Luke Rockhold to Throw Out First Pitch at Oakland A?s Game

You know you've made it as an athlete when a Major League Baseball team asks you to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at one of their games.  Such is the case with Strikeforce middleweight champ Luke Rockhold.  Two weeks ago, Rockhold was handling challenger Tim Kennedy in the cage; on Monday, he gets to drop by the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and put one across home plate (the A's are playing the Tampa Bay Rays, if that means anything to you).  Of course, this isn't the first time that an MMA fighter has been granted this honor.  Other examples include:

  • UFC light-heavyweight champ Jon Jones, who threw out the first pitch for a San Diego Padres game back in July, 2010.

 

  • Former UFC light-heavyweight champ Rashad Evans, who tossed one out for a Miami Marlins game in June of this year.

 

  • Former UFC middleweight champ Rich Franklin, who did the honors for a Cincinnati Reds game.

 

  • Former UFC welterweight star Chris Lytle, who threw one home for a Los Angeles Dodgers game.

 

  • Former WEC bantamweight champ Miguel Torres, who did one up for the Chicago White Sox.

 

  • Strikeforce fighter K.J. Noons, who rocketed one home for a Houston Astros game.

 

  • UFC light-heavyweight fighter Brandon Vera, who did the same for a Padres game earlier this month.

 

You know what.  Now that I think about it, this whole throwing-out-the-ceremonial-first-pitch thing isn't that special after all.  As you were.

Jim Genia tweets here and wrote this book.  Believe that!

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/luke-rockhold-throw-first-pitch-oakland-game-232457818--mma.html

Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe

Matthew Riddle posts submission win with pregnant wife on his mind

With family matters on his mind, Matthew Riddle earned a win at UFC 149 with an arm triangle choke of Chris Clements.

After a bruising two and a half rounds, Clements tried a spinning back fist. Riddle grabbed Clements' arm, and maneuvered him into an arm triangle while the pair was still standing. They fell to the ground, but Riddle held on. Clements tapped at 2:02 in the third round, giving Riddle the win.

After telling UFC commentator Joe Rogan he loved him, Riddle turned his focus to his wife and kids.

"I wanna say I love my wife Lisa. We have a kid on the way, and we already have twins. I love you all," Riddle said after his win.

[Related: Ronda Rousey calls out Michael Phelps for behavior in Beijing]

Riddle's devotion went beyond mentioning his wife to the crowd in Calgary and the pay-per-view audience. Instead of flying from Texas to Calgary for the fights, Dave Farra reports Riddle drove 20 hours because he wanted her at the fights with him. Pregnant women are often advised not to fly during certain parts of their pregnancies, so he made the sacrifice so she could be there to support him.

Riddle won a $65,000 Submission of the Night bonus, which should help with the baby on the way.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/matthew-riddle-posts-submission-win-pregnant-wife-mind-051150079--mma.html

José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez

UFC 149 will answer these four questions

UFC 149 in Calgary has made more headlines for injuries than it did for high expectations. However, there are still important fights on Saturday in Calgary. They will answer these questions:

1. Does Urijah Faber have another title win in him? Perhaps because of his nickname "The California Kid," or perhaps because he looks so young, it's easy to forget Urijah Faber is 33 years old and has been fighting since 2003. With a shot at the bantamweight interim title on Saturday, Faber has a shot at what might be his last title run. Can he earn the belt, and with it, another shot at champion Dominick Cruz?

2. Is Hector Lombard the real deal? He has a record of 31-2-1, and hasn't lost since 2006. He blew through Bellator to get the middleweight title. Now, he's getting a shot at the UFC and its top-flight talent. Before he can be taken seriously as a contender for Anderson Silva's throne, he needs to get through Tim Boetsch.

3. Is Brian Ebersole ready for a jump in competition? If you were to make a list of UFC fighters with 50 or more UFC wins, would Ebersole be the first name to jump in your head? Because it should. He's 50-14-1, and hasn't lost since dropping a 2008 bout to the larger Lombard. With a win over James Head, Ebersole can leap into the proverbial title mix for a welterweight title.

4. Will fans still care about an injury-ravaged card? Remember when Jose Aldo and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua were on UFC 149? And Thiago Silva? And Michael Bisping and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira? The card presented on Saturday will look very different than the one fans expected.  Canadian fans are known to be very loyal to MMA, but will they still turn out for Faber vs. Barao? And will fans buy the pay-per-view just a few weeks after shelling out cash for UFC 148 and Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva?

