Video: Final fight picks and first Rogers Centre pics

It's five hours before the pay-per-view begins for UFC 129, but only two before the first fights on Facebook. Here's a cool video shot by MMA Nation. Below is a video with Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole giving his plays for the three big fights. Check out the odds below. There's even proposition bets available for the two title fights.

UFC 129 betting odds (Courtesy Lagasse's Stadium Las Vegas):

Best plays in BOLD

Jake Shields (+350) vs. *Georges St. Pierre (-500) - UFC Welterweight title

Mark Hominick (+375) vs. *Jose Aldo (-550) - UFC Featherweight title

Prop bets
Shields wins: Rd1 25/1; Rd2 20/1; Rd3 22/1; Rd4 20/1; Rd5 30/1; Dec. 7/1

GSP wins: Rd1 6/1; Rd2 5/1; Rd3 5/1; Rd4 9/2; Rd5 8/1; Dec. 6/5; Draw 25/1

Hominick wins: Rd1 25/1; Rd2 22/1; Rd3 22/1; Rd4 25/1; Rd5 30/1; Dec 8/1

Aldo wins: Rd1 9/2; Rd2 7/2; Rd3 3/1; Rd4 4/1; Rd5 6/1; Dec 2/1; Draw 25/1

RANDY COUTURE (+300) vs. Lyoto Machida (-400) - Light heavyweight

Mark Bocek (+110) vs. BEN HENDERSON (-140) - Lightweight

Rory MacDonald (-115) vs. Nate Diaz (-115) - Welterweight

Sean Pierson (+160) vs. Jake Ellenberger (-190) - Welterweight

Daniel Roberts (+120) vs. Claude Patrick (-150) - Welterweight

Charlie Valencia (+140) vs. Ivan Menjivar (-170) - Bantamweight

Ryan Jensen (-110) vs. JASON MACDONALD (-120) - Middleweight

Kyle Watson (+120) vs. John Makdessi (-150) - Welterweight

Pablo Garza (+140) vs. Yves Jabouin (-170) - Featherweight

VLADIMIR MATYUSHENKO (Even) vs. Jason Brilz (-130) - Light heavyweight

*champion

You can watch UFC 129 on PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) right here on Yahoo! Sports.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Video-Final-fight-picks-and-first-Rogers-Centre?urn=mma-wp1753

Spencer Fisher Jon Fitch Kenny Florian Jesse Forbes

Gus Johnson's Contract Up at CBS

by Michael David SmithGus Johnson, the lead mixed martial arts play-by-play man for CBS who has called many of the most-watched fights in the sport's history, is reportedly leaving the network.

Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated reports that Johnson, who's best known for calling college football and the NFL, is leaving after failing to come to terms on a new contract with the network. UPDATE: The New York Daily News reports that while Johnson's contract with CBS has expired, it's still possible he could reach a new deal.

It's not clear whether Johnson is also out at Showtime, where he has been both a boxing and MMA play-by-play voice. Johnson will still be part of Saturday night's Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley pay-per-view broadcast, but it seems unlikely that Johnson would stick around at Showtime, which a division of the CBS Corporation, for long.

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/05/05/gus-johnson-out-at-cbs/

Mauricio Rua Dave Menne Murilo Bustamante Evan Tanner

Ramsey Nijem on Game Planning for Next Fight With Clay Harvison

by Michael David SmithWith the first round of fights all out of the way on this season of The Ultimate Fighter, Ramsey Nijem has advanced to the quarterfinals and learned on this week's episode that he'll be taking on Clay Harvison next. In his weekly interview with MMAFighting.com, Nijem said that was a matchup he liked -- but not the matchup he requested.

Nijem talked about his game plan for Harvison, which member of Brock Lesnar's team he would have preferred to fight, and how he felt about the wild card fight between Chuck O'Neil and Javier Torres.

Nijem also weighed in on the annual coaches' challenge, which this year meant Lesnar and Junior dos Santos going through an obstacle course on Fertitta Field at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas.

The full interview is below.

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/05/12/ramsey-nijem-on-game-planning-for-next-fight-with-clay-harvison/

Zelg Benkei Galesic Mauro Galvao Mixed Martial Arts News Josh Barnett

Georges St. Pierre on Jake Shields, UFC Undisputed His Round 5 Action Figure - UFC 129

*** Watch Complete 1/2hr HD Episodes on http://www.MMAheat.com ***MMA H.E.A.T.'s Karyn Bryant spends a few minutes with UFC Welterweight Champ Georges St. Pierre, right after his photo shoot and scanning session with Round 5. Georges talks about having his own action figure, and also admits to us the one thing in this world he's not good at: video games. The conversation turns to his title defense against Jake Shields at UFC 129, and Georges lets us know what this fight means to him and how he prepared for his biggest challenge. The champ also tells us about his workout DVD set "Rush Fit," and whether or not it's possible to actually complete it.Be sure to visit http://www.MMAheat.com for more interviews and archived episodes of our 1/2 hour TV show. Nós falamos Português! * We're on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MMAheat * Follow MMAheat on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MMAheat * Follow Karyn on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/KarynBryant

Source: http://mmalice.com/ufc-129/georges-st-pierre-on-jake-shields-ufc-undisputed-his-round-5-action-figure-video_2a389fc16.html

Rich Franklin Anderson Silva Mark Weir Fabricio Werdum

Bellator 44 Results: Chandler Defeats Freire, Lombard Finishes Vitale

Michael Chandler defeated Patricky "Pitbull" Freire at Bellator 44 on Saturday to win the Bellator Season Four lightweight tourney and earn a shot at Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez. In other action, Bellator middleweight Hector Lombard made up for a lackluster first two rounds and knocked out Falaniko Vitale.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/18496/bellator-44-results-chandler-defeats-freire-lombard-finishes-vitale/

Rob Broughton Mike Brown Junie Browning Paul Buentello

Lima signs with Bellator, is he the best prospect at welterweight?

