Here are two great videos featuring the next ufc pair to fight for a title in their first pro MMA fights.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0BniIAkA2Q&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVooqArjV9E&feature=player_embedded

Jones beat his opponent in dominating fashion typical of him. Shogun destroyed his opponent in the end, but seemed to have faced a bit more of a challenge in his first fight… Is everybody in Brazil a badass?

Both fighters were phenoms at an early age, both got a shot at a major title at the age of 23. The only difference is nearly a decade of experience. This is Jones first crack at a major league light heavyweight, but Shogun has been fighting the elite in the division since 2005. That experience, and knockout power which Jones seems to lack, will be Rua’s biggest weapon in his first UFC title defense.

Jones is one of the best wrestlers in the division, using it effectively in all his fights and owning an incredible highlight reel of throws and slams. His freak athleticism and training with some of the elite at camp Jackson has certainly cultivated a monster. Shogun will be hard pressed to keep his back off the mat, and the attention that takes might leave an opening for the knockout blow Jones is missing from his highlight reel.

This is an excellent matchup of young rising stars, past and present, and is one of the most anticipated fights of the year.

It has officially been announced that the UFC is coming to Seattle on March 26^th for an extraordinary bout which will feature Tito Ortiz in Key Arena. The bout will take place on Sunday in Seattle and there are numerous fans who are gearing up for the event which promises to be truly spectacular, if for no other reason than because Ortiz will be fighting to regain his former glory by climbing back to the top of the UFC light heavyweight division. Ortiz will be going up against Rogerio Nogueira who weighs in at 205 pounds and will prove to be a formidable opponent for Ortiz who has expressed his excitement about the bout which will give him the opportunity to win back his UFC title.

UFC President Dana White has made her own comments on the upcoming bout, saying that it is a “must-win” for Ortiz who is trying his best to work his way back up to the top after suffering a devastating loss not too long ago, thereby stripping him of the light heavyweight title that is now questing after in Seattle come March. White said that she realizes that the public knows about their somewhat rocky relationship, but he has been with the organization for a long time and she plans on supporting him. The two are apparently on good terms right now and she has nothing but good things to say about the fighter.

There is no doubt that this is the most important fight of Ortiz’s career because of the fact that he needs it to win back his title. Besides the upcoming bout featuring Ortiz and Nogueira there are also going to be bouts featuring Anthony Johnson and Dan Hardy as well as Duane Ludwig and Amir Sadollah, giving fans something to look forward to. The matches are highly anticipated by fans and there is already quite a bit of speculation surrounding the possible outcomes of these fights which will take place in March.

The tickets for UFC Fight Night Live will go on sale January 28^th and will be sold anywhere from $50 to $250 depending on where the seats are. It will start at 10 AM PT and they can also be purchased at the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington. Those who are interested in going will definitely want to get tickets while they last as they are expected to sell out rather quickly.

Those who are members of the UFC Fight Club will be able to take full advantage of an early sale which will start on January 27^th at 10 AM PT. By becoming a part of this club you will be able to gain special features and reserve tickets before most everyone else is able to. The fight itself will take place on Spike TV at 9PM ET and 6PM PT, featuring a number of fighters who will be going for various titles, including Tito Ortiz who will be looking to get back his light heavyweight title once again.

The chairman and CEO of the UFC, Lorenzo Fertitta as well as the president Dana White recently announced that they have plans to bring a minimum of two bouts to New York City within the next year and both will be taking place at Madison Square Garden. White and Fertitta were joined by Frankie Edgar as well as Scott O’ Neil who is the president of Madison Square Garden, saying that they are very excited about bringing the UFC to New York. The press conference consisted of a few pieces of news that New York fans have been waiting to hear for a long time and the rumors have finally been confirmed by the higher ups in the organization after much speculation.

White stated that he believes it is time to bring one of the fastest growing sports into the center of the country so that thousands of people will be able to see some of the upcoming bouts which will consist of a wide variety of fighters who will be going up against each other for title belts. New Yorkers are certainly excited to see the sport come to its home state and there are definitely more than a few economic benefits that the UFC will bring to this state, offering thousands of dollars in revenue as well as jobs for security, vendors, and other people who will be in charge of organizing the event.

