This week in callouts: B.J. Penn accepts Rory MacDonald?s challenge while Johny Hendricks eyes Carlos Condit

Choosing opponents is a trait unique to combat sports, particularly MMA. The only control the Boston Celtics had in who they would face in the NBA playoffs is that their their seed was decided by their regular season record. Once the seed was set, the Celtics had no choice but to play the Miami Heat. They couldn't turn down LeBron James and Company and say, "Nah, I want to play the Oklahoma City Thunder, now!"

But in MMA, if fighters play their cards right, they can push, whine, cajole, or just ask for a certain opponent. Ronda Rousey was able to get her fight against Miesha Tate via combination of armbars and callouts. Frank Mir raising his hand after Alistair Overeem was not licensed for his bout with Junior dos Santos earned him an ill-fated title shot.

With that in mind, both Johnny Hendricks and Rory MacDonald have called out the opponent they want to see on the other side of the Octagon.

For MacDonald, it's the seemingly retired B.J. Penn. MacDonald told the MMA Hour he wanted to face Penn while he could.

"It's more of the idea that he may be retiring, so how many opportunities am l going to get to fight a guy like BJ after he's gone?" he said. "I think it'd be a great fight. I know I'm going to fight all these guys in the top 10 eventually. I'm a young guy and these guys are going to be around for a long time and I know I'm going to get my shot against all these guys, and maybe I'll be missing my opportunity if I wait too long with B.J."

Penn, who recently shot down Josh Koscheck's hopes for a fight, accepted the challenge from the 13-1 MacDonald. On Penn's website, he posted this simple message.

"Rory, I accept your challenge!"

Their bout will reportedly happen at UFC 152 in Toronto.

Perhaps Johny Hendricks was inspired by MacDonald. After learning he will have to fight Martin Kampmann to get a shot at the UFC welterweight belt, Hendricks turned his sights on interim belt holder Carlos Condit. On Wednesday, he tweeted:

No more waiting @CarlosCondit. Let's see who the #1 Contender really is.

Condit won the interim belt after his bout with Georges St-Pierre was shelved because of GSP's torn ACL. However, Condit has indicated he wants to wait to fight GSP and the chance to unite the belts. GSP is aiming for a November return. It's the beginning of June, and both Hendricks and Condit are healthy. Hendricks wants to both stay active and get a shot to move up a rung or two on the welterweight ladder. It's a fight that makes sense. Will Hendricks be able to get the fight he wants? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/week-callouts-b-j-penn-accepts-rory-macdonald-185745759.html

Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade 

Clay Guida?s hair won?t be flying free on Friday

UFC lightweight Clay Guida is as known for his hair as he is for his unlimited cardio and ability to withstand a punch. However, it won't be flying free on Friday when he faces Gray Maynard in Atlantic City. After a request from Maynard's camp to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, Guida's hair will be braided back.

Though Guida usually fights with his long, curly locks flowing free and doesn't want to put his hair back, he also doesn't want a disagreement over hair to distract him before the fight. His manager said Guida plans to comply, which means the two sides won't have to go through a hearing.

"He doesn't want to do it, and I don't believe he's 100 percent happy about it, but he's being very understanding and very cooperative about it and he agreed to it," Nick Lembo of the New Jersey commission told MMAjunkie.com. "Otherwise, if he said, 'No, I'm not going to do that,' we'd have to have a hearing on it and let both sides present their case and have a commissioner's ruling on the issue."

Guida's hair has often been the topic of discussion. When the UFC's first video game came out, Guida was not included because the game's designers couldn't recreate his hair in video game form. UFC president Dana White offered Guida $10,000 to cut his hair, but he said to add a few zeroes on the number.

"The hair's here to  stay. It's part of my style, part of my trademark," Guida told Cagewriter in 2009.

Guida's hair flies around when he fights. He often has to push it out of his face as he is fighting. Because it moves every time he is punched or kicked, it can actually give his opponents an advantage. Judges can more easily tell when Guida gets hit, usually giving his opponent an advantage.

But as Guida said, his hair is his trademark. Taking it away may not be about a physical advantage, but a mental one. Maynard's camp may be engaged in a bit of gamesmanship.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/clay-guida-hair-won-t-flying-free-friday-202456319--mma.html

Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo 

Roland Delorme vs Francisco Rivera Added to UFC 149

A promising bantamweight tilt has been added to UFC 149 on July 21 as Roland Delorme and Francisco Rivera will do battle inside the octagon. Delorme (8-1), recently coming off of a thrilling "Round of the Year" candidate in his first round rear-naked choke win over Nick Denis, enters the cage with a 2-0 record inside the promotion after his quarterfinal loss on The Ultimate Fighter 14.

MMAFrenzy.com

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/29106/roland-delorme-vs-francisco-rivera-added-to-ufc-149/

Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo 

XFC 18: Music City Mayhem Reminder

This Friday, the XFC returns to the cage with XFC 18: Music City Mayhem taking place live from Nashville, Tennessee. The event will be headlined by former UFC fighter John Salter taking on the hard hitting Reggie Pena. Also on the card, "Hurricane" Heather Jo Clark returns to the cage off a tough break in her last fight to take on Avery Vilche at catchweight bout. Be sure to tune in this Friday to HDNet as XFC 18: Music City Mayhem is sure to be an action packed event.

MMAFrenzy.com

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/29126/xfc-18-music-city-mayhem-reminder/

Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana 

Bellator 71 Recap

Bellator 71, the first installment of the promotion's 2012 Summer Series, emanated live from the Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort in Chester West Virginia. The main card saw Former Strikeforce title challenger Brett "The Grim" Rogers make his Bellator debut as well as the opening round of the light heavyweight tournament.

MMAFrenzy.com

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/29155/bellator-71-recap/

Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana 

Wanderlei Silva calls Vitor Belfort disrespectful for breaking hand, pulling out of UFC 147 bout

If you have a fight scheduled with Wanderlei Silva, you need to give your bones very stern instructions not to break. If they do go against your wishes and snap in two, that's disrespect.

Vitor Belfort is currently coaching against Silva on the Brazilian version of "The Ultimate Fighter" and was slated to fight him at UFC 147. A broken hand forced Belfort out of their bout. UFC president Dana White said Belfort needs surgery. Though training injuries are part of the game in MMA, Silva called it "amateurism" via his Twitter account.

"(Fighting me) with one hand (laughs)? We are professionals. It's a great irresponsibility not to be careful on training, a great disrespect towards the fans. I'm really sad. I'm ready to knock you out, you have nowhere to run. This fight is happening. I guess you got scared of me. Nobody trains so hard that breaks his hand. We use the best equipments, gloves, bandages.

"If you were scared, you shouldn't have accepted it. If you really got it broken, it's amateurism and if you didn't, you're scared. In both scenarios, it was irresponsible of you towards the fans. Pardon the word, but I'm pissed with your amateurism. A main event on the biggest event of the world and the guy shows up like that".

Strong words from Silva, especially considering that he has pulled out of fights with injuries. In 2010, cracked ribs kept him from the co-main event of UFC 116 against Yoshihiro Akiyama.

Ease up, Wand. As you well know, injuries are part of a sport that asks its competitors to hit each other as hard as possible. Hands and ribs break. Ligaments tear. Life goes on. Belfort has been in 30 professional MMA bouts, so it's hard to believe he's scared, or that he broke his hand on purpose to get out of this fight. And if he could have, wouldn't he have done that to get out of getting kicked in the face by Anderson Silva?

Thanks to Tatame for translation help.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/wanderlei-silva-calls-vitor-belfort-disrespectful-breaking-hand-131022594.html

Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander

Dan Hardy vs Amir Sadollah at UFC on Fuel TV 5

“The Outlaw” is returning to his old stomping grounds. Hometown hero Dan Hardy (24-10) has, unsurprisingly, been added to the UFC’s Nottingham debut effort, stepping into the cage with the Team Rough House slugger will be The Ultimate Fighter 7 winner Amir Sadollah (6-3). The Brit emphatically snapped a four-fight losing-streak by taking home the [...]

MMAFrenzy.com

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/29123/dan-hardy-vs-amir-sadollah-at-ufc-on-fuel-tv-5/

Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José AldoÂ