Chael Sonnen contemplates a weight class jump, potential battle with Jones

In the following interview, Chael Sonnen talks to Ariel Helwani about his loss to UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, the rumors of appealing the outcome and Sonnen’s future in the sport, whether that means retirement or facing maybe another Champion in a different division.Their headline bout at UFC 148 was somewhat controversial as many spectators watched as Silva threw a knee to what looked like Sonnen’s face without a referee stoppage: “First of all I would never appeal a loss, the ref’s decision

Sonnen: It is real easy to win, but you gotta know how to lose

On last night’s UFC on FuelTV: Munoz vs. Weidman weigh-in show, Chael Sonnen assisted Jay Glazer and Stephan Bonnar and addressed some of the issues that resulted from his recent loss to Anderson “Spider” Silva at UFC 148.
The main topic was the knee to the chest that he took from Spider, many fans watching live mistook it for a knee to the head and hence, an illegal strike: “The knee really hurt. All those shots hurt. But here’s the reality, we don’t do instant replay in this sport, and

Edson Barboza moves into the Final Eight for ESPN’s 2012 ESPY Awards

Edson Barboza (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is one of eight finalists in the 2012 ESPY Awards. An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade presented by ESPN to recognize outstanding individual and team athletic achievement. Barboza has been nominated for his wheelhouse kick knock out of Terry Etim at UFC 142 in Brazil this past January.
To say Barboza is elated would be the understatement of the year. His kick earned him a pair of bonuses for both “Knockout of the Night”

Three legends retire: Fedor Emelianenko, Tito Ortiz and Peter Aerts

The Last Emperor, the Huntington Beach Bad Boy and the Dutch Lumberjack are hanging up their gloves. The worlds of MMA and Kickboxing will be a smaller place without them; these three champions have thrilled fans for decades and 2012 is the last time we will see any of them fight. Although this writer does not like to loosely toss around the word, “legends”, in these three cases, the word is wholly appropriate.
Fedor Emelianenko fought his last bout on June 21 with a knockout victory over Pedro Rizzo in

Five misconceptions about Fedor Emelianenko

As Fedor Emelianenko heads into what has been billed as his “farewell bout”, misconceptions about “The Last Emperor” continue to swirl around the internet. It is one thing for a fighter to be called “the greatest martial artist of all time” by promoters, fans and management times; it is quite another to receive such praise from a fighter’s peers. Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez and others have gone on record saying that Emelianenko was one of the best.
Despite his record of 33 wins, 4 losses and 1 “No

UFC Fan Expo in July to host more than 50 stars under one roof

The Ultimate Fighting Championship announced today that more than 50 UFC and Strikeforce stars are scheduled to appear at the UFC Fan Expo on Friday, July 6 and Saturday, July 7 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. Fans will have the chance to meet their favorite stars during autograph sessions, Q&A sessions, meet and greets, training and development seminars and other special events. The UFC Fan Expo is coinciding with UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II.
Fighters scheduled for the UFC Fan

Tito Ortiz to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in July

Tito Ortiz (16-10) will officially retire at UFC 148 in Las Vegas. One of the few fighters to have fought all of his bouts in the UFC, the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy”, will be honored by induction into the organization’s Hall of Fame that same weekend.This was confirmed by MMAWeekly.com after the UFC 150 press conference held in Denver by UFC President Dana White. White told MMAWeekly: “He pound for pound was doing some of the most damage at a time when we were hurting,but it’s part of our

Four reasons why it would be great to see Brock Lesnar in the UFC again

UFC President Dana White said that former Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar requested to have a “sit-down” with him over a potential return to UFC after UFC 146. Unfortunately, according to White: “The meeting that we had didn’t really go very well. It wasn’t a great meeting. It was probably one of the worst meetings we’ve ever had with Brock Lesnar. I honestly have not talked to him since, so I don’t know where we are at. So, all the stuff you are seeing on the Internet is

UFC 146 shuffle: Roy Nelson to face Gabriel Gonzaga, Shane del Rosario to fight Stipe Miocic

After the announcement that the UFC will not wait for the results of Alistair Overeem’s NSAC hearing and his subsequent replacement as number-one contender by Frank Mir, many scheduling changes had to be made on the UFC 146 card. First Cain Velasquez found a new opponent I the form of Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. Now, it has been revealed that Roy “Big Country” Nelson will be fighting former UFC contender Gabriel Gonzaga instead of his original opponent Silva.
Gonzaga, well-known for