Carwin Vs. Gonzaga Not Signed Yet

Despite several reports to the contrary, a bout between heavyweight prospect Shane Carwin and Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 96 has not been signed.

A source from Carwin's camp told MMAInsider that Carwin had not received word of the bout, nor had he received any bout agreements for a fight with the top ranked Brazilian fighter.

Recently, Carwin was presented with a list of names of possible opponents, in which Gonzaga was at the top of the list. Though Colorado native Carwin would be open to such a bout, it is far from a done deal.

The source did say, however, that Carwin had recently inked a new extension to his UFC contract, and though the exact number was not disclosed, it is certain that Carwin will be with the promotion for at least four more fights. As of late, the UFC has increased the number of minimum fights for its extensions, with the average deal for between four and six fights.

UFC 92 Video Interview with Frank Mir

Arlovski/Sylvia From The Cutting Room Floor

MMAWeekly's recent video interview of Andre Arlovski proved his feud with Tim Sylvia is not quite over.

A few minutes into the conversation, Arlovski referred to the man that took his UFC crown as a "pee-pee taster," an homage of sorts to an earlier quip he made in July to MMARated. When asked how he felt about Sylvia getting cozy with ex-girlfriend Patrycja Mikula, he posed this question to "the Maine-iac": "How's taste my big pee-pee?"

Well, that wasn't all he said.

It was about halfway into the interview when Arlovski was asked how he would succeed where Tim Sylvia failed.

As soon as Arlovski heard the word Sylvia, his body tightened and his face turned to a scowl.

"First of all, Tim Sylvia and Andre Arlovski is something personal," Arlovski said. "He start all this bullshit, and honestly, I don't even want to talk about Tim Sylvia. He's like, I don't respect him. For me, he's nobody, he's piece of shit, and I don't respect him like a fighter and I can't respect him like a man. Because he has a big mouth, and honestly, piece of shit and Tim Sylvia, for me, is the same."

Steering Arlovski back to the question proved somewhat fruitful. When it was clarified Sylvia faced Emelianenko and was defeated quickly, Arlovski tried to get back on track.

"He faced Fedor and had a great opportunity back in July in the first Affliction, and he just got beat," he continued. "That's it. First of all, Tim Sylvia doesn't have great trainers like I have. And I'm not sure that he train like I train. Yeah, he's a fighter, he was a five-time UFC champion, he beat me twice, and it's the most worst part. I'm sure I will show different fight."

With that subject out of the way, Arlovski went back to the subject at hand--beating Fedor.

But seriously, these two may need to work things out in ring sometime soon.

Watch MMAWeekly.com's video interview with Andrei Arlovski.

UFC 92 Video Interview with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Video: Frank Mir on Fight Day

Former Ultimate Fighter Competitor Noah Thomas Traded?

While trades in professional sports such as the NFL, NBA and MLB is nothing new and fairly commonplace, in the world of MMA it's not something you run across very often.

So you can imagine the surprise that former "The Ultimate Fighter 5" cast member and current TKO 135-pound champion Noah Thomas got when he was informed that he had been traded from TKO to XMMA.

"It did come as a total surprise," Thomas told MMAInsider.

The trade comes on the heels of longtime TKO President Stephan Patry leaving the promotion in November to startup the new Strikebox sport/promotion. Following the initial shock of what had happened; Noah has come to terms with the situation and looks at it now as a new challenge.

"I did not foresee Stephan stepping down, but change is good and it's not a big deal," he said. "I'm really excited about the trade to XMMA and I'm looking forward to facing their 135ers."

Thomas only fought once for TKO, capturing their 135-pound title in October from Adrian Wooley, and as he sees it, the title is his still to hold on to.

"As far as I'm concerned, I'm still the TKO champ," exclaimed Noah. "So if they want the belt, they'll have to come get it. I took it home and it's in a safe, and that's where it belongs."

Randy Couture Lands Major Role in Stallone Film

Former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight titleholder Randy "The Natural" Couture has signed on for a major role in Sylvester Stallone's next action film, titled The Expendables.

Couture joins an impressive cast including action stars Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren and Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker.

The $60 million feature centers on a group of mercenaries (Couture, Li, Staham and Stallone) sent to overthrow against a ruthless dictator.

According to Couture's agent Matt Walker, Couture's role is a major one originally conceived for Wesley Snipes and rewritten for the former UFC champ.

Inside MMA Episode 249 Preview... How would Frank Shamrock fight Fedor?

