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I’m not sure who was a better steal for MMA Fanhouse – Ben Fowlkes from CagePotato or Daniel Herbertson from Sherdog. Fowlkes writes great opinion pieces and also has the Sports Illustrated gig, but Herbertson isn’t just putting together great reporting from Japan, he’s also still taking great pictures from all the events. His DREAM.14 pics aren’t as good as some of his ring ones, but I imagine shooting through a tuna net into a blindingly white cage has it’s own unique set of challenges for a photographer.

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From the Jordan Breen Show (by way of Fight Opinion):

JORDAN BREEN: "I think most people are content with Evans winning because Rampage looked so blasé but I thought to me it was another of those fight that reflected, I mean... if Evans was the better man, I think he probably would have won those next rounds and if Rampage did have the ability to knock him out, I want to see it. It just seems like another one of those fights that reinforces, these are guys that should be fighting five rounds in total especially where one of the narratives going into the fight is, ‘Oh, Rashad's breaking down Rampage." Well if he's going to break him down, I want to see him break down. Give me rounds four and five. It seems a bit weird to have a fight this big... Dana White made it explicit that the winner, now Rashad Evans, is going to fight Mauricio Shogun Rua later this year. It seems just wrong to have this be three rounds. It seems anti-climatic and all too entirely short for a fight of this magnitude."

MARC LAIMON: "Yeah, I agree. I mean, I kept making the mistake thinking this was a five round fight and I was like, oh man they're getting close on time. And I was like, it was only three rounds and I was like, oh man. Yeah, I did feel kind of jipped. You know like I kept thinking this was a five round fight, five round fight, and I was like, oh no, it's only 15 minutes. It's... I really would have liked to seen what would have transpired those last two rounds."

JORDAN BREEN: "Yeah, and obviously there then comes the issue and this is the thing that I brought up with Keith Kizer basically said, well when we go back and look at changing things in Nevada we're going to sort of allow these promotions to petition us and say we would like this to be a five-round fight and then we know that there's always going to be an issue of what fights become five round fights and you know where do you draw the line. And again with Zuffa, this is a card where the main event on a UFC card is still normally a title fight and this ended you know basically five minutes before you know five to seven minutes before they would have gone off on PPV. So, I mean there are time considerations for PPVs but it seems like absolutely, a title eliminator that Dana White explicitly says the winner's of this fight is going to be fighting a title, surely that has to be the most appropriate step down from an actual title fight. I mean, it's the natural step below it, surely if anything that's the kind of fight that we can get behind for 25 minutes."

I felt far less frustrated by this three round main event than I did by the UFC 108 Rashad Evans vs Thiago Silva fight because I felt the outcome had been more definitively decided. Rashad's knock down of Rampage in the first and his ability to not only survive the big punch in the third, but end the round with another take down told me that he was the better man. That was far less clear against Thiago Silva.

Either way, put me firmly in the camp that strongly favors five round headliners for major events, regardless of whether it's a title fight or not.

Josh Gross and Frank Trigg have an interesting Twitter debate on the issue as well.

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Whenever someone says “No offense”, that usually means they’re about to say something offensive about the other person. Here’s Kenny Florian saying “No offense, but Gray Maynard just lay-n-prays”:

James Kimball (MMAmania.com): This of course is just a three round fight. Will you feel a sense of urgency to outstrike Gray early and take the fight to him for fear that he could secure a couple takedowns, maintain position, and win on points?

Kenny Florian: Yeah, I mean that’s kinda the way I think he’s gonna have to fight. And this is no offense to Gray, but he’s gonna have to play his typical, boring, Gray Maynard fight. You know, take the guy down and just stay there. Just lay and pray. I think that is his only hope to win the fight. He’s good everywhere, but I think that in order to win the fight, he knows that’s what he’s gonna have to do. But however he goes about fighting me, it’s not gonna be easy.

This is somewhat unfair to Gray … sure, he’s boring. But he doesn’t so much lay and pray as dump and hump. He stays very active on top and beats the shit out of people. Sure those beats don’t end fights, but they keep Maynard extremely dominant during fights and its a little disingenuous to claim he doesn’t do anything after he gets a guy down. Still, Kenny’s MO here is in trying to drag Gray into a stand up fight, if not for the majority of their match at UFC 118 than for at least for a round or something. Even with all Kenny’s work around guys like GSP and GSP’s magical wrestling club training gang, he’s still not gonna have a good time on his back.

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Here’s the poster for the latest DREAM event on July 10th. The full lineup and the promotional video (completely non-nonsensical past a ‘versus’ theme if you can’t read Japanese but still strangely compelling) are after the jump.

