MMA Hot Stuff

TOKYO FIVE TO SPONSOR TUF 9 FINALISTS ANDRE WINNER AND ROSS PEARSON FOR UFC 105

Tokyo Five is going to Manchester to support TUF 9 Finalists Andre Winner and Ross Pearson at UFC 105!!

I will be interviewing both Ross and Andre soon... Check back!

 

UFC Fight Night TUF Finale Drug Tests

Keith Kizer has confirmed, the following fighters were tested fight night: Sanchez, Guida, Johnson, Wilks, Pearson, Winner, Lytle, Stevenson, Blackburn, Osipczak, Guillard and Drwal.

All tests came back negative.

The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale Fight Recap & Results

Wow. Some exciting brawls tonight.

Joe Daddy Stevenson vs Nate Diaz - This was a back and forth match. It went to the judges.  Joe won via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Ross Pearson vs Andre Winner (TUF Lightweight finale) - Ross Pearson won via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) to become "TUF 9" lightweight winner. Honestly, in my opinion this was one of the most boring TUF finale fights. These guys did not fight as though they were fighting for a major contract.

Chris Lytle vs Kevin Burns - I was really looking forward to this fight because Chris is such an exciting fighter to watch. He's always trying to get fight of the night or submission/knock outs of the night. I love how he was "toying" with Kevin. Kevin seemed to gas out somewhat quickly, and Chris would do what looked to be a pretty basic one two combo then step back and do it over and over again. While I actually thought (hoped) Chris was going to take this in the first round, it ended up going to the judges. And just to note, Kevin kneed/kicked Chris in the balls THREE times during the fight. THREE. Who does that? Chris Lytle won via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Damarques Johnson vs James Wilks (TUF welterweight finale) - While Damarques was able to fend off a few early chokes, he was finally caught in a rear naked choke at the very tail end of the first round. Just as the 10 second warning was heard, Johnson tapped.  James Wilks won via rear-naked choke in Round 1, 4:54 to become "TUF 9" welterweight winner.

Diego Sanchez vs Clay Guida

THE MAIN EVENT was one of THE best fights I've seen in a long time. Such different styles yet both FEROCIOUS. In what started out as a serious boxing match, was coupled with superb wresting, tight  armbars and lots of blood. I loved the fight, it was exactly my kind of fight! What I really love is Diego Sanchez just adds even more excitement to one of the best weight classes. Anyway both fighters rocked it. It went the distance and Diego won via split decision split decision (28-29, 29-27, 29-28). These two will definitely meet again at some point.

By the way, I ended up at 106 out of 16046 in UFC Fantasy. How did you do?

The Ultimate Fighter Finale Sanchez vs Guida

Tomorrow night is the much anticipated Finale between Team US and Team UK. Although there will be one fight where it's team UK vs team UK because there are 3 Team UK guys and one Team US appearing in the Finale. Not only will we see the TUF guys fight it out for a contract but we will also see some other great match ups. Below are some of my predictions, winners in green!

Diego Sanchez vs Clay Guida - This has all the ingredients for a spectacular fight. Clay is one of the most ferocious and explosive fighters in the light-weight division. Diego has recently dropped a weight and has shown he's comfortable in the 155 weight class. I'm really looking forward to this fight. Both fighters are coming off of wins (Diego beat Joe Daddy and Clay recently beat Nate Diaz). As far as my prediction goes, I'm going to give the W to Clay. 

Chris Lytle vs Kevin Burns - Kevin is still somewhat new to MMA, however his record isn't too shabby at 7-2 overall and 2-1 in the UFC. If you recall Kevin is the one that fought Anthony Johnson twice. The first fight he won although be-it in a controversial way with his open hand punches. He's going to have a tough fight on his hands as he takes on the veteran (26-17) Chris "Lights Out" Lytle. Chris is coming off a loss against Marcus Davis via split decision but still won Fight of the Night honors. As many of Chris' fights do. I give this fight to Lytle. In fact I'll even say it'll go in the first round by TKO.