Kenny and Bas return to the studio where they are joined by Andrei Arlovski, Frank Shamrock, and Gilbert Melendez. In Kruck's Korner, Ron takes a look at MMA's scoring system. There will be plenty of fight highlights from anywhere and everywhere. (Premiers Friday, Dec. 19 at 9 p.m. ET on HDNet)

ESPN.com UFC 92 Video Interview with Wanderlei Silva

ESPN.com UFC 92 Video Interview with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

Introducing Karson Jens Pulver To The World!

Jens Pulver welcomed his son, Karson Jens Pulver, at 10:30am on Tuesday of this week. He weighed in at 7lbs 110z.

Jens has always been like family here at MMAWeekly.com and we want to send our sincerest congratulations to him and his family.

Enjoy the pics of the new "Lil' lil' Evil" with his proud papa. Photos courtesy of Sucker Punch Entertainment

ESPN's MMA Live Episode 32: UFC 92 Breakdown Begins

MMA Live recaps 'TUF 8' finale, begins its comprehensive preview of UFC 92 and discusses Bobby Lashley's MMA future.

Versus to air WEC Best of 2008 on Dec. 28

Versus, the network that celebrates real competition and the exclusive television home of World Extreme Cagefighting, will air WEC Best of 2008, a two-hour special presentation on December 28 at 9 p.m. ET. The hard-hitting night includes four spectacular fights: Miguel Angel Torres vs. Yoshiro Maeda, Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver, Carlos Condit vs. Hiromitsu Miura, and the never before seen on television bout between Donald Cerrone and Rob McCullough.

Versus will re-air the special on December 31 at 11 p.m. ET and January 1 at 3 p.m. ET and 9 p.m. ET. WEC Best of 2008 is available on Versus HD.

Beginning December 28 viewers can visit www.Versus.com to weigh in on which of the four bouts featured in the WEC Best of 2008 special is the best fight of the year. Each person who votes will be entered into a sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip for two to Versus' next live WEC event on January 25 in San Diego, which will feature the lightweight championship fight between Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone and the mega-rematch between Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver.

The fight of the year, as decided by VERSUS viewers, will be announced in the January 25 live telecast airing on VERSUS at 9:30 p.m. ET.

The blockbuster bout in this special program is the explosive match between Donald Cerrone (9-0, 1 NC) and Rob McCullough (16-5), which took place November 5, but wasn't shown in the Versus live telecast. Shown in its entirety, fight fans will find out first hand why it's considered one of the best fights of the year and why Cerrone earned the chance to take on Jamie Varner for the WEC lightweight championship on January 25.

Two other fights featured in the special, arguably two of the best MMA bouts of the year, are from the June 1 card held at ARCO Arena in Sacramento. The first fight features the Miguel Angel Torres (35-1-0) vs. Yoshiro Maeda (23-6-2) bout, which resulted in Torres' third-round technical knockout over Maeda. The second fight from the June 1 card features the most anticipated MMA fight in featherweight history when former WEC champion Urijah Faber (21-2) and UFC legend Jens Pulver (22-10-1) battled it out for five heart-pumping rounds leading to a unanimous decision in Faber's favor.

Also in the December 28 special is the Carlos Condit (23-4) vs. Hiromitsu Miura (9-5) bout from the August 3 card in which Condit beat Miura near the conclusion of the fourth round with a technical knockout.

Wanderlei Trains With Xtreme Couture And Nogueira For Rampage Fight

With each passing day, the third fight between "The Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson draws nearer and nearer. As Silva prepares for the fight, he has branched out his training to extend to his own gym which will open in January after his bout at UFC 92.

Silva spoke to MMAWeekly Radio recently about his training and especially dealing with someone like Randy Couture to help prepare him.

"I'm training at (Xtreme) Couture for this fight. Cause (Randy) Couture is an amazing guy, I like him a lot," Silva said. "He opened his gym for me, he helped me a lot after I move here to Vegas, he's an amazing guy."

Working with a wide variety of training partners, Silva gets specialized help in every area and this week his gym will open up to old friend and current UFC heavyweight champion, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

"I'm training at (Xtreme) Couture and training at my gym. Because this week, (Antonio Rodrigo) Nogueira coming to train at my gym with his team," Silva stated. "He has a lot of strong guys, good jiu-jitsu, good guys for takedowns, and I'm training in my gym with him. I'm training my boxing with Skip Kelps, he's from Vegas and he's very good at boxing. I train my wrestling with Mike Whitehead, he has amazing jiu-jitsu and he's so much stronger."

Wanderlei also says that he expects to invite another champion into his gym to work with Nogueira over the next few days.

"Tomorrow I invited Forrest (Griffin) to train with me and (Nogueira). Maybe Forrest is going to train with Nogueira and with me tomorrow. Tomorrow is a hot day in my gym!"

