Milton Vieira, inventor of the Anaconda Choke, discusses his UFC debut

Milton Vieira (13-7), a 10-year veteran of professional MMA will be making his UFC debut at UFC 147 on June 23, against Felipe Arantes (14-4). Vieira is most famous for developing the Anaconda Choke, which was first used by his student, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, in the UFC in 2004. He took a few moments out of his hectic training schedule to speak with Lowkick.com.
Vieira has fought with many other promotions, including a one-fight contract with StrikeForce. Although most of his fights have been on

Alistair Overeem to voluntarily submit drug test today

In response to Lorenzo Fertitta’s announcement yesterday that Alistair Overeem’s fate would be decided by the NSAC, Overeem has taken to Twitter and revealed his plans to submit a random drug test today. Disgraced by his removal from the title fight at UFC 146 versus Junior dos Santos, Overeem had announced that he would be fighting in December when his nine-month suspension is fulfilled. UFC co-owner Fertitta was quick to dispense any certainty of this notion, noting yesterday that his company could not

Gray Maynard: I’m back and shooting for the belt

Gray Maynard will return to the Octagon against Clay Guida this weekend, ending a layoff that stretched back to UFC 136 last October. In a video from FuelTV.com, UFC Lightweight contender Gray Maynard details the laborious process he underwent to make changes to his training camp and overall fight game. He went to Brazil and assisted UFC Featherweight champion Jose Aldo with his wrestling. It was there he found hungry, young fighters that reinvigorated him. Maynard then made the move from Las Vegas to

Lorenzo Fertitta: Alistair Overeem’s fate is in the NSAC’s hands

UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta announced today that Alistair Overeem will not be scheduled to fight for the UFC until reinstated by the NSAC.  Currently suspended for nine months with elevated Testosterone levels,  Overeem could possibly be eligible to fight in late December. When asked about a possible year-end fight for Overeem, Fertitta quoted the following on the subject:
“That’s speculation. It’s in the NSAC’s hands.  The UFC can’t be presumptuous.” – via ESPN.com
Lorenzo Fertitta

Overeem: I will be fighting in December to get that belt sooner rather than later

Allistair Overeem claims he will be fighting in December. According to a post on his Twitter account:

I’ll be fighting again in December and mark my words, I’ll be back.. to get the belt, sooner rather later.
— Alistair Overeem (@Alistairovereem) June 18, 2012

Overeem is currently serving a 9-month suspension for testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone. the suspension was retroactive to March 27, the day of the test. That means Overeem’s suspension will expire in late December. If the

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

Thumbs Down: 5 fights that didn’t happen in 2012

It is midway through 2012, and it seems to be a bad year for injuries in the UFC. Five important fights have been cancelled or postponed this year due to injury, surgery, illness or suspension. These things are all part of the fight game and have been since day one. The nature of the sport is brutal, but injuries are not isolated to fights. Most fighters suffer their injuries in training.  As well-rounded as a UFC fighter is expected to be, it is quite easy to “overtrain”, that is, put the body

Big Nog is out of UFC 149, Shawn Jordan to step up as a replacement

UFC 149 has undergone yet another change to the card’s lineup. First Jose Aldo was out, then it was Thiago Silva, followed by Michael Bisping, Mauricio Rua and now it looks like it is Big Nog’s turn to bow out.The latest casualty affecting UFC 149 is none other than Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. “Big Nog” has not fully healed from his broken arm at the hands of Frank Mir from UFC 140 on December 10, 2011. He has been forced to drop out of his planned match-up against Cheick Kongo. According to Sherdog,

Tito Ortiz on training for Forrest Griffin and retirement

It was announced earlier this week that Tito Ortiz will be the ninth inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame and that the ceremony would coincide with his farewell fight at UFC 148. His final bout will be against Forrest Griffin, a fighter he has faced twice before in his career: winning once and losing once.
In an interview with UFC Central host, Joe Ferraro, Ortiz said that regardless of the outcome; fans will see a thrilling fight: “Forrest is a tough guy. I think is going to be an exciting fight. Of course

Dustin Pague steps up on 1 week notice to fight Ken Stone

Dustin Pague has agreed to replace an injured Francisco Rivera against Ken Stone at next week’s UFC on FX 4 event in Atlantic City, New Jersey, according to a press release by UFC. Pague is coming in hot off of a fresh win over Jared Papazian from UFC on FX 3. Rivera had to drop from the fight roster due to a staph infection.Pague represents the third opponent for this fight against Stone. Originally, Stone was set to face off against Edwin Figueroa, who had to pull out due to an injury. This fight will