UFC 78: Michael Bisping Vs. Rashad Evans / TUF: Team Hughes Vs. Team Serra

rumours for upcoming UFC (and WEC) cards...



The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale, December 8, 2007 - The Palms, Las Vegas, Nevada - Spike TV

Roger Huerta Vs. Clay Guida
Luke Cummo Vs. TBA
Jared Rollins Vs. TBA
Welterweight Tournament Finals




WEC, December 12, 2007 - Las Vegas, Nevada - Versus / TSN

Main Card:

Urijah Faber Vs. Jeff Curran - WEC FW Championship
Jens Pulver Vs. Cub Swanson
Paulo Fihlo Vs. Chael Sonnen - WEC MW Championship
Doug Marshall Vs. Ariel Gondella - WEC LHW Championship
Micah Miller Vs. Chance Farrar

Pre-lims:

Brian Bowles Vs. Marcus Galvao
Dominic Cruz Vs. Charlie Valencia
Luis Sapo Vs. Todd Moore
Bryan Baker Vs. Eric Schambari




UFC 79, December 29, 2007 - Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada - PPV

Main Card:

Matt Serra Vs. Matt Hughes - WW Championship
Wanderlei Silva Vs. Chuck Liddell
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Vs. Lyoto Machida
Rich Clementi Vs. Melvin Guillard
Nate Mohr Vs. Manny Gamburyan

Pre-lims:

Tony DeSouza Vs. Roan Carneiro
Dean Lister Vs. Jordan Radev
Doug Evans Vs. Mark Bocek
Eddie Sanchez Vs. Soa Palalei




UFC 80, January 19, 2008 - Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, England - Spike TV

Main Card:

BJ Penn Vs. Joe Stevenson - Interim LW Championship
Gabriel Gonzaga Vs. Fabricio Werdum
Marcus Davis Vs. Jess Liaudin
Kendall Grove Vs. Jorge Rivera

Pre-lims:

Alessio Sakara Vs. James Lee
Sam Stout Vs. Per Eklund
Paul Taylor Vs. Paul Kelly
Antoni Hardonk Vs. Colin Robinson




UFC Fight Night 12, January 23, 2008 - Las Vegas, Nevada - Spike TV

Mike Swick Vs. TBA
Nate Diaz Vs. TBA
Thiago Tavares Vs. Michihiro Omigawa
Justin McCully Vs. Ramon Pisciotta




UFC 81, February 2, 2008 - MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada - PPV

Quinton Jackson Vs. TBA - LHW Championship
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Vs. TBA (Randy Couture, pending resolution of dispute with UFC. Tim Sylvia will be Nogueira's opponent if Couture declines.) - HW Championship
Brock Lesnar Vs. Frank Mir
Nate Marquardt Vs. Thales Leites
Tyson Griffin Vs. Gleison Tibau
Evan Tanner Vs. TBA
Patrick Cote Vs. TBA




UFC 82, March 1, 2008 - Nationwide Arena, Cloumbus, Ohio - PPV

Dan Henderson Vs. Anderson Silva - MW Championship




UFC 83, March 29, 2008 - Bell Centre, Montréal, Québec - PPV

Georges St-Pierre Vs. Matt Serra or Matt Hughes - WW Championship




The Ultimate Fighter 7 - Premieres April, 2008 on Spike TV.

Tournament of 16 Middleweight competitors. Coaches TBA.

ReleasH wrote:

I agree not the strongest main card we've seen lately. I think Bisping is going to have a very tough test in Rashad Evans ... he didn't have a great showing against Hamill in his last fight.

Looks like Houston Alexander Thiago Silva will be a good fight (but I'm guessing a short one! )
Also looking forward to Thiago Alves v. Chris Lytle. I'd like to see Lytle have a good fight.

i just meant the main event itself, releash. i'm actually very excited for the rest of the card. the bisping vs. evans match doesn't really do much for me.

the other matches, though, whoa! parisyan vs. chonan (although i wish it was still lombard), fisher vs. edgar, a ko fest in silva and alexander, and the return of terrell, finally.

the pre-lims look awesome too. i was hoping for alves vs. chonan, but alves vs. anybody at this point is good for me. lytle will be a tough fight for him, but one he "should" win. chris looked awesome in his last fight. i hope they show this one!

anyway, i think i am in the minority in that i'm actually excited for this one, except bisping vs. evans. from what i've read in some of the forums people are not very 'appy about this one.

looks like it's FINALLY going to happen...


