UFC 123 set for Auburn Hills, Michigan in November Posted by Staff (09/02/2010 @ 7:52 am) Nate Lawson of HeavyMMA.com downloads the news that UFC 123 is heading to Auburn Hills, Michigan this November. UFC 123 now has a venue, according to UFC president Dana White. MMAFighting.com reported the news earlier today that the November 20 event is set for Auburn Hills, Michigan and will take place at The Palace at Auburn Hills. UFC 123 features a light heavyweight match up between two former champions in Lyoto Machida and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, along with a welterweight contest between Matt Brown and rising prospect Rory MacDonald. Neither fight has been made official by the promotion, but are anticipated to make the card nevertheless. No other fights have been rumored yet. The event will be the first UFC event to be held in Michigan since 1996 and the second UFC event of November.
Read more mixed-martial arts articles at HeavyMMA.com. Lyoto Machida and Rampage Jackson agree to fight Posted by Staff (07/27/2010 @ 8:00 am) Nate Lawson of Heavy.com (via MMAjunkie.com) is reporting that the rumored fight between former UFC light heavyweight champions Lyoto Machida and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will become a reality as the two have agreed to meet. Machida will enter this fight coming off a disappointing knockout loss to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 113 that lost the karate ace his light heavyweight title. The loss was also his first as a professional. Like his upcoming opponent, Jackson is coming off a loss of his own. At UFC 114, Jackson met longtime nemesis and fellow former champion Rashad Evans in the main event, dropping a unanimous decision. The loss was Jackson’s first since losing the 205-pound title to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86. The bout between the two former champions is expected to serve as the main event for UFC 123 this November. No bouts have been announced by the promotion as of this date.
For more MMA news from Heavy.com, click here. What a difference 5 years makes in MMA Posted by Drew Ellis (06/05/2010 @ 9:50 am)  The main event of UFC 115 next weekend would have been one of the biggest fights ever five years ago. Former champions Rich Franklin and Chuck Liddell will meet in a fight where in all reality, the loser should retire. The winner won’t have much of anywhere to move up the ladder and the loser will really only deserve to be on a PPV undercard. It is amazing how quickly things have changed in MMA and looking back just five years ago to see who the UFC champions were and where they are now. On June 4, 2005, the UFC held UFC 53: Heavy Hitters where Franklin won the middleweight title over Evan Tanner. As of that show, here is a look at who the UFC champions were and how their careers have quickly headed south. Heavyweight Champion – Andrei Arlovski: At UFC 53, Arlovski defended his title for the first time defeating the late Justin Eilers by TKO in the first round after Eilers blew his knee out. It was Arlovski’s fifth-straight win at the time, all of which were by stoppage. Arlovski followed that win with a one-punch KO of Paul Buentello at UFC 55 and was largely considered the most dominant champion in the organization. However, a bizarre loss to Tim Sylvia at UFC 59, in which Arlovski has Sylvia beat but then was caught with as straight jab that led to a TKO loss, started the downfall of his career. Another loss to Syliva led to a five-fight winning streak, but the fighter was never quite the same. He lost his aggression and confidence and has since lost three-straight fights and is almost an afterthought in MMA. His most recent fight was a decision loss to Antonio Silva, which was a sad performance where he never showed the aggression that made him the dominant champion of five years ago. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: Mixed Martial Arts, UFC Tags: Anderson Silva, Andrei Arlovski, B.J. Penn, Chuck Liddell, Frankie Edgar, Georges St. Pierre, Matt Hughes, Mixed Martial Arts, MMA, Quinton Jackson, Rashad Evans, Rich Franklin, Sean Sherk, Tim Sylvia, UFC, Ultimate Fighting Championship
UFC 114 Picks & Predictions Posted by Drew Ellis (05/29/2010 @ 10:00 am) 
The long-awaited fight between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans finally takes place tonight, as the main event of UFC 114 from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Here are my picks for that bout and the other four fights on tonight’s PPV card. UFC Light Heavyweight Bout – Quinton Jackson (30-7) vs. Rashad Evans (19-1-1) – This fight should be exciting as both clearly dislike each other. I think the key to victory will be for Jackson to use his size on Evans and for Evans to use his quickness and wrestling on Jackson. In the end, I like Evans to utilize his hand speed and mix in more wrestling to keep Jackson off guard. Look for Evans to also utilize leg kicks, which Jackson has shown he can’t defend. I am going with Evans to win by decision in a tough fight. UFC Middleweight Bout – Michael Bisping (19-3) vs. Dan Miller (11-3) – Bisping is hungry for a strong showing after his tough decision loss to Wanderlei Silva. Miller is a game fighter that will keep Bisping on his toes, but Bisping has too much talent and big-fight experience for Miller. Look for the Brit to win by TKO in the second or third round.
