card of 2012. Luke Rockhold is set to defend his middleweight title against Keith Jardine in the main event of the evening at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. The Hard Rock was the UFC's home in Vegas prior to making the change of venue and settling in at the Pearl at the Palms Casino. Rockhold was expected to defend his belt against Tim Kennedy but the Airborne Ranger is sidelined with an undisclosed injury. It was announced last week that Jardine would be taking Kennedy's place as the number one contender. Tim Kennedy is expected to return sometime in March. The Jan. 7, fight card will also feature two up-and-coming fighters taking on former champions when Robbie Lawler faces Adlan Amagov in a middleweight bout and "King" Mo Lawal takes on undefeated Lorenz Larkin in a light heavyweight bout. Also on the televised portion of the card, Tarec Saffiedine and Tyler Stinson will clash in a welterweight bout. A fifth yet-to-be announced fight will air on the SHOWTIME portion of the event. The card will air on Showtime at 10 PM ET (sorry West Coast, you're delayed). Official Card: Middleweight Title Fight: Luke Rockhold vs Keith Jardine Middleweight: Robbie Lawler vs Aldan Amagov Light Heavyweight: Muhammed Lawal vs Lorenz Larkin Welterweight: Tarec Saffiedine vs Tyler Stinson TBA vs TBA

Posted in: vs, rockhold, jardine, card, middleweight

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After pummeling Jason Miller, rising middleweight Michael Bisping will next meet Demian Maia in a key middleweight showdown early next year. Maia arguably has the best BJJ in MMA, and will pose an immediate threat anytime he’s able to get the fight down to the ground (if he can drag Bisping down). Bisping, an underrated BJJ practitioner, will likely try to keep the fight standing in an effort to avoid a grappling match against the Brazilian BJJ specialist. Bisping vs. Maia will join a stacked UFC on Fox 2 card that also includes Chael Sonnen vs. Mark Munoz and Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis. While Sonnen vs. Munoz is for the next shot at Anderson Silva, the winner of Bisping vs. Maia should find themselves next in line for a crack at the middleweight title. The No. 1 MMA organization suddenly has found itself with a few different middleweight contenders — as Silva heals up, and should be ready to defend his middleweight title by summer 2012, according to the UFC.

Posted in: vs, bisping, middleweight, maia, middleweight title

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On Saturday, at Road FC 5 “Night of Champions,” Denis Kang returned to where it all began, at least the juggernaut portion of his career that culminated in his epic run in the Pride 2006 Middleweight Grand Prix.

Posted in: middleweight, fc, middleweight tournament, juggernaut portion, kim advance

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With so many fights coming up spread across seven different weight classes, it's easy to lose track of what's happening in every division. Here, we take a look at where a particular division stands right now, and where it's headed. This Saturday at the Ultimate Fighter Finale, coaches Michael Bisping and Jason Miller will meet in a Middleweight fight. Earlier this week, Chael Sonnen stated that he would likely face the winner of this fight, especially since champion Anderson Silva is out until next summer. With this big fight on the horizon, now seemed like a good time to take a look at the UFC Middleweight division, and see who might be up for The Spider's astonishing 10th Middleweight title defense. Next in Line: After beating Brian Stann at UFC 136, former #1 contender Chael Sonnen (currently ranked #2) called out Anderson Silva. There's no doubt that a rematch of their UFC 117 classic would generate great interest, but it was not to be. Silva is out until June with injury, and Sonnen is on the sidelines. There was talk of him facing Mark Munoz early next year, but Chael shot that down, then stated that we should watch this weekend's show to find out what's next. The assumption is that it will be Sonnen vs. the winner of Bisping (#7) vs. Mayhem (Unranked). What's interesting about this scenario is that it is a win-win-win for the UFC with their 3 contenders. No matter who emerges as the challenger, there is a strong marketing angle. You'll either have the much-anticipated rematch, British star Bisping finally getting his shot, or Mayhem and his mainstream appeal. Personally, I'd like Sonnen to get there, but all of those fights hold some intrigue. Key Match Ups: We've had some big recent fights at Middleweight, and now it seems like a lot of folks are in a holding pattern, waiting to see what comes next. But still, two big upcoming fights to consider. #5 Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson (UFC 142) - Belfort is coming off one of his famous "old Vitor" KO's, as he stopped Yoshihiro Akiyama this summer. He is only one fight removed from a big loss to Silva, so it's hard to see him getting an immediate shot, but he will always remain close to the top. For Johnson, this is a Middleweight debut, and he has been vague if this is a permanent move or not, likely waiting to see how this fight goes. If he can KO Belfort, he'll be fast tracked up the division ranks. #3 Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch (UFC 144) - Another recent Spider victim here, as Okami looks to return from his UFC 134 loss. Honestly, it took him years to get that shot, and he'll have to have a miraculous run to get another one. But he's a great gate-keeper who will provide a huge challenge for Boetsch. The Barbarian is 2-0 at 185 and has looked solid in both wins. He has his work cut out for him here, but like Johnson, he could make a big move with a win. In The Mix: A number of other Middleweights sit near the top, though without any fights currently scheduled: #4 Mark Munoz - Outside of the Sonnen/Bisping/Miller triumvirate, Munoz is the clear cut next in line for a title shot. He's coming off big wins over Chris Leben and Demian Maia. He'll have to prove himself again before getting that shot though, probably against one of the losers of that triangle. #5 Demian Maia - Maia has lost a ton of momentum since challenging Silva back at UFC 112. At this point, he seems pretty far removed, though the division is such that he still is barely inside the top 5. #8 Brian Stann - Stann had a pretty bad setback in his dominating loss to Sonnen. That fight showed that there is a big gap between Stann and the upper levels of the division. A Stann vs. Maia fight makes sense to me. #18 Rousimar Palhares - He's the furthest outside the picture, but the Tree Stump is 6-2 in the division, with his only loses against Nate Marquardt and Dan Henderson - no shame in those defeats. He faces Mike Massenzio at UFC 142, which won't really do anything for Palhares. I'd like to see him move up in competition again. Others to Consider: And finally, a few Middleweight names that may not find themselves in the title picture any time soon, but should be mentioned: #13 Alan Belcher - It's hard to envision him as anything other than a gatekeeper, but he's the kind of veteran who provides a great challenge for anyone. #16 Wanderlei Silva - I don't care how much he has lost lately, he's The Axe Murderer, and will always be a name worth mentioning. And hey, he's on a 1-0 streak! #20 - Chris Weidman - Folks are high on this 7-0 prospect, who has already defeated some very respectable UFC names. I'm very excited to see where the future takes Weidman, and hope he is back in action soon. #9 Luke Rockhold, #11 Ronaldo Souza, #14 Tim Kennedy - Also known as the good parts of the Strikeforce Middleweight division. For now, these three seem like they are staying in Strikeforce, with champion Rockhold set to defend against Keith Jardine in January, but there's always the chance they will be brought over to the UFC, where all 3 would immediately be interesting contenders. Poll Who will be the next Middleweight title challenger? Chael Sonnen Michael Bisping Jason "Mayhem" Miller Other   19 votes | Results

Posted in: ufc, fight, division, middleweight, sonnen

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There's been a bit of a change of plan in Strikeforce with Luke Rockhold now slated to face Keith Jardine on January 7, 2012 according to MMA Fighting. The original rumored plans were for Rockhold to face Tim Kennedy but Kennedy is unable to take the bout as he has an undisclosed injury. This is a shame as Keith Jardine has gone 3-6-1 since 2008, has never fought at 185 pounds and his only win of note during that span was over Brandon Vera at UFC 89. It's hard for me to not see this as a reason that Strikeforce has very limited value in its current form. Kennedy being unavailable leaves the promotion as seeing no better option than Keith Jardine? Maybe a rematch with Jacare is too much to ask on only 5 weeks notice. I'd just as soon see them pay Paul Daley to take a middleweight fight (a weight where he is 3-0) or give a young guy from the Strikeforce Challengers stage a shot, Adlan Amagov springs to mind as someone who would have a "it was fun while it lasted" fight. And it's not as though Keith Jardine's name carries any weight in terms of being a draw. I also can't help but wonder if Zuffa couldn't find a mid-tier current middleweight in the UFC to send over for a brief Strikeforce run. Maybe it's a bit too deep of water for a guy like Chris Weidman, but that'd be a hell of an interesting fight. In the end, fantasy matchmaking does nothing. Jardine is getting the shot and we'll see if he can make the most of it.

Posted in: strikeforce, keith jardine, jardine, middleweight, keith

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Innovative UK promotion Cage Warriors Fighting Championship continues to the push the envelope. The latest project for Cage Warriors will be an eight man tournament to crown the promotion's next middleweight champion. 185 pounds has a notorious reputation as being one of the sport's thinnest weight classes. The eight man bracket will begin at Cage Warriors Fight Night 3 on February 9th. Six of the participants have verbally agreed to take part in the tournament that will culminate at a July finale in London. Prospect Danny Roberts (5-0) is a name that is a strong sleeper that could make his name off an impressive five month run. English striker Valentino Petrescu (12-2) is another middleweight acquisition with the ability to become the CWFC 185 pound champion. Press releaseA new CWFC middleweight champion will be crowned in 2012 via an eight-man tournament which will kick off at Cage Warriors Fight Night 3 on February 9.Six of the eight participants have verbally agreed to take part in the tournament, which will take place across four shows, culminating in a July finale in London. However, two highly coveted places remain up for grabs.The six confirmed fighters are Jack Mason (17-9-0), Tony Machado (4-0-0), Danny Roberts (5-0-0), Chris Fields (8-3-0), Valentino Petrescu (12-2-0) and Victor Cheng (7-2-0). Specific opening round match-ups have yet to be determined.Cage Warriors director Graham Boylan will issue "additional perks and bonuses" for the finalists and the eventual winner will clinch the vacant CWFC middleweight title.The first two quarter-final fights will take place at Fight Night 3 in the Middle East (venue TBC) on February 9, followed by the remaining two bouts on February 18 at Cage Warriors 45 in London.The semi-finals are scheduled for Amman, Jordan on April 15, with the final taking place in London on July 7.

Posted in: cage, warrior, middleweight, place, july finale

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Top UK promotion CageWarriors is going the grand prix route to find its new middleweight champion. It has announced an eight-man middleweight tournament...

Posted in: middleweight, cagewarrior, middleweight champion, prix route, uk cagewarriors

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Cage Warriors is getting in on the tournament action. Officials from the European promotion today told MMAjunkie.com they'll soon launch an eight-man, multi-event tournament to determine the organization's middleweight champion. Many of the participants, including notables Jack Mason and Chris Fields, previously have fought for the promotion.

Posted in: tournament, middleweight, cage warriors, chris fields, mmajunkiecom theyll

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With all the talk surrounding Michael Bisping's place among the UFC middleweight contenders, there hasn't been much focus on the return of Jason Miller, who battles "The Count" at the TUF 14 Finale on Dec. 3 in Las Vegas. MMA Nation's Nate Wilcox takes a closer look at how a win for "Mayhem" can shake up the 185-pound weight class right here.

Posted in: ufc, bisping, middleweight, contender, jason miller

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In less than three months we will all be soccer kicking each other in Saitama Super Arena and it will be glorious. Knowing that scenario is in our collective future is enough to be thankful for on this fine Thanksgiving. As you can see we aren't taking something like a national holiday as a reason to have a day off, we want to give thanks to each and every one of you who clicks that little red monster and reads our silly words. For that, MiddleEasy presents to you an exclusive interview with two of the main guys behind UFC Undisputed 3-Nevin Dravinski and Nick Robertson. Go ahead, make a plate, grab some family and crowd around the warm glow of your monitor/tablet and enjoy the interview together. Happy Thanksgiving! You've taken almost an extra year on the development of UFC 3...Can you tell us what birthed the idea to take the extra time and ultimately in what areas did the game benefit most from the extra time....IE is the game taking that extra time to be more playtested and polished or was it used on the front end to brainstorm a user experience unlike one seen in MMA games before? Neven Dravinski—There were many things that prompted a longer development schedule for UFC Undisputed 3. I think first and foremost you touched on it; we wanted to make UFC Undisputed 3 the best possible Undisputed game to date in the franchise, the best possible MMA game as a whole and be among the leading games in the marketplace today. We did our development differently this year. We started focus testing from the beginning of development with hardcore Undisputed community players at the top of our leaderboards. In addition, we brought in leading professional fighting gamers and avid sports gamers. This process was really invaluable for us to not only polish our systems but help design new offerings, such as the Amateur Controls and new submission system. In addition, working with our community really helped us proactively find exploits and balance the game. In addition, more practical matters extended the schedule as well. There is a significant amount of new content in UFC Undisputed 3, including but not limited to the addition of PRIDE Mode, which alone is akin to building a game within a game. Beyond this, creating and implementing more than 150 fighters, including newly added bantamweight and featherweight divisions, is a lengthy process. Overall, it became absolutely necessary to have extra time to make sure features like these were implemented properly, and ultimately, I think the game is better for it.   What's the framerate goal? Neven Dravinski — A hallmark of the UFC Undisputed series, we have always maintained a frame rate of 60 FPS on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. We did a lot of tuning this year to make sure the animations flow more smoothly and quickly into one another, which ultimately improves the overall gameplay experience. Even minor tweaks like the tuning the jab, a strike used extensively, improves the overall flow and smoothness of UFC Undisputed 3. Just seeing the differences in the game from last year to now is pretty amazing.   Tell us how THQ and or Zuffa came to the realization that PRIDE had to be in this game? Neven Dravinski — PRIDE is something our team has wanted to include in the franchise since its debut. However, our initial focus was really to make sure our core systems were ready before tackling something like this year’s PRIDE Mode. The things I’m most excited about in PRIDE Mode are the expanded rule set and the ability to bring UFC fighters into PRIDE rules and PRIDE fighters into UFC rules. It’s awesome, and it really speaks to our close relationship with Zuffa. I’m happy the team received the green light to include PRIDE this year.   How did you guys capture Saitama super arena so well? Did the dev team just sit around together and watch hours of Pride? (Sounds like the best job ever?) Neven Dravinski — Our team definitely enjoyed watching a lot of PRIDE videos! There’s so much to take into account: the hot white lighting, the crowds, the entrances, etc. I think it helped that our developer Yuke’s Osaka has a long history with PRIDE and the team is comprised of huge fans, but I also think it’s just par for the course with our team as a whole. We have people who have been MMA fans for a long time, and they are certain to make sure the little details will always stand out. The Saitama Super Arena is a great example of this effort.   What is the casual user going to notice and like about UFC 3 the most? What is the hardcore user going to appreciate? Neven Dravinski — One of our internal challenges was to get more people into the franchise. We know we have a deep technical fighting game that’s fun to play, but unfortunately, we can’t sit on everyone’s couches to explain the finer details of the systems. To that end, we implemented several educational systems that teach people how to play the game without forcing them to sit through an exhaustive tutorial. We have a tutorial hint system that pops up in-game, teaching casual users what to do (controller inputs) if they find themselves in a new situation. Between rounds, we have an interval advice system that shows players positive and negative feedback based on what they are doing in their current fight, complete with controller hints for improving play. Finally, the biggest thing for casual users is our new Amateur Control scheme. This control layout replaces the quarter-circle and greater-than-quarter-circle inputs on the right stick with a simple up and down flick on the right stick. Casual users can now get in the game and be competitive with more ease, as the barrier for entry on the ground and in clinch transitions is reduced with the Amateur Controls. However, many players will graduate to the Pro Controls, leaving them much more open to being reversed and offering less control of their transitions. Finally, our new submission system has a graphic display on screen to indicate how close players are to winning or losing a submission. This new system will significantly help in online play or against difficult opponent AI. Speaking of advanced users, we’ve added a lot to the depth to the game: We are introducing a quick-strike interrupt system, where you can use quick strikes (attack button) to interrupt the trajectory of strong strikes (holding toward the opponent + attack). Thus, a jab can now be used to interrupt an opponent’s attacks and then set up your own attacks. In addition this year, players cannot counter grapple quick strikes. We had the ability to sway on the feet last year, and we’ve now extended this capability to the ground. Swaying on the ground is a great way to avoid additional strikes, and it also increases your transition window, thus extending your chances for survival. This year we’ve also removed the passive transition defense that was introduced last year, where the computer would automatically block transitions for you in certain situations. Players now have to be much more active in defending against an opponent. We have leg kick TKOs this year, as well as the ability to check leg kicks. One of the cooler things I like that we’ve been able to put in is the concept of feints in the game. Holding block high + low at the same time as an attack will throw a feint attack, meaning there will be an initiation but a cancelled attack. This becomes especially effective when going for that leg kick TKO: you can fake the low attack, get your opponent to pull his hands down to check and then go up high for the KO. As a result, you can get a pretty good idea that even though we’ve made the game easier to get into, there’s still a lot of depth for the hardest of the hardcore users.   Leg kicks: please elaborate....how often will these leg kick KO's be a factor? Is there a chance for a 'flash' leg kick KO? That would be awesome if there was. Neven Dravinski —Leg kick TKOs will be a factor, but we were very careful to not make this an exploit that took fun out of the game. Leg kicks are a real strategy to employ now; the player can hack his opponent’s leg, hampering his movement and eventually getting the TKO. On top of that, the opponent has the ability to check your leg kicks as well. Much like the fight where Ultimate Fighter Corey Hill hurt his leg when throwing a low kick, you can get TKO’d yourself if your opponent is skillful enough at checking. There will not be any flash leg kick TKOs, but you don’t have to get your opponent’s leg to 100% damage to get a TKO.   When I played UFC 3 in Vegas I marveled at how incredible the head stomps and kicks were...super intuitive. Technically how difficult was Pride rules to achieve? Neven Dravinski — The moves in PRIDE Mode were certainly challenging, as we needed to make sure they felt natural and maintained the same flow as our previously established UFC dynamics. For example, a head stomp when an opponent is on the ground brings up questions not dealt with in previous games, such as what does the attacker do after the stomp or what positions does he have at his disposal. I think we did a good job of utilizing our previous dynamics for areas such as sub-positions; these really allow PRIDE gameplay to come across naturally. Want to kick a guy in the face when he’s down? Remember to aim high (LB + Kick). Overall though, I couldn’t be happier with how the mode turned out, and I’m eager to see the great YouTube videos that will be coming out after launch!   What are the odds of Gary LaPlante being a downloadable character in UFC 3 or the next game? Nick Robertson - Gary’s odds of making it into UFC Undisputed 3 are slim to none. However, after seeing his Shogun vs. Henderson reaction video, we might need to think about getting him into a future iteration.   It's one year after launch date...it's 2013....the Mayans were wrong-we are alive. How many total playable characters are in UFC 3? Nick Robertson - UFC Undisputed 3 will have more than 150 fighters. We can’t comment yet on DLC specifics, but we can say our plan this year is far more robust and includes some great fighters we were unable to include in the initial roster.   Will all of the preorder DLC be purchasable? I bought 1 copy of PS3 undisputed and 1 Xbox last time but I can't buy 4. Nick Robertson - All pre-order DLC items for UFC Undisputed 3 will be available for purchase at a later date.   What weight class do you think people are going to gravitate to the most? Nick Robertson - I think the lightweight division in PRIDE mode will be very popular. Based on how PRIDE weight classes are structured and our desire to let players compete with UFC fighters in PRIDE, the division will consist of the PRIDE lightweights and all of UFC’s lightweight, bantamweight and featherweight fighters. This makes for some very interesting matchups that one wouldn’t normally see in the UFC. For example, I personally like seeing how many UFC lightweights I can leg kick TKO with a guy like Jose Aldo.   Tell us more about this 'stat equalization'? Nick Robertson - Stat equalization in UFC Undisputed 3 enables players to stage a bout where both fighters have an 85 rating for ever statistic. For example, if your favorite fighter is Bob Sapp, you won’t have to worry about fighting someone like Junior dos Santos, who has a higher rating. The only difference between fighters at that point is move set. This makes the fight all about player skill.   Can you tell us specifically who can move up and down in weight classes? Fighters in multiple UFC weight classes Anderson Silva – Middleweight and Light Heavyweight BJ Penn – Lightweight and Welterweight Dan Henderson – Light Heavyweight and Middleweight Diego Sanchez – Welterweight and Lightweight GSP – Welterweight and Middleweight Jake Shields – Welterweight and Middleweight Joe Stevenson – Lightweight and Featherweight Kenny Florian – Featherweight and Lightweight Martin Kampmann – Welterweight and Middleweight Mike Swick – Welterweight and Middleweight Rich Franklin – Light Heavyweight and Middleweight Vitor Belfort – Light Heavyweight and Middleweight Wanderlei Silva – Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Urijah Faber – Bantamweight and Featherweight Akihiro Gono – Welterweight and Middleweight Pride Anderson Silva – Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Pride Dan Henderson – Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Jens Pulver – Lightweight and Featherweight Kevin Randleman – Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Murilo Bustamante – Middleweight and Welterweight Paulo Filho –Welterweight and Middleweight Pride Vitor Belfort – Light Heavyweight and Middleweight Pride Wanderlei Silva – Light Heavyweight and Middleweight Fighters that can fight in multiple Pride weight classes Georges St-Pierre – Welterweight and Middleweight Wanderlei Silva – Middleweight and Welterweight Anderson Silva – Middleweight and Welterweight BJ Penn – Lightweight and Welterweight Jake Shields – Welterweight and Middleweight Pride Anderson Silva – Middleweight and Welterweight Murilo Bustamante – Middleweight and Welterweight Paulo Filho – Welterweight and Middleweight Akihiro Gono – Welterweight and Middleweight Kevin Randleman – Heavyweight and Middleweight Pride Wanderlei Silva – Middleweight and Welterweight Pride Dan Henderson – Middleweight and Welterweight Nick Diaz – Lightweight and Welterweight

