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DREAM.11 Featherweight GP Final Round Results

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:23:00 GMT

DREAM.11 Featherweight GP Final Round Results

DREAM 11 Featherweight Grand Prix Final Round at the Yokohama Arena in Japan.

Bibiano Fernandes def. Hiroyuki Takaya via split decision
Shinya Aoki def. Joachim Hansen via submission (armbar) - R2
Kazushi Sakuraba def. Rubin Williams via submission (kimura) - R1
Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Barracuda Melchor via TKO (punches) - R1
Sokoudjou def. Bob Sapp via TKO (punches) - R1
Ikuhisa Minowa def. Hong-Man Choi via submission (heel hook) - R2
Bibiano Fernandes def. Joe Warren via TKO (armbar) - R1
Hiroyuki Takaya def. Hideo Tokoro via TKO (punches) - R2
Kazuyuki Miyata def. DJ.Taiki via unanimous decision

Mark Coleman Suffers MCL Tear, Pulls Out of UFC 106

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:15:00 GMT

Posted Oct 06, 2009

Mark Coleman has been forced out of a scheduled bout against Tito Ortiz at the Nov. 21 UFC 106 event in Las Vegas due to a second-degree tear in his ACL.

FanHouse has confirmed the injury with Coleman's long-time friend Michael DiSabato, who also responded to Ortiz for a Twitter post Monday night stating that Coleman "sissie[d] out."

"Coleman does not match make -- he fights -- Tito calls him 'sissy' -- quote me ... only thing Coleman scared of when it comes to Tito is contracting Swine flu from his dirty [bum]," DiSabato told FanHouse.

"We all know where he lays his head at night," he continued. "Please, Coleman is Hall of Famer and does not run from anyone. Ask Tito why he can't wait till Jan. 2. Coleman will be ready to fight on the New Year's show."

According to Ortiz's tweet, he still plans on competing at UFC 106. Ortiz made peace with UFC president Dana White and signed in July to come back to the UFC. He's been inactive while healing from a back surgery. Coleman, 44, is coming off a unanimous decision win over Stephan Bonnar at UFC 100 in July.

K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final Bracket Set for Dec. 5th

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:51:00 GMT

The bracket for K-1’s World Grand Prix 2009 Final, which takes place on December 5 in Kanagawa, Japan, was set on Sunday in Seoul, with the tournament’s eight fighters choosing their opponents after each winning on Saturday at the K-1 World GP 2009 Final 16.

Badr Hari takes on Ruslan Karaev and Ewerton Texeira meets Alistair Overeem in side A of the tournament, while Jerome LeBanner fights Semmy Schilt and Remy Bonjasky squares off against Errol Zimmerman on side B.

The 17th inaugural K-1 World GP Finale, a one-night, eight-fighter tournament, will crown the latest K-1 World Grand Prix champion after a year full of elimination matchups.

ADCC 2009 Live Results

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:29:00 GMT

Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009

Fabricio Werdum v Saulo Ribeiro Werdum by ref decision 2 OT

Jeff Monson v Robert Abreu _ Abreu by ref decision 2 OT

Xande Ribeiro vs Vinny Magalhaes - Xande by points 4 x 0 OT

Gerard Rinaldi vs Glover Teixeira - Rinaldi by points 5 x 0 OT

Andre Galvao vs David Avellan - Galvao by points 2 x 0

Braulio Estima vs Rafael Lovato - Braulio by submission foot lock

Marcelo Garcia vs K-Taro Nakamura - Garcia by choke

Rubens Cobrinha vs Rani Yahia - Charles by submission - Kimura

Pablo Popovitch vs Gregor Gracie - Pablo by points 3 x 0

Leo vieira vs Rafael Mendes - Mendes by sub choke OT

Penny thomas v Cristiane Cyborg - Thomas by points -2 x -1 OT

Hillary Williams vs Sayaka Shioda - Shioda by Submission arm-lock

Rosangela Conceicao v Hannette Staack - Staack by Judges Decision 2 OT

Luana Allzuguir vs Laurence Cousin - Alzuguir by choke 2 OT

3rd Place Matches:

