Nothing would deter Manny Gamburyan.
The WEC featherweight told UFC/WEC matchmaker Joe Silva that WEC 48 opponent Mike Brown would have to put him asleep or break a limb to stop the fight. Short of that, there would be no letup, he said.
Gamburyan never came close to that type of danger and stopped Brown cold this past Saturday with a short, powerful right hand that likely set a featherweight title shot in motion.
With a hard-fought victory over Brian Davidson at Wednesday’s Bellator 16 event, Danny Tims has earned a spot in Bellator Fighting Championships’ season-three bantamweight tournament later this year, CEO Bjorn Rebney today announced.
The announcement confirms the organization’s plans for a first-ever 135-pound tournament.
As MMAjunkie.com first reported in March, Bellator is expected to host tournaments in four new weight classes in this fall’s third season: bantamweight, light heavyweight, heavyweight and a women’s division (weight class TBD).
The backpedaling between Jenna Jameson and Tito Ortiz is certainly starting to pick up steam. Today, it was Ortiz’s attorney’s turn to make sure everyone realizes that what went down Monday morning was a complete “misunderstanding.”
“Both sides are interested in the truth coming out and for the welfare of their children and bringing an end to this,” Chip Matthews told Sherdog.com on Friday.
They’re not the only ones anxious to hear what really happened at the Huntington Beach, California home the couple share. Let’s recap the string of vicious accusations they have flung at each other thus far:
Jenna: Tito didn’t beat me, but …
Ortiz: Jenna’s a drug addict.
Jenna: Tito is a “wife beater” and he threw me in the bathtub. I tore two ligaments in my shoulder (even though I went to CVS to buy an elbow brace immediately after the “disturbance”).
Ortiz: Jenna’s been a druggie for over a year and has threatened to commit suicide before.
Hard to imagine there’s a way to mend the bridge they equally torched, however Matthews claims their side never really said anything bad in the first place.
“We never said Jenna was on drugs,” Matthews professed. “We had said that he had found drugs in her pants from the night before. We were told later that the drugs were old.”
Huh?
Perhaps Matthews would care to watch the press conference again as he said:
“Unfortunately, Jenna Jameson has been facing and fighting a battle with OxyContin addiction for well over a year.”
“Unfortunately, this morning, Jenna relapsed and suffered the consequences of that.”
“Jenna has threatened suicide, has had an addiction and Tito has done everything within his power to protect her privacy.”
So, which part of those comments should we consider as a “misunderstanding?”
Probably the piece about Ortiz wanting to “protect her privacy” because he put her on blast the instant she threw him under the bus.
Anyway, here’s the generic statement Ortiz released to Sherdog.com on Friday:
“I would like to thank the MMA community and its fans for their continued support. I have received thousands of messages of encouragement from friends and family within the MMA community. Your support means as much to me outside the Octagon as it does inside. Thank you.”
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A long-awaited rematch between welterweights Thiago Alves and Jon Fitch will have to wait a bit longer.
The pair was expected to meet at UFC 115 on June 12 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, but Alves is still not medically cleared to fight, sources close to the fighter told MMAjunkie.com.
With six weeks to the event, UFC officials chose to exercise caution with his timetable for return and rescheduled the bout for UFC 117 on Aug. 7 in Oakland, Calif.
A bantamweight bout between Will Campuzano and Rafael Rebello is in the works and expected to be sign shortly for WEC 49.
A source close to the event today confirmed the bout with MMAjunkie.com and said – if signed – it’ll be part of the night’s un-aired preliminary card.
WEC 49 takes place June 20 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The event marks the WEC’s Canadian debut, and the night’s main card airs live on Versus.
A featherweight match-up between Rafael Assuncao and Diego Nunes has been targeted for WEC 49’s preliminary card.
Sources close to the event tell MMAjunkie.com that both competitors have agreed to the fight, though bout agreements have not been distributed. The match-up was first reported by MMAWeekly.com.
WEC 49 takes place June 20 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and is the promotion’s first trip to the country. The event falls one week after UFC 115 hits GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The highly anticipated rematch between Thiago Alves and Jon Fitch that was supposed to take place at “UFC 111: St-Pierre vs. Hardy,” then again for UFC 115, has once again been been rescheduled for UFC 117.
“Making sure Alves is 1000 percent healthy,” White texted MMAFight.com on Friday afternoon.
Alves is a month removed from having successful surgery to repair a brain “irregularity” that doctors discovered during a UFC 111 pre-fight CT Scan. The Brazilian was expected to be out three weeks, however made a fairly quick recovery and was lightly practicing just before the due date.
Alves holds an impressive 16-6 record, however hasn’t been seen inside an Octagon since being dominated by reigning welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 100 last July.
In their initial meeting at “UFC Fight Night 5″ back in June 2006, Fitch managed to land a vicious up-kick to Alves’ grill in the 2ndRound that ultimately put him out.
Fitch owns a 22-3 professional record and is considered by many as the world’s second best welterweight. Although his resume is impressive, the wrestler hasn’t posted the spectacular finishes that UFC brass and fans enjoy seeing. All of Fitch’s last six wins have come by way of decision.
UFC 117 is expected to take place August 7th inside the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. Here are the fighters rumored to participate in the pay-per-view broadcast:
Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida
Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves
Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva (UFC Middleweight Championship)
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A welterweight match-up between “The Ultimate Fighter” veterans Damarques Johnson and Matt Riddle is targeted for UFC on Versus 2.
Sources tell MMAjunkie.com that both fighter have agreed to the matchup, though bout agreements
have not been signed.
UFC on Versus 2 is expected to take place Aug. 1 at Salt Lake City’s EnergySolutions Arena. It is the second of two contracted UFC-Versus events in 2010.
A welterweight match-up between “The Ultimate Fighter” veterans Damarques Johnson and Matt Riddle is targeted for UFC on Versus 2.
Sources tell MMAjunkie.com that at least one fighter has agreed to the match-up, though bout agreements have not been signed.
UFC on Versus 2 is expected to take place Aug. 1 at Salt Lake City’s EnergySolutions Arena. It is the second of two contracted UFC-Versus events in 2010.
After its middleweight tournament semifinal fights were revealed on Thursday for the card, Bellator Fighting Championships today announced a host site for its upcoming Bellator 20 event: the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio.
The Texas show takes place May 27 and airs live on FOX Sports Net.
In addition to tournament bouts of Eric Schambari vs. Bryan Baker and Alexander Shlemenko vs. Jared Hess, Bellator 20 features a non-tourney heavyweight bout between UFC vet Eddie Sanchez and EliteXC vet Ralph Kelly.
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