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Ross Pearson was the winner of Season 9 of "The Ultimate Fighter," but that doesn't mean he's got a job for life with the UFC or even the rest of 2011 for that matter.

The UFC has a short leash when it comes to TUF alums and it has no problem sending a guy to minors if his performances aren't up to snuff. That's pressure. It's even worse for lightweights because the promotion just added a slew of 155ers from the WEC.

The Telegraph's Gareth Davies says the UFC has 68 lightweights under contract and is looking to get the number down to 30. If that's the case, it essentially sets up a single elimination lightweight tourney for much of 2011. It might begin tomorrow with Pearson taking on UFC vet Spencer Fisher at UFC 127.

Watch UFC 127 right here on Yahoo! Sports.

Pearson lost his last fight against Cole Miller while Fisher is 1-2 since Oct. of 2009. Pearson is a good prospect and Fisher has been a great card filler with 15 fights for the UFC. Both should be safe, but you never know. That's why Pearson isn't willing to risk it with a lackluster effort.

"He’s a tough veteran, been around a while, there are no surprises with what he’ll bring, he’s at the age where he is in the final assault in his career - I’m not saying I’ll finish his career by that – coming to the final surge," Pearson said. "I want to make him miss, and make him pay,"

Fisher (24-6, 9-5 UFC) looked outstanding in a win over Aaron Riley. That was a dominant second round stoppage, he wants more this time against the 34-year-old Fisher.

"I like a guy who comes out to fight, applies pressure, it suits my style," Pearson told The Telegraph U.K. "He’s similar in a sense to Aaron Riley – they looked a mirror image of each other when they fought – and I have a similar game plan, but I’ll be using different angles against Spencer."

Pearson (11-4, 3-1 UFC) is not only coming back from his first loss in the UFC, it's his first fight back after knee surgery. Arthroscopic surgery repaired a torn ligament repaired and cleaned bone chips from his knee.

Fellow Brit Paul Kelly, another lightweight, was cut after a loss to Donald Cerrone at UFC 126. Kelly was a respectable 5-4 with the promotion. It's likely he could be brought back as a filler in one-fight spots, especially for upcoming European UFC cards, but for now he's looking to fight his way back onto the big shows.

Fisher and Pearson square off on ION. The 9 p.m. ET broadcast also includes the Alexander Gustafsson-James Te Huna and Riki Fukuda-Nick Ring fights. That follows the telecast of two more preliminary fights on UFC's Facebook page.

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The UFC is bringing more preliminary card fights to fans this week with UFC 127, as the organization announced that they will air four fights this weekend on Facebook and on Ion Television.

The UFC ran preliminary card bouts on Ion Television and on Facebook for the first time in January with UFC 125 and UFC Fight for the Troops 2, respectively. This is the first time they've returned to Ion Television with prelim bouts, though they have run another fight on Facebook during UFC 126.

Saturday's Facebook prelims will see light heavyweights Anthony Perosh and Tom Blackledge square off, as well as a featherweight bout between Tie Quan Zhang and Jason Reinhardt beginning at 8PM ET at Facebook.com/UFC.

Then, at 9PM ET on Ion Television, Ross Pearson meets Spencer Fisher, and James Te-Huna squares off with Alexander Gustafsson.

Perosh fights for the first time since losing to Mirko Cro Cop in the UFC's last trip to Australia in February of 2010. Blackledge makes his UFC debut in the bout.

Zhang makes his UFC debut after suffering his first career loss by decision to Danny Downes at WEC 53. Reinhardt, meanwhile, returns for the first time since since January of 2008, and makes his UFC debut as well.

Pearson, season nine winner of The Ultimate Fighter, looks to bounce back from a loss to Cole Miller in his last bout, his first loss in the UFC. Fisher, meanwhile, looks to follow up on a win over Cole Warburton at UFC 120 last October.

Te-Huna gets back into the Octagon for only the second time, one year after making his debut on the UFC's first trip to Australia in February of last year. The New Zealand native has fought his entire career in Australia, and now meets perhaps his toughest test in the 10-1 Gustafsson. Gustafsson enters this fight with a 2-1 mark in the UFC, his sole loss coming at the hands of highly touted prospect Phil Davis.

Following the preliminary card airings, UFC 127 airs live on pay-per-view, headlined by a welterweight bout between Jon Fitch and B.J. Penn.

Penick's Analysis: This is much better than just having two bouts on Facebook as it appeared to be last night. Pearson-Fisher and Te-Huna-Gustafsson are both very solid fights, especially the light heavyweight fight, and getting them on television is great. Having the other two fights on Facebook is just a bonus, and the UFC is doing great in getting so many of their fights on television this year.

(This article updated on February 22 with new information involving the Ion broadcast)

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Sweeeet, hopefully he can stay healthy!

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She’s the shit over at strikeforce- if you don’t know, now you know! Welcome to twitter girlie!!

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Hello once more fans and friends and welcome to the latest edition of ?Crash Course?. ?Crash Course? is a series of articles designed to give readers a quick rundown on all the relevant information they need to know heading into an upcoming major MMA event. Everything from why you should watch, what you should expect [...]

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Mark Munoz talks about his 54 second knockout of C.B. Dollaway at the UFC on Versus 3 event last night at the KFC! Yum Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Mark Munoz post fight interview at UFC on Versus 3 is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

Mark Munoz post fight interview at UFC on Versus 3 is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

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Being a great fighter requires more than training hard and delivering when it counts. Before the battle there really has to be a synergy between the personal and professional life. No one understands that more than UFC welterweight Diego Sanchez, yet he's had as much trouble finding that synergy as any high level fighter in the sport.

Sanchez has bounced between welterweight and lightweight, unsure of which class is the best for his body type. He's also wrestled with lifestyle issues, and training techniques and camps.

The 28-year-old has always had great tools, but again tonight he gets to see if he's got all the other stuff together so he can pull off a big win over Martin Kampmann at UFC on vErsus 3 in Louisville, Ky. It's all part of trying to make a brutal stretch, that included losses to B.J. Penn and John Hathaway, in the rear-view mirror.

