Lightweight

IFL Connecticut Weigh-In Results

The official weigh-in results for tonight’s International Fight League event at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut are below. All fighters successfully made weight on their first try with the exception of Josh Souder, who needed only a few minutes to cut his extra weight.

The event will feature a total of three title bouts. IFL heavyweight champion Roy Nelson will defend his title against last-minute injury replacement Brad Imes, who was the heavyweight runner-up on the second season of “The Ultimate Fighter”.

IFL middleweight king Ryan McGivern will also take on New Jersey native Dan Miller and lightweight champion Ryan Schultz will make his second title defense against submission artist Deividas Taurosevicius.

Championship Fights:

Roy Nelson (264.2 lbs) vs. Brad Imes (249.2 lbs)
Ryan Schultz (154 lbs) vs. Deividas Taurosevicius (154 lbs)
Ryan McGivern (181.2 lbs) vs. Dan Miller (180.5 lbs)

Non-Title Fights:

Matt Horwich (185.7 lbs) vs. Joey Guel (185.5 lbs)
Zac George (155.2 lbs) vs. Josh Souder (155.2 lbs)
Lamont Lister (205.2 lbs) vs. Aaron Stark (205.7 lbs)
John Franchi (155 lbs) vs. Frank Latina (152 lbs)
Nick Calandrino (170 lbs) vs. John Howard (170.5 lbs)
Mike Massenzio (185.2 lbs) vs. Danillo Villefort (184.7 lbs)

Penn, Sherk Continue War of Words

The war of words between UFC lightweight kings B.J. Penn and Sean Sherk raged on yesterday, a little over a week until their highly anticipated showdown that will decide the organization’s true lightweight champion in Las Vegas.

Even before the bout was officially signed, Penn has been adamant about blasting Sherk with every chance he gets concerning Sherk’s failed steroids test last year under the watch of the California State Athletic Commission, a ruling that the Minnesota native still feels is wrong to this day.

“It’s hard for me, being a guy that’s never used performance enhancing drugs,” Penn said on yesterday’s pre-fight conference call for UFC 84: Ill Will. “You wake up every day after training tired and in pain and it kind of gets to you when you learn that someone is taking those kind of things. I’m a purist and I love this sport more than anythning. When someone goes ahead and perverts a sport as pure as this, I can’t take it.”

Even though the two both agreed that the conclusion of the fight would most likely result in the end of the bad blood and hard-feelings, Penn continued to push Sherk’s button as the call went on, even going as far as asking the former champion himself about his alleged use of performance enhancing drugs, prompting Sherk to strike back.

“I know what I did and I know what I didn’t do,” Sherk said. “I went above and beyond what I had to do in order to try and prove that I was innocent. Anyone that has followed the case and what I’ve had gone through will know that I didn’t do what they said I did.”

“I have fans who stand by me and who believe that I didn’t take steroids,” continued Sherk. “Then there are those who will think a certain way because of the way I look. I’ve looked the same for the past 10 years. Shit, I’ve apparently been doing steroids and I’ve been able to drop down to 155 lbs. Amazing, isn’t it?”

Moderating the banter was UFC President Dana White. While White was hesitant to give a definite opinion on the situation involving Sherk, he also stated that he can’t complain about the amount of animosity between the two.

“I’ve known Sean Sherk for a long time. I respect him as an athlete and as a man,” White said. “B.J. has his opinions of Sean and he’s going to let you know what they are. This happens sometimes. One of the cool things about this sport is the sportsmanship and everything else. But you know sometimes guys just rub each other the wrong way and it happens. Everything I just said about the two best fighters in the world facing each other in their prime, it doesn’t suck when they hate each other either.”

Additional conference call notes from yesterday are after the jump.

Continue reading "Penn, Sherk Continue War of Words"

Inoue Returns to Action at Saturday’s X-1

Former longtime Superbrawl/ICON Sport middleweight champion and two-time PRIDE veteran Egan Inoue will come out of a five-year retirement this Saturday to take on HDNet Fights veteran Hans Marrero at X-1’s “Legends” event at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Inoue has not fought since being stopped by fellow former ICON Sport title holder Jason “Mayhem” Miller in December 2003. Before the loss, Inoue had won six out of his past eight bouts, including submission wins over Joe Doerksen and John Alessio.

Marrero, who requested the matchup against Inoue on his behalf, has not fought since being defeated by current “Ultimate Fighter” participant C.B. Dollaway at HDNet Fights inaugural show last October. Marrero has lost his last three fights.

The co-main event will see current X-1 welterweight champion and Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Chad Reiner defend his title against Brandon Wolff. Local favorite Ray Cooper will also be returning to active competition after a two-year hiatus against Richie Whitson for the vacant X-1 lightweight title.

The complete fight card for the event is as follows:

Hans Marrero vs Egan Inoue
Chad Reiner vs. Brandon Wolff
Richie Whitson vs. Ray Cooper
Dylan Clay vs. Ronald Jhun
Michael Brightmon vs. Kolo Koka
Kana Hyatt vs. Albert Manners
Brandon Visher vs. Lorenzo Moreno
Sean Sakata vs. Johnavan Visante

More Details on ESPN.com’s “MMA Live”

As we reported yesterday, UFC lightweight title contender Kenny Florian will serve as the host of ESPN’s newly-planned online mixed martial arts magazine show that will appear exclusively on the company’s official website and on mobile phones.

