Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen rematch is on for June in Brazil

After months of rumors, the UFC finally confirmed that it will head back to Brazil in June. At Joao Havelange Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Anderson Silva will rematch with Chael Sonnen for the UFC middleweight belt. After a season of coaching of the first Brazilian "The Ultimate Fighter," Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort will fight. To the press release:

"This will be the biggest sporting event of the year," said UFC president Dana White.  "Bigger than the NFL, the NBA, you name it - UFC 147 will be the biggest.  The whole world wants to see this fight between Silva and Sonnen.  We are broadcast in over 150 countries in 22 languages in half a billion homes.  Wherever those fans are, they are going to be watching this fight."

Don't anybody tell White, but this is an Olympic year. One fight card in Brazil will not surpass even the opening ceremony for the Summer Olympics, but it's a nice goal. Joao Havelange holds 46,931 for a soccer match, but presumably, floor seats will help the UFC break its record of 55,000 set at UFC 129 in Toronto.

Regardless of how many people tune in or turn out for the fights, this rematch will be fun. The last time the two fought, Sonnen beat up Silva for 4 1/2 rounds. Three minutes into the final round, Silva used a triangle armbar to submit Sonnen. Since then, animosity between the two has reached epic levels. Sonnen still refuses to admit that he lost to Silva.

Though it's still March, the buildup for this fight should border on insane. Before we get lost in the insanity, how do you see this fight going down? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

? Police dog bites player during Brazilian soccer match

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/anderson-silva-vs-chael-sonnen-rematch-june-185758960.html

Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander

Rashad Evans turns down request to sign picture of him getting knocked out

UFC light heavyweight contender Rashad Evans turned down a fan for an autograph in a video uploaded over the weekend.

Can you blame him? Though Evans has a stack of signature cards on the table, the fan wants him to sign this:

It's from his one loss. In that bout, Evans lost the UFC light heavyweight belt to Machida by knockout. It's a bad memory, and he does not want to be reminded of it as he prepares to try to get that title back from Jon Jones at UFC 145.

Though Evans is often booed by fans, he still rarely turns down an autograph. In an interview with Cagewriter in 2010, he talked about it.

"If they didn't boo me, that would be strange. It's funny, I'll sign autographs all day, and everyone's my number one fan. Then they'll show me on the screen, and I'll get booed. I think, 'I just signed a million autographs. Who is booing me?'"

He can bet that one fan he turned down is joining in the boos, but since he was carrying around a picture of Evans getting knocked out, he wasn't much of a fan in the first place.

Thanks, Middle Easy.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/rashad-evans-turns-down-request-sign-picture-him-225039280.html

Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade 

Weekend Warriors: Bellator?s lightweight final four emerges and Lawrence advances on TUF

Welcome to another edition of weekend warriors, your rundown of what happened while you were watching the state of Kentucky break out in a war over a round, orange ball.

Bellator got to its lightweight final four. Watch the recap video above of Lloyd Woodard's fantastic win over Patricky Freire. (Seriously. It's worth your seven minutes.) Rick Hawn, an Olympic judo player, showed off striking skills with a TKO halfway through the first round. Brent Weedman advanced to the semifinals with a second-round submission of J.J. Ambrose. Thiago Michel rounds out the field after a split decision win over Rene Nazare.

TUF Awkwardness

This week's episode of "The Ultimate Fighter" started with last week's awkward fight pick. Since Dominick Cruz's team won the first fight, he had the next fight pick. When given the chance, he picked Justin Lawrence, the no. 1 pick from his own team. But he didn't name an opponent. Instead, Cruz asked Urijah Faber who he wanted to face Lawrence.

Put on the spot, Faber didn't have an answer, and no one from the team raised his hand to fight. Yikes. Cruz finally picked Cristiano Marcello, the experienced BJJ specialist who trained at Chute Boxe in Brazil.

Team Faber had good reason to be concerned, as Lawrence stopped Marcello in the second round. A push kick to the abdomen in the first round knocked Marcello down, but Marcello was effective in pushing the fight. His success was short-lived. Midway through the the second round, Lawrence threw a big left and ended the fight.

The second win for Team Cruz gave them another fight pick. Myles Jury from Team Cruz will take on Al Iaquinta from Team Faber.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/weekend-warriors-bellator-lightweight-final-four-emerges-lawrence-133340302.html

Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah 

Strikeforce and Bellator bouts the latest matches to be matched for May

Yente, yente, yente! The matchmakers from Strikeforce and Bellator have a few new bouts for you to enjoy this spring.

-- On May 19, Josh Thomson will challenge Gilbert Melendez for the Strikeforce lightweight belt. This fight will be their third meeting; Each man has one decision win. The fight will happen the same night Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier meet for the final of the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix. Also on that card, former light heavyweight champ Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante will meet Mike Kyle.

-- Bellator announced the bout between Megumi Fujii and Jessica Aguilar will take place on May 18. Both women have losses to Zoila Gurgel. Fujii has three wins in Japan since the close decision loss to Gurgel, while Aguilar won her last four. The bout will take place at 115 lbs.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/strikeforce-bellator-bouts-latest-matches-matched-may-183656801.html

Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo 

Friday night talkback thread: Bellator and two TUFs

Another Friday night means more live fights on basic cable for your enjoyment. On MTV2, Bellator 62 will feature the opening round of the lightweight tournament. Patricky "Pitbull" Freire will take on Lloyd Woodard and his awesome mustache, J.J. Ambrose will fight Brent Weedman, Olympian Rick Hawn faces off with Ricardo Tirloni and Thiago Michel will fight Rene Nazare. They are all hoping to win the tournament to get a shot at Bellator lightweight champ Michael Chandler.

On "The Ultimate Fighter," Justin Lawrence will fight Cristiano Marcello in a battle of two highly-touted fighters. Tune into FX for the live fight.

This weekend, fight fans can also tune into the debut of the Brazilian version of "The Ultimate Fighter." The show will stream online at Br.TUF.tv at midnight ET.

Use this post to talk about the weekend's MMA happenings, or go to Cagewriter's Facebook and Twitter page.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/friday-night-talkback-thread-bellator-two-tufs-232215144.html

Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John AlessioÂ