Posted in: ufc, welterweight, pride, middleweight, game

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship is seeking Brazilian welterweights and middleweights to compete on the first international season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

Posted in: welterweight, middleweight, brazil, welterweights middleweights, brazilian welterweights

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At UFC 139, Dan Henderson faces Mauricio Rua in the main event. It's a fight being built partly around the idea of the invading Strikeforce champion, with Henderson, the last Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champ, coming back to the UFC against Shogun Rua, the last UFC Light Heavyweight champion. It's a good story, right? Maybe, but it also ignores a key word. A word that holds special meaning to any long time MMA fan. And a word that gives a new level of depth to this fight. Pride. No, not each fighter's pride, I'm talking about the beloved PRIDE organization, the former home to both Henderson and Shogun. Because this fight is truly a Pride dream match. And sadly, it may be the last one. To take a look at the true history behind this fight, we have to roll back to 2005, and the 2005 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix. Starting in 2000, Pride put a heavy emphasis on the Grand Prix format. It was a great idea - get 16 (or so) of the world's best, and have them square off over a few months to determine the true greatest. The format produced some of the all time great Pride, and indeed MMA, fights - fights like Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Royce Gracie and Wanderlei Silva vs. Rampage Jackson. The greatest of these Grand Prix events was held in the Middleweight division (today's equivalent of Light Heavyweight). And heading into the 2005 GP, there was one man to beat: Wanderlei Silva. At that time, Silva was the long reigning Pride Middleweight champion. He had held the belt for 4 years, and had not lost at Middleweight in over 20 fights (though he had suffered one loss to the much bigger Mark Hunt in a controversial decision). He was also the defending Grand Prix champion, having won the 2003 tournament with his nasty KO of Rampage. But in the opening round of the GP, a new contender emerged. Shogun Rua was just 23 years old at the time, and 8-1 in his young career. But as part of the opening round, he made a huge impact, destroying Rampage in less than 5 minutes. Suddenly this aggressive whirlwind of a fighter was another tournament favorite. The only problem? Shogun and Wanderlei were teammates at Brazil's Chute Boxe. They were on opposite sides of the draw, but would they be willing to fight each other in the finals? This was a huge question heading into the final 4, as a Wanderlei vs. Shogun final seemed inevitable. As it turned out, the question never was answered. In the semi-finals, Silva was defeated in a moderate upset by Ricardo Arona, while Shogun stopped Alistair Overeem to make his own way to the finals. There, it took Shogun only 3 minutes to stop Arona, avenging his teammate's loss and establishing his own role as the new top dog in Pride. The story continues in the complete entry. Despite the GP win, Shogun had to settle for being the uncrowned Pride champion, as Silva's belt was not on the line in the tournament, and he remained champion. That all changed on February 24, 2007 in Las Vegas. There, at Pride 33, Dan Henderson knocked Silva out cold to take away the title that had been in The Axe Murderer's grasp for so many years. With the Middleweight title off the waist of his Chute Boxe teammate, Shogun could finally pursue the belt. A Henderson vs. Shogun dream match to determine the true top Middleweight in Pride seemed destined to happen. But it was not to be. Not long after, the now Zuffa-owned Pride organization folded. Dan Henderson walked away the last ever Pride Middleweight champion, while Shogun never got his chance at the belt. But here we are. Nearly 5 years later, we are finally getting the fight that should have been. 2005 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix champion Shogun Rua vs. the last ever Pride Middleweight champion Dan Henderson.  What makes this Pride war great is the fact that it is still a relevant fight today. The winner here is planned to move on and face the winner of Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida for the UFC Light Heavyweight title. This is not just a historical oddity or a treat for the hardcore fans - it's also an important bout between two top 10 fighters with a lot on the line. Sadly, it may also be the last of its kind. Henderson and Shogun are on the extremely short list of Pride fighters who remain truly relevant at the top of their divisions today. And they are perhaps the only fighters that can provide a fresh match-up with this kind of deep history reaching back into the Pride era. So at UFC 139, enjoy the fight for its impact on MMA today, and enjoy the Strikeforce vs. UFC angle. But don't forget about what brought these two men to this point, and don't forget to savor the moment. Pride never die.

Posted in: fight, champion, shogun, pride, middleweight

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After a 16-fight professional MMA career spent at 205 pounds, Antwain Britt looked the part of an imposing physical specimen in his inaugural venture to middleweight.

Posted in: pound, challenger, middleweight, mma career, britt

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What will it take for the UFC to wake up and begin flexing their muscles in the free agent market? Your guess is as good as mine, but in the meantime -- Bellator is making all the right moves. According to a press release sent out this morning, the Chicago-based promotion has made another brilliant move, signing the #4-ranked 2011 World MMA Scouting Report middleweight Vyacheslav Vasilevsky (15-1): CHICAGO, Ill. (November 15, 2011) - In a continuing effort to scout and sign the world's best talent, Bellator Fighting Championships has signed highly-touted Russian striker Vyacheslav Vasilevsky. Vasilevsky joins Bellator after an incredibly successful career in Russia where "Slava" compiled a dominating 15-1 record. Currently riding a 14-fight win streak, the 23-year-old prodigy will be fighting at middleweight in the Bellator cage. The two-time Sambo World Champion and K-Dojo product has had success at light heavyweight but feels at home at 185 pounds and immediately adds more world-class depth to the Bellator middleweight roster. "This opportunity means the world to me," Vasilevsky said. "I'm really excited for the opportunity. I felt like I've conquered the Russian scene, and I'm ready to compete against some of the best in the world with Bellator. They have some great middleweights, and I want to test my skills against them as soon as I can." "We've had tremendous success in the international market acquiring many of the world's best fighters," said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. "Vyacheslav is a world class fighter we've had our eye on for quite some time and he will make a tremendous impact on our middleweight roster." Since his placement on the 2011 World MMA Scouting Report, he's rattled off four straight wins, most recently beating Polish prospect Robert Jocz by unanimous decision in June. A move to Bellator's 185 lb. division makes perfect sense for his continued career progression, although the UFC certainly would have provided a similar landscape for the Russian. In a broader scope, the signing points to something I've been privy to over the course of the last six months. Russia's mixed martial arts scene is growing, and their young talent is seeing the benefits of fighting in the more attractive market stateside. Look for more Russian prospects to head to the U.S. in the first quarter of 2012.

Posted in: bellator, world, middleweight, vasilevsky, russian

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CHICAGO, Ill. (November 15, 2011) - In a continuing effort to scout and sign the world's best talent, Bellator Fighting Championships has signed highly-touted Russian striker Vyacheslav Vasilevsky. Vasilevsky joins Bellator after an incredibly successful career in Russia where "Slava" compiled a dominating 15-1 record. Currently riding a 14-fight win streak, the 23-year-old prodigy will be fighting at middleweight in the Bellator cage. The two-time Sambo World Champion and K-Dojo product has had success at light heavyweight but feels at home at 185 pounds and immediately adds more world-class depth to the Bellator middleweight roster. "This opportunity means the world to me," Vasilevsky said. "I'm really excited for the opportunity. I felt like I've conquered the Russian scene, and I'm ready to compete against some of the best in the world with Bellator. They have some great middleweights, and I want to test my skills against them as soon as I can." "We've had tremendous success in the international market acquiring many of the world's best fighters," said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. "Vyacheslav is a world class fighter we've had our eye on for quite some time and he will make a tremendous impact on our middleweight roster." Bellator 58 takes place this Saturday, November 19 LIVE from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino with an early start time 5:00 PM ET for the Spike.com show and 7:00 PM ET for the MTV2 show. Bellator World Lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez defends his belt against his biggest threat to date in No. 1 contender Michael Chandler, and the world's most dangerous middleweight Hector Lombard puts his 24-fight unbeaten streak on the line when he takes on former UFC fighter Trevor Prangley. The televised portion of the evening will begin at7 p.m. ET and can be seen LIVE on MTV2 and on EPIX in commercial-free HD. The stacked undercard can be seen LIVE and FREE around the world on Spike.com, starting at 5 p.m. ET. For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator

Posted in: bellator, world, pm, middleweight, vasilevsky

Read the full article at MMA Mania

Surging middleweight contender Mark Munoz (12-2) defeated Chris Leben in the main event of UFC 138 last Saturday (Nov. 5) in Birmingham, England, by opening up a huge cut on "The Crippler" and forcing the attending physician to stop the fight. He also opened up a 185-pound can of worms. That's because the "Filipino Wrecking Machine," with his victory and subsequent call-out, inserted himself into what has become an increasing fuzzy title chase, where at least three viable contenders have staked their claim to the next shot at reigning division champion Anderson Silva. Chief among them is middleweight motormouth Chael Sonnen (26-11-1), who sent the mixed martial arts fanbase into a tizzy when he verbally abused "The Spider" in his post-fight speech at UFC 136, an event that saw him return to the win column with a dominating performance over Brian Stann. There's also Michael Bisping (21-3), who Sergio Hernandez argues could make a case for his spot among the 185-pound elite with a clear-cut victory over Jason Miller at next month's Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 14 Finale. And while "The Count" may be a tough sell among fans, he's already got the vote from Silva's manager Ed Soares. What's a UFC matchmaker to do? Perhaps he should listen to the voice of the people, who may often choose with their hearts instead of their heads, but if this is about putting together the fights the fans want to see, then perhaps Joe Silva will take a look at our poll (after the jump) and see for himself. Who should Anderson Silva defend his title against? Poll The next UFC middleweight number one contender is: Mark Munoz. He's a fresh face and a legitimate threat because of his wrestling and dominating top control. Chael Sonnen. From what we've seen, he may be the only real threat to the Silva empire. Michael Bisping. But only if he beats "Mayhem" Miller in convincing fashion. Hey, what about the winner of Vitor Belfort vs. Anthony Johnson? Hector Lombard is the only man bad enough to beat Silva. Holland is trolling us with a poll. On a Monday morning no less.   44 votes | Results

Posted in: ufc, silva, middleweight, contender, poll

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Bellator Fighting Championships’ fifth-season middleweight finalists will collide one week sooner than expected, as Alexander Shlemenko and Vitor Vianna have been assigned to Bellator 57 on Nov. 12.

Posted in: alexander shlemenko, bellator, middleweight, nov, vitor vianna

Read the full article at Sherdog

Anthony Rumble Johnson is finally set to make his middleweight debut, but it seems the UFC won’t be doing him any favors. His first fight in the division will be against perennial contender, Vitor Belfort at UFC 142. It’s a huge opportunity for Johnson and a win would surely catapult him into the elite of the division, but is this too much too soon? Johnson is a big man, some say a natural light heavyweight, and yet he’s spent his entire career fighting at welterweight. This giant size advantage has undoubtedly helped his career, but the cut hasn’t always been easy, and in my opinion has hurt his reputation with UFC fans. No one wants to root for the bigger stronger man picking on people much smaller than him, and that’s essentially what Johnson has been doing his entire MMA career. That’s all changed with the announcement that he’ll be making the move to middleweight, and his career could see a real resurgence because of it. Johnson was still fairly new to MMA when he made his UFC debut, and his career has reflected that inexperience with some very tough losses. A move to middleweight will be in many ways, a fresh start for rumble and it could take his career to new heights. Though Johnson will no longer be fighting opponents much smaller than himself, he should still stack up well with most middleweights in the UFC. He’s actually the same height as middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, and could potentially add on quite a bit of muscle mass. When Johnson was cutting to 170, he was supposedly as heavy as 200 pounds only a week removed from the fight. This is a serious weight cut for anyone, and it has most likely had a major effect on Johnson’s performance in the cage. Without the cut, he could not only see a drastic change in his cardio, but in speed and strength as well. This could be a whole new monster we see at UFC 142. My only concern is Johnson fighting such a talented opponent on his first attempt at middleweight. He won’t have the cut to worry about, but he’ll still be adjusting to the new weight class and should be taking it slowly. At 185, Johnson could possibly feel the heavier frame, and this could adversely affect his speed or even accuracy. Vitor is the kind of fighter that will instantly capitalize on any small mistakes you make in the cage, and could easily spoil Rumble’s middleweight debut. 

Posted in: ufc, johnson, career, middleweight, johnsonrsquos performance

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Ever since Chael Sonnen choked out Brian Stann at UFC 136 last month to re-establish his place among the 185-pound elite, fans have been wondering when and if the trash-talking wrestler would get another crack at the middleweight crown. Turns out he may not even need one. That's because in Sonnen's eyes, he is the division champion, not Anderson Silva, despite losing to "The Spider" by submission at UFC 117 back in 2010. So how can the ex-Realtor justify himself as king of the middleweights? "I fight 'em all. I am the middleweight champion and I take on all comers. He's an imposter. The clear distinction between the true champion and that bum is that. I'll fight 'em all, I don't care what their name is, what their record is, big fight, little fight, this fight, that fight, I will fight. Period. Vitor Belfort calls me out? That's no problem Vitor. You mean nothing to me. Let's fight. You challenge me, I accept your challenge stupid. Now what are you gonna do? Nothing. You just said it because you knew my plate was full. Wrong. I will stomp you. I don't need to take Dana's time, he doesn't need to schedule a lunch with me. Send me a text message, that's it." Hear more from Sonnen, courtesy of Pro MMA Now, after the jump. How about it fight fans, is it time for Silva to accept a rematch? Or does he have other business to attend to first in the UFC middleweight division? Thoughts?

Posted in: fight, anderson silva, middleweight, chael sonnen, sonnen

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The Top 10 MMA fighters from around the world in the middleweight division.

Posted in: pound, mma, fighter, middleweight, middleweight mma

Read the full article at MMA Weekly

Just one day after UFC 142 was announced as the UFC’s latest event in Brazil featuring featherweight champion Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes, another Brazilian will be making a homecoming trip to Rio de Janeiro on January 14. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort will welcome welterweight slugger Anthony “Rumble” Johnson to the middleweight division for the event that is expected for the HSBC Arena, which also hosted UFC 134 in August. Belfort (20-9) last fought in Brazil at the UFC’s most-recent visit before UFC 134 in 1998, knocking out Wanderlei Silva in under a minute. After fighting for a number of notable promotions, “The Phenom” returned to the UFC in September 2009 with a win over Rich Franklin then challenged fellow Brazilian Anderson Silva for the middleweight title in February, but suffered a first-round KO. He was previously scheduled to welcome Cung Le to the UFC at UFC 139, but withdrew from the event due to injury. Johnson is also a longtime UFC veteran with ten fights inside the Octagon all at welterweight. Johnson has struggled cutting to 170 pounds on a few occasions, missing weight by as much as 7.5 pounds in 2007. At 6’2″, he is taller than even most middleweights, so he will not be giving up much size with his move up. It has not been announced whether this is a permanent move to middleweight, or a one time trial for Johnson. Both fighters won their most recent fights less than three minutes into the first round. Belfort knocked out Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133 in August in just 1:52, while Johnson stopped Charlie Brenneman with a head kick in only 2:39 at UFC on Versus 6 in October. UFC 142 has just one other official matchup, as Aldo defends the UFC featherweight title for the third time against Mendes. For complete coverage of UFC 142, stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com

Posted in: ufc, event, johnson, middleweight, belfort

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Welterweight standout Anthony “Rumble” Johnson will move up the scale in January to take on recent middleweight contender Vitor Belfort in Belfort’s hometown of Rio de Janeiro.

