Mixed Martial Arts

[textickles]

Rampage-Jardine Booked for UFC 96

 

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will lock horns with Keith Jardine in a showdown pairing two top 10 fighters at UFC 96 on March 7 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The UFC announced the matchup -- which adds some much-needed star power to the show -- on Saturday.

 

The bout comes as a bit of a surprise since many see Jackson as the No. 1 contender for Rashad Evans’ UFC light heavyweight crown.

 

Affiliated with the Wolfslair Academy, the 30-year-old Jackson (29-7) has posted seven wins in eight fights, a disputed decision loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86 the lone blemish. He knocked out longtime nemesis Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92 in December, launching himself back into title contention. Earlier this month, Jackson pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges associated with a high-speed chase that ended in his arrest in July; the plea deal will likely allow him to avoid jail time.

 

Jardine (14-4-1), based out of Jackson’s Submission Fighting in Albuquerque, N.M., last fought at UFC 89 in October, when he earned a split decision against Brandon Vera. He also holds victories against former UFC light heavyweight champions Griffin and Chuck Liddell. The 33-year-old former bounty hunter staked his claim in the 205-pound division with an unorthodox style and vicious leg and body kicks.

 

UFC 96 will also feature a bout pairing one-time heavyweight title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga with unbeaten Shane Carwin and a welterweight match pitting Dustin Hazelett against American Top Team’s Ben Saunders.

 

 

Quinton Jackson vs. Keith Jardine

Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shane Carwin

Dustin Hazelett vs. Ben Saunders

Matt Hamill vs. Mark Munoz

Gray Maynard vs. Jim Miller

Kendall Grove vs. Jason Day

Brandon Vera vs. Michael Patt

Pete Sell vs. Matt Brown

Aaron Riley vs. Shane Nelson

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liddell-Shogun to Carry UFC 97

 

Chuck Liddell may be in the twilight of his career, but he still packs quite a box office punch. And the UFC appears willing and able to milk it for all it’s worth.

 

The former light heavyweight champion will toe the line against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the featured bout at UFC 97 on April 18 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. UFC President Dana White announced the matchup on Saturday.

 

Once the dominant figure in the 205-pound division, Liddell (21-6) has lost much of his luster in the past two years. He has dropped three of his last four fights, including his knockout loss to current UFC light heavyweight king Rashad Evans in September. Liddell turns 40 in December, and his days as an elite fighter appear numbered, if not finished completely. Still, his resume ranks among the sport’s most impressive, with victories against Randy Couture (twice), Tito Ortiz (twice), Wanderlei Silva and Alistair Overeem.

 

Rua (17-3), meanwhile, has not looked like the same fighter who battered Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Ricardo Arona and Overeem en route to the 2005 Pride middleweight grand prix title. The dynamic 27-year-old Brazilian submitted to Forrest Griffin in his Octagon debut and struggled to put away Mark Coleman at UFC 93 on Saturday. Conditioning has become a significant concern for Rua, who has fought past the first round only six times in 20 career bouts.

 

Liddell and Rua were originally scheduled to meet at UFC 85 last June, but both men were forced to withdraw from the event with injuries.

 

UFC 97 will also feature the return of reigning middleweight king Anderson Silva, as he defends his belt against Brazilian upstart Thales Leites. A middleweight matchup pitting David Loiseau against Ed Herman will also be included on the card, as the UFC ventures north of the border for the first time in 2009.

Edited January 19, 2009 by textickles

[King Nothing]

I'm so surprised at the hammer actualy i thought he could no longer pull the trigger as compared to golden boy who never was able to pull a trigger... Coleman was still able to execute what he does most...which is take the guys down and pumell them with punch... he was able to do this...the only thing different from the previous hammer to the present hammer is he lost his power and stamina... matanda na masyado eh... 44 yrs old vs. 27 yrs old. Coleman may have lost his "machine guns", still he was able to pull the trigger of his remaining pair of "hand guns" not that bad for a 44 yr old... i would like to think he lost via old age... I take may hats off to coleman.

 

@ ace vs hendo... Im happy to see hendo win... Ganda ng laban it was like a combination of lighweigh match and heavyweight match... mabili gumalaw walang minuto inaksaya bakabakan to the bones! this fight would be the best fight for 2009!

 

@ horns vs. palhares...amazing... its was a show of how a small guy can defeat a big guy...I as a small guy have to learn palhares so much!

[ixnay]

here are my thoughts on the last UFC event...

 

on shogun's win against coleman, it was clear that he still have cob webs of the last time he was inside the octagon. on the gassing out factor it was obvious that he lacks the cardio to go toe 2 toe against an aging coleman. in some exchanges the hammer had the better end when he hit shogun with 2 body punch. as for coleman its still good to see how the godfather of GNP do his thing. but clearly he lacks the checking for those leg kicks. next opponent for rua now is a big fight against the iceman. this will be truly a great match to watch.

 

kudos for hendo in winning his match against franklin. its a very very exciting fight to watch except for the accidental headbutt & poke in the eye by hendo. he got a breather on that one. mejo nkagulang din sya dun. ahehe..

 

actually its the match between chris lytle & marcus davis that i really enjoyed watching.. if you guys saw how the 2 fighter bring it on and exchanging simultaneously. i took notice of the much improved kicks & knees of davis that made the difference in the fight.

 

now im looking forward for the GSP vs Penn on the 31st!..

Edited January 19, 2009 by ixnay

[King Nothing]

the lytle vs. davis was more of a brawl for me...

[riceb0i]

ahehehe great use of knees and kicks by Marcus Davis although he was absorbing a lot of power punches from Chris Lytle during the fight, the punches weren't "clean" enough to register a score in the judges cards...

 

although fight of the night should have gone to Hendo VS Ace instead of Davis VS Lytle and Coleman VS Rua...

 

the Talent showed why he is in the UFC, Kang won the 1st round and was winning the 2nd until that uneventful takedown which Belcher was able to stuff and then he pulled guard and guillotined Kang for the tap out

 

i was really expecting Kang to win the fight but he got beat in his own game, lucky break for the Talent bawi na lang next time si Kang

 

Palhares was damn strong! grabe ibang klase siya grabe yung mga pagbuhat nya kay Gumby parang hindi 185 na malaki eh... great show of class for Jeremy Horn as well he raised Palhares' hand after the fight and was pointing to Palhares while the winner was being announced as if indicating that Palhares won the match

[maddromeo]

Why the Shogun Rua Hate!?

 

Alway knew Rua will win but I never expected it to be an easyone againt Coleman. Give Rua a break, its his first fight after his lost to Forrest and that about a year and he had 2 knee surgeries. His ground game was awesome! Sayang lang yung Omoplata he didnt get the sub but his guard and tranistions were very good! His striking was a bit off, but he was able to clinch and land knees to Colemans body and the KO at round 3 finally paid off. Him gassing? Man try to grapple with Mark Coleman, who wouldnt get tired huh?!

 

Give credit to Mark Coleman for putting up a Good Fight(Godfather of GnP)! taking down and pumelling Rua, thou he got KO'd on the 3rd round. He may lost the fight but he showed alot of heart and alot of Fight in him! The hell with the old age, Randy's 45 and Coleman's 44! And they still kick ass. Randy vs. Coleman! Dana Make it happen! Lets see whos the better 40 year old fighter! Yan wala na excuses for old age pag natalo! Hehehe

 

Davis vs. Lytle definitely a stand up War! And Fight of the Night!

 

Rousimar Palhares! Dominating Performance over Jeremy Horn! Watch out for this guy!

 

Good thing Hendo won the decision! We dont get to watch Franklin for another season of coaching in TUF! Hehehe... but that judge who gave Franklin a 30-27, that was really off. Fight was close to call but Hendo did got those takedowns. Sayang lang hindi decisive yung Win kaya marami parin di makakilala kay Hendo. Hendo vs. Bisping! Hendo via GnP KO!

 

BJPenn future LW and WW UFC Champ of the World! WarPEnn!!! :thumbsupsmiley:

[kuya willie]

sana maibalik ni shogun yung lupit nya nun naglalaro pa sya sa pride!

[berserker15]

Yeah, I'm really disappointed with Rua's performance.

me too. really bad performance. he should improve his conditioning if he will fight Chuck Liddell.

[twentysix]

if shogun will not put his acts together, we might see him geting ktfo by chuck.

[King Nothing]

The hell with the old age, Randy's 45 and Coleman's 44! And they still kick ass. Randy vs. Coleman! Dana Make it happen! Lets see whos the better 40 year old fighter! Yan wala na excuses for old age pag natalo! Hehehe

Actually i dont think theres alot of rau hte here... is just they give more respect to the godfather of GnP... after at look at him, dela hoya is no match to this guy interms of will to win..

 

sana maibalik ni shogun yung lupit nya nun naglalaro pa sya sa pride!

 

I doubt it with two knee surgey and an elbow problem during pride... i think its not gonna happen that the shogun will get back to his very old form...

