UFC 153: Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar

[Kemal]

Rampage Jackson vs. Glover Teixeira Set for UFC 153

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's UFC swan song will come in Brazil.

The former UFC light-heavyweight champion, who has repeatedly insisted that his next fight in the UFC will be his last, has agreed to face Glover Teixeira on Teixeira's home turf at UFC 153.


The pairing was first reported by Brazil's SporTV.com, the online arm of UFC's Brazilian broadcast partner, Globo.

Jackson (32-10) has had 11 fights in the octagon since his February 2007 debut, going 7-4 during that time. He's lost his last two fights, losing to divisional champ Jon Jones in a UFC 135 title bout and then dropping a decision to Ryan Bader at UFC 144.

He's grown increasingly frustrated with the UFC in recent months, however, and through his Twitter account, has said on multiple occasions said that he would finish out the terms of his existing deal and then move on. The Teixeira fight represents the last bout on his contract.

At least he goes out with a style matchup that is most definitely to his liking.

Jackson has repeatedly railed against alleged "point-fighters," saying he prefers matchups with other striking-savvy competitors. Teixeira (18-2) certainly fits that mold, with 11 of his 18 career wins by knockout. He does have a well-rounded overall game, as he won his UFC debut by arm triangle choke at UFC 146.

Afterward, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua reportedly turned down an opportunity to face him, and now it appears Jackson will take the open slot.

UFC 153 takes place from HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. It is yet unknown whether Jackson-Teixeira will take main event honors, or if that will go to another bout.

[Diz]

Laatste keer knallen in de UFC voor Rampage!
Hopen dattie Teixeira nog even een paar keer heel de octagon door smijt!

[Garcia]

Ben bang dat Teixeira Rampage gaat pakken.

[TheCarnage]

Heeft rampage al eens wat van zich laten horen over dit gevecht? Is erg stil... Ik had wel wat verwacht van zijn kant.. Iets van 'this is how they plan to get rid of me ya feel me'?

Maar zonder gekheid wordt een vette pot, munoz heeft ergens een punt toen hij over de record begon van glover, Guy fought allot of cans.

[Kemal]

Jose Aldo vs. Erik Koch Title Fight Rescheduled for UFC 153

The postponed UFC featherweight championship fight between Jose Aldo and challenger Erik Koch has been reset on the scheduled, added to the upcoming UFC 153 event in Brazil.

The promotion confirmed the booking on Thursday.

The two were originally set to scrap at this weekend's UFC 149 until an undisclosed injury to Aldo forced him to withdraw from the date.

The champion has won 14 straight fights dating back to 2006. He first won the belt when it was still a WEC title, back in 2009, and has successfully defended it five times, most recently knocking out Chad Mendes at January's UFC 142.

His next defense will also come in front of the same Rio fans, as UFC 153 is set for the same host venue, the HSBC Arena.

Koch (13-1) comes into the bout on the strength of a four-fight win streak, with consecutive victories over Jonathan Brookins, Raphael Assuncao, Francisco Rivera and Bendy Casimir. Three of those wins have come by finish.

The event, which takes place on October 13, will mark the promotion's third visit to Rio in just over one year, and fourth overall to Brazil in that time.

The other big fight so far announced for that card is the likely octagon swan song of ex-light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, who will face the surging UFC newcomer Glover Teixeira.

[Kemal]

UFC Confirms Vitor Belfort vs. Alan Belcher at UFC 153

All it took was a few tweets, and UFC 153 had itself a matchup of top middleweight contenders.

The rumored fight between Vitor Belfort and Alan Belcher is officially on, as the promotion confirmed the pairing on Wednesday. Just as the fight was conceived on social media, it was also announced the same way, through the company's Brazilian twitter account. While the UFC didn't give any indication of the match's placement on the card, it's likely to serve as the night's co-main event.

Belfort had originally campaigned for a fight against surging Chris Weidman, but Weidman spurned the overture, believing himself to be the No. 1 contender to face Anderson Silva. In the meantime, Belcher challenged Belfort on Twitter, and Belfort eventually accepted.

