Phil Harris chats to Kingdom MMA about UFC Fight Night 30 "I'm here to win no matter what"

Kingdom MMA catch up with Phil Harris before he meets John Lineker at UFC Manchester on Saturday night

by Ben Heather @benheather

Saturday night marks the UFC's return to the UK, unfortunately the original main event which was Michael Bisping's return to the UK was cancelled when he was forced to pull out due to recurrence of his detached retina injury. But the replacement main event was a fitting replacement as the UK will see Lyoto Machida make his middleweight debut. However the main card kicks off with a flyweight battle in which the UK's own Phil Harris takes on John Lineker. Originally this fight was due to take place in Brazil but Harris got injured and so Manchester will now host the fight and today we got chance to catch up with Phil Harris.

Ben: Hi Phil, Thanks for your time, how has the camp gone for this fight and where have you been preparing for this fight?
Harris: The camp has gone really well I've done all of my camp at gym01 in Portsmouth we have lots of great fighters in the lighter weights to make sure I'm ready also the likes of Vaughan Lee, Mark Handley and Joe Lawerence have been down to help with some sparring.

Ben: How excited are you to get back in the octagon after a spell on the sides due to injury?
Harris: It's not been that long about 6 months but I'm itching to get back in there this is what I love to do.

Ben: This is your first main card slot with the UFC. Does that give you extra motivation to grab people's attention whilst the spotlight is on you?
Harris: It certainly will get me noticed more being on the main card, but it really doesn't affect me to much, I'm here to win no matter what.

Ben: You have pretty much had two full camps preparing for this fight, how motivated are you to get the win?
Harris: I'm mega motivated and 100% focused for this fight.

Ben: How much of an advantage do you think the change of location will have for you. Last time you was due to fight in Brazil and now you have the home country advantage.
Harris: It definitely helps, I've no jet lag, I know what the food is like I have the crowd on my side, all these things help in the build up to the fight and in the fight, its nice to have the crowd cheering for you.

Ben: What did you make to his performance last time out at UFC 163 where he beat Jose Maria Tome?
Harris: He looked good, but Jose Maria tome was a late replacement and probably not in the best shape to fight.

Ben: Lineker has a bit of a reputation for missing weight going in to fights, has this thought crossed your mind at all and what is your opinion on fighters constantly missing weight?
Harris: Not at all I'm sure he will make weight this time. It's not professional missing weight but these things can happen.

Ben: We all know John Lineker hits very hard, how do you prepare for that in sparring without getting cut/hurt?
Harris: It's a matter of sparring cleaver I wear big gloves and head protection. Also it's a case of building up conditioning over weeks of a training camp.

Ben: Obviously you have been given the all clear after fracturing your orbital bone before you were scheduled to fight John the first time in Brazil at UFC 163 but has it caused you any issues in training for this fight?
Harris: No I've got a decent head guard and train cleaver not reckless and I didn't start sparring again till I had the all clear to do so.

Ben: A win over John Lineker is a very big deal. Especially when the division is still finding its feet and is short in numbers. Where do you think a win puts you?
Harris: Beating John will push me a step closer to UFC gold that's all that matters. Keep moving forward.

Thank you for your time and good luck on Saturday night, all of the guys from the site will be there cheering you on along with everyone else in the arena.

James Doolan: "Whiteford will go after Jimmy Hettes and prove he belongs in the UFC"

James Doolan: "Whiteford will go after Jimmy Hettes and prove he belongs in the UFC" 
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

On Saturday night Scottish featherweight Robert Whiteford will step into the octagon at UFC Fight Night 30 in Manchester for his promotional debut, marking the first time a Scotman has ever fought in the UFC.

Fighting out of Scotlands leading combat gym Dinky Ninjas, Whiteford (10-1) joins the promotion as a last minute replacement for injured Tuf Smashes contestant Mike Wilkinson, where he will take on the much more experienced Jimmy Hettes (10-1, 2-1 UFC), but the opportunity to fight in the UFC was just too good to turn down:

"It's the realisation of his dream and a lot of hard work and sacrifice. Said Whitefords coach at Dinky Ninjas, James Doolan. "He's very excited about the fight, it's where he's wanted to be since his first day in MMA. I don't think it's quite sunk in for him yet." 

