Middleweight

Quote of the Day: Rich Franklin Looking for “Cinderella” Run to Middleweight Title

"The great Cinderella story would be for me to drop to 185 and make a run for the title. I can't say I haven't thought about that. But I don't want to put the carriage before the horse. I have a tough opponent in front of me, and I really need to focus on that fight first and get some momentum going. This is not an easy fight. He's southpaw, and I've historically had problems with southpaws. So this will be a good challenge for me to come back at 185."

— Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin discusses his recent announcement of a return to action against Cung Le on July 7 at UFC 148 and his dream of making one more run a regaining the 185 lb title before calling it a career.

The Daily Recap: “TUF Brazil” Premieres Sunday, Six UFC Fights Announced & More

The Daily Recap is a collection of news and notes from around the web that will be posted at the end of each day. Bout signings, injury news and much more can all be found here.

The debut episode of "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil" will stream live on Sunday at 11:30 PM ET on TUF.tv with subtitles. The reality show was originally thought to be airing in real time on FUEL TV, but will stream on the internet instead. FUEL will still broadcast the season at some point, when exactly still remains unknown. The lineup for the 16 elimination-round matchups to get into the house have also been set. Click the link. [MMA Junkie]

The UFC announced six more fights for this summer. Those include Demian Maia making his welterweight debut against Dong Hyun Kim and Constantinos Philippou facing Riki Fukuda at UFC 18 as well Rick Story returning against Rich Attonito, Dan Miller dropping down to 170 lbs to take on Ricardo Funch and Matt Riddle colliding with Luis Ramos at UFC on FX 4. [UFC.com]

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Dana White: Silva-Sonnen II Not Official, Likely for Soccer Stadium in Rio

It turns out Chael Sonnen was right, his rematch with arch-rival Anderson Silva and a second shot at the UFC middleweight title isn't set in stone yet after all. However, according to UFC President Dana White's comments today, it's almost a matter of time.

With a formal announcement likely being delayed due to logistical issues, White revealed today that UFC officials are planning on holding the highly-anticipated bout in a soccer stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The promotion was previously attempting to secure a venue in Silva's birthplace of Sao Paolo, but rumored local concerns about noise and other potential annoyances forced the UFC to search elsewhere.

The news comes one day after Sonnen stated on Tuesday's episode of "UFC Tonight" on FUEL TV that "UFC Countdown" production workers were scheduled to come to his house later this week even though he has yet to sign a contract to face Silva.

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The Daily Recap: Volkmann-Sass Set for UFC 146, UFC 144 on Free TV in Japan & More

The Daily Recap is a collection of news and notes from around the web that will be posted at the end of each day. Bout signings, injury news and much more can all be found here.

A lightweight bout between outspoken wrestler Jacob Volkmann and submission artist Paul Sass has been booked for UFC 146 on May 26 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Volkmann has won five straight UFC fights, his most recent a unanimous decision over Efrain Escudero in December. Sass last submitted Michael Johnson with a heel hook at UFC on Versus 6 in October. He has won eight of his twelve pro fights by triangle choke. [UFC.com]

Just a handful of days before UFC 144, the organization has struck a deal with TV Tokyo to air a compressed, tape-delay version of the event on network television in Japan. TV Tokyo is reportedly avaiable in 32 million households. The last UFC event to air on the channel was UFC Fight Night 21 in March 2010, which saw Takanori Gomi fall to Kenny Florian. [Sherdog]

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Jay Silva Submits Kendall Grove, John Gunderson Taps Justin Buccholz at SCC 4

A handful of notable UFC veterans were in action at last night's Superior Cage Combat 4 event at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday night.

The show's main event saw slick striker Jay Silva go out of his element and submit "Ultimate Fighter" season three middleweight winner Kendall Grove with an arm-triangle choke in the secound round. Grove fell into unconsciousness at the 1:52 mark. 

In addition, Team Tompkins member John Gunderson partook in a back-and-forth battle with Team Alpha Male's Justin Buccholz before submitting the Sacramento native with a kimura in the middle of the third stanza, earning the SCC lightweight title in the process.

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The Daily Recap: Simpson Considering Move to Welterweight, Corassani Injured in Training & More

The Daily Recap is a collection of news and notes from around the web that will be posted at the end of each day. Bout signings, injury news and much more can all be found here.

Aaron Simpson is considering a drop down to the middleweight division following his split decision loss to Ronny Markes at last night's UFC on FUEL TV 1 event. “I just don’t cut for this weight class. I look at a guy like Frankie Edgar, thinking I can do the same thing, but I’m dealing with a lot of size. Maybe it means a move down to 170, I don’t know.  Right now it hurts to lose,” Simpson said after the fight. [MMA Weekly]

"TUF" 14 product Akira Corassani has been forced to bow out of his scheduled UFC on FUEL TV 2 featherweight bout against Jason Young after suffering an undisclosed injury during a recent training session. The UFC announced the news earlier this week. A replacement opponent for Young is expected to be revealed within the coming days. [UFC.com]

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UFC on FUEL TV Video Highlights

Courtesy of FOX Sports, here are some video highlights of last night's fights from the inaugural UFC on FUEL TV event, which saw hometown boy Jake Ellenberger outlast Diego Sanchez to earn a unanimous decision over three rounds in the main event.

Above is a video recap of Ellenberger and Sanchez's battle. After the jump, highlights from Stefan Struve vs. Dave Herman, Ronny Markes vs. Aaron Simpson and additional bouts can be seen.

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Ellenberger Outlasts Sanchez at First-Ever UFC on FUEL TV Show

Jake Ellenberger took all he could handle from tenacious veteran Diego Sanchez but ended up earning a unanimous decision in front of his hometown crowd in the main event of the first-ever UFC on FUEL TV event in Ellenberger's hometown of Omaha, Nebraska on Wednesday night.

The fight capped off an action-packed card at what looked to be a sold-out Omaha Civic Auditorium. The partisan crowd saw Ellenberger take one step closer to a UFC welterweight title shot with his six straight win in the division.

Ellenberger, who currently trains alongside Mark Munoz at Reign MMA, controlled the fight early on, frustrated Sanchez with good footwork and a steady diet of jabs and strong right hands. An always game Sanchez remained in the pocket and tried to keep up with his foe, landing occasional shots.

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Previewing UFC on Fuel 1: The Main Card

Fresh off of an event last weekend, the UFC is getting right back into the swing of things with a special Wednesday show, their first-ever on FUEL TV. Luckily for Comcast subscribers and other who don’t have/aren’t able to get the network, this week is a free preview week and a lot of carriers are taking part.

So two days from now Jake Ellenberger is going to put his status at a top contender in the UFC’s welterweight division on the line against hard-nosed veteran Diego Sanchez, is who riding a win streak of his own and looking to return to the division’s upper-echelon.

UFC on Fuel TV 1 will also feature a heavyweight collision between Stefan Struve and Dave Herman as well as a middleweight battle pitting Aaron Simpson against Ronny Markes. Here’s a preview of the main card, which can be seen in its entirety after the jump.

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MMA on Tap January Fighter 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.

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 organization a fighter is currently under contract to is listed next to the fighter’s name.

The rankings were tabulated by the MMA on Tap staff. Feel free to chime in with your own lists, thoughts, or suggestions.

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