Brendan Schaub Targeted For UFC 154 In Montreal, Wants Lavar Johnson


Brendan Schaub has a likely date for his next fight, and he also has an opponent in mind.

Schaub, who was on a four-fight win streak before back-to-back losses to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Ben Rothwell, told MMAjunkie.com Radio (http://www.mmajunkie.com/radio) that UFC matchmaker Joe Silva has targeted him for a UFC 154 return.

And if he gets his way, Schaub (8-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) will fight heavy-handed heavyweight Lavar Johnson (17-6 MMA, 2-1 UFC).

UFC 154 takes place Nov. 17 at Montreal's Bell Centre. No fights have been officially announced for the pay-per-view event, but the UFC hopes to feature welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre vs. interim titleholder Carlos Condit, as well as welterweight contenders Johny Hendricks vs. Martin Kampmann.

"When I talked to Joe Silva [on July 6], they said Nov. 17 is the plan," Schaub said. "Nov. 17 in Montreal is the plan.

"And if it was up to me, I'd love to fight Lavar Johnson. That'd be fun, right?"

Johnson, a former Strikeforce fighter, splashed onto the UFC scene with back-to-back "Knockout of the Night" wins over Joey Beltran and Pat Barry earlier this year. However, with just three weeks between fights, he then suffered a submission loss to Stefan Struve at UFC 146 in May.

Although Montreal still means a foreign trip for the Colorado- and Los Angeles-based Schaub, he said he specifically wanted to avoid a long trip to Macau for UFC on FUEL TV 6. His recent trip to Brazil contributed to the decision.

Why?

"Just the traveling, man," he said. "Brazil was a doozy for me, man. It really was. That farthest I've gone out of Colorado is Mexico, Cancun. So I go to Brazil and fight Nogueira by choice? It was interesting."

http://mmajunkie.com/news/29718/brendan-schaub-targeted-for-ufc-154-in-montreal-wants-lavar-johnson.mma

UFC 149's Boetsch: New Opponent Lombard More Of A Contender Than Bisping


This is how much of a damn Tim Boetsch (15-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) gave when the UFC socked him with Hector Lombard (31-2-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) instead of Michael Bisping.

When his wife woke him to news of the switch, which put him in the co-main event of UFC 149 and Bisping on the disabled list, you'd think he'd already given his 100th interview on the subject.

"That's going to be a tough fight," he told her, "but to be the best, you have to beat everybody."

Then he went back to sleep.

UFC 149 takes place Saturday at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The event's main card airs live on pay-per-view while FX and Facebook host preliminary-card fights.

Once a 2-2 veteran stuck in the middle of the middleweight pack, Boetsch's confidence swelled with a come-from-behind win over Yushin Okami, which marked his third straight win and his seventh victory in eight fights since late 2009. Now, he looks to give Lombard his first UFC loss in as many octagon fights.

"Just because I'm not fighting somebody who's can run their mouth real well doesn't take anything away from (the fact that) Hector is one of the top fighters in the world," Boetsch told MMAjunkie.com Radio (http://www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "It's going to shoot me close to the top when I take him out."

Lombard's nearly unbroken win streak of six years and 25 fights has already earmarked him as a possible contender should he get past Boetsch. Some have complained that the former Bellator champ is cutting in line – namely ahead of Bisping, who withdrew from the fight due to a needed knee surgery. Boetsch, however, feels honored to welcome him into the UFC.

"This guy comes to fight every time," he said. "He's riding a huge win streak of fights in front of big crowds, and the dude just loves to fight. He's coming to try and take my head off. I don't think he's going to have any jitters at all coming into the UFC."

Both Lombard and Boetsch have built a reputation as nail-tough brawlers, the former with 17 knockouts and the latter with seven. A great many of Lombard's opponents wilt to the power shots he favors over pawing shots while Boetsch does his best work at close range. An almost diagonal uppercut felled Okami after Boetsch chased him down in February at UFC 144.

