Against UFC Newcomer, Pierce May Showcase Striking

Mike Pierce (left) | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Mike Pierce wanted to fight Thiago Alves. A matchup against the former title challenger would have given Pierce a chance to catapult himself into contention.

Instead he’ll meet Octagon newcomer Kenny Robertson on Saturday at UFC 126. Although the matchup won’t push Pierce into the title hunt, he does think it could give him the opportunity to showcase his striking ability.

“If this guy presents more opportunities on the feet, I think that might be where I go,” Pierce said recently during a “Savage Dog Show” interview on the Sherdog Radio Network. “But I’m comfortable going anywhere. My thing is kind of ground-and-pound and taking people down, but I like to showcase other things too.”

Most recently Robertson submitted John Kolosci with a keylock in August at Bellator Fighting Championships 25. His record shows multiple finishes via submission but also stoppages on strikes. Pierce said he’s seen footage of Robertson’s last three fights.

“He does a little of everything,” Pierce said. “He does a little standup. He likes to get things on the ground and then works submissions, from what I can tell. I’ve seen enough to know what I need to know.”

While Robertson will be making his UFC debut, the fight will be Pierce’s fourth in the Octagon. He is 3-1 in the UFC with his only loss coming via unanimous decision to Jon Fitch. After armbarring Amilcar Alves in August, Pierce was hoping for a high-profile opponent.

“I was hoping for somebody that had been around a little bit longer and had a couple of fights in the UFC,” Pierce said. “But at the end of the day, if you win, you get paid well. That’s what my job is to do: go out there and put on a show and win. I don’t really care who they match me up with.”

With that said, though, Pierce had requested a matchup with Thiago Alves.

“For one, he notoriously doesn’t do that well against wrestlers,” Pierce explained. “And … I just really don’t like guys that can’t make weight. That was another reason why.”

Alves will be fighting Rick Story next, though, and Pierce has Robertson in front of him on Saturday. Although Pierce typically prefers a less than flashy ground-and-pound approach, he plans on delivering an entertaining performance.

“I think he’s going to be another [notch] on the belt,” Pierce said. “I want to go out there and put on a show and finish this guy. Hopefully after that I can start getting some guys with a little more experience inside the Octagon and start working my way up the ranks. That’s what I’m going to be looking to do after this fight.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 1:30:55) with Pierce, who also discussed entry music, discussion forums and handling criticism.

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Zuffa Files Suit Against Justin.TV

Las Vegas, Nevada – Zuffa, LLC (“Zuffa”), owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (“UFC®”) brand announced today that it filed a lawsuit against Justin.tv, Inc. (“Justin.tv”) for copyright and trademark infringement in United States District Court for the District of Nevada arising from Justin.tv’s repeated and ongoing failure to meaningfully address the rampant and illegal uploading of video of live Pay-Per-View UFC® events by members and users of the Justin.tv website.  

The Justin.tv website enables anyone with an internet connection to broadcast live streaming video to an unlimited audience.  Although purportedly developed to bring user-generated content to a large live audience, the Justin.tv website is routinely exploited by users to broadcast illegally uploaded content, including UFC® events.  

For example, on October 23, 2010, over 50,000 people watched live streaming feeds of the UFC 121 Pay-Per-View event.  Indeed, third-party contractors hired and paid for by Zuffa, removed more than 200 infringing live streams of UFC 121 from the Justin.tv website.  This piracy represents a significant loss of revenue to Zuffa and its mobile, online, cable and satellite distribution partners each year.

“Zuffa has attempted to work on numerous occasions with Justin.tv over nearly a two-year period to encourage it to prevent or limit its infringing activities,” Zuffa’s Las Vegas attorney, Donald J. Campbell said. “Regrettably, Justin.tv has not only turned a blind eye to the massive online piracy occurring on its website, we believe it has actually induced its users to commit copyright infringement thus leaving Zuffa no alternative but to take this fight to the courts.”

Zuffa is the largest provider of Pay-Per-View content in the world, and delivers exciting matches to fans in over 354 million households across 145 countries and territories. Zuffa encourages the development of new technology to deliver UFC® content to licensed online platforms, mobile devices, and gaming systems.  However, Zuffa does not condone the use of streaming video or other new technologies to violate intellectual property laws, and it will vigorously protect its copyrighted content against piracy in any medium.   

