?The Ultimate Fighter? 14 Finale?s Three Stars: Brandao, Dodson and Bedford

?The Ultimate Fighter? 14 Finale?s Three Stars: Brandao, Dodson and BedfordOn Saturday, the UFC said goodbye to Spike with great performances from the newest Ultimate Fighter winners while serving up a one-sided main event. Both winners are from Jackson's MMA, proving that the elite camp can continue to churn out great prospects.

Here are Cagewriter's Three Stars from Saturday night's Las Vegas event. Tell us yours in the comments or on Facebook.

No. 1 star -- Diego Brandao: The Brazilian fighter fought back from the brink of a Dennis Bermudez TKO to maneuver into an armbar. It was so quick and perfect that Bermudez had to tap with just nine seconds left in the round. With a UFC contract, the featherweight can start showing his well-rounded game against tougher competition.

No. 2 star -- John Dodson: What was more impressive: Dodson's quick dismantling of Team Alpha Male fighter T.J. Dillashaw or the series of flips he did to celebrate? Seriously. One had a twist. The short, powerful bantamweight now will have a chance to use his skills in the UFC.

No. 3 star -- Johnny Bedford: How do you make people forget about getting hit so hard that you don't know what state you're in? Winning, of course. Bedford was knocked out by Dodson during the semifinals, but got a TKO win by battering castmate Louis Gaudinot.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/-The-Ultimate-Fighter-14-Finale-s-Three-Stars-?urn=mma-wp10265

Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade 

TUF 14 Finale postfight: Bonuses, a special Christmas and complaints of an early stoppage

TUF 14 Finale postfight: Bonuses, a special Christmas and complaints of an early stoppage

LAS VEGAS - It was a short and frustrating night for TJ Dillashaw at the Season 14 "Ultimate Fighter Finale." It's one thing to lose. It's another when a fighter feels like he wasn't given the opportunity to push through hard times.

TJ Dillashaw was drilled with two left hands and three hammerfists on the ground and it was over in a matter of seconds as referee Herb Dean decided to stop the fight.

"I wish I could've got to show what I can do and let the fight go on. Usually in fights you see in the UFC ... Frankie Edgar gets the chance to fight through it," Dillashaw said during the TUF 14 postfight press conference. "I'm in good shape. I can push through those things. Obviously, I was coming through a single-leg. They stopped the fight a little early in my opinion. I didn't agree with the stoppage but what are you going to do? You can't argue your way out of it."

Dodson disagreed. He thought it was a valid stoppage. Frankly, he was surprised the whole scenario developed so quickly.

"When I hit him. I felt like I hit him with an open palm. I thought I bitch-slapped him," Dodson said, then apologized for using the terminology. "I thought I slapped him and didn't think I hit him with any real power until I saw him crumble. When I saw him hit the ground I just wanted to jump on him as fast as I could."

- It was a fabulous night for Diego Brandao. Not only did the young Brazilian gain a guaranteed UFC contract, he also banked an extra $80,000 for Submission of the Night and Fight of the Night. The latter was pretty amazing considering the fight against Dennis Bermudez lasted less than one round. Brandao said he wanted to use a significant portion of tonight's winnings to treat kids back in his hometown of Manaus to a special Christmas.

- Dodson got Knockout of the Night and $40,000.

- Dodson addressed himself as a flyweight during the press conference, but quickly added that he wants to fight at both weights. Then he grabbed Brandao's shoulder and said if they need to fight for a title at 145, he'll do that too.

- Brandao was surprised that Bermudez decided to box with him. He expected the former college wrestler to try and get the fight to the ground. Brandao said with 14 years of jiu-jitsu training under his black belt, he was more than comfortable on his back.

- Although he's being compared by some to fellow Manaus-native Jose Aldo Jr., Brandao quickly shot down talk that he's already in contention for the UFC featherweight title. He called himself a kid and pointed out that he just got his job with the UFC. Dodson answered in similar fashion and said he wants to fight as often as possible. He'd even take a fight on the Dec. 30 card back here in Las Vegas.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/TUF-14-Finale-postfight-Bonuses-a-special-Chri?urn=mma-wp10248

Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe

Brazilian legends Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort to coach new ?TUF Brazil?

Brazilian legends Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort to coach new ?TUF Brazil?Brazil is the new frontier for mixed martial arts and Dana White is expecting a huge 2012.

There's already two cards tentatively planned for Brazil and this morning, during a UFC 142 press conference, the promotion announced the coaches for "The Ultimate Fighter Brazil." Brazilians Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva will coach and then fight at a later date in 2012.

Taping will begin after the UFC hits Rio de Janeiro on January 14, 2012.

"This show in the United States is huge ? it's one of the longest-running reality shows," White said at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro. "It's incredibly popular, it's been huge for us there. We think it's going to be 1,000 times bigger in Brazil. The amount of talent that's in this country right now? There's an undiscovered Anderson Silva, Jose Aldo, Vitor Belfort or Wanderlei Silva."

Brazilian legends Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort to coach new ?TUF Brazil?

The Silva-belfort fight is actually a long-awaited rematch. Belfort, 21 at the time, pulled a massive upset on Silva at UFC Brazil. Some much time has passed that Belfort doesn't view it as a rematch.

"I think the first fight was very quick, I couldn't perform as well as I wanted to," Silva said. "I think this is one of the biggest rematches in all of modern MMA and I'm very pleased to give this to my fans and to once again fight in Brazil. This is a dream."

Tryouts in Brazil kick off tomorrow with a cast announcement expected to arrive in early 2012. When will Silva and Belfort meet? Rumors say it may be on a summer card in a Sao Paolo stadium. That's also the rumored time for Anderson Silva to return.

There is some pressure on Belfort to keep full interest in this mega-fight in tact. He's one of the headliners at UFC 142 where faces an interesting test in Anthony Johnson.

The UFC has lined up Globo as its network in Brazil to air the new TUF. In the United States, it's still up in the air, but Fuel would seem like a smart spot for the international show to land.

Photos courtesy Twitter.com/MikeChiapetta and Marcelo Alonso

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Brazilian-legends-Wanderlei-Silva-and-Vitor-Belf?urn=mma-wp10742

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz

UFC 140 weigh-in: Jon Jones may need to get used to the villain role

UFC 140 weigh-in: Jon Jones may need to get used to the villain role

What's gone wrong with the relationship between Jon Jones and some MMA fans? The brightest young star in the sport is starting collect a sizable group of haters. The fans in Toronto at today's UFC 140 weigh-in greeted Jones with lots of booing.

Jones easily made weight at 205 pounds and was respectful during the staredown with Lyoto Machida (204), but he heard from the Canadians. We weren't sure why the fans in Toronto booed Jones, so we asked for feedback on Twitter.

UFC 140 weigh-in: Jon Jones may need to get used to the villain role

That's a small sample, are Cagewriter readers on board with this growing anti-Jones sentiment?

Only Dennis Hallman had major issues with his weight. It's almost shocking considering the bad press he got from the blue Speedo he wore at UFC . Hallman wasn't even close to lightweight at 158.5 and failed to get down to the allowable 156. He was fined 20 percent of his purse.

UFC 140 weigh-in (Courtesy MMAjunkie)

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)
Jon Jones (205) vs. Lyoto Machida (204)
Frank Mir (260) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (239)
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (204.5) vs. Tito Ortiz (206)
Brian Ebersole (170.5) vs. Claude Patrick (171)
Mark Hominick (145) vs. Chan Sung Jung (145.5)

PRELIMINARY CARD (ION Television)
Igor Pokrajac (205) vs. Krzysztof Soszynski (206)
Jared Hamman (185) vs. Constantinos Philippou (185)
Dennis Hallman (158.5)* vs. John Makdessi (155.5)
Yves Jabouin (136) vs. Walel Watson (135.5)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)
Mark Bocek (156) vs. Nik Lentz (156)
Rich Attonito (170.5) vs. Jake Hecht (170.5)
John Cholish (156) vs. Mitch Clarke (154.5)

You can watch UFC 140 right here on Yahoo! Sports

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-140-weigh-in-Jon-Jones-may-need-to-get-used?urn=mma-wp10538

Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott

LLoyd Vines Benefit Show

Local skater, Lloyd Vines landed himself in the hospital with a rare form of pancreatitis and has been there for the past three weeks. To help with the mounting medical bills, there will be a benefit show with raffles and giveaways. It's all going down November 25th at the Side Street Cantina at 9PM.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MostlySkateboarding/~3/C1TNO-Eih_M/lloyd-vines-benefit-show.html

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz

UFC, FUEL Still Negotiating Deal for International Editions of TUF

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Early Tuesday at a press conference in Rio, UFC president Dana White announced Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva as coaches on the first-ever international edition of The Ultimate Fighter, which will take place in Brazil.

In the past, White said that international editions of TUF would likely air on FUEL as part of their new wide-ranging deal with FOX-owned networks, but on a Tuesday afternoon teleconference, FUEL executive vice president and general manager George Greenberg said that as of right now, the two sides are still in negotiations to bring the new editions of TUF to air in the U.S.

"Right now, any international edition of The Ultimate Fighter is something we are in discussions with the UFC," he said. "We have no firm deal for TUF Australia or TUF Brazil, or any other TUF show right now.

"We'd love to do this," he added. "I don't think it's going to be an obstacle to get through negotiations."

Greenberg said that he believed the channel, which is already planning 2,000 hours of UFC programming in 2012, still has room to add the international editions of TUF.

Asked to describe the negotiations for the TV properties, he said that the relationship has made for easy communications between the two sides thus far, and that they speak four to five times a day.

"For us, negotiations are sort of easy," he said. "Specifically we're in talks, but I can't tell you what stage. Everything we do with the UFC always will turn out with a healthy ending for both parties. If it's good for the sport, it will be good for the UFC, and it will be great for the FOX Sports media group. I can promise you that."

FUEL will kick off its commitment to its new partner with 24 hours of UFC programming on Jan. 1. On Jan. 3, its weekly news show UFC Tonight premieres at 10 pm, hosted by former WEC announcer Todd Harris and featuring our own Ariel Helwani.

Other UFC on FUEL programming notes:

- Live weigh-in shows begin airing on FUEL on Jan. 13, with UFC 142.
- Live event post-fight coverage will feature one-hour shows hosted by Jay Glazer, beginning on Jan. 14 with UFC 142
- FUEL begins televising UFC preliminary fights on Jan. 20, with the undercard of an FX event.
- FUEL will have the right to air the U.S. editions of The Ultimate Fighter 24 hours after original episodes air on FX.
- There will be quarterly "Champion's Roundtable" specials, with past and current titleholders discussing a wide range of MMA topics

FUEL is currently available in about 38 million households, but Greenberg said the channel's goal is to house so much UFC programming that fans will demand and receive it from their cable and satellite providers.

"I can guarantee you we're going to become the most wanted channel in the television landscape," he said.

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/12/13/ufc-fuel-still-negotiating-deal-for-international-editions-of-t/

Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen