Props: Las Vegas Sun

Las Vegas-based fighter Martin Kampmann is close to signing a deal to take on Paulo Thiago in a welterweight bout June 12 at UFC 115 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

We last saw Kampmann choking out Jacob Volkmann at UFC 108 this past January, it was an impressive win from the Xtreme Couture fighter who had previously gotten knocked stupid by the UK’s Paul Daley at UFC 103 last year.  Paulo has gained a lot of attention following his TKO win over Josh Koscheck, and his submission win over Mike Swick. A dominating performance over Kampmann from the Brazilian Police Officer would definitely push him very close to a shot at the UFC welterweight title, which is up for grabs at UFC 111.

I don’t think Kampmann does anything better than Paulo, and right now, I think the Brazilian will either finish Martin with strikes late in the fight or win a decision.  I really like this match-up, and it makes an already awesome UFC card that much better.  After the jump you can see the rumored fights for UFC 115, which takes place on June 12th 2010, in Vancouver.

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WEC 47 is in the books, here’s a list of some of what fans got to see last night:

• Danny Castillo getting KTFO with a beautiful head kick thanks to Anthony Pettis’ superior striking skills
• Scott Jorgenson literally submitting his opponent mid-air with a standing guillotine.  It was probably the coolest, and more brutal submissions that the WEC has had.
• Bart Palaszewski’s first round, come-from-behind armbar victory over Karen Darabedyan
• Jens Pulver’s heart-breaking post fight speech following his submission loss to Javier Vasquez
• A geyser of blood spewing from Miguel Torres face thanks to the brutality of Joseph Benavidez
• In-between the 2nd and 3rd rounds, Brian Bowles is forced to call it quits due to a broken hand (doctor’s call), making Dominick Cruz the new WEC bantamweight champion.

Overall the event was really good, and I enjoyed pretty much all the fights that were aired.  The only gripe was the LC Davis/Deividas Taurosevicius, which ended up being a 15-minute hug-a-thon.  They can’t all be winners though.  I thought the decision was fair, I personally scored it for LC as well (my ONE good prediction).

Darabedyan/”Bartimus” was really exciting,  Karen was whooping some ass for the entire first round before Bart grabbed a hold of the arm and forced a tapout with only twenty seconds left in the round.  It was a much needed victory for Bart, who had a mediocre 2009 year.  Karen looked really good up to the submission though, and should be back with the organization pretty soon.

Pulver/Vasquez was a nightmare for “Lil Evil’s” fans.  He was on the defensive for most of the fight, and although he had a couple really good reversals on the ground, Javier’s ground skills were simply superior.  It was a sad moment for all of us who really wanted to see Jens back knocking people out.  He didn’t out-right say he was retired, but his fans shouldn’t hold their breath waiting for him to step back into the cage.

Miguel Torres got absolutely raped.  Benavidez cut him the fuck up, and then choked him out.  The picture at the top says it all, and here’s another one just to reinforce it some more.  I don’t know where Miguel goes from here.  I’d personally like to see a rematch with Bowles once his hand is healed, but I’d also like to see a fight with Scott Jorgenson (who kicked fucking ass tonight).  As for Benavidez, he deserves a title shot against Dominick Cruz, that is all.

Cruz/Bowles was a fun fight, I love watching Cruz move around the cage, his style of fighting is so unorthodox yet awesome I can’t get enough of it.  You could see him visibly frustrating Bowles everywhere the fight went, even rocking him on a few occasions.    It sucks that the fight was stopped before reaching a “true conclusion”, but that’s what rematches are for.  Congrats to Dominick, and here’s to hoping the WEC puts on the rematch between he and Benavidez.

Full results can be found on page 2 thanks to MMAJunkie.

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Photo thanks to Sherdog.com

Props: WEC.tv

Main Card:

• Brian Bowles (134.5) vs Dominick Cruz (134)
• Miguel Angel Torres (134.5) vs Joseph Benavidez (135)
• Jens Pulver (145.5) vs Javier Vazquez (145)
• Deividas Taurosevicius (145) vs LC Davis (144.5)
• Bart Palaszewski (155) vs Karen Darabedyan (156)

Preliminary Card:

• Scott Jorgensen (135) vs Chad George (135.5)
• Chad Mendes (145) vs Erik Koch (144)
• Danny Castillo (155.5) vs Anthony Pettis (154.5)
• Leonard Garcia (145) vs George Roop (145.5)
• Fredson Paixao (144.5) vs Courtney Buck (145)
• Ricardo Lamas (155) vs Bendy Casimir (155.5)

Main-Card Predictions:

Bart Palaszewski vs. Karen Darabedyan:

Darabedyan is making his 2nd WEC appearance after a successful debut over former WEC lightweight champion Rob McCullough at WEC 44, last year.  In his debut he showcased some really crisp striking that he obtained during his amateur boxing career (which saw him go 12-0).  He trains with fellow Zuffa employees Karo Parisyan and Manny Gamburyan, which should suggest that his grappling skills are more than legit.

Palazszewski is a former IFL standout remembered for his close battles with Chris Horodecki, as well as his knockouts over Steve Bruno and former IFL lightweight champion Ryan Schultz.  Since joining the WEC in 2008, Bart’s found lackluster success, going 3-2 with the organization and never really looking how he did during his time with the IFL.  He’s currently on a two fight win-streak, but I have a feeling that his streak comes to a halt tonight.

While Karen lacks the experience over Bart, I think he makes up for it with his training partners and precision striking.  I think that this is going to be a stand-up battle that really showcases the impact Karen can have on the WEC lightweight division.  Bart’s got good hands as well, but he’s been out-struck before by lesser fighters, and tonight I think that he goes down decisively.

Final Prediction: Karen Darabedyan via TKO, round 2.

Deividas Taurosevicius vs LC Davis:

Both fighters are vets of the IFL who during their time with the now-deceased organization, fought some of the lightweight and featherweight division’s best competitors.  Deividas is currently 2-0 in the WEC, with decision wins over Javier Vasquez and Mackens Semerzier.  LC is also 2-0 in the WEC, with decision wins over Javier Vasquez, and Diego Nunes.  Both fighters are comfortable on the ground, LC has some great wrestling whereas Deividas has some good Brazilian Ju-Jitsu, and I think that this 145lb will end up being just that, a ground battle.  I think LC is the superior fighter, so don’t be surprised to see him win a dominate decision over the Lithuanian.

Final Prediction: LC Davis via unanimous decision

Jens Pulver vs Javier Vazquez:

Anyone who’s followed the WEC for the last two years knows about the rut former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver is in.  He’s 1-4 in the WEC, dropping two fight to Urijah Faber, Leonard Garcia, and most recently Josh Grispi.  Jens has spoken publicly about retiring from the sport, and if he loses this fight, I think we might see him follow through and truly hang up the gloves.  Javier Vasquez is in deep water as well, as he’s currently 0-2 in the WEC (lost two close decisions).  A third straight loss would probably be the end of his employment with Zuffa, he needs to win this fight at any cost.

Best way for Vasquez to win this fight is to get it to the ground and maintain top position, utilize the ground and pound and eventually break Pulver down and submit him, or at least win a decision.  As much of a bad situation as Jens is in right now, I’m still picking him to get the win.

Final Prediction: Jens Pulver via TKO, round 2

Miguel Torres vs. Joseph Benavidez:

This fight kicks fucking ass.  Torres wants his title back, Benavidez wants to bounce back from his first professional loss, and beat one of the pound-for-pound best fighters in the world.  Most speculate that the winner of this fight will fight the winner of Bowles/Cruz for the bantamweight title.  Both Torres and Joseph bring very contrasting styles to the cage, but both bring extreme levels of intensity and the desire to win.  I don’t see how this fight can be bad in the least.  I’m predicting an all out war that results in an extremely close decision comparable to Bisping/Wanderlei.

