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B.J. Penn shoots down Josh Koscheck?s plans for a fight

Thursday morning, UFC welterweight Josh Koscheck tweeted news on his next possible fight. "#UFC just offered me to fight BJ Penn...I said YES!!!!! Just waiting on him!!!!!! Let's scrap bra?"

Coming off a loss to Johny Hendricks, a bout with Penn, a former champion at lightweight and welterweight, would certainly pique Koscheck's interest. Not only would it draw considerable fan interest because of Penn's vast legions of fans, but it's the kind of win that could get Koscheck back on track.

Unfortunately for Koscheck, Penn is completely retired and appears to have no interest in returning to the fight life. He responded, " I know it costs a lot of money to live that lavish lifestyle, big house, fast cars & you need big fights but sorry I'm not coming back anytime soon!"

Perhaps now the MMA world will believe that Penn really retired after losing to Nick Diaz in November. He was also talked about as an opponent with Gilbert Melendez and had to shoot that down, too. Penn had a great MMA career and is now enjoying the retired life in Hawaii. Would you give that up?

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/b-j-penn-shoots-down-josh-koscheck-plans-221324896.html

Mikhail Avetisyan Luiz Azeredo  Luciano Azevedo  Ba Te er  Ryan Bader  Siyar Bahadurzada

Talks Jon Jones Moving to Heavyweight - Dana White

When a fighter dominates a weight class like Georges St-Pierre has done at welterweight, Anderson Silva has done at middleweight and now Jon Jones is doing at light heavyweight, the question always seems to come up when will the move weight classes?What happened to the days of just being great at one weight class? Well, UFC President Dana White agrees with that ideology especially when talking about their UFC light heavyweight champion pursuing a title at heavyweight.Looking at the monsters that walk around in the heavyweight division, White knows that Jones would already be at a disadvantage, and he's hoping that if it ever does happen that he's more than prepared for a big move like that.Check out what White had to say about Jones potential move to heavyweight and if it's a smart move or not:

Source: http://mmalice.com/dana-white/talks-jon-jones-moving-to-heavyweight-video_460b1c28e.html

Jai Bradney  Ebenezer Fontes Braga Chris Brennan Marcelo Brito  Rob Broughton  Mike Brown 

MMA Top 10 Welterweights: Few Challenges in Sight for GSP

by Michael David SmithIt's hard to believe that Georges St. Pierre could win his ninth straight fight, defending his welterweight title in front of 55,000 fans in one of the biggest events in UFC history, and have it feel like something of a letdown.

But that is how St. Pierre's unanimous decision victory over Jake Shields felt to many fans: We've seen this so many times -- St. Pierre spending 25 minutes demonstrating that the other man in the Octagon is simply nowhere near as good as he is -- that it's starting to feel routine. And that's not how one of the greatest fighters in history stepping into the Octagon should feel.

So are there any challenges remaining in the welterweight division? We'll look at that question as we run down the Top 10 welterweights in MMA.

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/05/09/mma-top-10-welterweights-few-challenges-in-sight-for-gsp/

Tomasz Drwal Joe Hybrid Duarte Aldrin de Jesus  Todd Duffee  Marvin Eastman  Stav Crazy Bear Economou 

UFC Announces New Insurance for Fighters

by Michael David SmithOne of the things that has always separated the UFC from sports leagues like the NFL, NBA and MLB is the lack of insurance for UFC fighters for injuries suffered outside the Octagon. But as the UFC grows, that appears to be changing.

Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC and Strikeforce, has announced that its 350 or so fighters, who are all independent contractors, will now be eligible for what it calls "customized accident insurance coverage." The policy will cover not just accidental injuries suffered in training, but also injuries suffered in car accidents or other injuries that have nothing to do with the fighters' MMA careers.

"As this sport continues to grow, we have been working hard to secure additional insurance coverage so that our athletes can perform at the highest levels," UFC President Dana White said in the announcement. "We're proud to give our athletes access to this type of insurance."

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/05/09/ufc-announces-new-insurance-for-fighters/

Steve The Snake Claveau  Rich No Love Clementi  Mark The Hammer Coleman Wes Soldier Combs  Ray Cooper  Kit Cope 

Michael Chiesa vs. Al Iaquinta final set for ?The Ultimate Fighter? finale

Friday night's "The Ultimate Fighter" finale is set as Michael Chiesa and Al Iaquinta won their semifinal bouts. The two Team Faber fighters will meet in the show's live finale on Friday in Las Vegas in a card that will feature Jake Ellenberger and Martin Kampmann in the main event.

Chiesa got an emotional TKO win for Team Faber. He slammed James Vick to his back, got full mount, and ground and pounded for the win. In training the day before the bout, Chiesa had broken down crying, admitting that he's still dealing with the death of his father.

"I feel great. It has been quite a journey. A lot of ups and downs but I feel like I've earned my spot in the finale and I'm very excited to seize the moment," Chiesa said.

Iaquinta earned the right to face his teammate with a unanimous decision win over Pichel. He used wrestling to control Team Cruz's Pichel for the first round, and won the edge in bloody striking in the second round.

"I couldn't have done it without a great team, great roommates. Everyone really helped me out. The coaching staff was just awesome. Everything was a dream come true. When I left I didn't know what I was getting myself into. Now I have the toughest fight of my life ahead of me, and I'm ready for it," Iaquinta said.

The winner of Friday's fight will get a six-figure UFC contract and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Early in Friday night's show, UFC president delivered good news to the cast. Every healthy fighter will fight on the finale. Mike Rio, who broke a rib in practice, and Andy Ogle, who was knocked out in a recent fight, will not fight. Because of Vick's knockout loss, he is medically suspended, leaving Vinc Pinchel without an opponent. They are expected to appear on a future UFC card.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/michael-chiesa-vs-al-iaquinta-final-set-ultimate-153237705.html

Tom Big Cat Erickson Martinsh Egle Eric Butterbean Esch Efrain Escudero Rashad Evans Urijah Faber

UFC on Fuel 3 photo gallery: The Korean Zombie, Cowboy and more fictional-sounding fighters

Check out the latest photo gallery from Tracy Lee, with pictures from Chan Sung Jung and Dustin Poirier's memorable fight, Donald Cerrone's win and more.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-fuel-3-photo-gallery-korean-zombie-cowboy-225530781.html

Mikey Burnett  Murilo Bustamante  Grant Campbell  Gesias JZ Calvancante  Luiz Cane  Dos Caras Jr  

Brock Lesnar Out of UFC 131

by Michael David SmithIn a blockbuster announcement Thursday afternoon, UFC President Dana White revealed that Brock Lesnar is once again suffering from diverticulitis and will not be able to fight at UFC 131. Instead, the main event on that fight card will be Junior dos Santos vs. Shane Carwin.

"I want to thank the UFC, I want to thank Mr. White and I want to apologize to Junior dos Santos and Spike TV," Lesnar said. "This is an unfortunate situation for me. I dodged a bullet about two years ago with diverticulitis, at that time not knowing what the problem was. ... Diverticulitis is something that never goes away. It's something I've dealt with since the first occurrence and I've been battling it."

 

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Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/05/12/brock-lesnar-out-of-ufc-131-junior-dos-santos-vs-shane-carwin/

Alberto Crane Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz Luke Cummo  Jeff Big Frog Curran Dai Shuanghai  Mac Danzig 

?The Ultimate Fighter: Live Finale? Weigh-Ins (Video)

Today at the Pearl at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, all of the fighters competing on tomorrow's The Ultimate Fighter: Live Finale fight card will tip the scales to weigh in for their respective bouts. You can catch the proceedings live right here starting at 7pm ET.

MMAFrenzy.com

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/28781/the-ultimate-fighter-live-finale-weigh-ins-video/

Ricardo Arona  Noboru Asahi Marcus Aurelio  Mikhail Avetisyan Luiz Azeredo  Luciano Azevedo 

Several Fights Added to Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy

Strikeforce: Rockhold vs Kennedy will emanate from the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Oregon on July 14. The event boasts the long awaited titular bout between Strikeforce Midddleweight Champion Luke Rockhold and Tim Kennedy as the main event. Strikeforce announced several bouts that will also be featured on the card earlier today.

MMAFrenzy.com

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/28752/several-fights-added-to-strikeforce-rockhold-vs-kennedy/

Patrick The Predator Côté  Randy The Natural Couture  Dan Cramer Alberto Crane Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz Luke Cummo 

Dana White: Brock Lesnar might want to come back

During the UFC all-heavyweight main card at UFC 146 on Saturday night, one of the promotion's best-known heavyweights was sitting in crowd. Brock Lesnar, who recently retired from the UFC and went back to a career in pro wrestling, was shown on camera. He was just there as a fan ... right?

Well, maybe. UFC president Dana White hinted there may have been more to Brock Lesnar's attendance than a weekend trip to Las Vegas.

"He texted me and said, 'I want to come to the fight, but keep it quiet because I don't want to tell anybody,'" White said. "He said, 'What are you doing tonight? ... I want to talk face to face.'

"You never know with him. He might want to come back. He might just want to hang out."

Lesnar's career in the UFC just had seven fights, but four of them had a title on the line. He beat Randy Couture for the belt in his fourth MMA bout, and appeared unbeatable after a title defense against Frank Mir. A bout of diverticulitis slowed Lesnar, and he lost to Cain Velasquez and Alistair Overeem in his last two MMA bouts.

After walking away from MMA in December, Lesnar returned to WWE. His most recent matches featured a loss to John Cena and then a win over Triple H using a Kimura, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu moved he learned as a fighter.

Though he did lose his last two fights, Lesnar's talent cannot be denied. He was an NCAA Division I champion, bringing wrestling skills to the cage. He was also an unrelenting striker.

Though it's been just months since he left the UFC, he would be returning to a division that is stronger than ever. Junior dos Santos defended his belt against Mir and Velasquez TKOed Antonio Silva at UFC 146. Daniel Cormier just won the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix and emerged as a contender for the UFC belt.

If his face-to-face talk with White does lead to a return, Lesnar won't get an easy fight. He will make the already-intriguing heavyweight division more interesting.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/dana-white-brock-lesnar-might-want-come-back-133915093.html

Roan Jucao Carneiro Shane The Engineer Carwin  Jason Hollywood Chambers Ryo Piranha Chonan  Dan The Sandman Christison  Logan The Pink Pounder Clark