Thursday, January 13, 2011

UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta and President Dana White today unveiled plans to bring at least two UFC events to New York within the first year the sport is regulated in the state, including one to be held at Madison Square Garden. Joined at a press conference at "The World’s Most Famous Arena" by UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and Scott O’Neil, President of Madison Square Garden Sports, White expressed his desire to finally bring UFC to the Empire State.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Titan Fighting Championship announced today that it has reached a multi-fight agreement with former UFC, Pride, and Strikeforce star Phil "The New York Bad Ass" Baroni. Baroni is scheduled to debut for Titan on its March 25 show in Kansas City against an opponent yet to be determined. News pertaining to Baroni's opponent as well as additional information regarding Titan's March 25 show will be made available in the coming weeks.

Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White, UFC Owner Lorenzo Fertitta, will join UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and Scott O’Neil, the president of Madison Square Garden Sports, to announce a plan to bring UFC to "The World’s Most Famous Arena," as soon as the sport of mixed martial arts is approved in New York. The press conference will take place Thursday, Jan. 13 at 2 p.m. ET in the Club Bar & Grill at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The press conference will be streamed live on MMA Spot.net.

Lyman Good will begin his Bellator journey again. The first-ever Bellator welterweight champion will be part of the season four welterweight tournament, the organization announced today. Good joins Dan Hornbuckle, Rick Hawn, Brent Weedman, and Chris Lozano in the eight-man draw. After claiming the inaugural 170-pound title after winning the season one welterweight tournament, Good lost his title to season two champion Ben Askren during the most recent season. Now, his goal is to once again defeat his foes in order to receive another shot at Askren.

In one of the most astonishing turn of events in the history of the Maximum Fighting Championship, MFC Owner/ President Mark Pavelich announced that the organization has signed world-ranked lightweight Drew “Night Rider” Fickett to a multi-fight contract. Fickett will make his organizational debut at "MFC 28: Supremacy" on Friday, Feb. 25 televised live on HDNet Fights (10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT – check local listing for channel designation). Fickett’s opponent will be revealed in the very near future.

Jose Aldo's next title defense could be decided on Jan. 22, if veteran fighter Mark Hominick upholds his end of the bargain. UFC President Dana White announced that Hominick, a native of Ontario, will face Aldo for the UFC featherweight title at UFC 129 in Toronto with a win over George Roop at "UFC: Fight for the Troops 2" on Jan. 22. Aldo, the final WEC champion and inaugural UFC featherweight champion, was originally slated to make his UFC debut against Josh Grispi at UFC 125 before he was forced to pull out of the fight due to injury.

Three reserve bouts have been added to the upcoming Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix, slated to begin on February 12. The first of these bouts is a battle between two graduates of the Strikeforce Challengers series, Shane del Rosario and Lavar Johnson. The second match will feature Chad Griggs and Ring of Combat Heavyweight Champion Gian Villante. The final addition includes a bout between Valentijn Overeem, the brother of Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem, and Ray Sefo.

After much speculation and rumors about who the coaches would be for the upcoming thirteenth season of the popular "Ultimate Fighter" Spike TV reality series, UFC heavyweights Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos were announced as the team leaders in a press conference by the organization on Tuesday. Many fighters were rumored for the two slots, including Dominick Cruz, Urijah Faber, Chael Sonnen, Wanderlei Silva, Frankie Edgar, and Gray Maynard.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Two of the sport's rising lightweight stars will battle in a featured fight at "MFC 28: Supremacy" in February. Robert Washington (9-1) will take on fellow MFC signee Tyrone Glover (5-0) during the organization's February 25 event at the River Cree Casino in Edmonton, Alberta. MFC 28 will be headlined by a light heavyweight championship fight between Canadians Ryan Jimmo and Dwayne Lewis. The two will battle for the right to be called one of Canada's top fighters. Canadian Kajan Johnson will also be in action against "The Ultimate Fighter 9" veteran Richie Whitson, and UFC veterans Rodney Wallace and Razak Al-Hassan will face off in a light heavyweight tilt.

One of the fastest rising stars in mixed martial arts will be a part of the Bellator season four welterweight tournament, the organization announced today. Chris "The Assassin" Lozano (6-0, 1-0 BFC) joins Dan Hornbuckle, Rick Hawn, and Brent Weedman as the first four participants in the upcoming eight-man draw. The tournament, which begins in March and will be shown on MTV2, is also expected to feature Jay Hieron, Steve Carl, Jim Wallhead, and former Bellator welterweight champion Lyman Good. The eight fighters will vie for a chance to take on current Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren later this year.

On June 19, world renowned Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor Jean Jacques Machado came to Hamilton, Ontario to teach his style of jiu-jitsu to an eager group of students. Machado also had something else on his agenda; he awarded longtime student Paul "P.J." O'Sullivan with his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Now, with black belt in hand, a growing academy, and several high ranking students, O'Sullivan is setting out on a new tourney, beginning with his first competitive tournament appearances in years.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Weeks after parting ways with Strikeforce at the end of his contract, veteran middleweight Joe "Diesel" Riggs has found a new promotional home with Bellator Fighting Championships. Riggs fought seven times in Strikeforce, winning four of those fights. He was victorious in his final bout in the organization, earning a submission via punches over Louis Taylor at Strikeforce Challengers 10 in the promotion's debut in his hometown of Phoenix.