Whiteford began his pro career in 2009 losing his debut by doctor stopage, the Scot has since gone on the win 10 straight - five knockouts and a submission, with notable victories coming over recent Cage Warriors featherweight title challenger Martin Svensson, aswell as journeyman Paul Reed, and Antanas Jazbuitis. He now prepares for the biggest fight of his career against Hettis, on just a weeks notice, but Doolan doesn't expect the short notice to cause any issues:

"His weight's fine, Robert's always training and in the gym like a professional. The cut won't be an issue for him" Said Doolan. "Expect the occasion to bring the best out in him, he will go after Jimmy Hettes and prove he belongs in the UFC."

UFC Fight Night 30 takes place this Saturday at the Phones4U Arena, in Manchester. Whiteford vs Hettis will features on the cards Facebook prelims.

Rosi Sexton vs Jessica Andrade Scheduled For Manchester

Manchester Gets The UK's First Ever UFC Women's Bout

By Tommy Strong @strong_tea

UFC Fight Night 30 in Manchester will see England hold its first ever woman's UFC bantamweight bout when French born - Brit Rosi Sexton faces Jessica Andrade on the 26th October 2013.

Rosi made her UFC debut in June at UFC 161, when she faced Alexis Davis losing in a back and forth battle via unanimous decision. Rosi (13-3) isn't getting any younger and at the age of 36 will be eager to put one over her much younger opponent in Andrade. With the British crowd behind her she will have the home town advantage come October.

Brazilian Jessica Andrade (9-3) who is only 21, made her pro debut only 2 years ago but has been very active with 12 fights in just under 2 years. Andrade made her UFC debut in July when she fought Liz Camouche, losing in the 2nd round via TKO.

With both fighters looking to get back in the winning column the fans could be in for a real treat here.

UFC Manchester will see the much anticipated return of Michael "The Count" Bisping to the UK in a fight which could decide who will be the next number one contender when he takes on Mark Munoz in a middleweight battle.

The Bradley Scott Blog - episode 1

My thoughts on my fight announcement and my first week at the MMA Lab

by Bradley Scott @Bradleyscott89

By now you all know that I am back.

This is the first instalment of my blog which will only be available on Kingdom MMA, I will talk you through my life as I train towards the big fight in Manchester on October 26th against Michael Kuiper. So keep reading over the coming weeks as I tell you about my life as a UFC fighter.

My opponent Michael Kuiper
 

The fight was officially announced on Thursday that I will be fighting in Manchester on October 26th against Michael Kuiper. I have been watching some videos of him and he looks a pretty good Dutch kick boxer, not up there with the likes of Andy Souwer but he is definitely skilled.

I imagine come fight night there will be a lot of punches thrown, I am certainly hoping to finish him I don't want to go the distance. I will be going in there to get the KO/ TKO obviously, the only way I will get a submission victory is if its handed to me on a plate. I'm talking if he grabs my arm and wraps it around his throat and squeezes it for me that's the only way it will be a submission victory. There is no ifs or buts it will be an exciting fight. Loads of punches thrown, loads of blood, claret and shit everywhere I'm just hoping its in my favour.

Training at The MMA Lab
 

For this fight I have decided to go to train in America, I have been training at The MMA Lab in Pheonix, Arizona. I came out to America at the start of last week and last Tuesday (13th August) I had my first training session. It is certainly an experience to say the least, this week has been my induction week and I am just trying to get used to it here. I'm getting starstruck just seeing current UFC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson and people like that walking around. Joe Riggs is my training partner and its quite an experience. All of these guys which I am used to seeing on TV thinking wow what a legend and here I am training in the same room as them.

Since I have arrived I have been working a lot on my ground game, doing a lot of wrestling at the minute as my striking is pretty good. So I am trying to learn as much as I can, there are so many great wrestlers here. The ground level is just insane here, everyone is a good wrestler.

Training with John Crouch
 

John Crouch is an awesome coach, he looks at all the nitty gritty details. He doesn't care he will make time for you, even if he doesn't have any time he will make the time available for you. Even though Benson's title fight is just over a week away I have been working loads with John. He even set a whole session around me just to help me learn a certain technique. It's really technical here, I like the set up and they only have one hard sparring session a week so you're not really hurting all the time but we do do a lot of sparring.

