Jump to content

UFC & MMA thread


Blaise Pascal

Recommended Posts

This forum is supported by the 12ozProphet Shop, so go buy a shirt and help support!
This forum is brought to you by the 12ozProphet Shop.
This forum is brought to you by the 12oz Shop.

Two-time UFC veteran Jamie Varner (16-5-2 MMA, 4-3-1 WEC) will have to wait to make his triumphant return to the octagon.

 

Following a recent four-fight winless streak, the former WEC champion was released by Zuffa officials.

 

News of the roster move was first reported by PunchDrunkGamer.com, and MMAjunkie.com (http://www.mmajunkie.com) subsequently confirmed Varner's release with his management.

 

"I am ready for 2011," Varner told PunchDrunkGamer.com. "There will be some changes in my game.

 

"It has been a nice ride with the WEC, but it's time for a change. Perhaps UFC will be in my future down the road. ... We shall see."

 

Varner made his UFC debut in August 2006. The Arizona native suffered a submission loss to Hermes Franca at UFC 62 before bouncing back with an octagon win over Jason Gilliam at UFC 68 in March 2007.

 

From there, Varner took his talents to the WEC, where he went on a four-fight win streak and claimed the WEC's lightweight title with a February 2008 win over "Razor" Rob McCullough.

 

Varner went on to successfully defend the title twice, including a controversial January 2009 victory over rival Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. Ahead on the cards in the fifth and final round of the WEC 38, Varner was tagged with an illegal knee on the ground and was declared unfit to continue. The stoppage resulted in a technical split-decision victory for Varner, though he was widely vilified by MMA fans following the bout.

 

The win was Varner's final victory in the WEC cage.

 

Varner saw his lightweight title wrapped around Ben Henderson's waist following a third-round submission loss this past January, and he returned in June in a split draw with Kamal Shalorus. Varner was then defeated by Cerrone via unanimous decision in a September rematch before being submitted by Shane Roller at December's WEC 53, the final event in the promotion's history.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will be out six to eight months nursing an injured shoulder.

Sherdog.com learned of Velasquez's injury last week from sources close to the fighter, and the information was verified today by UFC president Dana White in an interview with MMA Fighting following the UFC 125 pre-fight news conference.

Velasquez was expected to defend his title in early 2011 against top contender Junior dos Santos, but that idea has been scrapped. According to White, the hopeful return date for the champ is sometime this summer.

In dos Santos, Velasquez faces a massive Brazilian with knockout power in both hands. “Cigano” is undefeated since joining the UFC in 2008 and earned the top contender spot by besting “Ultimate Fighter 10” winner Roy Nelson at UFC 117 in August. With the exception of Nelson, the Black House product has finished all of his opponents inside the Octagon, including Fabricio Werdum, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and Stefan Struve.

Velasquez snatched the heavyweight belt away from the monstrous Brock Lesnar at UFC 121 in October, blasting the 280-pound titleholder with crisp punches and bloodying his face. Within minutes, a wobbly Lesnar was in full retreat, and Velasquez sealed the deal with devastating ground-and-pound at 4:12 of the first frame.

Undefeated in nine professional outings, the American Kickboxing Academy standout holds notable victories over former International Fight League titleholder Ben Rothwell and french kickboxer Cheick Kongo. Velasquez also holds the distinction of being only the second man to ever finish former Pride Fighting Championships champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

chuck liddell officially retired from mixed martial arts on Wednesday, but the former UFC light heavyweight champion will remain with the company he helped turn into the world’s biggest MMA promotion.

 

UFC president Dana White announced Liddell’s retirement at the UFC 125 pre-fight press conference in Las Vegas. White revealed that the 41-year-old “Iceman” will be joining the ranks of the UFC brass as the company’s new executive vice president of business development.

 

“He’s on level and on par with all the top executives. There’s about five or six of us, and Chuck Liddell is now one of them,” White said.

 

“Chuck will be involved in many different things as vice president of business development,” added UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta. “He’ll be working on not only the obvious regulatory issues, fighter relations, but mainly new business development. We continue to grow here in North America, with the U.S. and Canada, but we’ve got so many more things to do around the world.”

 

A visibly emotional Liddell took the podium for a brief statement, thanking the UFC, his fans and family for their support.

 

“I love this sport and I’m excited going into a new stage in my life, to keep promoting the best sport in the world and the sport I love,” said Liddell, who graduated from California Polytechnic State University in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in business and accounting. “[The UFC is] giving me the opportunity again to keep promoting and keep doing stuff now that I’m retired.”

 

Liddell leaves MMA with a record of 21-8, and a legacy as one of the sport’s all-time biggest stars and most devastating knockout artists.

 

After joining the UFC in 1998 and winning eight of his first 10 bouts for the promotion, Liddell became champion in 2005 with a knockout of Randy Couture. From 2005 to 2007, he ruled the UFC’s 205-pound division, racking up wins over Renato Sobral, Jeremy Horn and Tito Ortiz, twice.

 

The Iceman’s reign ended in 2007, when he lost his title to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Liddell would be knocked out in the final three bouts of his career -- against Rashad Evans, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and this past June, Rich Franklin -- prompting White to publicly voice his desire for Liddell to retire from active competition.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...