Silva says he'll slow down on a couple of days out from the actual fight, but until then he will be at full force getting ready for his match-up against Jackson next Saturday night.

UFC 92 Video Interview with Rashad Evans

UFC 92 Video Interview with Forrest Griffin

Will Eddie Alvarez Sport Aoki's Signature Spandex Pants On NYE?

Psychological warfare is a big part of the mixed martial arts game these days. The most common form of course is trash talk, but what about wearing a pair of your opponent's signature spandex pants going into a main event fight on New Year's Eve?

That's exactly what Eddie Alvarez joked about doing during a recent appearance on MMAWeekly Radio.

"We already mentioned something like that in the gym. I wanted to do something like that, wear a pair of pants and put something like 'Tonight, I'll be wearing the pants.' Something like that," Alvarez said with a laugh.

In the end, Alvarez says that the pants just wouldn't work out for him, especially in a worst case scenario situation.

"I don't know how great it would be going out there," Alvarez said. "God forbid I get submitted with crazy ass pants on. That's not my style, I'd just rather go out in my regular shorts."

The reaction from the Japanese crowd would likely be very mixed as well.

"Everybody will be looking at me, 'look at this (expletive) in the spandex pants," Alvarez commented.

Regardless of his selection of fight wear that night, even Alvarez has said he looks forward to Aoki's entrance.

"You should see when he comes out over there, it's amazing. His song's real catchy too."

That song...Baka Survivor....check it out on YouTube.

Topps Announces Round 1 of UFC Trading Cards, GSP and Serra Signings

PRESS RELEASE:

Topps and The UFC are pleased to announce that the first ever UFC exclusive trading card product will ship mid-late January 2009... and it's appropriately named "TOPPS UFC-ROUND ONE!"

Each 16-pack box delivers plenty of value and content with a guarantee of 3 AUTOGRAPHS and 3 RELICS and will feature the likes of Georges St-Pierre, Royce (pronounced Hoyce) Gracie, Anderson Silva, Forrest Griffin and many more UFC superstars.

The 100-card base set includes 90 different fighters' debut match and a mix of personalities such as Dana White and the Octagon Girls. And to accompany UFC's exhilarating action photography found throughout the product, UFC fans and collectors can also find the following:

PARALLEL CARDS (100) - Overall Insert Rate: 1 per Pack

• Gold Parallel
• Black Parallel #'d to 888
• Red Parallel #'d 1 of 1

INSERTS

• Top 10 Fights of ‘08: The 10 best fights from 2008. Each fight will have 4 cards commemorating the contest (1:4 packs)
• 20 Victorious Debuts: Includes single fighter image of them in victory pose (1:4)
• Gold Parallel #'d to 88
• Red Parallel #'d to 1

AUTOGRAPHED CARDS

• Fighters/Personalities Autographs (50 subjects)
• Fighters Red Ink Nickname Autographs (40 subjects) #'d 25.

RELIC CARDS

• Fight Mat relics (50 cards)
• Gold Parallel #'d 88
• Red Parallel #'d to 1
• Dual Autographed Fight Mat Relics (10) Features 1 piece of mat and 2 autographs. #'d to 25
• Ultimate Gear Relics (20 subjects) Featuring event-used gloves, shorts or shirts. These are single subject cards #'d to 199.
• Autographed Ultimate Gear Relics (20 subjects) #'d to 25

PROMOTION

• Instant Win cards for tickets to an upcoming UFC event.

DEDICATED WEBSITE

• In addition, a dedicated website has been created for Topps UFC products.

Each 8-card pack carries a $5 SRP and can be found exclusively at hobby shops and UFC events.

Georges St. Pierre Topps UFC Card Signing:

Matt Serra Topps UFC Card Signing:

Rashad Evans and Efrain Escudero on MMAWeekly Radio Tuesday

Tuesday night at 9pm EST/6pm PST, MMAWeekly Radio welcomes Rashad Evans and Efrain Escudero to the show.

Evans is of course in final preparation for his Dec 27 title showdown against Forrest Griffin in Las Vegas.

Tonight, Evans joins the show live to talk about his training camp and getting ready to fight for his first ever UFC championship.

Also on the show will be "Ultimate Fighter" season 8 winner, Efrain Escudero, just days after his big win over Phillipe Nover to get the TUF title.

Escudero dedicated the win to his father and tonight he will talk about the strategy to win the fight and his future with the UFC.

Tune in tonight at 9pm EST/6pm PST to hear Rashad Evans and Efrain Escudero live!

