MMA News and Fight Videos

Lightweight competitors Hermes Franca and Joe Lauzon are scheduled to face each other in a bout to be featured during the UFC and Spike TV’s telecast of UFC Fight Night 17 on Feb. 7 at the Pearl at the Palms in Las Vegas. MMAjunkie.com was the first to report the news on Thursday. Franca, 19-7, is coming [...]

Hermes Franca (19-7) and Joe Lauzon (17- 4) have been offered bout agreements to compete in a 155-pound match up at UFC Fight Night 17 at The Palms Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 7.

MMAmania.com today confirmed that the lightweight bout, which would likely air on the televised Spike TV main card, is currently in the works.

Franca has been on a roller coaster ride during the past 18 months. The former number one contender recently returned from a 12-month steroids suspension, losing to Frank Edgar in his July comeback fight at UFC Fight Night 14.

The Brazilian then rebounded with a win against his former Brazilian jiu-jitsu teacher Marcus Aurelio at UFC 90: “Silva vs. Cote” in October. And shortly thereafter he was arrested in Jupiter, Fla., on suspicion of Driving Under the Influence (DUI).

That case is still pending; however, Franca has insisted that he was exhausted, which caused him to drive erratically. He is innocent until proven guilty.

Lauzon, too, rebounded from a recent loss — a first for him inside the Octagon — to stop Kyle Bradley via technical knockout (strikes) at UFC Fight Night 15 in September. Prior to the win, he was one of the many recent victims of Kenny Florian courtesy of a second round technical knockout loss at UFC Fight Night 13 back in April.

“J-Lau” was the favorite to win The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 season before meeting up with Manny Gamburyan in the semifinals. He has four wins in five attempts inside the Octagon.

To check out the latest UFC Fight Night 17 fight card and rumors click here.

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UFC lightweight contender Hermes Franca has been arrested in Juniper Florida on suspicion of DUI, according to MMAWeekly.

According to the report, Franca was arrested at 2:38am by an officer who suspected the fighter was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

It was also listed that this was Franca’s first offense.

He is currently being held at the Palm Beach County jail.

Franca spent the first part of this year on the tail end of a one year suspension for testing positive for Anabolic steroids following his loss to Sean Sherk at UFC 73.

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Props: MMAWeekly.com

Quoteworthy:

“Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight competitor, Hermes Franca, was arrested last night by the Jupiter Police Department in Jupiter, Fla for a DUI offense … According to the report, Franca was arrested at 2:38am by an officer who suspected the fighter was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.”

It’s been a seesaw ride for the former UFC 155-pound number contender Hermes Franca the last 18 months. He recently returned from a 12-month steroids suspension, losing to Frank Edgar in his July return and then rebounding against his former Brazilian jiu-jitsu teacher Marcus Aurelio at UFC 90: “Silva vs. Cote” just last month. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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Marcus Aurelio vs Hermes Franca - UFC 90 Video
[See post to watch Flash video]

Click the banner above or right here for up-to-the-minute results and blow-by-blow coverage of UFC 90: “Silva vs Cote.”

Quick results of the prelim fights will begin to flow around 8:30 p.m. ET and LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of the main card action will start at 10:00 p.m. ET with the pay-per-view (PPV) telecast.

If you’re going to leave comments and discuss the fights with all the other MMAmania.com readers be sure to do it on the main UFC 90 results post and not this one.

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The official weigh-in event for UFC 90: “Silva vs. Cote,” takes place LIVE today (October 24) from the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, Ill., at 5 p.m. ET.

To check out the festivities in real time tune-in to DirectTV (Channel 101) or head over to UFC.com prior to showtime. For those who are unable to catch the live feed, MMAmania.com will provide up-to-the-minute UFC 90 weigh in results below, as well as a detailed recap after the final fighter steps off the scale.

Here are the official UFC 90 weigh-in results (Will begin to flow around 5 p.m. ET from the bottom up):

185 lbs.: Anderson Silva () vs. Patrick Cote ()
170 lbs.: Thiago Alves () vs. Josh Koscheck ()
265 lbs.: Fabricio Werdum () vs. Junior Dos Santos ()
155 lbs.: Sean Sherk () vs. Tyson Griffin ()
155 lbs.: Gray Maynard () vs. Rich Clementi ()
185 lbs.: Thales Leites () vs. Drew McFedries ()
155 lbs.: Spencer Fisher () vs. Shannon Gugerty ()
185 lbs.: Dan Miller () vs. Matt Horwich ()
155 lbs.: Hermes Franca () vs. Marcus Aurelio ()
170 lbs.: Pete Sell () vs. Josh Burkman ()

*Note: Fighters are allowed to weigh one pound more than the division limit in non-title fights.

Remember that MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action on fight night, which is slated to air at 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view (PPV) from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., on October 25.

Of course, the latest quick updates of the prelim bouts will begin to flow earlier than that at around 8:30 p.m. ET.

It’s going to be a fun night of fights … check us out for all the pre, during and post-fight coverage you can handle.

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“If he’s awake, I’ll shake his hand.”

– Hermes Franca shares his prediction with InsideFighting.com on his upcoming fight against Marcus Aurelio at UFC 90: “Silva vs. Cote” at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., on October 25. He intends to finish his former Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor and camp member at American Top team (ATT) — a good back story that most of you should check out prior to the lightweight showdown if you haven’t already. Despite the bad intentions, both fighters insist that bad blood is not boiling over after their shared and spotty past. In fact, Franca and Aurelio intend to go about this as professionals, indicating that it is not personal. Uh-huh …

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Gleison Tibau has injured his should in training, forcing him out of his next schedule lightweight bout against Hermes Franca (18-7) at UFC 90 “Silva vs. Cote” at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., on October 25, according to Sherdog.com.

Marcus Aurelio (16-6) has been tapped as the replacement to take on Franca in the “Windy City” on fight night.

Here’s a snip from Frana on the opponent switch:

“It doesn’t matter who I fight; it’s a big challenge. It is what it is. We’re both professionals. I think it’s better for me. I know his game really well. I’ve never trained with Gleison before.”

Aurelio of course trains in at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla., which is very close to Franca’s facility — The Armory — just north in Jupiter. Both Brazilians are veterans of the sport, having started their professional mixed martial arts careers around the same time in 2001.

Franca dropped a unanimous decision to Frank Edgar at UFC Fight Night 14: “Silva vs. Irvin” back in July. It was his first fight back after serving a 12-month suspension for steroid use.

He is a former number one title contender who reeled of eight straight wins before losing to then UFC Lightweight Champion, Sean Sherk, at UFC 73: “Stacked” in July 2007.

Aurelio will look to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Tyson Griffin at UFC 86: “Jackson vs. Griffin” back in July. The defeat snapped a two-win fight streak inside the Octagon after recovering from a three-fight losing skid.

“Maximus” — a submission master — has uncharacteristically dropped four of his last six fights (all to top-level competition. Regardless, a win against Franca is important. And it’s not going to be a walk in the park by any stretch.

UFC 90 features several solid match ups, including the 185-pound tilt between UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and Patrick Cote, as well as the huge welterweight showdown between Thiago Alves and Diego Sanchez.

To check out the latest UFC 90 card and fight rumors click here.

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