Shogun vs Hendo rematch announced for UFC Fight Night 38

Shogun vs Hendo II announced as the main event for UFC Fight Night 38

by Chris Marzella @ChrisMarzella

A UFC fight for the ages is set be revisited as Dan Henderson (29-11) and Shogun Rua (22-8) get set to meet again at UFC Fight Night 38. It was announced on Thursday that the two veterans will square off in Brazil on March 23.

The pair first met in an instant classic back at UFC 139 in November 2011 in which Henderson came out on the right end of a hard fought decision in what many considered to be the fight of the year. Since then, both men have gone on to suffer a down turn of fortunes.

Henderson has lost three straight since then, most recently suffering the first knockout loss of his career to Vitor Belfort. Before that he lost two controversial decisions to Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida.

Rua has similarly been struggling for form, failing to string a winning run together. He spectacularly knocked out James Te Huna in little over a minute back in December. Prior to that he lost successive fights to Alexander Gustafsson and Chael Sonnen.

The fight sees Henderson return to the UFC after entering free agency after his fight with Belfort. It also sees Henderson head south, back to Brazil, to have another attempt at picking up a win.

It remains to be seen how Henderson can bounce back after being brutally knocked out back in November.

Whilst Rua was victorious in his last outing, as always, it all depends on what kind of condition he can get himself into ahead of this rematch.

The fight is between the number six and seven ranked light heavyweights, but it would seem that both men, at least Henderson at 43-years-old, could very well be about to begin their final attempt at a run in the UFC.

If history has taught us anything it's that rematches of legendary fights very rarely live up to the expectation, but the fact is we will be getting Henderson vs Shogu II. All we can do is accept that and hope that the rematch gets close to the first fight in terms of excitement.

UFC Fight Night 38 takes place on March 23 from the Ginasio Nelio Dias, Natal, Brazil.

Chael Sonnen vs Rashad Evan Confirmed For UFC 167

SONNEN VS EVANS TO CO-MAIN UFC 167 IN LAS VEGAS

By Tommy Strong @strong_tea

If UFC 167 wasn't wetting your appetite enough already, then news of Chael Sonnen vs Rashad Evans being the co-main event of the evening, will surely have the desired effect?!

The bout will be at light heavyweight (205lbs) and take place on November 16th in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Sonnen (29-13-1) found himself fighting at light heavyweight after being the only fighter to step up at short notice to fight Jon Jones after Dan Henderson had to pull out due to an injury. Though it was Jones who refused to take the fight on such short notice forcing the UFC to cancel UFC 151.

With a heavy first round loss to Jon Jones at UFC 159 in April, when the pair met after being 'TUF' 17 coaches. Sonnen looked like he was fighting in the wrong division. Though a very impressive win over 'Shogun' Rua last month at UFC Fight Night 26, Sonnen managed to pull off a first round submission victory that earn't himself a top contender in Evans.

Though defeat for him here would more than likely see him return to the middleweight division, where he will be seeking to get another crack at the title or just possibly Anderson Silva!

Former light heavyweight Rashad Evans (18-3-1) has looked very poor since his defeat to Jon Jones in April 2012 when the pair squared off at UFC 145 for the light heavyweight title, losing via unanimous decision after 5 rounds.

Then going onto lose his next fight to Antionio Nogueira in a woeful performance and more recently getting back to winning ways with a split decision win over Dan Henderson at UFC 161 in June which wasn't easy to digest.

This could be just the type of fight Rashad needs to find his mojo, and climb his way back up to the top of the division where he belongs.

UFC 167 will be headlined by Georges St-Pierre when he puts his Welterweight belt on the line and faces the very dangerous and heavy handed Johny Hendricks.

'Shogun' Rua vs James Te Huna Announced for Fight Night 33

FIGHT NIGHT 33 GETS A LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT BATTLE

By Tommy Strong @strong_tea

Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua will get the chance to bounce back from defeat to Chael Sonnen last month, when he takes on New Zealand's light heavyweight, James Te Huna. The fight is scheduled to take place at Fight Night 33 which is being held in Australia on December 7th.

Rua (21-8) will be coming into a fight for the first time ever, with back to back losses on his record with defeats to Alexander Gustafsson and more recently losing to Chael Sonnen via submission inside the first round at last months UFC on FOX Sports 1 launch event.

Te-Huna (16-6) had his four fight winning streak snapped, when he fought top light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira at UFC 160 in May, losing in the first round via submission.

UFC Fight Night 33 will be main headlined in a heavyweight battle that sees Mark Hunt vs Antonio Silva.

Fighter vs Writer: Cage Warriors Champion Cathal Pendred predicts UFC Fight Night 26 (THE RESULTS)

Fighter vs Writer: Cage Warriors Cathal Pendred predicts UFC Fight Night 26 (The Results)

by Ben Heather @benheather

On Saturday night Cage Warriors Welterweight champion Cathal Pendred stepped in to the hot seat to challenge Kingdom MMA in the latest Fighter vs Writer feature.

This week we put forward the big man himself, the man who started it all, our Editer and Co Owner Chris Houten. Not to put any more pressure on Chris than he already had facing a very talented competitor but we hoped he could do better than he did last time out against another Cage Warriors Champion in Jim Alers. In Chris' previous appearance on Fighter vs Writer he lost in what is still Kingdom MMA's only defeat.
Below you will be able to see the results as the fights happened. It was a closely contested battle and Cathal certainly proved to be a respectable opponent for Chris.

The Scoring

If you predict the correct winner of the fight you will get one point and if you predict the correct method of victory you will get an extra point. However, if the fight ends in a stoppage and you predict the round as well the method you could earn a third bonus point. If the fight goes the distance you can only earn a maximum of two points.

UFC Fight Night 26 Results

Conor McGregor Def. Max Holloway by Decision

• Cathal Pendred: McGregor by TKO Rd 1 - Score 1
• Chris Houten: McGregor by TKO Rd 1 - Score 1

Score after the 1st fight: Cathal Pendred - 1 Chris Houten - 1

Michael McDonald Def. Brad Pickett by Sub RD2

• Cathal Pendred: Pickett by Decision - Score 0
• Chris Houten: Pickett by Decision - Score 0

Score after the 2nd fight: Cathal Pendred - 1 Chris Houten - 1

Michael Johnson Def. Joe Lauzon by Decision

• Cathal Pendred: Lauzon by Sub Rd 1 - Score 0
• Chris Houten: Lauzon by Sub Rd 1 - Score 0

Score after the 3rd fight: Cathal Pendred - 1 Chris Houten - 1

John Howard Def. Uriah Hall by Decision

• Cathal Pendred: Hall by TKO Rd 2 - Score 0
• Chris Houten: Howard by Unanimous Decision - Score 2

Score after the 4th fight: Cathal Pendred - 1 Chris Houten - 3

Matt Brown Def. Mike Pyle by TKO RD1

• Cathal Pendred: Pyle by Sub Rd 2 - Score 0
• Chris Houten: Pyle by Unanimous Decision - Score 0

Score after the 5th fight: Cathal Pendred - 1 Chris Houten - 3

Urijah Faber Def. Yuri Alcantara by Decision

• Cathal Pendred: Faber by Unanimous Decision - Score 2
• Chris Houten: Faber by Sub - Score 1

Score after the 6th fight: Cathal Pendred - 3 Chris Houten - 4

Travis Browne Def. Alistair Overeem by TKO RD1

• Cathal Pendred: Overeem by TKO Rd 1 - Score 0
• Chris Houten: Browne by Unanimous Decision - Score 1

Score after the 7th fight: Cathal Pendred - 3 Chris Houten - 5

Chael Sonnen Def. Shogun Rua by Sub RD1

• Cathal Pendred: Sonnen by Unanimous Decision - Score 1
• Chris Houten: Sonnen by Unanimous Decision - Score 1

Score after the 8th fight: Cathal Pendred - 4 Chris Houten - 6

FINAL SCORE CATHAL PENDRED - 4 CHRIS HOUTEN - 6

Kingdom MMA would like to thank Cathal Pendred once again for his participation in Fighter vs Writer and would all like to wish him good luck at trying to get in to the house for the next series of TUF. For more on Cathal Pendred, check out and follow Cathal on Twitter - @PendredMMA

UFC on FOX SPORTS 1 Main Card Predictions

Kingdom MMA: UFC on FOX Sports 1 Main Card Predictions

by Ben Heather @benheather, Tommy Strong @Strong_tea and Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

This weekend is the launch of Fox Sports 1 in the USA and the UFC will be a massive part of the launch with the highlight being the UFC Fight Night 26 Shogun vs Sonnen. This card has been dubbed the best free to air (in the USA) card in MMA history. At first I was sceptical but now when you look down the fights that will take place on Saturday night you come to realise that this card is absolutely stacked!!

You just need to look at the names on show to realise how good this card is. Obviously you have Chael P Sonnen and Shogun Rua in the main event but when you look a bit further down and see names like Overeem, Faber and Pickett to name a few. On top of that you need to add in the always exciting Joe Lauzon and Matt Brown who I don't believe have ever been in boring fights.

With everything being said I believe the UFC has hit the nail on the head and I can't wait for Saturday night to witness the best free card in MMA history.

Below you can find the predictions for what some of the guys at Kingdom MMA expect to happen on Saturday night.

Chael Sonnen (27-13-1) vs Shogun Rua (21-7) 

Jack: The five round factor of the main event could be key here. Can Sonnen keep Shogun on his back for five rounds? I'm not so sure he will need to. He will put him there enough for Shogun to become desperate and either tire or force a mistake. I think Shogun can hang around to see the end of the fight but I see Sonnen winning a relatively comfortable decision.

Prediction: Sonnen by Decision

Tommy: This is such a sick card! The fans will be in for a real treat here with so many 50/50 fights! So here goes my predictions:

I'll be pleased when we see Sonnen back at this natural weight, Middleweight. He just isn't a light heavyweight and size again will be the difference come Saturday night. 18 of Shoguns 21 victories have come via knockout and at some point I see him catching Sonnen and finishing him inside two rounds.

Prediction: Shogun by TKO Round 2

Ben: I think Sonnen has been criticised far too much about the fact he hasn't won a fight since he beat Bisping in Jan '12. Yes its now over 18 months since he last won but how many guys fight Anderson Silva and then Jon Jones.... not many guys will be coming out of those with even one win.

As for this fight I think Jack has summed it up perfectly. Shogun has not looked the same fighter recently, in my opinion Sonnen will be able to control the fight to begin with in the first couple of rounds and this will tire out Shogun. Then when it gets in to the championship rounds it will start to become easier for Sonnen.

Yes, if Shogun catches Sonnen he could easily end the fight but I don't see it happening.

Prediction: Sonnen by Unanimous Decision

Alastair Overeem (36-12-1) vs Travis Browne (14-1-1) 

Jack: An intriguing battle. Overeem has to win to get back into contention. Browne is kind of an unknown quantity at this stage. He lost to Bigfoot Silva but that was due to him blowing his knee out. I quite like the way Browne matches up with Overeem and I will take him for the win. 

Prediction: Browne by TKO Round 2

Tommy: Seeing Bigfoot knockout Overeem back in February still brings a smile to my face, though I don't see Overeem underestimating Travis Browne having learnt a harsh lesson last time out.
I really rate Browne but this isn't a great match up for him. I hope he wins , though I just don't see it.

Prediction: Overeem by TKO Round 3

Ben: I have been going back and forth with this fight, both fighters have the ability to finish the fight at any stage of the fight. However, after being embarrassed by Bigfoot in his last fight I believe "the Reem" will be coming in to this fight having put everything in to his camp to make sure he does not gas again.

That being said, I don't think it will be a decision. I see Overeem finishing the fight in the second round after picking apart Browne in the first.

Prediction: Overeem by TKO Round 2

Urijah Faber (28-6) vs Yuri Alcantara (28-4-1) 

Jack: This is a great matchup on a card full of amazing fights. This being only a 3 round fight negates Faber's experience advantage. He should however have the overall advantage in this fight and he still seems hungry for UFC gold. It should be a close fight but I see Faber just edging it.

Prediction: Faber by Split Decision

Tommy: I'll keep this very short and sweet! Faber destroys anyone in the division except Cruz and Barao, this will be no different.

Prediction: Faber by a very one sided Unanimous Decision

Ben: I was disappointed when this fight was made. The fight I wanted to see was Faber vs Pickett and I am hoping with a win for both that we can still see that fight next. As for this fight as Tommy said I think Faber will be able to beat Alcantara in any area he wants.

If he wants a submission victory I believe he can pull it off or if he wants to beat him on his feet I am sure he can cruise to a decision victory.

Prediction: Faber by Unanimous Decision

Matt Brown (17-11) vs Mike Pyle (25-8-1) 

Jack: This is a strange fight and could play out a number of ways. Brown and Pyle are both on really hot streaks right now and whilst Brown is getting the attention I'd argue Pyle has beaten the better competition and in better fashion. Brown fights in clusters on the feet whereas Pyle throws power shots. Should the fight hit the ground Pyle has a big advantage there. In a pick em fight I like the look of the underdog here.

Prediction: Pyle by Submission Round 1

Tommy: This fight has me licking my lips!! If you don't like this match up you shouldn't be anywhere near MMA. This has fight of the night written all over it! Brown has TKO/KO'd four of his last five opponents, Pyle has knocked out three of his last four.
Toss the coin and see where it lands on this one! Though I'm edging towards Brown taking a UD in a back and forth battle!

Prediction: Brown by Unanimous Decision

Ben: This is my prediction for KO of the night. I think Matt Brown will pick up yet another finish via KO. I expect him to come out quick like he did in his last fight against Jordan Mein and pressure Pyle before finding his range and finishing the fight in style.


Prediction: Brown by KO Round 1

Uriah Hall (7-3) vs John Howard (20-8) 

Jack: Hall is the biggest favourite on the whole card. I can see why, but Howard is no mug. If he spots an opportunity he will take it. It will be interesting to see what tactics are employed by both men here.

Prediction: Hall by KO Round 1

Tommy: Uriah will be wanting to put the disappointment of the TUF 17 finale behind him and losing to Kelvin Gastelum in an awful performance we haven't been accustomed to.

Howard will have home advantage being a Boston born , and making his comeback to the UFC since being released in 2011. If Hall turns up like he did against Gastelum, I see Howard winning. Though I think that was a one off and we will see the best of Hall and getting him back in the winning column.

Prediction: Hall by KO Round 2

Ben: I'm going to go for the underdog in this fight again. I called Kelvin beating Uriah in the TUF Finale when everyone thought I was crazy and I am calling it again today.

I think the hype behind Hall from his days in the TUF house was crazy. Some people were even calling for him to jump straight from TUF to fighting Anderson.... Seriously what the fuck were these people thinking!! In the TUF house at no point was he tested, he didn't get put on his back and he certainly didn't come up against somebody with the same striking skills as Howard.

