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Quick Hits: Anderson Silva to Undergo Surgery, “Cro Cop” Not Retiring, Fedor-Rogers in Chicago, and More

Kris Karkoski — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:39:03 +0000

Ratings for the second episode of The Ultimate Fighter 10 dropped 29 percent to 2.9 million from the series record 4.1 million who tuned in for the TUF 10 debut. [Spike TV]
Strikeforce recently announced the signing of notable lightweight Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro (20-3), who is 1-1 in 2009 including a loss to Shinya Aoki in his most-recent bout. [Strikeforce]
The lineup for WEC 43 on October 18 in San Antonio has undergone a number of changes over the last week as Rafael Rebello, Mark Hominick, and Akitoshi Tamura have all been forced to withdraw from the card due to injuries. Noah Thomas vs. Scott Jorgensen, Javier Vasquez vs. Deividas Taurosevicius, and Will Campuzano vs. Damacio Page are now set for the Versus-televised event. [WEC]
A November 7 Strikeforce event headlined by Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers will take place at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois just outside Chicago. Tickets for the CBS-televised event go on sale today at Ticketmaster.com using the presale passcode “Explode,” while tickets will go on sale to the general public on Monday. [Strikeforce]
Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson recently re-broke his leg while training and will be sidelined until December, when he hopes to fight at a December 19 Showtime-televised Strikeforce event in a rematch with interim title-holder Gilbert Melendez. [MMA Weekly]
Despite reports earlier this week that Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic was retiring, the heavyweight veteran will apparently fight at least one more time, according to reports out of Croatia.
Looking to capitalize off the UFC’s promotional push behind the UFC 105 main event between Randy Couture and Brandon Vera, Strikeforce has booked its own Couture-Vera matchup, as Kim Couture and Kerry Vera will square off at a likely November 20 event. [Strikeforce]
A broken hand suffered in his recent win over Jason Riley will prevent Tim Sylvia from making his DREAM debut on October 25 as scheduled, with the former UFC heavyweight now expected to fight at DREAM’s New Year’s Eve event. [Sherdog]
Satoshi Ishii vs. Hidehiko Yoshida will headline a New Year’s Eve Sengoku event directly opposite rival DREAM’s New Year’s Eve show. The promotion also confirmed participants for its November 7 Sengoku 11 event, including Hatsu Hioki vs. Michihiro Omigawa, Jorge Santiago, Kevin Randleman, and Akihiro Gono. [Sengoku]
MMA returns to the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California on October 8, as Chad Mendes, War Machine, and Joe Soto highlight the debut on Tachi Palace Fights. [TPF]
UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva will be sidelined briefly to recover from a surgery to have bone spurs removed from his elbow. [UFC]
Bantamweight Cole Escovedo, a former WEC featherweight champ, has signed with Strikeforce and will debut at the promotion’s November 6 “Strikeforce Challengers” event in Frenso, California. [Strikeforce]
UFC lightweight Kenny Florian has amicably split with Sityodtong and longtime trainer Mark Dellagrotte and will instead train with Firas Zahabi, the trainer of welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre, for his December matchup against Clay Guida. Dellagrote will still have his hands full as Frank Mir and Miguel Torres are now training at Sityodtong alongside the likes of Marcus Davis and Patrick Cote. [Fighters Only]
UFC star, and former Pride champion Wanderlei Silva is working on a reality show that will follow him as he scouts fighters for his Wand Fight Team. The show will be televised on a yet to be announced network. [FanHouse]
Spike’s broadcast of part of the UFC 103 undercard drew in 1.4 million viewers, including a 1.5 rating in the 18-34 year old male demographic, making it the number two rated show in the segment. [Spike TV]
A WEC event will replace the annual UFC event held in conjunction with the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio next year. [MMAJunkie]
Frank Shamrock will be a part of the upcoming “EA Sports MMA” video game, joining Randy Couture, Fedor Emelianenko, Jay Hieron, Gegard Mousasi, and Renato “Babalu” Sobral. [EA Games]