Via MMA Junkie:

* DREAM champion Shinya Aoki vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
* Alistair Overeem vs. TBA (light-heavyweight grand prix opening round)*
* Gegard Mousasi vs. TBA*
* Melvin Manhoef vs. TBA*
* Katsunori Kikuno vs. TBA*

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Just how close did Yves Lavigne come to stopping Lil Nog vs Brilz? Close enough to grab Brilz, who admitted he almost let go of Nog but remembered at the last second to play it on the side of caution. You might remember Lavigne as the guy who pulled a similar “The fight’s over / no it’s not” move during Matt Brown vs Pete Sell, which resulted in a punch drunk Sell getting beaten stupid.

As for the decision that cost Brilz his $9000 win bonus, it probably doesn’t hurt so bad after Dana White declared it bullshit and awarded it Fight of the Night honors, netting Brilz and Nog 65k each. Brilz had this to say about the decision:

“I fight to see how I matchup against people,” he said. “Wins and losses aren’t a big deal to me. I thought I went out there and performed well. I gave him everything I had. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I’m not upset. Sure, I’d have liked to win. Everybody likes to win. I think I went out there and I proved to people, but more importantly I proved to myself, that I can compete with the top dogs. That’s sort of what I’ve been aiming for my whole career.”

Smart way to look at it. We all have every right to be pissed that the judges blew another obvious call on one of the biggest cards of the year, but Brilz knows that regardless of whether it says W or L next to this fight, he suddenly has a career fans give a shit about.

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship is expected to makes its third trip to Texas when it heads to The Lone Star State for September's UFC Fight Night 22 event.

Two cities are under consideration for the show, which takes place Sept. 15 and serves as a lead-in for "The Ultimate Fighter 12" on Spike TV.

On Saturday UFC president Dana White told MMAjunkie.com that either Austin or San Antonio is expected to host the show.

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Congratulations are in order for Jon Anik, Kenny Florian, Franklin McNeil, and the countless others at ESPN who played a significant role in the development and production of MMA Live over the last couple years.

But most of all, congratulations are in order for you, the fans, for making the show as popular as it is today. ESPN has granted MMA Live a three-month extension on ESPN 2 until August due to the loyal viewers, like yourself, that have supported the mixed martial arts news show from jump street.

When MMAmania.com first announced that MMA Live would be making the move from ESPN.com to ESPN 2 back in March, it was also announced that the show would in fact be on a trial run of sorts during the month of May as the "suits" over at the Worldwide Leader sat back and surveyed just how popular the show would become.

Well, it's popular alright.

According to MMA Payout, MMA Live averaged 130,000 viewers per show during May, a number that is higher than what the network previously drew during the 1 a.m. ET, 10 p.m. PT time slot.

So, job well done fight fans. With your dedication to the sport and more specifically your support of MMA Live, our beloved sport of mixed martial arts will continue to have a presence on ESPN 2 for the foreseeable future.

Keep it up, Maniacs.

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Props: Tatame

Quoteworthy:

"The motivation is natural as long as the challenges show up. We got great fights ahead: we can have Lyoto in the future, a revange with Forrest Griffin, a fight with Anderson Silva for the future if this is the UFC wish... We’d like Mauricio had the chance to fight the legend Randy Couture before his retirement."

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua's manager, Eduardo Alonso, outlines several great fights for the former Pride FC standout as he prepares to defend his newly-won 205-pound title. The list of potential adversaries is long and distinguished, inluding several former champions and one UFC Hall of Fame inductee. Indeed, Randy Couture seems to be among the favorites. However, he appears to have a date already booked with James Toney later this year. In the meantime, who do you think who comes next for Shogun, Maniacs? Does Rashad Evans deserve first crack at the Brazilian or are there better fights out there right now?

Poll

Who comes next for Shogun after Rashad Evans?

• Lyoto Machida
• Forrest Griffin
• Anderson Silva
• Randy Couture

  790 votes | Results

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Following the confirmation of a Shinya Aoki vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri title fight, DREAM officials have unveiled a small list of other probables for their upcoming DREAM.15 event.

Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, former Strikeforce light-heavyweight title-holder Gegard Mousasi and veteran striker Melvin Manhoef all have been tentatively slotted for the July 10 card.

DREAM.10 takes place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and airs in North American on HDNet.

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Note the right (racist) bicep. This left one is going to whup that ass.

According to Fighter’s Only, Fedor and Aleksander have been inaccurately portrayed in a documentary that aired in Russia two months ago and they are pissed off about it:

According to Fedor, the program-makers used very selective editing of sound bites and film clips to create a certain image. Aleksander is so unhappy with his portrayal in the program that he is suing the station, his brother says. Fedor says the interview was arranged under false pretences and the resulting footage carefully edited to make him out as a right-wing nationalist. …

“In my opinion the NTV work was just shameless, they have no respect for religious people or conscience. When we were the arranging the interview with NTV, I was assured that the program will be about today’s youth, and aimed at youth who have lost their way and are standing at a crossroads in life,” he [Fedor] said. …