I feel its going to be a pretty decent fight but I believe Howard's experience will be able to get him a win in his hometown.

Prediction: Howard by Unanimous Decision

Joe Lauzon (22-8) vs Michael Johnson (12-8) 

Jack: Lauzon is never in a dull fight, Johnson is prime to be submitted. Lauzon will walk away with yet another fight bonus.

Prediction: Lauzon by Submission Round 1

Tommy: Johnson coming into this fight on the back two losses is very much up against it facing Joe Lauzon. Lauzon is one of my favourite fighters to watch and rarely comes out of the octagon without a fight of the night or submission of the night award.

Six of Johnson's eight losses have come via submission, something that Lauzon excels at. This will be his undoing.

Prediction: Lauzon by Submission Round 2

Ben: Now let me ask you a question, if you had to pick one person to open up the main card on potentially the biggest UFC card ever who would it be? If Joe Lauzon is not one of the first names you would pick then I am shocked. Every single Joe Lauzon fight you can guarantee one thing and that is excitement. Win or lose you will know by the end of the fight Lauzon has given his all (and probably most of his blood)

Michael Johnson is in serious need of a victory and is fighting for more than just a win on Saturday night. The bit which will work against him more though is exactly the point Tommy made. 75% of Johnson's losses have come by being submitted. For this reason I think it will be a long night for Johnson before he gets caught in yet another submission.

Prediction: Lauzon by Submission Round 2

Now we will also predict a couple of important fights for the UK fans. These don't feature on the main card but are the last two prelim fights.

Brad Pickett (23-7) vs Michael McDonald (15-2) 

Jack: This fight should have been on the main card. All the potential to be a barn burner and it really is a pick em. McDonald should have the edge standing but Pickett's movement and level changes are fantastic. He will try to mix it up constantly and keep McDonald guessing. This is my fight of the night pick. Both fighters will have there moments and I guess this will be difficult to score.

Prediction: McDonald by Split Decision

Tommy: I'm a little disappointed this hasn't made the main event, with both fighters at the top of their game so we are in for a barn burner here! My heart would love Pickett to win though my head rules on this one. I think McDonald just has a little to much for Pickett and it pains me to say that.
On this one I really really hope I'm wrong!

Prediction: McDonald by Unanimous Decision

Ben: Unlike the other two I am picking Brad here. I think he still wants to prove he can beat the best in the division and his two losses in the UFC are against Barao and Wineland. They are competing for the belt later this year and I see that driving Brad on thinking..... That should be me!!

I see Pickett come out swinging as he always does and I think the fight will carry on this way for the full three rounds. McDonald is a very game fighter and I hope he also does the same, if he does this will surely be the fight of the night. I am not sure if I think Pickett will get the finish but I really feel he will have enough to get the victory.

Prediction: Pickett by Unanimous Decision

Conor McGregor (13-2) vs Max Holloway (7-2) 

Jack: The Irish sensation is back in action and I can't see him being troubled at all here. Holloway will try to keep this standing and that's a huge mistake. Brimage offered more in the stand up than Holloway does and he was dealt with easily. This looks like the UFC are trying to create a highlight reel for McGregor as they are really pushing him in anticipation of an upcoming Dublin card in 2014.

Prediction: McGregor by KO Round 1

Tommy: I've been outspoken about Conor aka hype train and I'm yet to believe in him. A win over a wrestler who decides to stand with a striker isn't the evidence I need to be convinced.
Holloway only being 21 has a bright future, he was very unlucky not to have got the decision win last time out when he fought Dennis Bermudez in May.
If Conor can take Holloway out in fashion, I might just buy a ticket and climb aboard the train! Though I think this will be a harder test for Conor than the odds suggest!

Prediction: Holloway by Unanimous Decision

Ben: I like watching Conor fight. I wouldn't go as far as saying I believe in all the hype that has been thrown around about him as I still feel he has not been tested against a top talent and I don't think that will happen again on Saturday night.

I like Max as a fighter and have enjoyed his fights too but I wouldn't say he is the finished article yet. I think Conor is the better fighter and I think it will be a fairly easy fight for Conor. If the fight makes the second round I will be very surprised.

What I am looking forward to though is that hopefully after a good win on Saturday night we could see Conor fight on the Manchester card against a serious contender. I would love to see the fight against the winner of Koch vs Poirier which takes place at the end of the month.

Prediction: McGregor by TKO Round 1

Our Predictions for Post Fight Bonuses are:

Fight of the Night - Pickett vs McDonald (Jack & Ben) Brown vs Pyle (Tommy)
KO of the Night - Conor McGregor (Jack) Uriah Hall (Tommy) Matt Brown (Ben)
Sub of the Night - Joe Lauzon (all)

Chael Sonnen was never the shy and retiring type

Chael Sonnen signs new contract and will drop to middleweight after fight against Shogun

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

The UFC has confirmed Chael Sonnen has signed a new deal, the deal will coincide with his return to the middleweight division.

Sonnen confirmed a 5 fight deal which will kick in after his August 17 fight with Shogun Rua which headlines the first UFC on Fox Sports 1 event. Sonnen also told of a move in his training camp to help with the drop back to middleweight. He has moved to California to train at Mark Munuz's 'Reign'.

With the former Middleweight and Light Heavyweight contender known to talk his way into several huge fights there is no shortage of opponents for him. Vitor Belfort is stuck in a bit of a no mans land at the minute and has asked for the fight at the massive end of year ppv on Dec 28th.

Wanderlei Silva is another possible opponent. First and foremost though Sonnen has to deal with a very tough opponent in Shogun Rua who certainly can't be taken lightly.

What has Chael Sonnen got on the UFC?

My thoughts on Chael Sonnen getting to headline UFC on Fox Sports 1

by John Haigh @JohnBJayHaigh

When Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, had to drop out of the fight with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 161 due to back problems Chael Sonnen offered his services straight away.

Shogun immediately accepted, but the fight isn’t going to happen at UFC 161 on June 15th in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It will instead be the headlining bout at UFC on FS1 1 on Aug 17th in Boston.
Sonnen announced the bout on Tuesday night’s edition of UFC Tonight.

“Shogun and I are going to be the main event on FOX Sports 1 on Aug. 17. We were going to fight in Winnipeg, and they pulled it,” Sonnen proclaimed before getting his digs in at his original target, Wanderlei Silva.

“I like Shogun. I admire him a lot,” he continued. “I wanted to fight Wanderlei. He’s the worst fighter in the UFC. I couldn’t get him. I figured I’d get the guy who destroyed Wanderlei in the practice room for all these years.”

So why does Sonnen keep getting these big fights?
Sure he can sell a fight with his endless ramblings and trash talking but surely there’s someone actually deserving of a bout with a top 10 ranked fighter? Maybe the current 10th placed fighter Ryan Bader?
In my eyes Sonnen has only won one of his last five fights and that was against Brian Stann in 2011. It might say win from the Bisping fight but everyone who has seen the fight says Bisping won two rounds including UFC President Dana White.

So in my opinion I really can’t see why they keep giving him these fights he clearly doesn’t deserve them.

As for Sonnen saying “I wanted to fight Wanderlei. He’s the worst fighter in the UFC.” Silva has had more fights then Sonnen and lost less than Sonnen. Surely “The worst fighter in the UFC” title is a title that Sonnen could actually win.

Chael vs Shogun to headline UFC on Fox Sports 1

Shogun pulled from UFC 161 card to fight on UFC on Fox Sports 1

by John Haigh @JohnBJayHaigh

Chael Sonnen (27-13-1) vs Shogun Rua (21-7) fight to serve as the first ever UFC on FOX Sports 1 main event on Aug. 17 in Boston.

After shogun was pulled from the UFC 161 card following the injury to Lil Nog the UFC officials announced the fight as the main event for the inaugural event on Fox Sports 1. The fight came about when in typical fashion, Sonnen jumped into the hero role and sent a message to the Brazilian on Twitter stating he was "available" to step in to fight on just 13 days notice.

The fight was not made for the UFC 161 card though, presumably so Sonnen can sell the fight on Fox Sports 1 in his usual fashion. But the official word was the fight couldn’t take place because Sonnen would not be able to get a visa in time.

Sonnen comes into the fight with back to back losses to his name. Both against arguably the best two fighters in the history of MMA UFC champions Anderson Silva and Jon Jones in very one sided fights.

Shogun also comes in to this fight with a lot of inconsistency. Shogun has not won back to back fights since 2009 with victories over Chuck Liddell and Mark Coleman both by TKO and both been fight night bonuses.

In his last fight shogun lost via decision to Alexander Gustafsson at UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Diaz. There is one thing about the ex UFC Light Heavyweight champion's fights though, there always entertaining and Shogun leaves everything in the cage so Sonnen will have another tough fight on his hands.... has he bitten off more than he can chew again. We will find out in August.

Sonnen Offers to step in to face Shogun at UFC 161

Chael Sonnen wants to replace Nogueria and fight Shogun

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

Chael Sonnen has history, he has history with Brazilian's. He has history offering to step in to fight at late notice. Recently he has stepped in on last minute notice to fight Michael Bisping. He also tried to step in at the last minute to fight Jon Jones and in doing so earned himself the chance to coach on The Ultimate Fighter season 17 and a title shot.

Now after Antônio Rogério Nogueira had to pull out of his fight with Shogun Rua due to an undisclosed injury at UFC 161, Sonnen is up to the old tricks again. Sonnen took the media by storm in his efforts to promote his two title fights with Anderson Silva. He has noted rivalry with the majority of the Brazilian roster and was expected to face Wanderlei Silva in the near future.

Sonnen took to his twitter to leave the following message for Shogun Rua making it clear he is the ultimate company man.

"@sonnench: @ShogunRua I HEAR BRAZILIAN
CHICKEN IS OFF THE MENU. AMERICAN GANGSTER IS STILL AVAILABLE IF YOU WANT TO SEND YOUR WAITRESS OVER."

