‘King Mo’ enters Evans-Jones spat by calling one of them a ‘ho’

With the UFC holding the rights to over 85 percent of top 125 fighters in the world, training partners would eventually be faced with stepping into the cage with each other. Just about everyone in the fight world has an opinion on the teammates versus teammate story.

Rashad Evans agreed to do it against newly crowned UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones. That Evans-Jones matchup irks Strikeforce 205-pounder Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal. Lawal is buddies with Evans and feels like the longer tenured member of Greg Jackson's team was boxed into a corner. The problem started with Jones stepping in front of Evans to take the UFC 128 title fight against Mauricio Rua and then softening his stance on not fighting Evans.

""I think it broadsided (Evans), because they both made an agreement (not to fight) and all of a sudden someone reneges," Lawal told Five Knuckles. "I would never fight Daniel (Cormier) definitely, and he would never fight me. Then all of a sudden if he went behind my back and said, 'I'll fight Mo on TV' … that's a ho move and a ho move deserves an ass whipping."

Lawal, like many other fighters, adheres to the philosophy that training partners should never fight.

"I know none of my training partners that are my brothers would ever pull a ho move like that. If I say I ain't going to fight my brother, I ain't going to fight my brother," said Lawal.

MMA isn't that important to his wallet, so he'd find another option if forced to fight a teammate.

"I got brothers who I train with (and) I won't fight my training brothers," Lawal said. "They can fire me and I will go to the WWE, I don't care. Rashad is a brother to me, why fight him if there are other options?"

There's no such brotherhood with King Mo and Quinton Jackson. Lawal would love to fight Jackson and thinks he could handle him easily.

Tip via Cage Potato

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/-King-Mo-enters-Evans-Jones-spat-by-calling-one?urn=mma-wp1154

Lorenzo Borgomeo Kyle Bradley Jai Bradney Ebenezer Fontes Braga

Rogan video: Fedor too fat for 2011 heavyweight division

Rumors from the camp of Fedor Emelianenko have the former heavyweight king returning some time in July. When he re-emerges will he be a slimmer Fedor?

Joe Rogan says Emelianenko's days at heavyweight are numbered, probably sending PRIDE fans into a apoplectic rage.

"You can't be rolling around fat and fighting those guys," said Rogan as he was referencing 290-pound Antonio "Big Foot" Silva.

"He's an amazing athlete. He's put on some incredible fights over the years, but I think once you get to the highest level ... you can't come in fat. You can't be fighting way above your weight class."

Rogan said Fedor is smaller than some middleweights. He points to Anthony Johnson as example of someone who is actually bigger than Fedor. The UFC analyst also talked about the amazing transformation the sport has undergone saying fighters in 2011 would crush fighters of the past (1:55 mark).

Will Fedor shock us and return as a light heavyweight?

MMAConvert thinks he looked smaller in a recent training video in Holland. Does he look smaller in this photo with Ernesto Hoost? On the flip side, in the last two weeks Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker was still telling folks he considers Fedor an alternate candidate for the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Rogan-video-Fedor-too-fat-for-2011-heavyweight-?urn=mma-wp925

Brock Lesnar Shane Carwin Brock Lesnar Frank Shamrock

Michael McDonald to face Nick Pace at UFC 133 in August

A bout between up-and-coming bantamweights, Michael McDonald and Nick Pace, has been added to the UFC 133 card in August. McDonald (12-1) was victorious in his recent UFC debut at Fight Night 24 against Edwin Figueroa. McDonald relentlessly attacked Figueroa with a variety of submission attempts on his way to a unanimous decision which also [...]

Michael McDonald to face Nick Pace at UFC 133 in August is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

Source: http://www.mmainterplay.com/ufc-news/michael-mcdonald-to-face-nick-pace-at-ufc-133-in-august-54266/

Zelg Benkei Galesic Mauro Galvao Mixed Martial Arts News Josh Barnett

Bellator 44, May 14

Bellator 44
Saturday May 14
Harrah's Resort
Atlantic City, NJ
Airing on MTV2

MAIN CARD

* Hector Lombard (#10 Ranked Middleweight) vs. Falaniko Vitale (non-title fight)
* Dan Hornbuckle vs. Lyman Good
* Alexander Shlemenko vs. Brett Cooper
* Anthony Morrison vs. Bryan Goldsby
* Jay Silva vs. Armand Mrkanovic

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Upcoming_Events_42/article_8552.shtml

Pete Williams Matt Wiman Travis Wiuff Wu Haotian

Video analysis: How awful was the Mousasi-Jardine decision?

Gegard Mousasi is a damn good sport because many fighters may have flipped their lid when they only earned a draw after pummeling Keith Jardine for much of their 15-minute fight. Jardine was tough as nails, but appeared to be on the losing end of a nasty slugfest. Why was it a draw? Because of another judging snafu where one judge, and possibly a second, overvalued the takedown.