Pictured: Anderson Silva

Quick Hits: Monson Pleads Guilty, Three Bouts Added to WEC 43, and More

Justin H — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:00:46 +0000

Jeff Monson plead guilty to charges related to spray-painting graffiti on the Washington state Capitol on Tuesday, and was forced to surrender his passport as part of a plea deal, which may force his to withdraw from several upcoming bouts abroad. [The Olympian]
Bantamweights Damacio Page and Akitoshi Tamura will meet in the cage at WEC 43 on September 2nd in Youngstown, Ohio. [Fanhouse]
Coty Wheeler and Charlie Valencia will also face off in a bantamweight bout at WEC 43. [MMAJunkie]
Richard Crunkilton vs. Dave Jansen is also set for the Versus-televised WEC 43 event. [NWI.com]
As previously rumored, Jay Hieron will replace Joe Riggs and take on Nick Diaz for the Strikeforce welterweight title at the promotion’s August 15 event. The former Affliction fighter Hieron also had a contract offer from the UFC but was forced to turn in down in part due to his commitment to EA Sport’s MMA video game. [Fanhouse]
UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman says light heavyweight prospect Jon Jones could be his next opponent. [U Weekly]
Gegard Mousasi has signed a three-fight deal with Strikeforce, with hopes of also competing on the Showtime boxing series [The Fight Network]
Tim Kennedy has quit the Army to focus on his MMA career full-time. [Army Times]
Starting with WEC 42 on August 9 featuring Miguel Torres vs. Brian Bowles, the WEC will broadcast its events for fans outside of North America to purchase online for $9.99.
A recent shoulder surgery will sideline UFC welterweight Brad Blackburn until 2010. [MMA Weekly]
DREAM 12 will take place on October 25 in Osaka, Japan.
UFC veterans Jason MacDonald and Travis Lutter will square off at MFC 22 in October.
Jorge Gurgel vs. Billy Evangelista will headline an October 25 Strikeforce Challengers event.
The WEC has signed lightweight EliteXC veteran Muhsin Corbbrey to a mutil-fight deal, with his debut to-be-determined. [MMAjunkie]
Current UFC fighter Houston Alexander and veterans Jeremy Horn and Tim Sylvia are scheduled to fight at Adrenaline IV on September 18 in Omaha, Nebraska. Alexander, who fights out of Omaha, remains under contract with the UFC, but has not fought in nearly a year and is a loser of three-straight bout, with the UFC making an exception by allowing him a tune-up fight outside of the organization. [NWI.com]

Pictured: Jeff Monson

[Kris Karkoski contributed to this post]

WEC 40 Results: Torres Edges Mizugaki in Five Round War

Kris Karkoski — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 22:13:37 +0000

Miguel Torres and Takeya Mizugaki

Miguel Torres (c) def. Takeya Mizugaki via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
WEC Bantamweight Championship
Joseph Benavidez def. Jeff Curran via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Ben Henderson def. Shane Roller via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 1:41
Raphael Assuncao def. Jameel Massouh via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Anthony Njokuani def. Bart Palaszewski via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 0:27
Dominick Cruz def. Ivan Lopez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Wagnney Fabiano def. Fredson Paixao via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Rani Yahya def. Eddie Wineland via submission (rear naked choke) — Round 1, 1:07
Akitoshi Tamura def. Manny Tapia via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Rafael Dias def. Mike Budnik via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Torres, Mizugaki Make Weight For WEC 40 Headliner

Kris Karkoski — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 23:39:16 +0000

Miguel Torres

WEC bantamweight champ Miguel Torres, challenger Takeya Mizugaki, and the rest of the ten-bout WEC 40 card tipped the scales Saturday afternoon in Chicago.

The event takes place on Sunday at the UIC Pavilion and airs live on Versus.

Both Torres and Mizugaki weighed in exactly at 135-pounds for their bantamweight championship matchup. Except for Mike Budnik, who weighed in at 149-pounds for his 145-pound featherweight preliminary bout, the remainder of the card successfully made weight for their contests.

