Penn, Fitch Battle to a Draw; Bisping Stops Rivera

Saturday, February 26, 2011

By FCF Staff

BJ Penn and Jon Fitch were unable to add another victory to their accomplished records tonight in Sydney, Australia, as the two welterweights battled to a draw in front of the Acer Arena crowd. Early on, Penn was the aggressor, taking Fitch to the mat on a couple of occasions where he proceeded to threaten the AKA fighter with rear-naked-chokes. Despite the danger, Fitch remained calm and defended well, reversing the position to work from within Penn’s guard. (Pictured: Penn)

While the first two rounds were competitive, Fitch came out aggressively in the third, and after taking Penn to the mat he punished the Hawaii fighter from the top position for the remainder of the round. In the end, one judge scored the fight 29-28 for Fitch while the other two ruled it 28-28, resulting in a majority draw.

Michael Bisping put an end to his heated and public feud with Jorge Rivera, by stopping the middleweight in the second round with a vicious series of punches along the Octagon fence. The opening frame was marred by an illegal strike from Bisping, however, as the British fighter kneed Rivera to the head while the American was still on the ground. Despite being stunned by the infraction, Rivera elected to continue and appeared to recover, but was eventually overwhelmed by Bisping in round two.

Here are the results from tonight’s UFC 127 broadcast.

Jon Fitch vs. B.J. Penn declared a majority draw (29-28 Fitch, 28-28, 28-28)
Michael Bisping def. Jorge Rivera via TKO (strikes) - R2, 1:54
Dennis Siver def. George Sotiropoulos via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-28, 30-27)
Brian Ebersole def. Chris Lytle via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Kyle Noke def. Chris Camozzi via submission (rear-naked choke) - R1, 1:35
Ross Pearson def. Spencer Fisher via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Alexander Gustafsson def. James Te Huna via submission (rear-naked choke) – R1, 4:27
Nick Ring def. Riki Fukuda via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Anthony Perosh def. Tom Blackledge via submission (rear-naked choke) - R1, 2:45
Tiequan Zhang def. Jason Reinhardt via guillotine choke - R1, 0:48
Mark Hunt def. Chris Tuchscherer via TKO (punches) - R2, 1:41

READ MORE - Penn, Fitch Battle to a Draw; Bisping Stops Rivera

MFC 28: Jimmo Takes LHW Crown, Fickett Subs Veach

By FCF Staff, photo courtesy Maximum Fighting Championship

Ryan Jimmo continued to demonstrate why he is one of Canada’s top 205lb. fighters last night in Enoch, Alberta, as he stopped powerful striker Dwayne Lewis in the third round at MFC 28, to become the promotion’s light-heavyweight champion. (Pictured: Jimmo with the belt)

The accomplished karate competitor punished Lewis to the body and legs with hard kicks early on, before taking the fight to the mat in round three. From the top position Jimmo battered his opponent with punches, and although the resilient Lewis managed to escape, a massive and grotesque hematoma under his left eye left officials no choice but to bring the fight to a halt. There was some speculation afterwards as to whether or not the injury incurred as a result of a head butt or strike, but regardless, Jimmo was awarded his 14th straight victory.

In another of the card’s more notable bouts, veteran Drew Fickett made short work of Matt Veach, who had stepped in on short notice for MFC Lightweight Champion Antonio McKee. After the opening bell Veach immediately closed the distance and took Fickett to the mat, but soon found himself tapping to a beautifully executed armbar just 36 seconds in.

Team Quest lightweight Richie Whitson extended his winning streak to five by scoring a split decision victory over Curtis Demarce. Early on, it looked as though Demarce would pull out the win as he battered and bloodied Whitson with strikes. Whitson absorbed the punishment, however, and continued to pursue Demarce throughout the fight, eventually taking his opponent to the ground to score strikes from above. In the end, two of the three judge's scored the thrilling and competitive bout for Whitson, handing him his 11th pro win.

Here are the results from last night’s HDNet broadcast of “Supremacy”.

