UFC 120 is scheduled for October 16, 2010 at the O2 Arena in London England and Spike TV will air this event that features Michael “The Count” Bisping (20-3) against Japanese sensation Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-2, 2 NC).

Bisping, fighting out of Manchester, England won The Ultimate Fighter 3 show defeating Josh Haynes. Bisping won two of his next three fights then smartly dropped down to middleweight, where he then won his next three contests.

Since then, Bisping has continued to take on only the best in the 185lb division including Dan Henderson, Dan Miller, and Denis Kang.

Bisping likes to hype up his fights with his famous trash talking, but in his fight with Henderson, that proved to be a big mistake as Henderson made short work of “The Count” with an impressive 2^nd round knock out from a vicious right hand.

One of Japan’s best MMA fighters, Akiyama won the 2001 Asian Championships and 2002 Asian Games in judo.  Last July in his debut at UFC 100, he had a split-decision victory over Alan Belcher in a fight that earned “Fight of the Night” honors.

Akiyama’s next fight was against well known Chris “The Crippler” Leben at UFC 116, where he suffered a tough loss to Leben but again the fighter earned the “Fight of the Night” bonus. Akiyama’s career depends on this fight. He desperately needs a victory over Bisping to continue his path to a title shot.

Other fights on the UFC 120 card include the charismatic Dan Hardy (23-7, 1 NC) against Carlos Condit  (25-5).

This is Hardy’s first bout since losing in his welterweight title shot against UFC champion Georges “Rush” St. Pierre at UFC 111 in March 2010. Hardy, “The Outlaw,” in the biggest fight in his career, couldn’t put much offense together and was overwhelmed by the athleticism of St Pierre who controlled Hardy all five rounds in the unanimous decision.

Condit (25-5), who trains in Albuquerque, New Mexico is one of the division’s top contenders.  Despite being only 26 years old, he is a MMA veteran and was the last man to hold the WEC welterweight belt.

Also on the fight card is a heavyweight showdown between Cheick Kongo (25-6-1) and undefeated Travis Browne (10-0).  Kongo is returning to the arena where he enjoyed his finest moment in the Octagon, a decision victory over Cro Cop at UFC 75 while 6ft-7in Browne, a native of Hawaii, won his UFC debut in June over James McSweeney with a first round TKO.

Used with permission of the author.

Scott Medeiros is a Florida-based MMA fighter and sportswriter covering the sport. For a competitor/fan’s point of view and pre and post fight info, updates, and the latest buzz surrounding MMA, follow Scott on Sports Climax. In addition to contributing to Sports Climax, his material can also be found on American Top Team’s website. Email Scott @ skizberry@aol.com.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

MMA meets boxing in the Octagon on August 28^th when boxer James Toney climbs into the Octagon to take on former UFC champion Randy Couture.

Sports Climax’ MMA expert Scott Medeiros feels Toney’s chance is limited, saying “Couture, doesn’t plan on trying to outbox his opponent and will likely look for a take down at the first available opportunity and introduce Toney to the world of  MMA.”

Medeiros goes on to say, “Toney has a punchers chance, that’s about it. Couture on the other hand has been in the octagon with the who’s who of Mixed Martial Arts and his experience should overwhelm the one-dimensional boxing champ.”

Here is an interview with James Toney leading up to this highly-anticipated brawl:

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Massachusetts is hosting its first ever UFC event when boxing meets MMA in the Octagon, live August 28th, 2010 and the event has the potential to be the biggest event of the summer, bigger than Brock Lesnar’s return at UFC 116 vs. Shane Carwin.

UFC President Dana White is pumped and ready for the event: “I’m thrilled to bring the UFC to Boston for the first time. Boston is one of the world’s greatest fight towns, fans only expect the best, and we are bringing it with the rematch between BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar, and the Octagon-debut of boxing legend James Toney versus one of the greatest UFC heavyweights of all-time, Randy Couture.”

Toney’s opponent, former UFC champion Couture, doesn’t plan on trying to outbox his opponent and will likely look for a take down at the first available opportunity and introduce Toney to the world of  MMA. But Toney and his camp have maintained that the boxer possesses enough power in his strikes to end the fight even from his back, which I think is a joke.

Toney has a punchers chance, that’s about it. Couture on the other hand has been in the octagon with the who’s who of Mixed Martial Arts and his experience should overwhelm the one-dimensional boxing champ.

“Certainly I have a game plan for the ground, and I’m not terribly worried about being knocked out from that position,” Couture said. “With the takedowns and the punching and the kicking and the dirty boxing and clinch work which takes place in mixed martial arts, you have to change your stance”

While Toney is making his mixed martial arts debut in the contest, the 41-year-old brings 22 years of professional boxing experience to the cage. Toney has fought the best in the world during his boxing career, and the two-time Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year’s unique shoulder-roll approach to striking has been a trademark throughout his career.  