Posted in: rio, middleweight, belfort, rumble, hometown

Read the full article at Sherdog

The UFC welterweight division hasn't been kind to Jake Shields.  The former Strikeforce champion squeaked out a split decision victory over Martin Kampmann in his UFC debut and subsequently lost his championship match against 170-pound king, Georges St. Pierre.  Shields then went on to lose his next fight at welterweight, as well, as rising contender Jake Ellenberger sent him to the showers early, knocking him out just 53 seconds into the fight. A move back up to middleweight could be just what the doctor ordered. At least, that's what Eduardo Alonso, Damian Maia's manager, is hoping for. Speaking to Tatame.com, Alonso says a fight with Shields would be a good test for his client. "It's a personal desire, but I guess it'd be a good fight, an interesting challenge for Demian. For his record and skills as a fighter, I'm guessing it'd be interesting. Fighting top 10 guys is always interesting. Since he once was a champion in Strikeforce in this weight class and has great wins over top athletes like Dan Henderson, and because he likes to fight on the ground, I believe it'd be a great match-up against Demian." Alonso, who also manages Mauricio Rua, hopes to fill a coveted slot on the highly anticipated upcoming cards in either Brazil or Japan. "We are still on the first talks with UFC, but our expectations are for him to fight in 2012. I guess there's a possibility of a new event in Brazil, and that might be a facilitator. Or it can be in Japan in February, something that would be very interesting." Shields has been very successful at middleweight, capturing the SHOOTO middleweight title in 2004. The Cesar Gracie trained fighter also captured the vacant Strikeforce 185-pound title by defeating Jason Miller in 2009 before successfully defending it against Dan Henderson last year. Maia is coming off a unanimous decision victory over fellow countrymen Jorge Santiago at UFC 136 and holds impressive victories over Nate Quarry, Dan Miller and current number one contender, Chael Sonnen. What do you think of this proposed match-up between these two great jiu-jitsu practitioners? Will a move to middleweight revive Jake Shields career? Or will Maia give him much of the same medicine he found in the crowded welterweight division? Opinions, please.

Posted in: fight, shield, dan henderson, middleweight, maia

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It would be a dream matchup for UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre to move up to middleweight and challenge titleholder Anderson Silva.

Posted in: gsp, middleweight, move, trainer, dream matchup

Read the full article at Sherdog

“Well to be honest with you, I have recommended to Georges, you know…the only reason I don’t recommend it now is because Frankie Edgar is the champion, but I’d want him to move down to 155 if Frankie was not the champion. Obviously we’re part of the Renzo Gracie team and we’d never fight Frankie Edgar, because obviously we’re all Renzo Gracie fighters. But if it wasn’t the case, you know, I’d rather him go down to 155 because Georges is not a very big welterweight. People might think he is, he’s actually not very big. And him making 170 is extremely easy for him… Honestly, it’s probably one of the easiest weight cuts from all that I coach, and I coach a lot of professional fighters. Georges making 170 is getting a little too easy for him, so I’d recommend to him in the future, who knows what the cards hold, but if we don’t have a team member that’s champion or anything like that, I would recommend him to go down first before going up… Georges’ body type, he’s actually ectomorph, he’s very lean. He doesn’t put on a lot of muscle unless we make do a lot of lifting, and I do make him do a lot of lifting. That’s one of the reasons why I wanted him to start doing Olympic lifting, and just a high volume of weightlifting is what will keep him muscular. Because Georges doesn’t really put on fat and muscle very easily, and I really think he could lose a little bit of muscle. He doesn’t have much fat on him, and a lot of water and a lot of electrolytes. Just doing the weight cut from like 175, he would make it down to 155 quite easily.” — Georges St. Pierre’s trainer Firas Zahabi on Sherdog Radio (transcribed via BE) explaining why he thinks GSP should move down to lightweight instead of middleweight Well, that’s interesting. While the rest of the MMA community has been calling for Georges St. Pierre to move up to middleweight, his lead trainer has been telling him he should do the opposite. Maybe that’s what is best for GSP, but does anyone actually want to see GSP fight a bunch of guys smaller than him? I mean the whole point of him moving up to middleweight was to see how he would do against opponents he wouldn’t be able to manhandle as easily as he does in the welterweight division. He’d run into faster guys in the lightweight division, but theoretically at least, he’d have an even easier time holding them down and dominating them. I don’t know about you, but that’s not something I can get excited about. What do you think? Is there anyone at 155 that could give GSP a run for his money? Image via Dave Mandel for Sherdog

Posted in: gsp, middleweight, lot, george, i coach

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With the new bigger breed of fighters cracking into mixed martial arts (MMA), athletes are competing these days in smaller weight classes to get maximize their advantages inside the cage. It's become the norm rather than the exception. Fighters such as Forrest Griffin and Jon Jones usually outweigh their opponents come fight night and could easily fight at heavyweight; however, both have found significant success in the 205-pound division -- Jones is the current light heavyweight champion and Griffin a former title holder. Mauricio Rua is one of the few light heavyweights who fights at his natural weight. "Shogun" is too small for heavyweight and too big for middleweight. Ironically enough, Shogun is himself a former light heavyweight champion with losses to both Jones and Griffin. Many fans have often wondered how the Brazilian would perform as a middleweight and whether not he could give the seemingly unstoppable 185-pound champion a run for his money. Keep wondering. Eduardo Alonso, Rua's manager, tells Tatame.com that a drop to middleweight is not in his client's foreseeable future: "Honestly, I don't think about it. Shogun is a guy who naturally weights over 100kg. His legs are heavy, so it's hard for him to lose weight. He can drop to 93kg and perform in high level. Few athletes have beaten up so many top 10 athletes like Shogun did. I don't see why he'd drop to the middleweight division... It'd be hard on him; I guess he'd suffer a lot." Alonso also touched on Shogun's upcoming opponent at UFC 139, Dan Henderson, and a possible title shot: "I guess a win over Dan Henderson, to anyone, is a big deal. It doesn't matter in which division it is. Dan Henderson is on top since Rings. He's the current Strikeforce champion on the weight class; he's coming from impressive wins, including the one over Fedor, which is something we can never undermine. Beating Dan Henderson is a great deal for one's career. Fighting for the belt or not is a natural consequence, it's not something we have to worry about. We can't predict what will come to us. The important is for us to do our jobs, than later we'll see. If it's worth the title, great. If it's not, there's no big deal about it, we'll keep on working." MMA greats such as Randy Couture, Dan Henderson and B.J. Penn have held the titles in two different weight classes. Current middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva has also found success at light heavyweight, but has yet to challenge for the division's title. With Shogun's success at light heavyweight in both PRIDE and the UFC, a move down does not seem necessary. Not now, anyway. Not when Quinton Jackson is waiting for his turn to fight Shogun next.

Posted in: heavyweight, dan henderson, shogun, middleweight, weight

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The last fight added to the UFC 140 card will be a middleweight battle featuring guys that likely picked up the biggest wins of their careers in their last bouts. The card takes place December 10th in Toronto. UFC.com shares the info: Verbal agreements are in for a brawling fan's dream bout pitting hard-hitting Constantinos Philippou versus two-time Fight of the Night winner Jared "The Messenger" Hamman in Toronto. The middleweight matchup rounds out the UFC 140 fight card. Hamman made his middleweight debut at UFC on Versus 5 in August where he picked up a TKO victory over C.B. Dollaway in the second round. Meanwhile, Philippou was promoted to the main card of UFC 133 at the last minute to replace Alessio Sakara against Jorge Rivera, and squeaked out an entertaining split-decision victory. The bout is expected to take place on the preliminary card of the event, and is the only middleweight bout on the card. The event will be headlined by a UFC light heavyweight title bout between Jon Jones and Lyoto Machida. More SBN coverage of UFC 140

Posted in: ufc, bout, card, middleweight, hamman

Read the full article at Bloody Elbow

Alexander Shlemenko (42-7) signed with Bellator in 2010 and won the promotion’s Middleweight tournament, earning himself a shot at Middleweight Champion Hector Lombard.  Shlemenko dropped the fight to Lombard via unanimous decision. Shlemenko is now one fight away from getting his rematch with Lombard as he defeated Brian Rogers in the semifinals of the current Middleweight tournament. Up to this point in his career Shlemenko has been a pure striker that can take as well as he can give,

Posted in: lombard, shlemenko, middleweight, brian rogers, middleweight tournament

Read the full article at Low Kick

Mark Munoz headlines UFC 138 on November 5th in a fight against Chris Leben that will see the winner  edge a step closer to the middleweight title...

Posted in: mark, middleweight, chris leben, leben, winner   edge

Read the full article at Fighters Only

THQ has revealed UFC Undisputed 3′s middleweight roster. Check it out below. Middleweights Anderson Silva Alan Belcher Brian Stann Chael Sonnen Chris Leben Court McGee Demian Maia Jason “Mayhem” Miller Jorge Rivera Kendall Grove Mark Munoz Michael Bisping Nate Marquardt Rousimar Palhares Wanderlei Silva Yoshihiro Akiyama Yushin Okami Vitor Belfort Noticeably absent: CB Dollaway, Ed Herman, Jason MacDonald, Jorge Santiago, Tim Credeur, Tom Lawlor Image via THQ

Posted in: ufc, silva, jason, middleweight, roster

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It looks like Jorge Santiago‘s second UFC run has come to an end after just two fights. Following a TKO loss to Brian Stann at UFC 130 and a unanimous decision loss to Demian Maia at the recent UFC 136 event, the Brazilian middleweight has been released by the company. The news was first reported by Tatame.com. “The Sandman’s” first UFC stint ended in 2006 when he went 1-2. After a win against Justin Levens, he dropped back-to-back fights against Chris Leben and Alan Belcher, losing both contests by knockout. Santiago was brought back to the company earlier this year after compiling a 11-1 record in organizations such as Strikeforce and Sengoku. He won the Strikeforce one-night middleweight grand prix in November 2007 by defeating Sean Salmon and Trevor Prangley. In 2008 during his stint Japan he won the Sengoku middleweight grand prix by defeating Logan Clark, Siyar Bahadurzada, and Kazuhiro Nakamura. He followed that up by capturing the Sengoku middleweight strap with a victory over Kazuo Misaki in 2009. His 2010 rematch against Misaki was considered the Fight of the Year by many fans. The Brazilian is 22-6 outside of the UFC but just 1-4 inside the Octagon. *PHOTO CREDIT – UFC*

