WMMA2: UFC - The Story

[King Pietersen]

Just means he'd be a good wrestler. Doesn't mean he'd be handle a very talented, bigger submission artist like Frank Mir.

The UFC returns to Portland, Oregon for another night of exciting fights as UFC 102 arrives. The full fight card was officially announced today by UFC president Dana White, and it's a card stacked with top class fights.

The PPV is headlined by a UFC Veteran taking on a PRIDE Star as Randy 'The Natural' Couture takes on Antonio Rodrigo 'Minotauro' Nogueira. It's Couture's first fight since his title loss to Brock Lesnar and it's the first time we'll see Minotauro since his fight against Frank Mir where he was finished for the first time in his career. Both guys have had fairly long lay-offs, so are set to come into this fight at 100%.

Couture, a very talented Greco-Roman wrestler will be looking to get back into the title frame by beating a fellow fight veteran Nogueira. Couture returned to the UFC in November 2008 and will be looking to get his first win under his belt since that return. He's had many battles in his career, and has held titles in both the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight divisions. He's got wins over top competitors like Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Tim Sylvia, Vitor Belfort, Gabriel Gonzaga and others; and Couture will be looking to add Nogueira to that list.

Minatauro seems to have been in the fight game forever, and at 33 years of age, many think he's coming to the end of his fantastic career. Nogueira disagrees though, and believes he still has at least 3 years of high level competing left in him. Nogueira was majorly disappointed by his loss to Frank Mir at UFC 92, but he revealed he was nowhere near 100% coming into that fight. He had suffered a staph infection in his leg which stopped him training for a couple of weeks and he was also suffering with a knee injury. He's over those injuries now though, and is keen to make an impression on the UFC like he did in PRIDE.

The Co-Main Event for the event sees 2 big Light-Heavyweight contenders lock horns as 'The Dean of Mean' Keith Jardine takes on the Brazilian Thiago Silva. Both guys are coming off losses to top tier opponents, with Jardine losing by decision to Quinton Jackson and Silva losing via knockout to current Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida. These 2 guys love to scrap, and we're sure to see a real stand up war.

Another really interesting fight on the card sees 2 Middleweight contenders in Nate 'The Great' Marquardt and Demian Maia fight in what could possibly detirmine the next challenger to Anderson Silva's Middleweight belt. Marquardt has a solid all-round game, but is more famed for his stand-up ability, whereas Maia is one of the best Jiu-Jitsu practioners in MMA.

It's sure to be a fantastic night of fights in Oregon. UFC 102 takes place at the Rose Garden on the 29th of August, so check your local listings for PPV details!

Full Fight Card:

Main Card:

Randy 'The Natural' Couture vs Antonio Rodrigo 'Minatauro' Nogueira
'The Dean of Mean' Keith Jardine vs Thiago Silva
Nate 'The Great' Marquardt vs Demian Maia
Chris Leben vs Jake Rosholt
Brandon 'The Truth' Vera vs Krzysztof Soszynski
Gabriel Gonzaga vs Heath Herring

Prelim Bouts:

Ed Herman vs Aaron Simpson
Justin McCully vs Michael Russow
Tim Hague vs Todd Duffee
Nick Catone vs Mark Munoz
David Barron vs Shannon Gugerty​

 

[King Pietersen]

The Natural Slays Minatauro; Jardine defeats Silva​

​

Randy 'The Natural' Couture left Oregon a local hero after defeating Antonio Rodrigo 'Minatauro' Nogueira via first round TKO. In a night of thrilling battles Keith Jardine got back to winning ways with a decision victory over Brazilian Thiago Silva. Nate Marquardt continued his push towards a rematch with Anderson Silva with a Split Decision victory over Jiu-Jitsu expert Demian Maia.

It was a dominant display from the former UFC heavyweight Champion Randy Couture, as he finished Nogueira inside the 1st round. Nogueira had never been finished in his career before his UFC 92 fight with Frank Mir, but he's now been defeated via TKO in his last 2. Couture got into his work quickly, and utilised his top level Greco-Roman Wrestling to fantastic effect. He immediately clinched with Nogueira, before managing to secure double under-hooks. The hooks were put to good effect as Couture then managed to secure a takedown.

