Mixed martial arts news covering the UFC, WEC, Strikeforce & more

<B>By MATT BOONE<BR>
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer</B><BR><BR>

Kevin Sornatale from Spike TV sent along the following to MMANEWS.com …<BR><BR>

<CENTER><B>SPIKE TV TO SHOWCASE ENGLAND’S TOP MIXED MARTIAL ARTS FIGHTERS IN “UFC 120: BISPING VS. AKIYAMA”<BR>
ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16<BR>
“The Ultimate Fighter 3” Champ Michael Bisping Takes On Japanese Sensation Yoshihiro Akiyama In The Main Event<BR>
Welterweight Contender Dan Hardy Battles Carlos Condit In Co-Feature</CENTER><BR><BR>

New York, NY, July 29, 2010 –</B> Great Britain’s best mixed martial artists will be on display as the UFC heads across the pond for an action-packed pay-per-view quality fight card airing on Spike TV (same day tape) on <B><U>Saturday, October 20 at 9:00pm ET/PT</B></U> emanating from the O2 Arena from London, England. In the main event, the first British winner of “The Ultimate Fighter”, Michael Bisping (season 3), takes on Japanese superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama in an international middleweight clash. For the co-feature, Nottingham, England’s tough-talking Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy takes on American Carlos Condit in a welterweight contest.<BR><BR>

Michael “The Count” Bisping (20-3), fighting out of Manchester, England with the Wolfslair MMA Academy, was the victor in “The Ultimate Fighter 3” under the tutelage of coach Tito Ortiz in 2006. Bisping won two of his next three fights in the Octagon® before dropping down in weight class from light heavyweight to middleweight, where he proceeded to win his next three contests including a victory over Chris Leben at UFC 89 in front of his fellow countrymen in Birmingham, England. Since then, Bisping has continued to fight the 185 lb division’s toughest competitors, including Wanderlei Silva, Dan Miller, Dan Henderson and Denis Kang.<BR><BR>

One of Japan’s finest mixed martial arts fighters, Akiyama (13-2, 2 NC) was the winner of the 2001 Asian Championships and 2002 Asian Games in judo. He made an impressive debut in the UFC at UFC 100 last July with a split-decision victory over Alan Belcher, earning “Fight of the Night” honors. Following a tough loss to Chris Leben at UFC 116, which also earned him a “Fight of the Night” bonus, Akiyama needs a victory over Bisping to continue his path to a title shot.<BR><BR>

One of the world’s top welterweights, Hardy (23-7, 1 NC) most recently faced UFC champ Georges St. Pierre at UFC 111 in March. “The Outlaw,” in the biggest fight in his career, dropped a hard-fought five-round decision to the legendary Canadian fighter. Prior to his title shot, the 28 year-old Briton won his first four fights in the Octagon®, defeating such UFC notables as Akihiro Gono, Marcus Davis, Rory Markham, and Mike Swick. A victory over Condit furthers his quest for another shot at the coveted belt.<BR><BR>

Condit (25-5), who trains in Albuquerque, New Mexico with the renowned Jackson’s MMA team, is one of the division’s top contenders. Despite being only 26, Condit is a mixed martial arts veteran and was the last man to hold the WEC welterweight belt. He has fought many of the sport’s biggest names including Martin Kampmann, Frank Trigg and Jake Shields.<BR><BR>

Rising mixed martial arts star John “The Hitman” Hathaway (14-0), a former rugby player from Brighton, England, is a perfect 4-0 in his UFC career including an eye-opening decision victory over Diego Sanchez at UFC 114 in May. He will be tested by 11-year-veteran Mike “Quicksand” Pyle.<BR><BR>

Fighting out of Las Vegas, Pyle (19-7-1) is a former WEC welterweight champion who is known for his world-class submission game and over a decade of pro MMA experience. Pyle most recently defeated Jesse Lennox via triangle choke submission in June at UFC 115.<BR><BR>

The Spike telecast will open with a welterweight battle between “The Ultimate Fighter 9” winner James “Lightning” Wilks (8-3) from Leicestershire, East Midlands, England and Canadian Claude Patrick (12-1). Wilks, who defeated DaMarques Johnson last June in “The Ultimate Fighter 9” finale, most recently defeated Peter Sobotta at UFC 115 in June. His opponent, Patrick, fighting out of Toronto, was victorious in his recent Octagon debut, defeating Ricardo Funch via submission at UFC 115 in June.<BR><BR>

Also on the fight card, a heavyweight showdown between Paris, France native Cheick Kongo (25-6-1) and undefeated Travis Browne (10-0). Kongo is returning to the arena where he enjoyed his finest moment in the Octagon, a decision victory over Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 75. Kongo recently scored an impressive over Paul Buentello in March. A native of Hawaii, the imposing 6’7 Travis Browne won his UFC debut in June over James McSweeney with a first round TKO.<BR><BR>

Other bouts might air depending available time:<BR><BR>

Cyrille Diabate (17-6-3) vs. Alexander Gustafson (9-1)<BR>
Stanislav Nedkov (11-0) vs. Steve Cantwell (7-3)<BR><BR>

Spike TV is available in 98.6 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV's press site at www.spike.com/press.<BR><BR>

<B>By MATT MOLGAARD<BR>
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer</B><BR><BR>

For such an insanely significant card, that could potentially outline the future of more than one division, it’s a true mystery as to why Zuffa and Versus have failed so miserably in the promotion of this event. Perhaps the big dogs fear Jon “Bones” Jones isn’t a large enough draw to headline an event at this point, and overextending the promotional bucks for this particular bill is a waste of time and paper. Hell, they may well be correct if that is indeed a contributing factor to UFC on Versus 2’s promotional neglect. But today’s actions ultimately hold bearing on tomorrow’s fate. And with highly touted prospects Jon Jones, Jake Ellenberger, John Howard and Mark Munoz all taking to the cage in hopes of continuing their divisional escalation, it’s practically criminal to disregard this promotional installation in such fashion.<BR><BR>

Takanori Gomi Vs Tyson Griffin: We’ve got to be honest with ourselves here: Takanori Gomi Version 2010 isn’t the same freak of nature that launched a wrecking ball through the lightweight division five years ago. As Gomi adds the mileage to his body, his technical deficiencies have become far more identifiable, and his sharpest tools have begun to dull. His biggest problem? A few of Gomi’s growing weaknesses happen to be Tyson’s blossoming strengths. Expect Griffin’s wrestling to be just a little too much for Gomi as the fight wears on. Factor the wrestling in with Tyson’s well calculated striking and potentially fight ending abilities while working in the scrambles and you’ve got a recipe for yet another Takanori Gomi defeat. He’ll likely hang on to see the final bell, but Tyson Griffin will exit the cage with the unanimous decision victory.<BR><BR>

Jake Ellenberger Vs John Howard: This fights got more question marks stuck to it than the Riddler’s hideous outfit. The only answer it will likely provide is who the more advanced prospect is, because make no mistake about it: these two are legit prospects. Ellenberger is entering this fight on the heels of two extremely impressive bouts. While his UFC debut resulted in a close split decision loss to Carlos Condit, he hurt the former WEC champion multiple times in the fight and showed some excellent striking en route. His second opponent, another welterweight standout, Mike Pyle was pounded out in less than two full rounds. John Howard on the other hand now has four back-to-back victories fighting for the UFC, and has shown an ability to finish fights in impressive and brutal fashion. While Howard looks to have the slight edge in momentum, I’m going to pick Jake Ellenberger by surprise third round knockout.<BR><BR>

Yushin Okami Vs Mark Munoz: And here is where the fun ends for the future stars. Munoz has an excellent wrestling base, and he’s proven he’s got power in his hands, especially if he can position himself properly to deliver some clean ground-and-pound. The problem is, just about everything Munoz does well, Okami does better. Mark will have his moments early in the fight, but Yushin will prove to the world he’s still a genuine threat at 185 pounds. I foresee an Okami TKO in round two after the often overlooked Japanese product secures mount, and lets those fists fly.<BR><BR><!–more-break–>

Jon Jones Vs Vladimir Matyushenko: While this bout will act as the evenings true talent showcase, it likely won’t match the excitement of Ellenberger/Howard. That’s not to say this clash shouldn’t be exciting, because it most definitely will be, but only as long as “Bones” allows the bout to continue. Matyushenko’s best days are now well behind him. Once a legitimate top 10 light heavyweight, Vladdy has now lost a step or two, and (recent) tough bouts with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Eliot Marshall, and Jason Lambert aren’t adding any more longevity to an already decorated career. Bones on the other hand has looked near flawless in his 11 bout career with the exception of his blunder against Matt Hamill, whom Jones was destroying before being disqualified for dropping an illegal elbow or two. It may appear competitive for about 90 seconds, but Jones will quickly take over. Bones takes home another win with a late first round TKO stoppage.<BR><BR>

Though Zuffa may not be overtly concerned with this card, there’s serious reason to tune in, as the divisional standings could possibly see some shifts occur come August 1st, and a few explosive stoppages are more likely than not considering some of the match-ups Joe Silva has assembled. All in all, I expect one of the better free UFC events in recent memory, it only remains to be seen just how many will check this card out, considering legions of casual fans don’t even know of it’s existence thanks to the little promotional engine that couldn't pushing this card.<BR><BR>

Every summer since 2006, former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz has cleared time from his schedule to visit Phoenix, Arizona, and work with United Blood Services on their annual blood drive, and this Saturday, July 31st, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” expects a bigger turnout than ever before for Ultimate Blood Drive V.