Mixed Martial Arts - UFC, PRIDE FC, etc.

[BroadwayBomber55]

Looks like Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson won't be in UFC 98 facing Rashad Evans for the UFC Light Heavyweight title after all.

Lyoto 'The Dragon' Machida gets the title shot?
http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/03/...ans-at-ufc-98/

[yankeesnumber1]

"Mask" one of the Tapout guys was killed in a car accident this morning. Such a shame. He was a nice dude....had the pleasure of meeting them at a UFC last summer....what a great guy and huge loss to the MMA community.

RIP Mask

Per mmajunkie

[nhyankeefan]

Looks like Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson won't be in UFC 98 facing Rashad Evans for the UFC Light Heavyweight title after all.

Lyoto 'The Dragon' Machida gets the title shot?
[url]http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2009/03/11/report-lyoto-machida-to-fight-rashad-evans-at-ufc-98/[/url

Rampage will be undergoing surgery on his jaw and will be unable to fight until December.

[BroadwayBomber55]

"Mask" one of the Tapout guys was killed in a car accident this morning. Such a shame. He was a nice dude....had the pleasure of meeting them at a UFC last summer....what a great guy and huge loss to the MMA community.

RIP Mask

Per mmajunkie

RIP "Mask"

The Tapout guys helped the sport and a lot of up a comers with their clothing...he will be missed!

[BroadwayBomber55]

Here are the pics of "Masks" fatal car crash

http://msn.foxsports.com/id/9324670
http://msn.foxsports.com/id/9324496
http://msn.foxsports.com/id/9324674
http://msn.foxsports.com/id/9324678
http://msn.foxsports.com/id/9324680

[Yankeeah]

I wasn't really a fan of TapouT, but mostly it was because the more successful they became, the less it really meant.

However, fighters always always always stood up for TapouT. Sean Salmon specifically said how they helped him even after all of his losses. They were always there for him. That's a great way to run a company.

It's a shame what happened to Charles. A sad day for someone who helped the sport grow.

And not to damper on the subject, but Ken Shamrock tested positive for steroids.

[BroadwayBomber55]

That positive test should force Ken Shamrock to retire.

I mean, why is he still fighting in MMA I don't know.

With that suspension, he won't fight former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley in the co-main event of a March 21 MMA/boxing card in Pensacola, FL.

[Yankeeah]

UFC 2009 Roster

http://www.gamespot.com/sports/blogs...interview.html

Heavyweights
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira	Brock Lesnar
Frank Mir	Brandon Vera (LH)
Gabriel Gonzaga	Cain Velasquez
Cheick Kongo	Eddie Sanchez
Heath Herring	Andrei Arlovski
Mirko Crocop	Fabricio Werdum
Tim Sylvia	Mark Coleman
Antoni Hardonk	Justin McCully
Light Heavyweights
Chuck Lidell	Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
Forrest Griffin	Tito Ortiz
Keith Jardine	Wanderlei Silva
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua	Lyoto Machida
Rashad Evans	Stephan Bonnar
James Irvin	Wilson Gouveia (MW)
Houston Alexander	Kazuhiro Nakamura
Thiago Silva	Tim Boetsch
Ryan Bader (DLC)
Middleweights
Anderson Silva (LH)	Rich Franklin (LH)
Dan Henderson (LH)	Michael Bisping (LH)
Kendall Grove	Chris Leben
Jason MacDonald	Nate Marquardt
Drew McFedries	Ricardo Almeida
Evan Tanner	Yushin Okami
Demian Maia	Martin Kampmann (WW)
Amir Sadollah (WW)	Thales Leites
Welterweights
Georges St-Pierre	Matt Hughes
Matt Sera (LW)	Jon Fitch
Karo Parisyan	Josh Koscheck
Diego Sanchez	Mike Swick (MW)
Marcus Davis	Thiago Alves
Chris Lytle	Ben Saunders
Josh Burkman	Kyle Bradley
Matt Arroyo	Anthony Johnson
Lightweights
BJ Penn (WW)	Sean Sherk (WW)
Kenny Florian	Roger Huerta
Joe Stevenson	Mac Danzig
Nathan Diaz	Spencer Fisher
Tyson Griffin	Gray Maynard
Thiago Tavares	Joe Lauzon
Rich Clementi	Mark Bocek
Hermes Franca	Frank Edgar
Efrain Escudero (DLC)

No Randy, no Clay Guida but we got Mark Bocek and Kyle Bradley.

Looking at this makes me realize the UFC's roster isn't as deep as we thought.

Hopefull guys like Randy, Royce, Tank etc will be unlockable.

[BroadwayBomber55]

Affliction's third PPV competing head-to-head against UFC 100 on July 11th?
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/...8420&zoneid=13

2nd report from MMAJunkie: http://mmajunkie.com/news/14326/repo...100-battle.mma

If Affliction points the same PPV with UFC 100 on July 11th, it's suicide for Donald Trump and Affliction Entertainment.

Affliction is already in trouble for paying their fighters insane amounts of dough. Why go head-to-head against UFC 100? It's a piss poor terrible idea.

[Yankeeah]

Notes about Afflictions Possible 3rd show

- It will be against UFC 100

- Fedor and Barnett will both fight, but not each other

- It will be free, still working on a network

- The card will be stacked, and they claimed no one will have any problem with Fedor's opponent

Very weird. I don't know how many guys out there we can have zero problem with fighting Fedor. Cro Cop would be cool, but he isn't the same anymore. Maybe it's Overeem.

Going against UFC 100 is a ballsy move. Being free is both genius and detrimental. It's good because fans might choose Affliction over UFC. However, they won't be making PPV money. And considering what they pay their fighters, they nee as much money as they can get.

If they are on CBS, it's probably going to be contract similar to Elite XC's, meaning it's going to crappy for Affliction and good for CBS.

[BroadwayBomber55]

Attention MMA fans,

UFC Fight Night is back on Spike TV on April Fools Day from the Sommet Center in the Music City, Nashville Tennessee.

UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann
Date: 04-01-2009
Time: 8 PM ET/PT on Spike TV

Former World Extreme Cagefighting veteran and the UFC sister promotion's last Welterweight champion, Carlos 'The Natural Born Killer' Cundit makes his UFC debut as he takes on UFC veteran Martin Kampmann.

Also, two Ultimate Fighter Season 8 alumni go inside the Octagon as Light Heavyweight winner Ryan Bader takes on Carmelo Marrero and controversial member Junie 'The Lunatic' Browning takes on Ultimate Fighter Season 5 veteran Cole 'Mangrino' Miller.

And Tyson Griffin takes on Rafael dos Anjos.

Fight Card from UFC.com

Main card

* Welterweight bout: Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann
* Light Heavyweight bout: Ryan Bader vs. Carmelo Marrero
* Lightweight bout: Tyson Griffin vs. Rafael dos Anjos
* Lightweight bout: Cole Miller vs. Junie Browning

Preliminary card

* Lightweight bout: Gleison Tibau vs. Jeremy Stephens
* Middleweight bout: Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Horwich
* Middleweight bout: Tim Credeur vs. Nick Catone
* Welterweight bout: Brock Larson vs. Jesse Sanders
* Middleweight bout: Jorge Rivera vs. Nissen Osterneck
* Middleweight bout: Rob Kimmons vs. Joe Vedepo
* Middleweight bout: Tim McKenzie vs. Aaron Simpson
* Middleweight bout: Steve Steinbeiss vs. Ryan Jensen

Weigh-Ins
http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=even....home&eid=2101
Mar-31-2009 1:30pm - 4:30pm CT

Replays
April 5 1 PM ET/PT on Spike TV

This event is also the lead-in to Season 9 of the Ultimate Fighter. It is a United States vs. United Kingdom as Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping are coaches for Season 9 at 10 PM ET/PT on Spike TV.

[BroadwayBomber55]

UFC Fight Night 18: Condit vs. Kampmann Preview
http://www.mmafighting.com/news/2009...mpmann-preview

BB55's Picks (Picks are in Bold.)

