Ikuhisa Minowa vs Kendall Grove Targeted for ProElite 3

Former UFC middleweight Kendall Grove will meet Ikuhisa Minowa at ProElite 3 on Jan. 21 in Hawaii, MMAFighting.com has learned from sources close to the fighters. When contacted by MMAFighting.com, ProElite head of fight operations T. Jay Thompson would not confirm or deny the upcoming fight.

While not officially announced, ProElite 3 is scheduled to be held at the Neil S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, HI, site of ProElite 1.

According to sources close to the Japanese fighter, Minowa has signed a three-fight North American exclusive deal with ProElite.

Minowa, a 51-32-8 veteran of the sport, will be making his debut for ProElite as a middleweight. He has fought for Pancrase, PRIDE, DEEP, DREAM, and once in the UFC. The popular and charismatic Japanese fighter, nicknamed "The Punk" and "Minowaman," among other names, has won his last four fights in a row.

The 29-year-old Grove got back on the winning track when he defeated Joe Riggs at ProElite 1 in August. That fight marked his first since his release from the UFC following a second straight loss. The season 3 TUF winner ended his UFC run with a 7-6 record.

Also rumored for the Jan. 21 event is the return of Sara Mcmann and the semi-finals of the promotion's heavyweight tournament.

DREAM and OneFC Partner Up Plus Other HUGE News

There we have it - DREAM and OneFC have a partnership. Sources out of Japan confirmed with MMA-JAPAN that the two organizations have indeed agreed to a partnership. Here is the scope of it.... Continue Reading

Both sides have agreed to a copromotion at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in March.

A couple of DREAM fighters will be on the February OneFC card Indonesia.

DREAM should have 4-6 shows in 2012 - a big uptick from last year

OneFC will do 8-12 shows across Asia

The OneFC Network will now have at least 40 shows in 2012

The OneFC Network has now signed another 21 EXCLUSIVE partners to it's network bringing it to a total of 38 of the top Asian MMA promotions and gyms in Asia, or 90% of this. These include gyms and promotions of the largest MMA brands in Asia.

90% of all eligible Asian fighters are now under the OneFC umbrella - impressive numbers here!

The Asian MMA Summit which will be lead by Victor Cui will be held in Singapore the week of the 21 of November. All the huge players in Asian MMA will be attending.

Asian MMA Summit Held Next Week

Another game changer is underway in Asia as Victor Cui of OneFC will be the wheels behind the Asian MMA Summit to be held in Singapore the week of 21 November. The Summit will be held at the SIX star St. Regis Hotel - the most prestigious hotel in Singapore.

Here are a list of the confirmed attendees:

OneFC - Largest MMA promotion in Asia

DREAM FC - Largest MMA Promotion in Japan

CFC - Largest MMA promotion in Australia

RoadFC - Largest MMA promotion in Korea

URCC - Largest MMA Promo in Philippines

MMA Malaysia - Largest MMA promotion in Malaysia

DareFC - Largest MMA promotion in Thailand

The 56th Impact! Doo Ho Choi x Mitsuhiro Ishida

New fights have been announced for the December 16th DEEP 56 IMPACT event.

DREAM veterans Yoshiro Maeda and Takafumi Otsuka will look to get back on the winning track.

20 year old Korean super prospect Doo Ho Choi will take on “The Endless Fighter” Mitsuhiro Ishida who makes his DEEP debut.

Shooto veteran Hideki Kadowaki also makes his DEEP debut against Isao Terada.

Hiroshi “Iron” Nakamura will face the durable Seiji Akao.

Motoki Miyazawa will battle Yoshitomo Watanabe and Mach Dojo’s Hideto Kondo will fight Yoichi Fukumoto.

Previously announced for the card is the DEEP Welterweight title fight between Yuya Shirai and Mizuto Hirota teammate Taisuke “Goten” Okuno.

Seichi Ikemoto, Yusaku Nakamura, and Yoshiki Harada are planned to participate on the card.

Road FC 005! Night Of Champions

Road FC 005 will take place on December 3rd in Seoul, Jangchung Gymnasium and will contain the last two quarterfinals of the Road FC -84kg tournament.

Denis Kang will take on the tough as nails Shungo Oyama in one quarterfinal and Jong Dae Kim will take on Dool Hee Lee, who I believe is 4-0 at Middleweight, in the other.

In an awesome Lightweight super fight the heavy handed Ui Cheol Nam will take on world-class striker Vuyisile Colossa who you might remember from the first One FC event.

In a -88kg super fight Bernard Ackah, who lived in Korea while studying Taekwondo, will battle heavy-handed Jae Young Kim.

And in a Bantamweight super fight the experienced Kyung Ho Kang will face the young up-and-comer Min Jung Song.

Very good card thus far.

Road FC Young Guns 1 will take place the same day in the same arena, starting at 5:30 PM.

New Years 2011 Event Will Happen

Any questions regarding whether or not the 2011 New Years show would take place have been answered today, sources with the production outlet confirmed to MMA-JAPAN. The name, however, has yet to be decided upon. The words "DREAM New Years Eve" was the phrase used when speaking on the matter.

As you will recall, at the past DREAM event, it was referred to as Yarrenoka, the 2007 one off NYE event that preceded DREAM. It is rather certain that the show will NOT be called Dynamite!!

OneFC Announces Next 3 Shows

OneFC today announced their next three shows which look to start 2012 off with a bang. While returning to Singapore in March, they will also visit two new venues. This is part of their plan to take the promotion all through Asia as they look to expand their brand and grow their fighter base, effectively becoming the largest promotion in Asia.

February 11: Jakarta, Indonesia at Kelapa Gading Sports Mall
March 31: Singapore at the Singapore Indoor stadium
April 27: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the Stadium Negara

Jadamba Narantungalag, a name that many over look yet is a very talented fighter. Narantungalag will face Adrian Pang for the LegendFC lightweight championship. One of his most memorable wins was against JMMA standout Akihiro Gono who is rumored to be also actively seeking a different home to fight.

Legend Fighting Championship 6 is a very enticing card with fighters from around the globe competing. We are excited to be covering this organization and are looking forward to this event and the events to follow.

Lightweight Championship bout: Adrian Pang vs. Jadamba Narantungalag
Light Heavyweight bout: Liu Wenbo vs Sam Brown
Lightweight bout: Wang Guan vs Koji Ando
Lightweight bout: Song Un Sik vs Rob Hill
Welterweight bout: Lee Young Jae vs Rod MacSwain
Bantamweight bout: Ji Xian vs Michael Mortimer
Featherweight bout: Wu Chengjie vs Yusuke Kawanago
Welterweight bout: Kim Hoon vs Robert Whittaker
Bantamweight bout: Danaa Batgerel vs Vincent Siu

Hiromitsu Kanehara's "U-SPIRITS" Update!

A little while ago we told you about this upcoming show and with the show only a few weeks away, we thought it was time for an update. Here's the updated card:

UPDATE: Kanehara also just announced Takaku Fuke vs Dan Severn!!

Wow, this couldn't be a more amazing card

Hiromitsu Kanehara Vs. Minoru Suzuki (not official)

Yoshiki Takahashi Vs. Yoshihiro Takayama

Tatsuaki Nakano Vs. Daijiro Matsui

Masahito Kakihara Vs. Masaaki Mochizuki

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura Vs. Great Sasuke & Daisuke Ikeda

Billy Scott Vs. Daisuke Nakamura

Expect at least a few more matches as Kanehara and Minoru Suzuki are still missing so whether they will face each other or if Kanehara has a few more surprises up his sleeve (please Tamura) we'll have to wait and see.

New Big MMA Promotion In America Looking For Japanese Fighters ?

IGF’s Simon Inoki tweeted today that another quite big scale MMA promotion in America will start in 2012 and they’re searching for Japanese fighters. He then wrote that interested Japanese fighters can contact him. NOB

DREAM GP: Banuelos-Tokoro, Fernandes-Otsuka, Cullum-Imanari, Marques-Saadulaev

DREAM's world bantamweight grand prix is set, and a few surprise names made the cut.

DREAM officials announced the eight participants and pairing for September's opening round, and the matchups include Antonio Banuelos (18-7) vs. Hideo Tokoro (30-23-1), Bibiano Fernandes (8-3) vs. Takafumi Otuska (12-8-1), Masakazu Imanari (23-9-2) vs. Abel Cullum (18-5) and Rodolfo Marques (12-1) vs. Yusup Saadulaev (8-0-1).

DREAM.17 takes place Sept. 24 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

No North-American broadcast plans have been announced for the show.