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Hominick Guaranteed Title Shot with Win Against Roop

Mark Hominick (top) | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

While the announcement of heavyweights Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos as the coaches of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 13 became the main focus of Tuesday’s UFC media conference call, UFC President Dana White made an important declaration pertaining to another weight class far down the scale.

When Mark Hominick and George Roop square off at Fort Hood near Killeen, Texas, for UFC “Fight for the Troops 2” on Jan. 22, the next UFC featherweight title challenger could be decided.

Asked whether Hominick would be considered for a bout with UFC’s featherweight kingpin, Jose Aldo, should he defeat Roop, White confirmed the notion immediately.

“If Mark Hominick wins this fight, he gets a shot at the title with Aldo, and that will be in Toronto,” White said, referring to UFC 129, which takes place in Toronto on April 30.

And if Hominick loses?

“I don’t know. Back to the drawing board,” said White.

Hominick, who knocked off three opponents in as many WEC bouts in 2010, originally had his name bandied about as a possible challenger for Aldo late last year. Instead, the UFC opted to pair the Brazilian with streaking phenom Josh Grispi for UFC 125, but that bout fell through when Aldo withdrew due to a neck injury.

Shortly after the conference call ended, the 28-year-old Canadian took to Twitter and made it clear that he had no intentions of looking past Roop.

“I know [Dana White] announced the news about Aldo in Toronto,” Hominick wrote. “I am focused on next week and that is where I am leaving the issue.”

No stranger to upsets, Roop entered his September WEC bout with fan favorite Chan Sung Jung as a decided underdog before crushing the “Korean Zombie” with a second-round head kick. Now, the Shawn Tompkins-trained fighter has designs on spoiling the UFC’s best-laid plans.

“I plan on making it so Hominick doesn’t fight Aldo... in Canada,” Roop wrote on his Twitter account.

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Thomson Eyes Statement Against Kawajiri, Melendez Rubber Match

Josh Thomson is set to face Japanese grinder Tatsuya Kawajiri on New Year’s Eve in Japan but the well-rounded veteran has his sights set on a rematch with the man who took his Strikeforce lightweight belt.

Thomson sees a third fight between himself and Gilbert Melendez happening sometime in 2011 and he hopes it will be on pay-per-view.

For that fight to make sense, Thomson will have to get past the 10-year veteran who has been one of the top lightweights to ever come out of Japan.

Check out this exclusive video to see the former champion and UFC vet discuss his preparations for his bout with Kawajiri, as well as his hopes expectations for a third fight with Melendez.

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With Stock Soaring, Leben Promises Fireworks Against Stann

When a media member at Wednesday’s UFC 125 pre-fight news conference in Las Vegas asked which of the 10 fighters on the dais was most disappointed about not being able to party this New Year’s Eve, UFC President Dana White offered his pick almost instantly.

“That would be Leben,” White joked.

Chris Leben, however, was quick to correct his boss.

“The old Leben!” he exclaimed.

It seemed important for Leben to make that distinction. The 30-year-old middleweight has carried a reputation as a partier since his rambunctious stint on the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2005. In October, the Hawaii-based fighter was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after he crashed his truck on the H-1 Freeway in Honolulu.

But as his Octagon stock soars thanks to a three-fight win streak -- which includes victories over Jay Silva, Aaron Simpson and, most recently, Yoshihiro Akiyama -- Leben says he’s looking to put those troubles behind him.

“Do people make mistakes? George [W.] Bush got a DUI,” Leben said. “I’m working hard in and out of the cage. Anybody that’s around me knows that I’m a far different person than, one, I was five years ago, or, two, the media likes to paint of me.”

One alleged media mischaracterization which Leben spoke of was that of his disappointment in his next opponent. While Akiyama got to face “TUF 3” star Michael Bisping after being upset by Leben, “The Crippler” was assigned the lesser-known Brian Stann for Saturday’s show. Leben, however, offered nothing but praise for the former WEC light heavyweight champion and United States Marine.

“I’m not sure exactly where [the media is] getting that one from. I’m looking forward to fighting Brian Stann. I think he’s an exciting guy,” said Leben. “I wanna go on record and commend him for everything he’s done for our country, as well. I think it’s an honor to get in there and fight him.”

