Renzo Gracie Wants to Fight in UFC's Return to Brazil

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Renzo Gracie's camp wants you to know that his MMA career isn't close over and that he wants to fight on the UFC card in Brazil on Aug. 27.

MMA Fighting recently spoke to Gracie's manager, Ali Abdel Aziz of Dominance MMA Management, about the 43-year-old's desire to fight on what will be the first UFC card in Gracie's home country since October 1998.

"It's Renzo's dream to fight in a UFC in Brazil," Abdel Aziz said, "but it's up to the UFC and Dana [White] to make it happen."

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/12/22/renzo-gracie-wants-to-fight-on-ufcs-return-to-brazil/

Tim Sylvia Javier Torres Tor Troeng Nobuhiko Takada Yoshihiro Takayama

UFC NEWS: Jim Miller believes he's a top three lightweight, Dana White says he doesn't have the "it" factor

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Jim Miller is one of the most overlooked lightweights in the UFC, and after a highly impressive submission victory over Charles Oliveira at UFC 124 on Saturday night, Miller is looking to gain some respect.

"Coming into the fight, I was trying to gain a little respect, to be honest," Miller said in an interview with MMAJunkie.com after the fight. "We went into the fight with him being the favorite, which I really didn't understand. Before tonight, I was 7-1 in the UFC, and my only losses were to guys who are (No.) 1 and 2 in the division."

Miller's only career losses came to the two fighters that will meet for the UFC Lightweight Championship on January 1 at UFC 125, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. Both losses came by decision, yet Miller remains under the radar for most fans and the UFC.

"I'm not going to lie. It does eat at me a little bit," he said. "I've done nothing to show I shouldn't be No. 3 behind No. 1 and No. 2 (at 155 pounds). I've beaten all-comers. I'm here, and I'm fighting, and I want my shot at revenge."

UFC President Dana White was as surprised as anyone to see Miller pull of the kneebar submission on the previously unbeaten Oliveira on Saturday, but it left him impressed with Miller's performance.

"Let me tell you what I like about Jim Miller," White said after the event. "Jim Miller was in a position tonight where he's on this win streak, he's going in against this hyped-up kid Oliveira... this kid's a stud. He took a huge chance. I couldn't have been the only guy, when he jumped on that leg, [that] said, 'That was stupid.' He was going for that toe-lock that you catch Tank Abbott in, you know what I mean? I was thinking, 'Why would he go for that move against a guy like this when he has that top position?'

"And then he pulls off that kneebar, man. [That] shocked the s*** out of Oliveira. He didn't see that coming and neither did I. I love that. I love it [that] a kid that goes in there, takes a chance and goes after it the way that Miller did."

After the fight White said that he believes Miller is simply one of the guys without the "it" factor required to explode into the minds of fans. With that, Miller joins a line of other fighters that just have to work harder to get themselves noticed.

"Miller is one of these guys that... this kid gets so much f***ing disrespect I can't remember his name. Fitch! He's like [Jon] Fitch, you know what I mean? Fitch wins all these fights but Fitch is just one of these guys that just never clicks. That's how Miller is right now. Some guys have that 'it' factor that people just are attracted to first, and some people have to earn it.

"Chuck Liddell was that guy. Chuck Liddell was never some big, huge superstar that came out. Everybody was talking about Tito [Ortiz]. Chuck was knocking people out left and right and winning, and it took Chuck a long time. Sometimes it takes guys longer than others. But Miller is a kid that goes in and just went after it tonight. And I respect that."

Miller said in the cage after the fight that he wanted his shot, but when that shot comes will be determined at a later date, with a number of fighters still ahead of him in the heavily populated lightweight division.

Link to MMAJunkie.com report

Penick's Analysis: Miller is a criminally under-appreciated lightweight, and all he does is continue to win fights. It's tough in some respects because he hasn't beaten any top ten fighters at this point, but he hasn't gotten his chance to face too many top flight contenders in the division as of yet. Bouts with Kenny Florian, George Sotiropoulos, Sean Sherk or Evan Dunham would all make sense for his next matchup, and perhaps he'll get that breakthrough performance against one of them.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_7823.shtml

Ryuki Ueyama Caol Uno Alexander Ustinov Umer W Chheena Victor Valimaki

JAPAN NEWS: Alistair Overeem vs. former UFC heavyweight Todd Duffee reportedly set for Dynamite!! 2010 on New Year's Eve

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem may finally have an opponent for the Dynamite!! 2010 event in Japan on New Year's Eve next week. According to a report from Ariel Helwani at MMAFighting.com, former UFC heavyweight Todd Duffee has agreed to face Overeem on short notice on the card.

Duffee had initially teased at the fight on his Facebook page, though shortly thereafter deleted the initial comment. However, Helwani reports that the fight now appears set.

Considering Duffee turned down a bout with Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in Strikeforce earlier this month, the move comes as somewhat of a surprise. The 25-year-old was released from the UFC earlier this year following his first career loss, to Mike Russow at UFC 114 in May.

This will also be Overeem's first MMA fight since May, as he took a break from the sport to capture the K-1 World Grand Prix Championship earlier this month. His last MMA bout saw him defeat Brett Rogers at a Strikeforce event in St. Louis, a bout which was his first title defense for the organization since winning the belt in 2007.

The Dynamite!! 2010 New Year's Eve event will air live in North America on HDNet next week.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: Duffee's a much better name on short notice for this fight than Bobby Lashley. Duffee's in for an extremely tough fight, but he's got the power that, should he connect early, can absolutely shock and damage Overeem. Of course, this is a fight Overeem should win, especially on short notice, but Duffee's still a prospect that has potential. This is kind of a "no lose" situation for Duffee in trying to get a payday here. If he loses to Overeem, he's lost to someone that a lot of fans consider one of the best heavyweights in the world. If he wins it's one of the more shocking upsets in MMA. Either way, he gets paid, and is fighting a bigger name than Antonio Silva. It makes sense on Duffee's part. For Overeem, he definitely has much more to lose should the unthinkable happen, but this is a chance for him to get a win over a prospect taken more seriously than Lashley.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Other_News_4/article_7930.shtml

Jonathan Goulet Wilson Gouveia Jason Grace Crosley Gracie Gregor Gracie

5 Reasons Why Frank Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 2 Will Be a Lot More Exciting Than You Think

As recently as two days ago I talked about how I felt like I was one of the few MMA fans that?s really looking forward to the upcoming Frank Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 2 fight, which headlines UFC 125: ?Resolution? on New Year?s Day and is for the UFC Lightweight Championship. In fact, the more [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/12/22/5-reasons-why-frank-edgar-vs-gray-maynard-2-will-be-a-lot-more-exciting-than-you-think

Hermes Franca Rich Franklin Ian Freeman Don Frye Tony Fryklund

Nick Diaz vs. Evangelista 'Cyborg' Santos Signed for Jan. 29 Strikeforce Event

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Nick Diaz's next fight won't be against Jason "Mayhem" Miller after all.

Instead, the Strikeforce welterweight champion has agreed to defend his title against Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos on Jan. 29 in San Jose, Calif. Sources close to Strikeforce confirmed the booking with MMA Fighting early Wednesday morning.

The proposed Diaz vs. Miller fight couldn't be agreed upon by both parties due to Diaz not willing to fight at 185 and Miller not willing to drop down to 170. Neither camp was able to agree on a suitable catchweight.

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/12/22/nick-diaz-vs-evangelista-cyborg-santos-signed-for-jan-29-str/

Jon Olav Einemo Per Eklund Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko

Todd Duffee Says He's Fighting Alistair Overeem at K-1 Dynamite!! on NYE

Well it looks like his detractors won't be able to call Alistair Overeem a can crusher after New Year's Eve.

