Ricco Rodriguez

Riggs, Rodriguez Head RITC Anniversary Show

Longtime veteran Joe “Diesel” Riggs and former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez will compete in separate bouts that will headline Rage in the Cage’s tenth-anniversary show, which will take place at the U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona on November 8.

The organization officially announced the event in a press release sent out to the media yesterday. Tickets are now available at the U.S. Airways Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations. Additional bouts are expected to be added to the card in the near future.

Riggs will take on middleweight prospect J.R. Schumacher while Rodriguez will go up against Robert Beraun in a rematch of their January 2006 where Beraun upset Rodriguez and won an unanimous decision. A total of three championship bouts will also take place.

The current fight card for the event is after the jump.

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Rodriguez, Ghosn Headed to Wolfslair

The Wolfslair Fight Team now has two more fighters that it can add to it’s growing stable - former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez and longtime veteran Tiki Ghosn will reportedly be heading overseas to the England-based training camp later this month according to Fighters Only Magazine.

Rodriguez and Ghosn now join former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and heavyweight contender Cheick Kongo as the newest training partners for Michael Bisping and Paul Kelly.

“He [Rodriguez] has asked can he come out for camp, as well as Tiki,” Wolfslair co-owner Anthony McGann told the magazine. “This means that Mike and Paul are going to be well prepared for their fights on October 18th at UFC 89. I hope all the fans watch the fights and support us. If we win then, along with all the current moves we are making, I do believe UK MMA will finally get the respect worldwide that we all know our little island deserves.”

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Riggs, Rodriguez Victorious in Weekend Action

Longtime veteran Joe “Diesel” Riggs and former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez each picked up much needed wins this weekend at separate events.

Riggs submitted Miletich Fighting Systems product Matt Dempsey with a second-round rear naked choke at Rage in the Cage’s latest show at the Toyota Center in Prescott Valley, Arizona. It was the first time that Riggs has competed in the promotion since November of 2004. Riggs was slated to take on welterweight prospect Luke Stewart at Strikeforce’s “Melendez vs. Thomson” event last month but was denied licensure by the California State Athletic Comission after disclosing recent use of prescription drugs to state officials.

Rodriguez defeated fellow veteran Jonathan Ivey via unanimous decision at XP3 Promotions inaugural event at the University of Houston Saturday night. Also on the card was UFC and PRIDE veteran Mark Kerr, who lost to Ralph Kelly in the first round of their bout after suffering an undisclosed injury.

Shonie Carter was scheduled to compete in XP3’s main event against Shannon Ritch but was forced to pull out of the fight due to a lingering groin injury. Carter was replaced by Joe Vigil, whom Ritch submitted in the first round. Carter has now stated that he will attempt to fight Ritch again at XP3’s next scheduled event on October 18th in Houston.

UFC Veterans Headline XP3 Saturday

XP3 Promotions, will hold their inaugural event this Saturday night, entitled “The Xtreme Pro Challenge”, at the Hofheinz Pavilion on the campus of the University of Houston. The show will feature a total of ten fights and will be headlined by a trio of UFC veterans.

The night’s main event will feature longtime veteran and “Ultimate Fighter 4” cast member Shonie Carter as he takes on infamous fighter Shannon Ritch in a middleweight bout. Carter is currently riding a two-fight winning streak while Ritch last earned a submission of Jasper Lockett in March.

Also taking place on the card will be former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez going up against Jonathan Ivey and multiple-time UFC and PRIDE veteran Mark Kerr facing Ralph Kelly. Local product Chris Guillen will take on standout wrestler Justin Wren in another featured bout on the main card.

Those interested in watching the event will be able to view both the weigh-ins and the event itself via beatdowntv.com. Among the special guests at the event will be former UFC title holder and recent Affliction: Banned headliner Tim Sylvia as well as UFC welterweight contender Mike Swick.

“Godz of War” Postponed Until Fall

Global Fighting’s upcoming “Godz of War” event, which was set to take place this weekend at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina, has apparently been postponed until an unknown date this fall.

The arena’s official website reported the postponement earlier today. An official announcement from the promotion has yet to be made.

The cancellation likely stems from a lack of ticket sales, which weren’t helped by the constant troubles involving the show’s main event. Longtime veterans Kevin Randleman and Jeff Monson were originally set to collide until Randleman was forced to bow out due to injury.

He was replaced by fellow former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez and while a lingering broken hand caused Monson to withdraw from his featured bout against fellow PRIDE alumnus Mike Russow this past weekend at Adrenaline MMA’s show in Chicago, he was still being advertised as competing.

Former UFC and PRIDE standout Murilo Bustamante was also slated to make his return to active competition against one-time “Ultimate Fighter” cast member Josh Haynes. Those who purchased tickets for the event can either have their tickets honored on the new date or can receive a full refund at the place of purchase.

HT: MMA Weekly

Injury Forces Monson Out of Adrenaline

Former UFC heavyweight title challenger Jeff Monson has reportedly been forced to pull out of his upcoming scheduled bout against PRIDE veteran Mike Russow at Adrenaline MMA’s inaugural show in Chicago this weekend.

The news comes from Sergio Non of USA Today.

Monson has yet to recover from a broken hand suffered during his recent loss to Josh Barnett at World Victory Road’s second “Sengoku” show last month and thus will be unable to compete in the show’s main event. He has been replaced by longtime veteran Jason Guida, a fellow Chicago native along with Russow.

Adrenaline promoter Monte Cox apparently attempted to sign Ricco Rodriguez as a late replacement but the former UFC champion is slated to take on none other than Monson at Global Fighting’s Godz of War show next weekend. Despite his lingering hand injury, Monson is still advertised as participating at the event.

“He [Monson] found that the thing wasn’t healing properly and he wasn’t going to be able to fight,” Cox said in the report. “It made sense for me at this point to go with two Chicago guys fighting each other, and they come from different camps in the same city and I just thought, you know what, this will probably sell me more tickets than anyone I can get on a week’s notice.”

Wiuff Wins YAMMA Tourney; Oleg Subs Kerr

Revolutionary? The jury’s still out. However YAMMA Pit Fighting’s inaugural show went off without much of a hitch at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where veteran Travis Wiuff (52-11) won three consecutive fights to win the promotion’s first-ever heavyweight tournament last night.

Wiuff’s road to victory contradicted what Bob Meyrowitz and company predicted that YAMMA’s cage, which sported an incline close to the fence all the way around, would prevent. Wiuff used the leverage of the incline to continuously take his opponent down to the mat. YAMMA’s attempt to keep fights on the feet backfired in a big way.

The quarterfinals of the tournament saw former UFC heavyweight champion and tournament-favorite Ricco Rodriguez (28-9) use well-timed takedowns to score a unanimous decision over George Bush (5-1). Chris Tuscherer (13-1) and Wiuff both used the same strategy to earn first-round wins over Tony Sylvester (10-2) and Marcelo Pereira (0-1) respectively.

The first fight of the night saw Alexey Oleinik (7-4) have a point deducted after he continued to punch Sherman Pendergarst (10-9) while referee Kevin Mulhall was bringing the fight back up to the feet. However Olenik quickly scored a takedown and secured a fight-ending front choke with less than a minute left in the first round.

In the semifinals, Minnesota natives Wiuff and Tuscherer dodged submission attempts and scored takedowns against Rodriguez and Olenik to move to the three-round final that saw Wiuff use superior wrestling to earn a unanimous decision and the tournament crown.

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Kerr, Rodriguez Added to YAMMA Debut Event

YAMMA Pit Fighting has announced that UFC and PRIDE veteran Mark Kerr and former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez have both been added to their upcoming inaugural event on April 11th in Atlantic City.

