A heavyweight bout between undefeated Jon Madsen and veteran fighter Gilbert Yvel is now official for UFC 121's preliminary card.
With the addition, the Oct. 23 fight card is now set with a total of 11 bouts.
As MMAjunkie.com first reported, Madsen initially was slated to fight recent UFC castoff Todd Duffee. However, Yvel agreed to replace the injured fighter in August.
Former UFC champion and longtime top-10 heavyweight Josh Barnett has inked a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce, officials today announced.
Terms of the deal and a debut date were not disclosed.
The 32-year-old fighter enters the organization with an overall 26-5 mark and a current six-fight win streak that includes victories over the likes of Jeff Monson, Pedro Rizzo, Gilbert Yvel and Geronimo dos Santos.
Heavyweight, and holder of the fastest knockout in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Todd Duffee (6-1) has reportedly been released from contract by the promotion.
MMAjunkie.com learned of the UFC’s decision from multiple sources with knowledge of the move, and Duffee’s manager, Alex Davis, confirmed the report.
Davis declined to comment further on the matter or speculate as to the reason behind the UFC’s decision.
Duffee was expected to face Jon Madsen at UFC 121 on Oct. 23 but had to withdraw due to a knee injury. He was replaced by Gilbert Yvel.
Duffee exploded onto the UFC seen in August of 2009 with a seven second knockout of Canadian Tim Hague at UFC 102 in Portland, Oregon. That was his sixth straight career victory, all of which were won by (T)KO.
Duffee then went on to face Mike Russow at UFC 114 last May in Las Vegas. The two fighters were quite a contrast to one another as Duffee’s fit physical appearance had many declaring him the winner against Russow, who appeared more rotund than Roy Nelson, even before the fight had started.
The fight was dominated by Duffee for two-and-a-half rounds as Russow took punch after punch. Eventually, Russow was able to catch his opponent with a slick knock-out at 2:35 of round 3 to win the fight.
Welcome back to another edition of “MMA Link Club”, Five Ounces of Pain‘s weekly smorgasbord of work from our brothers and sisters in the MMA community. Enjoy…
“Shogun” Rua Out Until Middle of 2011 (Versus.com)
Why Giving Sonnen an Immediate Rematch May be a Mistake (RunKalibRun.com)
Tri-Star Trainer Firas Zahabi Talks Ken Florian (Heavy.com)
Joe Lauzon Shines Some Light on UFC 118 Bout (MMAScraps.com)
EA Sports Reveals Middleweight Roster…Including Jack Shields! (MMAConvert.com)
A Breakdown of the Fallout from Sengoku 14 (FIGHT! Magazine)
Gilbert Yvel Returns to the Octagon at UFC 121 (Middleeasy.com)
Although he left the Octagon with the victory following his UFC 115 unanimous decision defeat of Gilbert Yvel, Ben Rothwell did not escape the bout unscathed.
According to MMAJunkie.com, Rothwell blew his ACL during the first takedown of the fight.
“It’s just one of those things where you hurt yourself, and you hear it, and you feel it, and you know it’s going to suck later,” said Rothwell, reflecting on the moment he knew he had severely damaged his ACL.
On Tuesday Rothwell had surgery to repair his ACL and a torn meniscus and currently expects to be out of action for about nine months.
“The average for something like this is six months to a year (of recovery), but [doctors] think that I’m going to be on the lower end of it,” said Rothwell.
“(Trainer) Matt Hume’s gone through a couple of knees and he thinks that nine months is what I should give myself until I feel like I’m really good and at 100 percent.”
UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell sat at UFC 115's post-fight podium and made no excuses.
He had won a unanimous decision over Gilbert Yvel on the June 12 event's
pay-per-view card but said it was "not a victory" for the fight's lack
of finish. He chose not to disclose that he had torn his ACL on the
first takedown of the three-round contest.
Rothwell on Tuesday underwent surgery to repair both his ACL and a torn
meniscus and hopes to be back in action by February or March of 2011.
Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - Of the 35 fighters making their UFC debuts thus far in 2010, the big names were undoubtedly international stars Takanori Gomi, Renzo Gracie, and Gilbert Yvel. Yet the newcomers who truly made an impact in the Octagon were the fighters you may not have even heard of before the New Year began, but that you certainly know now.
Ben Rothwell got his first win in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, but he's not calling it a victory.
Rothwell was surprisingly subdued in a post-fight press conference following Saturday's UFC 115 event and his main-card win over fellow heavyweight Gilbert Yvel.
