In Other News...

UFC Bans 'Pretorian Hard Sports' Brand

Earlier this week, the UFC sent out a memo to its contracted fighters and their management teams stating that fighters will no longer be allowed to wear or display the  'Pretorian Hard Sports' brand on any of their belongings/clothing at any UFC events (fight nights, pay-per-views, press conferences etc.). The brand has been at the centre of a 'sponsor tax' dispute with the UFC and the fighters contracted to the promotion that they sponsor/represent. Needless to say, this is a major setback for the brand as well as the UFC fighters that they sponsored.

Cerrone To Face Rafael Dos Anjos @ UFC on FS1: 2

Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone has just found out his next opponent. At the 2nd UFC on Fox Sports 1 card, Cerrone will look to gain a second consecutive victory, this time against Brazilian Rafael Dos Anjos. Cerrone enters this upcoming bout sporting an overall 20-5 professional MMA record going 7-2 within the UFC. Dos Anjos on the other hand is sporting a 19-6 overall record with a 8-4 UFC record and is looking to move up in the lightweight division (he is currently ranked #14) by beating the #11 ranked lightweight Cerrone. The fight features alongside Robert 'Bubba' McDaniels vs. Brad Tavares, Kelvin Gastelum vs. Paulo Thiago and main event Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann.

And In Other Unrelated News...

Just a quick shoutout to the 'Let's Go Lakers' Facebook page for giving us a promo on their page. Don't be a stranger and go check them out for all the latest on the LA Lakers and the NBA at large. 

You can reach them here at: Let's Go Lakers Facebook Fan Page

That's it for now guys...

Until next time,

Peace!

Rampage Signs With Bellator

Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson's time with the Ultimate Fighting Championships has officially come to an end. After three straight losses (to UFC Light-Heavyweight champion Jon Jones, Ryan Bader and Glover Texeira, respectively), it didn't look like the UFC figureheads were too keen on extending his contract with them, not that Rampage hadn't been actively looking for a way out in recent years anyways. 

Many marked this as the end of his professional MMA career which had seen him become an extremely famous celebrity in Japan through his days fighting in Pride Fighting Championships before moving on to fight in the World Fighting Alliance and the UFC.

In a move that surprised most of the MMA world, Rampage Jackson signed with Bellator (seen as currently the best MMA promotion in the world, second only to the UFC). It is unsure when he will make his debut for the promotion, however he enters the organisation with a 32-11 record and is rumoured to have signed a contract similar to 'King Mo' Lawal who's contract allows him to make regular appearances on the Total Non-stop Action (TNA) wrestling programme.

I'm not yet sold on whether or not this is a good idea for the former UFC Light-Heavyweight champ, but either way i guess this'll lead most definitely in an interesting direction for him career-wise.

Until next time,

Peace!

Upcoming Fight Cards On The UFC Schedule

Just figured i'd get everybody excited and post up some of the upcoming cards that are on the UFC schedule and highlight some of the fights i can't wait to see.

So here goes...

UFC On Fuel TV 10

Preliminary Card:
- Antonio Braga Neto vs. Anthony 'Lionheart' Smith.
- Caio 'Hellboy' Magalhaes vs. Karlos Vemola.
- Rodrigo Damm vs. Mizuto 'Pugnus' Hirota.
- Ildemar 'Marajo' Alcantara vs. Leandro Silva.
- Godofredo Pepey vs. Felipe 'Sertanejo' Arantes.
- Ronny Markes vs. Derek Brunson.
- Raphael Assuncao vs. Vaughan Lee.

Main Card:
- Rony Jason vs. Mike 'The Warrior' Wilkinson.
- Erick Silva vs. Jason 'The Kansas City Bandit' High.
- Daniel Sarafian vs. Eddie Mendez.
- Thiago Silva vs. Rafael 'Feijao' Cavalcante.
- Antonio 'Minotauro' Nogueira vs. Fabricio 'Vai Cavalo' Werdum.

BLACKZILLA's choices: I'm interested to see how the fight betwen Mike Wilkinson and Rony Jason goes considering both are alumni of different TUF seasons (TUF: Brazil Series 1 and TUF: Smashes, respectively). I'm also hanging out to see the slugfest between Big Nog and Fabricio Werdum. Hopefully, Werdum and Wilkinson pull off the victories, i'd like to see Werdum to work his way back into title contention.

UFC161

Note: This is the UPDATED card after the 'Renan Barao vs. Eddie Wineland' bantamweight title fight was pulled after Barao withdrew due to injury. The change forced the Rashad Evans vs. Dan Henderson into the Main event slot and moved Stipe Miocic (who was originally billed to fight Soa 'The Hulk' Palelei in the prelims) onto the main card for a heavyweight matchup against Roy 'Big Country' Nelson. Soa Palelei has been left without an opponent and will be used as an alternate should any of the heavyweights pull out of the card.

Preliminary Card:

- Yves 'Tiger' Jabouin vs. Dustin 'The Disciple' Pague.

- Mitch 'Danger Zone' Clarke vs. John 'The One' Maguire.

- Roland Delorme vs. Edwin 'El Feroz' Figueroa.

- Sean 'The Punisher' Pierson vs. Kenny Robertson.

- Ryan 'Big Deal' Jimmo vs. Igor 'The Duke' Pokrajac.

- Sam 'Hands Of Stone' Stout vs. James Krause.

Main Card:

- Jake Shields vs. Tyron 'The Chosen One' Woodley.

- Pat 'HD' Barry vs. Shawn 'The Savage' Jordan.

- Alexis Davis vs. Rosi 'The Surgeon' Sexton.

- Roy 'Big Country' Nelson vs. Stipe Miocic.

- Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

- 'Suga' Rashad Evans vs. Dan 'Hendo' Henderson.

BLACKZILLA's choices: I can't wait to see Jake Shields throw down against fellow 'Strikeforce' veteran Tyron Woodley. I see Shields being a better all-round fighter but Woodley has power in his hands and i'd like to see him get the KO/TKO finish. Also, i'm backing 'Suga' Rashad Evans to get the win over Henderson. As much as i am a fan of Hendo, I see youth getting the better of him. Evans has looked a little inconsistent of late, and i'm hoping he can make a statement in this fight. I'm picking Evans by Unanimous Decision.

I'm really looking forward to these two cards and hopefully they can both produce some real solid fights. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Until Next Time, 

Peace!