FINALLY, TWO LEGENDS MEET - ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP ANNOUNCES
10/23/2007

UFC 79: NEMESIS

SATURDAY, DEC. 29
LIVE FROM MANDALAY BAY EVENTS CENTER

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – For years, UFC fight fans have speculated about the outcome of a historic dream matchup between two legendary figures in the sport of mixed martial arts, Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva. Tonight, on Spike TV’s 2007 Scream Awards, UFC President Dana White announced that this dream will finally become a reality when UFC and PRIDE former champions Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell and “The Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva face each other at UFC 79: NEMESIS live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center Saturday, December 29, 2007.

“Chuck and Wanderlei – two legends in the sport – will face off in the most important match of their careers at UFC 79,” said Dana White, UFC President. “Chuck and Wanderlei have both wanted this fight for as long as they can remember, and this is definitely the fight that fans have waited for years to see. Finally, PRIDE’s most dangerous striker will face the UFC’s most dangerous striker, and the world will know after years of speculation who will win and who will lose this fight.”

Liddell (20-5), considered by many to be the greatest light heavyweight fighter of all time, reigned as the 205-pound UFC champion for over three years. He knocked out seven opponents in seven consecutive fights, including Randy Couture (twice), Vernon White, Jeremy Horn, Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Tito Ortiz (twice), before he was defeated by Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 71 in May. Chuck now returns to the Octagon to face the fighter he has wanted to fight for years – Wanderlei Silva.

“I’m excited this fight with Wanderlei is finally happening,” said Liddell. “I’ve been saying for a long time that, given the chance, I would knock Wanderlei Silva out. I think this will be a great fight for the fans, and one that lives up to their expectations, because I’m going to hit him until he falls down and stays down.”

The 31-year old Silva (31-7-1), known by fight fans as “The Axe Murderer” for his ultra-aggressive style and finishing ability, began his career almost 11 years ago in his native Brazil, fighting in Vale Tudo bouts that pushed him to the limit as he honed the skills that would soon make him one of the most feared fighters on the planet. He met great success by winning the PRIDE organization’s middleweight championship and defeating the likes of current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton Jackson (twice), Dan Henderson, Kazushi Sakuraba (three times), Ricardo Arona, Hidehiko Yoshida, and Kazuyuki Fujita, while engaging in some of the most memorable fights in MMA history. Well-rested after his February PRIDE fight against Dan Henderson, Silva is ready to take on Liddell and secure the most important victory of his mixed martial arts career.

“I’ve wanted to fight Chuck for a long time,” said Silva. “I think about this fight a lot, our styles are very similar – we are both great strikers. I’m training very hard, because I want to give my next victory to my fans. After I beat Chuck, then I want to fight the champion.”

In addition to Liddell vs. Silva, UFC 79 features the main event welterweight championship matchup between UFC champion Matt Serra (16-4) and former UFC champion Matt Hughes (43-5).

Current UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra, fresh off his knockout victory over Georges St-Pierre in April, looks to defend his title for the first time against the legendary Hughes and secure his own legacy in the UFC 170-pound division. Hughes, a two-time UFC champion with seven combined title defenses to his name, has a deadly ground game that has earned him wins over St-Pierre, BJ Penn, Chris Lytle, Royce Gracie, and Frank Trigg (twice).

http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=8385

ReleasH wrote:

I feel for Kalib about not wanting the fight stopped, but watching the replay again, the doctor was right in stopping the fight. Even though the cut wasn't bleeding that bad through the vaseline, it was REALLY deep to be able to see skull. you can get crazy bad infections that can spread to your brain from head lacs like that. Kalib probably would have been able to finish the fight but it was a legitimately fight ending cut for his own health.

yeah, it's never a good sign when the doctor says "i can see your skull".

it's easier for us to see than the fighter, i'm sure. in kalib's case there's always added pressure because of the fans who call him a quitter because of his injury on the show.

as you said, good stoppage by the doctor for kalib's sake. who knows how bad that could have become.

good first round. if ben was more accurate with his strikes he'd have ended this already. he got dropped once, but he also dropped dan once. ben definitely landing way more on the feet and dan just dancing around and doing nothing when ben is on his back, just stalling it out until herb dean stnads them up...taking forever to stand them up, actually.

dan is not pulling the trigger on anything. leaping in for superman punches and knees, but not throwing once he gets in there. very strange.