Ten Best - Top European Fights in UFC History

On April 14th, the UFC’s Octagon will travel overseas to Europe for the 15th time in its nearly 19 year history, setting down for an inaugural event in Stockholm, Sweden that is headlined by the light heavyweight battle between hometown hero Alexander Gustafsson and Brazil’s Thiago Silva.

Gustafsson-Silva promises to be an explosive matchup, and if it does live up to expectations, it may just earn a spot on this list of the ten best fights to appear on the UFC’s European cards.

10 – Rich Franklin W3 Wanderlei Silva – UFC 99 (2009, Cologne, Germany)
When it was announced that the main event of the UFC’s first foray into Germany was going to pit former middleweight champion Rich Franklin against former PRIDE champ Wanderlei Silva, you knew things were going to turn out okay at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, and neither “Ace” or “The Axe Murderer” disappointed during their three rounder. Filled with solid action throughout that was punctuated by periodic bursts of berserker attacks from Silva, Franklin pulled out a close, but unanimous, decision in which his more disciplined style paved the way to victory. “He caught me in the second round, but for the most part, I really kept myself out of those exchanges,” said Franklin. “I didn’t get caught, I was not greedy with my punches – I used two or three punch combinations, got in and out, used a lot of footwork, and tried to do my best to not stand there and trade punch for punch. I kept moving and stuck to the gameplan for the whole 15 minutes, and it wasn’t that bad.”

9 – Marcus Davis Wsub1 Paul Taylor – UFC 75 (2007, London, England)
We couldn’t have an all-Euro list without at least one fight from New England’s “Irish Hand Grenade,” Marcus Davis, who fought seven consecutive times in Europe at the height of his UFC career. And this one was a short, but memorable, bout, where Davis got dropped early by a head kick, only to show off his underrated submission skills and finish the fight moments later. After the bout, which earned Davis the Submission and Fight of the Night awards, he declared that he was willing to do just about anything to keep the fans satisfied. “If I’ve gotta take another neck kick to get people to jump out of their seats and have a good time, that’s what I’ll do,” said Davis. “If I have to learn how to do a flying gogoplata or something crazy, that’s what I’ll learn. I’ll do whatever I’ve got to do to become better and better and better.”

8 - Antoni Hardonk KO2 Eddie Sanchez – UFC 85 (2008, London, England)
This heavyweight battle between Antoni Hardonk and Eddie Sanchez didn’t get a lot of attention, either before or after the fight, and that’s a shame, because it was an entertaining scrap with plenty of haymakers thrown before the finish. And if anything, the bout did make an impression on the winner, as Hardonk told me that the victory was the one he would put in a time capsule to let people know what he was about as a fighter. “One fight that I think about a lot is when I fought back in London at UFC 85,” said Hardonk. “I fought Eddie Sanchez and I got really hurt in that fight. At one point he hit me right in the eye and it broke my orbital bone. I was dizzy, I fell to the floor, and he jumped on me to finish the fight, but I used my ground skills to survive and weather the storm. Then I came back and I knocked him out. That was definitely one of the fights that I think about a lot because I overcame myself that time. There are some guys that are extremely gifted. They have physical talent, they’re super fast, they’re strong, and sometimes have great technique. But it’s easy to be tough or look great when things go your way. But it’s hard to look tough and put on a great fight when you’re being dominated. It’s completely different.”

7 - Paul Kelly W3 Paul Taylor – UFC 80 (2008, Newcastle, England)
If you saw this one, you’ll know why it’s here. If not, here’s what I wrote when listing the All-England battle between Paul Taylor and Paul Kelly on the best fights of 2008 list: Nothing like a little local rivalry to spice things up, and when British welterweights Paul Kelly and Paul Taylor locked up, they were fighting as if the fate of England itself was at stake.  Punctuated by an opening 30 second sequence that saw both fighters standing and trading punches at close range, the fight was fast-paced throughout, with the two even exchanging blows while on the mat.  As the bout progressed, the bigger and stronger Kelly pulled ahead and away, but Taylor, despite being cut and overpowered, never stopped battling, almost pulling off a kimura in the second round and still landing enough punches and kicks while standing to keep Kelly honest.  In the end though, it was Kelly by unanimous decision in a memorable Octagon debut.

6 – Matt Wiman KO2 Thiago Tavares - UFC 85 (2008, London, England)
Buried on the undercard of a stacked UFC 85 card that includes names like Hughes, Alves, Bisping, Swick, Davis, Marquardt, Werdum, and Vera, Matt Wiman and Thiago Tavares soared to the top of the list to win Fight of the Night honors at the O2 Arena with an exciting back and forth battle that saw a dizzying array of submission attempts by both men, some crisp standup, and finally an emphatic knockout by Wiman, who topped off his June by getting married a week later.  Everything you could want in a mixed martial arts match was here, and both fighters showed what the sport can be when done right.

5 - Renan Barao Wsub1 Brad Pickett – UFC 138 (2011, Birmingham, England)
It didn’t last long – just four minutes and nine seconds – but for pure fury, you couldn’t do much better than the bantamweight battle between Brazil’s Renan Barao and England’s Brad Pickett. From the sound of the bell to open the bout, the two tore at each other like bitter enemies, with Barao eventually gaining the upper hand and ending matters via rear naked choke submission.

4 - Ian Freeman TKO1 Frank Mir – UFC 38 (2002, London, England)
The first UFC card in Europe may have been headlined by the welterweight title fight between Matt Hughes and Carlos Newton, but it was local hero Ian Freeman who stole the show by handing unbeaten young gun Frank Mir his first pro loss via first round TKO. What made the win even more poignant was that “The Machine” scored the win not knowing that his seriously ill father had passed away shortly before the bout, news he found out after the biggest win of his career.

3 - Quinton Jackson W5 Dan Henderson – UFC 75 (2007, London, England)
For historical reasons alone, this first unification bout between a UFC champion (Quinton Jackson) and a PRIDE champion (Dan Henderson) would probably warrant a spot here, but then the two veteran light heavyweight stalwarts proceeded to put on a back and forth five rounder that Jackson eventually emerged victorious from via five round unanimous decision.

2 - Michael Bisping TKO2 Denis Kang - UFC 105 (2009, Manchester, England)
While it might be overdramatizing things to say that Michael Bisping’s career was on the line when he faced veteran Denis Kang at UFC 105 in Manchester, following his UFC 100 knockout loss to Dan Henderson, a second defeat wouldn’t have done “The Count” any favors. And after a strong first round, Kang was in control and seemingly on his way to victory, but in the second, Bisping made his adjustments, turned up the heat and stopped Kang. The pride of UK MMA had gotten back on track and he did it in spectacular fashion.

1 - Tyson Griffin W3 Clay Guida - UFC 72 (2007, Belfast, Northern Ireland)
“I was actually surprised to hear boos before me and Tyson engaged, about the first 10 or 12 seconds,” said Clay Guida of the early moments of his UFC 72 bout against Tyson Griffin. “Then we started throwing punches and it was a mess from there on out.” It was a beautiful mess though, as Guida and Griffin went at it tooth and nail for three rounds in a bout that was the Belfast card’s Fight of the Night and a 2007 Fight of The Year winner for many fans and pundits.  And while Griffin took the razor-thin split decision, there were no losers in this one, as both lightweights showed off the intensity and technique of mixed martial arts, primarily on the mat, where they scrapped for much of the 15 minute bout.

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Ace - The UFC's Toughest Fights On

“You’re standing in the cage and you’ve got two options – you can quit or you can continue going, and I’m not a quitter.” If you lined Rich Franklin up with some of the more physically or visually imposing figures in the UFC, guys like Brock Lesnar, Wanderlei Silva, “Rampage” Jackson, or his opponent this Saturday night, Forrest Griffin, the former middleweight champion would probably be the last one you would peg as a professional prizefighter. But when it comes to toughness, Franklin has few peers.