Neither might be ready for the kind of nuanced violence that champ Anderson Silva brings to the division. But their fight suggests someone will go down, and perhaps within the first five minutes. That's exactly what UFC 149 needs after a wave of injuries that forced a dozen withdrawals and prompted UFC president Dana White to declare it the most cursed card in the promotion's history.

"As long as I'm still standing, I'm going to try to win it," Boetsch promised. "That's just my style. It always has been. I think it's going to be a better fight for the fans.

"It's going to be nasty whether it is the greatest card in the history of fighting or not. Hector's going to sprint across the cage and try to kill me for the get-go. I'm always looking to finish my opponents."

And Boetsch isn't sleeping on Bisping.

"Bisping might talk about how he deserves a title shot, but at the end of the day, getting knee surgery doesn't put you in the No. 1 contender spot – winning fights does, and Hector's been winning fights for a long time."

http://mmajunkie.com/news/29723/ufc-149s-boetsch-new-opponent-lombard-more-of-a-contender-than-bisping.mma

UFC 149 Curtain-Jerker Mitch Clarke Gains Confidence From Roommate Benson Henderson


Mitch Clarke remembers the texts he got and the chats he had just prior to his UFC debut, which kicked off December's UFC 140 card.

The comments were all the same: You look super nervous.

"Well, it's a fight," Clarke recalled with MMAjunkie.com (http://www.mmajunkie.com) earlier this week. "Someone's trying to punch you in the face. Of course you're not going to be feeling that good."

Clarke (9-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), though, feels the octagon jitters won't be so noticeable on Saturday at UFC 149, when he and Finnish lightweight Anton Kuivanen (16-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) kick off the event at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary. Their bout streams on Facebook prior to additional prelims on FX and the pay-per-view-main card.

Clarke, a Canadian who fights in his home country for the second time with the UFC, suffered a TKO loss to John Cholish in that UFC 140 fight. This time around, though, he's changed a lot of things and overhauled his camp.

The result?

"It's been way better, way better," he said. "I know what to expect now."

Clarke said he gained a significant amount of confidence from UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson. Clarke's manager knew Henderson's coach at the MMA Lab in Arizona, John Crouch. So Clarke, who's still largely unknown on the international stage, took up residence in a spare room belonging to the top lightweight fighter in the world.

Clarke quickly learned from Henderson that simple goals can lead to big things.

"He's the most motivated person I ever met," Clarke said. "He strives just to be one percent better everyday, and I think I improved at least one percent everyday because of him."

The MMA Lab is home to fighters such as Henderson, "The Ultimate Fighter 8" winner Efrain Escudero, recent UFC signee John Moraga, former WEC champ Jamie Varner and others. And he thinks the training there is on par with anything you could get at super camps such as American Top Team or Team Jackson-Winklejohn.

"It's a hidden gem, but it's coming to the surface," Clarke said of the squad.

Clarke also spent time with the likes of Urijah Faber and Josh Koscheck during his preparations for Saturday's fight. It's all led to better skills and a more complete game. But beyond that, it's given him peace of mind.

"How you feel mentally definitely impacts you how feel physically," he said.

Now, Clarke knows his it's put-up-or-shut-up time. That 9-0 start to his career doesn't mean much if he follows it with back-to-back losses in the UFC. Barring a remarkable performance, a second loss likely would result in a contract termination.

But he's confident for his sophomore effort in the UFC, and he thinks fans will see a different fighter on Saturday.

"More than anything, you can dwell on the moment, on losing, and cut your losses and do something else," he said. "Or you can grow from it. I chose to grow and mature from it. That's been a big part of this camp. I surrounded myself with good people, made changes in my camp, and hopefully, we show a completely different product on Saturday."

http://mmajunkie.com/news/29796/ufc-149-curtain-jerker-mitch-clarke-gains-confidence-from-roommate-benson-henderson.mma

Let's Help Rory Win This, He's Only At %15

http://edgeshavezone.com/#!/ufc

Not So Fast: Dana White Says Tim Sylvia Not Fighting For UFC Or Strikeforce


Is he or isn’t he?

