The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) continues to lay the groundwork for an eventual push into the massive Latin American market thanks to an “historic television distribution deal” with FOXSports en Español — the leading Spanish-language sports cable network in the U.S. — that gives exclusive telecast rights to “Guerreros del UFC,” according to UFC.com.
It’s the first-ever UFC show fully produced in Spanish.
Here’s a snip from UFC President Dana White:
“We are pleased to expand our partnership with Fox Sports en Español to bring the Ultimate Fighting Championship to its millions of Spanish-language viewers around the country. We are looking forward to launching ‘Guerreros del UFC’ and to introducing the world’s most exciting brand of professional mixed martial arts – the UFC – to an even greater number of Hispanic fans.”
“Guerreros del UFC” episodes appear to be similar in format to “UFC Unleashed” or “UFC Wired,” which highlight some of the best and most memorable fights from various events. These are scheduled to air on FOXSports en Español from December 18 through December 22 at 11 p.m. ET.
The first five installments will feature:
Matt Serra vs. Georges vs. St. Pierre
Anderson Silva vs. Chris Leben
Diego Sanchez vs. Karo Parisyan
Frankie Edgar vs. Tyson Griffin
Roger Huerta vs. Leonard García
It’s clearly no coincidence that several of the match ups include high profile Latin stars such as Huerta, Sanchez and Silva. Mexican-American former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz was not mentioned in the announcement.
The eventual play is for the UFC to stage an event in Mexico sometime in the future. Similar international initiatives are also taking place in Canada and throughout Europe to increase UFC brand exposure beyond United States borders.
Former heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia has inked his half of a contract to compete for the vacant heavyweight title against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” on February 2, 2008, from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to FightNetwork.com.
Monte Cox — who represents “The Maine-aic” — indicates that all that remains to make the bout official is a signature from “Minotauro.”
Here’s a snip from Cox:
“Tim signed the contract, and we haven’t heard anything else about it — if Nogueira has signed his contract or what.”
Despite the official confirmation, Cox reveals in the report that Sylvia has “already begun his training camp for the championship bout.”
That puts to rest recent speculation that Cheick Kongo was still in the mix to challenge for the belt. In fact, according to the article, Justin McCully has been approached about taking on the Parisian that same evening.
An answer from McCully is expected any day — he is currently overseas with Team Punishment teammate Tito Ortiz visiting American troops on a USO Tour.
The match up between Sylvia and “Big Nog” would serve as the main event of the evening, alongside the co-feature of Frank Mir against Brock Lesnar.
It now seems more likely than ever that a replacement for recently resigned division champion Randy Couture will be determined on SuperBowl weekend.
For the most up-to-date rumored UFC 81 fight card click here.
The official line up for UFC Fight Night 12: “Swick vs. Burkman” is set for Wednesday, January 23 at 9 p.m. ET from The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to UFC.com.
Former top middleweight contender, Mike Swick, will make his long-awaited welterweight debut against Josh Burkman during the main event of the two-hour SpikeTV special. Both fighters appeared on different seasons of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) mixed martial arts reality series.
185 lbs.: Patrick Cote (11-4) vs. Drew McFedries (6-2)
155 lbs.: Nate Diaz (7-2) vs. Alvin Robinson (9-2)
155 lbs.: Thiago Tavares (13-1) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (4-5)
Under card (may not be broadcast):
155 lbs.: Kurt Pellegrino (10-3) vs. Alberto Crane (8-1)
155 lbs.: Gray Maynard (3-0) vs. Dennis Siver (11-4)
155 lbs.: Cole Miller (13-2) vs. Jeremy Stephens (12-2)
155 lbs.: Corey Hill (1-0) vs. Joe Veres (4-2)
155 lbs.: Matt Wiman (8-3) vs. Justin Buchholz (7-1)
There are certainly some solid match ups on the docket, including the UFC debut of Corey Hill and a very tough fight for TUF 5 lightweight winner, Nate Diaz, against Alvin Robinson. The clash between Cote and McFedries (hopefully) will also spark some fireworks.
For all the UFC Fight Night 12 news and updates you can handle check out this archive.
Nine fights are official for the UFC 80: “Rapid Fire” pay-per-view (PPV) event from The Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England, on Saturday, January 19, 2008, according to UFC.com.
The lightweight showdown between BJ Penn and Joe Stevenson for the vacant 155-pound title will headline the first UFC show of the New Year. It’s expected that the winner of the bout will then defend the belt against former champion Sean Sherk later in 2008.
Hvywt.: Gabriel Gonzaga (8-2) vs. Fabricio Werdum (9-3-1)
170 lbs.: Marcus Davis (13-3) vs. Jess Liaudin (12-8)
205 lbs.: Jason Lambert (23-6) vs. Wilson Gouveia (9-4)
185 lbs.: Kendall Grove (8-4) vs. Jorge Rivera (14-6)
Under card (may not be broadcast):
Hvywt.: Antoni Hardonk (5-4) vs. Colin Robinson (8-3)
170 lbs.: Paul Taylor (8-2-1) vs. Paul Kelly (6-0)
205 lbs.: Alessio Sakara (11-6) vs. James Lee (12-2)
155 lbs.: Sam Stout (12-3-1) vs. Per Eklund (12-2-1)
As it stands now the PPV broadcast will air in the United States LIVE at 3 p.m. ET.
This is a curious decision after the UFC 72: “Victory” debacle earlier this year, which also aired in mid-afternoon and performed poorly. However, the starpower and significance of that card are nowhere near that of “Rapid Fire.”
It should be an entertaining afternoon of mixed martial arts action — much better than catching it seven hours later via tape delay. Of course we’ll have everything you need before, during and after UFC 80.
In the meantime hit up out UFC 80 archive for more information right here.
“I’ve taken a real big hit. I’ve had a lot of expenses that had to come out of pocket. I’ve spent over twenty thousand dollars defending myself. By the time I fight again I will have missed two fight pay days. I’ve lost sponsorship pay days, tons of exposure, people that backed out of main stream stuff. No one wants to touch that. Exposure translates into money. I’ve lost out on a ton of stuff. Plus, I lost a ton of momentum. I had a lot of momentum going before this. I’ve lost everything that I’ve worked for.”
– Former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk provides some compelling arguments for his positive steroids test during a recent Q&A with InsideFighting.com. The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) appears to be making up the rules as it sees fit. But the snip above gets me. Again, I say hindsight is 20/20 — Sherk may have had no idea he was ingesting illegal substances. But some quick math [$500 (Per test) X 22 (Supplements) = $11,000] reveals that if Sherk spent/spends the money beforehand he’ll save a “ton” of cash in the long-run. And then some in terms of integrity, credibility and all of the other stuff he laments in the interview. Perhaps he even needs to link up with a lab that will do the tests for free in exchange for a marquee spot on his fight shorts. Just an idea. To say that “I can’t test all of my supplements” after this debacle makes no sense. Or is it cents?
“I admit that I haven’t had the most exciting fights during my time in the UFC. From this point forward, I want to try making them more exciting, but not at the expense of winning. To do that, I’ve stepped up my training in standup in particular, learning how to push forward and effect more damage…. [UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson] Silva and I have unfinished business. I want that rematch because it feels like our first fight didn’t end definitively. I want to finish him, once and for all….. I’d like to knock him out, certainly, but I also really want to submit him. I want to take him down and force him to submit. I want to make him tap out.”
Great interview with Japanese UFC middleweight contender Yushin Okami in which he addresses numerous topics, as well as his long journey to the Octagon. “Phoenix” (a new nickname) defeated reigning 185-pound champion Anderson Silva at a Rumble on the Rock tournament in 2006 because of a disqualification. It was the last time “The Spider” dropped a bout — albeit under a veil of controversy. Okami wants to change that … and he might get the opportunity sometime in 2008 thanks to a brand-new four-fight contract extension.
The title of the film is Kurtlar Vadisi Iraq (Valley of the Wolves Iraq). It’s Turkish and it appears to be translated in German. Never heard of it until today. Wonder why?
