MMA News and Fight Videos

Props: Sherdog.com

Quoteworthy:

“The opponents who have faced him attacked and stopped; I’ll have a different gameplan. I want to see how he deals with someone who’s in very good shape and attacks him for five minutes over three rounds. I’m not underestimating him. He’s a great fighter, but I’d bet on me. I’m not here to joke around. I have my goals, and I’m ready to beat Lyoto…. It will be a knockout in the first round … there aren’t any of his fights I really like. Lyoto’s a fighter who runs more than he fights. He’s not a fighter who will knock me out easily. He scores points, and I’ll make it hard for him to score. I already faced the toughest fighters. I believe it will be more of a psychological fight than a physical fight for me.”

Thiago Silva — who is certainly not short on confidence — is already beating his war drum several weeks out from his clash with fellow unbeaten light heavyweight Lyoto Machida at UFC 94: “St. Pierre vs. Penn 2″ at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, in January 31. Perhaps it’s part of his pre-fight plan to rattle the cage of the “ghostly” Brazilian and get him to engage more often on fight night. Will Machida take the bait or will it be more of the same?

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Good to see him back in good health:

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UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva (23-4) could take another break from the 185-pound division and trade leather with former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell (21-6) in a special 205-pound match up in the works for the UFC 95 main event, according to The Sun.

UFC 95 was actually just made official today for the O2 Arena in London, England, on February 21.

Liddell was supposed to collide with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 85: “Bedlam” earlier this year at the venue but injuries to both fighters forced them off the card, leaving British fans feeling a bit empty after shelling out their hard-earned Euros to see the “Iceman” headline a show.

Perhaps this is the promotion’s way of making up for that unfortunate situation.

The match up, if it happens, will more than likely be a little bitter sweet, considering Liddell has lost three of his last four fights — he’s no longer the same fighter who dominated the division for two years up until 2007. Nonetheless, he is still a huge draw and a very popular fighter who is very capable of putting on a great show.

Liddell was most recently on the wrong end of a vicious knockout at UFC 88: “Breakthrough” courtesy of Rashad Evans. Before the loss, he had his sights on getting back in the title hunt after a thrilling unanimous decision win over Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79: “Nemesis” on December 27, 2007.

By the time he next steps inside the Octagon Liddell will be 40 years old.

Silva has been unstoppable ever since he made his UFC debut in 2006, rattling off a ridiculous eight-fight win streak. He has not gone the distance, or beyond the third round for that matter, in any of those fights. “The Spider” essentially cleaned out the division and has now begun considering and taking fights 20 pounds north of his middleweight division limit to keep himself challenged.

In fact, he thrashed James Irvin in his 205-pound debut via first round technical knockout at UFC Fight Night 14 this past July.

Silva most recently defended his 185 title against Patrick Cote in a bizarre bout at UFC 90 last month, which ended when “The Predator” went down with a freak knee injury and could not continue. Before the collapse of the Canadian, Silva was bouncing, dancing and perhaps showboating, resulting in a negative reaction from several fans and critics.

He’s eager to get back in the cage to remind everyone what he’s capable of … and Liddell could be the man that Silva takes out his frustration on if the bout comes together, which is not the most envious position to be in for Liddell.

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“… is a very, very good opportunity for me for me to fight for the title. I think after I beat Rampage, it may be possible I fight with the champion…. I train and spar with Forrest, I am his best sparring partner and he is mine. It is sad situation, to train with some guys it is possible I will have to fight in the future, but it is no problem. I am a professional and he is a professional. I like him, he is a very nice guy. Outside the Octagon, I am his friend, but inside the Octagon it is a business, a job.”

– Former Pride FC middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva tells Fighters Only magazine that he could earn a title shot with a win over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 92: “The Ultimate 2008″ on December 27. It will be their third fight — “The Axe Murderer” won the first two back in Japan. Undefeated light heavyweights Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva are set to collide about at UFC 94: “St. Pierre vs. Penn 2″ on January 31, meaning Silva — who just snapped a three-fight losing skid with a first round knockout of Keith Jardine at UFC 84: “Ill Will” back in May — would leapfrog the winner of that match as the number one contender. In addition, Griffin would have to successfully defend his 205-pound belt against Rashad Evans on New Year’s Eve weekend, too. In short, it seems like a lot of things need to happen for Silva to get the next crack at the belt. But ya’ never know …

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“I think the fight will be the synthesis of the modern MMA, will have everything: takedowns, striking and I think we’ll do everything that exists in MMA, and the fight might be a stand up one. I consider you a tough guy, but I think my technique is superior.”