There are plenty of examples you can look at over the course of his 11 year career, but the most recent may be the most telling, as he survived a broken left arm inflicted on him by Chuck Liddell last June only to knock “The Iceman” out with his good right hand moments later. Ask Franklin about it, and he’s almost matter of fact about it, as if it’s something all fighters would do.

Anytime that you’re injured, it’s not really a layoff even though physically you’re taking the time off, perhaps mentally you didn’t need it so there’s that part of you that’s always thinking, yeah, my arm is broken but I really need to get back on the wagon and do the things that I need to be doing here. So it’s never the same kind of layoff as if you purposely take a layoff.

“You’re standing in the cage and you’ve got two options – you can quit or you can continue going, and I’m not a quitter,” said Franklin, who also fought through a broken hand and foot over a five round bout with David Loiseau in 2006. “At the end of the day, if I had turned around and looked at the ref and said my ‘arm is broken, I can’t continue’, I think I really would have been kicking myself for something like that in the long run. So basically, you keep going and keep going until you can’t go anymore.”

“In every human there’s the fight or flight syndrome, and you come to a crossroads often in life where you have to make a choice as to whether or not you’re going to continue pushing through something or if you’re going to fold the cards,” he continues. “Some people fold more easily than others, and that’s a situation where I know that even though my arm was in some pain, I had the adrenaline going and all that stuff, so it’s a manageable pain. And when you’re in the moment, all you’re thinking about is that I need to win this fight. And you say well, my arm’s already broken, so what more can possibly be done.”

There are fighters and then there are fighters like Franklin. Everyone who walks up those four steps is courageous, but then Franklin goes and takes that courage to the next level and then shrugs it off as if it’s part of the job. But what the fans and media don’t see is the aftermath, the time spent rehabbing injuries, healing and waiting for another chance to compete. For Franklin, the nearly nine month break between his 2009 bout against Vitor Belfort and the Liddell fight was a good thing, an opportunity to recharge his batteries and live life as a civilian for a while. The three months waiting to heal his broken arm was far from ideal.

“A lot of my leisure time, I’ll do different physical things, maybe something like snowboarding or whatever, or I’ll sit at my house and play the drums here,” he said. “With a cast on, I had nearly three months of not being able to play my drums, so there’s this part of you that sits there almost convincing yourself that it’s wasted time, that you can’t even do a lot of the things that you want to do.”

Injury-induced layoffs can also give you plenty of time to think, to wonder whether the fleeting moments of glory are worth the pain afterward, especially after going through such ordeals several times. Franklin admits to such thoughts, but not after his broken arm. Instead, he refers back to his razor-thin decision loss to Dan Henderson in 2009, when an inadvertent eye poke made him question whether he wanted to continue.

“I had that conversation after the Henderson fight when I got poked in the eye,” he said. “You break a bone, you break a nose, these things heal. You lose a tooth, you get poked in the eye, these are not pieces of your body that can just miraculously jump back if the injury is bad enough. And when I got poked in the eye, there was a period of time there when I thought my vision was going to be permanently affected. And it was scary because I was one of those people that had perfect vision, my eyes don’t get irritated, it bothers me to have to put eyedrops in my eye and all that kinda stuff, so when something like that happens, you start thinking ‘man, all this and I have a possibly messed up eye.’ And you really start to evaluate things. So I’ve had those talks with myself before.”

Such thoughts rapidly disappear though, especially with Franklin’s career still going strong over four years after he lost his title to Anderson Silva in October of 2006. While some former champions fall by the wayside and lose their way, Franklin has retained his popularity and has stayed focused, with every fight since 2009 being a fight fan’s dream fight. The names Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Belfort, Liddell, and now Griffin all dotting his record simply don’t lie. It’s something you don’t see in boxing anymore, a fact not lost on Franklin.

“I remember watching boxing growing up and you have these champions and they would fight a big fight and then after that they would get a couple tomato cans,” he said. “And in boxing, a lot of these guys are only fighting once or maybe twice a year. In MMA, when you get to the top of the heap, you’re consistently fighting the top contenders. There is no ‘let’s give him a newbie or a nobody’. In MMA, people wouldn’t even watch a fight like that. So it’s been that way for me since before I fought Shamrock. My first fight in the UFC was Evan Tanner.”

But fighting killer after killer can wear you down mentally, and Franklin admits as much. Yet at the same time, he likes the idea of having to be “on” every night, and he wouldn’t change a thing, especially since this is what he signed on for.

“In football you have a 16 game season and you can’t afford to lose a lot of games,” he said. “And every game every week is important. Whereas in baseball, you’re playing a 162 game season and if you come out of the season with 60 losses, you’re still having a pretty successful year. So there are certain games that you could probably brush off mentally, or if you lose a game, it’s no big deal – it’s Monday night, we play again Wednesday, we’ll win that game. It makes a big difference and in each fight, you really have to pick yourself up for that fight. And it wears on you mentally, but all in all, this is what I love doing, and what pretty much all the guys who do what I do love doing too, so it comes with the territory.”

And suddenly, Franklin – who has wins over Liddell and Wanderlei Silva sandwiching his loss to Belfort – may put himself in the title picture with a win Saturday night. Just don’t tell him that.

“I keep things in perspective and first of all, I have to beat Forrest to put myself close enough to even start thinking about a title shot and that’s going to be a difficult task within itself,” he said. “Forrest is definitely not a pushover opponent here, so I don’t want to put the carriage before the horse, and secondly, I’m still not ranked in the top ten. So as far as that kinda stuff goes, I’m patient. All I have to worry about is winning, and as long as I continue to win, then I’ll put myself in the position I need to be in in order for another title shot.”

This time around, Franklin has stayed home in Cincinnati with his usual crew of standouts, passing on trips to Washington to work with Matt Hume as he has in most of his recent fights. But there was no acrimony involved in this decision; “Ace” just wanted to stay home.

“It gets difficult to travel all the time,” he said. “It’s a wear and tear on you to be constantly out of town and I had a good setup for this camp. I had good training partners here that would mimic Forrest and that had the same body type and that kind of stuff. And what it boils down to is that there have been fights where I didn’t have the training partners to mimic certain fighters and I was stepping outside the box with different coaching, and Hume is a great coach, so this has nothing to do with that, but with the travel, it gets to the point that for me to be gone for four-plus weeks for a camp, sometimes I’m not sure I want to be gone for that long before a fight.”

With his arm healed, a solid training camp behind him, and the knowledge that an improbable trip back to a world title is within his grasp, the 36-year old Franklin looks to have all his ducks in a row heading into the Mandalay Bay Events Center this Saturday night. All he needs to do now is perform in a fight fans have been talking about for weeks now. Pressure? Come on, this is Rich Franklin.

“I don’t really feel that kind of pressure anymore in my career because time and time again I’ve delivered good fights and it’s really not difficult for me to put on a good fight,” he said. “Win or lose, at least you can say my fights are exciting, and that’s for sure. That’s the way that I fight, and pretty much Forrest fights the same way, so I would imagine that the two of us won’t have a problem putting on an exciting fight for the fans.”

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11 Fights Greenlit for UFC Live 3

UFC Live 3 “Sanchez vs. Kampmann” once again has 11 official fights on the bill, as the promotion on Thursday announced that Rousimar Palhares (Pictured) will meet Dave Branch in a middleweight duel on March 3 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.

A welterweight showdown between the resurgent Diego Sanchez and Danish striker Martin Kampmann will headline the main card, which will be broadcast live on the Versus network. Though 11 contests are now on the lineup, the event was set to feature a dozen fights before Brazilian welterweight Paulo Thiago withdrew from his fight with Johny Hendricks due to injury. The promotion has not yet announced a replacement for Thiago, and a source close to the matchup told Sherdog.com the entire bout is in jeopardy.

A Renzo Gracie product, Branch is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The 28-year-old comes off back-to-back victories inside the Octagon and has only tasted defeat once in his career. After earning a perfect 2-0 record inside Bellator Fighting Championships, Branch made his UFC debut at UFC 116 last year. He was welcomed rudely to the promotion, however, as Gerald Harris knocked him cold with a vicious slam. The North Carolina native rebounded with unanimous decision victories over Tomasz Drwal and Rich Attonito.

Palhares is another submission ace and BJJ black belt. “Toquinho” is best known for his stocky frame and his affinity for leg locks. Only beaten three times as a professional, Palhares rattled off victories over Jeremy Horn, Lucio Linhares and the aforementioned Drwal before falling to Nate Marquardt in the headlining bout at UFC Fight Night 22. After attempting one of his patented leg locks early in the fight, Palhares complained to the referee that Marquardt had greased his legs after a slippery escape by the Grudge Training Center product. Marquardt seized the opportunity and put away the Brazilian with a massive right hand. The American was cleared of any wrongdoing after the fight, and Palhares apologized for the accusation.

UFC Live 3 will also feature a pair of middleweight scraps, as Alessio Sakara meets Rafael Natal and C.B. Dollaway squares off with Mark Munoz. Additionally, former WEC bantamweight king Brian Bowles will lock horns with Greg Jackson product Damacio Page.

Diego Sanchez vs. Martin Kampmann
C.B. Dollaway vs. Mark Munoz
Alessio Sakara vs. Rafael Natal
Brian Bowles vs. Damacio Page
Takeya Mizugaki vs. Francisco Rivera
Shane Roller vs. Thiago Tavares
Erik Koch vs. Cub Swanson
Steve Cantwell vs. Cyrille Diabate
Rob Kimmons vs. Dongi Yang
Igor Pokrajac vs. Todd Brown
Dave Branch vs. Rousimar Palhares

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10 Great Fights Just 99 Cents Each

Now through February 5th, ten of the best fights featuring UFC 126 warriors are only 99 cents each in the UFC Vault.

As always, past fights are free with a subscription to the Vault.

Anderson Silva vs Chris Leben, UFC Fight Night
Anderson Silva's Octagon debut stuns the crowd... not to mention his heavy-handed opponent.

Anderson Silva vs. Nate Marquardt, UFC 73
Anderson Silva puts his title on the line against Nate The Great.

Vitor Belfort vs. Wanderlei Silva, Ultimate Brazil
Two feared warriors squared off in this 1998 event.

Vitor Belfort vs. Tank Abbott, UFC 13
See why The Phenom is a UFC legend.

Rich Franklin vs. Ken Shamrock, TUF 1 Finale
It was Ace's first fight against a UFC name like Shamrock, and Franklin showed why he belonged.

Rich Franklin vs. Edwin Dewees, UFC 44
Striker Franklin proves he can stave off a submission expert.

Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar, TUF 1 Finale
Called the most important fight in the UFC's history, it was also one of the most entertaining.

Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua, UFC 76
Griffin went from reality star to major player in PRIDE star Shogun's first UFC bout.

Ryan Bader vs. Vinicius Magalhaes, TUF 8 Finale
After an exciting season of TUF, the two light heavyweights fought for a contract.

Jon Jones vs. Brandon Vera, UFC on Versus 2
Jones rode a seemingly-unstoppable wave of hype to this bout against Vera, who'd been through the same thing.

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10 Fights Signed for UFC 126

Chad Mendes | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Unbeaten Team Alpha Male prospect Chad Mendes will toe the line against the world-ranked Michihiro Omigawa in a pivotal featherweight matchup at UFC 126 “Silva vs. Belfort” on Feb. 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Ten fights are now official for the event, which will air live on pay-per-view.

Mendes last appeared at WEC 52 in November, when he earned a unanimous decision over respected Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Javier Vazquez at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. A two-time collegiate All-American wrestler at California Polytechnic State University, the 25-year-old Hanford, Calif., native has gone the distance in five of his nine career victories. Mendes trains under former WEC featherweight king Urijah Faber.

Spawned by the Yoshida Dojo, Omigawa has not competed since he submitted Cole Escovedo with an inverted armbar at Dream 16 in September. The 35-year-old judo black belt will carry a five-fight winning streak into his first Octagon appearance in more than three years. Omigawa has enjoyed a career renaissance following a move to 145 pounds, with wins over Nova Uniao’s Marlon Sandro, current Sengoku Raiden Championship featherweight titleholder Hatsu Hioki and reigning Dream featherweight champion Hiroyuki Takaya.

Meanwhile, former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres will make his Octagon debut in a featured 135-pound matchup against The Pit’s Antonio Banuelos.

Torres submitted Charlie Valencia with a second-round rear-naked choke at WEC 51 in September, halting the first two-fight losing streak of his career. The 29-year-old East Chicago, Ind., native holds notable victories over Japanese stalwart Takeya Mizugaki, Dream veteran Yoshiro Maeda and former WEC bantamweight champion Chase Beebe. A Carlson Gracie protégé, Torres has delivered 32 of his 38 career wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

A longtime training partner of UFC hall of famer Chuck Liddell, Banuelos last fought at WEC 51 four months ago, when he scored a unanimous decision over Chad George at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colo. The 31-year-old Californian has posted four wins in his past five appearances, losing only to one-time WEC bantamweight title contender Scott Jorgensen. Banuelos has not been submitted in more than eight years.

Finally, Japanese dynamo Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto will enter the UFC cage for the first time in his stellar career when he locks horns with Demetrious Johnson in a preliminary bantamweight tilt.

Yamamoto has not competed since he knocked out Team Quest’s Federico Lopez at Dream 14 in May. The 2005 K-1 Hero’s middleweight grand prix champion owns 10 first-round finishes among his 18 career victories. Wins against 2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships winner Rani Yahya, former Dream featherweight champion Bibiano Fernandes and 2000 Olympian Kazuyuki Miyata anchor Yamamoto’s resume. In 22 professional MMA appearances, the 33-year-old has been finished only once.

A Matt Hume understudy, Johnson will carry a two-fight winning streak into the bout. The 24-year-old Madisonville, Ky., native submitted Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts representative Damacio Page with a third-round guillotine choke at WEC 52 in November. Despite his success at 135 pounds, most believe the 5-foot-3 Johnson is best suited to compete as a flyweight.

A five-round middleweight title match pairing longtime champion Anderson Silva with Vitor Belfort will headline UFC 126, along with a hotly anticipated light heavyweight showdown between former champions Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin. In addition, Jon Jones will lock horns with “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8 winner Ryan Bader in a high-stakes duel at 205 pounds.

Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort

Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin
Jake Ellenberger vs. Carlos Eduardo Rocha
Ryan Bader vs. Jon Jones
Miguel Torres vs. Antonio Banuelos
Chad Mendes vs. Michihiro Omigawa
Paul Taylor vs. Gabe Ruediger
Norifumi Yamamoto vs. Demetrious Johnson
Kyle Kingsbury vs. Ricardo Romero
Mike Pierce vs. Kenny Robertson
* Donald Cerrone vs. Paul Kelly

* Not Official

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Baroni Signs with Titan FC, Fights on March 25

Phil Baroni | Jim Page/Sherdog.com

Phil Baroni is once again employed.

Less than two weeks after his loss to Brad Tavares at UFC 125 and subsequent release from the promotion, the “New York Bad Ass” has signed a multi-fight contract with Kansas-based Titan Fighting Championships. Baroni will make his return to the ring at the company’s March 25 event.

The name of Baroni’s opponent and details on the event are expected to be released in the coming weeks.

“Since Phil’s departure from the UFC, many fight fans have been wondering what Phil’s next move would be,” Titan Fighting CEO Joe Kelly said in a press release. “I am proud to announce that Phil has signed a multi-fight deal with Titan and will be featured during our March event.

“Phil has a star quality to him that so few fighters have, and win or lose he has always fought with a true warrior’s mentality."

Baroni enters his new home on the heels of three straight losses, including consecutive defeats which ended his second run in the Octagon. Fighting in his first UFC bout in nearly five years, the 34-year-old dropped a unanimous decision to “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 7 winner Amir Sadollah at UFC 106.

Over a year later, Baroni made his return to the middleweight division against Tavares at UFC 125. After flooring the younger fighter with a left hook early on, Baroni caught Tavares with an accidental low blow. Following his recovery, Tavares staggered Baroni with a high kick and followed up with a flurry of punches that finished the veteran.

“I’m very happy and excited to re-start my career with Titan Fighting in Kansas City,” said Baroni. “I have another chapter to write and it starts March 25. People love a comeback.”

A veteran of Pride Fighting Championships, Baroni holds notable victories over Ryo Chonan, Ikuhisa Minowa and Dave Menne.

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7 Fights Official for UFC Live 3

Igor Pokrajac: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com

Seven bouts are now official for UFC Live 3 “Sanchez vs. Kampmann”, as Igor Pokrajac will meet Todd Brown in a light heavyweight duel.

The matchup was added to the promotion’s website on Wednesday. The event, which goes down March 3 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky., will be headlined by a welterweight scrap between dangerous Dane Martin Kampmann and the resurgent Diego Sanchez.

Pokrajac comes fresh off a December unanimous decision defeat at the hands of “The Ultimate Fighter” alum Stephan Bonnar in the co-main event of the “TUF 12” finale. The Croat has lost three of his last four contests, including losses to Vladimir Matyushenko and James Te Huna. His lone victory since joining the UFC came at the expense of James Irvin in August. Pokrajac submitted Irvin in the first round of their fight with a rear-naked choke. Prior to entering the UFC, Pokrajac had won eight straight contests.

Brown was unsuccessful in his UFC debut, losing by Tim Boetsch by unanimous decision at UFC 117 in August. Prior to that bout, the “Bulldog” had won seven contests in a row, including a 2008 victory over kickboxing legend Rick Roufus. Brown has scored seven of his 15 career victories by knockout and has submitted five opponents. He has never been finished in his 17-fight career.

Also scheduled for UFC Live 3 is a pair of middleweight scraps featuring C.B. Dollaway squaring off with Mark Munoz and Alessio Sakara going up against Maiquel Falcao Goncalves. The card will also showcase a bantamweight rematch between former WEC champion Brian Bowles and Damacio Page.

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9 Fights Signed for UFC 127

Carlos Condit | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Former World Extreme Cagefighting welterweight champion Carlos Condit will lock horns with a resurgent Chris Lytle in a featured matchup at UFC 127 “Penn vs. Fitch” on Feb. 27 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia. Nine fights are now official for the event.

Condit has delivered 11 wins in his past 12 appearances. Based at Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts, the 26-year-old Albuquerque, N.M., native last fought at UFC 120 in October, when he knocked out the world-ranked Dan Hardy at the O2 Arena in London. A potent finisher, Condit has secured 25 of his 26 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission. Wins over former Icon Sport champion Frank Trigg, Bellator Fighting Championships veteran Jake Ellenberger and Canadian prospect Rory MacDonald anchor his resume.

Spawned by the Integrated Fighting Academy, Lytle will carry a four-fight winning streak into the bout. The 36-year-old Indianapolis native has not competed since he earned a unanimous decision against former welterweight champion Matt Serra at UFC 119 in September. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with professional boxing experience, he has scored more than half (21) of his 30 career wins by submission. Lytle has earned “Fight of the Night” honors four times.

Meanwhile, “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 11 semi-finalist Nick Ring will make his UFC debut against former Deep middleweight champion Riki Fukuda.

Unbeaten in 10 professional appearances, Ring has not competed since October 2009, when he submitted Yannick Galipeau with a first-round armbar under the Aggression MMA banner. A favorite to win Season 11 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” he reached the semi-finals before a knee injury forced him to withdraw from the competition. Ring has undergone three reconstructive knee surgeries in his career.

Fukuda will enter his Octagon debut on the strength of a seven-fight winning streak. The 29-year-old last appeared in August, when he stopped Ryuta Sakurai on second-round knees at Deep 49 Impact. A Dream, EliteXC and Pancrase veteran, Fukuda holds notable victories over UFC castaway Brandon Wolff, former EliteXC middleweight champion Murilo Rua and Pride Fighting Championships alum Hiromitsu Kanehara. In 21 professional bouts, he has been finished only once.

A welterweight matchup pitting former two-division champion B.J. Penn against American Kickboxing Academy ace Jon Fitch will headline UFC 127, along with a middleweight duel pairing “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 winner Michael Bisping with Jorge Rivera.

B.J. Penn vs. Jon Fitch
Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera
George Sotiropoulos vs. Dennis Siver
Carlos Condit vs. Chris Lytle
Kyle Noke vs. Chris Camozzi
Alexander Gustafsson vs. James Te Huna
Nick Ring vs. Riki Fukuda
Curt Warburton vs. Maciej Jewtuszko
Anthony Perosh vs. Tom Blackledge
* Ross Pearson vs. Spencer Fisher

* Not Official

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The 10 Greatest Fights of WEC

Olaf Alfonso (falling) vs. John Polakowski | Jeff Sherwood/Sherdog.com

With the final show now officially in the books, it’s only fitting that we take a look back at some of the matches that made World Extreme Cagefighting one of the pound-for-pound most exciting MMA organizations of all time. Below, in chronological order, are the top 10 bouts from WEC.

A pivotal match in the evolution of WEC, the ultra-violent opening chapter of the Polakowski-Alfonso trilogy gave fans reason to take note of the fledgling indy promotion during its first broadcast on HDNet. Polakowski may ultimately be remembered as the guy who hugged everyone on “The Ultimate Fighter 8,” and Alfonso as a man who was on the receiving end of some brutal knockouts, but for 15 minutes on that January night, the pair waged an unforgettable war. After accepting the match on just a few hours’ notice, the kickboxer Polakowski -- who competed in his muay Thai shorts -- almost ended the fight just seconds in, when he floored Alfonso with a hard right hand. Not only did Alfonso recover from the brink of consciousness, but after the countless knees and punches were all thrown, heel hooks were escaped from, the blood spattered and noses broken, Olaf had earned a split decision, prompting another pair of fights between the men over the next two years.

The main event of the last WEC card before the promotion’s purchase by Zuffa very nearly didn’t happen. Lightweight champion Franca arrived under the impression that his title defense would be three five-minute rounds, while the challenger Diaz had been told it was a five-round affair. Only a last-minute meeting with big brother Nick Diaz and a clandestine $12,000 paycheck got Nate to agree to a three-rounder -- though, in the end, it wouldn’t matter. The 21-year-old kid from Stockton got after the champion early, peppering with punches and drilling knees to the body of the purple-haired Brazilian as Diaz bullied the smaller Franca into the fence. After losing the first round decisively, Franca turned the tide by stuffing a Diaz guard-pull in the second and teeing off with punches from the top. Diaz survived to later drop Franca with a knee, but the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt latched on to Diaz’s left arm from his back and finished off his challenger with a lightning-quick armbar.

Torres (above) was amazing at WEC 34.

Torres and Maeda’s blazingly-paced bantamweight title bout has become a touchstone for the burgeoning 135-pound division. The WEC champ and King of Pancrase went all-out from the jump, banging away with punches on the feet and engaging in a heated leglock battle on the floor. Torres would retain his belt after his stinging jabs accumulated to fracture Maeda’s right orbital bone, forcing referee Herb Dean to wave off the scheduled five-rounder after three incredible frames.

