Fedor to take on Tim Sylvia in July

With the recent announcement that M-1 Global was to be replaced by Adrenaline MMA and that Fedor would be a free agent lead many to speculate that Fedor might find himself in the UFC or EliteXC, but the news coming out of Fedor's camp says different.
According to sources in the Red Devil team, Fedor will take on Former UFC champion Tim Sylvia in an Adrenaline MMA event on July 19 in the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas.
When you consider that Mark Cuban's HDNet Fights events have been held in this same venue and that the Dallas Mavericks owner has show a huge amount of interest in Fedor since his recent arrival in the sport, smart money is betting that this fight will be broadcast live on HDNet.

Hermes Franca Signs With WCM, AKA The Guys Who Sued Rampage

According to 411mania.com and confirmed by the fighter himself:

Hermes, who sports a 18-6 professional record was last seen in the UFC where the champion Sean Sherk was unable to knockout or submit the Brazilian fighter who has trained with, and been a valued member of, everyone from the American Top Team to the Armory. With his latest move to the White Chocolate Management Team, Franca plans to shortly announce a new relationship with a team that will keep him in his best shape for when he returns shortly to active competition. Hermes mentioned this past weekend at the Warrior's Collide event that he has offers to headline an upcoming event. He also has several potential sponsors his management team are currently reviewing. The likely next fight will be this summer.

He is pictured here with his manager Reed Wallace, the 2008 Judo Olympian Adler Volmar and Sid Needelman of the retailer Sobe Knockouts. He will be showing up to several events tied to the Revolution Right Club event on April 18th, which is run as well by WCM.

Kendall Grove vs. Evan Tanner At The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale

Just saw this on Kendall's site, Grove vs. Tanner at the TUF Finale




http://www.kendallgrovemma.com/index.php

ShoXC Fight Recap - 4/5/08 round-by-round

ShoXC (Showtime and EliteXC) at Friant, CA at the Table Mountain Casino
April 5, 2008




This is going to be a short blog because we had a short fight night. Every fight ended in the first round! Here's a quick round-by-round recap.

***

Doug Evans VS. Bao Quach (Catchweight 147)

Round 1:
Evans shoots in sloppily and Quach attempts a guillotine, but fails. Evans, the wrestler, tries to exchange with a Quach, the Muay Thai fighter. Unfortunately for Evans, he left his hands down and Quach KO's him in 55 seconds of the first round.

Bao Quach winner by KO

***

Click here to see the full story

UFC 86 “Jackson vs. Griffin” Officially Announced

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has officially announced UFC 86 “Jackson vs. Griffin”, which will take place on July 5th in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The pay-per-view event will be headlined by “The Ultimate Fighter 7″ coach and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and fellow-coach and former “Ultimate Fighter” winner Forrest Griffin who will clash for the UFC 205-pound title.
“Forrest Griffin has come full circle; he started in the UFC as a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter and now he is a coach of the show. Rampage Jackson took the UFC by storm by defeating Chuck Liddell to become the UFC Light Heavyweight champion and then defeating Pride champion Dan Henderson to unify the belts,” said Dana White, UFC President, in a press release announcing the July event. “Both of these guys did great as coaches this season, and now they will face off for the undisputed UFC World Light Heavyweight Championship.”
Tickets for the event will go on sale Saturday, April 12th, beginning at 1pm ET and will range in price from $800 to $50. Two presales will also take place before tickets go on sale to the general public. UFC Fight Club members can purchase tickets beginning Wednesday, April 9th at 1pm ET while UFC newsletter subscribers can purchase tickets beginning Friday, April 11th at 1pm ET.
The UFC has also confirmed three additional bouts for the July 5th fight card. In main card action lightweight contender Joe Stevenson will take on Gleison Tibau and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir will face Justin McCully. On the untelevised preliminary card, Melvin Guillard will return to the octagon against Dennis Siver.
UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin Fight Card
Main Card
Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest GriffinUFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Joe Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau
Frank Mir vs. Justin McCully
Preliminary Bouts
Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Siver

Interview with Joe Camacho before his ShoXC fight on Saturday April 5, 2008 11:30PM ET/PT

Joe, I've heard that you have been into martial arts since you were six years old and I've also heard that you wanted to become a professional skateboarder also. That said, how did you end up with a bachelor's degree in art and design?

Well I mean I've always been into art. My mother always wanted me to stick to the books first, you know, stick to my talent, and stick to what I put my all heart into which was art. Growing up I was always drawing, coloring, entering art contests, and getting scholarships and grants from all over. I won a poster contest from the LAPD, and they gave me a scholarship, going to art school and so forth, so yea I mean art has been a big part of me growing up and that kept me out of the negative surroundings. You know, growing up in East Los Angeles, although I mean, I am from East LA but like I didn't grow up in the bad area of East LA but being that I was raised by a loving family and a loving mother, she kind of guided me in the right direction.

So I guess that kept you out of trouble? Even so, even though you grew up in the good part of East LA, have you ever had to use your fighting skills out in the streets?

Um, yea, I mean growing up I did get into fights because I was defending myself and defending myself from getting my skateboard stolen or bike stolen. You know, you get some thug trying to jump me for my bike or something, I had to fight for it. If he's gonna get it he's going to get hurt going for it. But, then I wasn't into fighting, I didn't take a martial arts structured class then you know, back then I was into the martial arts theatrics, you know the movies, Bruce Lee, Kung Fu Theater, so I've always followed the martial arts in that way because my mother wanted me to be so involved with school and books and sporting events as far as after school activities, you know. She knew that by keeping me in sports it would help improve my grades because she knew that in order for me to stay in sports I would have to have good grades.

Click here to see the full interview

Auditions at Cung Le's Gym!

Owned Entertainment, Inc. congratulates undefeated MMA fighter Cung Le on his submission victory over MMA legend Frank Shamrock, live on Showtime this past weekend. Le won a hard fought battle by kicking and breaking Frank Shamrock’s arm in the third round, leaving him unable to continue. Cung Le has now gone undefeated for eleven years of competition and has captured the Strikeforce middleweight belt. Owned President Mr. Hergott comments on behalf of Owned Entertainment, Inc.: “Many are saying that Cunge le is the next Bruce Lee. Le is a true champion in every sense of the word, and truly deserves this win. The fight was very exciting and both competitors left it all in the cage. We would also like to congratulate Frank on a tremendous effort.” Auditions for both the ‘Own3D’ movie and a new reality show are being held at Cung Le’s gym Universal Strength Headquarters in the San Jose area April 5th and 6th. Click here to read the full article.

UFC Fight Night 13 - Why all the controversy?

Houston Alexander vs. James Irvin

James Irvin looked like a guy that was winding up to knock one out of the park when he gets the TKO against Alexander in only 8 seconds, tying the UFC's fastest knockout record. The superman punch wasn't the one that did Alexander in; it was one coming from the top while Alexander was down on the mat. Alexander makes gestures to the crowd pleading that he was "still conscious". In my opinion, Mazzagatti did the right thing.



Karo Parisyan vs. Thiago Alves

Karo was clearly dominating Alves. It looked like Karo's night. Suddenly, in round 2, Alves steps up and brings Parisyan a face-full of knee. Parisyan is down with arms flailing as Alves delivers a few strikes. Mazzagatti does the right thing again.

Some of these guys are way too emotionally attached to the outcome of the fights for their own good. Parisyan looked like he had been KO'd mentally after the fight was stopped. So why all the controversy? Even if these guys are out for a second there is the potential for major damage. MMA is relatively safe because of these kinds of stoppages and it is for the fighters' own good. We need to give the referees a break unless we've walked in their shoes. Nobody likes to lose a fight, but brain damage or other serious injury is a much worse alternative!

The Ultimate Fighter 7: Team Rampage VS. Team Griffin

As the dust from one of the most intense UFC Fight Nights on record was settling, the premier of arguably the most anticipated season of The Ultimate Fighter show yet was delivered to MMA fans. Immediately following the fight card the TUF show topped off an insanely spectacular evening of fights to say the very least.

This season of TUF will be showcasing the coaching talents (or possible lack thereof), of UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and the number one contender, for that very belt and light-heavyweight winner from Season 1 of the Ultimate Fighter, Forrest Griffin. Both men have seemingly been enjoying their respective careers, especially, as of late, with both men scoring victories over a who’s who list of international top-level competition. Griffin, scored a 3rd round rear naked-choke victory over the highly touted favorite from the Pride organization, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. By doing so he earned himself his current number one contender status. Rampage of course is the only man to K.O. “The Iceman” Chuck Liddell (in the first round, no less). Rampage also earned a hard fought decision victory over “Dangerous” Dan Henderson at UFC 75 unifying both the UFC Light-Heavyweight and Pride Middleweight belts.

Continue to full article

Shogun Rua eyes return in September

“The surgery was very quick, lasted 50 minutes, was quiet. Now I hope for healing and I think here in about two months I can return to training slowly, very cautiously…. Depending on my recovery, I think that I can fight again in September or October. We always talked with Dana White and also would like to thank him because the UFC offered me a doctor, a physical therapist — all to get me help. They have been very attentive with me.”
– Mauricio “Shogun” Rua tells Sherdog.com that his knee surgery was successful and that he hopes to return as soon as September if all things go according to plan. Rua disclosed a knee injury after his submission loss to Forrest Griffin in the Brazilian’s Octagon debut at UFC 76: “Knockout” in September 2007. He had it fixed after that fight, but reinjured the knee while training for Chuck Liddell at UFC 85 in June. Rashad Evans was tapped as Rua’s replacement.