Posted in: ufc, middleweight, santiago, sengoku, sengoku middleweight

Read the full article at Five Ounces of Pain

Jorge Santiago has been released by the UFC. The Middleweight fighter is coming off a loss to Demian Maia at UFC 136. Santiago made his return to the UFC earlier this year, losing to Brian Stann at UFC 130 before falling to Maia. This was Santiago's second run in the UFC as he was 1-2 in the company back in 2006.  In the years between his two UFC runs, Santiago established himself as one of the top Middleweights in the world outside of the UFC, putting together a solid 11-1 record. His major success came in Japan, where he claimed the Sengoku Middleweight championship and turned some heads with a pair of classic fights against Kazuo Misaki. His work in Japan earned him a lot of respect, and many fans were excited about his return to the UFC. At 1-4 in his combined UFC runs, and at nearly 10 years into his pro career, it's hard to envision Santiago making his way back into the UFC in the future. Although the Maia fight was a bit lackluster, Santiago still has the ability to put on very entertaining fights. With Bellator looking to build up champion Hector Lombard, Santiago would make a fine challenger. The two men are former training partners at American Top Team. Source: Tatame.com

Posted in: ufc, year, middleweight, maia, santiago

Read the full article at Bloody Elbow

If you’ve wondered exactly where Rich Franklin fits in in the UFC the past few years, you’re not alone. On The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani today, Franklin expressed a little frustration with how the UFC has handled him since Anderson Silva ran him out of the middleweight division. He fought a couple catchweight fights against Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva, but the rest have come against guys in the light heavyweight division who outweigh him by as much as 25 lbs. on fight night. Franklin is content with putting on exciting fights wherever the UFC needs him, but he didn’t appreciate how Dana White basically implied that he ducked a fight against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 133 when he actually told his manager he would take it. “I listened to the interview that you did with Dana, and was a bit disappointed…I’ll be honest with you, I was a bit disappointed listening to that, because the tone of the interview between you and Dana almost sounded like that. I thought, first of all, I’ve never ducked any other opponent in my life.” In fact, Franklin said, the only time he’s ever said no to the UFC was when he was asked to fight Reese Andy, who had recently been a training partner of his. Aside from that, he said, he always agreed to whatever the UFC offered, and at whatever weight, which is why “for that kind of stuff to come out and to question, I guess, my motives or my character or whatever, it was very upsetting to me.” The incident bothered Franklin so much, he ended up raising his concerns with the big bossman, Lorenzo Fertitta. “That feeling of family, it’s dissipated a little bit,” Franklin said. “It’s not the same as it used to be when I first starting fighting for the UFC, and I basically told Lorenzo that. I said, ‘Hey, I feel like sometimes you guys don’t really have my back,’ and he told me that they’d been really busy with the FOX deal and all that kind of stuff.” Rich says they’ve worked it out since then, but now he’s stuck on the sidelines until next summer rehabbing his shoulder. Franklin says it would be “great” to return to the middleweight division when he’s physically ready to get back in the Octagon, but he’s going to leave it in the UFC’s hands to decide. Who knows, by the time he’s ready to go, maybe Chael Sonnen will be the middleweight champion, paving the way for Franklin to return to the weight class he once held a title in. If not, Franklin’s probably going to be stuck in this 195/205 lbs. purgatory he’s found himself in recent years. Image via Dave Mandel for Sherdog

Posted in: ufc, fight, middleweight, franklin, middleweight division

Read the full article at MMA Convert

Bellator has announced the addition of Brazilian middleweight Maiquel Falcao to their roster. Falcao, who still trains under the infamous Chute Box banner, currently carries an official professional MMA record of 28-4 with one no-contest and 23 of his wins coming by knockout. He fought for the first time in the US last November competing for the UFC on the main card of the UFC 123 event, winning a unanimous decision over promising wrestler Gerald Harris. Bellator Middleweights Cruise Towards Shot at Champ Hector Lombard Falcao was expected to face Tom Lawlor at UFC 134 in August, but the fight was cancelled and Falcao found himself suddenly released by the promotion due to surroundings of his assault charge on a woman back in 2002. Since then Falcao has fought three times in his native Brazil, winning two by knockout, both in under two minutes, but he was also subbmited by a Kimura courtesdy of fellow BJJ black-belt Antonio Braga Neto. No news has surfaced form Bellator of when he may face his first opponent, or who that opponent may be. PHOTO CREDIT – UFC Tweet

Posted in: ufc, bellator, middleweight, falcao, form bellator

Read the full article at Fighters.com

The former UFC competitor could be an immediate challenger to middleweight champion Hector Lombard.

Posted in: lombard, middleweight, competitor, maiquel, ufc competitor

Read the full article at Heavy MMA

Middleweights Alexander Shlemenko and Vitor Vianna will meet in the Bellator Middleweight Tournament Finals, after they both picked up TKO victories at Bellator 54. Shlemenko finished Brian Rogers in the second round during the main event, while Vianna quickly finished Bryan Baker in the first minute of their fight. “The middleweights have absolutely brought it this season,” said Bjorn Rebney, Bellator CEO, in a press statement. “Vitor Vianna, who is known for his submission game, has proven tonight that he has dynamite in his hands, and Alexander Shlemenko is absolutely one of the most exciting and explosive middleweights in the world. These finals will be an absolute magic at The Seminole Hard Rock on November 19.” Shlemenko is an experienced MMA fighter with 49 pro MMA fights, and is riding a five-fight win streak since dropping a unanimous decision against Hector Lombart in October 2010. Meanwhile, Vianna has just one loss in his 14 pro fights (a TKO loss to Thiago Silva in 2006), and is a solid BJJ fighter with still developing MMA skills. I look forward to watching the finals matchup next month, when Bellator hosts a stacked card that includes Eddie Alvarez vs. Mike Chandler and Hector Lombard vs. Trevor Prangley.

Posted in: bellator, shlemenko, middleweight, final, vianna

Read the full article at MMA Opinion

The Bellator middleweight roster just got even better as company CEO Bjorn Rebney announced that the organization has signed Brazilian striker Maiquel Falcao. The signing was made official last night during the Bellator 54 event. “Big Rig” is best known for his one bout in the UFC where he defeated the highly-touted Gerald Harris at UFC 123 by unanimous decision. He was scheduled to compete at UFC 134 in August but was released from the company on May 11 due to charges stemming from a 2002 assault case. The Brazilian native headed back to his home country following his UFC released and has gone 2-1 in that time. Of his 28 career victories, 23 have come by way of (T)KO. He’s only competed once outside of Brazil, that being his one bout inside the octagon. No debut date or opponent have been announced. The Bellator middleweight division is currently ruled by champion Hector Lombard, who has won 19 straight contests. Top contenders Alexander Shlemenko and Vitor Vianna are scheduled to meet at Bellator 58 with the winner get a shot at Lombard’s belt. *PHOTO CREDIT – UFC*

Posted in: ufc, bellator, middleweight, brazilian, home country

Read the full article at Five Ounces of Pain

Two middleweights will take one step closer to an opportunity at dethroning dominant Bellator champion Hector Lombard and a chance at $100,000, with the semifinal round of the Bellator Season 5 Middleweight Tournament. Coming to use live from the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey it’s Bellator 54. As always, Five Ounces of Pain will provide complete results including a fight recap of all the live televised action. The preliminary action kicks off at 7PM EST withe the fights streaming live on Spike.com. Then the main cards hits your television set at 9PM EST on MTV2 and EPIX HD. Bellator 54 is headlined by one of the middleweight semifinal fights as former finalist Alexander Shlemenko battles Brian Rogers. The co-main event features the other middleweight semifinal with Bryan Baker taking on Vitor Vianna. Also taking to the cage will be bantamweight title holder Zach Makovsky against striker Ryan Roberts in a non-title fight and undefeated Brazilian Rene Nazare will face off against submission-specialist Jacob Kirwan. PRELIMINARY CARD Brian Kelleher vs. Claudio Ledesma Andria Caplan vs. Adrienne Seiber Lewis Rumsey vs. Joey Kirwan Tim Carpenter vs. Ryan Contaldi Duane Bastress vs. Daniel Gracie MAIN CARD Jacob Kirwan vs. Rene Nazare Zach Makovsky vs. Ryan Roberts Bryan Baker vs. Vitor Vianna Alexander Shlemenko vs. Brian Rogers

Posted in: fight, bellator, vs, middleweight, cards hits

Read the full article at Five Ounces of Pain

Inagural Bellator Middleweight Tournament Winner, Alexander "Storm" Shlemenko, is man on a mission. Russian KO artist was on a six-fight winning streak prior to facing Hector Lombard for the Bellator Middleweight title almost a year ago, only to find himself losing via Unanimous Decision after five rounds of tough battle. Now, with vengeance on his mind, Shlemenko looks to pave the way to a second shot at the Bellator Middleweight title and a rematch with Hector Lombard. "Storm" is 4-0 since the Bellator

Posted in: hector, bellator, shlemenko, hector lombard, middleweight

Read the full article at Low Kick

No fighter in the UFC middleweight division seems to know how to defeat Anderson Silva. Likewise for 170-pound champion Georges St. Pierre and light heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones. So why not just have them fight each other? It's what some fans want, but this MMA Nation article reinforces the old proverb that to want, is suffering. Find out why here.

