Another Strikeforce defection: Henderson vs. Rua at UFC 139

Another Strikeforce defection: Henderson vs. Rua at UFC 139Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson will reportedly meet up with former UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 139 on Nov. 19. This bout should make longtime MMA fans happy, but raises even more questions about the future of Strikeforce.

Both fighters made their names while in the Pride Fighting Championships in Japan. Rua was Pride's Grand Prix middleweight winner, while Henderson held multiple titles with the now-defunct promotion. Even with that shared history, this will be the first time they meet in a fight. Ten years ago, Henderson did defeat Shogun's brother, Murilo.

Henderson's last bout was a knockout of Fedor Emelianenko in what turned out to be the last Strikeforce fight for both men. Just weeks ago at UFC 134 in Brazil, Rua KOed Forrest Griffin.

This will be Henderson's third stint with the UFC. He fought at UFC 17 before Pride, then came back after Zuffa, the promotion that owns the UFC, bought Pride. When Strikeforce offered him a better contract, Henderson defected, but Zuffa purchased Strikeforce in March.

That purchase has allowed the UFC to pick off some of the Strikeforce's champs, like Nick Diaz, who will fight B.J. Penn at UFC 137, and Alistair Overeem, who will take on Brock Lesnar at UFC 141. Three men's championship belts -- heavyweight, light heavyweight and welterweight -- now stand vacant. After his win over Roger Gracie, former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Mo Lawal said that he was not interested in fighting for a vacant belt, so that division's future is in flux.

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Henderson won't be the only former Strikeforcer to fight at UFC 139, as former middleweight champ, Cung Le, will take on Vitor Belfort at 139. The fights are expected to take place in San Jose, the one-time home of Strikeforce's offices.

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UFC on Versus 6 Results: Cruz vs. Johnson

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Dominick Cruz vs. Demetrious Johnson is the main event of UFC on Versus 6.MMA Fighting has UFC on Versus 6 results for all of the Oct. 1 UFC on Versus 6 fights, live blogs of all the fights and live Cruz vs. Johnson twitter updates.

In the main event, Dominick Cruz defends his bantamweight title against Demetrious Johnson. In the co-main event, Pat Barry will take on Stefan Struve.

Check out the full results below.

Main card
Dominick Cruz vs. Demetrious Johnson (live blog)
Pat Barry vs. Stefan Struve (live blog)
Anthony Johnson vs. Charlie Brenneman (live blog)
Matt Wiman vs. Mac Danzig (live blog)

Preliminary card
Yves Edwards vs. Rafaello Oliveira (live blog)
Michael Johnson vs. Paul Sass (live blog)
Mike Easton def. Byron Bloodworth via TKO (knees, punches) - R2, 4:52
(live blog)
TJ Grant def. Shane Roller via verbal submission (armbar) - R3 2:12 (live blog)
Josh Neer def. Keith Wisniewski via TKO (doctor stoppage) - R2, 5:00 (live blog)
Walel Watson def. Joseph Sandoval via TKO (punches) - R1, 1:17 (live blog)

 

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Dave Herman Out of UFC 136; Says Positive Marijuana Test to Blame, but Denies Use

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A heavyweight tussle at UFC 136 next week has been scrapped from the main card, and a featherweight rematch has been bumped up to take its place.

The UFC announced Wednesday that a bout between Dave "Pee Wee" Herman and Mike Russow is off because Herman had to withdraw, and Leonard Garcia vs. Nam Phan has moved up from the preliminary card to the pay-per-view slot.

But later Wednesday, Herman told Clinch Gear Radio that it was a failed preliminary drug test that knocked him out of the bout, saying he tested positive for marijuana - but denying any use of the banned substance. Additionally, a source close to Russow's camp told MMA Fighting that marijuana was indeed the culprit.

"I'm still trying to figure it out myself," Herman told hosts Jeff Dotseth and Stephen Quadros. "Basically, they said I failed my drug test. I went in to get my drug test. A week later, they called and said they lost my urine specimen and I had to come back in and redo it. And I came back in and they said I failed it. It's impossible."

Herman (21-2, 1-0 UFC) denied any use of marijuana: "I don't even smoke. I haven't even had a beer in two months."

Herman told the show the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which regulates MMA in the state, initially said he failed a first test, then failed a second for steroids. He also said the commission asked him to take a second test because it lost his first sample.

Herman won his UFC debut in June with a comeback win over Jon Olav Einemo that won Fight of the Night honors. The Indiana native has been training with Team Quest. Herman started his MMA career 15-0 with 15 stoppages - 14 in the first round, including a 3-0 stint in EliteXC.

Russow (14-1, 1 NC, 3-0 UFC) beat Jon Madsen in March after a long injury layoff. A source close to Russow's camp told MMA Fighting the heavyweight does not yet have another fight booked.

Garcia and Phan's rematch moves from the prelims up to the pay-per-view. The two fought at the TUF 12 Finale last December with Garcia winning a controversial split decision and Fight of the Night honors. Garcia was unsuccessful in March in another rematch from a controversial split decision win when he was submitted by Chan Sung Jung. Phan is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Mike Brown at UFC 133 in August.

UFC 136 takes place Oct. 8 at the Toyota Center in Houston. It will be the promotion's first trip to Houston since UFC 69. The show, which will be preceded by a UFC Fan Expo on Oct. 7-8, features a pair of title fights - the rematch between lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, plus a featherweight title bout between champ Jose Aldo and Kenny Florian.

 

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UFC 135 weigh-in: Jackson says it?s time to end the Jones hype

The atmosphere tomorrow night at the Pepsi Center should fiery. That's if the energy carries over from this afternoon's weigh-in.

