July 2nd, 2009
UFC 100 is approaching, and Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir are headlining. The two heavyweight champions — one holding an interim title and the other punctuating a “direct” lineage that long ago went crooked as a question mark (which is which, Lesnar or Mir, interim or direct, soon won’t matter anymore, thankfully) — had a conference call chat Wednesday and said the following:
July 2nd, 2009
Come August, Deep will put two titles on the line, and welcome a former champion home.
The Japanese promotion announced Tuesday that its Aug. 23 “43 Impact” card at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo will feature featherweight champion Dokonjonosuke Mishima defending his title against Dream veteran Takafumi Otsuka and Masakazu Imanari putting his 137-pound crown on the line against Tomohiko Hori
July 2nd, 2009
Dan Henderson is looking for nothing less than a knockout or submission of Michael Bisping at UFC 100
July 2nd, 2009
Shooto 154-pound world champion Takashi Nakakura said that he would return his title if he lost to Takanori Gomi on May 10. Now, Nakakura may not have a choice in the matter.
Nakakura, the ninth 154-pound world champion of professional Shooto, underwent surgery on June 25 to repair a detached retina in his left eye, stemming from his second-round knockout loss to the man who once held his title, Gomi, at pro Shooto’s 20th anniversary card. The 32-year-old Osakan was not initially diagnosed with a detached retina when he was medically checked following the Gomi bout.
July 2nd, 2009
Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, the SUV-sized heavyweight who once held the EliteXC heavyweight title, could return to action on a September Sengoku event, per MMAJunkie. The bout could precipitate a return to the states sometime later in the year.
Silva’s last fight on U.S. soil was in July 2008; he was suspended for a positive performance substance test and was handed a suspension by the California Commission — a result Silva and his representation have adamantly denied.