Once on the ground, the Ground and Pound of Couture came to the fore as he transitioned from Nogueiras guard, to Full Mount with ease. Once in the mount the result of the fight looked a foregone conclusion. Couture laid down some heavy shots, opening a cut above Nogueira's right eye. A few shots later, and referee Herb Dean lept in to stop the fight. It was a massive victory for Couture, who was looking to come back strong having lost to Brock Lesnar in his last fight. It appeared that the real Randy Couture was back!

In the Co-Main Event, Light Heavyweights Keith Jardine and Thiago Silva locked horns. In what was a real stand-up war, Jardine came out on top, in a very similar performance to the one that earnt him a decision win over Chuck Liddell. The fight wasn't completely smooth for Jardine, as Silva won the first round, taking Jardine down and dominating him on the ground. Jardine managed successfully defended Thiago's take-down attempts in the rest of the fight however, keeping the fight standing and dominating the majority of the exchanges to take the final 2 rounds, to take a unanimous decision victory.

Other results on the night saw Nate 'The Great' Marquardt take a split decision win over Demian Maia. The fight was very close going into the 3rd round, with it being arguable as to who won the first 2 rounds. In the 3rd round though, Marquardt appeared to secure victory, knocking Maia down with a heavy right hook, then landing solid shots from side control and half guard for the rest of the round. The judges showed abit of disagreement, with the scores reading 29/27 Marquardt, 29/28 Maia and 29/28 Marquardt. A very exciting fight, and a victory for Marquardt that could very well make him the next challenger for Anderson Silva's Middleweight title.

Fight Card Results:

Main Card:

Randy Couture beat Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira via 1st Round TKO
Keith Jardine beat Thiago Silva via Unanimous Decision
Nate Marquardt beat Demian Maia via Split Decision
Jake Rosholt beat Chris Leben via Unanimous Decision
Brandon Vera beat Krzysztof Soszynski via Unanimous Decision
Gabriel Gonzaga beat Heath Herring via 2nd Round Submission

Prelim Card:​

Aaron Simpson beat Ed Herman via Unanimous Decision
Michael Russow beat Justin McCully via Unanimous Decision
Todd Duffee beat Tim Hague via 3rd Round TKO
Mark Munoz beat Nick Catone via 1st Round Submission
David Barron beat Shannon Guggerty via Unanimous Decision

Fight of The Night: Keith Jardine vs Thiago Silva
Knockout of The Night: Randy Couture
Submission of The Night: Gabriel Gonzaga​

​

​

bloody character limit

 

[Sartaj]

Awesome!!!
Randy! Randy! Randy!!!! :happy

 

[King Pietersen]

Today UFC President Dana White officially announced the full Fight Card for the upcoming UFC 103 event. The event, set to be held in Dallas, Texas, is headlined by UFC Fan Favourite Rich 'Ace' Franklin and the returning former Light Heavyweight Champion, 'The Phenom' Vitor Belfort. The Co-Main Event, features another big Fan Favourite, Mirko 'Cro-Cop' Filipovic as he takes on a rising star in the Heavyweight division, Junior 'Cigano' Dos Santos.

The Main Event was changed just weeks before this announcement, after fans showed their dismay at a rematch between Franklin and Middleweight contender, Dan Henderson. Belfort, who is returning to the Octagon after a spell away stepped up and agreed to take on Franklin at a catchweight 195lbs. This will be Franklin's first fight since his epic battle with Wanderlei Silva, and he'll be looking to make it 2 wins on the trot with a win over The Phenom.

Belfort hasn't fought in the UFC since 2005, but is on a rich streak of form, having won his last 4 fights. His last fight, which took place at Affliction's Day Of Reckoning PPV was a seriously violent knockout of Matt Lindland. Belfort finished the fight inside the first minute of the fight, and left Lindland knocked out cold for a few minutes. Belfort has stated that he's found his passion for fighting again, after falling out of love with the sport after suffering from the loss of his sister. He's now happily married with children, has a solid training camp and is in fantastic condition. It's sure to be a superb fight between these 2 exciting fan favourites.