The main event fighters, Jon Jones and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, were both jacked up as they easily made weight for the UFC light heavyweight title showdown (video).

The staredown was highlighted by some barking back and forth.

"I had to keep it real with him. I'm gonna end his hype tomorrow," Jackson told UFC analyst Joe Rogan. "That's what I had to tell him."

Has Jackson gotten under Jones' skin during the long lead up to the fight? It's impossible to truly know, but he did get Jones to go away from his customary stare away during the face off. Jones looked straight at Jackson and the fighters began to chirp immediately.

"It's about time he grows up and starts acting like a real MMA fighter and quit throwing [out] a front for these fans," Jackson said. "Stare people down! That's what we do."

Check this UFC.com video for a closer look at the face-to-face conversation. Once Jones, 24, walked away he told Rogan there's already been too much talking, he just wants to do his in the cage.

Jackson, 33, was jovial before he hit the scale. He even shook his rump a bit for the crowd. Jones came out screaming "let's go!" and pulled off the "black socks with sneakers look" quite well.

The crowd in Denver seemed stoked for the card. They booed loudly when Josh Kosheck came to the stage. For a guy, who got called in on 19 days notice, Koscheck looked shredded. The greeting and staredown from Matt Hughes was professional. Koscheck has been goading Hughes by saying the UFC Hall of Famer ducked him over the years. Hughes hasn't taken any of the trash talk bait.

UFC 135 weigh-in: Jackson says it?s time to end the Jones hype

There were two minor dust ups. Junior Assuncao burst across the stage and got right in Eddie Yagin's face. The little Filipino was shocked, but didn't retaliate. Nick Ring did the same to Tim Boetsch, but did so in more gentle fashion.

Takanori Gomi's demeanor was interesting. The Japanese legend is usually very stoics, but when the taller Nate Diaz tried to hover over him and get in his face, Gomi glared at him and starting shaking his fists.

All 20 fighters made weight without incident.

UFC 135 weigh-in: Jackson says it?s time to end the Jones hype

UFC 135 weigh-in (Courtesy MMAjunkie):

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

Champ Jon Jones (204.5) vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (204)
Matt Hughes (170) vs. Josh Koscheck (170.5)
Mark Hunt (261) vs. Ben Rothwell (263)
Rob Broughton (261) vs. Travis Browne (255)
Nate Diaz (156) vs. Takanori Gomi (155)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)

Aaron Riley (155) vs. Tony Ferguson (155)
Tim Boetsch (186) vs. Nick Ring (185)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

Junior Assuncao (145) vs. Eddie Yagin (145)
Cole Escovedo (135) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (135)
Ricardo Romero (205) vs. James Te Huna (205)

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A frustrated ?Rampage? talks about transitioning to boxing

A frustrated ?Rampage? talks about transitioning to boxing

Quinton Jackson has made a lot bold statements about the direction of his career and in most cases changed his mind a few days later. Now the 33-year-old is talking about a boxing career. Will he go through with it?

Jackson is annoyed with the direction of MMA. While he's become a one-dimensional fighter, who's always looking to land the right hand, he's seeing the young guns at 205 pounds becoming more and more athletic.

"I hate fighting people who are scared. When you fight somebody who is scared you never know what they're going to do. They turn and run," Jackson told the ESPN U.K. podcast. "That's why I'm gonna go to boxing. I'm gonna try boxing because they've got to stand with you. If I get knocked out I don't care because at least it's a fight."

Jackson is coming off a fight where he couldn't touch UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones for 15-plus minutes. Jones used his 84-inch reach and kicks to keep Jackson at long range. When the space closed, Jackson swung away like a maniac, but Jones just scooted out of the pocket.

Jackson became a crossover star with his role in "The A-Team," but that mean anyone outside of MMA will care if he moves over to boxing?

"I've tried a lot of boxing, I'm falling in love with boxing and I know I can put butts on seats over there." said Jackson.

Keep in mind, Jackson fights at 205 pounds and walks around at anywhere between 225-250 pounds. Boxing's heavyweight division could use an infusion of American draws, but could a guy with zero pro fights in the sport fill anything bigger than a 2,000 seat arena?

On top of that, Jackson will have to leave the UFC to move over to boxing. Based on previous discussions with Zuffa management, there's no way a fighter under contract with the UFC would be allowed to potentially scar his reputation by boxing. Long story short, Rampage will "change his mind" about boxing in the next few days.

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Will UFC on Fox help boxing?s cause? De La Hoya says yes

Golden Boy Promotions and boxing had a huge week with the Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz fight. Meanwhile, the UFC was putting together all the details on its first network television show on Fox on Nov. 12. It's short term vs. long term. Boxing promoter Oscar De La Hoya understands that and had nothing but good things to say about the Fox deal.

"I congratulate Dana White for doing an amazing job," De La Hoya said. "My utmost respect to Dana White. I believe he's a brilliant guy. He's a tremendous guy to have in a combat sport."

There is no jealousy coming from DLH because he believes the Fox deal could pave the way for boxing to get back on network TV.

"I can feel very confident in saying that, sooner rather than later,  it will be back on network television," De La Hoya said. "When you put good fights together people want to watch, and when you have any type of network television behind boxing you will create good ratings."

De La Hoya said Golden Boy is working on taking those steps. Would boxing sacrifice HBO, Showtime and most importantly pay-per-view money to put free fights on network television? We'll see. Frankly, it's probably not up to the boxing promoters. Television executives will make the decision and they certainly need to be re-sold on the viability of the combat sport that was on network television until the early 80's.

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