Top 5 Fights Of April 2011
Source: http://www.fighters.com/05/02/top-5-fights-of-april-2011
Dai Shuanghai Mac Danzig Karen Darabedyan Viacheslav Datsik
Source: http://www.fighters.com/05/02/top-5-fights-of-april-2011
Dai Shuanghai Mac Danzig Karen Darabedyan Viacheslav Datsik
Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/05/07/rick-hawn-confident-on-cusp-of-bellator-welterweight-final/
Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz Luke Cummo Jeff Big Frog Curran Dai ShuanghaiÂ
Source: http://www.fighters.com/05/09/pro-boxing-vs-mma-the-war-that-never-ends-but-honestly-needs-to
Kultar Gill Allan Goes Takanori The Fireball Kid Gomi Akihiro Gono
Filed under: UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, Rankings, Welterweights
It's hard to believe that Georges St. Pierre could win his ninth straight fight, defending his welterweight title in front of 55,000 fans in one of the biggest events in UFC history, and have it feel like something of a letdown. But that is how St. Pierre's unanimous decision victory over Jake Shields felt to many fans: We've seen this so many times -- St. Pierre spending 25 minutes demonstrating that the other man in the Octagon is simply nowhere near as good as he is -- that it's starting to feel routine. And that's not how one of the greatest fighters in history stepping into the Octagon should feel. So are there any challenges remaining in the welterweight division? We'll look at that question as we run down the Top 10 welterweights in MMA.Source: http://mmafighting.com/2011/05/09/mma-top-10-welterweights-few-challenges-in-sight-for-gsp/
Kit Cope Wesley Cabbage Correira Patrick The Predator Côté Randy The Natural CoutureÂ
If contracts mean anything it appears we're closer to Nick Diaz stepping away from MMA to try his hand at boxing. Press releases were sent out today saying the Strikeforce 170-pound champion has signed a deal to fight former 168-pound boxing champion Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy in October.
Lacy's publicist Bernie Bahrmasel said his fighter has signed the deal. ESPN.com's Josh Gross spoke with Diaz's mentor Cesar Gracie, who said the MMA fighter also put pen to paper.
Diaz didn't actually sign a contract to fight Lacy. He's signed a bout agreement with Don Chargin, the promoter, with the understanding that it's going to be Lacy.
It's a surprising matchup on both sides. Lacy, a pro boxer with 30 fights under his belt, has a lot to lose. Diaz, who hasn't lost an MMA bout since 2007, has only fought professionally on the boxing side one time.
"It's a challenge when somebody calls him out," Bahrmasel told Yahoo! Sports. "It's a personal thing when somebody says 'you're this, you're that. I can come and kick your butt.' And Jeff's like, 'I'm Jeff Lacy pal. I've been a successful boxer for a very long time. You want to step in with me under boxing rules and prove yourself, it's absolutely personal.'
Two weeks ago, Lacy (25-4-1) spoke about Diaz calling him out.
"Honestly, I was a little stunned. Nick has accomplished a great deal in mixed martial arts and is certainly one of the best in the sport. But getting in the ring with me for a boxing match is a path he needs to be very wary of taking. I'm willing to put it all on the line anytime, anywhere!" said Lacy.
"For the right price, I'm more than interested in heading to his turf and put my fist in his mouth and silencing him."
That kind of trash talk surprised his publicist.
"For Jeff to use that kind of language, it's not typically the way he talks," Bahrmasel said. "He's always been very respectful. But you throw a sword in his direction then you're going to get Jeff Lacy."
The Lacy Camp has no worries about losing to Diaz (1-0).
"He's never lost to a guy who's 1-0 in boxing. How's that for a line? I'll leave it at that," said Bahrmasel.
Is Diaz taking a negotiating position to ensure an MMA fight against Georges St. Pierre before the end of 2011 or will he really go through with this? That's what it sounded like when Gracie spoke with MMAFighting. Seems like a risky proposition for Diaz. If he gets destroyed by Lacy, we're not so sure he can just walk back to MMA and expect anyone to promote a mega-fight against GSP in the near future.
Source: http://www.mmatko.com/manny-pacquiao-vs-shane-mosley-fight-video-boxing/
Aldrin de Jesus Todd Duffee Marvin Eastman Stav Crazy Bear EconomouÂ
Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/18442/ufc-strikeforce-fighters-get-training-insurance-coverage/
Dai Shuanghai Mac Danzig Karen Darabedyan Viacheslav Datsik
Two welterweight champions defended their belts in April. First, Nick Diaz kept his Strikeforce strap with an exciting, first-round win over Paul Daley on April 9. On April 30, it was the UFC champion's chance, as Georges St-Pierre won a not-so-exciting decision over Jake Shields.
Now that Zuffa owns both the UFC and Strikeforce, wouldn't it make sense to square them off? Diaz is begging for the bout, and their coaches believe it should be next.
Firas Zahabi said that with Diaz still in the wings, GSP still faces enough of a challenge at welterweight to not move up to middleweight. From MMAFighting.com:
"If Georges went up (to 185) right now, he wouldn't have cleaned out the division because there's still Nick Diaz there," Zahabi said. "He's champion, so you can't say he doesn't deserve a shot. I can't confirm anything, but I see it as a possibility. They have two champions. It's always exciting to see two champions go at it. He has a great style. He has beautiful boxing, great jiu-jitsu, and it's very similar to his brother. It's not easy to fight a tall, lanky guy like that. And he's always very busy. It's a whole different style than Jake."
Though Shields and Diaz are training partners, Diaz's boxing background means that he could pose a much bigger threat to GSP's stand-up game.
Cesar Gracie, Diaz's coach, believes that Nick is the man to challenge GSP's safe style. From MMAjunkie.com:
"He's a guy that could press the action against GSP and not let GSP dictate the pace. GSP has been a great champ, and hats off to him. But there has been criticism that he's not really taking risks. With Nick, you have the ultimate risk-taker. He will fight you at your game. He throws caution to the wind, really, because he's more interested in beating you up than winning on points. I think that makes for an intriguing matchup between the two."
In his bout against Daley, Diaz appeared to be in trouble several times because he took chances to try to end the fight. There was no danger like that in the GSP-Shields bout.
Let's face it, both fighters don't have many challenges within their own promotions or weight classes. Their trainers wouldn't suggest these fights if they didn't think it would be good for the fighters and their careers. It's time for GSP and Diaz to fight. Please make it happen, Zuffa.
Source: http://www.fighters.com/04/30/ufc-129s-fight-of-the-night-jose-aldo-vs-mark-hominick
Yahoo! Sports and Heavy.com will host Fight Day Live, a preview show for UFC 129, a record-breaking pay-per-view event at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Join us starting at 6 p.m. ET, 3 p.m. PT on Saturday. Look for Yahoo's own Kevin Iole and Dave Meltzer, Heavy's Matt Brown and MMA Junkie's John Morgan to be joined by UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones, heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez and featherweight contender Chad Mendes.
Noboru Asahi Marcus Aurelio Mikhail Avetisyan Luiz AzeredoÂ