Ivan Menjivar on fight with Mike Easton: I just want to have a beautiful fight

Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber were opposing coaches on the first live season of The Ultimate Fighter. Thee season would culminate in a rubber match between both coaches. It was slated to be the biggest grudge-match of the bantamweight division and had the full force of UFC’s marketing machine behind it; until trajedy struck.Cruz was forced out due to an ACL injury and Faber was told that Michael McDonald was injured and that Renan Barao didn’t want to leave Brazil to fight him, leaving Faber with the

Jake Ellenberger: I can’t sleep at night after losing to Kampmann

In an interview from the Reign Training Center courtesy of MMAInterviews.tv, UFC Welterweight Jake Ellenberger chronicles his struggles after losing a pivotal bout against Martin Kampmann at The Ultimate Fighter: Live Finale. Ellenberger says he does want to make any excuses, but did go into that bout at only 70% of his full health after a drastic weight cut. Stating that he is looking for a top-ten opponent, Ellenberger is hungry to get back on track towards the title. He suggests facing Johnny Hendricks

Forrest Griffin: I never thought I would wind up a UFC champion

At UFC 148, Tito Ortiz will step into the Octagon for the final time as a fighter. Much has been written about Ortiz’s farewell bout and his induction into the UFC Hall of Fame on July 7, but what of his opponent, Forrest Griffin? In an exclusive interview with our good friend: Bryan Levick at Fightline.com, the Georgia native discusses Tito Ortiz, Shogun Rua and his own future.
Griffin began his career in the UFC  thrilling fans in his performance during The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale, a fight

UFC 147: Sarafian drops out due to injury, replaced by Moraes

Yet another injury has forced a lineup change to UFC 147. According to the UFC, Daniel Sarafian (7-2), from The Ultimate Fighter Brazil, has been injured and cannot compete in this Saturday’s UFC 147: Silva vs. Franklin II.
Sergio “Serginho” Moraes (6-1), originally a Team Vitor prospect who was switched to Team Wanderlei mid-season, will be substituting for Sarafian at the Finale. Moraes, a solid jiu-jitsu expert  will now face Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira (4-2) to determine the first-ever middleweight

TUF Brazil veterans Viana vs. Teixeira, added to UFC 147 preliminary card

Featherweight Hugo “Wolverine” Viana (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will take on John “Macapa” Teixeira (13-0-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) on next week’s UFC 147 preliminary card on FX. This will be the first eliminated cast member fight between two fighters from “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil”; reports MMAJunkie.com.UFC 147 is set for June 23 at Estadio Jornalista Felipe Drumond (also known as “Mineirinho”) in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin will fight a rematch against Wanderlei Silva in the

TUF Live Finale: medical suspensions

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has suspended 9 fighters from The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale for medical reasons, according to MMAWeekly.com. Martin Kampmann and Jake Ellenberger, who fought in the Main Event, and the Ultimate Fighter winner, Michael Chiesa, are at the top of the list.
None of the injuries were particularly obvious on the night of the fights and are mostly for precautionary reasons.
Ultimate Fighter Live Finale Medical Suspensions:- Martin Kampmann is suspended until August 1 with

TUF Live Finale Results Recap: Michael Chiesa chokes out Al Iaquinta

The Ultimate Fighter: Live Finale is in the books and showcased some of the best young up-and-coming talent in the UFC. The main event and TUF finale delivered on all fronts.
Jake “The Juggernaut” Ellenberger and Martin Kampmann met in the main event for a perceived Welterweight title shot. Ellenberger came out with a flurry, landing an excellent left hook that dropped Kampmann. Never easy to finish, Kampmann weathered Ellenberger’s ground-and-pound and worked for a guillotine from the bottom

Kenny Florian hangs up his gloves: I had a great career, now it is time to move on

It is official, Kenny Florian (16-6, 12-5 UFC) has retired from fighting. Florian made his announcement after the weigh-ins for “The Ultimate Fighter Live” finale.UFC President Dana White made the initial announcement:  “He’s been an amazing fighter, an amazing ambassador for this sport and for this company, and now going on to bigger and better things as a commentator.”Florian told the crowd: “It’s something I’ve been grappling with for a while. When I look

Injuries create changeup to UFC on FX 4

The UFC announced today that Brock Jardine (9-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will replace Papy Abedi (8-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) in a welterweight match against Rick Story (13-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) on next month’s UFC on FX 4. The irony is that Abedi was a replacement for Rich Attonito (10-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC), who was previously dropped from the card due to injury.
Jardine is making his UFC debut on the strength of a three-fight win streak. Jardine, whose sole career loss came at the hands of “The Ultimate Fighter 14” champion Tony

Roy Nelson on Pro-wrestling: What’s wrong with being a two-sport athlete?

Roy Nelson (16-7 MMA, 3-3 UFC), a UFC heavyweight fan-favorite and winner of “The Ultimate Fighter 10”, has received nothing but praise for his ability to absorb punishment. In spite of that, with three losses in his last four fights, he may be cut from the UFC if he does not win against Dave Herman (21-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) this Saturday at UFC 146.
The always upbeat Nelson had nothing but praise for his opponent, as reported on MMAjunkie.com: “Dave’s one of the most versatile guys out there. He’ll take you to