Joe Daddy Stevenson vs Nate Diaz - I love the light-weight division. Joe daddy is another veteran of the sport with a record of 29-10 although he's coming off a tough unanimous decision loss against Diego Sanchez. And while Nate doesn't have the depth in his record (10-3) his fights have been explosive winning him fight of the night honors as well as submission of the night.  I'm also excited to see this fight because I think it's going to be a fun match up to watch. I hope this one goes the distance with Joe daddy winning via decision.

DaMarques Johnson Vs. James Wilks - True Team US vs Team UK fighting for the contract in the welterweight division. This will be interesting to watch because as you may recall DeMarques is the guy that had some funny run-ins with Michael Bisping. The water throwing incident. Given the records of both fighters, I'll go with the more 'experienced' one and give the win to DaMarques Johnson. Plus I'd like to see Bispings reaction to the loss.

Ross Pearson Vs. Andre Winner - Team UK vs Team UK fighting for the light-weight contract. I guess this is a win win situation (for Team UK).  Tough to call but I'll go with Ross Pearson on this one.

Good Luck Frank Lester. I can't help but cheer for him. He lost, worked his way back into the house and even though he lost again I'm glad to see him get another chance. I'm hoping this is the fight he wins!

Don't forget to fill out your UFC Fantasy picks!

Event information:

Date/Time:  June 20 9pm ET/PT

TV: Spike TV

Location: If you're in Las Vegas, you're in luck because tickets are still available. The event will take place at the Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort. For tickets, go to ticketmaster.com

The UFC On Spike TV Continues To Knock Out The Competition

The Premiere Of The Ninth Season Of “The Ultimate Fighter” Delivers Best Ratings In Years For Spike TV’s Signature Series

New York, NY, April 3, 2009 - Unlike most television series which suffer ratings decline as they get older, the ratings for “The Ultimate Fighter” are like fine wine, getting better with age.  The season nine premiere of “The Ultimate Fighter: U.S. vs. U.K.” on Wednesday, April 1 drew its highest rating in Men 18-49 since Season 4 (August, 2006) and its most watched season premiere since Season 5 (April, 2007).  The episode also drew more Men 18-34 and 18-49 than anything else on cable in its timeslot (10:15-11:15pm ET/PT), besting all sports competition including the NBA on ESPN.

Overall, the series drew a 1.8 in M18-49, a 2.1 in M18-34, a 2.7 in M25-34, and an average audience of 1.8 million viewers.

This season, the two “Ultimate Fighter” teams are divided based on nationality, with eight mixed martial artists from Great Britain and eight from the United States.   “The Ultimate Fighter 3” champion and top middleweight contender Michael Bisping coaches the Brits, and former concurrent PRIDE champion of the 185 lbs and 205 lbs divisions and U.S. Olympian Dan Henderson, coaches the U.S. squad. 

Prior to the season premiere of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Spike TV aired the first-ever live UFC fight from Nashville, TN headlined by welterweights Carlos Condit and Martin Kampmann.  The “UFC Fight Night” delivered 1.9 million viewers and, like “The Ultimate Fighter,” drew more Men 18-34 and 18-49 than anything in its timeslot (8:00-10:15pm ET/PT).

Overall, the “UFC Fight Night” delivered a 1.7 among M18-49, a 2.1 for M18-34, a 2.7 in M25-34, and attracted an average audience of 1.9 million viewers

Spike TV is available in 97.7 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 http://www.spike.com/press

UFC: TUF 9 Finale to feature Nate Diaz VS Joe Stevenson

GracieFighter.com has confirmed that Nate Diaz will be fighting Joe Stevenson at UFC Fight Night on June 20th, which happens to be the TUF 9 Finale.

The two lightweights and TUF alumni, will both be looking to get back to their winning ways. Diaz is coming off a razor close decision loss to Clay Guida, while Stevenson is trying to bounce back off of a two fight losing streak. Stevenson suffered a loss to Kenny Florian at UFC 91 and another loss to Diego Sanchez at UFC 95.

Speaking of Guida and Sanchez, those two will be facing off as part of the TUF 9 finale as well, making for another exciting lightweight fight.

Diaz VS Stevenson is quite an interesting battle. Both have great Jiu Jitsu, but are polar opposites when it comes to body type. Diaz is tall with long limbs and will clearly have the reach advantage, while Stevenson is short and powerful. This should be a great fight!