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'Rampage' Jackson vs Rashad Evans grudge match official for UFC 114 on May 29

by James Kimball on Mar 18, 2010 4:06 PM EDT Comment 56 comments

It's been talked about, hyped, analyzed, and scrutinized.

Now it's official.

The long anticipated bout between The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 coaches Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and "Suga" Rashad Evans was formally announced by the UFC today as the headlining contest for UFC 114, which is set to go down on May 29 from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Of course, "Suga" Rashad was originally booked to settle his differences with the Tennessee native in the main event of UFC 107 on Dec. 12 following his return to the reality show franchise as a coach at war with Jackson in the heavyweight season populated with big bellies and behemothic beards.

Unfortunately "Rampage" didn't stick to the script.

That's because Jackson was cast as "B.A. Baracus" in the upcoming theatrical remake of "The A-Team," which filmed in Vancouver on a two-month commitment, effectively preventing him from being fully prepared to compete in front of his hometown crowd of Memphis for the first time ever inside the Octagon.

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UFC won't hold live 'Nashville' event, but televised counter-programming still likely for April 17

by Jesse Holland on Mar 18, 2010 4:01 PM EDT Comment 7 comments

The Strikeforce: "Nashville" CBS fight card will apparently be let off the hook for its debut in "Music City" next month.

Well, sort of.

MMA Fighting is reporting that Zuffa has bailed on a proposed April 17 event, also in Nashville, that would have aired on its cable television partner Spike TV in an effort to impact its rival's ticket sales and television ratings.

No more.

And one has to imagine that even the world's largest fight promotion had a hard time booking an event on six weeks notice -- considering they already have five events under the Zuffa umbrella planned through April 24.

Simply put, there may not have been enough talent to fill a card worth watching.

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Bellator Fighting Championships adds Ryan McGivern to middleweight tournament

by Press Release on Mar 18, 2010 4:01 PM EDT Comment 2 comments

CHICAGO, Ill. (March 18, 2010) - Ryan McGivern, the former IFL champion and longtime pupil of former UFC Champion Pat Miletich, is the latest addition to Bellator Fighting Championships' upcoming Season 2 middleweight tournament roster.

The 30-year-old McGivern boasts an overall professional record of 13-6 including wins over UFC veteran Matt Horwich and WEC veteran Dan Molina. A native of Bettendorf, Iowa, he was a four-time letter-winner in wrestling at the University of Iowa.

"With his experience in a top NCAA wrestling program and in the IFL, Ryan McGivern brings some great credentials to our 185 tournament," said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. "With him and the rest of the middleweights that we've signed, I can tell you that there are going to be some very exciting fights beginning next month."

McGivern is the sixth confirmed participant in Bellator's eight-man middleweight tournament, joining Bryan "The Beast" Baker, Jared Hess, Sean Loeffler, Matt Major and Eric Schambari. The group boasts a combined overall winning percentage of .829 (68-14).

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Alessio Sakara vs James Irvin UFC on Versus video fight talk

by Jesse Holland on Mar 18, 2010 2:44 PM EDT Comment 8 comments

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Daniel Roberts: 'If I was going to pick anybody to fight in the UFC, it would be John Howard'

by Jesse Holland on Mar 18, 2010 2:29 PM EDT Comment 7 comments

Props: Sportsnet.ca

Quoteworthy:

"Not to take anything away from Howard, but if I was going to pick anybody to fight in the UFC, it would be him. I know my ground game is a little more advanced than his. His striking is OK, I'm definitely not afraid to stand with him ... I mean I'm definitely excited but I'm not too surprised because I think I deserve to be here. I saw a lot of fighters in the UFC I knew I was a lot better than. So now I'm here. I've put my life into this. I'm extremely confident and I can't wait to fight. There's a lot of people who don't know who I am, but I fell after the fight they will know who I am."

UFC newcomer Daniel Roberts (9-0) will get his big break at the upcoming UFC on Versus event as he fills in for an injured Anthony Johnson against John Howard (13-4) on March 21 in Broomfield. Can the "Ninja" make an immediate impact in the welterweight division at the expense of Howard? Or will it be "Doomsday" for the 29-year-old grappler from Tulsa?

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Scott Jorgensen vs Antonio Banuelos inked for WEC 48 with Damacio Page hurt

by Jesse Holland on Mar 18, 2010 1:32 PM EDT Comment 6 comments

Fresh off his 31-second submission win over Chad George at WEC 47 earlier this month, Scott Jorgensen (9-3) will head back to the gym to prepare for a short notice rematch against Antonio Banuelos (17-5) at the WEC 48 pay-per-view event scheduled for the Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif., on April 24.

Jorgensen replaces Damacio Page in the bantamweight bout after "The Angel of Death" was forced to withdraw due to an undisclosed injury.

Back at WEC 41: "Brown vs. Faber 2" in July 2009, Banuelos was able to squeak past Jorgensen via close split decision. He followed that up later in the year with a unanimous decision win over Kenji Osawa at WEC 44: "Brown vs. Aldo" to extend his winning streak to three straight fights.

Like Banuelos, Jorgensen has also taken three in a row after their initial encounter last year. Aside from his disposal of George, the Boise brawler clowned Noah Thomas in October before outpointing the venerable Takeya Mizugaki just a few months later.

And revenge for the WEC 41 loss will certainly be a motivating factor heading into this rematch.

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UFC Quick Quote: With Couture on the horizon, Rich Franklin looking for one last title run

by Jesse Holland on Mar 18, 2010 12:16 PM EDT Comment 55 comments

"It’s not signed yet, but we’ve been working Randy now for a while. We’ve talked June, then we talked August and now we’re talking June again. I think we’re having problems with Randy’s scheduling. So I really don’t know what the plan is at this point. I’m at a point now where I’ve fought enough fights and it’s time for me to make a title run again and see where that takes me. That’s where my focus is now. The last show I went to was New Year’s Eve and I happened to be sitting next to Randy that night. We’re sitting there joking around. He and I went to the Middle East together. It’s not somebody that you necessarily look to for fighting. My standard answer when they say, `Hey we want you to fight so and so?’ is I say `How does Randy feel about that?’ If he’s cool with it professionally, great. That doesn’t mean we’re not going to be friends when it’s all said and done."

Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin (25-5) talks with the Boston Herald about making another run at division gold while negotiating a possible June 12 fight against living legend Randy Couture at UFC 115 in Vancouver. "Ace" was stopped in the first round of his main event fight against Vitor Belfort at UFC 103 and has remained on the sidelines ever since. A bout with "The Natural" could be entertaining -- but do any fantasy matchmakers out there have a better opponent in mind?

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