Paul Taylor

Report: Taylor vs. Hathaway, Hamman vs. Gustafsson Likely for UFC 105

A welterweight bout between British fighters Paul Taylor and John Hathaway and a light heavyweight matchup between UFC newcomers Jared Hamman and Alexander Gustafsson are both reportedly likely to take place at UFC 105 on November 14 in Manchester, England.

The news comes from Fighters Only Magazine, citing sources close to the event. A main event for UFC 105 has yet to be confirmed, but will eventually join Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang and Dan Hardy vs. Dong-Hyun Kim on the event’s televised main card.

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UFC 99 Results

Rich Franklin def. Wanderlei Silva - Unanimous Decision
Cain Velasquez def. Cheick Kongo - Unanimous Decision
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic def. Mustapha Al-Turk - TKO Round 1 3:08
Mike Swick def. Ben Saunders - TKO Round 2 2:47
Spencer Fisher def. Caol Uno - Unanimous Decision
Dan Hardy def. Marcus Davis - Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Terry Etim def. Justin Buchholz - Submission (D’Arce Choke) Round 2
Dennis Siver def. Dale Hartt - Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 1
Paul Taylor def. Peter Sobotta - Unanimous Decision
Paul Kelly def. Roli Delgado - Unanimous Decision
Stefan Struve def. Denis Stojnic - Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 2
John Hathaway def. Rick Story - Unanimous Decision

Thanks to Sherdog, MMA Weekly and Yahoo! for filling in the results and some details of the earlier bouts.

Lytle, Taylor Take UFC 89 “Fight of the Night” Honors

Following their toe-to-toe slugfest that highlighted the main card of UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben this past Saturday, both Chris Lytle and Paul Taylor each received $40,000 bonuses from the Ultimate Fighting Championship for their efforts.

The UFC officially announced the traditional bonuses at the event’s post-fight press conference. The said bonuses will not count as part of the fighter’s base salary, which is issued separately according to written bout agreements.

Also receiving awards after the event were Luis Cane (Knockout of the Night) who stopped former PRIDE standout Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou with strikes in the second round of their light heavyweight clash and former IFL lightweight prospect Jim Miller, who earned a third-round submission of international veteran David Baron. Both Cane and Miller each received $40,000 as well.

Quick Results: UFC 89

Here are the full results from Saturday’s UFC 89 card, which saw Michael Bisping continue his rise up the middleweight ranks in winning an unanimous decision over fellow “Ultimate Fighter” alumnus Chris Leben in the show’s main event.

Per Eklund def. Samy Schiavo - Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
Jim Miller def. David Baron - Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
Terry Etim def. Sam Stout - Unanimous Decision
David Bielkheden def. Jess Liaudin - Unanimous Decision
Shane Carwin def. Neil Wain - TKO (Strikes)
Dan Hardy def. Akihiro Gono - Split Decision
Marcus Davis def. Paul Kelly - Submission (Guillotine)
Chris Lytle def. Paul Taylor - Unanimous Decision
Luis Cane def. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou - TKO (Strikes)
Keith Jardine def. Brandon Vera - Split Decision
Michael Bisping def. Chris Leben - Unanimous Decision

UFC 89 Weigh In Results

Courtesy of the UFC

Main Event
Chris Leben (186) VS Michael Bisping (185)
Brandon Vera (203) VS Keith Jardine (205)
Luiz Cane (206) VS Sokoudjou (205)
Chris Lytle (170) VS Paul Taylor (170)
Marcus Davis (169) VS Paul Kelly (169)
Akihiro Gono (171) VS Dan Hardy (169)
Neil Wain (254) VS Shane Carwin (264)
David Bielkheden (156) VS Jess Liaudin (155)
Sam Stout (155) VS Terry Etim (155)
Jim Miller (155) VS David Baron (155)
Per Eklund (156) VS Samy Schiavo (156)

Report: Lytle-Taylor Signed for UFC 89

Longtime veteran Chris Lytle has reportedly signed a four-fight contract extension with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and his new deal will go into effect on October 18th, when he takes on fellow welterweight Paul Taylor at UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben, which will take place at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England.

The news comes from our friends at MMA Junkie, who have confirmed the two signings with Lytle’s manager, Ken Pavia.

“The UFC expressed satisfaction with his past performances, and they extended his deal by four fights,” Pavia said in the report. “Chris has a home in the UFC. He’s comfortable fighting for the UFC. Both sides will benefit from the deal. We’re very happy with it.”

While Lytle hasn’t been the most consistent fighter in terms of winnings, he remains one of the most exciting athletes on the UFC roster. Lytle has lost two out of his last three fights, most recently dropping a bloody unanimous decision to standout wrestler Josh Koscheck earlier this month.

Meanwhile Taylor has split his first four fights with the UFC. After stopping Edilberto de Oliveira with strikes in his debut last year, Taylor went on to lose two straight contests to Marcus Davis and Paul Kelly respectively. He last won a close split decision over Jess Liaudin last month at UFC 85: Bedlam.

Alves Hands Hughes Another Loss in London

All things must eventually come to an end.

Matt Hughes hasn’t officially retired, but his career is now visibly coming to an end. While two straight losses to current welterweight king Georges St. Pierre are nothing to be alarmed about, Hughes, who once said that he would hang up the gloves before becoming anyone’s highlight reel, was stunned again yesterday afternoon at the UFC’s latest event in London courtesy of a Thiago Alves’ flying knee.

Alves, who failed to make weight for the fight and forced the bout to take place at a catch-weight of 174 lbs, was in control from the start of the fight, evading multiple takedown attempts from Hughes, a former All-American collegiate wrestler.

However Hughes was eventually able to take Alves down to the canvas late in the first round. Despite not mounting much offense, Hughes was able to control Alves from top position for a good portion of the round before Alves reversed position and worked some ground-and-pound of his own before the horn sounded to end the stanza.

The second round saw Hughes take a knee to the face after trying another early takedown. The blow opened a cut near the former champion’s mouth and Hughes found himself on his back and avoiding strikes from Alves yet again. After landing a few hard punches, a scramble allowed both fighters to get back to their feet.

Alves then rushed Hughes and connected with a flying knee that sent the Miletich Fighting Systems product crumbling to the mat, his left knee awkwardly bending behind him. Alves pounced on a defenseless Hughes and connected with a couple of unanswered shots before referee Herb Dean stepped in to halt the bout.

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UFC 85: Bedlam Results

Antoni Hardonk def. Eddie Sanchez - TKO
Paul Taylor def. Jess Liaudin - Split Decision, R3
Luis Cane def. Jason Lambert - TKO
Kevin Burns def. Roan Carneiro - Submission (Triangle Choke)
Matt Wiman def. Thiago Tavares - KO
Martin Kampmann def. Jorge Rivera - Submission (Guillotine Choke)
Fabricio Werdum def. Brandon Vera - TKO
Thales Leites def. Nate Marquardt - Split Decision
Mike Swick def. Marcus Davis - Unanimous Decision
Michael Bisping def. Jason Day - TKO
Thiago Alves def. Matt Hughes - TKO

Liaudin-Taylor Booked for UFC 85 in June

Jess Liaudin will return to action against fellow welterweight Paul Taylor when the Ultimate Fighting Championship travels overseas to London, England for UFC 85.

Liaudin recently revealed the matchup via a MySpace message.

“On June 7th I’ll be doing my fourth fight in the UFC against Paul Taylor at UFC 85,” Liaudin said in the message. “Paul is a well-rounded fighter with good cardio, strength, and a big heart. The fight is very important to me as another loss may mean that I can get booted out of the UFC.”

UFC 85 will feature a light heavyweight contenders match between former champion Chuck Liddell and “Ultimate Fighter” season two winner Rashad Evans. Heavyweight standouts Fabricio Werdum and Brandon Vera will also clash.

Liaudin and Taylor have actually fought before in the past. Liaudin dropped a controversial decision to his opponent at a Cage Rage show in 2002. The native of France recently inked a new three-fight deal with the UFC following his recent loss to Marcus Davis at UFC 80.

After stopping Edilberto de Oliveira with strikes in his UFC debut, Taylor has gone on to lose two consecutive fights to Davis and Paul Kelly.

Touch of gloves to MMA Mania for the find.

Third Title Fight is a Charm for Penn

In a night of quick fights and surprising stoppages, one thing remains the same: B.J. Penn is still that damn good.

Penn submitted former Ultimate Fighter contestant Joe Stevenson with a rear naked choke in the second round to claim the vacant UFC lightweight title and become the second fighter in history along with current heavyweight champ Randy Couture to win championship gold in two different weight classes.

The lively 8,412 inside the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England saw Penn surprise Stevenson with an uppercut that sent the California native down to the mat in the opening seconds. Penn pounced on his opponent but Stevenson was able to maintain his composure and survive Penn’s initial assault.

The former welterweight champion controlled Stevenson on the ground for the remainder of the first round, opening up a vicious cut in the middle of Stevenson’s forehead with just over a minute left in the round. Stevenson would end up donning a crimson mask for the rest of the fight.

The two had an even exchange on the feet to start the second stanza but that ended once Penn started to pick Stevenson apart with looping lefts and uppercuts. The bout was stopped at one point to have the doctor check Stevenson’s cut but the stream of blood avoiding Stevenson’s eyes already gave those watching the doctor’s answer.

Stevenson fell victim to another Penn (12-4-1) uppercut once the bout was restarted, signaling the beginning of the end for “Daddy.” Penn used punches and elbows to force Stevenson (28-8) out of position enough to be able to give up his back, which Penn quickly took without a second thought.

Penn was able to sink in a rear naked choke and Stevenson was forced to tap out without putting up much of a fight. The win finally gave Penn the UFC lightweight title in what was his third career attempt at the belt.

After the fight Penn acknowledged that he was trying to make his third try a successful one.

“Joe is a great guy,” said Penn. “I knew he was going to be tough, but I put everything into this. I wanted to make sure it was three times the charm and not three strikes you’re out.”

Penn also went out of his way to send former champion Sean Sherk a message now that Sherk will be challenging Penn in his first title defense later this year.

“Hey Sean Sherk, you’re dead,” Penn shouted during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.

Sherk, who was cage-side doing color commentary on the bout along with Rogan and UFC play-by-play announcer Mike Goldberg, stormed into the Octagon and picked up a microphone right after Penn made his comment.

“That belt belongs to me,” said Sherk. “You’ve got one more fight before you can be called lightweight champ.”

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