UFC 148 Bonuses: Silva, Griffin, and Ortiz Earn $75,000 Each

It was an interesting night, to say the least, at the MGM Grand Gardens Arena. After a slow start, UFC 148 launched into action at the start of the main card. Although the night was neither free from controversy nor calamity, it still managed to deliver some unforgettable moments. It was the headlining bouts that truly delivered, as evident by the fact that three-quarters the night's stars walked out of the cage with an extra $75K for their performances.

MMAFrenzy.com

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/29343/ufc-148-bonuses/

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz

Jon Jones vs. Anderson Silva? Four reasons the fight between champs shouldn?t happen

Before UFC president Dana White even strapped the middleweight championship belt around Anderson Silva's waist, my Twitter timeline was filled with questions on when Silva would face light heavyweight champ Jon Jones.

White said, "Let's see what happens," in response to a question about the two champs fighting. With Silva walking around at around 215 lbs., size is not a problem. But it's still not a fight that should happen for these reasons.

1. It's a no-win situation for Jon Jones. If he wins, he was expected to win and defend his weight class. If he loses, does anyone give him a pass?

2. Silva doesn't need it to prove he's the greatest. He has moved up to light heavyweight twice before. Both times, he won in the first round. As detailed here, Silva has dominated since joining the UFC in 2006.

[Kevin Iole: Anderson Silva makes Chael Sonnen pay for his mistake]

3. It ties up both the middleweight and light heavyweight belts. Between injuries and time to prepare for fights and placing championship fights on the perfect cards, championship bouts don't happen enough. This fight would tie up two different belts as Silva and Jones prepared for their fight. Do you remember how long we had to wait around for Sonnen/Silva and Jones' bout with Rashad Evans?

4. Neither of them want the fight. When champs want to move across weight classes, they should at least want the fight to happen. Jones, who is preparing for his Sept. 1 fight against Dan Henderson, tweeted his lack of interest in a bout with Silva.

"Man my man ?#AndersonSilva? went to work tonight, consistently amazing," Jones said. "I guess Anderson said he had no interest in fighting me at tonight's press conference, I feel the same way about him. Nothing but respect."

It has nothing to do with either man not wanting the challenge or "being afraid," as I'm sure will get mentioned in the comment section. It has to do with their focus on their own weight classes, and participating in fights that make sense for them.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/jon-jones-vs-anderson-silva-four-reasons-fight-151136017--mma.html

Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida 

How MMA Trains Our US Army - MMA

Joe "The Nose" Wilk takes us inside the US Army combatives school to show how MMA helps train our soldiers for real life situations. Titan 23 - Fight for the Troops is LIVE on HDNet this Friday night at 10p ET. Tweet with us using the #TITAN23 hashtag

Source: http://mmalice.com/mma/how-mma-trains-our-us-army-video_984bd0871.html

Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade 

UFC set to stage 2,000th fight in company history

Barring any last-minute changes, the opening fight of the main card at UFC 147 on Saturday between Yuri Alcantara and Hacran Dias will carry a little more significance than normal.

It will mark the 2,000th fight in UFC history. The first came on Nov. 12, 1993, at McNichols Arena in Denver, when Gerard Gordeau opened UFC 1 by stopping Teila Tuli in just 26 seconds. Gordeau kicked Tuli in the face and reportedly knocked out three of his teeth.

Zuffa, which currently owns the company, took control of the UFC from Semaphore Entertainment Group in January 2001 and has promoted all of its shows since. In the pre-Zuffa days, the UFC had to move to states without athletic commissions in order to hold its events. It was banned from cable for a period of time and was infamously referred to as "human cockfighting" by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

UFC president Dana White was amazed by the achievement.

"This company runs so fast, most of the time we don't even stop to think about these milestones." White said. "But 2000 UFC fights is a pretty crazy number when you remember the UFC was supposed to be a one-and-done event.

"This weekend, we've got two huge shows in two different countries. On Friday, we're in Atlantic City with a great FX card headlined by a five rounder between Gray Maynard and Clay Guida, and then the next day we're in Brazil with a pay-per-view headlined by Wanderlei Silva versus Rich Franklin. The UFC has come a long way since fight No.1."

Alcantara and Dias will share a piece of history if there are no cancellations either on Friday or on Saturday's preliminary card. They are supposed to open the pay-per-view broadcast Saturday and if all goes according plan, they'll be in the 2,000th fight and the answer to a trivia question.

One of the great things about mixed martial arts, though, is that things don't always go as planned. The 2,000th bout will be held on Saturday and it will likely be between Alcantara and Dias, but stay tuned.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-set-stage-2-000th-fight-company-history-183707767--mma.html

Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida 

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.

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

Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott

Clay Guida shows off his UFC on FX 4 hairstyle

Clay Guida's hair usually flies around with no impediment as he fights, but due to a request from Gray Maynard's camp, Guida had to tie it back for the main event of UFC on FX 4 on Friday night. It takes a lot to tie back a mane like his, and he shared what it will look like.

Judging by his face, Guida is not happy about the change in his hairdo.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/clay-guida-shows-off-ufc-fx-4-hairstyle-224529280--mma.html

Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah 

With Vladimir Putin watching, Fedor Emelianenko knocks out Pedro Rizzo

MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko notched another win in St. Petersburg, Russia, knocking out former UFC heavyweight contender Pedro Rizzo in the first round. With Russian president Vladimir Putin looking on, Emelianenko leveled Rizzo with a right hand then followed him to the ground to stop the fight.

Emelianenko now has three wins in a row after losing to Fabricio Werdum, Antonio Silva and Dan Henderson in Strikeforce. Before that, he was an unstoppable force, racking up 31 wins, one loss and one no contest.

Before this bout, Emelianenko told Russian television this fight would be his last, but he did not talk about retirement in his post-bout interview. It remains to be seen if "The Last Emperor" is truly done with MMA.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/vladimir-putin-watching-fedor-emelianenko-knocks-pedro-rizzo-195903717--mma.html

Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida