Mike Russow: There Was No Way I Was Going to Lose at Home

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CHICAGO -- Watch below Mike Russow breaks down his win over Jon Olav Einemo at UFC on FOX 2. Russow discusses how a full training camp helped him, the challenges Einemo presented, if he felt any more pressure fighting in front of his hometown crowd, what he could have done differently and when will he return to the police force.

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2012/01/28/mike-russow-there-was-no-way-i-was-going-to-lose-at-home/

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

Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe

More behind-the-scenes work from Dana White?s latest video blog

UFC president Dana White released another video blog, which looked back at last Friday night's UFC on FX bouts while also looking forward to this Saturday's UFC on Fox 2 bouts. Spend 10 minutes to see Mike Easton giving himself a pep talk before beating Jared Papazian, Pat Barry burst through the curtain to say hello to his victim, Christian Morecraft, and Melvin Guillard try to break down his loss to Jim Miller.

Then, in one those this-is-why-we-love-MMA moments, Guillard walks toward Miller, who is also getting checked out by the doctors postfight. If you didn't know MMA and the relationship between fighters, you might worry that Guillard is headed towards Miller for a touch of revenge. Instead, he hugged his opponent and congratulated him on the win.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/more-behind-scenes-dana-white-latest-video-blog-154528994.html

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz

Rashad Evans earns title shot with UFC on Fox 2 decision

CHICAGO -- In a bout to decide the next light heavyweight title contender, Rashad Evans controlled Phil Davis on his way to a unanimous decision at the United Center on Saturday night. The judges saw it 50-45 on all three cards for Evans.

Davis landed a spinning leg kick, then ducked low into a takedown. Evans pushed him into the fence and fended off the takedown attempt. Every time Davis came in to try to get the takedown, Evans made him pay with a punch or two. Evans got a takedown at the 1:30 point of the first round, then moved to side control. From there, he put Davis into a crucifix hold and landed a bevy of short punches.

In the second round, Evans was aggressive, landing several punches early in the round. They clinched, but things slowed down considerably. They had a few striking exchanges, with Evans coming out on top. In the last 30 seconds, Evans took Davis down and again landed punches from side control.

[ Related: Evans earns his UFC title shot vs. Jones ]

Davis shot in for a takedown to start the third round. Davis drove him against the fence until he finally got the takedown. Evans reversed position and landed several lefts to Davis' face. They returned to their feet, and Davis got another takedown, and Evans returned to his feet while Davis held on for dear life.

Early in the fourth round, Davis landed a punishing rib kick, but Evans did not slow down. He continued to move forward, stalking Davis around the cage. When Davis shot in for a takedown, Evans fended him off before getting a takedown of his own.

Evans started the fifth round with a huge strike, and then held off Davis' attack. Evans caught a kick, then as he held the single leg, punched Davis until he went down. He stretched Davis into side control, and continued to land punches even as Davis worked to his feet. Evans controlled the rest of the round the way he controlled the whole fight.

With this win, Evans should punch his ticket for a fight with Jon Jones. The UFC announced Saturday that Jones' next bout will be in April in Atlanta. As long as Evans is healthy, the bout should be his.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/rashad-evans-earns-title-shot-ufc-fox-2-031605165.html

Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen 

First bouldering at Stanage Plantation, Derbyshire, UK

Location: Stanage Plantation Date: Sunday 27 July Sunday shone this weekend. A planned trip to the gym was quickly canned and instead we made a trip out to a new bouldering spot. After a recommendation that Stanage plantation had some good climbing (thanks Jonny!) we checked my bouldering guide book and set out. If you’re reading this wondering [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rock-climbing-blog/~3/PAQVWyt9-Yc/philsheard

Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio 

Sonnen earns his rematch against Silva, grinds out win over Bisping at UFC on Fox 2

CHICAGO -- It was a rough 15 minutes, but Chael Sonnen did enough to get the fight he's coveted for 17 months.

The middleweight title contender locked up a shot against the UFC's 185-pound champ Anderson Silva with a surprisingly tough win over Michael Bisping.

In a fight, that appeared to be a toss-up for some, Sonnen took a unanimous decision, 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28, in the co-main event of the UFC on Fox 2 card at the United Center.

Sonnen's win sets up an intriguing scenario.

UFC president Dana White guaranteed the winner of tonight's tilt the next shot at Silva. The champ has been sidelined since August with shoulder and back issues and the promotion is pointing towards a summer return. But Silva recently hinted that he may be out beyond the summer.

