UFC Pros/Cons
Just like WWE and TNA Pros/Cons. I'll start it off.
"The Crippler" Chris Leben
Just like WWE and TNA Pros/Cons. I'll start it off.
"The Crippler" Chris Leben
It looks like fight fans are going to have yet another long wait to see the new UFC heavyweight champion in action.
That's because Cain Velasquez has apparently suffered a shoulder injury and is looking at six to eight months on the shelf.
From an MMAFighting.com report:
That's a wrap.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight Champion, hall-of-fame inductee and dancer with the stars, Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell, has officially retired from the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA).
But he's not leaving the cage empty handed.
UFC President Dana White today announced that Liddell has accepted an executive position within the world's largest fight promotion, becoming the new UFC Vice President of Business Development.
credit: www.mmajunkie.comTrainer: UFC champ Velasquez out a minimum of 6-8 months with torn rotator cuff
Heavy speculation that UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez (9-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) would make his first title defense against Junior Dos Santos in Toronto came to naught today with news that Velasquez is on the bench with an injury.
American Kickboxing Academy trainer Javier Mendez today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the champ injured his right shoulder during a winning bid for Brock Lesnar's title at UFC 121, though he declined to disclose it at the time because the severity of the injury was unknown after an initial MRI.
When a second MRI this past week revealed a badly torn rotator cuff which could bench Velasquez for a minimum of 4-6 months – if not longer – a defense in April became unrealistic.
News of the injury was first reported today by MMAFighting.com, who confirmed the injury with UFC president Dana White.
Although disappointed, Velasquez is optimistic about his recovery and wants to undergo surgery as soon as possible, Mendez said. Velasquez's rotator cuff is 90 percent torn and will need extensive physical therapy.
"That's the fight game," the trainer said. "You've got to expect that in this trade."
The UFC was made aware of the injury following UFC 121 and put the brakes on a Velasquez vs. Dos Santos showdown. Dos Santos manager Ed Soares could not be reached for comment on the injury development, and it's unknown at this time whether the UFC will forge ahead with another bout for the challenger.
An interim title situation would also seem premature at this point. White anticipated Velasquez would return in summer 2011.
Mendez, however, thinks that timeline might be a bit too charitable.
"They say the rehab on that type of injury is going to take anywhere from 4-6 months," he said. "Then from there he's got to get fight-ready."
So for now, the top of the heavyweight division is in flux. Meanwhile, a welterweight title match between reigning champ Georges St-Pierre and challenger Jake Shields could headline the UFC's first trip to Toronto, possibly UFC 129, in April at the Rogers Centre.
Unbeaten inside the octagon, Velasquez stormed his way to a title shot with six consecutive victories and took the belt from Lesnar with a first-round beatdown.
Hold your horses, whippersnappers; nobody's retiring just yet.
MMAFighting.com reports that former UFC Light-Heavyweight Champions Lyoto Machida and Randy Couture have verbally agreed to throw down at UFC 129 on April 30.
A cryptic Twitter post seemed to indicate that "Captain America" had packed his bags for Hollywood, but he later clarified that he would gladly accept a fight with either "Shogun" Rua or the previously mentioned Machida.
Looks like he may be getting what he wanted.
"The Natural" is coming off a submission win over bloated braggart James Toney back at UFC 118 and has won three straight as his career winds to a close.
Can he slay "The Dragon" before he leaves for good?
With the recent announcements of booked match-ups including Fedor Emelianenko vs Antonio Silva and Alistair Overeem vs Fabricio Werdum, that left two fights and four competitors to be sorted out.
According to MMAFighting.com, the final two bouts will see Josh Barnett vs Brett Rogers and Andrei Arlovski vs Sergei Kharitonov.
It looks like Strikeforce may have put together the tournament that many thought impossible.
There are certainly a few hurdles still to overcome. The Barnett vs Rogers match-up is contingent on "The Baby-Faced Assassin" getting licensed to compete. His re-scheduled hearing with the California State Athletic Commission is set for next month.
Starts Feb 12th with Silva/Fedor