It appears that Joe Stevenson will face Kenny Florian at UFC 91, scheduled to take place in Boston, MA on November 15, according to Michael Pepper of MMABAY and verified by sources close to Stevenson’s camp. The event will take place in Florian’s hometown, giving him a decided home-field advantage as he is looking to set up a possible title bout against B.J. Penn; meanwhile, Stevenson last fought at UFC 86 in July, earning a win over Gleison Tibau.
Below is the updated fight card for UFC Fight Night 15, set to take place on September 17 and will be televised live on Spike TV*:
According to the Chicago Sun Times in an interview with UFC president Dana White, White announced that the UFC has sold nearly 15,000 tickets for UFC 90, set to take place in Chicago, IL on October 25 and that they will most likely sell out the Allstate Arena - the venue for the event. White is so confident that they will sell out the event that he went so far as to say that UFC 90 will be the biggest sporting event that the fans of Chicago will have ever witnessed. White further added,
”This is a bold statement in a town with the White Sox and Cubs and the Bears, but I guarantee you this will be the most exciting live sporting event you have ever seen. I can’t explain it to you. You have to experience it. Chicago is the biggest pay-per-view market for us, and ratings for Spike TV’s ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ reality show are huge in Chicago. We’re going to beat WrestleMania as the highest-grossing event ever at Rosemont.”
Tito Ortiz, UFC legend and icon. Also loser of his past three bouts. Yet, he is a master showman and puts butts in the seats; apparently other fight promotions, including the American Fight League, Affliction, EliteXC and….are you sitting down? The UFC!! This was first reported by Dan Stupp of the Dayton Daily News. It wasn’t that long ago that Ortiz had stated that a “record-breaking deal” with Affliction would soon be announced; well, as of this writing, there’s been no announcement.
Perhaps it is because of the negotiations with the other promotions - where you just know that Ortiz will command top dollar and probably a long-term contract - that Ortiz has made no such announcement. Although the AFL and Ortiz have confirmed that negotiations have taken place, the promotion isn’t talking numbers - yet; just keep in mind that the AFL signed Tara Larosa to a $500,000 contract - a first in women’s MMA.
As far as if Ortiz is signed by the AFL, it would be a coup of sorts as it would give the promotion the boost and legitimacy it needs to keep up with the EliteXC’s and Afflictions of the world. Oh by the way - if you’re wondering what the deal is with Ortiz negotiating with the UFC, Ortiz isn’t negotiating with UFC president Dana White. This time, he’s talking to UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta - which would greatly enhance his chances for his return to the UFC octagon. When more developments in the Ortiz situation arise, Octagon Buzz will have them, along with the most up-to-date MMA news.
UFC President Dana White announced today that Mike Swick will be an addition to the UFC 90 card, set to take place in Chicago, IL on October 25; an opponent has not been picked for Swick as of this writing. Swick last fought at UFC 85 when he defeated Marcus Davis. As of today, this is how the fight card looks:
When more bouts are added to the UFC 90 card, Octagon Buzz will have them for you, along with the most up-to-date MMA news.
It has been announced by World Victory Road on Tuesday that their fight cards for Sengoku 4 & 5 have been finalized; Sengoku 4 will take place on August 24 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan while Sengoku 5 will take place on September 28 at Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan. Below are the final fight cards for both Sengoku 4 & 5:
Sengoku 4
Sengoku 5
Participants:
Lightweight Grand Prix Series 2008 - 1st Round Participants:
Below is the final fight card for the WCF event, set to take place on September 19 at the Aleppo Shriners Auditorium in Wilmington, MA:
Strikeforce announced on Tuesday (today) that their card will be televised live on HDNet Fights; this will be the third of four cards to be shown on HDNet Fights after the promotion signed a deal with the channel earlier this year; Strikeforce: Payback is set to take place on October from the Broomfield Events Center in Denver, CO. Scheduled to be on the card are Frank Trigg vs. Falaniko Vitale and Duane Ludwig vs. Sammy Morgan; Phil Baroni and Pete Spratt are scheduled to fight on the card as well, with their opponents yet to be named as of this writing. When more matches are added, Octagon Buzz will have them for you, along with all of the other up-to-date MMA news.
In this edition, MMA Fight Weekly focuses on Gilbert Melendez, with the emphasis in this clip on his time spent before, during and after his most recent Strikeforce event.
The rumor that has been floating around was that B.J. Penn would move up to 170 pounds to face Georges St. Pierre in a rematch of their bout in UFC 58 - the difference being that they would fight for a title - and the date would be the New Year’s Eve show that the UFC puts on annually; but according to MMANews.com, there may be a change of plans.
B.J. Penn’s brother, J.D. Penn, spoke to MMANews.com and told them that even though Penn is back in the gym training and looking for a fight in December, nothing is etched in stone as of this writing and it is looking more likely that a fight with St. Pierre will be pushed back until February 2009 when the UFC holds its Super Bowl weekend event.
Perhaps this stems from the fact that St. Pierre has fought 4 times in the past 13 months and he has also expressed a wish to take some time off and not fight again until next year. If the Penn-St. Pierre rematch is pushed back to February of 2009, then it is highly unlikely that Penn will fight in December; however, there is a title defense for Penn against Kenny Florian looming which would mean that Penn would fight in December and February but that is highly unlikely. When there’s some finality to this situation, Octagon Buzz will bring it to you, along with the other up-to-date MMA news.
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