Over 99KG:Jeff Monson vs Saulo Ribeiro - Monson by Judges Decision 2 OT

Under 99Kg Vinny Magalhaes v Glover Teixeira - Magalhaes by submission arm-lock

Under 88KG Rafael Lovato vs David Avellan - Avelan by sub foot-lock

Under 77KG Gregor Gracie vs K-taro Nakamura - Gracie by pts 10 x 0

under 66 Jeff Glover vs Ryan Hall (Vieira and yahia out with injuries) - Hall by pts 3 x 2

Ladies U60 KG Laurence Cousin v Hillary Williams - Williams by pts

Ladies Over 60 KG Cristiane Cyborg vs Rosangela conceicao - Cristiane Cyborg by jduges Decision

Finals

Over 99Kg - Fabricio Werdum vs Roberto Cyborg - werdum by pts 9 (-4) x 0

under 99KG - Xande ribeiro vs Gerardi Rinaldi - Xande by points 2 x 0

under 88KG - Braulio Estima vs Andre Galvao - Braulio by submission triangle

under 77KG - Pablo Popovitch vs Marcelo Garcia - Popovitch by points 3(-1) x 2(-1)

under 66KG - Rubens cahrles vs Rafael Mendes - Mendes by pts 7 x 4 2OT

Ladies Over 60KG Penny Thomas vs Hannette Staack - Staack by submission knee-bar

Under 60KG Luana Alzuguir v Sayaka Shioda - Alzuguir by pts 3 x 0

Absolute

Marcelo Garcia v Bruno Bastos - Garcia by submission choke OT

Braulio Estima v Janne Pekka Pietilainen - Brualio by submission arm-lock

Dean Lister v Vinny Magalhaes - Magalhaes by Judges Decision 2OT

Chris Weidman v Antoine Jaoude - Weidman by pts 3 x 0

Ricco Rodrigues v Xande Ribeiro - xande byy submission key-lock

Andre Galvao v Tom de Blass - Galvao by pts 3 x 0

Jeff Monson v Gunnar Nelson - Nelson by pts 3 x 0 2 OT

Roberto abreu v David Avellan - Avelan by Judges decision 2 OT

Quarter Finals

Marcelo Garcia v Braulio Estima - Braulio by sub choke

Vinny Magalhaes v Chris Weideman - Magalhaes by sub arm-lock

Xande Ribeiro v Andre Galvao - Xande by pts 3 (-1) x 0

Gunnar Nelson v David Avelan

Semi-finals

Xande Ribeiro vs Gunnar Nelson - Xande by Submission Knee-bar

Braulio Estima v Vinny Magalhaes - Braulio by pts 3 x 0

Finals

Xande Ribeiro v Braulio Estima - Braulio by saubmission arm-bar

Rampage: I'm hanging it up

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:48:00 GMT

Rampage: I'm hanging it up

by Rampage Jackson | 28 minutes ago | source: rampage-jackson.com

The UFC has done a lot for me but I think I have done more for them. The UFC bought WFA to get my contract & they saved my life, so I felt loyal to them. They pushed me into a fight with Chuck Liddel even when I clearly stated I wasn't ready to fight for the belt because the American fans didn't know me but I took the fight and didn't complain & after I won the American fans booed me for the first time which changed the way I saw them & it hurt me deeply.

Then before I can even get out of the cage they announced that I was fighting Dan Henderson without even asking me. After I beat Dan Henderson, I made history in becoming the first undisputed champion in MMA but was never even given the pride belt in the cage & I was never promoted as the undisputed champ. Later Anderson Silva was.

