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UFC 129 was that rare sporting event that lived up to the hype. Because UFC 129 was such an unbelievably good show, Cagewriter is breaking down Three Stars into two posts. First up, the undercard.

No. 1 star -- Pablo Garza: What's the best way to start off the biggest UFC event in the promotion's history? With a flying triangle submission. Garza's first-round choke of Yves Jabouin stood out in a night of stand-out performances, and earned him a $129,000 bonus. In his last fight, a win over with a flying knee over Fredson Paixao, Garza made $8,000. Not a bad bonus for less than five minutes work.

No. 2 star -- Rory McDonald: Dealing with a Diaz brother is never fun. Nate, like his brother Strikeforce champ Nick, couples a nasty jiu-jitsu game with unending trash talk. But the 21-year-old McDonald ignored that, and used suplexes and strikes to stop Diaz in a unanimous decision.

No. 3 star -- John Makdessi: Not to be outdone by Garza's fast start to the fights, Makdessi pleased the Canadian crowd with a spinning backfist KO, sending Kyle Watson to the floor in the third round with a hard left to the chin. Unfortunately, Lyoto Machida's KO of Randy Couture robbed Makdessi of the bonus, but not of the respect earned from the highlight reel knockout.

Honorable mention -- Ivan Menjivar: Speaking of amazing finishes that were also worthy of a bonus, Menjivar only needed a minute and a half to finish off Charlie Valencia with a short elbow that busted up Valencia's nose.

Who were your Three Stars from the UFC 129 undercard? Tell us in the comment section or on Facebook.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Three-Stars-from-UFC-129-Undercard-edition?urn=mma-wp1926

Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic Luiz Buscapé Firmino Spencer Fisher Jon Fitch

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Week 2 Road To Rampage ? Matt Hamill Trains For Quinton Jackson At UFC 130.

UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill
Date: May 28, 2011
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena
Broadcast: Pay-per-view and Spike TV
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)
Matt Hamill vs. Quinton ?Rampage? Jackson
Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson
Travis Browne vs. Stefan Struve
Jorge Santiago vs. Brian Stann
Thiago Alves vs. Rick [...]

Source: http://www.mmatko.com/week-2-road-to-rampage-%e2%80%93-matt-hamill-trains-for-quinton-jackson-at-ufc-130/

Jai Bradney Ebenezer Fontes Braga Chris Brennan Marcelo Brito

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Time to get yourself some new MMA gloves, pads or fight shorts? Revgear is giving you the chance to take home some of the best professional MMA clothing and fight gear out there with this special gift certificate giveaway.
Follow the three simple steps below for your chance to win one of three Revgear gift certificate [...]

Source: http://fighterxfashion.com/revgear-giveaway-win-free-mma-fight-gear/

Andre Amade Dean Amasinger Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Though Saturday's UFC 129 main event left a lot to be desired, the show as a whole was still very much a success. Bringing in a record gate of over $12 million and a record attendance of near 56,000 fans at the Rogers Centre, the show was the UFC's biggest ever live event, and though it won't be the biggest pay-per-view event in the company's history, early numbers suggest it fared very well.

According to Dave Meltzer's WrestlingObserver.com, early trending numbers for the event have the buyrate coming in slightly below one million buys.

That early number is very likely to change and fluctuate as a more accurate estimate is able to come in, but based on the numbers WO typically looks at to help determine a show's buyrate, that's where the initial target is.

If it stays in this range near a million buys it's another big selling show from UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre, and that's made even more impressive considering he was taking on a fighter in Jake Shields most were not giving any chance at all.

Link to WrestlingObserver.com report

Penick's Analysis: Though the main event was a dud, the rest of the card delivered in a big way, and with that many people tuning in on pay-per-view, more fans will be familiar with some of the guys that got featured on the card, most notably UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo, who will get a major benefit from being under GSP on this card. This was the largest audience that had tuned to see him fight, and even though he wasn't at his best, fans should still want to see him compete again the next time out, and now that at least four times the people that watched his fight with Urijah Faber having seen him, it will make him an easier sell in a headlining capacity if the UFC tries to do that with him in his next fight.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_9247.shtml

Rich No Love Clementi Mark The Hammer Coleman Wes Soldier Combs Ray Cooper

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Two welterweight champions defended their belts in April. First, Nick Diaz kept his Strikeforce strap with an exciting, first-round win over Paul Daley on April 9. On April 30, it was the UFC champion's chance, as Georges St-Pierre won a not-so-exciting decision over Jake Shields.