– Lyoto Machida talks to Thiago Silva via Tatame.com about their monster light heavyweight clash set for UFC 94 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 31. It’s a battle of unbeaten Brazilians that was originally scheduled for UFC 89: “Bisping vs. Leben” on October 18; however, Silva had to withdraw from the contest because of a back injury sustained during training. The winner of the 205-pound bout will likely earn the next title shot or at the very least be near the top along with the winner of the UFC 92 bout between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Wanderlei Silva.

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“Maybe they put me against (Keith) Jardine, a tough fighter, another Top 10, but I won’t choose opponents. I’ll wait for Joe Silva decide who I’ll fight and I’m sure it won’t be easy, they’ll put me another great fighter and that’s what I want. I’m ready for that and I want to be between the best.”

– Luis Cane tells Tatame.com that he is ready to challenge the top fighters in the UFC light heavyweight division. “Banha” destroyed Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou via second round technical knockout at UFC 89: “Bisping vs. Leben” just last month. It was his second straight win — the Brazilian heel stopped Jason Lambert at UFC 85: “Bedlam” back in June. His only loss is to James Irvin, which was ruled a disqualification because of an errant knee to the face. The 27-year-old fighter is tough as nails and comes prepared to bang, making any match up with a top 205-pound competitor a juicy one.

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Light heavyweights Matt Hamill (4-2) and Reese Andy (7-2) will go toe-to-toe inside the Octagon at UFC 92: “The Ultimate 2008″ at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The promotion today announced the match up, which is not guaranteed to make the televised pay-per-view (PPV) telecast on New Year’s Eve weekend.

Hamill is coming off a tough technical knockout loss to his friend and former training partner, Rich Franklin, at UFC 88: “Breakthrough” back in September. It marked the second loss in his last three appearances for the former contestant on The Ultimate Fighter.

The loss was perhaps not as hard to swallow as the performance — Hamill refused to apply his elite wrestling skills and instead was content to eat more than his fair share of punches from “Ace.”

Expect to see him go back to his roots against Andy, who is no slouch himself on the ground.

Andy was on a four-fight win streak, including impressive victories over Krzysztof Soszynski, Justin Levens, Mike Ciesnolevicz and others, before colliding with Brandon Vera at UFC Fight Night 14 back in July. The former International Fight League (IFL) standout lost a lackluster unanimous decision that night in Las Vegas.

The University of Wyoming wrestling alum will be in search of his first UFC win on December 27.

UFC 92 features a light heavyweight clash between 205-pound champion Forrest Griffin and top contender Rashad Evans in the main event, as well as a heavyweight bout between interim division champion Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira and Frank Mir.

To check out the official UFC 92 fight card click here.

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Stephan Bonnar (11-4) confirmed that he will return to action against Jon Jones (6-0) at UFC 94 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 31, according to a recent interview with InsideFighting.com.

Bonnar — The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season one light heavyweight finalist — has been on the mend nursing a surgically repaired knee back to health for the past several months.

He sustained the catastrophic injury while training for a big fight against Matt Hamill at UFC Fight Night 13 back in April, derailing the progress he had made after a suspension for steroids. In fact, he was on a two-fight win streak, finishing Eric Schafer and Mike Nickels, respectively, establishing himself once again as a dangerous light heavyweight threat.

Now training at X-Treme Couture in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Chicago transplant will have to gear up for one of the most promising prospects in the division.

Jones scored a unanimous decision win over veteran Andre Gusmao at UFC 87: “Seek and Destroy” back in April, electrifying the crowd with his raw talent and improvisation within the cage that included spinning backfists, double spinning back elbows … crazy stuff.

And he did it all on just days notice.

It marked the sixth career win for Jones and his sixth fight of 2008. That’s right, “Bones” is a decorated collegiate wrestler who just recently made the transition to mixed martial arts and is already making some waves at the UFC level.

He’ll have his hands full, however, against a very hungry and experienced “American Psycho” on Super Bowl weekend.

UFC 94 will feature the welterweight superfight between former 170-pound champion and current lightweight kingpin BJ Penn versus reigning welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, as well as the highly anticipated showdown between light heavyweight unbeatens Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva.

To check out the latest UFC 94 fight card and rumors click here.

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We didn’t hear a peep from Brandon Vera after his split-decision loss to Keith Jardine at UFC 89: “Bisping vs. Leben” this weekend, but this post-fight video recently popped up on the promotion’s Web site.

“The Truth” appears visibly out of sorts and doesn’t offer up much regarding the reasons behind his performance — his third loss in four fights. Perhaps most important there are no excuses:

Props: UFC.com

(Thanks to MMAmania.com reader “Stagger-Lee” for the assist.)

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