Michael Bisping

Day Replaces Leben Against Bisping

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced that Canadian middleweight Jason Day will step in as a replacement opponent for Chris Leben against Michael Bisping when the organization travels overseas to London, England on June 7th for UFC 85: Bedlam.

Day, who is currently riding a five-fight winning streak, was victorious in his UFC debut last month, stopping rising fellow middleweight Alan Belcher with strikes in the first round of their bout at UFC 83: Serra vs. St. Pierre II.

“I love this fight,” Day said on the UFC’s official website. “Everybody’s been asking me who would I like to fight next, and I said Bisping, but who would have thought it would have come about so quickly. He’s a great fighter, an exciting fighter, tough as nails, and everybody wants that marquee fight where you get the guy that tests you and you slug it out for two or three rounds. I think he’s a pretty good test for me.”

Bisping was victorious in his middleweight debut at UFC 83 as well, stopping American Top Team product Charles McCarthy in the first round. This fight will mark the third time that the England native has fought in his native country since joining the UFC.

“Obviously I was looking forward to the Leben fight but I guess it wasn’t to be,” said Bisping. “You have to respect Jason Day for stepping in on even shorter notice than myself. I am looking forward to really putting on a great performance in London.”

Leben was sentenced to a total of 35 days in jail yesterday by the Clackamas County Circuit Court. He is serving the stint in prison after turning himself in to Oregon authorities one week ago for violating terms of his probation stemming from a DUI arrest three years ago. Leben was forced to serve the jail time in order to be approved for a visa that would have allowed him to travel overseas to take on Bisping in his home country.

An attempt to have his probation moved to his new home of Hawaii was unsuccessful. Leben has been behind bars since April 30th while awaiting sentencing and the nine days will count as time served towards his sentence. The Team Quest product is slated to be released from prison on May 27th.

Report: Leben Behind Bars Until May 27 (Updated)

Update 9:15 PM ET: Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer is reporting that Leben has been removed from his scheduled matchup against Bisping next month. UFC matchmaker Joe Silva reportedly already has an unknown replacement signed and ready to go.

UFC middleweight contender Chris Leben was sentenced to a total of 35 days in jail earlier today by the Clackamas County Circuit Court according to a report from MMA Mania.

Leben, who is currently slated to take on fellow rising 185 lb. fighter Michael Bisping in London, England, on June 7th, is serving the stint in prison after turning himself in to Oregon authorities one week ago for violating terms of his probation stemming from a DUI arrest three years ago.

Leben’s manager, ICON Sport promoter T. Jay Thompson, has confirmed that his client was forced to serve the jail time in order to be approved for a visa that will allow him to travel overseas to take on Bisping in his home country.

An attempt to have his probation moved to his new home of Hawaii was unsuccessful. Leben has been behind bars since April 30th while awaiting sentencing and the nine days will count as time served towards his sentence.

The Team Quest product is slated to be released from prison on May 27th, less than two weeks before his anticipated showdown with Bisping, assuring the popular striker that he will have an extremely limited amount of time to prepare for the bout.

No word as of yet in terms of whether or not the fight may be postponed or Leben will opt to withdraw from the fight rather than going ahead with the proceedings.

Report: Leben-Bisping Likely at UFC 85

Chris Leben, the controversial cast member of the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter” will likely take on a recently victorious Michael Bisping when the UFC travels to London, England on June 7th.

The news comes from MMA Mania, which also reports that Leben has officially signed to compete at the event and that the fight against Bisping is expected to now headline the show, taking the place of a scheduled showdown between Rashad Evans and a now injured Chuck Liddell.

Leben has quickly solidified himself as a potential contender in the middleweight division once again, bouncing back from consecutive losses to record back-to-back stoppages of Terry Martin and Alessio Sakara.

Bisping was victorious in his middleweight debut this past weekend, stopping American Top Team product Charles McCarthy in the first round. If Bisping does indeed sign to take on Leben, it will mark the third time that the England native has fought in his native country since joining the UFC.

It was also reported earlier today that hard-hitting James Irvin has stepped in to replace Liddell against Evans.

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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UFC 83 Trash Talk Recap

While UFC 83 is now only less than a week away, the trash-talking between some of the fighters competing on the card has been going on for weeks now. James Brydon of Rogers Sportsnet has a full recap of the verbal pre-fight exchanges. He covers three of the more-vocal matchups that will go down on Saturday.

It’s interesting that a usually quiet “Captain Miserable” Charles McCarthy was first to speak up when it came to opponent Michael Bisping, however it might the only way McCarthy will be able to gain any kind of early advantage going into the fight, especially against someone as confident as Bisping.

In my opinion, it’s definitely Bisping’s fight to lose and I don’t see that coming even close to happening. McCarthy’s one-dimensional skill set was exposed against Pete Sell on “The Ultimate Fighter 4” and unless he’s improved ten-fold since then, he’s going to have an even worse time against Bisping.

Jason MacDonald wasn’t too keen on fighting Joe Doerksen after already beating him back in 2005, but thanks to Doerksen’s blog comments in recent weeks, I’m sure MacDonald mindset going into the fight has done a nice 180.

It’s a shame that a bout between two of Canada’s most high-profile fighters has been relegated to the undercard. Hopefully the bad blood between the two translates into an exciting fight that may have a chance of sneaking onto the PPV broadcast.

Unless you live under a rock, you know that Georges St. Pierre and Matt Serra don’t like each other. Especially after this beauty from Serra on last week’s pre-fight conference call:

“Drink your red wine, Frenchy, go to your hockey game and shut up.”

St. Pierre claimed that Serra crossed the line with that one. I love Serra’s Long Island attitude but tradtionally-speaking (Trigg, Sherk, Hughes II), a pissed off GSP isn’t exactly the guy he wants to go against.

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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Evening News and Notes: Feb 1, 2008

A lot of news coming to our attention late today…

Alvarez-Aina Possible at EliteXC April Show

Former BodogFight welterweight champion Eddie Alvarez is currently in negotiations to take on EliteXC lightweight Mike Aina at an unannounced show in April according to a report by The Fight Network, who confirmed the contract talks yesterday with Alvarez.

Alvarez is coming off of an impressive knockout of Ross Ebanez at the fourth edition of ShoXC’s Elite Challenger Series. The Philadelphia native signed a three-fight deal with EliteXC earlier this month. Aina has not fought since losing a razor close decision to Nick Diaz in September.

Liddell-Rua Signed for June

A rumored bout between former champions Chuck Liddell and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is now official according to Sherdog, who confirmed the bout with Rua himself earlier today:

“The fight against Liddell is confirmed,” Rua said. “I signed the contract yesterday. Now I am going to train hard, focused on him, to represent my new team, Universidade da Luta, and my country. The fight is going to be in June.”

This could be an interesting fight and a possible great matchup for Liddell. Just like Wanderlei Silva, Rua loves to push the envelope and come right at his opponent, which is a dream come true for a counter-puncher like Liddell.

In order to win this one, “Shogun” will have to find a way to counter Liddell’s wrestling with a ground attack that will keep Liddell off-balance during scrambles. Should be a fun chess match to watch if it does actually go down.

Edgar-Maynard Set for UFC Fight Night 13

Lightweights Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard are set to clash at UFC Fight Night 13 in April according to Five Ounces of Pain.

We reported earlier this week through Five Ounces that Edgar was offered a bout against former PRIDE lightweight champ Takanori Gomi by the UFC, only to have the plans fall through after the promotion was unable to sign Gomi to an official contract.

Maynard was victorious last week, winning a decision over Dennis Siver at UFC Fight Night 12.

Bisping-McCarthy Moved to UFC 83 in Canada

A planned bout between former Ultimate Fighter winner Michael Bisping and American Top Team’s Charles McCarthy has been moved from a tentative U.K. show in March to the UFC’s debut show in Canada on April 19th.

