UFC 116 - Betting Odds

Here are the betting odds up to this point for UFC 116.  I would have thought the betting odds for Lesnar vs. Carwin would be much much closer!

Brock Lesnar = (-145)
Shane Carwin = (+115)

Yoshihiro Akiyama = (-210)
Chris Leben = (+165)

George Sotiropoulus = (-200)
Kurt Pellegrino = (+160)

Chris Lytle = (-200)
Matt Brown = (+160)



Krzysztof Soszynski = (-230)
Stephan Bonner = (+180)

Ricardo Romero = (-160)
Seth Petruzelli = (+130)


Goran Reljic = (-165)
Kendall Grove = (+135)

Brendan Schaub = (-350)
Chris Tuchescherer = (+250)

Karlos Vemola = (-180)
Jon Madsen = (+150)

Daniel Roberts = (-180)
Forrest Petz = (+150)

Gerald Harris = (-280)
Dave Branch = (+210)

Bumpy road ahead to legalize MMA in New York

Just the other day, a major bill in the Assembly in New York to legalize MMA in New York was shot down:


NYDailyNews.com breaks the unfortunate turn of events:
ALBANY - The push to legalize ultimate fighting in New York is on the ropes. Assembly Democrats stripped approval for the wildly popular violent sport from a budget bill that lawmakers will take up as soon as today.
Gov. Paterson sought to legalize mixed martial arts, saying fights could pull in more than $2 million in tax revenue for the cash-strapped state.
"The majority of voices who spoke about this issue in our conference were not supportive of approving it as part of the budget," said Assemblyman Steven Englebright (D-L.I.), a fight fan. Englebright said it's a long shot the Assembly will revisit the issue. The state Senate has already approved the sport.


While it is not the end of the fight by any means, it will certainly be the most difficult hurdle yet.

Frank Shamrock makes it official

Just wanted to share with you the video of Frank Shamrock announcing his retirement from MMA at Strikeforce.  While its not a big surprise to anyone, it is a sad occasion to lose one of the early greats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLvzis5dUPA

Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin predictions

If you haven't seen it yet, go check out the UFC's website just for this:
http://116.ufc.com/

 You'll find you can scroll through the huge number of people who have already made their predictions for the fight right on that website.  Its nice to see the stats and what the people had to say, but the really cool part is making your own prediction.  First you pick which fighter you think will win, then you pick how they will win; by knockout, by stoppage, by submission or by decision.  When you highlight over each choice, it shows a clip of exactly that outcome, in a match played out on the video game UFC Undisputed 2010 !  Pretty interesting to see.

UFC 116 - Secondary fight card

Here's the secondary Fight Card for UFC 116.  I like these a lot, I often have a bad memory, tells you what the past few fights were for a fighter in the top 4 cards.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2102260/UFC/UFC116_fight_card_2.doc

UFC 116 - First printer-friendly Fight Card

Here is the main printer-friendly Fight Card for UFC 116.  Yes, I do use these myself when I go and watch a fight.  Nice and convenient to make your picks ahead of time and keep track.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2102260/UFC/UFC116%20Full%20Fight%20card.doc

UFC 116 Printer-friendly Fight Cards

I will try my best and have the printer-friendly fight cards done tomorrow.  I will definately have the main fight card done, and hopefully the second.  I put more effort into doing the second ones, and I find them more useful, but fights change at the last minute so much I try to avoid having to redo them.

More Fedor Fedor Fedor

Guess I was wrong, people AREN't going to stop talking about Fedor and his career.  I don't think this many people would be going on and on about Fedor anywhere this much if Fedor had actually won.  There would be more talk about his undefeated streak, but now almost every article I see is about Fedor.  So, how about we keep some focus on what REALLY matters, the fights?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CPYIdBqukI

Frank Shamrock announced Retirement from MMA

Tonight at Strikeforce Fedor vs. Werdum, Former UFC champion Frank Shamrock announced his retirement from MMA.  Its a  shame about the hard line stance that the UFC has taken about not showing an video footage of Frank Shamrock's career, as it doesn't help solidify his impressive career for the fans that don't remember his early days in Japan and the UFC.

The UFC's first middleweight champ and arguably its biggest star in the late 90s, Shamrock never lost a fight in the Octagon. However, the UFC excluded all of his bouts from fan voting -- even his epic scrap against Tito Ortiz in September 1999 at UFC 24.
In short, Shamrock-Ortiz was one of the UFC's earliest title bouts that felt like a top championship boxing match, given the buildup and drama that made Shamrock's fourth-round TKO his finest -- and final -- performance in the Octagon. Giving up more than 20 pounds after the weigh-in, Shamrock calmly and tactically dissected Ortiz in what stands as a masterpiece of strategy, along with a heady dose of down-and-dirty know-how.
Sadly, the bout won't be featured on the UFC's countdown that has been airing on Spike TV.
"I thought it was a pivotal fight (in MMA)," Shamrock told Sherdog.com. "Physically and mentally, it was a pivotal fight in the history of the sport itself. It's obviously pretty ridiculous and childish they left it out. That's obvious. I was the first-ever champion, and Tito was the first guy in a weight class to work his way up. In my opinion, it was the first real legitimate build-up to a championship fight. It was a real story."

Fedor gets shut down, submitted in first round

On way or another, everyone was bound to still be talking about Fedor long after this match was over.  Unfortunately for Fedor, He lost by submission in tonight's Strikeforce event against Fabricio Werdum in the first round.  No doubt Fedor thought he had his next 2 fights in the bag, to a degree, and would retire undefeated from MMA, but it was not to be.  Werdum just didn't get the level of respect on the ground that he deserved - and it cost Fedor dearly.

How many people are tired of hearing more about Fedor?

What?  All of America?  Really?  It seems like Fedor has been getting a ton of press lately, and not only because of his offhanded comment that he may retire from MMA competely after these next 2 fights that are left on his contract.  Sure, I can totally respect the overwhelming desire to retire undefeated, but what about the rumors of him possible doing a UFC after his contract is up (a rumor that just wont DIE) ? Not to mention the rumor that he would like to go into politics after this.  Hey, if Arnold can swing it, why not?

Personally, I wish the UFC was promoting the move 'Circle of Pain' a whole lot more!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1541664/

Grapplers Quest

As you know, The UFC Fan Expo is coming to Boston this August.  What I totally missed (my bad) is that every Fan Expo also has a Grapplers Quest event.  Check out the details for this one:

http://www.grapplersquest.com/events/ufc-fan-expo-boston-2010

Has anyone competed in one of these before?  How was the experience, and were the divisions fair?  I am curious as to how often they have these, are they only at UFC Fan Expo's?  If I had realized it and had adequate advanced notice, I would have considered participating.

Keith Jardine is officially cut

I think everyone, including 'The Dean of Mean' himself, sensed that this might be coming.  The Ultimate Fighter Finale marked Keith Jardine's 4th consecutive loss, and made it very likely that he would be cut, no matter how good a fighter people believe him to be.  Almost everyone agrees, Keith Jardine is a great fighter, with impressive wins over the likes of Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin, but his record for the last 7 fights or so has been hit or miss.  In a statement today, Dana White said  "It sucks. I have nothing but respect for him and I hope to see him back soon."

Wanderlei Silva - out for awhile

Wanderlei Silva, who jsut recently pulled out of UFC 116, now reports that he should be able to fight again - in 6 or 7 months. He also says that he was going to fight Akiyama with a torn knee, but the broken ribs were just too much for him.

Full vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PkIjqBsLgM

UFC 116 - coming up Sat. July 3

Many people are excited about UFC 116, which is coming up in a week from Saturday, on July 3. And with good reason, as there are some great fights on this card, but there are some changes already as well.

Wanderlei Silva, who was scheduled to fight Yoshihiro Akiyama, is no longer fighting due to some broken ribs suffered during training. Latest sources say that Chris Leben is going to fill the spot. Looks to still be an interesting fight!

And the drama continues, as James Toney releases a joke/fake 911 call about Randy Couture, titled "Randy Couture, I'mma Beatcho Ass". Almost something we would expect from Brock Lesnar, at least in his WWE days.

Anderson Silva traing with Who???

Lately sources have been saying that Anderson Silva has been training with somebody new, and quite unexpected. Steven Seagal. Yup, you heard that right, Anderson Silva has been training in Aikido with Steven Seagal. This could certainly make his next fight against Chael Sonnen a lot more interesting. Or, quite possibly the most BORING MMA fight ever. Check out the video on YouTube, link below:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlQw9fJ9CKk

David Batista - Yet another WWE star going to MMA

If recent reports are at all correct, David Batista (you remember him, Bastista, from the WWE) has already been training in MMA, although details about how long he has been training are very sketchy at best. What does seem to be certain is that Batista has claimed he has already signed on with Strikeforce, and they have already set up his first match, though no one is breathing a word about who. Go ahead and check out the video:

http://www.tmz.com/2010/06/21/dave-batista-wwe-mma-strikeforce-mixed-martial-arts/

Matt Hamill - Victory

Did anyone else see that big red spot on Matt Hamill's back during his fight at The Ultimate Fighter Finale? Can anyone say staph infection? Yup, he fought despite knowing ahead of time about that nasty staph infection. And during the first round, he was down to fighting with a broken hand, too. And yet he still pulled out the win over Keith Jardine. I'm not sure if that's a testament to his mindset, or a testament to how badly Keith Jardine has been doing. Anyways, he also walked away with the $25,000 Fight of the Night bonus. Not bad...

UFC 118 in Boston

Just a quick update to let everyone know:

Tickets for UFC 118 in Boston are going on sale next week! Tickets for Fight Club members go on sale Wed. 6/23, tickets for newsletter subscribers go on sale Thurs. 6/24 and tickets for the general public go on sale 6/25 at 10 am. (subscribing to the newsletter is free, hint hint)

Also, the same weekend as UFC 118 (Fri 8/27 and Sat. 8/28) will be a UFC Fan Expo in Boston! Tickets are already on sale!

The Ultimate Fighter Finale - Results

Results are in for The Ultimate Fighter Finale:

Rich Attonito def. Jamie Yager - TKO, round 2
Dennis Siver def. Spencer Fisher - unanimous decision
Chris Leben def. Aaron Simpson - TKO, round 2
Matt Hamill def. Keith Jardine - decision
Court McGee def. Kris McCray - submission, round 2
Travis Browne def. James McSweeney - TKO, round 1

Dana White - I will make up for UFC 112!

Dana White Working On “Huge Fight” On Free TV After UFC 112 Debacle
Written by Tim Ngo
June 18th, 2010


After watching one of the strangest main events ever at UFC 112, Dana White promised to make it up to fans who shelled out as much as $54.95 to watch middleweight champ Anderson Silva “coast” to victory


Silva had dominated the first 2Rounds against his challenger, Demian Maia, and then proceeded to berate his opponent and stop fighting at the same time.

White was so disgusted with what was transpiring that he actually left his seat and handed the title to Silva’s manager, Ed Soares.

Now it appears that White is working on his plan to make it up to those who witnessed what happened in Abu Dhabi.

“What I’m going to end up doing is probably taking a big, huge fight that should have been on pay-per-view and put it on free TV. I’m actually working on it right now,” White told MMAWeekly.

Nobody has any clue as to what White may have in store but it’s rare that the boss has let down the masses of fans that follow his sport religiously.

“I said I’d make up for that, and trust me, I’m gonna,” he once again reiterated.

The Ultimate Fighter Finale - Weigh Ins

Go ahead and check out the weight ins for The Ultimate Fighter Finale - Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz.

http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=eventDetail.Home&eid=3233

The Ultimate Fighter Finale - Odds

Here are the betting odds so far for The Ultimate Fighter Finale: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz:

Court McGee (-200)
Kris McCray (+160)

Matt Hamill (-145)
Keith Jardine (+115)

Chris Leben (+250)
Aaron Simpson (-350)

Spencer Fisher (-190)
Dennis Siver (+155)

Jamie Yager (-120)
Rich Attonito (-110)

John Gunderson (-260)
Mark Holst (+200)

Brad Tavares (-240)
Seith Baczynski (+190)

Keith Noke (-200)
Josh Bryant (+160)

James Hammortree (+0)
Chris Camozzi (-130)

James McSweeney (+145)
Travis Browne (-175)

The Ultimate Fighter Finale - Fight Cards

Ok, here are both Fight Cards for The Ultimate Fighter Finale - Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz !

Regular Fight Card:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2102260/UFC/TUF_Lidell_vs_Ortiz_fight_card.doc

Fighter History Fight Card:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2102260/UFC/TUF_Liddell_vs_Ortiz_fight_card_2.doc

The Ultimate Fighter Finale - This Saturday June 19 2010

This one snuck up on me, I'll admit. This Saturday is a free showing on Spike of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz Finale! I will have both Fight Cards posted on Thursday at the latest (maybe Wed.) and hopefully will post some of the odds as well.

Chuck Liddell - uncertain future

There's no arguing that Chuck Liddell looked like he was in rare form in his fight at UFC 115, however it did not guarantee him victory. Most people agree that he 'just got caught', but where does he go from here? Will Dana White allow him back into the UFC at some point in the future? If not, will Chuck go and fight in another organization? What's your opinion?

Spoiler!! UFC 115 results! Spoiler!!

Spoiler!! UFC 115 results! Spoiler!!
Spoiler!! UFC 115 results! Spoiler!!
Spoiler!! UFC 115 results! Spoiler!!

Rich Franklin defeated Chuck Liddell (KO round 1)
Mirko Cro Cop defeated Pat Barry (submission, round 3)
Martin Kampmann defeated Paulo Thiago (decision)

Ben Rothwell defeated Gilbert Yvel (decision)
Carlos Condit defeated Rory MacDonald (TKO, round 3)
Evan Dunham defeated Tyson Griffin (decision)
Matt Wilman defeated Mac Danzig (submission, round 1)

UFC 115 Fight card 2 - Previous 3 fights

Ok, the second fight card is ready now too. I always like seeing the fighters last 3 fights summarized. Gives you a quick look at how they are doing, and maybe some interesting facts you didn't know/remember!

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2102260/UFC/UFC115_fight_card_2.doc

Fight Card for UFC 115!

Here is the printer-friendly Fight Card for UFC 115!

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2102260/UFC/UFC115%20Full%20Fight%20card.doc

For those of you waiting for the Fighter history Fight Card, it will be posted tomorrow morning!

Quick update

Seems like I am still a day behind. Sooo, printer-friendly fight cards are going to be posted Wednesday (hey, less chance I'll have to update them!). I might still get to them very late tonight, but probably not.
Also, if anyone hears when the UFC announces the Date tickets go on sale for UFC 118 in Boston, let me know ASAP! Drop me an email or something!

UFC 115 odds

I am going to be posting the printer-friendly fight cards either Monday or Tuesday. To hold you over until then, why not check out the early betting odds for 3 of the fights at UFC 115?

Chuck Liddell(+115) vs. Rich Franklin(-145)
Mirko Cro Cop(+120) vs. Pat Barry(-150)
Mac Danzig(-120) vs. Matt Wiman(-110)

I expect things to start shifting big time in the next few days, especially for the Liddell vs. Franklin fight!

UFC 115

UFC 115 is coming up soon, on Saturday June 12. It's still a week away, so I still have some time to finish up the fight cards for it, but I wanted to give you an early rundown on what the card looks like for far:

Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Pat Barry
Paulo Thiago vs. Martin Kampmann
Ben Rothwell vs. Gilbert Yvel
Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald
Tyson Griffin vs. Evan Dunham
Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman
David Loiseau vs. Mario Miranda
James Wilks vs. Peter Sobotta
Ricardo Funch vs. Claude Patrick
Mike Pyle vs. Jesse Lennox

Sadly, I was hoping for some bigger name on this card. I guess I've been spoiled the past couple UFC's =) Sure, I'd love to see Chuck fight, and Cro Cop as well, but I could live without seeing Paulo Thiago fight. Plus, I would have expected them to be paired up with better opponents.

On the plus side, this UFC is once again going to be aired in movie theaters all over the place. There still doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to why they show a couple in theaters but not others..