“MMA Live” will be a half-hour program covering all aspects of the sport, including news concerning various organizations around the world and upcoming events among other things. Florian will work alongside Jon Anik, who has already done some online MMA work for ESPN and Franklin McNeil, a reporter for the Newark Star-Ledger and a regular contributor to the UFC’s “Countdown” shows.

“It’s kind of a fast-paced show on the current news and events going on in the sport,” Florian told MMA Weekly. “There’s a whole lot of guys at ESPN that have been trying to get this done I guess for two years. Basically, I was contacted by ESPN about two weeks before my fight against Joe Lauzon and there was some interest. They finally got the okay to do an MMA show, and they were interested in using me for this show.”

“It’s strictly going to be on ESPN.com. It’s not going to be on TV as of right now,” Florian added. “Basically they’re going to do a run for three shows on ESPN.com and see what the response is, see how it does. Then if it goes well, we’ll do a regular thing on the Internet, and if it does even better, then possibly you’ll see it on TV.”

The show is slated to debut tonight on ESPN.com at 7:00 PM ET. MMA on Tap will have the video up if and when it becomes available.

CKA: May 14, 2008

Kenny Florian will reportedly serve as the temporary host of ESPN’s newly-planned online mixed martial arts magazine show that will appear exclusively on the company’s official website and on mobile phones according to Adam Swift of MMA Payout.

According to Swift, Florian will serve as the show’s host at least for the first two weeks of tapings. However it’s unknown whether the show will be UFC-based, something that apparently delayed the launch of the program, or if it will cover the entire world of the sport.

Affliction-HDNet Deal Still Possible

While it was previously reported that a potential deal between Affliction and HDNet that would have the clothing brand hold it’s first MMA show at the Dallas-based American Airlines Center fell apart, HDNet Fights CEO Andrew Simon says that the event could still possibly be televised on the digital cable network.

According to MMA Weekly, the event would not be permitted to take place at the home of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks due to a lack of time to substantially promote the show. However the potential of at least part of the event airing live or on tape-delay on HDNet is not out of the realm of possibility.

“We talk to everybody and I wouldn’t say that any conversation is dead yet,” Simon said in the report. “You just never know. You know how this sport works, one day you think you’re not working together and the next day you might announce something. Affliction… I would say, never say never.

ASU Shuts Down Storied Wrestling Program

Arizona State University has decided to shut down it’s storied wrestling program along with men’s swimming and men’s tennis as part of a financial cutback at the school according to MMA Weekly.

Normally this wouldn’t be the type of news to be reported on this site, but the school’s wrestling program has produced a slew of highly-touted MMA prospects in recent years, including current UFC fighters Cain Velasquez and C.B. Dollaway. Shoe-in hall-of-famers Dan Severn, Don Frye, and Dan Henderson all competed for the school as well in the past.

There may still be hope for the program. NCAA President Myles Brand is expected to hold a meeting later this month to discuss the possibility of protecting school sports that also take place in the Olympics, wrestling being one of them.

Bush Tests Positive for Marijuana

Heavyweight prospect George Bush has reportedly tested positive for marijuana following his first-round tournament loss to former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez at YAMMA Pit Fighting’s inaugural show last month in Atlantic City, New Jersey according to Sherdog.com.

“I just found out a few days ago, and needless to say, I’m very surprised and disappointed,” Bush said in the report. “I accept full responsibility for my actions, and I assure the fans that this will never happen again.”

While there won’t be any official announcement from the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, (they don’t release drug-testing information to the media) Bush has confirmed that he has not been fined but has been suspended by the commission for 90 days.

AFL Announces Card for “Bulletproof”

The American Fight League has announced the full card for the organization’s upcoming “Bulletproof” event on May 30th at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

The show will feature a total of three title fights. Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Diego Saraiva, who is coming off of the loss of his Palace Fighting Championship lightweight title to Brian Cobb last week, will defend his AFL belt against Josh Cate.

AFL welterweight title Douglas Lima is slated to defend his strap against Brent Weedman and the vacant AFL middleweight title will be decided between George Lockhart and George Allen. UFC veterans Dan Christison and Junior Assuncao will also be in action.

The promotion has also stated that they will announce “two marquee signings” at the event as well. Both fighters will apparently be on hand at the show.

The full card for the show:

Diego Saraiva vs. Josh Cate - AFL Lightweight Title
Douglas Lima vs. Brent Weedman - AFL Welterweight Title
George Lockhart vs. George Allen - AFL Middleweight Title
Dan Christison vs. Sam Holloway
Junior Assuncao vs. Torrance Taylor
Robi Ramey vs. David Curby
Todd Duffee vs. Steve Banks
Ethan Garrison vs. Willy Smalls

HT: MMA Junkie

Alvarez, Uno Score Upsets at DREAM

Eddie Alvarez and Caol Uno each pulled off surprising upsets in the second-round of DREAM’s inaugural lightweight grand prix tournament late last night in Japan to solidify their respective spots in the finals later this summer.

The 21,789 that witnessed DREAM’s third effort this year inside the Saitama Super Arena also saw Uno, who fought as a late-entrant into the tourney, overcome a ring-rust filled first round to eventually submit top-ranked Mitsuhiro Ishida with a rear naked choke in the second round.

The first minute of the fight had both fighters content to paw away with short jabs while measuring the distance between one another. Uno picked up the action in the form of leg kicks while Ishida attempted to counter Uno’s kicks with lefts. An errant kick to the groin by Ishida forced Uno to take some time to recover, but the veteran quickly got his bearings back and knocked Ishida down with a crisp right, opening a cut on the bridge of his nose that forced the ringside doctor to stop the clock for a quick check.

Ishida scored a single-leg takedown with about a minute left in the first stanza but Uno was able to reverse position and control his opponent from top position during the closing moments, potentially earning back the round in his favor. After another feeling-out period started the second round, a scramble on the ground saw Uno quickly take Ishida’s back and sink-in the fight-ending choke from behind.

“I know Ishida was eager to fight me,” Uno said after the fight, “He was aggressive and was obviously confident, but I’m the one going home with the win. I’m very happy to be advancing in the tournament.”

Continue reading "Alvarez, Uno Score Upsets at DREAM"

DREAM.3 Quick Results

Here are the complete results from last night’s DREAM.3 event, which took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

The event featured the second-round of the promotion’s inaugural lightweight grand prix tournament. Tatsuya Kawajiri, Eddie Alvarez, and Caol Uno all moved on. Nick Diaz and Jason “Mayhem” Miller were also victorious in their respective DREAM debuts. A full recap of the event will come later today.

Takeshi Yamazaki def. Shoji Maruyama - Unanimous Decision
Jason Miller def. Katsuyori Shibata - TKO (Strikes)
Melvin Manhoef def. Dae Won Kim - TKO (Strikes)
Daisuke Nakamura def. Bu Kyung Jung - KO (Punch)
Nick Diaz def. Katsuya Inoue - TKO (Corner Stoppage)
Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Luiz Firmino - Unanimous Decision
Eddie Alvarez def. Joachim Hansen - Unanimous Decision
Caol Uno def. Mitsuhiro Ishida - Submission (Rear Naked Choke)

Diaz-Inoue Finalizes DREAM’s Third Effort

With a scheduled lightweight bout between Nick Diaz and Katsuya Inoue now seemingly set to happen once again, the fight card for DREAM’s second effort in as many weeks is now complete.

The event, which will once again take place at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan, will be highlighted by the second-round of the promotion’s inaugural lightweight grand prix tournament. Second-round grand prix matchups set to happen include Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Luis Buscape, Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Caol Uno, who will be fighting as a late-entrant into the tourney, and Joachim Hansen vs. EliteXC’s Eddie Alvarez.

Take note that Shinya Aoki, who won an unanimous decision over Gesias Calvancante last week, will face Katsuhiko Nagata in the fourth tournament bout at the organization’s June 15th show, thus why only three grand prix bouts are slated for tomorrow morning/night in Japan.

Jason “Mayhem” Miller, who has not fought since avenging a previous loss to Tim Kennedy in December, will take on K-1 Hero’s veteran Katsuyori Shibata, loser of his last three fights.

Those in North America will be able to see the event live on HDNet starting at 3 AM ET. A replay of the event is slated to air at 4 PM ET on Sunday afternoon for those who don’t feel like staying up until the wee hours of the morning to watch the show from Tokyo.

The full card for the event is as follows:

DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix Bouts:

Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Luiz Firmino
Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Caol Uno
Joachim Hansen vs. Eddie Alvarez

Additional Fights:

Jason Miller vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Nick Diaz vs. Katsuya Inoue
Melvin Manhoef vs. Kim Dae Won
Daisuke Nakamura vs. Bukyung Jung
Takeshi Yamazaki vs. Shoji Maruyama

Torn ACL Sidelines Calvancante

Just over a week since suffering his second career loss at the hands of Shinya Aoki, two-time K-1 Hero’s lightweight tournament champion Gesias Calvancante will be required to undergo surgery to repair a torn meniscus and ACL and will likely be unable to fight until the end of this year.

Calvancante revealed the extent of his injury to Greg Savage on Sherdog’s ”Savage Dog Show” earlier today.

“The first time I was hurt in my career, it was my hand,” Calvancante said on the show. “That just after I won the (K-1 Hero’s) title so I was like alright, a little vacation. But now I lost so I don’t want that long of a break in between fights. I don’t want to wait 5-6 months without a fight.”

Calvancante’s knee troubles have now extended all the way back to last fall when the re-injuring of his surgically repaired knee during training prevented Calvancante from originally fighting Aoki at Yarennoka! on New Year’s Eve. It’s unknown if the tears were suffered in the same knee once again.

HT: Bloody Elbow