"I hit rock bottom after the B.J. Penn fight, I really did. I blew through all my money, I made some very bad decisions," Sanchez told MMAWeekly. "I had this scam artist scam me real bad. I was embezzled over $175,000. I really got hit rock bottom and I had to come back home."

The whole episode was demoralizing.

"I needed my family love and I just was humbled, 100 percent. I was humbled back down to zero. I had no ego, no nothing, just humble, and that’s what, after the John Hathaway loss, I was still in the funk. I was still in the funk for John Hathaway," said Sanchez.

The problems started when he let his ego get the best of him back in 2007. That's when he decided to leave his original trainer Greg Jackson and his hometown of Albuquerque. Why? He was angry that Jackson was also working with UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. Sanchez took it as a slap in the face. He viewed it as a "him or me" situation. He left and settled in San Diego. His new trainers may not have been a big step down from Jackson, but it seemed like he lost his moral compass.

"When I walked in, it was the most amazing feeling because I felt like I was home again, because we’re talking about a gym that kept me out of the streets as a young child. This is somewhere that I went twice a day, and I was 19 years old. I was in Jackson’s twice a day or do the morning classes, or do the night classes," Sanchez said. "This is something that was just, it was my life. And to go back to, back home, and Greg Jackson that guy has got so much love for me. He just had his arms open, all the doors open, and said this is your home Diego. So, it was a great feeling."

Sanchez (22-4, 11-4 UFC) posted a nice win over Paulo Thiago back in October. We find out tonight if a return to his versatile, attacking style will overwhelm Kampmann (17-4, 8-3 UFC), and more importantly the judges, in what's likely to be a fight that goes to the judges.

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Martin Kampmann and Diego Sanchez fought to a bloody and controversial decision at Thursday's UFC on Versus 3 to earn "Fight of the Night" honors and $160,000 bonuses each for their efforts.Shane Roller earned $40,000 for his knockout of Thiago Tavares and Brian Bowles picked up $40,000 for his guillotine of Damacio Page.

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Welcome back to another ediition of ?MMA Link Club?, Five Ounces of Pain?s weekly smorgasbord of offerings from our brothers and sisters in the MMA community. Enjoy? Mark Munoz Targeting C.B. Dollaway’s Chin UFC Live 3 (Versus.com) Eddie Alvarez vs. Pat Curran Made Official for Bellator 39 (5thRound.com) Jorge Masvidal Talks Match-Up with Billy Evangelista [...]

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Righting the ship was just what the doctor ordered for Dan Hornbuckle with his August 2010 win over UFC veteran Brad Blackburn.

After ending up on the wrong end of a unanimous decision to Ben Askren in the Bellator season-two welterweight tournament final in his previous bout, a bounce back victory was needed and attained. With momentum now back on his side, Hornbuckle is out to finish what he started.

"I am out for blood as soon as possible," he said. "Something's going to get finished, and it's going to be Brent."

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

A report from Sherdog.com last week suggesting the second set of quarterfinal bouts for the Heavyweight World Grand Prix would be delayed has been supported by a separate report from Mike Chiappetta at MMAFighting.com.

According to Chiappetta's report, no final decision has been made on that front, but signs are pointing to the delay being the likely scenario.

Currently, multiple fights are being rumored for an April 9 event, which is now expected to come to the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., and with them filling up and running in California, it looks like there won't be room for the Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers and Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum fights.

At the very least, running the event in California makes it impossible to book Barnett on the card, as he has not settled issues with the California State Athletic Commission, and his next opportunity to do so wouldn't be until their April 18 meeting.

Adding fuel to the delay is a post from ESPN's Josh Gross on Twitter, who revealed that Strikeforce has secured a June 18 date for an event at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Additionally, Gross stated that the Texas State Athletic Commission would license Barnett, but he does not have confirmation that the Grand Prix fights would take place on that event.

But regardless of where the second set of quarterfinal bouts take place, the longer they take to happen, the longer it takes to get the semifinal bouts together, and the longer it takes for the tournament to finish.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: It certainly appears that after plans to run in Japan fell through, they didn't have a full contingency plan for these fights, and now that they're looking at California they can't put Barnett on the card. If these two fights move back to June 18 then this tournament has been completely blown up. That's over four months in between the first round fights, meaning for "Bigfoot" Silva and Sergei Kharitonov, they either take other fights outside of the tournament and risk losing in between or they sit out seven, maybe eight months before they get their semifinal fight. It's not a good situation right now, and it's disappointing that they've dropped the ball on this after getting a lot of fans' hopes at a high for the tournament concept.

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by Michael David Smith

The great thing about a tournament is that it gets more exciting as it goes along. Whether it's March Madness or Wimbledon or (as we're about to talk about) an eight-man MMA grand prix, each round gets you more enthused about the next.

At least, that's the way it's supposed to work. In the case of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, which began in February and was supposed to continue in April, all the momentum is coming to a screeching halt with the news that it won't continue in April after all. And it won't continue in May, either.

No, Strikeforce has decided that the next two tournament fights, Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers, will take place on June 18. And there goes all the momentum the first tournament event achieved.

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Top contender Miesha Tate has now bowed out of her March 5 title fight with reigning 135-pound Strikeforce women’s champion, Marloes Coenen.
Tate gained her position to challenge for the title when she came out the victor last August at a one-night four-woman tournament, defeating the likes of Maiju Kujala and former title challenger Hitomi Akano, [...]

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Michael Bisping is looking to move from Great Britain and open a new Wolfslair Gym.

Where can he move where the fans love him? You know the answer, that place doesn't exist.

Not to be harsh, but the British middleweight just rubs people the wrong way with his general disposition and trash talk before fights. Even 12,000 miles away from his home in England, he was booed lustily during his fight at UFC 110 in Sydney.

Bisping is back in the Australia's largest city and says this time he may not leave. The 31-year-old's wife is Australian and they're strongly considering making their permanent home down under.

"I might be moving Down Under but I'm not gonna kiss anyone's arse to do it," Bisping told The Telegraph of Sydney. "But for those people who wanna chant 'Bispin's a wanker', yeah, they can go and ... well, you know."

That's actually tame compared what he once said in Zoo Magazine about his last Aussie fight experience. According to The Telegraph, Bisping said:

"all Aussies can go %$#@ themselves."

Bisping didn't tone down any of his prefight rhetoric in ancitipation of his meeting with Jorge Rivera on Saturday. In fact, he appeared close to slugging the New England native during the post-presser staredown. Rivera appeared a bit shocked at Bisping's behavior and trash talk.

Watch UFC 127 right here on Yahoo! Sports.

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GSP shared his latest thoughts on a potential superfight with Anderson Silva on the UFC on Versus 3 post-fight show. While he may be interested in it, it’s clear he’s not going to commit to anything until after the Jake Shields fight.

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During the many chapters of his life, Kyle Noke has seen it all. He's looking to make the MMA chapter his most interesting. A former bodyguard for Steve "The Crocodile Hunter" Irwin, Noke stormed to a 3-0 mark in the UFC after an easy win tonight over Chris Camozzi in the pay-per-view opener at UFC 127.

A native of New South Wales, Australia, Noke served as one of Irwin's bodyguards for three years and also worked with his Aussie brother on his martial arts skills. Irwin, who passed away in 2006, was a huge MMA fan.

"Strong, very strong," Noke told MMAjunkie.com of Irwin's ability. "He had that strength from wrestling crocs all his life from pulling them in and holding them tight. We'd never let him get on top because he would just hold you down as tight as he could."

Irwin did more than employ Noke, he backed his fighting efforts.

"He's one of the reasons why I'm here where I am now. He sponsored me and paid for my first flights to the States. He really pushed me to follow my career and follow my passion," Noke told the Sydney Morning Herald. "He used to help us prepare for fights. He had such an eye for detail through what he had been doing for so many years. You only have to watch the guy on TV to know how much passion the guy has got. If I could channel that passion in fighting for wildlife then that's a great start."

Irwin was an MMA devotee and according to Noke, The reality star even entertained fighting and donating the proceeds to charity.

Noke looked inspired from the opening seconds. Camozzi charged him for a single-leg takedown attempt, but the Aussie thwarted the effort with some underhooks. He showed his power by pushing forward, scoring a takedown and falling into the mount position. Camozzi did a solid job of avoiding big shots for a few seconds, but allowed Noke to crawl up his body.

Noke (19-4-1, 3-0 UFC) appeared to be setting up an armbar or inverted triangle when Camozzi tried to escape out the backdoor. Noke was quick to react by taking Camozzi's back. The Aussie flattened out Camozzi and tapped him with a rear-naked choke at 1:35 of the first.

Camozzi was a familiar opponent for Noke. They were castmates on Season 11 of "The Ultimate Fighter." Noke lost via unanimous decision to Kris McCray during the TUF 11 quarterfinals, but he appeared to be one of the better prospects on the show.

Fighting out of Jackson's MMA in Albuquerque, Noke, 30, is just moving into his prime. He has a well-rounded game and a chance to do some damage in the UFC.

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

Paul Daley is now set to challenge Nick Diaz for the Strikeforce Welterweight title on April 9. Daley certainly has the power to knock Diaz out, but that's only if Diaz decides to stand and trade with him. That would be the least advisable strategy for Diaz, so I think he'll look to take the fight to the ground early. If Diaz boxes with Daley it'll be entertaining, but there also would be a good chance of Daley scoring the knockout. I think Diaz wins this by submission in the second round.

*************

It's time for both Jorge Rivera and Michael Bisping's camp to shut up. I wasn't a fan of all of Michael Bisping's antics over the weekend, but Rivera started it with all the crap in his videos in the lead-up to the fight. Bisping was right in that the videos were racist, but then Bisping loses the high ground when he used a homophobic slur in a response. Regardless of whether the illegal knee was intentional or not, Rivera was overmatched by Bisping in that fight and it likely would have ended the same way without the knee. I know Rivera was just trying to hype the fight ahead of time, but he went too far.

*************

B.J. Penn and Jon Fitch fought to a majority draw last weekend. Watching it, it appeared to me as though Fitch won, but it wasn't a dominating performance. The third round was all Fitch, but the first round was Penn and the second round was very close, though I gave it to Fitch. This didn't really solve much, but I guess they can rematch and go for the Welterweight Title if Georges St. Pierre vacates the belt. If Jake Shields beats GSP, a fight with either Penn or Fitch would be interesting. I think Fitch is a better wrestler than Shields, but Shields is better at submissions. I think a motivated B.J. could handle Shields and beat him by submission. Fitch vs. Shields would probably go to decision, but I think B.J. would have Shields beat by the third round.

*************

I think it's incredibly dumb for Strikeforce to delay the Heavyweight Grand Prix. Strikeforce is running in California April 9, and that means that Josh Barnett can't fight Brett Rogers that night because Barnett won't get licensed. The remaining first round matchup is Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum. June 18 in Texas is the date for the final two fights in the Grand Prix quarterfinals. That means that Antonio Silva, who beat Fedor Emelianenko, and Sergei Kharitonov, who beat Andrei Arlovski, will have to wait even longer before they get to fight in the second round. I don't want to run down Strikeforce too much, but this just speaks to poor planning on their part. They should have had all this stuff squared away before having the Grand Prix begin. I know you have to be flexible in business, but this is a big deal for them. It was certainly generating fan interest. If you have an extra two month delay, that's going to cause big problems.

*************

I don't want to waste any time talking about anything Chael Sonnen does or says, especially when he's currently on the sidelines. I don't care what he has to say. That said, I would definitely be interested in seeing Sonnen fight Michael Bisping. Without question, I would be openly rooting for Bisping, as I believe Sonnen, while a good fighter, isn't a good human being. Half the fun of Sonnen losing is seeing him make excuses or outright lie about what really happened. I think Bisping could, and would, beat Sonnen if they fought. I also think the UFC would be smart to make such a fight.

Comments and suggestions can be e-mailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com

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Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, News

Former UFC No. 1 middleweight contender Chael Sonnen has completed a six-month California state athletic commission suspension and paid a $2,500 fine for banned substance use, moving him one step closer to a possible return to the active UFC roster pending the resolution of an ongoing federal money laundering case.

CSAC executive officer George Dodd confirmed to MMA Fighting that Sonnen has fulfilled the terms of his penalty in the state effective Thursday. According to Dodd, Sonnen still has at least one step to take before his license is reinstated in the state, however.