MFC 28 Broadcast Results

Ryan Jimmo defeats Dwayne Lewis by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at 3:13 of R3
Drew Fickett submits Matt Veach by Armbar at 0:36 of R1
Richie Whitson defeats Curtis Demarce by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Thomas Denny and Sheldon Westcott fight to Draw
Emanuel Newton submits Rodney Wallace by Rear Naked Choke in R2, 4:34
Tyrone Glover defeats Robert Washington by Split Decision
READ MORE - MFC 28: Jimmo Takes LHW Crown, Fickett Subs Veach

UFC 127 Weigh-In Results


By FCF Staff

Here are the official weigh-in results for tonight’s UFC 127 card in Sydney, Australia. The card will feature a bout between perennial welterweight contender Jon Fitch and former champion BJ Penn in the main event. (Pictured: Chris Lytle)

Main Event
Jon Fitch (170) vs BJ Penn (169)

PPV
Jorge Rivera (185) vs Michael Bisping (185)
Dennis Siver (156) vs George Sotiropoulos (156)
Chris Lytle (170) vs Brian Ebersole (170)
Chris Camozzi (185) vs Kyle Noke (184)

ION Prelims
Ross Pearson (155) vs Spencer Fisher (154)
James Te Huna (205) vs Alexander Gustafsson (205)
Nick Ring (185) vs Riki Fukuda (185)

Facebook Prelims
Tom Blackledge (205) vs Anthony Perosh (205)
Tiequan Zhang (146) vs Jason Reinhardt (145)

Prelims
Chris Tuchscherer (261) vs Mark Hunt (263)
Curt Warburton (156) vs Maciej Jewtuszko (155)
READ MORE - UFC 127 Weigh-In Results

Kennedy, Manhoef, Coenen, and Carmouche Talk Mar.5th Fights

Friday, February 25, 2011

By FCF Staff

Next Saturday, the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, will host Strikeforce’s latest event, with a card that will see both the promotion’s light-heavyweight belt and the women’s welterweight title on the line. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (10-2) will look to defend his 205lb. championship against decorated veteran Dan Henderson (26-8), while Marloes Coenen (18-4) will hope to retain here welterweight crown when she faces challenger Liz Carmouche (6-0). Miesha Tate was originally scheduled to fight Coenen but was forced to withdraw due to a knee injury. (Pictured: Coenen tapping out Sarah Kaufman)

The card will be on broadcast on Showtime beginning at 10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast.
Earlier in the week Coenen and Carmouch participated in a media conference call to discuss their upcoming March 5th tilt, as did middleweight contender Tim Kennedy (12-3) and noted striker Melvin Manhoef (24-8-1), who will also square off that night.

Here is some of what the competitors had to say about next Saturday’s match-ups.

Marloes Coenen

“I’m happy to fight on March 5.  I was excited to fight Miesha, but I believe Liz is a very good replacement."

“If you are well rounded in all the areas of the game (it won’t be a problem).  But Liz is a different fighter than Miesha is. I believe Liz is very talented and she’ll be a big star in the coming years.  Her standup is OK, her wrestling is OK. I believe her standup is a little better than Miesha’s. It will be a fierce fight but there will be no problems for me. I’m looking forward to it and I’m all pumped up."

“Her standup is a little better than Miesha’s, but for the most part I train in every aspect of the game and we tweak it for each opponent we’re fighting."

“I believe when you’re the champion you should fight everyone so it doesn’t matter who the person is in front of me – I’ll fight them.  Of course I was preparing for Miesha but I think I’ll get another shot at her again."

“I wanted to learn to defend myself (that’s why I started fighting).  I had to go to school on my bike through the forest and there were all these stories of dirty men doing weird stuff so I wanted to learn to defend myself and I ended up studying martial arts.  It was like a 7 miles bike ride." 

“I’m very happy with Strikeforce because I believe it’s the leading women’s organization.  To be honest, I believe the (men’s) heavyweight division in Strikeforce is stronger than the UFC. I feel very honored to be fighting for Strikeforce. I’m very happy with the organization.”

Liz Carmouche

“I respect Marloes Coenen – she’s the world’s best.  This is an opportunity to be the best women fighter in the world and it was an opportunity I just couldn’t refuse. I was excited and I’m still anxious to fight.  Just to be around someone at this level and to have an opportunity is something I just couldn’t pass up."

“I think some of the things they (the military and MMA) share in common is the inability to give into the word ‘can’t.’  We kind of push it out of our repertoire in the military and I think that transfers over into our fighting career. If there’s anything in front of us that we feel is a challenge, it pushes us that much further and that much hard to achieve it.  At no point will we ever stop."

“I started off being in the military and some of the things they taught me kind of encouraged me to go towards this."

“Absolutely (I get weird looks). I’m a full-time college student and some people think I’m just a normal person and then as the conversation starts to progress and they find out I’m a professional fighter that usually changes their whole perspective on me."

“I was in the Marine Corps for five years and four months. I was an electrician on helicopters. I did three tours in Iraq."

“Nothing about her game concerns me. I try to stay well rounded and well developed, but she’s the best in the world so of course there’s always that concern but I feel like I’m ready for that challenge." 

“I think one thing that goes in my favor is my military experience. Jitters aren’t something that you can have when you’re out in Iraq with your weapon.  So that definitely works in my favor.”

Kennedy celebrating a win over Trevor Prangley
Tim Kennedy

“It’s going to be one heck of a fight.  I’m excited and I’ve been waiting to fight for a few months. I’m really excited Melvin stepped up. This is what I’ve been wanting – someone to step in the cage with me and move forward and throw some punches. I think it’s going to be a great fight. I know it’s going to be exciting.  Melvin always brings it, I always bring it.  May the best man win."

“I don’t think it (my mindset) has changed (since my loss). I always fight the same. I go out there and try to bring it to whoever I’m fighting.  I think some style things about me have changed, how I move, the angle of my punches and how much standup I want to do, but overall my mindset hasn’t changed.  It’s still in my core, I’m still tenacious, but I feel like I have a chip on my shoulder.  I hadn’t lost a fight in a really long time and now I’m just anxious to go out and prove that I’m the best middleweight in the division." 

“I’m a pretty chill guy.  I’m just excited that I’m fighting.  I wasn’t emotionally distraught.  I got an explosive, fantastic, exciting fighter I’m facing."

“The first thing that’s commonly demonstrated amongst military fighters is their disciple and their focus about how they approach their training and how they approach the fight itself.  We’re very focused.  We’re very regimented.  If you look at how guys train and their training camp we’re the ones that you want to model it after.  The mindset that we have is different than everybody else.  We’ve seen stuff that nobody else should ever have to see.  So for us to step into the cage is just a fun day. Another day in the office is trying not to get shot at. Stepping in the cage, that’s a fun day.  We’re doing what we love."

 “My fights previously had been very short against guys that were easy to dominate in the clinch and put them on their backs, so we didn’t have much material to improve on. When I fought Jacare I had 24 ½ minutes of mistakes.  My coaches had a ton of material on things we need to improve on."

“I think it’s going to be an all-around fight. I think people underestimate his wrestling.  I think he’s had some bad showings on the ground but that doesn’t mean that he’s not good on the ground. I think he’s a lot more dangerous and explosive wrestler than people give him credit for.  And I think I’m a lot better of a striker than people give me credit for. My last fight was 24 ½ minutes of me not looking fantastic, so for the past seventh months I’ve been training a ton on my feet.  It’s MMA, it can go anywhere."

“I want to go out there and show that I’m one of the best middleweight fighters in the world.  There’s just an itch in me that I want to fight.  I just want to go out there and do it."

Manhoef attacking Robbie Lawler
Melvin Manhoef

“I’m very excited to fight again.  I’m looking forward to the fight in Ohio. It’s going to be a great, hard fight."

“He’s an aggressive fighter and he’s a good all-around fighter.  I think it’s going to be a heck of a fight. I cannot predict how I’m going to fight or what I’m going to do, but I think the fight will be so hard that everyone will talk about it. I think it’s going to be the fight of the night or the year."

“I had a little bit of time where I didn’t train but then I got myself together. Now I’m only focusing on the BJJ, the wrestling, the grappling. It should be a little better than before, but I’m still learning a lot.  I’ll combine it a little bit, you will see." 

“Yeah, every fight is a must win fight. That’s why we step in the cage – we want to win. This is what we’re doing it for. I want to win, Tim wants to win.  He’s not going to give it to me.  For me, it’s very important because I had some time off and I want to prove that I’m still here, I’m still strong and I’m still Melvin." 

“I’m very blessed that Strikeforce has picked me to fight Tim. Even though it’s on short notice I’ll give everything in my power to win this fight. I’m coming real prepared so there are no excuses. I think all the fans will enjoy it because I’m coming to fight, he’s coming to fight, it’s going to be fireworks.”
READ MORE - Kennedy, Manhoef, Coenen, and Carmouche Talk Mar.5th Fights

Christian M’Pumbu Added to Bellator LHW Tourney

By FCF Staff

Just days before its fourth season of action is set to begin, Bellator Fighting Championships has announced that French veteran Christian M’Pumbu will compete in the promotion’s upcoming light-heavyweight tournament.

“Christian’s dangerous in every facet of the game and he could use this platform on MTV2 to establish himself as a force in the 205 division,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney in the official announcement.

M’Pumbu (15-3-1) will enter the competition having gone 4-1 in his last five fights. The 33 year-old-fighter hasn’t competed since last April, when he lost by split decision to Yoshiyuki Nakanishi at Deep 47. The Congo born vet has also competed for M-1 Global and KSW during his six plus year career, and holds wins over Yuji Sakuragi and current UFC fighter Stefan Struve.

“I have wanted to take a step up in competition for some time now. I'm ready for this,” said M’Pumbu. “I truly believe that I will be the Bellator World Light Heavyweight Champion. I'm excited about the future. Hard work always pays off.”

Bellator’s Season Four gets underway in March and will be broadcast live on MTV 2.
READ MORE - Christian M’Pumbu Added to Bellator LHW Tourney

Fighters on Weight for MFC 28

Thursday, February 24, 2011

By FCF Staff

All of the competitor’s for tomorrow night’s Maximum Fighting Championship event in Enoch, Alberta, made weight this afternoon, making the promotion’s 28th card official. “Supremacy” will be headlined by a bout between Ryan Jimmo and Dwayne Lewis, to determine the promotion’s light-heavyweight champion.

In the co-main event, UFC veterans Matt Veach and Drew Fickett (pictured) will square off in a 160lb. catch-weight tilt. The card will be broadcast live on HDNet.

Here are the official weigh-in results for MFC 28.

MFC World Light-Heavyweight Title
Dwayne Lewis - 203.6
Ryan Jimmo - 203.4

Catchweight - 160 lbs
Matt Veach - 159.4
Drew Fickett - 160.0

Lightweight
Curtis Demarce - 153.8
Richie Whitson - 155.0

Welterweight
Thomas Denny - 169.4
Sheldon Westcott - 169.4

Light-Heavyweight
Rodney Wallace - 204.0
Emanuel Newton - 204.2

Lightweight
Robert Washington - 155.6
Tyrone Glover - 154.0

Lightweight
Dan Ring - 155.0
Garret Nybakken - 155.0

Catchweight - 179 lbs
Brendan Kornberger - 178.0
Paapa Inkumsah - 176.8
READ MORE - Fighters on Weight for MFC 28

Henderson and “Feijao” Discuss March 5th Title Fight

By FCF Staff

While much of the attention directed at Strikeforce lately has been focused on the promotion’s ongoing heavyweight grand-prix, the spotlight will soon shift to its light-heavyweight division, as champion Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante will face decorated vet Dan Henderson on March 5th. The bout will headline an event which will be hosted by the Nationwide Arena, in Columbus, Ohio. (Pictured: Henderson knocking out Renato Sobral)

Cavalcante (10-2) will be looking to defend the light-heavyweight belt for the first time since he defeated former champ “King Mo” Lawal last August, to extend his winning three. Henderson (26-8) is coming off a successful return to the 205lb. division, when he knocked out Renato Sobral in December, after failing to unseat former middleweight champ Jake Shields last April.

Strikeforce held a conference call yesterday to field questions for the main event competitors, as well as Jorge Masvidal (20-6) and Billy Evangelista (11-0), who will battle each other in a key lightweight match-up that same night.

Other bouts scheduled for the March 5th event, which will be broadcast on Showtime, include women’s welterweight champion Marloes Coenen (18-4) vs. Liz “Girl-Rilla’’ Carmouche (6-0), and middleweight contender Tim Kennedy (12-3) vs. Melvin Manhoef (24-8-1).

Here are some of the call’s highlights:

Cavalcante kneeing Lawal
“Feijao” Cavalcante

How has it helped training with two guys who have beaten Dan in Anderson Silva and Antônio Rogério Nogueira?

“We train together every day. I have asked them about their fights against Dan and asked them what they think I need to do. They have told me what they think will work and we have been working on those things.”

“Against every fighter there’s a little bit of a strategy. It doesn’t really matter if I’m fighting for a title or I’m defending a title. It’s really about the fighter and every fighter has different strategies they are going to throw at you. Of course my strategy will differ for this fight as opposed to when I fought King Mo. Every fight is different and it doesn’t really make a difference if I’m fighting for a title or defending one.”

“I like the matchup with Dan wherever it goes: standing up, in the clinch, on the ground, boxing. I’ve put together a strong strategy with my training partners and I just feel really confident for this fight. Wherever the fight goes I’m well prepared for it.

“I was very excited to find out I was fighting someone like Dan Henderson. My goal is to fight the best in the world. Cardio could be the key in the fight but I’ve been training five rounds with different sparring partners, so I’ll be ready.”

Henderson pursuing Sobral

Dan Henderson

“I think the Columbus fans are really going to enjoy this. This definitely keeps me excited about still being able to compete in this sport and challenging myself in what is going to be a very tough opponent.”

What can we expect from you? Can we expect you to look for the knockout?

“I don’t think it’s a big secret both of us are going to be looking for the knockout. We’re both big finishers and most of our finishes have been by strikes. I definitely plan to knock him silly and pressure him the whole time.”

“(Feijao’s last opponent) King Mo and I have very different wrestling styles. He works from the outside, I work from the clinch. I thought Mo didn't use strikes to set up his wrestling. Feijao throws more looping, than straight punches, but he's dangerous standing.”

“I’ve been training for different styles of fighters depending on who I’m facing. 'Feijao' is a big challenge for me and that’s exciting for me.”

“I don’t feel small or weak at 205 so what’s the point in cutting weight.”

“I’m definitely prepared to go the full five rounds. It was good for me to not have the full nine to 10-month break between fights, although the holidays didn’t help. I’ve stepped it up a notch as far as my conditioning. I stepped on the scale this morning at 203 pounds, so my weight will not be an issue.”

What did you think about Fedor’s performance in the Grand Prix?

“It seems like his heart just isn’t in it. He just needs to get motivated to go out there and train and fight to win. I’m not sure that’s happening. But that’s something you would have to ask him. I’m just here speculating like the rest of you.”  

Evangelista kickingWaachim Spiritwolf
Billy Evangelista

Being undefeated, do you think if you win on March 5 you should be the division’s top contender for a world title?

“I’ll leave that up to Strikeforce. I’ve been competing with them for awhile and I just want a shot at the title one day. That would be great if I could be considered a No. 1 contender.”

What kind of fight are you expecting on March 5?

“I don’t really know what type of fighter Jorge is. I know he’s very long and has a reach advantage. I’m just going to see how the fight goes along and see whichever way I need to take it.”

Jorge Masvidal

“I think Strikeforce’s lightweight roster is one of the deeper ones in the entire world in MMA. They’ve got some good talent. I’m not really eyeing anyone. I just do what Mr. Coker tells me to do to get the world title.”

“I don’t train specifically for any one fighter. I always train generally on the things that I need to work most on. I plan on staying at 155 but I’ll fight at 170 as well. Wherever the money is at is where I’ll go. As long as they pay me I’ll go there and fight the bigger guys. It doesn’t matter to me.”

“I had trouble in my last fight (losing a decision to Paul Daley) just in my weight cutting and other circumstances. But that fight didn’t give me any confidence or take any away. I feel the same as I always have.”


READ MORE - Henderson and “Feijao” Discuss March 5th Title Fight