UFC NEWS: Featherweight Josh Grispi comments on "emotional roller coaster" of opponent shake up for UFC debut

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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The end of 2010 pulled featherweight Josh Grispi in a number of directions. Initially slated to meet Erik Koch at WEC 52, Grispi was pulled from that fight to get a shot at Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo at UFC 125 when the UFC announced the merger between the two organizations.

Then, when Aldo was forced out due to injury, Grispi took a fight with replacement opponent Dustin Poirier, dropping him from the co-main event to the night's unaired preliminary card. Grispi detailed some of his thoughts on the shake-ups in an interview this week with The Boston Herald.

"It's been crazy. It's been an emotional roller coaster," Grispi said. "I was excited for the title fight, but everything was going way too good to actually happen. And then it did. He got hurt. That stuff happens and you have to be ready for it."

Grispi faced some criticism for the decision to take a replacement fight instead of waiting for Aldo to recover, but Grispi said he didn't even consider waiting for that fight initially.

"I never really asked [to wait for Aldo]," Grispi said. "[The UFC] just said, 'Hey, do you want to fight this guy?' I said, 'I don't care, I'll fight anyone.' We thought about it afterward, but you can't pull out of a fight now and say, 'I only want to fight Aldo.' I think it will be good to get a fight in there and then fight Aldo with some momentum. I'm going to be here for a while. No matter what happens, I'm going to keep fighting and get a shot at the title eventually."

"I'm going in there to fight, not to put on a show or anything. I'm really just trying to try to hurt the guy on the other side of the cage. People see that and they like that."

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: It's a shame this fight is on the unaired preliminary card right now, and I hope the UFC finds a way to get it on the broadcast. Grispi is a very deserving featherweight challenger, but another win under his belt wouldn't hurt. Poirier is extremely dangerous, and very much could win this fight, but I'd expect to see Grispi continue on the path he's been forging for himself in the WEC and now the UFC. The kid is very talented and one of the most dangerous challenges for anyone at 145 lbs.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_7942.shtml

Arman Gambaryan Manvel Gamburyan Sean Gannon Edgar Garcia Leonard Garcia

The Rumors Are Now Confirmed: Alistair Overeem Will Fight Todd Duffee At "DYNAMITE!!" 2010

It?s been rumored to be going down for some time now, and it?s just now been confirmed as official. Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion and 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix Champion Alistair Overeem will be competed at the upcoming New Year?s Eve ?DYNAMITE!! 2010? super-show, a co-promotional effort between Japanese MMA promotion DREAM and famed kickboxing promotion [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/12/29/the-rumors-are-now-confirmed-alistair-overeem-will-fight-todd-duffee-at-dynamite-2010

Shane The Engineer Carwin  Jason Hollywood Chambers Ryo Piranha Chonan  Dan The Sandman Christison  Logan The Pink Pounder Clark 

UFC NEWS: Georges St. Pierre bests Sidney Crosby again, named "Canadian Athlete of the Year" for the third straight year

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre has been named Sportsnet's Canadian Athlete of the Year for the third straight year.

This year's AOTY race was contested as a 16-man tournament, with Canadian fans voting over 16 days to determine the winners of each round including the finals.

St. Pierre, who defeated both Dan Hardy and Josh Koscheck in 2010, made his way through a difficult bracket and the vote came down to him and Sidney Crosby of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. Crosby scored the winning goal in overtime over Team USA in the Olympics this February to give Canada their second gold medal in hockey in eight years, but it was St. Pierre who took home the honors.

"Winning the Rogers Sportsnet Canadian Athlete of the Year award for the third time means a lot to me," St. Pierre said in comments made to sportsnet.ca. "This year there were a lot of nominees that I really respect, so I am honoured that the fans chose me. Thanks to all my fans for their support."

St. Pierre becomes the first athlete to three-peat with the award, as he took the crown from 2007 winner Crosby in 2008, and followed it up in 2009 as well. Steve Nash of the NBA's Phoenix Suns is the only other athlete to win the award in back-to-back years.