Condit and Miura sent the 170-pound class off in style with what would prove to be the final WEC welterweight title bout before the division was folded into the UFC. After a first round which featured crisp strikes, quick scrambles and an impressive Miura throw, the champion Condit slowly began to take over. Miura, however, was not to be put away easily, as he fought gamely through armbar attempts and escaped full mount in the third. Although he stormed back and dropped Condit early in the next frame, Miura succumbed to punches from the “Natural Born Killer” with less than 20 seconds to go in the fourth round.

For more than a month after it took place, the MMA world clamored to see Cerrone and McCullough’s action-packed WEC 36 undercard bout. Why? WEC had been forced to omit the “Fight of the Night” from the live Versus broadcast, instead showing a Jake Rosholt-Nissen Osterneck middleweight match due to a clause in Rosholt’s contract which guaranteed his fights would be televised. When Cerrone-McCullough aired on Dec. 28, as part of a “Best of 2008” special, all were treated to a late Christmas gift. The two accomplished muay Thai converts stood toe-to-toe and simply walloped one another for the majority of the fight, including a wild first stanza which Sherdog.com named 2008’s “Round of the Year.” When the match did hit the ground, McCullough impressively withstood back-mount and a mean-looking armbar attempt from Cerrone, who took a well-earned unanimous decision.

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15 Fights Official for ‘Soul of Fight’

Bellator Fighting Championships veteran Dan Hornbuckle (Pictured) will lock horns with Pride Fighting Championships and UFC alum Ryo Chonan in a welterweight matchup at Sengoku Raiden Championship “Soul of Fight” on Dec. 30 at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo. Fifteen fights have been booked for the promotion’s year-end event.

Hornbuckle has posted 20 wins in his last 22 appearances. A finalist in the 2010 Bellator welterweight tournament, the 29-year-old American Top Team rep last appeared at Bellator 25 in August, when he defeated UFC exile Brad Blackburn by unanimous decision at the Chicago Theatre in Chicago. Hornbuckle rose to international prominence in 2009 after he knocked out Akihiro Gono and Nick Thompson in consecutive bouts. A potent finisher, he has secured 20 of his 22 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

The well-traveled Chonan has rattled off three wins in four fights. The 34-year-old owns notable victories over Japanese ace Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, former UFC welterweight champion Carlos Newton, Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts rep Joey Villasenor and reigning UFC middleweight king Anderson Silva. In fact, his flying scissor heel hook submission against Silva at Pride Shockwave 2004 remains a staple of many a highlight reel. Chonan has not fought since he stopped Jun Hee Moon on third-round punches at Deep 50 Impact in October.

Meanwhile, Japanese MMA pioneer Megumi Fujii will square off with Valkyrie alum Emi Fujino in a pivotal women’s matchup.

Fujii has not competed since her 22-fight winning streak was halted in a split decision defeat to Zoila Frausto two months ago in the 2010 Bellator 115-pound women’s tournament final. A black belt in judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, the 36-year-old has trained under Shooto veteran Hiroyuki Abe and one-time UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett. Fujii has delivered 18 of his 22 career victories by submission.

In 13 professional appearances, Fujino has never been finished. The 30-year-old has lost four of her past five fights but needed just 24 seconds to submit Anna Saito with a first-round rear-naked choke at Valkyrie 8 on Nov. 28.

A high-stakes showdown pairing featherweight champion Marlon Sandro with the world-ranked Hatsu Hioki will headline “Soul of Fight,” which will also feature the 2010 SRC welterweight grand prix final between Yasubey Enomoto and Keita Nakamura.

Marlon Sandro vs. Hatsu Hioki

Yasubey Enomoto vs. Keita Nakamura

Taiyo Nakahara vs. Akitoshi Tamura
Manabu Inoue vs. Shunichi Shimizu

Kazuo Misaki vs. Mike Seal
Masanori Kanehara vs. Yoshiro Maeda
Maximo Blanco vs. Won Sik Park
Ryo Chonan vs. Dan Hornbuckle
Mamed Khalidov vs. Yuki Sasaki
Jadamba Narantungalag vs. Kazunori Yokota
Dave Herman vs. Yoshihiro Nakao
Megumi Fujii vs. Emi Fujino
Mika Harigai vs. Rin Nakai
Hitomi Akano vs. Roxanne Modafferi
Amy Davis vs. Misaki Takimoto

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Ten Best - The Fights of 2010

We're winding down the 2010 Highly Unofficial awards season, and you know what that means - The Best Fights of The Year. The fights – they’re why everyone tunes in when the UFC is on television or in a local arena, and when it comes to classic bouts, 2010 has kept the organization’s history of excellence intact. So without further ado, here are this year’s Highly Unofficial best.

10 – Jeremy Stephens W3 Sam Stout
On paper, this UFC 113 bout had all the stylistic makings of a Fight of a Night, and neither Stephens or Stout disappointed, as the lightweights went at it tooth and nail for 15 minutes, with Lil’ Heathen emerging victorious via three round split decision. Early on, it was all Stephens thanks to his harder strikes, but Stout’s resilience and fast hands kept him in the fight, and when he scored with a big body shot in the third, it looked like he was going to pull out the win. But Stephens shook it off, got back to his feet, and the two ended the fight the way they began – by throwing punches.

9 – Diego Sanchez W3 Paulo Thiago
Diego Sanchez was running out of options. He lost a lightweight title bout to BJ Penn in 2009, jumped back to welterweight in 2010 but lost his return to John Hathaway, and then he went back to his original trainer, Greg Jackson, in order to find his mojo again. Well, he found it in October, and with his back against the wall, the “Nightmare” returned to pound out an exciting three round decision win over ultra-tough Paulo Thiago. And it wasn’t just that Sanchez got the job done, it was that he did it with the aggressive style and varied attack that made his name in the first place. It may have been the fastest 15 minutes you’ve seen in a long time.

8 – Mark Munoz W3 Aaron Simpson
When I think of friends fighting friends, I always refer back to the 1991 welterweight title bout in boxing between Simon Brown and Maurice Blocker, the gold standard when it comes to two buddies putting their friendship aside and going to war. Mark Munoz and Aaron Simpson definitely did their part to add to this combat sports legacy in November with a three round scrap that had you wincing when it came to some of the blows landed by both wrestlers. And when the former college standouts weren’t going toe-to-toe, they were showing off high-level wrestling on the mat, making this a complete and visceral display of why this sport is so great. Munoz got the nod this time, via unanimous decision, but I wouldn’t mind seeing another one in the future.

7 – George Sotiropoulos Wsub2 Joe Lauzon
Early in their pivotal lightweight bout at UFC 123, it looked like Joe Lauzon’s striking was going to be the key to figuring out the riddle of George Sotiropoulos. But the Aussie contender had no intention of giving up his unbeaten UFC record yet, and after a fast-paced first round that featured high-level action both standing and on the mat, he made the necessary adjustments in round two, got his own game back on track, and finished Lauzon with a tight kimura.

6 – Carlos Condit TKO3 Rory MacDonald
Going into their UFC 115 match in June, fight fans wondered whether 20-year old wunderkind Rory MacDonald had the experience to hang with former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit. Well, that answer came early and often against ‘The Natural Born Killer’, as MacDonald took the first two rounds of the bout thanks to a dynamic attack that kept the aggressive Condit off-balance. But in the third, Condit’s experience paid off as he got MacDonald to the mat and grounded and pounded his way to victory with seven seconds left. In the end, Condit got the victory, MacDonald got respect, and the fans got a helluva fight.

5 – Sean Sherk W3 Evan Dunham
Regardless of what you think of the controversial split decision rendered in Sean Sherk’s favor, the fact remains that the former UFC lightweight champ and rising star Evan Dunham put on a three round classic back at UFC 119 in Indianapolis. Sherk showed little in the way of ring rust after a 16 month injury-induced layoff, and after a couple big slams and some crisp standup that opened up a nasty cut over Dunham’s eye, it looked like the “Muscle Shark” was going to run over the up and comer. But Dunham, who already had a breakthrough in 2010 with wins over Tyson Griffin and Efrain Escudero, dug deep, put on his hard hat and went to work, apparently winning the next two frames. The judges disagreed, awarding the bout to Sherk, but there were no losers in this one in the eyes of the fans.

4 – Brock Lesnar Wsub2 Shane Carwin
If you happened to doubt the punching power of Shane Carwin, it didn’t take long for you to become a believer in July as he cracked Brock Lesnar in the first round and proceeded to lay down a hellacious beatdown on the then-heavyweight champion. It was a stunning turn of events that was topped by Lesnar’s ability to weather the storm to make it out of a round he had no right surviving. Then, as the bell was about to ring for the second round, he smiled at Carwin as if to say “you got yours; now I’m about to get mine.” And he did, taking an exhausted Carwin down and submitting him with an arm triangle. In a nutshell, it’s what all heavyweight title fights should be like.

3 – Stephan Bonnar TKO2 Krzysztof Soszynski
The first fight between Stephan Bonnar and Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 110 in February was damn good. Their rematch at UFC 116 made the first one look like a three round lay and pray fest. Filled with intense exchanges that could have ended the bout at any number of times, Bonnar and Soszynski earned their Fight of the Night bonus checks, but it was Bonnar who resurrected his career with the type of performance that will guarantee him a job for as long as he decides that he wants to put on the gloves, bite down on his mouthpiece and go punch for punch with all comers in the Octagon.

2 – Chris Leben Wsub3 Yoshihiro Akiyama
It wasn’t an enviable position to be in – following the third and fourth entries on this list on the epic UFC 116 card in July, but Chris Leben and Yoshihiro Akiyama may have taken that as a challenge, as they went on to put on one of the best fights of the year. Featuring fierce toe-to-toe action, changes in momentum, and a shocking and exciting finish, this bout had it all. And in the process, Leben, fighting for the second time in two weeks, completed his transformation from MMA’s problem child to legit middleweight contender.

1 – Anderson Silva Wsub5 Chael Sonnen
The drama before this UFC 117 bout took place couldn’t hold a candle to what happened on fight night, as Silva and Sonnen engaged in a championship fight for the ages. Yes, Sonnen dominated the majority of the bout with his ground and pound attack, but each moment before he would take the previously untouchable title holder to the mat was filled with tension as Silva unleashed the strikes many believed would end the fight. But even though he got rocked on a few occasions, Sonnen was resolute in his attack, and as the seconds ticked by, he was getting closer and closer to one of the sport’s great upsets and the realization of a dream. Then, like the truest of true champions, Silva pulled off a fifth round submission. Calling it a spectacular comeback doesn’t do it justice, but judging this fight to be the best UFC bout of 2010 certainly does.

Honorable Mention – Kendall Grove-Mark Munoz, Jared Hamman-Rodney Wallace,
Pascal Krauss-Mark Scanlon, Brian Stann-Mike Massenzio, Kyle Kingsbury-Jared Hamman, Michael Bisping-Yoshihiro Akiyama, Matt Mitrione-Joey Beltran, Leonard Garcia-Nam Phan, Nate Diaz-Marcus Davis, Ricardo Romero-Seth Petruzelli, Evan Dunham-Efrain Escudero, George Sotiropoulos-Joe Stevenson, Chris Lytle-Matt Serra II, Mirko Cro Cop-Pat Barry, Sam Stout-Joe Lauzon, Krzysztof Soszynski-Stephan Bonnar I, TJ Waldburger-David Mitchell

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Garcia Seeking Fight to Top All Fights

"I’m looking forward to the next guy who stands in there and doesn’t have a head as hard as him so I don’t break my hand and I see how that fight turns out. I believe I can top it.” Leonard Garcia’s path in life was established early on, as he watched and listened to his father deliver pearls of hard wisdom that would never leave his brain or his heart.

“My dad was a horse trainer, so we had to bring up horses and we watched horses run,” said the native of Plainview, Texas. “And I used to think every horse was fast and every horse could run. But my dad would always be like, ‘if this horse right here will show you who he is whenever you push him, these are the horses that stand out. That would stick with me as a kid.”

And as an adult, as Garcia has compiled a 18-6-1 record over an 11 year career as a professional mixed martial artist that can easily be epitomized by his desire to always push back after being pushed. It’s just who he is, game plans be damned, and fight fans love him for it.

“If you get pushed and push back, then people are gonna recognize you for that,” said Garcia. “And that would be something I knew my dad would be proud of me for, if I got pushed and then pushed back. So whenever a guy hits me, I want to show him, you know what, you didn’t hurt me, but now I’m coming back to hurt you. Sometimes I get in trouble for it, and I get earfuls at the gym, but it’s just my nature, and coach (Greg Jackson) always says that. He says we’re gonna follow the game plan until you get hit, and then I know who’s coming out. Coach has learned to accept it, and I’ve had to accept it my whole life because that’s just all I’ve ever known.”

You could run down the list of action-packed Garcia fights and grow exhausted just from thinking of the wars of attrition he has survived, but when it’s all said and done, a hundred years from now when his name is brought up, one fight will be attached to it, his April 2010 battle with “The Korean Zombie”, Chan Sung Jung, a bout color commentator Joe Rogan described as “The Fight of the Decade”.

“Being part of a fight like that was something special all the way around,” said Garcia in the understatement of the century. For 15 minutes at Arco Arena in Sacramento, he and Jung threw all caution to the wind and simply slugged it out. Words simply can’t do justice to a fight that may not have been for technical purists, but that appealed to the other 95% of the population for its action, grit, and display of unyielding will. A lot of fighters say that they’re willing to stand and trade – but not for three consecutive rounds. And that’s what Garcia and Jung did, with the “Bad Boy” from Texas eking out a three round split decision win.

And though there are no world title belts in Garcia’s trophy case, the fight is something that he can show to his grandkids with pride one day and say ‘this is who I am.’ That’s heady stuff, and something that sometimes even the most decorated world champions can’t claim. It’s enough to walk away from the game and say, I’ve left my mark, but the 31-year old Garcia isn’t built like that. His goal – in addition to putting one of those belts around his waist – may be an impossible one…

“Trying to top that,” he says without hesitation. “There are guys in the gym who can stand toe-to-toe with me. (Lightweight contender) Cowboy Cerrone’s one of them, and he even says ‘I’m not gonna sit in there and trade with you.’ But every now and again, he’ll get in there, he’ll plant his heels, and he’ll just go. Coach asks us why we do that and why I’m always looking for that and I tell him because there’s gonna be another guy like the Korean Zombie, another guy who’s going to be able to take everything I’ve got and keep coming forward, and if I don’t have training partners like this to get me ready for that, I won’t be able to top it. That fight was great, but I know I can put on a better performance. I broke my hand in the first round of that fight and busted it really, really bad. There were times when I did hesitate to throw it, so I’m looking forward to the next guy who stands in there and doesn’t have a head as hard as him so I don’t break my hand and I see how that fight turns out. I believe I can top it.”

Well, you’ve got to give him credit for trying, and the fight world will undoubtedly want to see his efforts in doing so, but in the meantime, there’s a career to worry about, and just five months after their war for the ages, both Garcia and Jung returned to action at WEC 51 in Broomfield, Colorado. It was less than a triumphant return, as Jung got knocked out by George Roop, and Garcia dropped a split decision to Mark Hominick.

“I feel like I should have taken a little more time off after that fight, and after a war like that, you need a few months off. You need to get back and understand what you just did and give your body the time to heal and rest up,” said Garcia. “But of course we’re both fighters and we both jumped back into it as soon as we could because that’s just in our hearts.”

But it wasn’t all bad news for this dynamic duo, as both will now be entering the UFC’s Octagon following the WEC merge into their sister organization. For Jung, it will be a new experience; for Garcia, it’s a homecoming, as he returns this Saturday to the place where he first made his name on the international scene in 2006-07.

“To me it’s just the way it’s supposed to be,” he said. “When I left the UFC, of course I was under the same umbrella (with the WEC), but a lot of people would ask me, ‘when are you going back to the UFC?’ And I would always tell them that I have so many challenges at 145, why would I jump back up to 155 to get myself in deeper waters when I’m over my neck already. People didn’t understand that, but now that we’re merged, it’s gonna cut back on the explanations, the name of the UFC is a prestigious one, and it’s a comeback for me and I’m excited. It’s a second chance.”

In 2006, Garcia made an instant impression with – what else – a three round brawl; this one in a losing effort at lightweight against Roger Huerta. He would split his next two bouts in the Octagon, submitting Allen Berube and losing a decision to Cole Miller before resurfacing in the WEC, which was purchased by Zuffa.

Garcia, fighting at his optimum weight of 145 pounds, knocked out Hiroyuki Takaya and Jens Pulver in back-to-back bouts in 2008, earning him a shot at Mike Brown’s featherweight crown.

“For me, it was a fresh start,” said Garcia. “I was dropping down to my natural weight class and I felt like at 145 I was going to be more of a competitor. I wouldn’t be fighting bigger guys, and for me it was about making an impact right away. In my mind, what I was thinking going into the first fight (against Takaya) was, okay, now you have to show everybody your skill set at your natural weight class. You’re not having to carry around any extra weight, you’re not having to eat more than you’re used to, you’re not having to lift weights or any of that. You’re back to square one where you started, so now you have to come in and show ‘em why you think you belong here. I felt great again, I feel like my body reacts a lot better at 145, and my natural athleticism comes out a little more. It felt like a new start and that’s what it was.”

The Texan would lose his shot at the 145-pound belt via submission in March of 2009, and though his subsequent record of 2-2-1 has been spotty and filled with razor-thin decisions, it also includes Fight of the Night bonuses for his win over Jung and his draw with Roop, and when Garcia’s name is on the card, it’s a clue for all fight fans to tune in.

And tune in they will when he returns to the UFC to take on The Ultimate Fighter 12 semifinalist Nam Phan this Saturday. Will this be the fight in which Garcia tops his performance against the Korean Zombie? Time will tell, but if it doesn’t, Garcia has a clue about who he thinks can bring him – and the fight world – up to those heights again.

“I believe that Jose Aldo is the guy I can top that fight with,” said Garcia of the UFC featherweight champion. “I believe he’s got an amazing chin, great kickboxing, and he’s willing to stand with every single person he fights. In order for me to get to that goal I’ve got to beat a couple more people and work my way up the ladder to get to him. Nobody’s found a chink in his armor yet, but it’s a matter of time before somebody does, and I’m just gonna be sitting back, climbing my way up the ladder, and I believe that when me and him finally do meet each other, that will be the fight to top all fights.”

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11 Fights Greenlit for WEC 53

Former bantamweight champion Eddie Wineland (Pictured) will lock horns with once-beaten promotional newcomer Ken Stone at WEC 53 “Henderson vs. Pettis” on Dec. 16 at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz. Eleven fights our now official for the event, which will air live on the Versus network.

Wineland will carry a three-fight winning streak into the match. The 26-year-old last appeared at WEC 49 in June, when he stopped Will Campuzano on a second-round punch to the body at the Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Wineland was slated to meet Damacio Page at WEC 52 on Nov. 11 but withdrew with a shoulder injury; Demetrious Johnson took his place and submitted Page via guillotine choke in the third round. Wins over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8 semi-finalist George Roop, one-time WEC bantamweight title contender Manny Tapia and The Pit’s Antonio Banuelos anchor Wineland’s resume. He has secured 13 of his 17 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

Based at American Top Team, Stone wrestled collegiately at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts. The 28-year-old has not competed since he submitted Jason Bennett with a first-round guillotine choke under the American Fighting Organization banner in October. A potent finisher, Stone has delivered all nine of his wins by KO, TKO or submission, eight of them inside one round.

Meanwhile, undefeated Chinese import Tie Quan Zhang will meet Daniel Downes in a preliminary lightweight matchup.

Zhang has finished all 12 of his foes, the last 11 of them in the first round. The 32-year-old ethnic Mongolian submitted “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 12 alum Pablo Garza with a guillotine choke in his promotional debut at WEC 51 in September. Spawned by the China Top Team camp, Zhang was the first Chinese fighter to achieve the rank of purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

A protégé of former world kickboxing champion Duke Roufus, Downes last competed at WEC 49 in June, when he submitted to a rear-naked choke from 2007 International Fight League lightweight grand prix finalist Chris Horodecki. The 24-year-old Chicago native, a striker by trade, has posted five of his six wins by KO or TKO. Only one of Downes’ seven professional bouts has reached the judges.

Finally, Jungle Fight lightweight champion Yuri Alcantara will make his WEC debut against Ricardo Lamas in a preliminary matchup at 155 pounds.

Alcantara, who replaced the injured Maciej Jewtuszko at the event, will carry a 10-fight winning streak into the bout. He became the first-ever Jungle Fight lightweight titleholder in September, when he defeated highly regarded prospect Francisco Drinaldo and Manuelo Morales at the same show to win the promotion’s grand prix. More than half (11) of Alcantara’s 20 career victories have come via submission.

Training out of the Team Top Notch camp, Lamas has not set foot in the cage since WEC 50 in August, when he defeated Team Quest’s Dave Jansen by unanimous decision at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The once-beaten 28-year-old has rattled off three consecutive wins since his August 2009 defeat to Team Alpha Male’s Danny Castillo. Lamas, who earned All-American honors as a collegiate wrestler at Elmherst College, owns notable victories against IFL veteran Bart Palaszewski and former Shooto champion Bendy Casimir.

A pair of five-round title bouts will headline WEC 53, as lightweight champion Benson Henderson defends against Anthony Pettis and bantamweight titleholder Dominick Cruz squares off with Scott Jorgensen, the top contender at 135 pounds.

Benson Henderson vs. Anthony Pettis

Dominick Cruz vs. Scott Jorgensen

Donald Cerrone vs. Chris Horodecki
Bart Palaszewski vs. Kamal Shalorus
Tie Quan Zhang vs. Daniel Downes
Jamie Varner vs. Shane Roller
Brad Pickett vs. Ivan Menjivar
Eddie Wineland vs. Ken Stone
Danny Castillo vs. Will Kerr
Ricardo Lamas vs. Yuri Alcantara
Renan do Nascimento Mota Pegado vs. Chris Cariaso

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Hioki Fights Carvalho with Eye on Title

TOKYO -- Affectionately known as the Iron Broomstick in some circles, Japan's Hatsu Hioki (Pictures) is set to face Canadian Antonio Carvalho (Pictures), now fighting out of Tokyo, in this week's Shooto: BACK TO OUR ROOTS card.

This is a critical fight for the 143-pound weight class and most likely has the winner in line for a shot at the title -- a title that is incidentally also on the line Friday.

Hioki, 23, fights out of Nagoya's "ALIVE" gym and with representatives such as Shooto legend and PRIDE veteran Daisuke "Amazon" Sugie, who recently competed in Abu Dhabi, it is mostly known for its grapplers.

However, Hioki has been raising eyebrows with his striking.

Previously he was renowned mainly as a skilful and aggressive grappler, but since a 2004 draw with Bao Quach (Pictures), Hioki has demonstrated his ever-growing striking arsenal. The fight against Quach was fairly lackluster but represented a significant turning point in the Iron Broomstick's career, as it was the first fight where he turned up the heat on the feet.

Since this draw he has proceeded to take Mark Hominick (Pictures)'s TKO featherweight title via a slick triangle choke, out-strike highly regarded jiu-jitsu stylist Jeff Curran (Pictures), stop Korean opponent Byon Sho Kim with a high kick and, most notably, win a second time in a tough fought decision against the very dangerous striker Hominick, this time whilst standing.

Carvalho is the only mixed martial artist to have defeated current Shooto 143-pound champion Takeshi Inoue (Pictures) and holds a convincing ground-and-pound stoppage win over legend Rumina Sato (Pictures). Inoue emphatically avenged the loss last May and since then Carvalho has been inactive due to injury.

"Antonio is a really nice guy and he is very strong," Hioki told Sherdog.com. "I think it will be a great fight. My training has been very good for this fight. I'm very excited. Everyday I've been training all aspects of my game: kickboxing, wrestling, grappling and my cardio. I'm ready."

Where this fight is to take place is something of interest for both fans and perhaps even fighters alike. On paper, Carvalho looks to be the stronger striker, ending over half of his fights by technical knockout. But if Hioki's performances recently against strikers are anything to go by, it won't be an easy fight for either fighter. Hioki looks to be stronger on the ground -- half of his wins have come via submission -- but one must keep in mind that Carvalho holds a BJJ black belt and has never been submitted.

With Shooto's tradition of characters such as Mamoru Yamaguchi (Pictures), "Wicky" Akiyo and in days gone by, Takanori Gomi (Pictures) and "KID" Yamamoto, perhaps you could imagine that for the soft-spoken Hioki, it would be hard to get noticed.

Starting his training eight years ago at ALIVE, Hioki scored third place in the All Japan Amateur Shooto Championships and soon after turned professional, upon which he participated in the 2003 rookie tournament. It was here, early in his career, where he was to encounter his first and only loss.

Then 19 years old, he faced the older and stronger Hiroyuki Takaya (Pictures) in a fight that turned out to be very violent for Hioki. Floored heavily numerous times by Takaya's accurate striking, Hioki showed heart, dusted himself off and stood up to the onslaught time and time again to make it to the final bell.

Since taking the beating against Takaya, Hioki (12-1-1) has been a regular fixture on the Shooto Gig Central cards, which are hosted in his hometown of Nagoya.

In Hioki's last fight in February he took on Hominick and won a decision in the Canadian's domain. It was a fight that left fighters bloodied, Hioki with a broken nose and fans surprised. Less than one year prior, Hioki convincingly beat Hominick on the ground and ended the fight with a few well placed hammer fists and a triangle.

With this in mind it was very surprising that Hioki chose to not attempt a takedown until the end of the five-round war. Even with a bloodied and damaged face, Hioki constantly pressed forward with his striking.

It's perhaps these qualities of perseverance and heart that has created the underground following for the "Broomstick."

The winner of this contest will be in the running to get a shot at the title, which will also be on the line Friday. Titleholder Lion Takeshi was rumored to fight Rumina Sato (Pictures), however the bout fell through due to an injury sustained by Sato during training. Stepping up is Akitoshi Tamura (Pictures) (currently ranked No. 2 in the Shooto rankings) in a fight with "Lion" that has fans drooling.

"My goal is the Shooto title," Hioki said. "I want to fight either ‘Lion' or Tamura. I just want the title."

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Two Title Fights Official for Bellator 34

All fighters competing at Bellator Fighting Championships 34 met their contracted weights at Wednesday’s weigh-in, including main event combatants Hector Lombard (Pictured) and Alexander Shlemenko, who will compete for the former’s middleweight title.

Also on the card will be a women’s 115-pound championship fight between Megumi Fujii and Zoila Frausto. The event will go down at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

Lombard (183.25) captured the title by winning Bellator’s Season 1 middleweight tournament, turning back Jared Hess in the final to become the promotion’s inaugural 185-pound champion. Lombard is the owner of a 19-fight winning streak, with his only blemish in that span being a draw to Kyle Noke in 2007. Since winning the Bellator middleweight title, the American Top Team fighter has been on a tear, finishing all but one of his six opponents in the first round. His last two fights have been demolitions, as the native Cuban ran through Jay Silva and Herbert Goodman in six and 38 seconds, respectively.

Shlemenko won Bellator’s Season 2 middleweight tournament to become the number one contender for Lombard’s title. Like Lombard, the Russian is on quite a roll, having won 15 of his last 16 contests. A knockout specialist, Shlemenko (184.75) holds nearly two-thirds of his 30 career wins by KO, including his first-round stoppage of Bryan Baker in the Season 2 tournament final.

Fujii (113.5) has long been considered one of the pound-for-pound best in MMA, as she has amassed a perfect 22-0 record, with 18 submission victories to her credit. Training under former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett, “Mega Megu” is coming off an armbar submission victory over Lisa Ward in the women’s tournament semi-final.

Frausto’s last appearance was not as impressive as Fujii’s, however, as the “Warrior Princess” eked out a contentious split decision victory over the spunky Jessica Aguilar at Bellator 31 to advance to the final. Frausto (114.5) owns only one loss, a March 2010 defeat to Strikeforce 135-pound contender Miesha Tate.

Hector Lombard (183.25) vs. Alexander Shlemenko (184.75)

Megumi Fujii (113.5) vs. Zoila Frausto (114.5)

Mike Bernhard (185.75) vs. Dragan Tesanovic (185.5)
Tony Lopez (204.5) vs. Raphael Davis (205.5)
William Kuhn (170) vs. John Kelly (172.25)
Ralph Acosta (135) vs. Tulio Quintanilla (135.5)
Frank Carrillo (184.25) vs. Moyses Gabin (184.25)
Igor Almeida (184.5) vs. Dan Cramer (185.5)
Bounmy Somchay (161) vs. JP Reese (159.25)

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7 Fights Greenlit for UFC 125

Current Maximum Fighting Championship lightweight titleholder Antonio McKee will make his promotional debut in a preliminary matchup against Jacob Volkmann at UFC 125 “Resolution” on Jan. 1 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Seven fights are now official for the event, which will air live on pay-per-view.

McKee will carry an 11-fight winning streak into the match. An International Fight League veteran, he stopped Luciano Azevedo -- the only man to defeat current World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion Jose Aldo -- on first-round strikes at MFC 26 in September. McKee has not lost a fight in nearly eight years and owns other notable victories against former Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Delson Heleno, UFC veteran Marcus Aurelio and two-time Bellator Fighting Championships lightweight tournament finalist Toby Imada.

Spawned by the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, Volkmann last appeared at UFC Live 2 in August, when he defeated Paul Kelly by unanimous decision at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego. A decorated amateur wrestler, the 30-year-old was a Big Ten conference champion and three-time Div. I All-American at the University of Minnesota. Volkmann, who once held the Victory Fighting Championship welterweight crown, has secured more than half (six) of his 11 career wins by submission. He has been finished only once -- by the world-ranked Martin Kampmann -- in 13 professional appearances.

A lightweight title bout pairing champion Frankie Edgar with undefeated challenger Gray Maynard will headline UFC 125, along with a pivotal heavyweight tilt between the once-beaten Shane Carwin and “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 10 winner Roy Nelson. In addition, the oft-injured Thiago Silva will toe the line against Brandon Vera in a featured duel at 205 pounds. A lightweight duel pitting former Pride Fighting Championships titleholder Takanori Gomi against Clay Guida and a middleweight battle pairing former WEC champion Brian Stann with Chris Leben will round out the main card.

Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard

Shane Carwin vs. Roy Nelson
Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann
Thiago Silva vs. Brandon Vera
Clay Guida vs. Takanori Gomi
Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Antonio McKee vs. Jacob Volkmann
* Phil Baroni vs. Brad Tavares

* Not Official

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