Both fighters will be aiming to position themselves in the Anderson Silva derby, as the long-reigning UFC middleweight champion waits for a true top contender to emerge.

Belcher has won four in a row and six of his last seven overall, most recently knocking out Rousimar Palhares at May's UFC on FOX 3 event. Meanwhile, Belfort will be returning from a broken hand. He was supposed to face Wanderlei Silva at UFC 147, but was forced out due to the injury. Prior to that, he submitted Anthony Johnson at January's UFC 142.

UFC 153 is set for Oct. 13 at the HSBC Arena in Rio. The main event will feature featherweight champ Jose Aldo defending his belt against challenger Erik Koch. The show is also scheduled to feature the last octagon fight for Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, who says he will be leaving the organization after fighting Glover Teixeira.

[Kemal]

Jon Fitch vs. Erick Silva Set for UFC 153

Jon Fitch will draw one of the UFC's top young guns in his next outing.

The longtime welterweight contender is set to square off with Brazilian Erick Silva at UFC 153, MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani has learned. Sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed the two had verbally agreed to the pairing.

Fitch was supposed to face Aaron Simpson in July, only to be forced out after suffering a knee injury. The setback apparently won't keep him on the shelf long. Upon returning, Fitch will be attempting to win for the first time in three fights. At UFC 127, he fought to a draw with B.J. Penn, and in his follow-up match at UFC 141, he was knocked out by Johny Hendricks, marking the first time he had been finished since 2002.

Fitch is 23-4-1 with 1 no contest.

Silva has looked spectacular in all three of his octagon outings. He debuted with a knockout of Luis Ramos at UFC 134, then appeared to earn a second straight first-round KO at UFC 142, only to be controversially disqualified for strikes to the back of the head. Silva then followed that up with a first-round submission win over Charlie Brenneman at June's UFC on FX 3.

Silva is 14-2 with 1 no contest.

Fitch will be tasked with facing Silva on his home soil, as the bout emanates from Rio on October 13.

[Kemal]

Demian Maia Continues Welterweight Push, Takes On Rick Story at UFC 153

Former middleweight contender turned welterweight Demian Maia will continue his 170-pound efforts as he takes on welterweight standout Rick Story as part of the UFC 153 fight card. Story first Tweeted the news and MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani confirmed it with sources close to the situation.

UFC 153 is set to take place October 13th at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo is expected to defend his title against Erik Koch in the headlining fight.

Maia, 34, most recently competed and made his welterweight debut at UFC 148 where he defeated Dong Hyun Kim by TKO due to injury. At middleweight, he holds wins over Ed Herman, Nate Quarry, Kendall Grove and Dan Miller. In terms of accomplishments in sport jiu-jitsu, he is arguably the UFC's most decorated black belt.

Story, 27, has dropped two of his last three UFC fights. He most recently fought in June where he defeated Brock Jardine by unanimous decision. He holds notable victories over Thiago Alves, Jake Ellenberger (outside of the UFC), and Johny Hendricks.
At the time of this writing, he UFC has not formally announced this bout.

[Mma-Rumors]

zonder blessures wordt dit de card van UFC 153

Main Card (PPV)
Weight Class	Red Corner		Blue Corner	Method	Round	Time	Notes
Featherweight	José Aldo (c)	vs	Erik Koch
Middleweight	Vitor Belfort	vs	Alan Belcher
Light Heavyweight	Quinton Jackson	vs	Glover Teixeira
Welterweight	Erick Silva	vs	Jon Fitch
Welterweight	Demian Maia	vs	Rick Story
Preliminary Card
Featherweight	Rony Jason	vs	Sam Sicilia
Featherweight	Diego Brandao	vs	Joey Gambino
Lightweight	Cristiano Marcello	vs	Reza Madadi
Lightweight	Francisco Drinaldo	vs	Gleison Tibau
Middleweight	Luiz Cané	vs	Chris Camozzi
Heavyweight	Gabriel Gonzaga	vs	Geronimo dos Santos
Welterweight	Sergio Moraes	vs	Renée Forte

[redjuh]

The event, "UFC 153: Aldo vs. Koch," takes place Oct. 13 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. The main card airs live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT). A two-hour prelims special airs on FX at 8 p.m. ET, and Facebook is expected to stream an additional three bouts.

UFC 153 features a main event featherweight title fight between Brazilian champion Jose Aldo and top contender Erik Koch, as well as a co-main event middleweight fight between Vitor Belfort and Alan Belcher. Additionally, the event features a light-heavyweight bout between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Glover Teixeira.

Tickets for the card start at $275 Brazilian Real (approximately $136 U.S.) and go up to $1,800 Real (about $892 U.S.). Tickets go on sale to the general public Thursday at 7 p.m. ET at www.ticketsforfun.com.br.

The card will be the UFC's third at HSBC Arena and fourth in Brazil in a little more than a year. The promotion went to the South American country a year ago for the first time under Zuffa ownership for UFC 134. In January, the promotion returned to HSBC Arena for UFC 142, which also was headlined by Aldo in a successful title defense against Chad Mendes. And this past June, UFC 147 took place in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Aldo (21-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) and Koch (13-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) originally were expected to headline UFC 149 in Calgary this past month, but Aldo was sidelined with a knee injury that forced the postponement. He'll come into the bout with a 14-fight win streak, including three title defenses in the UFC against Mark Hominick, Kenny Florian and Mendes. Koch last fought in September 2011, a unanimous decision win over Jonathan Brookins. He was expected to return in February, but was shelved with an injury, and then was put on hold again when Aldo had to delay the title fight.

Belfort (21-9 MMA, 10-5 UFC) meets Belcher (18-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) in the co-main event in a bout that could have middleweight title implications. Belfort was supposed to fight fellow Brazilian Wanderlei Silva after their coaching stints on "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil." But a broken hand forced him out of UFC 147 in June. Belfort has won seven of his last eight, with the only loss coming to champion Anderson Silva at UFC 126. Belcher, meanwhile, delivered a big TKO win over Rousimar Palhares in May at UFC on FOX 3.

Jackson (32-10 MMA, 7-4 UFC) may be fighting for the final time in the UFC if he lives up to what he has said in the past couple of months. The former champion is on the last fight of his current contract, and he has vowed to leave the promotion after this bout and fight elsewhere if he has to. Teixeira (18-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in May won his promotional debut in fairly stunning fashion, submitting Kyle Kingsbury in the first round.

Also on the main card, Jon Fitch (23-4-1 MMA, 13-2-1 UFC) returns for the first time since a December 12-second knockout loss to Johny Hendricks and meets Erick Silva (14-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), and Demian Maia (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) fights for the second time at welterweight when he takes on Rick Story (14-5 MMA, 7-3 UFC).

The latest UFC 153 card includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Champ Jose Aldo vs. Erik Koch (for featherweight title)
• Alan Belcher vs. Vitor Belfort
• Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Glover Teixeira
• Jon Fitch vs. Erick Silva
• Demian Maia vs. Rick Story

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX, 8 p.m. ET)

• Rony "Jason" Mariano Bezerra vs. Sam Sicilia
• Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Geronimo Dos Santos
• Diego Brandao vs. Joey Gambino
• Gleison Tibau vs. Francisco Trinaldo

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 6:30 p.m. ET*)

• Renee Forte vs. Sergio Moraes
• Chris Camozzi vs. Luiz Cane
• Reza Madadi vs. Cristiano Marcello

[redjuh]

nice card d8 ik! zeker de FX prelims en Main card!

Gleison Tibau FTW!!!

[donalexandro]

veel TUF vechters, nice!

[McClane]

Hmm, ik heb onder een rots geleefd. Ik dacht dat Rampage niet meer voor de UFC wilde vechten en White min of meer geschoffeerd had?

[redjuh]

Hmm, ik heb onder een rots geleefd. Ik dacht dat Rampage niet meer voor de UFC wilde vechten en White min of meer geschoffeerd had?

ach hij verkoopt nog wel wat ppv's en heeft nog 1 gevecht op z'n contract staan. verliest hij, wordt hij sowieso ge-cut

[boudstyle]

• Jon Fitch vs. Erick Silva
• Demian Maia vs. Rick Story

ok... dit is zeer interessant!

