The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7 middleweight winner, Amir Sadollah (1-0), is expected to return to the Octagon against Nick Catone (5-0) at UFC 91 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 15, according to FiveOuncesOfPain.com.
Sadollah — the unlikely champion of the most recent edition of the Spike TV mixed martial arts reality series — shocked just about everyone (including himself) with wins over Steve Byrnes, Gerald Harris, Matt Brown and CB Dollaway in just six weeks.
And he stopped them all early despite sustaining damage in most if not all of his fights. Not bad for a fighter who had zero professional fights under his belt prior to the show, He’s a super resilient and crafty fighter in the mold of UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Sadollah defeated Dollaway (again) in the finals of the tournament-style format via first round armbar after Jesse Taylor pissed away his chances — literally and figuratively — with a drunken rampage in “Sin City” shortly after the show wrapped.
Catone — who trains under Brazilian jiu-jitsu stud Ricardo Almeida in Hamilton, N.J. — has been active since 2007 on the northeast fighting circuit. He has finished his last three opponents via technical knockout under the Ring of Combat banner.
This will mark the first fight for Catone inside the Octagon.
UFC 91, of course, is headlined by the blockbuster fight between heavyweight champion Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar. Top lightweight contenders Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson are also expected to be in action.
To check out the lates UFC 91 fight card and rumors click here.
On July 25, the New York State Assembly Tourism, Arts, and Sports Development Committee got one step closer to finally legalizing the sport of MMA in “The Empire State” when Governor David Paterson appointed Melvina Lathan as chairperson of the New York State Athletic Commission.
Lathan has an accomplished background in boxing, having judged 235 professional boxing matches, including 82 title fights.
While many boxing professionals (and purists) are quick to denounce the sport of mixed martial arts, Lathan isn’t one of them.
From Lathan’s interview with the Newark Star Ledger:
“I believe that at some point (MMA) will have to be sanctioned in New York. Obviously, I can’t say as much as I would like to say because it really happens through the legislative process here, and I don’t want to say anything that will hinder its progress. But I feel positive because it is a fast-growing sport and one of the most popular sports. It is an intense sport, it is a difficult sport, but it is so different from boxing. I believe that there is room for the two sports, but you can’t compare them. A lot of people are afraid of what they don’t know. If they were more educated about sport … it would be easier for them to accept it.”
Lathan is set to assume duties at the beginning of 2009, when current chairperson Ron Scott Stevens finishes his five-year term.
While it’s refreshing to hear her enthusiastic approach, she does recognize that most New York lawmakers suffer from an education deficit. To help rally the cause, the UFC is leading the charge with some of its more popular NY-based fighters to help spread the word.
Enter former UFC welterweight champion Matt “The Terror” Serra.
Alongside disciples Pete “Drago” Sell and George Sotiropolous, Serra came to the UFC 88: “Breakthrough” viewing party last night at Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club in New York City to help further the cause.
From Serra:
“I’m a New Yorker, so of course nothing would make me happier than fighting in my home state. I like going to Vegas as much as the next guy, but its crazy to think that some antiquated law is keeping us out of a place like Madison Square Garden. You know the kind of money [Manhattan] could make with a UFC pay-per-view? Look what they did at the Target Center. We got some passionate fans here and we would blow the roof off this place.”
Serra has been one of the driving forces behind MMAfacts.com — a Web site the UFC recently set up to help legalize the sport of MMA. Part of the movement is to get MMA fans to visit the site and send an INTELLIGENT and COHERENT email to their local legislator calling for action.
Well, what are you waiting for?
Interesting to hear Joe Rogan talk to Dana White about an injury to Karo Parisyan — even though it doesn’t appear to be the one the forced him off the UFC 88: “Breakthrough” card just 24 hours before showtime:
Former welterweight champion Matt Serra was the host of a UFC 88: “Breakthrough” viewing party last night at Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club in New York City.
The special event was to highlight support for bringing mixed martial arts to the “Big Apple” once and for all.
MMAmania.com Editor and Senior Writer Jesse Holland was on the scene rubbing elbows with Serra and several other fighters in attendance. He’ll provide a complete breakdown of the festivities later on. In the meantime, check out some of the pictures from the event after the jump.
Continue reading ‘UFC 88 viewing party with Matt Serra at 40/40 Club (Pics)’
Props: UFC.com (Click the link to watch it free.)
UFC 88 videos post fight with Rashad Evans, Chuck Liddell, Rich Franklin, Matt Hamill, Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt
By: MMAmaniaRashad Evans on Chuck Liddell win and Chuck Liddell on Rashad Evans loss:
The remaining UFC 88 post-fight videos after the jump.
Move over hamburger, it’s time for something meatier.
Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell was robbed of his chance to fight for the light heavyweight title on December 27 at UFC 92 when he was knocked out at UFC 88 ‘Breakthrough’ by “Sugar” Rashad Evans.
That Evans, what a party-pooper.
Liddell will remain on the card (assuming he’s cleared medically), but he’ll have to watch from the sidelines as someone else tries to deforest ‘Griffin’.
Will it be the 12-0-1 Rashad Evans?
Dana White confirmed today at the UFC 88 post-fight press conference that Evans next fight will indeed be for the light heavyweight title, though an exact date has yet to be determined.
I’m sure there are some finer details to be worked out, since the UFC brass is probably just as shell-shocked as the rest of us over Saturday’s developments.
In his post-fight interview, Evans seemed content to continue fighting fellow contenders, but apparently Dana and Co. are willing to reward him for such a significant victory.
Whether it’s against current champ Forrest Griffin this December or another competitor in early 2009 remains to be seen, though I would imagine whoever the champion is will be paying close attention to the outcome of Evans fight with Chuck Liddell.
As will everyone else: It’s bound to be played on highlight reels for years to come.
After years of racking up highlight-reel knockouts, Chuck “The Iced-man” Liddell finally knows what it feels like to be someone else’s stepping stone. It’s safe to say the main event at UFC 88: “Breakthrough” at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia provided the most shocking upset of the year.
And perhaps the most brutal since Mirko Cro Cop was nearly decapitated by Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 70.
For those of you just joining us, Rashad Evans delivered three cases of unconscious to Chuck Liddell’s doorstep nearly two minutes into the second round.
If you’re sitting there shaking your head, don’t worry. I can hardly believe it myself.
Had someone told me during The Ultimate Fighter 2 that both Keith Jardine and Rashad Evans would go on to defeat the once-invincible Liddell, I would have had them taken away by burly men in little white coats.
But it’s time to face facts, there is a changing of the guard in the UFC. It’s a new generation of fighters who are now making their mark - whether we’re ready for it or not.
Chuck certainly wasn’t.
Over the next few days there will be a lot of speculation as to why Chuck came up short against a fighter he was picked to beat. In my own personal opinion, I thought Chuck looked his age. Maybe a step slower. Perhaps another inch in the waistline.
Still gifted? Of course. Still capable of knocking out anyone? You bet.
But on Saturday night he got caught against a young and hungry fighter who truly believed he could pull off the upset.
UFC 88: “Breakthrough” from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on September 6 has come to a close. The main event of the evening had perhaps the most shocking upset of the year and will definitely be talked about ad nauseam through the next event and beyond.
Despite a couple of other one-sided contests, the promotion rewarded Kurt Pellegrino & Thiago Tavares, as well as others, for their outstanding performances with cold hard cash.
Here are the special fight bonuses for UFC 88:
Knockout of the Night - Rashad Evans
Submission of the Night - Jason MacDonald
Fight of the Night - Kurt Pellegrino & Thiago Tavares
Each fighter received $60,000 for their efforts in addition to their respective base salaries, which we will pass along as soon as humanly possible.
Congratulations goes out once again to Rashad Evans for doing what no one else expected him to by knocking out Chuck Liddell. “The Iceman” is definitely going to feel that one in the morning.
For complete UFC 88 results and blow-by-blow coverage of the main card action click here.
“Who would have expected that? And Chuck is still out!”
– UFC commentator Joe Rogan comments on the unbelievable result at UFC 88: “Breakthrough” tonight when Rashad Evans iced Chuck Liddell with an absolutely devastating overhand right to knockout the former light heavyweight champion. And he was out for a very long time. Wow … stunning. Seriously fucking stunning.
