Archive for the ‘UFC Middleweight Division’ Category

UFC 110: Demian Maia vs Dan Miller in the works for Feb. 6

Friday, October 16th, 2009

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A middleweight battle between submission master Demian Maia (11-1) and hard-nosed Dan Miller (11-2) has been tentatively added to the UFC 110 card set for Superbowl weekend (Feb. 6, 2010) at a yet to be determined venue, which will likely be somewhere in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to MMAWeekly.com.

Both fighters are coming off their first losses in the Octagon — Maia was laid out in the opening seconds of a potential number one contender eliminator match by Nate Marquardt at UFC 102 back in August and Miller was outpointed on the judges scorecards by Chael Sonnen at UFC 98 in May.

Before their respective setbacks, Maia was enjoying a five-fight win streak in the UFC with all of his wins coming via submission. Miller, on the other hand,  was on a three-match streak himself, which included two victories via tapout.

Earlier this week Maia talked about upcoming fights and getting back into the UFC 185-pound title picture.

Here’s a snip:

“Depending on the opponents, if they’re tough guys, well known, I think I will get the chance of fighting for the belt in two or three fights. I want a hard adversary to show everything what I couldn’t in the past fight, all my training. I made tremendous errors versus Nate.”

With this fight the UFC has certainly given the Brazilian his wish — the unheralded and unassuming Miller is as tough as they come. Maia will certainly have his hands full, considering Miller has never lost a fight by submission, too.

As of right now there is no headlining bout set for UFC 110. The good news is there is still plenty of time left to put together yet another stacked Superbowl weekend show … the promotion is already off to a fine start with this potential match up.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more on this developing fight card for early 2010.

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Posted in Dan Miller, Demian Maia, MMA, UFC 110, UFC Middleweight Division, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) | No Comments »

Yoshihiro Akiyama: The best offense is a sexy defense

Monday, September 28th, 2009

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The famed Xtreme Couture gym will add more world class talent to the “Who’s Who” of mixed martial artists who train or have trained at the Las Vegas, Nevada-based gym.

Yoshihiro Akiyama, a Korean-Japanese middleweight who made his UFC debut at UFC 100, will travel to “Sin City” to train at Xtreme Couture in October, according to Sherdog.com.

Akiyama will devote an entire month to training with Shawn Tompkins and Vitor Belfort to refine his striking. Tompkins acknowledged Akiyama’s merit as a fighter, describing his fighting style as “slick and aggressive.” He aims aims to shore up Akiyama’s defense during the month-long training sojourn.

A world class judoka, Akiyama made his name in K-1 Hero’s, compiling an undefeated record (11-0, 1 NC). After K-1 pulled the plug on Hero’s, he fought twice in the newly formed DREAM in 2008 before signing with UFC. He made a successful UFC debut in July, edging out Alan Belcher via split decision victory.

Immediately after his UFC 100 bout with Belcher, he underwent a surgery to treat the eye injury he sustained in the bout. With his eye fully healed, Akiyama strives to elevate his game to ensure his future success in UFC’s talent-rich middleweight division.

The date and opponent for his second appearance in UFC have yet to surface.

Stay tuned to MMAmania for more news on Yoshihiro Akiyama and his return to the Octagon.

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Posted in MMA, UFC Middleweight Division, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Yoshihiro Akiyama | No Comments »

TUF 10 Finale: Rousimar Palhares vs Lucio Linhares set for Dec. 5 with Alessio Sakara hurt

Sunday, September 27th, 2009

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UFC newcomer Lucio Linhares (13-4) will replace the injured Alessio Sakara and make his Octagon debut against Rousimar Palhares (9-2) at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 Finale in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Dec. 5, according to our friends at BrasilCombate.com.br.

Linhares has torn up the M-1 Global circuit for the past 18 months, amassing a solid record (5-2) in seven appearances. “Spartan” is currently enjoying a five-fight win streak, which includes first round stoppages over notables such as Karl Amoussou and UFC veteran Sean Salmon.

The Brazilian most recently submitted Mikhail Zayats via rear naked choke at M-1: “Breakthrough” last month. He boasts a nice mix of (technical) knockouts and submissions in 17 professional fights, which may serve him well against the highly-touted Brazilian jiu-jitsu submission specialist.

Palhares hasn’t seen action since a unanimous decision win over mixed martial arts journeyman Jeremy Horn at UFC 93 earlier this year. Prior to the win, “Toquinho,” which means “tree stump” in Portuguese, dropped a unanimous decision to Dan Henderson at UFC 88: “Breakthrough” in September 2008.

In both performances, the up-and-comer demonstrated just how dangerous he can be on the ground — Horn and Henderson were extremely cautious when their fights went south. Ivan Salaverry — Palhares’ first opponent inside the Octagon — was not so lucky, tapping to a super slick armbar at UFC 84: “Ill Will.”

TUF 10 Finale will feature a showdown between the top two finalists from the Spike TV reality show, as well as a potential light heavyweight war featuring Jon “Bones” Jones as he inches his way closer to contention against Matt “The Hammer” Hamill.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for more updates to the Dec. 5 fight card as they become available.

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Posted in Lucio Linhares, MMA, Rousimar Palhares, TUF 10, TUF 10 Finale, UFC Middleweight Division, UFC on SpikeTV | No Comments »

UFC 108: Anderson Silva vs Vitor Belfort agree to fight in Las Vegas on Jan. 2

Friday, September 25th, 2009

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Move over Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt … it looks like Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has finally decided on the next middleweight contender to challenge its reigning division champion, Anderson Silva.

Los Angeles Times reports that former light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort has verbally agreed to saunter into “The Spider” web at UFC 108, which is scheduled to take place from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2, 2010.

Henderson actually appeared to be the front runner to challenge Silva after his most recent — and emphatic — victory over Michael Bisping at UFC 100. Company president Dana White indicated that it was enough to earn him another crack at the Brazilian; however, his manager, Ed Soares, made the case that Henderson should take on Nate Marquardt first to determine a clear-cut contender.

That now appears to be the plan. And it’s likely that the recent addition of Belfort to the 185-pound roster had a lot to do with it.

“The Phenom” is coming off a first round destruction of former division champ Rich Franklin on Sept. 19 in Dallas. The stoppage — coupled with his two devastating knockout wins under the Affliction banner — were enough to convince White that “The Old Vitor” is back and ready to face his fellow countryman.

It’s a tall order, considering Silva hasn’t really lost in more than five years (sans a disqualification loss to Yushin Okami in 2006), and he’s essentially obliterated the middleweight division since entering the Zuffa fold in mid 2006.

In fact, he’s been so good that White and Co. have started to match him up against 205-pound fighters to give him more of a challenge. He passed with flying colors, sending former champion Forrest Griffin running for the hills and pasting James Irvin with a highlight-reel, fighting-ending combination.

Silva has not had a solid (perhaps trademark is a better term) performance in the middleweight division since he submitted Henderson at UFC 82: “Pride of a Champion” back in March 2008. He’s had two forgettable — albeit winning — fights against Patrick Cote and Thales Leites since that time.

It’s safe to say that the promotion is looking to Belfort to bring the excitement back to the middleweight division … win, lose or draw.

UFC 108 is expected to serve as the promotion’s traditional “year-end” event because the Christmas holiday falls on the last weekend of 2009. No other potential match ups are known at this time; however, UFC typically likes to go out with a bang so expect more goodness in the near future.

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Posted in Anderson Silva, MMA, UFC 108, UFC Middleweight Division, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Vitor Belfort | No Comments »

Wilson Gouveia vs Alan Belcher in the works for UFC 107 on Dec. 12

Saturday, September 12th, 2009

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Middleweights Wilson Gouveia (12-6) and Alan Belcher (14-6) are in talks to rumble at UFC 107 from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn., on Dec. 12.

MMAmania.com was able to confirm that the 185-pound match up is currently under consideration for the promotion’s return trip to the “The Volunteer State.”

Gouveia is still looking to rebound from disappointing loss – Nate Marquardt went bananas on him in the third round of their fight at UFC 95, unleashing a sensational barrage of strikes from all different angles for which he had no answer.

He was supposed to return against James Irvin at UFC 102 last month; however, both fighters sustained injuries in training and were forced out of action.

This will mark the fourth fight for Gouveia at middleweight. And with losses to top division players such as Marquardt and Goran Reljic, he will need to prove that he he has what it takes to be successful at 185 pounds when he collides with “The Talent” in three months time.

Belcher most recently went toe-to-toe with Yoshihiro Akiyama for three full rounds at UFC 100, losing a very close and controversial split decision. It was a great fight — the “Fight of the Night” — and Belcher’s stock didn’t really take too much of a hit in defeat because of his memorable performance.

The Biloxi, Miss., native was looking to build on his comeback victory over Pride FC and Spirit MC standout Denis Kang at UFC 93: “Franklin vs. Henderson” earlier this year. It was his fourth win in his last five attempts — a surprising technical knockout loss to newcomer Jason Day at UFC 83: “Serra vs. St. Pierre 2” last year is the only blip during that span.

Now he’ll have to regroup and try to make it five out of seven against Gouveia.

UFC 107 will feature a main event between lightweight division champion BJ Penn defending his title against number one division contender Diego Sanchez, as well as a heavyweight showdown between former champion Frank Mir and Cheick Kongo.

In addition, a lightweight attraction between stars Kenny Florian and Clay Guida was recently shifted to the card to compensate for the loss of the light heavyweight showdown between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans.

For more on the developing UFC 107 fight card and rumors click here.

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Posted in Alan Belcher, MMA, UFC 107, UFC Middleweight Division, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Wilson Gouveia | No Comments »