While middleweight Gerald Harris has yet to be
featured on the main card of a UFC event, that doesn't mean he's not
getting noticed.
Being on ESPN can do that for you.
"When I was leaving the airport, I saw (professional wrestler)
Goldberg," Harris told MMAjunkie.com
Radio. "I said, 'Excuse me, sir. I fought last night, and I just want your
autograph. I don't want to bother you.' ... He said, 'Oh, my God, dude. You were on
'SportsCenter' this morning.' He grabbed me and took a picture with me. I
was like, 'Hell, yeah!'"
LAS VEGAS - Oh, what a difference a year can make.
It was just 12 short months ago that UFC heavyweight champion Brock
Lesnar was foaming at the mouth on ESPN and shooting middle fingers in
the air to a Las Vegas crowd while simultaneously disrespecting UFC
sponsors.
Yet somehow, a condition called diverticulitis that attacked the
intestines of the massive champion also had an effect on his mind, and
following his UFC 116 win over Shane Carwin, Lesnar was nothing but
smiles.
Looking for event coverage for tonight’s “UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin” event?
As always there are a number of places for you to get your pre, post, and live event coverage around the web.
ESPN and Sherdog.com have some of the best coverage with a Live Blog starting at 7:30 PM EST (4:30 PM PST) where fans can sign in, comment on the event, participate in a Q&A session, and share a few laughs.
Looking for round-by-round coverage of each fight? Sherdog.com has you covered with live Play-By-Play coverage direct from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas starting at 7:15 p.m.
If your wanting to catch some pre-event fighter interviews, the inside track on the big fights, or simply wanting to see what everyone else has to say about tonight’s event, we’ve got the links for you too.
ESPN’s ‘MMA Live’ offers professional analysis of UFC 116, fighter interviews, as well as coverage of other mma events.
You can also visit the Under Ground Forums to see what the mixed martial arts community is saying about all of the fighters, as well as a lot more.
And as a reminder, once UFC 116 is over, you can visit UFC.com to watch the post-fight press conference live by clicking the link.
It was a foregone conclusion that at some point highly outspoken UFC president Dana White would really say some nasty stuff about Fedor Emelianenko and it seems that he saved it for ESPN, calling Fedor a phony and a farce. Agree or disagree?
UFC president Dana White talks to ESPN 1100 about the return of Brock Lesnar.
“Ring rust is something I always talk about. It’s very real. The two things that make this fight different are, he’s only got five fights. How much ring rust can this guy have? He’s green. He’s just a freak of nature. The other thing is, if he was really at just 60 or 70 percent, now he’s at a 100 … I think that’ll make up for some ring rust.”
A special edition of ESPN's weekly "MMA Live" show airs late tonight, and featured guests include MMAjunkie.com medical columnist Dr. Johnny Benjamin and Strikeforce heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum.
The show is available at ESPN.com.
Additionally, you can also watch the half-hour version of the show on ESPN2 late tonight (early Friday morning) at 1 a.m. ET (10 p.m. PT).
Shane Carwin recently joined ESPN SportsCenter to discuss his impending heavyweight title clash withBrock Lesnar during UFC 116 this Saturday evening in Las Vegas.
“You’re going to see Brock Lesnar knocked out on the canvas,” stated Carwin when asked to offer a prediction for his upcoming bout with the former WWE superstar and Division I NCAA wrestling champion.
Check out Carwin breaking down the main event of UFC 116 in the video below:
Mixed martial arts continues to expand its presence on ESPN, and this
time it's two UFC champions that are being recognized.
Welterweight title-holder Georges St-Pierre and
lightweight champ Frankie Edgar have each been nominated in separate
categories for the 2010 ESPY Awards, ESPN's annual awards ceremony.
St-Pierre was nominated in the "Best Fighter" category, while Edgar's
UFC 112 win over former champion B.J. Penn is up for an award as the
year's "Best Upset."
Ratings for The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale topped out with 2.4 million viewers for the Spike TV-headliner between "TUF 11" middleweight finalists Court McGee and Kris McCray.
Overall, the June 19 broadcast scored a 1.4 rating and averaged 2 million viewers, Spike TV officials today announced.
Among both network and cable TV, the three-hour broadcast scored the highest ratings of the day among men 18-34 and even topped ESPN's World Cup coverage.
Singapore’s Brian “Polar Bear” Choi clinches rousing victory at Resorts World Sentosa
Crowd favourite Malik clinches Superfight Championship title over Washington to conclude successful Martial Combat 4
SINGAPORE, 17 June 2010 – Martial Combat 4 provided another fantastic night of mixed martial arts action with Singapore-based Brian Choi stealing the show with his closely-contested decision over Japanese American Isamu Himura after a frantic see-saw battle at Resorts World Sentosa.
The two fighters set a frenetic pace as they constantly battled for position throughout the fight. Choi, a wrestling coach at Evolve MMA, landed a series of eye-catching takedowns in the fight, utilizing his wrestling skills to repeatedly pick Himura up and slam him on the ground. Himura responded with a few takedowns of his own as both men exchanged submission attempts.
The audience gave both fighters an enormous ovation at the start of round three as a rapidly tiring Himura attempted to take the fight to the floor. Choi was able to defend the takedown attempt and caught Himura in an arm bar. Choi appeared to have the submission locked in and Himura must have been tempted to tap but showed incredible heart to escape and fight to the finish. The fight was a fantastic exhibition of skills by both men which captivated the Resorts World audience and Choi was deservedly awarded the winning decision.
Said Choi, who was delighted to emerge victorious in front of his home fans: “He was a late replacement and I didn’t know anything about him so I couldn’t prepare. It was a tough fight but I think the takedowns won me the fight. This is a great show and I am proud to be representing Evolve MMA and Singapore.”
Highly rated Filipino fighter Eduard Folayang was tipped for a victory in the opening fight, but faced a stern examination of his MMA credentials against Slovakian Muay Thai specialist Egon Racz. Racz threw a couple of early leg kicks but Folayang, who has a very high level of Wushu, was able to check them comfortably. The Filipino scored with a right hand before landing a huge takedown. Racz showed some intelligent submission defence but was simply overwhelmed by Folayang who landed some ground and pound before sinking in a guillotine choke.
Muhsin Corbbrey, a world renowned MMA fighter, was looking to put on an eye-catching performance against the unbeaten Wu Cheng Jie. Corbrey scored with some heavy leg kicks but Wu was able to catch one and send Corbbrey to the canvass. It proved to be a fatal error as the American is deadly on his back. Corbbrey first attempted an armbar and from there transitioned into the mount. Once Corbbrey had secured a dominant position there was simply nowhere for the Chinese to run from the professional boxer as he received a torrent of vicious elbows that left the referee little option but to step in and award the fight to the American.
Brazilian Arthur Cesar was able to make it two wins out of two tonight for the Evolve MMA team with a submission win over South Korean stand up specialist Yun Seob Kwak. Cesar secured an early take down and pinned his opponent to the floor before finishing the fight with a rear naked choke.
The Superfight Championship Belt showdown was billed as the War in Singapore with Afghanistan-born Malik Mawlayi taking on Cyrus Washington from USA. After a hesitant start, the muay thai-trained Washington took the fight to Mawlayi who threw a wild back kick before taking the American to the floor and quickly moved into side control. Cyrus gave up his back in an attempt to escape and Mawlayi sunk his hooks in and secured the rear naked choke for the victory.
Said a jubilant Mawlayi: “He was so tall, when I saw him stepping into the cage, I thought I’d go to my Plan B, which was to take him down. But he was so strong I couldn’t submit him that fast, but as soon as he made a mistake I caught him – rear naked chokes are my specialty. I felt good fighting in Singapore and I am thankful my fans for cheering for me. I’d like to tell them to keep believing in me and I will certainly be back.”
Tonight’s contests were crowd pleasers with fans cheering on and inspiring the fighters. Held at the Compass Ballroom, Resorts World Sentosa, the Martial Combat series featured 10 world-class mixed martial arts fighters battle over five explosive fights, presented by ESPN STAR Sports and Resorts World Sentosa. Resorts World® Sentosa Martial Combat™ is the only MMA event officially recognized and sanctioned by two of the world’s leading governing bodies in the martial arts scene, the Asian Mixed Martial Arts Federation (AMMAF) and the World Martial Arts Federation of Singapore.
Mixed martial arts fans can expect even more hard-hitting action in Martial Combat 5 and 6 when another ten fighters do battle next month on 14-15 July at the majestic Compass Ballroom, Resorts World Sentosa. Fans can look forward to more fights over the next four months with some of the world’s top professional contenders competing at Resorts World® Sentosa. Kindly visit www.RWmartialcombat.com for more information.
While middleweight Gerald Harris has yet to be
LAS VEGAS - Oh, what a difference a year can make.
A special edition of ESPN's weekly "MMA Live" show airs late tonight, and featured guests include MMAjunkie.com medical columnist Dr. Johnny Benjamin and Strikeforce heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum.
Mixed martial arts continues to expand its presence on ESPN, and this
Ratings for The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale topped out with 2.4 million viewers for the Spike TV-headliner between "TUF 11" middleweight finalists Court McGee and Kris McCray.