Asked about his October arrest, Leben was predictably mum, instead touting the improvements his team in Hawaii has helped him make.

“Obviously, the matter’s still pending. I can’t dig into that, but I will tell you my camp is the best it’s ever been,” Leben said. “Greg Thompson [and] Burton Richardson have been just pushing me to the absolute next level. That’s reflected in my last three fights, you know?”

“My fights are generally pretty exciting fights -- at least, I’d like to think so -- and come Saturday night, when me and Brian Stann get in there, you’re gonna have another fireworks show.”

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Report: Cerrone Replaces Stout Against Kelly at UFC 126

Donald Cerrone: Jeff Sherwood | Sherdog.com

Donald Cerrone now has a date for his UFC debut, but the “Cowboy” won’t be fighting Cole Miller as he had hoped. Instead, Cerrone will reportedly step in for the injured Sam Stout to take on Paul Kelly in a lightweight scrap at UFC 126.

The event, which goes down Feb. 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, will be headlined by a middleweight title clash between reigning champion Anderson Silva and former light heavyweight title-holder Vitor Belfort. News of the Cerrone-Kelly matchup was first reported by MMAWeekly.com on Monday.

Cerrone comes fresh off a dominant submission victory over Chris Horodecki at the WEC’s final show in December. After an evenly-matched first round which saw both men slinging leather, Cerrone locked up a triangle choke and finished the fight in the second frame.

The Jackson’s MMA product has shown great improvement in his wrestling of late, as evidenced by his performance against former WEC champion Jamie Varner in September. In the rematch, Cerrone shucked Varner’s takedown attempts and dictated the flow of the fight while using his superior striking to score points. Cerrone thrice competed for the WEC lightweight title, but come up short in each attempt.

A product of Team Kaobon in Liverpool, England, Kelly has found mixed results in his last few Octagon outings. Though he holds a 5-3 promotional record overall, Kelly is 2-2 in his last four fights for the UFC. Most recently, the 26-year-old earned a technical knockout victory against T.J. O’Brien at UFC 123 in October.

Kelly originally competed in the promotion at welterweight and made his lightweight debut at UFC 99. The Brit has been bested by Jacob Volkmann, Dennis Siver and Marcus Davis, and holds notable victories over Matt Veach and countryman Paul Taylor. Kelly has finished eight of his 11 career wins and has only been knocked out once as a professional.

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Edgar: Jiu-Jitsu Will Help Against Maynard

Frankie Edgar | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Frankie Edgar believes the biggest difference between the fighter he is now and the one he was when Gray Maynard beat him is his team.

Maynard won a unanimous decision over Edgar in April 2008. When the two rematch Saturday at UFC 125, Edgar will have the help of an almost entirely different camp that includes muay Thai trainer Phil Nurse and Renzo Gracie black belts John Danaher and Ricardo Almeida.

The UFC lightweight champion thinks his jiu-jitsu training in particular could counter Maynard’s wrestling.

“When he took me down the first fight, the first couple of rounds I was able to get up. The third round, he did a good job of holding me down,” Edgar said recently during an interview on the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show. “I didn’t really have the jiu-jitsu that I have today. … Now I have jiu-jitsu techniques that I think will aid me in getting back to my feet.”

In fact, Edgar said he has the ability to land a submission from his back. “I do believe my jiu-jitsu has come a long ways,” he said. “I just haven’t really had a chance to showcase it as much.”

While Maynard’s wrestling ability was pivotal in the first encounter, his size advantage also appeared to play a role. Edgar doesn’t write off his loss to being smaller, though.

“I think it definitely played a part, but I don’t think that was the main reason I lost,” Edgar said. “I don’t think I lost because I was the smaller fighter. I think he just fought a better fight that night, and his game plan worked better than mine. But I was actually a little bit smaller that night than I am now. I packed on some weight since that fight, but he’s still going to be bigger. He’s still going to have the size advantage.”

Edgar expects to weigh around 162-163 come fight time. He figures Maynard will be 175 or as high as 180. The discrepancy has advantages and disadvantages, Edgar said.

