UFC 118: Penn vs Edgar 2 - Card Updates

[NWOWolfpack]

THE ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP®CONFIRMS REMAINING BOUTS FOR UFC® 118: EDGAR vs. PENN 2
SATURDAY, AUGUST 28, 2010


DEMIAN MAIA vs. MARIO MIRANDA
NATE DIAZ vs. MARCUS DAVIS
JOE LAUZON vs. GABE RUEDIGER
ANDRE WINNER vs. NIK LENTZ
DAN MILLER vs. JOHN SALTER
NICK OSIPCZAK vs. GREG SOTO
MIKE PIERCE vs. AMILCAR ALVES


Live from the TD Banknorth Garden – Boston, MA


Las Vegas, NV (USA) – The highly anticipated lightweight championship rematch between Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn will conclude an explosive fight card for the Ultimate Fighting Championship at UFC 118 in Boston, Massachusetts. The title fight will round out a card that features former three-division world boxing champion James “Lights Out” Toney making his MMA debut against UFC Hall of Famer Randy “The Natural” Couture. Also featured on the card is a lightweight matchup that has the makings to be Fight of the Night, as Massachusetts native Kenny Florian is pegged to battle undefeated Gray Maynard.

The remaining unannounced undercard bouts feature the following matchups: Demian Maia vs. Mario Miranda, Nate Diaz vs. Marcus Davis, Joe Lauzon vs. Gabe Ruediger, Andre Winner vs. Nik Lentz, Dan Miller vs. John Salter, Nick Osipczak vs. Greg Soto, and Mike Pierce vs. Amilcar Alves.

Originally, Demian Maia (fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil/12-2) was scheduled to headline The Ultimate Fight Night® in Austin, Texas, before his opponent Alan Belcher withdrew due to an eye injury. Maia is now featured on the main card for UFC 118, his first fight since taking Anderson Silva all five rounds at UFC 112. The former No. 1 contender is now set to battle his way back to the top, starting with Mario Miranda (fighting out of Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/12-1). The relative newcomer to the UFC has two fights with the organization, most recently a TKO victory over the highly-respected veteran David Loiseau.

The Ultimate Fighter® season five winner Nate Diaz (fighting out of Stockton, Calif./12-5) has been victorious in two of his last three fights, defeating Melvin Guillard and Rory Markham. The young fighter has already compiled 14 fights in WEC and UFC, becoming a professional fighter directly out of high school. A similar path was taken by his opponent, Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis (fighting out of Bangor, Maine/22-7) who became a professional boxer at the age of 18. The southpaw’s 14th appearance in the Octagon will be close to home, as Davis trains with Mark DellaGrotte in Somerville, Mass.

UFC 118 will have a special significance to Massachusetts native Joe Lauzon (fighting out of Bridgewater, Mass./17-5) who will be fighting near his hometown and against his former teammate on The Ultimate Fighter season five. The submission specialist has garnered five victories in the UFC, with his first dating back to 2006 when he knocked-out Jens Pulver. Originally scheduled to face Terry Etim, Lauzon will have to amend his strategy as he will now fight submission specialist Gabe “Godzilla” Ruediger (fighting out of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./17-5). The former WEC® lightweight champion had a short stay on the reality show, but makes his return to the UFC after securing a six fight win streak outside of the organization.

On the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter, Andre Winner (fighting out of Nottingham, England/12-3-1) fought his way to the finale and battled fellow England native Ross Pearson. Winner was unable to secure the six figure contract, but he has since been on the winning end of his last two fights, giving him a record of 2-1 in the UFC. Also with three fights in the organization, Nik Lentz (fighting out of Eden Prairie, Minn./20-3-2) is unbeaten in his short UFC career, obtaining two victories and one draw. His good takedown defense is a direct result of his collegiate wrestling background at the University of Minnesota and his endurance has yet to be questioned as all three of his victories within the UFC have gone the distance.

A victory for Dan Miller (fighting out of Whippany, N.J./11-4, 1 NC) would have significant importance because it will get him back on the right track in his UFC career. The black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu started off his UFC career with a string of three victories, but has run across some top level talent in Chael Sonnen, Demian Maia, and Michael Bisping and is looking to get back to his winning ways. Conversely, John Salter (fighting out of Tuscaloosa, Ala./5-1) lost his UFC debut against Gerald Harris, but made amends by defeating Jason MacDonald at UFC 113. This fight will be an interesting matchup as both fighters have a background in wrestling and jiu-jitsu.

Nick Osipczak (fighting out of Nottingham, England/5-2) will be making his fourth appearance in the Octagon® after establishing a record of 2-1 in the UFC. This welterweight matchup features two young fighters on the rise in one of the sport’s toughest divisions. Osipczak, 25, has only engaged in seven professional bouts, while his opponent Greg Soto (fighting out of Point Pleasant, NJ/7-1), has had eight professional fights at the age of 24. Soto will be making his second appearance for the UFC, after a debut disqualification loss to Matthew Riddle at UFC 111.

In March of 2009, Mike Pierce (fighting out of Vancouver, WA/10-3) made his successful debut for the WEC, beating Justin Haskins with a TKO. Pierce then joined the UFC and has a record of 3-1 between the two organizations. At UFC 118, he will be facing a newcomer to the UFC, Amilcar Alves (fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/11-1). Alves has established a respectable professional record and will attempt to make a spectacular UFC debut.

For more information, or current UFC fight news, visit UFC.com. All bouts live and subject to change.

[NWOWolfpack]

UFC 118 FIGHT CARD:

Main Card:

UFC Lightweight Championship:
Frankie Edgar vs. B.J. Penn

Randy Couture vs. James Toney
Kenny Florian vs. Gray Maynard
Demian Maia vs. Mario Miranda
Nate Diaz vs. Marcus Davis


Preliminary Card:

Joe Lauzon vs. Gabe Ruediger*
Andre Winner vs. Nik Lentz*
Gerald Harris vs. Joe Vedepo
Dan Miller vs. John Salter
Nick Osipczak vs. Greg Soto
Mike Pierce vs. Amilcar Alves


*Live from the TD Garden in Boston, MA, Spike TV showcases two live undercard bouts from “UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn II” on Saturday, August 28 at 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT. In action, local product and sure to be crowd favorite Joe Lauzon (“The Ultimate Fighter 5” alum) of Bridgewater, MA takes on his former housemate from the fifth season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Gabe Ruediger, and Nik “The Carny” Lentz will square off with Andre Winner, fighting out of Leicester, England.

[NWOWolfpack]

JAMES TONEY SHOWS NO RESPECT FOR MMA AND RANDY COUTURE
THIS FRIDAY NIGHT ON HDNET'S "INSIDE MMA"

A stacked panel of guests will unleash wild remarks this Friday night on HDNet
Friday, August 20 at 9:00 p.m. ET

WHAT: In an exclusive interview with Kenny Rice on this Friday's "Inside MMA," James Toney doesn't hold back about his MMA debut with Randy "The Natural" Couture. In a no-holds-barred rant, Toney said, "All you have to do is knockout a couple of bums, all of a sudden you're a (UFC) hall of famer."

Toney, the IBA Heavyweight boxing champ, will battle Randy Couture at UFC 118 later this month.

Joining Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten on this week's panel is former UFC Champ Forrest Griffin, who tells the group that the best way for him to get a belt would be for "me to go to somebody's house and steal it."

Also on the program, Mark Pavelich encourages Antonio McKee to "bring the action this time." McKee says that if he isn't exciting this time, "I'm going to retire." Pavelich went on to say that if, "[a] person pays $600 dollars to sit ring side, [they] want to see fighting."

Ron Kruck also previews his new series "Inside America's Gyms," providing viewers an exclusive look into MMA training centers across the country.

A clip from the upcoming program can be found at the following link: http://hdnetfights.blip.tv/

[broncofan]

This card looks decent and I can't wait for Randy to tool Toney.

[Keithlewis]

[Keithlewis]