Douglas Lima has to be a patient guy as he works his way up the MMA ladder, but he doesn't operate that way in the cage. The 23-year-old welterweight, with 16 finishes in his 18, just signed a deal to compete in Bellator's quickly developing welterweight class. He put in his time in Canada with MFC and now it's time for a slot on American TV on MTV2.

"Over the last two years, Douglas has taken his game to an entirely different level," he said in a release. "Many considered him one of the top unsigned welterweights in MMA. I'm very happy to say that he's no longer unsigned and that he will be fighting for Bellator. We continue to develop one of the strongest 170-pound divisions in the sport, and Douglas will be a fantastic addition to that."

Lima (18-4) might get a chance to avenge one his losses against Brent Weedman, but more importantly wants to make an impression with Bellator.

"I always want to win, but sometimes it's almost more important for me to put on an exciting fight," Lima said. "I want to be in a fight where I can go home and watch in the next day and be like, 'Wow! That was awesome'. I want to put on the kind of performance that makes the people like me. I'm not going to go in there and just lay on a guy or run around the cage. When I step inside the cage, I'm ready to go to war. I'm not in there to play around."

Bellator's done a solid job of building it's 135 and 145 pounds divisions, but 170 is its best. The champ is uber-prospect Ben Askren. Jay Hieron just earned a shot against Askren by taking out Rick Hawn. Lyman Good and Dan Hornbuckle are also very solid fighters as well.

If Lima can storm through this division, he ranks right up there with the best prospects in the divisions. It's a deep weight class. The USA Today/Bloody Elbow rankings have Mike Pierce at No. 25 in the world. That's pretty solid.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Lima-signs-with-Bellator-is-he-the-best-prospec?urn=mma-wp2117

Dan The Sandman Christison Logan The Pink Pounder Clark Steve The Snake Claveau Rich No Love Clementi

Cain Velasquez could meet Brock Lesnar-Junior Dos Santos winner at UFC 136 in October

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Cain_Velasquez_180_12.jpeg

UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez is being targeted for a return to action this October, as UFC President Dana White said on Saturday night he could return at the October 8 pay-per-view event in Houston, Texas.

The event, tentatively scheduled to be UFC 136, will be the UFC's first return to the Toyota Center since UFC 69 in 2007. That card saw Matt Serra upset Georges St. Pierre for the UFC Welterweight Championship.

Velasquez has been out of action since capturing the title from Brock Lesnar last October, suffering a shoulder injury in the fight that has required surgery and extensive rehab. He'll face the winner of the Brock Lesnar vs. Junior Dos Santos fight at UFC 131 in Vancouver this June in his first title defense.

Dos Santos was of course scheduled to meet Velasquez this spring, but took the bout with Lesnar when Velasquez was forced to undergo surgery. Velasquez will either still get that matchup, or he will rematch Lesnar nearly a year after defeating him to capture the belt.

Penick's Analysis: The UFC is doing a great job this year of building consistently strong and entertaining fight cards. They've yet to book the one major fight to draw a million+ pay-per-view buys, but they are keeping strong with big fights. Velasquez's return fight could be huge if it's the rematch with Lesnar, but the Velasquez fight in October wouldn't be nearly as big as it could have been this spring. Velasquez hasn't had a chance to follow up on the Lesnar win, and with it being out of mind for most by the time his return comes around the buyrate could suffer. Still, they could build up to his return in some capacity as the fight draws nearer to offset some of that, but again it's going to hinge on the June 11 event.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_9216.shtml

Kyle Bradley Jai Bradney Ebenezer Fontes Braga Chris Brennan

Jay Hieron Beats Rick Hawn, Wins Bellator Welterweight Tournament

by Michael David SmithaJay Hieron won a very close split decision victory over Rick Hawn Saturday night, taking the Bellator Season 4 welterweight tournament title.

The fight easily could have gone to Hawn, and one judge said it should have, scoring it 29-28 for Hawn. The other two judges scored it 29-28 for Hieron, who credited his training for getting him into the kind of shape he needed to be in to win three fights in Bellator's eight-man welterweight tournament.

"I just train my butt off, man," Hieron said. "No matter what's going on, I'm in the gym sweating."

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/05/07/jay-hieron-beats-rick-hawn-wins-bellator-welterweight-tournamen/

Tim Sylvia Frank Mir Andrei Arlovski Tim Sylvia

UFC 129 Morning After: The Unique Talent of Lyoto Machida

by Michael David SmithIt's been said a million times that Lyoto Machida has a unique style in mixed martial arts, and that's certainly true. But Machida showed in his knockout victory over Randy Couture on UFC 129 that even more significant than a unique style is his unique talent: Machida can do things inside the Octagon that no one else can do.

Think for a moment about what it really means to say that Machida has a unique style: It doesn't mean that he's aware of some secret method of fighting; the style he employs is based on karate, which is studied by millions around the world. What it really means is that what he can do with karate is different from what all those other millions of karate students can do.

That's about talent. That's what makes Machida special.

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/05/01/ufc-129-morning-after-the-unique-talent-of-lyoto-machida/

Eric Butterbean Esch Efrain Escudero Rashad Evans Urijah Faber