SB Nation User Blog: Blackout612

It's Official; Matt Hughes vs Renzo Gracie at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi

Blackout612 — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:02:58 -0000

In an article published at Graciemag, not only does Matt Hughes confirm that he will, in fact, face Renzo Gracie in his UFC debut, but it has also been confirmed that the card will take place in Abu Dhabi at UFC 112.

"I didn’t know if I could say anything about my next fight, but I see that Dana has let the cat out of the bag. So I can tell you what I know, on April 10th I will be fighting Renzo Gracie in Abu Dhabi," wrote Hughes.

(Emphasis mine)

As for Renzo's take on the impending and highly anticipated bout between the two seasoned veterans;

At the top of his 42 years of age, Renzo, too, showed his excitement about his debut, voicing it in with his trademark philosophical aphorisms. "It’s the perfect matchup. The beat-down’s going to happen. And as Nietzchian as I can put it: better earlier than later," declared the black belt in an interview published on GRACIEMAG.com on November 12.

I, for one, have been looking forward to this fight. What is everyone's take on the outcome? And what are your feelings on a UFC card taking place in Abu Dhabi in April 2010?

Poll

Renzo or Hughes? Who emerges victorious?

UFC Undisputed 2010 has an official release date: May 25th, 2010. Watch The Video Game Awards on...

Blackout612 — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 23:24:12 -0000

UFC Undisputed 2010 has an official release date: May 25th, 2010. Watch The Video Game Awards on Spike TV tonight for the world exclusive first look at THQ's sophomore UFC release.

This Fan Shot was promoted to the front page by Nick Thomas.

Excellent News for Will Ribeiro-- In Good Health, Returns as Judge for Shooto Brasil

Blackout612 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:14:34 -0000

Excellent News for Will Ribeiro-- In Good Health, Returns as Judge for Shooto Brasil

One of the most promising of the bantamweights, Will Ribeiro had his career of MMA fighter interrupted in December of 2008, after suffering a serious motorcycle accident (in) Rio de Janeiro. One year later, the WEC’s promising fighter will be back to the fight world.

At Shooto Brasil 14, which takes place November 28 at Bennett College, in Rio de Janeiro, Ribeiro will be one of the judges of the combat. "I hope that he can be invited to other events, so he can make some money and that happens on his treatment costs, that’s expensive", said André Pederneiras, inspired by Artur Mariano, who placed Will as one of the judges of the Brazilian Muay Thai Championships.

Strikeforce Named as EA MMA "Premier League"

Blackout612 — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:36:10 -0000

Strikeforce Named as EA MMA "Premier League"

Not only is EA Sports getting the Strikeforce brand, it's getting some of its talent. That includes commentary team Frank Shamrock and Mauro Ranallo, ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. and referee "Big John" McCarthy. Strikeforce fighters Brett Rogers and Jake Shields will join the previously announced Fedor Emelianenko, Jason Miller, Randy Couture, Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal, Gegard Mousasi and Renato Sobral.

Call to Arms 2: Called Out Fights Notable Results; Roman Mitichyan over Mike Dolce via UD in a...

Blackout612 — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:01:15 -0000

Call to Arms 2: Called Out Fights Notable Results;

Roman Mitichyan over Mike Dolce via UD in a battle of TUF alums.
Gabe Ruediger stuns previously 10-0 BJJ maverick Wander Braga via Round 2 Guillotine.
Thomas Denny defeats Joe Cronin via Round 2 Guillotine.
Daniel Puder remains undefeated after a UD victory over Mychal Clark.

Complete results in Sherdog link.

http://www.sherdog.com/events/Call-To-Arms-Called-Out-Fights-10690

August MMA Calendar - Still Loaded

Blackout612 — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:11:58 -0000

The cancellation of Affliction: Trilogy may have been a heartbreaker for many MMA fans, but that doesn't mean the month of August is a slouch in the scheme of mixed martial arts. With two UFC's, a huge Strikeforce card on Showtime, Sengoku's Ninth Battle and WEC 42, the month of August is one of the best MMA fans have ever seen.

August 2 & 7 - Sengoku's Ninth Battle

Featherweight Grand Prix Semifinal Bout: Hatsu Hioki vs. Masanoru Kanehara
Featherweight Grand Prix Semifinal Bout: Michihiro Omigawa vs. Marlon Sandro
Sengoku Featherweight GP Finale
Featherweight Grand Prix Reserve Bout: Matt Jaggers vs. Chan Sung Jung
Sengoku Lightweight Title Bout: Mizuto Hirota vs. Satoru Kitaoka
Kazuo Misaki vs. Kazuhiko Nakamura

August 8 - UFC 101: Declaration

UFC Lightweight Championship: BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian
Anderson "The Spider" Silva vs. Forrest Griffin
Amir Saddolah vs. Johny Hendricks
Kendall Grove vs. Ricardo "Cachorrao" Almeida
Josh "The Dentist" Neer vs. Kurt "Batman" Pellegrino

August 9 - WEC 42: Torres vs. Bowles

WEC Bantamweight Championship: Miguel Angel Torres vs. Brian Bowles
Joseph Benavidez vs. Dominick Cruz
Danny Castillo vs. Ricardo Lamas
Jeff "The Big Frog" Curran vs. Takeya Mizugaki

August 15 - Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg

Gina Carano vs. Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos
Strikeforce Lightweight Championship: Josh "The Punk" Thompson vs. Gilbert "El Nino" Melendez

August 28 - M-1 Global: Breakthrough

Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal vs Don Frye
Nick "The Goat" Thompson vs Karl Amoussou

August 29 - UFC 102: Couture vs. Nogueria

Randy "The Natural Couture" vs. Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueria
Demian Maia vs. Nate "The Great" Marquardt
Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva
Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt
Krzysztof "The Polish Experiment" Soszynski vs. Brandon "The Truth" Vera

Yves Lavigne Does It Again

Blackout612 — Sun, 24 May 2009 15:44:43 -0000

While no video seems readily available, it's being reported at Sherdog that Yves Lavigne repeated his dubious stop-and-start refereeing performance last night at UFC 98 in the Kyle Bradley vs Phillipe Nover bout.

Kyle Bradley grasped his first Octagon victory in three outings with a controversial first-round TKO against debutante Phillipe Nover in their lightweight bout. Bradley shrugged off Nover’s first takedown attempt, then connected on "The Ultimate Fighter 8" runner-up with a stinging right hand. Reaching for a single leg, Nover slipped forward onto his face. Referee Yves Lavigne stepped in and halted the bout, but backed away when a cognizant Nover rolled onto his back.

With the fight still in play, Bradley landed some glancing blows on the 25-year-old Nover. Lavigne intervened a second time and waved off the bout just as Nover rose to his feet, much to the Brooklyn, N.Y., native’s and the rabid crowd’s disapproval. The official time was 1:03, while replays inside the arena did little to bolster referee Lavigne’s actions.

This is bad. I was a major detractor of Lavigne after his actions at UFC 96 in the Matt Brown vs Pete Sell fight, which took place only two short months ago; suggesting that if he makes a similar error in the future, he should be punished by the athletic commission. I'm interested to see if any video surfaces of this newest instance. If things went down as suggested, something needs to be done. We have to hold our referees accountable to mistakes of this gravity for our sport to grow and be given the credibility it deserves.

GIF by Chris Nelson

Who doesn't love a cartwheel kick KO?

Blackout612 — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:20:50 -0000

Who doesn't love a cartwheel kick KO?

"Certainly Dana White thought I was criticizing him, that I was talking bad about his event, but it...

Blackout612 — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:06:35 -0000

"Certainly Dana White thought I was criticizing him, that I was talking bad about his event, but it wasn’t. I didn’t want to belittle the athletes of the UFC, that wasn’t my intention", says Arona, asking for a chance to show his value in the octagon. "I never had a direct position from him, I wasn’t contacted by the Ultimate. Dana White could give me an opportunity to know if I’m good or not"

Ricardo Arona responds to Dana White's criticism of his recent comments.

"He had invited me to train at his gym in Las Vegas before this fight had been scheduled. I have...

Blackout612 — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:37:28 -0000

"He had invited me to train at his gym in Las Vegas before this fight had been scheduled. I have enormous respect for Wanderlei Silva... I’m always in Vegas and intend to train at his academy after this fight. We’re great fighters but UFC wanted to make this fight."

Rich Franklin suggests to Graciemag that he plans to train with Wanderlei after their UFC 99 headlining bout.