One More Bout Added to Fairfax Fight - Tickets on Sale Today!

Up-to-the-minute news about the UFC on FUEL 3 fight card, taking place May 15 in Fairfax, VA.

More fight card updates:
UFC on FUEL 2
UFC 145
UFC on FOX 3
UFC 146

Coming off a Fight of the Night performance against Kyle Kingsbury, Brazilian slugger Fabio Maldonado will face Igor Pokrajac in a light heavyweight bout May 15.

The bout replaces the originally-planned 205 bout between Brandon Vera and Thiago Silva. That matchup fell through after Vera was injured. Silva was then tapped to headline the UFC on FUEL event in Sweden against Alexander Gustafsson when his original opponent, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, was also injured.

The ticket presale for the event, headlined by a featherweight contender's match between Chan Sung Jung ("The Korean Zombie") and Dustin Poirier began Wednesday morning, with general on-sale starting Friday.

Stephens in Against Cowboy, Plus Four New Fairfax Fights updated February 29
An exciting lightweight matchup has been tweaked due to injury, and the result is... another exciting lightweight matchup. With dynamic striker Yves Edwards injured, the bomb-lobbing Jeremy Stephens has been tapped to replace him against Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. Chances for an of-the-night performances are good -- Stephens has picked up post-fight bonuses in three of his last six bouts; Cerrone in five of his last seven.

In other lightweight action on FUEL TV, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialists Carlo ‘Neo’ Prater and TJ Grant will clash, and wrestler/brawler Kamal ‘Prince of Persia’ Shalorus will meet BJJ black belt/brawler Rafael Dos Anjos.

Another contender is entering the UFC's bantamweight division as Azamat Gashimov makes his promotional debut against Alex Soto. "The aggressive styles of these fighters should make for a action-packed fight," said UFC president Dana White.

Plus longtime bantamweight veterans Jeff Curran and Johnny Eduardo will battle it out in the Octagon in Fairfax.

Bouts listed have been verbally agreed upon by both fighters.

The Hulk Takes on the Tiger in Fairfax updated February 13
Two bantamweight striking specialists, Mike "The Hulk" Easton and Yves "Tiger" Jabouin will go head-to-head in the Octagon on May 15th in Fairfax, VA. Both have verbally agreed to the bout, which will take place on a fight card that's quickly shaping up to feature some of the most exciting fighters in the UFC.

Fairfax Fight Card Filling Up updated February 11
Verbal agreements are in for a trio of bouts at the UFC event May 15 in Fairfax that feature TUF fan favorites coming in off the injured list.

TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah will meet 11-2 Wanderlei Silva protege Jorge Lopez in a welterweight war. The matchup was originally slated to take place last weekend at UFC 143, but both fighters were injured during their training camps.

Lightweight Aaron Riley will throw down in his hometown against TUF 12 submission specialist Cody McKenzie.

Fans in Fairfax will also witness a middleweight matchup between 10-2 Dongi ‘The Ox’ Yang and 7-1 Brad Tavares.

Poirier vs. Zombie to Headline in Fairfax updated February 10
"The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung takes on Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier in a three-round main event, set for May 15th in Fairfax, VA.

Jung, widely regarded as one of the most exciting fighters in the sport, is coming off the 2nd-fastest KO in UFC history and pulled off the submission of the year for 2011. Poirier is the division's fastest-rising star, and known for his relentless power punching style, but his last two outings have earned him spectacular submission wins. He remains undefeated at featherweight.

In other UFC on FUEL news, two of the UFC's most exciting lightweights will clash as Yves Edwards and Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone go to war.

Additionally, Brandon Vera was injured shortly after his rematch with Thiago Silva was announced. Stepping in for the light heavyweight bout will be Igor Pokrajac, who most recently knocked out Krzysztof Soszynski and stopped Todd Brown.

All three fights have been verbally agreed upon.

Silva and Vera Get Their Rematch updated February 2
Light heavyweights Thiago Silva and Brandon "The Truth" Vera have verbally agreed to wrap up some unfinished business this May in Fairfax, VA. "Their last fight ended up a no contest and both guys are out to prove that they are the better man," said UFC president Dana White.

Verbal agreements are also in for a middleweight matchup at that event between "Filthy" Tom Lawlor and Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald.

The bouts will take place at the just-announced third UFC on FUEL TV event, tentatively scheduled for May 15 in Fairfax, Virginia. More details including venue information and ticket on-sales will be announced in coming weeks.

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Vanier Added to Bellator’s Lightweight Draw

Carey Vanier’s participation in the Bellator Fighting Championships Season 4 lightweight tournament on Thursday was made official.

Vanier (Pictured) becomes the second confirmed combatant in the 155-pound draw, joining former World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight titleholder “Razor” Rob McCullough.

A semi-finalist in the Season 2 tournament, Vanier fell short in his first attempt to capture the tournament crown, succumbing to a Toby Imada armbar at Bellator 17. Recently, the Greg Jackson product earned a split decision victory over UFC veteran Rich Clementi at Bellator 28 in September.

“My confidence is at an all-time high right now, not because of my recent win over Clementi but because of my training partners and what I've been doing for the last six months. The coach has got me doing some really incredible stuff,” Vanier said in a release. “He’s really opened up my game, and I’m starting to see and approach things differently. I’m really excited to go out there and put all that I’ve learned to the test.”

Vanier, 29, has won eight of his last nine bouts and holds five career wins by knockout. The Minnesota native now looks to capture both the $100,000 payday and the guaranteed shot at lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez in Season 4.

“It’s not about money for me anymore; it’s about me having fun and fighting for a living,” said Vanier. “I love being an MMA fighter. I love being in the spotlight. I love people being able to see me doing what I love to do. I could have stuck with being a manager at Best Buy and then went on to college and still provided for my family, but I enjoy fighting and I enjoy competition. At the core, that hunger for competition will always been the biggest motivating force that drives me.”

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Rodriguez-McSweeney Added to BAMMA 5 Bill

James McSweeney | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Paul Daley and Yuya Shirai now have some company on the main card of BAMMA 5.

The British Association of Mixed Martial Arts on Wednesday announced the addition of a contest between former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez and “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 10 alum James McSweeney. The promotion did not specify in which division the bout would be contested

BAMMA also released an eight-fight undercard lineup on Wednesday. Three more main card attractions are expected to be announced shortly for the event, which goes down Feb. 26 at the Manchester Evening News Arena in Manchester, England.

A veteran fighter with nearly 50 kickboxing matches to his credit, McSweeney’s success as a striker has not translated well to MMA. The Brit joined the cast of “TUF 10” in 2009 and was eliminated from the show by eventual winner Roy Nelson. The 30-year-old made his official UFC debut at the season finale, besting Darrill Schoonover by third-round TKO.

McSweeney’s next two outings would not be as successful, however, as he was knocked out by Travis Brown at the “TUF 11” Finale in June. After making the drop to light heavyweight for the first time in his career, McSweeney was again knocked out, this time by Fabio Maldonado at UFC 120 in October.

Rodriguez began his career in 1999 and won the King of the Cage heavyweight championship before joining the UFC in 2001. Rodriguez captured the UFC heavyweight title in 2002, finishing Randy Couture at UFC 39. After losing the title to Tim Sylvia in his first defense, Rodriguez would fight only once more for the promotion.

As his career wore on, the 33-year-old’s weight ballooned to over 300 pounds. Recently, however, “Ricco Suave” has slimmed down: Rodriguez was set to compete at light heavyweight for Israel FC in November, but was only able to cut down to 215 pounds prior to his unanimous decision victory over Daniel Tabera. The win was Rodriguez's 10th in a row, capping a 7-0 year in 2010.

Paul Daley vs. Yuya Shirai
Ricco Rodriguez vs. James McSweeney
Daniel Thomas vs. A.J. Wenn
Rob Mills vs. Lee Cohoon
Jason Ball vs. Maktar Gueye
Paul Cook vs. Tom Maguire
Tim Newman vs. Diego Vital
Costas Doru vs. Liam James
Frankie Slater vs. Jeremy Petley
Charlie Leary vs. Tom Breese

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Two Bouts Added to Facebook Prelims

Four bouts total will now air live on Facebook starting at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT
DaMarques Johnson vs. Mike Guymon
Cody McKenzie vs. Yves Edwards
Waylon Lowe vs. Willamy Freire
Mike Brown vs. Rani Yahya Fans excited to watch two live prelims for free now have double the action to look forward to. The Ultimate Fighting Championship® had added two more UFC contests to the roster of undercard bouts to be aired live.

The action starts Saturday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT by simply clicking the “Like” button on the official UFC Facebook page.

Former WEC featherweight champ Mike Brown will take on Rani Yahya, and Waylon Lowe welcomes undefeated Brazilian Willamy "Chiquerim" Freire to the Octagon. Then TUF 12's Cody McKenzie faces veteran Yves Edwards and welterweights DaMarques Johnson and Mike “The Joker” Guymon go to battle.

Fans that do not have a Facebook account are encouraged to sign up at http://www.facebook.com/.

Following these bouts, fans can tune in to Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT to watch the live broadcast of the Fight For The Troops 2 main card from Fort Hood, Texas. 

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Britt-St.Preux Added to Challengers 12

Antwin Britt file photo: Mike Fridley | Sherdog.com

Strikeforce officials announced today that a light heavyweight contest between Antwain Britt and Ovince St. Preux is now a part of Strikeforce Challengers 12, going down at the Jackson Convention Center in Jackson, Miss. on Nov. 19.

Britt was impressive in his Strikeforce debut in December 2009, earning a TKO victory over Scott Lighty on the undercard of Strikeforce: Evolution. Prior to that triumph, Britt was defeated by current UFC competitor Rodney Wallace via first-round armbar in a Vendetta Fighting Championships event. A knockout specialist, “The Juggernaut” has taken home all but two of his career wins by KO. A Hybrid Training Center product, Britt has only been knocked out once and has never lost back-to-back fights. The Virginian is coming off a defeat to Rafael Cavalcante, who would go on to defeat Muhammed Lawal in his next fight and win the Strikeforce light heavyweight championship.

“This is a must-win fight for both [St. Preux and myself],’’ said Britt. “I really want this bad. I thought I had [Cavalcante] and would love a rematch with him, especially since he is now the Strikeforce champion.’’

A former linebacker at the University of Tennessee, St. Preux is on a four-fight winning streak. His latest outing earned him an eight-second knockout over Jason Day at a Canadian event in July. St. Preux was victorious in his first Strikeforce showing in April, steamrolling Chris Hawk with a 47-second TKO at Strikeforce: Nashville.

“Everything is going good now, but the more I win, the harder I know I have to work,’’ said St. Preux. “I fought some tough guys early in my career, because it didn’t matter to me who I fought. Looking back, I probably should have won all those fights. But I’m not mad, because I learned so much from each of them.’’

The card will be headlined by a lightweight clash between Vitor Ribeiro and Justin Wilcox. The card will also feature Ryan Couture, son of UFC hall of famer Randy, taking on an unnamed opponent.

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