Weekly Mixed Martial Arts and Kickboxing News – 09/08/2012
By PDG Staff
Strikeforce: Cormier vs. Mir – Fight Card Update
Undefeated Strikeforce Grand Prix heavyweight champ and former Oklahoma State wrestler Daniel Cormier takes on former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir, when Strikeforce heads to Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla. on Saturday, Nov. 3rd. The event will air live on SHOWTIME at 10 p.m. EST.
Strikeforce: Cormier vs. Mir
November 3, 2012
Chesapeake Energy Arena
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Daniel Cormier (10-0) vs. Frank Mir (16-6)
Luke Rockhold (10-1) vs. Lorenz Larkin (13-0)
Sara McMann (6-0) vs. Liz Carmouche (7-2)
GLORY 3 Rome ‘Final 8’ (70 kg) Championship – Fight Card Update
Three of Italy’s top rising stars – Mustapha Haida (18-1), Marco Re (20-3, 13 KO’s) and Alessandro Campagna (29-5, 14 KO’s) are amongst the fighters that have been tabbed to compete in two Superfights as well as two tournament reserve fights at the highly-anticipated GLORY 3 Rome ‘Final 8’ (70 kg) championship kickboxing event at the iconic PalaLottomatica venue on Saturday, November 3.
Haida will face off with Muay Thai powerhouse Jordan Watson (29-5-1, 14 KO’s) of England at 70 kg (154 pounds) in one of the two Superfights and Re will collide with the versatile Alka Matewa (43-6-1, 23 KO’s) of Belgium in the other at 72.5 kg (160 pounds).
In the first of two 70 kg tournament reserve bouts for the card’s eight-man tournament, Fight of the Year candidate Dzhabar Askerov (73-28-1, 37 KO’s) of Russia will take on standout Yoshihiro Sato (49-18, 20 KO’s) of Japan while flamboyant, master technician and seasoned star Fabio Pinca (85-17-4, 32 KO’s) of France clashes with fast-rising, 20-year-old Campagna, who has been dubbed one of the world’s top prospects.
Both reserve matches will be fought before the Final 8 quarterfinal round tournament matches take place. Should any victorious fighter, or fighters, be too injured to advance to the next round of the tournament, their spot will be offered to the fighter they previously defeated. If that fighter cannot continue either, a tournament reserve bout winner will be substituted into the tournament.
“The fighters making their way to the GLORY ring on November 3 are the absolute best in the world in their weight class and are fighting not only for their own glory but for that of their nations,” said GLORY Managing Director, Marcus Luer. “The upcoming event has an incredible mix of champions and hungry, young talent that want to take their spot on the world stage. I have no doubt that the action will be fast and explosive.”
UFC 155: dos Santos vs. Velasquez II – Fight Card Update
Top-five ranked middleweights Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch and Chris “The All-American: Weidman have verbally agreed to fight at UFC 155 December 29th in Las Vegas.
“I think I’m the number-one contender in the division but with Anderson not fighting for the rest of 2012, I want to stay busy and keep getting better,” said Weidman. “I think I’m the best middleweight in the world and I’m going to prove it against another top contender.”
Besides the heavyweight title fight expected to take place at UFC 155, another heavyweight match-up will go down as 9-1 Phil De Fries takes on 5-1 Matt Mitrione. Verbal agreements are in for that bout as well.
UFC 155: dos Santos vs. Velasquez II
December 29, 2012
Las Vegas, Nevada
Junior dos Santos (15-1) vs. Cain Velasquez (10-1) – UFC heavyweight title bout
Chael Sonnen (27-12-1) vs. Forrest Griffin (19-7)
Chris Weidman (9-0) vs. Tim Boetsch (16-4)
Joe Lauzon (22-7) vs. Gray Maynard (11-1)
Matt Mitrione (5-1) vs. Phil DeFries (9-1)
Tyrone Spong to Make MMA Debut with Titan FC
Kickboxing star Tyrone Spong announced on AXS TV’s Inside MMA that he will be making his professional MMA debut at Titan 26 in November on AXS TV.
UFC Macao: Franklin vs. Le – Announced
The UFC has unveiled the highly anticipated fight card ahead of the organization’s first-ever event in greater China. UFC Macao: Franklin vs. Le, headlined by an epic middleweight fight pitting former champion Rich Franklin against former Strikeforce champion Cung Le, is set to take place at the CotaiArena, the 15,000 seat venue at The Venetian Macao-Resort- Hotel in Macao, on Saturday, November 10.
Vietnam-born American Cung Le, has become a superstar in Asia – especially in China, due to his mastery of Sanshou and his skyrocketing film career, including famous Hong Kong Kungfu movies including Bodyguards and Assassins and the yet-to-be-released movie Grandmasters, directed by Wong KarWai.
Le will take on Rich “Ace” Franklin, a former high-school teacher, who has faced the best talent of the UFC over the course of his 13-year career, notching wins against Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, Matt Hamill and Yushin Okami but has never faced a striker like Le, whose dynamic attack and flashy kicks dazzle fans and devastate opponents.
UFC Macao will also feature South Korean MMA pioneer Stun Gun Dong Hyun Kim, in a pivotal welterweight bout against Brazil’s Paulo Thiago. A light heavyweight battle pitting unbeaten Bulgarian Stanislav Nedkov against Brazilian knockout artist Thiago Silva, and befitting of the occasion, the first UFC event in China will feature the first Chinese fighter ever to compete in the Octagon, Tiequan Zhang. Known as “The Wolf” for his ferocious style, Zhang has already won in the Octagon against Jason Reinhardt, a fight that received more than 100 million online hits in China.
MMA World Series of Fighting Kicks Off with Miguel Angel Torres
The mixed martial arts organization World Series of Fighting today entered the fastest growing sport in the world with a series of major announcements including a television agreement with NBC Sports Network, its debut event in Las Vegas at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, and that world class former bantamweight champion Miguel Angel Torres will be the headlining the main event of this historic night of fights on Saturday, Nov. 3 live on NBC Sports Network.
The premier World Series of Fighting live card will also feature Gregor Gracie (7-2) of the famed Gracie family vs. Tyson Steel (8-1), Ronys Torres (25-4) vs. Brian Cobb (19-7) and Josh Burkman (23-9) in a welterweight bout. Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante (16-6) will take on Las Vegas local John Gunderson (34-14) as part of the undercard with more matchups to be announced.
Ray Sefo, president of the World Series of Fighting delivered the news during a press conference at PH Live inside Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.
“I’m excited and honored to announce that the World Series of Fighting has reached an agreement with NBC Sports Network and that PH Live inside Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas will be the home of our first series of events,” said Sefo. “Sitting with me here today is world class bantamweight Miguel Torres along with Gregor Gracie and Josh Burkman. I am pleased to confirm that they have signed with us, along with many other respected fighters in the sport, and that Torres will headline our premier live fight on NBC Sports Network Saturday, Nov. 3.”
“Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino is proud to host the first series of events for the World Series of Fighting,” said Sean McBurney, vice president and assistant general manager of Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. “PH Live is one of the premier performance hubs in Las Vegas, hosting numerous electrifying concerts, as well as special engagements such as MMA. We look forward to offering this exciting new event to our guests.”
UFC 154: St. Pierre vs. Condit – Fight Card Update
The co-main event of UFC 154 on November 17th has been verbally agreed to as top-ranked welterweights Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks and Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann battle it out on the way to a world title shot. The bout could establish a clear next contender for the welterweight title, with the winner likely earning the right to fight the welterweight king. The title is now held by Georges St-Pierre, who must first face interim champion Carlos Condit when he returns from rehabbing the injury that’s sidelined him since 2011. The St-Pierre-Condit bout is expected to take place late this year.
UFC 154: St. Pierre vs. Condit
November 17, 2012
Bell Centre
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Georges St-Pierre (22-2) vs. Carlos Condit (28-5) – UFC welterweight title unification bout
Johny Hendricks (13-1) vs. Martin Kampmann (20-5)
Francis Carmont (19-7) vs. Tom Lawlor (8-4)
Mark Hominick (20-11) vs. Pablo Garza (11-3)
Antonio Carvalho (14-5) vs. Rodrigo Damm (10-5)
Stephen Thompson (6-1) vs. Besam Yousef (6-1)
Sam Stout (17-8-1) vs. John Makdessi (9-2)
Ivan Menjivar (24-9) vs. Azamat Gashimov (7-1)
M-1 Challenge 34 Emelianenko vs. Gluhov – Promo Trailer
Invicta FC Sends Sara McMann to Strikeforce to Fight Liz Carmouche
One week after it announced the signing of former Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight (135 pounds) Champion Sarah Kaufman to fight on its upcoming event on Saturday, Oct. 6, world championship women’s Mixed Martial Arts promotion Invicta Fighting Championships has announced that it is sending 2004 Olympic Wrestling Silver Medalist Sara McMann to compete in Strikeforce.
“Since we established Invicta FC at the beginning of this year, our goal has been to produce the best possible matchups between women mixed martial artists and, to achieve this, we sometimes need to import talent like Sarah Kaufman from elsewhere as well as to send talent like Sara McMann to a place like Strikeforce where there is a healthy amount of championship level professional women’s MMA competition just like there is on our roster,” said Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp who, last week, sent another undefeated prospect, Cat Zingano, to fight under the Strikeforce banner.
“I am saddened not to be fighting in the first Invicta FC bantamweight title fight,” said McMann. “I am not sure how long my MMA career will last and, with the time I have left in the sport, I need to take every opportunity that comes my way to fight the best competition out there, so this move is part of a bigger picture for me.”
“Since Invicta FC and Strikeforce work closely together,” continued McMann, “I hope I will have another opportunity to fight for Invicta FC. Shannon Knapp and Janet Martin (Invicta FC Matchmaker) have treated the other fighters and me better than any other promotion I have ever worked with and I am grateful to them for helping me with this opportunity in Strikeforce.”
“I think the exposure Sara received headlining the last Invicta FC card played a major role in her landing the Strikeforce contract,” said McMann’s manager, Monte Cox. “I appreciate the professional way Invicta FC treats all the fighters and hope they continue to have success.”
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