Putting in some beach time, Cruz talks about strengths vs. Johnson

Dominick Cruz is already back in the Octagon. It seems like Cruz just fought Urijah Faber. After a grinding five round war won by Cruz in early July, the UFC bantamweight champ will defend his title against Demetrious Johnson this weekend at UFC on Versus 6.

It's a bit unusual for a fighter to turn around in three months to take another fight, but that's what the lower level fighters bring to the table. There is no getting out of shape or need for a massive weight cut.

Cruz is facing the diminutive, but super-active Johnson. Thus far in the WEC and UFC, the 25-year-old Johnson (10-1) has completely confused his opponents. Sound familiar? It's exactly what Cruz does with his constant movement.

In the video by Shoot, Cruz says that'll be the difference on Saturday in Washington, D.C.  Johnson will be thrown off by an opponent who is finally dipping and darting.

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Another Defence of Indy Fails To Make A Case

Bob Kravitz, writing in the Indy Star in defence of the Indianapolis MotoGP Course: Was the track slippery? Yes. That happens when a track gets repaved. Adjust and move on. Does the track lack the challenges these riders see on other tracks throughout the world? Absolutely. They often run on picturesque tracks, weaving through the [...]

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?The Ultimate Fighter? gives you new reasons to tune in

?The Ultimate Fighter? gives you new reasons to tune inIn its last season on Spike, the people behind "The Ultimate Fighter" are making some big promises to viewers. Next season, when it moves to FX, it will feature live fights, which should help make it more interesting.

In the meantime, neither the UFC nor Spike wants to make it a throwaway season. Ratings have taken a nosedive in the past few seasons, and the show just isn't as compelling as it once was.  They've given us a few good reasons to tune in.

-- "Mayhem" Miller and Michael Bisping: Neither of the coaches will be boring, and both are comfortable with cameras. Bisping previously coached on TUF against Dan Henderson, and Miller hosts "Bully Beatdown" on MTV. Miller said that his first priority is coaching his fighters, but knows that his second priority is to make entertaining TV.

"The second [priority] was to make entertaining television," Miller admitted. "I noticed after the first week that I was a bit bored, so I immediately started cranking it up so that there would be some interaction between me and Mike. At the end of the day, we're doing television, and we need to make something happen so that the audience is engaged. Many things happened."

There two know how to trash talk. There's no telling if it will reach Quinton Jackson/Rashad Evans levels, but it should be fun.

-- Fight-in returns: Last season, the fighters under Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos did not have to fight for a spot in the house, unlike in seasons 7-12. Not only will the fight-in bouts return, but the show's premiere episode will show every full fight.

-- Big bonuses: One of the fun changes, both for fighters and fans, is the creation of bonuses for the fighters that fans can vote on. The UFC will award $25,000 bonuses for the season's best fight, submission and knockout, just like they do for every fight card. Fans will get to vote on the bonuses.

The show will premiere on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 9 p.m. ET. Do you plan on tuning in? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook.

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The Forward Roll: UFC 135 Edition

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Josh KoscheckWhat lessons can we take away from UFC 135? First, Jon Jones is beginning to run away with the UFC's light-heavyweight division. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson admitted several times before and after the fight that he had worked himself into his best shape in years. The man is a former undisputed world champion, and he could barely lay a finger on Jones.

As Jones continues to progress, he learns how to better utilize his numerous gifts and establish his built-in advantages. Jackson loves to throw his hands, so Jones never let him, lengthening his already ridiculous reach with a steady diet of kicks. How do you punch someone you can't reach? Answer: you can't.

MMA math is an inexact science, but you can project how Jones will perform against Rashad Evans. While Evans has a more varied game than Jackson and boasts more speed, he'll have to navigate the same problem with distance (Evans' reach is 75 inches, just two inches more than Jackson's).

At least Evans has had plenty of time to prepare. He's known he was facing the possibility of fighting Jones since August, and he probably thought about the fight long before that. He also has some feeling for things that make Jones uncomfortable, stemming from their brief history of training together.

Still, it's hard to shake the image of Jones completely outworking two all-time legends back to back. MMA analysis website FightMetric.com independently scores fights based on offensive striking and grappling. Against Rua, Jones won with an effectiveness score of 345-57. Against Jackson, it was 244-28. Even if you don't know exactly know what those numbers represent, the scores make it clear he's routing world-class fighters. Can Evans do any better? Well, we've never seen Jones fight a real grudge match, and that element can change a fight dynamic for better or worse. Whatever the answer, it's going to be fun to find out.

Jon Jones
The best kind of fight booking is when one fight leads seamlessly into the next. That's what we have here. We know Jones will next face Evans, we simply don't know when. He'll probably take a least a month or two off, and then the UFC can begin selling one of MMA's most genuine rivalries.
Prediction: Jones faces Evans in February.

Quinton Jackson
Regardless of the outcome, it was nice to see Jackson enter a fight in great shape and give himself the best chance of winning possible. Hopefully the trend continues. There are still several interesting matchups for him, but Jackson has his eye on one or two fights in particular.
Prediction: Jackson faces Forrest Griffin in the UFC's Japan event, expected for February 2012.

Matt Hughes
The two-time welterweight champion turns 38 years old in just a few weeks, and coming off two straight knockout losses, his time is running short. Hughes said he would ask the UFC to put him "on the shelf" while he considers his future, but we already know that his wife doesn't want him to fight any longer, and Saturday night's result will only reinforce her opinion. As anyone who's married knows, you might able to put your wife off for a while, but only for so long. This is probably the end for Mr. Hughes. Happy trails to the legend.
Prediction: Hughes calls it quits and stays involved with the UFC in an ambassador type role.

Josh Koscheck
It was a fantastic night for Koscheck after taking the fight on short notice. Now, he faces a bit of an issue. He's already faced division champion Georges St-Pierre twice, so as long as GSP holds the belt, Koscheck has no chance to get another title match. So his options are either to stay at 170 and continue winning while hoping that someone upsets St-Pierre, or moving up to 185, where he'll be at a serious size disadvantage.
Prediction: Koscheck loves making money, and the bigger, better matchups for him are still at 170. If Diego Sanchez heals in a timely fashion, he's the pick for a rematch, but if not, how about we send him to the UK to fight Dan Hardy? That sounds fun.

Mark Hunt
With all the hoopla following the Jones-Rampage-Rashad triangle and Matt Hughes' possible retirement, Mark Hunt's story got sort of lost. But once upon a time, the UFC tried to pay Hunt to stay home and cut ties. It would have been the easiest payday of his career, but he chose to make his money the old fashioned way. Now a surprising 2-1 in the UFC after beating heavily favored Ben Rothwell, Hunt adds future paydays, all well earned.
Prediction: In a battle of kickboxing specialists, Hunt faces Pat Barry in January.

Ben Rothwell
After more than a year on the sidelines, Rothwell has to be terribly disappointed at losing his return bout, but at least he fought through incredible exhaustion and refused to be finished. He'll certainly get another crack in the octagon, but he needs to make this one count.
Prediction: He faces the loser of next month's Joey Beltran-Stipe Miocic fight early next year.

Travis Browne
Browne didn't put on the showcase some expected against the durable Brit Rob Broughton, but in the fight game, you have to shrug off an ugly win every now and again. It should still be onward and upward for Browne, who has yet to face defeat in the cage. This time, let's forget booking the heavyweights in elevation and put him on flat land.
Prediction: Browne faces Brendan Schaub.

Nate Diaz
Diaz looks alternately spectacular (striking and jiu-jitsu) and ordinary (wrestling) depending on the opponent in front of him. Until he proves he can stop a takedown though, it's going to be difficult to project how far he can go. The talent is there, but that one hole needs to be shut, and in the lightweight division, wrestlers are around every corner.
Prediction: Diaz faces Jim Miller, a fight that would be off the charts on the intensity scale.

Takanori Gomi
Since coming over to the UFC, Gomi's had only one flash of his old brilliance when he knocked out Tyson Griffin in April 2010. After losing three of four, the UFC has to be wondering what exactly they have on their hands. Gomi may be a historical great, but right now he's not bringing the goods. I still think he'll get one more chance at a winnable fight when the UFC brings the show to Japan.
Prediction: Gomi faces Thiago Tavares.

Tim Boetsch
In his second fight since moving down to middleweight, The "Barbarian" again looked strong, giving Nick Ring his first loss. The middleweight division is among the weakest in the UFC, so Boetsch has a chance to make himself a player in short order. Next up should be another fighter riding a win streak.
Prediction: Boetsch faces Rousimar Palhares.

 

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UFC 135 picks, Vegas-style: Koscheck is a massive favorite for a guy fighting on 19 days notice

Yahoo! Sports' lead MMA writer Kevin Iole joined "The MMA Insiders" show in Las Vegas to give his plays for UFC 135.

From a gambling standpoint, this is an interesting card to breakdown. The main and co-main events feature veteran fighters tabbed as massive underdog. Who has a better shot - Quinton Jackson or Matt Hughes? Adam Hill from the Las Vegas Review-Journal made a strong case for Hughes over Josh Koscheck.

Three weeks ago, Koscheck seemed to prepping for a fight at middleweight at UFC 139 in November. When Diego Sanchez dropped off this card with an injury, Koscheck jumped at the chance to fight Hughes. He looked good at the UFC weigh-in yesterday.

There's heavy public steam on some of the undercard favorites. That's pushing the numbers through the roof.

UFC 135 betting odds (Courtesy Cantor Gaming Las Vegas):

Best plays in bold

Jon Jones (-500) vs. Quinton Jackson (+375) - Light heavyweight title

Matt Hughes (+375) vs. Josh Koscheck (-500) - Welterweight

Mark Hunt (+270) vs. Ben Rothwell (-350) - Heavyweight

Rob Broughton (+300) vs. Travis Browne (-380) - Heavyweight

Nate Diaz (-250) vs. Takanori Gomi (+210) - Lightweight

Aaron Riley (+270) vs. Tony Ferguson (-350) - Lightweight

Tim Boetsch (-170) vs. Nick Ring (+140) - Middleweight

Junior Assuncao (+105) vs. Eddie Yagin (-135) - Featherweight

Cole Escovedo (+175) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (-210) - Bantamweight

Ricardo Romero (+135) vs. James Te Huna (-165) - Light heavyweight

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TFC 20: Varner and Rogers lose, Whitney scores dynamite flying knee KO

TFC 20: Varner and Rogers lose, Whitney scores dynamite flying knee KOJamie Varner and Brett Rogers must've thought a few fights in the minor leagues would be fine on their way back to the bigs. That's not the way it's working out for the former WEC and Strikeforce stars. Both Varner and Rogers lost last night at Titan Fighting Championship 19.

Varner looked sluggish throughout his fight against Dakota Cochrane. He leaned too heavily on his takedown game and couldn't control Cochrane on the ground. Cochrane (11-1) was the much better fighter on the feet taking a unanimous decision, 30-27 on all three cards.

Varner, the former WEC lighweight champ, is now 1-4-1 in his last six. He's only 26, but has battle hand problems and other injuries for the last few years. Before the fight, Varner talked about his goals of a Zuffa return.

"I literally just took some time away from actual competition," Varner told the Kansas City Star. "I was still training and working out often. I took some fights last year that might have been (after) a little too quick of a turnaround. I needed my body to fully heal. I also took some college classes so I can have different opportunities in a few years down the road after my MMA career. For now I am 100 percent committed to MMA and getting to the UFC."

MMAjunkie says Varner was hinting at retirement on Twitter after the fight. It appears he deleted the tweet. Cochrane was  a late replacement on this card. His victory shows just how sick the depth is around the country in all weight classes.

Rogers (11-4) was facing a better known entity in former UFC fighter Eddie Sanchez and result was the same. Rogers was a top-rated heavyweight for Strikeforce and even gave Fedor Emelianenko a run for his money during their 2009 fight.

Against Sanchez, he looked tentative and exhibited little growth in his game. Rogers never put his punches together and appeared unable to check a kick. Sanchez beat up his lead leg for 15 minutes. Sanchez took a split decision, 30-27, 28-29 and 30-27, from Rogers, who's now lost 4-of-5.

The best moment of the night came fromn Andrew Whitney. He and Laramie Shaffer engaged in a slugfest for two-plus rounds, but that all changed when Whitney delivered a picture perfect flying knee.

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Strikeforce Challengers 19 Fighter Salaries

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With a payday of $10,000, Lorenz Larkin, Ryan Couture and Lavar Johnson were the highest earners at this past Friday's Strikeforce Challengers 19 in Las Vegas.

Larkin, who defeated Nick Rossborough in the evening's main event, earned $5,000 to show and another $5,000 to win. Couture and Johnson each received $10,000 flat. Couture, though, won his fight against Maka Watson, while Johnson was submitted by Shawn Jordan.

Salaries for all 18 fighters on the card are after the jump.

Please keep in mind these salaries are the numbers Strikeforce reported to the Nevada athletic commission and does not necessarily represent a fighter's final earnings.

Showtime Bouts
Lorenz Larkin ($5,000 + $5,000 win = $10,000) def. Nick Rossborough ($3,000)
Shawn Jordan ($4,000 + $4,000 win = $8,000) def. Lavar Johnson ($10,000)
Ryan Couture ($10,000) def. Maka Watson ($2,000)
Jason High ($4,000 + $4,000 = $8,000) def. Todd Moore ($4,000)

Preliminary Bouts
Brian Melancon ($3,000 + $3,000 win = $6,000) def. Felipe Portela ($2,000)
James Terry ($4,000 + $4,000 win = $8,000) def. Magno Almeida ($2,000)
Bobby Green ($3,000 + $3,000 = $6,000) def. Charon Spain ($3,000)
Christopher Spang ($3,000 + $2,000 = $5,000) def. Joe Ray ($2,000)
Quinn Mulhern ($2,100 + $2,500 = $4,600) def. Danny Davis Jr. ($2,900)*

Mulhern failed to make weight and forfeited $400 of his purse to Davis Jr.

 

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