A 13-time WEC veteran, Banuelos makes his DREAM debut after suffering a decision loss to Miguel Torres in the UFC's octagon. He faces Tokoro, who brings a four-fight win streak to the contest after capturing the promotion's eight-man Japan bantamweight grand prix tourney title.

Former featherweight Fernandes looks to rebound from a New Year's Eve loss to Hiroyuki Takaya against 12-time DEEP veteran Otsuka, who is just 2-4 in his past six outings.

Japan bantamweight grand prix runner-up and 11-year veteran Imanari draws Cullum, a nine-time King of the Cage fighter who looks to snap a two-fight losing streak.

Lastly, a pair of promising prospects make their promotional debuts as Nove Uniao's Marques meets undefeated Illini Saadulaev.

The current lineup for DREAM.17 now includes:

Antonio Banuelos vs. Hideo Tokoro*
Bibiano Fernandes vs. Takafumi Otuska*
Masakazu Imanari vs. Abel Cullum*
Rodolfo Marques vs. Yusup Saadulaev*
Joachim Hansen vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
Shinya Aoki vs. Rob McCullough
Willamy Freire vs. Satoru Kitaoka
Takeshi Inoue vs. Caol Uno

* - World bantamweight grand prix quarterfinal

Kawajiri makes featherweight debut against Hansen at DREAM.17

After stumbling to a 2-2 record in his past four fights at lightweight, "Crusher" will drop to 145 pounds to face "Hellboy."

DREAM officials recently announced the matchup, as Tatsuya Kawajiri (28-7-2 MMA, 8-2 DREAM) meets Joachim Hansen (22-10-1 MMA, 5-4 DREAM) at DREAM.17.

DREAM.17 takes place Sept. 24 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

No North-American broadcast plans have been announced for the show

The bout marks a rematch of sorts, as Kawajiri technically owns a victory over his foe. In a June 2006 meeting under the Shooto banner, a Hansen kick just eight seconds into the bout caught Kawajiri in the groin, resulting in a disqualification loss for the Norwegian scrapper.

A longtime staple of the Japanese MMA scene, Kawajiri made his U.S. debut this past April in a failed attempt to snatch the Strikeforce lightweight title away from Gilbert Melendez. Melendez dispatched of his Japanese opponent via first-round TKO.

It was the second failed lightweight title bid for Kawajiri in the past 13 months, as DREAM champ Shinya Aoki also earned a first-round submission win over the perennial contender.

Meanwhile, Hansen is also a former lightweight. In fact, the 32-year-old was actually DREAM's first lightweight champion. However, after losing the belt to Aoki in October 2009, Hansen promptly dropped to featherweight.

After falling short in his first two bouts in the new weightclass, Hansen has since racked up three-straight victories, including wins over Mitsuhiro Ishida, Sami Aziz and Hideo Tokoro.

Gerald Harris signs multi-fight deal with DREAM, could debut at September event

Gerald Harris (18-4 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) is bound for Japan.

The ex-UFC middleweight today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that he's signed a multi-fight contract with DREAM.

While Harris' debut for the promotion has yet to be determined, though DREAM representative Mike Kogan said today that there is "a very good chance" the fighter could appear on an as-yet-unannounced event, possibly DREAM.17, targeted for Sept. 25 at Saitama Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Harris is happy to have a promotion to call home.

"It's just dangerous to sign with an organization that's either new or trying to come back, or that's not stable," he said. "They're very stable."

While that statement might not ring true to many hardcore MMA fans – DREAM's financial struggles were well-documented in 2010 and later compounded by a horrific earthquake that hit Japan this past April – Harris is confident that the promotion is not going anywhere.

"Everybody's had situations in the past, but I'm just saying overall – they have a great reputation, they produce great fighters, and they're highly respected."

Harris said that he should know his first booking for DREAM in the next few days.

"It's just a multi-fight deal," he said. "Even my contract says, 'You're going to fight this many times.' It was real simple, and they're going to come back with more details."

DREAM on: Promotion planning resurgence this year

Kogan, meanwhile, said that DREAM's future is looking more solid than ever. The promotion's personnel backbone, Real Entertainment, has mapped out a plan to move forward independently with events as its longtime partner Fighting and Entertainment Group continues to undergo financial restructuring.

FEG made headlines this past year when a number of fighters stepped forward to complain of not being paid.

"They either have to or they have to cut all these guys loose," Kogan said of DREAM's motivation for continuing. "Because you can't sign people and tell them to sit tight while they restructure."

So while the schedule for FEG's primary offering, K-1 kickboxing, has yet to be determined, DREAM has earmarked Sept. 25 for an event. The card is expected to kickoff an international bantamweight tournament featuring three Japanese fighters – the winner of the recent "Japan Grand Prix" and its second and third place finishers – and five international fighters to be determined.

Kogan said former DREAM featherweight champion Bibiano Fernandes is planning a drop to bantamweight for a possible slot in the tournament.

What's unknown at this point, Kogan added, is whether DREAM will have the support of Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), who aired all of its events until this year. He did, however, say that the promotion is in talks with HDNet to air its 2011 schedule as well as its 2012 schedule.

It's unknown at this point whether the events will be broadcast live. Kogan said the tape-delayed airings of DREAM's two most recent shows on HDNet were due to the fact that the promotion had not yet decided to forge ahead with live events, and by the time it did, live programming was no longer an option on the premium cable channel.

After a five-month hiatus, DREAM resurfaced earlier this past May with an event to benefit victims of the Japanese earthquake. Earlier this month, it held the finals of a qualifying bantamweight grand prix at Tokyo's Ariake Coliseum. Hideo Tokoro defeated Masakazu Imanari to win the eight-man competition, and featherweight champ Hiroyuki Takaya outpointed Kazuyuki Miyata to retain his 145-pound title.

Rashad Evans Training with Cosmo Alexandre and Tyrone Spong

In preparation for his August 7 fight against Tito Ortiz at UFC 133, Rashad Evans has stepped his training up a few notches, working on his striking with Tyrone Spong and Cosmo Alexandre. It's been said for a while that Cosmo will eventually make a foray into MMA and training with the "Blackzillians" at Imperial MMA is a great way to get prepared. Cosmo will be fighting Sakmongkol Sitchuchoke on August 20 under Muay Thai rules. As for Tyrone Spong, he's coming off a June 18 It's Showtime win over Loren Javier Jorge and at the moment he doesn't have anything coming up.

Enfusion Returns in August, Sahak & Roche Featured

Enfusion's brand of reality television, tournament-based kickboxing is set to return shortly, as the group's next tournament will be filming in Macedonia this August. Dubbed the Trial of the Gladiators, the season will feature eighteen 85 kg. kick boxers from around the world.

Although many of the fighters included in the eighteen man field have flown under the radar, Enfusion has assembled a respectable field in a kickboxing division which really has not been hashed out on the international level.

The leading names in the upcoming 85 kg. tournament are Sahak Parparyan, Wendell Roche, and Hakan Aksoy. Sahak Parparyan secured the vacant It's Showtime 85 kg. MAX title in May, with a decision win over the veteran Amir Zeyada. Meanwhile, Wendell Roche dropped a wide decision to Danyo Ilunga in an It's Showtime 95 kg. MAX title bout this past March. As for Hakan Aksoy, the Turkish fighter just saw action against Romanian prospect Bogdan Stoica in a bout which quite the unfortunate ending. While Stoica looked to be in control, the Romanian ultimately injured his leg in the second round and the bout was halted accordingly.

The field of competitors also includes American Muay Thai stylist Eddie Walker, Scotland's Ritchie Hocking, and a number of other up and coming kick boxers from around the world.

The full line up for the upcoming season is as follows: Sahak Parparyan, Wendell Roche, Hakan Aksoy, Eddie Walker, Ritchie Hocking, Bruno Lurette, David Radeff, Andrew Tate, Franci Grajs, Peter Lapuc, Ville Aalto, Jake Bostwick, Michael Kongolo, Adnan Omeragic, Alexandros Chatzichronoglou.

Capital Punishment 4: Colossa Out, Mostafa Abdollahi In vs JWP

Vuyisile Colossa is out of the headlining bout at Capital Punishment 4. Mostafa Abdollahi will replace Colossa against John Wayne Parr on July 30th.

Scheduled for July 30th in Canberra, Australia, Capital Punishment 4 has experienced a bit of a shake up as Vuyisile Colossa will no longer be facing John Wayne Parr in the event's feature bout.

While there has been some discussion of Colossa not making it to the event, the South African's inability to participate has now been confirmed.

It has also been confirmed Mostafa Abdollahi will be the man to step in for Vuyisile Colossa. Abdollahi enters having competed on the recently filmed, not yet debuted season of The Challenger Muaythai. The Iranian standout is rumored to have taken full advantage of the opportunity presented to him in the WMC-backed show and will look for a breakout performance when he meets John Wayne Parr next weekend.

John Wayne Parr last fought on May 27th, as he quickly dispatched Mike Zambidis to complete the trilogy between the two storied fighters.

Capital Punishment 4 is also set to showcase regional standouts Ben Edwards(was set to take on Mighty Mo before he got KO'd with a liver shot last weekend, we'll see if a new opponent has been set or not) and Cedric Kongaika.

Sandro Motivated by Title Dream, Questionable Judging

At Bellator Fighting Championships 47, Marlon Sandro will take on Brazilian-based Argentinian Nazareno Malegarie, a fellow Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. However, the former Sengoku and Pancrase featherweight champion isn’t necessarily preparing to match his foe on the ground.

A Nova Uniao product under Andre Pederneiras’ command, Marlon Sandro doesn’t fear his opponent’s grappling game, nor does he believe that “Naza” will come to play “pure” jiu-jitsu.

“I’ve already seen some fights from Malegarie and I know he has a good BJJ background,” Sandro told Sherdog.com. “He comes from a good school, he’s a Thiago Tavares pupil, but I’m going to fight MMA, and wherever the fight goes, I’ll be ready.”

“I believe he will exchange a little and try to put me down,” continued the 34-year-old Sandro. “I’ve trained both on my feet and on the ground. I’m really confident that I’ll win.”

After turning in some brutal stoppages over the last two years, Sandro emerged as a knockout artist. However, it was his last fight -- a June split decision over fellow Brazilian Genair da Silva -- that has angered him and motivated him.

“I don’t want to belittle anyone, but I was surprised when they called a split decision,” Sandro revealed. “Me, Andre Pederneiras and Jose Aldo, who were in my corner, couldn’t understand how they decided that. I pressured him all fight, always moving forward. He was always walking backwards, and I hit him much more.”

Florida judges Barry Luxenberg and Rich Green saw the June 25 bout 30-27 and 29-28 for Sandro, respectively. Dissenting judge Ric Bays had it, quite surprisingly, 29-28 for da Silva.

“We weren’t satisfied with him winning a round, but that’s OK,” said Sandro. “We already saw the tape and fixed my mistakes. Now I’m focused on Malegarie.”

The “Junior PQD” bout was Sandro’s first of 2011, as he successfully rebounded from just the second loss of his career, having dropped his Sengoku crown to recent UFC signee Hatsu Hioki in December. Now, Sandro will be back in action for the second time in four weeks, something that he hasn’t done in six years.

“I took a lot of precautions to not get hurt last fight. Thank God, everything went OK,” said Sandro. “I returned healthy to my training, worked hard at Nova Uniao, and it confirmed how important it was to make a safe fight against PQD.”

Malegarie is just a means to an end for Sandro, however, as the Brazilian is eyeing yet another title belt.

“I respect everyone, but my thoughts are always on being the champion,” said Sandro. “Every fight I have, I do it with the intention to be No. 1 in the promotion. To achieve that dream, I’ve gotta beat Malegarie, a very tough guy, but I’m ready for that.”

John Wayne Parr: Blessed With Venom - Trailer

A new documentary on the life and career of John Wayne Parr is in the works and it's titled John Wayne Parr: Blessed With Venom. The first trailer has come out and from what we can see, this documentary is a must-watch. It doesn't have a release date yet but it is set to come out this year. If you want, read the full description:

“John Wayne Parr: Blessed With Venom” is a feature length documentary chronicling the life and career of Australian Muay Thai superstar and 7 times World Champion, John Wayne Parr. The film provides an intimate insight into Parr’s early years in Thailand where he endured rigorous training in primitive conditions, to the heights of awe-inspiring accomplishments all over the planet. We also get to see a very personal side to the Gunslinger as a husband and father of two. The true John Wayne Parr is revealed here. Champion, devoted family man and all round nice guy - a genuine hero with infinite courage to his legion of fans, respected by his opponents and dearly loved by his friends and family.

The documentary will also examine seminal fights in Parr’s career. From his bloody contests with Thai marvel Orono, which is considered the making of the Gunslinger’s legend, to his contemporary battles with Mike Zambidis, Lamsongkram and the three, all out wars with superstar Yodsanklai Fairtex. We bear witness as Parr comes back from 2 losses to ultimately defeating Yodsanklai in Melbourne – a blockbuster encounter between two giants of the sport – two modern day gladiators doing what they do best – trading bone crunching blows in the brutal world of Muay Thai Boxing.

You can also check out the official website, jwpblessedwithvenom.com.

Kikuno to Defend Lightweight Strap Against Hirota at Deep 55

Two of the top lightweights currently operating in Japan appear set to collide Aug. 26 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

Katsunori Kikuno, lightweight champion of Deep, will reportedly defend his belt against former Sengoku titleholder Mizuto Hirota at Deep “55 Impact.”

While only Hirota’s participation at the event has been made official, news of the matchup was tweeted Wednesday by Satoru Kitaoka, the man from whom Hirota took the Sengoku lightweight title in 2009.

The bout marks the card’s third championship affair, as featherweight ace Koichiro Matsumoto will defend against returning Yoshida Dojo product Tatsunao Nagakura, while heavyweight titlist Kazuhisa Tazawa will clash with Georgian judoka Levan Razmadze.

A pupil of early-UFC veteran Tsuyoshi Kosaka, Kikuno won his belt in April 2009, knocking out Matsumoto in the final of Deep’s lightweight title tournament. The 29-year-old Kyokushin karate specialist embarked on a 2-2 run in Dream, alternating wins over Andre “Dida” and Kuniyoshi Hironaka with losses to Eddie Alvarez and Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante.

Currently, Kikuno has won back-to-back starts, defending his Deep title against Nobuhiro Obiya in October before returning to Dream in May to outpoint veteran Daisuke Nakamura.

The championship bout will be Hirota’s first action since having his arm broken by Shinya Aoki in December 2009. Prior to that gruesome submission loss, the 30-year-old had knocked out Kitaoka and Mitsuhiro Ishida in consecutive outings. Now a freelance fighter, Hirota was a longtime staple at Gutsman Shooto Dojo.

DEEP 55 now includes...
Deep Lightweight Championship
Mizuto Hirota vs. Katsunori Kikuno

Deep Featherweight Championship
Koichiro Matsumoto vs. Tatsunao Nagakura

Amanda Lucas vs. TBA
Ryuta Noji vs. TBA
Ryuta Sakurai vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Daiki Hata vs. Tatsumitsu Wada
Motoki Miyazawa vs. Yasushi Kitazaki

Deep Megaton Championship
Kazuhisa Tazawa vs. Levan Razmadze

Filho vs. Ishii at AFC, Gracie and UFC-vets expected to battle at Brazil

Two and a half weeks after UFC Rio, Brazil may be the center of the MMA for one more night. At Manaus, Amazonas, promoters and matchmakers and working in silence to promote Amazon Forest Combat’s first edition, on September 14th, and TATAME learned some of the fighters that could fight at the event.


Pride veteran Royler Gracie, who recently told TATAME that he’ll no longer fight Eddie Bravo at ADCC 2011, is already signed to fight at the event. The promoters tried to match him against Hideo Tokoro, who won Dream’s Bantamweight GP last weekend, but the fight probably won’t happen anymore, as they search for new opponents.


Another Pride vet, former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho is set to fight at the event, and his opponent will be Satoshi Ishii, Judo expert with a 4-1 record in MMA.


Black House manager Jorge Guimarães, who’s working as one of the matchmakers of the show, confirmed the match-up to TATAME today. “It’ll be good fights”, he promises. “Tokoro will probably fight again at Dream in September, so he won’t be able to fight here”, Guimarães added.


According to the manager and matchmaker, they’re also negotiating with UFC veterans Nate Marquardt( Who recently also signed a deal with BAMMA), Patrick Coté and Marcus Davis. “We want Marcus Davis against Ronys Torres (another UFC veteran). We’re also in talks with Jordan Smith,” he revealed. “Coté and Marquardt may give us the answers today”.

UFC 135 headliners Jones and Jackson visit Denver media

It was perhaps the simplest question during a gathering that at times was more frat party than media event.

But it produced the most meaningful exchange during a pre-event media tour ahead of UFC 135.

Asked by a fan how the fight would go – without getting into game plan, of course – light-heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones (13-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) was interrupted by Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (32-8 MMA, 7-2 UFC).

"You know who he is – c'mon man," Jackson said today at the Pepsi Center in Denver, which also hosts the pay-per-view UFC 135 event on Sept. 24. "Who been standing with me, dog? Everybody been wrasslin' me, dog. You already know, player."

It was one of many interruptions from the former champ, who bounced between the role of class clown and frustrated MMA veteran as questions about his motivation to fight surfaced.

On the other side of the podium, Jones kept a mostly stoic exterior as he responded to persistent attacks about a perceived cockiness as the second-youngest champion in UFC history.

Although just nine years older than the champ, Jackson begrudgingly accepted his role as a representative of the old school. That didn't mean he liked it.

"Who you calling old, dog?" he snapped at one reporter. "I'm only 33, man. Goodness. You all act like I'm Randy Couture's decrepit old ass."

But by his answer to the question, his thoughts about the shape of the coming title match were clear. He will sprawl and brawl while the champ tries to grind him down on the mat. Jones doesn't want to stand and trade.

If only the champ agreed.

"I think I displayed pretty good kickboxing against Mauricio 'Shogun' (Rua)," Jones said. "'Shogun' is the one who actually knees and elbows and throws high kicks. 'Rampage' is like fighting a boxer in my opinion. So, if he thinks that I'm intimidated to stand with him, I think it's great for me that he's under that impression."

Jackson didn't want to give Jones the impression that he sees a one-dimensional opponent standing opposite him. He just isn't jumping on any bandwagons.

"Well, I just have to say – straight up, I do respect you, dog," Jackson said. "I do think you're the future of MMA, straight up, keeping it real. But as far as 'Shogun,' he was rusty as hell, dog. He was off an injury, hadn't fought for a year, (and) had like two knee surgeries."

It was Jones' turn to interject.

"There will always be excuses," he said as Jackson tried to get the floor back. "I'm sure after I beat you, they'll say, 'You didn't fight the PRIDE 'Rampage.' You fought the movie star 'Rampage.''"

The frat party didn't like that one. Oohs and aahs followed.

"Whatever," Jackson said. "You're right. There's always excuses. There's a hundred of them. I've got like three excuses for every time I lost; I ain't going to lie."

Jackson, though, hasn't lost since May 2010, when Rashad Evans outpointed him at UFC 114. Evans now is slated to fight his friend, former champion Tito Ortiz, in the headliner of UFC 133. He's now on a quest to get back the title he lost to the hands of Forrest Griffin at UFC 86. In the mean time, he's picked up work as a movie actor, which has led to questions about his motivation to continue competing at the highest levels. He's been fighting professionally for 11 years.

Jones, who blasted Rua at UFC 128 to take the title, has yet to taste defeat during his three years inside the cage.

"If I've got to represent the old school, then I guess I've got to represent them," Jackson said. "You all put me in that category. I was younger than him when I started doing my thing. I was fighting (with a) 2-1 (and) 2-2 (record) fighting people like Wanderlei (Silva) and stuff like that. I guess I'm old school.

"But with old school comes a lot of experience. He's the youngest champion, but I think he's the least experienced champion in UFC history. All that stuff doesn't matter to me. I just go fight and get my belt back. I have tunnel vision."

The title of "MMA legend" sounded much better to Jackson.

And as for Jones' lack of experience, he's not first in that category. As he said, former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar is.

For the latest on UFC 135 and other upcoming events, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site. MMA Junkie

Former Pride Grand Prix Champion Kazuo Misaki Signs w/ SF

At one time, Kazuo Misaki was a mainstay in the top ten of the middleweight division during his time with Pride Fighting Championships.

Now the Japanese fighter is making his move to welterweight and has signed an exclusive deal to compete in the welterweight division of Strikeforce.

Sources close to Misaki confirmed the signing to MMAWeekly.com on Thursday.

Just last week, Strikeforce official Scott Coker had teased signing a major veteran to their welterweight roster and Misaki fits the bill.

Misaki (24-11-2) has faced some of the toughest competition over the last several years, where he spent time in many different organizations but most prominently in Pride and Sengoku.

In 2006, Misaki was crowned the Pride Welterweight Grand Prix champion and picked up wins over Dan Henderson and Denis Kang to get there.

Over the last few years, Misaki has continued to battle away in Japan and has won his last two fights in a row with victories over Akira Shoji and Mike Seal.

While there has been no date given for his debut with Strikeforce, Misaki is expected to fight at 170lbs as opposed to middleweight where he’s spent the biggest part of his career in Japan.

Staredown of the day: JLB vs Barnet in IGF Finals!

K-1/MT/Kickboxing stud Jerome Le Banner will meet the ultra popular Josh Barnett in the IGF Finals on August 27th. Full IGF 16 results are below...

BAMMA 7 LW & MW Titles on the line! Trigg vs Kong Headlining

The latest event from Britain's biggest MMA promotion BAMMA is penciled in for September 10th at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England. The main event will be a showdown for the BAMMA middleweight title between champion Tom "Kong" Watson and long-time veteran Frank Trigg, and the co-main event will see Strikeforce and Pride veteran Joey Villasenor drop to welterweight for the first time in his career to take on British veteran Che Mills.

Watson is coming off a very impressive performance with a knockout win over Murilo "Ninja" Rua, which led to Rua retiring after the fight. He won the title with a decision win over Matt Horwich back at BAMMA 3 last May and has defended it twice since then. He is 10-1 in his last 11 with his only loss coming to Jesse Taylor. Trigg has won two in a row since being released from the UFC following a loss to Matt Serra at UFC 109. His last fight was at BAMMA 6 in May, where he defeated John Phillips by TKO.

Villasenor is 0-2-1 in his last 3 fights, the last being a split draw with Chris Camozzi at Shark Fights 17 in May. As stated above, this will be his first fight at welterweight. Mills has won four in a row, including a a first round knockout of Mario Cesar at BAMMA 6 in his last fight.

Current card:

Tom Watson (14-4) vs. Frank Trigg (21-8) (for BAMMA MW Title)
Joey Villasenor (27-8-1) vs. Che Mills (13-4)
Rob Sinclair (10-2) vs. Leonardo Santos (9-3) (for BAMMA LW title)
Efrain Escudero (15-3) vs. Tim Radcliffe (11-4)
Matt Ewin (22-9-1) vs. Valentino Petrescu (11-2)

Matsumoto’s Last Fight?! vs Nagakura @ The 55th Impact Plus More!

Two fights were announced for the August 26th DEEP 55 IMPACT event today.

DEEP Featherweight champion Koichiro Matsumoto will take on Yoshida Dojo’s Tatsunao Nagakura in a fight which he says will be his retirement fight whether he wins or not. It looks like he wants to aim at becoming a comedian (I think he has worked with it before).

The other announced fight is Ryuta Sakurai vs. Katsuyori Shibata.

Also on the card, the return of Mizuto Hirota and the JMMA debut of Amanda Lucas, daughter of George Lucas (yes the film maker George Lucas).

Fickett replaces Freire, Mizuno vs. Prangley added to "DREAM: Japan GP Final"

The July 16 "DREAM: Japan GP Final" event has undergone a couple changes.

UFC vet Drew Fickett (41-14 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) has replaced injured lightweight Willamy "Chiquerim" Freire (17-4 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) in a fight with Tatsuya Kawajiri (27-7-2 MMA, 7-1 DREAM). Additionally, Trevor Prangley (23-7-1 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) and Tatsuya Mizuno (8-7 MMA, 1-3 DREAM) have agreed to a light-heavyweight bout.

Officials today announced the additions.

"DREAM: Japan GP Final" takes place at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo. No North American broadcast plans have been announced for the event (officially dubbed "Fight for Japan: DREAM Japan GP Final – 2011 Bantamweight Japan Tournament Final").

DREAM officials announced that Freire suffered a hand injury with potentially torn ligaments.

His replacement, Fickett, makes his DREAM debut while looking to bounce back from a June MFC loss to Brian Cobb. The TKO defeat snapped Fickett's five-fight win streak, which followed a 1-7 skid he suffered from 2008-2009. He now meets Kawajiri, who fights for the first time since an April title loss to Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez. Two fights prior (and in his most recent DREAM bout), the former top-ranked lightweight suffered a title loss to DREAM champ Shinya Aoki at DREAM.15. Both losses came via first-round stoppage.

Prangley, who's recently competed for Strikeforce, makes his DREAM debut on the heels of a 1-2-1 streak. Most recently, he suffered a submission loss to Roger Gracie at "Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg." The South African, who's also a UFC vet and former BodogFIGHT champion, went 11-1 before the recent skid. He looks to get back on track against Mizuno, whose near-.500 record includes losses to many notables, including Thiago Silva, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Gegard Mousasi and Sergei Kharitonov. His lone DREAM win came over striker Melvin Manhoef a year ago at DREAM.15.