 

 

if shogun will not put his acts together, we might see him geting ktfo by chuck.

 

well rua still has the upper hand... interms of age... ewan ko lang kapag naisahan ni chuck si rua ng tipong malakas na tira malamang manlambot si rua dito... one more think this is another unfair match up ... young v.s old obviously the young has the advantage...

[The_Blade]

sana maibalik ni shogun yung lupit nya nun naglalaro pa sya sa pride!

 

never mangyari sa UFC, he looks good sa Pride dahil sa mga knees to the head while the opponent is down or football kick to the head ( ginawa nya kay rampage)... kaya nga naoperahan na 2 tuhod nya. at di nya pwede gawin ang mga diving punch nya kundi bali bali braso nya...

 

regarding sa last fight in the first 2 rounds mukhang tinamaan si rua ng awa. otherwise pwede nya putulin yung tuhod ni coleman via legkicks lang.

[berserker15]

Once buddies, Matt Serra now wants to retire Matt Hughes at UFC 98

by Jon Lane on Jan 19, 2009 at 2:30 pm ET

 

Matt Serra wears his heart on his sleeve. If he doesn't like you, he won't talk behind your back. He'll say it to your face without thinking twice.

 

That doesn't mean he's a bad or vindictive person. He goes out of his way to prove that perception is far from reality. He's proud of how he's been labeled the underdog his entire MMA career, more so about the crop of fighters he's developing at his Long Island-based Serra Jiu-Jitsu academies and his future as a full-time instructor.

 

When it comes to Matt Hughes, Serra puts on that persona. To put it bluntly, Serra flat out hates Hughes, and neither nine months of inactivity nor 13 months of waiting for what he calls his "legacy fight" has cooled the bad blood between the two that will finally come to a head May 23 in Las Vegas.

 

"The guy's a dick," Serra told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I might cuss once in a while, but I'm not that guy."

 

Time heals all wounds? Yeah, right.

 

The animosity reaches its boiling point at UFC 98, when Serra and Hughes will collide after injuries to both fighters postponed the bout originally scheduled for December 2007. Hughes initially wrote on his Web site he received a call from UFC matchmaker Joe Silva about the bout but added it wasn't 100 percent confirmed. Serra, though, has now confirmed the fight is official.

 

Serra was supposed to defend the welterweight championship, earned with his shocking TKO of Georges St. Pierre, against Hughes at UFC 79 before Serra suffered a herniated disc in his lower back while demonstrating a move to a student. He hoped to get Hughes in January, but Hughes was still rehabbing a partially torn PCL and a completely torn MCL in his left knee sustained during his TKO defeat to Thiago Alves. Silva then targeted March and UFC 96 in Columbus for the bout, but Serra declined with his wife set to give birth to the couple's first child, and that led to the May 23 date in Vegas.

 

"The most important thing is we got a freaking date," Serra said. "I think this is definitely the biggest fight of my career. Not that I want to give this guy a compliment, but he's a future hall-of-hamer in the fight game. Me taking out Matt Hughes, man that would be a couple of hall-of-hamers I'd have wins over, thinking St. Pierre is headed that route.

 

"Let me go on the record: I can't stand him. I don't like him. There's a lot of pride on the line here."

 

It wasn't always like this. In fact, after Serra lost a split decision to Din Thomas in Atlantic City at UFC 41 in February 2003, he met Hughes at a bar in the Trump Taj Mahal. Hughes approached Serra and struck up a friendship, and he proposed on working with each other to build up respective weaknesses.

 

"I thought he was a good guy," Serra said.

 

Once Serra saw Hughes coach opposite Rich Franklin on "The Ultimate Fighter 2," he noticed something a lot different: his attitude. By the sixth season of the show, Hughes and Serra were opposing coaches, and it left Serra thinking, "What a jerk," he said.

 

"This is no BS," Serra (9-5) said. "I don't like him; he don't like me. I'm going to train and do the right thing with one goal: to decapitate Matt Hughes."

 

Hughes (42-7) steps into the octagon for the first time since the devastating loss to Alves. This will be Serra's first fight since April 19, 2008, when he lost a rematch to St. Pierre and the welterweight crown while suffering an injury to the ulner nerve to his left elbow. Finally healthy, Serra recently completed negotiations on a new multi-fight deal with the UFC and plans on fighting more than once a year.

 

"Right now I'm all good, knock on wood," Serra said. "I want to keep it that way. And I plan on it."

 

But Serra never looks past any fight, especially this one. He believes his guard has improved since the GSP rematch and likes his chances better in a three-round bout. Rather than bide his time, wear out his opponent and then try to put him away, Serra intends to go for the k*ll immediately.

 

"I thought I was way too reserved (in the second GSP fight), especially with my ju-jitsu game," Serra said. "I'm going to come up with strategies standing up and on the floor. I'm going to be squared away no matter what happens."

 

Hughes hinted at retirement after the Alves fight. Last September, Serra told MMAjunkie.com he plans on making his decision easier. While Hughes has dropped three of his past four fights, Serra is expecting a dangerous rival hellbent on leaving on a high note. Serra is expected to be the underdog, but he's defeated the odds before. And in his world, fighting for pride is more important than becoming a champion.

 

"Do you think he'd be a gracious winner?" Serra said. "I can't have that. I cannot – cannot – lose to this guy, and I know that."

source: http://mmajunkie.com/news/13759/once-buddi...s-at-ufc-98.mma

[riceb0i]

Matt Serra FTW!

[bRIX]

maiba naman tayo...

 

Arlovski vs. Emelianenko who's your pick?

 

I'll pick Arlovski on this one. Of all the heavyweights in MMA, I think Andrei has the best chances to win against Fedor (and also because he trained with Freddie Roach like MP).

[riceb0i]

maiba naman tayo...

 

Arlovski vs. Emelianenko who's your pick?

 

I'll pick Arlovski on this one. Of all the heavyweights in MMA, I think Andrei has the best chances to win against Fedor (and also because he trained with Freddie Roach like MP).

Arlovski rin ako...

 

i saw a video clip of him training and damn his hand speed was the shitz!

 

i think he has a good chance of winning against Fedor if the Andre who KOed Ben Rothwell will show up

[overman]

WAR ARLOVSKI

[twentysix]

I'll have fedor by 60% and arlovski by 40%.

 

 

I hope the underdog wins this one.

[hardtohandle]

The question is: "Can Freddie Roach make a Manny Pacquiao out of Andre Arlovski?"

 

Malabo ito... Hindi naman boxing ang laban.

[maddromeo]

Fedor ako sa laban na toh! But he will have his hands full with Arlovski. Basta exciting ang laban and whoever takes this fight, its the fan who are the winners here! :thumbsupsmiley:

[_eRon_]

fedor will definitely dominate arlovski; he is the more complete fighter

[riceb0i]

recently uso kasi ang mga spoiler fights ahehehe kaya Arlovski ako ahehehe

 

basta lang yung Andre Arlovski na nagpabagsak kay Ben Rothwell ha

 

kapag natalo si Fedor kasi medjo hihina ang Affliction, parang EliteXC kasi ang Affliction mashado silang bias sa isang fighter...

 

kumbaga Affliction was built on Fedor's mystique...

[JustSmile=)]

the question will be.. "Will the real Arlovski show for the fight?"

 

If he does, definitely, he can win against Fedor

 

But if not, he will get f#&ked up.. hehe..

[riceb0i]

the question will be.. "Will the real Arlovski show for the fight?"

 

If he does, definitely, he can win against Fedor

 

But if not, he will get f#&ked up.. hehe..

hehehe true but that could go the other way as well

[King Nothing]

The question is: "Can Freddie Roach make a Manny Pacquiao out of Andre Arlovski?"

 

Malabo ito... Hindi naman boxing ang laban.

 

this is MIXED MARTIAL ARTS.... and boxing is included here... one of the guys with good boxing skills is no other than rashad evans look at his hand speed...

 

so i guess having roach for andre's hands will be good... I'll take on andre he looks like a vampire he looks like lycan from the underworld! and fedors more of a mafia guy interms of looks! hehehe

[hardtohandle]

this is MIXED MARTIAL ARTS.... and boxing is included here... one of the guys with good boxing skills is no other than rashad evans look at his hand speed...

 

so i guess having roach for andre's hands will be good... I'll take on andre he looks like a vampire he looks like lycan from the underworld! and fedors more of a mafia guy interms of looks! hehehe

 

But Fedor is not dumb to succumb in a standup duel with the Pitbull... Im sure he will be the one to take this fight to the ground. Gayahin na lang ni Arlovski si Marcus Davis na magsabing: "The first man to take this fight to the ground is a pussy", heheheheh! Baka kumagat pa si Fedor dun, heheheh! Yun lang ang pag-asa nya, heheheh!

 

Arlovski will definitely have his hands full with this fight. All he can do is hope that the Roach magic will be rubbed into him...