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This video has been removed from YouTube: Lyoto Machida – Countdown to UFC 98, Karate.
War.
War never changes.
PRIDE and K-1 superstar Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (24-6-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) says he is making his return to the UFC following a 20-month hiatus from the sport’s biggest organization.
Filipovic stated in his MMA-ID blog that he was hoping for three fights this year in the UFC, and a subsequent press release from the Croatian striker’s official website confirmed the news.
Filipovic claims he will be fighting Mostapha Al Turk (6-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC 99 in Germany, and an additional report from The Wrestling Observer cites UFC President Dana White as having confirmed the bout.
Al Turk had originally been slated to meet debuting American Top Team heavyweight Todd Duffee (4-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) on the preliminary card of the June 13 event in Cologne, Germany.
The official fight card for the event on the UFC’s website still shows Al Turk vs. Duffee on the evening’s schedule.
Filipovic’s original MMA-ID blog is included, unedited, below:
Back in the UFC
So we have some big news!
I decided to fight in the UFC again, because of the stronger competition in the heavyweight division. My next opponent will be Mustapha Al-Turk.
I didn’t do well in my first three appearances – I wasn’t myself. By returning to the cage I want to prove that I can still fight at highest level, no matter when or where.
It’s hard to talk about concrete plans, but I would really like to fight at least three times this year. I wish to fight against quality opponents and to fight my way up to a title shot but for now, I’ll focus only on my next fight and after that we’ll see what’s going to be on the menu next.
I want to say thank you Mr. Dana White for your interest and for an invitation back to the UFC. I owe you a lot from our first deal, and I’ll make it up to you.
Thanks everyone for supporting me all the way – we are back in business!
Mirko
The press release from Filipovic’s official website is also included, unedited, below:
PRESS RELEASE: Cro Cop Back In UFC
These days the boys from Cro Cop team are training in full force. After a long break and highly demanding recovery process, Mirko Cro Cop is ready to fight in MMA again.
All problems with injuries are history and Cro Cop is very optimistic to start another chapter in his career: “I feel great, the recovery process is going well and we train at high intensity now. I never had such a strong desire to prove myself and I’ll climb up again, or die trying.”
Mirko’s next fight is set for June 13th in Germany, which means that he’s back in the UFC, a place that he didn’t have his best moments: “I decided to fight in the UFC again, because of the stronger competition in the heavyweight division. My next opponent will be Mustapha Al-Turk. I didn’t do well in my first three appearances – I wasn’t myself. By returning to the cage I want to prove that I can still fight at highest level, no matter when or where,” claims Cro Cop.
UFC 99 will be Cro Cop’s first fight this year with the possibility of three fights coming by years end. “It’s hard to talk about concrete plans, but I would really like to fight at least three times this year. I wish to fight against quality opponents and to fight my way up to a title shot but for now, I’ll focus only on my next fight and after that we’ll see what’s going to be on the menu next,” says Cro Cop. Although the UFC 99 card looks stacked, it seems that the UFC officials can see the benefits of hiring a top European fighter for their first ever UFC show in Germany.
“I want to say thank you Mr. Dana White for your interest and for an invitation back to the UFC. I owe you a lot from our first deal, and I’ll make it up to you,” promises Cro Cop.
All news related to Mirko Cro Cop’s career are posted on Mirko’s official MMA-ID profile on http://www.mma-id.com/CROCOP and Mirko’s official homepage http://www.mirko-crocop.com.
Yours truly,
The CROCOP TeamSources close to Duffee were unaware of any potential changes to the UFC 99 card when contacted by MMAjunkie.com (http://www.mmajunkie.com).
Filipovic originally entered the UFC as a highly regarded heavyweight in February 2007. The devastating striker entered the UFC on a four-fight win streak that included victories over Josh Barnett, Wanderlei Silva, Hidehiko Yoshida and Ikuhisa Minowa.
After earning a victory in his UFC debut over Eddie Sanchez, Filipovic then suffered a devastating knockout at the hands of Gabriel Gonzaga and a lackluster decision loss to Cheick Kongo. The UFC and Filipovic parted ways at that time, thought both insisted “Cro Cop” would eventually return to the organization.
Filipovic has since earned TKO wins over Hong Man Choi and Tatsuya Mizuno in Japan, while battling through repeated illegal groin shots to settle for a no contest against Alistair Overeem.
War.
War never changes.
Veteran heavyweight and once again rising contender Cheick Kongo (14-4-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) will replace Heath Herring (28-14 MMA, 2-3 UFC) and fight Cain Velasquez (5-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at next month’s UFC 99 event.
Kongo posted the change on his Facebook early Wednesday morning, and the UFC has since made the adjustment official.
UFC 99 takes place on June 13 at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany.
On Tuesday the UFC announced that an injury forced Herring out of the co-main-event fight. However, a report from MMA FanHouse stated the fighter instead was dealing with a sickness that’s left him out of training for the past couple weeks.
It is currently unknown if the Kongo vs. Velasquez bout will remain in the same slot on the evening’s schedule.
As far as drawing power in Germany and the potential impact on the heavyweight title picture, Kongo is arguably an upgrade. However, his UFC 99 appearance would be his second fight in just two months. He most recently topped Antoni Hardonk with a second-round TKO at UFC 97.
It was the third consecutive victory for Kongo, whom UFC President Dana White recently said was back in the title picture and possibly just a win or two away from a shot at the belt.
A win over Velasquez, one of the sport’s most promising heavyweight prospects, would give Kongo a solid case for a title shot. After all, Velasquez is a remarkable 5-0 with five TKO stoppages. All but his most recent one (over Denis Stojnic at UFC Fight Night 17) came in the first round.
UFC 99 marks the organization’s debut in Germany, which has welcomed the UFC with a lukewarm reception. Minors have been banned from attending the event, and local press has demonized the sport. However, ticket sales are solid for the event, which features a main event between former UFC champion Rich Franklin and former PRIDE title-holder Wanderlei Silva (at a catch-weight of 182 pounds).
War.
War never changes.
i just finished watching it, i thought hughes/serra would be much more exciting seeing as that fight was so personal, i was a little let down with it
machida is so unorthodox, so difficult to fight against, and it was proven as rashad hardly touched him without getting tagged himself. i wonder now if machida will face rampage, or if rashad and rampage will fight since it was scheduled for 98 but rampage pulled out.
UFC 98: “Evans vs. Machida” from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, has officially wrapped, which means that it’s time for those select fighters who went above and beyond in their respective fights to get a little extra grease for their efforts.
To the tune of $60,000 each.
The promotion dished out its standard post-fight monetary bonuses to four out of the 22 fighters on the card. And it shouldn’t come as a shock whose wallets are leaving “Sin City” a little heavier.
In addition to their base salaries, the UFC awarded welterweight warriors Matt Hughes and Matt Serra “Fight of the Night” for their gritty back-and-forth 170-pound war. It was a bout that saw Hughes survive an early scare to come back and out-muscle Serra en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Both fighters certainly made the most of their opportunity.
Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida, who was an early favorite coming into this fight, shocked the pay-per-view audience with a devastating stoppage over previously unbeaten Rashad Evans.
It not only earned him “Knockout of the Night,” but the dubious honor of being the first man to stop Evans in his career.
“Submission of the Night” went to WEC alum Brock Larson for his relatively quick work over last minute replacement Mike Pyle. Larson locked in a suffocating arm triangle choke to move himself up welterweight ladder..
Here are the special fight bonuses for UFC 98:
Fight of the Night — Matt Serra vs. Matt Hughes
Knockout of the Night — Lyoto Machida
Submission of the Night – Brock Larson
War.
War never changes.
watch any ufc event, it has the early ones as well, like ufc 1, 2, 3 etc etc…i’m bout to watch ufc 52 liddell vs couture 3 i think, and trigg vs hughes 2
http://www.youku.com/playlist_show/id_2484821_ascending_1_page_1.html
The 2005 Pride FC Middleweight Grand Prix winner, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, earlier this week did indeed sign a bout agreement to challenge UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida, which will more than likely take place at UFC 104 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif., on Oct. 24.
SuperLutas.com.br was able to confirm the rumored match up with sources close to the Brazilian’s camp.
Rua is coming off a first round technical knockout of former 205-pound champion, Chuck Liddell, at UFC 97: “Redemption” last month. He defeated Mark Coleman via third round technical knockout in a lackluster performance earlier this year at UFC 93: “Franklin vs. Henderson” to earn a crack at the “Iceman.”
It’s perhaps not the match up that most fans expected, especially when UFC President Dana White revealed over the weekend that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson would be the first to challenge Machida for his newly-won world title. But that all went out the window a few days later when Jackson apparently pressed UFC officials to settle a score with Rashad Evans via The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 first rather than compete to get his belt back.
That left Machida — who flattened Evans at UFC 98 to win the belt — all of a sudden without a number one contender … until now.
Keep in mind that White did not announce the bout yesterday during a media conference call because he indicated that not all bout agreements were finalized. That more than likely means Machida — who is currently celebrating his big win on a beach near Belem — may still have to agree to the fight and formalize it with a signature.
After more than three years of fighting outside the promotion, former UFC welterweight number one contender and ex-Icon Sport middleweight champion, Frank Trigg, has been invited back to the UFC for another run at 170-pound glory.The UFC made the announcement earlier today on its official Web site.
“Twinkle Toes” (19-6) is perhaps best known to UFC fans for his two defeats at the hands of former division champion Matt Hughes — both by rear naked choke. First at UFC 45 and then again at UFC 52.
What made his second loss to Hughes so memorable was the gritty and improbable comeback by then-champion Hughes after Trigg delivered an unintentional low blow.
The former University of Oklahoma wrestler attempted to rebound at UFC 54 against Georges St. Pierre, but met a similar fate at the hands of the current champ after being dominated from the opening horn.
The Godfather of Triggonomics didn’t spend much time mourning the losses. In addition to commentating for the now-defunct PRIDE organization, Trigg put together a solid 7-2 run outside of Zuffa, including wins over Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Kazuo Misaki.
Trigg was last seen outpointing a very game Danny Babcock in the main event of the XCF: “Rumble in Racetown” event back on February 14. Trigg got off to a rocky start in the first round, but soon found his range and took command in the second and third rounds, including a late knockdown in the final minute of the bout to take the unanimous decision win.
No opponent or event has been named for Trigg’s return, but no question the 37-year-old veteran of the sport will be looking to make an immediate impact.
War.
War never changes.
Kimbo Slice has apparently inked a deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and will debut as a participant on the upcoming tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) according to Steve Cofield over at Cagewriter.
Heard that Bobby Lashley might try out for the show also but nothing official with him
War.
War never changes.
Hopefully Lashley will be on TUF 10 with Kimbo but nothing is official
Now as for Sapp, Lesnar will dominate him
Sapp latest fight from about a week ago
This video has been removed from YouTube: DREAM 9 Ikuhisa Minowa VS Bob Sapp.
Jose Canseco fight from the same event
This video has been removed from YouTube: DREAM 9 Hong-Man Choi VS Jose Canseco.
edit so shooting started for TUF 10 and since Lashley is fighting later this month he wont be on the show
War.
War never changes.
Main event:
195 lbs.: Rich Franklin (24-4) vs Wanderlei Silva (32-9-1)
Main card (Televised):
265 lbs.: Cain Velasquez (5-0) vs. Cheick Kongo (14-4-1)
170 lbs.: Mike Swick (13-2) vs. Ben Saunders (7-0-2)
170 lbs.: Marcus Davis (16-4) vs. Dan Hardy (21–6)
155 lbs.: Spencer Fisher (22-4) vs. Caol Uno (25-11-4)
265 lbs.: Mustapha Al-Turk (6-4) vs. Mirko Filipovic (24-6-2)
Doing main cards picks only
Didnt post this but it has been announced that Shogun Rau gets the next title shot which happens in September I believe at UFC 104 vs Machida
Last night Strikeforce put on a event. There one of my favorite MMA promotions other than UFC. Was shocked that Arlovski got knocked out in under 30 secs. Was happy that Nick Diaz submitted Scott Smith, He is one of my favorite. The main event was Lawler vs Shields and Shields won by a submission in the first round which was a shock to me was expecting a TKO from Lawler but it didnt happen. Other fight on the card was Randleman vs Whitehead boring fight kind of got interesting in the third round. And Riggs vs Baroni and I gotta give credit to Baroni even though he lost he didnt get knocked out which many time it looked like he was going to.Anyways later today WEC 41 is on and I am looking forward to that
War.
War never changes.
yoo, szuter, i watched all episodes from the most recent ultimate fighter, uk vs us, i think in terms of the welterweights that demarques guy from the us team is gonna win, and the lightweights, that bald guy ross from the uk team will win…what you think?
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