The Co-Main Event sees recently returned K-1 Striker Mirko Cro Cop taking on the powerful Brazilian, Junior Dos Santos. Cro Cop has recently returned to the UFC after a spell in Japan and a series of injuries. He came back with a convincing, but somewhat controversial win over the Brit Mustapha Al-Turk, and will be keen to put on a more impressive performance against Dos Santos.

Dos Santos has only had 2 fights in the UFC, but won them both emphatically, with Knockout wins over big Stefan Struve and Heavyweight veteran Fabricio Werdum, both inside the first round. Dos Santos has heavy hands, and solid stand-up, but also is very talented on the ground, having worked with fighters including the Nogueira brothers and Anderson Silva. Whether we'll see the fight go to the ground is another matter, as I'm sure that Dos Santos will be keen to prove that he can hang with a top striker like Cro Cop.

Also on the card is a fight in the Welterweight division featuring Martin Kampmann and UFC newboy, Paul 'Semtex' Daley. Kampmann was supposed to be taking on Ultimate Fighter 1 contestant Mike Swick, but an injury led Swick to have to pull out. Daley stepped up on short notice and will be looking to let his heavy hands and exciting striking power loose. Another Ultimate Fighter 1 contestant makes an appearance at UFC 103 as well, as Josh Koscheck takes on another returning figure in Frank Trigg. It's sure to be another superb night of fights!

UFC 103 takes place at the American Airlines Center on the 19th of September, so check your local listings for PPV details!

Full Fight Card

Main Card:

Rich Franklin vs Vitor Belfort at a Catchweight 195lbs
Mirko Cro-Cop vs Junior Dos Santos
Martin Kampmann vs Paul Daley
Josh Koscheck vs Frank Trigg
Tyson Griffin vs Hermes Franca
Drew McFederies vs Tomasz Drwal

Prelim Card:

Efrain Escudero vs Cole Miller
Jim Miller vs Thiago Tavares
Rick Story vs TBA (Was due to face Brian Foster but he's had to pull out due to Injury)
Vladamir Matyushenko vs Kyle Kingsbury
Eliot Marshall vs Jason Brilz
Rob Emerson vs Rafael Dos Anjos​

bloody character limit

 

[Sartaj]

Easy mate...back to back PPVs so soon?

 

[King Pietersen]

Just the way the official UFC schedule works. The last event took place on August 29th, with 103 on the 19th of September. They're not that close. Have a big announcement here though

The Ultimate Fighter: The Heavyweights
Team Rampage vs Team Rashad​

The Ultimate Fighter is back, with it's biggest series ever...in more ways than one! This season is focusing purely on The Heavyweights. The 8 fighters picked to compete in the competition make up the most competitive Ultimate Fighter Series of all-time. There are 8 top class Heavyweight fighters looking to fight their way through a newly constructed Ultimate Fighter competition to detirmine who will make the transition into the UFC and earn themselves the 6 figure contract.

The 2 coaches for this season are 2 guys that have a genuine rivalry, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson and Rashad Evans. These 2 do not like eachother, and they're set to do battle as they pick their teams of 4, coach them for 6 weeks in the build up to the all new Ultimate Fighter Finale. The Finale will be a straight out 8 man Tournament, held on 1 night. That means the 2 finalists will have fought 3 times on the 1 night, but it'll be all worth it if they earn themselves the prestigious 6 figure UFC contract.

Now, lets introduce the cast of fighters:

Name: Alistair Overeem
Age: 29
Fight Style: Kickboxing
MMA Record: 29-11-1

Name: Bobby Lashley
Age: 33
Fight Style: Wrestler
MMA Record: 4-0

Name: Marcus Jones
Age: 36
Fight Style: Boxing, BJJ
MMA Record: 5-1

Name: Roger Gracie
Age: 28
Fight Style: BJJ
MMA Record: 2-0

Name: Roy Nelson
Age: 33
Fight Style: Boxing, BJJ
MMA Record: 13-4

Name: Wes Sims
Age: 29
Fight Style: Freestyle
MMA Record: 22-12-1

Name: Alexandre 'Xande' Ribeiro
Age: 28
Fight Style: Submission Wrestling/BJJ
MMA Record: 2-0

Name: Kevin 'Kimbo Slice' Ferguson
Age: 35
Fight Style: Boxing
MMA Record: 4-1​

Now for the Team Announcement:​

Kimbo Slice
Roger Gracie
Bobby Lashley
Wes Sims

Alistair Overeem
Roy Nelson
Alexandre Ribeiro
Marcus Jones​

 

[Sartaj]

Aah! Bobby "The Baby" Lashley in action finally.

 

[mattfb]

This looks good mate. Is this event something you made up or is it in the calender fixtures in feal life?

 

[King Pietersen]

Well, the Ultimate Fighter's a real show, and the Heavyweights is the series currently on, with Team Rashad and Team Rampage, but the format on the actual show is different. In the actual show, they have 16 guys go into the TUF house, they then train and fight whilst in the house, until there are 2 guys left, they then face off at The Ultimate Finale, which is normally a free to air PPV on Spike TV in the US. That's quite hard to replicate on WMMA2, so I've made it easier, gone with the premise of training in the house, but instead of fighting week by week, there'll just be an 8 man 1-night tournament to decide The Ultimate Fighter.

As for the fighters, a few of them are on the actual TUF show this season. With Roy Nelson, Kimbo Slice, Marcus Jones and Wes Sims all taking part. But on my game, Overeem, Ribeiro, Gracie and Lashley were free agents, so I signed those guys up to add name value to the show, especially with Overeem and Lashley. With Kimbo, Overeem and Lashley on the show, I'm expecting pretty awesome ratings come the actual tournament.

The 2 coaches will also eventually fight, most probably at UFC 107 in an event possibly headlined by BJ Penn.

Glad you're liking it

 

[King Pietersen]

Belfort Returns With A Bang; Cigano Shocks the Croatian Sensation

Dallas Texas saw the triumphant return of 'The Phenom' Vitor Belfort. In what was Belfort's first UFC fight for 4 years, he stunned the world with a comprehensive Unanimous Decision victory over Rich 'Ace' Franklin. Junior Dos Santos created a shock of his own also, with a 2nd round TKO victory over big fan favourite, Mirko Cro Cop. It certainly was a night for the underdog.

The Main Event saw one of the most hyped returns in UFC history, as former UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion returned to the Octagon to take on a big fan favourite in Rich 'Ace' Franklin. Many predicted that if Belfort didn't finish Rich in the 1st, he'd lose a decision victory, but it wasn't to be. Belfort fairly dominated all 3 rounds, in what was quite a bad night for Rich Franklin.

By the end of the 3rd round, Belfort's superior boxing skills had resulted in Franklin looking like a real mess. He had a cut above his right eye, and a massive nous over under his left. Not injuries as bad as those that Marvin Eastman suffered at the hands of Belfort, but Franklin didn't end the night looking pretty.

Going into the 3rd round, Belfort was clearly ahead on points, having neutralised Rich's takedown attempts and dominating him in the stand-up. This led Franklin to go for broke in the 3rd, but it didn't pay off. As Franklin jumped in trying to land a big right, he was countered by a quick combination from Belfort, with the 2nd shot, a big left landing right on Ace's chin knocking him down. Belfort wasn't able to finish though, so settled with holding Rich down and laying down some ground and pound to seal the victory.

Junior Dos Santos didn't have to rely on the judges scorecards in his fight with Mirko Cro Cop. In a fight that was very even, with some real exciting exchanges, Dos Santos eventually got the victory via TKO. Dos Santos managed to use his superior reach advantage to good effect in the fight, keeping Cro Cop's big kicks at bay for the most part, and then utilising his jab nicely. Then in the 2nd round he came in fast with a flurry of massive punches. A big right hook then knocked Cro Cop to the floor, leading Dos Santos to jumping on him with massive punches before Yves Lavigne had to intervine and stop the fight. A massive win for Dos Santos's career.

The night also saw 1 more shock victory, as UFC newboy Paul 'Semtex' Daley shocked Martin Kampmann with a quickfire first round TKO victory. Kampmann was heavy favourite going into the fight, and was actually talked about as a potential GSP challenger before the Daley loss. 3 minutes into the fight, Daley connected with a flurry of blows which rocked Kampmann into the fence. Kampmann's defences fell as Daley threw down punch after punch before the Ref eventually jumped in to save the clearly shook up Martin Kampmann. A superb introduction for Daley to the UFC fans!