Posted in: ufc, silva, division, middleweight, anderson

Read the full article at MMA Mania

“Far be it from me to question the UFC, that’s not what I am doing, but I just have my opinion. Chael Sonnen had his chance, put on a great performance but lost. Got tapped out, got finished, and then after that he failed a steroids test. As far as I can see he had his chance and he blew it… I feel I deserve a shot. I have got to beat Miller, he is tough, I am not looking past him. [But] its me, I’m the contender. Belfort has just been beat, Yushin Okami has just been beat, Sonnen got beat. What are they going to do, all they all going to keep beating each other up and then having another shot at him? No, I’m the contender.” — Michael Bisping telling Fighters Only that he should be the number one contender in the middleweight division Michael Bisping has come close to getting into title contention, but losses to veterans Dan Henderson and Wanderlei Silva derailed his title aspirations on two occasions. He’s now on a three-fight win streak with wins over Dan Miller, Yoshihiro Akiyama and Jorge Rivera. If he beats Mayhem Miller, I’m sure Dana White will put him “in the mix,” but I think he still needs a decisive victory over an elite middleweight to get his shot. Timing could be an issue, but putting him against Vitor Belfort while Chael Sonnen rematches Anderson Silva could be a solution. Image via Dave Mandel for Sherdog

Posted in: i ’m, bisping, middleweight, contender, dave mandel

Read the full article at MMA Convert

Over three years ago Vitor Belfort decided to cut down to middleweight after having started his career as a heavyweight and then spending a majority of it at 205-pounds. The Brazilian felt this was the right move to guarantee career longevity. The plan proved to be a stroke of genius after "The Phenom" scored two knockouts at each Affliction pay-per-view (PPV) event. The second was particularly brutal. A little over half a minute into his bout with Matt Lindland, the Team Quest fighter was out cold and stiffer than a Stan Hansen lariat. When the clothing company turned mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter went belly up, Belfort returned to the Octagon. His first fight back was against Rich Franklin who met a fate not too dissimilar from that of "The Law." It took place at a catchweight of 195-pounds but the message was clear: Vitor Belfort was a force to be reckoned with at middleweight. One Steven Seagal-inspired kick later and "The Phenom" finds himself having to climb back up the ladder. At 34-years of age, he's no spring chicken. He realizes he's not the teenager that took the UFC by storm and is planning accordingly. What's the plan? Read on to find out! 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Belfort was slated to take on Cung Le on next month's UFC 139 card but had to pull out due to an injury. "The doctor told me to take time off to rehabilitate," Belfort explained. "He said, 'You're not a young guy anymore. This might not cost you now but it might in the future'." In his place, fellow Brazilian Wanderlei Silva has been booked to take on the former Strikeforce middleweight champion. But the injury was minor enough that Belfort is expecting to be well enough to fight before year's end. He's gunning for the co-main event slot supporting the Brock Lesnar/Alistair Overeem bout at UFC 141. Belfort said, "I have a plan to go five more years. I want to be ready for December but I don't want to jeopardize my career. I also don't want to go inside the Octagon sloppy and insecure. Starting a camp with an injury is not a smart thing. I had to listen to the doctor. I apologized to Lorenzo [Fertitta] and told him I had to pull out." The injury wasn't something that sprang up overnight. It was something that had been bothering him since before his fight with Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133. "Nobody knew but I almost pulled out. We drained the knee a lot," the Brazilian revealed. "I'm 100 percent now. I'm going back to the gym Monday so I can get ready for December." Exactly who "The Phenom" will face still isn't known. When asked if he would like to take on Chael Sonnen after the American won his UFC 136 bout against Brian Stann, Belfort said, "I've been dreaming of that fight. Dana said the winner will take on Anderson but I hope they change their mind. "Chael is an exciting fighter when talking but inside the Octagon, all he knows what to do is wrestle. His ground and pound isn't vicious. But he has a will, a drive and never stops coming forward." There may be a bit of egg on Belfort's face as the wrestler managed to score a submission win with a slick arm triangle in the second round. Sonnen responded to the Brazilian at the event's post-fight press conference, "He's a fool. He knows not what he says." Sonnen added, "If my name comes out of his mouth again, I will bury him where he stands." A rivalry seems to be brewing between the two but Belfort insists it's all business. "The only guy I have a personal problem with is the devil," he said. In fact, "The Phenom" doesn't seem to take anything about his profession personally. "I want to get to the title. The way I beat Akiyama was convincing. He had never been knocked out. I'm just looking for someone who can get me to the title. I want to be the only person to win a title in three different weight classes." While you won't see the Brazilian's name in the UFC heavyweight title lineage, Belfort did win a heavyweight tournament way back at UFC 12 and won the light heavyweight strap at UFC 46. But while his focus is on getting the middleweight title around his waist, he admits he thinks about how he would fare if he went back to the weight he started off his career off at. "The weight cut is tough. Right now, I'm 220 pounds," he said. "Sometimes I think it would be easier to fight at heavyweight. I've got power but also speed. I like to challenge myself, though. Fighting at middleweight is a challenge." When the topic of his UFC 126 bout with Anderson Silva was brought up, Belfort didn't have much to say. "I don't think too much in a way that will get me depressed. It was his night, he delivered." His demeanor wasn't one that implied annoyance at the question but instead acceptance. It's a maturity that comes with a decade and a half in the fight game. It's that same maturity that keeps revenge off "The Phenom's" mind. If Sonnen were to beat Silva, Belfort said he would rather fight for the belt and then defend it against "The Spider." Belfort added, "The belt isn't personal, it's a goal." A hot topic in MMA right now is whether or not fighters who train together should be expected to fight each other. It nearly tore Greg Jackson MMA apart and has led to a near endless debate. Belfort's opinion is a bit different from most inside the fight game. He said he didn't understand how fighters could call themselves professionals but refuse to fight certain people. "Let’s be friends? No! If my brother was in my weight division, I would fight him." He added, "This is a sport, this is a competition. I’m not going to war. I’m here to compete." "Imagine if the Lakers never competed with the Heat." For Belfort, it's nothing personal. It's just business.

Posted in: ufc, fight, title, middleweight, belfort

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Tomorrow night in Houston, Texas, fans of mixed martial arts (MMA) will find out who the world's best lightweight is. The question was to be decided back in January at UFC 125 but Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard fought to a draw in that evening's main event. On October 8, they do it all over again and both have guaranteed that a clear winner will emerge. On top of that title fight, the 145-pound title will be on the line as champion Jose Aldo takes on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 1 runner-up Kenny Florian. The two five-round bouts are are supported by Chael Sonnen taking on Brian Stann with a shot at Anderson Silva on the line, Nam Pham getting a second crack at Leonard Garcia, and lightweight dynamo Melvin Guillard going head to head with Joe Lauzon. On paper, it's an impressive night of fights. Will it live up to the hype? Exclusive weigh-in photos are the jump. Middleweight bout:  Steve Cantwell vs.  Mike Massenzio Middleweight bout:  Aaron Simpson vs.  Eric Schafer Featherweight bout:  Zhang Tie Quan vs.  Darren Elkins Heavyweight bout:  Joey Beltran vs.  Stipe Miocic   Lightweight bout:  Anthony Pettis vs.  Jeremy Stephens Middleweight bout:  Demian Maia vs.  Jorge Santiago Lightweight bout:  Melvin Guillard vs.  Joe Lauzon Featherweight bout:  Leonard Garcia vs.  Nam Phan Middleweight bout:  Chael Sonnen vs.  Brian Stann Featherweight Championship bout:  José Aldo (c) vs.  Kenny Florian Lightweight Championship bout:  Frankie Edgar (c) vs.  Gray Maynard

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UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen may have tapped to a triangle armbar submission against champion Anderson Silva, but the brash Team Quest fighter has continually poked fun at Silva and other Brazilian fighters. Silva, one of the most dominant champions in UFC history, was controlled by Sonnen on the ground before trapping the American wrestler in the fight-ending choke during the fifth round of their August 2010 fight. Since that fight, Sonnen has attacked Silva on numerous occasions, while the middleweight champion has ignored the public statements. “It’s getting harder and harder to deny he should be shown that appreciation,” Sonnen confirmed while promoting his upcoming middleweight fight against Brian Stann. “He ducked Okami for years, but he did finally get in there and he made it look easy. So I think you’ve got to look at that. If you’re asking if I’d ever concede that Anderson’s better than me, no. I would refer you to the tape (of our fight). I think he and I are vastly different and that I could come down a lot and still be ahead of him. I also think he ducks and dodges opponents constantly, but his wins and losses speak for themselves. The fact of the matter, whether I like to admit this or not, is he’s done a better job than anybody, done a better job than me, and he is the champion.” If Sonnen is able to get by Stann later this week at UFC 136, a possible rematch with Silva seems likely sometime in 2012. I think it’d be interesting to see what adjustments Silva would make if he had to fight Sonnen again — he spent a large portion of the fight on his back, so he would clearly need to make changes.

Posted in: fight, silva, champion, middleweight, sonnen

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Dan Henderson has been saying it for years: He does not enjoy fighting at middleweight.

Posted in: henderson, dan henderson, dan, middleweight, fight i

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Luiz Cane will be making his move to the UFC middleweight division and he's enlisted one of the top coaches in the sport to help him do it.

Posted in: middleweight, move, luiz cane, cane, luiz

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Dan Henderson says Anderson Silva is only middleweight bout he wants.

