Archive for November, 2009

Dan Hardy gets the next shot at Georges St-Pierre's UFC welterweight belt, but should Josh Koscheck get it instead?

That's the question we posed in our latest MMAjunkie.com poll when we asked readers to select which of the two fighters is most deserving of the title shot.

Tens of thousands of votes were cast in the weekly poll, and one title hopeful narrowly edged the other.

Mixed martial arts regulation is finally coming to Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick today signed into law a bill, versions of which were previously approved by the House and Senate, that calls for the Massachusetts State Boxing Commission to become the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission and oversee MMA events.

The move opens the door for the UFC to host a long-anticipated event in Boston.

Jake Rosholt will have to fight his way back to the UFC.

The middleweight fighter today confirmed the Ultimate Fighting Championship has dropped him from its roster of middleweight competitors.

The termination comes a week after Rosholt (6-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC), a three-time NCAA Division I national wrestling champion and four-time All-American, suffered a first-round submission loss to Kendall Grove at UFC 106.

A long-rumored bout between King of the Cage world and Canadian 155-pound champion Rory MacDonald (9-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) and 170-pound KOTC title-holder Mike "Joker" Guymon (11-2-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is now official for UFC Fight Night 20.

The welterweight bout is slated for the night's un-aired preliminary card.

UFC Fight Night 20 takes place Jan. 11 at the Patriot Center on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. The main card airs on Spike TV.

In our newest installment of HDNet Fights Video Vault, we take a look at a recent welterweight bout between UFC veteran Pete Spratt and fast-rising Nathan Gunn.

The undercard bout took place in early October and pitted the veteran Spratt (19-13 at the time) against Gunn (7-0), the undefeated prospect who hoped to claim the first signature victory of his young career.

Each week HDNet and MMAjunkie.com release a new and exclusive fight from the ever-growing HDNet Fights video library. Stunning knockouts, slick submissions, shocking finishes and legendary brawls are the norm for this weekly feature. And Spratt vs. Gunn is no exception.

Former UFC fighter and popular veteran Rich Clementi picked up a much-needed win over the weekend.

At Sunday's Cage Wars event in Belfast, Northern Ireland, "The Ultimate Fighter 4" cast member stopped Chris Stringer (5-10-1) via second-round submission with a triangle choke.

Clementi (34-15-1) had suffered three losses in four bouts prior to the win, which came at the 3:11 mark of the round.

The California State Athletic Commission has made its stance on medical marijuana use among combat athletes clear: fighters who test positive for marijuana will be disciplined whether they have a medical marijuana card or not.

California passed Proposition 215 (also known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996) more than a decade ago, and the state now has more medical marijuana users (more than 200,000) than any other U.S. state that has similar legislation.

However, fighters such as Nick Diaz, who has publicly stated he holds a California medical marijuana card, can be disciplined by the CSAC for a positive test, commission officials stated.

World Extreme Cagefighting's undefeated Dave Jansen (14-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has agreed to fight at January's WEC 46 event, but the lightweight fighter won't meet WEC newcomer Bendy Casimir (19-5-2 MMA, 0-0 WEC).

WEC officials today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com that Jansen is tentatively scheduled for the Jan. 10 card but couldn't confirm his opponent.

However, despite recent reports of a Jansen vs. Casimir matchup, a source close to the event told MMAjunkie.com Jansen instead fights Kamal Shalorus (5-0-1 MMA, 1-0 WEC).

After a break for the holiday, MMAjunkie.com returns for a full week of programming.

Our guests today include "Strikeforce: Evolution" fighter "King" Mo Lawal, who fights Mike Whitehead on Dec. 19, and WEC bantamweight Kyle Dietz, who meets British fighter Brad Pickett on the same night. Trainer Marc Laimon also joins us as a guest host.

MMAjunkie.com Radio begins at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino's Race & Sports Book. Listen to and watch the show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

The current version of "The Ultimate Fighter" concludes this Wednesday, Dec. 2, with the season 10 finale.

Spike.com has released a video preview of the two-hour episode, which features the show's final two preliminary bouts and both semifinal fights. The two remaining fighters meet for the show championship at Saturday's live finale in Las Vegas.

In the preview, Scott Junk undergoes eye surgery that may be life-threatening, and Marcus Jones is ready to fight Matt Mitrione - out of the cage.