MMA Universe

First came the enigmatic teaser trailer. Then a new trailer gave a glimpse of the cage that DREAM has in store for the upcoming DREAM 12, scheduled for Oct. 25 at Osaka Castle Hall.

On Tuesday, Fighting and Entertainment Group held a press conference at the Reversal MMA gym in Tokyo to officially announce the implementation of a hexagonal cage at DREAM 12. DREAM event producer, Keiichi Sasahara, unveiled a blueprint for the cage. At the time of press conference, the cage is still under construction and the blueprint serves as just that — a mere approximation of the overall look of the final product.

Sasahara elaborated that a possibility remains that FEG may use different materials for its hexagonal cage than are typically used by other cage-based promotions. Also, while the blueprint shows the cage in white, the DREAM staff has been ruminating the optimal color for the cage in terms of spectator- and camera-friendliness: Some have objected that a black cage makes it difficult for the crowd to see the fight, while a white cage can potentially trigger glares off the camera, depending on the angle and brightness of the light.

In light of the newly formed alliance between DREAM and Strikeforce, DREAM staff has been seeking input from Strikeforce to design the cage. While DREAM 12 will see an adoption of the three five-minute rounds, no other rule changes are scheduled. Furthermore, DREAM plans to host at least one caged fight card once a year.

Sasahara cited the desire for “a change of scenery,” as the primary impetus behind the introduction of the cage. He also mentioned that, having announced the plan for a vigorous exchange of fighters between his organization and Strikeforce, caged fight cards will enable DREAM fighters to acclimate themselves to fighting in the cage.

Likewise, the use of the cage, instead of the standard ring, facilitates the interpromotional leap for fighters on Strikeforce’s roster as well. While maintaining FEG’s belief in the spectator-friendliness of the ring, Sasahara emphasized the potential benefits that the experimental attempt at caged fight cards will yield.

DREAM 12 will feature South Korean prospect, Myeon Ho Bae (8-4). He will join a star-studded cast of fighters scheduled for the card, including Alistair Overeem, Marius Zaromskis, Eddie Alvarez, Paulo Filho, Yoshiro Maeda, Murilo Rua, Kiyoshi Tamura and Murilo Rua.

Props: MMA Fanhouse

Quoteworthy:

“I’m training at American Top Team. I’m a hard puncher trying to learn the ground game. You can do a lot, but you can’t master anything in two years. In mixed martial arts, the more you roll the more you learn. It’s something I’m working on. I’m a heavyweight, but if the promoters want me to come down, heck yeah I’d give it a try.”

Former YouTube sensation and Ultimate Fighter (TUF) attraction Kimbo Slice heads to American Top Team (ATT) after completing a tenth season on the Spike TV reality show opposite former IFL champion, Roy Nelson, UFC veteran Wes Sims and several former NFL players, among others. Will the artist formerly known as Kevin Ferguson prove Dana White (who predicted he would never win a TUF show back in Oct. 2008 when he first made the bold offer) and all the other doubters wrong — or is he too green to hang with the big boys? Don’t be surprised to see one last hurrah from Slice at the TUF 10 Finale — and maybe even more if he wins on Dec. 5. Are you ready for more Kimbo in 2010?

Featuring a real who’s-who of MMA stars…

For some reason when I see this poster, “pride” is the last thing that comes to mind…

“I really, really want my next fight to be for a title. I’ve worked my butt off and I feel I really deserve a title shot. That’s why I signed with Strikeforce to get a title shot. I could have went straight to the UFC. They were offering the same money, but at the end of the day, I wanted to pursue my dream of becoming a world champion and the quickest way to do that was Strikeforce. Like I said, I would like my next shot to be for the title; if not against Diaz, then against somebody else. I can’t wait for this guy nor can I control what he does. It is what it is man. I just want my title shot and what I signed with these guys for. I don’t want to keep fighting these non-title fights because that’s not what I came here for. I fought my last fight and I proved myself and now we have to sit at the table and see what’s going on. Hopefully Nick Diaz can get his shit together and we can get out there and mix it up. I think that’s a great fight, not just for me and him, but for the fans too.”

Former IFL standout Jay Hieron tells the gang over at FightHype.com that he’s ready for the Strikeforce welterweight title — which is the lone reason he signed with the San Jose-based promotion. Unfortunately his championship bout against Nick Diaz on August 15 was scrapped when Diaz failed to report for his mandatory pre-fight drug test the week before the “Carano vs. Cyborg” event and had to be replaced by Jesse Taylor. Hieron won a unanimous decision over “JT Money” and doesn’t want any more shenanigans from Diaz. Strikeforce is shooting for a late 2009 title fight — will Diaz step up, or step aside?

Props: ESPN First Take

Quoteworthy:

“Who ever made [UFC President Dana White] the guy to measure athletic talent? I don’t think (he) knows anything about athletic talent. He knows about fighters, which is different, but I will say this: He’s running a show right now with heavyweights and I’ll put dimes to donuts, all the heavyweights on his show right now I will beat. That’s pretty easy to say. I always tell people put their money where their mouth is. Dana says I’m so old? Why doesn’t he step into the ring with me?”

Recent Strikeforce acquisition and former NFL great Herschel Walker reacts to criticism from UFC President Dana White regarding the NFL great making a transition to mixed martial arts when he debuts for the San Jose-based promotion in January 2010. Walker, a Taekwondo black belt, maintains his athleticism will propel him to great heights — and already puts him above any Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 heavyweight. Is the 47-year-old running back merely posturing? Or does Walker believe that all he needs is some decent chop-socky and a 40-yard dash to make it in the fight game? I guess we’ll find out early next year. Anyone want to take a stab in the comments section on who his first opponent will be?

Debbie Lee, UFC - Friendships before fights. It's a touchy subject in MMA, and one that plenty of fighters will have to address at some point in their career. With tight relationships forged through a common love of the sport, what happens when you're asked to fight a familiar face? Which comes first: personal loyalties or the shot at a belt?

Check out more clips from Kimbo Slice and his late night spot on Jimmy Fallon after the jump.

Props: Round 5 MMA

For more on the upcoming line of UFC and MMA action figures and collectibles click here.

MARKHAM, Ontario, Canada, September 29, 2009 – Its landmark marketing partnership freshly in place, Round 5 is pleased to announce the members of the first series of collectible figurines under the UFC brand, a group of six accomplished fighters, as announced today by Barron Lau, Round 5 CEO and co-founder and Damon Lau, president and co-founder. Figurines for stars Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell, George “Rush” St. Pierre, “Suga” Rashad Evans, Kenny “KenFlo” Florian, Clay “The Carpenter” Guida and Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida are scheduled to be available at retail and at www.Round5MMA.com early next year.

The six collectibles will be presented in a new UFC-themed packaging that includes action photos of each respective fighter’s memorable moments as well as a short biography.

“These six athletes provide a strong, varied base for our first UFC series,” said Damon Lau. “There are established champions like Chuck Liddell and George St. Pierre, popular up-and-comers like Rashad Evans and Kenny Florian and guys like Clay Guida and Lyoto Machida who have loyal, growing followings.”

“We think fans will really connect to these collectibles through their detail and the enhanced packaging,” said Barron Lau. “We want them to feel that by owning a Round 5 figurine, they, in a sense, own a piece of that fighter.”

The issuance of UFC Series 1 signals the discontinuation of the previous Round 5 Series. The remaining inventory from the 17 figurines issued in the previous four Series under that brand will continue to be available while supplies last. Limited editions and other special versions of the UFC Series 1 athletes are also in the planning stages.

“The Limited Editions we have issued have been wildly popular, so we are definitely looking at expanding those offerings,” added Barron Lau.

Liddell, one of the most popular MMA fighters ever, held the UFC light heavyweight belt for two years, using his devastating striking skills to rack up a 21-7 record, including 13 knockouts, against a top-shelf list of opponents since his 1998 debut at UFC 17. He also showed his power by ending all five of his successful title defenses with a KO or TKO.

St. Pierre is often mentioned on the short list of top “pound-for-pound” fighters in MMA, and he’s backed up that distinction with wins in his last six bouts, all headliners, to raise his overall mark to 19-2. The UFC welterweight champion proudly represents his native Montreal, Canada.

Evans has shed his underdog status with a series of standout victories, moving to light heavyweight after winning The Ultimate Fighter 2 television series as a heavyweight. Now 13-1-1, successive wins over Michael Bisping, Liddell and Forrest Griffin were surprises to many and earned “Suga” his first title shot earlier this year, a loss to Machida.

Florian is another graduate of The Ultimate Fighter who has fulfilled his promise, springboarding from his strong performance in TUF 1 to post an 11-4 record and headline cards. He has also branched out to the media side of the sport as a weekly host of MMA Live on ESPN and several UFC color commentary stints.

Guida has ridden strong conditioning, action-packed fights and a flashy style to a prolific MMA career, with 35 bouts (25 wins) to his credit. Known as “The Carpenter” for his previous career while he trained and fought for his chance, Guida is a frequent “Fight of the Night” honoree, including his last bout, a split decision defeat in a free-for-all with Diego Sanchez in June.

