The UFC middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva will make his return at UFC 90 in Chicago. Silva will return to the middleweight division and defend his UFC middleweight belt against Patrick “The Predator” Cote. This championship fight will be available on pay per view and it will take place at the Allstate Arena.
The Chicago Sun Times was reported yesterday citing UFC President Dana White. The article quoted the Canadian Patrick Cote:
‘‘I’m telling all my friends to bet on me,’’ Cote said, ‘‘because they’re going to make a lot of money.’’ ……‘‘This guy will need 10 punches to my face to knock me out, and I’ll just need one,’’ Cote said. ‘‘I have a good chance. He won’t exchange with me, and I’m not scared of him.
‘‘He wins a lot of his fights before they start because his opponents are intimidated and scared of him. I’m not scared of anyone in my weight class, especially him.’’
Patrick Cote has been on a five fight win streak and he recently beat Ricardo Almeida at UFC 86. On the other hand, Anderson has yet to lose in the UFC (7-0) and most recently KO’d James Irvin in a light heavyweight match-up.
Former Pride fighter veteran and younger brother of Wamma champion Fedor Emelianenko tested positive for Hepatitis B. Aleksander was scheduled to face Paul Buentello in a Heavyweight Matchup on the Affliction Card last week. The fight was then cancelled due to medical complications right before the weigh-ins.
MMANews.com has confirmed these rumors through a close source to the situation.
“MMANews.com’s Michael Moody on a condition of anonymity and explained that the blood tests came back right before Aleks and Buentello were scheduled to weigh in and that is why there was so much confusion around the stage and why the fighters did not weigh in. Gary Goodridge ended up stepping up on extremely short notice and filling in for the Russian heavyweight.
The tests were positive for Hepatitis B which resulted in the CSAC cancelling the fight. Hep B is the result of transmission from exposure to infectious blood or body fluids containing blood. Possible forms of transmission include (but are not limited to) unprotected sexual contact, blood transfusions, re-use of contaminated needles & syringes, and vertical transmission from mother to child during childbirth.”
This could potentially end Aleksander Emelianenko’s fighting career but there has been no official announcement from Aleksander’s camp.
UFC fighter Brandon Vera confirmed that he will be fighting Keith Jardine. He verified this yesterday morning on San Diego’s morning radio show called AJ’s Playhouse on 93.3 FM. This will be Brandon Vera’s second fight at Light Heavyweight after his three round decision victory over Reese Andy last week at UFN 14. The gave Brandon Vera a much needed victory after consecutive losses at Heavyweight to Tim Sylvia at UFC 77 and Fabricio Werdum at UFC 85.
The Ultimate Fighter Season 2 veteran Keith Jardine has had some highs in lows in his career since joining the UFC. His low points have come from loses to “at the time” UFC new comer Houston Alexander and former Pride Champion Wanderlei Silva, and a controversial decision to Stephen Bonnar. While he has beaten the best including Former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and current UFC Light Heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin by 1st round TKO at UFC 66.
The fight between Vera and Jardine will take place at UFC 89 (Bisping vs. Leben) in England.
TapouT, the premier mixed martial arts apparel, gear and lifestyle brand, announced today that the company will sponsor MMA superstar Kimbo Slice and create a joint apparel line under the TapouT brand. TapouT will be Kimbo’s exclusive apparel sponsor.
“Kimbo is the real deal,†said Mask, TapouT Founder. “He is the ultimate underdog who kept his nose to the grindstone and rose up to become one of the most well-known MMA fighters out there. Kimbo is tough, but full of heart, and we’re excited to take him from the cage to the clothing.â€
“I want to thank the whole TapouT FAM for taking an interest in me and team Kimbo,†said Kimbo Slice. Also thank you guys for allowing us to be a part of your FAM… and the tightest gear out there. Hey man, my team is psyched, team Kimbo is psyched.â€
Further details on the Kimbo/TapouT apparel line will be announced in the coming months.
MAIN CARD:
-Robbie Lawler (184.5) vs. Scott Smith (185)
-Thomas Denny (159) vs. Nick Diaz (159.5)
-Jake Shields (169.5) vs. Nick Thompson (169.5)
-Shayna Baszler (139) vs. Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (140)
-David Douglas (157) vs. Marlon Mathias (161)
SHOWTIME BROADCASTED CARD:
-Justin Eilers (218) vs. Antonio Silva (257.5)
-Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (203.5) vs. Travis Galbraith (202)
-Brian Caraway (140.5) vs. Wilson Reis (139.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD:
-Mike Cook (232.5) vs. Carl Seumanutafa (255.5)
-Drew Montgomery (224) vs. Brandon Tarn (252)
-Jeremy Freitag (205) vs. Anthony Ruiz (206)
The UFC.com has confirmed several bouts for its UFC 88 “Breakthrough” card (Live PPV on September 6, 2008) at Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The main event will feature former Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell vs. The Ultimate Fighter Season 2 winner Rashad Evans. Many believe that the winner of this Main Event would get a title shot against UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin.
Here is the most recent updated UFC 88 fight card:
MAIN CARD -Â Â Â Â Â Rashad Evans vs. Chuck Liddell
-Â Â Â Â Â Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hamill
-Â Â Â Â Â Karo Parisyan vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
-Â Â Â Â Â Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares PRELIMINARY CARD -Â Â Â Â Â Kurt Pellegrino vs. Thiago Tavares
-Â Â Â Â Â Matt Brown vs. Dong Hyun Kim
-Â Â Â Â Â Tim Boetsch vs. James Lee
-Â Â Â Â Â Roan Carneiro vs. Ryo Chonan
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