Final Prediction: Miguel Torres via split decision

Brian Bowles vs. Dominick Cruz – WEC Bantamweight title:

Bowles is the man, Cruz wants to be the man.  There isn’t a more worthy 135lb challenger than Dominick Cruz, and if you have any doubts, just watch his last fight against Joe Benavidez.  The improvement Cruz has made since dropping to bantamweight has been nothing short of amazing.  He’s one of the best fighters in the world at 135lbs, and give the fans exactly what we want to see from the smaller weight divisions, and that’s fast-paced excitement.  Brian Bowles has the best hair in mixed martial arts, and is probably the division’s hardest puncher.  Any denying of that, just watch when he blasted Miguel Torres to win the title at WEC 42, or when he sent Marcos Galvao to queer-ville at WEC 31.  He’s also got on the best guillotine’s around, and I’m sure Damacio Page can vouch for that.  Bottom line, Cruz is going to need to be active, use angles, and stay more busy on the feet using his punches and kicks to prevent Bowles from landing some of those bombs he packs in his fists.  If this ends up becoming a slug-fest, Bowles will win.  If this goes to the ground and Dominick leaves his neck open, Bowles will submit him.  I think that this is a great test for the current champion, but I don’t think that Bowles is going to lose…

Final Prediction: Brian Bowles via submission, round 2

Props: Figure Four Online

Dana White confirmed today that UFC is running a show on April 17th, head-to-head with the announced Strikeforce show on CBS.  The event would air most likely on Spike TV.  The Wanderlei Silva vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama match is not the main event.  The only thing confirmed is they are trying to finalize a Matt Serra vs. Mike Swick semifinal fight today.

First off, this is awesome.  Another MMA event for all of us to enjoy, I love competition between the organizations!  Second, Matt Serra vs. Mike Swick is a pretty fun fight.  Serra’s coming off a sweet fucking nokout over Frank Trigg, Swick’s on a two-fight losing streak thanks to big-mouth Dan Hardy and cartel-stopping badass Paulo Thiago.  Both have a lot to gain from a win over the other.  Serra proves he can beat young contenders instead of guys past their prime like Trigg, and Swick keeps from getting shunned to the prelims and becoming the division gatekeeper.

I got Serra/KO/Round 1, you?

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Props: “Rampage” Jackson’s Twitter

A gift from the UFC. Wanna make a black man happy? Get him a ride!!

Rampage doesn’t have a good history with vehicles, whether he’s on the run from the fuzz while wreaking havoc in Newport Beach, or getting hit by a senior citizen.  Dana should have gotten the hook up from BJ Penn and given Rampage some extreme supplements, he’ll need all the help he can get when he tangles with Rashad Evans this May at UFC 114.

Is this guy fucking weird or what!?!  Thank’s for the video Camel Hound

Props: HeadKickLegend

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Props: Five Ounces of Pain

After months of speculation following James Toney making his intentions to fight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship public, one of the greatest boxers of our time is now set to embark on his career in mixed martial arts.

FiveOuncesofPain.com has been informed through sources close to the situation that James Toney has recently been signed to a multi-fight contract with the UFC.

This comes as a small surprise considering what Toney recently said about UFC president Dana White:

“Dana White is a straight up ho! He makes me a 5-fight offer for chump change and said I can’t box anymore if I accept it. He must have lost his damn mind,” stated Toney. “I’m the best of both worlds. Anyone in either sport that wants to come see me, we can do this,” he added.

Any speculations on how much Toney will get per fight, or who the UFC will initially pair him up against?  The rumor on the forums says that Toney will compete in the stacked light-heavyweight division.  If that’s the case, I no doubt suspect the UFC matchmaker Joe Silva will give him a striker who has very little intention of taking the fight to the ground.

Anyone think that the UFC might once again call up on Houston Alexander?  I won’t be shocked.

Watson improved to 11-3 with the win, while his opponent Travis Galbraith, drops to 17-7.  Full MFC 24 results can be seen after the jump thanks to MMAFrenzy.

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WOW! Is there anything that the current UFC lightweight champion can’t do?  Wait, there is, you can see it on page 2!

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