Sonnen (27-11-1, 6-4 UFC) believes Silva is ducking him and has done everything he can to call out the champ. Tonight, he made the wise decision of not poking Silva. Instead, he delivered a hilarious postfight speech talking about his own greatness.

"As I've told everyone before, when you're the best fighter in the world, they don't call you champion, they call you Chael Sonnen," said Sonnen.

Sonnen was good, not great tonight, but much of that had to do with the opponent. Bisping (22-4, 10-0 UFC) rubs plenty of fans and media members the wrong way and, as a result, he's a bit underrated. The common thought was that the Brit would get eaten alive by Sonnen's Olympic-level wrestling, but that didn't happen in the first two rounds.

Sonnen scored two takedowns in the first, but Bisping got to his feet in less than 25 seconds on both occasions. He also stuffed two more takedown attempts. In the second, Sonnen scored a takedown with 2:58 left. Bisping was up a minute later and took minimal damage. The Brit was effective in the striking game, landing a few good combinations, but nothing appeared to rock the hard-charging American. Sonnen admitted during the postfight press conference that he was shaky on one occasion after a big shot from Bisping.

UFC color voice Joe Rogan was convinced Bisping had won the first two rounds. That wasn't the case on the judges' scorecard, but two of them did have things 19-19. Sonnen did what he needed to in the final round. He scored a big takedown and really dominated the position for over three minutes.

Sonnen scored that takedown just 12 seconds into the round. Bisping defended well for the next minute but got a little impatient as he was just about to rise to his feet. Bisping gave up his back standing and Sonnen squashed him. Then he did a brilliant job of getting both hooks in and rolling to dominant position on the ground. He worked to lock on a rear-naked, but it didn't happen. Bisping was protecting from the choke, lost his focus and allowed Sonnen to roll the position into the mount with 2:31 left. With 1:31 left, Bisping hip escaped to full guard. Bisping eventually got to his feet with less than 20 seconds left and scored a takedown of his own. He even landed a few big elbows, but it was too little, too late.

Bisping thought he won the first, but didn't flip out.

"That was a great fight. My hat goes off to Chael, he won the fight tonight. But, I really felt that I did enough in rounds one and two to secure the victory. He won the third, but I really felt that I was up on the judges' scorecards. They saw it differently and it is what it is," said Bisping.

Now the question is when will the fight everyone wants - Sonnen vs. Silva II - actually go down? Sonnen turned up the heat in recent weeks, plainly stating that he'll never get to face Silva because the champ won't accept the fight.

"I'm not going to fight Anderson either way. They can say whatever they want. Anderson is never going to do that fight," Sonnen told "The MMA Insiders" show on Las Vegas' ESPN1100/98.9 FM. "I hope he's healthy and has a good life, but I'm not buying into this mythical world that Anderson is going to some day sign a contract to fight me."

Silva beat Sonnen at UFC 117 via fifth-round submission, but that was after getting dominated for 23 minutes. He's had to hear about it ever since. This is a chance to shut Sonnen's mouth and likely do it in front of a record-sized crowd in Brazil. Why would he pass on the opportunity?

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/sonnen-earns-rematch-against-silva-grinding-win-over-022024441.html

Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade 

Johnson and Johnson with big wins at UFC on Fox 2

CHICAGO -- Lavar Johnson and Michael Johnson came away with big wins at UFC on Fox 2 at the United Center on Saturday.

In his UFC debut, Lavar Johnson showed that he belonged with UFC heavyweights with a first-round knockout of UFC veteran Joey Beltran.

Johnson shook Beltran early with a hook and a several knees, but Beltran survived. While Beltran swung wildly, Johnson hit straight punches. This continued for much of the round, as Beltran had trouble getting anywhere near Johnson's face.The strikes finally started to pile up late in the round, as Johnson hit Beltran with uppercuts and hooks to end the bout at 4:24 in the first round

The UFC decided late last year to dissolve Strikeforce's heavyweight division and move the 265-lbers to the UFC. Johnson is the first fighter to be moved over, and showed with dizzying punches that he will be a player in the UFC's heavyweight division. This was the first time Beltran was knocked out in the UDC.

Michael Johnson stops Shane Roller's wrestling

Michael Johnson stifled Shane Roller's wrestling on the way to a 29-28 on all three cards for a unanimous decision.

The two were even in the first round in striking, but Johnson impressed early in the round with his ability to shake off Roller's takedown attempts. Johnson's straight left caused problems for Roller as the round wore on. Johnson rocked Roller in the last 10 seconds with a flying knee.

Roller found his rhythm in the second round, connecting on more punches early on. He returned to the takedown, but again Johnson stuffed it. After a clinch against the cage, Johnson got the takedown. Working from Roller's closed guard, Johnson landed a few elbows before Roller worked back to his feet. Late in the round, Johnson wobbled Roller with a bevy of strikes.

Things changed quickly in the third round, as Roller was able to get the takedown, get Johnson's back and land elbows and punches. The fight was stopped briefly as Herb Dean warned Roller about punching the back of the head, but when it was restarted, Roller stretched Johnson out. Roller held Johnson in that position for most of the round, until with a minute left, Johnson reversed his position. He got on top and began to throw elbows and punches. They returned to their feet, and Johnson threw an inadvertent strike to Roller's groin.

The onslaught from Roller proved to be too little too late. Johnson, a finalist in "The Ultimate Fighter" who lost his last bout showed great improvement in his wrestling game. He stopped the takedowns of Roller, an All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/johnson-johnson-big-wins-ufc-fox-2-230006713.html

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz

Erick Silva ?s DQ will stand, but UFC implementing replay

Remember Erick Silva's bizarre disqualification at UFC 142? The one that caused the Brazilian prospect to go from jubilant to despondent in about .15 seconds? The one that made UFC commentator Joe Rogan call out referee Mario Yamasaki's judgment while in the Octagon? The one that made us all wonder why there's no instant replay in MMA?

Yeah, that one? It won't be overturned. Since the fight was in Brazil, with no regulatory commission, the UFC served as the regulator of the fight. They announced that they have no plans to change the fight to a no-contest.

From Marc Ratner, the UFC's vice president of government and regulatory affairs:

"Based on the referee's verbal warnings and his determination that the blows were intentional and a disqualifying foul, this is not the type of decision that can be reviewed," Ratner stated. "Therefore, the decision stands."

However, Ratner did share some good news. The UFC will start using instant replay at their self-regulated, international events, and will encourage state commissions to come into the 90s and use replay.

While it may not be the exact outcome that MMA fans -- or Erick Silva -- wants, it's still a good sign that the UFC is willing to make a change to improve the sport overall.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/erick-silva-dq-stand-ufc-implementing-replay-154335851.html

Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio

Gina Carano?s ?Haywire? opening to very good reviews

The chances Gina Carano returns to get punched in the grill anytime soon gets slimmer and slimmer by the second with the release of her new movie "Haywire."

[Yahoo! speaks with Gina Carano about Haywire]

The L.A. Times wrote glowingly about the performance by the former "face of women's mixed martial arts."

[...] watching Carano kick, spin, flip, choke, crack and crush the fiercest of foes ? mostly men about twice her size ? is thoroughly entertaining, highly amusing and frankly somewhat awe-inspiring.

That's something MMA fans have been entertained by for years, but to hear a non-fan that impressed, has to make Carano feel pretty good. It's certainly going to make a huge impression on folks looking to include the fighter in future projects.

The film critic Betsey Sharkey says the movie isn't Steven Soderbergh's best effort - she lists "Traffic" - but says Haywire is far from his worst. She also hints strongly that Carano has future beyond on-screen kicks and submissions.

There is a sense within all the haywire high jinks that Carano might be able to do just fine with a role that didn't rest so heavily on fighting (though stunt coordinator R.A. Rondell proved a genius in choreographing all those tumbling rumbles). Her athleticism gives her movement a kind of force that translates powerfully on screen ? people do seem inclined to get out of her way even when she's not angry.

Carano, the daughter of former NFL quarterback Glenn Carano, took up Muay Thai in her teens. She fought professionally in MMA eight times. She hasn't fought since losing back in aug. of 2009 to Cristiane Santos. Chances are she never will again if Haywire continues to get reviews like this.

The Vancouver Sun also liked the film. So did the Washington Times, AP, L.A. Weekly, and Rolling Stone invoked the name of Alfred Hitchcock. The U.K.'s Guardian found it a bit boring beyond the fighting scenes.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/gina-carano-haywire-opening-very-good-reviews-040425047.html

Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe