UFC 127 upset: Siver shocks lightweight title contender Sotiropoulos

The UFC has excellent depth in its lightweight division. Denis Siver proved that tonight.

George Sotiropoulos, on the verge of locking up a shot at the UFC lightweight title, rolled the dice by taking a fight in his homeland against the Russian fighting out of Germany. Sotiropoulos, an excellent jiu-jitsu practitioner, found it impossible to get the thick 5-foot-6 Siver to the ground. Meanwhile, Siver threw nasty kicks and punches for 15 minutes, even flooring Sotiropoulos in the middle of the first on his way to unanimous decision victory, 30-28, 30-27 and 29-28, at UFC 127 in Sydney, Australia.

"He was very strong," Sotiropoulos said. "He threw some heavy shots that landed, and I felt them.

Entering the fight, Siver (18-7) appeared to have so-so UFC record at 6-4, but he's improved massively since his early days with the promotion back in 2007. Tonight, was his crowning moment as he showed off solid takedown defense. In Siver's previous 10 fights, his opponents were 8-of-9 on takedown attempts. Sotiropoulos was 0-for-10. Siver has now won 7-of-8 overall.  

"My plan was to continue fighting and take him down, but he defended it well. His defense was really good, and the leg was a little slippery at that point, so it was hard to get a good grip on it," said Sotiropoulos.

Sotiropoulos (14-3, 7-1 UFC) came into the fight without a loss in the UFC. With 2010 wins over Joe Stevenson, Joe Lauzon and Kurt Pellegrino, he stormed into the top five of the promotion's lightweight ranking. After the Aussie beat Lauzon in late November at UFC 123, he insisted on being placed on this card just 13 weeks later. Siver turned out to be an awful matchup.  

Sotiropoulos was a minus-330 favorite. 

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-127-upset-Siver-shocks-lightweight-title-co?urn=mma-326863

David Baron  Phil Baroni Don Barr Pat Barry  Vitor Belfort 

Phil Davis stepping in for Tito Ortiz at Ultimate Fight Night 24

Phil Davis is getting his shot to move into the upper echelon of the UFC's light heavyweight division. The undefeated fighter is stepping in for Tito Ortiz at Ultimate Fight Night 24 and will take on Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Ortiz, who was last seen in a Twitter spat with Forrest Griffin, reportedly suffered a cut in training that forced him to withdraw from the fight. 

Ortiz's cut is Davis' opportunity. He had originally been booked for a fight with Jason Brilz, but now is headlining the UFC's stop in Seattle as well as taking on a respected veteran in "Little Nog."

Davis had a breakout year in 2010, fighting four times and winning four times. He topped off the year with a Submission of the Night with over Tim Boetsch at UFC 123. When he last spoke with Cagewriter, Davis laughed off the idea of a title shot. But Davis has a chance to make a big step towards the top of light heavyweight division with a win over Nogueira. 

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Phil-Davis-stepping-in-for-Tito-Ortiz-at-Ultimat?urn=mma-324097

Aleksander Emelianenko Fedor Emelianenko Yasubey Enomoto Mark Epstein Tom Big Cat Erickson

Paul Daley delivers, Ricco Rodriguez keeps rolling at BAMMA 5

After sauna issues stymied the weight-cutting process a day earlier it no doubt came as a relief to fans, fighters, and the promoter when Saturday?s BAMMA 5 went off without a hitch in Manchester including a pair of successful showings from the card?s co-headliners. Former UFC heavyweight champ Ricco Rodriguez continued his winning ways and [...]

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2011/02/27/paul-daley-delivers-ricco-rodriguez-keeps-rolling-at-bamma-5/

Matt Hamill Volk Han Joachim Hansen Antoni Hardonk Dan Hardy

White UFC 127 vlog: Recovering from broken eye, Koscheck is surfing!

Dana White's latest vlog takes the viewer from Hawaii to Sydney. White arrives in Australia and hits Bondi beach where UFC fighters and Octagon girls are surfing.

That's right Brittney Palmer and Arianny Celeste are soaking wet in bathing suits (3:00 mark).

The craziest scene is seeing Josh Koscheck emerging from the water (4:05 mark).

That's the same Koscheck, who suffered a broken orbital bone against Georges St. Pierre at UFC 124 in early December. Koscheck tells White the eye is doing fine but he still feels numbness on the right side of his face and teeth at times. He's surfing? That's nuts. Koscheck says he still has five months of recovery ahead. 

On a side note, Tiki Ghosn also saved White's life ... twice (2:08 mark).

Check out the entire UFC surfing Tracy Lee gallery. Don't forget you can watch UFC 127 right here on Yahoo! Sports. 

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/White-UFC-127-vlog-Recovering-from-broken-eye-?urn=mma-326518

Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger 

5 Reasons Why Brian Ebersole Could Beat Chris Lytle

Although it?s lost a bit of its value due to Carlos Condit being forced off the card, UFC 127 ?Penn vs. Fitch? features another major Welterweight showdown besides the eponymous main event: Chris Lytle vs. Brian Ebersole. For Lytle, this is another big, important step on the comeback trail that has seen “Lights Out” put [...]

Source: http://www.fighters.com/02/24/5-reasons-why-brian-ebersole-could-beat-chris-lytle

Sean Gannon Edgar Garcia Leonard Garcia Andrew Gardner Tiki Ghosn

UFC 127 ?Penn vs. Fitch? Results, Wrap-Up, Bonuses & Live Gate

UFC 127 took place earlier this evening at Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia. In the main event, BJ Penn and Jon Fitch met for a potential welterweight title shot. Michael Bisping took on Jorge Rivera in the co-main event. George Sotiropolous looked to take another step up the lightweight ladder against Dennis Siver. Kyle Noke [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmaconvert/~3/a2iPpF2L5_M/

Peter Graham Forrest Griffin Tyson Griffin Karn Grigorian Karen Grigoryan

Phil Davis stepping in for Tito Ortiz at Ultimate Fight Night 24

Phil Davis is getting his shot to move into the upper echelon of the UFC's light heavyweight division. The undefeated fighter is stepping in for Tito Ortiz at Ultimate Fight Night 24 and will take on Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Ortiz, who was last seen in a Twitter spat with Forrest Griffin, reportedly suffered a cut in training that forced him to withdraw from the fight. 

Ortiz's cut is Davis' opportunity. He had originally been booked for a fight with Jason Brilz, but now is headlining the UFC's stop in Seattle as well as taking on a respected veteran in "Little Nog."

Davis had a breakout year in 2010, fighting four times and winning four times. He topped off the year with a Submission of the Night with over Tim Boetsch at UFC 123. When he last spoke with Cagewriter, Davis laughed off the idea of a title shot. But Davis has a chance to make a big step towards the top of light heavyweight division with a win over Nogueira. 

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Phil-Davis-stepping-in-for-Tito-Ortiz-at-Ultimat?urn=mma-324097

Gregor Gracie Ralek Gracie Renzo Gracie Rickson Gracie Rodrigo Gracie

?UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch? Results and Recap

“UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch” took place inside the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia. Former multi-divisional champion BJ Penn faced Jon Fitch in the card’s featured attraction. The welterweights were battling for next dibs at the welterweight crown. After 15 grueling minutes of action, two of the three judges deemed there wasn’t enough evidence inside [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/69154/ufc-127-penn-vs-fitch-results-and-recap/

Ebenezer Fontes Braga Chris Brennan Marcelo Brito  Rob Broughton  Mike Brown