In every fighter's career an opportunity comes along to make a name for themselves by defeating an opponent with a well-known name. This Saturday, heavyweight fighter Dave Hess will get that opportunity as he faces off against UFC veteran "Irish" Jake O'Brien in the main event of "MMA Big Show: Triple Threat." MMASpot recently sat down with Dave to discuss his origins and his thoughts on the fight.
Rory MacDoanld is being touted as a fighter that is "one two watch" and could possibly represent the future of UFC's welterweight division. The British Columbia native recently made his debut at "UFC Fight Night 20: Maynard vs. Diaz," on January 11, 2010. He fought veteran fighter Mike Guymon, defeating him by armbar submission near the end of the first round. MacDonald's next fight is rumored to be against former WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit at UFC 115 in Vancouver, B.C. MMA Spot's Brad LeBeau recently sat down with the undefeated prospect to discuss his rise through the sport, landing him in the UFC.
Hawaiian fighter Falaniko "Niko" Vitale has had an illustrious MMA career spanning more than a decade, appearing in major promotions such as the UFC, Strikeforce, Icon Sport, and the International Fight League (IFL). With 26 wins to only nine losses, Vitale has fought some of the toughest opponents in the world. In the coming months, Niko will return to fighting, after a year-long layoff, in his Shine Fights debut against Murilo "Ninja" Rua. MMA Spot recently sat down with Niko to discuss his past and his training.
With this weekend's "UFC 109: Relentless" festivities in full swing, UFC Hall of Famer Mark "The Hammer" Coleman took a few moments away from his last minute preparations to talk to David McKinney about his up coming main event bout. Coleman will meet fellow Hall member Randy Couture in Las Vegas. Although both are over forty years old, both fighters still remain at the pinnacle of their careers long after many others would be retired. To hear Coleman talk, he is only getting started in resurgence and seems focused on wearing UFC gold before he ends his illustrious career.
Chicago-based Bellator Fighting Championships recently announced the signing of lightweight competitor Ferrid "The Hurricane" Kheder, an Olympic-level judoka who began competing in MMA in 2006. Boasting an impressive 16-5 record, with all losses coming by way of decision, this French-born fighter is looking to make a splash in the 155 pound tournament set to being April 8. MMA Spot's Joe Gullo recently sat down with Kheder to talk about his judo background, his transition to MMA and his thoughts on his new promotion.
One of the four recently announced featherweight signings by the Chicago- based Bellator FC, Russian-born Armenian fighter Georgi "Insane" Karakhanyan aims to put his stamp on the division as he competes in the promotion's promising second season. The 12-week tournament, debuting April 8, is set up to determine the number one contender for each of Bellator's four weight classes (feather- weight, lightweight, welterweight, and middleweight) and will conclude with four respective championship bouts. MMA Spot’s C.M. Holden recently sat down with Karakhanyan (12-1-1) to discuss a variety of topics, including his recent signing with Bellator, his thoughts on the featherweight division, and his career as a mixed martial artist.
Gunnar Nelson is 5-0-1 since debuting in June of 2007. In that bout, Nelson faced veteran John Olesen. Nelson did considerably well against one of Denmark's top fighters, taking him to a draw. Showing improved striking, good takedowns, great control, and relentless ground-and-pound, Gunnar stopped his next five opponents, four of them in the first round. He currently trains out of his MMA gym, Mjölnir, in Iceland, as well as the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York. He has also spent time in Hawaii training with B.J. Penn. Recently, Gunnar took time out of his busy training schedule to answer a few questions from MMA Spot's Chris McClain.
Springfield, Missouri’s middleweight prospect Zak Cummings recently made his Strikeforce debut where he put his perfect 10-0 record on the line against fellow up-and-comer Tim Kennedy. Cummings was handed his first ever loss that night, as part of the Strikeforce Challengers main event. However, the bout gained Cummings a lot of respect and some positive national exposure, showing his toughness and willingness to step up to upper echelon opponents. Now he speaks with MMA Spot's Marcus Krueger about that fight and more.
MMA fans have been wondering for years now, "How does Randy Couture stay at such a high level in a sport that is so taxing?". So MMA Spot sent investigative reporter Steven Risley out to Las Vegas, Nevada, the home of Xtreme Couture, Couture's training center, to get the answers. What he found was an interesting explanation about how Couture and some of the best conditioned athletes keep their competetive edge through science and personal chemistry. See what one of the men behind Couture's success has to say about keeping a legend in tip-top shape and ready to fight.
Just days away from watching the world’s #1 ranked heavyweight (Fedor Emelianenko) take on one of the world’s most destructive up-and-coming heavyweights (Brett Rogers) on CBS, Strikeforce has another pivotal heavyweight bout on the same card. Although the bout between Antonio Silva and Fabricio Werdum may not be as lauded or talked about as the network's televised main event, but his fight has all the makings of the fight of the night.