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UFC 131
Saturday June 11
Rogers Arena
Vancouver, BC, Canada, eh
Airing on PPV

MAIN CARD

* Brock Lesnar (#2 Ranked Heavyweight) vs. Junior dos Santos (#5 Ranked Heavyweight)
* Shane Carwin vs. TBA
* Dave Herman vs. Rob Broughton
* Dustin Poirier vs. Rani Yahya
* Michihiro Omigawa (#4 Ranked Featherweight) vs. Darren Elkins

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David Bielkheden Michael Bisping Dan Bobish Vagam Bodjukyan Kotetsu Boku

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On March 5, 2011, Strikeforce will hold its highly-anticipated ?Feijao vs. Henderson? event, featuring Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Rafael Cavalcante defending his newly-won belt for the very first time against PRIDE FC veteran, UFC veteran, and all-around MMA legend Dan Henderson. Newly-crowned Strikeforce Women?s Welterweight Champion Marloes Coenen will also make the first defense of [...]

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Brian Ebersole's surprising win at UFC 127 came with unorthodox striking, a Fight of the Night bonuns and most importantly, epic manscaping. Ebersole's chest hair was shaped into an arrow pointing up, something he's done for the past few years to show his opponent where to hit. Could his excellent UFC debut inspire more MMA manscaping?We have a few suggestions.

Forrest Griffin: The UFC light heavyweight and original Ultimate Fighter has been pushing his book about surviving the apocalypse, so why not really commit to it and show it on his chest?

Dominick Cruz: The UFC bantamweight champ is known for being light on his feet and dancing around the cage, so he may as well let opponents know what they're getting into before the fight starts. A pair of ballet slippers should do the trick.

Georges St. Pierre: The French-Canadian wears the fleur-de-lis on many of his walkout shirts and usually shows up at his fights waxed (we are assuming) and tanned, but shaving a fleur-de-lis into his chest hair at UFC 130 would truly show devotion to Quebecois.

Clay Guida: The Carpenter is a huge fan of "The Big Lebowski," and is just crazy enough to try this. It would take a talented manscaper to do the job, but who wouldn't want to see the Dude represented on Guida's chest?

Thanks to Becky for help on this!

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UFC 127 ?Penn vs. Fitch? certainly had its fair share of surprises. The main event ended in a draw, Brian Ebersole upset Chris Lytle, Dennis Siver upset George Sotiropoulos? the list goes on and on. Now once again it?s time to ask: what?s next? What does the future hold after so many unexpected happenings occurred [...]

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Bellator has made a huge signing in their featherweight division, as they announced on Wednesday that former Sengoku champ Marlon Sandro has joined the roster. He will not take part in the season four tournament, but he will debut in 2011.

"Marlon Sandro is a phenomenal talent at 145 lbs.," said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. "Our Featherweight division is absolutely stacked and Sandro pushes that talent pool to an even higher level, I'm thrilled to have him on board."

Sandro brings a 17-2 record into Bellator, with his two career losses coming by decision to Michihiro Omigawa and Hatsu Hioki. His departure from Sengoku is another blow to the Japanese organization, but Sandro will make his U.S. debut on MTV2 when he appears this year.

Penick's Analysis: This is a huge signing for Bellator. Sandro is a top ten featherweight, and makes a fantastic addition to Bellator's featherweight roster. Joe Warren's got a great non-title opponent for season four if Bellator wants to go that route.

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Ross Pearson was the winner of Season 9 of "The Ultimate Fighter," but that doesn't mean he's got a job for life with the UFC or even the rest of 2011 for that matter.

The UFC has a short leash when it comes to TUF alums and it has no problem sending a guy to minors if his performances aren't up to snuff. That's pressure. It's even worse for lightweights because the promotion just added a slew of 155ers from the WEC.

The Telegraph's Gareth Davies says the UFC has 68 lightweights under contract and is looking to get the number down to 30. If that's the case, it essentially sets up a single elimination lightweight tourney for much of 2011. It might begin tomorrow with Pearson taking on UFC vet Spencer Fisher at UFC 127.

Watch UFC 127 right here on Yahoo! Sports.

Pearson lost his last fight against Cole Miller while Fisher is 1-2 since Oct. of 2009. Pearson is a good prospect and Fisher has been a great card filler with 15 fights for the UFC. Both should be safe, but you never know. That's why Pearson isn't willing to risk it with a lackluster effort.

"He’s a tough veteran, been around a while, there are no surprises with what he’ll bring, he’s at the age where he is in the final assault in his career - I’m not saying I’ll finish his career by that – coming to the final surge," Pearson said. "I want to make him miss, and make him pay,"

Fisher (24-6, 9-5 UFC) looked outstanding in a win over Aaron Riley. That was a dominant second round stoppage, he wants more this time against the 34-year-old Fisher.

"I like a guy who comes out to fight, applies pressure, it suits my style," Pearson told The Telegraph U.K. "He’s similar in a sense to Aaron Riley – they looked a mirror image of each other when they fought – and I have a similar game plan, but I’ll be using different angles against Spencer."

Pearson (11-4, 3-1 UFC) is not only coming back from his first loss in the UFC, it's his first fight back after knee surgery. Arthroscopic surgery repaired a torn ligament repaired and cleaned bone chips from his knee.

Fellow Brit Paul Kelly, another lightweight, was cut after a loss to Donald Cerrone at UFC 126. Kelly was a respectable 5-4 with the promotion. It's likely he could be brought back as a filler in one-fight spots, especially for upcoming European UFC cards, but for now he's looking to fight his way back onto the big shows.

Fisher and Pearson square off on ION. The 9 p.m. ET broadcast also includes the Alexander Gustafsson-James Te Huna and Riki Fukuda-Nick Ring fights. That follows the telecast of two more preliminary fights on UFC's Facebook page.

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By Rich Hansen, MMA Torch Columnist:

Sometimes a fight just makes itself.

On February 23, news broke that UFC Featherweight Erik Koch had to pull out of his scheduled March 3 fight against Erik Koch. Less than 36 hours later, UFC Featherweight Manny Gamburyan had to pull out of his March 19 fight against Raphael Assuncao. And according to a report on MMA Weekly, Erik Koch will fight Rafael Assuncao at UFC 128 on March 19.

According to MMA Weekly, no fight agreements have been signed at this point, but both Assuncao and Koch have verbally agreed to the match.

Koch will be making his UFC debut, which hs capped off with a fantastic KO victory against Francisco Rivera early in round one. The Duke Roufus affiliated fighter secured the victory with a high kick that landed flush on the overwhelmed Rivera.

Assuncao, who holds WEC victories over Jameel Massouh, Yves Jabouin, and LC Davis, and early career victories over Joe Lauzon and Jorge Masvidal, will also be making his UFC debut at UFC 128. The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt will be looking for his fourth win for Zuffa.

It is not yet known whether this fight will be broadcast on Spike TV.

Link to Original Source Article

Rich Hansen's Take: Assuncao is by far the best opponent Erik Koch will have faced to this point. Assuncao is also a completely different fighter than his original opponent Cub Swanson. Koch is going to have to bring 100% of his abilities to the cage, but even that might not be enough to pull out a victory against Assuncao.

As soon as news broke about Gamburyan's injury, everyone pretty much assumed that this fight was the fight to make. Credit Joe Silva and Zuffa for not getting overly creative and making the most logical fight out there. This fight could be a lot of fun, due to the completely disparate arsenals of each fighter. I really hope this fight makes TV, or at least a Facebook stream.

Andrei Arlovski Ricardo Arona Noboru Asahi Marcus Aurelio Mikhail Avetisyan

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"The Ultimate Fighter" winner Ross Pearson rebounded from a loss to Cole Miller by winning a unanimous decision over veteran lightweight Spencer Fisher at UFC 127 in Australia. The judges saw it 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 for Pearson.

Fisher started strong, bouncing around as he pushed forward on his feet and slamming Pearson to the ground. Pearson responded with an armbar attempt, but Fisher was able to shake him off, and the two returned to their feet where Fisher continued to stay aggressive for the remainder of the round.

In the second, the two traded back and forth, with Pearson growing stronger as the round went on. Fisher had good striking early on, but was slowed when Pearson tried for a takedown. That didn't work, but Pearson landed cleaner punches afterwards.

Between rounds, the two showed that they were still fresh as they bounced around, raising their arms and drawing cheers from the Australian crowd. Pearson started the third with a takedown, but Fisher didn't stay down long. Pearson continued to land strikes and hold off Fisher. Pearson caught a kick and used that to take Fisher down. He ended the round with a bevy of strikes and elbows but wasn't able to end the bout before the final horn sounded.

Pearson is now 4-1 in the Octagon, 12-4 overall while Fisher, a mainstay of the UFC lightweight division since 2005, falls to 24-7.

Ricardo Arona Noboru Asahi Marcus Aurelio Mikhail Avetisyan Luiz Azeredo

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Bellator will kick off its light heavyweight tournament to crown the promotion's first-ever 205-pound champ when it hosts Bellator 38 on March 26 in Tunica, Mississippi.Bellator 38 will include four opening-round matchups featuring Daniel Gracie, Tim Carpenter, Nik Fekete, Chris Davis, D.J. Linderman, Christian M?Pumbu, Richard Hale, and Raphael Davis.

Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen Alex Andrade Jermaine Andrè Yoji Anjo

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Ryan Jimmo has carved out a reputation as a points fighter, but he did a nice job of forcing the doctor's hands at Maximum Fighting Championship 28 by busting up Dwayne Lewis. After peppering Lewis with kicks for 11 minutes, Jimmo got the fight to the ground where he pounded away as the former champion's face. The skin below Lewis' eye blew up like a balloon forcing a third round stoppage and handing the MFC's 205 title to Jimmo.

"Whenever he came wild, I just made sure I evaded," Jimmo told MMACanada.net (Video - 2:15 mark). "So what I did, instead of evading that time, I just planted and threw. I knew he just didn't think I was going to come with anything. I'm pretty sure I caught him with a right hand. Right after, we clinched up, he went down almost like jelly. I knew I rocked him. The takedown was almost way too effortless."

Since an early ouster on Season 8 of "The Ultimate Fighter," Jimmo has put together a solid run in Canada. The competition hasn't been the best, but the light heavyweight looks like a good prospect. With a karate background, he possesses awkward timing and had Lewis confused most of the fight. Now it's Mark Pavelich's job to bring in some bigger name challengers for Jimmo in 2011.

The best story of the night came from Drew Fickett. With all that Fickett has battled outside the ring and cage, it's hard to believe the MMA veteran is only 31 years old.

Fickett was a slated to face MFC lightweight champ Antonio McKee, but the one-and-done UFC fighter had to back out the fight last week because of a knee injury. Instead UFC-veteran Matt Veach filled in. Veach, who was 1-2 with the UFC and actually manhandled current UFC lightweight champ Frank Edgar at times during their December 2009 fight, looked like an amateur against Fickett.

Fickett's as slick as it gets in the submission game, so it was bizarre to see Veach choose to take it to the ground early and jumped into his opponent's guard. It took just a few seconds for Fickett (41-13) to throw his leg up, secure an arm and lock on an armbar for the finish. All that in just 36 seconds.

Fickett, who has fought a well-chronicled battle against alcholism, signed a long-term deal with MFC. Let's hope he keeps it together and we get to see him face McKee in the near future.

TUF 9 alum Richie Whitson (11-1) was also a winner, although the decision was a tight one against Curtis DeMarce. On TUF 9, Whitson lost to Ross Pearson, the eventual show victor.

Former UFC light heavyweight Rodney Wallace (10-4, 0-3 UFC) was taken out by Emanuel Newton via second round submission.

