Hague and Goulet Cut by UFC

Capping a busy week of UFC terminations, reports are now emerging that Tim “The Trashing Machine” Hague and Jonathan “The Road Warrior” Goulet have been cut by the UFC. Hague and Goulet join Paul Daley, Kimbo Slice, and Yoshiyuki Yoshida as those getting their walking papers after last weekend’s entertaining UFC 113 event. Rough week!

Keep up with the cuts – check out our always updating UFC Cut List gallery!

Photo Gallery: Bloody Fights, Busted Faces

There’s been a saying in MMA circles for years, “everyone has a plan… until they get hit in the face.” Quite simply, getting hit in the face hurts and feeling that pain can change the course of a fight. While we sit on our couches downing brews, our favorite fighters are trading blows during fights that inflict real damage. Blood, stitches, broken bones, reconstructive surgery, etc. – it’s all part of the sport.

Check out our MMA’s Bloodiest Fights & Ugliest Injuries gallery!

UFC 116 Poster Released, Card Almost Finalized

The UFC has officially released the event poster and almost finalized all fights for the upcoming UFC 116 event in Las Vegas, NV. The monstrous July 3rd event’s main card features the highly anticipated return of UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar as he meets interim champ Shane Carwin in an effort to unify the titles, Wanderlei Silva takes on Japanese superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama, fan favorite Stephan Bonnar hopes to rebound from a troublesome stretch (lost 4 of his last 5) as he meets “The Polish Experiment” Krzysztof Soszynski, and it’s been widely rumored that Kurt Pellegrino will fight George Sotiropoulos in an interesting Lightweight matchup. Notable undercard participants include Brendan Schaub, Chris Tuchscherer, Chris Lytle, Matt Brown, and Kendall Grove. The complete card as it stands today is listed below. As always, all completed and upcoming fights can be found on our MMA Events page and hundreds of MMA Event Posters can be found on our Photos page.

Anticipated UFC 116 Fightcard:
Brock Lesnar vs Shane Carwin
Wanderlei Silva vs Yoshihiro Akiyama
Krzysztof Soszynski vs Stephan Bonnar
Kurt Pellegrino vs George Sotiropoulos (rumored)
Brendan Schaub vs Chris Tuchscherer
Chris Lytle vs Matt Brown
Kendall Grove vs Goran Reljic
Jon Madsen vs Karlos Vemola
Paul Kelly vs Jacob Volkmann (rumored)
Julio Paulino vs Daniel Roberts (rumored)

Betting Lines Updated Through UFC 117

Vegas and the offshore books have recently released a ton of lines for the savvy bettor to cash in on. Updated lines are now posted on our MMA Betting Superboard for UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2, UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans, UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin, The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale, UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin, and UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen. Not sure where to start, but know that you need a good sportsbook to get in on the action? No worries… check out our preferred sportsbooks. Click on the MMA Betting Superboard logo below to get started!

Programming Reminder: Countdown to UFC 113 Tonight

The countdown to the rematch between Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua begins tonight on Spike. Lyoto Machida and Shogun Rua prepare for their second battle for the Light Heavyweight title, Josh Koscheck and Paul Daley ready themselves for their Welterweight showdown, and Kimbo Slice and Matt Mitrione are on a collision course to UFC 113. Watch tonight at 11pm ET/PT on Spike.

MMA Rankings Completely Updated

After a ton of scholarly debate, childish name calling, tantrums, and tears, the 3rd Edition of the “Entirely Indisputable World MMA Rankings” has been posted. Because we’re still ironing out the details of the Featherweight and Bantamweight divisions, those rankings will be added soon. However, feast your steamin’ eyes on all other weight classes, including a newly added “Pound for Pound” class, as well as comments for each division.

Check out our updated Entirely Indisputable World MMA Rankings!

Changes and Additions for Shine Fights: Worlds Collide

Shine Fight Promotions (Shine Fights) today announced an exciting undercard matchup to the already stacked “WORLDS COLLIDE: MAYORGA VS. THOMAS” pay-per-view fight card, as PRIDE veteran Luciano Azevedo will tangle with rising young star Zac George. This exciting bout will complement the other highly anticipated bouts that are already a part of “WORLDS COLLIDE.”

Luciano Azevedo (16-8) is known for being the only MMA fighter to defeat dominant WEC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo, who successfully defended his belt this past weekend. Over the course of his seven-year professional career, the veteran Azevedo has fought all over the world, making a name for himself due to his unrelenting determination and his obvious love for fighting. A well-rounded fighter, much of Azevedo’s success has come due to his dominant ground game; twelve of his sixteen wins have come by way of submission. Regardless of whether his fights go to the ground or not, one thing fans are guaranteed when they watch Azevedo fight is fireworks, as he leaves it all in the ring each time he goes to battle. “An MMA fight to me is just like an action movie without being edited,” said Azeredo recently. “I want to show everybody that MMA is not a street fight; it’s an art. My performances are never boring, so I think I have a lot to show the fans.”

Standing across the ring from Azevedo on May 15th will be Zac George (19-3 with 16 finishes). George is a seasoned striker with a strong ground game. Throughout his young career, he has demonstrated time and time again that he is capable of ending his fights with his relentless striking and his explosive submissions. Currently riding a six-fight winning streak, the Team Quest product is excited about the opportunity to face a world class fighter like Azevedo. “He’s probably the best fighter I’ve faced so far. I’ve fought a lot of guys with skills, but they lacked a well-known name. With Azevedo, he’s got both. He’s legit, and I’m excited to have such an awesome opportunity.” A victory over the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist Azevedo could propel him towards a possible title fight in the near future.

In addition to the Azevedo-George bout, Shine Fight also announced a substitution to another recently revealed bout. News of a scrap between Luiz “The Joker” Azeredo and Junior Assuncao was released last week. Unfortunately, Assuncao suffered an injury, and has had to be replaced. Now fighting Azeredo will be well-known MMA star Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett (22-16-2). Bennett is a longtime-veteran of MMA who has fought some of the biggest names in the sport, including current StrikeForce fighter K.J. Noons, Japanese superstar Tatsuya Kawajiri, former PRIDE champion Takanori Gomi and former WEC featherweight kingpin Urijah Faber. A colorful character that has made a name for himself for both his exciting fights and unorthodox lifestyle, “Krazy Horse” is also known for his claims that ground fighting “is like making love…it’s not real fighting.” Suffice to say he will bring a very different approach to Azeredo than Assuncao would have. About the fight, Bennett says, “I win, he lose. I’m training, so we’ll see what training is doing. I was winning without training, so we’ll see what I can do now.”

Luiz “The Joker” Azeredo stands as one of only four men to defeat the current pound-for-pound king and UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Following his professional debut in 1997, Azeredo has stepped up the competition one fight after another, continuing to put on acclaimed performances each time he steps into the ring. “The Joker” holds an impressive win over the UFC’s Paul Daley, a victory which ranks as one of his crowning achievements. He is also known to fight fans for participating in one of the most memorable PRIDE bouts in history alongside fellow Shine fighter Luiz Firmino.

These two bouts join the previously announced 160-pound catchweight main event between former boxing champion Ricardo Mayorga and MMA veteran Din Thomas, as well as a co-main event bout between Murilo “Ninja” Rua and Canadian warrior Travis “The Gladiator” Galbraith. In addition, a welterweight contest between MMA veteran Nick “The Goat” Thompson and Brazilian star Eduardo Pamplona will entertain Shine fans. Also, a surefire ground war is set to take place at 175 pounds between 2009 ADCC Absolute Champion Braulio Estima and former Olympic Judo competitor Rick Hawn, and grappling specialists Alexandre “Cacareco” Ferrara and Jamal “The Suit” Patterson will also do battle.

“WORLDS COLLIDE” is taking place at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, NC, and will be beamed on PPV on cable and satellite in the United States and Canada. The event will be broadcasted in High-Definition, and it will be available in both English and Spanish (where available). The broadcast will start at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT and will be produced by MultiVision Media, Inc. There will be a 30-minute countdown show prior to the live event at 8:30 PM ET/5:30 PM PT. The event will be available for $29.95. Tickets may be obtained by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-736-1420, or online at www.ticketmaster.com, or in person at the Crown Coliseum Box Office. For box office hours and more info, please call (910) 438-4100.

For more information on Shine Fights or “Worlds Collide,” please follow Shine on Twitter @ShineFights, Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/ShineFights), YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/ShineFights), or become a fan on Facebook.

Will the UFC Cut Tito Ortiz?

“Other than going on a killing spree, being accused of domestic violence is the worst thing you can have going for you.”

Not exactly the kind of support that Tito Ortiz was hoping for from current employer, ex-manager, and sometimes friend, UFC president Dana White. For those unaware of yesterday’s news from Huntington Beach, Tito Ortiz was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence against his live-in girlfriend, Jenna Jameson. Local 911 received an AM call about a disturbance at the residence in Ortiz’s hometown and responded to find Jameson with “visible injuries”. As usual, TMZ.com was all over it, and broke the news. They had photos of the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” being cuffed and stuffed and even caught a tearful Jameson at later points in the day (wearing an arm brace) essentially confirming that she was the alleged victim, that Ortiz was in jail, and that she was going to press charges.

Late Monday, Team Ortiz countered in a press conference accusing Jameson of having a relapse from a nasty OxyContin addiction, that he never laid a hand on her, and that Jameson’s own family now sides with him after hearing his side of the story. The whole scenario is rapidly turning into a “he said, she said” tale of alleged domestic assault, alleged drug abuse, and, yes, media manipulation.

While the accusations against Jameson will likely have zero impact on her adult entertainment enterprise, the accusations could be a catastrophic to Ortiz. Ortiz works for an organization entirely cognizant of the negative impact of having troublemakers on its payroll – including someone accused of domestic assault. Considering White’s comments, the enormity of the allegations, and the overall negative exposure to the UFC, will the UFC now cut Tito Ortiz as a result? Although only time (and Dana) will tell, the ball is squarely in White’s court. For a myriad of reasons, if I was a betting man, I’d be leaning towards Ortiz getting his walking papers. The UFC is big business, and, like any profitable organization, ultimately makes decisions based upon “Return on Investment” and the value that fighters provide to the organization. Does Ortiz provide any value to the UFC at this point? The following holds true:

• Ortiz is an aging fighter at 35 years old with some nagging health issues, who, by most accounts hasn’t had a significant win in a little over 4 years (def. Forrest Griffin at UFC 59). The two wins against Ken Shamrock did nothing for his career, and, his previously scheduled showdown with Chuck Liddell after The Ultimate Fighter 11 was his shot at proving his current relevance. Most agree that the former UFC champion isn’t even a Top 20 Light Heavyweight any longer.
• Leaked accounts during The Ultimate Fighter 11 had Ortiz not being able to complete taping of the show for unknown reasons. Rich Franklin was tapped as his replacement on the show, and it’ll be Franklin – not Ortiz – who’ll face Liddell in a few months. Although Franklin should be a game opponent for Liddell, the UFC can’t be happy with the planned third grudge match between two of the biggest (ex) names in the sport going at it one final time. Dollars lost.
• Ortiz and Dana White used to be friendly away from MMA, but, by all accounts, haven’t been close for years. Ortiz publicly demanded higher pay at the conclusion of his contract in 2007, and the two have interacted solely on a professional level since. Both still like to take swipes at each other when the circumstances and audience are right. Declining skills and contentious relationship be damned, having Ortiz on the UFC payroll has solely been a financial decision for quite some time. As White and the UFC continue to build their empire, putting forth the “right” image for mass consumption is critical. Having someone accused of domestic assault against a woman (true or not) coupled with the contentious history with White isn’t good.

Did he or didn’t he? It’s going to get ugly, so show your support for Tito. We have plenty of official The Ultimate Fighter clothing in our huge MMA Clothing and Gear store, including the brand new Punishment Athletics Team Fighter T-Shirt.

Breaking News: Tito Ortiz Arrested for Domestic Violence

TMZ.com is reporting that former UFC champion, and TUF 11 coach, Tito Ortiz was arrested earlier this morning for felony domestic violence at a home in Huntington Beach, CA. During a call to 911 just before 10 AM local time, someone reported a disturbance at the residence that Ortiz shares with girlfriend, Jenna Jameson. When police arrived to investigate, they found Jameson with visible injuries and Ortiz was subsequently arrested.

Update: Jenna Jameson was seen leaving the home a few hours after the alleged assault and was quoted to TMZ photographers, “I’m gonna be alright…. my babies are alright … everything’s OK .. he’s in jail.” She also indicated that she would be pressing charges. This one could get ugly, quick.

Add another to the list. Check out our gallery of MMA Fighter Mugshots!

Photo: Ortiz being cuffed and stuffed. Props to TMZ.

Photo Gallery: MMA’s Best Physiques

Queue the ghey jokes. Secure in our own beer-bellied manliness, we’re not above recognizing when a particular fighter is exceptionally jacked up or ripped. Hey, it’s their job to train and fight. Ours, not so much. That being said, it’s no coincidence that some of the strongest and most ripped fighters are among the most accomplished in the sport as well… so you do the math there.

Check out our photo gallery of MMA’s best physiques.

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