MMA Universe

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - It was said that the bad blood between UFC President Dana White and former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz ran so deep that reconciliation wasn't even a remote possibility. But after a twitter exchange between the two surfaced recently, fans began speculating that a return to the Octagon wouldn't be too far off for 'The Huntington Beach Bad Boy.' On Friday, White made it official, announcing Ortiz' re-signing with the UFC during a media teleconference.

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - It's a staple on the list of most longtime UFC fans' favorite images - Vitor Belfort, just 20 years old, blasting through his opponents with blistering hand speed and power. These displays rightfully earned him the nickname of 'The Phenom', and even as he matured into a man who eventually held the UFC light heavyweight title in 2004, the fans never left his side. On September 19th, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, Belfort returns to the Octagon for the first time in over four years to take on former middleweight champion Rich Franklin in the light heavyweight main event of UFC 103.

London, England - ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports, is the new home of the UFC(R) in the UK and Ireland, the Ultimate Fighting Championship(R) organisation and ESPN announced today.

A rematch against UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, not Rich Franklin at UFC 103 on Sept. 19, is what Dan Henderson can focus on now that company president Dana White has shuffled the deck in the wake of Affliction MMA’s demise.

Affliction refugee Vitor Belfort is now booked to replace Henderson opposite Franklin in the UFC 103 main event, which had fans less than thrilled when it was announced earlier this month.

White did not announce a hard date for Silva-Henderson 2, saying that it will all depend on “how banged up” Silva is after challenging Forrest Griffin in a non-title 205-pound special attraction next weekend at UFC 101.

However, if history is any indicator, Silva might be ready to rock on Sunday, Aug. 9 — he has remarkably suffered very little, if any, damage throughout his perfect nine-fight UFC career thus far.

In fact, Henderson is among the few who performed quite well before experiencing the same fate as the rest: Defeat.

Silva and Henderson first met at UFC 82: “Pride of a Champion” back in March 2008. Henderson controlled much of the first round, using his Olympic-caliber Greco Roman wrestling skills to takedown the Brazilian and implement effective ground and pound.

He also took time between throwing punches to smother Silva’s airway — a rarely seen, albeit legal, maneuver to disrupt the breathing of an opponent. However, it seemed to irritate and anger Silva more than anything else.

Silva came out in the second round a new man, putting it on “Hollywood” with a punishing assortment of pinpoint strikes. Henderson eventually hit the floor and Silva capitalized by securing a fight-ending rear naked choke with just 12 seconds to spare before the frame expired.

Since losing his Pride FC title to Silva that night, Henderson has strung together three consecutive victories against very tough opponents.

He notched victories over Brazilian jiu-jitsu powerhouse Rousimar Palhares and former middleweight champion Rich Franklin, as well as dismantled Michael Bisping at UFC 100 with an epic punch/flying forearm punch combination that will go down as one of the best knockouts ever.

In short, Henderson has seemingly earned another opportunity to challenge for the 185-pound world title. And his stock has never been higher thanks to the Bisping beatdown.

Silva, on the other hand, has had to pack-on 20 extra pounds in an effort to rekindle the excitement that earned him the title as the most dangerous fighter in the sport. He’s fresh off back-to-back underwhelming — albeit winning performances — against middleweight challengers Thales Leites and Patrick Cote.

White matched Silva up against Griffin with the idea that it would spark fireworks — something that has been missing in Silva’s two most recent appearances. Apparently, a record-setting nine straight UFC wins — seven of which were all stoppages that never went longer than two rounds — is not good enough these days.

He’ll look to add Henderson’s name to that impressive hit list, again, when the pair rematch later this year.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz was on the July 31 media conference call to officially announce his return to the Octagon. While “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” didn’t get into specifics, he did confirm that he will finish his fighting career under the Zuffa umbrella.

The speed of his return took many by surprise, as the bad blood between Ortiz and UFC President Dana White seemed to reach an all-time high after Ortiz was relegated to signing autographs at an off-strip casino when officials banned him from the UFC Fan Expo on July 10 and 11.

Ortiz is coming off major spinal fusion surgery to correct a back problem that plagued him in his most recent bouts. His last appearance was in May 2008 — a unanimous decision loss to now 205-pound champion, Lyoto Machida.

He spent his time on the sidelines “searching for a record contract” while flirting with a variety of promotions, including Elite XC, Strikeforce and Affliction MMA, where he did a guest commentating spot at January’s “Day of Reckoning.”

While he speaks highly of Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, Ortiz told the media that his decision to return to the UFC was based on the level of competition — something he didn’t feel Renato Sobral or Frank Shamrock offered him in San Jose.

When asked for a timetable on his return, White interjected that he was presently considering Mark Coleman as his first opponent for late 2009. Ortiz then reiterated that he was in no hurry to rush back to competition after having major surgery.

It’s been more than a year since Ortiz saw action in a performance that had him in trouble early only to nearly finish it with a triangle-to-armbar transition that “The Dragon” barely escaped.

Ortiz has all 22 of his professional fights (except for one) under the UFC banner in a career that dates back to 1997.

He has three wins, two defeats and one draw since he returned to action in 2006 from a brief hiatus. And those three victories have come at the expense of a past-his-prime, Ken Shamrock (twice), and a controversial split decision over Forrest Griffin.

Whether or not a surgically repaired back will help him return to form and make a serious run at the light heavyweight championship remains to be seen.

And I think Mark Coleman might have something to say about his chances later this year.

Perhaps the biggest news to come out of today’s UFC media conference call was the announcement of a new main event for UFC 103 this September.

Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson were originally announced as the fight card’s main event in Dallas, TX. The fight is a rematch that Franklin specifically wanted after losing a close to decision to Henderson at UFC 93 this January.

Instead, Franklin will now face off against newly signed Vitor Belfort. Belfort was scheduled to fight on the Affliction: Trilogy card that was cancelled completely and now will set his sights on a return to the UFC.

UFC president Dana White cited fan reaction as a reason for the change of opponent for Franklin.

Fans didn’t like it, so we changed it.

According to White, Dan Henderson is now definitely next in line for a title shot and rematch against Anderson Silva. A potential date for the middleweight showdown is uncertain until Silva completes his fight against Forrest Griffin at UFC 101.

Here is the audio from today’s UFC media conference call with Dana White and Tito Ortiz.

The audio is just over an hour long and if you are just interested in the highlights be sure to check out our live call notes from earlier today.

UFC President Dana White will meet with the worldwide media today to discuss a series of compelling news items concerning the organization. Visit UFC.com for all the breaking news reports and video and stay up to date with all things UFC.

Dana White confirmed today that Vitor Belfort (18-8) has been acquired from the fallout of Affliction MMA and will replace Dan Henderson against Rich Franklin (25-4) in the main event of UFC 103 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Sept. 19.

White cited fan apathy towards the original main event between Franklin and Henderson as a catalyst for the change. “The Phenom” has agreed to meet “Ace” at light heavyweight — despite rejecting a recent Affliction fight against Gegard Mousasi because it was outside of his new home at 185-pounds.

Dan Henderson will now be granted a rematch with Anderson Silva with a timetable pending the results of “The Spider’s” Aug. 8 fight against Forrest Griffin.

Company president Dana White made a surprise announcement during “Inside the Octagon” back on June 20 that he was interested in bringing Vitor back under contract to possibly face Anderson Silva.

It was a bit strange because Belfort was booked to battle Sengoku Middleweight Grand Prix winner Jorge Santiago at Affliction 3: “Trilogy” on Aug.1, 2009, but White seemed confident that the Brazilian would return to the eight-sided cage for a third tour of duty after he satisfied his commitment to the “tee-shirt guys.”

That commitment ended sooner rather than later.

Belfort has indeed looked fantastic since he made the decision to shed 20 more pounds and compete at 185 pounds.

He iced Terry Martin in the second round at Affliction: “Banned” with a nice combination that was set up by a flying knee. He followed up that performance at “Day of Reckoning,” pulverizing Matt Lindland with a brutal first round blitzkrieg, landing six of seven strikes en route to a scary-looking knockout.

Whether or not a move back up in weight will affect that recent success remains to be seen — though he may have little margin for error against the former middleweight champ.

Franklin scored a big win over the always dangerous Wanderlei Silva at UFC 99: “The Comeback” via unanimous decision back in June at a catchweight of 195 pounds. It was the third win in the last four attempts for the Cincinnati, Ohio, native, solidifying his position as a serious, and capable, light heavyweight contender.

It’s going to be a ridiculous main event between two established veterans — don’t even think about missing this one.

Recently confirmed for UFC 103 is the heavyweight tilt between former Pride FC superstar Mirko Cro Cop and surging heavyweight prospect Junior Dos Santos. In addition, Martin Kampmann and Mike Swick will collide to determine the number one contender for Georges St. Pierre’s 170-pound title.

For the latest UFC 103 fight card click here.

UFC President Dana White will be holding a special conference call today (July 31) at 2pm ET to discuss all the latest news and developments within the Las Vegas-based promotion.

And there’s certainly a lot to talk about.

First order of business is of course the fall of Affliction MMA — who quickly returned to the UFC as a talent sponsor after closing up shop, bringing some leftover fighter contracts with them.

Also on tap is the recent UK television deal with sports network giant ESPN, who will now broadcast UFC events and programming throughout the UK and Ireland.

And let’s not forget about the return of a certain “Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” as former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz is expected to be announced back into the fold.

Who knows, maybe we’ll even get a few surprises along the way.

To help you stay current with all the latest happenings, we’ll be live blogging the media call and keep you posted on breaking news just as soon as we get it, so be sure to refresh often.

Let’s get on with it.

2:05pm: Came to the table willing to give up anything except co-promotion to sign Fedor Emelianenko. Offered “amazing” deal that he won’t see elsewhere but M-1 turned it down.

2:07: Vitor Belfort is signed and will fight Rich Franklin in Dallas at UFC 103 due to fan apathy towards Franklin vs. Dan Henderson.

2:08: Belfort vs. Franklin will be contested at light heavyweight.

2:09: ESPN to carry UFC programming in high definition for UK and Ireland.

2:10: Tito Ortiz is back and will finish his career in the UFC — plans to fight before the year’s end, possibly against Mark Coleman.

2:15: Dan Henderson is next in line for Anderson’s Silva belt, Demian Maia not far behind.

2:20: Some uninteresting questions followed by some serious UFC butt-smooching.

2:25: Dana slams the sport of boxing.

2:30: UFC shooting for Vancouver in 2010.

2:33: If co-promotion was off the table, Fedor would be in the UFC right now.

2:35: UFC has no interest in Tim Sylvia or Andrei Arlovski.

2:38: No hard feelings towards Affliction and Atencio.

2:40: Dana still working on a deal that will “change the UFC forever.”

The UFC is holding a media conference call today at 2pm ET / 11am PT to discuss that “latest news within the UFC.”

Speculation has, of course, run rampant all week since the conference call was announced.

MMA HQ will be giving live updates of the phone call as it happens. For those interested, UFC.com will also be streaming the call live.

