Chris Leben receives yearlong suspension after failed drug test
Popular middleweight Chris Leben has failed his second drug test while serving as a member of the UFC roster and will be suspended from competition for a year based on the transgression. According to the UFC, Leben tested positive for opiates (Oxycodone/Oxymorphone) after his loss to Mark Munoz earlier this month in headlining action at [...]
Mark The Hammer Coleman Wes Soldier Combs Ray Cooper Kit Cope Wesley Cabbage CorreiraÂ
Read MoreUFC Champ Jon Jones guarantees victory over Lyoto Machida at UFC 140 in Toronto
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
|
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones has already won three fights in 2011, handing Ryan Bader his first loss, defeating Mauricio “Shogun” Rua for the title, and then becoming the first person to stop Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the UFC. Now, he’s got another former Champion ahead of him in Lyoto Machida at UFC 140 in Toronto.
The 24-year-old Champion’s rise and domination of the division is similar to Machida’s prior to his losses to “Shogun” and “Rampage.” Jones is looking forward to a similarly unpredictable opponent, but still feels he has the advantages in the matchup.
“I’ve always felt confident with martial arts; and I always knew that I would fight Lyoto one day,” Jones said in a pre-fight interview for UFC.com. “Lyoto’s a great opponent, man, he’s game. I think he takes this sport seriously. I think he’s unpredictable, he’s fast. Lyoto loves distance and I love distance; but I have the longer limbs and I believe I’m just as fast. So if Lyoto wants to play the distance game with me, I think that’s going to be awesome.
“I’m also very unpredictable. I have tons of confidence and faith in my wrestling abilities against Lyoto. I feel as if I can shoot at his legs and take him down, and I also feel as if I have tons of versatility in my takedowns from the point and shoot.”
As the fight fast approaches, Jones says he’s coming to understand what Machida brings to the fight, and he has no doubt that he’ll remain the UFC Champion in this fight.
“I know myself, I know my weaknesses, and I’m not naive to them,” Jones said. “I’m starting to understand my opponent, I’m starting to understand what makes Lyoto, Lyoto, where he’s strong, where he’s weak. I will defeat Lyoto Machida. I believe that it’s my destiny to be the UFC Champion for many years.”
Penick’s Analysis: This is a fantastic matchup in the light heavyweight division, even if Machida’s status as a title contender is dubious, at best. Still, he’s always been an elusive and talented striker, and that makes him a dangerous opponent for anyone. However, Jones is taller, longer, and his wresting is a huge advantage to him as well. He’s just as hard to figure out as Machida, and it makes for a really exciting matchup for the fans in Toronto. If Jones can defeat his third champion or former champion in 2011, it will be hard to argue that he hasn’t had the best year of any fighter in this division ever.
Tiki Ghosn Dennis George Kultar Gill Allan Goes Takanori The Fireball Kid Gomi
Read MoreMark Munoz Still Sees Major Holes in Demian Maia’s Striking – UFC 131
Mark Munoz Still Sees Major Holes in Demian Maia’s Striking Video by UFC 131
Ricardo Arona Noboru Asahi Marcus Aurelio Mikhail Avetisyan Luiz AzeredoÂ
Read MoreThe Toughest Miller isn?t in the UFC…Yet
Joe Doerksen Chris Dolman Edson Drago Tomasz Drwal Joe Hybrid Duarte
Read MoreKamikaze Overdrive MMA: UFC on Fox Predictions
My predictions for UFC on Fox Velasquez vs Dos Santos, predictions for the main card title fight and 9 prelim fights. Also included are my rankings for the 7 UFC divisions, the Champion and top 15 Contenders and Kamikaze Countdown. Please comment …
Dan Henderson Josh Hendricks Ed Herman Heath Herring Branden Lee Hinkle
Read MorePhoto Gallery: Pics from the UK
Forgot to post this gallery from a couple weeks ago when I was in Nottingham, England w/ My girl Nicki, and my boys Ben & Chris…
Roger Gracie Rolles Gracie Royce Gracie Royler Gracie Ryan Gracie
Read MoreUFC On Fox Post Fight
Mikey Burnett Murilo Bustamante Grant Campbell Gesias JZ Calvancante Luiz CaneÂ
Read MoreThe Sunday Junkie: Nov. 27 edition
Another week of fights, another controversial decision.
While this holiday week’s MMA schedule was relatively tame in comparison to the rest of an extremely busy month, Bellator Fighting Championships did on Saturday night host its final season-five event, Marcin Held was awarded a hotly contested split-decision win on the evening’s main card.
Our readers focused on a number of topics in this week’s edition of The Sunday Junkie. But the winner of our weekly reader-feedback feature, Maryland’s Bruce Hales, contends there should be no question as to why Held was given the win.
Junie Browning Paul Buentello Josh Burkman Mikey Burnett Murilo BustamanteÂ
Read MoreGeorges St. Pierre poses for a picture to make Canadians smile
Yesterday, we showed you a video about Americans wanting to see Jason Miller knock out Michael Bisping. While it was fun, it did leave out our fine readers from Canada. To make up for that slight, here is a picture of Georges St. Pierre surrounded by hockey sweaters holding a figurine of Wayne Gretzky.