The Dec. 16 Edition of the BJPenn.com Show

Here is the latest edition of the BJPenn.com Show. There seems to be a little technical difficulty at the beginning of a couple of the segments, but it passes and the segments do start playing if you give just a moment...

BJPenn.com Show - Dec. 16 - Segment 1



BJPenn.com Show - Dec. 16 - Segment 2


BJPenn.com Show - Dec. 16 - Segment 3


BJPenn.com Show - Dec. 16 - Segment 4


BJPenn.com Show - Dec. 16 - Segment 5
Find more videos like this on BJPENN.COM

Mike Swick's Post UFC Fight for the Troops Video Blog

Check out more from Mike Swick at www.MikeSwick.com.

Junie On Efrain's Fight, "I fell asleep half way through..."

Following an impressive victory over Dave Kaplan and a televised apology to Frank Mir -- even though he had been openly critical of Mir all the way up to The Ultimate Fighter Finale on Saturday night -- bad boy Junie Browning is still trying to get under the skin of his Ultimate Fighter 8 cast mates.

One win off the show and Junie believes he should get a rematch with Efrain Escudero, who won the lightweight division's Ultimate Fighter with an impressive performance against Phillipe Nover on Saturday night.

"I definitely would like to get a rematch now (with Efrain), you know what I mean? That was my 20% and I feel like I performed pretty good. If I go train, it wouldn't even be close, for sure," Junie told MMAWeekly.com later that night.

As for Efrain's performance, Junie gave his housemate some credit, but didn't indicate that he was particularly impressed. "I fell asleep half way through, so I didn't get to see it all. It was a smart gameplan, taking Phillipe down; he has strong punches. I give him credit. It's hard to defend his takedowns if he sets 'em up good. If I ever fight him again, that won't be a problem."

But his assessment of Efrain was the least of his critical comments. He had more for the entire cast of The Ultimate Fighter 8, believing he is head and shoulders above them all.

"The way I looked tonight, I'll be twice as good my next fight and then twice as good after that and then twice as good... I'm gonna keep improving. That's the difference between me and the rest of the guys in the house," he assessed. "I have the potential to improve. I don't think the rest of the guys have... open mind sets enough to go different places and improve certain points of their game."

And we all know that was Junie's point of strength on the show, his open mindedness...

Jens Pulver Co-Hosts MMAWeekly Radio Monday...Possibly From Delivery Room

With co-host Jeff Cain on vacation, former UFC lightweight champion and current WEC featherweight contender, Jens Pulver, has been gracious enough to stop by the show and act as co-host on Monday night's show.

Not only will "Lil' Evil" be the co-host, but he may very well be giving play by play as his child is born into the world.

You see Jens is expecting a baby to come due on Monday, but the former champ doesn't want to let the fans down so even if he's in the delivery room, he'll be on the show for sure.

"I may be in the delivery room, but if I am you'll be getting the detailed play by play," Pulver said with a laugh.

Monday night's show will also feature an interview with #2 lightweight in the world, Eddie Alvarez, just a couple of weeks out from his showdown with Shinya Aoki on New Year's Eve.

Tune into MMAWeekly Radio at 9pm EST/6pm PST at MMAWeeklyRadio.com

UFC Takes Over Barns & Noble on Dec. 15

When the $2,500, 20" x 26", over 50-pound version of the book 'Octagon' hit the marketplace last year, it was a big event for fans of the UFC, as well as for photography and art aficionados around the world.

Now the book is being released to retail outlets by Brady Games in a $40 version that may be easier to fit on your bookshelf, but that is just as big an event – so big that 20 UFC stars will be appearing at 20 Barnes and Noble locations around the United States on Monday, Dec. 15 to sign the book and meet with fans.

Some of the UFC stars who will be making appearances for this unprecedented book signing event are former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell, former welterweight champion Matt Serra, former lightweight champ Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian, Keith Jardine, Thiago Alves, Houston Alexander, Mike Swick, and Diego Sanchez.

The 360-page 'Octagon' is the branchild of world-renowned photographer Kevin Lynch, as well as the UFC's Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White. Packed with over 900 photos on glossy paper, this hardcover coffee table book takes you into the UFC like never before. From fight action to unique studio shots, the photos show you something new every time you see them. The crowning glory of the book though may be the 'before and after' shots taken of some of the game's warriors just before and directly after they compete in the world's hardest sport.

Said Fertitta, "the before and after photos Kevin has assembled are so compelling - and as an active art collector, these are some of the best art photos I have ever seen. That's because a look into the eyes of each fighter before and after a fight tells a story."