Now that Zuffa owns both the UFC and Strikeforce, wouldn't it make sense to square them off? Diaz is begging for the bout, and their coaches believe it should be next.

Firas Zahabi said that with Diaz still in the wings, GSP still faces enough of a challenge at welterweight to not move up to middleweight. From MMAFighting.com:

"If Georges went up (to 185) right now, he wouldn't have cleaned out the division because there's still Nick Diaz there," Zahabi said. "He's champion, so you can't say he doesn't deserve a shot. I can't confirm anything, but I see it as a possibility. They have two champions. It's always exciting to see two champions go at it. He has a great style. He has beautiful boxing, great jiu-jitsu, and it's very similar to his brother. It's not easy to fight a tall, lanky guy like that. And he's always very busy. It's a whole different style than Jake."

Though Shields and Diaz are training partners, Diaz's boxing background means that he could pose a much bigger threat to GSP's stand-up game.

Cesar Gracie, Diaz's coach, believes that Nick is the man to challenge GSP's safe style. From MMAjunkie.com:

"He's a guy that could press the action against GSP and not let GSP dictate the pace. GSP has been a great champ, and hats off to him. But there has been criticism that he's not really taking risks. With Nick, you have the ultimate risk-taker. He will fight you at your game. He throws caution to the wind, really, because he's more interested in beating you up than winning on points. I think that makes for an intriguing matchup between the two."

In his bout against Daley, Diaz appeared to be in trouble several times because he took chances to try to end the fight. There was no danger like that in the GSP-Shields bout.

Let's face it, both fighters don't have many challenges within their own promotions or weight classes. Their trainers wouldn't suggest these fights if they didn't think it would be good for the fighters and their careers. It's time for GSP and Diaz to fight. Please make it happen, Zuffa.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Trainers-agree-Georges-St-Pierre-Nick-Diaz-bou?urn=mma-wp1968

Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko Yasubey Enomoto

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That's the way to start out the biggest MMA event in North American history. Pablo Garza flashed some impressive jiu-jitsu by executing a flying triangle. Garza caught Yves Jabouin in the submission and finished it on the ground to up his first UFC victory at 4:31 of the first round.

John Makdessi followed that up with an even more spectacular spinning backfist knockout of Kyle Watson. Watson caught the left hand on the chin, went down in a heap and slammed his head against the mat at 1:27 of the third round. He was actually unconscious for a few minutes following the knockout.

UFC 129 sold 55,000 tickets at Rogers Centre in Toronto. Media members on the scene report that the building is about half full with another five and half hours of fighting on the way.

Garza-Jabouin and Watson-Makdessi were the first two of five fights being streamed on the UFC Facebook page. There's a long way to go, but Garza and Makdessi certainly themselves in the mix for a postfight bonus.

The UFC hands out bonuses for Knockout of the Night, Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night. The promotion awarded record $100,000 bonuses at UFC 100. With a UFC-record gate in excess of $11 million, one can only guess how massive tonight's bonuses might be.

UPDATE: UFC analyst Joe Rogan confirmed the bonuses will be $129,000 each.

You can watch UFC 129 on PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) right here on Yahoo! Sports.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Garza-lands-possible-Sub-of-the-Night-Makdessi-?urn=mma-wp1774

Murilo Bustamante Grant Campbell Gesias JZ Calvancante Luiz Cane

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Former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver is often regarded as the “Godfather” of the little guys–specifically the lightweight division.
Some may forget that before he was considered the worlds best 155-pounder, he was heralded as the best featherweight fighter in the world, though in those times the level of athlete that exists today was not there. [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/05/14/jens-pulver-sees-future-at-135-pounds

Pete Williams Matt Wiman Travis Wiuff Wu Haotian

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Bellator Fighting Championships continued to inject new blood into its welterweight division this week after the recent addition of Douglas Lima with the signing of Michael Costa, a BJJ blackbelt who also happens to be the head Muay Thai instructor at Wand Fight Team in part due to a relationship he established with Wanderlei Silva [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/05/11/chute-boxe-original-michael-costa-joins-bellator-roster/

Pete Williams Matt Wiman Travis Wiuff Wu Haotian

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It's five hours before the pay-per-view begins for UFC 129, but only two before the first fights on Facebook. Here's a cool video shot by MMA Nation. Below is a video with Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole giving his plays for the three big fights. Check out the odds below. There's even proposition bets available for the two title fights.

UFC 129 betting odds (Courtesy Lagasse's Stadium Las Vegas):

Best plays in BOLD

Jake Shields (+350) vs. *Georges St. Pierre (-500) - UFC Welterweight title

Mark Hominick (+375) vs. *Jose Aldo (-550) - UFC Featherweight title

Prop bets
Shields wins: Rd1 25/1; Rd2 20/1; Rd3 22/1; Rd4 20/1; Rd5 30/1; Dec. 7/1

GSP wins: Rd1 6/1; Rd2 5/1; Rd3 5/1; Rd4 9/2; Rd5 8/1; Dec. 6/5; Draw 25/1

Hominick wins: Rd1 25/1; Rd2 22/1; Rd3 22/1; Rd4 25/1; Rd5 30/1; Dec 8/1

Aldo wins: Rd1 9/2; Rd2 7/2; Rd3 3/1; Rd4 4/1; Rd5 6/1; Dec 2/1; Draw 25/1

RANDY COUTURE (+300) vs. Lyoto Machida (-400) - Light heavyweight

Mark Bocek (+110) vs. BEN HENDERSON (-140) - Lightweight

Rory MacDonald (-115) vs. Nate Diaz (-115) - Welterweight

Sean Pierson (+160) vs. Jake Ellenberger (-190) - Welterweight

Daniel Roberts (+120) vs. Claude Patrick (-150) - Welterweight

Charlie Valencia (+140) vs. Ivan Menjivar (-170) - Bantamweight

Ryan Jensen (-110) vs. JASON MACDONALD (-120) - Middleweight

Kyle Watson (+120) vs. John Makdessi (-150) - Welterweight

Pablo Garza (+140) vs. Yves Jabouin (-170) - Featherweight

VLADIMIR MATYUSHENKO (Even) vs. Jason Brilz (-130) - Light heavyweight

*champion

You can watch UFC 129 on PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) right here on Yahoo! Sports.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Video-Final-fight-picks-and-first-Rogers-Centre?urn=mma-wp1753

Fabricio Werdum Vernon White Mike Whitehead Jonathan Wiezorek

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Check out the second half of the UFC 129 pictures from Tracy Lee. See the eye poke that Jake Shields gave, Mark Hominick's head-matoma, and the push-ups Jose Aldo and Hominick did to celebrate. Take a look at Georges St-Pierre's form in his striking. It's so consistent that I thought I had uploaded duplicates of photos.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Exclusive-pictures-from-UFC-129-title-fights?urn=mma-wp1982

Paulo Filho Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic Luiz Buscapé Firmino Spencer Fisher

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKv3b9Oi4xA&feature=player_embedded

Source: http://ninjashoes.net/forum/showthread.php?74552-Batman-WTF-bro!!!!!!!!!!-Damn.&goto=newpost

Dean Amasinger Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen Alex Andrade

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Reports on Monday of the injuries to both Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard initially pointed to a rib injury as the cause of Edgar's removal from this month's UFC 130 card. However, the UFC Lightweight Champion says it was actually an issue with bulging discs in his back that has been causing him the most trouble.

"All of the reports are talking about my ribs, it's actually my back," Edgar told UFC.com. "My back's been bothering me for quite some time. A few weeks ago I had to take a week off so that my back could calm down and I was trying to fight through it. I got through it and it kept blowing out on me here and there but then I ended up blowing out a rib last week. My rib kept popping in and out and then last week my back went out on me really bad, so I went to see a doctor and he said I've got bulging discs and now I'm going to go see a specialist to see what he can do about it."

"I saw a UFC doctor yesterday and he said my L2 and L5 discs are bulged, and he recommended that I don't fight right now. I can't even put my socks on or hold my kids, it's pretty bad right now."

Edgar says he wanted to fight through the pain in order to keep the UFC 130 main event intact, and does not like that he's had to pull out of the fight, but ultimately this injury was too serious to fight through.

"I was planning on going through with the fight with the back injury," he said. "I didn't want to postpone the bout at all. I feel like I lost the fight right now. I'm very depressed about this whole situation. I'm sure in a couple of days I'll realize I did the right thing by going to see a doctor. It's not fair to myself, to Gray, it's not fair to the fans to take a fight like this. I mean, I'm never 100 percent healthy when I step in the Octagon anyway but this is something different. I'm not even 30% right now. When it's really inflamed, the pain is excruciating."

Though UFC President Dana White said on Monday he believed both Edgar and Maynard would be able to return by August or September, Edgar said he's got no timetable on how long he'll be out right now. At the same time, he wants both he and Maynard to be at their best when they do meet for the third time.

"I don't know how long I'll be out. I'm hoping surgery won't be an option right now, I'm hoping I can rehab it and get better and get back to training in a month, but I can't give you any solid answer right now as to how long I'll be out," he said. "From what I hear, Gray is pretty banged up and he wasn't having the best camp either, so maybe everything happens for a reason. I know that when I fight Gray I want him to be at his best, he wants me to be at my best and I'm sure the fans want us both at our best too."

Penick's Analysis: I wouldn't hold out any hope of seeing Edgar-Maynard 3 in August. This sounds a lot more serious for Edgar than White was letting on during Monday's conference call, and with the pain he's dealing with it's going to take some time for him to even get back to a point where he can comfortably train. Back injuries are not fun, and he's going to want to take care of this as best as he possibly can before returning to action, and if he returns too soon he'll have a high probability of hurting himself even worse. I hope he can get himself better soon, but he shouldn't rush things with an injury like this.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_9293.shtml

Jonathan Wiezorek Pete Williams Matt Wiman Travis Wiuff

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Another addition of the “UFC on Versus” installment will be making it’s return August for the fifth-time.
There, heavy handed strikers and fan favorites Dan Hardy and Chris Lytle will meet in the main-event of the evening.
It wasn’t too long ago that both these men were considered to be some of the top contenders in [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/05/12/dan-hardy-vs-chris-lytle-tapped-as-main-event-for-ufc-on-versus-5

Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz Luke Cummo Jeff Big Frog Curran Dai Shuanghai

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During a Q & A with Joe Rogan and six fellow UFC champions, Jon Jones met the with the fans before the UFC 129 weigh-in. He detailed injury that forced him out of his fight against teammate Rashad Evans. He still wants that fight.

"It's definitely going to change the sport and you're gonna have teammates fighting each other left and right now. It's just business. Like if the Patriots had a teammate on the Jets. It's not like they can't play each other for the Super Bowl," Jones said. "You know you just have to get the job done."

Well, technically New England and New York can't meet in the Super Bowl, but we get his point.

Jones is still confused as to why Evans has been upset with him for the last few months saying Rashad gave him his blessing to fight Mauricio Rua at dinner the night before his fight against Ryan Bader.

"I guess the biggest thing that made him upset is that I didn't call him right away to let him know I had done the interview about fighting him," Jones said. "But what I said on the interview was something that I would've said to his face, but he didn't take it very well."

Evans has been talking trash on Twitter and during several Internet interviews since. He even cracked on Jones for a being a swagger-jacker. He explained to the Canadian fans and Rogan what that meant.

"[Before The Tonight Show appearance] I was sent to the same exact stylist and I ended wearing the same shirt, the same suit and the same tie [that] Rashad wore like a year earlier. I show up on Jay Leno, he sees the suit and he's like 'oh you're copying my style.' I have my own swag," joked Jones.

Jones says he has small tears between his thumb and forefinger. It's something that's happened once a year since his days in college. His management decided it was time to get it surgically repaired.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Super-7-Q-A-Jones-explains-how-he-s-not-a-sw?urn=mma-wp1723

Mauricio Rua Dave Menne Murilo Bustamante Evan Tanner

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Yahoo! Sports' newest blog Eh Game spotted one particular downer to Randy Couture's retirement. It'll mean an end to his relationship with the Canadian National Lacrosse League team the Edmonton Rush.

But don't freak out Rush fans you'll still have a piece of Couture in 2011.

Eh Game's Andrew McKay says Rush owner Bruce Urban doesn't want to let go of Couture, so at the Capital Monster Truck Show in July at Rexall Place, Couture will be a truck. That is cool.

It's also a big positive for MMA. We've been searching for a good story involving a monster truck. The last time a big rig and fighter were mentioned in the same sentence came after Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's binge on energy drink.

Couture and his chain of gyms, Xtreme Couture, have worked together with the Rush since 2009. During his recent fights, Couture wore the Rush logo on his shorts while the lacrosse players wore the gym's logo on their uniforms. Couture, with that Rush logo in place, is expected to close out his career tomorrow night at UFC 129 against Lyoto Machida.

You can watch UFC 129 on PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) right here on Yahoo! Sports.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Canada-loves-Couture-so-much-it-made-him-into-a?urn=mma-wp1707

Glover Teixeira Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez has been under the radar so far this year after a shoulder injury suffered in his title-winning performance against Brock Lesnar required him to undergo surgery.

With Thursday's crushing news that Lesnar is out of his fight with Junior Dos Santos at UFC 131 with a resurgence of his diverticulitis, some good news for Velasquez that came out again flew under the radar.

According to a report from Heavy.com, Velasquez has been cleared to return to the gym in a limited capacity, and he's slowly beginning his comeback in hopes of a fall return, now against the winner of Dos Santos and Shane Carwin from next month's event in Vancouver.

"Yeah, I'm back in the gym. I'm limited in what I can do. I can't punch with my right hand yet,? Velasquez said. ?The doctor wants me to take two months to strengthen my right hand.?

Though he can't use that hand during the next two months, he says there's plenty of other things he can do to get himself closer to fighting shape during that time.

"I can run, I can do footwork. There's a lot of stuff I can do," he said. "In those two months, I can get my body ready for one-hundred percent training."

His return is tentatively slated for UFC 136 in October, expected to be the UFC's return to Houston, Texas for the first time since 2007.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: That's great news for Velasquez that he's back in the gym and getting himself back in shape. The year-long layoff is going to be a concern coming into his return fight, as he'll be facing a fellow top striker that will be fresher than he is, whether it's Carwin or Dos Santos. That said, if he can get himself in shape to go full on with his training by the time his camp needs to start for the fight then he should hopefully be able to work off a lot of that rust in the gym before he steps back into the cage. I can't wait to see him return, and regardless of whether he faces Carwin or Dos Santos, it's going to make for one hell of a title fight.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_9319.shtml

Rich Franklin Anderson Silva Mark Weir Fabricio Werdum

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Filed under: Bellator, Results

Bellator 44 results from May 14 in Atlantic City.

MMA Fighting has Bellator 44 results of Hector Lombard vs. Falaniko Vitale, Michael Chandler vs. Patricky Pitbull and the rest of the May 14 card in Atlantic City, N.J.

Bellator middleweight champion Lombard knocked out Hawaii MMA veteran Vitale in a non-title bout. Meanwhile, Chandler bested Pitbull in the finals of this season's lightweight tournament, banking $100,000 and a shot at champion Eddie Alvarez.

Bellator 44 results are below.

Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/05/15/bellator-44-results-lombard-vs-vitale-chandler-vs-pitbull-m/

Vernon White Mike Whitehead Jonathan Wiezorek Pete Williams

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MMA Legend Randy Couture talks about his past, present, and future. www.ShootMedia.com

Source: http://mmalice.com/randy-couture/randy-couture-the-shoot-a-living-legend-tells-his-story-video_f434388a1.html

Brock Lesnar Frank Mir Brock Lesnar Shane Carwin

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Rashad Evans is one of the many fighters in Las Vegas for the UFC Summit. While he listens to lectures and lessons on life, he's still trying to wrap his head around what went down in his rift with former teammate Jon Jones and why he's no longer training with Jackson's MMA in Albuquerque.

Evans said he'll never train with Greg Jackson in Albuquerque again. He'll work out of camps in Florida, Arizona and New York. He's also not sure about Jackson's partner gym, Grudge Training Center in the Denver area.

"Great team out there (Nate Marquardt, Shane Carwin, Brendan Schaub, Duane Ludwig). It's like family out there, but the thing about that is ... they're like team-affiliated with Jackson. I don't want to put them in a position where they feel like they train with me and [they're] having to choose because of the way things are."

Evans said he and Jones crossed paths in Toronto at UFC 129.

"I seen him in Toronto and walked by him and he looked at me and said 'what you looking at' and I said 'what you looking at,'"� Evans said.

The fighters followed that up by calling each clowns and moved on.

Evans feels Jones is two different people.

"Jon will put on his Jon Jones hat when he's in front of the media, but I know Jon Jones," Evans said. "I have more respect for 'Rampage' [Jackson] than I do for Jon. At least Rampage will be like 'this is me, this is what you get.' He's straight up, boom. I don't like that sneaky, sneaky stuff. Jon is like sneaky. Snake ... snake."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Evans-unplugged-Never-going-back-to-Jackson-s-a?urn=mma-wp2161

Chris Dolman Edson Drago Tomasz Drwal Joe Hybrid Duarte

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*** Watch Complete 1/2hr HD Episodes on http://www.MMAheat.com *** MMA H.E.A.T.'s Karyn Bryant spends a few minutes with former UFC Light Heavyweight Champ Lyoto Machida, right after his photo shoot and scanning session with Round 5. The Brazilian star tells us how he feels about having his own action figure, and then talks about his preparation for UFC 129, where he'll face Randy Couture. Lyoto gives his thoughts on Randy's legacy, what this fight means to him and what he did to make sure he's ready for such an important event. Be sure to visit http://www.MMAheat.com for more interviews and archived episodes of our 1/2 hour TV show. N�s falamos Portugu�s! * We're on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MMAheat * Follow MMAheat on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MMAheat * Follow Karyn on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/KarynBryant

Source: http://mmalice.com/ufc-129/ufc-129s-lyoto-machida-on-randy-couture-and-re-inventing-video_979eb192f.html

Shinya Aoki Andrei Arlovski Ricardo Arona Noboru Asahi

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Twitter is essentially where the news of Osama bin Laden's death broke. It's also where many Americans and folks around the world reacted. The immediacy of Twitter is amazing, but can also be dangerous.

Here's a sampling of the reaction from some folks around the MMA world.

Former Ultimate Fighter cast member Brad Tavares was lost when he started seeing bin Laden trending. Inside a movie theater, he hadn't seen the news.

Tiki Ghosn, a trainer partner of Quinton Jackson's, was in celebratory mode.

Brian Stann, a Naval Academy grad and Marine, hopes this is the beginning of real progress in the Middle East.

Tim Kennedy, an Army Ranger, who's served in both Afghanistan and Iraq, wishes he was involved in the bin Laden raid.

Carlos Condit called for extra retribution.

Kenny Florian gave praise to the special force members who sacrificed all these years in pursuit of bin Laden.

Anthony Johnson did the same.

UFC veteran Nate Quarry looked to lighten the mood by turning to the joke that was used no less than 500 times this morning.

Showtime announcer Mauro Ranallo had the strange initial reaction of asking why it took so long to catch bin Laden.

He was greeted with anger and an explanation.

Jiu-jitsu ace and former UFC broadcaster Eddie Bravo began to discuss 9-11 conspiracy theories.

HDNet broadcaster Michael Schiavello said he'd have to retire one of his "time proven" catch-phrases.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/MMA-world-reacts-on-Twitter-to-death-of-bin-Lade?urn=mma-wp1936

Matt Andersen Alex Andrade Jermaine Andrè Yoji Anjo

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The Fight Network presents Part 1 of a two-part preview show previewing UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields on April 30 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON

Source: http://mmalice.com/ufc-129/ufc-129-preview-show-part-1-video_ff22628fd.html

Joe Doerksen Chris Dolman Edson Drago Tomasz Drwal

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UFC president Dana White talks about Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields at UFC 129 in Toronto, and answers the question: If GSP wins, will he have cleaned out the welterweight division, opening the door for a possible fight with Anderson Silva? Get more MMA and UFC news at the World's top MMA News website http://www.mmaweekly.com.

Source: http://mmalice.com/ufc-129/dana-white-breaks-down-ufc-129-georges-st-pierre-vs-jake-shields-video_58eb47522.html

Mac Danzig Karen Darabedyan Viacheslav Datsik Marcus Davis

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Brock Lesnar has been forced to withdraw from UFC 131's main event against fellow Ultimate Fighter 13 coach Junior dos Santos after suffering from another bout of diverticulitis.

Shane Carwin has replaced Lesnar and will face dos Santos at the June 11 event in Vancouver.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/18481/brock-lesnar-off-ufc-131-junior-dos-santos-faces-shane-carwin-on-june-11/

Murilo Bustamante Grant Campbell Gesias JZ Calvancante Luiz Cane

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship officially announced that middleweight champion Anderson Silva will defend his title against Yushin Okami at UFC 134 Rio. Okami is the last fighter to defeat Silva, albeit by a disqualification due to an illegal kick at Rumble on the Rock 8 in 2006. Since that loss Silva (28-4) has gone on [...]

Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami, 3 other bouts official for UFC 134 Rio is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

Source: http://www.mmainterplay.com/ufc-news/anderson-silva-vs-yushin-okami-3-other-bouts-official-for-ufc-134-rio-54523/

Kenny Florian Jesse Forbes Xavier Foupa Pokam Hermes Franca

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Mark Hominick put forth a valiant effort, but at the end of the night it wasn't enough to dethrone UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo at UFC 129 in Toronto.

Despite a massive hematoma suffered in the fourth round, Hominick came out in the third round, took Aldo to the ground and delivered punishment until the final bell. But the one round of work wasn't enough to make up for four lost rounds prior to the final frame.

He gave Aldo everything he had, landing punches and hitting a tired champion with numerous combinations throughout, but for four rounds Aldo found a way to win each of them with a combination of leg kicks, takedowns and precise punches.

In both the third and fourth round, Aldo dropped Hominick with punches, but was unable to put him away in either situation. The toughness displayed by Hominick was appreciated by the hometown crowd, who cheered heavily for him afterward, but ultimately his fifth round assault was too little too late.

After an injury kept him out of action for a few months, Aldo showed the negative affects of the injury and layoff, as well as a bad weight cut. However, a not-100% Aldo was able to take Hominick to the limit and win four of those round to earn the decision and hold onto his title in his first UFC fight.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_9204.shtml

Edson Drago Tomasz Drwal Joe Hybrid Duarte Aldrin de Jesus

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Former WEC featherweight champ Mike Brown is set to return to the Octagon for the third time this year after back-to-back appearances in January left him nursing a torn finger ligament and an inability to fully train due to repeated cases of lactic acid build-up. Brown has since healed up and, according to an announcement [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/05/11/mike-brown-back-in-action-at-ufc-133-against-nam-phan/

Jon Olav Einemo Per Eklund Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko

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Always makes me wonder when in films, everytime you see a computer expert (usually a nerdy type) trying to hack a security system or whatever he...

Source: http://forums.ufc.production.sparkart.net/showthread.php?t=86285&goto=newpost

Marcelo Brito Rob Broughton Mike Brown Junie Browning

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Zuffa's yearly gathering of fighters brought 350 of MMA's best to Las Vegas. This was the first summit that included Strikeforce fighters, so it made for many strange interactions and pictures.� Here are some of the best.

Dana White and Josh Barnett hated each other ... until White bought Barnett's employer. Love Money changes everything.

Takanori Gomi clearly found the presentations riveting.

Man, Anderson Silva. Miesha Tate just wanted to take a picture with cool hipster glasses, and you had to go and photobomb it.

Strikeforce champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos and her husband Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos met their new employers.

Oh, cool. Just some fighters hanging out around my* orange Lamborghini. Don't scratch the finish, Meathead! From left: Ryan Bader, Urijah Faber, Cain Velasquez, Eddie Wineland, Matt Mitrione, Jake Ellenberger and Phil Davis.

See many, many more pictures from the week over at Combat Lifestyle.

* OK, so it's not technically mine. I drive a Honda Civic, which is basically the same thing as a Lamborghini.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/The-best-and-oddest-pictures-from-the-Zuffa-figh?urn=mma-wp2242

Vitor Belfort Robert Berry David Bielkheden Michael Bisping

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– WWE issued the following today: WWE� CFO George Barrios to Participate in the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on May 16 STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–WWE (NYSE:WWE) announced today that its Chief Financial Officer, George A. Barrios, will participate in the 39th Annual J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, on May 16, 2011, in Boston, MA. Mr. Barrios’ remarks are expected to begin at approximately 10:40 a.m. ET. A live audio webcast will be available online at corporate.wwe.com/investors. Also, a replay of the presentation will begin ...

Source: http://www.ifight365.com/2011/05/wwe-raw-crew-headed-to-mexico-dibiase-news-notes-more/

Patrick The Predator Côté Randy The Natural Couture Dan Cramer Alberto Crane

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There aren't many of us who understand what really went into the� Osama bin Laden kill. Tim Kennedy is one of those unique Americans who've been in the middle of an intense international man hunt. As a Special Forces Army Ranger, Kennedy served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. While awaiting his return to active duty, he's embarked on a pretty successful MMA career with Strikeforce.

Kennedy joined me on ESPN1100 in Las Vegas to give us some insight on what went down and how he feels about some people questioning the tactics of the military.

Many people were angered by the fact that bin Laden's body was dumped at sea. Americans with an eye-for-an-eye mentality certainly won't see video of the kill, and there won't be official photos to view. Kennedy doesn't understand why those things would be necessary.

"If somebody hurt my family, I wouldn't want to sit there and watch that guy executed. I would just want to know that justice was done," Kennedy said (7:45 mark).

Kennedy also countered fear-mongering media members who think bin Laden's death means the U.S. is cutting back in its pursuit of terrorists around the world.

"This isn't even the beginning of the end. This is an opportunity for us to really catch them while they're scrambling," Kennedy said. "If anything it's going to stir up more reaction and more fanatics. Right now it's just as dangerous as it's ever been."

As far as his MMA career, Kennedy reiterated that he wants a fight with Robbie Lawler. He mentioned the Fedor Emelianenko-Dan Henderson card proposed for the Chicago area in late July.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Kennedy-interview-Army-Special-Forces-MMA-fight?urn=mma-wp1998

Edson Drago Tomasz Drwal Joe Hybrid Duarte Aldrin de Jesus

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We?re only five months into the 2011 calendar year, and already the UFC has celebrated several firsts. And in the summer, they?ll celebrate another: their first event in Brazil in over a decade. It?s a long time coming, considering that many of the UFC?s top fighters and most popular athletes all call Brazil home, while [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/05/10/new-details-on-ufc-134-four-fights-official-several-more-awaiting-confirmation

Dan Cramer Alberto Crane Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz Luke Cummo

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Vladimir Matyushenko must have had other plans for Saturday night, as he made quick work of Jason Brilz at UFC 129 in Toronto. He won the fight in just 20 seconds.

In front of 55,000 at the Rogers Centre, Matyushenko came out swinging, landing a perfect undercut that sent Briz to the ground. He finished with ground and pound that knocked Brilz out. Brilz protested after the fight, but the replay showed that he had gone limp.

"I've been working on my striking skills a lot," Matyushenko said after the win. "I wanted to prove to my fans that I'm capable of doing much more."

This win puts the 40-year-old Belarussian's record at 26-5, while Brilz falls to 18-4.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Matyushenko-gets-UFC-129-win-in-less-than-a-minu?urn=mma-wp1828

Yasubey Enomoto Mark Epstein Tom Big Cat Erickson Martinsh Egle

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If contracts mean anything it appears we're closer to Nick Diaz stepping away from MMA to try his hand at boxing. Press releases were sent out today saying the Strikeforce 170-pound champion has signed a deal to fight former 168-pound boxing champion Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy in October.

Lacy's publicist Bernie Bahrmasel said his fighter has signed the deal. ESPN.com's Josh Gross spoke with Diaz's mentor Cesar Gracie, who said the MMA fighter also put pen to paper.

Diaz didn't actually sign a contract to fight Lacy. He's signed a bout agreement with Don Chargin, the promoter, with the understanding that it's going to be Lacy.

It's a surprising matchup on both sides. Lacy, a pro boxer with 30 fights under his belt, has a lot to lose. Diaz, who hasn't lost an MMA bout since 2007, has only fought professionally on the boxing side one time.

"It's a challenge when somebody calls him out," Bahrmasel told Yahoo! Sports. "It's a personal thing when somebody says 'you're this, you're that. I can come and kick your butt.'� And Jeff's like, 'I'm Jeff Lacy pal. I've been a successful boxer for a very long time. You want to step in with me under boxing rules and prove yourself, it's absolutely personal.'

Two weeks ago, Lacy (25-4-1) spoke about Diaz calling him out.

"Honestly, I was a little stunned. Nick has accomplished a great deal in mixed martial arts and is certainly one of the best in the sport. But getting in the ring with me for a boxing match is a path he needs to be very wary of taking. I'm willing to put it all on the line anytime, anywhere!" said Lacy.

"For the right price, I'm more than interested in heading to his turf and put my fist in his mouth and silencing him."

That kind of trash talk surprised his publicist.

"For Jeff to use that kind of language, it's not typically the way he talks," Bahrmasel said. "He's always been very respectful. But you throw a sword in his direction then you're going to get Jeff Lacy."

The Lacy Camp has no worries about losing to Diaz (1-0).

"He's never lost to a guy who's 1-0 in boxing. How's that for a line? I'll leave it at that," said Bahrmasel.

Is Diaz taking a negotiating position to ensure an MMA fight against Georges St. Pierre before the end of 2011 or will he really go through with this? That's what it sounded like when Gracie spoke with MMAFighting. Seems like a risky proposition for Diaz. If he gets destroyed by Lacy, we're not so sure he can just walk back to MMA and expect anyone to promote a mega-fight against GSP in the near future.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Diaz-vs-Lacy-set-Camp-Lacy-says-Left-Hook-is?urn=mma-wp2059

Edson Drago Tomasz Drwal Joe Hybrid Duarte Aldrin de Jesus

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