[UPDATE: Evans-Henderson and Shields-Woodley are now official]
Winnipeg, Canada will host a UFC event for the first time ever as it welcomes UFC 161 to the MTS Centre June 15, 2013. Known for it’s cold winters, Winnipeg will now become the fifth Canadian city to ever host a UFC show.
UFC officials confirmed the date and location today along with a definite match for the main card.
Fighter Profiles
C.B. Dollaway (13-4)
Cezar Ferreira (5-2)
CageWall Event Page
UFC on FX 8: Belfort vs. Rockhold
Overview
C.B. “The Doberman” Dollaway has resurrected his UFC career with two fairly high profile wins his last two times out. He had lost two in a row prior to this run which put him on the cut bubble, but came back strong with two hard-fought decision wins against Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Daniel Sarafian. Since losing in the TUF 7 finale back in 2008, Dollaway has gone 7-3, collecting two “Submission of the Night” bonuses and one “Fight of the Night” bonus along the way.
[UPDATE: This fight has been moved to UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman]
Fighter Profiles
Tim Kennedy (15-4)
Roger Gracie (6-1)
CageWall Event Page
UFC on FX 8: Belfort vs. Rockhold
Overview
Two very popular fighters coming over from Strikeforce, Tim Kennedy and Roger Gracie, have been matched up and will be making their UFC debuts at UFC on FX 8 in Brazil. Former U.S. Army staff sergeant and expert wrestler vs. BJJ royaly. Classic!
Tim Kennedy had a nice run with Strikeforce where he posted a 4-2 record and fought in some high profile matches. His two losses were in title bouts against Ronaldo Souza and Luke Rockhold, both by unanimous decision and both pretty close fights. Kennedy won his final bout for the promotion though his last time out against Trevor Smith by submission (The Oswald) in the third round. Kennedy’s relentless grappling and top-notch cardio should serve him well in the increasingly competitive middleweight division of the UFC.
Fighter Profiles
Leonard Garcia (15-10-1)
Cody McKenzie (13-3)
CageWall Event Page
UFC 159: Jones vs Sonnen
Overview
A fight that was supposed to happen for UFC 155 back in December, is back on, as Leonard Garcia and Cody McKenzie have been matched up once again.
Leonard Garcia, even though he’s lost his last four fights, will still get his crack at McKenzie. I think it was just too good a matchup to pass up. Garcia goes out there and bangs, and is definitely not afraid of getting hit. So, it’s no wonder he’s still on the UFC roster. His fights have produced four ‘Fight of the Night’ bonuses in the past three years, with his fight against the Korean Zombie earning several ‘Fight of the Year’ nods as well.
Fighter Profiles
Robert Whittaker (10-2)
Colton Smith (3-1)
CageWall Event Page
UFC 160: Velasquez vs. Silva 2
Overview
It’s TUF Smashes vs. TUF 16 as Aussie TUF champion Robert Whittaker takes on American TUF 16 champion Colton Smith.
Robert Whittaker earned his TUF title with two knockouts while in the house and then defeating Team U.K.’s Bradley Scott by unanimous decision at UFC on FX 6, the TUF Smashes finale event. That was actually his only decision win out of 10 career victories. He’s normally a finisher with the other 9 victories ending by knockout or submission.
Wow! What a roller coaster ride that one was. Really amazing last two fights, classics. The card was in desperate need too as we see from Dana White’s tweet right before the Struve-Hunt fight (@danawhite):
“Next to fights hopefully save the night. BRUTAL”
The “Holy &^%^” tweet count from Dana up until that point was 0. Needless to say, we heard a few during the next two fights.
Weigh-ins for ‘UFC on FUEL TV 8: Silva vs Stann’ took place today at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, which also hosts the event. All 22 fighters made weight except for Diego Sanchez who forfeited 20 percent of his fight purse for missing weight.
Fighter Profiles
Sara McMann (6-0)
Sheila Gaff (10-4-1)
CageWall Event Page
UFC 159: Jones vs Sonnen
Overview
Sara McMann, like current women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, has won an Olympic medal. It’s a silver medal in wrestling picked up during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece (Side Note: Earning a medal in wresting, and in Greece nonetheless, is quite an achievement. Imagine if they do away with wrestling? This will have never happened for McMann. Fools better not go through with it). McMann started her MMA career in 2011 and has since won all six of her matches.
Fighter Profiles
Paulo Thiago (14-5)
Lance Benoist (6-2)
CageWall Event Page
UFC on FX 8: Belfort vs. Rockhold
Overview
Paulo Thiago will have his home country fans rooting him on for a much needed win. Brazil’s special police force member has lost 4 of his last 5, but aside from the 1st round knockout at the hands of Siyar Bahadurzada, they’ve all been decision losses. One of the losses, against Diego Sanchez, even won “Fight of the Night”. He’s 32, but watching his last fight against Dong Hyun Kim, that’s not really a factor. Kim was relentless with his grappling attack and Thiago hung in there. It was a horrible fight to watch, and if you’re looking for evidence to justify cutting boring styles of fight, Kim would be the first one to go. I only know that Thiago is still in great shape for him to withstand that attack and it will be great to see him at home fighting for his UFC life.
A star has been born, and now she has the largest talent agency in the world backing her up. The Hollywood Reporter (www.hollywoodreporter.com) broke the news today that UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion, Ronda Rousey, has signed with William Morris Endeavor.
