New FCF Radio with Sam Stout

On this episode of Full Contact Fighter Radio, host Jeff Meszaros and co-host James Kellaris take a look back at "Strikeforce: Noons vs. Diaz II" where Nick Diaz managed to defeat striking wizard K.J. Noons by decision.  How did Diaz pull out the win?  Did it have anything to do with Noons' long hair? Would the result have been the same if Noons had been bald?  Tune in a hear them discuss these important issues, as well as the results of the other Strikeforce matches; including "JZ" Cavalcante vs. Josh "The Punk" Thomson and Sarah Kaufman vs. Marloes Connen, where the Strikeforce women's belt changed hands.  Then, hang on as we preview the upcoming card for "UFC 120: Bisping vs. Akiyama" where Michael "The Count" Bisping takes on Yoshihiro Akiyama in a bout that promises to entertain even if it fails to be relevant to the title picture.  Will "The Count" knock off the Korean judoka's head?  Or will Akiyama somehow find a way to make his judo skills applicable to mixed martial arts?  Tune in and hear what they have to say, and the prognosis on the other bouts, including Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy vs. Carlos Condit and John Hathaway vs. Mike Pyle.   

Then Sam Stout stops in to chat about his upcoming bout against "Relentless" Paul Taylor next weekend on the card for "UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez".  What does "Hands of Stone" think of his opponent?  How about the rest of the card?  Tune in and if you can't answer these questions, you aren't listening closely enough, as Stout shares his thoughts on the heavyweight main event, the bout between Bisping and Akiyama and even the upcoming title fights featuring Gray Maynard vs. Frankie Edgar and Vitor Belfort vs. Anderson Silva.   Damn, that's info-tainment.  We don't really know what that means, but it's true.

To check out the latest episode of FCF Radio head here.

(photo of Sam Stout courtesy Adrenaline Training Center)

READ MORE - New FCF Radio with Sam Stout

Fighters Make Weight for UFC 120

By FCF Staff

All of the competitors for tomorrow night’s UFC 120 card in London, England, made weight today, green lighting an event that will see middleweight Michael Bisping fight Yoshihiro Akiyama in the main event.

The card, which will be hosted by London’s 02 Arena, will be broadcast throughout North America on Spike TV.

Here are the official weigh-in results for UFC 120:

Main Event

Yoshihiro Akiyama (185) VS Michael Bisping (185)

Carlos Condit (170) VS Dan Hardy (171)

Mike Pyle (170) VS John Hathaway (171)

Travis Browne (251) VS Cheick Kongo (228)

Claude Patrick (171) VS James Wilks (170)

Prelims

Alexander Gustafsson (204) VS Cyrille Diabate (204)

Vinicius Queiroz (239) VS Rob Broughton (257)

Mark Holst (155) VS Paul Sass (155)

Curt Warburton (154) VS Spencer Fisher (155)

Fabio Maldonado (204) VS James McSweeney (205)

READ MORE - Fighters Make Weight for UFC 120

Bellator Signs “Razor” Rob McCullough

By FCF Staff 

Bellator Fighting Championship has announced that it has signed former World Extreme Cagefighting champion “Razor” Rob McCullough to an “exclusive contract.” The veteran will compete in Bellator’s upcoming, season four, lightweight tournament. No terms of McCullough’s contract or who he will face in his promotional debut were given.

“Razor Rob is a dangerous lightweight with championship experience who has consistently displayed an ability to end fights throughout his career,” Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney was quoted saying in a press release from the promotion.  “If you are a fan of the Lightweight division in MMA, you’ve got to be a fan of Razor’s.  I’m looking forward to watching him compete in our Season 4 Lightweight Tournament."

McCullough (19-6) has gone 4-2 since he lost the WEC championship to Jamie Varner in February, 2008. Most recently, in September, the California fighter defeated Corey Hill by unanimous decision while competing for Tachi Palace Fights. Widely known for his striking abilities, McCullough went 35-2 during his amateur kickboxing career.

“I'm really glad to be part of a promotion as great as Bellator. I'm ready to get back to work, and finish fights. Getting in the cage and being able to mix it up with the best of the best is what I'm in this sport for. I've been doing this for 15 years for a reason, and it's to test myself against the best competition in the world. I'll be able to do that at Bellator,” said McCullough.

“Before I was fighting just because I loved to do it and I couldn't believe I was getting paid to do what I love, but now it's a lot more serious,” said McCullough. “The guy that I'm fighting is trying to take food off my kid's table. It's entirely different now. I've found a new focus and a new motivation, so I'm ready to get in there and get buck wild in Bellator.”

READ MORE - Bellator Signs “Razor” Rob McCullough

AFC 4 Line-Up Complete; Drysdale vs. Davidson Headlines

By FCF Staff  Armageddon Fighting Championship has announced the line-up for the promotion’s upcoming November 6^th event, which will be hosted by the Bear Mountain Arena in Victoria, British Columbia. In the main event, ADCC champion Robert Drysdale (pictured) will take on UFC competitor Rory MacDonald’s teammate, Clay Davidson.

Drysdale made his highly anticipated MMA debut at AFC 3 in July, when the renowned jiu-jitsu competitor tapped out Bastien Huveneers with a first round arm-triangle-choke.

Davidson (5-1) has won five straight since he was stopped by Dwayne Lewis at Maximum Fighting Championship 13 in August, 2007. Most recently, the Toshido MMA fighter submitted Devon Neis, while competing under the Aggression MMA banner in May.

Here is the line-up for AFC 4: Revelation

Robert Drysdale 1-0 vs. Clay Davidson 5-1 @205

Nick Hinchliffe 16-6 vs. Mike Hackert 5-0 @185

Jason Heit 4-0 vs. Markhaile Wedderburn 10-8 @170

Derek Medler 3-0 vs. Del Melnyk 3-1-1 @170

Justin Shaw 2-0 vs. Jonathon Cardinal 2-2 @265

Tarek Gebali 4-0 vs. TBA @155

Baz Cunningham 5-1 vs. John Turnbull 2-0 @145

Karl Bergen 1-0 vs. Dejan Kajic 1-0 @170

Nathan Swayze 0-0 vs. David Perron 3-0 @185

Tristan Connolly 1-1 vs. Dan Ring 0-0-1 @155

Connor Wood 1-2 vs. Dan Laughey 0-1 @155

Conner Riddell 1-0-1 vs. Jordan Knippelberg 2-1 @155

Chris Jones 1-1 vs. Theo Brisley 3-3 @155

Cory Gower 1-0 vs. Ryan Leef 0-1 @135

READ MORE - AFC 4 Line-Up Complete; Drysdale vs. Davidson Headlines

David Heath vs. Glover Teixeira Added to MFC 27

By FCF Staff   

The Maximum Fighting Championship continues to confirm bouts for the promotion’s upcoming November 12^th event in Enoch, Alberta. The latest fight to be added to the card will see UFC veteran David Heath square off with former WEC competitor, Glover Teixeira.

Heath (16-6) will head into the bout riding a three fight winning streak; most recently at MFC 26 in September, the renowned brawler KO’d Solomon Hutcherson in the second round with a highlight reel Superman Punch. Heath hasn’t lost since last September, when Mike Nickels submitted him with a third round, rear-naked-choke at MFC 22.

Teixeira (10-2) has won eight straight bouts and hasn’t been defeated since March, 2005, when he lost by unanimous decision to UFC veteran Ed Herman. Most recently in July, the Brazilian light-heavyweight stopped Marco Peselj in the first round, while competing on an Impact FC event in Australia.

MFC 27, which will be broadcast live on HDNet Fights, will also feature Douglas Lima vs. Jesse Juarez for the promotion’s vacant welterweight championship.

Here is the line-up to date for the November 12^th card.

Douglas Lima vs. Jesse Juarez, welterweight championship

Dwayne Lewis vs. Razak Al-Hassan, light heavyweight

Ryan Ford vs. Pete Spratt, welterweight

Kajan Johnson vs. Orestes Betran, lightweight

READ MORE - David Heath vs. Glover Teixeira Added to MFC 27

Bellator 32 Weigh-In Results

By FCF Staff  All of the competitors made weight this afternoon in anticipation of Bellator’s latest event tomorrow night in Kansas City, which will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net.

Bellator 32 will feature the finals of the promotion’s heavyweight tournament, as Cole Konrad will face Neil Grove, as well as the bantamweight tourney finals, which will see Ed West take on Zack Makovsky.

Here are the official weigh-in results:

Cole Konrad (264 lbs.) vs. Neil Grove (263 lbs.) @ 265 lbs.

Ed West (134.25 lbs.) vs Zack Makovsky (134.25 lbs.) @ 135 lbs.

Ryan Thomas (169.50 lbs.) vs. Jim Wallhead (168.75 lbs.) @170 lbs.

Chris Page (166.50 lbs.) vs. Michael Chandler (164.50 lbs.) @165 lbs.

Ryan Roberts (145.75 lbs.) vs. Eric Marriott (145.75 Ibs.) @145 lbs.

Chad Reiner (176 lbs.) vs. Rudy Bears (180.75 Ibs. ) @ 180 lbs.

Jared Downing (134.9 lbs.) vs. Danny Tims (135.9 lbs.) @ 135 lbs.

Shane Hutchinson (144 lbs.) vs. Brian Davidson (145.75 lbs.) @ 145 lbs.

READ MORE - Bellator 32 Weigh-In Results

Grove and Konrad Ready to Battle for Bellator Championship

By FCF Staff Photo courtesy Bellator Fighting Championship

Neil Grove and Cole Konrad will meet tomorrow night in Kansas City to determine Bellator’s first ever, heavyweight champion, after going 2-0 to date in the promotion’s ongoing heavyweight tournament. Grove (10-2-1) advanced to the championship finals with stoppage wins over Eddie Sanchez and Alexey Oleinik, while the accomplished wrestler Konrad (6-0), worked his way to unanimous decision wins over Rogent Lloret and Damien Grabowski. (Pictured above- Grove (l) and Konrad)

In a press release sent out this week from the promotion, here is some of what Konrad and Grove had to say about their Bellator 32 bout, Thursday night.

Thoughts on each other...

Neil Grove: Cole is a good wrestler with an amazing college wrestling pedigree. I hope he brings his upmost best as I'm doing the same when it comes to my striking ability. I'm hitting and kicking much harder right now than ever before. I have also spent more time with my wrestling coaches for this fight with Cole.

Cole Konrad: I think Neil is going to try to start fast like he always does, and he'll probably be looking to finish the fight early. I think that will be his only strategy. I just don't see that happening for him. Any of his fights that have gone more than a couple of minutes, he's been nothing shy of exhausted. So if I get him into the third and fourth rounds, he's going to be in for a really long fight.

On their advantages...

Neil Grove: I see my ability to finish fights as an advantage against Cole. I also think my size and my overall level of fitness will be factors that will work to my advantage. I want to avoid letting him set the pace.

Cole Konrad: Obviously my wrestling will be an advantage I have over Neil, and I think my ground game is considerably better than his. That would be my biggest advantage, but outside of that, my overall training environment trumps his. I'm used to seeing big, strong, fast guys on a daily basis. I just have to avoid that big right hand of his, but that's about it.

Use of elbows during this championship fight...

Neil Grove: I definitely think the use of elbows will come into play in this fight. Neither Cole or I were allowed to use them during our previous tournament fights, but I don't think that will be the case on Thursday night.

Cole Konrad: I absolutely expect for elbows to be a factor in this fight. I expect for them to come into play a lot in my favor. The positions I maintain during my ground and pound work best with the use of elbows, and not having them has really held back my overall ground attack in the past, but it won't in this fight. 

Who the fight favors if it enters the 4th and 5th rounds...

Neil Grove: It definitely favors me, of course. it would mean that he was not able to finish the fight on the canvas. Once he realizes that he's not going to be able to win the fight by taking me down, he will have no choice but to stand and trade punches with me.

Cole Konrad: It favors me. Like I said before, any time Neil has gone longer than two minutes he can barely keep his hands up high enough to throw a punch. I'm used to going the distance. Granted, I haven't gone to a 4th or 5th round in my career, but 3rd, 4th, 5th.. it makes no difference. If you know how to compete when you're tired, you know what you have to do. 

To become the Bellator Heavyweight Champion...

Neil Grove: I deserve this! I have paved my destiny and I am going into this fight believing that I will become the new Bellator World Heavyweight Champion. Becoming the champion will be amazing. It will be just the start of a prosperous fighting career in the USA.

Cole Konrad: This fight against Neil will be the biggest fight of my career. Winning the championship would definitely be a big deal for me. I've been training hard for a long time now, and I would basically look at the title as a reward for all of the hard work I've put in. I want that belt. I don't know if I have any jeans that the belt will fit through, but I'm sure we can work something out (laughs).

READ MORE - Grove and Konrad Ready to Battle for Bellator Championship

Ryan Ford vs. Pete Spratt II Confirmed for MFC 27

By FCF Staff   The Maximum Fighting Championship has confirmed that welterweight prospect Ryan Ford (pictured above) will fight UFC veteran Pete Spratt for the second time, at the promotion’s upcoming November 12^th event in Enoch, Alberta. MFC 27: “Bragging Rights”, will be hosted by the River Cree Resort and Casino, and will be broadcast live on HDNet.

The two welterweights met for the first time in February, 2008, and saw Ford win the bout with a second round, standing rear-naked-choke. The fight wasn’t without controversy; however, as after the bell rang to end round one, Ford landed two hard elbows to Spratt that left the veteran dazed.

Since then, Ford (12-3) has gone 7-3, earning wins over notable opponents like Laverne Clark and Tommy Speer. The Zugec MMA fighter’s only losses have come against Pat Healy (twice) and most recently Douglas Lima, who spoiled Ford’s MFC return in September, by tapping him out with a second round armbar.

Spratt (21-18) is 4-4 since he faced Ford at MFC 15. The noted striker has stopped Nathan Gunn and Luigi Fioravanti while competing under the MFC banner during the stretch. At Shark Fights 13 in September, Spratt was submitted by Eric Davila with a first round, guillotine choke.

“The electricity, the anticipation, the atmosphere in the building when Ford and Spratt first fought was so unbelievable. And it’s going to be 10 times more spectacular this time around,” Mark Pavelich, Owner/President of the Maximum Fighting Championship was quoted saying in a press release from the promotion.

“These two guys couldn’t stand each other from the start and I don’t think it has tapered off one bit over the last two years. There’s so much animosity left that Part 2 is going be even more exhilarating.”

Other bouts that have been confirmed for MFC 27 include Douglas Lima vs. Jesse Juarez, Dwayne Lewis vs. Razak Al-Hassan, and Kajan Johnson vs. Orestes Betran.

READ MORE - Ryan Ford vs. Pete Spratt II Confirmed for MFC 27

Antonio Silva vs. Valentijn Overeem Confirmed for Dec. 4th

By FCF Staff   Strikeforce has confirmed today that Valentijn Overeem, the older brother of the promotion’s heavyweight champion Alistair, will fight Antonio Silva, December 4^th, in St. Louis. The event, which will feature Dan Henderson versus Renato “Babalu” Henderson in the main event, will be hosted by the city’s Scottrade Center. (Pictured above: Silva)

Overeem (28-25) will head into the bout having won back-to-back bouts by knock out; in April the 34 year-old fighter stopped Tengiz Tedoradze, and more recently in May, Overeem KO’d Catalin Zmarandescu. The Dutch heavyweight is 3-2 in his last five fights.

Silva (14-2) hasn’t competed since May when he worked his way to a unanimous decision victory over former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski. Prior to that, at Strikeforce’s “Fedor vs. Rogers” event last November, Silva lost by UD to Fabricio Werdum. The Brazilian fighter is 4-1 in his last five outings.

“I want to fight and I’ll fight whoever they put in front of me,’’ the 31 year-old Silva said in a press release from the promotion.  “My goal is to be the best and fight for a world title.’’

Two of the other confirmed bouts for the December 4^th card include Paul Daley vs. Scott “Hands Of Steel’’ Smith and Robbie Lawler vs. Matt Lindland.

The event will be broadcast on Showtime.

READ MORE - Antonio Silva vs. Valentijn Overeem Confirmed for Dec. 4th

Mark Hominick Talks Latest Win

By Kelsey Mowatt Photo Courtesy Adrenaline Training Center  Following his submission victory over Brian Caraway at WEC 46 in January, Mark Hominick publicly stated that he was hoping to face another of the promotion’s talented strikers, so that his own pugilistic skills could be put on display. In June, Hominick was matched up against the dynamic Yves Jabouin, and made the most of the opportunity by stopping his fellow Canadian in the second round. Hominick then proceeded to call out noted brawler Leonard Garcia, and after three, entertaining, strike filled rounds on September 30^th, Hominick walked away with the split decision win.

“Right after the fight I was a little upset with myself because I felt I could have done more and pushed the pace a bit more and tried to finish,” Hominick recently told FCF, when asked to assess his performance at WEC 51. “After watching the fight though I was pleased because I felt I stuck to the gameplan and it was effective and played away from his strength, which is making it a dog fight with reckless exchanges, where he is most dangerous.”

A split decision ruling is often the spark for post-fight debate as to what criteria each judge used to score the fight, and why, obviously, one of the judge’s saw the bout going a different way. While Garcia once again proved to be a resilient and aggressive opponent, Hominick remained calm throughout the memorable battle, and punished Garcia with a precise jab and follow up strikes.

“I was surprised about the split decision, but understand MMA is the most difficult combat sport to judge since there are so many elements to watch, as well as only being 3 rounds,” Hominick said, when asked if he was surprised by the lack of agreement amongst the judges, as to whether he won the bout. “With only 3 rounds to judge if the judges mess up one round it could cost you the fight whereas in boxing you have 12 rounds to show a clear winner.....normally.”

With the win Hominick has won three straight fights in the WEC, to help alleviate the disappointment of his previous run in the promotion, where he went 0-2.

“I was happy, but know I could have done more and landed more power punches,” said the 28 year-old-fighter, whose overall record now stands at 19-8. “My jab was the best part of my performance.”

READ MORE - Mark Hominick Talks Latest Win