WELCOME TO THE MMA NEWS MARCH 2010 RECAP!

**Updated Every Monday**

Kimbo Slice to Return at UFC 113

Canada will get their first dose of the Kimbo Slice phenomenon on Saturday, May 8th, when the Ultimate Fighter alumnus looks to make it 2-0 in the Octagon on the UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2 card at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Slice (4-1), fresh off his three round unanimous decision victory over Houston Alexander at the TUF10 finale last December, will be in with a familiar foe on May 8th, as he takes on his Ultimate Fighter castmate, Matt Mitrione in a heavyweight bout made official today.

Mitrione (1-0), an NFL veteran, made his proper mixed martial arts debut on the TUF10 finale card and showed impressive poise and power as he knocked out Marcus Jones in the second round, and he hopes to make another statement when he squares off with Kimbo this spring.

WEC 47 Fighter Salaries and Bonuses

Main Card:

Dominick Cruz $18,000 ($9,000 win bonus) def. Brian Bowles $12,000

Joseph Benavidez $29,000 ($14,500 win bonus) def. Miguel Torres $26,000

*Benavidez also received a $10,000 bonus for Submission of the Night

Javier Vasquez $12,000 ($6,000 win bonus) def. Jens Pulver $14,000

L.C. Davis $18,000 ($9,000 win bonus) def. Deividas Taurosevicius $9,000

Bart Palaszewski $12,000 ($6,000 win bonus) def. Karen Darabedyan $4,000

Undercard:

Scott Jorgensen $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) def. Chad George $3,000

Chad Mendes $8,000 ($4,000 win bonus) def. Erik Koch $3,000

Anthony Pettis $6,000 ($3,000 win bonus) def. Danny Castillo $9,500

*Pettis also received a $10,000 bonus for Knockout of the Night

Leonard Garcia $14,000 ($3,000 win bonus) drew with George Roop $3,000

*Garcia and Roop also received a $10,000 bonus each for Fight of the Night

Fredson Paixao $4,000 ($2,000 win bonus) def. Courtney Buck $3,000

Ricardo Lamas $10,000 ($5,000 win bonus) def. Bendy Casimir $3,000

Total Disclosed Fighter Salaries for WEC 47: $236,500.00

Toby Imada Returns to Bellator FC

Toby Imada, whose jaw-dropping “Submission of the Year” helped put Bellator Fighting Championships on the map during its debut season, will return to the promotion for its upcoming Season 2 lightweight tournament.

Imada’s remarkable submission, an inverted triangle choke of the heavily favored Jorge Masvidal at Bellator V, became an overnight YouTube sensation (more than 650,000 people have watched it online to date) and took home honors for “Submission of the Year” from the 2009 World MMA Awards and virtually every major MMA news site.

“Toby has meant a great deal to our company and we are very pleased to have him back for our Season 2 lightweight tournament,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “Toby Imada epitomizes the heart and soul of our tournament format where winning is what matters and where fighters can truly control their own destiny.”

Imada is the sixth confirmed participant in Bellator’s Season 2 lightweight tournament along with Carey Vanier, Ferrid Kheder, Mike Ricci, Janne Tulirinta and Chad Hinton. Bellator will also conduct tournaments at 145, 170 and 185 lbs. during its second season, which will be televised on FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo. Winners of each tournament will earn the rank of No. 1 contender and the chance to face off in a title bout against Bellator’s Season 1 champions.

Imada, a Los Angeles native, has compiled 23 professional wins during his 12-year career and is now 9-1 over the course of his last 10 fights. His only loss came to Bellator lightweight champion and the world’s No. 2 ranked lightweight, Eddie Alvarez, in Bellator’s first Lightweight World Championship fight.

“It’s a great thing for me to return to Bellator,” Imada said. “I can’t promise that I’ll give the fans another inverted triangle, but I can promise that I’m gonna’ be fighting my heart out and looking to take home that belt. I want to thank Bellator for all the opportunities they’ve given me.”

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Strikeforce Challengers VI Salaries & Attendance Information

Fighter Salaries:

Sarah Kaufman: $14,000 ($7,000 win bonus) def. Takayo Hashi: $500

Karl Amoussou: $8,000 vs. Trevor Prangley: $15,000 (Fight was a Draw)

Luke Rockhold: $9,000 ($4,500 win bonus) def. Paul Bradley: $4,000

Tarec Saffiedine: $8,000 ($4,000 win bonus) def. James Terry: $5,000

Yancy Medeiros: $6,000 ($3,000 win bonus) def. Raul Castillo: $4,500

Wayne Phillips: $500 (no win bonus) def. Eric Lawson: $500

Attendance:

2,318 fans at the San Jose Civic Center in San Jose, California for a live gate of $86,440.00

The UFC Signs James Toney

He’s one of the premier boxers of the last 25 years, a future Hall of Famer who has won world titles in three weight classes while taking on a Who’s Who of the sport, including fellow champions Evander Holyfield, John Ruiz, Hasim Rahman, Vassiliy Jirov, Roy Jones Jr., Mike McCallum, Iran Barkley, and Michael Nunn. But there is one more mountain left to climb for James “Lights Out” Toney, and that’s to show if he can defeat the mixed martial arts warriors of the UFC.

So later this year, UFC President Dana White is prepared to give Toney his shot, signing the boxing superstar to a multi-fight contract this week to compete in the UFC.

“A lot of pro boxers have made a lot of noise about how they would do in mixed martial arts, but nobody on the level of a James Toney has been willing to back up his talk,” said White. “He’s a legend whose boxing record speaks for itself, and he’s a guy who I’ve got a lot of respect for. Now he’s got every intention of matching that success in MMA, and I think he’s got the right attitude – let’s see if he can do it.”

Owner of an amazing 72-6-3 (2 no contests) record that includes 44 wins by knockout, 41-year old James Toney is respected throughout the boxing world for his old-school approach to the fight game. For him, that means fighting anyone at anytime, and doing so by emphasizing all aspects of the sweet science.

31-2 as an amateur, Toney soon turned his sights to the pro game in 1988, and in 1991 he won his first world title at middleweight by knocking out unbeaten champion Michael Nunn in the 11th round. After six successful defenses, he moved up to 168 pounds and defeated Iran Barkley for the super middleweight championship in 1993, but he wasn’t done yet. After a stay at light heavyweight, Toney won the cruiserweight world title by defeating Vassiliy Jirov in 2003’s Fight of The Year, and his success continued at heavyweight, where he defeated Evander Holyfield, Dominick Guinn, and Fres Oquendo. In his most recent bout, on September 12, 2009, Toney – a two-time winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America’s Fighter of the Year award - halted Matthew Greer in two rounds.

Current UFC fighters Marcus Davis, Chris Lytle and Alessio Sakara have competed as professional boxers in the past, but with today’s announcement, Toney becomes the most accomplished boxing veteran to ever compete in the Octagon.

An opponent and date for Toney’s UFC debut has not been determined, and will be announced at a later date.

Barnett Signs with DREAM & Should Fight @ DREAM 13

PDG talked with several people close to Barnett and he signed with DREAM and if they can find him an opponent he will be fighting at DREAM 13. Here is what Barnett had to say to PDG in an interview last month:

PDG: You told me recently that you are negotiating with the UFC, Strikeforce and other organizations about your return; have you made any progress?

Josh Barnett: All I can say really is that these types of negotiations take time and I am just hoping to get something signed sooner than later.

PDG: Is your signing a deal with an organization contingent on when you're hearing takes place and the outcome of said hearing?

Josh Barnett: No, that only affects me in California and at this point I will be able to reapply for a license not too long down the road.  The suspension was for one year in California and it is retroactive back to July or August of last year.

*Click Here to Read the full Interview*

Elvis Sinosic Updates fans about his Injury

“The King of Rock ‘n Rumble”, who had to withdrawl from his scheduled fight at UFC 110 because of a shoulder injury sent PDG the following message regarding his injury:

“I am doing ok and basically I am back to the daily grind. I got another cortisone shot until I can meet with my specialist to discuss surgery.” – Elvis

Strikeforce’s Next CBS Card Taking Shape

As of today several match-ups for Strikeforce’s second CBS show have been announced for the promotions April event. Here are the confirmed fights as well as the rumored participants for the April 17th show:

Confirmed:

Gilbert Melendez vs. Shinya Aoki (Strikeforce LW Title Bout)

Jake Shields vs. Dan Henderson

Gegard Mousasi vs. Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal

Rumored Participants:

Roger Gracie

Kevin Randleman

Alistair Overeem Returns to Strikeforce

The Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion tweeted earlier Monday that he will returning stateside in May to face Brett Rogers. Later in the day, Overeem talked with MMAJunkie and this was what the champ had to say:

"It's been too long. Last year was a good year in K-1, but this year, I want to fight in MMA,” he told MMAJunkie. He added that a highly anticipated fight with Fedor wasn’t likely to happen anytime soon because he didn’t think Fedor wanted to fight him and that the top heavyweight might be looking to leave Strikeforce.

The Ultimate Fighter Season 11 Fighters Announced

The 11th season of Spike TV’s most popular original series ever, “The Ultimate Fighter,” for the first time will feature 28 of the best up and coming mixed martial artists in the world competing for 14 spots in “The Ultimate Fighter” house. The series boasts a new format, which will be introduced to viewers in the show’s premiere episode. The smash hit will also feature two coaches who need no introduction to mixed martial arts fans, UFC legends Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell and Tito “The Huntington Beach Badboy.” The new season premieres Wednesday, March 31, at 10:00 PM ET/PT featuring the following cast members:

RICH ATTONITO

SETH BACZYNSKI

CHARLES BLANCHARD

JOSH BRYANT

CHRIS CAMOZZI

BRENT COOPER

JACEN FLYNN

JOSEPH HENLE

CHARLEY LYNCH

KRIS MCCRAY

COURT MCGEE

CLAYTON MCKINNEY

KYLE NOKE

VICTOR O’DONNELL

NORMAN PARAISY

COSTANTINOS PHILIPPOU

GREG REBELLO

NICK RING

JORDAN SMITH

BEN STARK

LYLE STEFFENS

BRAD TAVARES

WARREN THOMPSON

KYACEY USCOLA

CLEBURN WALKER

WOODY WEATHERBY

JAMIE YAGER

*Click Here for More Information on this Season’s Fighters*

“The Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski Re-Signs With Strikeforce

On his official website, Andrei Arlovski has announced that he has resigned with Strikeforce and is looking forward to his return.

“As promised I wanted to tell you all first hand, I have a multi-fight deal for the next 16 months with Strikeforce and I cannot wait to get into the ring and show the world what I have been working on the last few months! I invite everyone to join me this Friday at 8PM CST on Arlovski.com for a Live Video Chat to discuss this announcement!

Thank you all for your support!”

Arlovski is being rumored to face one-time EliteXC champ Antonio “Big Foot” Silva on May 15th in St. Louis, Mo. Arlovski last appeared on 10 days notice for Strikeforce last June also in St. Louis as part of a co-promotional effort with Affliction Entertainment. Brett Rogers shocked the crowd and the former UFC champ with a 22-second knockout victory.

UFC 111 “St. Pierre vs. Hardy” Preview

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HW Cole Konrad Joins Bellator FC Roster

Two-time NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion Cole Konrad is the latest highly sought-after MMA prospect to join Bellator Fighting Championships growing roster of top fighters.

"I’m excited to sign with Bellator," Konrad said. "It’s a great opportunity to fight for a great company and I’m just really excited for what the future holds with this company."

"Cole Konrad brings some great characteristics to the table that could make him a force at heavyweight," Bellator Fighting Championships founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney said. "Brock Lesner’s dominance in the UFC has shown the impact that an elite, world-class wrestler can have in the heavyweight division. As a two-time NCAA heavyweight champion who is aggressively rounding out his MMA arsenal, Cole’s potential is unlimited. We are happy to be teaming up with him and, as a company; we are excited with what the future may hold."

Prior to making his professional MMA debut earlier this month in Fargo, N.D., Konrad's greatest claim to fame in the sport had been his role as a full-time training partner of current UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. Konrad is a fixture at Lesner’s training camps in Alexandria, Minn.

Shine Fights to Feature Mayorga, Ninja, Thompson, Vitale & Thomas

Shine Fights has been making waves over the last several months signing a number of top fighters to contracts, and after months of speculation they've announced their next event set for May 15 in Fayetteville, NC with former UFC fighter, Din Thomas, leading the way against boxing legend, Ricardo Mayorga, making his MMA debut.

Mayorga was announced as a fighter on the Shine Fights roster some months ago, and the bout with Thomas was expected, but now they have a date and a venue to settle the score.