"I have always said that GSP is not only a great champion and a great athlete, he is a great human being," UFC President Dana White said. "Not only does he represent his title and the sport well, he is also an incredible representative for Canada. I am so happy to see him get what he deserves. Congratulations Georges St. Pierre."

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: Though he might not be the most famous athlete to come out of Canada, as White insists, but there's no arguing GSP's place in his home country in 2010. After headlining a record crowd for the UFC this month and now earning this nod for the third straight year, it's clear that St. Pierre resonates with the Canadian fans in a big way. But it shouldn't be much of a surprise, the greatest fighter on the planet deserves that type of recognition.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_7928.shtml

Jimmy Smith Maurice Mo Smith Patrick Smith Scott Smith Renato Babalu Sobral

WEC 53's Three Stars: Pettis, Wineland and Cruz

The WEC went out with a bang on Thursday night, leaving MMA fans with memories of crazy kicks, talented fighters and another reliably exciting card. Who rose above?

No. 1 star -- Anthony Pettis: This was an easy choice. Pettis won the WEC lightweight belt by realizing that he was in a razor-close fight, and then hitting one of the craziest moves MMA fans have ever seen. His off-the-wall kick made Sportscenter's top plays and was nothing short of Matrix-esque. The scary thing about Pettis is that he's just 23 years old.

No. 2 star -- Eddie Wineland: The WEC's first bantamweight champ closed the promotion with a humongous slam knockout of Ken Stone. His first-round KO was Wineland's fourth win in a row. Though Urijah Faber is the obvious next contender for Dominick Cruz's belt, Wineland is making a case to be in the upper echelon of the UFC bantamweights.

No. 3 star -- Dominick Cruz: The new UFC bantamweight champ didn't finish Scott Jorgensen, but that has more to do with Jorgensen's stone chin than Cruz's lack of ability. Cruz executed a perfect gameplan, sticking and moving throughout the entire fight and taking down Jorgensen with ease. On Twitter last night, I heard fans say that Cruz didn't engage, and that's just crazy talk. Cruz engaged; Jorgensen just couldn't keep up with him. For those who don't like his quick-footed style ... haters gonna hate

A special mention to the WEC: World Extreme Cagefighting earned the reputation of always giving fans exciting cards. Last night was no different. Though the main card had a few less-than-exciting rounds, the main events delivered. As that promotion ends and gives way to the UFC, one last kudos to the little promotion that could. 

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/WEC-53-s-Three-Stars-Pettis-Wineland-and-Cruz?urn=mma-297383

Allan Goes Takanori The Fireball Kid Gomi Akihiro Gono Gabriel Gonzaga Lyman Good

BELLATOR NEWS: Daniel Gracie officially announced for season four light heavyweight tournament

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Bellator on Wednesday officially announced the signing of Daniel Gracie to their season four light heavyweight tournament.

The signing had been reported earlier this month, but Bellator has made it official, and confirmed his participation in the tournament.

"The Gracie family has truly influenced MMA as we know it today and I'm proud to say that heritage continues when Daniel steps into the Bellator cage to try to become our Light Heavyweight Champion," said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. "A Gracie back in the tournament format, is reminiscent of the days when the Gracie's dominated MMA and that's something I'm excited to see."

Gracie returned to action in November of this year after four years away from the sport, and will enter Bellator in 2011 with a 5-2-1 career record.

"I feel faster and like my technique is better when I fight at light heavyweight. I also feel like my cardio is much improved and I'm much more explosive at 205 lbs.," said Gracie. "I feel like I'm just better all around at light heavyweight."

"This Bellator tournament is the Gracies getting back to our origins. The tournament is the way the Gracies got started in MMA. That will give me extra motivation to win this tournament... I'm imagining myself winning this tournament, I have nothing but winning this tournament on my mind right now. Of course I know that anything can happen in MMA, but one thing I guarantee everyone that tunes in is that I'm going to put on a great show. You can bet on that"

Penick's Analysis: Gracie's the one name that was already known, so the rest of the field should continue to be revealed in the coming weeks. Though he was out of the sport for four years, he'll be highly competitive in this eight man tournament in 2011.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Bellator/article_7927.shtml

Per Eklund Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko Yasubey Enomoto