Then they had me coach TUF season 7 and fight Forrest and the fight was very controversial & normally when a fight is that close & controversial there is normally an instant replay. I can name a couple of instances. Instead they offered me the Vanderlei Silva fight which I gladly accepted even though I know it was a very risky fight for me to take because of all the drama that was happening to me at the time. I fought that fight with a jaw injury and then a couple weeks later Dana called me and asked me to fight Rashad. For the first time I said no, I didn't want to fight because it was such short notice & I wouldn't have had a long break between camp. Dana talked me into fighting Rashad anyway but Rashad refused the fight and so I had to fight Jardine as a favor to the UFC instead of getting my belt back (which wasn't even worth it to me financially).

Then I reinjured my jaw in the fight with Vanderlei & Jardine. Frank Mir gets hurt so they wanted to switch my fight from UFC 100 to the fight Frank couldn't make it to but I couldn't fight cause I needed jaw surgury. So they give Machida the fight against Rashad & they told me they want me to coach TUF season 10 against Rashad. That's why I wanted Rashad to win so bad but when Rashad got knocked out I told them I wanted to fight Machida for the belt but Dana told me if I coach TUF against Rashad that I could fight Machida afterwards cause this was a different type of ultimate fighter show they were doing. After I signed the contract Dana then changes his mind & says I have to fight Rashad & even told me what to say in the press & so my fans think I was scared to fight Machida. After all that I still never complained & I did it all.

Then this movie role came about that I have been trying to get for over a year & as soon as I found out I was close to getting it, I called Dana right away & asked to push the Memphis fight back just a month or so. I told him what this movie role meant to me. I told him that I used to bond with my father watching the tv show as a kid when my parents where still married & it represents the memories I had with my father when we lived together. My dad became an alcohalic & addicted to drugs & we grew apart. But after my dad got his life back together, I was so proud of my dad & I told him I would always take care of him in the future & make him proud of me. My dad & I are still very big fans of the show & I am basically doing this for the childhood memories I had spending time in front of the tv with my dad. Dana went on the internet & mocked me because of that & I still did nothing. Dana & I finally talked & we made up & then after that he went back on the internet & said some bullshit & he was talking bad about the movie when information is not even supposed to be released & talking about payments which is not even true could really hurt my future acting career, which could very well last longer than my fighting career. I'm not like Randy Couture. My body has been getting so many different injuries that I wont be able to fight until my forties & neither do I want to fight that long. So I feel like my second career could be in jeopardy.. so I'm done fighting. I've been getting negative reviews from the dumb ass fans that don't pay my bills or put my kids though college. So I'm hanging it up. I'm gonna miss all my loyal fans but hopefully they'll follow me to my new career & I will gain more loyal fans along the way. & all you hater fans out there can kiss my big black hairy ass! & anybody that don't like what I just said can come try to kick my ass!

I still feel the UFC is a great organization and I felt like I was very loyal to them but they didn't respect my loyalty but I wish the UFC the best. I did a lot of things for them. I wish no bad blood between us but I have kids & a family back in Memphis to provide for & thats all that matters to me!

Strikeforce signs 47-year-old former NFL Pro Bowler Herschel Walker

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:29:00 GMT

Former NCAA and NFL great Herschel Walker has signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce.

The signing was first reported by AOL FanHouse, which confirmed the deal with Strikeforce executive Mike Afromowitz.

No debut date has been set for the 47-year-old former Heisman Trophy winner and two-time Pro Bowl running back, who's never competed professionally in mixed martial arts.

Herschel, a longtime martial artist and sixth-degree black belt in tae kwon do, has hinted at a possible move into MMA for the past few years. He's also been spotted at many MMA events and even was announced as part of an EliteXC/Mark Burnett reality show that never got off the ground.

UFC 103 Results

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:20:00 GMT

UFC 103 Results: Live Updates Franklin vs. Belfort, Cro Cop vs. dos Santos

Posted Sep 19, 2009 By Michael David Smith

Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin fights Vitor Belfort in the main event, while former Pride star Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic fights Junior "Cigano" dos Santos in the co-main event.

