By
Anthony De Franco 
February 14, 2010, at 6:11 am
In late 2009, the UFC suffered there worst injury plague in their 10-plus year history. They lost main carder after main carder and had to cobble together main events for at least three events. In 2010, we were to see a return to form. After all, that couldn’t happen again could it?
We certainly hope not, but the after the last couple of days, I’m beginning to get worried. First, Vitor Belfort has to pull out of the main event of UFC 112, and now Anthony “Rumble” Johnson is injured and out of UFC on Versus. Pro MMA Now broke the story.
Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (8-3) has had to pull out of his highly anticipated March 21 “UFC on Versus” bout with John “Doomsday” Howard (13-4) due to a knee injury. Pro MMA Now (www.prommanow.com) was notified of the bout cancellation this evening from an associate who spoke directly to Howard’s manager.
“Rumble’s” last fight was a second round submission loss to Josh Koscheck at UFC 106 in November. “Doomsday” is on a five fight win streak, he is still undefeated (3-0) in the UFC, and is coming off a spectacular come-from-behind knockout win over legendary MMA veteran Dennis Hallman at the “TUF 10 Finale” in December.
Well, there goes another good fight down the tubes. Johnson also pulled out of the TUF 9 Finale against Matt Brown with a knee injury. Here’s hoping that it’s not a lingering problem. Johnson’s last fight was a loss where he was dominanted by top five welterweight Josh Koscheck.
No word yet on who will face Howard at UFC’s first card on Versus.
By
Anthony De Franco November 25, 2009, at 2:58 pm
This fight just got a whole lot more interesting.
Wanderlei Silva went from taking on a little known Japanese star to fighting Britain’s MMA poster boy in the span of a few short days.
From MMA Weekly:
Wanderlei Silva and Michael Bisping have verbally agreed to meet at UFC 110, MMAWeekly.com confirmed Tuesday evening with sources close to the fight.
The news was first reported Monday by Fighters Only.
UFC 110 is slated for Feb. 23 at Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia, though the event has yet to be confirmed by the promotion.
Until news of the match-up broke, Silva was originally expected headline the down under event with Yoshihiro Akiyama. The Japanese star’s fate is unknown at this time. Silva vs. Bisping is expected to be a co-main event.
Silva (32-10-1) last fought in January at UFC 93, losing a unanimous decision to Rich Franklin in a 195-pound catchweight fight. Silva disagreed with the call and said he would like to rematch the former middleweight champion down the line.
Following the fight, Silva underwent surgery to reduce scar tissue around his eyes and took the second half of 2009 off.
There are a ton of interesting story lines to talk about around this fight. Is Bisping completely back from his defeat at the hands of Dan Henderson? Will the knockout effect his chin long term? Speaking of chis, how will Wanderlei’s facial surgery effect his ability to take a punch? Will he have problems cutting down to his new weight class?
Most of all, Does Silva have anything left?
We’ll find out in Australia.
By
Anthony De Franco November 19, 2009, at 2:22 pm
I was really impressed with the WEC card on Versus last night. There were some really good fights including the public’s introducted to Jose Aldo, who could be their featherweight title holder for a long time.
The bonuses came out today, and all three went to separate fights, which is always a sign of a really good card. From MMA Weekly:
Four fighters took home $10,000 performance bonuses at WEC 44, general manager Reed Harris announced at the event’s post-fight press conference on Saturday evening.
Newly crowned featherweight champion Jose Aldo took home the Knockout of the Night bonus for his second round stoppage of three-time champion Mike Brown.
Team Takedown lightweight Shane Roller took home submission honors for his third round submission of Danny Castillo.
Fight of the Night honors went to Cub Swanson and John Franchi, who waged a three round war before Swanson cinched in a bottom of the ninth guillotine choke. Both banked an extra $10,000 for the showing.
Aldo’s victory was fantastic as he out-muscled a bigger fighter who tried to wrestle against him and failed miserably. Roller’s submission was timely, as he was in a fight could have been catastrophic if he let it go to the judges.
If you missed the fights, definitely take the time to find a replay. A real good night of fights.
By
Anthony De Franco November 11, 2009, at 7:33 pm
The UFC always makes incredible videos to promote their events. This one is focused on the first fight between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin, and features an awesome song called “Time For War” by the incomparable LL Cool J.
UFC 105 Undercard Predictions coming later tonight/early Thursday.
UFC 105 Main card predictions coming Thursday Afternoon/Evening.
Tags: 