Fight Card Results

Main Card:

Vitor Belfort beat Rich Franklin via Unanimous Decision
Junior Dos Santos beat Mirko Cro Cop via 2nd Round TKO
Paul Daley beat Martin Kampmann via 1st Round TKO
Josh Koscheck beat Frank Trigg via 1st Round Kimura Submission
Hermes Franca beat Tyson Griffin via 3rd Round Heel Hook Submission
Drew McFederies beat Tomasz Drwal via 2nd Round Rear Naked Choke Submission

Prelim Card:

Efrain Escudero beat Cole Miller via Unanimous Decision
Thiago Tivares beat Jim Miller via 2nd Round Arm Bar Submission
Ricky Story beat Rory Markham via Unanimous Decision
Vladamir Matyushenko beat Kyle Kingsbury via 2nd Round Rear Naked Choke Submission
Eliot Marshall beat Jason Brilz via 1st Round Verbal Submission
Rafael Dos Anjos beat Rob Emerson via Unanimous Decision

Fight Of The Night: Junior Dos Santos vs Mirko Cro Cop
Knockout Of The Night: Paul Daley
Submission Of The Night: Hermes Franca​

Character limit ftl.

 

[TheGreemSim]

Top stuff so far. KIU

 

[Sartaj]

Yeah...no doubt,but if you can slow down the things slightly...

 

[King Pietersen]

UFC 104: Machida vs Shogun Announced​

UFC President Dana White today announced the full fight card for the upcoming UFC 104 PPV. The event, set to be held in Los Angeles, California sees Lyoto 'The Dragon' Machida make his first defence of his Light Heavyweight title belt, as he takes on PRIDE sensation Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua.

Machida won the Light Heavyweight title at UFC 98 via second round knockout. This knockout victory helped silence the Machida critics who were dismissing him due to his inability to finish fights. Machida has now won all 15 of his MMA fights, with 5 TKO or KO victories. Included on the list of Machida's victims are Rashad Evans, Thiago Silva, BJ Penn, Rich Franklin, Tito Ortiz, Sokoudjou and others. An MMA record anyone would be proud of.

Machida's opponent, Mauricio Rua has a similarly stacked MMA record, with his most notable achievement coming at PRIDE's Middleweight Tournament in 2005. Going into that tournament Shogun was seen as quite a big underdog, but a real future prospect. The spotlight was put on Chute Boxe team-mate Wanderlei Silva, but it was Rua who stole the headlines.

Rua started the tournament with a comprehensive TKO victory over Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson. He followed that up with a fairly comprehensive decision victory over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. His next opponent, in the Semi Final was current Ultimate Fighter contestant, Alistair Overeem. He was despatched via TKO in the 1st round. This took Shogun to a shock final against BJJ expert Ricardo Arona. Arona had just pulled off a victory over heavy favourite Wanderlei Silva, so Rua was looking to avenge the loss suffered by a fellow Chute Boxe fighter.Rua was successful. Finishing Arona in vicious style just 2:54 into the first round, winning via knockout.

Since that tournament win he's only lost twice, to Mark Coleman and Forrest Griffin. He's also suffered some very bad knee injuries, which led him to have reconstructive surgery in early 2008, and since his recovery he's been on a UFC warpath. He defeated Mark Coleman via TKO in the 3rd Round at UFC 93 before sending Chuck Liddell into temporary retirement after knocking him out in the 1st round at UFC 97. It's sure to be a real battle between these 2 Light Heavyweight warriors!

The Co-Main Event of the evening sees the returning former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski take on the up and coming prospect Cain Velaquez. Arlovki left the UFC fter his contract expired in 2008, having just beaten Jake O'Brien. He won his next 2 fights having left the company, against Ben Rothwell and Roy Nelson, but has since lost 2 fights, one against Fedor Emelianenko where he was winning the fight, and then another TKO loss to Brett Rogers.