Main card

* Welterweight bout: Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann
* Light Heavyweight bout: Ryan Bader vs. Carmelo Marrero
* Lightweight bout: Tyson Griffin vs. Rafael dos Anjos
* Lightweight bout: Cole Miller vs. Junie Browning

Preliminary card

* Lightweight bout: Gleison Tibau vs. Jeremy Stephens
* Middleweight bout: Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Horwich
* Middleweight bout: Tim Credeur vs. Nick Catone
* Welterweight bout: Brock Larson vs. Jesse Sanders
* Middleweight bout: Jorge Rivera vs. Nissen Osterneck
* Middleweight bout: Rob Kimmons vs. Joe Vedepo
* Middleweight bout: Tim McKenzie vs. Aaron Simpson
* Middleweight bout: Steve Steinbeiss vs. Ryan Jensen

Card Overview:
- WEC veteran and the last WEC Welterweight champion, Carlos 'The Natural Born Killer' Cundit makes his debut against UFC veteran Martin Kampmann. Both are very good on the ground and on the feet. Will Condit make a successful transition from the WEC cage to the UFC cage?

- Also, two Ultimate Fighter Season 8 veterans step inside the Octagon as Light Heavyweight winner Ryan 'Darth' Bader takes on Carmelo Marrero and Junie 'The Lunatic' Browning takes on TUF5 alum and BJJ master, Cole 'Mangrino' Miller.

BB55's Honor Predictions
Fight of the Night: Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Horwich
Submission of the Night: Cole Miller
Knockout of the Night: Ryan Bader

UFC Fight Night 18 Weigh-In Results
http://mmajunkie.com/news/14416/ufc-...al-results.mma

Full weigh-in results include:

MAIN CARD (Televised)

* Carlos Condit (170.5) vs. Martin Kampmann (170)
* Ryan Bader (206) vs. Carmelo Marrero (205)
* Rafael dos Anjos (156) vs. Tyson Griffin (156)
* Junie Browning (156) vs. Cole Miller (156)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Un-televised)

* Ryan Jensen (186) vs. Steve Steinbeiss (186)*
* Jeremy Stephens (158) vs. Gleison Tibau (156.5)+
* Ricardo Almeida (185.5) vs. Matt Horwich (185)
* Brock Larson (171) vs. Jesse Sanders (171)
* Nick Catone (186) vs. Tim Credeur (186)
* Nissen Osterneck (186) vs. Jorge Rivera (185)
* Rob Kimmons (185) vs. Joe Vedepo (185)
* Tim McKenzie (184.5) vs. Aaron Simpson (186)

* - Bout canceled due to Jensen disclosing the use of Adderall.
+ - Both Jeremy Stephens and Gleison Tibau came in over the 156-pound limit. The two have agreed to meet at a catchweight of 158 pounds.

[BroadwayBomber55]

UFC Fight Night 18 Live PBP and Results
http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/ufc...-by-play-16816

Live Results from MMAWeekly
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/...8490&zoneid=13

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 18 QUICK RESULTS:
-Martin Kampmann def. Carlos Condit by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28), R3
-Ryan Bader def. Carmelo Marrero by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27), R3
-Tyson Griffin def. Rafael dos Anjos by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27), R3
-Cole Miller def. Junie Browning by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 1:58, R1
-Gleison Tibau def. Jeremy Stephens by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28), R3
-Ricardo Almeida def. Matt Horwich by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27), R3
-Brock Larson def. Jesse Sanders by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:01, R1
-Tim Credeur def. Nick Catone by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 3:45, R2
-Jorge Rivera def. Nissen Osterneck by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28), R3
-Rob Kimmons def. Joe Vedepo by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 1:54, R1
-Aaron Simpson def. Tim McKenzie by TKO (Strikes) at 1:40, R1

UFC Fight Night 18 - Broadway's PostMortem

Ticket sale wise, it was a success for the UFC as they make their debut inside the Sommet Center in the Music City, Nashville, Tennessee.

As for the fight card? It was a so-so night, but hey, it had some moments, and it was free on Spike TV.

Martin Kampmann spoiled Carlos Condit's UFC debut with a close split decision win. It was a great fight. A lot of back and forths and reversals. Both guys showed heart and grit. Condit has nowhere to go but up. A nice UFC debut despite the loss.

As for Kampmann, he might be in the discussion for the Top 10 in the Welterweight ranks. Both men earned my nod for Fight of the Night.

My Purple Heart award goes to Tyson Griffin in his win over Rafael dos Anjos. After the leg compression he was a little wobbly on that leg, but came around nicely. He punches hard, and has some nice combinations. I like how he works the uppercut in there often. I'd love to see him KO a dude, and I know he's got the power.

My Submission of the Night honor goes to Ultimate Fighter 5 veteran Cole Miller with his guillotine choke on Ultimate Fighter 8 veteran Junie 'The Lunatic' Browning. Miller also gave Browning some sauce in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. Quote of 2009 so far..."he's a big douche bag full of stupid hair and bad tattoos" - Cole Miller on Junie Browning.

Knockout of the Night? Well, there was only one. Aaron Simpson over Tim McKenzie.

Ryan Bader wins his post-TUF fight via Unanimous decision over Carmelo Marrero. It was a safe fight for Bader. I know they are solid grapplers with great strength and at least decent skills. But boring for us indeed.....if I knew that they'd tuck in fast undercard fights I'd be happier - but with a .04 to 24 fight to commercial ratio - this is tough to enjoy.

Other winners include Ricardo Almeida, Rob Kimmons, fellow WEC veteran Brock Larson, Gleison Tibau outlasted Jeremy Stephens, Jorge Rivera in another great fight over Nissen Osterneck, and Tim Credeur who is now 3-0 in the UFC.

In all, a so-so night for UFC Fight Night 18. But hey, it's free.

UFC Fight Night 18 Salaries and Bonuses
$30,000 BONUSES HANDED OUT AT UFC FIGHT NIGHT
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/...8496&zoneid=13

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 18 AWARDS AND BONUSES

Fight of the Night:
-Tyson Griffin vs. Rafael dos Anjos

Submission of the Night:
-Rob Kimmons

Knockout of the Night:
-Aaron Simpson

[BroadwayBomber55]

The Ultimate Fighter: US vs UK - Episode One Recap
http://www.ufc.com//index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=18943

For the first time in the history of The Ultimate Fighter series, it will be nation vs nation, as a team of up and coming mixed martial artists from the United States squares off against their counterparts from the United Kingdom in an effort to earn a six figure UFC contract at the season finale in June.

But before that can happen, the field of 32 competitors has to be whittled down to 16 – eight from each nation. In this week’s premiere episode, the show travels to Liverpool, home of the Wolfslair Academy, the gym which produced the UK coach and current UFC middleweight contender Michael “The Count” Bisping, who is eager to get his team together for the tip across the pond to the United States.

There’s a lot of great talent just waiting to breakthrough,” said Bisping, who was joined in the gym by UFC President Dana White and UFC stars Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin. The elimination matches were held before UFC 93 in January, a card that saw Henderson score a three round split decision win over Franklin and earn the United States coaching spot, hence the presence of both fighters in the gym.

“Tomorrow is the most important day of your life,” White told the fighters, who knew that gaining a spot on the show would be the first step to gaining the type of stardom currently enjoyed by show alumni such as Bisping, Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin, Diego Sanchez, and Kenny Florian.

First up is one of Bisping’s Wolfslair teammates, lightweight Gary Kelly (2-1), who takes on London’s Andre Winner (9-2-1) in the first elimination bout. The two battle it out on even terms against the fence early on, but when Winner scores with a flush knee to the chin at close range, its lights out for Kelly, with referee Dan Miragliotta halting the bout in the first round.

Bournemouth veteran Jeff Lawson (13-2) is finally getting his big chance to get to the next level, but standing in his way is Bath’s James Bryan (3-1). Lawson is in control from the start of the lightweight bout though, eventually taking Bryan down and submitting him with an armbar in the first round.

Early favorite Che Mills (7-2) steps into the Octagon next against Leicester’s James Wilks (5-2), a British native who is returning home after eight years living in California. Mills comes out fast in their welterweight bout and is able to get Wilks to the mat, but there the submission ace takes over and he heel hooks Mills for the submission victory.

Back in the lightweight division, Rochdale’s Martin Stapleton (5-1) was impressive in taking unbeaten Dan James (3-0) to the mat and forcing him to tap out to a rear naked choke in the opening round.

The first bout to go past the first round pits Nottingham’s Ross Pearson (9-3) against Wisbech’s AJ Wenn (7-2) in a lightweight contest. The two 155-pounders scrap along the fence for much of the opening round, but late in the frame, Pearson erupts with a series of knees that leave Wenn on rubbery legs as the bell sounds. Wenn manages to make it out of his corner for round two, but Pearson doesn’t let him off the hook, dropping his foe with a left hook-right cross combination that finishes things off and sends Pearson to Las Vegas.

London welterweight Nick Osipczak (3-0) travels the TKO route in his bout as well, finishing off a fatigued Tommy Maguire (5-2) late in the first round.

In welterweight action, Nottingham’s Dean Amasinger (4-1) survived a series of triangle choke attempts from London veteran Alex Reid (10-9-1) to pound out a close decision win that saw the third sudden victory round called into service for the first time this season.

Joining Amasinger and company in the TUF9 house will be Bisping’s teammate David Faulkner (2-1), who pulled off a beautiful heelhook to submit James Bateman (2-1) in the first round.

Now it’s off to America for this elite eight of British bangers.

“America better be ready because these kids are coming over to put the stamp on ‘em,” said White, and Bisping agreed.

“We’re bringing over a team of killers,” said ‘The Count’.

After one week of action, the following fighters have earned a spot in the Ultimate Fighter house for this season and will represent the United Kingdom:

WELTERWEIGHTS
David Faulkner
Dean Amasinger
Nick Osipczak
James Wilks

LIGHTWEIGHTS
Ross Pearson
Martin Stapleton
Jeff Lawson
Andre Winner

The Ultimate Fighter: US vs UK - Episode One: Broadway's PostMortem

After watching the Briton tryouts, I was a little disappointed. I questioned some of the conditioning from those fighters.

Hope they prove me wrong.

Of all the eight Britons who are going to Las Vegas to compete this season, I say that Ross Pearson is my early favorite. This kid really wants it, and he has the talent to get it. Very aggressive and full of fire inside the Octagon.

I also like Jeff Lawson.

The rest? I need to see them inside the Octagon before I can judge them.

Next week, it's the American tryouts.

[BroadwayBomber55]

Attention MMA fans:

Ready for another double dose of MMA action? I am.

It will be on Sunday, April 5, 2009.

First up, we go to Japan.

FEG's Dream will dip into the Welterweight division as 8 fighters participate in the 2009 DREAM Welterweight Grand Prix Tournament.

Two of the 8 fighters are PRIDE MMA veterans and will get each other. First PRIDE Lightweight champion and former Shooto Middleweight champion Hayato "Mach" Sakurai takes on another Shooto Middleweight champion and WAMMA Lightweight title holder Shinya "Tobikan Judan" Aoki

Fight Card
http://mmajunkie.com/news/14441/drea...main-event.mma

* 88 kg/194 lbs match
Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Katsuyori Shibata

* Middleweight match
Shungo Oyama vs. Andrews Nakahara

* Lightweight match
Katsuhiko Nagata vs. Vitor Ribeiro

* Heavyweight match
Sergei Kharitonov vs. Jeff Monson

* Featherweight Grand Prix First Round Match
Hideo Tokoro vs. Daiki Hata

* Welterweight Grand Prix First Round Match
Andre Galvao vs. John Alessio

* Welterweight Grand Prix First Round Match
Marius Zaromskis vs.Seichi Ikemoto

* Welterweight Grand Prix First Round Match
Yuya Shirai vs. Jason High

* Welterweight Grand Prix First Round Match
Hayato Sakurai vs. Shinya Aoki

Notes:
- Murilo Rua was scheduled to fight Dong Sik Yoon, but Dong Sik Yoon was forced out due to undisclosed injury. DREAM company executives are now looking for a late replacement.
http://mmajunkie.com/news/14452/drea...-ninja-rua.mma
- Replay will be on Friday, April 10, 2009 at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT and Saturday, April 11, 2009 at 4:00 AM ET/1:00 AM PT on HDNet Fights

After Dream 8 in Japan, we go to Chicago's UIC Pavilion for WEC 40: Torres vs. Mizugaki on Versus. WEC Bantamweight champion Miguel Torres defends his title against Takeya Mizugaki. Also on the card is Jeff Curran vs. Joseph Benavidez.

Fight Card
http://www.wec.tv/index.cfm?fa=event...tCard&eid=1920

Main Card Bouts

* Bantamweight Championship bout: Miguel Torres vs. Takeya Mizugaki
* Bantamweight bout: Jeff Curran vs. Joseph Benavidez
* Lightweight bout: Shane Roller vs. Ben Henderson
* Featherweight bout: Rafael Assuncao vs. Jameel Massouh

Undercard Bouts

* Lightweight bout: Bart Palaszewski vs. Anthony Njokuani
* Bantamweight bout: Dominick Cruz vs. Ivan Lopez
* Featherweight bout: Wagnney Fabiano vs. Fredson Paixao
* Bantamweight bout: Rani Yahya vs. Eddie Wineland
* Bantamweight bout: Manny Tapia vs. Akitoshi Tamura
* Featherweight bout: Rafael Dias vs. Mike Budnik

Notes:
- Takeya Mizugaki replaces Brian Bowles when Bowles withdrew due to a back injury.
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/...=8257&zoneid=2
- Diego Nunes vs. Cub Swanson fight was erased from the card when Nunes suffered a late training injury.
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/...8504&zoneid=13

Event starts: Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT with the Versus card starting at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT.

Weigh-Ins: Saturday, April 4, 2009 1 PM ET
http://www.wec.tv/index.cfm?fa=event....home&eid=1999

[BroadwayBomber55]

Has Dana White's F-Bombs gone way too far? Check this out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOLXBMHOje8

And his apologies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVtTS...layer_embedded

[BroadwayBomber55]

Dream 8 Breakdown
http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles...reakdown-16838

BB55's Predictions (Predictions are in Bold.)
* 88 kg/194 lbs match
Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Katsuyori Shibata

* Middleweight match
Shungo Oyama vs. Andrews Nakahara

* Lightweight match
Katsuhiko Nagata vs. Vitor Ribeiro

* Catchweight (89kg) match
Murilo Rua vs. Riki Fukuda

* Heavyweight match
Sergei Kharitonov vs. Jeff Monson

* Featherweight Grand Prix First Round Match
Hideo Tokoro vs. Daiki Hata

* Welterweight Grand Prix First Round Match
Andre Galvao vs. John Alessio

* Welterweight Grand Prix First Round Match
Marius Zaromskis vs.Seichi Ikemoto

* Welterweight Grand Prix First Round Match
Yuya Shirai vs. Jason High

* Welterweight Grand Prix First Round Match
Hayato Sakurai vs. Shinya Aoki

Card overview: Can Shinya Aoki save Japanese MMA? Kazushi Sakuraba and Hidehiko Yoshida on their last mileage in MMA, Takanori Gomi struggling to remain relevant and Satoshi Ishii getting carried away with overambition and/or poor advice from his management. Antoni Inoki, Akira Maeda and Nobuhiko Takada lit the Japanese MMA fire in the past three decades. Now, it's up Aoki to save Japanese MMA.

Also, Murilo 'Ninja' Rua returns to the Dream ring to take on Riki Fukuda.

Dream 8 Weigh-In Results
http://mmajunkie.com/news/14461/riki...s-official.mma

The full weight in results included:

* Shinya Aoki (73.5 kg/161.7 lbs.) vs. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (75.9 kg/ 167 lbs.)*
* Jason High (75.9 kg/167 lbs.) vs. Yuya Shirai (75.7 kg/166.5 lbs.)*
* Seichi Ikemoto (75.7 kg/166.5 lbs.) vs. Marius Zaromskis (75.5 kg/166.1 lbs.)*
* John Alessio (76 kg/167.2 lbs.) vs. Andre Galvao (76 kg/167.2 lbs.)*
* Daiki "DJ.taiki" Hata (63 kg/138.6 lbs.) vs. Hideo Tokoro (62.3 kg/137.1 lbs.)+
* Sergei Kharitonov (116.5 kg/256.3 lbs.) vs. Jeff Monson (110 kg/242 lbs.)
* Riki Fukuda (88.8 kg/195.4 lbs.) vs. Murilo "Ninja" Rua (88 kg/193.6 lbs.)
* Katsuhiko Nagata (70 kg/154 lbs.) vs. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro (69.7 kg/153.3 lbs.)
* Andrews Nakahara (85 kg/187 lbs.) vs. Shungo Oyama (85.7 kg/188.5 lbs.)
* Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa (87 kg/191.4 lbs.) vs. Katsuyori Shibata (86.2 kg/189.6 lbs.)

* - Welterweight grand prix opening-round bout
+ - First-round featherweight grand prix bout (other tourney bouts took place at DREAM.7)

[BroadwayBomber55]

WEC 40: Torres vs. Mizugaki Preview
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/...8507&zoneid=13

BB55's Predictions (Predictions are in Bold.)

Main Card Bouts

* Bantamweight Championship bout: Miguel Torres vs. Takeya Mizugaki
* Bantamweight bout: Jeff Curran vs. Joseph Benavidez
* Lightweight bout: Shane Roller vs. Ben Henderson
* Featherweight bout: Rafael Assuncao vs. Jameel Massouh

Undercard Bouts

* Lightweight bout: Bart Palaszewski vs. Anthony Njokuani
* Bantamweight bout: Dominick Cruz vs. Ivan Lopez
* Featherweight bout: Wagnney Fabiano vs. Fredson Paixao
* Bantamweight bout: Rani Yahya vs. Eddie Wineland
* Bantamweight bout: Manny Tapia vs. Akitoshi Tamura
* Featherweight bout: Rafael Dias vs. Mike Budnik

Card overview: Miguel Torres can make a case as one of the best pound for pound fighters in MMA with a win over Takeya Mizugaki, who is taking the title shot for the injured Brian Bowles.

Jeff Curran and Joseph Benavidez can move up towards a Bantamweight title shot with a win.

Can Manny Tapia bounce back in the Bantamweight division?

And watch out for Shane Roller, Raphael Assuncao, and Wagnney Fabiano looking to move up in their divisions towards a title shot in the WEC.

BB55's Honor Predictions
Fight of the Night: Jeff Curran vs. Joseph Benavidez
Knockout of the Night: Ivan Lopez
Submission of the Night: Miguel Torres

WEC 40 Weigh-In Results
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/...=8513&zoneid=2

Main Card Bouts (live on Versus):
-Miguel Torres (135) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (135)

-Jeff Curran (135) vs. Joseph Benavidez (134)

-Raphael Assuncao (145.5) vs. Jameel Massouh (146)

-Ben Henderson (156) vs. Shane Roller (156)

Preliminary Card Bouts:
-Bart Palaszewski (155) vs. Anthony Njokuani (157.5)

-Ivan Lopez (134.5) vs. Dominick Cruz (135)

-Wagnney Fabiano (146) vs. Fredson Paixao (144)

-Rani Yahya (136) vs. Eddie Wineland (135)

-Akitoshi Tamura (135.5) vs. Manny Tapia (135.5)

-Rafael Dias (145) vs. Mike Budnik (149)
(All weights in pounds.)

[BroadwayBomber55]

DREAM 8 Results - 2009 Welterweight Grand Prix First Round
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/...8517&zoneid=13

-Hayato “Mach” Sakurai def. Shinya Aoki by KO at 0:27, R1
-Jason High def. Yuya Shirai by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 0:59, R1
-Marius Zaromskis def. Seichi Ikemoto by Unaimous Decision, R2
-Andre Galvao def. John Alessio by Submission (Armbar) at 7:34, R1
-Daiki “DJ Taiki” Hata def. Hideo Tokoro by Unanimous Decision, R2
-Jeff Monson def. Sergei Kharitonov by Submission (North-South Choke) at 1:42, R1
-Riki Fukuda def. Murilo “Ninja” Rua by Unanimous Decision, R2
-Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro def. Katsuhiko Nagata by TKO (Doctor’s Stoppage) at 7:58, R1
-Andrews Nakahra def. Shungo Oyama by TKO at 2:00, R1
-Katsuyori Shibata def. Ikuhisa Minowa by Unanimous Decision, R2

Dream 8 - Broadway's PostMortem
So much for Shinya Aoki saving Japanese MMA.

Hayato Sakurai kicked his ass.

Aoki will finally learn these three things from his embarrassing defeat:

1. Don't mess or talk smack to your Shooto elders.
2. Get a stand-up game. Having an all-submission game is not good.
3. Get rid of the crying and antics like that weird photoshoot from last month with Masakazu Imanari. Man up!

It's back to the Lightweight division for you Aoki.

Good night of fights to start the day. Jeff Monson looked good, as did Jason High, and Andre Galvao.

