UFC 129 officiating: Iole talks Ontario commission and reveals the refs

MMA's in its infant stages in Ontario, but the Canadian province won't have the chance to grow slowly and work out any issues below the radar. After debuting the sport with events that drew around 5,000 last month, this weekend Toronto hosts a UFC event with 55,000 in attendance and the MMA world watching. Will everything be up to snuff with the officiating inside and out of the Octagon?

Yahoo!'s lead MMA writer Kevin Iole joined us to talk about the referees assigned to the event and how the ringside officials will handle different situations during the card.

Check out what happened during the MFC 29 fight in Ontario between Marcus Davis and Curtis DeMarce. There was a little confusion about getting doctors into the cage during round three. You'll also see fighters being allowed to use towels and wipe their own faces (9:05 mark). That's a no-no. It also took roughly 35 seconds for doctors to get into the cage and then 1:53 for the fight to restart.

After speaking to Marc Ratner, the UFC's Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Iole sounded confident that all the kinks have been worked out.

The key to things running smoothly revolves primarily around the referees judges. Ontario has gone above and beyond to bring in some of the best refs MMA has to offer. John McCarthy, Herb Dean, Dan Miragliotta and Yves Lavigne will work the event.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-129-officiating-Iole-talks-Ontario-commissi?urn=mma-wp1506

Alex Andrade Jermaine Andrè Yoji Anjo Ao Hailin

Phil Davis thankful for "great opportunity" against Rashad Evans at UFC 133

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Phil Davis entered 2011 an 8-0 prospect preparing for a fight with Matt Hamill at this weekend's UFC 129 card in Toronto. Now, after a series of injuries and other circumstances shuffled around a number of matchups in the organization, Davis finds himself prepping for an August bout with a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion in Rashad Evans.

"I was shocked; I was surprised," Davis said regarding getting this fight in comments made to MMAJunkie.com. "I was very thankful that they thought of me as the next guy to get that caliber of fight."

Though he's excited for the matchup, it's coming a bit earlier than he was planning on returning. Following his win over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC Fight Night 24 last month, Davis expressed a desire to take more time off and to return late in the year, but now he's turning right back around for a fight just four and a half months later.

"His name wasn't one of the ones I was looking to fight next," Davis said. "But it looks like it's next on the list, so it looks like we have a date... I don't know that this is the timeframe I was looking for. But it's a great opportunity and a great chance to further my career."

UFC 133 takes place from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Penn. Davis, a NCAA Division I wrestling champion from Penn State, returns to his home state for this fight.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: This is such a giant leap up in competition for Davis, and it's probably coming too soon. Of course he could rise to the occasion and pull off a massive upset, but as a bright and promising prospect this is a fight that he didn't need to be put in at this stage of his career. He wasn't going to say no to the opportunity, of course, but Evans is a very good fighter and former champion who has taken on an extremely high level of competition over the last several years. Davis is being tossed to a massive wolf in this light heavyweight division, and when he was hoping to take more time off as it was this might be a mistake of a fight to put together right now. It could be a very good fight, but you can't help but think it's going to be too much, too soon for Davis at this point.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_9163.shtml

Aleksander Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko Yasubey Enomoto Mark Epstein

UFC 129 Complete Collection Part 4 Of 12: Ivan Menjivar vs. Charlie Valencia

Welcome back fans and friends to another entry into my new ?maxi-series? entitled ?ufc 129 Complete Collection?. UFC 129 is one of the can?t-miss events of the year, and in a rare move, all twelve fights will be available to fans over three mediums: Facebook, Spike TV, and Pay-Per-View. Even better, all twelve fights have [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/04/25/ufc-129-complete-collection-part-4-of-12-ivan-menjivar-vs-charlie-valencia

Tim Sylvia Frank Mir Andrei Arlovski Tim Sylvia

UFC 129 Complete Collection Part 7 Of 12: Nate Diaz vs. Rory MacDonald

With six parts of twelve now fully completed, my ?maxi-series? entitled ?ufc 129 Complete Collection? is now well on its way towards completion. Since the start of the series yesterday, I?ve taken a look at six of the twelve fights currently planned for UFC 129 in Toronto, which will see the UFC debut in Ontario [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/04/26/ufc-129-complete-collection-part-7-of-12-nate-diaz-vs-rory-macdonald

Justin Eilers Jon Olav Einemo Per Eklund Jason Ellis

Brazil's Barboza vs. England's Pearson Set for UFC: Rio

by Michael David SmithEdson BarbozaThe UFC's August 27 fight card in Rio de Janeiro is continuing to fill up with fights featuring a Brazilian fighting on his home turf against an opponent from another country.

The latest fight announced for the card features undefeated Rio native Edson Barboza taking on Sunderland, England's Ultimate Fighter winner, Ross Pearson. The fight was reported by Pearson's hometown paper in Sunderland and was confirmed on the UFC's official UK Twitter account.

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/04/19/brazils-barboza-vs-englands-pearson-set-for-ufc-rio/

Tadhg Steamfist Dixon Joe Doerksen Chris Dolman Edson Drago

The worst part of UFC 129 for GSP and Shields? Dealing with the sometimes dopey media

Fighting in front of 55,000 fans, a huge pay-per-view audience and increased media attention has to be great for the fighters at UFC 129. There is a downside. With all the interest, Jake Shields and Georges St-Pierre say the media crush has been unbelievable.

