This is the latest collection of articles and news from MMAMadness.com Copyright 2008 MMAMadness.com http://mmamadness.com/insight.html Jon Fitch is back in the UFC after a 24-hour window of free agency and my faith in the sport is restored. That's correct, I had lost a little faith in MMA after watching a fighter with an 8-1 record inside the Octagon get cut. I lost a little faith watching a guy disposed of like [...] http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2681 Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - While 18 UFC fighters were competing in the Octagon last Saturday night in Las Vegas, another of the organization's warriors, Goran Reljic, was in a fight of his own back in his home country of Croatia - one to save two young people who had driven off the road and into the Adriatic Sea. http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2680 Click for Video http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2679 The field of Strikeforce fighters scheduled to compete at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California on November 21 recently tipped the scales at the Palm Court in the lobby area of Hotel DeAnza for the official ''Destruction'' weigh-ins. MMA veterans Yves Edwards and Duane ''Bang'' Ludwig will face off at a catch weight of [...] http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2678 MMARated.com has the scoop: ''Communication kind of broke down with Dana (White) so we talked with Lorenzo,'' Fitch told MMARated. ''(I) just got off the phone with him and we came to an agreement. We're going to move ahead and I'll be back in the UFC. We're going to sign off on the video game and [...] http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2677 Kim Couture makes her Strikeforce debut on Friday night in San Jose, Calif. She feels she's more than prepared, returning from a broken jaw and sparring with Wanderlei Silva in practice... http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2676 Click for Video http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2674 As a reporter involved in the field of mixed martial arts, I hear a lot of crazy things. Some of it true but much of it false. When I received a text asking me if I knew anything about Jon Fitch having been cut, my first reaction was, "Are you smoking crack?" I mean, not Jon [...] http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2675 Click for Video http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2673 Josh Hendricks' tenure with the UFC has ended after just one fight, as the heavyweight fighter has been released in the wake of his first round knockout loss against former UFC heavyweight title contender Gabriel Gonzaga. FiveOuncesOfPain.com confirmed the news early Thursday morning with Hendricks' agent, Ken Pavia of MMA Agents. "By mutual decree, we decided it [...] http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2672 Wednesday's news that former UFC welterweight title challenger Jon Fitch had been released from the promotion continues to send shockwaves through the industry. Many managers and agents are distressed by the news and are bracing for the worst. Within the past 12 hours, FiveOuncesOfPain.com has spoken with several of the top fighter representatives in the [...] http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2671 Former number one UFC welterweight contender Jon Fitch was today handed his walking papers for refusing to sign agreement that would give the promotion exclusive lifetime video game rights to his name and likeness, MMAmania.com can exclusively confirm. Christian Wellisch - who also didn't ink the paperwork - was also released. Others who do not sign [...] http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2670 FiveOuncesOfPain.com has learned that lightweight competitor Marcus Aurelio is the latest fighter to depart the UFC. The American Top Team member was released from his contract with the promotion soon after his unanimous decision loss Hermes Franca last month at UFC 90. The Franca bout marked Aurelio's second consecutive loss on the heels of his unanimous decision [...] http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2669 Spike TV on Wednesday made two of the featured bouts for The Ultimate Fighter 8 Live Season Finale official, including a rematch between Kevin Burn and Anthony Johnson... http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2668 The world of mixed martial arts needs title contenders. As of late, It is becoming harder and harder to realize who those true contenders are. http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2667 According to a report at MMA Mania, Jon Fitch is set to face off against colorful Japanese fighter Akihiro Gono at UFC 94 on Super Bowl weekend. The fight was originally scheduled to take place back at UFC 82 before Gono had to pull out of the fight due to a hand injury and was [...] http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2666 In a quick change of heart, UFC president Dana White told reporters in during a press conference today to promote BJ Penn vs. George St. Pierre in Toronto, that the WEC might be looking to promote Gina Carano in one of its future events. ''Gina Carano is a star, I think she's talented. I think she's [...] http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2665 The line has started to form behind Brock Lesnar and Fedor Emelianenko has joined it. The world's top-ranked heavyweight and his team of managers voiced their interest on Tuesday in having the touted Russian meet the newly crowned UFC heavyweight champion http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2664 The WEC is looking to kick 2009 off in style, going big right out of the gate. Current plans call for the promotion to make its first stop ever in San Diego on Jan. 25... http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2663 WEC 37 Fight Card (Thus Far): MAIN CARD Miguel Torres vs. Manny Tapia Brian Bowles vs. Will Ribeiro Wagnney Fabiano vs. Akitoshi Tamura Joseph Benavidez vs. Danny Martinez Justin Haskins vs. Johny Hendricks PRELIMINARY CARD Ricardo Barros vs. Mark Munoz Blas Avena vs. Kevin Knabjian Diego Nunes vs. Cole Province Alex Karalexis vs. Bart Palaszewski Cub Swanson vs. Hirouki Takaya Shane Roller vs. Mike Budnik http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2662 After taking time off from active competition to attend the police academy, Matt Grice is just about ready to return to fighting and to the UFC... http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2661 Love it or hate it, bravado and brashness offer MMA fans a different side of the spectrum. Brock Lesnar won the UFC Heavyweight Title, but left his lasso at home. http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2649 According to a report in the Nov. 17 print edition of the Wrestling Observer, the UFC will be returning to Columbus, Ohio for the third consecutive year on Saturday, March 7. While a venue was not identified in the report, the Nationwide Arena is considered the most likely candidate. The date has yet to be confirmed [...] http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2660 Can Anderson Silva’s striking get any better? We will find out soon enough — Freddie Roach is among the best in the business. He talks about working with the UFC Middleweight Champion around the four minute mark of the video. http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2659 Previously announced Sengoku 7 competitor and longtime PRIDE fighter Hidehiko Yoshida (8-6-1) now has an opponent for the Jan. 4 World Victory Road event: Sanae Kikuta (27-6-3). The event takes place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Sengoku officials recently announced the light-heavyweight bout. http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2658 Will Southworth leave as Light Heavyweight champion? http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2657 The latest report from Dave Meltzer's F4WOnline notes a WWE article (that has apparently been taken down now) which goes out of its way to specifically bash the UFC 91 undercard despite it proving to be one of the most exciting cards to date: "...Many of the fights on the UFC PPV ended in the first round leaving UFC producers scrambling to fill the three-hour event with content. The dearth off hearty competition left many viewers to watch less prestigious undercard fights and only served to bolster claims that UFC pay per view events can often be a `crap shoot' in regards to filling the full three hours." http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2656 In a report that comes as no surprise, the Nov. 17 print edition of the Wrestling Observer gives strong indications that WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho has been released from his contract by Zuffa officials. "Not only will Paulo Filho's middleweight championship be forgotten, but Filho himself will be after his performance on the show, as [...] http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2655 World Extreme Cagefighting has finalized its final fight card of the year. WEC 37 is scheduled to take place on Dec. 3 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas... http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2654 Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin, apparently content since moving up a weight class to the light-heavyweight division, is open to a rematch with Lyoto Machida, who defeated "Ace" at a December 2003 event in Kobe, Japan. Franklin said he's willing to do the rematch now that both fighters are in the 205-pound division, but he has one concern. "I'd fight him," Franklin said. "The thing about a Machida fight that isn't appealing to me is that styllistically, Machida is kind of a boring fighter." http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2653 Former Elite XC Welterweight Champion Jake Shields is just one of the many fighters who are looking to free themselves from their contracts with the now defunct Pro Elite. Showtime Networks Inc. - who partnered with Pro Elite to air over 14 Elite XC events over the last two years - planned on auctioning off the [...] http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2652 Brock Lesnar reaped some handsome rewards on Saturday. The newly crowned heavyweight champion led all earners with a $450,000 haul after his second-round technical knockout victory against Randy Couture in the UFC 91 main event at the MGM Grand http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2651 Updated Card For UFC: Fight For Our Troops On 12/10 http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2650 Love it or hate it, bravado and brashness offer MMA fans a different side of the spectrum. Brock Lesnar won the UFC Heavyweight Title, but left his lasso at home. http://mmamadness.com/insight/article/359 Las Vegas, NV (USA) - Toronto and Honolulu get ready, UFC President Dana White is coming to town along with UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre and UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn to formally announce UFC 94: ST-PIERRE vs. PENN 2 - the incredible rematch that fans have been waiting for. UFC 94, the battle for the World Welterweight Championship, will take place Saturday, January 31, 2009 live from MGM Grand Garden Arena. http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2648 A former WWE wrestler is the UFC heavyweight champion. Fedor Emelianenko got schooled at the World Combat Sambo Championships. Well now that we have two of the seven signs of the Apocalypse out of the way, we should probably go ahead and start sealing our doors and windows with duct tape and plastic wrap. From Brock to Barack, [...] http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2647 When the UFC returns to London, England, for a show at The 02, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (23-4 MMA, 8-0 UFC) could headline the event -- possibly in a non-title fight at 205 pounds against Chuck Liddell (21-6 MMA, 16-5 UFC). The Sun, a reputable newspaper from the U.K., reported the possibility of the UFC 95 main event overnight. However, neither fighter has been officially booked for the Feb. 21 event, and the Silva-Liddell fight is only being discussed a possiblity. http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2646 Coming off his upset loss at WEC 36 to Mike Brown, former featherweight champion Urijah Faber must now decide what to do next. Faber already has a plan in mind. It clearly includes another match-up with Brown. "Definitely, there will be a rematch," said Faber. Unfortunately, Faber may have to wait a while before getting his chance to [...] http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2645 Demian Maia continued his impressive run in the Octagon Saturday night, submitting much loved Ultimate Fighter 1 veteran Nate Quarry... http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2644 Brock Lesnar defeated Randy Couture by TKO to win the UFC heavyweight title, proving his not Kimbo Slice... http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2643 New UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar's former employers with World Wrestling Entertainment felt compelled to issue a statement in regards to his victory via their official website. "In a stunning upset, Brock Lesnar became the first man to capture both the WWE Championship and the UFC Heavyweight Championship when he defeated UFC fan favorite Randy ‘The [...] http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2642 Click for Video http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2641 The Ultimate Fighting Championship today officially announced its return to London. The as-yet-unnamed UFC 95 event will take place Feb. 21 at the O2 arena. Tickets will go on sale to the general Friday, Nov. 21 at 4:00 a.m. ET despite the lack of any officially announced bouts. The date marks the UFC's third trip to the O2 Arena, and the fourth appearance in London in the 15-year history of the organization. http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2640 Kenny Florian, now the undisputed #1 contender in the lightweight division, submitted Joe Stevenson in the first round of their fight on Saturday night, while also making a call to B.J. Penn for his next battle... http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2639 UFC-veteran lightweight Dan Lauzon (11-2) earned his seventh straight victory Friday night in the Massachusetts-based promotion World Championship Fighting. The 20-year-old Lauzon needed just 75 seconds to earn a TKO against an overmatched Justin Hammertrum (6-7) in the evening's main event. The win was Lauzon's third for World Championship Fighting in 2008 http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2638 On Saturday night in Las Vegas with 14,272 fans in attendance, Brock Lesnar showed that despite having only 3 fights going into the bout with Randy Couture that he deserved to be there as he finished the legend in the 2nd round of their heavyweight title fight. http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2637 Click for Video http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2636 Saturday's "UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar" event drew a near-sellout crowd of 14,272 for a total gate of $4.8 million, UFC President Dana White announced during a post-fight press conference. Coming into the event, the UFC had set high ticket prices for the heavyweight title clash in hopes of setting the company's record for total live [...] http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2635 The UFC has a new heavyweight champion and he is former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar, a man who has only four professional MMA fights during his career. Lesnar was able to defeat Randy Couture on Saturday night via TKO in the second round.  A right hand in the second round that landed square on the side of Randy Couture's [...] http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2634 Strikeforce has added a middleweight bout between Scott Smith (13-5) and Terry Martin (18-5) to next week's "Strikeforce: Destruction" event. Strikeforce spokesperson Mike Afromowitz today confirmed reports of the bout with MMAjunkie.com and said the fight will appear on the HDNet-televised main card. The fight, though, will not headline the event and is instead expected to get co-main-event status. "Strikeforce: Destruction" takes place Nov. 21 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. http://mmamadness.com/insight/news/2633