The show will now feature a main event between Kerr and longtime veteran Oleg Taktarov, a fight that will take place in YAMMA’s “Masters Division”.

Kerr replaces fellow UFC veteran Patrick Smith, who was originally slated to replace an injured Don Frye against Taktarov but will now be unable to compete after recently being arrested following a high-speed chase involving police in Bryant County, Oklahoma.

Smith reportedly reached speeds of upwards of 130 MPH on his motorcycle. The 44-year-old was charged with felony attempting to elude to police, possession of a prescription drug without a valid prescription, and reckless driving.

Frye was forced to pull out of his scheduled bout against Taktarov after suffering a shoulder injury during a recent training session. He will now be required to undergo surgery but will be at the show do to do commentary on the pay-per-view broadcast.

Rodriguez has been added to the scheduled eight-man heavyweight tournament that will also feature Travis Wiuff and Sherman Pendergrast. Rodriguez will be replacing Kevin Jordan, who has been removed from the tournament for unknown reasons.

The former champion is coming off of a close, split decision loss to Antonio Silva at EliteXC: Street Certified last month.

Update: Sam Caplan of 5 Ounces of Pain has learned from the NJACB that Kerr is not cleared to fight in the Yamma event.  There is a question as to whether Kerr is still under suspension of the Mohegan Sun Reservation Athletic Board, a suspension that the NJACB would likely honor.

UFC Veterans Fill CFC’s Latest Card

Florida-based Combat Fighting Championships will be making it’s overseas debut on May 17th as the organization will hold a show at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England filled with veterans that have competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and PRIDE.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez will tangle with American Top Team’s Jeff Monson in the main event.

Rodriguez is coming off of a tough split decision loss to Antonio Silva at EliteXC Street Certified last month. Monson last won a decision over Hakim Goram in December and is tenatively scheduled to take on Kevin Randleman at a Global Fighting Championships show in June.

The co-main event will feature a clash between former UFC middleweights David Loiseau and Terry Martin. While Loiseau has struggled ever since he was released by the promotion, Martin’s apparent departure from the company comes after he suffered his second straight loss at the hands of Marvin Eastman last month.

Melvin Guillard, who is currently on a hiatus from the UFC, being permitted to fight in smaller shows before returning to the promotion, is advertised as going up against Cage Rage veteran Jean Silva.

Travis Wiuff is also slated to take on Cyrille Diabate in a bout that was originally scheduled to take place in at IFO: Fireworks in the Cage IV on December 28th. Diabate was forced to pull out of his bout against Wiuff after suffering a broken ankle during training.

Brad Imes, Dan Hardy, Xavier Foupa-Pokam, Melvin Manhoef, and Mark Weir are all also expected to be in action.

You can also view the current fight card at the organization’s official website.

Touch of gloves to reader “Goose” for the assist.

EliteXC Adds Rodriquez, Drops Turner

Late yesterday, EliteXC announced that Antonio Silva has a new opponent for the co-main event at the Feb 16th card featuring Kimbo Slice vs Tank Abbott.  The new opponent will be none other than former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Ricco Rodriquez.  This is the third opponent slated to face Antonio Silva.  The first announced foe, Shane Carwin, turned down a deal in order to sign with the UFC.  Then late last week, EliteXC’s president Gary Shaw announced that Cage Rage’s Gary Turner would fill the slot.  Now, a few days after Shaw challenged the UFC and stated that Silva could beat any of the UFC heavyweights, EliteXC puts the former UFC champ in the cage with Junior.  Coincidence?

The story gets more interesting in that it turns out that EliteXC apparently did not treat Turner fairly in his mind.  EliteXC stated in an article on MMAWeekly that they ended up with contract problems and thus had to drop Turner from the card.  Turner, in an open letter to Gary Shaw/EliteXC on the Mat-Magazine website, disputes those facts and rips into the business practices of EliteXC.

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