Ultimate Fighting Championship

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Dana White confirmed today that Vitor Belfort (18-8) has been acquired from the fallout of Affliction MMA and will replace Dan Henderson against Rich Franklin (25-4) in the main event of UFC 103 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Sept. 19.
White cited fan apathy towards the original main event between Franklin and Henderson as a catalyst for the change. “The Phenom” has agreed to meet “Ace” at a catchweight of 195 pounds — despite rejecting a recent Affliction fight against Gegard Mousasi because it was outside of his new home at 185-pounds.

Dan Henderson will now be granted a rematch with Anderson Silva with a timetable pending the results of “The Spider’s” Aug. 8 fight against Forrest Griffin.

Company president Dana White made a surprise announcement during “Inside the Octagon” back on June 20 that he was interested in bringing Vitor back under contract to possibly face Anderson Silva.
It was a bit strange because Belfort was booked to battle Sengoku Middleweight Grand Prix winner Jorge Santiago at Affliction 3: “Trilogy” on Aug.1, 2009, but White seemed confident that the Brazilian would return to the eight-sided cage for a third tour of duty after he satisfied his commitment to the “tee-shirt guys.”
That commitment ended sooner rather than later.

Belfort has indeed looked fantastic since he made the decision to shed 20 more pounds and compete at 185 pounds.

He iced Terry Martin in the second round at Affliction: “Banned” with a nice combination that was set up by a flying knee. He followed up that performance at “Day of Reckoning,” pulverizing Matt Lindland with a brutal first round blitzkrieg, landing six of seven strikes en route to a scary-looking knockout.

Whether or not a move back up in weight will affect that recent success remains to be seen — though he may have little margin for error against the former Middleweight Champ.

Franklin scored a big win over the always dangerous Wanderlei Silva at UFC 99: “The Comeback” via unanimous decision back in June at a catchweight of 195 pounds. It was the third win in the last four attempts for the Cincinnati, Ohio, native, solidifying his position as a serious, and capable, light heavyweight contender.

It’s going to be a ridiculous main event between two established veterans — don’t even think about missing this one.
Recently confirmed for UFC 103 is the Heavyweight tilt between former Pride FC superstar Mirko Cro Cop and surging heavyweight prospect Junior Dos Santos. In addition, Martin Kampmann and Mike Swick will collide to determine the number one contender for Georges St. Pierre’s 170-pound title.

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Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz was on the July 31 media conference call to officially announce his return to the Octagon. While “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” didn’t get into specifics, he did confirm that he will finish his fighting career under the Zuffa umbrella.
The speed of his return took many by surprise, as the bad blood between Ortiz and UFC President Dana White seemed to reach an all-time high after Ortiz was relegated to signing autographs at an off-strip casino when officials banned him from the UFC Fan Expo on July 10 and 11.
Ortiz is coming off major spinal fusion surgery to correct a back problem that plagued him in his most recent bouts. His last appearance was in May 2008 — a unanimous decision loss to now 205-pound champion, Lyoto Machida.

He spent his time on the sidelines “searching for a record contract” while flirting with a variety of promotions, including Elite XC, Strikeforce and Affliction MMA, where he did a guest commentating spot at January’s “Day of Reckoning.”

While he speaks highly of Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, Ortiz told the media that his decision to return to the UFC was based on the level of competition — something he didn’t feel Renato Sobral or Frank Shamrock offered him in San Jose.

When asked for a timetable on his return, White interjected that he was presently considering Mark Coleman as his first opponent for late 2009. Ortiz then reiterated that he was in no hurry to rush back to competition after having major surgery.
It’s been more than a year since Ortiz saw action in a performance that had him in trouble early only to nearly finish it with a triangle-to-armbar transition that “The Dragon” barely escaped.

Ortiz has all 22 of his professional fights (except for one) under the UFC banner in a career that dates back to 1997.
He has three wins, two defeats and one draw since he returned to action in 2006 from a brief hiatus. And those three victories have come at the expense of a past-his-prime, Ken Shamrock (twice), and a controversial split decision over Forrest Griffin.
Whether or not a surgically repaired back will help him return to form and make a serious run at the Light Heavyweight Championship remains to be seen.

And I think Mark Coleman might have something to say about his chances later this year.

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A rematch against UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, not Rich Franklin at UFC 103 on September 19, is what Dan Henderson can focus on now that company president Dana White has shuffled the deck in the wake of Affliction MMA’s demise.
Affliction refugee Vitor Belfort is now booked to replace Henderson opposite Franklin in the UFC 103 main event, which had fans less than thrilled when it was announced earlier this month.

White did not announce a hard date for Silva-Henderson 2, saying that it will all depend on “how banged up” Silva is after challenging Forrest Griffin in a non-title 205-pound special attraction next weekend at UFC 101.
However, if history is any indicator, Silva might be ready to rock on Sunday, Aug. 9 — he has remarkably suffered very little, if any, damage throughout his perfect nine-fight UFC career thus far.

In fact, Henderson is among the few who performed quite well before experiencing the same fate as the rest: Defeat.
Silva and Henderson first met at UFC 82: “Pride of a Champion” back in March 2008. Henderson controlled much of the first round, using his Olympic-caliber Greco Roman wrestling skills to takedown the Brazilian and implement effective ground and pound.

He also took time between throwing punches to smother Silva’s airway — a rarely seen, albeit legal, maneuver to disrupt the breathing of an opponent. However, it seemed to irritate and anger Silva more than anything else.
Silva came out in the second round a new man, putting it on “Hollywood” with a punishing assortment of pinpoint strikes. Henderson eventually hit the floor and Silva capitalized by securing a fight-ending rear naked choke with just 12 seconds to spare before the frame expired.

Since losing his Pride FC title to Silva that night, Henderson has strung together three consecutive victories against very tough opponents.
He notched victories over Brazilian jiu-jitsu powerhouse Rousimar Palhares and former Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin, as well as dismantled Michael Bisping at UFC 100 with an epic punch/flying forearm punch combination that will go down as one of the best knockouts ever.

In short, Henderson has seemingly earned another opportunity to challenge for the 185-pound world title. And his stock has never been higher thanks to the Bisping beatdown.

Silva, on the other hand, has had to pack-on 20 extra pounds in an effort to rekindle the excitement that earned him the title as the most dangerous fighter in the sport. He’s fresh off back-to-back underwhelming — albeit winning performances — against middleweight challengers Thales Leites and Patrick Cote.

White matched Silva up against Griffin with the idea that it would spark fireworks — something that has been missing in Silva’s two most recent appearances. Apparently, a record-setting nine straight UFC wins — seven of which were all stoppages that never went longer than two rounds — is not good enough these days.

He’ll look to add Henderson’s name to that impressive hit list, again, when the pair rematch later this year.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today made the formal announcement that it is “going back to Cali” on Oct. 24.

UFC 104 from the Staples Center is Los Angeles, Calif., is now official, featuring the first title defense for undefeated Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida against fellow Brazilian Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the main event of the evening.

Here’s a snip from company president Dana White on the 205-pound match up:

“It’s been two years since the UFC was in Southern California and we knew we had to bring something special for our return to the capital of mixed martial arts. Lyoto Machida captured the imagination of fight fans with his knockout of Rashad Evans, and while he seems unbeatable right now, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua not only has the tools to beat any 205-pounder in the world, but he’s coming off a knockout of Chuck Liddell in his last fight, so his confidence is sky-high. This has the potential to be one of the greatest Light Heavyweight Title fights ever.”

In addition, the promotion confirmed that rising talent Cain Velasquez and veteran Ben Rothwell will “wage war” in a super-sized Heavyweight showdown.

Velasquez was previously booked to face Shane Carwin in a number one title contender eliminator match; however, “Big Ben” — who will be making his Octagon debut — was inserted recently to free up Carwin to challenge Brock Lesnar for the division title in November.

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