“In the editing it was made out that I go to church more than I go to training. Although I do go to church, I go only on Saturday for an evening worship service and Sunday at the Divine Liturgy, which I explained in the interview. I am also puzzled by the claim that apparently condemn my brother Alexander for “being a skinhead” this is an absolute lie and Aleksander is currently suing NTV,” Fedor commented. [italics added]

I am fascinated by every angle of this for all the wrong reasons, including the ones in the article that I haven’t quoted from – namely, Roman Zentsov has repeatedly called for the expulsion or extermination of all non-Slavs in Russia (Dude. I’m a quarter Untermensch myself, and the Serbians of 1941 that my grandfather eventually immigrated from after the war gave Hitler the finger, overthrew a collaboration government in Belgrade and forced the delay of Operation Barbarossa – from May 15 to June 22 – that ultimately doomed the Wehrmacht to a Napoleonic winter defeat at the gates of Moscow. Eat a bag of shit, and you’re welcome for the assist.) – and I commend you all to read the whole piece, but here’s where I need your help.

I was under the impression that Fedor was beloved in Russia, as Drago was in the USSR – their claim to fame, their ability to be #1 in something other than vodka consumption and sorrow. Combine that (mis?)conception with his undying fealty to M-1 and the Fink, and I’m really surprised that there’s anything on any network in Russia (especially one that is now state-owned like NTV) that does anything but laud the guy left and right. We need tape, guys – we’ll screw with translating it later. Start searching.

Are there Russian Jackals? If not, were there ever and I did I make them hate us, or did they leave of their own accord?

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(Video courtesy YouTube/ProMMARadio) 

Apparently Anderson Silva is fed up with Chael Sonnen's pre-fight posturing and he wants his Team Quest opponent to lay off.

In the above interview with Pro MMA Radio, Sonnen recalls a tense situation that occurred at this weekend's UFC Fan Expo in which Silva approached him to tell him to "relax."

Sonnen said that he told the UFC middleweight champ, who seemed frustrated by the amount of autographs he had to sign for fans at the event, that "in two months, he wouldn't have to sign any more because nobody will care about him again." Apparently Sonnen's remark was lost in translation at the time, but when one of Anderson's entourage later informed the Brazilian fighter what was actually said, he decided to seek Chael out and tell him to lay off.

It's starting to seem like Chael is getting inside Anderson's head, possibly exposing a chink in his seemingly impenetrable armor, which is likely his plan since "The Spider" has never shown any mental weakness in the past.
He's never faced a master of verbal warfare like Sonnen, either, so it should be interesting to see what happens on August 7 at UFC 117 when the pair finally lock horns.

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"The New York Badass" is back. Back in the middleweight division that is. 

Phil Baroni is set to return to the Octagon and to the 185-pound weight class on August 28 from Boston, Massachusetts at UFC 118 when he takes on John Salter. MMA Weekly reported the match up over the weekend.

Baroni recently dropped a unanimous decision to Amir Sadollah at UFC 106: "Ortiz vs. Griffin 2," his first fight back with the Zuffa owned promotion since UFC 51 in 2005.

The loss was the "NYBA's" second straight defeat, and his fifth in his last eight contests. With an overall record of 13-12, you'd have to think if he runs his record to .500 come August, he'll be looking for a new employer shortly thereafter.

 

Salter is of course coming off a technical knockout victory over Jason MacDonald earlier this month at UFC 113: "Machida vs. Shogun 2" after MacDonald broke both his tibia and fibula in horrific fashion during the bout.

John dropped his Octagon debut to Gerald Harris at UFC Fight Night 20 via a hard-fought third round technical knockout. The up-and-comer was off to a perfect start (4-0) to his professional mixed martial arts career before the setback.

UFC 118 is set up to an absolute blockbuster card. The three-headed monster will feature the rematch between Frankie Edgar and B.J. Penn for "The Answer's" lightweight title, a number one 155-pound contender bout in the form of Kenny Florian vs. Gray Maynard, and of course, the highly anticipated heavyweight fight between James Toney and Randy Couture.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more news on UFC 118 as it becomes available.

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LAS VEGAS - "The Ultimate Fighter 12" coach Josh Koscheck has selected three of his trainers as assistant coaches for the upcoming reality show.

In an interview with MMAjunkie.com at UFC Fan Expo 2010, the top UFC welterweight contender and "TUF 1" cast member confirmed three mainstays from his gym, the famed American Kickboxing Academy.

The list includes former ISKA kickboxing world champ and AKA owner/head trainer Javier Mendez, one-time UFC fighter and AKA's head MMA trainer "Crazy" Bob Cook, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt/AKA trainer Dave Camarillo.

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UFC welterweight contender Dan Hardy expects to fight in October at UFC 120, but the search is still underway for an opponent.

While a guest on today's edition of MMAjunkie.com Radio, Hardy confirmed he's expected to compete on the overseas card but said his matchup and opponent are not official.

As MMAjunkie.com recently reported, UFC 120 is expected to take place Oct. 16 at The 02 in London, England. The night's main card airs via same-day delay on Spike TV.

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