MMA Fix with Frank MIr

Watch Frank Mir Talks About His Upcoming Fight with Brock Lesnar on RawVegas.tv

The MMA Show with Mauro Ranallo 4-24-09

Ultimate Talk:BJ vs GSP

lj-embed>

Fedor

Holiday Reading

TUF 205 lb Champion Ryan Bader is taking advantage of the break after his Finale win and not needing to cut weight anymore to enjoy a little holiday food, including some cookies and fudge. He is waiting to hear from the UFC for his next match.

Jay over at GymTops.com has a good piece detailing the MMA gifts you wish you had gotten today instead of the socks, sweater, or tin of popcorn that you got instead. Those cutouts are sweet, but I'm not so sure about the Octa-bed.

The Las Vegas Review Journal details holidays past and present with UFC 92 participants Forrest Griffin and Wanderlei Silva.

UFC 92 Hype

The Canadian Press profiles Brad Blackburn in the lead up to his showdown with Ryo Chonan.

The Las Vegas Sun profiles the Mir vs Nog Showdown and writer Andy Samuelson breaks down the card.

Las Vegas Weekly has three quick questions for Frank Mir.

Rashad Evans has an interview with BuddyTV.

Bisping in UFC Undisputed 2009 Video Game

Courtesy of The Sun

Cage Fighter To Possibly Re-Enter The Octagon

Conspicuous in their display during last night's Countdown to UFC 92 was the Cage Fighter clothing brand. Cage Fighter is the best known of the brands from MMA clothier MMA Authentics. In a well publicized falling out with MMA Authentics, Cage Fighter and its' sister brands were banned from the Octagon and any UFC related events. The dispute centered on MMA Authentics MMA Elite brand beating out the UFC for shelf space at Wal Mart. The prominent display of the brand during Countdown is the latest sign of a lessening in tensions between the UFC and the clothing brand.

Despite being banned from the Octagon, the lines of communication between the fight promotion and the clothing company have remained open. Negotiations heated up between the two in consultations in and around the TUF 8 Finale card and have been heavy since. A deal between the two seems imminent, with negotiations already being in place for several athletes to possibly wear Cage Fighter into the Ring for UFC 92, including Rampage Jackson. MMAPayout.com has also learned Cage Fighter/ MMA Authentics is trying to lock up exclusive lifestyle apparel rights for UFC. The TapouT brand would still be a cornerstone of the UFC's apparel strategy, with the co-existence of TapouT and Cage Fighter merely being a case of semantics. The terms of the possible deal are unknown, but a similar deal between the UFC and TapouT for exclusive promotional rights is rumored to involve the UFC taking profit participation points from TapouT.

Hardonk Not Fazed by Replacement Wessel

The Globe and Mail of Canada has an interesting piece on Antoni Hardonk as he gets ready for his bout at this week-end's UFC 92 card. His opponent is a late substitution but Hardonk is bothered much by the prospect of not having much knowledge of his opponent:

The 32-year-old Dutchman looks to make it three wins in a row Saturday night at UFC 92 in Las Vegas, where he meets UFC newcomer Mike (The Juggernaut) Wessel on the undercard of the light-heavyweight title fight between champion Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans.

Hardonk (7-4 including 3-2 in the UFC) arrived Friday in Las Vegas after some visa delays and learning that his original opponent Mark Burch had been replaced by Wessel.

“Apparently he played football,” Hardonk said. “He's a very physical guy but he just started training mixed martial arts a couple of years ago and because of his physicality, he's very successful. . . . He has a good record and now he's fighting in the UFC.”

Wessel, 31, is a six-foot 260-pounder who played defensive tackle for the San Diego Riptide of the Arena Football League. He has also served as assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Wessel trains in Little Rock along with Roli Delgado, who was on Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter.

Wessel for his part is looking forward to the showdown and seems content to stand and bang judging from his interview with Fighters Only:

He is a very good kickboxer and has a ton of heart. He has gotten in some bad spots and fought his way out. That’s what has been most impressive to me, his heart. I think he is great at what he does and I am great at what I do. It will come down to who wants it most and makes the least amount of mistakes.

I like to stand and bang and so does he. I can go to ground and be just as comfortable so really it is all up in air. Either way its gonna be a war of two big guys - and everyone loves to watch that!

Wessel would be best served by taking the Kickboxer Hardonk to the ground and work his game from there, because a s much as he likes to bang, I'm thinking he would get banged in a stand-up scenario with Hardonk.

Norwegian Hammer Thrower At UFC 92?

Neilk Davidson of The Canadian Press has a quickie profile on Dan Evensen, who will be making his UFC debut this week-end in a showdown with kick boxer Pat Barry on the undercard of The Ultimate 2008 UFC 92 card. These two come off as no namers but Davidson adds a little bit of context to the proceedings in his piece:

Norway's Dan (The Viking) Evensen's career has taken more than a few twists and turns. What's next for the 6-foot-3 250-pounder may depend on what happens Saturday night against Pat Barry on the undercard of UFC 92 (pay-per-view) in Las Vegas.

Mixed martial arts brought Evensen to the U.S. five years ago. A track-and-field enthusiast, he had represented Norway as a hammer thrower and then traveled the world as a marine engineer.

"I've always been a spontaneous guy," the 34-year-old said. "I got a restless when I was done with sport ... I missed sport and got back in. It happened to be fighting."

Losing weight was the original goal. The big man was getting even bigger. He had done kickboxing in the past and figured fighting might be a good fit.

Evensen may have a tall order in Barry. Barry is the smaller guy but is a well versed striker with more than 50 pro and amateur Muay Thai fights under his belt. I'm not liking Evensen's chances of winning this fight, but if he shows even the slight resemblance of having a pulse he could end up as filler on the UFC's Euro Cards for years to come, as actually winning or being any good isn't much of a prerequisite for the European fighters on those cards.