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Akihiro Gono, Yoshihiro 'Kiss' Nakao and Henry 'Sentoryu' Miller added to Sengoku 12

by Akimitsu Kuwabara on Feb 10, 2010 9:33 AM EST Comment 0 comments

Veteran fighters, Akihiro Gono, Yoshihiro "Kiss" Nakao, and Henry "Sentoryu" Miller have been added to the upcoming Sengoku 12. Also, there may have been some shuffling in the fight card, as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu phenom, Leonardo Santos and Pancrase veteran, Kiuma Kunioku will now face each other: We previously reported that Santos will face Eiji Mitsuoka and Kunioku takes on Maximo Blanco.

Scheduled for March 7 at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Sengoku 12 will air on HDNet in North America.

Akihiro Gono (31-15-7) comes off an emphatic submission win over fellow Japanese veteran, Hayato "Mach" Sakurai on New Year's Eve at Dynamite!! 2009. The victory has given him a jolt of momentum after a four-fight career drought.

Prior to NYE, he recorded three consecutive losses to Dan Hardy, Jon Fitch, and Dan Hornbuckle, punctuated by a lackluster victory over Yoon Young Kim. He has reportedly been training at American Kickboxing Academy in preparation for the upcoming clash against the Swedish prospect, Diego Gonzalez (13-3, 1 NC).

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Michael Bisping: 'Rampage thinks I will beat Wanderlei easily'

by Jesse Holland on Feb 10, 2010 9:29 AM EST Comment 3 comments

Props: Telegraph.co.uk

Quoteworthy:

"We have been discussing tactics for the fight, little tips and discussions about Wanderlei’s movement and shots, and Rampage thinks I will beat Wanderlei easily. He has inspired me and has kept confidence in the camp high. I have to keep my composure in this fight. We know what Wanderlei does – he throws aggressive shots with reckless abandon, and I’m psyched to put my game plan into practise. I have nothing but respect for Wanderlei, but I do believe I’m a better technical fighter and more well-rounded. I was very happy when it was announced that my opponent would be Wanderlei Silva. In fact, there was a lot of talk of it being at UFC 105, and I was delighted. I want to prove I am at this level. I made a mistake against Dan Henderson, but that is the level I want to fight at – and I want membership to that level by beating fighters like Wanderlei Silva."

Michael Bisping gets some more encouraging words from his camp as his confidence grows heading into his pending middleweight clash with Wanderlei Silva at UFC 110 from the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 21. "The Count" has enlisted the help of friend and training partner Quinton Jackson for the inside scoop on "The Axe Murderer's" gameplan. "Rampage" has a three-fight history with the Brazilian, knocking him out at UFC 92 after getting clowned twice under the PRIDE banner. Will his knowledge be enough to put Bisping on top? Or is Silva going to end this one violently?

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UFC 110 video trailer: Going 'Down Under' for 'Nogueira vs. Velasquez' on Feb. 20

by MMAmania.com on Feb 9, 2010 10:32 PM EST Comment 45 comments

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WEC Quick Quote: Urijah Faber plans on fighting the best guys in the sport regardless of division

by James Kimball on Feb 9, 2010 10:10 PM EST Comment 30 comments

"I could go down to 135 pounds if he (Torres) wants to fight. I'm here for a long time so I'll probably fight everybody. Miguel is in there. (Mike) Brown, I'm going to fight him again. (Jose) Aldo, I'll take care of that. I didn't know for sure if Miguel would come to 145 and he's got his hands full with my boy Joseph Benavidez (on March 6), so we'll see how he does there first before I even think about fighting him.... That's a super fight (with B.J. Penn). I've thought about that. B.J. and I went to a USO show together. We're buddies and we've trained together but we're in the fight game to find out who's the man and I'm sure B.J. doesn't have a problem fighting me and I don't have a problem fighting him. We'd be buddies after."

-- Former WEC featherweight champion Urijah "The California Kid" Faber talks about his big plans in the sport at UFC 109's fighter Q&A. Never one to lack confidence in his own game, Faber seems to have his sights set on some impressive accomplishments before his career is over. It certainly doesn't hurt the WEC as a promotion that is trying to build their brand that their biggest name possesses such lofty expectations. Question is, would Faber have a chance to walk away as the victor in fights with Miguel Torres or B.J. Penn, let alone in his upcoming bout with dynamo Jose Aldo at WEC 48? Let's hear it, Maniacs.

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Tom Lawlor vs Tim Credeur on tap for UFC 113

by James Kimball on Feb 9, 2010 9:46 PM EST Comment 10 comments

Middleweights Tom Lawlor and Tim Credeur has have agreed to "get it on" at UFC 113, which is planned for the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on May 8, according to MixedMartialArts.com.

"The Filthy Mauler" is coming off a controversial split decision loss to Aaron Simpson at UFC Fight Night 20 last month in Fairfax, Virginia. Many people watching the bout on Spike TV, as well as live inside the Patriot Center, had Lawlor winning two of three rounds to secure his third consecutive win in the UFC.

Just not all the judges sitting ringside.

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Martin Kampmann out, Jake Ellenberger in against Ben Saunders at UFC 111

by James Kimball on Feb 9, 2010 8:50 PM EST Comment 14 comments

The welterweight showdown between Martin Kampmann and Ben Saunders, which was set for UFC 111 from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on March 27, has now turned into a match up between Jake Ellenberger and Ben Saunders.

Kampmann -- who was looking to build on a submission win over Jacob Volkmann at UFC 108 -- pulled out of the fight because of a serious cut above his eye suffered in training, according to 5thround.com. "Hitman" was hoping it could heal in time to compete in March, but it his ascension back up the 170-pound ladder will now have to wait just a little bit longer.

Stepping in to replace Kampmann against Ben Saunders is Team Quest fighter Jake Ellenberger (22-5).

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