Full UFC 103 results are below.

Vitor Belfort def. Rich Franklin by TKO

Junior Dos Santos def. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic by verbal submission

Paul Daley def. Martin Kampmann by TKO

Josh Koscheck def. Frank Trigg by TKO

Tyson Griffin def. Hermes Franca by TKO

Efrain Escudero def. Cole Miller by TKO

Tomasz Drwal def. Drew McFedries by submission (rear-naked choke)

Jim Miller def. Steve Lopez by submission (Injury)

Nik Lentz def. Rafaello Oliveira

Rick Story def. Brian Foster

Eliot Marshall def. Jason Brilz via split decision

Vladimir Matyushenko def. Igor Pokrajac via unanimous decision

Rafael dos Anjos def. Rob Emerson via unanimous decision

UFC 103 vs. Mayweather Marquez, Winner is

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 21:03:00 GMT

Sunday morning Google trends UFC 103 Mayweather Marquez

By Jim Murphy September 20th, 2009

Here’s the Sunday morning Google trends and–surprise, surprise–we learn that boxing and MMA can co-exist. If we have to pick a winner judging from the top ten its a decision for Mayweather/Marquez. The return of ‘Money’ Mayweather to the ring gets the top spot–specifically the term ‘Mayweather vs Marquez play by play’. The UFC shows up in 7th place with ‘Rich Franklin vs Vitor Belfort fight video’, but boxing gets another term in the top ten with ‘Shane Mosley’. Mosley challenged Mayweather in the ring after his dominating unanimous decision victory.

TKO 3:02 Of the First Round, Belfort gets the win,

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:28:00 GMT

But did we actually see after 3:02 of one round if he is ready for a shot with Anderson Silva, Is this premature, Give a fighter a title shot after one fight back with the UFC. We Know Belfort has Skill, ever since UFC 12, But does one fight constitute a Title Shot ?

Chuck Liddell

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:23:00 GMT

Chuck Liddell on 'Dancing With the Stars'

by Nick Thomas on Sep 20, 2009

Premieres tomorrow night at 8 ET/PT on ABC.

Tito Ortiz vs. Vitor Belfort

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 22:15:00 GMT

That is a fight I want to see, After Franklin and after Coleman I hope this is a fight the UFC can put together in the future.

UFC 103 predictions

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:47:00 GMT

Posted on September 19, 2009

MMA Madness staff makes its predictions for UFC 103 in Dallas. The main event will feature former middleweight champion Rich Franklin and former UFC champion Vitor Belfort.

Main card

Rich Franklin vs. Vitor Belfort

Vitor Belfort missed weight by a quarter pound, but ultimately made in on later attempts. Belfort is making his much-anticipated return to the Octagon, but he is taking on the ultimate gatekeeper in Rich Franklin. Franklin has served as a welcoming party for light heavyweights wanting to drop to middleweight. He fought Wanderlei Silva earlier this year and defeated him at the catchweight of 195 pounds. Franklin isn’t planning on going back to 185, and is dedicating himself to the 205 pound division. The biggest question that remains to be answered will be: Is Vitor really back to form? Or was the temporary success just because he fought less than elite competition? As for Rich, he is looking to give another hopeful middleweight contender a rude welcome to the weight class.

Prediction: Rich Franklin

Mirko Filipović vs. Junior dos Santos

Mirko Cro Cop hasn’t looked good in ANY of his bouts in the UFC. He said he is finally adjusted to the cage. Now, whether or not that’s true will be tested when he takes on young heavyweight prospect Junior dos Santos. Dos Santos has shown that he has knockout power and he’s looking to beat Cro Cop at his own game. If Cro Cop isn’t as sharp as he needs to be he could end up like he did against Gabriel Gonzaga, and instead of being two fights away from a title shot, he could be two fights away from being out of the UFC…again.

Prediction: Junior dos Santos

Martin Kampmann vs. Paul Daley

Martin Kampmann was always impressive in whatever weight class he was in. He was doing fine in the middleweight division, until losing to contender Nate Marquardt. He made his debut in the welterweight division, picking up two wins and moved his way into title contention. He was supposed to take on Mike Swick in a title contender eliminator bout, but Swick suffered a concussion was replaced by Paul Daley. Daley, nicknamed Semtex, is most well known for his explosive striking ability and knockout power. He expects to stand and trade with Kampmann, a Dutch-kickboxer.

Prediction: Martin Kampmann

Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg

Frank Trigg makes his long anticipated return to the UFC against the younger, evolved version of himself in Josh Koscheck. Trigg is riding high though, having won his last four fights. Trigg took this fight, knowing a win over Koscheck would shoot him up the welterweight ladder towards another title shot. Koscheck, on the other hand, is looking to bounce back after being knocked out by Paulo Thiago, and he as well is looking for another chance at Geroges St. Pierre. Both men have excellent wrestling pedigrees and are known for knockout power.

Prediction: Josh Koscheck

Tyson Griffin vs. Hermes Franca

This bout was originally supposed to be at 155 pounds, but Franca missed the weight limit and Griffin agreed to a catchweight bout. This will be Franca’s first fight since tearing his ACL a year ago. Griffin on the other hand is looking to rebuild his momentum and work his way back into title contention.

Prediction: Tyson Griffin

Spike TV Portion

Efrain Escudero vs. Cole Miller

Efrain Escudero came into the bout a little overweight and according to UFC officials, made the 155 pound weight limit. Escudero is known for his wrestling, but it might not be a smart idea to grapple with Cole Miller on the ground. Miller’s jiu-jitsu is slick and has caught Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Jorge Gurgel and Junie Browning in chokes. Expect Miller to try and work a submission off of his back, if Escudero takes him to the ground.

Prediction: Cole Miller

Drew McFedries vs. Tomasz Drwal

Drew McFedries is known for his explosive knockout power in both of his hands. He is coming off of an impressive KO victory of Xaiver Foupa-Pokam at UFC 98. McFedries has shown to have issues with submission fighters. Tomasz Drwal is making his middleweight debut, and won knockout of the night in his last outing at the TUF 9 Finale. Expect fireworks in this one

Prediction: Drew McFedries

Preliminary card

Jim Miller vs. Steve Lopez

Jim Miller originally was ready to fight Thiago Tavares, but Tavares had to pull out due to an injury. Regardless of his opponent, Miller isn’t taking Lopez lightly. The little-known Lopez is 12-1 and has won four consecutive bouts.

Prediction: Jim Miller

Rafaello Oliveira vs. Nik Lentz

Rafaello Oliveira is making his UFC debut and was supposed to take on Dan Lauzon. Lauzon had to pull out and was replaced by Nik Lentz. Oliveira is a jiu-jitsu practitioner, but he isn’t afraid to stand and trade as three of his wins have come by TKO. Lentz is also making his UFC debut, and is an equally capable ground fighter. He has a wrestling background and has won seven of his fights by submission.

Prediction: Rafaello Oliveira

Rick Story vs. Brian Foster

Rick Story’s first fight in the UFC didn’t go exactly as planned, losing a split decision to John Hathaway. Story came into the fight as a replacement for Paul Daley who was moved onto the main card, replacing Mike Swick. Brian Foster is looking kick off his UFC career with a victory. All of Foster’s fights have seen a finish, and he has yet to go to a decision.

Prediction: Brian Foster

Eliot Marshall vs. Jason Brilz

Jason Brilz hasn’t lost a fight since 2001, and is on a 12-fight unbeaten streak (11-0-1). He made his UFC debut at UFN 15 with a TKO victory over Brad Morris. He followed it up with a victory earlier this year with a decision win over Tim Boetsch. He has won nine of his fights by submission. Eliot Marshall is coming off a victory over Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Vinny Magalhaes at UFC 97. Since arriving to the UFC, Marshall is 2-0 and looks to continue his ascent up the ladder.