Chris Brennan Marcelo Brito Rob Broughton Mike Brown Junie Browning

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UFC 131
Saturday June 11
Rogers Arena
Vancouver, BC, Canada, eh
Airing on PPV

MAIN CARD

* Brock Lesnar (#2 Ranked Heavyweight) vs. Junior dos Santos (#5 Ranked Heavyweight)
* Shane Carwin vs. TBA
* Dave Herman vs. Rob Broughton
* Dustin Poirier vs. Rani Yahya
* Michihiro Omigawa (#4 Ranked Featherweight) vs. Darren Elkins

Steve The Snake Claveau Rich No Love Clementi Mark The Hammer Coleman Wes Soldier Combs Ray Cooper

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Because apparently I am the face of ninjashoes and simply cannot be associated with such fagganomitry

http://www.quarkbase.com/ninjashoes.net

Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah Terrance Aflague

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On March 5, 2011, Strikeforce will hold its highly-anticipated ?Feijao vs. Henderson? event, featuring Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Rafael Cavalcante defending his newly-won belt for the very first time against PRIDE FC veteran, UFC veteran, and all-around MMA legend Dan Henderson. Newly-crowned Strikeforce Women?s Welterweight Champion Marloes Coenen will also make the first defense of [...]

Mikey Burnett Murilo Bustamante Grant Campbell Gesias JZ Calvancante Luiz Cane

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

B.J. Penn vs. Jon Fitch (Welterweight)

Penn and Fitch are entering this fight likely knowing the winner will likely fight for the UFC Welterweight Championship once again later this year. For Penn, his motivation isn't the title these days so much as it is facing bigger and bigger challenges, and Fitch fits that bill.

Fitch has amassed a 13-1 record in the UFC, his only defeat being to Georges St. Pierre, who also handed Penn his last loss at welterweight. In those 13 wins, he's been an imposing and overwhelming force, not allowing any opponent much success.

Penn, meanwhile, comes into this off his most vicious win in years when he destroyed Matt Hughes in November.

This fight will be decided by a couple of factors, the first of which is whether or not Penn can keep the fight on the feet. Fitch will look to take him down early and often, and he'll need to stay off his back to utilize his advantage in the striking game.

That's the second factor. If Penn keeps the fight on the fight, it turns into a question of whether or not he can damage Fitch enough to either finish him or win two of the three rounds. The second scenario isn't out of the question, but even if he gets chances on the feet, and he may, Fitch can take punishment, and I can't see Penn finishing him when he's never been finished in the UFC.

But Penn lighting Fitch up for at least two rounds is less likely than Fitch taking Penn down often and wearing him down enough to earn at least two rounds himself.

PREDICTION: Fitch via unanimous decision

Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera (Middleweight)

Jorge Rivera talked himself into a big time fight with Bisping, and has ratcheted up his trash talk with a series of videos making fun of Bisping in a number of ways. It has riled the Brit up ahead of the fight, but it remains to be seen whether that would have any negative affects on Bisping at all on Saturday.

Rivera's got some good striking, and hits pretty hard, but he's not going to have much of a chance to lay the punishment on Bisping in this fight. "The Count" has a very good boxing game, and his striking and footwork should be the difference in this fight. Rivera is capable of hurting Bisping and scoring an upset, it's just not all that likely to happen in Australia.

PREDICTION: Bisping via unanimous decision

George Sotiropoulos vs. Dennis Siver (Lightweight)

Georges Sotiropoulos has done nothing but win in the UFC. The Aussie is 7-0 in the organization, and has fought an increasingly higher level of competition up until now.

Siver is a dangerous striker, and has had some excellent performances in the UFC, but he represents a step back for a fighter that can contend with anyone in the UFC's top 10 right now. Sotiropoulos' top game is insanely good, and his game off his back is a strength as well.

His striking isn't on par, and it's certainly possible that Siver can do some damage on his feet. However, Sotiropoulos is certainly going to get Siver to the ground at some point in this contest, and his submission game should get the job tone.

PREDICTION: Sotiropoulos via submission in the second round

Chris Lytle vs. Brian Ebersole (Welterweight)

Losing Carlos Condit hurt this card badly, because his fight with Lytle would have been fantastic, and relevant, and neither of those labels will be applied to this matchup ahead of time. Perhaps Ebersole comes out with the fight of his career and this becomes a massively entertaining fight; but as it stands, with him stepping in on late notice and just being thrown into this fight, there's not much to look forward to.

Ebersole is a solid veteran with a long fight career, but Lytle has faced a vastly greater level of competition throughout his career, especially over the last few years. There's no reason Lytle should lose this fight.

PREDICTION: Lytle via submission in the second round

Kyle Noke vs. Chris Camozzi (Middleweight)

Noke returns home in his first fight on Australian soil in nearly three years, and on the heels of two impressive wins inside the Octagon. Camozzi as well has won two straight after the two left The Ultimate Fighter house after season 11, though his decision wins haven't been the decisive victories that Noke has put together.

Camozzi is a good fighter, has good wrestling and should be a good challenge for Noke, but the 30-year-old Aussie is in front of a hometown crowd in a big fight on pay-per-view, and I think he'll make an impression again at home.

PREDICTION: Noke via submission in the third round

=====PRELIMINARY CARD QUICK PICKS=====

* Riki Fukuda over Nick Ring via unanimous decision
* Alexander Gustafsson over James Te-Huna via TKO in the first round
* Ross Pearson over Spencer Fisher via unanimous decision
* Anthony Perosh over Tom Blackledge via submission in the first round
* Tie Quan Zhang over Jason Reinhardy via submission in the second round
* Chris Tuchscherer over Mark Hunt via TKO in the first round
* Maciej Jewtuszko over Curt Warburton via TKO in the first round

=====MMATORCH CONFIDENCE AND BETTING CONTEST PICKS=====

12 - Lytle
11 - Sotiropoulos
10 - Bisping
9 - Gustafsson
8 - Fitch
7 - Noke
6 - Tuchscherer
5 - Zhang
4 - Fukuda
3 - Jewtuszko
2 - Pearson
1 - Perosh

$200 parlay on Noke, Fukuda, Jewtuszko

$300 Fukuda

$100 Perosh

$400 Fitch

Justin Eilers Jon Olav Einemo Per Eklund Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko

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UFC 131
Saturday June 11
Rogers Arena
Vancouver, BC, Canada, eh
Airing on PPV

MAIN CARD

* Brock Lesnar (#2 Ranked Heavyweight) vs. Junior dos Santos (#5 Ranked Heavyweight)
* Shane Carwin vs. TBA
* Dave Herman vs. Rob Broughton
* Dustin Poirier vs. Rani Yahya
* Michihiro Omigawa (#4 Ranked Featherweight) vs. Darren Elkins

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves Andre Amade Dean Amasinger Jimmy Ambriz

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Seriously. How did the judges pick Nick Ring as the winner to that fight? I had Fukuda winning all 3 rounds. All Fukudas take downs and striking owned that queer from Calgary.

Horrible decision.

Ricardo Arona Noboru Asahi Marcus Aurelio

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Ryo Piranha Chonan Dan The Sandman Christison Logan The Pink Pounder Clark Steve The Snake Claveau Rich No Love Clementi

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Jai Bradney Ebenezer Fontes Braga Chris Brennan Marcelo Brito Rob Broughton

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Bellator has made a huge signing in their featherweight division, as they announced on Wednesday that former Sengoku champ Marlon Sandro has joined the roster. He will not take part in the season four tournament, but he will debut in 2011.

"Marlon Sandro is a phenomenal talent at 145 lbs.," said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. "Our Featherweight division is absolutely stacked and Sandro pushes that talent pool to an even higher level, I'm thrilled to have him on board."

Sandro brings a 17-2 record into Bellator, with his two career losses coming by decision to Michihiro Omigawa and Hatsu Hioki. His departure from Sengoku is another blow to the Japanese organization, but Sandro will make his U.S. debut on MTV2 when he appears this year.

Penick's Analysis: This is a huge signing for Bellator. Sandro is a top ten featherweight, and makes a fantastic addition to Bellator's featherweight roster. Joe Warren's got a great non-title opponent for season four if Bellator wants to go that route.

Jason Hollywood Chambers Ryo Piranha Chonan Dan The Sandman Christison Logan The Pink Pounder Clark Steve The Snake Claveau

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MMAjunkie.com Radio today welcomes UFC 127 winner Brian Ebersole to the show.

Ebersole calls in to recount his "Fight of the Night" victory over Chris Lytle. Additionally, Bellator Fighting Championships welterweight contender Chris Lozano also joins the program to preview his fight at this weekend's Bellator 35 event.

MMAjunkie.com Radio airs from 12-2 p.m. ET (9-11 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino's Race & Sports Book. Listen to and watch a video stream of the two-hour show at www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

Dan The Sandman Christison Logan The Pink Pounder Clark Steve The Snake Claveau Rich No Love Clementi Mark The Hammer Coleman

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Filed under: UFC

Let's put the UFC 127 controversy and arguments away for a little while, just long enough to celebrate someone deserving of some praise. Can we do that? I mean, it's easy to focus on the negative, but shouldn't we give equal time to the people who beat the odds? That's why we watch sports, isn't it? To watch people win, to overcome obstacles, and celebrate the triumph of the human will.

We get enough negativity in this lifetime from the regular news, yet in the sports world, the victory of Brian Ebersole is buried under the headlines of Michael Bisping spitting, and the disputed draw between BJ Penn and Jon Fitch.

Ebersole was never going to have an easy time stealing the limelight from those guys. Despite a career spent in the trenches, he was not well known by anyone other than the hardest of the hardcore fans. Walking in to his fight with Chris Lytle, Ebersole was a major underdog, particularly fighting on short notice as a replacement for the injured Carlos Condit.

Thiago Alves Andre Amade Dean Amasinger Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen

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Another one went into the history books tonight, fans and friends. And UFC 127 ?Penn vs. Fitch? was a very interesting night of fights, to say the very least. It was a night full of upsets, dramatic finishes, free and entertaining preliminary fights on both Facebook and ION TV, and more. And in the main [...]

Yves Edwards Justin Eilers Jon Olav Einemo Per Eklund Jason Ellis

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UFC 127 ?Penn vs. Fitch? certainly had its fair share of surprises. The main event ended in a draw, Brian Ebersole upset Chris Lytle, Dennis Siver upset George Sotiropoulos? the list goes on and on. Now once again it?s time to ask: what?s next? What does the future hold after so many unexpected happenings occurred [...]

Todd Duffee Marvin Eastman Stav Crazy Bear Economou Yves Edwards Justin Eilers

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When two fighters grapple for nearly 15 minutes, it's not often a crowd refrains from booing, but even the most novice group of MMA fans could appreciate the non-stop battle between Pat Healy and Lyle Beerbohm. After dozens of transitions, lots of takedowns and several submission attempts, Healy got the nod on all three cards, 29-28, for a unanimous decision victory in the main event of Strikeforce Challengers 14 in Cedar Park, Tx.

It was Beerbohm's first loss after starting 16-0, but it was nothing to be embarrassed about. Healy was just a little bigger and had more gas in the tank in the final round.

"If they want a rematch ... anytime," Healy (26-17) said. "I think I outworked him. I won the exchange on the feet and I had a couple of real close submissions."

Keep in mind earlier in the evening, the same crowd actually booed some lackluster standup just 55 seconds into the Ryan Couture-Lee Higgins fight. In the final fight of the night, they enjoyed the technique, fortitude and stamina shown by Healy and Beerbohm as did Showtime's broadcast team of Mauro Ranallo, Pat Miletich and Stephen Quadros who were howling in approval late in third round.

That was the round that sealed the fight for Healy. Healy scored a takedown with 3:25 left and got Beerbohm's back where he was able to lock on a tight rear-naked choke. It was a rare moment in the fight, where the Energizer bunny Beerbohm actually stopped moving for a while.

The 31-year-old former drug addict and dealer was able to turn into Healy and free himself from danger. Beerbohm scored his own takedown with just over two minutes left in the fight but could never get Healy, a former wrestler at Southern Illinois, settled. The fighters traded dominant position over the final 100 seconds of the fight before a short stand up exchange to close it out.

Healy said he'd like to face the winner of the Billy Evangelista-Jorge Masvidal fight. That one goes down on Mar. 5 in Columbus, Oh. Evangelista holds a win over Healy's twin brother Ryan.

Healy credited his work with B.J. Penn and his camp in Hawaii for some of his nifty transitions and submission attempts. He was very dangerous in the second round.

In that round, Beerbohm kept pushing the fight to the cage and working for double-leg takedowns. On three occasions, Healy was able to push his head down and drop to the ground with inverted triangles. Beerbohm was actually in big trouble in one of those inverted triangles when Healy had him in a key lock. Beerbohm is resilient though and freed himself.

Healy, 27, is an interesting case. His record looks very pedestrian, but it includes losses to the likes of Jake Ellenberger, Rory Markham, Carlo Prater, Jay Hieron, Chris Wilson, Chris Lytle, Dave Strasser, Chris Leben, Brad Blackburn and Denis Kang. He said he needed the money in the past and took a lot of fights on short notice. He's also at the perfect weight now. He's a huge welterweight. He took a big step up last time out and nearly pulled the upset on former Strikeforce welterweight champ Josh Thomson.

Gesias JZ Calvancante Luiz Cane Dos Caras Jr Phil Cardella Roan Jucao Carneiro

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Yahoo! Sports looked at the vegetarian habits of fighters last week, with their motives both humanitarian and for health. In this video, Jon Fitch talks about his issues with milk. (Note: Fitch isn't a registered dietician, so take his advice with the recommended dosage of salt.)

Has anyone told Fitch that milk is delicious? Because it is and I am enjoying a glass of yummy skim milk as I type this.

Fighters have worked plenty of different diet plans, everything from Diego Sanchez and stevia to the popular Dolce Diet and Fuel the Fighter. The important thing to remember is that fighters' should be finely tuned to their training because they expend an insane amount of calories in training, and they have to time their eating habits around weighing in and fight night. That doesn't mean their nutrional choices are wrong, but their needs are very different than an average Joe or Jane.

Wesley Cabbage Correira Patrick The Predator Côté Randy The Natural Couture Dan Cramer Alberto Crane

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Shinya Aoki Andrei Arlovski Ricardo Arona Noboru Asahi Marcus Aurelio

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Yves Edwards Justin Eilers Jon Olav Einemo Per Eklund Jason Ellis

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by Michael David Smith

Paul Daley doesn't do anything fancy: He just punches really hard.

Daley did it again on Saturday in Manchester, England, knocking out Yuya Shirai with a powerful left uppercut followed by a quick hook and a couple hammer fists on the ground, winning by first round knockout without breaking a sweat on a British Association of Mixed Martial Arts card.

Daley, who improved his record to 27-9-2, is now likely to take on Nick Diaz for the Strikeforce welterweight title on April 9. Although Daley didn't say for sure that he'll fight Diaz, he did say after the fight, "There's more to come for me."

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Justin Eilers Jon Olav Einemo Per Eklund Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The UFC has confirmed two more bouts for the main card of their Memorial Day Weekend event, as Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Matt Hamill and Thiago Alves vs. Rick Story are both official for UFC 130.

The card, taking place on May 28 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, features a headliner between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard for the UFC Lightweight Championship.

Rampage looks to get a title shot with a second straight victory after his November 2010 victory over former champ Lyoto Machida. Rampage, who hasn't fought for a title since losing the title to Forrest Griffin in July of 2008. A win over Hamill likely puts him next in line to face the winner of Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Jon Jones.

Hamill looks to put his name in the mix of top contenders with a win over Rampage that would be his sixth straight win. He's coming off a victory over Tito Ortiz back at UFC 121 in October, and took this bout when Thiago Silva was removed from the fight.

Alves is out to build on one of his best career performances in a three round dissection of John Howard at UFC 124. The win halted a two fight losing streak to Georges St. Pierre and Jon Fitch, and he looks to make his way back into the title picture with a run.

Story enters this fight after a win over Johny Hendricks in December. Following the big win, his fifth straight, Story and his camp expressed a desire to fight top ten competition. They're getting just that in top five ranked Alves, and this fight marks Story's biggest opportunity in the UFC to date.

[Rampage Jackson art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

Thiago Alves Andre Amade Dean Amasinger Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen

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Tiequan Zhang is still a bit of a mysterious character, but there's no question about the fact that he's a pretty solid MMA competitor.

Zhang dropped to featherweight for his UFC debut and smoked Jason Reinhardt in less than a minute at UFC 127. Zhang locked on a guillotine choke (pictured below) and nearly put Reinhardt out at the 0:48 mark of the first round in Sydney, Australia.

Zhang (13-1, 1-0 UFC, 1-1 WEC) is the first fighter from China to compete in the UFC. He made his Zuffa debut in 2010.

He looked extremely comfortable in this one, as he stalked Reinhardt from the start. Zhang followed the shorter fighter around the cage looking to land something big. He closed space along the cage and when Reinhardt dropped his head a bit, Zhang went for the choke.

Reinhardt pushed forward and the fight fell to the ground where he was trapped in the nasty choke. He waited until the very last second to tap. When Zhang released the choke, Reinhardt didn't move, he was groggy and out of it.

Zhang, 32, nicknamed "The Mongolian Wolf," is a sanshou specialist. His trainer said he's also recently been elevated to a jiu-jitsu brown belt. China is an untapped MMA breeding ground internationally. With a strong martial arts background, China could be quite the source for talent over the next five years. The Chinese fight fan market is also untapped and a big reason why UFC put Zhang's fight on Facebook.

Watch UFC 127 right here on Yahoo! Sports.

Perosh crushes Blackledge in UFC 205 debut

Anthony Perosh hasn't carved out much of a reputation in the UFC, simply because he's been a card filler at heavyweight. The Aussie was overmatched against the big guys. Today, down at more comfortable weight, he was able to show off his vaunted jiu-jitsu game and blew through Tom Blackledge.

Perosh (10-6, 1-3 UFC) missed on his first two takedowns, but when he scored a third with 3:13 left in the first, Blackledge was nearly helpless off his back. Perosh softened up Blackledge by raining down punches and then settled into the Brit's half guard. He quickly passed to the mount where Blackledge bailed and spun to his stomach. That was a bad move because Perosh locked on a rear-naked choke just seconds later forcing the tap.

Perosh suffered UFC losses in 2006 to Christian Wellisch and Jeff Monson. He took a beating against Mirko Filipovic last year at UFC 110.

UFC 127 undercard results:

Curt Warburton def. Maciej Jewtuszko via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Mark Hunt def. Chris Tuchscherer via knockout (punches) - Round 2, 1:41

Dai Shuanghai Mac Danzig Karen Darabedyan Viacheslav Datsik Marcus Davis

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