Video: Watch Today?s UFC 149 Press Conference LIVE On MMAFrenzy.com at 2 PM EST

Today's press conference from Flames Central in Calgary announcing that UFC 149 will be taking place in Calgary in July will be streamed LIVE here on MMAFrenzy.com at 2 PM EST. Make sure to check back at that time to watch as UFC President Dana White will be making that public, along with a "major announcement" to be announced with it.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/27968/video-watch-todays-ufc-149-press-conference-live-on-mmafrenzy-com-at-2-pm-est/

John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves 

Bellator fighter off Friday?s card, wanted by police

Eric Oria was supposed to show up at Bellator's weigh-ins on Thursday to officially weigh in for his first professional fight in Hammond, Ind. Instead, the Indiana State Police showed, looking to take Oria into custody.

The Northwest Indiana Times reported Oria missed Thursday's weigh-ins. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said Oria scratched from the card before weigh-ins because of "physical problems."

Oria had an outstanding warrant on a charge of criminal recklessness. He was scheduled to fight Lance Surma on the show's undercard. After two amateur fights in Hammond, he was set to make his pro debut in the same town as his other fights.

In an interview with the Times earlier in the week, he said the fight was "on the highlights of his life." According to MMA Recap, the fight was pulled because it was too late to find a replacement for Oria.

Oria's no-show was not the only shake-up to Friday's card. The featherweight tournament was shook up as Genair da Silva did not make weight and was replaced by Kenny Foster. Foster will now take on "PoPo" Bezerra.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/bellator-fighter-off-friday-card-wanted-police-045312605.html

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz

American Top Team mining NCAA wrestling for talent

Though most of the people who set attendance records at the NCAA Division I wrestling championships in St. Louis last week were fans, at least one attendee was there to look for up-and-coming talent. Ricardo Liborio, the leader of American Top Team in Florida, headed to Missouri to find the best athletes who want to make the transition from wrestling to MMA.

Cagewriter spoke to Liborio, who has worked with such fighters as Thiago Alves and Tyron Woodley, about why he is looking to wrestling to find his next great star.

"The endpoint is to recruit guys who are done with their careers as a wrestler. Probably senior guys who want to start their MMA career. Some guys are not making it through their careers, the guys who couldn't make the Olympic team. And, we're open. I have some offers for athletes, depending on their caliber of what they can bring to the table. Guys like Bubba [Jenkins], we're recruiting, we're negotiating, and we're willing to invest in them. We're building them from the ground up," Liborio said.

He said he's been looking to wrestlers for years, but attended the NCAA championships for the first time last year. There, he watched Arizona State's Bubba Jenkins win a national title. Not long after, Jenkins joined ATT, where he's won both of his fights with a submission.

Liborio says wrestlers make great fighters because of the culture of the sport.

"Work ethic, athletic ability, but mental toughness of keep going, don't quit. The culture of other sports, that's not as exalted as it is in wrestling. There are great athletes with a great work ethic who are tough. They compete every weekend, they cut their weight."

ATT has created a boot camp of sorts to help athletes who have excelled in wrestling transition to MMA, but it works best when future fighters will open themselves up to learn.

"Those guys who understand they're learning a completely different discipline. Learning, striking, ground game. We have it right now as a science. All those guys who came from just wrestling and go into a kind of boot camp that makes them much better fighters."

Though several wrestlers will pursue Olympic gold this summer or in 2016, most will not make the team. With ATT and other camps looking out for wrestlers, they have a way to "go pro" in their sport.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/american-top-team-mining-ncaa-wrestling-talent-202037235.html

Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott

Tony Hawk Foundation No Longer Supporting Pre-Fab Parks

The Tony Hawk Foundation announced today that they will no longer give grants to park projects made from wood, steel, polymer structures, or precast concrete featuring steel transition plates. This means only high quality concrete parks will be supported by the Tony Hawk Foundation. Get your grant applications in before the February 1, 2012 deadline.

no prefab parks

Source: http://theskateboardmag.com/blogs/templeton-elliott/2011/12/15/tony-hawk-foundation-no-longer-supporting-pre-fab-parks/

Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague

Flyweight final set as Demetrious Johnson and Joe Benavidez win at UFC on FX 2

Update: UFC president Dana White announced at the post-event press conference that the McCall-Johnson decision was read incorrectly. The decision was supposed to be a draw, and the fight should've gone to a 'sudden-death' fourth round. White says the UFC will try to set up a rematch in April.

Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez took very different paths to the final, with Johnson winning a tight decision and Benavidez getting a second-round knockout at UFC on FX 2 in Australia. Those wins set them up to face off for the first ever UFC flyweight (125-lb.) championship.

Johnson survives to win split decision

Despite a terrible third round, Demetrious Johnson won the UFC's first flyweight fight in a majority decision. 29-28, 29-28, 29-29. Though the crowd in Australia yelled their displeasure, Ian McCall's strong third round was not enough for the win. The fight was originally announced as a split decision in Johnson's favor, but MMA Junkie showed score cards from on-site that showed one judge scored the first round as a 10-10 draw.

Johnson started with fast kicks followed by sticking and moving. McCall got a takedown on an inside trip, but Johnson managed a reversal and brought the fight back to the feet. McCall took advantage of a leg kick, using it to take Johnson to his back. When McCall stopped takedowns, Johnson still would make him pay on the way out with a punch or two.

The second round featured continued furious action, with the fighters standing in front of each other early in the round and trading blows. Johnson peppered McCall's legs with kicks, while McCall landed powerful shots when he could get his hands on Johnson.

Early in the third round, McCall bent over when he was inadvertently kicked in the crotch, but referee Leon Roberts did not stop the fight. Johnson took advantage and landed several punches before McCall responded.

Johnson tried a flying knee, but McCall just used it to take Johnson to the ground and land several elbows. They returned to their feet, but then McCall got another takedown. He took Johnson's back, stretched him out, and landed a bevy of strikes. Somehow, Johnson kept the fight alive and got back to his feet. With less than a minute left, Johnson tried for a takedown, but after a scramble, McCall ended up on top and then in full guard. He laid into Johnson's face with strike after strike, yelling to the crowd as he punched in the final seconds of the fight.

Benavidez earns final berth with TKO

Benavidez didn't leave it in the hands of the judges, knocking out Yasuhiro Urushitani in the second round.

Urushitani showed strong takedown defense early in the first round, but Benavidez was able to get him down late in the round. He took his back, controlling him with body triangle and a rear naked choke. However, it was too late in the round to end the fight. Urushitani survived.

Benavidez wasted no time in the second round. He knocked Urushitani down with a short right hook and finished him with ground and pound. The fight was stopped 11 seconds into the second round.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/flyweight-final-set-demetrious-johnson-joe-benavidez-win-033231860.html

Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio 

Roy Nelson will try drop to 205 lb. if he gets 100K Facebook likes

Roy Nelson, the UFC heavyweight who is known as much for his rotund figure as his 16-7 record, is thinking about making a change, but with a caveat. He made a bet with a friend, and Nelson will try to drop to light heavyweight if he gets 100,000 Facebook likes.

Bet is I will try to get to 205 if I can add 100k to Facebook.com/RoyNelsonUFC in two weeks. I love to win bets. Plus he will have to give me a part in his next movie.

For his fight with Fabricio Werdum, Nelson weighed in at 246 lbs. He's six-foot, a normal height for light heavies. Considering how he has slimmed down and added muscle since his stint on "The Ultimate Fighter," dropping to 205 lbs. isn't out of the question.

As of right now, he has 62,000, and 13 days to continue to add likes. You can help him in this by visiting Nelson's Facebook page and simply pressing like. Feel free to visit the Cagewriter Facebook page and give it a like, too.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/roy-nelson-try-drop-205-lb-gets-100k-211852793.html

Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana 

Ohio and New Jersey revoke Strikeforce fighter?s license for falsifying application

Brandon Saling, the registered sexual offender fighter with a neo-Nazi tattoo who lost to Roger Bowling at Strikeforce on Saturday, had his license revoked in Ohio and New Jersey. According to the Ohio Athletic Commission, he falsified his application, answering "no" when asked if he had a criminal background.

Though having a background as a sex offender and championing the ideology of Adolf Hitler is reprehensible, it's not enough to necessarily keep someone from fighting. Lying, on the other hand, will get you bounced. Bernie Profato, the head of the OAC, talked to MMA Junkie about the matter:

"There's a dual thing there," Profato said. "He'll have to answer to the falsification, and two, if you read the law, it says they don't have to license you for a felony. Now, it will be whether they ever license him again because of being listed as a sexual predator."

Saling has two separate convictions: one of gross sexual imposition in 2004 and a domestic violence charge in 2008. He started fighting in 2008 and has a pro record of 8-6. He can appeal the OAC's decision at a hearing on April 11. UFC president Dana White commented that Saling might want to find another line of work.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ohio-jersey-revoke-strikeforce-fighter-license-falsifying-application-213620523.html

Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague