Former UFC Fighter Lee Murray's Bank Heist Sentence Increased to 25 Years

Filed under: ,

Former UFC fighter Lee Murray, who was convicted of masterminding the biggest non-wartime cash heist in history, has had his prison sentence increased from 10 years to 25, according to BBC News.

On February 22, 2006, Murray and a group of others broke into a Securitas cash depot in Tonbridge, Kent and escaped with the U.S. equivalent of $92.5 million in cash. A series of arrests soon followed and the British-born Murray was named as the mastermind of the crime.

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2010/11/30/former-ufc-fighter-lee-murrays-heist-sentence-increased-to-25-y/

Randy Couture Josh Barnett Ricco Rodriguez Tim Sylvia Frank Mir

UFC QUOTABLES: Josh Koscheck to Georges St. Pierre - "I'm coming to hurt you" at UFC 124

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

JoshKoscheck_150_31.jpg

"This is the biggest fight of my life. I think it gives me a huge advantage that I got to fight Georges St. Pierre early in my career. This time around Georges St. Pierre is going to see a different fighter. He's going to see a fighter that has tenacity to come out and finish fights? I'm coming to hurt [GSP]. I'm going to put on a show and I'm going to come out of there with a victory."

-Josh Koscheck, in his pre-fight interview with the UFC for UFC 124, discusses the differences between himself as a fighter now and the first time he met Georges St. Pierre in the Octagon.

Penick's Analysis: There's no denying that Koscheck has improved his game as a fighter immensely since the first time the two of them met. But while Koscheck has gotten better, St. Pierre has also been improving and refining the aspects of his game that allowed him to win the first fight. It's not impossible for Koscheck to win this fight - any fighter can win any fight on any given day - but it's going to be a very tough task to accomplish in Montreal on December 11. I hope Koscheck fully believes he's coming out of the Bell Centre with the title, and that he leaves everything in the cage, because it will help make for one hell of a title fight.

[Josh Koscheck art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_7636.shtml

Dan Hardy Lee Hasdell Musse Hasselvall Daiki DJ taiki Hata He Peng

Lentz wins a close split decision to kick off UFC 123

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Nick Lentz started out UFC 123 with controversy, beating Tyson Griffin in a split decision, 29-28, 27-30 and 29-28 at the Palace of Auburn Hills in suburban Detroit on Saturday.

Griffin and Lentz switched control often in the first round, with Lentz striking first with a takedown, and then Griffin reversing position and driving Lentz in the fence for much of the round. They then exchanged blows during the final minute of the round, with Lentz getting the better of striking. Griffin finished the round with an ineffective slam of Lentz.

Their stand-up drew boos from the crowd in suburban Detroit early in the second round, but that seemed to spur them on. They started to exchange more punches and kicks, until Griffin took down Lentz with about a minute and a half left in the round. Griffin tried for ground and pound but had trouble getting anything going.

Griffin wobbled Lentz to start the third and final round, and followed that up with several unanswered punches. Lentz tried for a takedown to stop the onslaught, but Griffin ended up on top. With a profusely bleeding face, Lentz was able to reverse position with a slam of Griffin. He tried for a chicken wing submission, but Griffin somehow got out of it and remained in control for the rest of the round.

The result elicited loud boos from the crowd, who were surprised that Griffin did not win. His record falls to 14-5 while Lentz's improves to 21-4.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Lentz-wins-a-close-split-decision-to-kick-off-UF?urn=mma-287712

Rich Franklin Anderson Silva Pat Miletich Carlos Newton Matt Hughes

Faber says he'd work with Lesnar to fix his fear of getting hit

No fighter likes to get slugged in the face, but it's part of the job. From MMA to boxing, the best fighters in the world can absorb shots and return fire without hesitation. Just seven fights into his MMA career, Brock Lesnar isn't there yet. In fact, after watching him turn and run from Cain Velasquez, he's really at square one.

Urijah Faber knows the feeling. The former featherweight king also comes from an NCAA wrestling background and said that five years ago he was in the same place as Lesnar.  

"We've all been there, where Lesnar is at," Faber said (6:00 mark). "Dude, getting hit is not the coolest thing to have done to you, but it's not that big of a deal. It takes a ton of sparring and some great defense and a knowledge of what it's like to get hit, to be able to get used to it."

Faber's career skyrocketed when he began working with Master Thong, a veteran of muay thai. The top level muay thai fighters have a calm demeanor and the uncanny ability to eat big shots so they can fire back. Lesnar has to bring in striking experts and allow himself to get blasted. 

"I think he's going to be a great fighter as long as he decides to do that," Faber told ProMMARadio. "He needs to get in there and accept 'hey I'm going to get hit and there are guys who are better at punching than I am. But he just needs to put in the time like everyone else."

Faber's had a change of heart about Lesnar. After UFC 100, Faber was actually one of his detractors inside the sport.  

"I just kinda didn't like the fact that he had so many eyes on him, and had so much influence in the sport when he came off so bad for the sport after his fight with Mir. But I think he's grown a lot."

Faber's Team Alpha Male in Sacramento is filled with little guys but he'd be interested in working with the former heavyweight king on his issues.

"Man, I'd be willing to help him out, if he was really into learning," Faber said. "I think some simple things that would help him out a lot. He shouldn't be losing to guys that are 40 pounds lighter than him."

Lesnar may face Mir for a third time in 2011. UFC president Dana White confirmed that the match is being discussed but was also getting some negative feedback from fans on Twitter. Lesnar's rumored fight against Roy Nelson hit a snag because "Big Country" is dealing with contractual issues.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Faber-says-he-d-work-with-Lesnar-to-fix-his-fear?urn=mma-285653

Matt Hume Mark Hunt Brad Imes Enson Inoue Takeshi Inoue

Herschel Walker Out of ?Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II? with Cut

With only 11 days until the curtain is drawn on “Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II,” it appears the card will now feature a new co-main event. Unfortunately, Herschel Walker sustained a deep cut under his left eye that required multiple stitches and will be forced to pull out his heavyweight scrap against Scott Carson. ?I feel [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/59961/herschel-walker-out-of-strikeforce-henderson-vs-babalu-ii/

Matt Hamill Volk Han Joachim Hansen Antoni Hardonk Dan Hardy

Chuck Liddell's next challenge: Marriage

UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell is still undecided on the future of his fighting life, but he has made a major commitment in his personal life. Liddell recently proposed to his girlfriend Heidi Northcott.

According to People Magazine, Liddell popped the question after the two went on a helicopter ride of the Grand Canyon. On Twitter, they responded to congratulations messages from baseball player Brad Penny and Liddell's "Dancing with the Stars" castmate, Karina Smirnoff.

The pair have not shied away from headlines. They starred in a viral advertisement that showed Liddell and Northcott working out in the nude. Before his bout with Rich Franklin at UFC 115, Liddell credited Northcott for helping him refocus on training and fighting. He went on to get knocked out in that bout.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Chuck-Liddell-s-next-challenge-Marriage?urn=mma-285482

Alberto Crane Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz Luke Cummo  Jeff Big Frog Curran Dai Shuanghai 

UFC QUOTABLES: Dana White - "These are the big leagues... you perform or you go away"

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

WhiteDana_WK150_103.jpg

"It's a dog-eat-dog world, there's so many good guys out there, you're literally fighting for your UFC life every time you fight... It's no different than any other professional sports organization, it's exactly the way it works. You want to stay at the top of the food chain, you deal with it. If you don't, you won't. You know how many guys get cut by the NFL and Major League Baseball every day? It's crazy, staggering. Same thing here, no difference... Listen, these are the big leagues, no different than Major League Baseball, no different than the NFL, you perform or you go away."

-Dana White talks about the dynamic in the UFC with more fighters joining the roster and how fighters need to perform to keep their jobs. (Quotes transcribed by MMAFighting.com).

Penick's Analysis: When news of the merger with the WEC came down, one of the immediate realizations was that a lot of fighters were going to be losing their spot on the roster. With seven divisions instead of five, the bottom end of the five divisions the UFC was filling their cards out with before are going to be hit the worst. And the UFC has already sent a message about performance with the cutting of Gerald Harris this week. But this is what fighters need to be prepared for and know ahead of time when entering the UFC. Performing well is going to give them opportunities, and performing poorly will give them a one way ticket out. It might be a cruel reality, but reality is exactly what it is for the fighters under contract.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_7628.shtml

Mario Sperry Pete Spratt Brian Stann Aaron Stark Kalib Starnes

Herschel Walker Out of ?Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II? with Cut

With only 11 days until the curtain is drawn on “Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II,” it appears the card will now feature a new co-main event. Unfortunately, Herschel Walker sustained a deep cut under his left eye that required multiple stitches and will be forced to pull out his heavyweight scrap against Scott Carson. ?I feel [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/59961/herschel-walker-out-of-strikeforce-henderson-vs-babalu-ii/

Hermes Franca Rich Franklin Ian Freeman Don Frye Tony Fryklund