UFC 123: Rampage vs Machida Preview

On Saturday November 20th, at UFC 123, Rampage Jackson and Lyoto Machida square off in a fight that very well may determine the person next in line to fight the winner of Rashad Evans and Shogun Rua. Rampage will try to get back to his winning ways after a tough loss to bitter rival Rashad Evans. Lyoto Machida is also coming off a loss that saw him lose his light heavyweight title to Shogun via 1st round knockout . Both fighters are in need of a win and both fighters have been training hard to ensure they get it.

Also on the card will be, veterans and pioneers of MMA, Matt Hughes up against BJ Penn. Penn is coming off back to back losses over lightweight champion Frankie Edgar (the man that took the title away from Penn in the first place) and Hughes is riding a 3 fight win streak that saw him completely dominate Matt Serra, Renzo Gracie and Ricardo Almeida (won by submission ). This will be the third fight between both fighters with each fighter having a win. Penn has not lost 3 fights in a row in his entire career and has stated that he feels rejuvenated for this fight and will stop at nothing to get the win. Hughes, on the other hand, is no stranger to winning streaks, putting together streaks as long as 18 wins in a row, not to mention, a run of 5 straight title defences in the Welterweight division. If Hughes puts together another dominant performance, there is no doubt that he will be deep in the mix for another shot at the title.

Littered with former champions and future hall of famers, UFC 123 has all the tools to be a very exciting card. Will Rampage be the second fighter to KO Machida? Can Penn bounce back from two straight losses? What do you think? Let us know.

Here’s what the rest of the card looks like:

Main Card

Middleweight bout: Gerald Harris vs. Maiquel Falcao

Light Heavyweight bout: Phil Davis vs. Tim Boetsch

Lightweight bout: George Sotiropoulos vs. Joe Lauzon

Spike TV card

Welterweight bout: Matt Brown vs. Brian Foster

Middleweight bout: Aaron Simpson vs. Mark Munoz

Preliminary card

Welterweight bout: Karo Parisyan vs. Dennis Hallman

Lightweight bout: Edson Barboza vs. Mike Lullo

Lightweight bout: Paul Kelly vs. T.J. O’Brien

Lightweight bout: Tyson Griffin vs. Nik Lentz

Van Damme Getting Back Into Combat Sports

You read that right, famed action star of the late 80′s and early 90′s, Jean Claude Van Damme, is planning an official fight against Muay Thai specialist Somrak Khamsing. Van Damme is 50 years old, and let’s face it, he is no Randy Couture, but give the guy props for trying something new (or old, depending on how you want to look at it). Check out the video below for further proof.

The Ultimate Fighter 12: Episode 10

The Quarterfinals Continue

With Brookins and Phan advancing to the semi-finals, the next round of quarterfinal matches are up. Episode 10 sees Team GSP’s number one pick Michael Johnson finally getting the opportunity to face fellow teammate and bitter rival, Alex Caceres. While wild card winner Aaron Wilkinson takes on Kyle Watson for a chance to move on in the tournament. Plus, pretty exciting to have Freddie Roach give GSP’s team some training tips.

The episode begins with Johnson getting nailed by another prank, which he is none too happy about. Johnson, pegging Caceres as the jokester of the house, puts full blame on him, even though he actually didn’t do it.

The show wastes no time in getting the first fight of the episode underway between Aaron Wilkinson and Kyle Watson.

The fight doesn’t last very long as Watson controls it from start to finish, by easily taking Wilkinson to the ground and maintaining full control until he eventually locks in a rear naked choke.

Koscheck is pretty upset that his team lost yet another fight by submission and Wilkinson is equally upset that he didn’t follow through on the game plan.

After the fight, Team GSP gets a super sized treat in the form of one of the greatest boxing trainers in the history of combat sports, Freddie Roach. Roach takes some time with each of GSP’s remaining finalists, offering some valuable advice and training. Brookins, Caceres and Johnson all feel like they won the lottery after their training sessions with Roach.

At the weigh-ins Koscheck attempts to start some trouble within GSP’s team by taunting the two fighters, along with GSP, although, at this point it’s pretty much expected from Koscheck.

Since GSP has refused to corner either fighter out of respect for them, Johnson and Caceres had to find their own corner men for the fight. Caceres went with Jeff Lentz (the guy he beat to advance) and Johnson chose Kyle Watson.

The fight was actually one of the most exciting of the season so far. Johnson controlled most of the first round, but Caceres showed a lot of heart by continuing to go after Johnson. Johnson won the first round on takedowns alone, while also getting the better of Caceres while standing. Caceres had a few bright moments in the round but Johnson was the better of the two.

Round two started off much the same as the first, with Caceres coming out swinging and Johnson scoring a takedown. In fact, Johnson would go on to score 4 takedowns in the 2nd round, pretty much sealing the win for him. However, the fight was still pretty exciting because every time Johnson scored a takedown, Caceres would manage to get back up and put major pressure on Johnson. Even though Caceres put on a valiant performance, it wasn’t enough as Johnson won the fight by unanimous decision.

The fight was pretty exciting but for some reason Koscheck made a point of calling it boring, even though Dana White gave the fight his stamp of approval.

Next week’s two hour semi-final episode will see Jonathan Brookins take on Kyle Watson in the first fight and Michael Johnson take on Nam Phan in the 2nd fight.

Frank Shamrock To Appear On Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

MMA LEGEND FRANK SHAMROCK TO APPEAR ON LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON & THE SCOTT FERRALL SHOW THIS WEEK

MMA legend Frank Shamrock will discuss the upcoming STRIKEFORCE mixed martial arts (MMA) event on Saturday, Dec. 4, LIVE on SHOWTIME from Scottrade Center in St. Louis and his anti-bullying campaign, Together We Stand Up.

Shamrock, who was the first STRIKEFORCE middleweight champion as well as the first-ever UFC middleweight champion, is currently a color commentator for STRIKEFORCE on SHOWTIME.

The Dec. 4 event features MMA superstar Dan Henderson taking on former STRIKEFORCE world champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral at light heavyweight (205 pounds) in the main event. In a featured fight, football legend and 1982 Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker will face Scott Carson in a heavyweight bout.

Guest Ring Girls of MMA

Guest ring girls are sort of a tease because once they finish their guest role as ring girls, you just want to see more of them. Which is why it’s only fair to put together a gallery of the girls that have come and gone from ring girl duties. Enjoy.

Greatest MMA Knockouts So Far

MMA has been around for quite some time, it’s only pretty recent that it’s having such a boom in popularity, unless Manny Pacquiao is fighting that is. Regardless of how long it has taken to get mainstream popularity, one thing is for certain, there is absolutely no shortage of highlight reel knockouts. In fact, these videos are proof of that. Here are some of the greatest knockouts in the world of MMA thus far. For your enjoyment check out the three videos below.

Pacquiao Utterly Dominates Margarito Video Highlights

(Video highlights below)

The boxing world was in for a treat as Manny Pacquiao put on a clinic of mass proportions when he took on the bigger and stronger Antonio Margarito for the vacant WBC super Welterweight title. This one wasn’t even close; in fact, it wasn’t even close to being close. For 12 rounds Pacquiao outclassed, out hustled, out punched by a large margin, and out boxed an opponent that was bigger and stronger than he was. By the 7th round Margarito’s face looked like hamburger meat and by the 8th round this fight should not have continued. The referee should have made a point of stopping this fight before more damage was done to the head of Margarito. In the later rounds it’s very clear that Pacquiao was carrying Margarito and pulling back on his power punches to give Margarito a chance to finish the fight.

However, Pacquiao did not leave this fight unscathed as he made a point of saying in the post fight interview that Margarito was very strong and that he did get hurt by him when Margarito had him on the ropes. Pacquiao also mentioned that this would be the last time he moves up in weight classes as this fight truly was a hard fight for him, regardless of how easy he made it seem.

What’s next for Pacman? Well, your guess is as good as ours, the good news, however, Pacquiao would like to fight at least two more times before calling it quits and dedicating his life to congress in the Philippines.

Floyd Mayweather Jr., wherever you are, I hope you were watching this fight, because it’s time you step into the ring and put to rest the age old debate of the mythical pound for pound king. As it stands, that crown clearly belongs to the world record holder of 8 different titles: Manny Pacquiao.

Check out the video highlights of the fight below. A big thanks to YouTube user Explosive900 for posting this. In case the first video gets pulled down, you can watch the much shorter 2nd video courtesy of Yahoo.

Tito Ortiz Will Face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in March 2011

Making news in the world of MMA…

Tito Ortiz Spared Cut, Will Face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in March 2011 (MMA Fighting)
Watch 19-year-old Michael McDonald’s Impressive WEC Debut (Cage Potato)
UFC Flyweight Division Coming Soon? (Inside Fights)
WEC 52 Fighter Suspensions and Salaries Recently Released (Fighters)
Through The MMAges: One Man’s Journey From UFC 1-100 (Bleacher Report)

A little boxing never hurt anybody:
Margarito’s road to redemption could begin Saturday in Dallas (Sports Illustrated)

A little something for the fellas:

The Sexy Women of Entourage

The Sexy Women of Entourage from SPIKE on Vimeo.

WEC 52 Live Results

If for some reason you aren’t able to watch the fight, then keep it locked on TheCageDoctors.com for live results of the main card.

Preliminary Card

- Featherweight bout: Yves Jabouin defeats Brandon Visher by unanimous decision

- Featherweight bout: Cub Swanson defeats Mackens Semerzier by split decision

- Bantamweight bout: Michael McDonald defeats Clint Godfrey by armbar submission in the first round

- Lightweight bout: Dustin Poirier defeats Zach Micklewright by TKO due to strikes in the first round

- Lightweight bout: Anthony Njokuani defeats Edward Faaloloto by TKO due to strikes in the second round

- Featherweight bout: Raphael Assuncao defeats LC Davis by unanimous decision

Main Card

- Bantamweight bout: Damacio Page defeats Demetrious Johnson by guillotine choke in the third round

- Bantamweight bout: Joseph Benavidez defeats Wagnney Fabiano by guillotine choke in the second round

- Featherweight bout: Erik Koch defeats Francisco Rivera by TKO due to strikes in the first round

- Featherweight bout: Chad Mendes defeats Javier Vazquez by unanimous decision

- Bantamweight bout: Urijah Faber defeats Takeya Mizugaki by rear naked choke in the first round

That’s all folks, good night.

Wes Shivers To Make Strikeforce Challengers Debut

Former NFL player-turned-MMA fighter, popular heavyweight Wes Shivers, of Brandon, Miss., returns to the cage to face Goldman Butler, of Tupelo, Miss., in the top undercard fight of a STRIKEFORCE Challengers event in Jackson, Miss., on Friday, Nov. 19, at Jackson Convention Complex LIVE on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT.

“I’ve been kicking it around for awhile that I wanted to get back in there,” said Shivers, a star offensive tackle at Mississippi State who was drafted by the Tennessee Titans where he saw action in three games. He also played for the Atlanta Falcons before being released and walking away from the game.

“I didn’t really have any motivation to get back to training. I got the phone call from (local promoter) Dave Ferguson who asked me if I wanted to fight again. I thought it was a great opportunity to be able to fight in front of my home crowd. Not to mention it’s a STRIKEFORCE show. I had to take the opportunity.”

In the main event on the first STRIKEFORCE event in Mississippi, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro (20-4) will face Justin “The Silverback” Wilcox (9-3) of Cincinnati in a lightweight (155 pounds) match.

The 33-year-old, 6-foot-8 Shivers (7-1), a Rankin County Deputy Sheriff, will take on Goldman (1-3) during the non-televised portion of a card that will include many fighters from Mississippi and Tennessee.

Shivers said it was a lifelong dream to play in the NFL , but he has no regrets over his short-lived NFL career, which ended in 2001.

“Any kid growing up in America wants to play a pro sport and I accomplished that goal,” he said. “When I got in there I realized what the whole business was about and it really wasn’t my cup of tea. I saw an opportunity to walk away from the game without any regrets and I did it. Looking back, I still don’t have any regrets. It’s a business. Like any sport, if you take the fun out of it, it’s not worth playing anymore.

“I had several opportunities to go other places after I was released. I just decided I could do more with my life than play football.”

Shivers started training for MMA as the sport began to get hugely popular in Mississippi and he had his first professional fight at the end of 2005.

“I just loved the competitiveness of it and testing myself on a daily basis,” he said.

Before Shivers and Butler tangle, Jacob “Pyscho” Noe (3-1) of Memphis, Tenn., will take on Wesley “Pitbull” Little (2-4) of Columbus, Miss.

Other pro bouts will pit four middleweights (185 pounds) against one another: Jeremiah “Bigg Rigg” Riggs (6-5) of Vicksburg, Miss., meets Jason Sharp (7-2) of Biloxi, Miss., while Jamie Houston of Olive Branch, Miss., takes on Dave Martin of Southhaven, Miss., in both fighter’s pro debuts.

Among the scheduled amateur undercard bouts: Anthony Mitchel (4-1), Madison, Miss., vs. Jeffrey Hedgepeth (2-1), Silver Creek, Miss, at a catch weight of 200 pounds; Brian “The Law” Hall (2-1), Memphis, Tenn., vs. Thomas “Die Hard Kid” Vasquez (14-3), Horn Lake., Miss., in a bantamweight (135 pounds) bout; and in welterweight (170 pounds) fights, Joel Cooper (9-2), Jackson, Tenn., vs. Brian Burse (8-1), Corinth, Miss.; and Travis Robertson (8-3), Memphis, Tenn., vs. Ken DuBoise (2-0), Jackson, Miss.

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