You’re welcome. De rien.
Rodrigo Gracie Roger Gracie Rolles Gracie Royce Gracie Royler Gracie
Read MoreTraining with the Best MMA Gloves
Luiz Buscapé Firmino Spencer Fisher Jon Fitch Kenny Florian Jesse Forbes
Read MoreAfter Death of Coach Shawn Tompkins, Mark Hominick Leans on Teammates
Filed under: UFC
It’s been about seven months since Mark Hominick last stepped in the cage, and since then his life has changed in a couple dramatic ways. Two weeks after his decision loss to Jose Aldo at UFC 129, his wife gave birth to the couple’s first child — a girl. Exactly three months later, Hominick’s longtime coach and trainer, Shawn Tompkins, died of a heart attack in his sleep at the age of 37.
That’s a lot for anyone to deal with, especially if they still have another fight in front of their hometown fans to prepare for.
But while Tompkins’ death shocked the MMA community and left a void in the Team Tompkins squad, as Hominick told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour, the loss has also forced them all together in some ways.
“We’re always going to be the Team Tompkins family,” said the 29 year-old Hominick, who faces Chan Sung Jung at UFC 140 in Toronto. “I think this fight, it says a lot about where we are and where we’re going.”
As a symbolic effort to demonstrate that, Hominick said he’ll have his longtime training partners Chris Horodecki and Sam Stout in his corner on December 10, but he’ll also have Tompkins’ brother by his side “to make a statement that we’re not going anywhere and we’re going to continue to carry on as a team and continue on winning.”
Like Horodecki and Stout, Hominick began training with Tompkins when he was still a teenager. Though the team spread out in recent years, they still relied on one another to prepare for fights, and Hominick admitted that he’s still not sure how it will feel to go into a fight week without his mentor.
“Those are going to be the toughest moments. I really don’t think his passing has really hit me, to tell you the truth, because we’d come to live our own separate lives these last four or five years. Where he was based out of Vegas, I was based out of London, Ontario, and then we’d meet up for training camp and at the end of training camp we’d spend fight week together, and that’s where we had our special bond. I think that’s where I’m really going to miss him.”
The silver lining, according to Hominick, may be that Tompkins’ sudden death was a blow that “actually brought the team a little tighter, because everyone’s had to step up in their own little way to fill some of Shawn’s leadership role.”
“Shawn was just the leader, the guy who kind of spearheaded us moving forward. …We’re all so motivated to carry on his legacy. The way we do that is we go out there and perform, we win, and we continue to carry his name forward.”
Hominick has no easy task in front of him against Jung. The South Korean’s last outing saw him log the first submission victory via twister in UFC history when he tapped Leonard Garcia with the unconventional finish at UFC Fight Night 24 in March.
A fight like that would be tough enough without the loss of such an influential coach, not to mention the birth of a baby daughter who has taught Hominick that, as a father, “your time isn’t yours anymore.”
That’s why it helps to have fellow Team Tompkins fighters by his side who know exactly what he’s going through, he said.
“We’re here for each other. We’re family. A lot of teams say that, but we truly are. We’ve been together for almost 15 years and we’re not going anywhere.”
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Fedor Emelianenko Yasubey Enomoto Mark Epstein Tom Big Cat Erickson Martinsh Egle
Read MoreChris Leben nailed again for banned substances, Dana White to stick by him during one-year suspension
Chris Leben has battled demons his entire career. Now he’s got another fight on his hands facing a one-year suspension after testing positive for two banned substances following UFC 138.
For shows in the U.K., the UFC oversees drug testing:
Zuffa, LLC, owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (“the UFC®”), today released information stating that middleweight fighter Chris Leben tested positive for Oxycodone and Oxymorphone following his Nov. 5 loss to Mark Munoz in the main event of UFC® 138 in Birmingham, England.
Leben, who served one-year suspension back in 2008 and 2009 following UFC 89 for using Stanozolol, apologized.
Read MoreMay 5th Mayweather Vs Pacman?
FloydMayweather Floyd Mayweather
MAY 5TH…I’M HERE. I’M WAITING! LETS MAKE THIS FIGHT HAPPEN. moneyte.am/f4ks
1 hour ago Favorite Retweet Reply
…
Cyril Abidi Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro AkiyamaÂ
Read MoreMaiquel Falcao in intensive care after suffering heart attack in Brazil
This past Sunday Brazilian middleweight Maiquel Falcao found himself in a fight with stakes far exceeding any he?d faced before after having a heart attack that nearly cost him his life. Fortunately, Falcao was home with his wife who was able to rush him to the hospital where doctors were able to provide him with [...]