Posted in: silva, anderson silva, dan henderson, middleweight bout, middleweight

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DENVER - Josh Koscheck is back. In more ways than one. Just ask the man himself, who returned from a nine-month layoff to impressively defeat UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes in Saturday's UFC 135 co-headliner. Koscheck, who spent much of the past year recovering from a broken orbital bone, is now focused on the future. And he's not counting out a possible move to middleweight or even a spot on November's UFC 139 card in San Jose, Calif.

Posted in: ufc, josh koscheck, koscheck, san jose, middleweight

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One guy will be looking to stay undefeated at middleweight, while the other will be looking to stay undefeated period. The Barbarian vs. The Promise? It's obvious who wins the nickname war, but this middleweight fight is very hard to call. Tim Boetsch (13-4, 4-3 UFC) will square off with Nick Ring (12-0, 2-0 UFC).  Neither fighter is currently ranked at middleweight on the USA Today/BE Consensus Rankings, but both fighters are knocking on the door and could creep onto the bottom of the list with a win. This middleweight UFC 135 fight will be the first fight of the televised part of the broadcast, and will be shown on Spike TV.  The Spike show begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. How do these two stack up? Boetsch: 30 years old | 5'11" | 74" reachRing: 32 years old | 6'1" | 74" reach What have these two done recently? Boetsch: W - Kendall Grove (UD) | L - Phil Davis (SUB) | W - Todd Brown (UD)Ring: W - James Head (SUB) | W - Riki Fukuda (UD) | W- Yannick Galipeau (SUB) How did these two get here? Tim "The Barbarian" Boetsch opened his career with six straight wins before dropping a decision to Vladimir "The Janitor" Matyushenko in the IFL. Oddly, he was brought into the UFC straight off of a loss on 10 days notice, and impressed everyone by dumping David Heath right on his head like a ragdoll and taking a TKO victory in the process. Unfortunately, Boetsch lost two out of his next three (including a TKO loss to UFC 130 main eventer Matt Hamill), and was released from the organization. After three straight wins in the minors, he was brought back at UFC 117 where he won a decision over Todd Brown. A blowout loss to Phil Davis at UFC 123 convinced him that he needed to make the drop to middleweight though. He looked great in his debut at 185, easily controlling Kendall Grove and cruising to a decision victory. Nick "The Promise" Ring has been an MMA pro for over 9 years now, but got his big break as a castmember on The Ultimate Fighter 11. His unique personality made him one of the more popular cast members, but after beating eventual TUF 11 winner Court McGee, he found out he would require knee surgery. He was out for 14 months, and returned to make his official UFC debut against Riki Fukuda at UFC 127. He picked up a highly controversial decision to remain undefeated. His next bout was against James Head at UFC 131, where he recovered from a slow start to dominate and pick up a third-round submission victory. Why should you care? Ring is undefeated but many fans feel it's only a matter of time before his hype train gets de-railed and he loses. Is The Barbarian that man? We'll find out. You can catch more UFC 135 preview content from Bloody Elbow after the jump.

Posted in: ufc, boetsch, middleweight, kendall grove, riki fukuda

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Whatever Vitor Belfort did to get himself kicked off the UFC 139 fight card on Nov. 19 in San Jose is apparently not severe enough to sideline him much longer than a month. "The Phenom" tweets: I am out of november card, I have to take care of a injury. Nothing major but the good news that the doctor says I will be ready for dec Belfort was expected to welcome former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le to the Octagon in the co-main event of "Henderson vs. Shogun;" however, UFC President Dana White today brought word that Wanderlei Silva will taking his place. That means the former middleweight number one contender is looking for a new opponent, assuming the promotion hasn't already found him one. Belfort was last seen destroying Japanese judo player Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133, sending him to his third straight loss and tucking tail down to the welterweight division. The victory in Philadelphia moved him to 1-1 as a UFC middleweight following his first round collapse at the hands (and feet) of Anderson Silva earlier this year. Time to do a little fantasy matchmaking Maniacs. Who does Belfort get next? And are there any conspiracy theorists out there thinking he was never really hurt and this was the promotion's way of switching things around (See Belfort vs. Okami at UFC 122). Sound off!

Posted in: ufc, middleweight, belfort, promotion hasn, middleweight number

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Some people say a plan is just a list of things that don’t happen, but those some people are not nicknamed “The Barbarian”. At UFC 130, Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch had a plan and it was to dominate The Ultimate Fighter season 3 winner Kendall Grove with his size and strength. The plan was to make a statement in Boetsch’s debut at middleweight that there’s a new powerhouse to deal with in the division. That plan worked itself out to a “T”.“I felt like the fight was one-sided because I was able to implement my gameplan,” affirms Boetsch. “It sort of seemed like we were two different weight classes when I decided to close the distance on him and I was able to do it. I took his range away from him. He stung me with a couple jabs, but I was able to move right through them without much concern and get a hold of him and get the takedowns pretty much at will. My strength was certainly a factor in that fight and I'm looking to do the same in this upcoming fight.”In the midst of his second stint in the UFC, Boetsch decided to drop the 20 pounds from light heavyweight to middleweight to make a serious run in this new weight class. “I was more excited than anything else to see what I was actually capable of at middleweight,” says Boetsch who had previously gone 3-3 as a 205er in the Octagon and was well known for his might. “I certainly proved to myself I made the right decision in dropping weight. I felt a lot stronger, my speed had definitely increased from when I was at 205 and I felt in a lot better condition, so I'm glad I made the decision. I think in my first fight, I made a statement to everybody that I made the right choice.”The unanimous decision win over Grove in May was a resoundingly positive showing by Boetsch. He looked more than comfortable in all areas of the fight and kept his pressure and pace on Grove high for the three rounds. Most importantly, the former Division I wrestler from Lock Haven University’s takedowns looked as vicious as ever. “Guys who get in the cage with me should expect that if I get my hands on them that I'm going to return them to the mat fairly violently.” In many ways, Boetsch is new and improved at 185.“I move better,” he explains. “My submissions on the ground go together more smoothly. My wrestling and my scrambling is better. At light heavyweight sometimes, I was feeling like I was getting into my own way. That's not there anymore. I feel like everything is more smooth and fluid, and with that there's the speed and power. It makes me more dangerous.”The next fighter to challenge the svelter Boetsch will be TUF alum Nick “The Promise” Ring at UFC 135 in Denver, Colorado. It’s a classic paradoxical matchup of wrestlers where an irresistible force, the undefeated Ring, will meet the immovable object, “The Barbarian”, in the Octagon. Ring is coming off a most impressive performance against James Head at UFC 131, which he won by rear naked choke in the third. Ring was stumbled briefly in the first round, but commanded almost every other second of the fight, mostly with his superior ground game. “I think Nick's a very good fighter,” admits Boetsch. “He's strung 12 wins together and is undefeated. He's a tough guy and always comes in shape. He seems like he is mentally tough and I've seen him get hurt in fights and battle back and win. Whenever you see that, you know there is a lot going on inside the guy's head that he is mentally tough and willing to battle back. I'm preparing for a very tough fight. I'm expecting Nick to bring his ‘A’ game for 15 minutes. I'm preparing for a fight that is going to go the distance and will be fought at a hard, fast pace.”With that being said, the 30-year old plans to enter the cage to make another statement as a middleweight and not only provide Ring with his first loss, but do so like “The Barbarian”. “I want to finish Nick Ring and do it in a fashion that people are like 'wow, that was brutal',” asserts Boetsch, who has finished 11 of his 13 wins and is looking to add to that. “I want to finish him early: either knock him out or submit him. I want people to think ‘this Tim Boetsch guy took an undefeated fighter, a guy no one has been able to beat, and Tim finished him.’ I think this fight will further show people that I do belong at middleweight and that I can do a lot of damage at this weight class.”To prepare for this clash, Boetsch returned to the hallowed halls of AMC in Kirkland, Washington under the watchful eye of “The Wizard,” Matt Hume. “'I’ve had a great camp out there with a lot of really tough fighters, great sparring and Matt Hume in my corner gameplanning and pushing me harder to places I maybe didn't think I could go,” states Boetsch, who has been training religiously at AMC with Hume for the past three years and believes we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg of his UFC potential. “I'm only getting better at middleweight. This is only my second fight at middleweight, so my body is still adapting to the change. I'm still figuring out how to use my new tools that I've got here.”Generally speaking, the key to getting better at anything is about adding more resistance. The ability to overcome greater adversity. To defeat an even greater challenger than the last is the true mark of improvement. Boetsch’s debut at middleweight was against a well regarded opponent in Grove, who is 6’6” and a 13 fight Octagon veteran. Boetsch doesn’t have it an easier tangling with the unblemished record of Ring. But he is ratcheting up the competition level inside the cage, which means he is only pushing himself harder outside of it with the crew at AMC.“You have to go to where there are tough training partners,” states Boetsch. “That goes back to my college career in wrestling. There were schools that offered me scholarships and offered me to be the number one guy in the room and have a varsity spot. But you need to be in a room with guys that can beat you up and will push you to the next level and that's what Matt Hume and the entire AMC team provide out there. There's no such thing as an easy day of training, especially when we go spar. I expect to get my head ripped off a few times in there and that's what you need to get better. If you're in a room where you're just beating everyone up and not having to push, then you're not going to get better as a fighter. You need to have guys who are going to test you physically and mentally.”On September 24th, Boetsch wants to end Ring’s win streak and looks to start one of his own. “I had my debut at middleweight and I was successful and, now, I would like to string some wins together. That's where my mindset is at. I certainly don't think Nick Ring's going to stop me and I don't see anyone in the foreseeable future that is going to stop me. I'm very excited to get in there and prove to everybody I'm a contender at 185.”

Posted in: fight, “ i, boetsch, ring, middleweight

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