Lynch began photographing mixed martial arts in 2002, with his first UFC event being the UFC 40 battle between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock. Since then, he has been Octagonside for practically every UFC event, capturing the sport from a unique vantage point. This book is the fruit of those labors.

"I had the opportunity to actually get to know these fighters and get to portray them and honor them, hopefully, with my pictures," said Lynch, who will appear with Karo Parisyan at the Los Angeles Barnes and Noble on Dec. 15. "To be able to be appreciated for that, to have access, and have a result of this wonderful book that Lorenzo (Fertitta), Frank (Fertitta), and Dana (White) have allowed me to produce is the true highlight because it's like the crescendo."

The original, limited edition release of Octagon is still available for purchase at the UFC web site.

Barnes and Noble 'Octagon' Book Signing Locations, Times, and Participants

ALBUQUERQUE
Keith Jardine 7:00 PM 6600 Menaul Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110

BOSTON
Kenny Florian 6:00 PM 800 Boylston Street, Boston, MA 02119

CHICAGO
Clay Guida 7:00 PM 297 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, IL 60523

CINCINNATI
Dustin Hazelett 7:00 PM 7800 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati, OH 45236

DENVER
Nate Marquardt 7:00 PM 8374 S. Willow Street, Littleton, CO 80124

INDIANAPOLIS
Chris Lytle 6:00 PM 3748 East 82nd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46240

IRVINE
Eddie Sanchez 7:00 PM 901B South Coast Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

LAS VEGAS
Stephan Bonnar 7:00 PM 8915 W. Charleston, Las Vegas, NV 89117

LONG ISLAND
Matt Serra 7:00 PM 600 Smith Haven Mall, Lake Grove, NY 11755

LOS ANGELES
Karo Parisyan / Kevin Lynch 7:30 PM 189 Grove Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90036

MAUI
Kendall Grove 7:00 PM 325 Keawe #101, Lahaina, Hi 96761

MIAMI
Thiago Alves 7:00

PM 12405 N Kendall Drive, Miami, FL 33186

MINNEAPOLIS
Sean Sherk 7:00 PM 118 E. Broadway, Mall of America, Bloomington, MN 55425

NEW ORLEANS
Rich Clementi 7:00 PM 3721 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, LA 70002

OMAHA
Houston Alexander 7:00 PM 3333 Oakview Dr, Omaha, NE 68144

PORTLAND
Nate Quarry 6:30 PM 12000 SE 82nd Avenue, Portland, OR 97266

SACRAMENTO
James Irvin 7:00 PM 1725 Arden Way, Sacramento, CA 95815

SAN DIEGO
Diego Sanchez 7:00 PM 2015 Birch Rd, San Diego, CA 91915

SAN JOSE
Mike Swick 7:00 PM 2200 Eastridge Loop, San Jose, CA 95122

SAN LUIS OBISPO
Chuck Liddell 7:00 PM 894 Marsh Street, Bldg. G, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

The Miletich Family is still... the Miletich Family

With many of the longtime Pat Miletich-trained fighters having gone their separate ways over the past couple of years there is always a ton of speculation of the once great team having it in for each other. Well, it doesn't sound like it's that way for Matt Hughes. In his latest blog post, Hughes talks about being at Pat's latest fight with Jens Pulver and Robbie Lawler and some of his feelings for Pat:

"This last Thursday, Pat Miletich, my former coach and longtime friend returned to the cage. I've been waiting for Pat to fight again for a long time. With Pat helping me get ready for fights as much as he has and seeing all of his talents, I hated seeing Pat leave the industry on a loss. So I was always hoping that Pat would come in, get a fight against a formidable opponent and show everybody what he can really do. So last Thursday, Pat fought Thomas Denny and he did just that. He showed everybody that might have had a doubt that Pat still has what it takes to be a top fighter. So, with as good as Pat looked in the fight I hope he takes another one. I sat ringside with Jens (Pulver) on my right and Robbie (Lawler) on my left. We were pretty amped up for the fight and when Pat knocked Thomas out in the second round, we went crazy. I know that all three of us were in a big hug just jumping around. Some of you might know this, but when I would travel to Iowa on Monday, I would stay there all week and drive back on Friday. It was tough being away from my family, which is one of the biggest reasons I opened the HIT Squad; but Pat and the friendship we have really helped fill the void of my family not being around. To be honest, he played the role of my brother when I was in Iowa. Pat Miletich is family and nothing could ever happen that would ever make me think otherwise. But it was great going up there and seeing all the guys and it was good seeing Ryan, Mike C. and some other guys I know get some wins there as well."

Matt also posted a bunch more photos from the event on his site, Matt-Hughes.com.