Archive

Archive for December, 1969

Is CB Dollaway Ready to Make the Leap to Middleweight Contender?

December 31st, 1969

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When they look at CB Dollaway, some observers still see the favorite who got tapped out by the ultimate underdog in Amir Sadollah in losing the Ultimate Fighter's season seven. Or they might see the guy who was chocked unconscious by Tom Lawlor back at UFC 100.

But if Dollaway wins his fight with Mark Munoz at UFC on Versus 3, they might have to learn to deal with a new view of him. Try this on for size: CB Dollaway, middleweight title contender.

A win would give him four straight victories, a longer UFC streak than any middleweight aside from current champion Anderson Silva. In a division short on young contenders, that alone might help him vault his name into the mix.

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Michael Bisping to Be Disciplined for UFC 127 Spitting Incident

December 31st, 1969

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UFC middleweight contender Michael Bisping will face disciplinary action for his behavior following his UFC 127 win, UFC president Dana White told MMA Fighting.

Shortly after finishing his second-round TKO over Jorge Rivera, Bisping walked over to the octagon corner closest to Rivera’s team and spit in their direction. The incident was caught on camera, though Rivera’s cornermen could not be seen from the angle shown.

Rivera’s boxing coach Matt Phinney was hit, according to a statement from their camp. Bisping denied spitting at them, saying, “I was spitting on the floor to let him know what I thought of him.”

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Chris Lytle to Consider Retirement After Secret Surgery, UFC 127 Loss

December 31st, 1969

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Because he’s a pro’s pro, Chris Lytle wouldn’t admit it, but he was far from fighting at full strength in his UFC 127 loss to Brian Ebersole. In fact, just four weeks before his fight, he had the injured meniscus in his right knee removed, MMA Fighting has learned.

Lytle chose to keep the procedure quiet to deflect attention and avoid devaluing Ebersole’s win. But after MMA Fighting learned of the injury from two separate sources, Lytle’s manager Ken Pavia finally confirmed the surgery, which he said began as an exploratory procedure before the doctor removed the meniscus due to the damage.

Lytle chose to fight, and the ensuing unanimous decision loss to Ebersole marked the end of a four-fight win streak. It could also possibly bring a close to his career.

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UFC 127: Michael Bisping Beats Jorge Rivera

December 31st, 1969

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Michael Bisping punches Jorge Rivera at UFC 127.Michael Bisping showed off an impressive, well-rounded offensive arsenal against Jorge Rivera at UFC 127, using a combination of takedowns and punches to win a second-round technical knockout.

The fight was the culmination of a rivalry between Bisping and Rivera that included bad blood and harsh trash talk from both fighters over the last few weeks, including Bisping spewing a homophobic slur toward Rivera at the weigh-in. After the fight Bisping and Rivera appeared to have some more harsh words for each other, as did their respective corner men. But they eventually exchanged a hug, and Bisping said he was sorry in his post-fight interview.

"I just want to apologize," Bisping said afterward. "He touched a nerve and I'm a sensitive guy."

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UFC 127 Live Blog: BJ Penn vs. Jon Fitch Round-by-Round Updates

December 31st, 1969

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Jon Fitch on top of BJ Penn at UFC 127.This is the UFC 127 live blog for B.J. Penn vs. Jon Fitch, the main event of tonight's UFC pay-per-view from the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

The winner of Penn (16-7-1) vs. Fitch (23-3) will be next in line for a welterweight title shot depending on how Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields at UFC 129 plays out.

The live blog is below.

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Jon Fitch, B.J. Penn Fight to a Draw at UFC 127

December 31st, 1969

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BJ Penn fought Jon Fitch to a draw at UFC 127.In a battle of two of the best fighters in mixed martial arts, the judges couldn't pick a winner: Jon Fitch and B.J. Penn fought to a majority draw at UFC 127.

One judge scored it 29-28 for Fitch, but the other two judges scored it 28-28, and those two judges made it a majority draw -- a disappointing ending that left the fans in Sydney, Australia booing. It was the second time in three UFC pay-per-views this year that the main event has been scored a draw.

Fitch seemed to control most of the fight, and Penn acknowledged afterward that he thought he had lost. But Penn requested a rematch afterward, and that seems likely.

