NEW KOREAN ZOMBIE 2.0 SHIRT
September 24, 2010 by Matt
Chan Sung Jung has a new walkout shirt. It’s The Korean Zombie 2.0 from Tri-Coasta.
UFC 119: MIR VS. CRO COP ODDS
September 23, 2010 by Matt
Special to Chicago’s MMA
This Saturday, the UFC presents UFC 119 – Mir vs. Cro-Cop live from Canseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The main event features the former PrideFC open weight champion, Mirko “Cro-Cop” Filipovic taking on former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir. While UFC 119 lacks a title fight, the UFC is offering two free preliminary fights on SpikeTV and UFC sportsbook offers the sports betting fans plenty of betting opportunities.
The UFC odds makers have the current UFC sportsbook line favoring Frank Mir at -260 and a bet on the underdog Cro-Cop will pay +200 on the moneyline.
UFC 119 Betting Odds
September 25, 2010
Mirko Filipovic +200
Frank Mir -260
Heavyweight 3 rounds
Location: Conseco Fieldhouse – Indianapolis IN
Fight Time: 10:00
TV: PPV
The line on this fight has moved quite a bit in the past couple of days after it’s come out that Cro-Cop been poked in the eye during his last sparring practice. The line opened at -220/+170 favoring Mir and if UFC bettors have any doubts about Cro-Cop’s eye is something serious, these odds could jump even more.
The athletic commission has cleared Cro-Cop to fight but the specter of the eye injury will leave bettors leery back Cro-Cop in this fight. Mirko Filipovic came to the UFC with great fanfare, he had built an aura of the greatest striker in mix martial arts and fresh off his PrideFC Grand Prix championship but once in the UFC, he’s been a disappointment.
In his first stint the UFC, he won his first fight against a tomato can and despite being a huge UFC sportsbook favorite, he dropped his next two to Gabriel Gonzaga and Cheick Kongo. He was cut loose and won three of his next four fights with one no decision.
The UFC resigned Cro-Cop and he’s won three of his four fights on his second stint in the UFC, his only loss was to Heavyweight title contender Junior Dos Santos. Coming into his most recent win over Patrick Barry, pundits had suspected Cro-Cop was finished and he had lost his passion for the fight game but in Vancouver at UFC 115, Cro-Cop was in tremendous shape and even at the post fight press conference he was showing humor and legitimate enjoyment for his win.
Frank Mir is looking to bounce back into the UFC heavyweight title picture after an embarrassing first round KO to Shane Carwin. He was supposed to offer Carwin his toughest challenge after Mir bulked up to 265lbs to compete on a strength level with the big heavyweights of the division. The loss has put Mir in a tough spot, he was the interim title holder until he was flattened by Brock Lesnar at UFC 100.
Mir is an excellent Ju-Jitsu artist and he’s shown he can out strike his opponents as we saw in his wins over Kongo and Nogueira but the problem with Mir has been his inability to keep his head in the game. In the past year, he’s moved his weight from 240 to over 265 and then after the loss to Carwin he considered a drop to light-heavyweight but nixed the idea after advisors told him he looked like he was in a death camp. He’s back up to about 235 but I’m concerned about where his mind is at coming into this fight.
I’m not concerned about Cro-Cop’s eye poke and after watching him at UFC 115, I’m not ready to call his career over. The odds favoring Mir are over inflated and I’m going to take advantage of the great value on Cro-Cop at the UFC sportsbook.
BODY LOCK “NO MERCY” FIGHT CARD 9/25
September 23, 2010 by Matt
Tentative fight card for Body Lock and APFC’s “No Mercy” event at South Pointe Center
(200 E. Gurler Rd) in DeKalb, IL on 9/25.
170lbs Jadari Dill (1-1) CZ vs Jordin Hinman (1-1)
170lbs Maurice Jackson (0-0) vs PJ Cajigas (2-0) Top Notch
Danika Thibault UMMA vs Bethany Jordan Roughnecks
Intermission
HWT Sebastion Antosiewicz (1-0) CFC vs Jason Belyew (0-0)HCA
170lbs Eric Hedrick (1-0)UMMA vs Edgar Torres (2-1)HCA
155lbs Steve Kozola (2-0) UMMA vs Eric Thomas 0-0
Intermission
185lbs Kyle Hoffman (1-0) IND vs Dan Borke MTC (0-1)
135lbs David Gellegos (4-4) NC vs Jeff Lavallee (7-4) HCA
205lbs Tim Ambroisini (0-0) UMMA vs Nate Patrick PG (2-0)
Intermission
HWT Quadrae Lettle (2-0) CZ vs Rich Cresswell (16-6)
145lbs Mike Ryan (10-2) UMMA vs Sam Agushi (16-6) (Main Event)
SEAN SHERK UFC 119 WALKOUT SHIRT
September 23, 2010 by Matt
Very cool new shirt for Sean Sherk and his UFC 119 battle against Evan Dunham. It will be a tough task for Sherk, who hasn’t fought in the Octagon since May of 2009.
COLE KONRAD VS. NEIL GROVE FOR BELLATOR HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
September 22, 2010 by Matt
Bellator Fighting Championships will crown its first Heavyweight Champion when powerful striker Neil “Goliath” Grove meets 2-time NCAA Division I Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Cole “The Polar Bear” Konrad for Bellator’s World Heavyweight Title at Bellator 32 at the Kansas City Power & Light District on October 14th.
“This fight pits a world-class striker against a world-class wrestler. Both Neil and Cole have been completely dominant in the quarter and semi-final rounds, so whoever wins this fight has earned this title without any questions,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney.
The Championship fight will be televised LIVE nationwide on FOX Sports Net – featuring two fighters at the top of their games, each taking very different routes to the finals.
The 6’5” 265 lbs. U.K-based Grove paved his way to the finals with two devastating first round stoppage victories. In quarterfinal action Grove made quick work of hard-hitting Eddie Sanchez, TKO’ing the UFC veteran in just 92 seconds. His dominance continued at Bellator 29 where “Goliath” needed a mere 45 seconds to secure his spot in the Bellator Heavyweight Finals, dispatching of highly touted Russian Alexey Oleinik with a brutal TKO. Each of Grove’s 10 victories has come via TKO or KO; he will look to continue that streak on October 14th against an undefeated Konrad.
“I’m just excited to get to the finals,” said Grove. “Everyone knows I’m a striker, but I haven’t really had to show off my wrestling skills. They’re certainly going to be on display against Cole, and I’m ready to show people what I can do.”
Konrad, a protégé and training partner of reigning UFC Heavyweight Champ Brock Lesnar, will be looking to keep his undefeated record intact on his way to becoming Bellator Heavyweight Champion. After recording back-to-back unanimous decision victories over Spanish submission artist Rogent Lloret and the previously undefeated Polish sensation Damian Grabowski, Konrad plans on decisively finishing Grove.
“It’s going to end early,” said Konrad. “Neil is a big guy, and when he starts to wear down, I’m going to make my move and the end the fight by submission.”
Konrad also has no qualms about trading with Grove.
“It’s going to be a great fight,” said Konrad. “Everyone knows I’ll be looking for the takedown, but my standup game has been steadily improving, and I feel like I can control the fight no matter the situation.”
KILLER FINISHES: ALISTAIR OVEREEM KEYLOCK
September 22, 2010 by Matt
Domination from the “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem back in 2002. Overeem works his subs from the mount against Roman Zentsov at 2H2H 4 in the Netherlands.
MARK WAHLBERG STARS AS IRISH MICKY WARD
While I don’t expect the new Micky Ward biopic to be “Raging Bull” or even “Cinderella Man”, “The Fighter” stars Mark Wahlberg as the pugilist and Christian Bale as his no good brother Dicky. Just from the trailer below, it looks like Bale may steal plenty of scenes.
The Micky Ward/Arturo Gatti trilogy is some of the best boxing you’ll ever see. I’ll definitely see this film just because of that and because I was a huge Micky Ward fan.
ARLOVSKI HEADED TO THE K1 RING
September 21, 2010 by searstapper
Andrei Arlovski has not enjoyed much success recently in the MMA cage or the boxing ring. Now the Chicago resident is headed to Seoul, Korea for the K1 2010 Grand Prix.
CHRIS LOZANO VS. YOSHIYUKI YOSHIDA AT BELLATOR 31
September 21, 2010 by Matt
Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that undefeated knockout artist Chris “The Assassin” Lozano will take on UFC veteran and heavy- handed Judo black belt Yoshiyuki “Zenko” Yoshida in a Bellator Welterweight Tournament Qualifying fight taking place at Bellator 31 from the L’Auberge du Lac Resort in Lake Charles, LA on September 30th.
“Chris and Yoshiyuki both have knockout power in both hands, which makes this a very exciting qualifier at 170 lbs,” said Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “They’re fighting for one of the spots in our $100,000 welterweight tournament, so fans can expect both of them to put it all on the line.”
Entering the fight with a perfect 5-0 record, Lozano has ended every fight by TKO or KO. “The Assassin” is fresh off of a TKO victory of UFC veteran Jason Dent. The Cleveland native takes pride in his accomplishments, but also knows how quickly things can change.
“Any fighter who steps into the cage doesn’t want to lose,” said Lozano. “With that said, all it takes is one tiny mistake, one split second mental error, and you’ve lost. I want to maintain my undefeated record, but if I don’t, I will return hungrier and more passionate than before.”
However, Lozano is not focused on the prospect of losing, rather of going straight to the top.
“Being a Bellator Champion means you are one of the best in the world at what you do,” said Lozano. “It means you are elite. It is a dream to be champion for an organization like Bellator.”
For Yoshida, the chance to take on a fighter like Lozano is something the Japanese born fighter relishes.
“Lozano seems like a real good striker,” said Yoshida. “I have trained very hard for this fight, and I not only expect to win, but also provide a great fight for my fans.”
SHOWTIME TO RE-AIR DIAZ VS. NOONS
In anticipation of their must-see grudge rematch on Saturday, Oct. 9, SHOWTIME will re-air the memorable first fight between Nick Diaz and KJ Noons as part of an hour-long, multi-fight highlight package on SHO 2 beginning Friday, Sept. 24, at 9 p.m. CST.
The Diaz-Noons special, which features their original showdown along with three of Diaz’s past fights and three of Noons’ past fights, will also air on Tuesday, Sept. 28, at 9:10 p.m. CST on SHO 2.
The first slugfest ended in bloody controversy when Noons won a disputed, first-round upset TKO over Diaz in a thrilling, give-and-take brawl, Nov. 7, 2007, on SHOWTIME. Both fighters have gone undefeated since their last meeting and bad blood between the brash fighters has only been growing.
Diaz-Noons II will be for Diaz’s STRIKEFORCE World Welterweight Title in the main event of a sensational fight card at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., which will also feature Sarah Kaufman defending her STRIKEFORCE Women’s Welterweight World Title against No. 1 contender Marloes Coenen.
The following Diaz and Noons fights, consisting of five knockouts and one submission, will also appear on the highlight video: Diaz vs. Thomas Denny (July 26, 2008), Diaz vs. Scott Smith (June 6, 2009), Diaz vs. Marius Zaromskis (Jan. 30, 2010), Noons vs. James Edson Berto (July 27, 2007), Noons vs. Yves Edwards (June 14, 2008) and Noons vs. Jorge Gurgel (Aug. 21, 2010).
