UFC Fight Night 18: Condit vs Kampmann

UFN 18 is this Wednesday night live on Spike TV at 8pm. The main event features the last WEC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit making his UFC debut vs Martin Kampmann. The card also features the official UFC debut of The Ultimate Fighter 8 winner Ryan Bader. UFN 18 will be followed by the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 9.

Here are the fight match ups:

MAIN CARD (Televised)
Carlos Condit vs. Martin Kampmann
Ryan Bader vs. Carmelo Marrero
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Tyson Griffin
Junie Browning vs. Cole Miller

PRELIMINARY CARD (Un-televised)
Jeremy Stephens vs. Gleison Tibau
Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Horwich
Brock Larson vs. Jesse Sanders
Nick Catone vs. Tim Credeur
Nissen Osterneck vs. Jorge Rivera
Rob Kimmons vs. Joe Vedepo
Tim McKenzie vs. Aaron Simpson
Ryan Jensen vs. Steve Steinbeiss

-Cage Writer makes their picks

-Cole Miller thinks Junie is the worst fighter he has ever faced

-Condit is content to start over in the UFC

-Sherdog breaksdown the undercard

UFC 101 Road trip anyone?

What: UFC 101
Where: Philadelphia
When: Saturday, August 8th

This is shaping up to be a great card, and Philly is only about 5 or 6 hours away. Road trip anyone?

Champ B.J. Penn vs. Kenny Florian (for UFC lightweight title)
Forrest Griffin vs. Thiago Silva
Josh Neer vs. Kurt Pellgrino
Matt Hamill vs. Brandon Vera
Melvin Guillard vs. Thiago Tavares
Dan Cramer vs. Matthew Riddle
Jesse Lennox vs. Danillo Villefort

Friday Fight Links

-The first five minutes of TUF 9

-MMA Live Episode 46

-Gina Carano Interview Part 2

-Does Lyoto Machida really drink his own...um...pee?

-The evolution of Jiu-Jitsu in Mixed Martial Arts: Part 2

-UFC 98 official fight card

Fanatsy TUF 9: The Fighters

Fantasy TUF 9: The Rules

Season 9 of The Ultimate Fighter is about to start again, and this means it is time for Fantasy TUF. The rules will be similar to last season, but with a few changes. It will cost just $20 per player. Let me know if you or anyone that you know might be interested. The draft will be Friday March 27th around 8pm.

The Ultimate Fighter 9: Team USA vs. Team UK is the ninth installment of The Ultimate Fighter which premieres on Wednesday April 1st at 10pm. This season features lightweight fighters (146-155 lb) and welterweight fighters (156-170 lb). Dan Henderson will coach Team USA and Michael Bisping will coach Team UK.

Prelim Elimination Round: Once again, this season will start with a preliminary elimination round. All 32 fighters will fight and the 16 winners will make it into the house. Unlike last season we will have the draft before the prelim round. Your fighters will receive points in this round. The elimination round will be UK fighters vs UK fighters and US fighters vs US fighters.
Draft: Before the elimination prelim round we will hold a draft to pick the fighters that we want on our team. The draft will need to take place before the April 1st episode. It will depend on how many players we get to determine how many fighters each player can pick. (Example: for 10 players each would get 3 of the 32 fighters).
Undrafted Fighters: If any fighter is not drafted, he will be considered on waivers. If all of your fighters are eliminated in the prelim round, you may drop one of your fighters and pick up an undrafted fighter off of waivers. If one of you fighters gets injured, you may drop one of your fighters and pick up an undrafted fighter off of waivers. The waiver list will be in reverse order of the 1st round of the draft. A fighter will only earn you points while he is on your team.
Points: Here is how the scoring will work. Each player will receive points if there fighter does the following on the show or in the Live Finale:

10pts Victory in the 1st Round
9pts Victory in the 2nd Round
8pts Victory in the 3rd Round
7pts Victory by Judge's decision

These points will be doubled for the two tournament championship fights on the Live Finale.

Also, each player gets to pick a coach in either Dan Henderson or Michael Bisping. Each time one of your coach's fighters wins a fight you will receive 1pt. If your coach wins the Coach's Challenge you will receive 5pts.
If one of your fighters is kicked off the show (non-injury related) you will lose 1pt, and that fighter can not be replaced. And if your fighter quits the show (non-injury related) or fails to make weight you will lose 5pts, and that fighter can not be replaced.
The winner will be whichever team has acquired the most points at the end of the Live Finale.

Prize Money:
Points Winner: $100
Lightweight Tournament Winner: $50
Welterweight Tournament Winner: $50

When:
The Draft: Friday, March 27th 7pm
1st Episode: Wednesday, April 1st at 10pm
New Episodes: Every Wednesday night at 10pm
Live Finale: Saturday, June 20th.

Good Luck.

Friday Fight Links

-Gina Carano is back

-Forrest Griffin returns to fight Thiago Silva at UFC 101

-GSP finally admits that he cheated (kinda)

-Joe Rogan explains the striking game for "UFC 2009 Undisputed"

-Cole Miller wants to smash Junie Browning (don't we all)

-Stephan Bonnar vs Mark Coleman at UFC 100?

TUF 9: Cast Revealed

The Ultimate Fighter 9: Team USA vs. Team UK is the ninth installment of The Ultimate Fighter which premieres on Wednesday April 1st at 10pm. This season features lightweight fighters (146-155 lb) and welterweight fighters (156-170 lb). Dan Henderson will coach Team USA and Michael Bisping will coach Team UK.

(PRESS RELEASE) -- More than two centuries after the United States achieved its independence from England, friction between the two nations is about to flare up again when “The Ultimate Fighter: United States Vs. United Kingdom” premieres Wednesday, April 1 at 10:00 PM, ET/PT on Spike TV.

For these 32 up-and-coming mixed martial arts fighters, two things are on the line: bragging rights for their respective countries, and a six-figure contract with the preeminent mixed martial arts organization in the world, The Ultimate Fighting Championship.®

Season nine of Spike TV’s wildly successful original series, “The Ultimate Fighter,” features 16 lightweights (155 lbs) and 16 welterweights (170 lbs). They will train and compete under the watchful eye of the coaches, “The Ultimate Fighter 3” champion and top middleweight contender Michael Bisping, and former concurrent PRIDE champion of the 185 lbs and 205 lbs divisions and U.S. Olympian, Dan Henderson.

Each of the 32 contestants must fight his way into the Ultimate Fighter House by winning a preliminary bout that will be featured during the first two episodes (April 1 and 8). The remaining 10 episodes will feature the victorious 16 fighters and their quest for the coveted “Ultimate Fighter” crown.

The 32 fighters for “The Ultimate Fighter: United States Vs. United Kingdom” include:

Fighting to Represent the United States

Welterweight:

- Ryan Biglar
A member of team Cobra Kai in Las Vegas, Biglar is a 24-year-old jiu-jitsu artist originally from Guam.

- Ray Elbe
Born and raised in Arizona, the 25-year-old Elbe (20-11) has spent parts of the last three years perfecting his muay thai skills in Phuket, Thailand.

- Christian Fulgium
Fighting out of the Gladiator camp in Lafayette, Louisiana, Fulgium is a wrestler with a combined 6-2-1 mixed martial arts record.

- Damarques Johnson
Johnson, a member of Elite Performance in Salt Lake City, Utah, began training in mixed martial arts in 2001 while serving in the military. He has since amassed a 13-6 mixed martial arts record.

- Kevin Knabjian
Born and raised in Chicago, Knabjian (10-3-1) wrestled at Division 1 Eastern Illinois University and graduated with a degree in Business Management. Knabjian trains out of Gilbert Grappling in Chicago.

- Mark Miller
A 5'10” welterweight muay thai artist, Miller (10-4) trains out of Dino Costeas MMA and Toro Muay Thai in Chicago.

- Jason Pierce
A former soccer standout at the University of Illinois at Springfield, Pierce (9-0) trains with Bettendorf's Miletich Fighting Systems camp.

- Kiel Reid
Born and raised in Bettendorf, Iowa, Reid (8-1) returned to the area in 2005 to take up mixed martial arts full-time with the Miletich Fighting Systems camp.

Lightweight:

- Paul Bird
A stand-up fighter, Paul Bird (4-1) trains in West Des Moines, Iowa out of the Des Moines MMA camp.

- Santino Defranco
26-year-old Santino Defranco trains out of Southwest MMA in Tempe, AZ. A 5'10” jiu-jitsu specialist, DeFranco holds a 13-4 mixed martial arts record.

- Jason Dent
Sumbission specialist Jason Dent owns and operates Griffon Brawl gym in Mentor, Ohio. He holds a combined 19-9 mixed martial arts record with bouts against Roger Huerta at UFC 63 and Gleison Tibau at UFC 68 under his belt.

- Cameron Dollar
A member of Fight Factory in Colorado Springs, CO, Dollar (4-1) has trained with TUF alums Cory Hill and Noah Thomas.

- Tom Hayden
Tom Hayden, 4-0, is a ground specialist who trains out of TUF 2 alum's Jorge Gurgel camp in West Chester, OH.

- Waylon Lowe
Fighting out of Jorge Gurgel's camp in Ohio, the 28-year-old Waylon Lowe owns a 5-2 mixed martial arts record.

- Josh Souder
A well-rounded fighter out of Team Prodigy in Ohio, the 5'7” Josh Souder owns a 7-2 overall mixed martial arts record.

- Richie Whitson
Born and raised in Alaska, the heavy-handed Whitson holds a perfect 4-0 mixed martial arts record. He currently trains out of Temecula, CA with Team Quest.


Fighting to Represent the United Kingdom

Welterweight:

- Dean Amarasinghe
Rough House Gym’s Dean Amarasinghe (4-1) is a 5’10” grappler from Nottingham, England.

- James Bateman
5’10” striker James Bateman (2-1) trains with Grimsby NHB in Grimsby, England.

- David Faulkner
5’9” ground specialist David Faulkner trains with Wolfslair in Widnes, England. The 28-year-old born in Kirkby holds a 2-1 mixed martial arts record.

- Tommy Maguire
20-year-old Tommy Maguire trains in Wisbech, England with Tsunami Gym. The 5’7” stand-up fighter holds a 5-2 mixed martial arts record, with three wins coming via TKO.

- Che Mills
Born is Gloucester, England, 6’2” welterweight Che Mills (7-2) trains with Mark Weir’s Range Fighting in the UK.

- Nicholas Osipczak
Sporting a perfect 3-0 record, Nicholas Osipczak trains in London, England with Pancrase UK.

- Alex Reid
Alexander Reid trains in London, England with the London Shoot Fighters. The 33-year-old stand up artist is 10-9-1 in his twenty mixed martial arts bouts.

- James Wilks
Born and raised in England, 30-year-old fighter James Wilks has trained with Eric Paulson in Orange County, California since 2000. The 6’1” striker is 5-2 in his mixed martial arts career.

Lightweight:

- James Bryan
Lightweight James Bryan (3-1) is a 25-year-old stand up fighter from Somerset, England.

- Dan James
Dan James, 3-0, is a stand up artist fighting out of Swansea, Wales. The 5’10” fighter has won two of his fights by TKO.

- Gary Kelly
Wolfslair fighter Gary Kelly (2-1) is a 25-year-old striker from Liverpool, England.

- Jeff Lawson
5’6 lightweight Jess Lawson (13-2) trains with Team Bulldog out of Dorset, England.

- Ross Pearson
24-year-old striker Ross Pearson (9-3) is a member of Sunderland Jiu-Jitsu & MMA Club in Sunderland, England.

- Martin Stapleton
Born in Manchester, England, 25-year-old Thai boxer Martin Stapleton (5-1) trains with Quannum Combat Arts.

- AJ Wenn
Cambs, England’s AJ Wenn is a well-rounded fighter training out of Tsunami Gym. The 24-year-old has a 7-2 mixed martial arts record.

- Andre Winner
Lightweight Andre Winner (9-2-1) trains out of Rough House in London, England.

During the six-week taping of “The Ultimate Fighter: United States Vs. United Kingdom,” these 16 men who survived the prelims endured a grueling regimen of jiu-jitsu, judo, muay thai, karate, boxing and wrestling. The intense competition between the fighters continues after they leave the gym – at The Ultimate Fighter House. These warriors must live together, knowing that any day they might be forced to fight each other in the famed UFC Octagon™.

The two finalists will square off in a live finale Saturday, June 20 on Spike TV, when the two weight class winners will be declared “The Ultimate Fighter” and net the aforementioned contract and a cash prize. UFC President Dana White will once again serve as host of the series.