He isn’t.

Despite earlier reports, including one from us at MMAWeekly.com, former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia is not going to be facing Daniel Cormier under the Strikeforce banner on Sept. 29 in Sacramento, Calif.

UFC president Dana White on Thursday said that Sylvia was not headed to Strikeforce, but an initial Friday report by MMAJunkie.com, which our sources backed, indicated that Sylvia was indeed headed into a fight with Cormier.

Late Friday evening, however, White talked to MMA.tv, who reported that “White said the signing was never announced, and that ‘long story, but yes, Tim is not with Zuffa.’”White commented on Twitter, shooting down the Tim Sylvia signing.

There were apparently negotiations going on, at least according to our sources, but regardless of the details, the fact remains that White is sticking by his original statement that Sylvia is not going to be fighting under the Zuffa umbrella at either the UFC or Strikeforce.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/not-so-fast-dana-white-says-tim-sylvia-not-fighting-for-ufc-or-strikeforce

Bellator 72 Results: Amassou Earns Title Shot; Daley’s Debut A Knockout


Bellator Fighting Championships made its return to “The Sunshine State” Friday night with the culmination of the Bellator Season 6 Welterweight Tournament as Karl Amoussou became the Bellator Season 6 Welterweight Champion, while Attila Vegh and Travis Wiuff will now face off at Bellator 73 to determine the Bellator Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament Championship. Also, Paul Daley and Marius Zaromskis picked up impressive victories at Bellator 72 in Tampa, Fla., from The USF Sun Dome.

“Travis Wiuff continues to amaze with another completely dominating performance, while Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley did exactly what we thought he would in his Bellator debut by delivering another brutal knockout,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “My hat is off to Karl Amoussou, who came out as his usual explosive self and had everyone on their feet with a slick submission win. Amoussou vs. Askren is something I’m looking forward to, and should happen in short order.”

For Bellator welterweights Bryan “The Beast” Baker and Karl “Psycho” Amoussou, a win Friday night would not only earn them the Bellator Season 6 Welterweight Tournament Championship, but also $100,000 and a shot at Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren. After briefly exchanging on the feet, Amoussou (16-4-2) swept the leg of Baker (18-4) and rather than taking the back, latched on to the leg of “The Beast.” Baker immediately felt the pain of the inverted heel hook and tapped quickly to halt the bout at 0:56 of the first round.

“I’m really happy right now,” said an emotional Amoussou. “It’s been a lot of hard work, and I’m so happy to be at this point right now.”

When asked about his next challenge, reigning welterweight champion Ben Askren, Amoussou didn’t hesitate.

“Lay and prayer, it’s time for you to face the Psycho. I think Bellator needs a real exciting champion. Somebody is getting knocked out, and that somebody is going to be him.”

Entering the Bellator cage for the first time Friday night, vicious striker Paul “Semtex” Daley was looking to impress Bellator brass when he met six-time Bellator veteran Rudy Bears at the USF Sun Dome. While Bears (14-11) appeared to have some success early on, Daley (30-12-2) ultimately showed why he is considered one of the best knockout artists in MMA. After landing a series of brutal knees to the body of Bears, Daley unloaded with a barrage of punches until the referee was forced to stop the fight at 2:45 of the first round.

“Anybody who trades with me is getting knocked out. Much respect to Rudy Bears for stepping in here with me,” said Daley. “I’m looking to get in the tournament, and I’m going to win it.”

After choking out Zelg Galesic last month in the quarterfinals of the Bellator Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament, Attila Vegh was matched up with the toughest test of his career Friday night when he faced Emanuel Newton. Newton (18-7-1), was coming off a submission win of his own over Roy Boughton and looked to stop the momentum of “Pumukli.” The story throughout the fight was the aggressiveness of Newton and the counter striking of Vegh (27-4-2). For three close rounds, both men went blow for blow until a decision was rendered by the judges. Two of the three judges scored the fight in favor of Attila Vegh, who will now move on to the finals of the Bellator Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament.

