Ultimate Fighting Championship

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Red hot heavyweight prospect Junior dos Santos (8-1) expects his next fight to come against Pride FC 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix winner Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (25-6-2) at UFC 103, which is slated for the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas, on Sept. 19, according GracieMag.com.
“Cigano” was today mysteriously scratched from a previously announced showdown opposite Justin McCully at UFC 102 on Aug. 29. Perhaps we now know the reason.

Here’s a snip from dos Santos:

“They took me off the August 29 show. My opponent’s changed. I’ll probably face Cro Cop. If I beat him I’ll be in really good standing. If that’s truly the case, I’m guaranteed on the main card and in the main event of the evening. If I were to fight now it wouldn’t be on the main card…. To me it’s incredible. When they asked me if they could change the fight date I was a bit bothered, because I wanted to fight right away. I’ve been away for some time now. But the Fertitta brothers asked me and I accepted. After that I found out it would be against Cro Cop and was overjoyed. It’ll be a big opportunity in my career. Lots of good things have happened in my life and this is one more. I’m going to make the most of it.”

The heavy-handed Brazilian knockout artist burst on the scene with an 81-second knockout of Fabricio Werdum — widely considered at the time a top player in the division — in his debut for the promotion at UFC 90: “Silva vs. Cote” back in October.
He most recently felled the Dutch “Skyscraper,” also known as Stefan Struve, via technical knockout (strikes) in just 54 seconds at UFC 95: “Sanchez vs. Stevenson” earlier this year. The Team Nogueira-trained fighter has never been beyond the first round in his professional career, finishing his all of his opponents (with the exception of one) with a mix of submissions and (technical) knockouts.
That could all change if he does indeed opt to go toe-to-toe with the devastating Croatian striker.

“Cro Cop” most recently competed at UFC 99: “The Comeback,” making a return to the Octagon to defeat British heavyweight Mostapha Al-turk in controversial fashion — an inadvertent eye poke that was missed by the referee led to a first round victory.
Prior to the win, Cro Cop has struggled mightily since coming stateside to compete inside the Octagon. Despite a win over Eddie Sanchez in his promotional debut back in 2007, Cro Cop would go on to lose back-to-back fights to Gabriel Gonzaga and Cheick Kongo, putting his UFC career on ice at the time.
He vowed to return, and did, but it appeared that he was on his way out the door again after UFC 99 when a miscommunication regarding his contract status cropped up between him and company president Dana White.

UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta reportedly came to the rescue, flying out to Zagreb to personally talk to Filipovic about another possible UFC return. The pair sat down and talked for two hours at Cro Cop’s house. And when it was all over, Fertitta apparently boarded his plane with a huge grin plastered on his face, saying that he made Cro Cop “an offer he can’t refuse.”
Perhaps part of that deal was headlining a show against a top prospect such as dos Santos, which would more than likely position him among the handful of title contenders who have emerged over the course of the last 12 months if he can notch another victory.

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Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell and late TapouT founder, Charles “Mask” Lewis, will be enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame during the fan expo at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday, July 10.
UFC President Dana White just broke the news in his latest Twitter update:

“Hey guys chuck liddell and charles “mask” lewis will be inducted into the ufc hall of fame at the ufc fan expo this friday at 630 p.m.”

Liddell made his Octagon debut more than a decade ago, earning a decision victory over Noe Hernandez at UFC 17: “Redemption” back in 1998. During the next seven years, which included a quick trip overseas to try his hand in the Pride FC Middleweight Grand Prix in 2003, Liddell would rise to the top of the 205-pound food chain.
His trademark Mohawk, head tattoo and vicious knockouts catapulted him to rock star status inside the cage and outside of it seemingly overnight. And when he defeated Randy Couture at UFC 52: “Couture vs. Liddell 2″ in April 2005, “The Iceman” became the face of the promotion, appealing to fans worldwide and helping elevate the sport into a whole new stratosphere.
The San Luis Obispo, Calif., native would defend his title four times over the next two years before running into Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 71: “Liddell vs. Jackson” in May 2007. Rampage — who bounced Liddell out of the Pride FC tournament four years earlier — scored a convincing first round technical knockout over Liddell.
It was widely believed at the time that Rampage simply had his number; however, Liddell would go onto lose three of his next four fights. His two most recent losses to Rashad Evans and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua were downright decisive, prompting White to prematurely announce that Liddell — his long-time friend — would retire from the sport.
Liddell recently countered that statement, claiming he would sit out until at least April 2010 to heal his brain and give him enough time to make a decision about his future. If he does decide to continue he would join Couture and Mark Coleman as active UFC Hall of Famers.

Also included in the ceremony will be a posthumous induction of Charles Lewis, who was killed in a tragic car accident in the early morning hours on March 11 of this year.

Known simply as “Mask” to his friends and fans in the mixed martial arts community, Lewis helped launch TapouT way back in 1997, with nothing more than a vision and a handful of merchandise — and enough gas in his van to follow fighters across the state of California to promote and sell his MMA-inspired brand of clothing.
Now his empire, along with Dan “Punkass” Caldwell and Timothy “Skyskrape” Katz, includes a reality TV show, a line of bottled water, an impressive stable of mixed martial arts fighters and of course its massive clothing line, which went from a few thousand dollars in sales back in the late 90’s to over $100 million in 2008.

His significance in the growth of mixed martial arts through brand awareness and fighter sponsorships cannot be overstated.

Liddell and Lewis will join five other distinguished members in the UFC Hall of Fame, including Couture, Coleman, Dan Severn, Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie.

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