Os craques do peso meio-médio do UFC se enfrentam no dia 27, em Vancouver. Foto: Divulgação

Mudança de planos nos cards do UFC em agosto. Inicialmente agendado para integrar o UFC 202, o duelo entre o faixa-preta de Jiu-Jitsu Demian Maia e Carlos Condit foi remarcado e promovido à luta principal de um evento do Ultimate.

Antes, Demian e Condit iriam se encarar no card a ser realizado no dia 20 de agosto, que tem na luta principal a revanche entre Conor McGregor e Nate Diaz, em duelo também na divisão de meio-médios. Agora, as feras encabeçam o UFC Fight Night 21, que rola no dia 27 do mesmo mês, em Vancouver, no Canadá.

Maia, ex-desafiante ao cinturão dos médios, mudou de categoria e se encontrou na organização. Com apenas duas derrotas em dez lutas na nova categoria, Demian vem de cinco sucessos seguidos, sobre nomes como Matt Brown, Gunnar Nelson e Neil Magny. Condit, por sua vez, é ex-campeão interino da divisão, e vem de derrota em decisão dividida para o atual campeão, Robbie Lawler.

E para você, amigo leitor, a mudança para um evento principal é melhor ou pior para o brasileiro finalizar?

Demian Maia assume a luta principal do UFC Rio, contra La Flare. Foto: Carlos Arthur Jr./GRACIEMAG

Com a lesão de Raphael Assunção, brasileiro que faria a luta principal do UFC Rio, no dia 21 de março, contra Urijah Faber, o última combate do card acabou sendo alterado. As informações são do MMA Fighting.

Faber, que aguardava novo adversário, deixa o card. No lugar, entram o faixa-preta de Jiu-Jitsu Demian Maia no duelo contra Ryan La Flare.

O brasileiro professor de Jiu-Jitsu terá mais uma vez a chance de fazer um main event no Brasil. O primeiro rolou em São Paulo, contra Jake Shields.

Demian (19v, 6d), que sofreu uma infecção óssea e foi obrigado a deixar o combate marcado contra Mike Pyle no ano passado, está recuperado e retorna aos cages vindo de vitória sobre Alexander Yakovlev.

La Flare (11v, 0d), atleta da Blackzilians, segue invicto no MMA com onze vitórias, quatro delas no UFC. Ele, que já bateu o ex-TUF Brasil Santiago Ponzinibbio, vem de vitória sobre John Howard, no UFC em Abu Dhabi.

E você, gostou da nova luta principal do UFC Rio? Confira o card como fica e comente conosco!

UFC Rio 6
Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro
21 de março de 2015

Demian Maia x Ryan La Flare
Gilbert Durinho x Josh Thomson
Erick Silva x Ben Saunders
Leonardo Santos x Matt Wiman
Leandro Buscapé x Drew Dobber
Leonardo Macarrão x Cain Carrizosa
Francisco Massaranduba x Akbarh Arreola
Godofredo Pepey x Andre Fili
Amanda Nunes x Shayna Baszler

Diego Brandão, vencedor do The Ultimate Fighter 14, faz luta principal em Dublin. Foto:UFC

Mais um brasileiro terá a chance de se testar pela primeira vez em cinco rounds no UFC. Com a saída de Cole Miller do evento principal do UFC na Irlanda, por conta de uma lesão, Diego Brandão foi escalado para enfrentar o local Cono McGregor, no dia 19 de julho, em Dublin.

O duelo, já pleiteado pelos próprios atletas em tempos passados, via redes sociais, se torna realidade e terá ambos debutando num duelo agendado para 25 minutos. Tanto Brandão quanto McGregor são conhecidos por seu estilo explosivo nos cages, mas uma batalha de cinco etapas pode mudar um pouco a característica dos atletas.

Diego (18v, 9d), faixa-preta de Jiu-Jitsu, foi campeão do “TUF” 14 e tem em seu cartel cinco vitórias por finalização e nove por nocaute. Em sua batalha mais recente, foi superado por Dustin Poirier, por nocaute.

Já McGregor (14v, 2d) não sabe o que é uma derrota desde 2010 e acumula dez vitórias consecutivas no cartel. Campeão de duas categorias no Cage Warriors, Conor estreou no UFC com um nocaute da noite sobre Marcus Brimage e em sua mais recente luta na organização, venceu Max Hollaway na decisão.

E você, leitor, animado para o duelo entre Brandão e McGregor? Comente!

Rashad Evans (pictured) will face Dan Henderson as the new main event at UFC 161. Photo by Al Bello/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images.

With UFC interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao injured, a match-up between Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson will now headline UFC 161, UFC officials confirmed to GRACIEMAG.com on Tuesday.

UFC officials later announced via Twitter that Barao was injured in preparing for his UFC 161 interim title defense against Eddie Wineland, which opened the way for the Evans-Henderson tilt as the featured bout.

The new main event will be three rounds due to the short-notice nature stemming from the Barao, according to sources close to the match-up. UFC main events are typically five rounds.

UFC officials were still determining what to do with Wineland at the time of this publication, and no information has been shared in terms of where the bantamweight will land on the card, if at all, with his original opponent sidelined.

“Waiting to hear what will happen,” Wineland posted on Twitter following confirmation of Barao’s injury, adding, “Hope (Renan Barao’s) injury isn’t (too) severe! Get well soon bud, hope all is well!”

UFC 161 takes place on June 15 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and also features a light heavyweight rematch between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

Alexander Gustafsson (right) will not be cleared to fight in Saturday’s main event on UFC on Fuel TV 9. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Due to a cut sustained in training, Alexander Gustafsson has been deemed unfit to participate in his main event fight at UFC on Fuel TV 9 against Gegard Mousasi, according to a release received by GracieMag.com on Tuesday.

The Swedish Mixed Martial Arts Federation (SMMAF) said the cut doesn’t allow Gustafsson to be medically cleared for competition in time for Saturday’s card in Stockholm, Sweden.

“As it is clear that Alexander Gustafsson will not be fit to compete as planned and cannot be medically cleared on Friday the 5th of April,” the release read, “the SMMAF Medical Committee has today decided that Alexander Gustafsson will not be allowed to participate in the planned match on April 6th.”

Medical examinations, according to the SMMAF, are carried out the day before a match to “safeguard” the competitor from being cleared early.

In the case of Gustafsson, a request was made for an early medical exam, which was performed on March 30, according to the release. The SMMAF doctors who performed the exam told Gustafsson that the cut made it very unlikely that he would be cleared to fight in Saturday’s Fuel TV card.

The federation today reviewed the circumstances of Gustafsson’s injury, and bearing in mind that a proper medical exam had been performed, “nothing in the SMMAF regulations hinders the SMMAF Medical Committee from making a decision to stop Gustafsson from competing.”

No formal announcements have been made by the UFC in regards to the status of the main event or the fight card, but GracieMag.com will provide further news as more information becomes available.

Renan Barao (pictured) will defend his interim bantamweight title against Eddie Wineland at UFC 161. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

UFC interim bantamweight champion Renan Barao will defend his title against Eddie Wineland in the main event at UFC 161, GracieMag.com confirmed with UFC officials on Wednesday.

The fight headlines the card, which will take place on June 15 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada at the MTS Centre.

Barao (30-1, 1 N.C.) enters the fight fresh off his defeat of Michael McDonald at UFC on Fuel TV 7 last month. The fight with Wineland will be his second defense of the interim title, while the champion, Dominick Cruz, recovers from an injury.

Wineland (20-8-1) was the first-ever 135-pound champion in the now-defunct WEC. He comes into the interim title fight with Barao on a two-fight win streak, most recently beating Brad Pickett in a split decision at UFC 155 last December.

Cruz’s coach, Erik Del Fierro, told GracieMag.com on Wednesday that there is no timetable for the champion’s return from a knee injury.

“An ACL is a bad injury,” Del Fierro said through a text message. “He had two surgeries so he is listening to the doctor and [going through] rehab.”

UFC 161 also features a light heavyweight fight between Dan Henderson and Rashad Evans, as well as rematch between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira from their days in the Pride organization.

The Barao-Wineland match-up was first reported by ESPN.com.

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Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Vitor Belfort and Luke Rockhold will square off at UFC on FX 8 at Arena Jaraguá on May 18, according to reports on Thursday.

As GRACIEMAG.com reported, the bout was to take place in Brazil later this year in April, but reports have pushed the date to May and the fighters will headline the card.

The UFC was last in Brazil on Jan. 19 when Belfort fought Michael Bisping in the main event at UFC on FX 7. Belfort was victorious in his home country, knocking out his British opponent in the second round of their affair.

The UFC has made a conscious effort to hose more shows in Brazil, as well as extend the reality show, TUF Brazil, into a second season, this time with UFC heavyweights Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fabricio Werdum as coaches.

UFC on FX 8 will be the second consecutive show on the FX network with Belfort featured in the headliner.

Tatame.com first reported news of the card broadcasting on FX.

—

EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this story cited MMAWeekly.com as the outlet to first report news of the FX broadcast. A correction was made to reflect Tatame.com as the outlet to have broken the news.

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Vitor Belfort weighs in during the UFC on FX official weigh-in event on January 18, 2013 at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

A match-up between Vitor Belfort and former Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold is being targeted for a card in Brazil, according to reports on Wednesday.

The bout will be Rockhold’s UFC debut, and will likely take place in April at a yet-to-be determined venue.

Belfort (22-10) was last seen knocking out Michael Bisping in the second round of their main event at UFC on FX 7 last month. The former UFC champ went on to call out light heavyweight champion Jon Jones for a shot at a rematch, calling current No. 1 contender Chael Sonnen a clown in the process, but ultimately shifted back towards the middleweight ranks with the news of this new pending fight.

Rockhold (10-1) hasn’t competed since July 2012 when he took Tim Kennedy the distance and earned a unanimous decision win in the now-defunct Strikeforce promotion. The decision extended Rockhold’s winning streak to nine, which includes wins over Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Keith Jardine.

According to reports, the Belfort-Rockhold tilt will be the main event for the show in Brazil. At the time of this publication, UFC officials did not return requests to confirm the validity of the reports.

News of the fight was first reported by Tateme.com.

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Tarec Saffiedine stands in the cage during his welterweight bout against Scott Smith at the Strikeforce event at Sears Centre Arena on July 30, 2011 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Forza LLC/Forza LLC via Getty Images)

After a year of canceled events, numerous injuries to their high-profile athletes and disagreements with Showtime, Strikeforce is closing its doors after their Jan. 12 show.

The fight card, Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine, will be the promotion’s last before it’s all said and done. However, one of the two fighters in the main event, Tarec Saffiedine (13-3), was worried that the last event wouldn’t even happen.

The recent rash of injuries the company suffered made them cancel their two previous events, so Saffiedine thought the same might happen to the upcoming card in Oklahoma City.

“When I heard that Gilbert Melendez and Luke Rockhold got injured and they didn’t find an opponent for Daniel Cormier and other guys, I was like ‘Maybe they’ll cancel the show. Maybe the show’s not going to happen,'” Saffiedine told GRACIEMAG.com. “I was a little worried [about that] more than Nate Marquardt dropping out of the fight. I don’t think it’s his style to back out of a fight … so I was more afraid of the show being completely canceled because of all these injuries.”

According to the fighter, he was skeptical and worried that after dealing with a handful of fighters withdrawing from the card due to different types of injuries, Strikeforce would decide to just call it quits. Luckily for him, they haven’t, and he’ll fight Nate Marquardt in the main event for the Strikeforce welterweight title.

Following UFC 155, UFC president Dana White apologized to all the Strikeforce fighters for the mess they had to deal with over the last several months, saying what the athletes went through is terrible and that he’s disgusted by it.

Dana White was apologetic towards Strikeforce fighters after consecutive canceled shows and the announcement that the promotion would cease after Jan. 12. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

“I should probably sit down with all of them,” White said in Las Vegas following their last Pay-Per-View. “It won’t happen again; [It’s] over now.”

Before speaking with GRACIEMAG.com, Saffiedine didn’t realize White said this, but responded to the apology by saying it’s great to hear that kind of thing coming from the UFC boss. Fighters earn their living by stepping into the cage, so to hear White share his regret for how things went is appreciated. He added, however, that it’s ultimately unnecessary.

“I think it’s nice because a lot of fighters never had the chance to fight as much as … they wanted to,” Saffiedine said when hearing of White’s statement. “I think it’s nice for him to … understand that we all need to fight and we all need to make money. I don’t think he needed to apologize, but I think it’s nice that he did.”

The Belgian fighter has spent nearly the last three years competing exclusively for Strikeforce. It’s been his home since he defeated James Terry by unanimous decision at Strikforce Challengers 6 in February of 2010. After seven fights and finally working his way up to a title opportunity, Saffiedine can’t help but feel a bit saddened by the end of the Strikeforce era.

It was a great organization and a big part of his career, he said, and being on the promotion’s final effort is an honor the Team Quest fighter genuinely appreciates.

After nearly three years fighting only in Strikeforce, Tarec Saffiedine is sad to see the company come to a close. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Forza LLC/Forza LLC via Getty Images)

“It’s sad to see Strikeforce go … [and] I really enjoyed fighting for them for a long time,” he said, remembering all the times he stepped in the cage for the company. “They’ve always been good to me. I always wanted to fight a little bit more, but that was the case for all the fighters …

“I was pretty happy … I’m really thankful to be part of the last show.”

As of right now, no new injuries have set a dark cloud over the upcoming Strikeforce show, and all fighters are currently on pace to compete on Jan. 12. Saffiedine said his camp went “pretty well” and, apart from the typical aches and pains that stem from training, nothing major has kept him from pushing himself at 100 percent.

Once fight night comes and goes, “Sponge,” as he’s been called, will work on the next step of his career: a chance to fight in the UFC.

It’s been a dream of his to fight for the Las Vegas-based promotion, and if he wins his title fight against the former No. 1 UFC middleweight contender, Marquardt, then he might just get his chance.

“Hopefully, I earn a spot,” he said. “My goal is … to be the first Belgian to have a fight in the UFC. That’s what I want to accomplish, and so far I’ve been reaching all my goals.”

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Wanderlei Silva kicks Rich Franklin during their UFC 147 bout in Brazil. Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Wanderlei Silva and Brian Stann will face each other in the main event at UFC on FUEL TV 8 in Japan, the company announced late Wednesday evening.

The match-up headlines the event, which takes place March 2 at the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo.

Although both fighters have fought at middleweight for the last two years, the UFC pits the two one weight class higher at light heavyweight.

Silva (34-12-1) last fought at UFC 147 in a loss to former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin. The bout was a rematch to their catchweight bout at UFC 99 from June 2009. Silva’s last fight at 205 pounds was against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 92, a bout that he lost by first-round knockout.

Stann (12-5), a former WEC light heavyweight champion, is fresh off a unanimous decision loss to Michael Bisping at UFC 152 in September. Stann’s last attempt at light heavyweight was against Phil Davis at UFC 109 in February 2010. Davis topped Stann by unanimous decision in the contest.

UFC officials also confirmed a previous GRACIEMAG.com report that Stefan Struve and Mark Hunt will meet at the event in a heavyweight bout. The contest will be the card’s co-main event.

UFC on FUEL TV 8 will be the UFC’s first trip to Japan since February at UFC 144.

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