Benson Henderson
 

He is still training here everyday, he is an absolute fucking monster. People don't understand how hard he trains and he certainly is better than everyone else here and you can see why. His dedication and his training ethics are amazing. He trains everyday and the other day he did 5x five minute rounds and he looked better in the fifth than he did in the first. The guy is a freak!! When I first saw him I was surprised how big he is, he is fucking huge and absolutely shredded. I don't know how much weight he has to cut but I do know he will make weight he is a professional, everything he does is professional.

My initial thoughts on the biggest differences so far between a UK gym and the Lab
 

In the UK most of the gyms I train at I am normally one of the top five fighters at the gym but here I am probably like in the top twenty maybe and that I am getting to train with some top fighters which all forms a good experience.

My first session was an experience, they spar hard here. They only do small sessions like 3 x 5 minutes or 4 x 5 minute sessions and that's your whole day done but its hard. Its also very clever as we don't get hurt or pick up any silly injuries, everyone has got that experience of having a fight. Another big difference is that when you spar everyone else watches so you have about 50 or 60 guys watching you which makes it feel like a real fight, its hardcore.

When was the last time someone like Benson Henderson or Jamie Varner pulled out of a fight due to an injury.... The guys here know what they are doing. Speaking of Jamie Varner, he is awesome. He's massive as well, he's built like a pitbull!! Joe Riggs is obviously built like a tank as well, he's huge. I sparred with him yesterday. The guy is a beast, he's got a fractured orbital bone but he puts a head guard on and then throws down still.... The guys a fucking freak!! He's fast as well and believe me he can bang. Like I said the guys a freak.

The quality of the food and stuff is better over here as well. I'm eating much better foods, there is a lot better variety of foods and I am getting better advice from people and advice of the other pro's here.

My weight
 

Another thing I have noticed is I have lost 10lbs since I have been here (10 days). I'm really struggling, I think a lot of it is to do with the amount of water I am drinking over here. I'm drinking about 8 litres a day due to me sweating so much from the two training sessions and I am having to have loads and loads of Gatorade and electrolytes just to keep me from cramping. So I am forcing myself to eat and am adding in high calorie foods such as nut butter and I am having fattier meats just so I can get the calories in and I am still losing loads of weight. I'm actually under 200lbs at the minute which for a middleweight is fuck all. Just look at Joe Riggs he weighs 210lbs and he is a fucking welterweight.

Everything is going right, making weight is not going to be a problem in fact I am trying to put weight on.

The British Invasion at the Lab
 

I've got two more English guys here as well, Andrew Fisher is here "Copper Bollocks" as I call him he's fucking lovely. There is another guy too but he is a amateur. I was the first Brit here and then all of a sudden two days later two more turn up. We have invaded over here, we are taking over.


In the next blog I will be able to give more details of my game plan and some specifics that I have been training on ahead ready for the fight so stay tuned to Kingdom MMA for the next instalment.

The Bigslow returns to the Octagon in Manchester

Luke Barnatt vs Andrew Craig set for UFC Fight Night 30

by Ben Heather @benheather

Luke Barnatt (6-0 MMA 1-0 UFC) will get the chance to fight for the UFC in his home country on October 26th when the UFC returns to Manchester, England. Barnatt who made his way in to the UFC through the latest series of The Ultimate Fighter where he was Chael Sonnen's number one pick making him the number one pick overall. He then proved to Sonnen why he was picked first by brutally knocking out Gilbert Smith with a flying knee in his first fight in the house.

Luke ultimately lost out to Dylan Andrews in the third round of his quarter final fight. This loss may have put Luke out of the running to become TUF champion but it did put an extra $25,000 in his pocket when it was awarded the fight of the series. Once out of the house Luke made his UFC debut at the TUF 17 Finale on his 25th birthday where he squared off against fellow house mate Collin Hart. He came out of the fight with a unanimous decision giving him a perfect 6-0 MMA record.

But now comes the real test for Luke, fighting in his home country against a step up in opponent can he keep that perfect record intact?