A former WBA and WBC champion, Mayorga holds wins over some of the top boxers in the sport including Fernando Vargas and the late Vernon Forrest. Now moving into the world of MMA, Mayorga is hopeful to have the same kind of success.

"I conquered the world in the boxing ring all the while I was puffing cigarettes and

drinking beer, “ Mayorga said in a press release. “I won three world title belts, and I stood toe to toe with so many legends, beating some of them. Vernon Forrest, God rest his soul, was a great boxer yet I beat him back twice. I cannot be denied as I am a force of nature. Now I will shock the MMA fans and I know so many of my fans from boxing will follow me as I expand my repertoire.

"They can't deny me in MMA and I will destroy Din Thomas. I am going to smash him the way I smashed all the big superstars of boxing. To me, a fight is a fight in a ring, in a cage or on the street. Fighting is my middle name."

For his part, American Top Team fighter Din Thomas is more than happy to welcome Mayorga to the world of MMA, and then send him packing just as quickly.


The Shine Fights card will be available on pay-per-view for a cost of $29.95, and will feature several other bouts including fighters like Murilo "Ninja" Rua, Nick Thompson, and Niko Vitale.

"I respect what Ricardo has done in boxing. He fooled many opponents with that smoking and drinking shtick but he won't fool me," Thomas stated. "I train night and day and I know he works hard also. But I will send him back to boxing, crawling back to boxing. He is about to get a violent education about the skills he needs for MMA and they are skills that an old dog like Mayorga cannot learn. I will be taking this cat to school, trust me."

UFC Fight Night ON VERSUS - Colorado Card Updated

March 21, 2010

Odeum/1stBank Arena

Broomfield, Colo.

Main Card:

Brandon Vera vs. Jon Jones

Junior Dos Santos vs. Gabriel Gonzaga

Cheick Kongo vs. Paul Buentello

Alessio Sakara vs. James Irvin

Eliot Marshall vs. Vladimir Matyushenko

Preliminary Card:

Clay Guida vs. Shannon Gugerty

John Howard vs. Daniel Roberts

Darren Elkins vs. Duane Ludwig

Brendan Schaub vs. Chase Gormley

Eric Schafer vs. Jason Brilz

Mike Pierce vs. Julio Paulino

Bitetti Combat 6 Quick Results

Main Card:

Thales Leites def. Rico Washington via Submission-Arm-Triangle Choke Round 1

Glover Teixeira def. Joaquim "Mamute" via TKO-Corner Stoppage Round 2

Danillo "Indio" Villefort def. Cassiano Tytschyo via KO-Strikes Round 1

Cristiano Marcello def. Emiliano "Cobra" Vatt via Submission-Armbar Round 1

Undercard:

Yuri Villefort def. Julio Cesar Merenda via Unanimous Decision

Leandro "Batata" def. Gustavo "Labareda" via Unanimous Decision

Francisco Drinaldo def. Luiz "Buscape" via Submission-Kneebar Round 1

Cesar "Mutante" def. Felipe "Mongo" via Submission-Brabo Choke Round 2

Amanda Nunes def. "India" Gomes via TKO-Strikes Round 2

*Paulo Filho backed out again and Sasaki refused to fight replacement Daniel Acacio.

**Jeff Monson was scratched from his fight against Glover Teixeira. According to his manager, he failed to notify his parole office of the trip to Brazil and would have faced the possibility of arrest.

***Rico Washington and Fabio Maldonado also did not show up to fight for various reasons.

MFC 24 Heat Results

Yves Edwards marked himself as the top contender for the MFC lightweight belt. Yet it was a pair of spectacular knockouts that stole the show at the Maximum Fighting Championship’s MFC 24: Heat XC on Friday night at the River Cree Resort and Casino, just outside Edmonton, Alberta.

A flurry of punches from Edwards (37-15-1) dropped opponent Derrick “The Eraser” Noble into his corner. Edwards continued to rain down an array of strikes until referee Vern Gorman stepped into to stop the proceedings at 4:44 of round one in the night’s main event. “The Texas Gunslinger,” who was making his debut in the MFC, looked crisp right from the start although Noble (25-13-1) did catch him with a sharp hook in the early moments.

Edwards had a star-studded corner backing him up including MFC welterweight contender Luigi Fioravanti, and in an interesting twist, reigning MFC lightweight champion Antonio McKee.

