Rousimar Palhares

Linhares to Replace Sakara Against Palhares at “TUF 10 Finale”

It appears that M-1 veteran Lucio Linhares will be headed to the UFC. The Brazilian middleweight has reportedly been selected to replace an injured Alessio Sakara against Rousimar Palhares at “The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale” on December 5 in Las Vegas.

Multiple outlets are reporting the news, including MMA Junkie, which cites sources close to Linhares. Nor M-1 Global or the UFC have yet to officially comment on the potential signing.

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Fight Announcements: Hamill-Vera at UFC 101, Cavalcante to Return at DREAM.9 & More

A light heavyweight bout between Muay Thai expert Brandon Vera and “Ultimate Fighter 3” standout Matt Hamill will likely take place at UFC 101, which is slated to take place on August 8 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Both fighters have agreed to the bout and the paperwork is expected to be finalized in the coming days. [MMA Madness]

Two-time K-1 Hero’s middleweight tournament champion Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante has reportedly agreed to face Japanese veteran Tatsuya Kawajiri at DREAM.9 on May 26. Cavalcante has not fought since dropping a unanimous decision to Shinya Aoki in the first round of last year’s DREAM lightweight grand prix due to injury while Kawajiri last submitted Ross Ebanez at DREAM.7 earlier this month. [Sherdog]

Former professional boxer and American Top Team member Alessio Sakara will reportedly return to action at UFC 99, which takes place on June 13 in Cologne, Germany, against Brazilian grappler Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares. Sakara last competed at UFC Fight Night 15 last September, where he scored a highlight reel knockout of Joe Vedepo while Palhares recently decisioned Jeremy Horn at UFC 93 in January. [MMA Weekly]

UFC 88 Suspensions and Salaries

The Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission has released the official lists of medical suspensions and fighter salaries stemming from this past weekend’s UFC 88: Breakthrough event, which took place at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

Rashad Evans scored a brutal second-round knockout of former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell in the show’s main event. Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin and former PRIDE title holder Dan Henderson were also victorious in their respective bouts.

In terms of the fighter salaries, remember that this is only the base salary that a fighter received. Bonuses, deductions, and other undisclosed fees are not included.

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UFC 88: Breakthrough Weigh-In Results

The official weigh-in results for tomorrow night’s UFC 88: Breakthrough, which takes place at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, are below. All fighters successfully made weight.

The show is headlined by former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell going up against undefeated contender Rashad Evans. Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin will also be moving back up to the 205 lb. weight class to take on former standout collegiate wrestler and one-time training partner Matt Hamill in the co-main event.

Main Card:

Chuck Liddell (204 lbs) vs. Rashad Evans (205 lbs)
Rich Franklin (204.5 lbs) vs. Matt Hamill (205 lbs)
Dan Henderson (185 lbs) vs. Rousimar Palhares (184.5 lbs)
Nate Marquardt (185 lbs) vs. Martin Kampmann (184.5 lbs)
Dong-Hyun Kim (170 lbs) vs. Matt Brown (170 lbs)

Preliminary Bouts:

Kurt Pellegrino (156 lbs) vs. Thiago Tavares (155 lbs)
Tim Boetsch (205 lbs) vs. Mike Patt (205 lbs)
Jason MacDonald (185 lbs) vs. Jason Lambert (185 lbs)
Ryo Chonan (170 lbs) vs. Roan Carneiro (170 lbs)

Henderson, Palhares Talk UFC 88 Bout

In the above video, former PRIDE middleweight and welterweight champion Dan Henderson and rising prospect Rousimar Palhares discuss their upcoming bout at UFC 88: Breakthrough this weekend.

UFC Confirms Three Bouts for “Breakthrough”

The Ultimate Fighting Championship today confirmed three previously rumored bouts for their upcoming “Breakthrough” event on September 6th, when the organization will venture into Atlanta, Georgia for the first time in history.

Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin will return to the light heavyweight division for the first time since April 2005 to take on former “Ultimate Fighter” contestant and standout wrestler Matt Hamill. Franklin most recently defeated Travis Lutter in April while Hamill is coming off of a stoppage of newcomer Tim Boetsch at UFC Fight Night 13.

Former two-division PRIDE title holder Dan Henderson will try to snap a current two-fight losing streak when he goes up against rising middleweight prospect Rousimar Palhares, who made a successful and impressive UFC debut against veteran Ivan Salaverry at UFC 84.

Karo Parisyan will attempt to put himself back in contention in the welterweight division as he faces Japanese standout Yoshiyuki Yoshida. Yoshida like Parisyan, is also a black belt in judo. He was victorious in his UFC debut a couple months ago, submitting fan-favorite Jon “War Machine” Koppenhaver. Parisyan suffered his first loss in almost two years when he was knocked out by upstart contender Thiago Alves in April.

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CKA: June 25, 2008

A couple of quick notes from a relatively slow week:

- Nick Diaz will be fighting Thomas Denny on the next CBS EliteXC event (July 26).  Let me translate that to how everyone reads it: Diaz isn’t fighting KJ Noons, or even Hayato Sakurai, and that’s just disappointing.

- We’ll probably see Dan Henderson vs Rousimar Palhares at UFC 88 (Sep 6).  The fight will be at 185, instead of Henderson’s prefered 205.  Six of eight of Palhares’ wins have come by submission, including the Submission of the Night at UFC 84 over Ivan Salaverry.  It should be a good card with Chuck Liddell vs TUF 2 champ Rashad Evans.

Report: Palhares to Debut Against Salaverry

Middleweight prospect Rousimar Palhares will make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut on May 24th against former contender Ivan Salaverry.

The news comes from a report by Sherdog, who have been told that Palhares has signed on to fight Salaverry according to sources close to the Brazilian.

The event is scheduled to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and is also rumored to feature a light heavyweight clash between Tito Ortiz and Ryoto Machida and a bout between contenders Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva as well as B.J Penn’s first title defense against former champion Sean Sherk.

Palhares is coming off of a middleweight tournament win at Fury FC 5: Final Conflict where he submitted both Daniel Acacio and Fabio Negao.

Salaverry has fought sparingly in recent years, only twice since 2005, while he slowly creeps towards the end of his career. His last fight was a quick stoppage loss to Terry Martin at UFC 71 last May.