According to heavyweight prospect Todd Duffee, he and the the Strikeforce and 2010 K-1 Grand Prix champion will meet in Japan that night as the main event of Fields' K-1 Dynamite!! show.

Duffee made the announcement via his Facebook page, but quickly took the post down, but not before we grabbed a screenshot of the message in which he asked, "Have no plans on NYE? Dream Dynamite 2010: Duffee VS Overeem on HDnet!!!"

The 6-1 Evansville, Indiana native, who only fought once this year and was dropped by the UFC for his "bad attitude" according to the promotion's president Dana White, has not fought since being knocked out by Mike Russow in the third round at UFC 114 after pounding on the Chicago, Illinois native for the first twelve and a half minutes of the fight. He's scheduled to face 6-3 TUF 10 veteran Abe Wagner under the Titan Fighting Championship banner on January 29.

Overeem (33-11-1) has been equally as inactive in MMA this year, logging just one fight against Brett Rogers, whom he defeated by TKO in just under four minutes at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery in St Louis, Missouri in May.

The fight has not officially been announced, but Overeem stated last week that he was hoping for a decent opponent and that he was hoping that DREAM would put their heavyweight belt up as the prize for the winner if the match-up was belt-worthy and this fun little scrap fits the bill.

Source: http://www.cagepotato.com/todd-duffee-says-hes-fighting-alistair-overeem-k-1-dynamite-nye

Peter Graham Forrest Griffin Tyson Griffin Karn Grigorian Karen Grigoryan

UFC NEWS: "UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch" in Australia ties record for fastest sell out in UFC history

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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The UFC's return to Australia this February with UFC 127 has tied a record for the organization, as the UFC announced today that tickets for the event sold out in 30 minutes, tying a mark set by UFC 115 in Vancouver this June.

"We're ecstatic," UFC UK President Marshall Zelaznik stated in today's release. "Tickets sold out literally as quickly as the Ticketek phone lines and website would allow, and that's despite us working with our partners at Acer to add an extra 600 seats to the in-arena configuration we had at UFC 110. We will have just over 18,000 fans in attendance at UFC 127 in nine weeks' time and expect to blow the roof off."

The UFC's first trip to the Acer Arena at UFC 110 this February drew just shy of 18,000 with an official attendance of 17,831. This event will best that mark, and Zelaznik praised the fans in Australia for their support of the organization and the sport.

"The UFC's popularity is exploding in Australia, even faster than we could have expected," Zelaznik said. "Over the last 18 months, Australia has become one of the top three or four markets in the world for us. When you consider UFC programming is enjoyed by tens of millions of fans across 150 countries, that's a big statement about the passion Australian sports fans have for the UFC."

The February 27 event, headlined by a welterweight bout between B.J. Penn and Jon Fitch, will air live on pay-per-view in the U.S. on February 26 with the time delay.

Penick's Analysis: The Australian fans are clearly clamoring for the UFC, and with a very exciting card coming on February 27 it's no surprise the tickets went this fast. Penn vs. Fitch is such a highly intriguing fight that it's got most fans excited for a Jon Fitch fight for the first time since his title fight against GSP in 2008. Add to that Carlos Condit vs. Chris Lytle and George Sotiropoulos on the card, as well as an interesting fight between Michael Bisping and Jorge Rivera, and this should be a very good card for the UFC overall.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_7899.shtml

Wilson Gouveia Jason Grace Crosley Gracie Gregor Gracie Ralek Gracie

Sengoku's year end extravaganza complete with 28 fights

World Victory Road is putting DREAM’s Dynamite!! program to shame. Though not necessarily heralded as rivals, since they have worked together in the past, Sengoku is holding it’s year-end banger just one day before DREAM’s. WVR’s depth of talent for the dubbed “Soul of Fight” event will feature several mixed martial arts contests (chief among [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/12/20/sengokus-year-end-extravaganza-complete-with-28-fights

Mikhail Avetisyan Luiz Azeredo  Luciano Azevedo  Ba Te er  Ryan Bader