UFC 2011 - Business As Usual

[stangejr]

July 8, 2011

The official promo for UFC 133 is out.

[stangejr]

July 9, 2011

It shouldn't be surprising to hear Stefan Struve and the UFC have parted ways today. After a contract dispute, Struve displayed his disliking for the UFC management. Sengoku, the Japanese brand that hadn't put on a single show in all of 2010 had offered the Heavyweight a contract, in which he accepted. This should be huge for the resurgence of Sengoku, and might be just what Japanese MMA needed.

[stangejr]

July 10, 2011

Another fight has been added to the Fight Night card set in Louisiana in September. Welterweights DaMarques Johnson and Forrest Petz have agreed to fight. This could be a loser leaves town type of match. Johnson is 3-3 in the UFC, while this will be Petz's third run in the organization and I don't see why they would keep him if he loses his first fight.

DaMarques Johnson (12-9)
Loss - Amir Sadollah - Sub - UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs Davis
Win - Mike Guymon - Sub - UFC Fight for the Troops 2
Loss - Matthew Riddle - TKO - UFC Live: Jones vs Matyushenko

Forrest Petz (20-9)
Win - John Kolosci - TKO - HFC 7: Validation
Win - Herbert Goodman - Dec - Ultimate Cage Battle: Pride & Glory
Loss - Brian Foster - TKO - UFC Fight Night: Marquardt vs. Palhares

[stangejr]

July 11, 2011

Today we got the news that the UFC has passed a new rule, allowing main event fights to take place over five rounds rather than three regardless of whether a championship is at stake or not. This has been a complaint fans have been obsessing over for years now, and it's nice to see it finally take place. The rule cannot be implemented right away, due to contractual issues, but it seems Jake Shields and Jake Ellenberger have agreed to alter their contracts to allow the new rule. The following cards all have championship fights at the helm, with the exception of the Ultimate Finale card in December. The fight between Jason 'Mayhem' Miller and Michael Bisping still has yet to be signed however, so I'd imagine the rule would be instated by default there. Currently that is the only confirmed main event that is a non-title affair after the Battle on the Bayou card. Fans and fighters are rejoicing at the news.

[stangejr]

July 12, 2011

Season twelve of the highly anticipated Ultimate Fighter series has been moved forward. The season will now debut on Spike TV on August 28th. The season will feature sixteen Featherweights and Bantamweights all looking for a shot to make it into MMA's primer organization, the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The coaches of this season have been confirmed as Jason 'Mayhem' Miller and Michael 'The Count' Bisping.

CBS.com

[stangejr]

July 13, 2011

What a day for the UFC. Today, three bombshells were dropped on us all. A major signing and two big fights for the Septemeber card were announced.

First on the slate was the news that an opponent for Nate 'The Rock' Quarry was found. Dan Miller, an AMA product, has accepted to fight at UFC 135 against the original TUF veteran. Both fighters have alot to win in this fight, especially the 39 year old Quarry. It should be an explosive contest regardless of where the fight goes.

Nate 'The Rock' Quarry (12-4)
Loss - Jorge Rivera - TKO - UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Gomi
Win - Tim Credeur - Dec - UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard
Win - Jason MacDonald - TKO - UFC 97: Redemption

Dan Miller (13-5)
Loss - Nate Marquardt - Dec - UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones
Win - Joe Doerksen - Dec - UFC 124: St-Pierre vs. Koscheck 2
Win - John Salter - Sub - UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2

The next bombshell dropped this afternoon was the announcement of the hiring of Gesias 'JZ' Cavalcante. Dana White explains:

[...] His contract was very complicated and running out. Strikeforce just couldn't manipulate it enough to put him on thier cards. It was really bad for the brand and the fighter. There was a loophole however, it allowed him to continue his contract with us, and once it ran out, Coker would be able to resign him with less restrictions, but after talking to his camp and Coker, we decided it may just be best for him to continue his career in the UFC. He is already part of the Grand Prix, so we just signed him straight up.

And later...

[...] He will make his debut in September against Takanori Gomi. It should be an explosive fight.

[...] Same card as the Edgar / Maynard fight. UFC 135.

