UFC 127 picks, Vegas-style: Can Penn avoid a Fitch decision win?

UFC 127 betting odds (Courtesy Lagasse Stadium): 

B.J. Penn (+160) vs. Jon Fitch (-190) - Welterweight
Jorge Rivera (+240) vs. Michael Bisping (-320) - Middleweight
Denis Siver (+250) vs. George Sotiropoulos (-330) - Lightweight
Brian Ebersole (+240) vs. Chris Lytle (-320) - Welterweight
Chris Camozzi (+150) vs. Kyle Noke (-180) - Middleweight
Spencer Fisher (+120) vs. Ross Pearson (-150) - Lightweight
James Te Huna (+170) vs. Alexander Gustaffson (-200) - Light heavyweight
Riki Fukuda (-130) vs. Nick Ring (Even) - Middleweight
Jason Reinhardt (+170) vs. Tiequan Zhang (-200) - Lightweight
Anthony Perosh (+150) vs. Tom Blackledge (-180) - Light heavyweight
Mark Hunt (+210) vs. Chris Tuchscherer (-270) - Heavyweight
Curt Warburton (+120) vs. Maciej Jewtuszko (-150) - Featherweight

Watch UFC 127 right here on Yahoo! Sports.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-127-picks-Vegas-style-Can-Penn-avoid-a-Fit?urn=mma-326294

Joe Hybrid Duarte Aldrin de Jesus  Todd Duffee  Marvin Eastman  Stav Crazy Bear Economou 

Kurt Pellegrino's many skills include freestyle rapping

In getting ready for his UFC 128 bout with Gleison Tibau, Kurt Pellegrino spent time training with his good buddy Kenny Florian. He was so inspired by the UFC lightweight-turned-featherweight that Pellegrino turned Michael Jackson's "Beat It" into a song about training with KenFlo. Be warned, Pellegrino drops a few dirty words in his rap, but he felt the beat. Who can blame him?

For more on which fighters make the best freestyle rappers, follow Cagewriter on Facebook and Twitter.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Kurt-Pellegrino-s-many-skills-include-freestyle-?urn=mma-322312

Justin Eilers  Jon Olav Einemo Per Eklund Jason Ellis Aleksander Emelianenko

UFC 127 Watching Over Times Square

Nobody markets MMA like Dana White/UFC President.  Even though MMA is not sanctioned in New York, the Big Apple is the media capital of the world, so every UFC PPV event has a billboard smack in the middle of Times Square. Click through to see a range of pictures of the UFC 127 billboard.

Source: http://www.fighters.com/02/24/ufc-127-watching-over-times-square

Sean Gannon Edgar Garcia Leonard Garcia Andrew Gardner Tiki Ghosn

UFC Vet Marcus Davis Signs With Maximum Fighting Championships

Former UFC welterweight and lightweight competitor Marcus Davis has signed a deal to compete for Maximum Fighting Championships. It is unknown when Davis will make his debut with the promotion.

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/17719/former-ufc-fighter-marcus-davis-signs-with-maximum-fighting-championships/

Marcus Davis  Tony DeSouza  Edwin Dewees  Nick Diaz  Tadhg Steamfist Dixon

Kharitonov KOs Arlovski, moves to Strikeforce Grand Prix semis

Sergei Kharitonov earned the first semifinal berth in the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix, knocking out Andrei Arlovski at 2:49 in the first round of their bout in New Jersey on Saturday. 

Arlovski, a crowd favorite, started strong with a flurry of strikes and kicks. He had good movement early, avoiding Kharitonov's strikes. But it turned bad for Arlovski when Kharitonov used the clinch to work inside, then landed a knee, an uppercut and knocked him to the the ground with a short right jab. Kharitonov finished the bout with a strike on the ground, knocking Arlovski out cold.

This is Arlovski's fourth loss in a row, with three of them first-round knockouts. He was once the UFC heavyweight champion, but now is in a precarious point in his career with a record of 15-9. 

Kharitonov, who made his name in the Pride Fighting Championships, laughed off the suggestion that he is a darkhorse in this tournament.

"I don't care what the experts say. I'm going to win this tournament."

He will now face the winner of Josh Barnett and Brett Rogers. Those two will face off in April. 

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Kharitonov-KOs-Arlovski-moves-to-Strikeforce-Gr?urn=mma-320601

Mirko Cro Cop Filipović Luiz Buscapé Firmino Spencer Fisher Jon Fitch Kenny Florian

Alistair Overeem talks Strikeforce heavyweight tournament - Alistair Overeem

The Fight Nerd caught up with Alistair Overeem at the Strikeforce New York Press Conference to get his predictions on what would happen in the epic heavyweight grand prix, thoughts on fighting Fabricio Werdum again, his response to all the fighters I interviewed seeing him in the finals, and what's up with Japanese MMA. Then I go too far and ask more about Japan which forces "The Reem" to almost melt my spine with his laser beam eyes. This is why you don't interview fighters who have an empty stomach -- they just might eat you! I also nerd out and give Alistair one of my classic Fight Nerd "Art of Fighting" shirts, which are still available for $25 shipped in the US if you email me (since I am too lazy to add a store function).

Source: http://mmalice.com/alistair-overeem/alistair-overeem-talks-strikeforce-heavyweight-tournament-video_b390d3ecf.html

Forrest Griffin Tyson Griffin Karn Grigorian Karen Grigoryan Kendall Grove

MMA Link Parade

Killing time on Friday afternoon? Nothing beats links to some great articles and videos from our friends around the internet. Enjoy.

- Sneak peek of TUF 13 tryouts. (Middle Easy)

- Jon Fitch feels like he's chasing B.J. Penn's ghost. (MMA Convert)

- Helwani vs. Dundas: UFC 127 edition. (Versus)

- Knockout of the Day: B.J. Penn vs. Matt Hughes 3. (Cage Potato)

- Del Rosario says it's "not a big deal" if Fedor gets tournament spot. (Five Ounces of Pain)

- "Fighter Life," Wanderlei Silva's reality show. (MMA Scraps)

- Gilbert Melendez claims to be world's best lightweight. (LowKick)

- Aussie Gold: Top MMA fighters Down Under. (Fight Magazine)

- Dan Henderson plans to knock Feijao silly. (5th Round)

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/02/25/mma-link-parade/

Jeff Big Frog Curran Dai Shuanghai  Mac Danzig  Karen Darabedyan Viacheslav Datsik

UFC 127 ?Penn vs. Fitch? Weigh-In Results, Pics & Video

The UFC 127 weigh-ins took place this evening at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia. All fighters made weight with the exception of Dennis Siver who came in right below 157lb. He’ll presumably be given an hour to shed the extra pound. As expected, Michael Bisping and Jorge Rivera delivered with an intense staredown. Bisping [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmaconvert/~3/QwZIH_4tYRI/

Ricardo Arona  Noboru Asahi Marcus Aurelio  Mikhail Avetisyan Luiz AzeredoÂ