• Dana White begins by discussing the situation with Fedor
• White says they “tried” everything to get Fedor and that they went “above and beyond” (Interesting he continually used the term “tried” and not “trying”
• White says they were willing to give up “almost anything” except for the co-promotion aspect that M-1 Global wanted
• White says they offered Fedor “an amazing deal” and there is no way anyone can offer them a deal like the UFC did
• White asks for no Fedor questions on the call
• The UFC has signed Vitor Belfort to a contract
• Vitor Belfort vs. Rich Franklin is the new main event for UFC 103 this September
• Dan Henderson is now probably next up for Anderson Silva’s belt
• UK fans will now get UFC for free beginning with UFC 101 on ESPN for free in HD
• Tito Ortiz is on the call and according to Dana he “will retire with the UFC”
• White says the following former Affliction guys now under UFC contract are: Belfort, Rothwell, Lauzon, Gormley, Olivera, Vasquez, Davis, Hominick
• Tito says Dana White apologized and they worked through their issues and White followed through and kept his word
• Ortiz says there were no other promotions that could offer him good opponents to fight. He needed good competition
• Ortiz says he expects to be healthy enough to fight around November to December
• The Belfort vs. Franklin fight will be at light heavyweight
• Dana says Tito will have ring rust but won’t have “an easy road.” White says they are talking about having Tito vs. Mark Coleman for his first fight back
• When asked about a potential ESPN/ABC deal here in the US, White says he is confident they will get a deal at some point “once they get the right offer.” Says they haven’t gotten the right offer yet.
• Tito says the UFC has made right by him hand over fist and that “you will never hear me [Tito] talk about money again”
• White said a mutual friend is who got him back in touch with Tito and helped work things over

The following is a recap and analysis relating to the various pieces of information the UFC released during a 2pm EST press conference this afternoon.

Recap:

- Dana White opens the press conference talking about Fedor Emelianenko: no deal

- Rich Franklin vs. Vitor Belfort at 205lbs. (Dallas, September)

- Henderson in line for a title shot rematch with Silva

- ESPN UK (Launches August 3rd, three-year deal, starts Aug 8th with UFC 101)

- Tito Ortiz is back! Possibly a fight against Mark Coleman in November/December

- Dana White on TV deal: more suitors now than ever before, broadcasting control only an issue with HBO, he’s starting to like what he’s hearing more than ever. He was asked specifically about ESPN in the US; very mum.

Payout Opinion:

Simply put: an agreement with Fedor would have likely brought more questions than answers:

- Is he capable of drawing significant PPV interest?
- Can he become a cross-over star?
- What would the UFC have to invest in order to make this happen?

Most importantly, however, what about the risk? Fedor may be unready or unwilling to carry the marketing workload that Lesnar’s polarizing personality manages with ease.

The truth of the matter is that with or without Fedor, the UFC is on pace for a tremendous year - a record year. They’ve been lighting up the PPV trail, diversifying their revenue streams by adding non-event related items like UFC: Undisputed 2009, and they just completed an epic UFC 100 weekend to round out just half the year.

They’re looking to continue their first half momentum with a host of brilliant cards (UFC 101 has a chance to do big numbers - partly piggy backing off the residual interest in UFC 100) and the hotly anticipated Ultimate Fighter 10 featuring Kimbo. Plus, they’ve just re-signed PPV big gun Tito Ortiz who is likely to help bolster a huge end of the year card. Now that Tito is back in the UFC’s good graces you can bet he’ll receive a significant push, and as a result, the UFC will benefit from that immensely.

—–

According to the UFC, nearly 25 million people tuned in to watch UFC 100 last month on Groupo Televiso - the UFC’s brand new TV partner in Mexico. Tito Ortiz coming back to the UFC is more good news its push into Mexico.

What kind of impact will Tito have on those numbers this fall? Huge.

Moreover, how quickly will the UFC’s first show in Mexico City sell-out if it features a headlining Tito? Fast.

The combination of Ortiz, Velasquez, and Escudero could be very promising for the UFC in Mexico. I also wouldn’t be surprised if we saw some sort of new endorsement deal between Bud Light and Ortiz (in the mold of the ones Velasquez and Escudero received). Ortiz mentioned a Bud Light deal in jest as Dana was asked about the fallout from Brock’s post-fight at UFC 100, but it’s definitely something to keep in mind.

—-

It doesn’t really come as a surprise that Franklin was unwilling to fight Wanderlei at 185lbs, and thus equally unwilling to fight Vitor at 185lbs either. However, just because the fight will take place at 205lbs. doesn’t mean that it won’t have ramifications for both the 185 and 205 divisions.

I won’t speculate too much - I’m an MBA student, not a matchmaker - but I will point out that a win over Franklin would likely pit Belfort against the winner of Marquardt and Maia later this month. A win over Belfort would likely push Franklin even further up the 205 chain into a possible contending match with anyone of the top tens looking for an opponent.

