Photo: Jon Jones, Kate Upton and Jane Lynch pal around at Daytona 500

A UFC champ, a Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model and an Emmy-winning actress met up at the Daytona 500 today. Jon Jones was an honorary race official, while Kate Upton and Jane Lynch were there to spend some time being awesome.

The race was delayed until Monday, so they had plenty of time to discuss throwing elbows, photoshoots, and wearing track suits. Hopefully, Lynch was offering "Bones" a cameo on "Glee." Nothing could prepare him better for his fight with Rashad Evans than a song and dance with New Directions.

Jones also got to meet some of the biggest names in racing: And he even got a car with his name on it.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/photo-jon-jones-kate-upton-jane-lynch-pal-015058867.html

Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger 

Matchmaker, matchmaker: Fights for ?Mayhem,? Evan Dunham and Eddie Alvarez

Though MMA's spring schedule is not as dizzying as its winter pace, there are plenty of fight cards that need filling. To that end:

-- Jason "Mayhem" Miller will take on C.B. Dollaway at UFC 146 on Memorial Day weekend in Las Vegas. This is Miller's first fight since losing the Michael Bisping at "The Ultimate Fighter" season 14 finale. Dollaway has been finished in his last two bouts, a TKO to Jared Hamman and a KO to Mark Munoz.

-- Evan Dunham and Edson Barboza will also meet at UFC 146. Dunham just fought at UFC on Fox 2, scoring a win over Nik Lentz. Known for his powerful striking, Barboza has never lost. His knockout of Terry Etim at UFC 142 was called one of the best knockouts in UFC history.

-- In Bellator, Eddie Alvarez and Shinya Aoki are expected to meet in April. Alvarez was submitted by an Aoki heel hook in 2008. After that loss, he won seven straight before losing a classic title bout to Michael Chandler. Aoki is currently holds the DREAM lightweight belt.

Who will win these bouts? Talk to us in the comments, on Facebook, or on Twitter.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/matchmaker-matchmaker-fights-mayhem-evan-dunham-eddie-alvarez-163239878.html

John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves 

The more you climb, the better you?ll climb

I have had a few days away from climbing - in fact, my last session was 3 weekends ago at Froggatt - and so I got back to the gym this week. My local gym has an auto-belay setup so I was able to do some indoor routes without company. And I struggled! Struggled to get [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rock-climbing-blog/~3/m7EzE0aQ8xw/philsheard

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz

Benson Henderson takes UFC lightweight title in classic decision

Benson Henderson won the UFC's lightweight belt by winning a decision 49-46, 48-47, 49-46 over Frankie Edgar at Saitama Super Arena in Japan on Saturday. His cardio and strength were too much for the smaller Edgar.

The two lightweights came out with great movement and crazy strikes in the first round, just as you would expect from two smaller guys. Edgar stalked Henderson down, but Henderson did not back away from the fight. He threw several kicks, and Edgar caught them.

[Video: Henderson is too strong for Edgar]

In the second round, Edgar continued to move around the cage and cut angles, meeting Henderson with leg kicks. Again, Edgar caught Henderson's kicks, but Henderson adapted in this round and threw a jab, even with his leg in Edgar's hands. Henderson cut Edgar's left eye with his jab, and it swelled as the fight went on. Late in the second, Edgar got a takedown, and when he moved off Henderson, "Smooth" landed a perfect upkick. Edgar fell to the ground. He survived, but Henderson did serious damage to Edgar's nose.

[ Related: Kevin Iole's UFC 144 breakdown ]

When the third round began, Edgar's nose was swollen and pouring blood. Henderson pounced when Edgar slipped on a kick, and he took Edgar to the ground. Henderson tried to take Edgar's back, but couldn't because of how Edgar moved away. Late in the round, Edgar got a takedown.

Henderson started the fourth round with few marks on his face, while Edgar's was busted up and swollen. Halfway through the round, Edgar went for a takedown. Henderson pulled guard and caught Edgar in a guillotine. Though it was deep, Edgar was able to pop his head out.

Before the fifth and final round, Henderson's corner asked, "Do you got five good minutes?" Henderson answered, "I've got 15."

[ Related: Weight flop proves costly as 'Rampage' loses to Ryan Bader ]

Henderson showed that freshness as he landed several shots and shook off the ones Edgar threw. Edgar continued to try for a takedown, but Henderson shook him off. He moved around the cage as if it was the first minute of the bout, not the 25th.

After the bout, Henderson thanked a former opponent for the upkick that changed the course of the fight.

"I gotta thank [fellow UFC lightweight] Cowboy Cerrone for that because he landed it on me, and that hurt bad."

Henderson previously held a title belt in the WEC, and now he has UFC gold secure around his waist. His well-rounded game was too much for Edgar. The fact that Henderson could have gone another three rounds spoke volumes to the judges.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/benson-henderson-takes-ufc-lightweight-title-classic-decision-063057083.html

José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez

Roy Nelson?s excellent adventure includes sleeping in a capsule and, um, feasting on blowfish testicles


Roy Nelson probably didn't need to prove his toughness anymore after he survived the beating he took from Fabricio Werdum in their heavyweight match on Feb. 4 at UFC 143 in Las Vegas. In video from Dana White's video blog, Nelson is seen complaining that he felt he won the fight, which provokes a chuckle from UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta.

But if you didn't believe in the big man's toughness before, perhaps you will after watching the tour of Japan that he did while in Tokyo for UFC 144, which is Saturday at the Saitama Super Arena.

Nelson went to a Buddhist temple and showed off some strange sleeping quarters, which more closely resembles a dog kennel, at the Asakusa Capsule Hotel.

By far, though, the highlight of the tour is when Nelson & Co. went to a Tokyo restaurant and ate blowfish. Not only did Nelson eat blowfish filet, he also ate blowfish testicles.

It's hard to tell whether or not he likes it, though the odd guttural sound he made after swallowing the blowfish testicles might give away his true feelings.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/roy-nelson-excellent-adventure-includes-sleeping-capsule-um-043328688.html

Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague

White will give Edgar a title shot at either 145 or 155

It seems like the anti-Frank Edgar front is building amongst some fans and bloggers, but that's not going to sway UFC president Dana White. He's still bullish on one of his favorite fighters getting right back in there for a title. Now which title he shoots for is a different issue.

"I feel like Frankie Edgar absolutely deserves a rematch [against Ben Henderson], seeing as how every time this guy has fought, he's given everyone else a rematch," White told the media gathered is Australia for UFC on FX 2.

But the boss is torn because, for years he's thought Edgar is too small for the lightweight division.

[ Related: Ronda Rousey can break out in Strikeforce title bout ]

"Yet, I don't want him to fight at 155 pounds, I want him to go to 145 and fight for that title. And if we do give him a rematch, it clogs up [the division] -- there are other guys that are in line waiting and it's just a big mess," said White.

I'm not so sure about the clog line. Anthony Pettis and the winner of Nate Diaz-Jim Miller can wait a little longer is necessary.

White add to that by saying he's more concerned about Edgar's long term future in the sport.

"I really like and respect Frankie Edgar as a human being -- take the whole fighting thing out of it. This guy belongs at 145 pounds. When you are a professional fighter, you have a small window of opportunity to compete and be a professional athlete. There are only so many wars you have in you. You can't have this long, amazing career fighting wars all the time. So, I don't know," said White.

White added that if Edgar drops to 145, he'll get an immediate title shot against Jose Aldo. That's more than fair and it's not forcing Edgar to go into a situation where he's way down the ladder. Now it's up to the former UFC lightweight champ to pick his poison.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/white-edgar-title-shot-either-145-155-170451043.html

Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen