Anderson Silva- It appears the Spider will return to action atop the UFC 112 fight card where he will face Vitor Belfort.  UFC 112 will be held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.   Belfort vs. Silva will be a tremendous match-up of two very quick strikers.  The difference will be Silva’s legs and length as the Spider will continue his reign.

Brock Lesnar- As reported here first, Brock Lesnar is likely to return in the very near future.  Our sources lead us to believe Lesnar will return in the June-July time frame.  However, on Inside MMA Randy Couture stated he has spoken with Brock and expects him back in the spring.  Either way the winner of Shane Carwin-Frank Mir will have their hands full when the Champ returns.

Gray Maynard- The Bully squeaked out a victory over Nate Diaz but looked worse for wear following the bout.  Maynard had difficulties dealing with the reach of Diaz and didn’t want any part of the Jiu-Jitsu practitioner on the ground.  Many speculate Maynard’s victory earns him a shot at BJ Penn but there is no way he is ready for the caliber of The Prodigy.

Herschel Walker- The former NFL star is making the media tour including appearances on Fox and Friends and The Howard Stern Show.  Can Walker make an impact?  For the latest Strikeforce news be sure to check out ProFighting-fans.com.

James Toney- According to Inside MMA the former boxing  champion is in discussion with Dana White about the possibility of competing in the UFC.  Toney, 41, compiled a career record of 72-6-3 with titles in multiple weight divisions.  Can Toney compete in the UFC?  At the very least he will have a punchers chance.

UFC 109- Two Hall-of-Famers will do battle in Las Vegas on February 6th when Mark Coleman battles Randy Couture.  This is a match-up that could have happened long ago but circumstances didn’t allow it.  Now, fans will get to see the two legends do battle.  As they both have done throughout their careers, Coleman and Couture will look to defy the odds once again in pursuit of a Light Heavyweight Title shot. Don’t miss our UFC 109 predictions to see what to expect at this Las Vegas event.

For coverage of all things MMA, visit ProFighting-fans.com.

Scott Dryden, Editor-in-Chief

11-10-2009

MMA Talent- UFC supporters often point out that the UFC is the premier MMA organization in the world and the talent everywhere else is inferior.  No doubt the UFC has the most talent top to bottom but they do not horde the talent say as the NFL, NBA or MLB does.  Each NFL teams roster has the best talent at every position that no other league can compete with.  MLB and the NBA are similar but there is talent overseas that can at least make a roster.  The same applies to MMA only at a greater level.  There are elite fighters in every weight class that are ranked in the top ten but do not compete in the UFC.  No doubt the UFC is the best but don’t close your eyes on the sport.  Widen your horizons by watching Strikeforce, Dream and Sengoku to name a few.

Strikeforce- The Fabricio Werdum vs. Antonio Silva fight was a very good battle between two elite heavyweights.  Werdum, who when in great shape is one of the best, out pointed Silva and looked very good in doing so.  Werdum is clamoring for a shot against Fedor.  Gegard Mousasi defeated Sokoudjou in the 2nd round and is quickly becoming one of the best light heavyweights in the world.  Jake Shields defeated Jason Miller in a tough battle that was a boring affair with neither fighter doing any damage.  Shields needs to work on his stand up.  Shields is now the Middleweight Champion who may have his first defense against Cung Le providing Le defeats Scott Smith.  Fedor Emelianenko defeated Brett Rogers in impressive fashion knocking out him out in the 2nd round.  Rogers broke Fedor’s nose in the beginning of the fight but in typical Fedor fashion, he kept his composure and took care of Rogers.  Regardless of what UFC apologists, Dana White and media outlets state, Fedor is simply the greatest the sport has ever known and there is no close 2nd.  Hopefully this sets up Alistair Overeem vs. Fedor in the near future for the Stikeforce Heavyweight Title.

Complete Strikeforce: Fedor vs Rogers fight results

Bellator- The Bellator Fighting Championship has somewhat flown under the radar but is quickly becoming a force in the world of MMA.  In 2010, Bellator will be aired live on Fox Sports Net and replayed late night on NBC in addition to airings on Telemundo.  CEO Bjorn Rebney spoke about Bellator’s TV contract and his philosophy in an interview with ProFighting-Fans.

UFC- UFC 105 and UFC 106 are scheduled on back to back weekends which continues a busy month for MMA fans.  At UFC 105, fans get another chance to view a legend when Randy Couture drops down to 205 lbs to face Brandon Vera.  The event will air free on Spike TV.  The following weekend will feature Tito Ortiz, who will make his long awaited return to the UFC, vs. Forrest Griffin in a rematch.  In the 1st bout at UFC 59, Ortiz defeated Griffin via a controversial split decision.  Ortiz has been out of action since UFC 84 in May of 2008 and will have a lot to prove.  The same determination will apply to Griffin who looks not only to avenge the loss to Ortiz but bounce back from an embarrassing loss to Anderson Silva at UFC 101.  For previews of both events and live results visit www.profighting-fans.com

Boxing- The big Miguel Cotto vs. Manny Pacquiao bout is this weekend on PPV.  Our friends at Pro Boxing Fans have their Pacquiao vs Cotto predictions and will feature Pacquiao vs Cotto round by round results on Saturday night. To help prepare fans for the event read an interview with legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach.

Scott Dryden
Editor-in-Chief, www.profighting-fans.com

For fans of Mixed Martial Arts, the UFC will be back in action for the second time this week. After an exciting UFC Fight Night 19 on Wednesday night which kicked off the premier of The Ultimate Fighter 10, the Ultimate Fighting Championship presents UFC 103 tonight which is also a Pay Per View event. Like our friends at Pro Boxing Fans, we will be providing the official UFC 103 results as well as a live blog of the action with round by round updates.

He is up at dawn and training at 14,000 feet. Rigorous, rockwork is followed by a trip down the hill and a nice, big cup of blended Quail eggs for the protein and vitamins they provide. I’ll take his word for it…

When at the Romanza gym, trainer Nacho Beristain has brought in sparring partners to fight identical to Mayweather. In studying tapes of past Mayweather fights he has noticed certain shoulder dips and motions that he feels if played out by sparring partners, will give Juan a sneak peak into what to expect September 19^th.

Mayweather, who’s training with weights and medicine balls, is the more conventional method, showed blazing speed on the bags. His mitt work with Uncle Roger never gets boring. The guy is a real specimen in the ring and still has that killer instinct.  He does not allow HBO to film his sparring sessions, so when the cameras were turned back on some 45 minutes later, only to show his sparring partner a bloody mess, Roger Mayweather summed it up best as he usually is incapable of doing, by saying “Back where I come from, we call that an a*s whooping”

While the sparring, elevated training, Quail shakes, and Mayweather’s manicure and pedicure were all very entertaining… It’s Marquez’s post workout routine that will have the Internet a buzz…

A hyperbaric chamber several times a week is one thing. But to see Marquez look calmly in the camera, talking about the vitamins it provides, and his reasoning for drinking it, definitely pushed dinner back a bit for me personally… The “it” I’m referring to?

His own urine…

And to think this whole time, I thought Tequila tasted bad.

Stay tuned for more recaps on Mayweather vs. Marquez 24/7 and all of the coverage you need leading up to the big Marquez vs. Mayweather scrap on ProBoxing-Fans.com

Written by Jonas Knox

In Part 1, they spent a lot of time showing each fighter’s softer side. With Mayweather, they showed him spending time with his daughter at a roller skating rink and trying to re-establish a relationship with his father, Floyd Sr. whom he’s publically feuded with over the last few years. Along the way they also show little Floyd, giving motivational advice to teenagers, and feeding the homeless.

But just when you think that the 32-year-old Mayweather has turned a corner, maybe humbled a little bit, and even grown up, he reverts back to the type of guy that has made him hated by fans all over. If you’ve seen any of Floyd’s prior 24/7 shows, you know how over-the-top arrogant he is. This time around he brags about his brand new 22,000 square foot mansion and it’s silk walls that he says, is different than most everyone else, because all his stuff “is paid for.”

There have been rumors and reports that he owes the IRS some 6 Million Dollars in back taxes, to which, he adamantly denies.  Add in the fact that his Uncle and trainer Roger Mayweather, is facing assault charges for allegedly choking a female Boxer, who was staying at one of his properties recently, and you’ve got yourself dysfunctional family drama at it’s finest!

With Marquez, the focus was on his poor upbringing and humble beginnings in Mexico. They detailed the dangerous neighborhood in which he grew up. Also his father, being a fighter himself, teaching him and his brothers the sport early on.  They show the tiny apartment he lived in and the room where all 8 children stayed. They detail his training camp at the Romanza gym and as he always does, he goes into how he beat Manny Pacquiao both times they fought (their first fight was a draw and the second Pacquiao won a close split decision).

He has made it a point every time they put a microphone in his face it seems, to say that Manny Pacquiao has ducked him about doing a third fight, that Manny knows who really won, that he was robbed, etc… He also claims that he’s at peace with the Pacquiao situation because both fighters deep down, know that he won both battles… Quick question: If you’re at peace with it, why do you continuously bring it up Juan?

The next episode will no doubt intensify and focus on their training more. This was an introduction to each fighter, their personalities, their different backgrounds, and their common goal.  Early on, you don’t get the sense that these 2 dislike each other. But this is Boxing. This is drama. And this is HBO. Moods and sentiments change very quickly with those ingredients.

Written by Jonas Knox

Check back in with Pro Fighting Fans for more coverage of the Mayweather Marquez 24/7 series on HBO. We’ll have Mayweather vs. Marquez 24/7 episode recaps the morning after every episode leading up to the big fight.

Tavoris Cloud UD12 Clinton Woods Analysis

Even after a one year layoff and facing off against a taller and more experienced former champion, Cloud (20-0 18 KOs, IBF Champion) overpowered Woods (42-5-1 24 KOs) leaving little doubt as to if he is ready for bigger things at Light Heavyweight. From the start, Cloud was the stronger and faster man in the ring attack Woods with hard hitting combinations and landing frequently with left hooks and straight right hands. Woods showed tremendous heart and performed better than in his last loss against Antonio Tarver, but with the increasing amount of young fighters making their presence known in Light Heavyweight it just might be time for Woods to retire.

Now the IBF champion, the fight many would like to see Cloud make is against the top man in the division Chad Dawson. The fight may or may not happen right away considering that Dawson is still on his senior tour, he faces off against Glen Johnson this November and is hoping to land a fight against Bernard Hopkins or Roy Jones Jr. and promoter Gary Shaw has shown no interest in the past matching Dawson against Cloud. Regardless of who he faces next, Cloud has all the making of being a long reigning champion considering his effort against Woods.

Juan Urango KO11 Randall Bailey Analysis

Everybody knew coming into this fight that fireworks were expected when the best punchers in the Junior Welterweight division came to town, so it was no surprise that’s what everybody got. Urango (22-2 17KOs IBF Champion) was able to batter the fight out of former champion Bailey (39-7 35 KOs) but having to survive a sixth round knockdown in order to do so. Urango’s tireless assault on Bailey was remarkable, knocking Bailey down twice in the ninth round and continuing to force the assault until Bailey’s corner stopped the fight, it was as brutal as it was incredible. Hats off to Bailey, who did everything he could to take the belt away but nothing would have stopped Urango that night.

Despite the gutsy affair, Urango remains the least skilled of the titlists at 140 lbs but he makes it up with his bulldog-like fighting style. Even being knocked down, Urango kept coming forward and was still hitting hard even late into the fight forcing a corner stoppage. Although Paulie Malignaggi was ringside for the fight, the best fight to make in any division will be Urango against WBA mandatory challenger Marcos Maidana and it is a fight that should be made right away.

Bottom line is this: In lieu of UFC having televised cards after cards, boxing needs outlets like Friday Night Fights to stay in the eyes of the media. Should ESPN (or even Versus network) put more money in their budget for the sport on its network, we can get a great mix of prospects and contenders as well as championship level fights that bring boxing to the non-premium cable crowd. Kudos to ESPN for making a great card and even more thanks to the fighters that made it great.

Written by Danny Howard

Juan Diaz vs. Paulie Malignaggi

Coming into Saturday night’s clash with #1 ranked Lightweight Juan Diaz, Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi told everyone with a microphone and a pair of ears, his concerns about getting a fair shake in Diaz’s hometown.  He talked endlessly about the concessions he made in fighting in Houston, at a catchweight of 138 1/2 lbs., and in a smaller ring more suited to Diaz’s pressure style. He claimed that Golden Boy Promotions, who promotes Diaz, flip-flopped on a promise of neutral officials and was outraged when he heard the judging panel. After the bout, the Brooklyn New York native and many who watched, feel he had cause for complaint.

It proved to be an exciting, back-and-forth tilt. Diaz scoring big on the inside and Malignaggi using speed, to get in and get out.  Both men were cut early. Malignaggi at the end of the 1^st round, and Diaz twice. The first came from a punch in the 2^nd round over the left eyelid. The second, from an accidental head butt in the 5^th over that same eye.

The “Baby Bull” to his credit, fought hard. Wiping away the blood, as the fight went on but also wiping away the doubters, who questioned his ability to fight through cuts. In his only losses against Nate Campbell and Juan Manuel Marquez, Diaz seemed to fade and slow down at the sight of his own blood.

Diaz no doubt landed the harder shots and can easily make the claim, that he deserved to win the fight, but it was Malignaggi who seemed to control the pace. He looked sharp from the opening bell, using good footwork and quick combinations to keep the hometown boy at bay, the best he could. Diaz’s success came on counter lefts as Malignaggi finished his combinations, by backing out with his hand’s down. Diaz used the smaller ring to stalk Malignaggi and try and neutralize his speed advantage. The crowd fully behind him, roared every time he landed.

The decision could be argued either way but in the end, all three judges gave it unanimously to Diaz by scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 118-110. Naming him the new NABO Junior Welterweight Champion. Pro Fighting-Fans.com had it a draw at 114-114.

With so many close rounds, you could understand the 115-113 score and maybe 116-112.  But Gale Van Hoye’s score of 118-110 is shocking. You could’ve had a blindfold on and the volume turned off and been more accurate. To say that Paulie Malignaggi only won 2 rounds last night is laughable.

After the fight, Malignaggi (26-3, 5 KO’s) went on a profanity laced,  ‘I told you so’, tyrant. Ripping everyone, from Golden Boy Promotions, to the judges, and to the sport in general, saying “Boxing’s full of sh*t!”

For Juan Diaz (35-2, 17 KO’s), it was another exciting performance and did nothing but solidify him even more as an action packed fighter, worth watching. The crowd in Houston left happy and so did Diaz with the decision. He said after the fight that no matter the outcome of the September 19^th bout between Juan Manuel Marquez and Floyd Mayweather Jr., he wants another crack at Marquez, the only man to knock him out. If he gets his wish and gets his chance to avenge that defeat, and it’s anything close to that February brawl, boxing fans could have yet another can’t miss, classic to look forward to.

Robert Guerrero vs. Malcom Klassen

Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, whose wife’s much publicized battle with Leukemia has made him easy to root for and for good reason, went in to last night’s clash with IBF Junior Lightweight Champion, Malcom Klassen with a chip on his shoulder.  Out to prove to the boxing community, that he did not quit 2 fights ago when he suffered a cut over his eye, Guerrero took on a world class Champion, making his debut in America.

The result: The best performance of Guerrero’s young career. From the outset, Guerrero (25-1-1, 17 KO’s) used his long frame and Southpaw style to confuse the South African, Klassen and keep him off balance for the majority of the 12 rounds. Klassen (24-5-2, 14 KO’s) had only limited success in catching Guerrero inside and on breaks. The heavier puncher, Klassen seemed to be looking for that one, big shot, to turn his fortunes but could not find it.

Guerrero more than doubled Klassen’s punch output, averaging 100 a round. He, like Diaz in the main event, avenged the stigma of not being able to fight through cuts, when an accidental head butt, opened up a gash over his left eye in the 7^th.  He showed heart and battled through. Sticking to a perfect game plan to outwork and frustrate the champ, earning him a unanimous decision and the title.

Danny Jacobs vs. Ishe Smith

If Danny Jacobs’ handlers wanted to see their 22-year-old Middleweight prospect tested, they got their wish.

“The Golden Child” as he’s been dubbed, scratched, clawed, and brawled his way to a unanimous decision victory over 21-4(9 KO’s) veteran, Ishe Smith.

In what turned into a sloppy but entertaining, battle, Jacobs (18-0, 15 KO’s) was the busier fighter, using superior speed and length to win the vacant NABO title. The 31 year old Smith, got what he wanted in a war and baiting Jacobs into a slugfest, but outside of catching Jacobs on the ropes and on counter shots inside, he was unable to stay busy and land enough significant blows to break the will of the young Brooklyn, New York native.  Jacobs showed heart and a competitive mean streak, by standing in the pocket and trading with Smith but all who watched would agree that his footwork and habit of laying on the ropes with his hands down, leave room for improvement.

Written by Jonas Knox