Bellator 71 Kicks Off 2012 Summer Series in Chester, West Virginia

Bellator Fighting Championships will make its 2012 Summer Series debut from The Mountain State when the promotion brings Bellator 71 to The Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort in Chester, West Virginia on June 22. Bellator 71 will feature the quarterfinals of the Bellator Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament, along with a host of preliminary fights.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/28230/bellator-71-kicks-off-2012-summer-series-in-chester-west-virginia/

Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade 

UFC 147 date in question because of United Nations convention

Though the trash talk and training camps for Anderson Silva's title bout with Chael Sonnen are underway, the date of their fight is in question. A United Nations convention set for the same time as UFC 147 in Rio de Janeiro may force the UFC to move from the June 23 date.

UFC president Dana White talked about it after UFC on Fuel 2 on Saturday.

"The problem is, they don't like the idea of us coming the same time this United Nations convention is going on," he said. "The other problem is hotel rooms. Most of the hotel rooms are being taken up. And we don't think, we know that the Anderson Silva-Chael Sonnen fight is one of the biggest sporting events this year, in the world."

A lack of hotel rooms in a city the size of Rio is an ongoing problem. They are building hotels to deal with the upcoming Olympics in 2016 and the World Cup in 2014, but that won't help the UFC this June.

Since the UFC generally plans their events well after conventions of all stripes are set, it's surprising that this snafu would just come up now. Rio+20 has been planned since January 2011. Checking what's going on in a town before booking an event is event-planning 101. That doesn't matter if you're planning a birthday party or a major sporting event.

This isn't the first scheduling problem the UFC has faced this year. In January, they were forced to postpone a planned March event in Montreal because they didn't feel the bouts were good enough for an event of that size. The postponement was the reason for the recently-ended six-week Zuffa drought.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-147-date-because-united-nations-convention-192144583.html

Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe

Frank Shamrock, braceless, is your picture of the day

Brace yourselves. MMA legend and Strikeforce commentator Frank Shamrock has worn braces on his teeth for pretty much ever. They were a familiar sight to fight fans, as was the question, "When will Shamrock get those braces off?" The answer to that question is April 12, 2012.

Do you even recognize him?

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/frank-shamrock-braceless-picture-day-124959237.html

Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague

Dana White agrees to soccer player Jimmy Conrad?s challenge after panning the sport

In an interview last week, UFC president Dana White called soccer players the least talented athletes on the planet.

Can't stand soccer. It's the least-talented sport on Earth. There's a reason three-year-olds can play soccer. When you're playing a game when the net is that big and the score is 3-1 (and that's a blowout) are you kidding me? You know how untalented you have to be to score three times when the net is that big?

Considering that soccer is the world's most popular sport, he ruffled quite a few feathers with that comment. One set of ruffled feathers belonged to Jimmy Conrad, a retired American soccer player. Conrad, who played for the U.S. men's national team and in Major League Soccer, responded to White with a challenge.

Conrad is ready to take on White in a soccer challenge. According to Dirty Tackle editor Brooks Peck, though Conrad is retired, he could still have some fun with White.

He was a defender and though he doesn't have the tricks or scoring flair of a Ronaldinho, he will embarrass Dana White with a smile on his face.

To White's credit, he did respond to Conrad over Twitter, saying he accepted the challenge.

Let's hope Conrad and White can make this thing happen. Perhaps White will learn a new found love for the beautiful game, give up MMA, and become a world-renowned soccer promoter.

OK, that won't happen, but the challenge will still be fun to watch.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/dana-white-agrees-soccer-player-jimmy-conrad-challenge-195007720.html

Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè 

The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil Fourth Episode Now Available on UFC.com

The fourth episode of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil premiered last night in Brazil, with the entire episode now available here in the United States. The series, which is of course, filmed in Brazil, is shot in Portuguese, but airs on the website with English subtitles.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/28224/the-ultimate-fighter-brazil-fourth-episode-now-available-on-ufc-com/

Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama 

?The Ultimate Fighter: Live? Episode 6 Ratings on the Uptick

Despite moving to a new network and trying on a revamped format, ratings have flagged during the latest season of the UFC's flagship reality television series, "The Ultimate Fighter." Though they may not have been big numbers themselves, the ratings for the latest episode of "TUF: Live" at least improve upon those from the week before, which set a record low for the series.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/28229/the-ultimate-fighter-live-episode-6-ratings-on-the-uptick/

Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana 

Nick Diaz Unable to Garner Spot at April 24th NSAC Meeting

The suspension and the saga that has followed with Nick Diaz continues to get more complicated, as Diaz and his legal support group wrote a letter to the Nevada Athletic Commission requesting a formal placement at a hearing scheduled for April 24th. Christopher Eccles, the Nevada Deputy Attorney General, declined that request, stating Diaz and his group have yet to provide a specific piece of evidence- Diaz's medical marijuana license.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/28249/nick-diaz-unable-to-garner-spot-at-april-24th-nsac-meeting/

Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo 

UFC on Fuel TV 2 Ratings See Slight Dip to 197,000 Viewers

The second event in Fuel TV history took place this past weekend in Stockholm, Sweden, an event which saw native Alexander Gustafsson defeat Thiago Silva in the main event. The first event in Omaha, Nebraska took place in February, and drew 217,000 viewers. Saturday's event saw its numbers fall, with the average number of viewers dropping a tad to 197,000.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/28239/ufc-on-fuel-tv-2-ratings-see-slight-dip-to-197000-viewers/

Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo