January 28th, 2008
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Alessio Sakara (12-6) will make his middleweight debut against Chris Leben (17-4) at UFC 82: “Pride of a Champion” on March 1 from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Sam Caplan from ProElite.com confirmed the rumored match up earlier this afternoon.
The booking is a bit strange for two reasons: Sakara just competed at UFC 80: “Rapid Fire” on January 19, giving him less than six weeks between fights (not unheard of but rare). In addition, UFC 82 looks to already have nine fights lined up and this would make it 10 (again, not unheard of but rare).
Regardless, if and when this fight goes down it will more thank likely be an all out slugfest. Sakara is a former Italian professional boxer and Leben is someone who prefers to stand and trade even though is ground game is decent.
Put simply, it’s highly doubtful that this one goes the distance.
Since his Octagon debut in 2005, Sakara has had an up and down tenure (3-3). Those mixed results could be attributed in part to competing in the wrong division, which is among the organization’s deepest.
In addition, his training and conditioning have been other top concerns in the past. However, Sakara recently signed on to work with the prestigious American Top Team (ATT) camp down in South Florida to remedy those shortcomings.
Only time will tell if the adjustments are indeed worthwhile.
Leben is a former contestant on season one of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) who has had some growing pains of his own during his last few appearances. In fact, up until he knocked out a game Terry Martin at UFC Fight Night 11 he had lost back-to-back fights and three of his last four contests.
There’s a lot on the line for both guys here: Can Leben capitalize on the momentum and make another run to the top or will Sakara steal his thunder and blossom with his new start?
To check out the latest rumored UFC 82 fight card click here.
Written by admin on January 28th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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The closed book that is Brock Lesnar as a mixed martial artist will be revealed this weekend at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” on Saturday, February 2 at 10 p.m. on pay-per-view (PPV).
To add to the intrigue — Lesnar is a monstrous former NCAA Division I wrestling champion, professional WWE wrestling superstar, and NFL dropout — “UFC All Access” will profile the fighter prior to his Octagon debut against Frank Mir.
Here’s the snip from UFC.com:
“Go behind the scenes to see how the former WWE star Brock Lesnar gets ready for a real battle against Frank Mir in his first fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship®.”
The episode, which of course will be hosted by the lovely Rachelle Leah, will premiere this Thursday, January 31, at midnight. It will re-air on Saturday, February 2 at 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET, respectively.
We all know his wrestling is off the charts. But it’ll be real interesting to see how his jiu-jitsu, striking and overall conditioning is coming together with the help of Greg Nelson at the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy (the same camp that put Sean Sherk through that hellish cardio circuit).
Tune in to see what all the buzz is about. And remember to hit us up on fight night for all the latest LIVE UFC 81 results and coverage.
Written by admin on January 28th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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With up-and-coming fighters like Eddie Alvarez and Paul Daley making big waves, the EliteXC welterweight division needs its first champion now more than ever.
Jake Shields has long deserved a shot at that vacant title and come March 29, he’ll wait no longer, according to a recent MySpace message from the Caesar Gracie student.
Here’s a snip:
“I’ll be fighting Drew Fickett for the EliteXC Welterweight Championship on March 29 in San Jose, [Calif.]”
Shields is considered by most to be a top 10 welterweight in the world. He holds wins over notables such as Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, Dave Menne, Mike Pyle, Yushin Okami and WEC champ Carlos Condit. Shields also tapped top UFC contender Jon Fitch during a grappling match at the 2005 Gracie Open.
He’s currently on a nine-fight winning streak and has not lost since December of 2004. For Shields this is a shot at confirming the hype that surrounds him. The exposure that comes along with being the first EliteXC champion will add even more credibility to his name and cement him as one of the world’s best at 170 pounds.
Fickett — who has six career fights in the UFC — has been around the block, taking on some big names throughout his career. He holds wins over Kenny Florian, Josh Koscheck, Kurt Pellegrino and Josh Neer, among others. He’s also fought and lost to Nick Diaz, Karo Parisyan and Josh Burkman.
In short, big fights are not something new for “The Master,” but this will certainly be the biggest of his career. At only 28 years old, Fickett still has a chance to do big things in this sport. And winning the first EliteXC welterweight title would be a nice start.
Both of these guys are well versed in the submission game and we’re probably in store for a great technical fight. We’ll see a lot of scrambling, decent striking and some great jiu jitsu and wrestling. Their styles are so similar and both fighters are so good at capitalizing on their opponents mistakes that this fight will probably be decided by the first mistake made.
Shields will more than likely be the favorite going in, but this is a winable fight for both. It should be fun to watch.
Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Frank Shamrock is already putting his belt on the line against Cung Le that same evening. With the addition of the title bout between Shields and Fickett this will be perhaps the biggest event in the history of EliteXC.
Written by admin on January 28th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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“My speed and my strength and everything is like retarded right now. In this camp I was just concentrating on explosiveness and speed, and I think that I’m going to be the best athlete in the sport. You’re going to see a whole different person than my old fights. Of course Almeida, in my opinion, is a lot tougher than Kalib. Not tougher, but a better competitor than Kalib Starnes, so it’s going to be difficult. I really want to knock this guy out. If you really want to know how I feel about this fight, I need a knockout really bad. I can taste it. I haven’t gotten the kind of knockout that I want. I want to just be dominant. I want to just drop him…. The prediction … I have to say, Ricardo’s gotta go in one minute and 11 seconds of the first round. I have been shown signs and ‘111’ is the number. KO. Anchor punch.”
– Alan Belcher will look for his third consecutive win inside the Octagon when he takes on veteran Ricardo Almeida in a middleweight tilt at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” on February 2. “The Talent” predicts a quick finish over the Renzo Gracie-trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who returns to action after a three-year self-imposed layoff from mixed martial arts (MMA) competition. If he pulls it off it will be quite a feat … “Cachorrao” is a fine addition to the 185-pound weight class.
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Props: Calgary Sun
“I think it’s going to be a good fight. I’m a fan of the sport first and foremost. I think it’s an interesting matchup. Nogueira’s strenght tends to be on the ground and in the submission game and Tim is just a long, strong hard to take down guy who’s got great striking abilities. It’s a classic matchup and for the interim title so they both have a lot on the line. I like Tim’s chances in that fight given Nogueira’s performace against Heath Herring in the last fight. I like Sylvia in a stoppage of some kind.”
– Embattled UFC Heavyweight Champion, Randy Couture, predicts that Tim Sylvia will stop Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira this weekend at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” to win the interim heavyweight title. “The Natural” is correct on his predictions more often than not.
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