After giving the relatively even first round to Mousasi, judge Abe Belardo scored the second round 10-9 for Jardine. That was a stanza where Jardine scored two takedowns, but only kept Mousasi on his back for 41 seconds, and even the most kind scorer could give "The Dean of Mean" credit for landing five shots. Meanwhile, on the feet, Mousasi outlanded Jardine, 32-3.

Yahoo!'s lead MMA writer Kevin Iole joined us to give his take on what happened and if we should be excited for Mousasi-Jardine II somewhere down the road.

Belardo's score of 28-28 matched Lester Griffin, who gave the first round to Jardine. The other judge had it 29-27 in favor of Mousasi.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Video-analysis-How-awful-was-the-Mousasi-Jardin?urn=mma-wp1170

Daiju Takase Oleg Taktarov Akitoshi Tamura Kiyoshi Tamura

Georges St. Pierre - "Jake Shields has won 15 fights in a row, but he hasn't fought me"

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

GSP_WK150_31.jpg

On April 30, Georges St. Pierre will fight in his home country of Canada for the third time in his UFC career. In Jake Shields, St. Pierre faces the biggest ground threat he's met to date. However, while St. Pierre respects the jiu jitsu game that Shields presents, and knows what Shields wants to do in the fight, he doesn't feel Shields will be ready for what he brings to the fight.

"Jake Shields hasn't lost in six years. He has won 15 fights in a row, but he hasn't fought me. The UFC world title is a different game," St. Pierre said in a prefight interview for UFC.com. "[He] is the best jiu-jitsu guy in the UFC right now. I know what he wants to do to me. He's going to want to set up his takedown with striking, put me down, mount me and try to submit me from there."

St. Pierre is widely considered one of the best fighters in the world, and his wrestling game and top game has played a big part in him not having lost a round since his first fight with Josh Koscheck in 2007. But his striking game remains one of the best in the division as well, and it's an aspect of the game in which he holds a massive advantage over his challenger. For the Champion, he believes he'll control the fight in all aspects and walk out of the Rogers Centre still UFC Welterweight Champion.

"He doesn't know what I'm going to do to him," St. Pierre said. "I can try to knock him out standing up or knock him out on the floor or try to submit him. I'm not afraid to go on the floor with him and that is something different that he never faced before. Everyone that he ever fought, they were afraid to go on the floor with him but not me."

"I'm a clever fighter. I will dictate the pace of the fight, I will fight my fight and this fight will finish with still UFC Welterweight Champion Georges 'Rush' St. Pierre."


Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8961.shtml

Eric Butterbean Esch Efrain Escudero Rashad Evans Urijah Faber

Joe Stevenson dropping to featherweight, welcomes WEC vet Javier Vasquez to the UFC at UFC on Versus 4

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

LogoUFC_150_860.jpg

Following his third straight loss in the UFC, Joe Stevenson will attempt to reinvent his career as a featherweight, as the UFC announced on Monday that Joe "Daddy" will meet Javier Vasquez at UFC on Versus 4 in June.

In Vasquez, Stevens meets his second straight WEC import. Last month, at UFC on Versus 3, Stevenson dropped a decision to former WEC lightweight Danny Castillo. The loss was his third straight after back to back losses in 2010 to George Sotiropoulos and Mac Danzig, but the winner of The Ultimate Fighter season two will have a chance to turn things around now at 145 lbs.

The 34-year-old Vasquez will be out to get back on track in his UFC debut, having lost a decision to top featherweight contender Chad Mendes in his last fight in the UFC's former sister-organization. He went 2-3 in his WEC run, submitting Jens Pulver and Mackens Semerzier in between decision losses to Mendes, Deividas Taurosevicius and LC Davis.

UFC on Versus 4 is expected to now take place from the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Penn., and will also feature a heavyweight bout between Pat Barry and Cheick Kongo.

Penick's Analysis: This is a really good fight at 145 lbs. Because of his tenure with the organization, the UFC will give him another opportunity inside the Octagon with this fight. Vasquez, like Castillo before him, is also getting a big opportunity to debut in the UFC against a fighter that is well known and recognized by UFC fans. For Stevenson, this is an absolutely must-win fight for him. After working his way up to a UFC Lightweight Title shot, a fight he lost to B.J. Penn in absolutely brutal fashion, Stevenson lost five of his next eight fights. To put that number into perspective, Stevenson had only lost four fights from April 2000 until the loss to Penn in January of 2008. This is make or break for Stevenson, and a loss will mark the last time he's seen in the UFC for quite some time.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8965.shtml

Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic Luiz Buscapé Firmino Spencer Fisher Jon Fitch

Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara Finally Happening at UFC 133

by Michael David SmithJorge RiveraThe much-delayed fight between Jorge Rivera and Alessio Sakara is finally going to happen at UFC 133.

"Better late than never, verbal agreements are in for what should be an action-packed match between Alessio Sakara and Jorge Rivera at UFC 133," UFC President Dana White said in the promotion's announcement.

UFC 133 hasn't been formally announced, but it's expected to take place on August 6 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/04/12/jorge-rivera-vs-alessio-sakara-finally-happening-at-ufc-133/

Mauricio Rua Dave Menne Murilo Bustamante Evan Tanner