UFC Heavyweight Bout – Todd Duffee (6-0) vs. Mike Russow (12-1) – Duffee has been an explosive monster in his MMA career, as he is 6-0 with six KO’s. Russow has the experience edge and will be the better grappler, but the fight always starts on the feet, where Duffee has a clear edge. Look for Russow to push Duffee a little bit before Duffee lands the big punch and scores a TKO late in round one. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: March Madness, UFC Tags: Antonio Rogerio, B.J. Penn, Dan Miller, Diego Sanchez, Forrest Griffin, John Hathaway, Michael Bisping, Mike Russow, Nogueira Jason Brilz, Quinton Jackson, Rashad Evans, Todd Duffee, Ultimate Fighting Championship
Top 10 Pound for Pound MMA Fighters in the World 8/15 Posted by Drew Ellis (08/15/2009 @ 2:00 pm) 
One month ago I had a lot of debate as to who is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. After UFC 101, my questions were answered. Long have I felt Fedor Emelianenko was the best in the world no matter the weight class, but that honor I now give to Anderson Silva following his absolutely flawless win over Forrest Griffin. The Silva victory combined with Emelianenko opting to sign with Strikeforce puts Silva at No.1 in my book. When making this list I am considering the fighters as they are today, not as they were five years ago. Emelianenko looked a little sloppy in his last fight and is now going to have much easier competition as a whole in Strikeforce, whereas Silva and Georges St. Pierre have fought the best and looked impressive doing so.
So, here is my list. As always, I encourage healthy discussions. 1. Anderson Silva (24-4) – Middleweight/Light Heavyweight – UFC
If you really look at, the Silva vs. Griffin fight was every bit as big as St. Pierre vs. Penn from a standpoint that you had a champion from one weight class facing a bigger fighter that was one fight removed from being the champion in that weight class as well. Silva made Griffin look like Glass Joe from Mike Tyson Punch Out and basically made Griffin quit out of embarrassment (which has caused me to stop reading Forrest’s book, as he know seems to look like a hypocrite). After that display, I truly feel that Silva could not only be Light Heavyweight champion, I have serious beliefs that he is the kind of guy that could actually beat a guy like Brock Lesnar. His accuracy and power while backing up would be a problem for Lesnar in more ways than one. Brock wouldn’t be able to get a takedown without eating a solid knee or punch that could put him down. I know many of you think I am crazy probably, but that is the way I feel. 2. Georges St. Pierre (19-2) – Welterweight – UFC
I used to think GSP could give Silva a fight, but I don’t feel so good about that now. If Silva was to move to Light Heavyweight on a permanent basis, I would like to see GSP move up to middleweight for a new set of challenges. Guys like Mike Swick and Martin Kampmann don’t seem to present much of a challenge and nobody is going to be excited to see rematches with Jon Fitch or Thiago Alves. Middleweight could present some intriguing fights and would really test GSP. 3. Fedor Emelianenko (30-1-1) – Heavyweight – Strikeforce
Well, again this is all about present day and Fedor hasn’t done anything as of late to keep his top ranking while guys like Silva and St. Pierre are beating some of the best. Fedor had no control over what happened with Affliction: Trilogy, but the option to sign with the UFC was there and he turned it down. He has to know that UFC has better overall talent and hosting an exhibition sparring match with Gegard Mousasi is not going to get me excited. I think Fedor’s career is probably the best of anyone, but in terms of best fighter in the world today, I don’t see him as No. 1. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: Mixed Martial Arts Tags: Anderson Silva, B.J. Penn, Best MMA fighters, Brock Lesnar, Dan Henderson, Diego Sanchez, Fedor Elemianenko, Gegard Mousasi, Georges St. Pierre, Jake Shields, Jon Fitch, Lyoto Machida, Miguel Angel Torres, Miguel Torres, Mike Thomas Brown, MMA Top 10 lists, Quinton Jackson, Rampage Jackson, Rashad Evans, Thiago Alves, Top 10 MMA Fighters, Top 10 MMA fighters regardless of weight class, Urijah Faber
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