Anderson @101, UFC in AUS & So Much More

By: Samantha L. Johnson

style="font-family: arial;">SWITCHEROO AT 101

PHOTO CREDIT: UFC.COM

Anderson Silva will be replacing Thiago Silva against former-champ Forrest Griffin. Dana White has confirmed to Yahoo! Sports, however more information will be released tomorrow.
If this is true, it will be an interesting fight to say the least. I can see Forrest being a huge challenge for him. The Spider we see show up will be an Anderson we have not seen in a long time. Right now I couldn't call this.
It's also interesting they matched Anderson with him. Shogun Rua has openly said he wants a rematch with Griffin post-97-win (more on that below). I'm sure Joe Silva and Dana are tired of feeling the heat from the media -and fans- about Anderson not performing. Griffin is enough of a challenge Spider has no choice but to show up in top shape and prepare for a battle.

Thiago Silva will now face "The Dean of Mean" Jardine at UFC 102, August 29th in Portland, Oregon.


style="font-family: arial;">UFC in AUS
Officials with the Acer Arena (formerly Sydney Super Dome) have stated they have been contacted by the UFC to host an event in February. If the statement is true, it would be the organizations first event south of the Equator since Oct. '98 "Ultimate Brazil".
This would be a great expansion if they can make it happen. Though, if NY approves MMA in the state the Feb. event slot might go there.

REMATCH REQUEST x2
As stated above, Shogun Rua has made it clear he wants a rematch with Forrest Griffin. After a loss that set him back, two knee surgeries later the Brazilian feels he is more than capable of competing with the Georgia boy.
PHOTO CREDIT: www.mauricioshogun.com.br
Rua has now had the time to adjust and get used to the octagon and how it can effect your game. He thinks "the biggest difference is the space, the octagon, because it's very difficult to move, to walk , to circle compared to the ring. But now, thank God, I think I'm more adapted for the rules, the environment and the UFC and I'm able to perform better." Not that Rua has looked terrible his last few outings, he just isn't the Shogun of Pride. We're all anxiously waiting for that Shogun to show up.
Can we PLEASE just let him going back to playing soccer with people's heads??
-
Patrick Cote has requested a rematch with Anderson Silva... after his rehab is complete. To his credit, he doesn't expect is to be his first fight back, but that one will be "big" too. He isn't even able to train yet (conditioning 4-5x's a week) so he wont be able to complete a full training camp and fight until at least late summer early fall- at earliest. But, when is is ready, he wants back at the top. "I want a big fight right away. I want a top five or top ten guy. I already say that to the UFC management [Joe Silva?]. They say they are able to do it. They are going to give me a top guy, for sure." Well, if they say "for sure" then it's a done deal.
I like Cote, I really do. I hope his recover is going well (very well) but after having to fix a meniscus and a medial collateral ligament and rehab it, a top guy might be a bit much straight off the bat. Maybe a "buffer" like Mike Massenzio or someone like Alan Belcher would be a good match up.

INKED
Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith will be fighting Nick Diaz at the June 6th StrikeForce event. The two will meet at 185# (where Smith will have a large advantage) on Showtime in St. Louis, Missouri. Nick successfully passed his last drug test in California so he is -somehow- still allowed to fight with a valid license. I'm a huge fan of Smith and can't wait for him to work over Diaz. It will definitely be a good fight.
-
Nick Catone will face 5-1 Mark Munoz at UFC 102. The fight has not been officially sign yet, but has been confirmed by both camps.
-
Crazy ass "Mayhem" Miller gets a chance to avenge his '08 loss against "Jacare" Souza May 26th at DREAM 9. The pair get to duke it out for the Middle Weight title left vacant by Gegard Mousasi when he ventured to Light-Heavy Weight.
"Mayhem"'s colorful persona is more than encouraged by the Japanese audience. They love to see the fighters in skin tight zebra pants and neon pink fight shorts... who wave to them as they mount their opponents.

PHOTO CREDIT: MMACONVERT.COM

-
WEC 41's card has been completed. The WEC Press Release lists the bouts below:

MIKE BROWN VS. URIJAH FABER
JOSE ALDO VS. CUB SWANSON
DONALD CERRONE VS. JAMES KRAUSE
JENS PULVER VS. JOSH GRISPI
MANVEL GAMBURYAN VS. JOHN FRANCHI
CHARLIE VALENCIA VS. KYLE DIETZ
MIKE CAMPBELL VS. ANTHONY PETTIS
SCOTT JORGENSEN VS. ANTONIO BANUELOS
EDDIE WINELAND VS. FRANK GOMEZ
ROLANDO PEREZ VS. SETH DIKUN

-
WEC 42 has been announced. The event will be August 23rd in Vegas at the Hard Rock Casino. The Hard Rock has the capabilities of seating up to 4,000 patrons. Miguel Torres will face Brian "Needs-a-hair-cut" Bowels for the main event, additional fights will be announced shortly.


INJURY REPORT
Thiago Tavares is out of The Ultimate Fighter Finale (June 20) against Melvin Guillard. He will be replaced by ATT's 17-6 Gleison Tibau. Tavares had to pull out due to an arm injury sustained while training for the bout.
-
Kim Couture has backed out of her May 15 StrikeForce fight against Miesha Tate. Several rumors swirled almost instantly as to why Couture was pulling out. The most frequented (and maybe most incorrect) is that she has pulled due to marital problems with husband, Randy Couture. Via Tate's MySpace she bulletined yesterday: "So Kim 'Sugar Free' Couture is pulling out of the fight supposedly cuz her and Randy are getting a divorce...........I'm so pissed right now......Sugar Free my ass!!"
Tate has since recanted her statement (?) to Sherdog now saying:

So I misunderstood about what I had previously stated, I have a few friends that train at Extreme Couture one of which told me Randy and Kim were having issues and then she backed out of the fight on me and I was VERY upset because most of you know this fight meant the world to me, it was my big break and I was really upset when I found out and jumped to conclusions. My apologies to Randy and Kim, When I wrote about them I meant no ill intentions and didn't mean to blast their personal life, I was just focused on the fact I wasn't going to get the fight. I forget how famous they are and didn't even think how that might effect them and their personal life which was immature and stress my apology to them and who ever else it may concern.

Sooooo, who really knows why Kim pulled, but the point of the matter is, she is out and the fight is -as of now- off the Challengers card.






Miss something? Comments? Questions? E-mail me: samantha.lynn.johnson@gmail.com

End of an Era, Signages and more...

Liddell with long-time trainer John Hackleman::
PHOTO CREDIT-CombatLifestyle.com

"Tonight was the end of an era. One of the greatest guys in the sport fought his last fight tonight... You're never going to see Chuck Liddell on the canvas again," Dana White said rather reassuringly after Liddell's loss to Mauricio Rua last Saturday in Montreal. White, seen in his v*log (7:44), trying to convince the 39-year-old athlete it's time to retire (seen here as "doing the right thing").
The break down is, who knows if Chuck really wants to retire. But, close friends like Dana care about him and don't want to see him get hurt- no matter the loss in pay-per-view amounts. According to White, Chuck will "always be with us and he'll always be part of the UFC" sounding slightly more like a eulogy than a retirement. " The Iceman left fans with uncertainty simply saying he'd "talk to everybody, talk to all my people, my friends" and then make an official decision. We're patiently waiting Chuck.

In brighter news...

RUMOR MILL
After beating Kala Hose Saturday via RNC (in the first round) "Mayhem" Miller has agreed to go fight in DREAM. Rumor is he'll face Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza for the MiddleWeight Title at Dream 9. The title was relinquished by Gegard Mousasi in order to move to the Light Heavy Weight class. If the battle happens (again) at it will be May 26 at the Yokohama Arena- Yokohama, Japan.

Tom Atencio made clear last week they would not counter program UFC 100. "It's not a possibility. It doesn't make sense." No Tom, it doesn't. That's what "sensible" fold have been screaming all along. No word yet on when the next Affliction show will be; however, some have suggested a super show in partnership with DREAM or someone of the sorts. We'll see....

UFC 100
Tickets went on sale last Thursday to the UFC Fan Club, Friday to the Newsletter crowd and were all ate up before the general public could even get their hands on them. The Newsletter does not cost anything to sign up, they just periodically e-mail you to not forget about upcoming events and when tickets go on sale.
Sooo really anyone who really wants to go to a UFC event should sign up for the Newsletter (HERE) and have access to ticket presales. Nonetheless, with 100's prices ($100-$1000) and with the economy the way it was it's a wonder how these things went so fast. Credit cards? Missed mortgages? Scalpers? Either way, the only way you're getting your hands on a ticket now is through a secondary market with a huge price increase. I'm glad the UFC is doing so well and can't wait for the event... even if I'm watching it from Mandalay's closed circuit room.

NSAC
The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) has granted Mark Coleman, 44, his license to fight at UFC 100- but only after he made his case he was still capable of competently competing in the milestone event. The Commission's job is to look after the health and safety of the fighters it regulates. In Coleman's case it was questionable as to whether he should be allow to continue; especially after his last fight. "The Hammer" admitted he needs to amp it up for this fight and outlined he moved to Las Vegas recently and will be training with the top gyms in the area to prepare for Bonnar. The NSAC was convinced enough to give him a one-fight license; they will re-evaluate his case after 100- everything depends on how he performs there. Hopefully he shows up, but with Liddell set to (tentatively) retire at 39 when is it time to hang up the gloves and move to the sideline? For the sake of the Commission Coleman better show up.

INKED
PHOTO CREDIT: MMAWEEKLY.com

Kevin Randleman has signed to fight with StrikeForce. The Ohio State champ has been training at Xtreme Couture and will be a good addition to StrikeForce's shallow HeavyWeight pool.







UFC 102
Matt Hamill vs Brandon Vera has been moved to UFC 102.

102 will also see Junior Dos Santos face Tito Ortiz-protegé Justin McCully. Both McCully and Dos Santos are coming off wins, over Sanchez and Struve respectively. The August bout will be 8 months after McCully's last fight-for someone that's had conditioning problems in the past that can make a big difference.

LightWeights Evan Dunham and Matt Veach have also been added to the Portland card.

21 days earlier at UFC 101 Aaron Riley will get a chance to redeem himself after the controversial stoppage at UFC 96. Shane Nelson had dropped Riley at 96 and the bout was stopped -prematurely- by referee Rick Fike.

Miss something? Questions? Comments? E-mail me: samantha.lynn.johnson@gmail.com

20 Questions with...

Ross Pearson of The Ultimate Fighter 9
By: Samantha Johnson

Photo courtesy Ross' Myspace

Ross was kind enough to take a minute and answer "20 questions".





1. When did you fall in love with MMA?
I can honestly say I fell in love with MMA when I very first saw it, probably back in 1999 whilst watching one of the earlier UFC shows. I knew straight away it was what I wanted to do..

2. What was the first MMA fight you ever saw?
I can't remember which fight but I got a video of UFC 1 and Royce Gracie really stood out to me.

3. What/who got you interested in martial arts?
As a kid I always loved watching Bruce Lee, Jean Claude Van Damm and Steven Segal films. I was very energetic so my Mam and Dad pushed me into Martial Arts.

4. You've been training for approx. 5 years. What was the first martial art you started with and at what age was it?
I started in tae kwondo at age 6.

5. Where do you currently train?
I train in a few different gyms up and down the country. Lately I have been training with Team Quannum in Manchester but I also train regularly in Sunderland with my Thai coach and Boxing coach.

6. Do you plan on staying in the UK to train or making the move across the pond?
I don't know about a permanent move over just yet, but visiting to train is definitely what I want to do.

7. If you could train with anyone who would it be?
There are so many people I would love the chance to train with, but I would have to say BJ Penn would be my number 1 choice.

8. I know it's only seen a tremendous growth in the last couple of years, what was it like being an MMA fighter in the UK before MMA got so popular?
The main change I have noticed is that the shows and crowds are getting bigger and better, support from fans obviously makes it easier than before.

9. What other sports were you into as a kid?
Obviously in the UK football is massive so I played a bit when I was younger but never got into it like I did Martial Arts.

10. Do you have any siblings?
No I am an only child.

11. If you weren't an MMA fighter what would you be doing?
I would probably still be on a building site laying bricks but cant imagine doing anything but fighting.

12. Has there ever been a time when you thought "Forget it, this isn't for me! I'm done!" If so, what was the situation?
I have never felt this way, I have always enjoyed everything about the sport. I am still young and if I felt like that at this age I don't think I would have a future in MMA.

13. What's the "softer" side of Ross? --Do you still sleep with a teddy bear (or pint?)? Are you a closet fan of "Sex and the City?"
I am a huge Mother's boy, she still does all my cleaning and washing and makes my tea. My girlfriend also makes me watch Americas Next Top Model which I must admit I am starting to enjoy, especially Tyra.

14. What's your normal diet when you're training for a fight? Do you do anything "special"?
Nothing special really, I eat clean most of the time but when a fight is coming up I am very strict. I cut out all fatty foods and have a high protein intake.

15. Did you eat anything in the [ultimate fighter] house you'd never ate before?
Yeah I had Sushi in the house which I hadn't tried before.

16. How did your eating habits change -in the house- when the budget was unlimited? - You could literally have filet mignon for every meal if you wanted.
Although it was great to have an unlimited budget I had to bear in mind I could be fighting any day so didn't want to alter my diet to much. I was always watching my weight.

17. Who's your favorite fighter?
At the moment I would say either GSP or Thiago Alvez so I cant wait for UFC 100!

18. If you could spend a day with anyone who would it be? (dead or alive, famous or non)
I have to say Ron Burgundy because he is a legend! I also have many leather bound books like him and my house smells of rich mahogany!!

19. What's your ultimate goal in this sport?
Firstly to establish myself in the UFC but obviously my ultimate goal is to be a UFC champion.

20. Finally, is Bisping really as popular as a footballer [soccer player]?
Yeah maybe a 3rd division footballer! Only joking, he is a massive figure for MMA in the UK but obviously it isn't at the same level of popularity as football [soccer] is here.

"20 Questions" is a new feature that I plan to run regularly from now on. Feel free to e-mail me with suggestions of who you'd like to see featured on "20 Questions".
What questions did you like? Which didnt't you. Let me know.

Miss something? Comments? Suggestions? E-mail me: samantha.lynn.johnson@gmail.com

Introducing: International MMA Fight Club (IMFC)- VEGAS

International MMA Fight Club (IMCF)

Mark Beecher (Forrest Griffin's Muay Thai coach) and others have teamed up to open International MMA Fight Club (website coming soon: www.immafc.com - Myspace-).

The coaches are:
Gil Martinez - Boxing/boxing for MMA
Mark Beecher - Muay Thai/Muay Thai for MMA
Nick Fekete - Wrestling/Wrestling for MMA
Bobby Chiodini - Boxing/ Strength & Conditioning
Fredson Paixao - Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Floyd Mayweather Sr - Boxing coach

...with possibly more to come.

They have morning, afternoon and night classes at the gym for boxing, jiu jitsu and Muay Thai...

Cost
Unlimited membership (for a limited time) is $100 per month !!

From Mark:

While getting into shape, we teach actual fighting techniques, so whether your ever going to fight or not.. you will know how to....

We feel as though we have the best lineup of coaches for MMA !!
Sooo come by and check it out !!

Thanks
Kru Mark "The Hyena" Beecher
Muay Thai Coach

IMFC
International MMA Fight Club
5818 W. Spring Mountain
Suite 201
Las Vegas, NV 89146
MAP
www.immafc.com

StrikeForce, Weight Drama & Extreme Beatdown

By: Samantha L. Johnson

STRIKEFORCE

PHOTO CREDIT: STRIKEFORCE.COM
Tomorrow night on Showtime Frank Shamrock will meet ever-stoned Nick Diaz at a catch-weight of 179. Both are exciting fighters with different sorts of crazy causing their antics; and both are more similar than they'd like to admit. Shamrock grew up bouncing around foster homes until he was taken in by the Shamrock family in his late teens. Diaz grew up father-less; he dropped out of high school after his freshman year and has been fighting since he can remember. Both have an incredible work ethic and both have probably been the best they'll be. Diaz could arguably come back and get a title... but first he has to get an organization that will allow his attitude as well as actually picking a weight class (that already exists).
All-in-all it will be a good fight. If Diaz has gotten his power up he can TKO Shamrock, but, I'm going to go Shamrock via split.

The other bout on the card I'm super amped for is Cris "Cyborg" Santos vs. Hitomi "Girl Fight Monster" Akano. Santos is a phenomenal fighter and always exciting. Hitomi has a great ground game (11 of her 14 wins via submissions) and should be a good challenge for "Cyborg".
UPDATED
At weigh-ins yesterday Cyborg came in at 152. That's 7 lbs over the 145 limit, and considering Hitomi normally fights at 135 she only weighed in at 143.5... that's 8.5 lbs difference. California State Athletic Commission only allows a 6 pound difference between fighters (at weigh in). Cyborg was given extra time and eventually made the weight. Still Hitomi threatened to pull out of the fight due to the tremendous weight difference. Even if Santos dropped the 2.5 lbs she needed to to get within the 6 lb difference by 8PM last night, after 24 hours of eating and drinking she's at least back to 152- if not more. I don't blame Akano for wanting to pull. After all was said and done the fight is back on... with Santos being fined 20% (yeah, only 20%) of her purse due to missing weight.

Scott Smith is one of my favorite fighters. His fight with Benji Radach should be exciting. Both of them are good stand up guys and it will be good to see if they stand and bang it out.

Also on the card is:
Gilbert Melendez v last-minute-Thomson-replacement Rodrigo Damm
Scott Smith v Benji Radach
Brett Rogers v Ron Humphrey

INKED

UFC 100 is almost complete. the most recent bout added is Mac Danzig (Winner of T.U.F. 6) will face Jim Miller (who was recently beat by Danzig's fellow-XC-teammate Gray Maynard in March).

Chael Sonnen has been signed to fight Wilson Gouveia at Portland's UFC 102. Both are coming off loses (Sonnen to Maia and Gouveia to Marquardt) and will be looking to prove themselves. Chael was 2-1 in the WEC before being moved to the UFC in February. Wilson had back-to-back wins against Ryan Jensen and Jason MacDonald before his loss to top-middleweight-contender Marquardt.

Kim Couture has agreed to fight 5-1 Meisha Tate. Tate's only loss was against Kaitlin Young in 2007. Couture (1-1) and Tate will be part of StrikeForce's "Challenger Series" to take place May 15. Accompanying them on the card will be Billy Evangelista taking on Mike "BJ Penn-trained" Aina.

Chris Leben will enjoy a hometown advantage when he faces Jake Rosholt at UFC 102 in Portland.

EXTREME BEATDOWN
This evening in Globe, AZ is Extreme Beatdown. Brock Lesnar will be the "Special Guest Star". Michelle Waterson, of Oxygen's "Fight Girls" will be on the main card. (Interview with her to be posted tomorrow).

Miss something? Comments? Questions? E-mail me: samantha.lynn.johnson@gmail.com

T.U.F. 9, WEC 40, INKED, et al...

By: Samantha L. Johnson

After a week away (because I was so sick I couldn't see straight) let's get to the thick of it straight away...

INKED
Season 7 Ultimate Fighter winner, Amir Sadollah will face 5-0 Johny Hendricks at UFC 101 in Philly. Hendricks (2-0 in the WEC) will be Sadollah's first fight since the Season 7 finale. Amir has been plagued by injuries and sickness that have left him unable to compete until now.

Also at 101, Tamdan McCrory will take on John Howard. Howard's most recent win is a split decision over Chris Wilson. McCrory recently finished UFC-newcomer Ryan Madigan at UFC 96 last month.

Josh Koscheck is out of UFC 98 with a broken toe. It has not been released whether his opponent, Chris Wilson (yes, the same one who just lost to John Howard) will get a replacement or whether the fight will be canceled. With the fight over 6 weeks away I'd assume they can find somebody.

Jens "Lil' Evil" Pulver will face 20-year old WEC stand out Josh Grispi at WEC 41, June 7th. Jens (22-11-1) is coming off three loses (two to Faber) and will look to redeem himself against the young "Fluke".

Josh "The Punk" Thomson broke his leg in training last week and will not be able to compete in the April 11th StrikeForce card against Gilbert Melendez. With the fight less than a week away it was doubtful a replacement could be found. However, Rodrigo Damm (8-2) has stepped up to the plate and will take on the former champion this Saturday.
This will be StrikeForce's first event since they "acquired" select assets from ProElite.

TICKETS
Tickets for the historic UFC 100 go on sale Saturday 10 AM PST, 1 EST (Thursday 10A PST for Fight Club members and Friday 10A PST for Newsletter recipients).


Dana, Dana, Dana....
Last week Dana White released this Vlog:

EMBED-Dana Whites Fight Night 18 video blog - Watch more free videos
Where he attacks Sherdog.com writer Loretta Hunt. The problem is at 6:28 there he calls whoever gave her the anonymous quote in question a "faggot". GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) was all over it and Dana released his last Vlog the next day:


As a result of the tremendous amount of negative press surrounding "the incident" Dana has chosen to step out of the spotlight and take a less-public role in the UFC. He will no longer be putting out a vlog, he has ended the reality show about his life (that has apparently already shot its pilot) and he will cut back on media dealings and public appearances... at least until this all blows over.

UFC TEXT ALERTS
The UFC announced today they will now offer text alerts to fans. "Using the UFC web site, fans can indicate the specific kind of information they would like to receive via text messages, such as breaking news, event announcements, UFC programming reminders, UFC ticket presale opportunities as well notices of new UFC.com content, including unaired UFC bouts and other exclusive videos," the press release goes on to detail how to sign up. "To begin receiving UFC text messages, fans can visit the UFC web site, and click the Mobile link at the top of the page, or they can simply text the word “UFCNEWS” to 44636 (4INFO) from their mobile device to receive breaking UFC news alerts." Now you can have your UFC news the minute it's released. Pending your service agreement additional charges may apply.

WEC 40
Main
Miguel Torres def. Takeya Mizugaki via Uni Dec
Joseph Benavidez def. Jeff Curran via Uni Dec
Ben Henderson def. Shane Roller via TKO R1 M1:41
Raphael Assuncao def. Jameel Massouh via Uni Dec
PHOTO CREDIT: COMBAT LIFESTYLE

Prelim
Anthony Njokuani def. Bart Palaszewski via TKO R2 M:27
Dominick Cruz def. Ivan Lopez via Uni Dec
Wagnney Fabiano def. Fredson Paixao via Uni Dec
Rani Yahya def. Eddie Wineland via Sub (RNC) R1 M1:07
Akitoshi Tamura def. Manny Tapia via Uni Dec
Rafael Dias def. Mike Budnik via Uni Dec

UFN 18
Cole had some of the best quotes from the promo leading up to their fight to what he said after. Calling Junie a "comic book character [with] stupid hair and stupid tattoos... [A] big douche..." it rarely gets funnier. On top of that, after he guillotine-chocked Browning out he topped it with "Who's over rated now!?!"- in referenced to Junie saying Cole's ground game was was over rated. Miller announced after the fight he would like to fight the winner of the Spencer Fisher-Caol Uno fight after UFC 99.

Tyson Griffin and Rafael Dos Anjos both looked good. Dos Anjos sunk a leg lock in the first round that effected Griffin for the remainder of that round well into the third. Though after the fight Griffin said it was something he was used to and didn't phase him; his leg was visibly weaker after the lock. Ultimately, Griffin was able to pull out a unanimous decision.

Ryan Bader avenged fellow Arizona Combat Sports teammate Steve Steinbeiss with his unanimous decision win over Carmelo Merrero; putting the T.U.F. 8 winner at 10-0.

PHOTO CREDIT: COMBAT LIFESTYLE

Martin Kampmann welcomed WEC Middleweight title holder, Carlos Condit, to the WFC with a split decision victory. Some argue that Condit should have won the bout; however, Kampmann controlled most of the later rounds and was more aggressive on top. Kampmann's one mistake (or 3) was three tries at a guillotine that only strained him more than anything.

A quick review...
Prelims
Aaron Simpson def. Tim McKenzie via TKO R1 M1:40
Rob Kimmons def. Joe Vedepo via Sub(guillotine)R1 M1:54
Jorge Rivera def. Nissen Osterneck via Split Dec.
Tim Credeur def. Nick Catone via Sub (guillotine) R2 M3:45
Brock Larson def. Jesse Sanders via Sub (RNC) R1 M2:01
Ricardo Almeida def. Matt Horwich via Uni Dec
Gleison Tibau def. Jeremy Stevens via Uni Dec

Main
Cole Miller def. Junie Browning via Sub (guillotine choke) R1 M1:58
Tyson Griffin def. Rafael dos Anjos via Uni Dec
Ryan Bader def. Carmelo Marrero via Uni Dec
Martin Kampmann def. Carlos Condit via Split Dec


Overall, good fights followed by and even better T.U.F. 9 premiere.

T.U.F. 9
Quick results/ Notes
170
James Wilks (5-2)R1 Sub (heel hook) Che Mills (7-2)
**Wilks lives in the U.S. (CA) and has done so for the last 8 years.
Nick Ospiczak (3-0) R1 TKO Tommy McGuire (5-2)
**McGuire looked a bit out of shape the the TKO looked to be a way out.
Dean Amasinger (4-1) R3 Dec Alex Reid (10-9-1)
**Reid talked the whole time- the ref even got after him for it. In the end his show-boating didn't pay off.

155
Andre Winner (9-2-1) R1 KO Gary Kelly (2-1-1)
**Winner was incredibly quick
David Faulkner (2-1) R1 Sub (heel hook) James Bateman (2-1)
**Faulkner is the only Wolf's Lair teammate of Bisping that made it onto the show.
Jeff Lawson (13-2) R1 Sub (arm bar) James Bryan (3-2)
**Lawson had really good Jiu Jitsu
Martin Stapleton (5-1) R1 Sub (RNC) Dan James (3-0)
**Stapleton was quite aggressive; just kept at it
Ross Pearson (9-3) R2 TKO A.J. Wenn (7-2)
**Pearson is bulky for a 155'er; very controlling and a good grappler

For the leaked video of tomorrow's episode go to: Spike.com

Miss something? Comments? Questions? E-mail me: samantha.lynn.johnson@gmail.com