The latest "DREAM: Japan GP Final" card includes:

Champ Gegard Mousasi vs. Hiroshi Izumi (for light-heavyweight title)
Champ Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Kazuyuki Miyata (for featherweight title)
Champ Marius Zaromskis vs. Hayato Sakurai (welterweight non-title fight)
Masakazu Imanari vs. Hideo Tokoro (Japan bantamweight-tourney finale)
Keisuke Fujiwara vs. Kenji Osawa (Japan bantamweight-tourney third-place fight)
Todd Duffee vs. Nick Gaston
Tatsuya Mizuno vs. Trevor Prangley
Drew Fickett vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
Bruno Carvalho vs. Eiji Mitsuoka

Thai Fight Extreme Japan Shapes Up!

Seven fights have been announced for the August 7th Thai Fight Extreme Japan event at Ariake Coloseum in Tokyo, Japan.

Buakaw Por. Pramuk will fight under full Muay Thai rules for the first time in front of the Japanese and he will do it against WBKF world champion and J-Network Super Welterweight champion Tomoaki Makino.

Makino comes from a Karate background and has built his Kick record to 11-3 since converting. He went 1-2 in his first three but has won ten out of his last eleven fights. He’s also very tall for the weight class at 187cm.

Yodsanklai Fairtex will clash with WMAF World Super Welterweight champion Yasuhito Shirasu. Shirasu has fought for a long time but in 2010 he only fought once and this fight will be his first of 2011.

The awesome Saiyok Pumpanmuang will battle former Japan number 1 ranked Lightweight Kou Suman.

Fabio Pinca will take on the young 20 year old NJKF Welterweight champion Yuya Yamato in a rematch. Yamato defeated Pinca via cut in a Thai Fight event in France last month.

Another awesome Thai Fighter, Sudsakorn Sor Klinmee, will face Japanese TOMOYUKI.

Silver Wolf’s Yuichi Yamazaki will take on Algerian Adele Kohoja.

As one of Japan's representatives MMA & Kickboxing star Akihiro Gono will take on the newly recently crowned It's Showtime 73 kg. champion Yohan Lidon.

Ikki's opponent is yet to be announced.

Yuichiro "Jienotsu" Nagashima is not the only Japanese K-1 fighter to move into the world of professional wrestling while K-1 is on a bit of a break, as K-1 Heavyweight Champion Kyotaro (Kenjiro Maeda) has made his way into professional wrestling as well. Need proof? Here he is sporting a green mohawk hitting a flying missile dropkick.

It's Showtime Fast & Furious 70MAX Tournament Match-Ups Set

Earlier today in, the draw for It's Showtime's Fast and Furious 70MAX Tournament took place in Brussels, Belgium. All 8 competitors were on hand to decide the quarter final match-ups. The following 4 quarter final match-ups were determined:

Artur Kyshenko vs. Gago Drago

Andy Souwer vs. Harut Grigorian

Murat Direkci vs. Chris Ngimbi

Giorgio Petrosyan vs. Chahid Oulad El Hadj

What's interesting about these match-ups is that 3 out of the 4 match-ups are rematches, and intriguing rematches at that. Drago and Kyshenko just fought this March, with Kyshenko picking up the win. It should be another good fight. Chris Ngimbi topped Murat Direkci in December to win the It's Showtime 70MAX World Title, albeit in controversial fashion where he didn't look that great himself. Last but not least, Giorgio Petrosyan and Chahid are coming off that No Contest from May, in which many people wanted to see more of.

The card takes place on September 24 in Brussels, Belgium. It's also set to feature some Belgian talents, such as Sonny Dagraed, Marat Grigorian and Marco Vlieger.

1st Flyweight King Of Pancrase GP Match Ups Announced

The match-ups for the August 7th 4-man 1st generation Flyweight King Of Pancrase tournament were announced on the 29th.

The most logical combination was chosen in Mitsuhisa Sunabe vs. Yoshihiro “Child” Matsunaga and Takuya Eizumi vs. Hiroyuki Abe Version 2.0. Sunabe and Abe are favorites, Matsunaga and Eizumi just fought, and Sunabe and Eizumi have fought in the past.

The semifinals will take place at the August event, not the final.

UFC to host event in Japan "this year"

LAS VEGAS – The UFC could make its long-awaited return to Japan this year.

UFC president Dana White today said that plans are moving forward for for the organization to promote a show in the country, which hasn't hosted a UFC event since UFC 29 way back in 2000.

"The rumor is true," said White, who couldn't given any exact details on a date or host venue. "We're going to come to Japan, and probably soon."

Just how soon?

"This year," he said.

White and other officials have long teased the possibility of an upcoming show in Japan, where four pre-Zuffa LLC events took place in Tokyo (twice), Chiba and Yokohama more than a decade ago. Until the past few years, the UFC largely ignored the region.

However, in 2009, the UFC amped up its efforts in Asia, signed new TV and Internet deals in Japan, and began serious recruiting of Japanese talent.

In recent months, domestic Japanese MMA has been on the decline. While some mid-level promotions have continued developing talent and hosting solid shows, the most notable (at least to North American fans) have struggled. DREAM has hosted just one show in 2011 (with another planned for July 16), but both have been scaled back with virtually no television presence and smaller seating configurations.

World Victory Road's Sengoku event series, meanwhile, has been dormant since December, and financial struggles suggest the promotion may be done. In fact, some of the organization's top talent – such as featherweight champ Hatsu Hioki, middleweight champ Jorge Santiago and heavyweight Dave Herman – recently have signed with the UFC.

Meanwhile, the UFC has picked up many top-level Japanese fighters who were left without major homes, such as Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto and Riki Fukuda. Additionally, perhaps its most recognizable Japanese star, Yushin Okami, challenges UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva in August at UFC 134. MMA Junkie

Japan’s Number One FW Signs With UFC

FYI – guard-smashing savant Hatsu Hioki, a top-ranked featherweight, has been signed to the UFC roster. Welcome! NOB

Chael Sonnen's suspension ends today

After today, an asterisk gets taken off Chael Sonnen's name.

The onetime middleweight challenger's indefinite suspension from the California State Athletic Commission comes to an end today, and his manager said a meeting tomorrow in Las Vegas will determine the direction of his career.

"We're going to reevaluate it then," Sonnen's manager, Mike Roberts, today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

Sonnen was unavailable for comment at the time of this writing.

The CSAC indefinitely suspended Sonnen this past May for giving what officials determined to be inconsistent statements in a December appeal of a one-year suspension issued in the wake of his UFC 117 loss to Anderson Silva (which was later halved to six months) due to his testosterone-replacement therapy, as well as a felony charge on money laundering. In a second appeal hearing later that month, the commission upheld its ruling by a 4-1 vote.

The decision effectively sacked a job offer for Sonnen to coach opposite Michael Bisping on "The Ultimate Fighter 14." Onetime Strikeforce middleweight title challenger and recent UFC signee Jason "Mayhem" Miller instead got the job, and production began earlier this month.

At the time of the second hearing, Sonnen said the upholding of the suspension would prompt him to retire. But as of late, the fighter has been back to his old ways on his official Twitter account – that is, throwing stones at any target he fancies.

"Axe Murderer, my ass," Sonnen recently tweeted in a swipe at UFC 132 co-headliner Wanderlei Silva, a popular target. "I'm more intimidated by Axe Body Spray."

And late Tuesday night, he made it clear that retirement is the last thing on his mind.

"I can finally get back to the most important thing in my life," wrote Sonnen, who dominated in the Silva fight until the champ pulled off a fifth-round submission. "Defending my middleweight championship."

CSAC Executive Director George Dodd said Sonnen's name will be removed from a national registry of fighters that notes medical and administrative suspensions. If, however, the fighter wants to be licensed again in California, he needs to appear before the commission, and rehabilitation is likely to be the lynchpin of re-licensure.

Interestingly, Dodd also said the CSAC is in the process of finalizing formal language on the state's therapeutic-exemption process for TRT to be added to the commission's current statutes. Additionally, future applicants for an exemption will need to appear before the commission and its newly formed medical advisory committee to evaluate the necessity of using testosterone, a hot topic brought forth by Nate Marquardt's recent admission of prescribed use of the hormone prior to UFC on Versus 4.

As to whether licensees previously flagged for performance-enhancers will be allowed to get an exemption, Dodd said the CSAC will evaluate applications on a case-by-case basis. MMA Junkie

Zaromskis vs. Sakurai non-title fight added to DREAM 17

A rematch between welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis (14-6 MMA, 5-0 DREAM) and Hayato Sakurai (35-12-2 MMA, 4-4 DREAM) has been added to next month's "DREAM: Japan GP Final" event, officials today announced.

The fight is slated as a non-title affair.

"DREAM: Japan GP Final" is set for July 16 at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo.

No North American broadcast plans have been announced for the event (officially dubbed "Fight for Japan: DREAM Japan GP Final – 2011 Bantamweight Japan Tournament Final").

Zaromskis and Sakurai first fought back in 2009, when Zaromskis scored a head-kick-KO victory in the semifinal round of DREAM's welterweight grand prix. The Lithuanian went on to win the tournament to become the organization's first-ever welterweight champion.

While stuck in a 1-3 skid, Zaromskis remains undefeated in DREAM. In fact, his only victory in his past five fights came via TKO over Kazushi Sakuraba at "DREAM Dynamite!! 2010" in his first and only title defense. Recently, though, he suffered a unanimous-decision loss to top Canadian prospect Jordan Mein at theScore Fighting Series event earlier this month in Canada.

The once highly ranked Sakurai looks to snap out of a career-worst four-fight losing streak, which has included defeats to Zaromskis, Akihiro Gono, Nick Diaz and Jason High. Prior to the setbacks, the PRIDE veteran posted eight wins in nine fights, which included a 4-0 start to his DREAM career.

Dream.17 Japan GP Final now includes

Gegard Mousasi(Champ) vs. Hiroshi Izumi (for light-heavyweight title)
Hiroyuki Takaya(Champ) vs. Kazuyuki Miyata (for featherweight title)
Marius Zaromskis(Champ) vs. Hayato Sakurai (welterweight non-title fight)
Masakazu Imanari vs. Hideo Tokoro (Japan bantamweight-tourney finale)
Keisuke Fujiwara vs. Kenji Osawa (Japan bantamweight-tourney third-place fight)
Todd Duffee vs. Nick Gaston
Willamy Freire vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
Bruno Carvalho vs. Eiji Mitsuoka

Car Accident Forces Riki Fukuda Out of UFC 133 Bout

UFC 133 fighter Riki Fukuda has been involved in a car accident and it has forced him out of his slot in Philadelphia against Renzo Gracie student Rafael ‘Sapo’ Natal.

Fukuda made the announcement via his Twitter account.

‘I had a car accident on (the) 16th of July,” Fukuda wrote. “I broke my left knee and it seems (to) require surgery.”

Fukuda was set to make his 2nd appearance in the UFC after his debut fight ended in controversial nature, losing by decision to former ‘Ultimate Fighter’ competitor Nick Ring. Most scoring the fight had Fukuda winning the bout after the 15 minute battle.

The UFC has yet to make an announcement about Fukuda’s injury or potential replacement for the bout.

UFC 133 card now includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

• Phil Davis vs. Rashad Evans
• Rich Franklin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
• Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Vitor Belfort
• Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara
• Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
• Chad Mendes vs. Rani Yahya
• Brian Ebersole vs. Dennis Hallman
• Ivan Menjivar vs. Nick Pace
• Johny Hendricks vs. Mike Pierce
• Rafael "Sapo" Natal vs. TBA
• Mike Brown vs. Nam Phan

Here's an older interview with Riki before he made his UFC debute

Jason High vs. Quinn Mulhern promoted to Strikeforce Challengers 16 main card

An intriguing welterweight bout between Jason High (13-3 MMA, 0-0 SF) and Quinn Mulhern (15-1 MMA, 0-0 SF) has been promoted to the televised main card of Friday's Strikeforce Challengers 16 event.

High announced the news via Twitter.

As MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) reported this past week, the spot opened when a middleweight bout between Antwain Britt (11-5 MMA, 1-2 SF) and Danillo Villefort (13-3 MMA, 0-0 SF) was scratched due to injuries to both fighters.

Strikeforce Challengers 16 takes place June 24 at ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash. The main card airs on Showtime.

A 13-time King of the Cage veteran, Mulhern made his debut in 2007. He currently carries a seven-fight win streak that began after his lone career defeat, an October 2009 loss to UFC vet Michael "Joker" Guymon. Mulhern has fought the distance just twice in his 16-fight career, and 10 of his victories have come via submission.

In 2010, the Santa Fe Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu product fought six times, including three times in a seven-week span that included a TKO victory over longtime veteran Rich Clementi.

High most recently was seen on the HDNet-televised Titan Fighting Championship 16 event, where he submitted Strikeforce and Bellator vet Rudy Bears with a guillotine choke in 51 seconds. It undoubtedly was a relief to score a quick win after he took respected Japanese veteran Hayato Sakurai the distance at DREAM "Dynamite!! 2010" and scored a huge upset with a split-decision victory.

Prior to his recent four-fight win streak, High had signed a UFC contract only to be released by the promotion after a points loss to Charlie Brenneman at UFC Fight Night 21.

The latest Strikeforce Challengers 16 event includes:

MAIN CARD

• Caros Fodor vs. James Terry
• Ryan Couture vs. Matt Ricehouse
• Lorenz Larkin vs. Gian Villante
• Julia Budd vs. Germaine de Randamie
• Jason High vs. Quinn Mulhern

PRELIMINARY CARD (un-aired)

• Derek Brunson vs. Jeremy Hamilton
• Travis Bush vs. Ryan LaFlare
• Keith Berry vs. Trevor Smith

RINGS Is Back!! Revival In March Of 2012

Akira Maeda announced today that he is bringing RINGS back to life.

The return event is planned to take place in March of 2012 at Korakuen Hall. At first lighter weight classes will be the focus. Good fighters from The Outsider, ZST fighters who fought in The Outsider vs. ZST fights, fighters not belonging to any promotion, and fighters from other promotions could participate.

The aim is to eventually make a complete promotion with all weight classes involved. Fighters from Russia, Lithuania, and Australia will be scouted and invited like the old RINGS days.

The rules are not set yet but it will most likely not be KOK rules, expect a more modern rule-set.

Akira Maeda also announced that It’s Showtime Japan representative director and legendary Kickboxer Toshio Fujiwara will work as a judge in RINGS. So expect RINGS and STJ to cooperate when it comes to the business side of things.

Inoki Genome! Super Stars Festival 2011

The big kakutogi press conference of the day wasn’t the DREAM one. Most people covered and tweeted about Antonio Inoki’s press conference where a big card named Inoki Genome ~Super Stars Festival 2011~ for August 27th was announced.

The event will take place at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo and 1000 victims of the Tohoku earthquake will be invited as audience, lodging and traveling expenses included.

As for participants of the event, the list currently includes Josh Barnett, Peter Aerts, Jerome Le Banner, Bob Sapp, Ray Sefo, Shunichi Suzukawa, Tatsumi Fujinami, Riki Choshu, and Bobby Lashley.

Josh Barnett & More Strike Force HWGP Open Work Outs

DREAM Debuts! Eiji Mitsuoka Vs. Bruno Carvalho Set

Lightweight Eiji Mitsuoka has left World Victory Road's Sengoku event series for a contract with DREAM ahead of his promotional debut next month.

Officials today announced Mitsuoka (17-7-2 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) meets fellow promotional newcomer Bruno Carvalho (13-4 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) at "DREAM: Japan GP Final."

"DREAM: Japan GP Final" is slated for July 16 at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo.

No North American broadcast plans have been announced for the event (officially dubbed "Fight for Japan: DREAM Japan GP Final – 2011 Bantamweight Japan Tournament Final").

Mitsuoka competed six times for WVR and posted a 4-2 record. Most recently, the PRIDE veteran scored a submission victory over Jung Gyeong Lee at a DEEP event in his native Japan. It was his third win in four fights and his 11th submission victory in 17 career wins.

Carvalho, a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo, recently submitted "The Ultimate Fighter 11" cast member Kyacey Uscola at Superior Challenge 7. It marked the Brazilian's eighth consecutive victory, the past seven of which came via stoppage.

The latest "DREAM: Japan GP Final" card now includes:

Champ Gegard Mousasi vs. Hiroshi Izumi (for light-heavyweight title)
Champ Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Kazuyuki Miyata (for featherweight title)
Masakazu Imanari vs. Hideo Tokoro (Japan bantamweight-tourney finale)
Keisuke Fujiwara vs. Kenji Osawa (Japan bantamweight-tourney third-place fight)
Todd Duffee vs. Nick Gaston
Willamy Freire vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
Bruno Carvalho vs. Eiji Mitsuoka

The card now has seven fights set and there should be around three more before the card is complete.

Eiji's last fight & BC highlight

Hatsu Hioki Interview

Ben Rothwell returns against Mark Hunt at UFC 135

In his first fight in 15 months due to a knee injury, Ben Rothwell (31-7 MMA, 1-1 UFC) meets fellow heavyweight Mark Hunt (6-7 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at UFC 135.

Officials recently announced that verbal agreements are in place for the fight.

Although not officially announced, UFC 135 takes place Sept. 24 at Pepsi Center in Denver. The night's main card, including a likely Jon Jones vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson championship headliner, airs on pay-per-view.

It's not clear if Rothwell vs. Hunt will be part of the broadcast.

Rothwell fights for the first time since UFC 115, where he scored a unanimous-decision victory over Gilbert Yvel. However, Rothwell tore his ACL during the fight and has been recovering ever since.

Prior to his first UFC victory and subsequent injury layoff, he signed with the UFC on the strength of a 14-1 run in organizations such as the IFL and Affliction. However, in his octagon debut, he suffered a second-round TKO loss to now-champ Cain Velasquez.

Hunt, a New Zealand kickboxer, is a former PRIDE fighter who joined the UFC in 2010 (due to contractual requirements after the UFC purchased PRIDE). Hunt, who also owns a 30-13 kickboxing record, suffered a submission loss to Sean McCorkle in his octagon debut but rebounded at UFC 127 in February with a knockout win over Chris Tuchscherer. The victory snapped a six-fight losing streak.

UFC 135 now includes
Jon Jones vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (for light-heavyweight title)
Matt Hughes vs. Diego Sanchez
Damacio Page vs. Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto
Mark Hunt vs. Ben Rothwell
Rob Broughton vs. Travis Browne

Choi Out! A Sol Kwon Vs. Barbaro44 @ 54th IMPACT

First the bad news. Ultra-talented Doo Ho Choi hasb suffered another injury and will not be able to face Barbaro44 at DEEP 54 Impact on the 24th.

The good news is that replacing him will be a man who is in a lot of blog posts these days, former HEAT Welterweight champion and recent Road FC signed A Sol Kwon.

DEEP 54 Impact now includes

DEEP Light Heavyweight Title Fight
Yoshiyuki Nakanishi vs. Bernard Ackah

DEEP Bantamweight Title Fight
Hiroshi “Iron” Nakamura vs. Takafumi Otsuka

Kazunori Yokota vs. Shoji
Ryo Chonan vs. Shigetoshi Iwase
A Sol Kwon vs. Barbaro44
Alex Soto vs. Seiji Akao
TAISHO vs. Myung Sik Kwak
Yoshiki Harada vs. Toru Harai
Hiromitsu Kanehara vs. Hideto Tatsumi
LUIZ vs. Yasuhiro Kawasaki
Hirohide Fujinuma vs. Kentaro Onishi
Yoshitomo Watanabe vs. Someone

DEEP Annihilate! Cup Final
Seigo vs. Levan Razmadze

Atsushi Out, Osawa vs. Fujiwara & Duffee vs. Gaston, added to D.17

Two new fights are official for next month's DREAM.17 event: heavyweights Todd Duffee (6-2 MMA, 0-1 DREAM) vs. Nick Gaston (5-0 MMA, 0-0 DREAM) and a Japan bantamweight grand-prix third-place fight of Kenji Osawa (17-10-2 MMA, 2-1 DREAM) vs. Keisuke Fujiwara (11-3-4 MMA, 1-0 DREAM).

DREAM.17 is slated for July 16 at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo.

The Japan bantamweight tournament's finale also concludes at the show.

No North American broadcast plans have been announced for the show.

Duffee, a former top UFC heavyweight prospect who eventually butted heads with management, was released from the organization following a UFC 114 loss to Mike Russow. The 25-year-old, who owns the fastest knockout in UFC history (seven seconds), then took a late-notice booking with Alistair Overeem for the vacant DREAM heavyweight championship back in December. Duffee, though, quickly suffered a 19-second knockout loss due to knee strikes and punches.

He looks to avoid a third straight loss when he meets Gaston. "Afrozilla" fights for the first time outside of KOTC, where he's gone undefeated with wins over Josh Watson (6-1 at the time) and UFC vet Darrill Schoonover. The Ohio-based fighter's past four victories have come via stoppage.

Osawa, meanwhile, joined DREAM earlier this year after a four-fight (1-2-1) stint with the WEC. In the opening round of the Japan bantamweight grand prix, he picked up his fourth win in five fights with a split-decision victory over Takafumi Otsuka. But later that night, Masakazu Imanari submitted him in a semifinal-round fight.

Osawa was expected to fight fellow semifinalist Atsushi Yamamoto in the third-place fight, and the winner would gain entry into a worldwide DREAM bantamweight grand prix expected to kick off later this year. Yamamoto, though, pulled out of the fight with an eye injury, which opened the door for Fujiwara.

Fujiwara competed in the grand prix and suffered a decision loss to Masakazu Imanari in an opening-round fight. Prior to the defeat, the ZST champion went 4-0-1 in his previous five fights.

The latest DREAM.17 card now includes:

Gegard Mousasi vs. Hiroshi Izumi (for light-heavyweight title)
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Kazuyuki Miyata (for featherweight title)
Masakazu Imanari vs. Hideo Tokoro (Japan bantamweight-tourney finale)
Keisuke Fujiwara vs. Kenji Osawa (Japan bantamweight-tourney third-place fight)
Todd Duffee vs. Nick Gaston
Willamy Freire vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri

Bantamweights "Kid" Yamamoto vs. Damacio Page UFC 135

A bantamweight bout between Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto (18-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) and Damacio Page (15-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) is in the works for UFC 135.

UFC officials today announced that verbal agreements are in place for the September fight.

Although not officially announced, UFC 135 takes place Sept. 24 at Pepsi Center in Denver. The night's main card, including a likely Jon Jones vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson championship headliner, airs on pay-per-view.

Yamamoto vs. Page likely will be part of the preliminary card.

Yamamoto made his long-awaited UFC debut earlier this year and suffered a unanimous-decision loss to Demetrious Johnson at UFC 126. The K-1 HERO'S and DREAM vet now is just 1-3 in his past four fights following a seven-year, 14-fight win streak in Japan.

Yamamoto had been slated to fight Chris Cariaso this past month at UFC 130 but ultimately pulled out of the fight due to an injury.

Page, who competed in the WEC prior to the organization's merger with the UFC earlier this year, closed out his WEC career with a submission loss to Johnson and then was tapped out again during his UFC debut, which came in a UFC on Versus 3 bout with ex-champ Brian Bowles back in March. The Greg Jackson-trained fighter had won seven of eight bouts, including a decision victory over contender Scott Jorgensen, before the back-to-back losses. MMA Junkie

All Main Events to be 5 RND (Non-title) Fights & UFC Adds Flyweight Division!

The UFC is adding a new weight class.

"We're going to add the 125-pound weight division very soon," UFC president Dana White told reporters Thursday. "Like really soon."

He did not specify exactly when but said it would be before the end of the year.

Flyweight will be the eighth division for the mixed martial arts promoter, joining bantamweight (135 pounds), featherweight (145), lightweight (155), welterweight (170), middleweight (185), light-heavyweight (205) and heavyweight (205 to 265).

White said the UFC will sign talent and go from there.

"Then you start putting on fights and you figure out who the best is and have a title fight."

He did not rule out staging a tournament to figure out who's No. 1 at 125 pounds.

Adding a division allows the UFC to increase its stable of fighters.

"We need more fights," White said.

Plus it likely opens the door to more Mexican, Asian and other countries where the UFC is looking to expand.

All UFC Non-Title Main Events Will Be Five Round Fights Going Forward

Five-round non-title fights in main events will be the standard going forward in the UFC.

UFC president Dana White made the official announcement on Thursday that any fight signed from this day forward as a main event would be a five-round fight, regardless of whether or not it’s for a title.

Any fight currently signed for a main event that’s not a title fight, such as Rashad Evans and Phil Davis, who square off at UFC 133 in Philadelphia, will remain a three-round bout.

“What I don’t want to do to guys, fights that we’ve already made and they signed the bout agreement, you’re mentally training for a three-round fight. ‘Oh, now it’s five rounds’; you can’t do that to guys,” White stated.

He was specific in stating all future bout agreements for main event non-title fights would be five-round affairs.

“From this day forward, as we speak right here, right now today, every fight that is a main event that is not a title fight will be a five-round fight,” said White. “For Spike and everything else.”

This will be the first time in the modern history of the sport that MMA has had five-round fights that are not championship bouts.