Andrew Craig (9-1 MMA 3-1 UFC) will be doing all he can to make sure that is not the case. Craig comes in to this fight after picking up possibly the biggest win of his career at UFC 162 where he defeated Chris Leben. That victory got Craig back in the winners circle after losing the first fight of his career to Ronny Markes at UFC on FX 7 in January.

It seems to me that Andrew Craig has the attitude to fighting that he will fight anyone, anywhere and I love that in a fighter. If you take his record since he has signed for the UFC it certainly backs that up. In his four fights for the UFC he has fought and beat Kyle Noke in his home country of Australia, lost to Rony Markes in his home country, Brazil and had two fights in the USA as well. Now in October he will be coming to England to fight one of our own and I am sure the crowd in Manchester will certainly let him know which fighter is being favoured.

The card for UFC Fight Night 30 is filling up now but I am sure we will get a couple more fight announcements in the coming days which will finalise the card.

Gunnar Nelson vs Jordan Mein rumoured for UFC Fight Night 30 in Manchester

UFC Fight Night 30 rumoured to have added a welterweight battle

by John Haigh @JohnBJayHaigh

Gunnar Nelson vs Jordan Mein rumoured to be added to the UFC Fight Night in Manchester.

Another fight is rumoured to have been added to the upcoming event in Manchester in the welterweight division, Gunnar Nelson is rumoured to take on Jordan Mein in a battle of young talent.
Nelson (11-0-1) is 2-0 in the UFC, but both of the fighters he faced DaMarques Johnson and Jorge Santiago have since been cut from the UFC. He was originally given a much higher rated opponent at UFC 160 where he was set to fight Mike Pyle, but the Iceland native had to pull out due to injury and will be keen to prove himself against Mein.

Mein (27-9) is only 23 years old but has already clocked up 36 pro fights as well as several amateur ones. After stopping Dan Miller at UFC 158, Mein took a short notice fight with Matt Brown, earning FOTN honours but suffered a second round TKO loss. The young Canadian has won 9 of his last 11 fights overall and will be looking to get back on track with a win in Manchester.

UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Munoz takes place on October 26th and is the UFC's second event in England in 2013. Tickets are now on sale to UFC Fight Club Members but from Friday will be on sale for anyone who receives the UFC Newsletter. Then on Monday 19th August the tickets go on general sale.

Change of destination as Harris vs Lineker re booked for UFC Fight Night 30

Phil Harris vs John Lineker set to battle as UFC returns to England

by Ben Heather @benheather

The UFC have re booked a flyweight battle between Phil Harris (22-10 MMA 1-1 UFC) and John Lineker (22-6 MMA 3-1 UFC) which was originally booked for UFC 163 which took place this past weekend in Rio, Brazil. Unfortunately Phil Harris had to pull out of the original fight due to a facial injury. The injury happened just over two weeks before the fight when he got caught while sparring and fractured his orbital bone.

John Lineker still fought at UFC 163, defeating Jose Maria Tome by TKO in the second round. He looked very impressive in the fight but all of that good work was undone the day before when at weigh ins he weighed in at 129lbs. This was the second time in four UFC fights that Lineker has missed weight.

However, now the UFC has re booked the original match up except for one big change.... this time Phil Harris now has home field advantage. He will be fighting in England in front of potentially 21,000 British fans instead of walking in to the lion den in Brazil. Today Kingdom MMA caught up with Phil who told us what it meant to be fighting in England now.

"Having this fight in the UK and not Brazil puts the ball in my court, no flights, different time zones different food and of course the home crowd support will all go along way in helping me get the win!"

Also, Harris has already spent nearly a full camp preparing for John Lineker but didn't get to put that training in to action and now by the time UFC Fight Night 30 he will have had another full camp and will be very motivated to get in to the octagon and prove to the world that not only can he beat John Lineker but also that he will prove he is one of the best flyweights in the world.

"Training for this fight twice makes me want the win even more, I'm so excited for this fight, Lineker is coming off 3 wins and he's stopped his last two opponents so beating him will cement my place in the world top 10."

Tickets for the event go on sale to Fight Club members at 10am on Monday 12th August, on the 16th August for the UFC Newsletter Presale and 10am on 19th August the tickets go on general sale. Tickets are priced from £75-£450.

Stay tuned to Kingdom MMA for all the latest news regarding the UFC's return to England.

Anthony Njokuani Vs Paul Taylor Scheduled For UFC's Manchester Card

Third time lucky for Taylor vs Njokuani

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

Anthony Njokuani Vs Paul Taylor Scheduled For Manchester Card

It seems the UFC matchmakers really want to see this fight as this is the third time this fight has now been scheduled. The pair were due to meet at UFC 138 and again at UFC on Fuel 4 with injury ruling Taylor out of both.

Taylor has had an injury nightmare of late and this will actually be his first UFC bout in 33 months. That bout got Taylor back into the win column after a stunning head kick KO over Gabe Reudiger at UFC 126.

Taylor is a 3 time fight of the night winner and this fight is another great stylistic fight where both men's kickboxing style should clash nicely. For that reason I understand why the UFC want to see this fight happen.

Njokuani is comes in to this fight off a brutal KO win of his own over Roger Bowling. He's bounced between wins and losses over the last three years. He is also a multiple bonus winner, once winning 3 "KOTN" awards in a row in 2009. There is no news yet wether the bout will be a prelim or a main card fight but it has fireworks written all over it.

UFC Manchester: Bisping v Munoz finalised

UFC Manchester 2013 is now official

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

The long rumoured second UK event of the year has now been officially announced. Michael Bisping vs Mark Munoz will headline the event at the newly renamed phones4u arena. Also it has been announced that Ross Pearson will fight Melvin Guillard in a lightweight showdown in the co main event.

No other bouts have been announced as of yet but they should steadily get released over the next week or so. Tickets will go on sale on August 19th from Ticketmaster and the phones4u arena website. Prices range from £75-£450.

There will be a host of UK talent hoping for the call up for this card on UK shores. Pretty much all the top UK stars would be available to fight on the card apart from Brad Pickett who fights next weekend. News on Dan Hardy has been quiet of late, after recent health problems so he may be considered for the card. John Hathaway has also had health problems which hopefully he is now over and he can get back in the Octagon after missing over 9 months of action now. Tom Watson has just suffered a tough loss to Thales Leites and this event may come to soon for him.

Phil Harris was supposed to fight at UFC 163 but a concussion forced him off the card. After an impressive win at Wembley early this year Harris will be hoping for a trip up North to Manchester. Vaughan Lee and Mike Wilkinson both suffered tough losses to top prospects in Brazil last time out but they deserve another shot here.

Rosi Sexton is the UK's first female fighter and could also be in the UK's first UFC women's fight. TUF Smashes winner Norman Parke toughed it out to win his second UFC bout against Tokudome and this will offer him a chance to fight in front of his UK fans. TUF Samshes runner up Brad Scott will be moving up to Middleweight and should get his first chance after taking winner Rob Whittaker all the way.

Chael Sonnen's number 1 pick Luke Barnatt was a popular member of the last TUF series and won his UFC debut against cast mate Colin Hart and he will be wanting to get on the card in Manchester. Andy Ogle was due to take on Conor McGregor but injury forced him out of that fight in Boston however he may be ready for this card instead.

We have a whole host of deserving fighters to make up the nucleus of an undercard here. Jimi Manuwa has been very quiet of late but he could face a step up in competition and take a main card slot.

Stay tuned as we expect matchups to be announced fairly quickly this week and as soon as they do we will bring them to you. Hit us up at @KingdomMMA to let us what you think of all things UFC Manchester. Potential match ups, what you'd like to see and who you think will win.

Ross Pearson to co main event UFC's return to Manchester against Melvin Guillard

Ross Pearson vs Melvin Guillard set for UFC's return to the UK

by John Haigh @JohnBJayHaigh

Ross Pearson vs. Melvin Guillard has been agreed for the UFC Fight Night co main event. Fresh off his victory at the recent UFC on Fox 8 in Seattle, Melvin Guillard has agreed to step into the UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Munoz co-main event to square off with Ross Pearson. The bout was announced on UFC Tonight on Tuesday night.

UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Munoz will be the first live UFC event on Fox Sports 2, which is a re-branding of Fuel TV. The event is slated for October 26th, and will be the promotion’s return to Manchester having not held an event there since UFC 105 in November 2009.
Guillard (31-2-2) knocked out The Ultimate Fighter 6 winner Mac Danzig on July 27 in Seattle. Having lost four of his last five fights, and coming off of back to back losses entering the fight, Guillard himself admitted that he knew his UFC career was on the line against Danzig.
Pearson (15-6) the Englishman has recently won consecutive bouts since returning to lightweight, following a 1-1 trip to the featherweight division. Pearson fought at lightweight when he won the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter and clearly feels more suited in that division.
Pearson will be fighting on his home turf with the fight being held in the north of England, the fight is Guillard’s first trip to the U.K.
Middleweight contenders Michael Bisping and Mark Munoz headline the October 26th event, in what many are saying could be a potential No 1 contender fight.
Ticket details are yet to be announced.

Bisping and Munoz verbally agree to fight in Manchester

Michael Bisping vs Mark Munoz expected to headline UFC return to the UK

by John Haigh @JohnBJayHaigh

The UFC is returning to Manchester for the first time in four years, and it is expected that the guy everybody loves to hate Michael Bisping will headline the fight card in a middleweight bout with Mark Munoz.

Bisping vs. Munoz is expected to headline the event rumoured to be a UFC on Fox Sports 1 event on 26th October in Manchester. The UFC was last in Manchester for UFC 105, which featured Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera in the night’s main event.

This time around, Bisping takes center stage and is sure to draw a big crowd to Manchester Arena, when he and Munoz square off in a five-round, non-title main event. Bisping has been on the verge of getting a title shot for the past couple of years, but has twice been derailed; once in a decision loss to Chael Sonnen that many people feel he won the fight and then by a brutal KO at the hands of Vitor Belfort.

Bisping (24-5) most recently fought at UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen. He defeated Alan Belcher by a unanimous technical decision after the fight was stopped following an injury to Belcher’s eye. The injury happened as a result of an accidental poke to the eye by Bisping.

Munoz (13-3) is fresh off of a dominating performance over Tim Boetsch at UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman on July 6 in Las Vegas. He had been sidelined for a year prior to the fight, battling injuries, depression, and extreme weight gain, but looked as good as ever in this fight.

Munoz had also been a step away from a shot at the UFC middleweight championship, but was stopped last summer by Chris Weidman, who recently upset Anderson Silva and shocked the mma world to win the stap and prove Silva is human.

UFC to return to the UK in October 2013?

The UFC will return to Manchester on October 26th 2013.

by Ben Heather @benheather

Fighters Only magazine have revealed in the latest issue (issue 101) of the magazine that the UFC will be returning to Manchester in October. This will mark the third time Manchester has staged a UFC event (UFC 70 and UFC 105 the previous two) and the 13th time the octagon has landed in the UK. It will also be the second UK event of 2013, after UFC on Fuel TV 7 which took place in Wembley Arena London on 16th February 2013.

Fighters Only has learned from sources involved with the event that the date of the return to the UK is scheduled for October 26th 2013 and booked in the 21,000 capacity Manchester Arena. This will mark the long awaited return to Manchester as the last event UFC 105 was almost four years before this event is scheduled to take place in November 2009.

If the event sells out or gets an attendance of more than just over 17,000 people it will become the most attended UFC event in the UK. I believe with the right card and ticketing pricing strategy it could definitely happen.

With this being the second UFC event in the UK of 2013 it also shows a change to the past couple of years which have only seen one event in the UK in both 2011 and 2012. This will be welcomed by all UK fans as they have been calling for more regular UFC events in the UK.

As of going to print Fighters Only had no specifics regarding the potential bouts for the event, but the event could be shown in the US on the upcoming Fox Sports 1 channel.

While in the UK no news has been announced regarding a new tv deal yet, but I believe the current deal expires in August. If the UFC gets the tv deal in the UK that they have been looking to get for the past couple of years then this event could be one to reward both the new tv station and the UK MMA fans alike.

Keep checking KingdomMMA for the latest news regarding UFC Manchester 2013.