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Vitor Belfort Out of Scheduled UFC 112 Title Fight Against Silva

Tim — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:40:36 +0000

UFC middleweight contender Vitor Belfort was forced to take himself out of a scheduled middleweight title fight against Anderson Silva at UFC 112 due to a shoulder injury. Reports indicate that Belfort tried to continue training with the injury, but that it proved to be too severe to allow him to fight.

According to UFC president Dana White, Silva is still expected to fight on the card, though it is unknown whether he will face another middleweight challenger, or if he will fight someone in the light heavyweight division.

Chael Sonnen is the next in line for a title shot after Belfort, but due to injuries he suffered in his fight with Nate Marquardt last weekend, he is suspended from contact until mid-March. With such a quick turnaround and a shorter than normal training camp, it would be foolish for Sonnen to accept the fight against one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

Some have speculated that Randy Couture, fresh off his victory over Mark Coleman at UFC 109, could be someone that the UFC would ask to step up to fight Silva. I consider this prospect unlikely. Couture will likely need a little time off after putting in a full training camp for the Coleman fight, and I’m not sure if he’d be too keen on taking the trip to Abu Dhabi to fight Silva. However, I wouldn’t be surprised for Dana White to at least ask Couture if he’d be able to do it. Additionally, rumor has it that Couture is currently in talks to face Rich Franklin as the main event for UFC 115 in Vancouver.

UFC 112 is scheduled for April 10th and will take place in Abu Dhabi.

Brock Lesnar to Return in Summer to Face Mir/Carwin Winner

Tim — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:33:56 +0000

UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and UFC President Dana White appeared on ESPN’s Sportscenter this morning for their first public comments since Lesnar had to cancel a scheduled November title defense.

During the seven minute interview, Lesnar described in detail how sick he became and how close his career came to being over. He also ripped into the Canadian health care system (but failed to mention it was American doctors who misdiagnosed him to begin with). The doctors decided against doing a possible career-ending surgery and instead waited to see if Lesnar could begin to heal on his own.

Lesnar began to heal on his own, and a recent trip to the doctor and further testing revealed that no surgery was needed and that he had healed on his own. Dana White called it a “miracle.” During the ordeal, Lesnar dropped 40 pounds, though he added that he’s been able to gain about 30 pounds back so far.

Lesnar emphasized that he still is the UFC heavyweight champion, and White announced plans to have Lesnar take on the winner of the Frank Mir/Shane Carwin interim title fight that is scheduled to take place at UFC 111 in March. No exact date was given, but White said it would be during the summer. White also added that if the winner of Mir or Carwin is unable to face Lesnar, Cain Velasquez or Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira could step in to face Lesnar.

Jon Fitch to take on Thiago Alves at UFC 107

Tim — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:39:08 +0000

In a battle of two of the last three guys to lose to UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, Jon Fitch will take on Thiago Alves at UFC 107. Fitch was scheduled to face Ricardo Almeida at UFC 106, but a knee injury forced Almeida out of the fight. Alves was rumored to be taking on Paulo Thiago at UFC 108, but instead he will step in against Fitch.

The two fought previously, with Fitch getting the TKO victory at UFC Fight Night 5 in 2006. Since then, both fighters have improved greatly. After the loss to Fitch, Alves went on a 7-0 tear, earning a title shot against Georges St. Pierre at UFC 100. He was thoroughly dominated in that contest, but a win over Fitch would get him right back in the title picture.

For Fitch, the Alves victory was part of an impressive 15 fight winning streak that spanned almost five years. St. Pierre ended that streak as well, dominating Fitch in a five-round decision at UFC 87. Since that loss, Fitch won decision victories over Akihiro Gono and Paulo Thiago, but is looking for a dominant performance to get himself a rematch with St. Pierre.

UFC 107 takes place in Memphis, Tennessee on December 7th. The event is headlined by a lightweight title contest between B.J. Penn and Diego Sanchez, and also features a heavyweight showdown between Cheick Kongo and Frank Mir, as well as an exciting lightweight battle between Clay Guida and Kenny Florian.

Randy Couture signs six-fight extension with UFC

Tim — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 05:39:05 +0000

During tonight’s post-fight press conference for UFC 102, Randy Couture quickly put to rest any thoughts that he may retire. Couture and UFC president Dana White announced that Couture has signed a six-fight contract extension with the UFC.

His last contract was scheduled to run out after his next fight. After receiving a question about retirement, Couture and White announced the news. Couture also reiterated that he was interested in “interesting fights,” no matter if they take place at heavyweight or light heavyweight.

When asked if he had intentions of fulfilling all six fights on the contract, Couture answered that he would take the fights “one at a time,” and would determine his next move after each fight. Regardless, the contract assures UFC fans that Couture will remain with the organization until he decides to retire.

Tito signing his contract to face Mark Coleman at UFC 106

Tim — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:06:03 +0000

Kimbo Slice preview video for “The Ultimate Fighter” season 10

Tim — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:42:45 +0000

Here’s a Kimbo Slice preview video for The Ultimate Fighter season 10:

Kimbo Slice – Street Certified

Chris Lytle injures knee/Forced off UFC Fight Night 19 card

Tim — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:17:10 +0000

UFC veteran welterweight Chris Lytle has a torn ACL and has been forced to withdraw from a scheduled fight with Carlos Condit at UFC Fight Night 19 in September. Lytle recently beat Kevin Burns in an exciting fight at “The Ultimate Fighter” season 9 finale. Lytle was also awarded a bonus for “Fight of the Night” for that performance. Overall, his MMA record stands at 27-17-5, while his UFC record is 6-9.

Condit was hoping to rebound from a loss to Martin Kampmann in his UFC debut back in April. He will likely remain on the card, although with a different opponent. UFC Fight Night 19 takes place on September 16th in Oklahoma City, three days before UFC 103 takes place in Dallas. The card is headlined by a main event between Melvin Guillard and Nate Diaz, and a co-main event between Gray Maynard and Roger Huerta.

Follow MMA Ground N’ Pound on Twitter

Tim — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 07:31:05 +0000

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Report: Fedor Emelianenko headed to UFC

Tim — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:06:08 +0000

Last week, UFC president Dana White promised some “crazy” announcements this week. One of them appears to be the signing of the #1 heavyweight in the world, Fedor Emelianenko. The UFC has tenatively scheduled a press conference for Friday afternoon, and according to the L.A. Times, Fedor and the UFC are close to a deal:

A long-awaited agreement between the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the man considered the world’s best mixed martial arts fighter, Fedor Emelianenko, is expected to be announced by UFC President Dana White on Friday, a source with information about the negotiations told The Times today.

Additional reports claim that Fedor and UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar are in negotiations to finalize a fight, possibly as early as UFC 103 in September.

Last weekend, Dana White hinted that the announced Rich Franklin/Dan Henderson main event for UFC 103 was not set in stone. This could be the change he was hinting at. UFC 103 goes up against Floyd Mayweather’s fight with Juan Marquez on pay-per-view the same night, so it would be interesting to see the PPV numbers UFC 103 would draw with Fedor/Lesnar in the main event.

Before we jump the gun however, it should be noted that Dana said last week he’d have a press conference this week. I doubt that White knew last week that they’d be close to a deal with Fedor already, so it’s quite possible that White and the UFC may announce something completely different on Friday. This is just one report, we’ll see if we get more info coming out here soon.

Stay tuned to MMA Ground N’ Pound for all the latest details, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for all the breaking news.

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett Affliction fight off?

Tim — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 06:46:46 +0000

According to Sherdog.com, the much anticipated fight between top heavyweights Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett, scheduled for Affliction: Trilogy on August 1st, is in danger of being cancelled. The California State Athletic Commission is not going to license Barnett to fight due to a positive drug test result.

According to the article, Affliction and M-1 Global are searching for a new opponent for Fedor. Vitor Belfort, scheduled to fight Jorge Santiago in a middleweight fight on the card, has reportedly accepted the fight. Another name being thrown around is heavyweight prospect Bobby Lashley. Sources told Sherdog that Fedor would be given the chance to choose between the two, but Lashley denied knowing anything about a potential bout.

Barnett tested positive for steroids after defeating Randy Couture for the UFC heavyweight title in 2002, and was suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission for six months. Barnett maintains his innocence to this day. In regards to this latest incident, Barnett told sherdog.com:

No matter what happens with this, I can assure you I will clear my name. This will not be something that I am defined by.”

Keep checking MMA Ground N’ Pound for the latest developments.