November 29, 2008
Six years after he made his professional debut, UFC veteran and lightweight fan favorite Jorge Gurgel has severed ties with UFC. The send-off comes in the heels of a tough unanimous decision loss against Aaron Riley in UFC 91, where he earned a $60,000 bonus. UFC 91 won “Fight of the Night” honors – his second of such award. Yet along with the fat paycheck came his walking papers.
Within minutes of being released by UFC, Gurgel acquired a multi-fight deal with California-based Strikeforce, a world-class MMA cage fight promotion.
November 22, 2008
Following a controversial ending to their first encounter in the Octagon, Anthony Johnson and Kevin Burns will exchange blows once again at the live finale for The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir from The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada live on December 13 at 9pm ET/PT.
Johnson, who made his impressive UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 10 by knocking out Chad Reiner just 13 seconds into the first round, first fought Brazilian Jiu Jitsu expert Burns on July 19. The fight ended in controversial fashion by TKO loss during the third round. Burns reportedly poked Johnson in the eye with an open fist despite four separate warnings by the referee. While many believe that Johnson should have won the fight via disqualification, the bout was awarded as TKO for Burns. And though Johnson appealed the decision as the poke in the eye was an illegal move, it was ultimately rejected due to lack of remedy.
November 16, 2008
Having just competed on the UFC 91 event last Saturday, November 15, Brock Lesnar still has to catch his breath. He just came straight from the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and went against UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture. Lesnar recently opened up to his fans about the 31 riveting years that make up his life.
“You only live once,” he told UFC.com. With a chuckle, he added, “In my mind, I think I’m a good enough athlete that I could do just about anything, and I always had a lot of confidence. But young kids today need to remember that, that when you work hard and stay on track, good things usually come.”
November 8, 2008
There are a lot of big names to watch out for in the upcoming UFC 91. The event, which will be held on November 15 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, will feature UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture versus Brock Lesnar in the main title bout. But aside from that, it will also mark the return of Nate "Rock" Quarry after seven months since his last visit to the Octagon.
Quarry has had a tumultuous MMA career. Not only did he suffer an ankle injury on The Ultimate Fighter reality series that forced him to drop out of the competition, which required six weeks to heal, he also spent 22 months trying to recuperate after being knocked out by Rich Franklin in his middleweight title shot in November of 2005. But Quarry isn't the type of person who looks for sympathy. Instead, he sees it as something part of his extraordinary journey.
October 30, 2008
Last night's episode of The Ultimate Fighter season 8 saw the victory of Team Mir over Team Nogueira as Vinny Magalhaes defeated Jules Bruchez by armbar submission. While the bout still offered some action, it was deemed quite boring by most UFC fans.
Vinny Magalhaes, for those who are not familiar, is a native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil who currently trains with Team Quest and UFC star Dan Henderson in Temecula, California. He has spent the last 10 years perfecting his martial arts skills while also studying English, Spanish and Portuguese languages.
October 11, 2008
UFC 90 is just around the corner and mixed martial arts fans are just waiting in anticipation over some of the brawls that will transpire at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. The event, which will commence on October 25, will feature middleweight champion Anderson Silva facing off against Patrick Côté in the main event. While that fight alone is enough reason to tune in to UFC 90, there's another explosive match up fans are looking forward to: Marcus Aurelio versus Hermes Franca.
Both from Fortaleza, Brazil, Aurelio and Franca have many similarities between them. They are both masters in jiu-jitsu, they both presently live in Florida and they are both in their mid 30s. But perhaps the biggest connection between these two fighters is the fact that Franca was a student and Aurelio was his teacher.
October 4, 2008
UFC has finally extended its arm to the third largest island in Europe. It was recently announced that the mixed martial arts organization will kickoff next year with a star-studded UFC 93 card at the O2-Dublin in Dublin, Ireland on January 17, 2009.
According to the press release, former two-division world champion Dan Henderson will come to blows with former UFC middleweight king Rich Franklin in three-round war in the light heavyweight main event.
September 26, 2008
UFC has officially added a lightweight title fight between Alvin Robinson and Mark Bocek to what is expected to be the biggest UFC event in history. UFC 91, which is scheduled to take place on November 15 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, will see both fighters as they get back on the Octagon after losing to their respective opponents from their most recent bout. While Bocek is coming off from a loss to Mac Danzig at UFC 83 - Serra vs. St. Pierre II, Robinson lost his last fight to Nate Diaz at UFC Fight Night 12.
Born in Canada, Bocek successfully entered the mixed martial arts scene as he won against Mark Colangelo at TKO 15 – Unstoppable in 2004. This was followed by three consecutive victories, which saw the 26-year-old fighter beat Kevin Manderson, John Mahlow and Garett Davis. In July 2007, however, Bocek got his first taste of defeat as he lost to Frank Edgar at UFC 73 – Stacked. He then bounced back at UFC 79 – Nemesis to beat Doug Evans only to lose again at the hands of Mac Danzig in April this year.