Nonetheless, the addition of Belfort gives the 185 division a breath of fresh air. Between Maia, Marquardt, Cote, Leites, Bisping, and now Belfort, things are very interesting at middleweight.

—–

In addition to Belfort, Dana mentioned that former Affliction fighters like Dan Lauzon, Paul Daley, Ben Rothwell, Chase Gormley, and Rafaello Oliveira have been added to the UFC roster. The WEC will also pick-up Mark Hominick, Javier Vasquez, and L.C. Davis.

No word on Takanori Gomi or Chris Horodecki.

World Victory Road is set to present Sengoku 9 taking place this Sunday on August 2 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

For fans in the North America it will be aired on HDNet via tape delay next Friday August 7, at 10:00pm ET.

The event will of course host the conclusion of the promotion’s featherweight grand prix, with the semifinals and finals all set to go down in the same night.

First up will be Tournament favorite and promotion poster boy Hatsu Hioki who will collide with fellow countryman Masanori Kanehara.

Hioki earned his way into the final four by firing off two impressive submission victories in his preliminary bouts, with both wins coming in the first round.

He firstly submitted American Top Team (ATT) prospect Chris Manuel (6-2-2) with a slick fight ending triangle armbar this March at Sengoku 7. Then just 2 months later in a quarterfinal bout Hioki locked on a triangle choke that forced UK grappler Ronnie Mann (16-2-1) to tap at Sengoku 8.

His opponent Kanehara reached the semifinal stages by garnering decisions over a couple of Korean imports, firstly in Jong Man Kim (21-9-2) and then he would score another decision in a closely contested battle with hard hitting slugger Chan Sung Jung (6-1) this May.

On the other side of the brackets will be featherweight King of Pancrase Marlon Sandro taking on Judo player Michihiro Omigawa.

Since making the drop from lightweight to featherweight Omigawa has found much success.

He entered the tournament with an abysmal record of 4-7-1, taking on L.C. Davis (13-2) at Sengoku 7 this March many expected Omigawa to be trounced, though he had a uber impressive outing by dominating Davis en route to a unanimous decision victory.

He then took on the dangerous Nam Phan (15-6) in the tournament quarterfinals and once again proved his worth with another impressive display and by garnering a TKO stoppage over his foe.

Though Omigawa’s unlikely success story could come to an end when he faces off with undefeated Marlon Sandro who has also been on a tear throughout this tournament himself.

The Nova Uniao product in his round of 16 bout put Matt Jaggers (11-5) to sleep by putting him in a standing arm triangle which Jaggers was unable to escape from and ended up getting choked unconscious and crashing to the mat, gasping for air. Sandro then made short work of Nick Denis by scoring a knockout with a well placed uppercut just 19 seconds into the bout.

The victors of the semifinals will then be given time to rest and will meet in the tournament final near the end of the show.

Elsewhere on the card, Satoru Kitaoka, is set to defend his Sengoku lightweight title for the first time against Mizuto Hirota. Kitaoka won the championship by making short work of former PRIDE FC poster
boy, Takanori Gomi, at Sengoku: “Rebellion” back in January, dousing the flames of “The Fireball Kid” with a fight-ending Achilles lock just 1:41 into the opening stanza.

Hirota earned his shot at the gold by recently disposing of highly regarded lightweight standout, Mitsuhiro Ishida, ending the bout via technical knockout in the very first round in May at Shooto: “Final
Tradition.”

Also in non tournament action will be a middleweight showdown between Kazuo Misaki and Kazuhiro Nakamura, in a contest that apparently doesn’t have much upside for Misaki.

That’s because should Nakamura win he will get a crack at Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago (21-7), while should Misaki win he will not. He is also apparently fighting without pay and all of his purse will go to charity.

The reason? Well that all stems from a traffic incident involving Misaki earlier this year, which lead to the stipulations of the bout.

2008 Combat Sambo World Champion Blagoi Ivanov is set to make his mixed martial arts debut at the event against hard-hitting Japanese mainstay Kazuyuki Fujita.

Ivanov is likely best known to mixed martial arts fans as the man who dispatched of Fedor Emelianenko (albeit in a Sambo competition), last year. His opponent Fujita has faced off against Fedor himself back at PRIDE 26 in 2003.

In fact, Fujita came just a whisker away from putting the consensus number one heavyweight away by rocking him with a thunderous right hook; however, in typical fashion, Fedor was able to quickly recover from the scare and later reclaim the bout with a rear naked choke.

Ivanov is certainly not easing in slowly to mixed martial arts — he appears to be jumping into the deep end by debuting against the likes of Fujita and is also scheduled to take on Aleksander Emelianenko in
September. We won’t have to wait much longer to see if he sinks or swims.

Here is the official line-up for Sengoku 9:

Sengoku Lightweight title bout:
Satoru Kitaoka (24-8-9) vs. Mizuto Hirota (11-3-1)

Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix Semifinals:
Hatsu Hioki (19-3-2) vs. Masanori Kanehara (13-5-5)
Marlon Sandro (14-0) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (6-7-1)

Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix Final:
Hatsu Hioki (19-3-2) or Masanori Kanehara (13-5-5) vs. Marlon Sandro (14-0) or Michihiro Omigawa (6-7-1)

Sengoku Featherweight reserve bout:
Matt Jaggers (11-5) vs. Chang Sung Jung (6-1)

Sengoku Gold Cup Lightweight Final:
Ikuo Usuda (4-0) vs. Koji Ando (2-0-2)

Sengoku Gold Cup Featherweight Final:
Toru Harai (6-2) vs. Shigeki Osawa (2-0)

Sengoku Gold Cup Bantamweight Final:
Takeshi Numajiri (1-1) vs. Ryosuke Komori (3-1)

Non-tournament bouts:
Kazuo Misaki (21-9-2) vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura (13-9)
Eiji Mitsuoka (15-6-2) vs. Clay French (16-5)
Akihiro Gono (29-14-7) vs. Dan Hornbuckle (17-2)
Blagoi Ivanov (0-0) vs. Kazuyuki Fujita (15-7)
Yoshihiro Nakao (7-2) vs. Choi Mu Bae (9-3)

For more on Sengoku, click here.

A featherweight showdown between Javier “Showtime” Vazquez (13-2) and L.C. Davis (13-2) that was originally scheduled for the Affliction: “Trilogy” card on August 1 has been picked up by the WEC for next Sunday’s event at “The Joint” at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Vazquez - a former King of the Cage and Gladiator Challenge champion — is a well rounded competitor with solid grappling skills. In his thirteen wins, nearly 62 percent of his opposition have been forced to tapout, including his two most recent opponents Mark Kergosien and JC Pennington.

The Millenia Jiu Jitsu product began his career back in 1998, putting together a strong resume before taking over a three year hiatus from professional competition between November of 2003 and February of 2007. He has been perfect since his return though, including two stints on Elite XC cards in 2007.

Davis is a four fight International Fight League (IFL) veteran who is coming off only the second loss of his career against Michihiro Omigawa in the opening round of the Sengoku featherweight grand prix back in March. The only other blemish on the American Jiu Jitsu Academy trainee’s record was against current WEC contender Wagnney Fabiano back in December of 2007 at the IFL World Grand Prix Finals.

The 28 year old, super-explosive fighter does, however, hold notable wins over Conor “The Hurricane” Heun, Rafael Dias, Billy “The” Kidd, Bao Quach, and others. In fact, Quach was his most recent victim, having gone down on the judge’s scorecards in January on the Affliction: “Day of Reckoning” card.

Davis also has a strong reputation as a finisher in this sport, having stopped eleven of his thirteen opponents in his wins before the final bell (5 TKOs, 6 submissions.)

WEC 42 will go down next Sunday on August 9 and will feature a main event bantamweight title fight between champion Miguel “Angel” Torres and undefeated number one contender Brian Bowles.

For more on the fight card click here.

He just doesn’t like doing laundry in public…

“There have been recent reports stating that talk between M-1 Global and the UFC regarding Fedor fighting in the UFC have ended. Like some of the other reports that have surfaced, this is incorrect. It is unfortunate that so much incorrect information has been leaked to the public. It is M-1’s preference not to negotiate in public and we are unsure why people claim that Fedor and M-1 turned down a six fight, $30 million contract to fight in the UFC when no such offer was ever made. Even though Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White did not meet with Fedor in person on Tuesday, they were represented over the phone. Outside of representatives of the UFC and M-1, no other company was represented during our negotiations. Since we did not go to the media with details of the meeting and only responded to the erroneous reports, we are unsure how these reports started. It’s unfortunate because these type of tactics will not help ensure that M-1’s talks with the UFC are fruitful. M-1 Global is still interested in continuing to negotiate with the UFC and while we are fielding offers from other major promotions, nothing has been decided. It is our hope that the UFC will remain in active dialogue with us as we try to find ways for us to work together. All we are asking is that there is give-and-take in the negotiations and that they are not one-sided.”

-Vadim Finkelchtein, Co-owner and President of M-1 Global, issued a press release earlier today to reassure the mixed martial arts community that he’s not completely out of the Dana White business. Meanwhile, Fedor Emelianenko was shipped back to Russia without a new employer after the fall of Affliction and UFC fans will have to hope for other news coming out of White’s afternoon press conference to quell their insatiable hunger for UFC-related news. Tito? Vitor? Stay tuned…

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today confirmed the final 10-fight line up for its Fight Night 19 event in Oklahoma, which is scheduled for the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009.

“Diaz vs. Guillard” will serve as the lead-in to the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) and will feature a main event between hungry lightweight up-and-comers and former TUF grads Nate Diaz and Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard.

In addition, Roger “El Matador” Huerta will throwdown for perhaps the last time inside the Octagon as he tries to leave on a high note against the stifling super-wrestler Gray “The Bully” Maynard. Nate Quarry, Carlos Condit and Chris Lylte are also scheduled to compete.

Here is the complete UFC Fight Night 19 fight card:

Main event:

155 lbs.: Nate Diaz (10-4) vs. Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard (22-7-2)

Main card:

155 lbs.: Roger “El Matador” Huerta (20-2-1) vs. Gray “The Bully” Maynard (7-0)
185 lbs.: Nate “The Rock” Quarry (11-3) vs. “Crazy” Tim Credeur (12-2)
170 lbs.: Carlos “Natural Born Killer” Condit (22-5) vs. Chris “Lights Out” Lytle (27-17-2)

Under card:

185 lbs.: Steve “Robot” Cantwell (7-2) vs. Brian “All American” Stann (6-2)
170 lbs.: Chris “The Professor” Wilson (14-5) vs. Mike “Quicksand” Pyle (17-6-1)
185 lbs.: Ed “Short Fuse” Herman (15-7) vs. Aaron “A-Train” Simpson (5-0)
155 lbs.: Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens (15-5) vs. Justin Buchholz (8-3)
185 lbs.: Ryan Jensen (13-5) vs. Steve “The Hooligan” Steinbeiss (4-2)
155 lbs.: Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout (14-5-1) vs. Kyle Bradley (14-6)

MMAmania.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of Fight Night 19, beginning with the Spike TV telecast at 8 p.m. ET. In addition, we will deliver up-to-the-minute quick results of all the under card action on fight night.

We’re still over a month away from showtime; therefore, feel free to share your thoughts and predictions on “Diaz vs. Guillard” in the comments section below. And remember that MMAmania.com will be the spot for the latest news and event-related highlights before, during and after the event.

For everything you need to know about Fight Night 19 hit up our event archive right here.

UFC 101 from the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pa., is just around the corner. In celebration of Zuffa’s first-ever trip to the “The Keystone State,” our friends at Heavy.com are sending one lucky fan (and a friend) to see BJ Penn, Anderson Silva and all the rest of the gang LIVE and IN PERSON for FREE.

