Anderson Silva moves to 205 for July 19 UFC event
Source:MMAWEEKLY.COM While everyone else is headed down, Anderson Silva is on his way up. Although the Ultimate Fighting Championship has yet to make its own official announcement, company president Dana White on Tuesday confirmed to Dave Meltzer of Yahoo Sports that there will indeed be a July 19 UFC event that will air on Spike TV. According to Meltzer, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will headline the event, though there is an added twist. He will not be defending his belt. While most fighters today are dropping down as many weight categories as they possibly can, the champ is headed up. Silva will make the move to light heavyweight, temporarily, without relinquishing his middleweight belt, to face James Irvin. Contacted by MMAWeekly.com, Irvin on Tuesday confirmed the bout, saying that he had just received the contract and finalized the deal earlier in the day. Although other possible match-ups had been discussed, including one with Wanderlei Silva, Irvin was excited for the bout with Anderson Silva. There had been much speculation in recent weeks that Silva would move to the 205-pound division, but no one really expected it to come at this juncture. Most speculation for a possible July 19 card centered on a main event with some combination of Brandon Vera, Wanderlei Silva, or Dan Henderson. In his comments to Meltzer, White indicated that Silva would still defend his 185-pound divisional title later in the year, but indicated a future bout with former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell could be in the works if all goes well on July 19. In addition to Silva vs. Irvin, a bout between Hermes Franca and Frankie Edgar, initially planned for Aug. 9 in Minneapolis, is being relocated to the July event at the Palms in Las Vegas. The bout will be Franca’s first since returning from suspension for a positive test for steroids in California. The UFC’s July 19 is a counter move to Affliction’s planned mixed martial arts promotional debut, also on July 19, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Affliction “Banned” features a main event of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia, carrying a suggested price tag of $39.95 on pay-per-view.
Ring of Fire 32 : Respect
Nickels returns in the main event, having lost his last time out to Stephan Bonnar at UFC 73 in July of 2007. He faces tough European striker Vladimir Vuckovic, who is also an accomplished boxer in addition to his successes in mixed martial arts.
“I have been competing in sports all my life and have been boxing since I was 15. I was also in the military Guard, so I know I have what it take to face an opponent like Nickels,” said Vuckovic. “I know he has good ground, but I do too. I have been training wrestling and BJJ since 2003 so I am not concerned if the fight goes to the mat. But what I am the strongest at is punching. I want to meet him in the middle of the cage and go to war.”
“I know he says he wants to stand and bang with me, but that is easy to say before the fight,” responded Nickels. “Let's see what happens when we get in the cage. It has been a while since I have fought, but I haven't stopped training. And I have really picked it up for this fight.”
One feature bout pits Ultimate Fighters 5 fighter Noah Thomas in a grudge match with another local favorite in Brett Roller. These two have a history that goes back to when they were on the same wrestling team in high school, but weren’t exactly the best of teammates.
Following a big victory over UFC veteran Junior Assuncao at the recent American Fight League event in Atlanta, Torrance Taylor returns to action a mere two weeks later looking to add another UFC veteran to his resume. His opponent, Luke Caudillo, wants to get back on track after dropping two straight in his unsuccessful UFC campaign.
In a 135-pound women’s feature bout, local standout Cat Albert looks to continue her streak towards the national promotions that are rapidly beginning to add women’s divisions as she faces Xtreme Couture fighter Karina Taylor.
MAIN EVENT: 205 lbs
Mike Nickels vs. Vladimir Vuckovic
FEATURE BOUT: 145 lbs
Noah Thomas vs. Brett Roller
FEATURE BOUT: 155 lbs
Luke Caudillo vs. Torrance Taylor
FEATURE BOUT: 135 lbs
Cat Albert vs. Karina Taylor
ROF YOUNG GUNS TITLE: 170 lbs
Brandon Thatch vs. Mike Crisman
FEATURE BOUT: 163 lbs
Max Smith vs. Justin Salas
ROF YOUNG GUNS TITLE: 185 lbs
Kenneth Seegrist vs. Ian Berg
PRELIM BOUT: 145 lbs
Brain Wood vs. Miguel Martinez
PRELIM BOUT: 205 lbs
Cody Donovan vs. Weston Duschen
PRELIM BOUT: 225+ lbs
Brendan Schaub vs. Jay Lester
PRELIM BOUT: 135 lbs
Sean Doherty vs. Dominc Blanco
Affliction lands Arlovski and new equity partner in Donald Trump
Affliction lands Arlovski and new equity partner in Trump
Already listing a who’s who of fighters for their debut card on July 19, Affliction appears to have two more aces up their sleeve.
According to MMARated.com, a press conference slated for Thursday will unveil former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski as the latest addition to the upstart promotion, bringing to fruition his long-rumored bout with Ben Rothwell.
The press conference, scheduled to take place in New York City, will also see the introduction of real estate tycoon Donald Trump as a new equity partner with the promotion.
According to Michael D. Cohen, Executive Vice President of The Trump organization and the Special Counsel to Donald J. Trump, the billionaire will be on hand to announce the signing of Arlovski.
Arlovski’s bout with Rothwell will take place at “Affliction: Banned,” set for July 19 and taking place at the Honda Center, in Anaheim, Calif. The card is headlined by top heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko and former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia.
While nothing has been confirmed in regards to this appearance, there are rumors circulating that former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz may appear at the press conference.
While no details about a possible contract have surfaced, and granted the UFC still has a right of first refusal on his contract, a source told FiveOuncesofPain.com that Affliction is considered a leading candidate for Ortiz.
Credit for the original story goes to FiveOuncesofPain.com. To read the original report, go to:http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2008/06/04/andrei-arlovsk
MATT HUGHES VS MATT SERRA CONFIRMED
MATT HUGHES VS MATT SERRA CONFIRMED
Matt Hughes has confirmed that he will be fighting Matt "the terra" Serra, win, lose or draw, after his fight with Thiago Alves. The UFC has apparently given the fight it's blessing according to MMA madness and the fight will take place either UFC 89 or 90 - sometime in October or November.
If Hughes is able to win both fights, he will be given another welterweight title shot against G.S.P. This fight has been brewing since Serra and Hughes were team captains on the successful TV show "The Ultimate Fighter."
Matt Serra who recently lost to G.S.P will want to get back to willing ways and will no doubtable voice publically his hatred for Matt Hughes. The fight promises to have plenty of smack talk and hype leading up to it.
Source:http://www.freewebs.com/mmalinks/mmanews.htm
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