Musse Hasselvall Daiki DJ taiki Hata He Peng David Heath Delson Heleno
Read MoreMarius Zaromskis sets up win over Bruno Carvalho with somersault kick
Marius Zaromskis had a rough run in the U.S. in Strikeforce in 2010, losing twice and having his third fight end in a no contest due to an inadvertent eye poke. But the DREAM Welterweight Champion is still capable of pulling off a highlight reel move in any fight, and he did so again on Saturday at a Rumble of the Kings event in Stockholm, Sweden. Check out his excellent somersault kick to set up his finishing sequence in the video below:
Video URL: http://youtu.be/u-uyRzpNqs8
Aldrin de Jesus Todd Duffee Marvin Eastman Stav Crazy Bear Economou Yves EdwardsÂ
Read MoreUFC 140 Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida ? Promo Video
Jon “Bones” Jones looks to defend his light heavyweight title when he takes on former champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida. Jones (14-1) successfully defended his title for the first time at UFC 135 when he submitted another former champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. In his most recent fight at UFC 129, Machida (17-2) scored a spectacular [...]
UFC 140 Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida – Promo Video is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News
Xavier Foupa Pokam Hermes Franca Rich Franklin Ian Freeman Don Frye
Read MoreUFC Returns to Japan with a Championship Card
Keith Hackney Matt Hamill Volk Han Joachim Hansen Antoni Hardonk
Read MoreKurt Pellegrino Loses, Retires at Bellator 59
The final Bellator Fighting Championships event of 2011 also featured the final fight of Kurt Pellegrino‘s career.
Fighting in front of his home-state fans in New Jersey, Pellegrino was defeated in just 50 seconds by Patricky “Pitbull” Freire, and he said afterward that he won’t fight again.
“I started my career in Atlantic City and I wanted to end it in Atlantic City as well,” Pellegrino told the fans at Caesar’s Atlantic City afterward. “I lost fair and square. I love you all so much. This is the last time you’ll ever see me fight again.”
Pellegrino telling the fans (many of whom were his friends and family) that he had lost fair and square seemed to quell their anger at an apparent fast stoppage in his loss to Pitbull. Although Pitbull leveled Pellegrino with a left-right combination and then jumped on top and hit him with several punches on the ground, Pellegrino did still appear to be intelligently defending himself at the time of the stoppage, and the fans loudly booed the outcome.
A UFC veteran who went 7-5 inside the Octagon, Pellegrino left the UFC on a two-fight losing streak in May, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. It was a surprise when he returned to MMA to fight for Bellator, but it’s not a surprise that he’s now saying he’s done fighting at the age of 32.
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Joe Hybrid Duarte Aldrin de Jesus Todd Duffee Marvin Eastman Stav Crazy Bear EconomouÂ
Read MoreAndrei “The Pit Bull” Arlovski Recorded Live Video Chat July 8th 2011 – Andrei Arlovski
Andrei "The Pit Bull" Arlovski Recorded Live Video Chat July 8th 2011 Video by Andrei Arlovski
Daiki DJ taiki Hata He Peng David Heath Delson Heleno Dan Henderson
Read MoreScott “Einstein” Epstein vs Kit Cope @ grappler’s quest
Here’s one of my jiu jitsu coaches, Scott Epstein doing work.
11-19-11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=hyUfOqA4i4k
Marcelo Brito Rob Broughton Mike Brown Junie Browning Paul BuentelloÂ
Read MoreUFC Featherweight Champ Jose Aldo looking to enlist Gray Maynard to prepare for Chad Mendes
UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo has a very tough test ahead of him in his next Title defense, as he’ll take on undefeated wrestling powerhouse Chad Mendes at UFC 142 in Brazil. In preparation for such a dominant top control opponent, Aldo and his camp are extending an invitation to two-time UFC Lightweight Title challenger Gray Maynard to come train with the Champ. In an interview with Sherdog.com last week, Aldo talked about bringing Maynard in, as well as his joy at being in the main event in his home country this January:
“We have a big interest in bringing Maynard to train with me. He has such strong wrestling (base) and we want people that (have) the same game Chad Mendes does. Mendes is a competitive and hard guy to fight. Me and Maynard have been in touch since UFC 136, and he also said it’s his will to train with us at Nova Uniao, but nothing is confirmed thus far, especially because of the Thanksgiving holiday. I’m waiting for the answer…
It’s gonna be great to fight here in Rio, even more being the main event. I’ve been asking Dana White and he promised me a main event. The time has come and nothing is better to be here in Brazil, where I was born and raised. I’m really looking forward to this day.?
Cody Guinn Jorge Gurgel Andre Gusmao Alexander Gustafsson Jaime Gutierrez
Read MoreBoardwalk Empire season 2 is the best…
tv show on this fall season. Did anyone catch last night’s episode i loved the ending – Darmody had it coming.
I didnt like the first season much…
Randy The Natural Couture Dan Cramer Alberto Crane Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz Luke CummoÂ
Read MoreDrop what you?re doing, and watch this Marius Zaromskis KO
Strikeforce and Dream vet Marius Zaromskis fought Bruno Carvalho in Sweden this weekend, and the ending of the fight will make your jaw drop.
Yep, that’s a forward roll into an axe kick. Though Carvalho is dropped by the incredible kick, he does survive to return to his feet, only for Zaromskis to end the bout with sharp elbows and then ground and pound.
Miguel Torres once tried a similar move when in the WEC, but didn’t connect. This kick can be put alongside the Anthony Pettis “Showtime Kick,” and Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida’s front kicks.
Heath Herring Branden Lee Hinkle Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril AbidiÂ
Read More