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

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

Stefan Struve vs. Stipe Miocic scheduled for UFC on Fuel TV 5

News just arose that the UFC’s first foray into Nottingham, England, will feature a shootout between two of the promotion’s best rising Heavyweights. Stipe Miocic and Stefan Struve are set to battle it out in the main event of UFC on Fuel TV 5 the September 29th card. Stefan Struve revealed news today via Twitter.com:

Fighting Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC Fuel 5! Happy to come back to Fight in Europe, proud to be main event! It’s gonna be great!!
— Stefan Struve (@StefanStruve) June 15,

Johny Hendricks: My next goal is to finish Martin Kampmann

UFC Welterweight contender Johny Hendricks was promised a title shot with a win against Josh Koscheck, however it appears that will have to wait until the belts are unified when champion Georges St. Pierre tentatively faces off against Interim champ Carlos Condit at UFC 154 on November 17th from Montreal. Hendricks faces the task of winning another high level bout, this time against Martin Kampmann. While the prospect may not excite him, Hendricks knows what he has to do to eventually accomplish his goal.

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

Junior dos Santos agrees to random blood draws in his fight against PEDs

Today news surfaced that UFC Heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos has continued his outspoken stance against the use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in MMA. After going through a veritable circus surrounding the 14:1 T:E levels of his original opponent Alistair Overeem before UFC 146, he subsequently found out that his replacement foe Frank Mir was indeed on Testosterone Replacement Therapy. Mir’s use was regulated and approved of by the commission, and it did not seem to help him, as dos Santos