The official WEC 40 weigh-in results were:

Miguel Torres (c) (135) vs Takeya Mizugaki (135)
WEC Bantamweight Championship
Joseph Benavidez (134) vs Jeff Curran (135)
Ben Henderson (156) vs Shane Roller (156)
Jameel Massouh (146) vs Raphael Assuncao (145.5)
Anthony Njokuani (156) vs Bart Palaszewski (155)
Ivan Lopez (134.5) vs Dominick Cruz (135)
Fredson Paixao (144) vs Wagnney Fabiano (146)
Rani Yahya (136) vs Eddie Wineland (135)
Akitoshi Tamura (135.5) vs Manny Tapia (135.5)
Rafael Dias (145) vs Mike Budnik (149)*

* Dias and Budnik will fight at a catchweight of 149 pounds.

WEC 37 Results: Torres TKOs Tapia To Retain Bantamweight Title

Kris Karkoski — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:33:39 +0000

WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres (35-1) successfully defended his title on Wednesday night at The Joint at The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, dispatching 135-pound challenger Manny Tapia (10-1-1) with strikes midway through the second round of their WEC 37 headliner.

Bantamweight contender Brian Bowles (7-0) remained undefeated in a featured undercard bout, submitting Will Ribeiro (9-2) early in the third round.

WEC 37: Torres vs. Tapia Results

Miguel Torres (c) def. Manny Tapia via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 3:04
WEC Bantamweight Championship
Wagnney Fabiano def. Akitoshi Tamura via submission (arm triangle) — Round 3, 4:48
Brian Bowles def. Will Ribeiro via submission (guillotine) — Round 3, 1:11
Joseph Benavidez def. Danny Martinez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Johny Hendricks def. Justin Haskins via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 0:52
Mark Munoz def. Ricardo Barros via TKO (strikes) — Round 1, 2:26
Diego Nunes def. Cole Province via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Bart Palaszewski def. Alex Karalexis via TKO (strikes) — Round 2, 1:11
Cub Swanson def. Hirouki Takaya via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Shane Roller def. Mike Budnik via submission (guillotine) — Round 1, 1:01

Featherweight Champs Fabiano, Tamura To Debut at WEC 37

Kris Karkoski — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:23:24 +0000

IFL featherweight champion Wagnney Fabiano (10-1) will make his WEC debut on December 3rd at WEC 37 in Las Vegas, where he’ll meet former Shooto champion Akitoshi Tamura (12-6-2).

The winner of the bout is likely to receive a title shot at the WEC featerweight title currently held by Urijah Faber, who puts the title on the line in November against Mike Brown in the main event of WEC 36.

Fabiano, who signed with the promotion in August, has won six-straight and ten of his eleven professional bouts, with his only loss coming to WEC featherweight contender Jeff Curran. He was last in action in April when he defeated challenger Shad Lierley via first-round knockout.

Tamura reeled off four consecutive victories before dropping a majority decision to Hideki Kadowaki in March. He rebounded from the loss by submitting Rumina Sato with a north/south choke in May.

For more WEC rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com MMA rumors section.

Shooto 20th Anniversary Results

Kris Karkoski — Sun, 04 May 2008 05:00:54 +0000

Takashi Nakakura def. Ganjo Tentsuku via unanimous decision
David Baron def. Hayato Sakurai via submission – Round 1, 4:50
Akitoshi Tamura def. Rumin Sato via submission – Round 3, 2:37
Savant Young def. Takeshi Inoue via unanimous decision
Ryuich Miki vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani – Majority draw
Yusuke Endo def. Vince Ortiz via submission – Round 1, 3:31
Bendy Casimir def. Shinji Sasaki via unanimous decision
Hayate Usui def. Sakae Kasuya via majority decision
Shinpei Tahara def. Katsuya Murofushi via TKO – Round 2, 0:45