Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez Defend Titles with Stoppage Wins

Saturday, April 9, 2011

By FCF Staff

Nick Diaz survived the striking power of Paul Daley tonight in San Diego, California, to in turn stop the welterweight challenger just seconds before the opening round of their championship bout came to an end. Despite landing several punishing blows to Diaz, which had the Strikeforce champion scrambling to recover on a couple of occasions, Daley was unable to finish the resilient veteran before Diaz resumed his attacks. As round one neared its end, Daley stumbled to the canvas during a frantic striking exchange, and was immediately swarmed by Diaz’s fight ending barrage.

In the card’s other feature attraction, lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez overwhelmed Tatsuya Kawajiri with strikes from the opening bell, stunning the accomplished vet with hard right hands. Despite a valiant effort to recover, Kawajiri once again found himself on the wrong end of Melendez’s elbows and punches, prompting the referee’s stoppage at just 3:14 of round one.

Here are the results from tonight’s Showtime broadcast.

Nick Diaz def. Paul Daley via TKO (strikes) - R1, 4:57
Gilbert Melendez def. Tatsuya Kawajiri via TKO (strikes) - R1, 3:14
Gegard Mousasi and Keith Jardine fight to a majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
Shinya Aoki def. Lyle Beerbohm via submission (neck crank) - R1, 1:32
READ MORE - Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez Defend Titles with Stoppage Wins

Strikeforce “Diaz vs. Daley” Weigh-In Results

By FCF Staff

Here are the official weigh-in results for Strikeforce’s “Diaz vs. Daley” card in San Diego tonight. The card, which will be broadcast on Showtime, will feature welterweight champion Nick Diaz vs. challenger Paul Daley in the main event. Lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez will also be looking to defend his belt, as he will take on Dream contender, Tatsuya Kawajiri.

Nick Diaz (169.8) vs Paul Daley (169.5)
Gilbert Melendez (154.8) vs Tatsuya Kawajiri (154.2)
Gegard Mousasi (205.5) vs Keith Jardine (205)
Shinya Aoki (155) vs Lyle Beerbohm (155.5)
Hiroyuki Takaya (144.5) vs Robert Peralta (144.5)
Brett Albee (218.5) vs Virgil Zwicker (222.5)
Joe Duarte (155.5) vs Saad Awad (155.5)
Herman Terrado (170.5) vs AJ Matthews (171)
Rolando Perez (140) vs Edgar Cardenas (139)
Casey Ryan (185) vs Paul Song (184.4)
READ MORE - Strikeforce “Diaz vs. Daley” Weigh-In Results

Video: Strikeforce "Diaz vs. Daley" Pre-Fight Feature


READ MORE - Video: Strikeforce "Diaz vs. Daley" Pre-Fight Feature

MFC 29: Jimmo, Lima Defend Titles; Franca and Davis Score Wins

By FCF Staff

With Ontario now open for the business of MMA, the Edmonton based promotion Maximum Fighting Championship held its first event in the Province last night, as it headed to Caesars Windsor for its twenty ninth-event. (Pictured: Ryan Jimmo)

In one of the card’s feature attractions, welterweight champion Douglas Lima continued his winning ways, as the ATT Atlanta fighter stopped the veteran Terry Martin in the first round. Just over one minute into the title fight, Lima dropped Martin with an overhand right to the temple and proceeded to finish off the UFC vet with several follow up strikes.

Light-heavyweight champion Ryan Jimmo also retained his title in a rather conservative affair, as he worked his way to a unanimous decision win over Zak Cummings, by scoring with strikes from the clinch and on the ground.

Several other UFC vets were in action at MFC 29; Marcus Davis battled to a split decision victory over an extremely game and resilient Curtis Demarce, Hermes Franca dropped Robert Washington with a booming right and then sealed the deal with follow up punches, and Pete Spratt tapped out Demi Deeds with a nicely executed, second round armbar.

Here are the results from the MFC 29 “Conquer” HDNet broadcast.

