Pro Fighting Fans Editor-in-Chief Scott Dryden confirmed today that Matt Mitrione will indeed face Kimbo Slice in a upcoming UFC event. Mitrione, a former NFL player, found fame on Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter as his antics drew the ire of his opponents and teammates alike. Although few gave him much respect, Mitrione made it to the semifinals where he lost to James McSweeney. Nicknamed “meat head” during the season by TUF 10 coach Rashad Evans, Mitrione angered Marcus Jones with his nonchalant attitude and decisive victory over Scott Junk. He faced the intense Jones at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale where he gained an impressive victory via KO due to strikes. If Mitrione can beat the famous street fighter Kimbo Slice, the sky is the limit.
Archive for the ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ Category
Pro Fighting Fans confirms Mitrione vs Kimbo match-up
Sunday, February 7th, 2010Liddell, Ortiz chosen to coach TUF 11
Saturday, December 5th, 2009Joe Rogan just interviewed UFC President Dana White at the TUF 10 Finale as White has announced that former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz will coach The Ultimate Fighter 11. After the completion of TUF 11, a season which will feature Middleweight fighters (185 pounds), Liddell and Ortiz will face off for the 3rd time. Liddell defeated both of the previous two fights with a KO win at UFC 47 and a TKO victory at UFC 66.
Check back at Pro Fighting Fans for complete TUF 11 coverage as well as the results from tonight’s TUF 10 finale.
The Ultimate Fighter 10: Quarterfinal & Semifinal Results
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009The Ultimate Fighter 10 wrapped up tonight as the final two Quarterfinal match-ups and the Semifinal match-ups took place. Saturday night will feature the TUF 10 finale and ProFighting-fans.com will continue with full coverage of tonight’s episode as well as with complete The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale results as each fight becomes official on Saturday night. Fans can also tune in for the free viewing on Spike TV. Here’s a brief look at what happened in tonight’s final episode of TUF 10 Heavyweights.
James McSweeney vs Matt Mitrione
Mitrione, fighting out of Indianapolis, Indiana has been an interesting figureon TUF 10 with his spilling the beans on Team Rashad’s fight strategy and his “brain damage” issues. McSweeney, a London, England native who trains with coach Rashad Evans at Greg Jackson’s camp, won an early fight but has been a rather bold figure nearly coming to blows with Rampage and nearly starting a fight with Mitrione at the weigh-in for their fight.
McSweeney attempted to nullify Mitrione’s reach advantage with his kickboxing while Mitrione showed the heavy hands that he used to not only defeat, but also injur Scott Junk in the opening round. A takedown midway through the 1st Round proved to be the deciding point in the fight as McSweeney was able to get the submission victory. Come back on Thursday to see our TUF 10 Episode 11 recap for the McSweeney vs Mitrione results.
Marcus Jones vs Darrill Schoonover
Marcus “Big Baby” Jones was the lone member of Team Rampage to make it out of the opening round. Jones is the likable former NFL 1st Round pick who like flowers and fights out of Tampa, Florida. Darrill, aka “Titties” as dubbed by Rampage Jackson, may not have the fighter’s physique, but he definitely has some strong fighting skills. Schoonover fights out of Texas and seems to respect Davis’ size and ability, but does not seem even a bit intimidated.
Jones vs Schoonover saw Marcus control the pace and get a big takedown. Big Baby, The Darkness, call him what you want, but with some full-time training this physical specimen has a ton of potential. We see another 1st Round stoppage as Davis KOs Schoonover with his ground and pound. You can read all about at Pro Fighting Fans, the leading UFC news site, on Thursday.
TUF 10 Semifinal Match-ups
Three 5-minute rounds are scheduled for the two semifinal matchups with the winners advancing to the live TUF 10 Finale on Saturday night.
Semifinal #1 – Roy Nelson vs James McSweeney
Semifinal #2 – Brendan Schaub vs Marcus Jones
Following the semifinal announcements we get some classic Rashad vs Rampage in-your-face trash talk. The UFC could seriously sell a Pay Per View event with these two arguing and talking trash alone.
Roy Nelson vs James McSweeney
McSweeney received some pre-fight poetry recital from one of his coaches in a very odd scene as he prepared for Nelson. Nelson, obviously Dana White’s favorite member of the TUF 10 cast, has more experience than everyone else in the house meaning this should be a good fight.
McSweeney started the fight by pushing the pace and landing the more effctive strikes, but soon became a bit cocky. Nelson took advantage with a counter landing a right to the chin of McSweeney which stunned the Brit. Nelson then scored the takedown as he looked to end the fight early. Come back on Thursday to see our TUF 10 Episode 11 recap for the Nelson vs McSweeney results from the TUF 10 Semifinals.
Brendan Schaub vs Marcus Jones
Brendan Schaub says he wants to get the KO of Jones believing his explosive punches will weaken “The Darkness” and his desire to fight. Marcus says that when he enters the cage the darkness takes over and he just wants to pound his opponent. We will soon see if he is successful on this goal.
The Schaub vs Jones TUF 10 Semifinal fight was officiated by Josh Rosenthal and began at 10:52 pm ET thus giving reason to believe we’re in for another early stoppage. Indeed it was another early stoppage with a back-and-forth fight, but this time it did not end as expected. Both landed some solid blows but Rosenthal had to stop the fight in the 1st Round. Come back on Thursday to see our TUF 10 Episode 11 recap for the Schaub vs Jones results from the TUF 10 Semifinals.
MMA News: Junie Browning shows he is an ass, The Ultimate Fighter Winds Down and The Ultimate Fighter Finale
Monday, November 30th, 2009MMA News Update
11-30-09
MMA Big Show- Junie Browning made his first appearance in the cage since being unceremoniously dumped by the UFC. Instead of making amends for his actions Browning only showed his true character or lack thereof once again. During his opponent Scott Cornwell’s post fight interview Junie Browning pulled down his shorts and walked around with his ass on full display. Browning summed up himself in one action, a complete ass. He then yelled to the crowd that he was single and asked the ladies to line up for actions that will not be mentioned in this column. If it were any other sport Browning would be barred for life. This should be the case in MMA. No promoter should take a chance on any fighter that distasteful. Browning shows no respect for his opponents, the fans or the sport. To make matters worse his coach Shawn Tompkins simply smiled as Browning made a complete mockery of himself. That probably explains why Tomkins recently left Xtreme Couture. For complete results and photos from the event visit www.profighting-fans.com
TUF- A big week in the UFC kicks off Wednesday night on Spike TV as The Ultimate Fighter Season 10: Heavyweights wraps up. The show will no doubt experience high ratings as the finalist for the six figure contract will be revealed. The season has been entertaining will the colorful personalities of Roy Nelson, Kimbo Slice and Wes Sims on display each week. Many,including yours truly have been critical of the coverage devoted to Kimbo Slice. Kimbo’s skills and resume do not warrant the coverage but he does treat his coaches with respect and doesn’t give the sport a bad name like many others who have preceded him in the Ultimate Fighter House.
The Ultimate Fighter Finale- Not only will UFC fans get to watch the heavyweight battle for the six figure contract they will get a very good main event where Matt Hamill will battle Jon Jones December 5th free on Spike TV. Matt “The Hammer” Hamill, 7-2, is a tremendous wrestler who has heavy hands. Hamill is looking to get in the title picture in the light heavyweight division. Jon “Bones” Jones is a tremendous athlete who has hit the UFC by storm. Jones only has nine professional fights with three of them in the UFC yet is already a threat in the light heavyweight division. He has yet to be beaten and with a win puts himself in contention. Underrated Frankie Edgar will battle undefeated Matt Veach in the lightweight division with each hoping to get a title shot in the near future. Edgar is coming off an impressive victory over former champion Sean Sherk.
Injuries- Although several big name stars have been scratches of late, including Anderson Silva, Brock Lesnar and Antonio Nogueira, the UFC continues to show its depth by offering quality events. UFC 107 features a very good main event where BJ Penn will defend his title against Diego Sanchez. UFC 108 features a pivotal battle in the light heavyweight division as Rashad Evans will battle Thiago Silva.
For complete coverage of The Ultimate Fighte, a recap with Roy “Big Country” Nelson and event preview/reviews of both The Ultimate Fighter Finale and UFC 107 visit www.profighting-fans.com.
Scott Dryden
Editor-in-Chief www.profighting-fans.com
Roy Nelson, Justin Wren square off in TUF 10 Quarterfinals
Thursday, November 12th, 2009Weighing in at 250 pounds, Justin Wren, fighting out of Fort Worth, Texas, was labeled as the youth side of Youth versus Experience. The “experience” was his opponent tonight on Episode 9 of The Ultimate Fighter 10: Heavyweights, Roy “Big Country” Nelson. Nelson certainly had the weight advantage at 264 pounds and his MMA experience has been well-chronicled on the show, but UFC President Dana White sais he was impressed by Wren’s victory on the show and not Nelson’s.
The first TUF 10 Quarterfinal fight began at 10:42 pm ET, thus giving reason to believe that it would be a full-length fight. After two rounds it went to the judges’ scorecards with two 20-18 scores and a 19-19 score. The winner? Well you will have to check in on Thursday afternoon when we post our TUF 10 Roy Nelson vs Justin Wren recap.
Quarterfinals matchups for The Ultimate Fighter Heavyweights
Thursday, November 5th, 2009With the Marcus Jones vs Michael Wessel fight starting at 10:44 pm ET, many may have thought that tonight’s The Ultimate Fighter 10 fight went the distance. That could not have been more wrong. TUF 10 Heavyweights concluded the opening round with one of the fastest fights of the season, and tomorrow when we post our Marcus Jones vs Michael Wessel TUF 10 recap you can read all about the winner.
After the fight the coaches were called in by Dana White to select the matchups for the second round as 8 fighters remain in contention to become the next Ultimate Fighter. The Quarterfinal matchups will be:
- Fight 1 – Roy Nelson vs Justin Wren
- Fight 2 – Brendan Schaub vs John Madsen
- Fight 3 – James McSweeney vs Matt Mitrione
- Fight 4 – Marcus Jones vs Darrill Schoonover
UFC Update: Lesnar out of 106, Machida Verdict and More
Monday, October 26th, 2009UFC Update
10-26-09
Machida vs. Shogun Fallout:
Message boards and outlets are full of disgust regarding the outcome of Shogun vs. Machida at UFC 104 for the Light Heavyweight Title. Many believe the judges unanimous 48-47 decision in favor of Machida was just another ridiculous decision in a long line of debatable outcomes.
Do judges truly operate under the premise that to beat a champion the challenger must clearly outpoint him? Their answer would be no but that is difficult to believe. Shogun clearly won 3 out of the 5 rounds in a fight that consisted of little action. Hopefully a rematch will happen and consist of more fireworks.
Following Boxing’s Path
In the past, MMA apologists often point to “boring” boxers such as Floyd Mayweather Jr in an effort to prove their sports superiority. They argue that the bouts are methodical with the only goal to outpoint their opponent. Now what do they say? Today’s MMA is full of the same type of fights only most happen on the ground. At UFC 104 it happened on the feet with Shogun and Machida and on the ground with Gleison Tibau and Josh Neer. Enough has been said about the title bout but the Tibau/Neer fight was incredibly dull with Tibau’s takedowns being the only “aggressive” action taken. Tibau then laid on Neer for the majority of the time without improving his position. The goal to outpoint your opponent now closely resembles the boxing matches MMA loyalists despise.
“Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”- Sir Winston Churchill . There are plenty of items to learn from boxing’s decrease in popularity. In my opinion the most critical lesson is title fights which include undeserving opponents for rating purposes only. With the likes of Don King, Bob Arum and various other unsavory characters boxing lived off exaggerated- over hyped fights. With that being said, how does Vitor Belfort deserve a title shot against Anderson Silva? Belfort has only fought one fight in his return to the UFC and it was held at a catch weight of 195. Belfort defeated Rich Franklin who is no longer a contender in the Middleweight Division. The division’s top contenders Nate Marquardt and Dan Henderson are probably asking the same question. Factor in the astonishing press coverage of Kimbo Slice on The Ultimate Fighter and the sport’s biggest promotion reeks of boxing’s past.
Missing Pride
Seldom did Pride Fighting Championship fans witness bouts that were not entertaining. The famed yellow card would be thrown anytime the action was brought to a halt whether in the stand up or on the ground. In addition, Pride officials were much quicker to bring the fight to the center in the ring when a fighter was not trying to improve his position.
I for one am in favor of the yellow card and would like to see it employed on US soil.
UFC 106
According to the official UFC website, www.ufc.com, Brock Lesnar is out of UFC 106 due to an undisclosed illness. His departure creates a major void for the event now dubbed Ortiz vs. Griffin 2. UFC 106 will follow a UFC 105 event which also lacks a title bout featuring Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera. Stay tuned to www.profighting-fans for future updates.
Scott Dryden, Editor-in-Chief
Pro Fighting Fans continues MMA updates
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009While the month of October has been a slow one in terms of bigtime MMA events, ProFighting-fans.com has not slowed down a bit. The same site that has become one of the Top 10 MMA news & fan sites on the web continues to grow and add great content.
Recent additions include:
- Fighter profiles for newly-signed Strikeforce fighters Roger Bowling and Antwain Britt
- Fighter profiles for UFC fighters Anthony Johnson, Yushin Okami & Yoshiyuki Yoshida
- UFC 104 predictions as well as the UFC 104 fight card and tonight’s UFC 104 picks
- Interview with HDNet MMA announcer Michael “The Voice” Schiavello
- Dream 12 predictions
- Strikeforce Challengers 4 predictions
- The Ultimate Fighter 10 updates including our weekly recaps and weekly interviews with Roy “Big Country” Nelson
- Tha launch of a new MMA apparel company, Intimidation Clothing
Keep checking back with Pro Fighting Fans for more great MMA updates posted each day as well as complete UFC 104 results & coverage on Saturday night!
TUF 10 Episode 5 features Wes Sims vs Justin Wren
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009As Matt Mitrione ponders if he would rather be a Balltlecat or He-Man figure, another fight has been announced on The Ultimate Fighter 10 Heavyweights. With Wren hoping to use his youth to help him against the experienced Sims, it’s up to Wes Sims to pickup the first win for Team Rampage. In reference to Wren, “all he got is Greco” said Rampage, that same Greco Roman Wrestling that Kimbo Slice apparently knows nothing about. Wren weighed in at 247.5 while Wes weighed in at 251 after promising to be “bigger” than Wren, although none of us are sure what he was referring to as being bigger.
In what Wren proclaimed was the biggest fight of his life the 8-1 Wren faced off with the 22-12-1 Sims. With the fight starting at 10:52 pm ET, it was sure to be a fairly quick fight, something I will let you read about tomorrow in our TUF 10: Episode 5 recap here at ProFighting-fans.com.
TUF 10: Brendan Schaub vs Demico Rogers highlights Episode 4
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009Episode 4 of The Ultimate Fighter 10 aired on Wednesday night and it took half of the show just to announce that Brendan Schaub vs Demico Rogers would be the fight of the night. Brendan Schaub is a teammate of Rashad Evans on Team Jackson while Demico Rogers is referred to as Rashad’s Mini-Me by his coach Rampage Jackson. As with past episodes, Team Rashad’s fighter seemed much more prepared before the fight while Rampage seems to go through the motions, but when the fight finally took place, all of that no longer matters. With the fight not starting until 10:53 pm ET on Spike TV, it was obvious that it was not going to go the distance, and indeed it did not. We’re not going to spoil the results of the Brendan Schaub vs Demico Rogers fight on TUF 10 here, but for complete coverage of The Ultimate Fighter 10 including the recap of the TUF 10 Episode 4 Brendan Schaub vs Demico Rogers fight as well as Roy Nelson’s take on TUF 10 Episode 4 look to the MMA experts here at ProFighting-fans.com.