Below is the updated card for UFC 91, scheduled to take place on November 15 in Las Vegas*:
Main Card:
Preliminary Card:
A replacement will need to be found as soon as possible to replace Matthew Riddle at UFC 91, according to MMAjunkie.com; Riddle suffered a serious knee injury which will not allow him to fight in his scheduled bout with Ryan Thomas at the November 15 event. It is believed that Riddle suffered either a meniscus tear or ACL injury, which if found to be the case, could sideline Riddle well into 2009. He is scheduled to go an MRI fairly soon, according to a representative from Riddle’s management team.
Riddle made his splash as a cast member of The Ultimate Fighter 7 by KOing Dan Simmler in an elimination bout; but he would soon lose a fight with Tim Credeur in the following round. He would rebound a few months later with his first professional win over Dante Rivera during TUF 7’s show finale. It is unclear as of this writing as whether a replacement fighter can be found in time to replace Riddle for UFC 91.
Jens Pulver these days can thank the UFC; what I mean by that specifically is that the WEC had, until the UFC purchased the promotion, been rather dormant in promoting the featherweight division. UFC, with the acquisition, has made it a priority of sorts to promote the weight class; as a result, fighters such as Jens Pulver are reaping the benefits. Pulver sat down with Chris Howie of MMANews.com for an interview recently; a variety of topics were discussed, including his upcoming fight with Leonard Garcia at WEC 36, his most recent bout with Urijah Faber and what could happen with him with a win or loss over Garcia. Below are some excerpts from the interview:
Chris Howie of MMANews.com: How are you feeling going into this fight?
Jens Pulver: I feel good. I had some things I wanted to work on and I didn’t want any easy fight, that’s for damn sure. I’m happy to get in there and mix it up with a really tough opponent. I’m excited and looking forward to getting out there and utilizing things I’ve worked on since the last fight.
MMANews.com: How do you feel you match up with Leonard Garcia?
Jens Pulver: I feel I match up well but I feel I match up well with anybody at 145lbs. I’m not too worried about who they are. His conditioning is great but so is mine. I think he is looking to stand up and maybe use the ground if he needs to but more importantly he wants to dictate the pace. My job is to go out there and dictate where I want this fight.
MMANews.com: Do you feel the experience you bring to the ring or cage is a big factor in any of your fights?
Jens Pulver: I would say yes but the reality is that over the last few years it is like I’m the inexperienced guy. Be it just not having the training partners or not changing and getting a good game plan going. I’ve been just trying to do what I’ve got to do and spent too much time trying to counter what everyone else was doing and following their game rather than doing my game plan and ignoring what my opponent is after.
MMANews.com: What have you been doing differently for this fight?
Jens Pulver: One thing that has been different is that me and Pat (Militech) have been together a lot more. I’m still at the same gym and everything but I was training with the lighter guys and going through the motions. As long as I got in shape I really wasn’t worried about it and I left it up to the skills I already had. I had the attitude that it got me a world title once why can’t it again? Reality is, the sport is evolving and I’ve kind of been left in the dust. Right now I am trying to do that and change things up. Me and Pat have worked together more this time than ever before. I’m the old school guy staying at his gym and trying to work it all out.
To see the rest of this interview, click here.
Any good fight promotion will have put together an extensive video library of fights and fighters to reference to when doing fight and/or fighter promotions or simply to be able to fill air time with some fights of interest. HDNet apparently was mindful of that reasoning when they purchased the remaining assets of the now-defunct International Fight League (IFL).
Although the promotion did not last all that long, they have had a wealth of fighters who have without a doubt provided some quality footage that HDNet now possesses – names such as Ben Rothwell, Jens Pulver, Matt Lindland plus many others will no dount be within the archives of the IFL film library. And what did HDNet pay for those remaining assets of the IFL? Only $650,000.
Eleven fights will take place at the Strikeforce: Destruction event, set to take place on November 21 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA; below is the final fight card:
The Ultimate Fighter 8 participant Junie Browning, in what is probably an attempt to rehabilitate his image along with refining his fight game, has joined up with Xtreme Couture, the gym run by UFC fighter Randy Couture, according to MMAWeekly as confirmed by representatives of the gym. As anyone who has watched TUF 8 already knows, Browning was pretty much the fighter everyone loves to hate.
With his move to Xtreme Couture, perhaps Browning can silence his critics as to whether he is taking his budding MMA career seriously. Browning joins an impressive stable of fighters at Xtreme Couture, which includes Tyson Griffin, Gray Maynard and Mac Danzig; also factor in that Couture and coach Shawn Tompkins making their presence felt will only make things better for Browning – assuming that he remains focused and not revert to his TUF 8 self.
WEC 36 is having no luck as of late; first a hurricane forced the event to be postponed until November 5 – although Hurricane Ike didn’t actually affect the Hollywood, FL vicinity. Then there was the injury to Mark Munoz; specifically, Munoz had to pull out due to a knee injury which has put the debut of Steve Steinbeiss in limbo.
Now it appears that one more fighter will be a scratch – Alex Schonauer. Schonauer originally was supposed to face Steinbeiss, but as luck would have it, Schonauer suffered a torn hamstring – effectively cancelling that bout. with less than a week to go, it is unclear if a suitable replacement can be located to replace Schonauer. When further developments become available, Octagon Buzz will have them for you, along with the most up-to-date MMA news.
Boston, Mass. – On November 14th New England MMA fans will be treated to one of the best match-ups the area has ever seen as Nate Kittredge faces Justin Torrey to determine the best Middleweight fighter in the North East. This fight pits the upstart Kittredge, who began training and competing in MMA in 2006, against Justin Torrey who has been training since 1998 and competing since 2003. Although Kittredge has more fights to his record, it’s Torrey who is the more experienced fighter having already beaten the likes of Mat Santos and Alexandre Moreno, two highly touted prospects in the North East. Torrey, a member of the U.S. Marine Corps, has served active duty in Fellujah and is currently receiving training to be a sniper for the U.S. Marines. Torrey has trained at some of the most prestigious MMA gyms in the country including American Top Team, Sityodtong as well as teaching MMA at the Fighting Arts Academy in Wilbraham, MA. Most recently, Torrey also helped Canadian Patrick Cote prepare for his bout with Anderson Silva at UFC 90.
Nate Kittredge has quickly made a name for himself in the North East with a style of fighting that is reminiscent of a young Tito Ortiz, bolting out of the gate and overpowering his opponents with his wrestling and punishing them with vicious ground and pound. The ferociousness and intensity with which Kittredge fights has led him to a 6-1 record and a reputation for being one of the most intense fighters the North East has ever seen. This match will decide who the best middleweight fighter in the North East is and potentially earn that fighter a spot on a Pay Per View event. Kittredge vs. Torrey has the potential to be the biggest MMA fight to date in the North East!!! Don’t miss this opportunity to see the next MMA superstar. Visit www.WCFighting.com for tickets.
About World Championship Fighting: World Championship Fighting is a Boston based company specializing in live Mixed Martial Arts events. With major media coverage by ESPN, NBCsports.com and HDNet, World Championship Fighting has established itself as the premiere Mixed Martial Arts organization on the East Coast. Founded in June of 2006, World Championship Fighting continues to raise the bar of excellence in live Mixed Martial Arts events.
We’ll see you at the fights!
Full Fight Card:
Nate Kittredge (Green Mountain Boys) vs. Justin Torrey (FAA)
Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov (Sit Yod Tong) vs. Wayne Harnois
Jay Fortier (Burgess) vs. Stephen Stengel
Jerry Spiegel vs. Dan Pasquarella (Team Woo)
Dan Ferrer (Santos) vs. Ethan Kean (Ravenous)
John Benoit (Renzo NH) vs. Jon Bermudez (Anubis)
Dan Bonnell (Renzo NH) vs. Dan O’Keefe (MMATC)
Robbie Roberts (Bruteforce) vs. Jim Pitner (USMMA)
Ken Stone (SSSF) vs. Rick Screeton (LA Boxing)
Chad Beane (GMB) vs. Joe McGann (USMMA)
Nate LaMotte (Burgess) vs. Rigo Dominicci (Dominicci)
Chris Canale (F1 Fight Team) vs. Greg Rebello (USMMA)
Bobby Dias (Boneyard) vs. Calvin Kattar (Premier Martial Arts)
Dan Lauzon (Aggression) vs. Justin Hammerstrom (Burgess)
*Fight card subject to change.*
More news to be announced soon!
Visit WCFighting.com for more.
WHERE: Aleppo Shriners Auditorium, 99 Fordham Road, Wilmington, MA 01887
WHEN: Friday, November 14th, 2008. Doors open at 6:30PM, first fight at 7:30PM.
Ticket Prices: $40, $45, $65, $100, $250
Patrick Cote’s title dreams will have to be put on hold for awhile as according to Sportsnet, Cote did in fact tear the meniscus ligament in his right knee; according to their report, Cote informed his corner between the second and third round of his fight with Anderson Silva that he thought that his knee was “done”, but that he would try to continue anyways.
Cote’s manager, Stephane Patry, said that Cote injured the knee a year ago and had re-aggravated the injury about 4 weeks ago; Cote had considered bowing out of the fight with Silva but after a cortisone shot, was cleared to fight. Cote will undergo surgery on the knee after he returns from a brief vacation in Mexico; he is expected to miss between 6-8 months – which will probably eliminate any chance he had of getting a title run, possibly for good.
With the closure of EliteXC last Monday, there is a plethora of free agent talent from those ranks available for promotions with the financial wherewithal to sign them – one of those fighters being Nick Diaz. According to MMAWeekly.com, Cesar Gracie, manager of Diaz and Jake Shields stated that he sent EliteXC a notice on Friday stating that the company had breached their contracts with his clients.
The clause in question in the contract states that should the company (EliteXC) not be able to fulfill the terms of its “promotional and payment obligations”, the fighters can seek to terminate the agreement. eliteXC has 30 days from the date of breach to correct the situation. Gracie, to his credit, is looking for other opportunities for Diaz as he (Diaz) has a clause in his contract that allows him to fight in Japan as long as it does not interfere with his contract with EliteXC.
Furthermore, Gracie said that representatives from both DREAM and Sengoku had approached him about using Diaz; DREAM, ironically, is planning a New Year’s Eve event while Sengoku has an event scheduled for January 4. Regarding Shields, UFC president Dana White has said that he is interested in possibly signing Shields – perhaps as early as late November. When further developments on both Diaz and Shields unfold, Octagon Buzz will bring them to you, along with the most up-to-date MMA news.
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