Yahoo! Sports and Heavy MMA present ?Fight Day Live? for UFC 146

Fight Day Live is back on May 26 at 6pm ET/ 3pm PT to prepare you for the "biggest" card of all time, UFC 146. The all-heavyweight main card is highlighted by a title fight between Junior dos Santos and former champ, Frank Mir. Also fighting Saturday night is another former heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez, as he returns to the cage for the first time since losing the belt to dos Santos.

Hosts Dave Farra and Megan Olivi will guide you through all five fights on the pay-per-view card, and our expert panel of Matt Brown of HeavyMMA, Brett Okamoto of ESPN and Larry Pepe of ProMMA Radio will break down each of the battles. Joining Fight Day live on set will be welterweight sensation Rory MacDonald and recent UFC on Fox winner, Alan Belcher. Be sure and tune into Fight Day Live on Saturday, May 26 at 6ET/ 3PT.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/yahoo-sports-heavy-mma-present-fight-day-live-140612503.html

Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo 

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is on Brazil?s ?Dancing with the Stars,? and it?s amazing (VIDEO)

Somehow, this amazing, fantastic, worth every minute of your time video flew under my radar until reader Pedro Ivo Silva de Oliveira sent it to me. It's former UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in Brazil's version of "Dancing with the Stars," and it's glorious.

He starts dancing around 3:30, but you'll want to give this video the full five and a half minutes.

There is so much to take in: the multicolored pleather costumes, the use of punches as a dance move, his footwork (or lack thereof), the ending pose in a choke. He could use some dancing tips from his teammate, UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva.

Nogueira talked about why he's doing the show in an interview with Sherdog:

"I'll dance," Nogueira told Sherdog.com. "They called me to do it, and I'll be there. It's an opportunity to expose MMA to people who have never seen it. My grandmother, for instance, will attend 'Dance of the Famous,' but she doesn't watch my fights.

He is also preparing for his fight with Cheick Kongo at UFC 149. He is balancing training for his bout with training for the show.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/antonio-rodrigo-nogueira-brazil-dancing-stars-amazing-video-161608185.html

Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander

UFC on FX 3: Johnson vs. McCall Reminder

UFC on FX 3 takes place live tonight from Sunrise, Florida at the BankAtlantic Center. The event will be headlined by a rematch of the first flyweight fight in UFC history when Demetrious Johnson faces Ian McCall. MMAFrenzy will have full coverage of the night's fights beginning with the Fuel TV card at 6PM ET and continuing through the FX broadcast beginning at 9PM ET.

MMAFrenzy.com

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/28942/ufc-on-fx-3-johnson-vs-mccall-reminder/

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz

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

Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo 

Weekend warriors: Maiquel Falcao, Karl Amoussou and Al Iaquinta big winners

Strikeforce is still on the brain, but let's take a second to check out the other fights that happened this weekend.

At Bellator 69, Mark Kolata qualified for next season's heavyweight tournament with a verbal submission of Abe Wagner with an Achilles lock. As expected, Jessica Aguilar and Megumi Fujii put on a great three-round fight with Aguilar taking the decision. After getting his protective cup situation figured out, Karl Amoussou used his judo and withstood a strong third round from David Rickels to get a decision win and a spot in the Bellator welterweight tournament final against Bryan Baker. In the final of the middleweight tournament, Maiquel Falcao beat Andreas Spang in a decision. He overcame a point deduction for an illegal knee to still win the tournament.

Two more semifinalists were chosen on "The Ultimate Fighter." Team Cruz's Vinc Pichel took the two-round decision from Team Faber's Chris Saunders. Though Saunders thought the fight was going to the third round, the judges said the bout was over. There was no such controversy in the second bout with two Team Faber fighters facing off. Al Iaquinta knocked out Andy Ogle near the end of the first round.

The semifinal match-ups will be James Vick vs. Michael Chiesa and Pichel vs. Iaquinta. Also during the episode, UFC president Dana White announced Urijah Faber's new opponent at UFC 148 will be Renan Barao.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/weekend-warriors-maiquel-falcao-karl-amoussou-al-iaquinta-150624207.html

Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi  Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague

Reports say Octagon Girl Arianny Celeste arrested in Las Vegas

TMZ reports that UFC Octagon Girl Arianny Celeste was arrested on a domestic violence charge. A report from MMA Weekly confirms she was released from the Clarke County Detention Center on a $3,000 bond.

She was not present for the preliminary fights, but was seen on-camera at the beginning of the third-from-last fight of the night. UFC president Dana White commented on her absence from the early fights.

"Arianny is our baby. She has been with us for over five years. She is a good girl and an amazing ambassador for the UFC. I don't know all the details of what happened but we have her back and support her 100 percent," White told Yahoo! Sports.

[Slideshow: Photos of UFC Octagon girl Arianny Celeste]

Celeste was in Las Vegas for UFC 146, and worked weigh-ins on Friday. A UFC Octagon Girl's basic job is to hold up a card between rounds that display round numbers, but they also serve as ambassadors for the UFC, meeting fans, doing autograph signings, modeling UFC gear and serving as one of the faces of the UFC. She hosts the UFC's web show, "UFC Ultimate Insider."

She has worked for the UFC since 2006, and has also modeled for Playboy, Maxim and FHM.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/report-octagon-girl-arianny-celeste-arrested-las-vegas-225421922.html

Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji AnjoÂ