"It's always a distraction. For sure, I'm not gonna lie, the worst part is this," St-Pierre said. "Sometimes you have to wake up very early in the morning. It's bad because it messes up your sleep time."

Shields wants to be a company man, but when you body is on west  coast time, it makes it even tougher to fulfill your duties.

"I think they have me doing the same amount [of interviews as St-Pierre], which I'm not really used to," Shields said (0:15 mark). "I looked at my schedule up there and they have me getting up at seven in the morning for interviews, which is four o'clock in the morning my time. It seems kind of ridiculous to me. I don't know."

The former Strikeforce middleweight champ will do what he's told. He's a quality dude. Watch him act like a pro as this crazy, smiling wacko is all over him.

Before you mock too hard, John D. Villareal is a pretty accomplished athlete. He's just a little too Tony Little-like.

GSP said he understands that the media requests are part of the business and those increase even more when you're a champion. He also knows it's how fans get their fill of the sport.

Most Excited Interviewer in the World tip via Cage Potato

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/The-worst-part-of-UFC-129-for-GSP-and-Shields-D?urn=mma-wp1416

Norifumi Kid Yamamoto Ryushi Yanagisawa Yoshiaki Yatsu Hirotaka Yokoi

What you need to know from this week on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’

Deep into season 13 of "The Ultimate Fighter," Team Lesnar is coping with a loss and suspicious of one of their own. Who will Brock yell at? Who has the disgusting injury of the week? Will the fighters tell ghost stories around the campfire? Read on for spoilers and a fight recap.

Overreaction of the week: After Charlie Rader's loss, Lesnar rips his team. Len Bentley is not happy with having to sit through this, since he "fought his heart out and is not going to get punked." That's fine, Len. You keep it real. Just remember that sometimes, keepin' it real can go wrong. It seems that Len still has some abandonment issues, complaining that Brock wasn't even THERE for his fight. Lesnar just wants one of his three remaining fighters to give it their all.

"I want somebody to wow me," Lesnar says. "Who is it gonna be?"

Not getting it of the week: Back at the house, Bentley says that he doesn't fight to "wow" Lesnar. Well, that's short-sighted, considering he lost his first fight and a wildcard berth is up for grabs. If Lesnar isn't wowed, he won't likely fight for that fighter's second chance.

Fight pick of the week: Mick Bowman (Team dos Santos) vs. Clay Harvison (Lesnar)

Overstepping ... again of the week: Lew Polley is pissing off dos Santos again, because his only job is to teach wrestling, but Lew tries to teach every discipline. This isn't going to end well.

Paranoia of the week: Harvison is positive that Chris Cope is working as a double agent for Team dos Santos. He doesn't like the way Cope stares at him during mitt practice. Harvison says that Cope's double-agency is "ground for an [expletive]-whooping." He's dangerous. He's been known to break the law. He wears his sunglasses backwards. He's ... Clay Harvison.

Someone writes, "Chris Cope Double Agent," into the sand in the zen room -- seriously -- and Cope confronts it like an adult. He tells the team, over S'mores, that he isn't a double agent. His team believes him ... until they get back to their rooms and call him a compulsive liar. They say Team dos Santos wrote it. Cope says Tony Ferguson wrote it. They yell. Sigh.

Memorial of the week: Harvison has an elaborate tattoo on his torso. It's in honor of his brother, as the ink was injected with his brother's ashes.

J'Accuse! Of the week: Mick is the culprit behind the sand writings. He did it "for a bit of fun," and the over-sensitive Lesnarians took it seriously.

Fight of the week: Bowman (dos Santos) vs. Harvison (Lesnar)

Round 1: Mick shoots in for a takedown but misses badly and ends up on his back. Harvison lands strikes from above, avoiding Bowman's flurry of upkicks. Harvison lets Bowman stand up, and uses the opportunity to work Bowman into the cage. Bowman throws knees and punches to the body, then gets the better of striking for the remaining 40 seconds of the round.

Round 2: Harvison starts strong, pushing Bowman back with kicks and knees until they are clinched against the cage again. Bowman pushes Harvison off of him, and starts throwing low kicks. He pushes forward, landing strikes and kicks. He takes a few shots to the legs, too, but doesn't seem bothered. As dos Santos yells, "GO!" Bowman shoots for a takedown, but ends up getting pushed against the catch for the final seconds of the round.

To Dana White's surprise, the fight goes to a decision after two round. Harvison wins 20-18 on all three judges' cards.

Lesnar is happy, because he was wowed, and his entertainment is all that matters. The bad news is that Harvison's sustained a compound -- read: bone sticking out -- fracture of his finger. White says, "He's out. It's sticking out? He's out."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/What-you-need-to-know-from-this-week-on-The-Ult?urn=mma-wp1553

Yoshihiro Takayama Daiju Takase Oleg Taktarov Akitoshi Tamura

Matt Hughes and Diego Sanchez verbally agree to Fall fight

Though paperwork is still in the process of being finalized, it appears UFC Hall of Fame welterweight Matt Hughes? next challenge in a career having already pitted him against the bulk of his best peers will come in the form of original Ultimate Fighter winner Diego Sanchez at some point later this year. News of [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/04/28/matt-hughes-and-diego-sanchez-verbally-agree-to-fall-fight/

Tony Bonello Stephan Bonnar Lorenzo Borgomeo Kyle Bradley