Cage Gossip: MMA News & Rumors for the UFC & Bellator
Your weekly source for MMA news & rumors about Shane Carwin, UFC 119, Tim Sylvia & more!
1) Shane Carwin linked to steroids?
First it was Barry Bonds, A-Rod, and Mark McGwire; next it was Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis; but Shane Carwin doesn’t need steroids to compete, right? Not so fast, my friend. A federal attorney has named Carwin (who last fought Brock Lesnar for the UFC Heavyweight belt only a month ago at UFC 116) as one of 22 professional athletes to obtain steroids from a Mobile, Alabama doctor. Carwin has not released a statement yet, but steroids may explain his explosion in size over the recent years. I know that if you hit the gym hard and maintain a careful diet, you can achieve those results, but steroids are no good. Just ask Steve Lattimer of the movie “The Program.”
2) Cro Cop replaces Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to face Frank Mir at UFC 119
In other big time heavyweight news, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will be sidelined by a hip injury that will require surgery and will have to miss his upcoming fight atop the UFC 119 fight card against Frank Mir. Big Nog will be replaced by fellow Pride legend Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic for the fight on September 25th. Cro Cop is riding a 2 win streak in the UFC and looks to keep it rolling against the submission expert Frank Mir.
3) Tim Sylvia victorious over Paul Buentello
Speaking of UFC heavyweights, former champ Tim Sylvia was in action this past weekend at “War on the Mainland,” where he continued his winning ways against UFC cast-off Paul Buentello. Sylvia used his sharp leg kicks to take the fight to the ground, where he finished Buentello with some heavy strikes, causing the referee to stop the bout.
4) Bellator's Heavyweight Tournament underway
The first-ever heavyweight tournament for the young Bellator promotion is beginning to come to fruition. Bellator signed Alexey Olenik, a Ukrainian judo black belt, to take part in the heavyweight tournament. There is no word on who Olenik will meet in the tournament, but he rounds out the stacked field. Neil Grove kicked off the heavyweight tournament with a win over Eddie Sanchez by first round TKO.
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5) Megumi Fujii gets armbar victory in Bellator Women's 115-pound Tournament
Speaking of Bellator, their women’s 115 lbs tournament got underway and Megumi Fujii kept at her winning ways, defeating Carla Esparza in the 2nd round with an armbar submission. The win keeps Fujii’s perfect record intact (21-0) and gives her an astonishing 17th career submission victory. Some advice to anyone that takes on Fujii, beware of the armbar! Fujii has won 11 of her 17 submission victories by way of armbar.
That’s it for this week’s edition of Cage Gossip, be sure to check back next week for the latest MMA rumors universe!
By Curt Heinrichs
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer