Light Heavyweight

Updated: Liddell-Franklin Likely for June, White Issues Response

The rumblings of the UFC counter programming Strikeforce got much stronger today when it was reported that Chuck Liddell would be facing former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin at UFC Fight Night on April 17 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Liddell was originally reported to be facing Tito Ortiz at UFC 115 but according to Fighters Only, Ortiz is dealing with something that may significantly impact his future as a fighter and it’s not an injury.

Update: 2:38 PM: Sherdog.com and MMAJunkie.com are now reporting that the bout between Liddell and Franklin will now take place at UFC 115 in June, not the rumored show for April 17 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Update: 8:00 PM: UFC president Dana White has now posted a response on his Twitter saying, “Not true! We are doing Couture vs. Franklin, not Chuck.” Stay tuned for more.

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MMA on Tap March 2010 Rankings

Here are the latest MMA on Tap fighter rankings. We will be updating these every month or whenever an adjustment is needed, like after a major event for example. The rankings break down into seven different lists of ten, each of them by division.

This past weekend’s WEC results shook up the top of the bantamweight rankings pretty significantly.  Dominick Cruz and Joseph Benavidez both jumped up with their resounding wins in Columbus, Ohio.  The other significant move saw Paulo Thiago enter the welterweight rankings off his stoppage of previously ranked Mike Swick.

If you ever want to compare these with your own or just take a look at the latest update, you can find them under the Top 10 category in our features section.  The rankings were tabulated by the members of the MMA on Tap staff. Feel free to chime in with your own lists, thoughts, and suggestions via a comment.

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UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva Weigh-In Results

The weigh-ins for UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva took place Friday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Aside from Paul Daley, all the participants for Saturday’s card successfully made weight.

Daley tipped the scales at 172 pounds and the Nevada State Athletic Commission deemed it unsafe for Daley to continue his attempt to reach the 170 pound limit. Hazelett has agreed to a catchweight bout of 172 pounds and Daley will forfeit 10% of his purse.

UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva will be headlined by a light heavyweight bout between The Ultimate Fighter 10 coach “Sugar” Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva. The card will also feature a welterweight bout between contenders Paul “Semtex” Daley and Dustin “McLovin” Hazelett.

Pay Per View Bouts:
Thiago Silva (205 lbs) vs. Rashad Evans (205 lbs)
Paul Daley (172 lbs lbs*) vs. Dustin Hazelett (168 lbs)
Sam Stout (155 lbs) vs. Joe Lauzon (155 lbs)
Jim Miller (155 lbs) vs. Duane Ludwig (156 lbs)
Gilbert Yvel (239 lbs) vs. Junior Dos Santos (237 lbs)

Preliminary Bouts on Spike:
Jacob Volkmann (171 lbs) vs. Martin Kampmann (171 lbs)
Dan Lauzon (155 lbs) vs. Cole Miller (155 lbs)

Undercard:
Ryan Jensen (186 lbs) vs. Mark Munoz (185 lbs)
Jake Ellenberger (170 lbs) vs. Mike Pyle (171 lbs)
Rafaello Oliveira (156 lbs) vs. John Gunderson (155 lbs)

Henderson Signs Multi-Fight Deal With Strikeforce

Strikeforce has officially announced that they’ve signed former PRIDE middleweight and light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson to 16-month, multi-fight contract.

“I’m very happy to be a part of Strikeforce and their partnership with CBS and Showtime,” said Henderson.

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UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera Weigh-In Results

All of the participants for the UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera card successfully made weight in preparation for their bouts Saturday at the Manchester Evening News Arena in Manchester, England.

The card will be headlined by a light heavyweight affair between former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Randy “The Natural” Couture and Brandon “The Truth” Vera.

Main Card:

Randy Couture (204 lbs) vs. Brandon Vera (204 lbs)
Mike Swick (170 lbs) vs. Dan Hardy (171 lbs)
Michael Bisping (186 lbs) vs. Denis Kang (185 lbs)
James Wilks (169 lbs) vs. Matt Brown (170 lbs)
Ross Pearson (156 lbs) vs. Aaron Riley (155 lbs)

Preliminary Bouts:

Paul Taylor (170 lbs) vs. John Hathaway (170 lbs)
Terry Etim (155 lbs) vs. Shannon Gugerty (155 lbs)
Matt Riddle (171 lbs) vs. Nick Osipczak (170 lbs)
Paul Kelly (156 lbs) vs. Dennis Siver (155 lbs)
Alexander Gustafsson (203 lbs) vs. Jared Hamman (204 lbs)
Andre Winner (155 lbs) vs. Roli Delgado (156 lbs)

Quick Hits: Almeida Injured, Sylvia to Japan for NYE & More

- Ricardo Almeida has pulled out of his November 21 bout with welterweight contender Jon Fitch at UFC 106 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bout was expected to be Almeida’s first at 170 lbs after a career at middleweight. Fitch told MMA Junkie he’ll now get a “bigger fight instead.” [MMAJunkie.com]

- Former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia will be appearing on the upcoming K-1 Dynamite! show on New Year’s Eve. Sylvia has been offered bouts with Alistair Overeem and Hong Man Choi and Fighters Only is reporting that Sylvia’s camp is currently favoring a bout with Choi. [Fighters Only Magazine]

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Forrest Griffin to Face Tito Ortiz at UFC 106

Yahoo! Sports is reporting that former UFC light heavyweight champions Tito “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Ortiz and Forrest Griffin will rematch at UFC 106 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Griffin will be replacing UFC Hall of Famer Mark “The Hammer” Coleman who was forced to pull out of the bout after suffering a tear in one of his medial collateral ligaments.

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Coleman Withdraws From UFC 106 Bout With Ortiz

UFC Hall of Famer Mark “The Hammer” Coleman as pulled out of his upcoming bout with former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz at UFC 106 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

According to MMAWeekly.com, Coleman suffered a tear in one of his medical collateral ligaments. Word is Coleman has requested for the bout to be rescheduled for a later date.

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Quote of the Day: Mousasi Preparing for Strikeforce Return in November

“In November my second fight for Strikeforce will take place but my opponent is not been determined. I heard some rumors like Kevin Randleman, Paulo Filho and Mike Whitehead. Whitehead would be the most logical pick because he recently won against Randleman. I’ve also heard a rumor that Arona is fighting again and it would be great if Strikeforce can pick him up. We can use a new light heavyweight fighter.”

— Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi tells M-1 Global.com that he will return to the organization for a possible title defense at Strikeforce’s “Fedor vs. Rogers” event on November 7.

Chuck Liddell Advances on “DWTS”

It’s a day late, but it’s news anyway. Despite receiving a below-average score for the “fox trot” and the “salsa” in his first appearance on “Dancing with the Stars”, former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell advanced to the next round of the competition, which will continue Monday evening at 8 PM ET on ABC.