The reason for his glumness? He feels like he let down the fans.
Fights, not fighters, are what make MMA events entertaining. You can stack a card with high quality fighters but there is no guarantee that this will make for enjoyable fights.
UFC 115 came in for heavy criticism from people who were unhappy at the lack of top class talent on display. What the main card of UFC 115 might have lacked in top ranked fighters though it more than made up for with a series of spectacular fights.
Local lad Rory Macdonald got the action off to the best possible start by picking Carlos Condit apart for two rounds to open up an insurmountable lead on the scorecards. The Canadian crowd were delighted and nothing short of a third stoppage would have suffice for Condit.
An uncharacteristically animated Greg Jackson sent Condit out for the third and final round telling him that, quite simply, he needed to go to war. Condit took Jackson’s words to heart and set about dominating Macdonald with a brutal display of ground and pound.
With a healthy two round lead presumably under his belt Macdonald only needed to survive this onslaught until the final bell to claim a decision victory. With less than seven seconds remaining and Condit raining down a barrage of unanswered blows the referee stepped in for a dramatic yet highly unpopular stoppage.
It was no more than Condit deserved for an inspiring comeback and tellingly there were absolutely no complaints from his vanquished opponent. This was one of those rare fights were both fighters were able to enhance their reputations and deservedly claimed fight of the night honors.
Next up were the heavyweights and Ben Rothwell and Gilbert Yvel were involved in a back and forth war which surpassed expectations despite an anti climactic third round. Rothwell went at Yvel from the opening bell and set a surprisingly fast pace for a heavyweight. Yvel fought back and was battering Rothwell by the time the bell rang.
Both fighters were already fatigued when round two began but Rothwell was able to take Yvel down and keep him there, although without doing any real damage. When Yvel was able to reverse the position he was far more effective and although Rothwell spent the majority of the round in a dominant position Yvel did far more damage.
Bereft of all energy both fighters came to a virtual stand still in the third round. Rothwell was once again able to secure a dominant position and this time Yvel was unable to escape, spending almost the entire round pinned to the floor. Rothwell was understandably awarded the decision although either of the first two rounds could conceivably have gone to Yvel.
Martin Kampmann showed that he is a serious welterweight contender by defeating Paulo Thiago with an extremely technical display. Thiago was consistently beaten to the punch by some crisp striking and Kampmann appeared on the verge of submitting the BJJ black belt on a couple of occasions. Kampmann is slowly working his way up the welterweight ladder and is probably only one more win away from a title shot.
Crocop vs Barry had all the makings of a classic and it did not disappoint. Barry enjoyed the better of the early exchanges and dropped Crocop with two hard right hands. Crocop seemed surprisingly reluctant to throw his legendary left kick preferring instead to use some unorthodox side kicks and spinning heel kicks. A stand up exchange towards the end of the round was enjoyed by both fighters so much that they shared a premature embrace but this was Barry’s round and Crocop’s face was badly swollen at the end of it.
UFC fans have been waiting to see the Crocop who laid waste to Pride’s heavyweight division inside the octagon and in round two they finally got to see him. Barry was unable to pull the trigger and Crocop showed good versatility to take Barry down and emphatically win the round.
By round three the real Mirko Crocop was ready to stand up. He chased Barry across the Octagon while picking him off with a selection of punches in a performance reminiscent of his Pride days. Once again Crocop was able to take Barry down and this time he secured a rear naked choke for a dramatic submission win.
After such an entertaining build up expectations were high going into the main event and it did not disappoint. Much was made of Liddell’s superior preparation and he showed that even aged 40 he is still able to evolve as a fighter with some vicious kicks, one of which probably broke Franklin’s arm.
At one point Liddell even successfully executed an unlikely take down but he seemed in a hurry to finish the fight and his impatience was to cost him. As the round drew to an end he chased Franklin down and pinned him against the cage, landing a sharp elbow. Liddell lunged forward looking to finish the fight and ran straight into a right hand from Franklin which knocked him out cold.
It was a huge win for Franklin and demonstrates that he is still a force in the light heavyweight division. For Liddell this surely marks the end of a glorious career but the iceman can feel proud that at least he went out on his shield.
A heavyweight bout between undefeated Jon Madsen and veteran fighter Gilbert Yvel is now official for UFC 121's preliminary card.
Former UFC champion and longtime top-10 heavyweight Josh Barnett has inked a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce, officials today announced.
UFC heavyweight Ben Rothwell sat at UFC 115's post-fight podium and made no excuses. 