UFC NEWS: Brothers Jim and Dan Miller both get fights in front of hometown crowd at UFC 128 in New Jersey

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Brothers Jim and Dan Miller will both get an opportunity to fight in front of a hometown crowd on March 19, as they will each compete on the UFC 128 card at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Jim's previously reported bout with WEC-import Kamal Shalorus has been made official by the organization, and multiple reports state that Dan will meet Nick Catone on the card.

Dan has had a rough few years, but has gotten his MMA career back on track with consecutive victories. The wins find him bouncing back after a rough three fight losing skid that coincided with some serious personal tragedies at home, but after submitting John Salter and earning a decision over Joe Doerksen, Miller will return home to New Jersey for the his first fight in the state in three years.

Catone will attempt to halt that streak in his first fight in 15 months. He halted a two fight skid of his own at UFC Fight Night 20 last January, but numerous injuries sidelined him throughout the last year. He's 2-2 in four appearances in the UFC.

UFC 128 is set to air live on pay-per-view, headlined by a Light Heavyweight Championship bout between Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Rashad Evans.

Penick's Analysis: This is another winnable fight for the elder Miller in the middleweight division, especially with the lengthy injury layoff that Catone's been subject to in the last year. It's cool for both brothers that they'll get to compete on the same event, and it's not something that happens often. Both Joe and Dan Lauzon got the chance to fight together at UFC 108 last year, but Dan wasn't around with the organization by August to fight in front of a hometown crowd with Joe like the Miller brothers will have here. It will be a cool atmosphere for both of them, and both should have pretty good fights.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8066.shtml

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Jon Jones plans to keep it real funky against Ryan Bader at UFC 126

It is almost an understatement to refer to Jon Jones as being “dynamic”. The fast-rising light heavyweight has displayed a plethora of unorthodox strikes, kicks and throws that have devastated most opponents. Jones (11-1) realizes that he is in for a tough fight against undefeated Ryan Bader at UFC 126. Bader has already defeated MMA [...]

Jon Jones plans to keep it real funky against Ryan Bader at UFC 126 is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

Source: http://www.mmainterplay.com/ufc-news/jon-jones-plans-to-keep-it-real-funky-against-ryan-bader-at-ufc-126-53038/

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UFC NEWS: "The Korean Zombie" out of UFC Fight for the Troops 2 with injury; replacement being sought for Rani Yahya

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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"The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung will have to wait until another day to make his UFC debut, as MMAJunkie.com reports that he has suffered an injury, taking him out of a scheduled bout with Rani Yahya on the UFC Fight for the Troops 2 card later this month.

Despite an 0-2 record under the Zuffa banner, Jung's bout with Leonard Garcia at WEC 48 brought him a large amount of fans. After the split decision loss to Garcia, Jung was then knocked out be a head kick from George Roop in his second fight in the WEC.

Yahya was looking to rebound from consecutive losses himself on this card. After a three fight win streak that saw him earn three straight "Submission of the Night" bonuses, Yahya was then submitted by Joseph Benavidez and dropped a decision to Takeya Mizugaki. The UFC is currently searching for a replacement for Yahya on this card, per the report.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: That's a crappy late scratch, as this fight would have been a lot of fun. Jung didn't look good at all against Roop, but with the fight with Garcia still in fans' minds, he was given this shot in the UFC. Hopefully the injury isn't too serious and he'll be back in action sooner rather than later. As for Yahya, if they find a replacement he'll be sure to have a fun fight on the card, because even in losses Yahya's not really in bad fights.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8084.shtml

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UFC NEWS: Mike Brown replaces "The Korean Zombie" against Rani Yahya at UFC Fight for the Troops 2

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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The injury to "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung has opened up an opportunity for former WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown to erase the memory of his UFC return.

According to a report from MMAJunkie.com, Brown has stepped up on short notice to take on Rani Yahya at UFC Fight for the Troops 2 on January 22, just three weeks after his loss to Diego Nunes at UFC 125.

After defending the WEC Featherweight Title twice in 2009, Brown lost the belt to Jose Aldo. Since that fight, he's posted a 2-2 record, with stoppages of Anthony Morris and Cole Province intercut with a knockout loss to Manvel Gamburyan and last Saturday's split decision loss to Nunes.

