UFC NEWS: Seth Petruzelli cut from the UFC following second straight loss at UFC 122

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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Seth Petruzelli's second stint in the UFC didn't last very long, as FiveOuncesOfPain.com reports that he has been released from the UFC following his second straight loss in the Octagon.

Petruzelli got a second shot in the organization in July after a three year stint outside of the UFC, but he was submitted by Ricardo Romero at UFC 116. He was given one more shot against Karlos Vemola at UFC 122, but Vemola made quick work of him and scored a first round TKO.

"The Silverback," who also earned the nickname "Kimbo Killer" when he shocked the MMA world and finished Kimbo Slice in 14 seconds on the final EliteXC show when he was tapped as a late replacement for Ken Shamrock, had won four straight before returning to the UFC.

Link to Original Source Article

Penick's Analysis: We'll be seeing a lot of this over the next few months, as the roster is going to be trimmed down quite a bit with the influx of WEC talent as we approach the new year. It's not surprising at all, and most fighters who lose two straight going forward, especially in convincing fashion, are going to be facing cuts. Petruzelli will find work elsewhere, and he can still be a very competitive fighter, but his release was probably expected.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_7611.shtml

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Falcao's submission win at UFC 123 blown by timekeeper

Maiquel Falcao was ripped to shreds throughout the third round of his fight against Gerald Harris. The criticism was well-deserved. He did nothing over the final five minutes of the fight, taking the safe route to victory during his UFC debut. That's not a great way to win over the promotion, Dana White and fans in attendance.

Amazingly, the 16,000-plus in attendance and everyone cageside failed to notice that the fight probably should've been over in the first round.

UPDATE: A good point from one of our readers. Even though Falcao still got a win, the error may have cost him the $80,000 submission of the night bonus. That said, Phil Davis' "Mr. Wonderful" improv submission was pretty sweet. 

Falcao locked on a nasty rear-naked choke with 13 seconds left in the round. A little over seven seconds later, the horn sounded to end the round.

There was a clear timing error and no one noticed it.

This isn't the first time there's been clock issues in the Motor City.

NBA bettors thought there was a massive scandal in the mid 80's going down at Pistons' games.

There was a crew operating on the Las Vegas Strip, getting down all it could on NBA totals. Two things made this NBA betting syndicate unique. First, they only bet on Detroit Pistons games. Sometimes they bet 'over' and sometimes they bet 'under' but they always risked a ton of money.

Second, they were very, very good, at one point during their three-year run winning 16-of-18 games, a streak which tested the bottom lines of many books.

After a while, word spread that the Pistons Syndicate had someone on the inside. Reportedly, it was the Detroit timekeeper, a man in a position to manipulate seconds on the end of each play to either add or subtract time from the game clock. Supposedly, the syndicate bet 'over' when he added time and 'under' when he subtracted it.

The only problem with this revelation was that it wasn't true. Bookmakers finally proved this to themselves when they were allowed to review the tapes of several Detroit games. A lot of the bet takers timed the games themselves and found that there was no manipulation of the clock.

At UFC 123, there was no "inside job" to save Harris or ensure the over, but whoever was working the horn and clock screwed Falcao out of a chance for a submission victory.

Tip via Cage Potato

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Falcao-s-submission-win-at-UFC-123-blown-by-time?urn=mma-288523

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UFC NEWS: Paul Kelly vs. Sam Stout coming to UFC 126 in February

By; Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

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A lightweight bout between Paul Kelly and Sam Stout is headed to the preliminary card of UFC 126, according to multiple published reports.

Kelly makes a quick turnaround after securing a TKO victory over T.J. O'Brien at UFC 123 last weekend. The Brit has alternated wins and losses in the UFC's lightweight division, and is 5-3 in the organization overall.

Stout has split results in ten appearances inside the Octagon, but bounced back from his most recent loss with a decision win over Paul Taylor at UFC 121 in October, and he is 3-1 over his last four fights. With the exception of a submission loss to Kenny Florian, all of Stout's UFC bouts have gone the distance.

UFC 126 is expected to take place from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on February 5, headlined by the Middleweight Championship bout between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort.

Penick's Analysis: They've taken a few fights off of this card and shuffled the lineup a bit, so this is a good fill in for the preliminary card. I wouldn't expect this fight to make the televised broadcast, but it will be a highly competitive fight, likely to go to the judges. These two just don't have a history of finishing fights. They both can, they just haven't done it in the Octagon all that often, and they're both extremely tough fighters to finish themselves, so a decision victory for either of them seems most likely.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_7648.shtml

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Randy Couture busy with Bruce Willis film and "The Expendables II"; return to MMA unsure

Randy Couture’s place in the mixed martial arts world is already cemented. A 5-time UFC champion, garnering three-titles in the heavyweight class as well as an additional two as a light heavyweight, Couture is in a point of his career now where his future as a professional fighter is becoming more bleak by each passing [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/11/26/randy-couture-busy-with-bruce-willis-film-and-the-expendables-ii-return-to-mma-unsure

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