Arlovski has been back working hard in the gym, and recently worked with Greg Jackson's Academy in New Mexico alongside UFC competitors Rashad Evans and Keith Jardine. Arlovski said in a statement that he's delighted to be back in the UFC, and is looking to put wins together and get the Heavyweight Title back. Velasquez is a real exciting up and comer in the UFC Heavyweight division. He's already recorded victory's over Jake O'Brien, Denis Stojnic and most impressively, Cheick Kongo and he'll be looking to add Andrei Arlovski to that list.

UFC 104 takes place at the Staples Center on the 24th of October, so check your local listings for PPV details!

Full Fight Card

Main Card:

Light Heavyweight Title Fight: Lyoto Machida vs Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua
Andrei Arlovski vs Cain Velasquez
Nate Diaz vs Gleison Tibau
Joe Stevenson vs Spencer Fisher
Anthony Johnson vs Yoshiyuki Yoshida
Yushin Okami vs Chael Sonnen

Prelim Card:

Ben Rothwell vs Antoni Hardonk
Jorge Rivera vs Rob Kimmons
Ryan Bader vs Eric Schafer
Razak Al-Hasan vs Carmelo Marrero
Pat Barry vs Stefan Struve​

ufc!!!!!!!1one!!!!

 

[King Pietersen]

Shogun Shocks The World!​

Last night at UFC 104 we were presented with 2 of the most surprising victories in the UFC since Matt Serra's victory over Georges St-Pierre at UFC 69 as Lyoto Machida was defeated by Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua and returning Andrei Arlovski was knocked out by Cain Velasquez.

The Machida-Rua main event was seen as a pretty simple victory for Machida, with Rua just filling a void left by other prospects either being tied up in other fights (Jackson-Evans for example) and other potential challengers losing. So the fight was seen as a squash match in favour of the undefeated Brazilian Machida who looked so impressive in his title win against Evans.

The first round started as many expected. Shogun attempting to move in closer to Machida to utilise his striking, but Machida stopping him with fanastic footwork and the use of his Karate kicks. Machida fairly dominated the first round without doing anything exceptional, taking the round 10-9.

Machida's dominance continued in the 2nd round, knocking Shogun down with a barrage of punches early. Machida didn't waste energy going for a finish that clearly wasn't on however, letting Shogun get to his feet. Machida continued to throw down skillful jabs and punches for the majority of the 2nd round, before eventually letting Rua get in close enough to get a grapple. Shogun couldn't form any sort of offence though, and was content to just hold Machida to the cage for the final minute of the round. A definite 10-9 round to Machida.

The 3rd round started with the same pattern; jab and kick from Machida, not letting Rua settle. Shogun eventually managed to find an opening, close the distance and fire off a series of jabs that were well defended by Lyoto. Shogun then shot in for a takedown, which was also well defended by Machida. He was picking Shogun apart here, beating him in the stand-up, and nullifying any of Shogun's attacks to take the first 3 rounds comfortably.

Round 4 was the same old story for Rua. Peppered by crisp jabs and kicks to the body and legs. Shogun attempted another takedown, but just couldn't get it done. Another 10-9 round to Machida, and the fight all but wrapped up. In the round break Shogun's corner were getting him psyched up and it seemed like a possible change of plan.

Shogun seemed to be more patient at the start of the 5th round, waiting for Machida to do something, hoping he'd finally make a mistake he could capitalise on. Then, for some strange reason, Machida decided to completely change his approach and go in for the takedown. Rua managed to stuff the takedown and with Machida in so close, managed to finally secure the Muay Thai Clinch. In this position Machida looked helpless. Shogun pulled on Machida's head, forcing him towards Rua's flailing knee. The knee connected, Machida fell to the ground, he was out cold! Shogun had somehow pulled off the most unlikely of victories. A 5th round KO! A fight of epic proportions, what a battle.

That wasn't the only surprise of the night either. The Los Angeles crowd also saw Cain Velasquez prove to the world that he's a top contender with a stunning TKO victory over the returning Andrei Arlovski. Arlovski's striking looked far better than Cain's early on, but he managed to get inside, utilise his wrestling and then rain down some heavy blows from the top position, forcing the ref to come in and stop the fight inside the 1st Round. A devestating loss for Arlovski, but a brilliant career boosting victory for Cain Velasquez. Could he be next in line for a title shot?

Fight Card Results

Main Card:

Championship Bout: Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua beats Lyoto Machida via 5th Round KO
Cain Velasquez beat Andrei Arlovski via 1st Round TKO
Gleison Tibau beat Nate Diaz via Unanimous Decision
Joe Stevenson beat Spencer Fisher via 3rd Round Submission
Yoshiyuki Yoshida beat Anthony Johnson via 3rd Round Submission
Yushin Okami beat Chael Sonnen via Unanimous Decision

Prelim Card:

Ben Rothwell beat Antoni Hardonk via 1st Round Submission
Rob Kimmons beat Jorge Rivera via 1st Round KO
Eric Schafer beat Ryan Bader via 3rd Round Submission
Razak Al-Hassan beat Carmelo Marrero via 1st Round Submission
Pat Barry beat Stefan Struve via Unanimous Decision​

Fight Of The Night: Mauricio Rua vs Lyoto Machida
Knockout Of The Night: Mauricio Rua
Submission Of The Night: Yoshiyuki Yoshida​

I honestly couldn't believe this result. I'm a massive Shogun fan, so I was delighted, but I was seriously expecting a Machida win via KO in the 2nd or 3rd. Not complaining though, the match got a brilliant rating, and one of my favourite fighters has a belt. Love it

 

[King Pietersen]

Retirement of The Iceman; UFC 105 Card Announced; UFC Make Big New Signing

In a press conference held today by UFC President Dana White he made a number of big announcement. The first was the impending retirement of Chuck Liddell. The Iceman has been in the UFC since the start of his MMA career, which started in 1998 at UFC 17. Since then he's gone on to become the most instantly recognisable fighter in the UFC and the most popular UFC fighter in history.

It's not an immediate retirement from Liddell however, he announced that he has 1 more big fight left in him, and it will come at UFC 107 in Memphis and it will be against Forrest Griffin. Liddell explained that it was time to hand the reigns over to a younger generation of fighters, and a fight against one of the future greats Forrest Griffin is a nice way to go out. It's safe to say, The Iceman will be sorely missed!

Also announced at the press conference was the full fight card for UFC 105. The card, set to be held in Manchester, England in November will be headlined by Ultimate Fighter contestant and coach Michael 'The Count' Bisping as he takes on 'The Axe Murderer' Wanderlei Silva. It's sure to be an important fight for both, having suffered knockout losses in the recent past. The Co-Main Event will see Antonio Rogerio Nogueira take on fellow Brazilian Luiz Cane. Both have explosive stand-up skills and it's sure to be a superb fight.

The card also sees Ultimate Fighter winners James Wilks and Ross Pearson fight for the first time proper in the UFC; with Wilks taking on Tamdan McRory and Pearson facing off against Aaron Riley. Dan Hardy is also featured on the card, taking on fellow Welterweight contender Mike Swick. Sure to be an exciting night of fights in Manchester!

Full Fight Card

Main Card:

Michael Bisping vs Wanderlei Silva
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs Luiz Cane
Dan Hardy vs Mike Swick
James Wilks vs Tamdan McRory
Ross Pearson vs Aaron Riley
Denis Kang vs Alan Belcher

Prelim Bouts:

Terry Etim vs Shannon Gugerty
Paul Taylor vs John Hathaway
Andre Winner vs Roli Delgado
Paulo Thiago vs DaMarques Johnson
Nick Osipczack vs TJ Grant
Paul Kelly vs Dennis Siver

The final piece of news announced by Dana White was that the UFC have signed a new Middleweight. Paulo 'Ely' Filho has been signed to the UFC on a 6 fight contract. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert with heavy hands was the last Middleweight champion of the WEC before he went to Japan to fight in DREAM. In his 19 fight career he's only lost once, to Chael Sonnen, and has recorded victories over top fighters such as Kazuo Misaki, Ryo Chonan, Murilo Rua, Chael Sonnen, Melvin Manhoef, Yuki Kondo and others.

Filho has made it clear that he wants to get himself a title shot at Anderson Silva in the near future, and is looking to dominate the Middleweight division for the next few years. Whether he'll succeed is yet to be seen, but this explosive Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Judo black belt is sure to give it a good go.

UFC!!!!!!!!!