“It was hard to train for the awkwardness he brings. The kicks were coming out of nowhere,” said Vegh. “However, I was confident wherever the fight went. I trained for 15 minutes.”

After earning a decisive victory over Chris Davis in the quarterfinals of the Bellator Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament, Travis “Diesel” Wiuff undoubtedly wanted to impose his will on Tim Carpenter when the two met Friday night in a semifinal matchup. For three rounds, Wiuff (68-14) controlled Carpenter (9-2), utilizing his takedowns and landing devastating strikes from the guard. After dominating for the entire fight, Travis Wiuff was awarded the unanimous decision victory.

After the fight, Wiuff had choice words for Bellator Light Heavyweight World Champion, Christian M’Pumbu.

“Christian, I’m coming for you,” said Wiuff. “It’s only a matter of time, Christian. Next time I beat you, I’m taking that belt.”

In the first fight of the evening, Bellator welterweights Waachiim Spiritwolf and Marius Zaromskis were looking to pick up where they left off in their previous contest and finally put a stamp on their epic trilogy. Throughout the fight, Zaromskis (18-6) was the aggressor, constantly moving forward and avoiding the power shots of Spiritwolf (9-11-1). Zaromskis also showed off his improved takedown defense every time Spiritwolf attempted to take the fight to the ground. After the completion of three rounds, two of the three judge’s cageside scored the fight in favor of Marius Zaromskis.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/bellator-72-results-amassou-earns-title-shot-daleys-debut-a-knockout

Bellator 76 Set For Oct. 12 In Canada, Eddie Alvarez Booked For Card


Eddie Alvarez is already MMA's biggest free agent – and he still has one fight left on his deal with Bellator Fighting Championships.

Alvarez (23-3 MMA, 7-1 BFC) now has the date and location of that fight. Alvarez will fight at an as-yet unannounced show on Oct. 12 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, expected to be Bellator 76. The fight, against an opponent expected to be named in the coming days, will take place at Caesars Windsor Hotel & Casino.

MMAjunkie.com (http://www.mmajunkie.com) on Thursday confirmed the location and Alvarez's participation on the card with sources close to the event. It was first reported by MMA Fighting.

Alvarez, the former Bellator lightweight champion, in April got back in the win column with a quick TKO of Shinya Aoki at Bellator 66 in Cleveland. That win took some of the sting off a 2011 that saw him go 1-1 and lose his 155-pound title.

In April 2011, Alvarez needed all five rounds to get past current featherweight champion Pat Curran to defend his belt at UFC 39. That decision win snapped a streak of seven straight stoppages in his victories. The win over Curran was Alvarez's first defense of the lightweight title he won at Bellator 12 as the promotion's first lightweight tournament champion. After that, his next two Bellator wins were catchweight non-title fights before the matchup with Curran.

But this past November, Alvarez met Season 4 lightweight tournament winner Michael Chandler. And after a back-and-forth fight, Chandler submitted Alvarez midway through the fourth round, snapping his seven-fight win streak and handing him his first loss in nearly three years. The fight earned acclaim as one of the best fights of 2011 – and some publications even had it ahead of UFC 139's main event between Dan Henderson and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

But with the Aoki win, Alvarez got back on track. Now he is expected to be one of the most highly prized free agents in recent memory. According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Bellator can match any other contract offer Alvarez might receive after he becomes a free agent. The promotion has three months to do so.

This past May, Alvarez, a Philadelphia-based fighter, attended UFC on FOX 3 in East Rutherford, N.J., and was shown sitting next to UFC president Dana White – adding to speculation that the UFC would be pursuing the 155-pounder once his deal with Bellator was complete.

Not long before that, the UFC signed what had been the most prized free agent from Bellator, middleweight champion Hector Lombard. Lombard debuted with the UFC this past week at UFC 149, losing a split decision to Tim Boetsch in the co-main event in Calgary.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/29891/bellator-76-set-for-oct-12-in-canada-eddie-alvarez-booked-for-card.mma

Liz Carmouche Working Towards Invicta Title, But Wouldn’t Mind A Shot At Ronda Rousey


Following two straight losses in Strikeforce, former title contender Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche made her comeback at Invicta FC 1 this past April and did not disappoint. But handily defeating Ashleigh Curry in just under two minutes is not the whole story, being a part of Invicta’s first event was special in many ways to Carmouche.

“It was a great experience and I really enjoyed being part of the show,” said Carmouche. “Where normally the women are a small group and men dominate the sport, it was nice to be able to network, socialize and meet other women of the sport.

“Being offered an opportunity to come back and help facilitate their growth (on their upcoming show) is an awesome, awesome feeling.”

Even though she managed to quickly finish her opponent, Carmouche would have liked a chance to work more of her game plan that night.

“I would have liked it to have gone a little bit longer, but overall it’s a win and it was good,” Carmouche told MMAWeekly.com. “I think I had one scratch on me from when she tried to rip off my bra and that was it.”

At Invicta’s second show on July 28 in Kansas City, Carmouche will face the fighter who fought in the bout right before her on the previous show, Kaitlin Young.

“Kaitlin is most known for her Muay Thai, but I know she’s been working hard in her camps on her Jiu-Jitsu and her wrestling, so I’m expecting her to want to change up her game and how she’s not just a Muay Thai fighter,” said Carmouche.

Should Carmouche win her second fight in a row, it could set her up for a myriad of prospects later in the year.

“I hope that there are possibilities with both Strikeforce and Invicta,” she said. “Right now there’s no title (in Invicta) in this weight class, so I hope I can get into the running for that. If not, then I hope I can have another showing in Strikeforce, because I still have a contract with them and would love to go back and represent them.”

In particular, Carmouche has her eye on the participants in the coming Strikeforce women’s 135-pound title match between Sarah Kaufman and Ronda Rousey on Aug. 18 in San Diego.

“With Kaufman, I feel like I’ve grown in the past year since our fight and so I definitely stand up to be another opponent for her,” said Carmouche. “As for Rousey, I’d like to see her fight a few more times and see where actually she pans out. I think this fight this fight with Kaufman will really show what she has to offer the sport. Even a fight against her, I would love that.

“Really (I’d like to fight) anyone in Strikeforce. I feel like I’ve been put there for a reason and have been given opportunities because I do have talent, and I would like the opportunity to show that again.”

http://www.mmaweekly.com/liz-carmouche-working-towards-invicta-title-but-wouldnt-mind-a-shot-at-ronda-rousey

Future Of Maximum Fighting Lays Inside Of A Ring Instead Of A Cage


MFC has a nice ‘ring’ to it
Future cards including MFC 34 will take place in roped ring as opposed to cage

Press Release – July 23, 2012 – Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – The ring is still the thing for the Maximum Fighting Championship.

And that’s the ring as in the five-rope version, not “The Ring” as in the craftily given moniker for the MFC’s sleek cage setup.

The Maximum Fighting Championship brought its slick cage to life at MFC 29 in accordance with the regulations utilized in Ontario which requires all mixed martial arts fights to be held in a cage structure. The cage received great reviews yet it not been used since even though MFC Owner/President Mark Pavelich had surmised about using the cage for events in other locales including Edmonton, Alberta.

But the fans have spoken, and they have made it clear that the ring (that’s ‘little r’ not ‘Ring’) is what they want to see.

“It’s been said pretty clearly to me that our fans, the ones who have continually supported us and come to the live shows for years, that they like the ring better than the cage,” said Pavelich.

Pavelich explained the fans’ sentiments.

“MMA is a bit of a strange sport when it comes to watching the event live in person inside the arena,” he noted.

“You want to see as much as possible right in front of your eyes, yet how many times have we seen people, especially sitting a little bit further back, have to turn to watch a big screen TV just to see what’s right in front of them? It’s not logical. You’ve paid the price of your ticket to watch the fight on TV? That’s not right.

“Our fans watching the event live in person have expressed that they can see the fight better in a ring from any seat in the house. The craziest thing is my staff sits on the edge of the ring inside the barrier and when the fights were in a cage they couldn’t see across to the other side and they had to watch on a TV. That’s a pretty obvious message to me.”

The ring had always been a matter of preference for Pavelich. When the MFC began 12 years ago, the ring was distinguishable as being an MFC property – very few mixed martial arts events were held in a ring. And it was also a matter of business as the blossoming sport seemed less barbaric to newcomers, and in particular corporate sponsors, since it took place in a more traditional boxing-style ring as opposed to the locked cage.

The ring remains Pavelich’s preference, but over the last year, it seems to have also become the fans’ pick as well. That’s not to say the cage, the MFC’s “Ring,” won’t ever appear again at some point.

For now, though, the ring will remain the focal point of the MFC’s action which suits Pavelich and the MFC fans just fine.

“I’ve always been an Owner that has listened to the fans,” noted Pavelich. “Sometimes the suggestions are a little out there, but for the most part, the fans are correct. They are the ones who pay their hard earned money and they deserve the right to speak their minds, and for me and the MFC team to listen to what they’ve said.

“I love the fact that our fans are devoted and opinionated. They’ve had their say about everything from where we do the fights, the fighters they want to see, and about whether they like the ring or the cage. We’ve listened.”

http://www.themmanews.com/future-of-maximum-fighting-lays-inside-of-a-ring-instead-of-a-cage/

Alex Ricci is ready to face Jesse Ronson

Alex Ricci vs. Jesse Ronson Confirmed For The Score Fighting Series


Two strikers set for collision course at Hamilton Place Theatre on August 25th

Press Release – TORONTO, July 25th 2012 – Two of the most dynamic strikers in The Score Fighting Series are on a collision course, with Alex Ricci set to go head-to-head with Jesse “The Body Snatcher” Ronson on Saturday, August 25th in Hamilton, Ontario.

Ricci (5-0) from Woodbridge, Ontario will take his undefeated record into the cage against heavy-handed London, Ontario native Ronson (9-2). This dream match-up has MMA fans abuzz over what will happen when two of the most dangerous young fighters in the sport finally meet in the cage.

Ronson is a seasoned combat sports veteran who honed his lethal hands and feet while racking up wins in MMA, kickboxing and boxing. He has finished more than half his fights via KO/TKO and is currently riding a four fight win streak. He trains in his hometown at Adrenaline MMA alongside some of Canada’s top fighters, including WEC veteran Chris Horodecki and current UFC fighters Sam Stout, Mark Hominick and Chris Clements.

Ricci is the definition of a striker and, although he has only five MMA fights on his record, has made a big impact in a very short period of time.

He has finished every one of his fights via TKO or KO, including a brutal finish of Ronson’s Adrenaline teammate Iraj Hadin at the last The Score Fighting Series event in March this year. Ricci got his original martial arts training while accumulating a professional Muay Thai record of 33-13-3 including more than 30 fights in Thailand. Always working to be as well rounded as possible, Ricci just completed an extended training trip in Brazil alongside his coach Sergio Cuhna. Cunha is the one of the world’s most respected MMA minds and was formally the striking coach at Brazil’s vaunted Chute Boxe Academy. Ricci currently trains out of M-1 Thaiboxing in Woodbridge and Mecha MMA in Toronto.

Neither fighter will be lacking in confidence going into this bout with both offering opinions as to who will be the hammer and who will the nail at Hamilton Place Theatre next month.

“Now’s my time, says Ronson. “I’m doing big things. I have the experience edge in MMA and am highly motivated to get to that next level. Ricci is a big test, but just a step for me in the right direction. He can afford a loss and come back at 5-1 – I can’t. Under no circumstances will I let Ricci walk out of that cage with the win.”

Ricci countered with his own prediction. “Jesse’s a great fighter, and that’s why I asked for this fight. I’m particularly interested in him because we’re both strikers and I want to prove that he’s not on my level. I’m well rounded and very confident everywhere in this one, but I really want to stand with him and prove who is the best. I’ve knocked out every one of my opponents and I’ll be looking to knock Ronson out as well. ”

Other fighters confirmed for the card include Elias Theodorou, Jason Meisel, Ryan Dickson, Jason Saggo, Adam Assenza and Rory McDonell. Opponents for all will be announced shortly, pending match-up approvals by the Ontario Athletics Commission.

Every fight on the card will be streamed live on theScore.com and, for the first time ever, fights from the main card will be carried live on theScore Television Network starting at 9:00pm EST.

http://www.themmanews.com/alex-ricci-vs-jesse-ronson-confirmed-for-the-score-fighting-series/

Blackhouse Coach Says Next Fight For Anderson Silva Should Be “Against GSP”


Following this past weekends UFC 149 event in Calgary, there remains no clear cut contender for the middleweight title, with many fighters in the division doing their best to jockey for the No. 1 position in order to challenge UFC champion Anderson Silva.

If that wasn’t enough to make UFC match makers crazy, one of the managers in Anderson Silva’s camp has come out to muddy the waters even more by saying the only fight that makes sense is a “catchweight” fight versus UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre.

Blackhouse founder, and Gracie Jiu-jitsu black belt, Jorge Guimaraes spoke to Tatame.com about who ‘The Spider’ should face next.

“That’s a big joke,” Silva’s manager, Jorge Guimaraes, said about Chris Weidman, Tim Boetsch and Alan Belcher’s challenges. “Everybody saw that it worked for Chael, and he got really famous with that, and now everybody wants to be on the spotlight”.

The manager believes that only one fight makes sense for the middleweight champion right now, and it’s not on the middleweight division.

“No opponent makes sense for Anderson at this moment. Unless we do a catchweight against Georges St. Pierre,” he suggests. “They didn’t offer the fight, but he’s the only one that could do a super fight. Anderson has the biggest paycheck in the UFC, and you can’t promote an event with these amateur kids that are coming up now”.

St-Pierre is busy recovering from knee surgery in preparation for his return to the Octagon to face UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit this fall.

If a fight between Silva and St-Pierre were to go down a lot would have to happen, putting a bout like this a long ways down the road. St-Pierre has stated in the past that if he ever fought Silva, he’d have to put on more size as he walked around near the 185-lbs limit for middleweight.

It’s more likely that Silva and his camp are simply posturing, as has been done in the past, to force Dana White and the UFC to ante up an even bigger payday for ‘The Spider’s’ next match.

http://www.themmanews.com/blackhouse-coach-says-next-fight-for-anderson-silva-should-be-against-gsp/

Sometimes heavyweight fights end with a devastating knockout in emphatic fashion leaving every fan in an arena on their feet.

Then sometimes there is Cheick Kongo vs. Shawn Jordan.

Unfortunately the two heavyweights featured on the main card at UFC 149 on Saturday night weren’t gunning for any post fight bonuses. If anything they were barely standing when the fight ended, but it had nothing to do with the punishment they doled out to one another in the cage.

For the better part of 15-minutes the two lumbering heavyweights pushed each other against the cage looking for the better position with Kongo generally staying dominant, but doing no real damage.

The restless crowd in Calgary tried with great might to boo their way into forcing either Kongo or Jordan to back away and engage a bit more, but neither was deviating from their ‘strategy’.

Kongo had a few fleeting moments of real control when he dragged Jordan to the ground early in the fight, but for the majority of the time he was content keeping the fight pushed against the cage and going for pitter-patter punches.

When the fight was over the judges mercifully gave the fight to Kongo, but not without a collective sigh of relief from the crowd that what they just witnessed was finally done.

Even UFC President Dana White got in on the act tweeting out ‘Boooooo!’ after watching an extremely lackluster fight from both heavyweights.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-149-results-kongo-beats-jordan-after-clinch-filled-fight