While Edwards’ win was convincing, it was overshadowed by the dramatic finishes laid out in front of a sold out crowd by two other fighters. In the card’s co-main event, English invader Tom “Kong” Watson sent a resounding message out to the rest of the MFC’s middleweight contingent when he scored a vicious head-kick knockout over home-town fighter Travis Galbraith.

Watson (11-3) caught a wide-open Galbraith perfectly on the side of the head and sent him crashing face first to the mat. Galbraith (17-7) was motionless for several seconds and then needed help getting to his corner after what was one of the most devastating knockouts in the history of the Maximum Fighting Championship. It was a clear winner in the Knockout of the Night derby, though early on it looked like that honor would go to Jesse Juarez.

Juarez (13-5) didn’t even break a sweat as he came across the ring, waited for Nathan Gunn to drop his left hand, and then fired out a spectacular head kick that put Gunn down chin first into the canvas. Juarez followed up with one hammerfist, but the result was in the bag from the moment Gunn (7-2) went down and the verdict was in a mere 11 seconds into round one.

It was the seventh consecutive victory for Juarez, who called out for a shot at the MFC welterweight title after the bout. For Gunn, it was a second straight horrific knockout after he fell in equally scary fashion to Pete Spratt at MFC 22.

The other key result on the first collaboration show of MFC and Heat XC went to Dwayne Lewis, who also scored his seventh straight win as he stopped Ryan McClain at 2:08 of round two. Lewis (11-4) went on the attack right from the start and stalked McClain throughout the opening round. McClain had sporadic success with counter strikes, but Lewis was all business in the second stanza, dropping McClain (9-4) and finishing it off with a ground-and-pound assault.

Lewis, backed by an incredible throng of supporters from his hometown, was critical of his own performance but inched a little closer to a coveted crack at the MFC light heavyweight belt.

Results:

-Yves Edwards def. Derrick Noble by TKO (Strikes) at 4:44, R1

-Tom Watson def. Travis Galbraith by KO (Kick) at 2:30, R1

-Jesse Juarez def. Nathan Gunn by KO (Kick) at 0:11, R1

-Dwayne Lewis def. Ryan McClain by TKO (Strikes) at 2:08, R2

-Dami Ebeyemi (5-0) def. Paapa Inkumsah (3-2) – Split Decision, R3

-David Letourneau (2-1) def. Nick Hrynchyshyn (2-1) – Unanimous Decision, R3

-Garret Nybakken (1-0) def. Chris Barber (0-1) – 2:30 Round 1, tapout via rear-naked choke

-Zach Blaber def. Eric Chouinard – 1:17 Round 1, tapout via kimura

The Iceman & His Girl Working out Nude for Reebok

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Paul Daley - UFC 113 Training Camp Update

From Semtex’s Official Blog: http://www.semtex.tv/

Breakdown: UFC 113 Training Camp

After a great start of camp, out in Thailand at the Sitsoongpenong gym, Semtex has returned to the UKNottingham), to continue training with Team Rough House. Training most frequently with Andre Winner, Dean Amasinger and Jimmy Wallhead amongst others. (

Also in addition to his normal training routine, which includes sparring (MMA) Liberties Gym, Strength and condition with Fighters strength.com at Leicester Tiger rugby club and BJJ/Submission wrestling at BushidoAcademy (www.bushido-mma.co.uk), Paul is also sparring with WBC Ranked, and WBC Champions at a secret location in one of the UK’s most recognized boxing gyms.

Camp UK:  Rupurt Smillie (Muay Thai Coach) Tony Lainge (Boxing Coach), Sonnay Dholakia (Fight Fitness Coach), Ollie Richardson (Strength and conditioning coach), Lee Livingstone (BJJ/Sub wrestling instructor)

Camp Holland:  (Mike’s Gym.nl) Mike Passiner (Head coach/Muay Thai), Melvin Manhoef (Muay Thai) , Anda Man (Boxing Coach) Kenny Johnson (Wrestling) Tom Watson (MMA) Yasubey Enomoto (BJJ/Muay Thai) Dean Amasinger (MMA), Sheldon Westcott ( BJJ) and possibly Jeff Monson (Sub Wrestling MMA)

 

PUNCHDRUNKGAMER MIXED MARTIAL ARTS NEWS ARCHIVES:

February 2010

January 2010

2009 MMA News Archive

2008 MMA News Archive