More bang for your buck at UFC 144, but you have to stay up a little later

As hardcore MMA fans know, holding a fight card in Japan comes with plenty of challenges. The biggest hurdle to clear is the time difference. Watching DREAM and Sengoku on HDNet, fans are usually subjected to 3 a.m. ET starts and a finish around 6 a.m.

According to USA Today, the UFC didn't want to do that plus it would kill pay-per-view buys so the promotion came up with a solution of extending the PPV portion to four hours and seven fights.

The downside? That means the main event between UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson won't start until 1 a.m. ET.

Rather than ask the audience in Japan to show up at an unusually early time for a sports event, UFC opted to shorten the preliminary card and lengthen the pay-per-view portion instead, said Anthony Evans, a spokesman for Zuffa.

The Saitama fight card will feature these fights on the PPV portion:

Frankie Edgar vs. Benson Henderson
Ryan Bader vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo
Yoshihiro "Sexyama" Akiyama vs. Jake Shields
Joe Lauzon vs. Anthony Pettis
Tim Boetsch vs. Yushin Okami
Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/more-bang-buck-ufc-144-stay-little-later-204841083.html

John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves 

Video: Double knockout as fighters crash through faulty cage door

MMA is a dangerous sport. The kicks, punches, chokes, armbars, kneebars, calf slicers and all the rest make it a sport not for the faint-hearted. But all the dangers and difficulties in MMA usually come from opponents, not the cage the two are fighting in.

In Kentucky this weekend, the cage got the win. Skip to the 1:27 point in the video.

Brandon Bishop and Braedon Ward crashed through a faulty cage door in the co-main event at Hardrock MMA 43 on Saturday. The fall appeared to knock both men out, but as the video shows, they both walked away on their own. A hinge in the cage door had been damage earlier in the evening, but the staff though it was fixed. The fight was called a no-contest, and according to the notes for the video, both fighters received their win bonuses.

The playing surface getting involved in the game is not unique to MMA, as it happens in every sport. Michael Irvin and Wendell Davis both suffered career-ending injuries in football thanks to the poorly-done AstroTurf at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Gus Frerotte's neck was injured after he celebrated a touchdown by headbutting a wall at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium. Mickey Mantle's legendary career was almost stopped before it started because he tore his ACL when his foot was caught on a drainage ditch at Yankee Stadium during his rookie year.

It's even prevalent at the college levels, as Houston's Patrick Edwards suffered a nasty broken leg when he ran into a cart just past the end zone. At this year's Carrier Classic, Michigan State's Branden Dawson tweaked his ankle on the court's slippery logo. Two football coaches implied that University of Missouri's Faurot Field was to blame when two different players had season-ending knee injuries.

So even in the best circumstances, playing surfaces fail the players they are supposed to support. Luckily, both fighters were able to walk away from the fights.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/video-double-knockout-fighters-crash-faulty-cage-door-180818154.html

Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama 

UFC 143 openers: ?Wonderboy? Thompson posts the KO of the Night

LAS VEGAS -- There aren't too many karate practitioners succeeding at the highest level of mixed martial arts. Meet Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson. He might change that.

A kickboxer with over 50 fights, Thompson made his UFC debut a spectacular one at UFC 143. Thompson sized up Dan Stittgen for a few minutes and when his opponent relaxed a bit, Wonderboy landed a nasty roundhouse kick on Stittgen's chin. He was out cold in a split second at the 4:13 mark of the first round.

That's a helluva bar Thompson just set for Knockout of the Night. The UFC awards KO of the Night, Submission of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses usually good for $65,000. Thompson looks like a shoo-in right now.

UPDATE: Thomson got the award and the $65,000.

It certainly wasn't the fight of the night. Stittgen, also making his promotional debut, never looked comfortable in the Octagon. His strength is supposedly jiu-jitsu, but he never got close enough to Thompson to even attempt a takedown.

"No words can describe how I feel right now. I'm beyond happy to have this win.  It's my first win in the UFC and I can't wait to get back out there and do it again.  I took my time and felt him out," said Thompson.

Thompson's kickboxing pedigree is impressive. He reeled off 57 straight victories before moving over to MMA in 2009, where he's now 6-0.

Natal's takedowns too much for striker Kuiper

Rafael Natal isn't pretty, but his grinding style was effective tonight against young Michael Kuiper.

Natal scored multiple takedowns in each of the first two rounds and worked top control. That was enough to get a unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28, in fight No. 2 of the night.

It wasn't easy for Natal, who got blasted and rocked by a Kuiper uppercut just a few seconds into the third round. Kuiper, 22, jumped on top, but Natal (14-3-1, 3-1-1 UFC) used his grappling skills to minimize damage. Kuiper got off some effective body shots, but nothing huge to Natal's head.

Natal admitted to UFC analyst Joe Rogan that "everything went black" for a second after Kuiper landed the big right.