“I’m going to be eating Christmas morning, I’ll tell you that for sure,” Edgar explained. “I’m not going to be sucking so much weight the week before, but I’m also going to be giving up some substantial size in the fight.”

Although he will be the smaller fighter again, Edgar won’t be the same opponent Maynard outpointed the first time. Since that meeting, Edgar has gone 5-0, including two upset wins over B.J. Penn.

“I just think my confidence level skyrocketed after that first B.J. fight,” Edgar said. “A win over B.J., who was at the time the best lightweight in the world, was great for me, was great for my confidence, was great for just believing in myself. I think it showed second fight.”

Both Penn fights were tough 25-minute wins. Maynard has never gone past 15.

“I’m sure Gray’s preparing for the [five five-minute rounds], but there’s nothing like having the experience doing it like I have my last two fights,” Edgar said. “I’m hoping to take him in deep water and hoping I can wear him out. In four and five rounds, I’m expecting to hopefully take control.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 1:33:53) with Edgar, who also discussed Maynard’s strengths.

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Kyle Rolls Dice on Pay, Injures Hand Against Silva

Mike Kyle (top) vs. Antonio Silva: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com

When Mike Kyle was approached to step in for an injured Valentijn Overeem against Antonio Silva, he was given two choices: fight for the typical show-plus-win money, or take a flat rate, regardless of the bout’s outcome.

As a 3-1 underdog, few would have blamed Kyle for taking the flat pay, which was considerably more than his show money. For Kyle, however, the choice was clear. According to the American Kickboxing Academy product, playing it safe would have equated to betting against himself.

“I just couldn't do that. I had to go out and believe in myself and leave it all in the ring,” Kyle told Sherdog.com after his fight at Strikeforce “Henderson vs. Babalu II” on Saturday.

In giving it his all, Kyle nearly pulled off a colossal upset. Early in round one, he clipped Silva with a sharp right hand that dropped “Bigfoot” and brought the crowd to its feet. As Kyle jumped on the fallen giant, the size discrepancy between the two fighters became startlingly apparent. Nonetheless, Kyle continued to pound on the Brazilian, hoping for a referee stoppage which never came.

“I'm not going to use [his size] as an excuse. He was better than me tonight,” said Kyle. “I thought it was going to be stopped and I got really excited.”

At the post-fight presser, Kyle sported a bandage. The 30-year-old claimed he broke his hand twice while delivering ground-and-pound in the first frame.

“Once my right hand broke, mentally, I felt like I couldn't do nothing to him,” said Kyle.

In round two, the King of the Cage light heavyweight champion found himself caught in a Silva anaconda choke. Although he admitted to feeling mentally beaten between rounds, Kyle refused to quit and escaped the submission.

“I didn’t want to quit out there. There have been fights in the past where I’ve quit, and I believe that [AKA teammate] Cain Velasquez beat that quit out of me,” he said. “That choke was tight, but I had to leave it all in the cage.”

Eventually, though, the size difference caught up with Kyle, who was mounted by Silva and finished with punches at the 2:49 mark of the second round.

Although Kyle walked away with another loss on his record, his performance against the world-ranked Silva turned some heads. Giving away over 40 pounds, Kyle nearly pulled off the shocking upset, as he did when he knocked out current Strikeforce 205-pound king Rafael Cavalcante in June 2009. When asked about Kyle's chances as a light heavyweight contender, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker was optimistic.

“I think Mike is right in the mix, and he keeps getting better,” said Coker. “He has the ability to fight at both weights, and I think his stock went up tonight.”

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Rocha Replaces Fitch Against Ellenberger at UFC 126

Carlos Eduardo Rocha (left): Sandra Leidecker | Sherdog.com

Jake Ellenberger will likely square off against undefeated Carlos Eduardo Rocha on Feb. 5 at UFC 126 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Originally scheduled to face top-10 welterweight Jon Fitch at the event, Ellenberger was left without an opponent when Fitch was plucked from the matchup in favor of a UFC 127 scrap against pound-for-pound great B.J. Penn. The news was first reported by MMAJunkie on Tuesday afternoon.

Ellenberger has won six of his last seven fights and is coming off back-to-back victories inside the Octagon. After dropping his UFC debut via split decision to welterweight contender Carlos Condit, the Nebraskan rattled off consecutive TKO's over Mike Pyle and John Howard, respectively. Well-traveled as a professional, the 25-year-old is a veteran of Bellator and the now-defunct International Fight League. He holds notable victories over Pat Healy and Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons and has finished 15 of his 23 victims by knockout.

Stepping up to fill Fitch's void will be Rocha, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner who holds eight of his nine career victories by submission. The Brazilian is fresh off an impressive UFC debut, wherein he finished “TUF 11” finalist Kris McCray with a slick kneebar. The welterweight prospect holds his only non-submission victory by knockout and has never allowed a fight to see the judges' scorecards.

UFC 126 will reportedly be headlined by a middleweight title clash between longtime champion Anderson Silva and the resurgent Vitor Belfort. The card will also feature two pivotal light heavyweight contests, as former champions Rich Franklin and Forest Griffin toe the line while prospects Jon Jones and Ryan Bader lock horns. Rounding out the card will be a bantamweight tilt with title implications as former WEC king Miguel Torres takes on Antonio Banuelos.

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Penn Questions Weightlifting, Says Strength Non-Issue Against Hughes

Former UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn doesn’t think strength will play a role in his rubber match against Matt Hughes on Saturday at UFC 123.

The fight is at 170 pounds, where Hughes has long been known as one of the most powerful fighters in the division. Penn has beaten him there before but also lost to him. The Hawaiian acknowledged that Hughes is the bigger fighter, but he also says that doesn’t matter.

“Bigger, yeah. Stronger? I feel I’m just as strong as anyone,” Penn said during a recent interview on the Sherdog Radio Network’s “It’s Time” show with Bruce Buffer. “I don’t even feel like I feel people’s strength when we fight. From all the people that I’ve fought, I don’t even really think that strength ends up being a factor. While you’re in there, you can’t really feel it. Everybody feels like they punch the same. When you wrestle them, it feels like they wrestle the same. It’s just who’s got better technique and who moves better. I don’t think that’s going to be the big issue.”

Should he get by Hughes, Penn is considering another run at 170. However, he does not sound interested in bulking up to compete in the division. In particular, he believes lifting weights would be a waste of his time.

“I guess if I was going to put on muscle, it would be by punching the heavy bag and by wrestling bigger opponents because I really question that weightlifting strength and how functional that stuff is,” he said. “I know it’s benefited some people, but for me personally, in my own opinion, [lifting] is just something else to do to work out when you could be doing something that could help you more in the ring. I think it takes time and energy to lift weights, and that’s time and energy that’s being taken away from learning the sport itself. There’s so many aspects of mixed martial arts. We will never be able to grasp all of them, and spending time and energy doing something like lifting weights, I think you’re not getting the most bang for your buck in that area.”

Penn said his best fighting weight is around 164-168 pounds. He weighed 169 Friday ahead of his showdown with Hughes. If nothing else, not having to cut to 155 has reduced Penn’s stress leading up to the bout.

“I’m definitely a lot more happy,” Penn said. “I got to eat a lot. It wasn’t like I was eating a chicken salad and then training for three hours, like what ends up happening to a lot of the guys cutting weight. I’m in great spirits. I’ll be in great spirits all week. Of course Matt’s got to make the weight cut, so during the press conference and during the weigh-in, he’ll be a lot weaker than I am. I get to be a lot more positive going into this whole thing.”

As for the fight itself, Penn suspects that his losses to Frankie Edgar might have misled the Hughes camp.

“I think because my last two fights were so lackluster that people are really wondering what’s going to go on,” Penn said. “I think even Matt Hughes and his crew might be wondering or maybe they’re underestimating me or thinking whether I’m unmotivated or I’m not training properly. … I think they’re going to see a lot different B.J. Penn than they’ve seen, that they’ve had to go up against.”

At the same time, Penn is expecting an improved opponent. He plans on Hughes being top-notch for their final encounter.

“It’d be nice if Matt Hughes left his guard down, but on both sides, for the fans and for each other, we deserve to see the best 31-year-old B.J. Penn and the best 37-year-old Matt Hughes,” Penn said. “It sounds like he’s getting older, but he’s still awesome.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 24:10) with Penn, who also discussed how long he’d like to fight.

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