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

E3 2011: UFC Undisputed 3 Exclusive Hands-On Preview

 There's a certain thought that runs through the minds of sports gamers year in and year out. It's that nagging idea that the latest installment in their favorite franchise could have been that much better if the developer had just had a little extra time and breathing room to try something new. Most of the time it's just wishful thinking, but every so often sports gamers get a chance to see that logic in action. UFC Undisputed 3 is one such opportunity. Scheduled for release in early 2012--nearly two years after its predecessor--UFC Undisputed 3 represents THQ's effort to deliver a genuinely fresh sequel not often seen in the sports gaming world. After playing through a number of different match types, we're pleased to say that the third installment in this mixed martial arts franchise is definitely benefiting from that extra development time.



Perhaps the biggest difference in UFC Undisputed 3 is that this isn't purely a UFC game. Pride Fighting Championships, UFC's once-edgier, more-eccentric rival, has been virtually resurrected after the organization folded in 2007. All the hallmarks of Pride fighting are here: the brutal attacks, the relaxed set of rules, and the outdoor venues filled with neon lights and smoke. There's also a completely different pair of ringside announcers for Pride matches in former real-life commentators Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros.

Pride matches in UFC Undisputed 3 have a much more vicious feel to them, thanks to a different set of rules that allows for dirtier fighting. For example, when your opponent gets knocked on the ground, you can start kicking him in the face or stomping his head with your heel--a tactic that would get you immediately thrown out of a UFC match. Being able to throw knees at your opponent's head in a north-south ground grapple and kick his face when he misses a shoot takedown are some of the other brutal but legal techniques. Since the league is no longer running, the Pride fighters you see in the game are shown as you would have seen them in their heydays, including Rampage Jackson and Wanderlei Silva represented in their younger, more intimidating days. (And in case you're wondering, yes, you can bring UFC fighters into a Pride match and vice versa.)

Besides just a new fighting variant in Pride, there are numerous changes and tweaks to the basic UFC fighting system, in terms of both striking and grappling. As far as striking goes, kicking is a much more effective tactic than in previous games. You've always been able to land a knockout kick to the head, but it used to be that kicking an opponent's legs or body was little more than a nuisance to your foe. Now, if you damage an opponent's legs enough, you can actually deliver a technical knockout. We fell victim to one of these, making the mistake of not guarding our knees enough before that final blow arrived that caused us to hit the ground clutching our twisted knee in agony. There's a counter to this, though, in a new kick-checking move (down on the right stick) that lets you brush off an opponent's blow. And according to producer Wes Bunn, there's a very small but real chance that your opponent can break his shin on your leg if you pull off a successful kick check.

The grapple system has undergone some changes as well. You will no longer be able to spam the standing Muay Thai clinch now that the player on the defensive end can struggle out of it more easily. On the ground, there's an entirely new submission system that replaces the analog stick twirling that led to so many blisters in previous games. Now it's a sort of cat-and-mouse minigame where an octagon image pops up onscreen with red and blue lines on the perimeter of it. Basically, the player being submitted has to outrun the one doing the submitting, with each player represented by their red or blue line that they can move around the perimeter of the octagon with the analog stick. It sounds a little bizarre, but there is a logic to it: the size of your line is affected by various factors, such as how fatigued you are, whether you've rushed into a submission prematurely, and the general effectiveness of a certain hold. So if you've ground-and-pounded for a solid 20 seconds and your attacker immediately goes into a submission, his line will be substantially bigger than if he'd rushed into a hold, making it easier for him to chase you down in the minigame and thus cause a tapout.

If all of this sounds a little bit confusing or you just don't consider yourself a huge UFC fan, you'll be happy to know that UFC Undisputed 3 is aiming to chip away at the barrier to entry that existed in previous games. There's a new, purely optional alternate control scheme that takes the bevy of intricate quarter-circle analog stick motions used for transitions in the grapple game and replaces them with simple up-and-down motions on the sticks. Having played with this alternate control scheme, we can definitely say it makes the (often byzantine) grapple game far less intimidating and ultimately friendlier to newcomers--if you can use the word "friendly" to describe two dudes trying to punch each other senseless. There are also new in-match tutorials that produce text balloons relevant to your current actions, giving you a little heads-up about how a certain technique works and the best way to use it. The tutorial prompts also show up between rounds, giving you positive and negative feedback on your performance to let you better focus on your technique in the next round.

Those are a few options for newer players to make the game a bit more accessible. If the opposite approach is more your bag, you're in luck. There's a new match variant for simulation stamina usage, making things like high leg kicks and heavy strikes cost far more energy than they normally would. In our experience, this mode tends to make the match move a lot more slowly, with an added cost and consequence for each attack that adds a certain game-of-chess feel to the proceedings. There's also a new competition match variant that removes all randomized elements, such as flash knockouts, in order to make it a true test of skill. You can even go a step further and use this variant with an equalized stat modifier that both removes randomized elements and takes any fighter in the game and keeps his skills balanced at 80s across the board.

There are some visual changes to be found as well. While character models look more or less the same as they did in previous games, animations seem to be a bit smoother, especially in the way counters and dodged attacks look. There's also a new camera that trades in the broadcast camera perspective for a new ringside view. The camera is lower to the ground, a bit more zoomed in on the action, and makes the audience a bit darker and more shadowy in order to focus on the fighting itself. This is also the first UFC Undisputed game with pre-match entrances, which you'll be able to customize with music and outfits much like in THQ's WWE games.

All told, we're really liking what we've seen (and played) of UFC Undisputed 3. Those Pride matches make for a much different, more vicious experience than we've ever got out of an Undisputed game, while the various changes to the fighting system should make the game more smooth and authentic. The big question we're left with is what's being done with the career mode. This series has always had a very menu-heavy, often-tedious career mode that has never been able to fully capitalize on the excellent core fighting system. If this is the game that finally nails the career mode, then you're going to see a legion of ecstatic UFC Undisputed fans--us included. But we'll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, you can expect UFC Undisputed 3 to arrive early next year. Gamespot

Josh Thomson vs. Maximo Blanco Set for Unannounced Strikeforce Show on Sept. 10

Maximo Blanco is ready to make his Strikeforce debut. He’ll get the opportunity when he faces a former champion.

The former Sengoku fighter will face former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson in his first bout with the promotion.

The news was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the match-up, stating bout agreements have been issued and signed for the fight expected to take place on an as yet unannounced Sept. 10 Strikeforce event.

This is the first fight confirmed for the next major Strikeforce show, but no location has been confirmed for the card.

Thomson (18-4) returns to Strikeforce after a lengthy layoff from his last fight when he traveled to Japan on short notice to face Tatsuya Kawajiri at the New Year’s Eve show Dynamite!! Thomson lost the fight, and then had to deal with an injured hand, which has kept him on the sideline for the past few months.

Now he will return and face a very stiff challenge from former Sengoku lightweight Maximo Blanco (8-2-1).

Blanco recently signed with Strikeforce after a successful career in the Japanese promotion where he won his last six fights in a row, five of them by KO or TKO.

“I would like to fight Josh Thomson,” Blanco told MMAWeekly.com last month when asked what fights most intrigued him out of the U.S. promotions. Now he gets his wish.

The two lightweights will battle in September in a key lightweight match-up as Strikeforce continues to build contenders with champion Gilbert Melendez perched at the top of the division.

More fights are expected to be announced for the Sept. 10 show in the coming weeks, as well as a confirmation on the show’s location.