MMASucka

Yesterday the UFC confirmed UFC on Fuel 2 would be going down on April 14 in Stockholm, Sweden. Today the organization filled the card up significantly by announcing six bouts.

The most recent bout confirmed is a middleweight showdown between Brian Stann and Alessio Sakara. Also reported are bouts between DeMarques Johnson and John Maguire and Papy Abedi facing James Head.

The card is filling up nicely with some local hometown fighters including Besam Yousef  vs. Simeon Thoresen, Magnus Cedenblad vs. Francis Carmont and Jorgen Kruth vs. Cyrille Diabaté.

Tickets have not yet been announced, but look for them to go on sale in the coming weeks.

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The UFC was working to have Brian Stann (11-4) be a part of UFC 144 in Japan. However, Stann told JP Lasaleta of  MMASucka.com that those plans went up in smoke.

“I thought I was fighting on the UFC card in Tokyo. I thought I was going to fight a gentleman by the name of Ikuhisa Minowa or “Minowaman” (51-32-8) and unfortunately, you know, the fight didn’t happen. He actually asked to fight me. I agreed and then for some reason it just didn’t materialize.”

In case you didn’t know, Brian Stann was actually born at Yokota Air Base in Japan but grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania. However, the American hero was really pushing to fight in Japan at the Saitama Super Arena on February 25^th, 2012.

“From what I was told by the UFC, I think they already filled the main card for that one, so there’s not really any room for me anymore.”

There could be a spot ready for Stann on January 28^th in Chicago, Illinois for the UFC’s first four fight show on FOX. The UFC will most likely announce who will be fighting on that card in the coming days. Nothing is for sure but Brian Stann’s involvement would make the most sense. You have a Silver Star Marine who is not only a war hero but a pretty talented fighter. He is somebody the American audience could gravitate to.

There are all kinds of rumors going around on who is going to headline that next FOX event. I don’t believe Stann will be the headliner, but he can definitely add an element to the live broadcast for the casual fan. In the United States the FOX network is as pro-American, pro-business and most of all pro-military as any network can get. Everybody likes a feel good story especially when it involves a military man.

FOX would love to have a military veteran with a story on their broadcast. Tim Kennedy (14-3) is another one of those guys who would fit perfectly for a UFC on FOX card. Kennedy, who was an elite Army soldier and given the Army’s Bronze Star for courage under fire, just recently left Strikeforce and signed with the UFC. Kennedy had put together two impressive back-to-back wins in Strikeforce and is waiting for his first UFC opponent. Currently there is no match up for Stann or Kennedy but expect there to be one announced in the not too distant future.

If you want me to play match maker, I would love to see Brian Stann vs. Alan Belcher (17-6) on FOX. There is no way in hell I would match up Tim Kennedy vs. Brian Stann right now. I would think the UFC would make sure that they don’t have to fight each other in the foreseeable future. Both those guys are extremely marketable and both men help in selling the sport especially to an audience who are watching the UFC for the first time or who have preconceived notions that all MMA fighters are nothing but meat heads. There is also their friendship that could make it difficult to convince them to fight each other, but who knows for sure. I personally don’t see the UFC match makers going down that road just yet.

You could also throw Demian Maia (15-3) into the mix as a possible opponent for either man. For now though Brian “The All American” Stann is on the sidelines waiting for his next opponent and he’s ready to fight now.

“I’m waiting. If someone gets hurt, I’d happily to jump in.  You know, whether it’s Mayhem Miller, Bisping, Vitor or any of those guys. I’m ready to go.”

-Corner Man-

Twitter @tdueckmania

Twitter @mmasucka

With a sport that has been proven time and time again that anything can happen, the UFC 136 bout card was put together to manufacture a guaranteed win for all fans.  If you’re the type that picks and chooses which events to watch at home, this one was a no-brainer to get the most bang out of your 59.99 HD pay-per-view bucks.  We knew that the main event was going to be as epic as a Hollywood movie fight scene.  We knew that Kenny Florian was going to be the toughest test Jose Aldo was going to face.  We knew Chael was going to spit some outrageous banter once he had a chance to grab a mic.  We knew that we were going to want to see Phan versus Garcia fight a third time, even though they haven’t yet fought the second time.  Kudos again to Joe Silva.  A job well done.  Now its my turn to take a crack at picking who’s next for the winners and losers of last night.

Frankie Edgar def. Gray Maynard via TKO (Referee Stoppage) at 3:54 of Round 4

Frankie Edgar proved he is the real life Rocky Balboa.  From fighting a larger, unbeaten machine like Gray Maynard for a third time, to making a come back and win in the fourth round by TKO from a devastating set of knock downs in first round, Frankie Edgar might as well have a movie based on him.  It can be the MMA version of The Fighter but I’d get the Russel Crow / Ridley Scott combination to make it so they get a chance to win an Oscar.

Now that lightweight title log jam is cleared, and Melvin Guillard’s title run has been stopped by Joe Lauzon on this card, it makes sense that the winner of the Ben Henderson vs. Clay Guida fight on the UFC on Fox card in November should get the next crack at the title.  Unfortunately for the UFC lightweight contenders, it looks like Strikeforce Champ Gilbert Melendez might get a chance to cut in line, so long as Dana can navigate around the Strikeforce/Showtime contract red tape.  Although never to have stepped in the octagon, 19-2 Melendez is a worthy opponent that has held a Strikeforce lightweight title since June 2009 and has beaten the world’s best outside of the UFC including Tatsuya Kawajiri, Josh Tompson and the controversial Shinya Aoki.

For Gray Maynard, Anthony Pettis looks to be a logical fight.  Pettis needs a win over a strong opponent to stay in title contention, and the fight would be a perfect place for Maynard to start the long journey back to fight for the belt.

Jose Aldo def. Kenny Florian via Unanimous Decision (49-46,49-46,49-46)

Kenny Florian showed his best title fight performance of his career. Unfortunately, it was not enough to defeat Jose Aldo.  Kenny’s game plan of constantly pushing the champ against the fence and threatening take downs made Aldo think twice about throwing his vicious trademark kicks, but Kenny was unable to connect with any significant strikes.  Aldo was able to take charge of the striking and stifle the take downs to win the decision.

Up next for Aldo is expected undefeated top contender Chad Mendez.  Mendez presents to Aldo the same problems as previous title challenger and Team Alpha Male stable mate Urijah Faber.  A strong wrestling pedigree with a grinding pace. I believe if Aldo can get past Mendez, he may take a serious consideration to jumping up in weight to the much more competitive lightweight division.

Florian’s future is up in the air as he has dropped all three of his title shots and he has other avenues to pursue outside of fighting like his school out in Massachusetts, his MMA analyst position on ESPN and his job as an alternate commentator for the UFC.  If he decides to fight again at featherweight a fight against Roufusport product Erik Koch would make sense to help build a young prospect fighter.  Koch needs one or two wins over top 10 opponents to be next in line for a title shot, and Kenny Florian would be a great test to see if he is truly worthy.

Chael Sonnen def. Brian Stann via Submission (Arm Triangle) at 3:51  of Round 2

Stann only landed on significant punch on Chael. It was a hard body shot that caused Chael to immediately think twice of keeping the fight standing.  The rest of the fight was a Text book Chael Sonnen ground and pound that lead up to the arm triangle submission.  There is barely anyone in the middle weight division who has a chance of stuffing one of Chael’s take downs.  Only person I have in mind would be Mark Munoz, who has defeated Sonnen back in their college wrestling days.

Sonnen versus Anderson Silva is the only fight for Sonnen.  With Sonnen stating “Anderson Silva, YOU SUCK!” in the post fight interview, then offering the loser leaves town match to occur on Superbowl Weekend, it would only make sense for the UFC brass to comply.  I hope Sonnen knows what he is doing in provoking the widely believed number one pound for pound fighter in the world.  A pissed off Silva, is a dangerous one.

Up next for Stann, I’d love to see him fight Okami in Japan.  Both fighters are coming off big losses, and both will be looking to get back on track for a title shot.

Nam Phan def. Leonard Garcia via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Maybe not right away, but I do agree with Joe Rogan to see this fight once a year.  Nam Phan definitively one this match out striking his opponent 195 to 197 (as per FightMetric) but I don’t think anyone really cares who wins or loses this fight with the excitement these guys bring together when they fight.

After watching these guys try to punch each other’s heads off it would be nice change of pace to put them against some talented grapplers.  For Phan I’d pit him against Jacob Volkman.  Volkman is on a 4 fight win streak and had a great dominant performance against Danny Castillo threatening Darce choke after Darce choke. Next for Leonard Garcia Id love to see him fight  Josh Grispi.  They are both on 2 fight losing streaks and looking to bounce back into the winner circle.

Joe Lauzon def. Melvin Guillard via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 0:45 of Round 1

Speaking of classic grappler versus striker matches, the evening started off with Joe Lauzon carrying the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu flag into the fight against the self dubbed “Jiu Jitsu Killer” Melvin Guillard.  This time, BJJ prevailed with J-Lau dropping Guillard with a hard left to the chin en route to a rear naked choke finish.

For Joe Lauzon, another step up in competition like a fight against Evan Dunham would make sense as both have had great last performances.  For Guillard,  Jim Miller would be a great match to give him another crack at a submission specialist.  Both fighters are coming off derailing losses and will be looking to get back on track.

Preliminary Quick Hits

-Jorge Santiago was thrown into the UFC middleweight deep end since coming back from his 11-1 stint outside the UFC.  Loosing to Brian Stann in his UFC return in May and a decision loss at this event to Demian Maia, Santiago is now facing a do or die situation for his UFC career.  Hopefully he will find himself for his next fight and come out with a showing like he did in his second fight against Kazuo Misaki in Sengoku.

- Anthony Pettis edged out a split decision win over very game opponent in Jeremy Stephens.  As mentioned before Pettis versus Grey Maynard would make the most sense for both fighters, but with the possibility of a Strikeforce integration looming,  this gives us a rare opportunity to have a Mortal Kombat style MIRROR MATCH!  Anthony Pettis versus Jorge Masvidal! Both guys are game strikers so it would be an entertaining fight.  I hate to be the judge scoring that if it went to decision just in case I mixed them up.

-When is Joey Beltran going to change is nick name to “the Mexican Zombie”?  Maybe there’s a fight for that title between him and Leonard Garcia.  If that’s the case we can call Joey “El Zombi Grande” and Leonard “El Zombi Pequeño” (translations courtesy of Google Translator)

-Tiequan Zhang is a bit of a one trick Pony.  That Guillotine of his is scary, but I hope he gets more well rounded if he plans on sticking around for the UFC Asian expansion.

-Aaron Simpson had a masterful performance against Eric Schafer.  I was surprised that the submission savvy Schafer didn’t even attempt to even pull guard in the last round where he was clearly behind on points.

-Mike Massenzio had a come from behind win against former WEC light heavyweight champ Steve Cantwell.  On any other card, this would have been a legit contender for fight of the night, but when you have Garcia vs. Phan on the same card, Dana probably had already written the cheque for the FOTN bonus the minute after their bout agreement was signed.

The UFC will be holding a Pre-Fight Press Conference today (Oct.5) for Saturday nights UFC 136: Edgar vs. Maynard 3 event. The Press Conference is scheduled to begin at 9am PT/12pm ET live from The Toyota Center in Houston, which is also where Saturdays card will take place.

Scheduled to attend and take part in the conference are UFC President Dana White, Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard, Jose Aldo, Kenny Florian, Brian Stann and Chael Sonnen.

To view the live stream scroll down and click “Free Live UFC Streams” all streams courtesy of UFC.com

Vitor Belfort has been fighting in MMA professionally since 1996. During the years he has had his fair share of rivalries, but recently Chael Sonnen has opened up a can of worms and Vitor is not too happy about it. Belfort last fought at UFC 133 and came up with Knockout of the Night honors against Yoshihiro Akiyama.

Vitor recently spoke with Tatame.com about Chael Sonnen and how he has completely disrespected Brazil. Sonnen will be taking on Brian Stann at UFC 136 and if he gets through him, i’m sure Vitor would like to take him on at a later date.

I do want (to fight him), I’d really love to fight him, even more because of the crap he’s talked about Brazil. Actually I don’t want to give him this type of attention, I don’t know why everybody keeps paying attention to what this guy says. His time will come, and when it comes, brother, it’s just do the job the way I’d do against any other opponent. Who’s Sonnen? He never done anything, his fights never sells, he doesn’t knock anybody out, he just brings the trash talk show. If he wants to talk, go do another thing.

Is this a fight that you Sucka’s would like to see? I could see this as a pretty good UFC on Fox fight!

Anderson Silva on Saturday further established his claim as pound for pound the best fighter in the world today quite arguably the best ever with his win over Yushin Okami at UFC 134. It was Silva’s 15th overall and 14th in the UFC. When a guy is that dominant in his weight class and disposing of all challengers in his path, the next path would be for a guy to move up in weight and fight guys at that weight class to further cement his legacy in the sport.

UFC President Dana White said after the event on Saturday that Silva still has a few more challengers at 185 and that even includes a superfight with reigning UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St.Pierre. It begs the question: What challengers is White referring too? Mark Munoz? Not seasoned enough and doesn’t have the standup to matchup with Silva. Michael Bisping? Always underachieves in big time fights (Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans come to mind). Dan Henderson? (Lost to Silva via 2 round submission a few years back and at age 41 would be a diffcult weight cut back to 185 like his fight with Jake Shields). What about GSP?

If GSP had the frame to be close in weight to Silva, then the fight would make sense. Silva has fought two times at 205 and has even been rumored in the last year to want to have a heavyweight fight and GSP does not have the standup to even hang with Silva. The fight would be a total mismatch but that is another conversation for another time. So, who is the only opponent for Silva?

That guy would be none other than Chael Sonnen. They fought at UFC 117 and Silva pulled off the victory after getting dominated in the first four rounds by Sonnen, Silva pulled off a submission victory with a triangle armbar with 1:50 left in the fight. The rematch was supposed to happen early this year but Sonnen got suspended by the California State Athletic Commission for testing positive for elevated testosterone levels and the fight got scrapped. Silva defeated Vitor Belfort at UFC 126 and Okami this past Saturday. So why Sonnen?

Sonnen is the only option due to the fact that he gave Silva his toughest test during this run and his wrestling is superior to anyone at 185 and his standup is good enough to where he can just strike enough to keep Silva guessing. But the most important thing is that the fight will get a great buyrate on PPV and the UFC is a PPV business. They both are at the top of the weight class and with Sonnen’s trash talking and the legendary status that Silva has, this is the only logical fight that makes sense for Anderson Silva before what will be an eventual move up to 205. If Sonnen gets by Brian Stann at UFC 136 in October then lets make it happen.

Does that make the most sense or should Silva fight the guys mention in the beginning?

Chael Sonnen has said some crazy things, I mean there is an online quote generator with a bunch of his quotes. This time around he states that if he beats his upcoming opponent Brian Stann at UFC 136, he would like to give up a title shot in order to take on Anderson Silva. This is obviously Sonnen’s tongue in cheek way of saying that Yushin Okami will defeat Anderson Silva and take his title at UFC 134 this upcoming Saturday.

“Dana [White] and I are at a crossroads. Dana wants this to be a number one contender’s match and wants me to fight for the championship. I don’t have anything against fighting my friend Yushin Okami, who will be the champion by then, but I have unfinished business with Anderson Silva. For me, what I am lobbying for, is win or lose, I will fight Anderson Silva next. Anderson will be working his way back up, or I should say working his way down. I’m going to grab him and beat him up anyway, just for laughs, just on principle. Just for my sheer entertainment, I’m going to go slap that guy around. I don’t need his little tin belt. I’m already the champion. -Chael Sonnen stopped by Bruce Buffer’s “It’s Time” radio show on The Sherdog Radio network. To read more from this interview head over to Sherdog.com

Should Chael Sonnen get a shot at Anderson Silva, title or not? Comment below.

On October 8th at UFC 136 Chael Sonnen will make his much anticipated return to the octagon since his loss to Anderson Silva and his suspension this past August. Sonnen will face-off against American hero and US Veteran Brian Stann.

Prior to the fight Sonnen sat down with CSN Washington’s “The Fight Fix” and spoke about his upcoming fight with Stann.

“I’m a huge Brian Stann fan.  If he never fought again, he’d have my utmost respect.  He called me on the phone and told me to do something, I’d go do it.  Brian Stann is a leader, he’s a leader of men.  He’s a leader over guys like me and I’m a leader and I look up to him.  That’s not meant to compliment him or make him look good if he sees it, that’s just the truth.  Everybody that comes in contact with him – he’s a very special human being.  They don’t make a lot of people like him.  Dana White, Brian Stann- that’s how the respect order of this company goes.  That’s how well he’s respected by guys.  He respected by employees.  He respected by guys that sign his paycheck.  When I get a fight, when they call me and say ‘Hey you wanna fight so and so?’  The answer is yes, but, behind the scenes, I call my mom, I call my sister.  I tell them what’s going on.  I call my brother-in-law in Clifton.  I sit down with my  coaches.  Even if it’s over the phone, we just have a quick ‘Hey we wanna do this, right?  We can come p with something and have success out there.’  It was different with Brian.  I drew his name out, I said ‘Oh, gosh no!’  I couldn’t sleep.  I went to Brian Stann.  I never contact an opponent.  Nobody contacts an opponent.  That breaks every unwritten rule there is.  I contacted Brian.  I said ‘Hey listen I can’t sleep.  I’m so bothered by this news and it caught me out of left field I don’t know what to do here.’  And Brian Stann wrote me back and he said ‘Chael, yeah it did come out of nowhere, but, with all the things going on in the world today, us fighting for up to 15 minute just doesn’t matter.  It’s just not a big deal.’ -Brian

That’s a very private email, but I’m sharing it because of the message there.  He’s a leader, he’s a leader of men.  He’s led men into battle.  He’s now leading his own opponent into battle.  It’s the right thing to do.  It’s what the company asks us to do.  It’s what the division needs.  We’re 2 of the top guys.  I am the world champion.  He is my #1 contender.  I’m going to defend my championship for the 1st time against Brian Stann.  And I’m doing it because he told me it’s the right thing to do.  I think that’s very interesting.  I’ve never been in that spot before.” – Transcription provided by The Underground