Douglas Lima def. Terry Martin TKO (Punches) R1 1:14
Ryan Jimmo def. Zak Cummings Decision (Unanimous)
Marcus Davis Curtis def. Demarce Decision (Split Decision)
Hermes Franca def. Robert Washington KO (Punches) R2 0:26
Pete Spratt def. Demi Deeds Submission (Armbar) R2 4:19
Ali Mokdad def. Andreas Spang Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) R1 1:35

READ MORE - MFC 29: Jimmo, Lima Defend Titles; Franca and Davis Score Wins

Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim Confirmed for UFC 132

Friday, April 8, 2011

By FCF Staff

While Carlos Condit won’t get to step in for the injured Jon Fitch against former champ BJ Penn, as he reportedly asked to do, the welterweight will get to face one of the division’s rising fighters next in Dong Hyun Kim. The UFC has announced today that the two will meet at the promotion’s upcoming July 2nd card in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Pictured: Condit hitting Renato Verissimo)

Condit (26-5) will head into UFC 132 having won three straight bouts, which includes a Split Decision win over Jake Ellenberger, a third round, come from behind TKO over Rory MacDonald, and most recently a first round KO of Dan Hardy.

The undefeated Kim (14-0-1 NC) has won three straight bouts by unanimous decision, as the South Korean Judoka has scored wins over TJ Grant, Amir Sadollah and most recently Nate Diaz.

UFC 132 will feature a bantamweight title fight between champion Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber in the main event. Some of the other bouts scheduled for the event include Wanderlei Silva vs. Chris Leben, George Sotiroupolus vs. Evan Dunham and Tito Ortiz vs. Ryan Bader.
READ MORE - Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim Confirmed for UFC 132

SLFA Presents - MFC 29: Conquer Weigh-In Results

By FCF Staff

The Maximum Fighting Championship held the official weigh-ins yesterday, in advance of the promotion’s first event in Ontario tonight, which will be hosted by The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor. MFC 29 will feature two title fights, as welterweight champion Douglas Lima will look to defend his belt against veteran Terry Martin, and light-heavyweight champ Ryan Jimmo will take on Zak Cummings.

The card, which is presented by S.L. Feldman & Associates, will be broadcast live on HDNet.

Here are the official weigh-in results for MFC 29.

MFC Welterweight Title
Terry Martin – 170lbs vs. Douglas Lima – 170lbs

MFC Light-Heavyweight Title
Zak Cummings – 204lbs vs. Ryan Jimmo – 204lbs

Lightweight
Curtis Demarce - 155.5lbs vs. Marcus Davis - 154.5lbs

Catchweight
Robert Washington – 160lbs vs. Hermes Franca – 160lbs

Welterweight
Demi Deeds – 170lbs vs. Pete Spratt – 170lbs

Middleweight
Andreas Spang – 185lbs vs. Ali Mokdad - 183.5lbs

Welterweight
Dhiego Lima – 170lbs vs. Josh Taveirne - 170.5lbs

Bantamweight
David Bo Harris - 136.5* vs. Chuck Mady - 135

Lightweight
Pete Brown – 155 vs. Matt Spisak - 155

*Harris initially weighed 1/2 pound over. After one hour, second
attempt was 135.5 and cleared to fight.

READ MORE - SLFA Presents - MFC 29: Conquer Weigh-In Results

Suarez vs. Temirkhanov, Geurin vs. Algeriev Added to M-1 Challenge XXV

Thursday, April 7, 2011

By FCF Staff, photo courtesy M-1 Global

More bouts have been confirmed for the upcoming April 28th M-1 Challenge XXV card in St. Petersburg, Russia, as today M-1 Global has announced that Juanma Suarez (pictured) will meet Arsen Temirkhanov and Mike Geurin will fight Ramzan Algeriev at the event.

The card, which will be streamed live on the official M-1 Global site, will feature a welterweight bout between champion Shamil Zavurov and challenger Rashid Magomedov in the main event.

Other notable bouts scheduled for the event include a light-heavyweight bout between Viktor Nemkov and former TUF competitor Vinny Magalhaes for the promotion’s vacant title, and a middleweight tilt between veterans Luigi Fioravanti and Andrei Semenov.

Here is the card to date for M-1 Challenge XXV.

M-1 Challenge XXV Under Card:
TBA vs. Alexander Kosarev (1-2) HW

M-1 Challenge XXV Main Card (Streaming Live):
Juanma Suarez (6-0) vs. Arsen Temirkhanov (8-1) WW 
Mike Geurin (8-3) vs. Ramzan Algeriev (1-0) MW
Murad Magomedov (6-6) vs. Dmitry Samoilov (11-5-1) MW
Denis Goltsov (2-1) vs. Alexander Volkov (10-3) HW    
Christian Eckerlin (6-0) vs. Alexander Yakovlev (10-3) WW
Luigi Fioravanti (22-8) vs. Andrei Semenov (29-9-2) MW   

Additional bouts to be announced

Welterweight Championship Bout:
Shamil Zavurov, M-1 Challenge Champion (19-1) vs. Rashid Magomedov (8-1)

Light Heavyweight (205 Lbs) Championship Bout:
Viktor Nemkov (10-2) vs. Vinny Magalhaes (7-5)
READ MORE - Suarez vs. Temirkhanov, Geurin vs. Algeriev Added to M-1 Challenge XXV

Tony Johnson Jr. Signs With Bellator; Faces Carlos Flores April 16th

By FCF Staff

Bellator Fighting Championships has announced that it has added former King of the Cage Heavyweight Champion Tony Johnson Jr. to its roster. The 5-1 fighter will make his promotional debut at Bellator 41, April 16th, in Yuma, Arizona, against Carlos Flores (4-0).

“Tony is a fighter we have had our eye on for quite some time,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney in the announcement. “He’s one of the top heavyweight prospects in the world right now, and will make a great addition to our already impressive heavyweight lineup.”

Johnson Jr. hasn’t fought since November, when the former collegiate wrestler scored a unanimous decision win over Bobby Simic at KOTC’s “Infusion” event.

“I definitely want to be a part of the next Bellator Heavyweight Tournament,” said Johnson. “I think it would be a great opportunity for me. It would mean everything to me to become the next Bellator Heavyweight Champion,”

“I can only improve,” Johnson added. “I plan on getting better and better every time I enter that cage. I feel in my heart like I'm able to compete with the best heavyweights out there, and now it's time for me to prove it. I'm ready for it. I'm ready to take that next challenge.”

Flores is also coming off a win while competing for KOTC; in December he tapped out Jason Walraven with a first round, Kimura.

Bellator 41 will be broadcast live on MTV 2.
READ MORE - Tony Johnson Jr. Signs With Bellator; Faces Carlos Flores April 16th

Video: "Beyond Trash Talk" Diaz vs. Daley Trailer


READ MORE - Video: "Beyond Trash Talk" Diaz vs. Daley Trailer

Video: "Fight for Japan" Featuring Kawajiri, Aoki and Takaya

Wednesday, April 6, 2011


In response to the recent disasters in Japan, DREAM has released a promotional video titled “Fight for Japan”, featuring the nation’s Tatsuya Kawajiri, Shinya Aoki (pictured) and Hiroyuki Takaya, who are all fighting at this coming Saturday’s Strikeforce event. The video is below:

READ MORE - Video: "Fight for Japan" Featuring Kawajiri, Aoki and Takaya

Edwin Figueroa Hoping for Full Camp, No Injuries in Next UFC Bout

By Kelsey Mowatt; photo courtesy Team Janjira

Fans that tuned into Facebook on March 26th to catch the preliminary bouts for UFC Fight Night 24, were treated to one of the year’s more memorable bouts, as Michael McDonald and Edwin Figueroa battled it out on their feet and on the ground for fifteen, wildly entertaining minutes. In the end, McDonald outscored Figueroa to be handed the unanimous decision win, in a bout that was fittingly awarded Fight of the Night honors. Despite the $55,000 bonus and his awe inspiring performance, however, Figueroa can’t get over the fact that he failed to deliver a victory in his first UFC fight.

“It was pretty nice but I would give it back in a heartbeat just to get that win you know?” Figueroa told FCF. “I haven’t lost a fight in nine or ten years, so, it kind of eases the pain a little bit but still, I would easily give it back and more just to get the win. I felt like I was a kid in high school that just got dumped or is getting over a hard break-up; it could have been a lot better.”

While Figueroa (7-1) is understandably disappointed that he no longer is an undefeated MMA fighter, what made his gritty performance against the highly touted, 20 year-old McDonald (12-1) even more impressive, is that he took the bout in far from ideal circumstances. Not only did Figueroa step in on short notice for the injured Nick Pace, but the Saekson Sanjira fighter informed FCF that his own injury woes adversely affected his performance.

“It ended up turning into a sloppy fight and I don’t really fight like that,” said Figueroa. “I wished I would have had more confidence in myself. Cutting the weight, I had to lose about 26 pounds in about five or six days...By the time I was doing my warm-up I was just gassed. In the fight I couldn’t really do my set-ups, feints; I couldn’t do my techniques properly like we trained. So I just decided that I had to finish the fight immediately and I started throwing haymakers. Looking back I really regret doing that because that really took it out of me.”

In addition, part of the reason Figueroa was forced to cut so much weight, was because the bantamweight had been relatively inactive due a nagging groin injury. Prior to his bout with McDonald, Figueroa hadn’t fought since August, 2010, when he stopped Johnny Bedford while competing under the King of Kombat banner.

“I haven’t fought in so long because I’ve had a couple of injuries,” the 26 year-old-fighter and experienced striker noted. “I pulled my groin which is why I was so overweight. I was walking around at 160, 165 because I couldn’t really jog or run. I had a pulled groin but when I got that call with six days notice, I was like I can’t say no to that. That’s what I’ve been waiting to do all my life. I knew I could make my dream come true the next week.”

Now Figueroa will take some time out to rest and heal, so that he can fully prepare for his second Octagon appearance when the time comes.

“There’s no one in particular,” said Figueroa, who signed a five fight deal with the UFC prior to his bout with McDonald. “There’s so many great fighters in the bantamweight division; Dominick Cruz, Urjiah Faber, Miguel Torres, if I get to fight any of those guys it will be such an honor...I just can’t wait to be healthy, train for a full six weeks and show everyone how I can fight.”

“This may sound funny, but I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Michael McDonald,” Figueroa added. “He gave me my first loss so I would love to fight him again. It’s nothing personal, he’s a super nice guy and a great fighter, but business before pleasure.”




READ MORE - Edwin Figueroa Hoping for Full Camp, No Injuries in Next UFC Bout

Erik Koch vs. Cub Swanson Confirmed for UFC 132

By FCF Staff

The Ultimate Fighting Championship continues to round out the line-up for its upcoming July 2nd event in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the promotion has confirmed that a featherweight bout between Erik Koch and Cub Swanson has been added to the card.

Koch (12-1) will head into the event having won three straight fights; most recently at UFC 128, the Roufusport fighter KO’d Rafael Assuncao in the first round. Koch’s only professional defeat came to Chad Mendes last March, who was awarded the unanimous decision victory at WEC 47.

Swanson (15-4) hasn’t fought since November, when he earned a split decision victory over Mackens Semerzier at WEC 52. Prior to that, Swanson lost by UD to the aforementioned Mendes, who defeated the veteran last August at WEC 50.

UFC 132 will be hosted by the Mandalay Bay Events Center and will feature a bantamweight bout between champion Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber in the main event.

Some of the other bouts that have been confirmed for the card include a middleweight bout between Wanderlei Silva and Chris Leben, a light-heavyweight tilt between former champ Tito Ortiz and Ryan Bader, and a lightweight fight between Evan Dunham and George Sotiroupolus.

READ MORE - Erik Koch vs. Cub Swanson Confirmed for UFC 132

After Injury Setback, Tim Jenson Hoping to Fight in May

Tuesday, April 5, 2011


By Kelsey Mowatt

Last month, Tim Jenson was determined to demonstrate that despite a three year hiatus from fighting, the 25 year-old-veteran remained a force in Canada’s lightweight division. The Team Toshido fighter was scheduled to face Kurt Southern in the opening round of Aggression MMA’s lightweight tourney, and in an interview with FCF, Jenson’s confidence and excitement was evident. Unfortunately for the Kelowna fighter, however, his comeback was postponed.

“Basically I shot a double leg takedown, and my rear foot folded over like a severely rolled ankle,” Jenson said, when asked about the injury that pulled him from the March 11th event. “I tore 3 ligaments and my calf muscle.”

“I was super disappointed,” Jenson added.  “The injury happened on my very last day of hard sparring. I was one week out from my fight. My weight was good; I was in great shape. My skill set felt really sharp; just one of those freak accidents that can’t be helped.”

Jenson last competed in November, 2007, when he submitted Tim Thurston with a second round armbar to extend his pro record to 6-1. Despite being regarded as one of the nation’s fastest rising lightweights, Jenson decided to focus on other career prospects to help ensure his financial security, and didn’t seek out any fights until earlier this year. Due to his recent setback, Jenson reports that his comeback will likely not be official, until later this spring or early summer.

“I’m just getting back to training now,” Jenson told FCF. “I’ve mostly been working my boxing and cardio; David Lea (Jenson’s head trainer and manger) and I are hoping for May. We’ll see how it goes.”

Jenson continues to train out of Team Toshido, with the aforementioned Lea, which for years was the home gym of current UFC welterweight, Rory MacDonald. As a result, Jenson has a keen interest in his former training partner’s upcoming April 30th bout with Nate Diaz, and not surprisingly, he’s predicting MacDonald to win.

“Once Rory gets past the reach of Diaz and is able to let his hands go, I foresee crushed facial bones for Nate, and Rory being a very happy camper,” Jenson said. “I do believe Rory has all the tools to win no matter where the fight takes place.”

READ MORE - After Injury Setback, Tim Jenson Hoping to Fight in May