Jeremy Stephens

All Fighters on Weight for UFC Fight Night 19

The official weigh-in results for tomorrow night’s UFC Fight Night 19 event, which takes place at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, are below. All fighters successfully made weight.

Headlining UFC Fight Night 19 will be a lightweight clash between “Ultimate Fighter 5” winner Nate Diaz and colorful striker and fellow “TUF” alumnus Melvin Guillard as well as Roger Huerta’s potential final UFC bout against standout wrestler Gray Maynard.

Continue reading "All Fighters on Weight for UFC Fight Night 19"

Previewing UFC Fight Night 19: The Prelims

One of the more busy weeks in MMA will kick off on Wednesday when the UFC holds UFC Fight Night 19 at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma before premiering the first episode of the tenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show on Spike TV.

Headlining UFC Fight Night 19 will be a lightweight clash between “Ultimate Fighter 5” winner Nate Diaz and colorful striker and fellow “TUF” alumnus Melvin Guillard as well as Roger Huerta’s potential final UFC bout against standout wrestler Gray Maynard.

Continue reading "Previewing UFC Fight Night 19: The Prelims"

Fight Announcements: Tibau-Stephens, Marshall-Ciesnolevicz & More

Quite a few recently reported fights, at least regarding the UFC, have popped up over the last day or so. Here they are:

- With Efrain Escudero out of action after sustaining a rib injury during a recent training session, Gleison Tibau has stepped in to face Jeremy Stephens at UFC Fight Night 18 on April 1 in Nashville, Tennessee. Since Escudero will no longer be featured on the card, the bout has been bumped down to the preliminary portion and a lightweight bout between Tyson Griffin and Rafael dos Anjos has been moved to the main card. [UFC.com]

- A late addition to the UFC’s return to Canada next month is expected to be light heavyweight bout between Eliot Marshall and Mike Ciesnolevicz. Bout agreements will reportedly be signed shortly. It will be the second fight in three months for Ciesnolevicz, who submitting Neil Grove in his UFC debut at UFC 95 in February. The fight should be part of the event’s non-televised preliminary action. [MMA Weekly]

- International Fight League veteran Brad Blackburn will attempt to keep his five-fight undefeated streak alive when he faces UFC newcomer Edgar Garcia at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale on June 20. Other fights expected to take place at the event include lightweight battles between Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida as well as Joe Stevenson and Nate Diaz. [Five Ounces of Pain]

- Rising “Ultimate Fighter” alumnus Tim Credeur will reportedly return to action at April 1st’s UFC Fight Night 18 against Nick Catone, who has had trouble finding an opponent that will actually come out of a training camp healthy. It will supposedly be one of the eight preliminary bouts on the card. [MMA Weekly]

Quote of the Day: Lauzon Expects Easier Fight Against Stephens

“On our feet, it’s the same fight. Stephens is a brawler but, once it hits the ground, it’s going to be an entirely different fight. Hermes is a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu; Stephens isn’t as good as him on the ground. He’s going to come out and try to knock me out. He doesn’t want to fight me on the ground. Hermes was a bigger fight but this is a little easier fight for me.”

- During his open media workout yesterday afternoon, “Ultimate Fighter” alumnus Joe Lauzon comments on his upcoming lightweight bout against last-minute replacement opponent Jeremy Stephens, which will take place on February 7 in Tampa, Florida.

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.

Continue reading "Tap Selections: UFC 91"

Report: Stephens to Face dos Anjos at UFC 91

Midwest product Jeremy Stephens will reportedly meet Fury FC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos when the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Las Vegas on November 15 for UFC 91 according to MMA Junkie.

Both Stephens and dos Anjos have reportedly agreed to fight on the card and bout agreements are expected to be signed and returned shortly. The fight will likely be one of UFC 91’s non-televised preliminary bouts.

Stephens, who turned heads with his performance against veteran Din Thomas at UFC 71 last year, had a three-fight win streak snapped at the hands of fellow Miletich Fighting Systems product Spencer Fisher at The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale in June. Fisher defeated Stephens by unanimous decision.

A training partner of UFC veteran Marcio Cruz, dos Anjos is currently riding a nine-fight winning streak that stretches back to October 2006. He last earned a split decision over Japanese fighter Takafumi Otsuka at Fury FC 6 on July 12 in Brazil.

TUF 7: Finale Live Results

Results from The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale:
Rob Kimmons def. Rob Yundt - Submission (Guillotine Choke)
Dean Lister def. Jeremy Horn - Submission (Guillotine Choke)
Matt Brown def. Matt Arroyo - TKO
Drew McFedries def. Marvin Eastman - TKO
Tim Credeur vs. Cale Yarbrough - Cancelled
Dustin Hazelett def. Josh Burkman - Submission (Armbar)
Matt Riddle def. Dante Rivera - Unanimous Decision
Spencer Fisher def. Jeremy Stephens - Unanimous Decision
Diego Sanchez def. Luigi Fioravanti - TKO
Amir Sadollah def. CB Dollaway - Submission (Armbar)
Kendall Grove def. Evan Tanner - Split Decision

Mini-commentary:
- Dollaway protested his loss, suggesting he didn’t tap out.  It did appear that he tapped once.  It resulted in a good-looking hanging armbar from Sadollah.
- Tanner could not solve Grove’s size.  He walked into a few punches, and looked surprised by the reach of Grove’s legs.  Tanner had a good third round, but nothing that compared to the first two, which easily went to Grove.  The split decision result was curious.

Live commentary:
Yahoo!
MMA Weekly
Bloody Elbow
Sherdog

Sadollah-Dollaway II Completes “TUF Finale” Lineup

Last night’s episode of “The Ultimate Fighter” showed us that everything isn’t always set in stone, especially when it comes to who will be fighting to become this season’s winner.

After Amir Sadollah pulled off a third-round upset of highly touted wrestler C.B. Dollaway, he was set to join Jesse Taylor in the finals of the reality show’s middleweight bracket for this season. However when a few of the fighters opted to stay in Las Vegas following the filming of the show, Taylor’s infamous drunken escapades continued.

Taylor smashed a limousine window, upset guests at Palace Station, a casino owned by UFC co-owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, and then gave security all they could handle on the fighter’s final night in Sin City. UFC President Dana White had seen enough and ultimately decided to kick Taylor off of the show, additionally asking Dollaway and fellow semi-finalist Tim Credeur to fight in another exhibition bout to decide who would go on to fight Sadollah in the finals.

Dollaway used his wrestling skills to earn a hard-fought unanimous decision over Credeur, moving on to rematch Sadollah this Saturday night. This season’s finale will see the fewest amount of ‘TUF’ cast members in history - only seven from this season will be on the card. The remainder will have a slew of UFC veterans complete a stacked undercard.

The show will also feature a welterweight battle between Diego Sanchez and American Top Team product Luigi Fioravanti. Former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner will collide with Kendall Grove, the middleweight winner of the show’s third season, in the night’s main event.

The complete card for the event is as follows:

Main Card:

Evan Tanner vs. Kendall Grove
Diego Sanchez vs. Luigi Fioravanti
Amir Sadollah vs. C.B. Dollaway
Spencer Fisher vs. Jeremy Stephens
Matt Riddle vs. Dante Rivera

Preliminary Bouts:

Josh Burkman vs. Dustin Hazelett
Marvin Eastman vs. Drew McFedries
Dean Lister vs. Jeremy Horn
Tim Credeur vs. Cale Yarbrough
Rob Yundt vs. Rob Kimmons
Matt Arroyo vs. Matt Brown

Horn-Lister Among Three Fights Added to TUF 7 Finale

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced four additional fights that will take place at the The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale on June 21st.

Longtime mixed martial arts veterans and skilled grapplers Jeremy Horn and Dean Lister will collide in an anticipated middleweight bout that will serve as one of the notable preliminary fights on the card. Horn has lost his last two fights, most recently a submission loss to Nate Marquardt in February. Lister last defeated Jordan Radev in December.

Additional previously rumored bouts that were announced include Spencer Fisher vs. Jeremy Stephens, Marvin Eastman vs. Drew McFedries, and Josh Burkman vs. Dustin Hazelett.

Former UFC middleweight champion Evan Tanner will attempt to bounce back from a recent loss to Yushin Okami last month when he takes on Kendall Grove in the main event.

The current card for the event is as follows:

Evan Tanner vs. Kendall Grove
Diego Sanchez vs. Luigi Fioravanti
Jeremy Horn vs. Dean Lister
Spencer Fisher vs. Jeremy Stephens
Marvin Eastman vs. Drew McFedries
Josh Burkman vs. Dustin Hazelett