[BroadwayBomber55]

WEC 40 Live PBP and Results
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/...=8518&zoneid=2

WEC 40 LIVE RESULTS:

Main Card Bouts (live on Versus):
-Miguel Torres def. Takeya Mizugaki by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
-Joseph Benavidez def. Jeff Curran by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
-Ben Henderson def. Shane Roller by TKO (strikes) at 1:41, R1
-Raphael Assuncao def. Jameel Massouh by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Preliminary Card Bouts:
-Anthony Njokuani def. Bart Palaszewski by TKO (strikes) at :27, R2
-Dominick Cruz def. Ivan Lopez by unanimous decison (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
-Wagnney Fabiano def. Fredson Paixao by unanimous decision (30-27,30-27, 30-27)
-Rani Yahya def. Eddie Wineland by submission (rear naked choke) at 1:07, R1
-Akitoshi Tamura def. Manny Tapia by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
-Rafael Dias def. Mike Budnik by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

WEC 40 - Broadway's PostMortem
What a great night from Chicago.

Miguel Torres vs. Takeya Mizugaki was a great fight. That fight was definitely Fight of the Night and arguably, the Fight of the Year in 2009.

Both Torres and Mizugaki threw bombs back and forth and neither fighter wasn't given an inch.

Mizugaki has a great chin, but needs to work on his clinch defense and add some diversity to his striking. Torres had more tools in his striking arsenal.

Still, awesome performance by Mizugaki as he gave it his all.

I had it 48-47 in favor of Torres. Round 1 was the closest round while the other 4 are straight forward.

Knockout of the Night? I give it to Ben Henderson over Shane Roller. Henderson dropped Roller with one shot and then followed it up. Nice TKO win.

Submission of the Night? I give it to Rany Yahya with his quick rear naked choke win over Eddie Wineland.

Joseph Benavidez and Jeff Curran was also a great slobberknocker. I had it 2 rounds to 1 for Benavidez, 29-28.

In all, a great night of fights. One of the best shows in MMA this year. Can't wait for Mike Brown vs. Urijah Faber 2 from Sacramento, CA on June 7th.

WEC 40 Bonuses and Salaries
http://mmajunkie.com/news/14481/wec-...0k-bonuses.mma

Miguel Torres, Takeya Mizugaki, Anthony Njokuani and Rani Yahya each earned $10,000 "fight night" bonuses for their performances at "WEC 40: Torres vs. Mizugaki."

WEC 40 took place Sunday night at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, and aired live on VERSUS. The bonus amounts were significantly higher than the $7,500 bonuses that were given out at WEC 39 in March.

[ace]

The WEC event last night was a lot of fun. I watched the whole thing from beginning to end. And the price was definitely right!

That 5-round slugfest known as the title fight was great.

[Yankeeah]

The WEC event last night was a lot of fun. I watched the whole thing from beginning to end. And the price was definitely right!

That 5-round slugfest known as the title fight was great.

Contrary to popular belief, the lower you go in weight, the better fights you find. That's what makes the WEC so great. And Torres usually fights warriors. The guy last night and Maeda both showed a ton of heart.

[BroadwayBomber55]

Contrary to popular belief, the lower you go in weight, the better fights you find. That's what makes the WEC so great. And Torres usually fights warriors. The guy last night and Maeda both showed a ton of heart.

Takeya Mizugaki had a granite chin taking blow after blow from Miguel Torres.

Great effort from a fighter who took the fight on short notice to replace the injured Brian Bowles.

I also liked the WEC because of the lower weight classes (125, 135, 145, and 155). Can't wait for the flyweights.

[nhyankeefan]

Contrary to popular belief, the lower you go in weight, the better fights you find. That's what makes the WEC so great. And Torres usually fights warriors. The guy last night and Maeda both showed a ton of heart.

Isn't Torres looking to fight in the UFC as a lightweight so he can make more money? I know they want to keep the brands separate, but it's too bad they can't show WEC title matches on UFC PPV's. It would allow the WEC guys to make more money and also give the UFC PPV's more depth, which they're going to need if they keep running so many shows.

[Yankeeah]

Isn't Torres looking to fight in the UFC as a lightweight so he can make more money? I know they want to keep the brands separate, but it's too bad they can't show WEC title matches on UFC PPV's. It would allow the WEC guys to make more money and also give the UFC PPV's more depth, which they're going to need if they keep running so many shows.

I've always thought they would/should do a superfight of Faber/Brown VS Torres on a UFC PPV.

As for him moving up to fight a UFC LW, it's possible, but he would struggle with such bigger guys. He could beat the Sam Stout's and the Spencer Fischer's of the world. The bigger guys could pose a problem though. His best matchup for the UFC might be little Frankie Edgar.

Just got off the phone with Frank Shamrock. He sounds good and is excited to shut up Diaz this weekend.