Source: http://www.ifight365.com/2011/04/backstage-update-is-the-edge-retirement-real/

Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira Brock Lesnar Frank Mir Brock Lesnar Shane Carwin

The fifth edition of the UFC Primetime series debuts tonight on Spike TV. Featuring Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields as they prepare for their UFC 129 main event fight from the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

The three-part series will bring new episodes each Wednesday beginning at midnight ET leading into their April 30 scrap, and will follow both fighters in their training camps as they prepare for the Welterweight Championship fight.

This is St. Pierre's third stint on the program, having previously taken part in the three-part series for fights with B.J. Penn and Dan Hardy.

Replays of the half-hour episode will air on Thursdays at 1:30AM ET and 11PM ET. Subsequent episodes will replay in the same timeslots in the coming weeks.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_9050.shtml

Jeff Big Frog Curran Dai Shuanghai  Mac Danzig  Karen Darabedyan Viacheslav Datsik

Strikeforce's first major event under Zuffa ownership was not without its odd moments, but it was dominated by two champs who train together at Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

No. 1 star -- Nick Diaz: Throughout their one-round scrap, both Diaz and Paul Daley were wobbled. The difference was in how each fighter recovered. Diaz's mixture of body shots and strikes to the head added up on Daley, and the damage at the end of the round was too much for Daley to handle.

No. 2 star -- Gilbert Melendez: How do you stop a wrestler? By punishing him every time he tries for a takedown. Melendez tagged Tatsuya Kawajiri early with a right hook, and then followed up with punches, kicks, takedowns and elbows until the fight ended with a TKO. He held onto his Strikeforce lightweight championship, but Melendez has his eye on more: the UFC lightweight belt.

No. 3 star -- Shinya Aoki: His first fight in the U.S. didn't go so well, but Aoki has been on a tear since losing to Melendez a year ago. He continued that streak on Saturday, cranking Lyle Beerbohm's neck until "Fancy Pants" had no choice but to tap.

Honorable mention -- Elbows: One of Zuffa's first changes to Strikeforce after taking over was to remove the ban on elbows. Strikeforce's fighters responded by using their new weapon with delight. Melendez used short elbows on the ground to finish off Kawajiri and Diaz used them effectively throughout his win over Daley.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Strikeforce-s-Three-Stars-Diaz-Melendez-and-Ao?urn=mma-wp1109

Sergei Kharitonov Min Soo Kim Dong Hyun Kim Kevin Knabjian John Kolosci

A bantamweight bout between UFC newcomers Renan Barao and Cole Escovedo has been added to May's UFC 130 event.

A source close to the negotiations today told MMAjunkie.com that verbal agreements are in place for the fight.

UFC 130 takes place May 28 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The night's main card airs on pay-per-view.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmajunkie/~3/jrZNjWv48xQ/renan-barao-meets-wec-veteran-cole-escovedo-at-ufc-130.mma

Kit Cope  Wesley Cabbage Correira  Patrick The Predator Côté  Randy The Natural Couture  Dan Cramer

The 13th season of "The Ultimate Fighter" continued Wednesday night with Team Lesnar vs. Team Dos Santos.

Team Dos Santos assistant coach Lew Polley has joined MMAjunkie.com as a guest blogger to discuss his thoughts on each episode of the show and some of the behind-the-scenes events that didn't make it to air.

Check out Polley's fourth entry as he discusses the shifting dynamics of the Team Dos Santos coaching corps, how they scouted for information on the opposing team, and a breakdown of the latest opening-round fight.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmajunkie/~3/7DM6z7X4Crg/team-dos-santos-blog-lew-polley-on-the-ultimate-fighter-13-episode-no-4.mma

Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade 

Nick Diaz has been unbeatable since 2007. He's badly outclassed some pretty solid fighter with his combination of volume striking and cardio. Paul Daley thinks he has the Diaz antidote - dynamite in his fists.

Daley challenges for Diaz's Strikeforce welterweight title, looking looks to put an end to the Californian's nine-fight win streak (Showtime 10 p.m. ET/PT). He'll do so by testing Diaz's ability to take a punch.

"Has he got an iron chin? We're going to see," Daley told Cagewriter.com (3:57 mark). "He's been dropped in numerous fights against 155ers. I always say to people 'you gotta get hit by me to realize it's a whole different ballgame.' I think Nick Diaz is going to have that same experience."

Daley (27-9-2) says all the training in the world can't effectively prepare you for his power.

"He's probably sparring with big, heavy guys who hit hard, but it's completely different when you're actually in there," said Daley, who's got 20 knockouts on his ledger. "And I've seen the look in people's eyes and the reaction on their faces when I land a shot. I don't know what i've got, but it certainly makes people scared."

Daley respects what Diaz has done, but questions the level of his opponents during the win streak.

"I don't think he's fought anyone that I wouldn't have beat. I think I would have beat any of those opponents, and with more ease," said Daley."

The exciting part for Daley is that Diaz isn't afraid of him and is probably going to fight to the Brit's strength instead of taking the fight to the ground.

"Initially people were hating on Nick Diaz for his pitter, pat style, but I've always been an admirer of his style, probably since the Gomi fight," Daley said. "He has a fantastic boxing pedigree and he trains with some good guys. He's a good fighter. He fights everywhere [and] I'm not just blowing smoke up his ass."

Daley expects a stand-up war.

"As a fighter myself, I'm excited to be in a fight like this," Daley said. "I hope that the Zuffa money is gonna come over and they're dishing out some of them Fight of the Night bonuses. I think that this could be it."

Strikeforce has never handed out public post-fight bonuses. Three weeks ago, the UFC purchased the promotion. This will be the first official "Strikeforce" event fought under Zuffa management. The UFC has traditionally handed out bonuses between $10,000-$100,000 for Fight of the Night, Submission of the Night and Knockout of the Night. Daley got a UFC bonus of $50,000 for his KO of Dustin Hazelett at UFC 108.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Daley-interview-Diaz-has-no-idea-of-the-power-p?urn=mma-wp1000

John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves 

Shinya Aoki Fighting for Himself This Time Around Video by Strikeforce

Source: http://mmalice.com/strikeforce/shinya-aoki-fighting-for-himself-this-time-around-video_28e8fd28f.html

Phil Baroni Don Barr Pat Barry  Vitor Belfort  Robert Berry

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Although this month's UFC 129 event has been sold out for some time, with a smashing record 55,000 tickets sold for the UFC's first stadium event, UFC fans have another option for seeing the card inside the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

The Renaissance Toronto Downtown Hotel, located inside the Rogers Centre, is offering fans a unique view of the event by booking one of their 68 stadium-view rooms for the night. Up to four guests per room can enjoy the night's action from the room, which includes sliding windows to open up the room to the stadium atmosphere.

For $1,300 ($325 per person with four guests), you can book the room for the night to be in attendance for the UFC's historic event, headlined by the UFC Welterweight Championship between Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields.

This special event doesn't come without caveats, however, so fans should be prepared for increased security at the hotel for the event, a strict limit guests in the rooms for the event, and no outside food or beverages being allowed.

Full information on this unique viewing opportunity is available at www.RenaissanceGuestServices.com/campaign/UFC129

Penick's Analysis: They're limiting the rooms to four people per room and enforcing no outside food and beverage to keep things within what will be available to those inside the venue itself in terms of food and drink. And, they won't allow for big groups to then pile into the rooms to watch the card, which all makes sense. It's going to be a very interesting event overall on a number of levels, and for the potentially 272 fans that could get these rooms it will have an added uniqueness for a hotel stay.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_9093.shtml

Anthony Torres Miguel Torres Roberto Traven Frank Trigg Mostapha Al Turk

It didn't take Jake Shields long to notice that there were more eyes on him in the UFC than anywhere else he'd previously fought. What was usually a slow trickle of interview requests turned into a flood, so much so that he developed a special bond with his calendar.

Nothing, however, could prepare him for the amount of attention he'd receive in vying for a UFC title. It only took one recent glance at his media schedule to figure that out.

"They have me getting up at seven in the morning doing interviews, which is four in the morning my time," Shields said today during a teleconference in support of UFC 129. "It seems kind of ridiculous to me."

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmajunkie/~3/qsXcK_f0ulQ/shields-st-pierre-admit-media-schedule-taxing-leading-into-historic-ufc-129-event.mma

Randy Couture Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira Brock Lesnar Frank Mir Brock Lesnar

by Michael David SmithGilbert Melendez thinks he's the best lightweight in mixed martial arts. Is he right? I don't think so, not yet. But I sure would love to find out.

The best thing about the UFC buying Strikeforce is that it means we'll eventually see the champions of the respective promotions fighting each other. For now the mantra is "business as usual," but we all know it's just a matter of time before we see the best of Strikeforce inside the Octagon. And there might not be a better fight out there than Melendez taking on the top of the UFC lightweight division.

It will probably be 2012 before we get to see that: UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar has to fight Gray Maynard in May, and the winner of that fight is expected to fight the winner of the June Anthony Pettis-Clay Guida bout after that. But it sure would be fun to see Melendez retiring the Strikeforce belt to his trophy case and fighting for the UFC gold.

Find out where I think Melendez stacks up in the lightweight division below.

 

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Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/04/13/mma-top-10-lightweights-gilbert-melendez-makes-his-case/

Akihiro Gono Gabriel Gonzaga Lyman Good Gary Goodridge Gerard Gordeau