Apparently Anderson Silva’s competitive side reaches well beyond the
cage.
While the UFC middleweight champion has top contender Chael Sonnen on
his plate at UFC 117 in August, Silva and his Black House MMA teammates are
currently waging battle in a different venue – paintball – and taking it
pretty seriously.
In fact, as Black House head Ed Soares today told MMAjunkie.com, what started out as fun and games is quickly
developing into a full-fledged camp rivalry.
World Victory Road today announced two new bouts planned for Sengoku
Raiden Championships 14.
Welterweights Takuya Sato and Motoki Miyazawa are on tap for the event, which takes place Aug. 22 at the
Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan, as well as a lightweight match-up
between UFC vet Akihiro Gono and Jadamba
Narantungalag.
Gono has fought the bulk of his career in the middleweight and
welterweight classes, so the Aug. 22 fight will be the most significant
weight cut of his career.
MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan will be a guest on today’s edition of “Home Turf” with Corey Costelloe on ESPN 1230-AM Bakersfield, Calif.
Morgan and host Costelloe will discuss Friday’s Strikeforce Challengers 9 event in Washington, which features an intriguing heavyweight matchup between Shane Del Rosario and Lolohea Mahe, as well as a 135-pound title fight between current champion Sarah Kaufman and top challenger Roxanne Modafferi.
Catch the segment at 7:35 p.m. ET (4:35 p.m. PT) on ESPN 1230-AM in Bakersfield, Calif.,
or listen online at ESPNBakersfield.com.
Weigh-ins for next month’s blockbuster “UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen” event
take place Friday, Aug. 6, at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.
The same venue hosts the following night’s pay-per-view-broadcast fight
card, which features a headliner between UFC champion Anderson Silva and
top challenger Chael Sonnen, as well as four other televised bouts.
Additionally, UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture hosts a special Q&A
session for UFC Fight Club members prior to the weigh-ins at 5 p.m. ET
(2 p.m. PT local time).
Middleweights Patrick Cote and Tom Lawlor are scheduled to meet at UFC 121.
MMAjunkie.com confirmed the news today with sources
close to the event, who said that bout agreements have been signed,
though it’s unknown whether the fight will air on the evening’s
televised card.
UFC 121 takes place Oct. 23 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., and
is headlined by a heavyweight tilt between current champion Brock Lesnar
and challenger Cain Velasquez.
Welterweights Diego Sanchez and Paulo Thiago look to return to the winner’s circle when they meet at
UFC 121.
PennyJoMMA.com first reported the matchup on Tuesday evening, and
multiple outlets have since confirmed that verbal agreements are in place
and both fighters are expected to make it official shortly. It is
unknown whether the fight is a part of the event’s televised lineup.
UFC 121 takes place Oct. 23 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., and
features a heavyweight headliner between current champion Brock Lesnar
and challenger Cain Velasquez.
There’s no doubt that at 39 years old, Belarusian light heavyweight
Vladimir Matyushenko has accomplished far more in
MMA than 23-year-old Jon Jones.
Matyushenko has fought for a UFC title, albeit unsuccessfully, and won a
belt in the now-defunct International Fight League. “The Janitor” owns
wins on three different continents.
Yet going into the pair’s main event bout at August’s UFC on Versus 2,
Jones is the overwhelming crowd favorite. Not to worry Matyushenko says;
that just makes his job easier.
The talent just keeps piling on to the WEC 51 lineup.
MMAjunkie.com has
learned from sources close to the event that lightweights Chris
Horodecki and Ed Ratcliff will
meet on the fall card. Ratcliff first posted notice of the matchup on
his official Twitter account.
WEC 51 takes place Sept. 30 at the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo.,
and airs live on Versus.
A mainstay on the Japanese MMA scene for years, Brazilian lightweight
Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante will soon make his debut under the
Strikeforce banner.
With a contract in place, Cavalcante’s Strikeforce debut is just a
matter of time.
Following a win at this past week’s DREAM.15 event – Cavalcante’s first
victory since September 2007 – the American Top Team product says he’s
looking very forward to competing again on American soil. He’s also got
an ideal opponent in mind: former Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson.
With Keith Jardine and Trevor Prangley already signed on for the main
event of the Texas-based Shark Fights’ promotion Sept. 11 event, Shark
Fights 13, another pair of high-profile fighters have agreed to fight on the card.
Shark Fights officials today announced that UFC veterans Houston
Alexander and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou will meet in the evening’s
co-main event.
The full fight card for Shark Fights 13, which takes place at the
Amarillo Civic Center in Amarillo, Texas, will be announced shortly.