With 2:40 left in the fight, Natal got to his feet. Seconds later, he scored a big slam takedown of Kuiper. Down big in the round, Natal grabbed back control by working side control to a mount where he eventually slapped on a head and arm choke. Kuiper was caught in the submission hold for 40 seconds, but never tapped.

This was the first loss for the 22-year-old Dutchman. Kuiper (11-1, 0-1 UFC) did get the nod in the final round from Patricia Morse-Jarman.

Riddle notches win over gritty Martinez

Henry Martinez has some stones, but it just wasn't enough to get him the win tonight on short notice. Matt Riddle eked out a split decision over the Jackson's MMA fighter, 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28.

"This fight was a war, but it's nice to be back on the winning end again. Henry hit hard and his hands were quick. I was impressed by him and that's why I picked it up in the second and third rounds," said Riddle.

The 5-foot-6 Martinez, who's really a lightweight, put the pressure on for the first few minutes. His big hooks threw Riddle off his game.  The second round was dead even with Martinez landing early in the round. The end of the round had the crowd roaring as the fighters teed off on each other.

Riddle finally got the fight where he wanted when he landed a third-round takedown. That's his comfort zone. Riddle briefly threatened by taking Martinez's back. Martinez avoided any serious trouble and got back to his feet before Riddle landed another takedown. This was Riddle's best moment of the fight. Trapped along the cage, Martinez ate some big shots.

"I had fun out there. It was a great fight and Matt is a tough guy. Even if you go in with the best plan in the world and study your opponent, they can change it up on you. We pushed each other hard but had a great time," said Martinez

You can watch UFC 143 right here on Yahoo! Sports


Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-143-openers-thompson-posts-could-ko-night-002012350.html

Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade 

Dana White talks after UFC 137 "I Will Never Trust Nick Diaz Again" - Dana White

Nick Diaz was a no-show at the UFC 137 press conference in Las Vegas - just like he was a no-show at the press conference in Toronto the day before. Dana White decided enough is enough and axed him from the card, giving Carlos Condit the title shot in his place. In this interview with MMA:30's Dave Farra; Dana White talks about the trust lost, why he thinks he'll never heard from Diaz again, and touches on Overreem vs. Lesnar and the UFC's return to Japan. See more videos at MMA30.com

Source: http://mmalice.com/dana-white/dana-white-talks-after-ufc-137-i-will-never-trust-nick-diaz-again-video_43e266c70.html

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz

Tabbed No. 1 welterweight prospect, Jake Ellenberger sounds pretty confident about upcoming fight

If Jake Ellenberger isn't fighting for some sort of UFC welterweight title by the end of 2012 he can only blame himself.

The 26-year-old has put himself in prime position and can lock up a title fight if he posts something impressive next week against Diego Sanchez at UFC on FUEL in Omaha, NE.

At minus-350, Ellenberger is a huge favorite against the veteran fighter. He thinks he'll win but Ellenberger respects what Sanchez has done.

"I'm going to expect the best Diego Sanchez. He's going to come after me. He's going to move froward like he always does," Ellenberger told "The MMA Insiders" on ESPN1100/98.9 FM. "He trains with a great camp, a great strategist. I'm preparing for the best Diego yet."

Sanchez is back working with Greg Jackson and Jackson's MMA. That's a good thing. But the recent wars and beatings Sanchez (23-4, 12.4 UFC) has put his body through probably isn't.

"He's somewhat predictable. He moves forward. I think I can definitely win the transitions and win in the striking area," said Ellenberger.

Ellenberger's game is perfectly suited to challenge the two UFC welterweight champions. That's ESPN's MMA expert Adam Hill named him the top prospect at 170 pounds (parameters include - Have not held a UFC belt in the weight class; have not previously fought for a title in the weight class).

Carlos Condit and Ellenberger met in Sept. of 2009. The current UFC interim welterweight champ took a narrow split decision from Ellenberger. At the time, some may have thought it was a fluke. Not the case since Ellenberger has reeled off five straight victories including four KO finishes. I'd put Rory MacDonald and Johny Hendricks ahead of Ellenberger on the 170 list, but it's obvious the ranks of challengers for both UFC titles is growing each month.

Adam Hill Top 10 welterweight prospects:

1. Jake Ellenberger
2. Rory MacDonald
3. Johny Hendricks
4. Erick Silva
5. Tyron Woodley
6. Ben Askren
7. Martin Kampmann
8. Douglas Lima
9. Jordan Mein
10. Siyar Bahadurzada

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/tabbed-no-1-welterweight-prospect-jake-ellenberger-sounds-162454867.html

Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander

Yves Jabouin vs. Mike Easton Added to UFC on Fuel TV 3

Sporting similar two fight win streaks in the UFC, bantamweight contenders Yves Jabouin and Mike Easton will now match up against each other at UFC on Fuel TV 3. The matchup will likely take place on the undercard of the May 15th event at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/27588/yves-jabouin-vs-mike-easton-added-to-ufc-on-fuel-tv-3/

Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott