Mark Bocek

Bocek vs. Veach Possible for TUF 10 Finale

A lightweight bout between slick grappler Mark Bocek and H.I.T. Squad member Matt Veach is reportedly possible for “The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale”, which is slated to take place on December 5 at the Palms Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

According to MMA Weekly, both parties have agreed to the fight and bout agreements are in the process of being finalized. The event is also expected to feature Matt Hamill vs. Jon Jones and Frankie Edgar vs. Kurt Pellegrino.

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UFC Announces Bouts for April Events

The Ultimate Fighting Championship yesterday confirmed multiple previously rumored bouts that are scheduled to take place at the organization’s separate April events later this year.

Added to the UFC’s return to Canada on April 18 for UFC 97 were a total of four bouts. Former WEC Brian Stann will make his UFC debut against “Ultimate Fighter” alumnus Krzysztof Soszynski on the event’s televised main card.

Stann was slated to take on Steve Cantwell in the third career bout between the two this past December, but was forced out of the bout with a foot injury. Soszynski comes into the fight with one UFC win already under his belt in the form of a second-round submission of Shane Primm.

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Fight Announcements: Griffin, Curran, Stann & More

The past few days following the completion of Saturday’s UFC 93 event in Ireland have brought forth a slew of potential fight announcements involving upcoming events being put on by the UFC and WEC. Let’s get right to them:

— One-time WEC featherweight title challenger and longtime veteran Jeff Curran will reportedly make his bantamweight debut against Urijah Faber-protege Joseph Benavidez at WEC 40 on April 5 according to MMA Weekly. The event, which will likely take place in Chicago, will be headlined by WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres defending his title against Brian Bowles.

— Former International Fight League standout Bart Palaszewski will reportedly take on Richard Crunkilton in a lightweight bout at WEC 39 on March 1 according to MMA Junkie, which is also stating that the winner of the bout could receive a title shot against the winner of this weekend’s upcoming lightweight title fight between current champion Jamie Varner and top contender Donald Cerrone.

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UFC 91 Quick Results

Main card:

Brock Lesnar def. Randy Couture - TKO (punch)
Kenny Florian def. Joe Stevenson - Submission (rear naked choke)
Dustin Hazelett def. Tamdan McCrory - Submission (armbar)
Gabriel Gonzaga def. Josh Hendricks - TKO (punch)
Demian Maia def. Nate Quarry - Submission (rear naked choke)

Preliminary bouts:

Aaron Riley def. Jorge Gurgel - Unanimous Decision
Jeremy Stephens def. Rafael dos Anjos - KO (punch)
Mark Bocek def. Alvin Robinson - Submission (rear naked choke)
Matt Brown def. Ryan Thomas - Submission (armbar)

Mixed emotions

In the second round Lesnar landed a punch that sent Couture to the mat.  Lesnar then jumped on Couture, landing a big hammer-fist, and then continued to punch and punch until the fight was stopped.  Four fights into his MMA career, and Brock Lesnar is the UFC heavyweight champion.  It was good to finally see a heavyweight championship fight, but with Lesnar becoming champ so fast it’ll be interesting to see how the former WWE star is received as UFC champ by MMA fans, and general sports fans alike.

Tap Selections: UFC 91

Here are our predictions (after the jump, winners in bold) for tonight’s UFC 91 event.

The main card will be broadcast on pay-per-view and Yahoo! Sports starting at 10 PM ET.

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Robinson-Bocek Added to UFC 91

A lightweight bout between Alvin Robinson and Canadian grappler Mark Bocek will take place as a non-televised preliminary bout on the undercard of UFC 91, which takes place on November 15 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The UFC officially announced the bout over the weekend via their official website.

Since falling to Frankie Edgar in his UFC debut, Bocek has gone on to split his last two fights in the promotion. Bocek used his superior ground skills to earn an unanimous decision over Doug Evans at UFC 79 but fell to Mac Danzig in his next bout at UFC 83.

Robinson shares the same situation that Bocek is currently in - he has gone 1-2 thus far in the UFC. Robinson was last submitted by rising lightweight contender Nate Diaz in the first round at UFC Fight Night 12 before having to battle injuries throughout the summer. Prior to that, he won an impressive decision over Jorge Gurgel at UFC 77.

Hometown Hero: St. Pierre Stops Serra in Montreal

One year removed from his original upset loss to Matt Serra, Georges St. Pierre was finally able to avenge the defeat, dominating Serra on the mat over two rounds en route to regaining his UFC welterweight title in UFC 83’s historic main event.

The raucous crowd packed inside Montreal, Quebec’s Bell Centre saw St. Pierre surprise many in the opening seconds of the fight as he opted to take Serra down. After being on the receiving end of an array of strikes, Serra eventually worked his way back to his feet before finding himself on his back once again.

Any chances for another first-round Serra knockout were spoiled in a big way. With a mouse forming under Serra’s right eye, the Long Island native came out from his corner looking to throw down at the start of the second round. St. Pierre unfortunately had a different idea.

St. Pierre scored yet another early takedown. Serra mounted a bit of offense once the fight hit the feet, connecting with a head kick. However with fatigue setting in, Serra was unable to capitalize, allowing St. Pierre to land a handful of stiff jabs before shooting in for a takedown.

Once on the mat, St. Pierre unleashed a barrage of unanswered punches and knees to the body that forced Serra to cover up and referee Yves Lavigne to ultimately stop the fight, handing St. Pierre the title that he likely should have never lost in the first place.

“My strategy going in was to make it a physical fight,” St. Pierre said in his post-fight interview with Kenny Florian, who filled in for usual color commentator Joe Rogan. “I wanted to make him tired as much as I could because I know have the conditioning. I was trying to mix it up as much as I could.”

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UFC 83: Serra vs. St. Pierre II Weigh-In Results

The official weigh-in results for tomorrow night’s UFC 83: Serra vs. St. Pierre II show are below. All fighters successfully made weight.

The event will be headlined by current welterweight champions Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra unifying their belts in a main event rematch of their fight at UFC 69: Shootout last year, where Serra stopped St. Pierre with strikes to win the UFC welterweight title.

Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin will also be in action, taking on the middleweight winner of the fourth season of “The Ultimate Fighter, Travis Lutter. Additional main card bouts include Nate Quarry vs. Kalib Starnes, Michael Bisping vs. Charles McCarthy, and Mac Danzig vs. Mark Bocek.

Main Card:

Matt Serra (169.5 lbs) vs. Georges St. Pierre (169.5 lbs)
Rich Franklin (185.5 lbs) vs. Travis Lutter (185 lbs)
Nate Quarry (185.5 lbs) vs. Kalib Starnes (186 lbs)
Michael Bisping (185.5 lbs) vs. Charles McCarthy (186 lbs)
Mac Danzig (154.5 lbs) vs. Mark Bocek (154.5 lbs)

Preliminary Bouts:

Jason MacDonald (185 lbs) vs. Joe Doerksen (184.5 lbs)
Sam Stout (155.5 lbs) vs. Rich Clementi (155 lbs)
Ed Herman (185.5 lbs) vs. Demian Maia (184.5 lbs)
Jonathan Goulet (169.5 lbs) vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka (170 lbs)
Alan Belcher (185 lbs) vs. Jason Day (183.5 lbs)
Cain Velasquez (235.5 lbs) vs. Brad Morris (225.5 lbs)

Screenshots from this afternoon’s weigh-ins featuring St. Pierre and Serra are after the jump, courtesy of Yahoo! Sports.

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St. Pierre, UFC Set to Invade Canada

After years of waiting, the Ultimate Fighting Championship finally made their first trek up to Canada official when they announced UFC 83: St. Pierre vs Serra II during a press conference earlier today at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada earlier this morning.

In attendance at the press conference were UFC President Dana White and current welterweight champions Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra who will unify their belts in a main event rematch of their fight at UFC 69: Shootout last year, where Serra stopped St. Pierre with strikes to win the UFC welterweight title.

“I’m actually excited to go to Canada and fight St-Pierre in his hometown,” Serra said at the press conference earlier today. “I think this puts more pressure on him than it does me. I know he’s going to come at me hard, but I’m ready for that and I’m preparing for a great fight. I know that’s what I would do if a guy knocked me out like that. But I plan on staying the champ and taking my belt back home to Long Island.”

St. Pierre, a native of Montreal, will be fighting in front of his hometown under the UFC banner for the first time in his career. After originally speculating that St. Pierre would not be ready in time for the event due to his bout against Matt Hughes in December, St. Pierre came away with the interim welterweight belt relatively unscathed, allowing him to partake in the historic event.

“I am at the same point as I was last year when I fought Matt Serra, except this time I am fighting as the contender not the champion,” said St-Pierre. “It’s a dream come true to have this historic UFC event in Canada, I’ve waited my whole life for this opportunity, and especially fighting for – and winning – the world title in front of my people.”

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Report: Danzig-Bocek Set for UFC 84

Canadian Mark Bocek and Ultimate Fighter 6 winner Mac Danzig are set to fight when the UFC ventures into Canada for the first time in history on April 19th.

The news comes from a report in The Fight Network’s Great Fight North column which was posted earlier this afternoon.

The fight will mark Danzig’s debut at lightweight. He announced his intentions to drop down to a lower weight class shortly after submitting Tommy Speer in the finals of the sixth season of The Ultimate Fighter. Bocek is coming off of a win over Doug Evans at UFC 79 a few weeks ago.

The two were apparently slated to meet earlier in their careers but a potential fight was scrapped after Danzig was upset by Clay French at a KOTC event last January.