Gesias 'JZ' Cavalcante (15-4-1)
Loss - Josh Thomson - Dec - Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II
Win - Katsunori Kikuno - Dec - Dream 15
Loss - Tatsuya Kawajiri - Dec - Dream 9

'The Fireball Kid' Takanori Gomi
Loss - Clay Guida - Sub - UFC 125: Resolution
Win - Tyson Griffin - KO - UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko
Loss - Kenny Florian - Sub - UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Gomi

[stangejr]

Just because I got a PM asking if I was just making the Pro Elite stuff up or if they were actually in my game. Well, I hope this answers all questions lol

http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/3742/proelite.jpg

[stangejr]

July 14, 2011

'Mr. Wonderful' took some time out of his day to have a little Q&A with the fans about his upcoming fight against Rashad Evans.

[stangejr]

July 15, 2011

These are in the game's order. I just decided I'd go with it, even though I don't agree with most. Look at Dominick Cruz...he shouldn't be that low. I did however make up the percentages.

[stangejr]

July 16, 2011

In a the latest poll on UFC.com, Belfort vs Akiyama is the highest anticipated fight on the UFC 133 card.

Evans vs Davis - 36.3%
Franklin vs Noguiera - 11.1%
Belfort vs Akiyama - 49.9%
Rivera vs Sakara - 0.4%
Pyle vs MacDonald - 1.2%
Matyushenko vs Gustaffson - 0.5%
Mendes vs Yahya - 0.1%
Other - 0.5%

[stangejr]

July 17, 2011

Despite early rumors, Erick Silva has been cleared to fight on the UFC's Rio card. His contractual complications were untrue. He will compete on the Facebook prelims against Mike Swick.

[stangejr]

July 18, 2011

The UFC 135 main card has been complete. In the third fight to air live on PPV, Brandon 'The Truth' Vera will fight for his UFC career against another man in the same boat, 'The Hitman' Jason Brilz. Both fighters are coming off multiple losses, and need a win here. Otherwise, it is safe to assume they will be looking for employment elsewhere.

Brandon Vera (11-6)
Loss - Thiago Silva - Dec - UFC 125
Loss - Jon Jones - TKO - UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones
Loss - Randy Couture - Dec - UFC 105

Jason Brilz (18-4-1)
Loss - Vladimir Matyushenko - KO - UFC 129
Loss - Antonio Rogerio Nogueira - Dec - UFC 114
Win - Eric Schafer - Dec - UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones

The mod I am using came out before the Thiago Silva / Brandon Vera fight was overturned to a no-contest. I suspended Silva in my game, but I can't overturn a call, so it is still a loss for Vera. (Its not like he was even competitive in the fight anyways.)

[stangejr]

July 19, 2011

Another fight has been announced today. According to the UFC's website, Heavyweights Rob Broughton and Mike Russow are scheduled to fight on the Battle on the Bayou card in September. Both have looked very impressive as of late, and one will step out of the pack and to the next level with a win here.

Rob Broughton (15-5-1)
Win - Vinicius Queiroz - Sub - UFC 120: Bisping vs. Akiyama
Win - Oli Thompson - Dec - ZT Fight Night: Heavyweights Collide
Win - James Thompson - KO - ZT Fight Night: Heavyweights Collide

Mike Russow (14-1)
Win - Jon Madsen - TKO - UFC Fight Night 24: Nogueira vs. Davis
Win - Todd Duffee - KO - UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans
Win - Justin McCully - Dec - UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueira

[stangejr]

July 20, 2011

Rumors are circulating that Zuffa has contacted Walt Disney Co. for an invitation onto the ESPN scene. Although MMA has a long way to go until it can be a standard program on ESPN, rumors are that the UFC's series Ultimate Fight Night is in negotiations with Disney over a contract to display their product in Mexico via ESPN Deportes. This is quite odd news, being that Zuffa has contracts with many different TV parent companies. Currently the UFC and Strikeforce can be seen on three different major television brands, Viacom (Spike TV), General Electric (Versus), and CBS (CBS & Showtime). If they happen to strike a deal with ESPN, Walt Disney Co. will be the fourth. It is rare to see one company get support from so many large-scale competitors.

[nyj721]

Re: July 20, 2011

Just got caught up and I'm following.

Is this with WMMA 1, 2, or 3?