“I look at this [fight] as a way to show everybody that boxing ranks supreme,” Toney told ESPN.com recently while in Las Vegas to observe UFC 116. “It’s still the No. 1 sport; it’s still the best sport. I like MMA; I’m not a hater. I watch it all the time. But when somebody like [UFC president] Dana White, who started in the boxing game, says that MMA is better than boxing — then hold on. You’re wrong there.”

It’s this attitude that motivated Couture to ask White for the chance to fight Toney. Couture loves boxing, but not the disrespect he believes many boxers show toward mixed martial arts.

“He’s a great striker; he’s got good power. To be honest, he’s going to be dangerous in that realm of the fight,” Couture said. “If I try to trade punches withhim, then [getting knocked out] is a possibility. That’s why I’m doing my homework, and have no intention of standing in there and boxing with James Toney. That would be stupid.”

“Losing is not an option. I’m going in [the octagon] to destroy this dude,” – James Toney.

 The main event for this night features Frankie Edgar in a rematch against the “Prodigy” BJ Penn. Penn faced a very controversial decision at UFC 112 when he was stripped of his belt and Edgar became the new lightweight champion.

There are a few questions we should ask ourselves about this match. Is Frankie Edgar that much better than BJ Penn? Was BJ Penn unprepared and not ready for the assault he took from Edgar? Did BJ Penn lose a step?

BJ Penn used to be unbeatable in the UFC lightweight division and this rematch against Edgar will show us a lot about him.

Did we see the real BJ Penn at UFC 112 or will we see the real BJ Penn at UFC 118?

Let’s not take anything away from Edgar, he is a great UFC fighter, but BJ Penn wants revenge, he wants his belt back, and he plans to get it at UFC 118 on August 28th.

Joe Silva did an excellent job putting this fight card together with other exciting match-ups that feature two Boston natives, one being Kenny “Ken Flo” Florian who is taking on veteran fighter Gray Maynard and Joe Lauzon vs. Terry Etim.

Also on the card is Nate Diaz taking on Markus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis.

Used with permission of the author.

Scott Medeiros is a Florida-based MMA fighter and sportswriter covering the sport. For a competitor/fan’s point of view and pre and post fight info, updates, and the latest buzz surrounding MMA, follow Scott on Sports Climax. In addition to contributing to Sports Climax, his material can also be found on American Top Team’s website. Email Scott @ skizberry@aol.com.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

OAKLAND, Calif. – UFC 117 lived up to all the hype on Saturday night at Oracle Arena and I’m sure fight fans were as surprised as I was to see a four-round, one-sided wrestling clinic put on by Chael Sonnen against Middleweight Champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva.

For the first time in his career an opponent manhandled The Spider with vicious ground and pound and relentless, unstoppable take downs. But the UFC middleweight champ demonstrated why he is one of the best fighters in the world, keeping his composure, looking for Chael to make just one mistake where he could utilize his Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Then it happened.

Silva came up with a triangle choke submission very late in the 5^th and final round turning an incredible triumph into a heartbreaking defeat for Sonnen.

“I’m devastated,” Sonnen said at the post-fight press conference. “I worked hard and did everything I could do all that nice stuff, but at the end of the day you either get your hand raised or you don’t, and I didn’t.”

Sonnen did exactly what he said he’d do to the champion for twenty-three straight minutes. He took him down, beat him up, and seemed well on his way to a clear-cut, unanimous decision victory, if he could only avoid a knock out or submission in the final five minutes.

Late in the final round Sonnen postured up in Silva’s guard and threw a series of lazy body shots, and that’s when “The Spider” struck with a sudden triangle choke off his back. Sonnen tried to fall backwards and use his legs to help him defend, but seconds later he reached up and tapped Silva’s thigh once. Referee Josh Rosenthal jumped in to stop it at 3:10 of the fifth round, even though both fighters were reluctant to give up the fight right away.

“I’ve been training jiu-jitsu for a long time,” said Silva through his manager/translator, Ed Soares. “Out of respect to [Antonio Rodrigo] Nogueira, I wanted to finish this fight via submission.”

For Sonnen, it was an incredibly disappointing ending to what had been a near perfect night. For Silva, it was the narrowest of escapes.

After the bout the champion mentioned that he had injured his ribs in training and had been advised not to fight by his doctor, but decided to press on anyway. That injury kept him from being able to compete at his full strength, he said, though he insisted he wasn’t making excuses.

“I didn’t underestimate Chael. I never underestimate any of my opponents. He came in with a good game plan, and though I think that the way he promoted the fight was a little bit weird,” Silva said. “I get to go back home to my family and he gets to go back home to his family. It’s all good.”

According to White, Silva’s comeback win in the fight will help ensure that he’s remembered as one of the all-time greats.

“The stuff that happened tonight is the stuff that makes legends. This guy got roughed up and beat up for five rounds, and he found a way to win.”

The question on everyone’s minds after the surprise ending was, when’s the rematch?

UFC president Dana White insisted he hadn’t yet decided whether Sonnen would get another crack at Silva right away, or if Vitor Belfort would get the next title shot, saying “We don’t know what we’re going to do yet.”

When the question was put to Sonnen, his answer was slightly more direct:

“There’s a camaraderie that comes with this sport, but fighting Anderson Silva is a lot like eating Chinese food: twenty minutes after I do it, I’m going to want to do it again.”

In another bout of the night, Jon Fitch further solidified his standing as one of the top welterweights in the UFC with a dominant decision victory over Thiago Alves. It was not the most exciting or impressive win in his UFC career, but Fitch put his wrestling skills to good use, controlling and dominating Alves on the ground to win all three rounds on each judges’ scorecard 30- 27.

The Pitbull was not able to put any offense together to even threaten Fitch’s ability to take him down, with this fight looking a lot like Alves fight vs. GSP. In the post-fight press conference Fitch wouldn’t comment on a potential future fight with teammate Josh Koscheck who is slated to get the next shot at UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre, saying only that he was focusing on his wedding in three weeks, and hadn’t considered anything beyond that point.

“What you’re not hearing is no,” White pointed out afterwards. “You’re not hearing, ‘No, I won’t fight Josh Koscheck.’”

Matt Huges also took on Gracia Jujitsu fighter Ricardo Almeida In his first bout since being in the UFC Hall of Fame in May. Hughes got his third straight win in spectacular fashion, submitting Ricardo Almeida in the first round of their welterweight contest with an old school wrestling move, which I’m sure was surprising to all fight fans as very few fighter get submitted with a choke like that.

Almeida looked outstanding in the 1^st round, using quick and efficient strikes and solid takedown defense to keep Hughes at bay. But the 36-year old former two-time welterweight champ didn’t get frustrated.

Instead, he kept moving forward, eventually clipping and dropping Almeida with a nice left hook. Hughes immediately moved in for the finish and got it, putting the Brazilian Jujitsu ace to sleep at the 3:15 mark with a choke that Hughes simply described as “an old wrestling move.” But whatever you want to call it, consider it another one of Hughes’ landmark victories.

With the win, Hughes ups his record to 46-7; Almeida falls to 12-4.

Finally, Brazilian striker Junior dos Santos became the No. 1 heavyweight contender after battering Roy Nelson for three rounds. “Cigano” seemed close to putting Big Country Nelson away in the first round with a big upper cut, but the Las Vegas native and veteran fighter hung tough and took huge shots for three rounds, never giving up only to eventually lose a unanimous decision.

“Man this guy is tough,” said Dos Santos, who had finished his previous five Octagon opponents. “Incredible.”

With the win, Dos Santos improved to 12-1; Nelson falls to 16-5.

Used with permission of the author.

Scott Medeiros is a Florida-based MMA fighter and sportswriter covering the sport. For a competitor/fan’s point of view and pre and post fight info, updates, and the latest buzz surrounding MMA, follow Scott on Sports Climax. In addition to contributing to Sports Climax, his material can also be found on American Top Team’s website. Email Scott @ skizberry@aol.com.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

The Countdown for UFC 117, Anderson “The Spider” Silva 26-4-0 vs. Chael Sonnen 26-10-1, will debut Monday, Aug. 2 at 11:00 p.m. ET on Spike TV to promote the upcoming pay-per-view event at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California on Saturday, Aug. 7.

The network special will provide a behind the scenes look into the preparation and training camps of the fighters set to headline the show.

Betting lines continue to shift for the upcoming fight as Silva enjoyed a -700 line against Demian Maia at UFC 112, but “The Spider” is coming in at a more realistic -450 favorite against the mouthy ex-politician, Sonnen, who currently stands as a +325 underdog.

To me, a former American Top Team fighter, The John Fitch vs. Thiago “Pitbull” Alves ll has the “Fight of the Nite” accolades written all over it. Alves (22-5-0) hasn’t fought since a five-round decision to welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 100 in July 2009.

The American Top Team fighter twice has been scheduled to avenge a second-round TKO loss to Fitch that came in 2006. A knee injury forced him out of UFC 107 in December, and then a failed CT exam just before UFC 111 once again put Alves on the sidelines.

Fitch (25-3-0-1 NC) ended up fighting late replacement Ben Saunders at UFC 111 and won a lopsided unanimous decision. The longtime contender now has won 12 of his 13 UFC fights; the lone loss came to champ St-Pierre at UFC 87. The American Kickboxing Academy fighter has gone to a decision in his past six wins, including all four in his recent win streak, though he’s faced very tough opponents such as Diego Sanchez, Paulo Thiago and Mike Pierce.

Other fights on the card include the return of the legendary welter weigh Matt Hughes to take on Ricardo Almeida, heavy-handed Brazilian Junior Dos Santos 11-1-1 vs.  Roy “Big Country” Nelson winner of the Ultimate Fighter Reality show coming off  a vicious knockout over a very well rounded Brendan Schaub, plus the always entertaining and exciting Clay the “Carpenter” Guida.

Used with permission of the author.

Scott Medeiros is a Florida-based MMA fighter and sportswriter covering the sport. 

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC