It looks as though New Jersey resident Ricardo Almeida will have an opportunity to represent his State, as well as regionally-related Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, on March 19 against fellow submission-grappler Mike Pyle at UFC 128 in Newark, New Jersey. Almeida and Pyle are both coming off decision wins in their previous performances.

News of the possible pairing was reported by MMAWeekly where it was explained verbal agreements from both sides were in place without an official contract having been signed yet.

Almeida is 2-1 since dropping down from middleweight with the loss coming to divisional great Matt Hughes at UFC 117 in August. Prior to the switch he had beaten a number of notable draws such as Kendall Grove, Matt Horwich, Ryo Chonan, Nate Marquardt, and Kazuo Misaki, and most recently found success against T.J. Grant in Montreal at UFC 124.

His Xtreme Couture-trained opponent, Pyle, turned heads last October after dominating then-undefeated Brit John Hathaway at UFC 120. “Quicksand” also won his prior fight by way of submission against Jesse Lennox and has tapped sixteen of the twenty individuals he’s beaten.

If the fight comes to fruition, the two talented mat-based experts will join a line-up already rumored to feature a title-fight between UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and former belt-wearer Rashad Evans, as well as a bout between Frank Mir and Brendan Schaub.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC
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Former UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn is still very relevant in the overall division picture, but he’s taking on Matt Hughes at welterweight rather than fighting lightweight top contender Kenny “Kenflo” Florian. Many wondered if Penn was looking for a more likely win versus a tough battle, but that doesn’t seem to be the case at all. Talking to MMAJunkie, Penn explained how the fight with Hughes went down:

“I talked to Dana, and they tried to put me in the ring with Florian, (and) Dana said Florian was hurt,” said Penn, who submitted Florian in 2009 to defend the belt. “[Dana] said, ‘What do you think about Hughes?’ I said, ‘Matt Hughes?’ I got chicken skin all over my body. I said, ‘Tell him I’m coming. Tell him, let’s go.’”

After suffering back-to-back defeats, Penn said he had more sense than to request a fight with a UFC Hall of Famer who fights at a heavier weight class – especially one who’s climbed back into title contention with a string of wins over Matt Serra, Renzo Gracie and Ricardo Almeida. But with the opportunity to fight again quickly, and with Hughes on board, he simply couldn’t pass it up.

“I’m more respectful than that to lose two fights in a row and say, ‘OK, give me Matt Hughes,’” Penn said. “They offered me that fight. Matt was really excited about the fight. Dana called me and said, ‘We offered Matt the fight. He’s going to put everything on hold to take the fight if you want it.’ And I said, ‘I’ve got nothing else better to do. Let’s do this.’

Penn doesn’t gain much with a win except for a paycheck, as most would expect him to return to the lightweight division and make another run at the title. With current champion Frankie Edgar next looking to take on Gray Maynard you could certainly see Penn still fighting Florian for rights to the next title shot. Still a matchup with Hughes does seem like something that fans want, and it should make for a very entertaining bout especially with Hughes recent ressurgence.

At UFC 46 in 2004, BJ Penn gave fans new hope by submitting then-reigning champion Matt Hughes in the first frame of their welterweight title bout. A little more than two years later, Hughes struck back by disarming a defenseless Penn en route to a third round TKO victory. This November, a classic trilogy looks to be in the making, as UFC 123 will apparently mark the return of the Hawaiian to 170-pounds in hopes of besting Hughes two-out-of-three times.

News of the possible match-up was reported by MMAFighting.

“The Prodigy” has not competed outside of the lightweight division since losing to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 94 in January 2009. He is 0-3 as a welterweight since 2006 with an additional loss to “GSP”, as well as the previously mentioned mugging by Hughes at UFC 63. Penn is 15-7-1 in his career and will be coming off back-to-back losses to current 155-pound champ Frank Edgar.

While Penn has been struggling as of late, Hughes is presently riding a three-fight win streak including a “Submission of the Night” performance over BJJ blackbelt Ricardo Almeida at UFC 117. It was also the third consecutive victory for the self-professed “country boy” over opponents who were highly proficient at Jiu-Jitsu (like Penn).

UFC 123 is scheduled for November 20th at The Palace of Auburn Hills outside of Detroit, Michigan. On top of Penn vs. Hughes III, the event is slated to feature a light heavyweight bout between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida, as well as top contendership on the line when lightweight George Sotiropoulos puts his grappling to the test against 19-5 Joe Lauzon.

Former UFC champions BJ Penn (15-7-1) and Matt Hughes (45-7) will meet for a third time when the two square off at UFC 123.

The news was confirmed by MMAFighting.com after rumors of the matchup surfaced on Monday on CagePotato.com.

The welterweight bout will take place at the yet to be officially announced UFC 123, which goes down at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan on Nov. 20.

Both of their previous meetings have been fought for the UFC welterweight title with each fighter holding a win over the other. Hughes holds the last victory, defending the welterweight title at UFC 63, defeating Penn by TKO (punches) in the third round. While Penn earned the first victory by submitting Hughes by rear-naked-choke at UFC 40 to earn the Hawaiian his first UFC title.

Penn is coming off back-to-back lightweight championship losses to Frankie Edgar at UFC 118 and UFC 112. “The Prodigy” has stated that he wanted to come back quickly to face a big name and now has it in Hughes. Penn has fought for either the UFC lightweight or welterweight title in his past seven fights going 4-3 overall in those bouts.

The UFC Hall of Famer, Hughes, has shown a resurgence in his career after losing back-to-back matches to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 79 for the UFC interim welterweight title, and to Thiago Alves at UFC 85 in a 174 lbs catchweight bout. Since those losses he’s earned three straight wins against some tough opponents. He’s defeated Matt Hughes at UFC 98, Renzo Gracie at UFC 112, and earned his first “Submission of the Night” bonus for choking out Ricardo Almeida at UFC 117.

UFC 123 is expected to be headlined by a light-heavyweight bout between another set of former champions, Lyoto Machida vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

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…

Tim Kennedy Talks About Life as a Former Green Beret (MMAFighting.com)

UFC Lightweight Champ Frank Edgar Opens Up About his UFC 118 Rematch Against BJ PEnn (FIGHT! Magazine)

Ricardo Almeida Participates in Autism Benefit (MiddleEasy.com)

Mac Danzig Out of Fight Night 22 with Injury (CagePotato.com)

Bibiano Fernandes Still Waiting for DREAM Paycheck (MMAConvert.com)

Ten Jaw-Dropping Taekwondo Knockouts (MMAScraps.com)

“King Mo” Lawal Speaks About his Start in MMA (Heavy.com)

An In-Depth Look at the Shane Carwin Steroids Scandal (WatchKalibRun.com)

Mike Brown Back in Action at WEC 51 (Versus.com)

Former IFL middleweight champ Matt Horwich has never been known for acting in a conventional way or subscribing to the norm. Whether expressing his enlightened point of view on the world, his affinity for Brazilian Jiujitsu, or his love for quantum physics, Horwich is as unique a character as you’ll find in Mixed Martial Arts. He also happens to be a tremendous grappler with nineteen submission wins to his credit and a history of being extremely difficult to finish.

The 40-fight veteran faces his newest challenge this weekend, Thales Leites, at Powerhouse World Promotion’s upcoming “War on the Mainland” show in Irvine, California for the PWP Middleweight strap. Leites, who has won three consecutive bouts since parting ways with the UFC, is 17-3 as a professional and considered to be one of the better BJJ-based fighters in Mixed Martial Arts.

Five Ounces of Pain had a chance to speak to Horwich about the challenge Leites provides and how he’s approaching this weekend’s match-up. Though “Suave” considers the Brazilian to be on par with Ricardo Almeida in terms of the offering the best jiujitsu he’s faced in his career, he also didn’t hesitate to express his opinion the fight could also involve a decent amount of striking when asked whether or not he felt the action would focus on stand-up or be purely a ground war.

“I’m thinking both. We’re both well-rounded fighters by the Great Spirit’s grace!”

Horwich also stated he was approaching the five-round affair like any other bout, going so far as to say he prefers the potential for twenty-five minutes – even longer – as opposed to a non-title fifteen.

Said Horwich, “No, I like five rounds better. I think they should have special seven-round fights for guys like us.”

In closing, “Suave” parted with the humility and spirituality fans have come to expect from the 24-15-1 veteran.

“I want to give a big thanks and a shout out to Chris Reilly and my team at “Legends” – Eddy Bravo, everyone at 10th Planet, Melee Fight Wear…and everyone should see Wilmer Valderama’s new movie, “The Dry Land”. He’s one of the nicest famous dudes and part of our family at Legends…God Bless and have a beautiful day everyone! Every day is a new day of adventure and limitless possibilities by Jesus’ grace and surfing the infinitely exhilarating current of creativity!!!”

“War on the Mainland” takes place at the Bren Events Center on Saturday, August 14th, and will be available on cable/satellite PPV starting at 7:00PT/10:00ET. Beyond Horwich vs. Leities, the card also features title fights between UFC alumnus Jason Lambert and eight-time World BJJ champion Allan Goes, as well as the hard-hitting Paul Buentello vs. 2X UFC Heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia.

Perhaps deserving a bit of bonus pay for the pre-bout build, if not for the eye-popping conclusion, UFC 117’s main event between Chael Sonnen and Anderson Silva earned both middleweights an extra $60,000 in pay after being named the show’s ”Fight of the Night”.

Silva, who was dominated by Sonnen’s takedowns and ground control throughout the majority of the match’s four-plus rounds, was able to procure a hybrid triangle-armbar submission from his back and earn the tap-out with less than two minutes remaining in what would have been a championship-losing performance.

News of the bonus was announced at the post-event press conference.

Though Silva’s last-second slickness could have easily earned ”Submission of the Night” as well, the distinction (and $60,000) deservedly went to Matt Hughes for his still-to-be-officially-named choke of Gracie-trained jiujitsu whiz Ricardo Almeida in the opening round of their bout. The submission loss was the first of Almeida’s MMA career, while Hughes hadn’t won in such a manner dating back to his kimura of Joe Riggs in November 2005.

Stefan Struve’s comeback TKO win against the previously undefeated Christian Morecraft likely earned him a lot of respect in the eyes of fans/peers, but it also netted him ”Knockout of the Night” and an extra sixty-thousand dollars. The 6’11″, 22-year old is now 4-2 in the UFC with a trio of finishing performances.

OAKLAND, Calif - Fresh off a triumphant submission victory over Ricardo Almeida at UFC 117, Matt Hughes says fighting will take a back seat to hunting this fall.

"Early next year, I'll talk with the UFC, and we'll figure out what we're going to do," Hughes told MMAjunkie.com.

It was the former welterweight champion and recent UFC Hall of Fame inductee's third consecutive octagon victory after a disappointing run in which he lost his belt and dropped three out of four fights.

UFC president Dana White gave out “Fight Night” bonuses to Anderson Silva, Chael Sonnen, Stefan Struve, and Matt Hughes for their work as part of “UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen” in Oakland, Calif. Two “Submission of the Night” bonuses were handed out with each fighter earning $60,000. Champ Anderson Silva walked away with two bonuses to earn $120,000 for his win.

The “Fight of the Night” honor was given to defending champion Silva and Sonnen for their five round bout. The champ also earned the “Submission of the Night” bonus for his fifth round triangle choke submission of Sonnen to come from behind to saving his title. If Silva hadn’t of secured the submission, he would most have certainly been defeated as Sonnen dominated every round of the fight on paper.

The 6′11″ Struve, who had the second best “Come-back of the Night” after Silva, managed to stop opponent Christian Morecraft at the 0:22 second mark of the second round after suffering a heavy beating throughout the first round. The “Skyscraper” was beaten so badly that doctors took extra time between rounds to asses his injuries, but luckily for Struve, allowed him to carry on anyway.

The second “Submission of the Night” bonus was won by UFC Hall of Famer Hughes who had fans on their feet for submitting welterweight opponent Ricardo Almeida in the opening round. Hughes landed a left hand that staggered Almeida and quickly chased his opponent to the mat. The former UFC champ managed a modified arm-triangle choke from the front and squeezed till Almeida was put out to win the fight at 3:15 of the first.

Looking to see which fighter won the round and not the bio breakdown of the entire bout, well The MMA News is the place to find the ‘Quick Results’ for tonight’s “UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen” event.

UFC 117 is taking place at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.

Preliminary action is already underway with the live pay-per-view starting at 10 PM EST (7 PM PST).

Tonight’s main event features a UFC middleweight title bout between champion Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen. While the co-main event has welterweights Jon Fitch taking on Thiago Alves in a rematch.

Other notable bouts features another welterweight bout between UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida, and heavyweights Junior dos Santos vs. TUF 10 winner Roy “Big Country” Nelson in a match that will determine the next UFC heavyweight contender.

As always The MMA News likes to keep the spoilers off the main page for anyone who may be watching the event later. Just a warning, we will be updating the site post event and will undoubtedly feature individual bout spoilers.

The full ‘Quick Results’ after the jump

Main card

Middleweight Championship bout: Anderson Silva def. Chael Sonnen via submission (triangle choke) – R5 @ 3:10 (defends title)
Welterweight bout: Jon Fitch def. Thiago Alves via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Lightweight bout: Clay Guida def. Rafael dos Anjos via submission (verbal – due to jaw injury) – R3 @ 1:51
Welterweight bout: Matt Hughes def. Ricardo Almeida via submission (modified arm-triangle choke) – R1 @ 3:15
Heavyweight bout: Junior dos Santos def. Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Preliminary card

Welterweight bout: Rick Story def. Dustin Hazelett via TKO (punches) – R2 @ 1:15
Light Heavyweight bout: Phil Davis def. Rodney Wallace via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Welterweight bout: Johny Hendricks def. Charlie Brenneman via TKO (punches) – R2 @ 0:40
Light Heavyweight bout: Tim Boetsch def. Todd Brown via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Heavyweight bout: Stefan Struve def. Christian Morecraft via TKO (punches) – R1 @ 0:22
Welterweight bout: Dennis Hallman def. Ben Saunders via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)