Three Reasons to Watch Nik Lentz vs. Waylon Lowe

by Michael David SmithNik LentzThe UFC made nine fights available to fans live on Saturday night, with five streaming on Facebook and four on Spike TV. And if nine UFC fights wasn't enough for you (and really, is any amount of MMA ever enough?) now there's a 10th fight available live and free at UFC.tv.

The preliminary bout between Nik Lentz and Waylon Lowe, which wasn't part of either the Facebook or Spike broadcast, is available in full online, and it's worth watching for a number of reasons: Lentz won again and won the way he wanted to win, Lowe got a stern talking-to afterward from one of the UFC's major decision-makers, and a mistake at the end of the first round showed once again that too many state athletic commissions lack competent employees.

Allow me to go into a little more detail.

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/03/29/three-reasons-to-watch-nik-lentz-vs-waylon-lowe/

Mikey Burnett Murilo Bustamante Grant Campbell Gesias JZ Calvancante

Johnson flips the script on Hardy, taking him down at will for UFN 24 win

Anthony Johnson and Dan Hardy have excellent knockout power, so the fans were expecting an all-out firefight. In fact during the prefight teleconference, Johnson promised there wouldn't be any takedowns. He lied, and for good reason.

Instead, Johnson decided to prey on Hardy's biggest weakness. Johnson scored takedowns and maintained top control in every round to cruise to a unanimous decision victory, 30-27 on all three cards, in the co-main event at Ultimate Fight Night 24 in Seattle.

All five of Johnson's previous UFC wins had come via KO or TKO. Hardy's takedown defense was shown to be very weak against Georges St. Pierre at UFC 111, so Johnson turned to his JUCO wrestling pedigree. The crowd at Key Arena booed loudly at different times, but there was no reason to risk anything on the feet. Johnson outlanded Hardy 72-5 over the course of the 15 minutes.

Johnson's best moments came in the first, when he floored Hardy with a head kick, and the third when he took Hardy's back. He went from attempting choke to locking an arm-triangle choke and even worked a neck crank in the final seconds. When he rose to his feet, as the crowd howled, Johnson blew some kisses.

Hardy's lost three straight fights. This was a big one for Johnson, who'd missed the last 16 months battling injuries and recovering from knee surgery. While sidelined Johnson (9-3, 6-3 UFC) blew up to 220-plus pounds. He normally cuts a lot of weight and has suffered stamina issues in some past fights. Tonight, he looked fresh for all 15 minutes. He said during the postfight press conference that walked into the cage in this 170 pound fight somewhere between 190-195 pounds.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Johnson-flips-the-script-on-Hardy-taking-him-do?urn=mma-wp682

Rich No Love Clementi Mark The Hammer Coleman Wes Soldier Combs Ray Cooper

Eddie Alvarez Wins a Decision, Keeps Bellator Belt

by Michael David SmithWhen Eddie Alvarez walked into the cage on Saturday night he was supposed to win in dominant fashion, befitting his status as the best and most popular fighter in the Bellator Fighting Championships. But Saturday's title fight against Pat Curran was tougher than Alvarez (and most fans) could have expected.

Alvarez won a unanimous decision to retain the Bellator lightweight title, and the scorecards (one judge scored it 49-46 while the other two judges scored it 50-45) make it look like the fight wasn't close. But Curran was a tough customer who was in it until the final bell.

"That guy's got a hard, hard head, man," Alvarez said of Curran afterward. "He can take a shot."

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/04/02/eddie-alvarez-wins-a-decision-keeps-bellator-belt/

Dean Amasinger Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen Alex Andrade

M-1 Global denies rumor Fedor Emelianenko had been cut from Strikeforce by Zuffa

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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A rumor has been making the rounds today regarding Fedor Emelianenko's status with Strikeforce now that it has been overtaken by Zuffa, but it's a rumor that M-1 Global has now vehemently shot down.

In a report from the Russian website LifeSports.ru, it was stated that Zuffa officials had refused to renew Emelianenko's Strikeforce contract and were cutting him. Had that legitimately been the case, "The Last Emperor" likely would have been done in the sport.

However, M-1 Global's Evgeni Kogan says the report was simply fabricated by the LifeSports.ru site, and that M-1 would make an official statement should there be any change in Fedor's status.

"It's unfortunate that the site (LifeSports.ru) has shown little to no journalistic integrity," Kogan said in a statement made to BloodyElbow.com. "This is also not the first time their writers have fabricated a story to create attention. Quite simply, it should be ignored. Should there ever be a change in Fedor's status, rest assured that M-1 would provide an official position."

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: Not that M-1 has been a bastion of transparency when it comes to Fedor Emelianenko, but I don't put much credence into the initial rumor. Emelianenko still has two more fights left on a deal he just signed, and has an option for one more after that should it be exercised. I don't think Zuffa's in any position to make a move like this with Fedor at this point in time. Of course, they could cut him if they have control over Strikeforce's moves, which they've claimed they would not be doing, but right now I'd still expect to see Fedor fight once more in 2011.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Affliction2/article_8935.shtml

Todd Duffee Marvin Eastman Stav Crazy Bear Economou Yves Edwards

Tyson Griffin Drops to Featherweight, Fights Manny Gamburyan at ?UFC on Versus 4?

The UFC is clearly trying to increase their amount of followers on Twitter. Shortly after announcing Wanderlei Silva would face Chris Leben at UFC 132, then confirming ?UFC 131: Lesnar vs. Dos Santos? would indeed take place inside the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada, the promotion tweeted Tyson Griffin and Manny Gamburyan will meet in [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/72500/tyson-griffin-drops-to-featherweight-fights-manny-gamburyan-at-ufc-on-versus-4/

Murilo Bustamante Grant Campbell Gesias JZ Calvancante Luiz Cane