Wanderlei Silva accepts Chael Sonnen fight

Could we really see a Wanderlei Silva vs Chael Sonnen fight

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

There has been a longtime rivalry between Chael Sonnen and Wandelei Silva building. However now a fight between them looks to be one step closer to happening as Silva has accepted Sonnen's verbal challenge to him.

Silva has stated he would be willing to fight Sonnen on one of the UFCs upcoming Brazilian cards or at the end of year big show the UFC likes to put on in Vegas. Silva did not state what weight the fight would take place at but it's expected that the fight would be at light Heavyweight. Sonnen now considers himself a Light Heavyweight and Silva's last fight was also at 205 pounds with Brian Stann.

Sonnen had previously stated his desire for the Silva fight believing it would be an easy win against a broken man. Silva was not shy in his response going as far as saying he didn't want to fight Sonnen he wanted to "hurt him." Fighting talk from both men.

The fight looked like it was going to fail to materialise at one point as Sonnen originally had retracted his challenge as Silva had not replied in time to him. With it looking like Silva has now accepted the challenge the fight looks like it could well be on again.

UFC 159 Main Card Results - Jon Jones vs Chael Sonnen

Jon Jones defeats Chael Sonnen by TKO Round 1, 4.33

by Ben Heather @benheather

Jon Jones proved once again that he seemingly has no weaknesses, mixing great wrestling with dangerous striking and as he put it "Chael Sonnened Chael Sonnen". In doing so he is now tied with Tito Ortiz's record for 5 consecutive title defenses in the UFC light heavyweight division.

However, he has yet to win back all the fans he lost after the UFC 151 incident. Sonnen is one of MMA's biggest characters and by far one of the best trash talkers, who again like Jones most fans either love him for it or hate him. That aside Sonnen is a very good wrestler, he is still the only person to dominate Anderson Silva during their first title fight in the middleweight division before he ultimately got submitted in the 5th round. However, few believe he had any chance against Jones. He had no UFC wins at light heavyweight going in to this title fight but the fight was made and both Jones and Sonnen became the new coaches opposite one another on the latest series of The Ultimate Fighter.

The fight began and Sonnen presses forward, Jones changes levels and straight away takes Sonnen down. Sonnen makes his way back up and goes all out, they exchange punches from the clinch and Chael seems to connect with some good shots before they separated. They clinch again and Jones takes Sonnen down again. This time Sonnen gets his legs in to the butterfly guard near the cage and from this Sonnen works his way back up and they clinch next to the cage.

 Jones goes for what seems to be a now trademark spinning back elbow but it misses. Jones moves in and slams Sonnen back down and now begins throwing punches and elbows from inside Sonnen's guard. Jones continues to drop down elbows and locks down Sonnen's arm. Sonnen covers up but Jones doesn't let up and then the referee steps in to prevent Sonnen taking anymore damage.

After the fight Jones was about to do his post fight interview when he realised he had a nasty broken toe. Sonnen said he had no problems with the decision to stop the fight and that Jones was the better fighter in his interview after the fight.

UFC 159: Weigh In Results

Weigh in Results for UFC 159

by Ben Heather @benheather

Tomorrow will see UFC 159 live from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The main event will see Jon Jones attempt to defend his UFC World Light Heavyweight title when he faces Chael Sonnen.

The two have recently been opposing coaches on the latest series of The Ultimate Fighter and now its time for the talking to stop and time for them to get in to the octagon to see who is the better fighter. Earlier today they both stepped on to the scales and made weight to make the fight official.

Also on the card is the fights between Michael Bisping vs Alan Belcher and Vinny Magalhaes vs Phil Davis both of these fights have become personal with insults going back and forth between the fighters. This will hopefully lead to some good fights for all of us fans to watch.

UFC 159 Full Weigh-in Results:

Jon Jones (205) vs Chael Sonnen (205)

Alan Belcher (185) vs Michael Bisping (186)

Cheick Kongo (237) vs Roy Nelson (258)

Phil Davis (205) vs Vinny Magalhaes (205.5)

Pat Healy (155.5) vs Jim Miller (155)

Johnny Bedford (136) vs Bryan Caraway (136)

Ovince St. Preux (206) vs Gian Villante (206)

Sheila Gaff  (133) vs Sara McMann (134)

Rustam Khabilov (156) vs Yancy Medeiros (155.5)

Leonard Garcia (145) vs Cody McKenzie (145)

Nick Catone (173) vs James Head (170.25)*

Kurt Holobaugh (145) vs Steven Siler (145.25)

*Catone will forfeit 20 percent of his fight purse after coming in 2 lbs overweight.

Writer vs Fighter - UFC 159 Main Card Picks Challenge - Heather vs Barnatt

UFC fighter Luke Barnatt challenges Kingdom MMA in a picks challenge

by Ben Heather @benheather

Welcome to Kingdom MMA's inaugural writer vs fighter challenge.

For this challenge we will be challenging some big names from the world of MMA to give us their picks and fight outcomes for specific MMA events. Then they will be challenged by one of our writers, who will make their own predictions.

For this first event we will be predicting the fight outcomes from UFC 159 which is headlined by Chael Sonnen challenging Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight championship. As this is the coaches fight at the end of the latest series of TUF, there was only one person we wanted to do the writer vs fighter challenge against.... As we said earlier we will be challenging some big names from the world of MMA and coming in at 6'6 there are not many guys bigger than "Bigslow" himself Luke Barnatt.

Luke Barnatt was part of Team Sonnen on the latest series of TUF where he made the quarter finals on the show. After filming for the show finished he spent the next few months training with Chael to prepare for his fight with Collin Hart at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale as well as helping Chael prepare for his fight this weekend against Jon Jones.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Luke this past week and he gave us one of the most open and in depth interviews Kingdom MMA has had, which can be read here. At the same time he provided us with his predictions for UFC 159.

The Scoring 

If you predict the correct winner of the fight you will get one point and if you predict the correct method of victory you will get an extra bonus point and if the fight ends in a stoppage and you predict the round as well you could earn a third point. If the fight goes the distance you can only earn a maximum of two points.

The predictions:

Main Event: Jon Jones vs Chael Sonnen

Luke: Mr Chael P Sonnen via devastating beatdown... pretty much a sequel of the Silva beating... but with a much happier ending.

Prediction: Sonnen

Ben: I cant look past Jon Jones in this fight, realistically he should still be undefeated and nobody has still looked like testing him. For that reason I can't predict anything other than a Jones win. However I do think Chael will put up one of the hardest tests that Jones has had yet.

Prediction: Jones by TKO Round 4

Co Main Event: Michael Bisping vs Alan Belcher

Luke: Michael has Alan beat everywhere... I see this being a 1st round stoppage. Bisping has fire brewing inside from the Belfort fight. he'll come out fast and hard.

Prediction: Bisping by TKO Round 1

Ben: I agree with Luke, I think Bisping wants to win this fight more than any other in his career so far. Yes obviously he wanted to win his last one which would have got him a title shot but if he losses this weekend he may struggle to get back up the ranks again. A win is vital and I predict Bisping to win on points.

Prediction: Bisping by Unanimous Decision

Roy Nelson vs Cheick Kongo

Luke: Who Cares??

Prediction: N/A

Ben: I think this is another fight where Nelson will finish the fight early, Kongo has had his chin tested a few times and buckled and nobody hits harder than Nelson.

Prediction: Nelson by KO Round 1

Phil Davis vs Vinny Magalhaes

Luke: Vinny Magalhaes via 2nd round Leg Lock ;)

Prediction: Magalhaes by Submission Round 2

Ben: I again agree with Luke on this fight I think the underdog will come through and pick up the win. Davis is a good fighter and his record shows that but I think Vinny has enough to be in a position at some point to get hold of a limb and keep hold of it long enough to finish the fight. Most likely via an armbar.

Prediction: Magalhaes by Submission Round 3

Jim Miller vs Pat Healy

Luke: This is a tough one... but after what Miller did to Lauzon, I can't see a way he can lose this fight.

Prediction: Miller

Ben: Miller wins this fight for me 9/10 and I don't think Saturday will be the exception. Healy has been on a great run lately and should have had his chance to fight for the Strikeforce title but against Miller I don't think he will be able to enforce his game plan and Miller will be able to pick up a tough, hard fought Unanimous Decision victory.

If its anything like his fight with Lauzon we will be in for a treat.

Prediction: Miller by Unanimous Decision

So that's our predictions for this fights, we will be live tweeting on Saturday night as always and we will keep you all informed as to how the challenge is going with latest scores throughout the main card.

Thanks again to Luke for providing us with his picks for this weekends fights and it just leaves me to say.... May the best man win!!

UFC 159 Main Card Predictions

Kingdom MMA: UFC 159 Main Card Predictions

by Tommy Strong @strong_tea and Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

On Saturday night we will finally be able to put an end to the legacy of UFC 151 as Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen meet in the octagon at UFC 159. The two have recently been coaches on the latest series of The Ultimate Fighter in which Kelvin Gastelum from Team Sonnen won the contract to the UFC.

A lot of people have got an opinion as to whether or not Chael deserves this title shot but the talking will end on Saturday night and we will find out who the better man is.

Below you will find the predictions from some of the guys at Kingdom MMA for the main card.

Jon Jones (17-1) LHW Champ vs Chael Sonnen (27-12-1) #9 MW
 

Tommy: I feel this match up was more to do with boosting the TUF series ratings than it was to do with the fight, one in which Chael shouldn't be anywhere near. But that's a different topic altogether.

We all know Chael is the most entertaining fighter in the UFC and certainly has brought more hype to this fight. He may have won the battle of the TUF series, but it will be Jon Jones that wins the war!

Chael's wrestling is one of the best in the UFC, but Jones has shown he's very hard to take down with a 100% take down defence in all of his UFC fights. I find it impossible to find a way that Chael can win this fight. Even if Chael can get him to the ground, he's very vulnerable to submissions.

Prediction: Jones by TKO Round 2

Jack: I believe this could get more interesting than people think. Sonnen without doubt has the game to put Jones on his back. Although Rashad struggled to take there fight to the ground I believe Sonnen is the better wrestler. That being said Jones should work his way up and deal with Sonnen. Not as quickly or as easily as some think though.

Prediction: Jones by Submission Round 3

Michael Bisping (23-5) #4 MW vs Alan Belcher (18-7) #10 MW

Jack: I think this is a good fight for Bisping. Belcher is actually quite good everywhere and probably has the edge in jiu jitsu. For that advantage to come into play though he has to get Bisping down or rock him. I don't see either happening. Belcher doesn't deal well with pressure.  Something Bisping happens to be excellent at with his gas tank.

I think we see the old Bisping pressure style here maybe looking for a clinch for some Knees.

Prediction: Bisping by TKO from Ground and Pound following knees in the clinch Round 3

Tommy: I feel this really is the last chance saloon for Bisping to get the title shot he probably deserves.

Belcher will prove a very stern test for him on Saturday night. Belcher has a brilliant ground game and that was shown against Palhares, that he can submit very good fighters. Though Bisping has proved time and time again he has one of the best take down defences, and showed against Sonnen he's difficult to take down and keep down.

Bisping has a lot to prove after his loss to Belfort and after a lot of trash talking I feel he's going to back up and stop Belcher for the first time in his career.

Prediction: Bisping by TKO Round 2

Roy Nelson (18-7) #6 HW vs Cheick Kongo (18-7-2)

Tommy: Not ashamed to admit it, but I'm a massive Roy Nelson fan. Since winning the Ultimate Fighter back in 2009, I've really taken to him. He has a granite chin, and power that can knock out any heavyweight fighter!

I don't think Kongo has the power to knockout 'Big Country' and would be wise to keep the fight at range and pick his way to victory.  But at some point Roy will get close to him and land something heavy on Cheick and knock him out.

Prediction: Roy Nelson by KO Round 1

Jack: This fight to me should be easy to pick and see how it plays out. Of course we all know this is MMA and anything can happen though. I will keep this one brief. Both men hit hard. Only Nelson has a good chin. That points to one thing for me.

Prediction: Nelson by KO Round 2

Phil Davis (10-1-1) #8 LHW vs Vinny Magalhães (10-5-1)

Jack: This is classic wrestler vs grappler match up. What's the best weapon Wrestling or BJJ?

I'm a firm believer that a solid wrestling practitioner with some solid defensive BJJ should be able to shutdown the offensive BJJ side with good positioning and strikes. Although Vinny is a threat here I see Davis having enough know how to keep out of submissions.

Prediction: Davis by Decision

Tommy: Both fighters seem to have a dislike for each other after a war of words over twitter. Magalhaes is brilliant on the ground with 8 out his 10 wins coming from submission. Though getting a world class wrestler like Davis to the ground will be near on impossible. Giving Davis a huge advantage on their feet.

This is not really a fight I'm looking forward too and I find Davis one of the most boring fighters in the UFC, but he is a tough fighter to beat and will dictate where the fight goes. For this reason I can see Davis winning a UD.

Prediction: Davis by Unanimous Decision

Jim Miller (22-4) #4 LW vs Pat Healy (29-16)

Tommy: Jim Miller really impressed me in his fight of the night (year) win against Joe Lauzon back in December.

Pat Healy comes into the fight on a 6 fight win streak, and since moving down to lightweight he's looked a top contender, with only injuries to Gilbert Melendez costing him the opportunity to fight for the StrikeForce Lightweight belt.

This could have fight of the night written all over it. Both very tough and pressure fighters who come to fight. I think Miller has a more rounded game than Healy and will just edge this. Though I wouldn't be surprised at all if Pat Healy was to get a decision in a very close fight.

Prediction: Jim Miler by Split Decision

Jack: This fight really excites me and is my pick for fight of the night. Great fight to open the card with and it's a tough one. Healy is on a role of late coming in from Strikeforce. Miller is always tough whoever he's put in with. I see a lot of action on the mat and Miller should be able to control the majority of rounds.

Prediction: Miller by Decision

Quarter final fights announced for TUF 17

With the first round of fights now completed the quarter final draw for TUF 17 has been announced

by Ben Heather @benheather

Now that all the first round fights have been battled out and the wildcard fight has given one fighter a second shot at achieving his goal of becoming the ultimate fighter we now know the draw for the next round of fights. With both coaches having four fighters each remaining in the competition it means as yet there will be no fights set between team mates.... just yet anyway who knows what the semi final matchups have in store for us.

The fights for the quarter finals have been announced as follows: (Team Jones fighters in Blue)

Collin Hart vs Kelvin Gastelum

Dylan Andrews vs Luke Barnatt

Josh Samman vs Jimmy Quinlan

"Bubba" McDaniel vs Uriah Hall

The next episode of The Ultimate Fighter 17 will be shown in the UK on ESPN and you will be able to see both the Collin Hart vs Kelvin Gastelum and Dylan Andrews vs England's very own Luke Barnatt.

This will be a episode not to be missed with two fights in one episode.