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UFC 127 Post-Fight Press Conference Video

December 31st, 1969

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Jon Fitch at the UFC 127 press conference.After the action in the Octagon is over, the UFC 127 fighters have one more obligation: the UFC 127 post-fight press conference. We'll carry the video live right here at MMAFighting.com.

At the post-fight press conference, the UFC reveals the winners of the Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night and Submission of the Night, and winning fighters talk about what happened inside the cage.

The post-fight press conference will start shortly after the main event ends (around 1 AM ET) and the video is below.

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Mark Hunt Wins UFC 127 Knockout of Night

December 31st, 1969

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Mark Hunt wins knockout of night at UFC 127.Former K-1 World GP champion Mark Hunt won the "Knockout of the Night" award at Sunday's UFC 127 event at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

Hunt was announced by the UFC during the post-fight press conference as one of the four recipients of a $75,000 performance award bonus. The other post-fight winners were Kyle Noke for "Submission of the Night" and Chris Lytle vs. Brian Ebersole for "Fight of the Night."

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Michael Bisping Wins at UFC 127, Loses Cool in Ugly Post-Fight Spitting Incident

December 31st, 1969

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Michael Bisping gets booed nearly everywhere but in his home country of the UK. He might not particularly care about that, or even the reasons behind it. Lots of successful people have haters after all, and he's made big dollars, established himself as a top middleweight and is a lightning rod for attention. Some of those people who have booed him in the past had no real reason other than group mentality, others simply don't like the way he's trash-talked opponents in the past.

Whatever your thoughts on what he's done before, on Saturday night, Bisping deserved it. He deserved boos in victory. He deserved boos for his illegal knee strike that could have cost him the fight, and he deserved boos for his actions just after the fight ended, spitting at Jorge Rivera's cornermen.

Winner in the cage, loser by behavior.

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Bisping Denies Spitting on Cornerman, Rivera’s Team Wants Suspension

December 31st, 1969

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Michael Bisping vs. Jorge RiveraIn the immediate seconds following the conclusion of an emotionally charged fight between Michael Bisping and Jorge Rivera, Bisping walked to the Octagon corner nearest to Rivera's team and spit. That much is clear. But the two sides disagree on what exactly he was aiming at, and whether he hit it.

Rivera's team says that the spit was directed -- and hit -- boxing coach Matt Phinney. Bisping denies it.

"No, not at all. I was spitting on the floor to let him know what I thought of him," Bisping told MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani in a UFC 127 post-fight interview. "I apologized for that, and I never want to act like that."

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Kyle Noke Explains Why He Wore Mask During Entrance

December 31st, 1969

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SYDNEY -- MMA Fighting spoke to Kyle Noke about after his submission win over Chris Camozzi at Sunday's UFC 127 in Sydney, Australia and why he wore a high elevation training mask on his way to the cage.


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Alexander Gustafsson Wants to Fight Again as Soon as Possible

December 31st, 1969

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SYDNEY -- MMA Fighting spoke to Alexander Gustafsson after his win at Sunday's UFC 127 in Sydney, Australia about beating the home favorite James Te Huna and training with rising light heavyweight Phil Davis.


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Nick Ring Defends Controversial Decision Win

December 31st, 1969

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SYDNEY -- MMA Fighting spoke to Nick Ring about his controversial win over Riki Fukuda at Sunday's UFC 127 in Sydney, Australia. Ring stated his case as to how he won the first two rounds, but admitted he was a "little bit" surprised that he ended up with the unanimous decision win.

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Ross Pearson Open to Rematch Against Dennis Siver

December 31st, 1969

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SYDNEY -- MMA Fighting spoke to Ross Pearson after his win over Spencer Fisher at Sunday's UFC 127 in Sydney, Australia. Pearson spoke about his pre-fight jitters coming back after an injury and his disappointment with Dennis Siver defeating George Sotiropoulos.

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Tiequan Zhang Believes He Will Compete in a UFC Fight in China This Year

December 31st, 1969

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SYDNEY -- MMA FIghting spoke to Tiequan Zhang following his UFC 127 win over Jason Reinhardt about how he finished Reinhardt, the cut to 145 pounds and whether he feels pressure to keep winning in order to grow the Chinese MMA market.

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