O’ Neil also spoke about the upcoming New York fights, saying that he is extremely glad that the UFC is so passionate about coming to New York and making these future matches happen there in Madison Square Garden. He seems very confident that the UFC New York matches will be more exciting and highly anticipated than any other in the U.S so far. The president of Madison Square Garden will be welcoming the UFC with open arms after months of speculation and organization to make the events finally happen and get them scheduled.

Besides making the announcements regarding the two annual UFC events that will be happening in New York in the coming months, officials from the organization have also released an interesting new economic study which they have performed. Fertita said that the organization did an economic study involving some of the major cities across the country, involving places like Las Angeles as well as Boston and Philadelphia. Each city has shown a significantly positive increase in their economic status because of the UFC coming to these places.

It seems as though everywhere the UFC goes, economic benefits are inevitable for the places where they set up at. There is no doubt that these matches are highly anticipated by fans who come from surrounding states just to see the bouts, often times going so far as to camp out the night before to get tickets. UFC fans are some of the most dedicated individuals that these types of sports have seen in a long time, indicating just how strong their fan base really is in places all over the country.

UFC 128 which will take place March 19^th will be in Newark, New Jersey. Tickets for the March bout will officially go on sale January 13^th and there are certain websites and locations that have pre-sale offerings for those who have special privileges such as with the UFC fight club. The UFC bout will take place at Prudential Center and there are certainly a number of fans who are gearing up for it as well as the actual fighters who will be participating. The light-heavyweight champion Mauricio Rua will be going up against Rashad Evans who is the former titleholder and will be giving it all he has to get it back.

Urijah Faber known as “The California Kid” will also be in UFC 128, making his debut in the ring against Eddie Wineland who is the former WEC bantamweight champion. There is no doubt whatsoever that a number of fans are looking forward to the upcoming bout which will take place in New Jersey, a location which the UFC is not particularly known for visiting. With all of the big title fights as well as a debut from Faber, there are quite a few fans that are looking forward to it and are planning on purchasing tickets as soon as they go on sale.

This light heavyweight fight is definitely one of the more anticipated events in recent UFC history, at least according to Dana White who is the president of the organization. Shogun has proven himself to be one of the more skilled and experienced fighters, especially after he managed to take down Lyoto Machida for the belt. Shogun is now going up against Rashad Evans, an opponent that might not be an easy one to defeat and he knows it.

Evans has won bouts with both Thiago Silva as well as Rampage Jackson, making him a fierce opponent in the ring and many UFC fans will be showing up in person to see for themselves who will be victorious. White said that with the main fight as well as some of the other ones involving multiple fighters, the card they are putting together for New Jersey will prove to be an extremely exciting one that fans have been clamoring for. The fight for the bantamweight title is perhaps the most highly anticipated fight, involving Faber and Wineland who will be going head to head in New Jersey’s city center.

Jeff Vanderbeek who is the chairman of Devils Arena Entertainment stated that so far UFC events that have been taken places at this venue in New Jersey have been successful and they believe this one will not disappoint in terms of the sheer number of people who will be showing up. Tickets for the event which will go on sale January 13^th will be starting at $60 and could cost as much as $500 depending on the seat that you purchase. With all of the anticipation building up for the event, there is no doubt that fans will be buying them up as soon as they officially go on sale.

Matt Hughes and Ricardo Almeida go at it in UFC 117. This is going to be a fight to remember.

Here is what Ricardo Almeida had to say -

“People say that he’s slowed down—and he’s had some hiccups here and there—but at welterweight he’s really only lost to Georges St-Pierre. His fight with Thiago Alves wasn’t really at welterweight. I’m watching video on this guy and watching his fights and I’m thinking like, what are all of these people watching. It’s MMA; when you win, you’re the greatest and when you lose, you’re done. It just so happens that he has beaten a couple of guys from my team—actually, I felt that Matt Serra won his fight, but hey, I’m biased. I was in the corner with Renzo [at UFC 112] and it was very emotional to see the way that it ended, so I asked Joe Silva for that fight right away and they gave me my wish. It’s just extra motivation, but whether I like or dislike Matt Hughes doesn’t really make a difference. If it was my mother in there, I’d be trying to choke her out and I expect nothing less from my opponent.”