Machida is also prominent in the “pound-for-pound” discussion, made even more evident by his win over previously-unbeaten Evans at UFC 98 in May, in which “The Dragon’s” lightning-quick form and powerful striking was on full display. The undefeated (15-0) UFC light heavyweight champion is scheduled to make his first defense against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on October 24.

Round 5 collectible figures may be purchased at leading North American retailers such as Toys ‘R’ Us, Kmart and Walmart. Other retailers can be found at www.round5mma.com/wheretobuy.php.

Blooming lightweight submission guru George Sotiropoulos (10-2) will look to remain undefeated inside the Octagon when he takes on fellow Ultimate Fighter contestant Jason Dent (19-9) at UFC 106 inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Nov. 21.

Sotiropoulos returned to action at UFC 101 with a dominating submission win over George Roop. The former pupil of Matt Serra had been on the sidelines since April 2008 as a result of injuries that kept him out of action since a technical knockout win over fellow TUF contestant Roman Mitichyan at UFC Fight Night 13.

Sotiropoulos was among the pre-show favorites to win TUF 6 until the Australian was derailed by Tommy “The Farmboy” Speer in the semifinals. He bounced back to submit Billy Miles via rear naked choke at TUF 6 Finale in the first round back in December 2007.

He now looks to make it four straight under the Zuffa banner against the crafty Dent.

“Dynamite” is perhaps best known for sending Rob Browning — the foul-mouthed kid brother of TUF 8’s Junie Browning — back to the trailer park with an ass-kicking to close out episode three of season nine on the Spike TV reality show.

Despite getting booted from the competition with a unanimous decision loss to Ross Pearson, Dent returned at the June 20 TUF 9 Finale to choke out fellow castmate Cameron Dollar in the first round.

Dent actually had two prior appearances in the UFC coming into TUF 9. The first was a unanimous decision loss to Roger Huerta at UFC 63 followed by a unanimous decision loss to Gleison Tibau at UFC 68.

A win over Sotiropoulos would definitely raise his stock in the 155-pound division.

UFC 106 will feature a main event heavyweight title bout between two absolute monsters as champion Brock Lesnar will look to defend his gold for the second time against his newest challenger, Shane Carwin. “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz is also set to make his return to the Octagon against UFC Hall of Famer, Mark Coleman, after spending nearly a year and a half on the sidelines.

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

The Sports Business Journal released its highly anticipated sponsorship issue this week. The in-depth feature is highlighted by a roundtable discussion with numerous marketing executives from several big name companies including A-B Inbev, Pepsi, Turnkey Sports Management, and others.  

Here’s a snippet, but make sure you run over to the website and check out the entire thing:

SBJ: The economy and its impact on sponsorship and marketing budgets is foremost on everyone’s mind. Where are you relative to a year ago, when so many marketing and media budgets were just frozen?

 

Mark Wright (Anheuser-Busch InBev): In terms of sports and media in general, we are not backing off. There have been a lot of changes, but the new ownership believes, as we always have, in the value of investing in sports, sponsorships and media. Everyone around this table is in an environment where they have to look at cutting costs, but to get real top-line growth, we have to continue investing.

 

Ray Bednar (Bank of America ): I’m in the banking business and things have changed there, but we aren’t backing off either. We are starting to pay off the government, so we can get free of the TARP “embrace.” Specific to budgets, we are not spending any less; we are spending a little bit differently. With what has happened in financial services and some of the big brands like us and Citi Group, marketing is more important now than ever. We are investing quite heavily — more so than in the past.

 

SBJ: During the recession, sports marketing became a whipping boy. Does that notion have to change before spending in your industries resumes at prior levels?

 

Bednar: The peak in the February-to-April time frame is well off, but it was horrible. Companies that were most abused have changed quite a bit of what they do, especially on the b-to-b side of things. Overall, there has been a fundamental shift in sports. We had a bubble that was going to burst and it did. Some of the unrealistic things that were going on in sponsorship, mostly led by the biggest financial institutions, since they were among the biggest spenders, caused it to implode. What’s fundamentally changed is that now we have premier, iconic properties coming to us asking how they can drive our ROI. Now they don’t want to renegotiate contracts [up], they want to trade out assets — which is something we’ve engaged in quite a bit recently. The pricing of sponsorships is finally adjusting to more reasonable levels that better reflects their value.

 

Bill Glenn (The Marketing Arm): There’s just more scrutiny on where you are spending your dollars and how deeply you can pursue individual engagement with consumers. Are you really building a higher likelihood of them purchasing your brand? There’s more pressure on properties to deliver that and more pressure on us to ask for that. Measurement has moved well beyond awareness and our clients are looking at purchase consideration, purchase intent, purchase and use.

Payout Perspective:

I’ve been waiting on this issue for nearly a month, and the wait proved worthwhile. The roundtable confirmed a few of my assumptions about the sponsorship market, but also underscored some interesting points that I hadn’t heard or read anywhere else.

MMAPayout.com has made an effort to highlight the latest news from the sponsorship and advertising markets in the last few months, because of the impact that these segments have on the business of MMA. While advertising is generally down across the board, it was nice to get a confirmation that sponsorship has remained steady over the last year.

Perhaps the biggest takeway from the roundtable, however, was the new industry focus on measurement. It’s no longer a completely one-sided negotiation where clients are pursuing sports properties and doing everything they can to lock down exclusivity. Sponsors are now coming to the table with the expectation that properties can deliver measured value, and not just ROI but ROO (return on opportunity).

I’ve had the good fortune to read some of the UFC’s surveys and sponsorship material over the last couple of months, and I’ve observed the organization to be trending towards a more wholistic sponsorship approach. They appear to be working with potential clients to give them feedback about UFC consumers in order to help customize and tailor their partnership to be a more fulfilling, mutually beneficial experience.

It’s really important, too, and Mark Wright of A-B Inbev summed it up perfectly:

Wright: We still get a lot of properties, especially local ones, telling us things like “most of our adult fans drink Bud Light.” We’re glad they do, but most of America does, so that’s not really information we want or need. We still get a lot of sales pitches based on the property’s business model, as opposed to our business needs or strategy. That may be starting to break down; in a recent NBA team pitch they showed us sales taken from the team’s playoff run. So maybe they are starting to get what works for us and tie it to our brand and sales health.

If MMA can adopt the new, more co-operative sponsorship approach it’s going to pay dividends. Then again, I’m not convinced that it’s much of an “if” as much as it is a necessity; the operating environment for many of these companies has changed, and thus so too much the approach of MMA organizations looking to bring sponsorship.

Joe Lauzon is set to make his long-awaited return to the Octagon much sooner than expected when he collides with Sam Stout in a lightweight showdown planned for UFC 108 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 2, 2010.

Sources out of Las Vegas tell MMAmania.com that bout agreements have been distributed, but are unsigned at this time.

Lauzon underwent major knee surgery in March of this year to repair a torn meniscus, which was supposed to keep The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 5 alum on the sidelines for at least 12 months.

He’s apparently way ahead of schedule.

Lauzon most recently saw action against Jeremy Stephens in the UFC Fight Night 17 main event in Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 14. He took out “Lil’ Heathen” with a second round armbar to notch his second straight win inside the Octagon.

Prior to the back-to-back victories, Lauzon was one of the many recent victims of Kenny Florian courtesy of a second round technical knockout loss at UFC Fight Night 13 back in April. It was a temporary setback for the Boston-area native who appeared to be climbing his way back toward the top of the division before the injury.

Lauzon — who has five wins in six attempts inside the Octagon — now looks to get back on track and start the New Year fresh.

Stout was supposed to take on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 lightweight finalist, Phillipe Nover, at UFC Fight Night 19: “Diaz vs. Guillard” on Sept. 16, 2009; however, “The Filipino Assassin” passed out in the locker room literally hours before showtime, which forced the promotion to scrap the bout on super short notice.

“Hands of Stone” recently broke out of a rare 0-2 slump by outpointing Matt Wiman at UFC 97: “Redemption” back on April 18. The heavy-handed lightweight is probably best known for his two action-packed battles against Spencer “The King” Fisher.

He’ll now try to make it two straight against Lauzon.

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. Currently, the only other fight scheduled for the card is UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva taking on the surging Vitor Belfort.

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.

An injury in training has forced Erik Koch to withdraw from his featherweight battle against Wagnney Fabiano (12-1) at the upcoming WEC 43: “Cerrone vs. Henderson” from the The AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, on Sat., Oct. 10, according to NWI.com.

Filling in on about two weeks notice will be 28-year-old United States Marine and current Miguel Torres pupil, Mackens Semerzier (3-0).

This will be a huge step up in competition level for Semerzier, whose last two opponents were both making their mixed martial arts debuts. He’s won all three of his professional fights by submission or technical knockout on smaller circuit cards in North Carolina and Virginia, but Fabiano will not be as easy to deal with.

Semerzier has good finishing ability … and he certainly receives high quality training under the former WEC bantamweight champion. The WEC newcomer will need to put it all together fast and be on top of his game to handle a force like Fabiano — he will have his work cut out for him.

Fabiano is currently enjoying a five-fight winning streak, including two straight under the WEC banner against Akitoshi Tamura (submission) and Fredson Paixao (decision). During his time with the IFL, he notched notable wins over John Gunderson and L.C. Davis (both by submission), as well as scored a highlight reel knockout over Bao Quach earlier in his career.

The lone loss on the Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist’s record came by split decision at the hands of Jeff Curran back in October 2006. Since then, six of his eight victims have tasted defeat by way of tapout.

WEC 43 will feature an interim lightweight title fight between Greg Jackson pupil Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and the versatile Ben “Smooth” Henderson in the main event of the evening. The co-headliner for the card will mark the return to the WEC cage for former lightweight number one contender, Rich “Cleat” Crunkilton, as he takes on undefeated Midwest product, Dave Jansen.

The main card will air live on the Versus network beginning at 9 p.m. ET on fight night. For more on WEC 43 click here.

In case you didn’t get your fill of episode two of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 last Wednesday night, the UFC and Spike.com are presenting “The Aftermath,” a 15-minute Webisode that airs every Monday on Spike.com.

“The Aftermath” will recap the previous week’s show, as well as get insight from some of the contestants and recurring Spike host, Amir Sadollah. In addition, the Webisodes will feature unaired content, exclusive bonus material and a sneak peek of the upcoming televised episode.

TUF fans can go to the Spike.com message boards after each Wednesday episode to submit questions and sound off on the events that occurred during the show. Questions will be selected at random and answered on the following Monday’s “Aftermath.”

To check out this week’s webisode: “All About Survival,” which features James McSweeney and Wes Shivers breaking down their fight from Episode 2 (as well as the requisite Kimbo Slice vs. Roy Nelson talk), click here.

And be sure to check out our TUF recap every Wednesday following the show. To get up to speed on last week’s episode click here.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today took a major step toward finalizing the line up its next trip to England in more than nine months, which is scheduled for the Manchester Evening News (MEN) Arena in Manchester on Nov. 14.

UFC 105: “Couture vs. Vera” will feature a main event between former heavyweight champion, Randy “The Natural” Couture, returning to light heavyweight to battle Brandon “The Truth” Vera. In addition, hometown favorite Michael “The Count” Bisping will take on Pride FC standout, Denis Kang, in the co-featured fight of the night.

Welterweights Mike Swick and Dan Hardy were also booked to get busy inside the Octagon to help clarify the suddenly murky 170-pound number one contender situation.

Here is the current UFC 105 fight card:

Main event:

205 lbs.: Randy Couture (16-10) vs. Brandon Vera (11-3)

Main card (Televised):

185 lbs.: Michael Bisping (17-2) vs. Denis Kang (32-11-1)
170 lbs.: Dan Hardy (22-6) vs. Mike Swick (14-2)
170 lbs.: Matt Brown (10-7) vs. James Wilks (6-2)
155 lbs.: Ross Pearson (9-3) vs. Aaron Riley (28-11-1)

Under card (May not be broadcast):

155 lbs.: Terry Etim (13-2) vs. Shannon Gugerty (12-3)
170 lbs.: John Hathaway (11-0) vs. Paul Taylor (10-4-1)
170 lbs.: Matt Riddle (3-0) vs. Nick Osipczak (4-0)
155 lbs.: Roli Delgado (6-4-1) vs. Andre Winner (9-3-1)
170 lbs.: DaMarques Johnson (9-7) vs. Peter Sobotta (8-2)*
205 lbs.: Jared Hamman (10-1) vs. Alexander Gustafsson (8-0)*

*Fight not yet officially confirmed by UFC.com.

MMAmania.com will provide LIVE blow-by-blow, round-by-round coverage of UFC 105, beginning with the Spike TV telecast at 3 p.m. ET. In addition, we will deliver up-to-the-minute quick results of all the under card action that same afternoon.

We’re still a few months away from showtime; therefore, feel free to share your thoughts and predictions on “Couture vs. Vera” 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 UFC 105 feel free to also hit up our event archive right here.

Stay tuned … Pro MMA Radio will begin shortly!

Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - After Korea's Dong Hyun Kim was forced to withdraw from his UFC 105 bout with Dan Hardy in Manchester, England on November 14th, 170-pound contender Mike 'Quick' Swick has answered the call to face 'The Outlaw' in what promises to be a welterweight war at the MEN Arena.