Prediction: Jason Brilz

Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Igor Pokrajac

Vladimir Matyushenko is making his UFC debut after being one of the top fighters in the International Fight League. He is a well-rounded fighter, having won seven fights by KO and seven fights by submission. Igor Pokrajac is from Crotatia and trains out of the same gym as Mirko Cro Cop. He is also making his UFC debut and is riding an eight-fight win streak.

Prediction: Vladimir Matyushenko.

Rob Emerson vs. Rafael dos Anjos

Rob Emerson took the fight after replacing Matt Wiman, who suffered a knee injury. Emerson is 6-1 (1 NC) in his past eight bouts, but lost his last fight against Kurt Pellegrino. He takes on Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Rafel dos Anjos, who is still for his first UFC victory. He was knocked out by Jeremy Stephens in his first UFC fight, before being outpointed by Tyson Griffin in his next.

Prediction: Rafael dos Anjos

Sept. 19th, Boxing vs. Mixed Martial Arts

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:31:00 GMT

Weekend's Biggest Fight? Boxing vs. Mixed Martial Arts

"No matter what happens on Saturday night, boxing is in trouble. Period. End of story. They're in trouble," UFC's Dana White said Thursday. "[The UFC] continues to grow every year. We're up this year from where we were last year in this horrible economy."

Longtime boxing promoter Bob Arum sadly sounded like UFC's often juvenile boss White when he used homophobic phraseology to denounce MMA in an on-camera interview with FanHouse's Ariel Helwani during a recent Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto press conference in Yankee Stadium. Arum told Helwani that UFC fans were "a bunch of skinhead white guys who are watching a bunch of people in the ring who look like skinhead white guys." The 78-year-old businessman then stooped deeper into the well of repulsive insults by impugning MMA fighters and gay people.

UFC 103 WEIGH IN Results

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:19:00 GMT

Main Card Bouts:
Rich Franklin 195 vs. Vitor Belfort 196.25*
Junior Dos Santos 236 vs. Mirko Filipovic 226
Martin Kampmann 169.5 vs. Paul Daley 170
Josh Koscheck 170 vs. Frank Trigg 170
Tyson Griffin 155.5 vs. Hermes Franca 159**

On Spike:
Efrain Escudero 157* vs. Cole Miller 155
Drew Mcfedries 185.25 vs. Tomasz Drwal 185

Preliminary Bouts:
Jim Miller 154.5 vs. Steve Lopez 154.5
Rafaello Oliveira 155.25 vs. Nik Lentz 155
Rick Story 170 vs. Brian Foster 170.75
Jason Brilz 205.25 vs. Eliot Marshall 204.75
Vladimir Matyushenko 205 vs. Igor Pokrajac 203
Rafael Dos Anjos 155.5 vs. Rob Emerson 155.5

UFC 102 Weigh Ins

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 22:40:00 GMT

HW: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (231) vs. Randy Couture (220)
205 lbs: Thiago Silva (205) vs. Keith Jardine (205)
185 lbs: Demian Maia (185) vs. Nate Marquardt (185)
205 lbs: Krzysztof Soszynski (205) vs. Brandon Vera (205)
185 lbs: Jake Rosholt (185) vs. Chris Leben (185)
185 lbs: Aaron Simpson (185) vs. Ed Herman (185.5)
HW: Chris Tuchscherer (258) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (259)
HW: Michael Russow (260) vs. Justin McCully (238)
HW: Todd Duffee (251) vs. Tim Hague (263.5)
185 lbs: Mark Munoz (185.5) vs. Nick Catone (185.5)
155 lbs: Evan Dunham (155) vs. Marcus Aurelio (156)

Photos by UFC.

Vladimir Matyushenko Returns to UFC

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 01:22:00 GMT

Former UFC heavyweight contender Vladimir Matyushenko (22-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) is the latest UFC veteran to return to the organization, as "TheJanitor" will now face Croatian light heavyweight Igor Pokrajac (21-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC 103.

Zuffa releases Thales Leites following UFC 101 loss

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 00:58:00 GMT

It’s win or go home lately inside the Octagon … literally.

The UFC — in a move to trim its roster and offer the better fightersmore opportunities to compete — has once again released severalfighters from their contracts including one half of the MontrealSnoozejob, Thales Leites, according to MMA Fanhouse.

The Brazilian joins George Roop, Dan Cramer and Tamdan McCrory on the growing list of recent Zuffa contract casualties.

Leites was heading into UFC 101 on August 8 in a must-win situationafter his lackluster performance against middleweight champion AndersonSilva at UFC 97: “Redemption” last April.

The Nova Uniao product was able to do what no man has done up untilthis point — survive five rounds with “The Spider.” But “survive” wasall he seemed willing to do — there was very little offense for 25minutes. In fact, he basically played keep-away once he realized thathe would be unable to implement his slick jiu-jitsu skills.

Strikeforce announces release of Phil Baroni with talk of possible UFC return

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 00:52:00 GMT

Phil “The New York Badass” Baroni has been released by world championship mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion STRIKEFORCE.

The 33-year-old Baroni, a native of Long Island, N.Y, has lost four of his last seven bouts. In his last appearance, a welterweight (170 pounds) matchup with Joe “Diesel” Riggs at St. Louis, Missouri’s Scottrade Center, Baroni sustained a one-sided defeat by way of unanimous judges’ decision.

“We wish Phil the best of luck and hope he can revive his career,” STRIKEFORCE Founder and CEO Scott Coker said Thursday. “If he can, maybe one day, he can return and fight for us.”

Baroni’s most noteworthy fight in STRIKEFORCE was also the first STRIKEFORCE middleweight (185 pounds) MMA championship bout in history on June 22, 2007. Refusing to tap out, Baroni was choked unconscious by four-time world champion Frank Shamrock in the second round (4:00) of action.

Nick Diaz Signs Boxing Deal

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 00:33:00 GMT

Strikeforce welterweight Nick Diaz, whose recent refusal to take a mandatory drug test forced him out of a welterweight title bout at Saturday’s “Carano vs. Cyborg” card, has signed a boxing deal with veteran promoter Don “War-a-Week” Chargin.

“After having seen the replays of Diaz’s fights over the course of his career, I truly believe that this kid has what it takes to really make for some very entertaining fights within boxing,” said Chargin in a release announcing the signing. “While some would state that he’s merely a slugger possessing a good chin and a heavy work-rate, there’s something about his rhythm and fighting intelligence that really caught my eye.”

Diaz’s next fight, either his boxing debut or MMA return, has not yet been announced.

"The Barn Cat" Talks UFC Release, Future Plans, and More

ray@octagonfury.com (Administrator) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 01:33:00 GMT

If you’re anything like us you were surprised and a little saddenedto hear that one of the UFC’s more entertaining and personablewelterweights, Tamdan “The Barn Cat” McCrory, was released from the organization after losing a split decision to John Howard at UFC 101last weekend. Not only did he lose a squeaker against Howard thatcould have easily gone the other way, but even after the defeat he wasstill 3-3 in the UFC. What happened to at least waiting until a guylost two or sometimes even three in a row before cutting him loose?

But while we may be disappointed to see “The Barn Cat” go, he’s notletting it get him down. When we contacted him this afternoon he saidhe plans to take his time, improve his skills, and then move up tomiddleweight where he feels more comfortable.

“It kind of comes with the territory,” McCrory said of his dismissalfrom the UFC. “That’s what happens. You’re only as good as your lastfight, and all that other cliché bullshit. You know they can drop youif you lose so that’s always on your mind.”