Yahya is looking to stop a two fight skid with a move up to the featherweight division from bantamweight. The former WEC title challenger's most recent fights saw him get choked out by Joseph Benavidez and drop a decision to Takeya Mizugaki.

UFC Fight for the Troops 2 will take place from Fort Hood in Texas, airing live on Spike TV, headlined by a lightweight bout between Melvin Guillard and Evan Dunham.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: This is a great last minute replacement, and it's good to see that Brown is going to get another chance to turn things around after a disappointing return to the UFC. He hasn't seemed the same since the Aldo fight, but he'll have a last chance to turn things around. As for Yahya, a win over Brown would be huge, especially seeing as he's moving up in weight. This is a really good fight considering how late it was put together, but the loser is probably on their way out.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_8089.shtml

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Japan strikes back: Kawajiri manhandles Thomson

Japanese MMA needed this one. The nation many considered the equal to Brazil and the U.S. at one time, has fallen on hard times. The stars of Japan - Norifumi Yamamoto, Hayato Sakurai, Shinya Aoki, Kazushi Sakuraba and Takanori Gomi - got old, lazy or exposed over the last few years. Tatsuya Kawajiri gained back a small measure of that lost respect by taking out former Strikeforce lightweight champ Josh Thomson. He did it pretty easily via unanimous decision at Dynamite!! 2010 in Saitama, Japan.

Sure he was representing his country, but Kawajiri (27-6-2) individually needed the win badly as well.

He was coming off an odd performance against Aoki back in July, where the submission ace took him apart on the ground. Kawajiri refused to tap to a heel hook and was badly injured. That was the same Aoki, who looked terrible just a few months earlier against current Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez. Yes, the same Melendez who split two wars against Thomson.

It should've been an easy win for Thomson this morning, right? That's not the way it works in MMA. Styles makes fights and Kawajiri's strong wrestling made it difficult for Thomson to get his standup and dynamic kicking game going.

Kawajiri didn't do anything fancy to get Thomson (18-4) to the ground. In fact, his powerful work out of the clinch was very American-like. Once on the ground, Thomson never threatened a submission and had to constantly work to keep Kawajiri from improving his position. The Japanese star scored the mount in each round and threatened with an arm-triangle submission in the first and third rounds. 

This may serve as a wake-up call for Thomson, who recently suggested that he was getting a little bored with the sport and there was a lack of challenges at lightweight. 

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Japan-strikes-back-Kawajiri-manhandles-Thomson?urn=mma-302083

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With UFC 126 Win, Anderson SIlva Wants Bout Against Michael Bisping

UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva has a title defense coming up in just a few weeks against a former UFC Champ in Vitor Belfort but with a win over Belfort, Silva has got an idea of who he would like following that, and where it would be:<br><Br> "The British fans are very knowledgeable and passionate about MMA. I would love to fight there once more. Michael Bisping is very impressive. He's been in the UFC for a long time now and beaten some very good fighters. It would be an honor to fight him, perhaps in England. He is fast, is very busy and makes adjustments quickly. I am the champion of the world, not just Brazil or America. Being a world champion means taking on the best fighters from around the world all over the world. If the chance came I would like to fight Bisping in the UK if that's what the UFC put together." <Br><Br> Props: ESPN.co.uk

Source: http://www.mmanews.com/home.php

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Dan Henderson vs. Rafael Cavalcante expected for March event

As expected after knocking Renato Sobral out two minutes into their match-up in December, Dan Henderson will indeed get a second crack at winning Strikeforce gold with hopes of a different outcome than the one suffered in his promotional debut against Jake Shields. It now appears the double-divisional PRIDE champ also has a date and [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/01/12/dan-henderson-vs-rafael-cavalcante-expected-for-march-event/

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Phan-Garcia rematch set for March: Phan produces this judging tutorial

Nam Phan was shocked that he didn't get the decision win against Leonard Garcia at the Season 12 "Ultimate Fighter Finale." So were UFC analyst Joe Rogan, most fans and lots of MMA media members.

Phan gets his shot at revenge at Ultimate Fight Night 24 in Seattle on Mar. 26. He's hoping for a little better work from the judges and has even offered to help out. The kid shows a good sense of our humor with his "MMA Judging in Under Three Minutes" video.  

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Phan-Garcia-rematch-set-for-March-Phan-produces?urn=mma-307779

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