[By: Kris Karkoski | Nov 20, 2008]
Heavyweight up-and-comer Cain Velasquez and established welterweight Josh Koscheck could be the next UFC fighters to be cut by the UFC for refusing to sign a lifetime video game agreement with the promotion.
Jon Fitch and Christian Wellisch were both cut on Wednesday for refusing to sign the contract and, according to Yahoo Sports, the UFC is no longer willing to work with American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) or fighters represented by DeWayne Zinkin and Bob Cook.
Both Velasquez and Koscheck, along with Fitch and Wellisch, train out of AKA and are also poised to decline the agreement and face an immediate termination of their contract. Welterweight Mike Swick, who also trains at AKA, has contacted the UFC and confirmed his intention to continue to fight for the promotion.
[By: Kris Karkoski | Nov 19, 2008]
Recent welterweight championship challenger Jon Fitch (19-3) was released by the UFC today after refusing to sign away his lifetime video game rights to the promotion, according to MMA Mania.
Heavyweight Christian Wellisch (8-4) was also cut by the UFC after failing to sign the agreement.
[By: Kris Karkoski | Nov 19, 2008]
Spike TV and the UFC today announced that welterweights Anthony Johnson (5-2) and Kevin Burns (7-2) will headline The Ultimate Fighter 8: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir Finale, rematching their July 19th meeting at UFC Fight Night 14 that saw Burns defeat Johnson via TKO due to an eye poke.
Middleweights Jason MacDonald (21-10) and Wilson Gouveia (11-5) will clash in the co-main event.
After expressing his interest in hosting a match between Gina Carano and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, UFC President Dana White has now gone a step further, stating that he might actually be ready to sign Gina Carano, the “Face of Women’s MMA” to the WEC as sort of a trial run:
“Gina Carano is a star, I think she’s talented. I think she’s got all the tools, so what I’m willing to do is bring Gina into the WEC. We could do fights whenever there’s a challenger for Gina. That’s how I’ll test the waters and see how it goes.”
[By: Kris Karkoski | Nov 18, 2008]
UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has not yet been offered the UFC 95 headlining bout against Chuck Liddell on February in London, but he would be “honored” to fight Liddell if given the chance.
Silva’s manager, Ed Soares, today confirmed the news with CagePotato.com.
“We haven’t been offered that fight. It’s just a rumor at this point,” said Soares.
[By: Kris Karkoski | Nov 17, 2008]
Newly-crowned UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar was the top earner at UFC 91, earning $450,000 for his second-round TKO of former title-holder Randy Couture, who received $250,000 for his losing effort.
The total disclosed payroll for the event was $1,118,000.
According to The Sun, the often speculated bout between middleweight king Anderson Silva and former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell could finally become a reality at UFC 95, which is set for February 21st from the O2 Arena in England.
The article adds that English native Michael Bisping will for once not be part of the London event due to coaching duties for The Ultimate Fighter. However, as expected, several Brits, including Dan Hardy and Terry Etim, are already booked to compete on the card.
[By: Kris Karkoski | Nov 17, 2008]
The UFC has awarded Aaron Riley, Jorge Gurgel, Dustin Hazelett, and Jeremy Stephens with $60,000 bonuses for their performances on Saturday at UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar in Las Vegas.
Riley and Gurgel took home “Fight of the Night” honors for their standup brawl that saw Riley unanimously edge Gurgel 29-28 on the judge’s score cards.
[By: Kris Karkoski | Nov 17, 2008]
A near-sellout crowd of 14,272 fans packed the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night for UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar, which was highlighted by Brock Lesnar’s second-round TKO of former title-holder Randy Couture in the evening’s main event.
The event recorded a live gate of $4.8 million, which is good for the third most lucrative UFC event ever in Nevada behind UFC 66, which was headlined by Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz, and UFC 79, which featured Georges St-Pierre vs. Matt Hughes and Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva.
[By: Kris Karkoski | Nov 16, 2008]
Brock Lesnar became the new UFC heavyweight champion in the UFC 91 main event on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, knocking out heavyweight title-holder and UFC hall of famer Randy Couture with strikes midway through the second round of their championship bout.
Kenny Florian, Dustin Hazelett, Gabriel Gonzaga, and Demian Maia were also victorious on the UFC 91 main card.