UFC on Fox 4 Update: Rothwell Out, Devin Cole Tabbed as Possible Replacement

An ankle injury to Ben Rothwell has forced him out of his UFC on Fox 4 match up with Travis Browne.Rothwell's ankle injury is not reported to be serious, but it would sideline him for the August 11 bout. Sources are reporting that Strikeforce veteran Devin Cole has been tabbed as a replacement for Rothwell, though the UFC has not confirmed the change as of this post.

MMAFrenzy.com

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/29582/ufc-on-fox-4-update-rothwell-out-devin-cole-tabbed-as-possible-replacement/

Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio 

Who?s next for Anderson Silva? A solution to the middleweight mess

There seems to be absolutely no consensus on who should get the next middleweight title shot. Current champion Anderson Silva easily dispatched of Chael Sonnen, one of the few fighters who has challenged him in recent years, and the talent pool after Sonnen is thin. Several fighters have said they deserve the chance to stop Silva record-breaking title defense streak, but no one has distinguished himself.

As MMA is a head-to-head sport, isn't there an easy way to settle this discussion? Say, a tournament? It's not a novel idea, as the UFC is in the midst of a tournament to decide their first flyweight champion. Bellator's whole promotion is based on a tournament. Strikeforce learned with their heavyweight grand prix that surprises sometimes emerge.

To help the UFC out -- because I'm so kind -- here is a basic, eight-man tournament. The rules:

1. The tournament has already started. With several important middleweight fights having already happened this month or scheduled for a bout soon, it was the best way to include every deserving fighter and keep the division moving.
2. Three-round fights. If a bout ends in a draw, the fight will go to a fourth and decisive round.
3. If you're injured, you're out. Fights have to happen every three or four months to make this work. It's not exactly fair, but neither is life.
4. There is no seeding. Draws are decided on when fighters could most easily face each other. Without an official ranking system, seeding would be silly.

Here's the bracket:

The whole thing could take place over the next year, with the final fight happening at the UFC's Fourth of July show. The winner would face the middleweight champ in a show in early autumn.

And what could Silva do as the tournament unfolds? There's a simple -- if nearly impossible -- solution. He should fight Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold. In Strikeforce, Rockhold has little else but rematches in front of him. He and Silva have both said they want to fight each other. Sure, iron clad contract rules will keep the fight from happening, and UFC president Dana White nixed the idea. However, contracts can be broken and White has changed his mind in the past.

Could this work? Too crazy to work? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook or Twitter.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/next-anderson-silva-solution-middleweight-mess-212338364--mma.html

Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe

Quinton Jackson draws Glover Teixeira in Brazil

To call the UFC's relationship with former champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson rocky is an understatement. With just one fight left on his contract, the UFC wanted to give him one last fight to remember.

What Bon Voyage gift did they give Jackson? A fight with phenom Glover Teixeira in Brazil in October at UFC 153. Teixeira, you may remember, is the fighter who blew through Kyle Kingsbury at UFC 146. His winning streak dates back to 2006, and his last six wins were by submission or decision.

Jackson, on the other hand, is 2-3 in his last five fights. His last win by stoppage was against Wanderlei Silva in 2008.

The UFC is also doing Jackson no favors by sending him to fight Teixeira in Brazil. Though Jackson spent much of his career in Japan with Pride, few non-Brazilian fighters have found success in the UFC's three cards there in the past year. Brazilians are 13-3 against foreigners across UFC 134, 142 and 147.

The two questions about this fight are will Jackson be able to stop the Teixeria hype train, and will he keep fighting after the bout is over? He has made it clear he doesn't want to stick with the UFC, but will Jackson fight elsewhere, or move on from MMA? Tell us what you think his next move should be.

Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
? Jon Jones, Anderson Silva not interested in potential fight
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? What would U.S. Olympic basketball team look like without NBA players?

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/quinton-jackson-draws-glover-teixeira-brazil-164250014--mma.html

Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè 

UFC 148 title fight official as Chael Sonnen, Anderson Silva make weight

UFC 148 is official as every fighter on Saturday's card made weight at a packed Mandalay Bay events center in Las Vegas. Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen had to be separated after Silva, the UFC middleweight champ, bumped into Sonnen. Tito Ortiz, weighing in for the last time, wore a shirt that said "Thank You to the UFC" on the back. He and his opponent, Forrest Griffin, engaged in an intense staredown. The rest of the weigh-ins went on without a hitch. Complete results:

Anderson Silva (184) vs. Chael Sonnen (185)
Tito Ortiz (204) vs. Forrest Griffin (204)
Cung Le (185) vs. Patrick Cote (185)
Dong Hyun Kim (170) vs. Demian Maia (170)
Chad Mendes (146) vs. Cody McKenzie (145)
Mike Easton (135) vs. Ivan Menjivar (136)
Melvin Guillard (155) vs. Fabricio Camoes (156)
Gleison Tibau (155) vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov (155)
Costa Philippou (186) vs. Riki Fukuda (185)
John Alessio (156) vs. Shane Roller (155)
Rafaello Oliveira (156) vs. Yoislandy Izquierdo (156)

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-148-title-fight-official-chael-sonnen-anderson-234417672--mma.html

Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio

MMA oversight group makes scoring change recommendations

If you're one of the many, many MMA fans who have complained about the scoring of an MMA fight, you may have some recourse soon. The Association of Boxing Commissions, the national group all state commissions belong to, have made suggestions to changes in the scoring system.

While they don't advocate moving away from the 10-point must system, where the fighter who wins the round earns 10 points, they do offer clarification to what wins a round.

1. Effective defense is removed as a criteria.

This makes sense. There are few situations in sports where defense scores points without becoming the offense first. A safety in football is the only of the big four American sports. The inherent job of defense is to prevent the opponent from scoring points. Good defense should set up a good offense in MMA.

2. Striking and grappling are now given equal weight in scoring. From the ABC's suggestions:

The old scoring system rewarded striking (as a primary consideration) more than grappling. Mixed Martial Arts is based on two skill sets - striking and grappling. The committee felt that grappling should not be a secondary factor in determining the outcome of a match. Grappling has a definitive skill set and athleticism and offensive capabilities which when used correctly can effectively end a fight. As such grappling skills should be rewarded and given equal weight to striking.

Grapplers everywhere will dance with joy if this change is passed. Jeff Curran's loss to Takeya Mizugaki and Miguel Torres' loss to Demetrious Johnson might have turned out differently with this provision in place.

3. Replace "damage" with "effective." We can assume the committee meant effectiveness, because who wants to replace a noun with an adjective? In short, the committee wanted a term that didn't make them feel so icky.

1. The legal considerations surrounding the term "Damage" as a descriptor were given considerable weight and as such the committee felt that using the word "Damage" may contribute to the potential for liability in the event of any litigation that commissions may find themselves involved in.

2. The sport of MMA is still relatively new and has not received sanctioning in various jurisdictions.  The committee felt that "Damage" as a descriptor may play a factor in helping to determine future sanctioning if the term was taken out of context with many opposed to MMA as a sport.

This would also prevent the ineffective argument from fighters at post-fight press conferences who point to cuts and bruises on their opponent as proof of winning.

The ABC votes on the committee's recommendations next week. Do you like the recommendations? Should they add any more? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook or Twitter.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/mma-oversight-group-makes-scoring-change-recommendations-204211575--mma.html

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz