RUMOR: Randy To Return To The Octagon

I first of all want to stress that this is currently just a rumor, with no real credible sources, just a lot of hearsay.

That being said, Randy Couture may be coming back to the UFC! It is believed that he may be fighting the last remaining fights on his contract. He is expected to return at UFC 91. No opponents are romored for the bout as yet. Brock Lesnar is being thrown around, since he is booked for that card too, but Cheick Kongo is rumored to be his opponent.

We will bring you more on this as it breaks.

Quinton Jackson Will Fight Despite Charges

UFC President Dana White has spoken out about Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and his status within the UFC.

There has been a lot of speculation amongst fans and the media about when Jackson will fight next, if he will fight again at all, due to the charges he faces regarding his traffic incident in July. Here is what Dana had to say about the issue:

“Of course he’ll fight,” White said. “If he was doing drugs, if he had been drunk, if he had gone out there and done what he did because he was pissed off at someone, that would be a completely different story. But he was ill. And in this company, we support our friends and anyone who works for us when they’re ill and have problems. He was ill, the incident occurred, and now he’s fine."

This is good news for Rampage fans. Rumors are currently circulating that he could be facing Mauricio "Shogun" Rua as early as November. Dana did clarify that he won't be facing Wanderlei Silva in his next fight.

Top Elite XC Fighters Added To November CBS card

Vice President of Elite XC Jared Shaw announced some big names to be added to the November Elite XC Showtime card on CBS.

The names mentioned are Nick Diaz, Joey Villasenor, Brett Rogers and Rafael Cavalcante. No opponents have been confirmed for these fighters. Robbie Lawler has been mentioned as a possible opponent for Villasenor, although this is far from being signed. If Villasenor is successful in his fight, he will likely get a shot at the title. The same is true for Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante, who will be in line for the organisation's first ever Light Heavyweight title if he wins in November.

Brett Rogers was expected to fight Kimbo Slice, but that fight has instead been given to Ken Shamrock ( see here for original story: http://mmatrivia.blogspot.com/2008/08/kimbo-to-face-ken-shamrock.html). Diaz was expected to face KJ Noons at this event, but Noon's management rejected the fight, claiming that the fight made no sense for Noons as Diaz wasn't a contender for his belt at the time. We will bring you news of the opponents for these fighters when we learn them.

Fighter Pulls Out Of WEC Fight

WEC fighter Tim McKenzie has been forced to pull out of his bout against David Avellan at September 10th's WEC event.

McKenzie is reported to have sustained an injury in training, although nothing is known about the nature of the injury. With the fight being just two weeks away, it is unclear whether the WEC will find a replacement for McKenzie, or the bout will be scrapped.

If the fight is cancelled, there will be eight fights on the card, which is headline by Urijah Faber and Mike Brown. The full card looks like this:

Urijah Faber vs. Mike Brown

Paulo Filho vs. Chael Sonnen

Jens Pulver vs. Leonard Garcia

Danillo Villefort vs. Jake Rosholt

Rob McCullough vs. Donald Cerrone

Rani Yahya vs. Yoshihiro Maeda

Johny Hendricks vs. Alex Serdyukov

Ed Ratcliff vs. Danny Castillo

UPDATE: Southworth Out Of Title Fight

Earlier this month we reported that Bobby Southworth would be defending his Strikeforce Light Heavyweight title against Renato "Babalu"Sobral. (See original story here http://mmatrivia.blogspot.com/2008/08/bobby-southworth-to-defend-title.html)

Bobby Southworth has announced that he has sustained an injury during training and has pulled out of the bout. He will be replaced by Anthony Ruiz in a non-title bout.

Ruiz holds a record of 23-11, and will face Sobral on September 20th at Strikeforce at the Playboy Mansion 2.

Kimbo To Face Ken Shamrock

Elite XC have officially announced that Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson will face Ken Shamrock at their Ocotber event.

Shamrock holds a record of 26-13-2, and is currently on a 5 fight losing streak. Ferguson is relatively new to the pro fight game, with a record of 3-0.

Elite XC Official Jared Shaw has said this of the match up:

This is the biggest fight that can be made right now. It's bigger than Brett Rogers. It's bigger than Sean Gannon. Millions and millions have been entertained by Ken Shamrock over the years in Japan, in the UFC, and in the WWF, now the WWE. He's the biggest proven pay-per-view commodity in the sport. Together, those two will maximize the eyeballs for mixed martial arts on Oct. 4th."

Murilo "Ninja" Rua Versus Benji Radach Announced

Former Elite XC Middleweight Champion Murilo "Ninja" Rua will face former IFL Anaconda Benji Radach at Elite XC's October event.

Murilo Rua was Elite XC's first ever Middleweight champion and has five wins in his past six fights. He is the older brother of Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, and is a former Pride veteran.

Benji Radach is best known to fans for his stint in the IFL as a member of Bas Rutten's Anaconda's. He also fought three fights for the UFC in 2002, against Nick Serra, Steve Berger and Sean Sherk. His UFC record is 1-1 with 1 no contest due to early stoppage and suspected illegal blow. Radach originally won this fight against Berger, but the decision was subsequently overturned.

The pair will meet at the already stacked Ocotber 4th event. Here is the current card:

Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson vs. TBA
Champ Jake Shields vs. Paul Daley (for EliteXC welterweight title)
Benji Radach vs. Murilo "Ninja" Rua
Gina Carano vs. Kelly Kobold-Gavin
Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos vs. Yoko Takahashi

Opponent Named For Josh Thomson

Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Josh Thomson has been rumored for Strikeforce's September card for the last few weeks, but no opponent had been named.

We have now learned that Thomson will face Ashe Bowman, a former WEC and Ken Shamrock Productions fighter. He holds a pro record of 6-4 and is a member of Ken Shamrock's Lion's Den.

This fight will be the main event at the Strikeforce at the Playboy Mansion 2 event on September 20th. The fight will be a three round fight and will not be a title fight.

Quinton Jackson Charged For Recent Arrest

Quinton Jackson has been formally charged with two felony and four misdemeanor charges stemming from his arrest in July.

Jackson is reported to have driven recklessly, driving on the wrong side of the road, hitting other cars and evading arrest. The full charges are as follows:

"one felony count of evading while driving recklessly, one felony count of evading a peace officer and driving against traffic, three misdemeanor counts of hit and run with property damage, and one misdemeanor count of reckless driving.”

If Jackson is convicted of these charges, he faces up to 3 years in prison.

Takanori Gomi wins Sengoku Lightweight Grand Prix

As expected, Takanori Gomi has won the Lightweight Title at Sengoku "Fourth Battle" this weekend.

The decision to put Gomi in the final without having to fight his way there was a decision that angered many fans, but ultimately paid off for Gomi. He faced Seung Hwan Bang at this weekend's event, winning via a lackluster unanimous decision. This gave him the title of World Victory Road Lightweight Champion. The winner of the lightweight grand prix will now fight Gomi when the time comes.

In the lightweight grand prix, heavy favourite Ryan Schultz was knocked out by Mizuto Hirota via superman punch. This loss was highly unexpected and has suprised many fans. All the winners in the grand prix were Japanese fighters, and they will face off in the semi finals.

Here are the full results from the event:

MAIN CARD
Takanori Gomi def. Seung Hwan Bang via unanimous decision
Frank Trigg def. Makoto Takimoto via unanimous decision
Yang Dong Yi def. Pawel Nastula via TKO Round 2, 2:15
Moise Rimbon def. Peter Graham via submission (rear-naked choke) Round 2, 0:42
Valentijn Overeem def. Kazuo Takahashi via KO (knee) Round 1, 2:42

SENGOKU LIGHTWEIGHT GRAND PRIX
Satoru Kitaoka def. Clay French via submission (Achilles lock ) Round 1, 0:31
Eiji Mitsuoka def. Rodrigo Damm via submission (rear naked choke) Round 1, 3:13
Kazunori Yokota def. Bojan Kosednar via unanimous decision
Mizuto Hirota def. Ryan Schultz via KO (superman punch) Round 2, 4:25

WEC Signs Wagnney Fabiano

IFL Featherweight champion Wagnney Fabiano has signed a contract with Zuffa owned promotion WEC.

Fabiano has a career record of 10-1, with his only loss coming to Jeff Curran.

There is no word on when his first fight will be. This signing makes Fabiano the last IFL champion to be given a new home after the under publicised, but major, breakup of the IFL.

Edwin Dewees Fined And Suspended For Steriod Use

Former UFC fighter Edwin Dewees has tested positive for the anabolic stroid Nandralone after Affliction: Banned in June.

Dewees has been suspended for one year and fined $2,500 by the California State Athletic Commission. The normal human body contains up to 0.5 ng/ml of the substance, whereas Dewees sample showed up at 490ng/ml.

There is no word yet on whether Dewees will appeal the decision.

Antonio Silva Fined For Steroid use

Elite XC's heavyweight champion Antonio Silva has tested positive for banned substance Boldenone, a stroid designed for use in animals.

Silva has been fined $2,500 and suspended for a year. He has already denied the use of this or any other substance, and will appeal the decision.

Elite XC have stated that they support their fighter and will wait until the appeal hearing to decide if they should strip Silva of his belt.

RUMOR: Lesnar To Return In November

Rumors are currently circulating that Brock Lesnar may fight again in November.

There are no reports on an opponent, a location or a date, although Portland Oregon is currently in the Works for November.

Swick Won't Fight At UFC 90

Earlier today I mentioned that Mike Swick was expected to fight at UFC 90, although he had no opponent.

This is now reported to be false. Whilst Swick was contacted to fight, he is not properly healed from his recent surgery on his elbow, and will ot be fit to fight in October. Instead, he is looking to make his octagon return in December.

UPDATE: Sherk versus Griffin Official

We recently reported that Sean Sherk would take on Tyson Griffin at UFC 90, altohugh this was just a rumor (see here for original story http://mmatrivia.blogspot.com/2008/08/rumor-sherk-versus-griffin-at-ufc-90.html)

This fight is now confirmed for the October 25th event. The main event will be Anderson Silva versus Patrick Cote, and will also feature fights such as Hermes Franca versus Gleison Tibau and Pete Sell versus Josh Burkman.

Mike Swick has also recently been added to the card, although an opponent has not yet been named.

Sengoku 4 Full Card And Sengoku 5 Fighters Announced

Japanese promotion World Victory Road have anounced their full card for Sengoku 4, and some of the fighters to appear at Sengoku 5.

Here is the full card for Sengouk 4. The events marked * are the Lightweight Grand Prix bouts.

Takanori Gomi vs Bang Seung Hwan
Makoto Takimoto vs Frank Trigg
Clay French vs. Satoru Kitaoka*
Rodrigo Damm vs. Eiji Mitsuoka*
Bojan Kosednar vs. Kazunori Yokota*
Mizuto Hirota vs. Ryan Schultz*
Pawel Nastula vs Yang Dong Yi
Peter Graham vs Moise Rimbon
Valentijn Overeem vs. Kazuo Takahashi

The following names have been announced for Sengoku 5 - Xande Ribeiro, Roger Gracie, Jorge Masvidal, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Evangelista Santos, Jorge Santiago and Siyar Bahadurzada.

RUMOR: UFC December Show To Be Held In Montreal?

There is currently a rumor circulating about the location of the UFC's prestigeous December show.

The UFC typically holds an event at the end of December featuring a star studded line up, usually held in Las Vegas. This year, a Canadian newspaper is reporting that the event will be held in Montreal this year.

There has been no other evidence that this is the case, so please just treat this as hearsay for now. I will bring you any confirmation as it is released.

Palace fighting Championship Announce New Signings

California based company Palace Fighting Championship have today announced some new signings, and there are some familiar names included in their list.

PFC have signed Alex Schoenauer and John Gunderson, both former IFL fighters (and UFC, in the case of Schoenauer). They have also signed former TUF cast members and UFC fighters Lodune Sincaid, Jason Von Flue and Gabe Ruediger. Here is the full list of signings (courtesy of Five Ounces Of Pain.Com)

1. Jason Carpenter (lightweight): 13-0 (amateur) and a four-time Grapplers Quest Champion
2. John Gunderson (lightweight): 16-6 and a former IFL veteran
3. Jimmy Jarquin (featherweight): 2-2
4. Lavar Johnson (heavyweight): 7-3 and a former WEC veteran
5. Scott McAfee (lightweight): 5-1 and a former WEC and AFC veteran
6. Jeremiah Metcalf (welterweight): 9-4 and a former EliteXC and Strikeforce veteran
7. Takumi Nakayama (lightweight): 13-11-4 and a former King of the Cage and Shooto veteran
8. Masahiro Oishi (featherweight): 18-9-7 and a veteran of Shooto and K-1 HERO’s
9. Gabe Ruediger (lightweight): 11-4 and a UFC and WEC veteran. Ruediger also appeared on the fifth season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
10. Alex Schoenauer (light heavyweight): 14-9 and a UFC and IFL veteran. Schoenauer also appeared on the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
11. Kamal Shalorus (welterweight): 6-0 and a former member of the British Olympic wrestling team
12. Lodune Sincaid (middleweight): 13-6 and a former UFC and WEC veteran. Sincaid also appeared on the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
13. Justin Smitley (featherweight): 4-2
14. Rambaa “M16” Somdet (flyweight): 4-2 and a veteran of DEEP and Shooto. Considered to be one of the most exciting fighters in the world at 125 lbs.
15. Bill Theofanopoulos (lightweight): 2-0
16. Roni Torres (welterweight): 13-1 and a veteran of Shooto in Japan and Jungle Fight in Brazil
17. Jason Von Flue (welterweight): 13-10-1 and a former UFC and WEC veteran
18. Eddie Yagin (featherweight): 11-3-1

Terry Martin To Fight Cory Devela At Strikeforce Event

Former UFC Middleweight Te rry Martin has recently been signed by Strikeforce, and is expected to compete at Strikeforce At The Playboy Mansion 2 in September.

His opponent will be Cory Devela, a middleweight who defeated Joe Riggs at a Strikeforce event earlier this year, after Riggs submitted due to a back injury.

The event takes place September 20th, and features fights between Bobby Southworth and Renato Sobral for the Light Heavyweight title (currently held by Southworth) and Josh Thomson versus an unnamed opponent.

RUMOR: UFC 91 May Feature Florian - Stevenson Bout

A rumored match up between Joe "Daddy" Stevenson and Kenny "Kenflo" Florian may occur at UFC 91.

The bout is reported to have been verbally agreed, although nothing is official yet. The bout, if it is scheduled, is expected to take place on November 15th in Oregon, although the venue and date are also currently rumors.

Both Stevenson and Florian are contenders in the Lightweight division, and are both coming off wins, Stevenson to Gleison Tibau and Florian to Roger Huerta.

James Lee Out, Mike Patt In At UFC 88

UFC Light Heavyweight fighter James Lee has been forced out of his September 6th fight with Tim Boetsch due to a torn bicep, which he suffered in training last week.

Stepping in at short notice to replace him is UFC newcomer Mike Patt. Patt is 11-2 in pro MMA and is a veteran of Bodog Fights. He trains at Kerry Schall's Meat Truck, Inc.

Patt's opponent will be Tim Boetsch, who is coming off a loss to Matt Hamill in April. Boetsch holds a record of 7-2, with his only other loss coming to IFL and Pride veteran Vladimir Matyushenko.

Jason MacDonald Replaces Jason Day At UFC 88

UFC middleweight Jason MacDonald will replace Jason Day at UFC 88, in a match up against Jason Lambert.

The bout, scheduled for September 6th, takes place in Atlanta, Georgia. Jason Day is reported to have suffered an arm injury in training for this bout.

This fight will be Jason Lambert's first at middleweight, and he now has a tough opponent in Jason MacDonald. MacDonald is coming off a third round submission loss to Demian Maia at UFC 77. This will be his second fight in as many months.

The Ultimate Fighter 8 Cast Revealed

The official lists for the cast of The Ultimate Fighter 8 have now been announced.

The show airs in September on Spike TV.

Here are the names announced. The teams coaches are Frank Mir and current Heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

This list is courtesy of Five Ounces Of Pain.Com

LIGHTWEIGHT

Jose Aguilar: 25-years old; 17-3; Grapplers Edge
Fernando Bernstein: 25-years old; 2-0; Progressive Martial Arts
Junie Allen Browning: 22-years old; 2-0; Four Seasons Martial Arts
Rolando Delgado: 26-years old; 7-3-1; Westside Fight Team
Joseph Duarte: 24-years old; 3-0; Unleashed Training Facility
Charles Diaz: 30-years old; 14-4; Team EFX
Efrain Escudero: 22-years old; Southwest Martial Arts
Brandon Garner: 26-years old; 4-1; Team ROC
David Kaplan: 28-years old; 3-1; Team Lloyd Irvin
Brian McLaughlin: 23-years old; 5-0; Gracie Tampa
Wesley Murch: 25-years old; 4-2; Trojan Gym
Shane Nelson: 24-years old; 11-3; B.J. Penn’s MMA Academy
Phillipe Nover: 24-years old; 5-0-1; Team Renzo Gracie
Ido Pariente: 30-years old; 13-4; no gym affiliation
John Polakowski: 26-years old; 3-1; The Pit
George Roop: 26-years old; 7-3; Ultima MMA

LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT

Ryan Bader: 24-years old; 7-0; Arizona Combat Sports
Antwain Britt: 29-years old; 4-0; Bombsquad MMA
Jules Bruchez: 30-years old; 3-2; Ronin Dojo
Lance Evans: 30-years old; 4-2; TKO MMA
Karen Grigoryan: 26-years old; 5-0; RusFighters Sports Club
Jason Guida: 30-years old; 26-13; Hellhouse Gym
Ryan Jimmo: 26-years old; 6-1; Titans MMA
Kyle Kingsbury: 26-years old; 7-1-1; American Kickboxing Academy
Tom Lawlor: 24-years old; 6-2; American Top Team
Ryan Lopez: 25-years old; 5-3; no gym affiliation
Vinicius Magalhaes: 23-years old; 2-2; Team Quest (Temecula)
Eric Magee: 23-years old; 3-1; South Shore Sport Fighting
Eliot Marshall: 27-years old; 5-1; Easton Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Sean O’Connell: 24-years old; 1-0; no gym affiliation
Shane Primm: 23-years old; 1-0; Gracie Tampa
Krzysztof Soszynski: 30-years old; 16-8-1; Team Quest (Temecula)

Quniton Jackson's Court Hearing Postponed

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was due to attend court last week stemming from his alledged driving offences.

This hearing has now been postponed as legal officials are still working on the evidence for the case.

Rampage was expecting to fight again in the UFC in November, but this may not happen until his hearing takes place.

Elite XC Cancel Shows

Elite XC have announced that they have cancelled their September 20th event. No reason has been given for the cancellation, although there has been speculation that they were struggling to find a main event fight for the night.

Pro Elite, the parent company of Elite XC has also announced that they have cancelled a Cage Rage Contenders event to be held in the UK tonight. Again, no reason has been given.

Bao Quach versus Wilson Reis forElite XC 140lb Title

Bao Quach and Wilson Reis will meet at Elite XC's September 20th event to crown a 140lb champion.

The 140lb division within Elite XC currently doesn't have a champion, so the winner of this fight will make history as the first champion ever in the weight class.

The event takes place September 20th in Alburquerque, New Mexico and is headlined by Joey Villasenor and a currently unnamed opponent.

John Alessio Denies Fight With Jake Shields

Rumors have been circulating that John Alessio would be fighting Jake Shields for the Elite XC Welterweight belt.

Alessio has denied those rumors, stating that he will be unable to fight on the September card due to a broken arm sustained in June against Pete Spratt.

Alessio did, however, state that he will be ready to fight again at Elite XC's October 4th event.

Rothwell versus Rizzo At Affliction 2

Affliction have announced another bout for their Affliction 2: Day of Reckoning card.

Former IFL fighter Ben Rothwell will face Former UFC heavweight Pedro Rizzo. Both fighters are coming off losses, Rothwell to Andre Arlovski and Rizzo to Josh Barnett. Both fights took place at Affliction 1: Banned last month.

Affliction 2: Day Of Reckoning takes place October 11th in Las Vegas. Here is the card as it currently stands.

Josh Barnett vs. Andrei Arlovski

Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort
Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Ben Rothwell vs. Pedro Rizzo

Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon*

Roy Nelson vs. Paul Buentello

Mike Pyle vs. Jason High

*This bout is currently not confirmed

WEC 35 Fighters Drug Tests Come Back Negative

All the fighters tested at WEC 35 have tested clean for both recreational and performance enhancing drugs.

Though the event was over two weeks ago, the results have just been released due to the length of time needed for recreational drugs testing.

In the report issued by Nevada State Athletic Commission, the following fighters were named as having been tested: Carlos Condit, Hiromitsu Miura, Brian Stann, Steve Cantwell, Jamie Varner, Marcus Hicks, Brian Bowles, Josh Grispi, Brock Larson, and Scott Jorgensen.

Bobby Southworth To Defend Title

Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion Bobby Southworth will defend his title on September 20th.

The bout will take place at Strikeforce At The Playboy Mansion 2, and Southworth's opponent will be former UFC light heavyweight fighter Renato "Babalu" Sobral.

Other fighters have been added to the card including Josh Thomson and Billy Evangelista. No opponent has been named for either fighter.

UFC Looking to Expand Furter

In a recent interview, Dana White has spoken about the places the UFC is heading.

Firstly, he plans to hold an event in Mexico in the near future. Fighters like Diego Sanchez, Roger Huerta and Eddie Sanchez all provide an interest to fans there.

He also mentioned the Phillipines as a future destination. The Phillipines already airs UFC shows, and UFC fighter Brandon Vera has roots in the country, as well as a large fan base.

Canada is also in for some suprises. Dana explained that Canada has suprised them with their level of interest in the organisation, so they plan to head back there very soon.

The UFC is also working on legalizing MMA in New York and Massachussetts, but legislation issues have put there plans back and this won't happen until 2009 at the earliest.

Fedor To Return At New Year's Eve

Fedor Emelianenko has spoken today about his plans for the rest of this year.

He was supposed to fight Andre Arlovski at the next Affliction event, but has been pulled from this due to injury. Arlovski will instead fight Josh Barnett for the number one contender slot. The winner of this fight will then fight Fedor.

Fedor said today that he wants to fight both fighters, not just the winner. Both of these fights stand to be very exciting and we hope they happen sometime in the near future. They won't happen this year, however.

Fedor's next fight will take place on New Year's Eve in Japan. There have been rumors that he would face Cro Cop, but this will now not happen. His opponent is not yet determined, but is expected to be a Judo legend or a Sumo wrestler. We will bring you more information as we learn it.

Phil Baroni To Fight At Palace Fighting Championships

Former UFC veteran Phil Baroni has announced his next fight, to take place on September 20th.

Baroni recently fought Ron Verdadero at an ICON Sports event, where he won via TKO in round 1.His next fight takes place just over a month after this win.

His opponent will be former WEC welterweight Olaf Alfonso, who holds a record of 7-8.

UFC Sign Matt Horwich

The UFC announced last night that they have signed former IFL Middleweight Champion Matt Horwich.

Horwich holds a 23-10 pro MMA record and the UFC intend to put him to work right away. He has been booked to fight Ricardo Almeida at UFC 90.

The event takes place October 25th in Chicago. Other fights rumored to be on the card are Tyson Griffin versus Sean Sherk and the now confirmed bout between Thales Leites and Goran Reljic.

Four Medical Suspensions Issued For UFC 87

Despite the bloody outcome of several of Saturday's fights, only four fighters have been issued with medical suspensions, and none of them are long ones.

Georges St. Pierre and Jon Fitch, who faced off against each other in a title fight, were both issued with 30 day suspensions due to lacerations. This came as a suprise to many fans as Fitch particularly looked like he had suffered potential orbital bone damage.

Dan Evensen, who faced Cheick Kongo in a heavyweight fight was suspended for 30 days, and must be cleared by a doctor following a CT scan to rule out serious damage.

Ryan Thomas, who suffered a submission loss to Ben Saunders was also issued with a 30 day suspension for facial lacerations.

Suprisingly, Heath Herring was not issued a suspension despite serious facial lacerations.

First Match Announced For Strikeforce At The Playboy Mansion 2

Strikeforce have announced their first match for the "Strikeforce At The Playboy Mansion 2" event in September.

Welterwight fighters Joe Riggs and Kazuo Misaki will face each other at the event, held on September 20th.

Riggs will be looking for his fifth win in six fights. He is reported to be excited to be back fighting for Strikeforce after his health kept him out of the organisation for a while due to licensing restrictions.



Misaki is a former Pride and Pancrase fighter, and is looking for an exciting foght with Riggs, due to both fighters having an aggressive, explosive style.

RUMOR: Lesnar Could Face Cheick Kongo

Rumors are currently circulating that Brock Lesnar could be facing Cheick Kongo in his next match up.

This fight could be tricky for both fighters, purely due to their striking abilities. Neither fighter has a particularly strong submission game, but the edge on the ground could be given to Lesnar due to his strength and wrestling ability.

There are also rumors of a possible match up with Mark Coleman, who Lesnar was originally slated to meet at UFC 87. This may not come into fruition however, as Coleman is rumored to be moving to Light Heavyweight.

UFC 87 Locker Room Bonuses

In the aftermath of Saturday's UFC 87 event, the UFC have issued the names of the fighters who received the locker room bonuses.

Fight of the night deservedly went to Jon Fitch and Georges St. Pierre for their five round war. Whilst GSP dominated every round of the fight, credit must go to Fitch for his amazing ability to compose himself and continue to pose a challenge until the very end.

KO of the night went to Rob Emerson for his stunning 12 second knock out over Manvel Gambuyan, who was tipped as heavy favourite for this fight.

Demian Maia received submission of the night for his rear naked choke victory over Jason MacDonald.

All bonuses are reported to have been $60,000 and come on top of their standard fight wages. The figures for their contracted payroll will be reported in the next few days.

UFC 87 Post Fight Results

After an exciting night of fights on Saturday night, here are the results:

Ben Saunders defeated Ryan Thomas via Submission (Armbar)in Round 2

Chris Wilson defeated Steve Bruno via Decision (Unanimous)

Jon Jones defeated Andre Gusmao via Decision (Unanimous)

Cheick Kongo defeated Dan Evensen via TKO (Strikes) in Round 1

Tamdan McCrory defeated Luke Cummo via Decision

Demian Maia defeated Jason MacDonald via Submission (Rear-naked Choke) in Round 3

Kenny Florian defeated Roger Huerta via Decision (Unanimous)

Robert Emerson defeated Manvel Gamburyan via KO (Punches) in Round 1

Brock Lesnar defeated Heath Herring via Decision (Unanimous)

Georges St. Pierre defeated Jon Fitch via Decision (Unanimous) and retains the UFC welterweight title.

Florian - Huerta Not For Title Shot

Although Dana White once said that the winner of the Florian - Huerta fight would get a shot at the lightweight title, he has now gone on record to say that isn't the case.

BJ Penn recently announced his plans to move to welterweight (see here for original story http://mmatrivia.blogspot.com/2008/08/bj-moving-to-welterweight.html) and plans to hold both belts at once. Penn plans to fight at welterweight in December against the winner of GSP - Fitch, so any lightweight title defence is on the back burner for now.

This will surely come as a blow for Florian and Huerta, especially as Huerta is currently on rocky ground with the UFC regarding his contract status. Only time will tell what will happen to the lightweight division.

BJ Moving To Welterweight

Both BJ Penn and Dana White have confirmed in the next few days that BJ Penn will move to Welterweight to fight for the title.

The move is likely to come in December, with Penn facing the winner of tomorrow's Georges St. Pierre - Jon Fitch fight. Dana White had previously said that if Fitch won, Penn would not want to move divisions, as he is only interested in a rematch with St. Pierre. Penn has other ideas:

"Jon Fitch is a great opponent, a tough opponent, but St. Pierre brings the whole backing of Canada with him to a fight," stated Penn. "Fan base, this sport, it's entertainment. It would be great to put on a big fight with me and St-Pierre, but then again, it’s about me fighting the best fighter and if Fitch goes down and proves he’s the best fighter, then he’s the man.”

Penn also stated that he would like to hold both the Lightweight and the Welterweight titles at the same time, if he can. Dana has neither confirmed nor denied that this would be possible.

Leites - Reljic Signed For UFC 90

A bout has recently been signed between Goran Reljic and Thales Leites.

The bout is expected to take place at UFC 90 in October. Reljic will move down to middleweight for the bout, although there is no word on whether this will be a permanant move.

The event will be the UFC's first in Chicago. The full fight card has not yet been confirmed, but the following bouts are rumored:

Champ Anderson Silva vs. Patrick Cote (for UFC middleweight title)
Thiago Alves vs. Diego Sanchez
Tyson Griffin vs. Sean Sherk
Fabricio Werdum vs. TBA
Thales Leites vs. Goran Reljic
Hermes Franca vs. Gleison Tibau

Jason Lambert Drops To Middleweight

Former Light Heavyweight fighter Jason Lambert has chosen to drop a weight class for his next fight.

Lambert will drop to 185lbs for a middleweight bout with Jason Day. The bout will take place at UFC 88 in Atlanta next month.

The move may prove to be a good one for Lambert, who has lost his last two fights, and is 4-3 in the UFC.

Quinton Jackson Getting Back On Track

Quinton Jackson appeared in public today for the first time since his arrest.

He appeared in Minnesota alongside Dana White at a meet and greet for UFC 87. Speaking later at the UFC 87 press conference, he stated that he was getting back on track with his life, having changed his training team.

Jackson blamed the outburst on emotional problems that caused him to stop eating and sleeping. This apparently led to a delerious state which triggered the events. Jackson confirmed that he no longer trains with former coach Juanito Ibarra, but would not divulge reasons why the split occurred.

Weight Class Merge for Zuffa Given The Go Ahead

After months of deliberation, Zuffa have decided to merge some of the weight classes from the UFC and the WEC together.

Some of the heavier weight classes will be taken from the WEC, and the fighters will be employed by the UFC instead. The weight classes in question will be the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight divisions.

Some of the fighters that will be passing between the organisations include World Top 5 ranked middleweight Paulo Filho, Chael Sonnen, Brian Stann and Steve Cantwell. There is no time frame mentioned for this merge, but the changes are currently under way.

UPDATE: Aleksander Emelianenko May Never Fight In USA

After mixed reports concerning Aleksander Emelianenko's licensing status in California after last month's Affliction: Banned event.

Affliction expected Aleksander to be able to fight at their coming event "Day of Reckoning" in October, but the California State Athletic Commission may have stopped these plans early. Speaking about Emelianenko, a spokesman for the Commission had this to say: "

The one thing that I can absolutely say is that he (Emelianenko) was not and will not be cleared to fight in California. He is officially denied a license and that will stand for all of the United States of America”.

I'm not sure if anything can be done to rectify the situation for Aleks, but things certainly don't look good.

New Signing For Affliction

Former IFL Star Chris Horodecki has been signed by Affliction.

This signing has been rumored for the past few days, and has now been confirmed.

Horodecki holds a professional record of 12-1, with his only loss coming from IFL Lightweight champion Ryan Schultz, in a fight for the title itself.

Horodecki has been a much desired fighter for the past few weeks, receiving offers from WEC, Affliction and Strikeforce.

Affliction Announce Next Event Details

Affliction held a press conference yesterday to announce plans for their next event.

The event, called "Day Of Reckoning" will be held on October 11th in Las Vegas. The three preliminary bouts will be shown on HDNet, with the seven fight main card being shown on Pay Per View straight after.

The main event will be a heavyweight fight between Josh Barnett and Andre Arlovski. This is a number one contender fight, with the winner facing Fedor Emelianenko at a future event. Emelianenko was originally slated to face Arlovski at this event but was forced out due to a lingering hand injury, causing the number one contender match to be scheduled in it's place.

Other planned bouts include Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Jason High vs. Mike Pyle, (as a preliminary bout) Paul Buentello vs. Roy Nelson (as a preliminary bout) and Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort. There is currently speculation as to whether Belfort will be fit to fight on October after he was given a six month medical suspension after Affliction's last event. Belfort cvan be cleared early to fight, but he needs to show a significant improvement in his injury before a doctor will clear him. We will keep you updated on this.

If Tito Ortiz is signed by the company in time for the event, there is rumors that he may face Renato "babalu" Sobral on this card, but that is still under speculation.

Here is the card as it stands:

Main Card

Josh Barnett vs. Andre Arlovski

Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort

Preliminary Bouts

Paul Buentello vs. Roy Nelson

Jason High vs. Mike Pyle

UPDATE: Tito Not Yet Signed To Affliction

I reported yesterday that Tito Ortiz has signed a contract with Affliction (see the original story here http://mmatrivia.blogspot.com/2008/08/tito-ortiz-signs-with-affliction.html)

This has been denied by Affliction as just a rumor at the current time. Affliction Excecutives held a press conference yesterday to announce their next event (details of which can be found herehttp://mmatrivia.blogspot.com/2008/08/affliction-announce-next-event-details.html), but Tito was not present at the event.

When reporters asked Donald Trump about the signing, he stated that nothing was yet signed, but they were interested in signing him, and were in negotiations with him. The status of Ortiz's contract may be updated in the next few weeks, so stay tuned.