ben benieuwd !!!!
Paul Taylor has been forced to pull out of his UFC 138 lightweight fight against Anthony Njokuani due to an undisclosed injury suffered in a car accident on Monday, UFC officials confirmed with MMAFighting.com.
According to UFC.com, Taylor's car was rear-ended at a red light and he suffered whiplash. The injury is not considered to be career-threatening, but it was serious enough to keep him off the card. Due to the event being just five days away, Njokuani will be kept off the card.
ESPN UK first reported Taylor's removal from the card on Tuesday.
As a result, the Cyrille Diabate vs. Anthony Perosh light heavyweightfight has been bumped up to the main card, which will air live via tape delay in the United States on Spike TV.
"When I am fighting I am keeping my mind empty for any expectations. I am waiting for something unique, completely new.” - Rickson Gracie
‘The Crippler’ Chris Leben is set to headline UFC 138 this Saturday night against Mark Munoz in Birmingham, England.
In this video blog, Leben takes to the mat practicing some clinch work, a few scenes from his last bout against Wanderlei Silva, some shots of him at the Ohana Hoopfest in Hawaii, as well as some comments from the fighter and his coach
"Some people have so much respect for their superiors
they have none left for themselves."
"Some people have so much respect for their superiors
they have none left for themselves."
Location: Birmingham, England
Venue: LG Arena at the National Exhibition Centre
Broadcast: Spike TV (same-day delay) and Facebook (live)
MAIN CARD (Spike TV)
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)
- Chris Leben vs. Mark Munoz
- Renan Barao vs. Brad Pickett
- Papy Abedi vs. Thiago Alves
- Terry Etim vs. Edward Faaloloto
- Cyrille Diabate vs. Anthony Perosh
- Justin Edwards vs. John Maguire
- Michihiro Omigawa vs. Jason Young
- Rob Broughton vs. Philip De Fries
- Chris Cope vs. Che Mills
- Chris Cariaso vs. Vaughan Lee
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"Some people have so much respect for their superiors
they have none left for themselves."
Gaan er eigenlijk Mixfight broeders richting UK??
"Some people have so much respect for their superiors
they have none left for themselves."
"Some people have so much respect for their superiors
they have none left for themselves."
"Some people have so much respect for their superiors
they have none left for themselves."
UFC 138 Fight Journal: Mark Munoz Edition
Mark Munoz will compete in his first five-round fight Saturday night when he meets Chris Leben at UFC 138 in Birmingham, England. "The Filipino Wrecking Machine" recently granted MMAFighting.com access to his one of his intense training days at the Reign Training Center in California for another installment in our "Fight Journal" series, shot and edited by E. Casey Leydon.
http://video.aol.com/aolvideo/aol-sports/mark-munoz-ufc-138-training-camp-journal/1254960646001
Be a Warrior, not a Worrier
Watch UFC 138 Live Stream Online Free. UFC 138: Leben vs. Munoz is an upcoming mixed martial arts event to be held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 5, 2011 at LG Arena in Birmingham, England.
UFC 138 Live Stream Online
Chris Leben and Mark Munoz Say It Will be 'Bombs Away' in UFC 138 Main Event
It's been over a year since the UFC has staged a show in the UK. As is customary when the promotion parks the octagon on British land, fans bought tickets in droves. According to managing director of international development for the UFC Marshall Zelaznik, the organization has already been informed that UFC 138 will break the all-time gate record for the LG Arena in Birmingham on Saturday night.
Still, there have been some complaints about the card. There are no title matches, no No. 1 contender matches, and no former champions spotlighted.
All main-event participants Chris Leben and Mark Munoz can do about that is put on a show of their own, and at Thursday press conference, both agreed that anyone watching won't be disappointed.
"You guys have a main event you're not going to have to worry about," said Leben, who is known for his always aggressive, often reckless style. "Sometimes we put these main events together because they're names, and it sucks. We're going to get in there and we're going to do it. I promise you a great show."
Munoz echoed those thoughts.
"He throws bombs, and I throw bombs, so bombs away," he said.
Both Munoz (11-2) and Leben (22-7) have performed well over the last two years. Munoz has captured six of his last seven bouts, most recently defeating Demian Maia in June. And Leben, a winner of four of his last five, is coming off a 27-second knockout of Wanderlei Silva.
Leben said that because the two enter the fight with so much recent success, the winner deserves to be the No. 1 contender. That's not likely, especially with Chael Sonnen campaigning for a rematch with Anderson Silva. But Leben said for the sake of the fans, he's just the type of fighter that should be fighting for the belt.
"I've been watching a lot of fights lately where the champs, they seem to ...maybe it's just me, but it seems like they're fighting not to lose," he said. "For myself, I'd quit if that's what I start doing. I fight to win, I fight to finish my opponent. I don't fight to not lose. And that's what you're going to see."
Munoz has had the experience of facing southpaws before, but he probably hasn't faced anyone with the punching power and fearlessness of Leben. Munoz said he's blessed to have lots of lefties in his camp, and he's also studied a lot of tape in preparation of the fight. Everything to be ready. Everything to put on a good show.
"We want to be the best, and I definitely want to be the best," Munoz said. "I'm getting closer and closer, and this is one of the steps to get there, so I'm definitely going to take it."
Be a Warrior, not a Worrier
Brad Pickett: I'm Not Worried About Renan Barao's Stand-Up
Say this for UFC bantamweight Brad Pickett: the guy's not kidding himself.
When asked by Ariel Helwani on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour if he thought his fight with Renan Barao would be so high up on the UFC 138 main card if the event wasn't in Pickett's home country, the British fighter initially replied, "Maybe, maybe not." Then came a more sober analysis.
"Probably not," he said. While he'd like to believe that he's main card material, he added, it sure doesn't hurt to have the Octagon in your own backyard for one night.
As the former WEC standout gets set to make his UFC debut against the Brazilian Barao, he has reason to hope that a crowd full of his countrymen will help propel him to victory over a foe who Pickett sees as being still slightly untested, despite his prodigious winning streak.
"I've been watching his fights -- it's my job to watch people in my weight class fight -- and yeah, he's good," Pickett said. "He's very well-rounded. He's not just one-dimensional. But then it's also hard to gauge how good he is, because he hasn't fought, at least in my eyes, top-level competition. He's beat everyone he has [had] put in front of him. ...I believe I'm his toughest fight to date, so maybe after this fight I can tell you if he's the real deal or not."
Though Barao hasn't lost since his professional debut more than six years ago, Pickett pointed out that he's only recently begun facing well-known fighters like Cole Escovedo, who Barao beat in his Octagon debut at UFC 130. Meanwhile, Pickett has wins over Demetrious Johnson, who recently fought for the UFC bantamweight title, and MMA veteran Ivan Menjivar.
As for where that puts Pickett in relation to current UFC 135-pound champ Dominick Cruz, Pickett isn't quite sure, he said.
"I beat Demetrious Johnson, he got a title shot. I fought Scott Jorgensen, he beat me and he got a title shot off of beating me. So I'm there and thereabouts, but I'm not one of these people to demand a title shot. All I can do is keep winning in my job, and winning will always put me in a better position."
Against Barao, Pickett said, the key to winning will be pace and pressure and "break[ing] him mentally." He said he expects Barao to look to take the fight to the mat "when I hit him hard," but he isn't especially concerned about the consequences of trading blows with the Brazilian.
"I don't worry about his stand-up. Obviously, any punch or kick can knock anyone out if you walk into it in the right way, but his stand-up's not something I'm too concerned about, to be honest."
While Pickett stressed that he's not expecting an easy fight from Barao, "I believe if I perform how I can perform, there's going to be no trouble with me winning this fight."
If Pickett does become only the second person to defeat Barao, the win would likely put him at or at least near the top of the relatively thin bantamweight division. From there, a title shot might not be too far off, though of course, as Pickett pointed out, nothing's guaranteed in MMA.
"If I win this, I go one direction. If I lose this fight, I go in a different direction. My job is go in the right direction and then after this fight, then we can talk about getting a title shot. If I win, and that's a big if because this sport's crazy and he's a tough opponent."
http://video.aol.com/aolvideo/aol-sports/mma-hour-episode-no-106-brad-pickett/1251775653001
Be a Warrior, not a Worrier
Chris Leben: In My Mind, This Is for Number One Contender
Chris Leben knows that, as far as some people are concerned, he'll always be the person he was in 2004. He knows because they tell him, even if it's not in so many words.
"It's tough," Leben said. "When I go do an appearance or something, everybody wants to see 'The Cat Smasher.' They want to see the dyed red hair."
If he arrives without it -- in other words, if he shows up looking like a normal human being sporting his natural color -- they act shocked, as if he's tricked them somehow. As if he's obligated to be the wild man they remember from TV nearly seven years ago. As if he has no right to turn down their offer of a free drink, even if they only want to buy him one so they can see him go crazy.
It's not that Leben doesn't know why this reputation still follows him around. His antics on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter made him one of the show's most dynamic personalities, for better or worse. It turns out that when you drink too much and put your fist through inanimate objects, people tend to remember. Shaking that image hasn't been easy for Leben, and he has, in his estimation, been his own worst enemy for much of his career ever since.
"It's not so much what I do in the practice room, it's what I do outside of the practice room. It's what I choose to put in my body, whether I choose to drink or I choose to eat pizza, whether I choose to stay up too late. I think I've had to learn a lot of stuff the hard way," said Leben.
The difference is, Leben has learned a lot of that stuff in the public eye, beginning with his stint on TUF when he was a reckless 24-year-old, still exorcising some of the demons of his past.
"I grew up a little different than most people and that might be hard for some people to understand, but at the time I thought my behavior was fine," he said. "I thought it was normal. Since then I've worked a lot, done a lot of counseling, and I've realized that there's some things I need to change. I've worked hard at changing them, and obviously I haven't been perfect, but life is about progression. It's not about perfection. I'm still working, still pursuing my goals and trying to be the kind of man I want to be."
For a fighter, certain career goals are relatively simple. You want to win and keep winning, climbing up the ranks until you look down one day and see a shiny belt around your waist. And even though Leben's fighting style is anything but safe, he harbors those same championship dreams.
If he beats Mark Munoz in Birmingham, England at UFC 138 this Saturday, he said, he can't help but think he'll be right on the edge of making those dreams come true.
"Honestly, in my mind this is for number one contender. He's won three straight, I've won four of my last five, just knocked out Wanderlei Silva. I think me and Munoz, if I go out there and defeat him and dominate him that should say that, hey, Chris deserves a crack at the title."
One potential roadblock is the fact that he's already lost once to current UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva, who TKO'd Leben in his UFC debut just before becoming champion in 2006. Though the UFC has been historically reluctant to give challengers a rematch against a title-holder who owns a win over them, Leben hopes that putting Munoz away might force the organization's hand, he said.
"I think they'd have to take a look at me. They've had reasons, obviously, why they think I shouldn't get a title shot, but if I win this one I think I'm glaring, I'm staring at that number one contender position."
Of course, that assumes he can get past Munoz, whose amateur wrestling pedigree and improved striking game has made him a considerable favorite in the eyes of oddsmakers. That's because, as Leben sees it, people still assume he's little more than a brawler.
"Sometimes I'll read Sherdog[.com] forums and it's, 'Oh, Chris Leben lands another lucky punch,'" he said. "How many times can a guy land a [expletive] lucky punch before you think he must be doing something right?"
Even though he may seem at times like the same slugger he's always been, haphazardly flinging leather and inviting his opponents to do the same, it's not because he's the same reckless kid he used to be. It's not because he hasn't learned anything from those early years, or because he's incapable of doing anything else.
"In my case, it's a calculated risk," he said. "I'll take two to give one. I've got a huge head and I hit hard. But also, my style of fighting, I'm not a fancy guy. You're not going to see me jumping off the cage or throwing a spinning back kick. I throw my left hand. Why? Because it works. And if it ain't broke...you know."
Be a Warrior, not a Worrier
Be a Warrior, not a Worrier
UFC 138 Weigh-In Results: Thiago Alves Misses Weight Again
For the third time in his last seven fights, Thiago Alves has missed weight.
Alves stepped on the scale at Friday's UFC 138 weigh-in and came in at 172 pounds, one over the welterweight limit. Alves previously missed weight for his UFC 117 fight with Jon Fitch and for his UFC 85 fight with Matt Hughes. He also tested positive for a banned diuretic at UFC 66, which he allegedly took to help him make weight.
Alves will be given one hour to lose the extra pound. All the other fighters made weight. Full results are below.
Chris Leben (186) vs. Mark Munoz (186)
Renan Barao (136) vs. Brad Pickett (134)
Thiago Alves (172) vs. Papy Abedi (170)
Terry Etim (155) vs. Eddie Faaloloto (156)
Cyrille Diabate (206) vs. Anthony Perosh (205)
John Maguire (170) vs. Justin Edwards (170)
Michihiro Omigawa (145) vs. Jason Young (145)
Rob Broughton (258) vs. Philip De Fries (243)
Chris Cope (170) vs. Che Mills (169)
Chris Cariaso (135) vs. Vaughan Lee (135)
Be a Warrior, not a Worrier
Leben is altijd vet toch.
Barao, Alves en Papy ook.
Ni politicien ni militaire, je ne suis qu'un troubadour...
Thiago Alves haalt gewicht niet
UFC 138 Weigh-In Results: Thiago Alves Misses Weight Again
max 400x125px
oops scheelheid, mea culpa
max 400x125px
Thiago Alves' Initial Weigh-In Miscue Not What It Seems, Says Nutritionist
Thiago Alves' nutritionist knows how it must look for his fighter to come in a pound over on his first trip to the scale at the UFC 138 weigh-ins, but he still wishes people would give the UFC welterweight the benefit of the doubt just this once.
As nutritionist Mike Dolce told MMA Fighting from England on Friday afternoon, Alves had no trouble making the 171-pound limit on his second try, and would have made it the first time except for a calibration issue.
"We had four different scales," Dolce said. "Every scale had him between [1]69 [pounds] and [1]71 [pounds]. We were happy. It was an easy weight cut, he felt fine, high energy, bouncing around. We got to the weigh-ins and he was [1]72.3 [pounds] with his shorts on. He took off his shorts and he was [1]72 [pounds] on the dot. We were shocked, but hey, no problem. We walked off the scale, we went backstage, there was a sauna there, he sat in the sauna for a few minutes, then he took a pee, then we went back out and made 171 [pounds]. It was literally that simple."
What's not so simple, according to Dolce, was dealing with the public backlash that he saw on Twitter once news got out that Alves was over. Though Alves made weight "maybe 40 minutes later," according to Dolce, by then the story of his initial miss was out and MMA fans seemed to have made up their minds about him.
"And that sucks, because I see how hard this kid's working," said Dolce. "He understands that he has to work his way back up the ladder, and he's doing everything correctly in his personal, emotional, professional, and financial life to make sure he makes a statement and makes a run in the welterweight division. Having something silly like this, to see everyone jump on him, you know, I understand why since he's had trouble in the past, but come on, the kid came back a half-hour later and made weight with a smile."
Granted, before Alves hired Dolce as a nutritionist, the Brazilian had a bad habit of coming in over the limit. He came in three pounds heavy for his fight with Matt Hughes at UFC 85, and he clocked in at 171.5 for his rematch with Jon Fitch at UFC 117 -- a minor miss that cost him 20% of his fight purse.
Now it seems that fans are so used to Alves missing weight that Friday's miscue only confirmed what they already believed about him, even though, Dolce said, they weren't the only ones surprised by the numbers on the scale.
"There was five guys who got to the weigh-ins and stepped on the scale and were overweight and were shocked also. They had to jump in the back and start trying to cut weight on their own. ...It's always our responsibility as professionals to be on weight regardless of the circumstance. But when there's this many guys this far off, something's wrong. It's not just us."
While several foreign fighters have commented publicly on the difficulty of getting their normal dietary needs met while cutting weight in the U.K., Dolce said he brought "a suitcase full of food" for Alves -- about $400 worth for just a few days, in his estimation. Customs restrictions make it impossible to bring fruits or vegetables in to the country, he said, but the team was well prepared and Alves had "an awesome weight cut."
"He looks great, not sucked down, no dark circles under his eyes," Dolce said. "It wasn't a matter of, can he make weight? It was that we stepped on four different scales and I would have to say that our scale is wrong, because the UFC is the official."
Be a Warrior, not a Worrier
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