White has long talked about making the move, and said they almost made the jump at UFC 131, but bout agreements had already been signed and the fighters were already in training camps to prepare for a three-round fight.

“We’re very close to doing it,” White revealed when speaking about five round non-title fights following UFC 129.

Now it is a reality.

White also specified that this policy is in effect for any show that the UFC produces whether it’s a pay-per-view or a UFC Fight Night event, main event fights will be five-round non-title bouts.

Let the cardio and conditioning workouts begin.

UFC's Kenny Florian Works with Cosmo Alexandre for UFC 131, a Paradigm Shift

CosmoThis weekend former UFC Lightweight contender Kenny Florian will officially make the move to Featherweight. Florian’s move to Featherweight is the first of its kind since WEC’s Featherweight division was folded into the UFC, Jose Aldo being crowned as the first UFC Featherweight Champion. For fans, Florian almost immediately becomes a top contender for the Featherweight title, with Diego Nunes his first opponent.

If you are a kickboxing fan, the possibility of a Florian and Aldo clash is a bit different, as both fighters are known for their striking prowess. Aldo is known for his explosive power in his striking, while Florian is known for adding a solid in-tight Muay Thai game to his outstanding jiu-jitsu. What is truly interesting is that both men have incorporated some of the finest kickboxers in the world to their training camps.

Jose Aldo while preparing for his UFC debut went to the Netherlands to train with one of the finest competitors that 70kg has ever seen in Andy Souwer. Andy Souwer can bring an interesting perspective to Aldo’s striking, as Souwer not only has experience in Muay Thai and Kickboxing, but he is also one of the best to ever compete in Japan’s strange hybrid sport of Shoot Boxing. Shoot Boxing incorporates the standard Kickboxing rules along with Judo elements of throws and standing submissions. To excel at Shoot Boxing, you not only need a solid stand up game, but you need to have a strong clinch game and grappling defense as well. Aldo went to war with Mark Hominick at UFC 129 to defend his title, with a possible title fight against Chad Mendes on the horizon once his injuries are healed. Aldo has expressed that he will work with Andy Souwer again, and Andy Souwer has also expressed that he’d love to train MMA with Aldo.

In the same vein, Kenny Florian has brought Cosmo Alexandre into his training camp for his Featherweight debut. Cosmo has made it clear that he is very much wanting to get into the world of MMA sometime soon, and aligning himself with Kenny Florian is a great place to start. Cosmo Alexandre is the former It’s Showtime 77MAX Champion, who only lost his title via politics when It’s Showtime was unhappy with him taking another fight close to his next title defense without their consent and he was unhappy with their contract situation. Cosmo has held multiple world Muay Thai titles and fought all over the world, generally considered one of the best Muay Thai fighters who Kickboxes in his weight class, he can provide Florian with a different approach to his Muay Thai. Florian, known for being a Mark DellaGrote Muay Thai student has learned a lot from Mark, but truth be told, training with fighters who not only currently compete, but are seen as some of the best in the world is vastly different.

What these two UFC fighters looking to some of the elite kickboxers of the world shows is that international kickboxing is gaining more respect in the United States, and elite fighters are realizing that not all stand up training is the same, to train and work with some of the most elite strikers in the world is a vastly different and rewarding experience from the same, cookie-cutter “Stand Up” training that you’ll see at your local MMA gyms across the country. I look forward to the days where more UFC fighters are talking about how incredible these fighters are that we already know are incredible.

Seo Hee Ham And V.V Mei Clash & Roxy vs Hitomi will finally happen!

Three fights were announced for the July 9th “Jewels 15th Ring” event today.

Our favorite Korean female fighter Seo Hee Ham will fight V.V Mei. Both of them have done good lately so this is definitely a top fight.

Hitomi Akano and Roxanne Modafferi were supposed to fight at the Sengoku Soul of Fight event on December 30th of 2010. However, the ring doctor entered the ring before the start of the fight and called it off since Modafferi had suffered some illness. Well, the fight will happen as it is signed and set for July 9th.

HIROKO will also fight at the event.

Legend FC 5! Wolverine’s Title Shot

Legend FC have announced several fights for their upcoming event on July 16th in Macau and as usual it looks great with a fun mix of nationalities and fighting styles.

Legend Welterweight champion Rod MacSwain will have his first title defense against Korean Myung Ho Bae. The two were supposed to have faced each other for the title at Legend FC 4 but Bae pulled out due to an injury and MacSwain defeated the replacing Hoon Kim to capture the title. I have always talked highly of Bae and think he has the potential to fight at a high level. I expect him to win this one.

Another Korean who I have written about for a while is 20 year old Nam Jin Jo. He will face Chinese Honggang Yao in the Legend Bantamweight tournament final. The winner of the fight will be crowned the first Legend Bantamweight champion. Yao defeated Michael Mortimer in the semifinal of the tournament, not a bad win for your first fight. Very interesting fight.

It’s good to see Yui Chul Nam back in action. He will take on Australian Rob Hill in a Lightweight fight. The winner of the fight should get to a position near Legend Lightweight champion Adrian Pang.

A Featherweight tournament will start at the event. Pancrase veteran Yusuke “Bancho” Kawanago will take on Korean Yeong Gwang Choi in one semifinal and Indonesian Fransino Tirta will face Cheng Jie Wu in the other.

“Bancho” just fought at a Pancrase event where he drew with the very solid Kensaku Nakamura. He should defeat Choi but Choi has had good results (2-0) in Legend so he might be in the middle of turning his career around.

Tirta is undefeated but doesn’t fight MMA very consistently. It’s good to see that he might become more active with Legend FC and their Featherweight tournament. Several of his fights are available on YouTube…

HEAT 18 SPOILERS

MMA/Kick cage promotion HEAT held their 18th event yesterday in Osaka and the event featured a few very solid/interesting fights.

Minowaman made his MMA return in the semi main event. He faced Carlos Toyota, who fought for the first time since 2008, in a Heavyweight fight and won via unanimous decision.

Former HEAT MMA Rules Welterweight champion A Sol Kwon relinquished his title to focus on Lightweight and go after the HEAT Lightweight title. He KO’d 2008 Shooto Rookie-Of-The-Year tournament runner-up Hibiki Tamura just 31 seconds into the first round with a knee. Tamura has never been KO’d or lost in the first round.

The legendary Kin Taiei was successful in the HEAT Kick Rules Heavyweight main event, defeating Shin Nihon Kickboxing Federation’s number 1 ranked Kuniyoshi by split decision after an extension round. The HEAT Kick Rules Heavyweight champion is Hiromi Amada so it would be fun if they could make a title fight between the two.

Also, in a HEAT MMA Rules fight between prospects, Mamoru Uoi defeated Kazuma Sone.

Carano fails to receive medical clearance, will not fight at "Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum"

Gina Carano's (7-1 MMA, 1-1 SF) return to action will have to wait.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker today announced that Carano's "medical clearance was revoked," leaving her ineligible to compete in a previously announced June 18 contest with Sarah D'Alelio (4-1 MMA, 0-0 SF) at "Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum."

With the contest scrapped, a lightweight bout between K.J. Noons and Jorge Masvidal has been promoted to the evening's Showtime-broadcast main card.

"Following a medical examination yesterday afternoon, Gina Carano's medical clearance was revoked by her doctor, and consequently, she will not be able to fight on June 18," Coker today said on a media call promoting the event. "The timetable for Gina's return will be determined after further testing conducted this week."

Coker declined to give any details on the Carano's condition, but instead read a prepared statement from the female contender.

"I'm seriously disappointed not to be fighting June 18," Carano's statement read. "I'd like to thank Greg Jackson and Team Jackson for such an amazing camp. I hope this is only a brief setback."

Carano hasn't fought since an August 2009 TKO loss to current Strikeforce middleweight champion Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos.

Coker told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) the promotion has not yet determined if A'lelio will receive a replacement opponent, but he hopes to have more information as soon as today.

Featuring a pair of first-round contests in the Strikeforce's heavyweight grand prix, "Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum" takes place at the Dallas' American Airlines Center.

With the change, the full lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (Showtime)

• Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum (heavyweight grand-prix opening round)
• Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers (heavyweight grand-prix opening round)
• Daniel Cormier vs. Jeff Monson
• Chad Griggs vs. Valentijn Overeem
• Jorge Masvidal vs. K.J. Noons

PRELIMINARY CARD (HDNet)

• Gesias Cavalcante vs. Justin Wilcox
• Magno Almeida vs. Conor Heun
• Julie Kedzie vs. TBA
• Sarah D'Alelio vs. TBA
• Mike Bronzoulis vs. Todd Moore*

* - Not officially announced