Renan Barao and Michael McDonald, all smiles, for now anyway

Weigh-ins for ‘UFC on FUEL TV 7: Barao vs McDonald’ took place today at Wembley Arena in London, England. All 24 fighters made weight.

A pretty high energy weigh-in today. The British fighters naturally got the loudest roars. Matt Riddle naturally got the loudest boos. He threw up two peace signs though, so maybe this whole Riddle vs The U.K. feud will die down. I sincerely hope not though and that he calls out another Brit if he was to beat Mills. Best stare-down of the night goes to Cub and Dustin, intense. Best weigh-in outfit of the night goes to new Octagon girl Carly Baker, of course.

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Vitor Belfort vs. Luke Rockhold Poster

Fighter Profiles
Vitor Belfort (22-10)
Luke Rockhold (10-1)

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UFC on FX 8: Belfort vs. Rockhold

Overview
Vitor Belfort will once again headline a UFC event in Brazil. This time it will take place at the Arena Jaragua, which is located in Jaragua do Sul, Santa Catarinain.

Vitor is coming off a “Knockout of the Night” performance against Michael Bisping at UFC on FX 7 in Sao Paulo. It was a huge win for “The Phenom”, who continues to win big fights and remain in contention for title shots. Following the Bisping fight, Vitor basically called Chael Sonnen a boob and then indicated that he should get another shot at Jon Jones. A win over Rockhold might just get him one.

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Diego Brandao vs. Pablo Garza Poster

Fighter Profiles
Diego Brandao (15-8)
Pablo Garza (12-3)

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UFC on FUEL TV 9: Gustafsson vs. Mousasi

Overview
Man, do I really love this matchup. Two of the most dynamic and powerful featherweights in the business. It should make for a very fast-paced and exciting fight.

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[UPDATE: Nah-Shon Burrell replaces injured Amir Sadollah against Stephen Thompson, new match added to UFC 160 in Las Vegas, May 25]

Fighter Profiles
Amir Sadollah (6-4)
Stephen Thompson (6-1)

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UFC 160: Velasquez vs. Silva 2

Overview
Amir Sadollah tries to get back on the winning track after a loss to Dan Hardy at UFC Nottingham by unanimous decision. It was a tough loss for Sadollah who’s now dropped two of his last three. Amir has been with the UFC for his whole 10-fight career. He won TUF 7 back in 2008 and it’s been and up and down ride since then. He’s a very tough opponent with an aggressive style so we should see a good fight between these two.

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Luke Rockhold

The UFC announced today that Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort (22-10) and final Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold (10-1) will headline a major UFC event in Brazil, with the second quarter of 2013 being the target timeframe.

UFC President Dana White today confirmed the plans while in London and also added that a date and venue have not been determined yet for the fight.

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Renan Barao and Michael McDonald

The pre-event press conference for this week’s UFC on FUEL TV 7 took place today in Hook’s Gym at The Royal Leisure Park in London, England. Attendees included Dana White and fighters Renan Barao, Michael McDonald, Cub Swanson, Dustin Poirier, Jimi Manuwa, Cyrille Diabate, Matt Riddle and Che Mills.

The YouTube (also available at http://www.ufc.com/media/FUEL7-presser):

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[UPDATE: FIGHT CANCELLED due to injury suffered by Alistair Overeem while training. More info. at: Alistair Overeem injured during training, pulls out of UFC 160 fight with Junior dos Santos]

Fighter Profiles
Junior dos Santos (15-2)
Alistair Overeem (36-12-0-1)

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UFC 160: Velasquez vs. Silva 2

Overview
Junior dos Santos looks to rebound from his title loss to Cain Velasquez at UFC 155. Fortunately for him, he will have Alistair Overeem to take his frustrations out on. He was ready to fight Overeem, and wanted to fight Overeem, but Overeem’s suspension got in the way. Hopefully, the fight will go down without incident and I’m pretty sure we will see a very determined dos Santos enter the Octagon May 25th. The Cain loss was his first in the UFC and only the second of his career. Junior was in the process of clearing out the heavyweight ranks before the loss to Cain. With a win over Overeem, it’s highly likely that he’ll get another shot at Cain and then continue his work clearing out heavyweights again.

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Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva

Fighter Profiles
Cain Velasquez (11-1)
Antonio “Big Foot” Silva (18-4)

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UFC 160: Velasquez vs. Silva 2

Overview
Cain Velasquez is champion once again, and I’m sure this time he hopes to remain champion for more than one defense. Velasquez knocked out Brock Lesnar back in 2010 to win the belt for the first time, but then lost it to Junior dos Santos trying to defend it for the first time. Cain was just coming off a rotator cuff injury though, and didn’t look as confident as he normally does.

Cain wanted a rematch, but instead went on to fight Antonio Silva to re-establish himself for another title shot. The match with Silva didn’t last too long though as Cain opened up Silva early and proceeded to knock him out in a bloody mess of a first round.

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Nah-Shon Burrell vs. Yuri Villefort

Fighter Profiles
Nah-Shon Burrell (8-2)
Yuri Villefort (6-1)

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UFC 157: Rousey vs Carmouche

Overview
With the ‘Chad Mendes vs. Manny Gamburyan’ fight dropping off the UFC 157 card, the UFC has filled the gap with a pair of ex-Strikeforce fighters, Nah-Shon Burrell and Yuri Villefort. The two were expected to face each other on September 29, 2012 at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Healy, but the event was cancelled due to headliner and lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez getting injured. They will now face each other at UFC 157.

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Justin Lawrence vs. Daniel Pineda

Fighter Profiles
Justin Lawrence (4-1)
Daniel Pineda (17-9)

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The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale

Overview
Justin Lawrence made his first appearance with the UFC as a cast member of TUF 15: Live. He was the first overall pick by Dominick Cruz but lost in the quarterfinals to eventual winner Michael Chiesa. Lawrence came back in a huge way at the show’s finale where he won both “Knockout of the Night” and “Fight of the Night” with his brilliant head kick KO of John Cofer. He suffered a setback last time out though at UFC 150 where he was knocked out in the second round by fellow young gun Max Holloway. Lawrence dropped down to featherweight for that fight and even though he lost, at 22, he’s got all the skills to wreak havoc in that division.

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