Winning free tickets to a UFC event has never been easier.

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In the main event of the evening, UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn will tangle with the division’s number one contender Kenny Florian in “Ken Flo’s” second trip to the big dance. Can “The Prodigy” rebound from the greasy pounding he took at UFC 94? Is Florian overmatched — or the future of the division?

Rounding out the stacked card is a light heavyweight brawl between the feisty Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 1 winner Forrest Griffin and reigning 185-pound champ Anderson Silva, moving up in weight to see if he’s still got the goods.

Now you have the chance to see it all go down live and in person thanks to another great ticket giveaway via Heavy.com, one of the Web’s leading entertainment brands for men.

Fresh off a recently signed content deal with the UFC, Heavy.com also hosts a video channel that contains content from the professional mixed martial arts organization’s library, including fight highlights, interviews and analysis, backstage footage and previews of upcoming fights.

The sweepstakes ends August 3, 2009 at 11:59:59 pm ET, so hurry over to Heavy.com/UFC101.html to enter for your chance to win two free tickets to UFC 101. Or just click here to enter now.

Good luck, Maniacs!

I’m sure most of you are getting sick of this unending back-and-forth between the UFC and M-1 Global during the past week, but here is the latest press release from M-1 Global regarding contract negotiations with the UFC.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -

M-1 GLOBAL ISSUES NEW STATEMENT REGARDING UFC NEGOTIATIONS

“There have been recent reports stating that talk between M-1 Global and the UFC regarding Fedor fighting in the UFC have ended. Like some of the other reports that have surfaced, this is incorrect.

“It is unfortunate that so much incorrect information has been leaked to the public. It is M-1’s preference not to negotiate in public and we are unsure why people claim that Fedor and M-1 turned down a six fight, $30 million contract to fight in the UFC when no such offer was ever made.

“Even though Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White did not meet with Fedor in person on Tuesday, they were represented over the phone. Outside of representatives of the UFC and M-1, no other company was represented during our negotiations. Since we did not go to the media with details of the meeting and only responded to the erroneous reports, we are unsure how these reports started.

“It’s unfortunate because these type of tactics will not help ensure that M-1’s talks with the UFC are fruitful. M-1 Global is still interested in continuing to negotiate with the UFC and while we are fielding offers from other major promotions, nothing has been decided. It is our hope that the UFC will remain in active dialogue with us as we try to find ways for us to work together. All we are asking is that there is give-and-take in the negotiations and that they are not one-sided.”

- Vadim Finkelchtein, Co-owner/President
M-1 Global

It appears Strikeforce officials aren’t “weighting” around to see if Aug. 15 headliners Gina Carano and “Cyborg” Santos hit the 145-pound mark for their upcoming women’s championship bout — PFC veteran Erin Toughill (10-2-1) has been put on notice as a potential replacement, according to MMA Fanhouse.

After a string of injuries and medical maladies have shredded the San Jose fight card, it’s no wonder that Toughill is lurking in the shadows for a possible call up. Joe Riggs, Alistair Overeem and Josh Thomson have all been forced to withdraw from their main card matches and Strikeforce isn’t taking any chances with its main event.

Toughill, who was initially booked to compete on the event’s undercard, has won nine of her last 10 bouts, including five (technical)knockout finishes. Her only loss during that span came via disqualification after giving Megumi Yabushita a face massage with her elbows at Smackgirl: “World ReMix 2004.”

Like Carano, Toughill cut her teeth in American Gladiators under the moniker “Steel.” She also has an 8-2-1 professional boxing record and frequently suffers from a chronic case of uncontrollable hotness. Expect the talented fighter to make her Strikeforce debut later this year if she fails to see action at the HP Pavilion.

The August 15 Strikeforce event will feature Gina Carano finally taking on Cristiane ‘Cyborg’ Santos as well as Nick Diaz facing off against Jay Hieron for the newly-created Strikeforce welterweight championship.

For all the latest on the “Carano vs. Cyborg” fight card click here.