Pettis steals UFC title shot: Henderson shocked by fifth round cage walking kick

If anyone thought the UFC would have trouble promoting a WEC-UFC lightweight title unification bout, think again. Anthony Pettis pulled the upset on former WEC champ Ben Henderson by using one of the craziest moves in MMA history.

Pettis landed a wacky head kick after he ran up the side of the cage. A stunned Henderson hit the deck with less than 90 seconds left in the fight. In a back and forth five rounder, that was pretty even inside the final two minutes, the stunning kick locked up the win for Pettis.

He took the title and earned himself a shot against the UFC lightweight champ with a unanimous decision win 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46. Cagewriter scored it 48-47 for Pettis.

Frank Edgar, the current UFC 155-pound champ defends his title on Jan. 1 against Gray Maynard. Pettis gets the winner some time in 2011. That kick will be the centerpiece of the UFC's highlight reel heading into the title showdown.

"We practice that all the time in the cage," Pettis told WEC announcer Craig Hummer. " (Pettis' trainer) Duke Roufus says just have fun in the cage. I got 10 more of them kicks coming. How do you like that to end the WEC?"

Pettis (13-1, 6-1 WEC) goes down as the final lightweight champ in WEC history. Zuffa's smaller promotion is being folded into the much more popular UFC. Many of the fighters from the WEC's 135, 145 and 155 pound weight classes will be brought on board. UFC actually started mixing in some of the WEC's roster on two cards earlier this month. 

Henderson (12-2, 5-2 WEC) will be one of those guys. He was likely a good five minutes away from getting his shot at Edgar or Maynard. Henderson was the better grappler in the fight but had trouble finding his range on the feet. It was an even fight entering the final round. Pettis was effective most of the fight on the counter-strike and really got hot in the fifth.  

Pettis blasted Henderson on a combination with 3:50 left. He also landed a brutal knee as Henderson charged in for a takedown with 2:53 left. Henderson scored a takedown with 2:20 left and got Pettis' back but he got a little impatient going for the choke and he allowed his opponent to escape with 1:28 left. The fighters circled for a while and then Pettis attempted his running kick with 1:04 left. He nailed Henderson, who fell to his back. Pettis got off 41 unanswered punches and hammer fists, while Henderson clutched at his leg on the ground. The kick and final minute sealed the victory.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Pettis-steals-UFC-title-shot-Henderson-shocked-?urn=mma-297147

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"JZ" seeks rematch with Josh Thomson in Strikeforce in his hometown

Once regarded as the world’s consensus top-3 lightweight fighters in the world, Gesias Cavalcante is looking for some redemption. The former K-1 Hero’s champion was last seen in action on the losing side of a controversial decision loss to Josh Thomson under the Strikeforce banner last October. During the three round affair, “JZ” appeared to [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/12/26/jz-seeks-rematch-with-josh-thomson-in-strikeforce-in-his-hometown

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Jason Miller Says He Over Nick Diaz, Says Diaz Ducked Him

A possible bout between Jason Miller and Nick Diaz looks to now be dead in the water has Miller now says that he has washed his hands with Diaz:<br><br> "I figured that maybe if I made enough noise about it, it would come to fruition. I knew that one of two things was going to happen. Either I was going to get the fight with Diaz and expose him, show that he's not some damn unstoppable, pitter-pat punching tank, but just some dude who can get beat up. Or, the other option, I was going to expose him for what he is, which is a guy who picks favorable fights constantly."<br><br> "We said 181, but they wouldn't take it."<br><br> "They want me to be totally emaciated to make the weight. Meanwhile, he's calling out Anderson Silva to make himself look tough."<br><br> "You jumped me on TV. It's a damn storyline that's real. This isn't manufactured drama. This isn't The Ultimate Fighter TV show. It's real. I'm disappointed the fight didn't happen, but whatever. Honestly, I was being selfish. I was picking a fight that I think I can win, and that he thinks he can win. And we both dislike each other, so that always makes for a fantastic fight."<br><br> "For now, I'm over it. We watched the massive 'Nick-tuck' and that's that. That's the Nick-tuck. That will be forever etched in there, and if he ever fights up a weight class we're all going to have a good laugh about how he ducked 'Mayhem'. That's the long and short of it and every Gracie Jiu-Jitsu website can paint how they want, but we all watched it in real time. We saw it unfold. I'm not concerned about it any more. I chased him around enough."<br><br> Props: MMAFighting.com

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

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Jason Mayhem Miller talks Nashville Brawl and talks Entrances - Jason Mayhem Miller

MMA H.E.A.T.'s Karyn Bryant tries to wrangle "Most Memorable Ring Entrance" winner Jason "Mayhem" Miller on the red carpet and backstage at the 2010 Fighters Only World MMA Awards. Mayhem is his usual low-key self as he discusses the fallout from the "Bash in the Nash," how he puts together his award-winning ringwalks and his perseverance in the sport of MMA. In addition, Mayhem comes up with an appropriate name for the Fighters Only trophy.Be sure to visit http://www.MMAheat.com for more interviews and our 1/2 hour show. Nós falamos Português!* We're on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MMAheat* Follow MMAheat on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MMAheat* Follow Karyn on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/KarynBryant

Source: http://mmalice.com/jason-mayhem-miller/jason-mayhem-miller-talks-nashville-brawl-and-talks-entrances-video_ae1e78010.html

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Pedro Rizzo: I will end my career in the UFC

Pedro Rizzo is a lot of things. He’s a pioneer in our sport, a knockout artist, proud Brazilian and an all around good guy. But one thing that the Nova Uniao product is not, is a UFC fighter. Once one of the most feared fighters to grace the octagon, a 20-something-year-old Rizzo was something that [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/12/26/pedro-rizzo-i-will-end-my-career-in-the-ufc

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Strikeforce Champ Nick Diaz Signs Multi-Year Contract Extension

Courtesy of Strikeforce, there will be one less welterweight champion standing in the unemployment line. On Tuesday, the San Jose, California based promotion announced they have inked Nick Diaz to a multi-year contract extension. ?I?m looking forward to continuing my career with Strikeforce,? said Diaz.  ?When I first got here, there weren?t a lot of [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/63390/strikeforce-champ-nick-diaz-signs-multi-year-contract-extension/

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Thiago Alves expects to see action in May

Fresh off a hard-fought win over John Howard at UFC 124 earlier this month, and a successful weigh-in beforehand, Thiago Alves appears ready to return to the Octagon and anticipates doing so this May against an unnamed opponent. Alves mentioned the expected bout on Twitter, adding that he didn?t know who he would be facing [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2010/12/25/thiago-alves-expects-to-see-action-in-may/

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