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Cagewriter - UFC

  • Who stood out in Saturday night's fights?

    No. 1 star -- Vitor Belfort*: We will be watching highlights of that knockout for years to come. The timing, explosion and landing spot of the kick were just perfect. The knockout was so great the UFC didn't even have to say who they were talking about when they announced who the $50,000 Knockout of the Night bonus was awarded to.

    Then why the asterisk? Because it's hard to look at what Belfort did and not wonder if the testosterone replacement therapy he used throughout his camp played a part. His late-career resurgence doesn't pass the smell test.

    No. 2 star -- Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza: Did Chris Camozzi even realize he was in the arm triangle choke that Souza so expertly applied? Souza's performance on Saturday night served notice to the UFC middleweights. It also earned him a $50,000 Submission of the Night bonus. All in all, it was a pretty good start in the UFC for the Strikeforce veteran.

    No. 3 star -- Fabio Maldonado: Perhaps it wasn't the prettiest win of the night, but it got the job done against some tough odds. Maldonado withstood a kick to the groin that made even me wince and came back to win by decision. That's more than enough to earn a star.

    Who stood out for you? Speak up on Facebook or Twitter.

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  • From his rousing entrance to his quick submission win, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza had a memorable UFC debut at UFC on FX 8 with a first-round win over Chris Camozzi.

    Souza is one of the UFC's best BJJ practitioners, and he put on a show on Saturday night. He took down Camozzi, and smoothly worked him on the ground until Souza caught him in an arm-triangle choke. It was so smooth and fast that Camozzi was choked out within seconds. The fight was stopped at 3:27 in the first round.

    Souza, whose nickname means "alligator" in Portuguese, celebrated with his trademark crawl around the cage. He stood up and led the raucous crowd in gator chomps.

    This is Souza's fourth straight win, and all four wins were by stoppage. He has shown a more well-rounded game during his recent Strikeforce fights, but had no problem returning to his jiu-jitsu roots in the win over Camozzi. With such a strong debut, Souza should be in the conversation for a middleweight title shot soon.

  • Vitor Belfort gave fans in his home country of Brazil plenty to be happy about at UFC on FX 8 on Saturday, delivering a first-round knockout of Luke Rockhold that is sure to make UFC highlight reels for years to come.

    Belfort held off Rockhold's takedown attempts early, and then set up to deliver a perfect knockout kick halfway through the round. Near the fence, Belfort landed a spinning kick to Rockhold's face. It landed flush, and Rockhold fell to the ground. Belfort finished with ground and pound. The fight was stopped at 2:32 in the first round.

    It's Belfort's second straight win by knockout. He knocked out Michael Bisping in January, and before that, moved up to light heavyweight and lost a title fight to Jon Jones. His record is now 23-10. He already has a loss against UFC champion Anderson Silva, but is this fight enough to ask for another title shot? He wouldn't say.

    "I'm here to fight. I don't pick fights. I accept fights," Belfort said after the win.

    There was plenty of bad blood between the two before the fight began. Belfort is one of the UFC fighters who has an exemption to use testosterone replacement therapy. Rockhold viewed this as sanctioned cheating, and wasn't afraid to say so. The two had to be separated during Friday's weigh-ins as Rockhold got in Belfort's face.

    This was Rockhold's first fight in the UFC. He is now 11-2, with most of his wins coming in Strikeforce, where he was the middleweight champion.

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  • It's been a crazy, crazy week in MMA. Let's get right to finding out what's hot and what's not.

    Not -- Pat Healy: After a memorable, double-bonus winning fight at UFC 159, Healy tested positive for marijuana. He lost his bonuses, worth $130,000. It was a very costly lesson.

    Hot -- Bryan Caraway: He was the only other fighter at UFC 159 by submission, so he picked up Healy's vacated bonus.

    Not -- Nate Diaz: In a Twitter conversation today, someone from GLAAD spelled out exactly why Diaz's tweet that got him suspended was so hurtful.

    "When you use an anti-gay slur, even not to describe a gay person, what you tell all gay people is, 'My subconscious wanted to find the worst insult it could, and what it came up with ... was you.'"

    In using the f-word to describe Caraway, Diaz not only used the language of hate, but also put his own standing with the UFC in jeopardy.

    Hot -- Tarec Saffiedine's son: If you missed it, watch Tarec Saffiedine's son throw some combinations on a laundry hamper. If you watched it, watch it again. It's still adorable.

    Not -- Paul Kelly: Since losing to Donald Cerrone at UFC 126 and getting cut by the UFC, British fighter Paul Kelly's life has taken a surprising turn. He was convicted for trafficking heroin in the United Kingdom. He is reportedly facing a long prison term.

    Still taking temperature -- Luke Rockhold and Vitor Belfort: The two will face off on Saturday night in Brazil on FX. Considering the bad blood between the fighters, this should be a fun one.

    Thank you for reading Cagewriter. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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  • UFC lightweight Nate Diaz has been suspended by the promotion for using a homophobic slur in a tweet about fellow fighter Bryan Caraway. After Pat Healy lost his UFC 159 Submission of the Night bonus for testing positive for marijuana, the bonus was given to Caraway. Diaz apparently didn't think Caraway should have accepted the money. Apologies for the language he used in the tweet showing on Cagewriter:

    He followed that up with a slur against women.

    The UFC responded quickly, suspending Diaz as they investigate what their next move is. The promotion issued a statement on the matter.

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  • The UFC is in Brazil again for Saturday's UFC on FX bouts. The top of the card holds a contentious bout between two fighters who clearly don't like each other. What do you need to know before tuning in?

    Will Luke Rockhold keep octagon jitters at bay? Luke Rockhold spent most of his career in Strikeforce. He worked his way up through the challengers system to become the promotion's final middleweight champion. Now, he finally gets a chance to show he belongs in the UFC. He won't have an easy entry, fighting Vitor Belfort, who is coming off of a TKO win over Michael Bisping in January. Will he avoid octagon jitters and keep his fight streak alive?

    Has Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza continued to grow as a fighter? Souza well-credentialed in jiu-jitsu, but his fight game has become more well-rounded in recent bouts. He'll face Chris Camozzi, who is on a four-fight win streak. Will Souza show the complete fight game he did in Strikeforce?

    Is Nik Lentz among the best of the loaded featherweights? Since dropping down to 145 lbs., Lentz is 2-0. He'll face Hacran Dias on his home territory. Both fighters have a chance at getting closer to Jose Aldo and the featherweight belt with a win. Which one will come away the winner?

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  • Mayors in competing cities often place bets when there sports teams face off. Quite often, they offer the city's signature foods and gifts. For this year's Super Bowl, the San Francisco mayor spent a day in service in Baltimore after the Ravens won. But two mayors in south Florida are upending that tradition. They'll be the ones competing.

    Carlos Hernandez, the mayor of Hialeah, and Michael Pizzi, the mayor of Miami Lakes, plan to square off for charity. It started as a discussion over dinner -- and a few drinks -- over who could beat each other up. It snowballed from there.

    Hernandez, 52, says he has trained with the Gracies, one of MMA's most important families. Pizzi has another plan.

    "Carlos is an athlete into aerobics," Pizzi said to MMA Junkie. "I'm of the Tank Abbott (and) Roy Nelson school of training, which is have a six-pack of beer, get off a bar stool and knock the guy out in the first three punches."

    While Nelson does like to show off his belly, he's in a bit better shape than Pizzi says.

    The two mayors haven't set a date for the bout yet as they are still looking for a promoter. The Miami Herald reports the fight will take place in Hernandez's home turf of Hialeah. Money they raise from the bout will go to programs benefiting children in each mayor's city.

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  • Vitor Belfort started his MMA career in 1996. To give you an idea of how long he has been around, consider this: When he made his debut, Michael Jordan and the Bulls were about to embark on their 72-10 season. Bil Clinton was the president. Yahoo was just two years old. "Beverly Hills, 90210," the greatest television show of all time, was on the air, and I was a senior in high school.

    Since that first fight, a 12-second knockout of Jon Hess, he's fought 31 more times, putting together a record of 22-10. His 33rd fight is Saturday against Luke Rockhold, the 28-year-old Strikeforce middleweight champ.

    Now 36, Belfort fought twice in a tournament at UFC 12. He knocked out two opponents in a total of two minutes. He went 1-2 against Randy Couture, beat Wanderlei Silva but lost to Kazushi Sakuraba. He's fought in Pride, Affliction and the UFC. He had Jon Jones in an armbar, coming the closest to beating Jones of any of the light heavyweight champion's opponents.

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  • Pat Healy made a memorable cross-over from Strikeforce at UFC 159. He submitted Jim Miller and won two bonuses to steal the show at the April event. Unfortunately, he also tested positive for marijuana after the fight. His fight result has been changed to no-contest, and he will have to give up the bonuses that totaled $130,000.

    Healy both tweeted about the positive test and released a statement. He will be suspended for 90 days. Healy attributed the positive test to a night out with friends a month before the fight.

    Marijuana's acceptance in the United States is growing. Medical marijuana laws are becoming more common, and it's legal in two states. However, it's still a banned substance that state commissions test for, and fighters know this going into their bouts. Healy apologized in his statement, and said he should have been a better role model.

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  • After losing to UFC champions Anderson Silva and Jon Jones, Chael Sonnen called out Wanderlei Silva for a bout. Silva responded on Fuel's "UFC Tonight," and his words just may gross you out.

    "Jon Jones and Anderson Silva have been too nice to Chael. I want to suck his blood. I want to smell it. Not just fight – I want to hurt him. Chael is a joke, man. He’s going to be second forever. He’s never going to be first," Silva said to Ariel Helwani.

    MMA is a bloody sport, and we're used to seeing blood cover fighters, their clothes and canvases. But we are not vampires, sparkly or otherwise. Blood sucking, Wanderlei? Really? Perhaps Wand is a fan of the "Twilight" novels, but let's keep the vampire aspects out of MMA and in young adults novels, OK?

    Read More »

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