[Pahlavan]

Wow, op paper iig is dit een heeeele vette card!

[Kemal]

Alan Belcher Injured; Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado 2 Moved to UFC 153

Vitor Belfort's removal from UFC 153 proved to be a blessing in disguise for Alan Belcher.

Belcher, who was scheduled to meet Belfort on Oct. 13 in Rio de Janeiro before "The Phenom" was moved to UFC 152 to fight Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title, tweeted on Friday that he is battling an injury.

"Everyone is asking if I am mad at UFC, Jon Jones [and] Vitor Belfort," he wrote, "answer is no. This is a blessing in disguise. I have a spinal fracture."

Belcher added that he hopes to return to action by November, so the injury does not appear to be serious.

As a result, UFC officials announced on Friday that Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado 2 has been moved to UFC 153. The light heavyweight pair fought to a no contest at UFC on FOX 4 earlier this month after Davis accidentally poked Prado in the eye in the first round.

As for Belcher, he tweeted that he would like to fight Chris Weidman "or another top 5" in his return. The UFC has to announce who Belcher and Weidman will fight next.

[Kemal]

Aldo vs. Edgar Will Headline UFC 153

Frankie Edgar will be getting an immediate title shot when he drops to featherweight after all.

Edgar has replaced Erik Koch in the UFC 153 main event and will face Jose Aldo, MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani has confirmed. USA Today was the first to break the news.

Koch suffered a knee injury recently and was forced to withdraw from the fight, according to Helwani.


Edgar (14-3-1) has lost his past two fights to UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson. He was expected to make his featherweight debut later this year before the injury to Koch.

Koch apologized to his fans on Twitter, stating "I'm sorry guys this has been one crazy year for me deff a hard one, I just wanna thank all of you guys for the support means the world to me."

Aldo (21-1), who has won 14 straight fights, was critical of former UFC champion Edgar recently in an interview with Tatame.

"He said he wants to drop to featherweight, so I'm hoping he does that to end this story," Aldo told Tatame.com. "He's welcome here so that we can shut him off and he goes to the lightweight or bantamweight classes."

UFC 153 is scheduled for Oct. 13 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

[Diz]

Dikke partij dit!
Zou mooi zijn als Frankie dit wint, dan heeft ie titels in verschillende klasses (gehad)...

Sowieso een erg spectaculair gevecht lijkt me!

[Budokan]

Volgende verliespartij voor Rampage. Zou hij niet passen in de K1?

[The Company]

De UFC die titleshots uitdeelt aan vechters die 2 keer achter elkaar hebben verloren, dat komt ook niet vaak voor. Misschien is de Korean Zombie geblesseerd anders kan ik deze beslissing niet begrijpen.

[Mma-Rumors]

als je nou 2 keer KO wordt geslagen, ben ik het absoluut met je eens. maar laten we nou niet alles zo zwart/wit bekijken en er net als bij voetbal geen scorebordjournalistiek van gaan maken. Edgar heeft 2x controversieel verloren voor de titel tegen beson henderson. de 1e kon ik me nog in vinden, 2e match niet maar daar gaat het niet om, het komt er op neer dat edgar die een behoorlijke status van dienst had na BJ Penn gevechten 2x nipt verloor van henderson, dan mag je die best een titleshot geven desondanks. ik denk dat er meer mensen op aldo vs edgar zaten te wachten dan koch of korean zombie(die ik trouwens wel tegen elkaar zou willen zien).

Ik ben benieuwd naar deze match, edgar moet het van zijn snelheid hebben maar of dat bij Aldo zo'n goede plan is betwijfel ik. Edgar is een bikkel en het wordt dus zowiezo 5ronde matchup, benieuwd naar die kicks van aldo 5 ronden lang. Viel me wel op dat aldo het moeilijk had laatste keer dat die een lange match moest draaien in de laatste rondes. ik zie Aldo winnen maar ben bang dat na de wedstrijd de uitslag weer controversieel gaat worden, want wie er ook wint de andere had ook de decison kunnen krijgen, zo'n gevoel heb ik qua deze match. kijk er wel naar uit

[Naj85]

Aldo vs Edgar, vettt!!

[punch]

aldo vs edgar lijkt me een mooie pot
Echter edgar zit toch in een lastig parket als ie verliest
Een aantal keer nipt/arbitrair verloren nu in een andere gewichtsklasse met aldo
Edgar moet winnen

[Kemal]

Frankie Edgar Aims to Have Brazilians Cheering Him on by End of UFC 153

The return to the Brazilian market was one of the UFC's biggest successes of 2011. Since last August, the promotion has visited the nation three times, with the fourth on the way next month, when Jose Aldo looks to defend the featherweight championship.

In each event, Brazil has feverishly backed its own, notably chanting the phrase "Você vai morrer" at several foreigners, which translates to "You're going to die." While the rallying cry is meant figuratively, that is often lost in translation, leaving some non-Portuguese speakers feeling a bit uneasy.

Don't count Aldo's next foe Frankie Edgar among them. Having stared down a gauntlet of challenges throughout his UFC career, Edgar isn't intimidated by the prospect of going into Aldo's home territory and facing him on his own turf at UFC 153."I’m not fearful for my life or anything like that," he said on Wednesday's edition of The MMA Hour. "They're some passionate people and Jose Aldo is their guy. So we’ll see what I can do in the fight to have some people cheering my name by the end of it."

The fight will mark Edgar's move down to 145 pounds, ending years of speculation and questions about a possible shift to the weight division, even when he was the lightweight champion. It came unexpectedly though, at least in terms of the timing. While Edgar has lost his last two fights in a pair of close decisions, he had only been three weeks removed from the most recent when his future was put up to a decision.

Last Thursday, Edgar called UFC president Dana White to discuss his future. It was a five-minute conversation that didn't lead to any concrete answers, but within a few minutes, Edgar's phone rang, and it was White calling him.

Within those few minutes between calls, White had received confirmation that Erik Koch was out of the UFC 153 main event, and Aldo needed a new opponent. Immediately, he offered Edgar the chance to step in on six weeks' notice.

Edgar told White he'd call him back after discussing the opportunity with his team, but acknowledged that in his own mind, he had accepted the invitation and would have a hard time being talked out of it. Within an hour, he officially agreed.

"Opportunities like this don't come around too often," he said, "so you can't let them slip."

Despite the events of the preceding week -- with Jon Jones turning down a short-notice fight against Chael Sonnen, leading to the cancellation of a show -- Edgar said he felt no undue pressure from White or UFC management to step into the vacated slot.

"It just seemed right for me," he said.

Part of Edgar's reasoning stemmed from the fact that it was an instant title shot, of course, but part of it was because he always desired to get right back into the gym and shake off the UFC 150 disappointment. He said he came away from the split-decision loss to Ben Henderson with no injuries, and that he always hoped to fight one more time before the end of the year.

The only question was what weight he would do it at. Despite all the talk about his size, Edgar has not competed below 150 pounds since he was a senior in college and won 40 matches wrestling at 141 pounds. And while most assumed he would shift to featherweight, his boxing coach Mark Henry threw a wrinkle into the conversation recently when he said Edgar could conceivably move all the way down to 135.

Edgar said that wasn't a realistic goal. He's currently walking around at about 160, and believes that cutting a few pounds may actually make him quicker than he was at lightweight.

Whether or not that gives him a speed advantage over Aldo remains to be seen. Edgar said he's admired Aldo from afar over the years, enjoying the visuals of his dynamic striking, and expects nothing less when he steps in with Aldo for the first time at featherweight.

All summed up, Edgar will truly be a stranger in a strange land, fighting out of his usual weight class, in a foreign place, hoping to prove his championship mettle one more time, and maybe stealing a few Brazilian fans in the process.

"I'm expecting to see the best Jose Aldo," he said. "He’s in his hometown. Last time he fought there he was pretty dominant so I’m not expecting anything but the best from him."