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-149-answer-four-questions-213911833--mma.html

José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez

Chris Weidman ends Mark Munoz?s title hopes with an elbow at UFC on Fuel 4

Chris Weidman said he wanted to make a statement with his fight against Mark Munoz at UFC on Fuel 4. Mission accomplished, as Weidman knocked out Munoz in the second round of their bout at UFC on Fuel 4.

Weidman started the bout by outwrestling Munoz. He took Munoz down early and kept control of him throughout the round. In the second, Munoz moved in to throw a punch and was met with an elbow to the face. It stunned Munoz, who fell to the ground. Weidman followed him there with several strikes, most of which were unnecessary.

With the win, Weidman makes a good case for a chance at UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/chris-weidman-ends-mark-munoz-title-hopes-elbow-030914947--mma.html

Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague

C.M. Punk reenacts finish of Anderson Silva?s fight with Chael Sonnen in WWE match

Professional wrestler C.M. Punk is an MMA fan. He clearly watched the end of UFC 148's main event, with Anderson Silva beating Chael Sonnen after Sonnen threw a spinning backfist. Punk -- is it Punk on second reference? -- reenacted the end of the bout during Monday night's WWE show.

Thanks, Bloody Elbow.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/c-m-punk-reenacts-finish-anderson-silva-fight-125541424--mma.html

Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo 

Daniel Cormier gets Frank Mir for his final Strikeforce fight

Daniel Cormier has his final Strikeforce opponent, and its a UFC heavyweight. According to USA Today, former champion Frank Mir will fight Cormier, the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix champ, in a yet-to-be announced Strikeforce event in October or November. The fight will air on Showtime.

Mir's manager tweeted, "@thefrankmir just asked me to tweet for him "that he's very excited about this opportunity and is very grateful to the @ufc for making this fight happen."

Mir last fought at UFC 146, where he was knocked out by Junior dos Santos in the second round of a championship bout. Before the loss to JDS, Mir had wins over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Roy Nelson and Mirko Filipovic.

The match-up is an interesting one for Mir to take, as he has had difficulty with wrestlers in the past. Of the three losses in his last 10 fights, two came to fighters with significant wrestling backgrounds. Cormier is a two-time Olympic wrestler.

He was the surprise winner of the grand prix that started with Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem as the favorites. He beat Antonio Silva and Josh Barnett on the way to the championship. His record now stands at 10-0. After this bout, Cormier is expected to join the UFC, like every other heavyweight on the Strikeforce roster.

Who will take this bout? Speak up in the comments, on Facebook or Twitter.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/daniel-cormier-gets-frank-mir-final-strikeforce-fight-125450289--mma.html

Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe

UFC 149 will answer these four questions

UFC 149 in Calgary has made more headlines for injuries than it did for high expectations. However, there are still important fights on Saturday in Calgary. They will answer these questions:

1. Does Urijah Faber have another title win in him? Perhaps because of his nickname "The California Kid," or perhaps because he looks so young, it's easy to forget Urijah Faber is 33 years old and has been fighting since 2003. With a shot at the bantamweight interim title on Saturday, Faber has a shot at what might be his last title run. Can he earn the belt, and with it, another shot at champion Dominick Cruz?

2. Is Hector Lombard the real deal? He has a record of 31-2-1, and hasn't lost since 2006. He blew through Bellator to get the middleweight title. Now, he's getting a shot at the UFC and its top-flight talent. Before he can be taken seriously as a contender for Anderson Silva's throne, he needs to get through Tim Boetsch.

3. Is Brian Ebersole ready for a jump in competition? If you were to make a list of UFC fighters with 50 or more UFC wins, would Ebersole be the first name to jump in your head? Because it should. He's 50-14-1, and hasn't lost since dropping a 2008 bout to the larger Lombard. With a win over James Head, Ebersole can leap into the proverbial title mix for a welterweight title.

4. Will fans still care about an injury-ravaged card? Remember when Jose Aldo and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua were on UFC 149? And Thiago Silva? And Michael Bisping and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira? The card presented on Saturday will look very different than the one fans expected.  Canadian fans are known to be very loyal to MMA, but will they still turn out for Faber vs. Barao? And will fans buy the pay-per-view just a few weeks after shelling out cash for UFC 148 and Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva?

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? Philip Rivers excited for chance to square off against Peyton Manning
? Rivals.com: Colorado State recruit wounded in theater shooting
? Bob Costas intends to honor Munich victims, call out IOC
? Y! Finance: America's weirdest restaurants

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-149-answer-four-questions-213911833--mma.html

Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex AndradeÂ