Rafael Feijao

Quick Hits: Kyle to Replace Hamman at Strikeforce, Thomas Signs With WEC & More

Here are your quick hits for the evening of May 27, 2009.

— Heavyweight knockout artist Mike Kyle has reportedly been tapped to replace Jared Hamman against Brazilian light heavyweight prospect Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante on the preliminary portion of Strikeforce’s “Lawler vs. Shields” event on June 6. Hamman was forced to withdraw after suffering a broken nose during a recent training session. Kyle last competed at JG and TKT Promotions “Fighting 4 Kidz” event last August, where he won a unanimous decision over Mychal Clark. [MMA Weekly]

— World Extreme Cagefighting announced on Wednesday that TKO Championship Fighting and Ring of Fire featherweight champion Noah Thomas, a cast member on the fifth season of “The Ultimate Fighter” that was actually kicked off the show and banned from the UFC for fighting castmate Marlon Sims on the show, has signed a deal with the promotion. He will replace injured former WEC bantamweight champ Eddie Wineland on the WEC 41 undercard and take on Frank Gomez. [MMA Junkie]

— Streaking Brazilian prospect Ronny Torres is expected to make his long-awaited UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 19 in September against an opponent yet to be determined. Torres was originally slated to face “Ultimate Fighters” alumnus Melvin Guillard at UFC Fight Night 18 in April, but was forced out of the bout after suffering torn ligaments in his right knee during training. [Tatame.com]

Fight Announcements: Johnson-Brown Set, Hamman Tapped to Face Feijao & More

Here are your fight announcements for the evening of April 23, 2009.

— A welterweight bout between rising contenders Anthony Johnson and Matt Brown has been confirmed for the main card of “The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale”, which will take place on June 20 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Johnson was last seen earned a first-round TKO of Luigi Fioravanti at UFC Fight Night 17 in February while Brown recently scored a brutal stoppage of Pete Sell at UFC 96 last month. [UFC.com]

— ShoXC veteran Jared Hamman has been tapped to replace Renato “Babalu” Sobral against rising Brazilian light heavyweight prospect Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante at Strikeforce’s “Lawler vs. Shields” event on June 6 in St. Louis, Missouri. Sobral was forced to withdraw from the bout after learning that the expected birth of his daughter was going to fall too close to the date of the fight. Former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman reportedly turned down an offer to face Cavalcante. [Sherdog.com]

— Takeya Mizugaki, who received loads of praise after his showing against Miguel Torres at WEC 40 earlier this month, is reportedly likely to face former featherweight title challenger Jeff Curran in a bantamweight bout planned for WEC 42 in August. The fight has not yet been signed, but the promotion as well as the fighters are said to all be interested in the matchup. [MMA Fanhouse]

Back to the Future: Recap Edition

Here’s a little recap of what we might have missed over the past few days or so…

Gomi, Trigg Win at Sengoku IV

Former PRIDE standouts Takanori Gomi and Frank Trigg were victorious in their respective bout Sunday morning at World Victory Road’s “Sengoku IV” event in Japan. Gomi earned a decision over Seung Pang Hwan while Trigg went all three rounds with Makoto Takimoto.

Former IFL lightweight champion Ryan Schultz was upset in the first round of World Victory Road’s inaugural lightweight grand prix, losing via knockout to Mizuto Hirota. Kazunori Yokota, Eiji Mitsuoka, Satoru Kitaoka all also moved on to the tournament’s next round.

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The “Unfinished Business” Fallout Continues

The negative fallout from EliteXC’s second show on CBS is continuing. Yesterday the UFC and Spike TV blasted the organization for drawing lesser numbers on their network television broadcast than a replay of UFC 84: Ill Will in certain demographics last Saturday night. Gary Shaw and Doug DeLuca’s resignation from ProElite were also announced on Tuesday as well.

One of the things EliteXC heads DeLuca and Jeremy Lappen continually harped on in the weeks leading up to the event was the tremendous ticket sales they were enjoying. DeLuca stated that five days out from the event, they had already sold half of the available tickets and were expecting a sellout.

“We’re definitely well over half sold already,” DeLuca said during a pre-event conference call on July 22. “That was as of the weekend. I know we picked up a full head of steam on Monday. I’m really not too sure where ticket sales are at exactly, but we are fully expecting it to be a complete sell out.”

It turns out that DeLuca fibbed a bit.

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Lawler Stops Smith to Retain EliteXC Belt

Robbie Lawler prevented history from repeating itself Saturday night as he wore down Scott Smith before finally finishing him with a barrage of knees in the second round of their EliteXC middleweight title fight at the Stockton Arena in California.

The two exchanged blows for the second time in two months, this instance serving as the main event of EliteXC’s “Unfinished Business” event, which became the promotion’s second such show to be broadcast on primetime network television via CBS. Their original meeting saw both men battle back and forth for fifteen minutes before Lawler inadvertently poked Smith in the eye in the third round. The ringside doctor ultimately ruled that Smith was unable to continue due to vision problems and the fight was ruled a no-contest.

Early on, it looked as if Lawler would once again earn a decisive opening round in his favor, stunning Smith with a trio of jabs. Smith bounced back however, continuing to push the pace and catching Lawler with a right hand late in the round, following up with a flurry that swung momentum in his favor. Smith then opened up a cut just inches away from the previous one Lawler suffered in their first bout. The blood forced Lawler to turn it up a notch, leading to a flurry of knees in the clinch that knocked Smith down twice.

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EliteXC: Unfinished Business Weigh-In Results

The official weigh-in results for tomorrow night’s EliteXC: Unfinished Business event, which will take place at the Stockton Arena in California, are below. All fighters successfully made weight. The fight card will be joint-broadcasted by CBS and Showtime - A one-hour special will air on Showtime starting at 8:00 PM ET and will continue on CBS at 9:00 PM ET. Additional weigh-in photos are after the jump.

Heavy hitters Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith will battle it out once again for Lawler’s EliteXC middleweight title, this time in the show’s featured attraction. Additional main card bouts include the second of three championship bouts as Jake Shields and BodogFight transfer Nick Thompson will fight for the vacant EliteXC welterweight strap as well as hometown favorite Nick Diaz attempting to extend a two-fight winning streak against journeyman Thomas Denny.

CBS Bouts:

Robbie Lawler (184.5 lbs) vs. Scott Smith (185 lbs)
Jake Shields (169.5 lbs) vs. Nick Thompson (169.5 lbs)
Nick Diaz (159.5 lbs) vs. Thomas Denny (159 lbs)
Shayna Baszler (139 lbs) vs. Cris Cyborg (140 lbs)

Showtime Bouts:

Antonio Silva (257.5 lbs) vs. Justin Eilers (218 lbs)
Rafael Fejiao (203.5 lbs) vs. Travis Galbraith (202 lbs)
Wilson Reis (139.5 lbs) vs. Bryan Caraway (140.5 lbs)

Preliminary Fights:

Jeremy Freitag (205 lbs) vs. Anthony Ruiz (206 lbs)
Mike Cook (232.5 lbs) vs. Carl Seumantafa (255.5 lbs)
Brandon Tarn (252 lbs) vs. Drew Montgomery (224 lbs)
David Douglas (157 lbs) vs. Marlon Mathias (161 lbs)

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“Feijao” to Face Biggest Test Yet in Galbraith

Rising EliteXC light heavyweight contender Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante will face the biggest test of his young career thus far when he takes on Canadian veteran Travis Galbraith at the organization’s upcoming “Unfinished Business” show in Stockton, California on July 26th.

The promotion officially announced the bout during a conference call with the media earlier today.

Cavalcante, who has gone 6-1 since starting his professional career just two years ago, most recently earned an impressive stoppage of Wayne Cole at EliteXC’s “Return of the King” event last month in Hawaii. His lone career loss came at the hands of skilled grappler Marcio Cruz at an IFL show last June.

Galbraith, a veteran of PRIDE Fighting Championships, is currently riding a two-fight winning streak. After avenging a prior loss to Nick Hinchliffe inside the confines of King of the Cage, Galbraith went on to submit Martin Desilets, a training partner of current UFC lightweight Jonathan Goulet, at Raw Combat’s most recent event three weeks ago.

The fight between the two will air on the Showtime portion of the card, a one-hour special which will precede the promotion’s return to network television on CBS later that night. The event features a total of three championship bouts. Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith will square off in a main event rematch for EliteXC’s middleweight title.

Full TV Card for EliteXC on CBS and Showtime, July 26

The female bout between Shayna Baszler of Sioux Falls, S.D. and Brazil’s Cristiane Cyborg has been added to the lineup for the second primetime broadcast of CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights, live from the Stockton Arena in Stockton, Calif. on Saturday, July 26 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Baszler and Cyborg, who are fighting in the 140 pound weight class, complete the primetime matchups for the CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights on July 26.  Other CBS fights include:

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Noons Stops Edwards; Retains Belt in Hawaii

The King’s return was a good one.

Fighting in his home state of Hawaii for the first time under the Elite Xtreme Combat banner, K.J. Noons successfully defended his EliteXC lightweight title for the first time, scoring a quick and brutal first-round stoppage of longtime veteran Yves Edwards in the main event of Saturday night’s “Return of the King” event.

Noons and Edwards wasted no time, quickly meeting in the center of the cage to exchange punches right from the opening bell. Although Edwards stunned Noons at one point, the fast-paced exchange on the feet suddenly came to a halt when Noons caught Edwards with a short right hand that sat him down on the canvas. Noons pounced on Edwards and unleashed a furious barrage of unanswered punches and elbows that forced referee Mario Yamasaki to step in and save Edwards.

“Yves caught me, rocked me,” Noons said after the fight. “But once I knocked him down I knew I had to go in and finish it.’’

Noons post-fight celebration was marred by the entrance of Nick Diaz, still suited up in fight gear from his bout against Muhsin Corbbrey earlier in the night, along with his younger brother and current UFC lightweight Nate Diaz, into the cage. In an attempt to hype a potential rematch between the two, the younger Diaz opted to exchange words with Noons’ father, Karl Sr.

The words soon escalated to threats and before long the elder Noons and the Diaz brothers grabbed one another, forcing ringside officials, color commentator Bill Goldberg, and everyone else in the cage to jump in and prevent an all-out brawl. The Diaz brothers quickly jolted from the cage, holding their trademark middle fingers high in the air while walking backstage.

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EliteXC: Return of the King Live Results

Televised:
Rafael Feijao def. Wayne Cole - TKO
Dave Herman def. Ron Waterman - TKO
Murilo Rua def. Tony Bonello - TKO
Nick Diaz def. Muhsin Corbbrey - TKO
K.J. Noons def. Yves Edwards - TKO

Webcast:
Bubba McDaniel def. Kala Kolohe - Submission (Rear Choke)
Mark Oshiro def. Chris Willems - TKO
Kaleo Kwan def. Mike Aina - Unanimous Decision
PJ Dean vs Dean Lista - Majority Draw
Lolohea Mahe vs Chris Barnard - Cancelled

Non-broadcast:
Russell Doane def. Dwayne Haney - TKO
Carl Barton def. Kepa Madeiros - TKO

Live commentary:
MMA Weekly
Bloody Elbow
Sherdog