Both light heavyweight champions Lyoto Machida and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson have officially agreed to meet for a fight, which according to certain reports by MMAjunki.com in November, is supposed to be at UFC 123. Machida has an overall MMA record of 16-1 and Jackson has a current record of 30-8, numbers which are expected to change with the upcoming fight.

Though he did not give specifics with regards to a date, Machida confirmed the upcoming fight over Twitter. The match is set to be at UFC 123, which takes place on November 20^th, and the fight between Machida and Jackson is set to headline the entire show. MMAjunkie.com gave some ideas as to which city may hold the event, yet nothing certain was confirmed as far as a location is concerned.

This upcoming fight will have major implications for the light heavyweight title. Jackson is a formed UFC champ, winning the match and the belt by knocking out Chuck Liddell back in 2007. He is expected to bounce back from his loss to coach Rashad Evans at UFC 114. Jut prior to Jackson’s loss as well as his 14-month long layoff, he managed to win fights against both Keith Jardine and Wanderlei Silva.

Machida was forced to bounce back from a loss as well, suffering the very first defeat of his career by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Just before the loss to Rua, Machida won eight consecutive UFC bouts, including UFC 98 against Evans, earning him his title.

With the upcoming UFC fight on Sunday, Matt Riddle has new motivation to fight inside the octagon with DaMarques Johnson, his newly born twin girls. Although he is not quite sure that it will help him in his fight against Johnson, he hopes for the best but is not counting on it to get him all the way through.

If Riddle wins the upcoming fight which is set to be in San Diego Sports Arena, he plans on using the money he makes from the fight to take his new family on vacation to Pennsylvania where his parents live. A confident Riddle says, “I’m coming in August 1^st, and I’m smashing DaMarques, and I’m getting money, and I’m getting a bonus.” His bold prediction of the upcoming game was first heard on MMAjunkie radio.

The Pennsylvania native fighter is anxious to win this fight legitimately, as his last victory was questionable, using an illegal upkick on opponent Greg Soto, rendering him unable to continue the fight at UFC 111. Riddle commented on his upcoming fight with Johnson, saying only that he is a good opponent to face and it should help him to get back on track. Riddle has an overall MMA record of 4-1 and Johnson 14-7.

Riddle commented further on his upcoming fight, saying “I think he’s more dangerous off his back because people get him there and really sleep on him”. Appearing to know the risks of his fight with Johnson, Riddle also says, “I think that’s the one place I’ve really got to be careful.”

The fighter said on Twitter that whether it was his new fatherly regimen or just pure excitement for the upcoming bout, he had been gaining a little bit too much weight and was forced to change course with his training. He commented about the change in weight, saying “I normally don’t step on the scale until four weeks before a fight because usually my weight’s not a problem”. Riddle also said, “This time, I stepped on the scale a little early, and I’m glad because I was between 205 and 210 pounds, and I was having a hard time getting it off.”

After making some changes to his training routine which helped him to cut a significant amount of weight in just a few weeks, he is back with a vengeance and ready to start striking again. He commented about his new weight, “Now I’m walking around at 185 or 180, so I feel great”. “My body was just retaining a lot of water. I just had to sweat a lot of it out and get used to it.”

Riddle also gave himself a new nickname for the upcoming fight, “Monster Mash”. Although he was hoping for a remix of the song, he will have to settle for his originally planned entrance music of “Thriller” by Michael Jackson.

He says that having friends such as Brandon Sene in his corner at the fight will help immensely, saying “I fee like I need to keep my friends in my corner because I fight a lot better happy”. Although a lot of UFC fighters tend to think about their families when they are in the ring, Riddle isn’t quite so sure, saying that he plays it by ear and whatever happens just happens. As of right now, thoughts of a vacation are what he has on his mind and it’s what is motivating him to win the fight. Riddle’s final words on the right were, “We’re going to have to find out when I fight. I’m already very determined. I hope it does give me an extra push and I fight harder.”