Our partner site Rogers Sportsnet interviewed Bisping earlier this week, who confirmed the move with the network.

While we all know what Bisping has been up to these days (he’s moving down to 185 lbs), McCarthy has not fought in the UFC since submitting Gideon Ray with an armbar at The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale last year. McCarthy was stopped in his debut by David Loiseau at UFC 53: Heavy Hitters in June 2005.

PFC Announces Five Fights for March

The Palace Fighting Championship has officially announced it’s next event for March 20th at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, California.

PFC 7 will feature a pair of flyweight bouts: Luis Gonzalez will be back in action taking on David Mitchell while newcomers Ulysses Gomez and Greg McDowell will compete for the first time professionally.

Additional bouts include former UFC middleweight Justin Levens taking on Phil Collins, Darren Crisp challenging Danny Castillo, and PFC light heavyweight champion Jeremy Freitag defending his title against top contender Anthony Rubalcalva.

Art of War Acquires IFO-Steele Cage Assets

SUN Sports, the parent company of Texas-based Art of War has announced that it has acquired the assets of the recently defunct International Fighting Organization, which was run in conjunction with Steele Cage Promotions.

“We are delighted to be able to acquire the assets of the International Fighting Organization,” said SUN Sports CEO C.J. Comu stated earlier today in a press release sent out to the media. “We are also delighted to be able to acquire all the raw footage and finished broadcast production of the IFO events promoted by Steele Cage Promotions, which we plan on distributing globally. We feel that the film inventory will be a great compliment to the Art of War film inventory which will provide more available product to networks and distributors world-wide.”

Back to the Future: With A Bang

The UFC is certainly starting 2008 with a bang in terms of all of the fights they’ve put together already. Here’s some news on three more potential matchups that could be announced in the near future.

Sherdog’s Greg Savage is reporting that Michael Bisping will make his debut at middleweight against “Chainsaw” Charles McCarthy at an upcoming UFC event in London, England on March 8th. That gives us two UFC events in the month of March and both just six days apart. (UFC 82 is currently slated to take place on March 2nd at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio)

While we all know what Bisping has been up to these days, McCarthy has not fought in the UFC since submitting Gideon Ray with an armbar at The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale last year. McCarthy was stopped in his debut by David Loiseau at UFC 53: Heavy Hitters in June 2005.

The Fight Network is reporting two things of interest in the UFC’s heavyweight division.

According to Loretta Hunt, the UFC has offered Justin McCully a bout against Cheick Kongo for UFC 81 in February. McCully has apparently not yet made a decision on the offer but is expected to make one at some point this week.

It seems that the UFC was originally leaning on having Kongo take on fellow contender Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira but that all fell apart once Randy Couture resigned from the company.

Speaking of Nogueira, Hunt has also learned that he and former champion Tim Sylvia have both been sent bout agreements to face each other for the vacant UFC Heavyweight Title on February 2nd.

According to Sylvia’s manager Monte Cox, Sylvia has signed his paper:

“Tim signed the contract, and we haven’t heard anything else about it—if Nogueira has signed his contract or what,” said Cox.

Report: Tanner to Make Return at UFC 82

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Evan Tanner will finally make his long-awaited return to the Octagon at UFC 82 in March according to a report by MMA Mania.

UFC 82 is currently scheduled to take place at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus Ohio on March 2nd.

MMA on Tap has also learned that a potential fight between Tanner and the UFC’s newest middleweight Michael Bisping has been discussed by UFC officials.

Tanner recently signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC last month.

Tanner has not competed inside the Octagon since April of last year when he submitted Justin Levens with a triangle at UFC 59. He became the third UFC Middleweight Champion in history when he stopped David Terrell at UFC 51 in 2005. He would go on to lose the belt in his very next fight against Rich Franklin at UFC 53.