This past month saw some exciting MMA action and some not so well, but as a whole the month of February produced several meaningful bouts to MMA Rankings. Champions Renan Barao and Eduardo Dantas made successful title defenses this month and Alexander Shlemenko was crowned the new Bellator middleweight champion.
Last month the MMA Rankings didn’t move much but the last couple weeks have influenced the ranks significantly. This month’s MMA rankings now include the top five-pound for pound fighters as well a slightly new look and feel.
Days after Strikeforce held its final event; the UFC announced that several of the promotions fighters have joined the ranks of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Not all of the fighters are coming over but this also wasn’t the complete and final list, expect a few more to be announced in the coming weeks.
Former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez is finally getting his wish. Unable to defend his title at last weekend’s final Strikeforce event due to injury, Melendez instead will get an immediate title shot against UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson.
Today Strikeforce announced their plans for a major fight card planned for January of 2013. On a side note, the promotion also announced that their November 3rd fight card in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma would be canceled due to injuries to Frank Mir and Luke Rockhold. But hey look on the bright side, at least there will be an event in January.
Daniel Cormier was slated to fight Frank Mir next month, but in what seems to be a regular occurrence, Mir had to pull out of the fight because of an injury. Cormier and Strikeforce are still looking for a replacement fight, but have not had much in the way of luck yet.
The last 45 days have been odd to say the least for the UFC and Strikeforce. The two ZUFFA owned promotions have continued to be hit with injuries, each have had to cancel an event and the UFC has witnessed fighters actually turning down fights. The latter of which started this bizarre world the UFC has been living in for the past month and a half and other fighters appear to be following suit.
After losing half of its main event earlier this week, Strikeforce has added a middleweight bout between Tim Kennedy and Trevor Smith to their November 3rd fight card. On Tuesday it was announced that former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir was injured and was out against the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix champion Daniel Cormier. The addition of a top ranking fighter like Kennedy lessens the sting of losing a fighter such as Mir.
UFC on FOX 7: Henderson vs. Melendez Weigh-in Pictures
Due to a previously scheduled Arena Football game at the HP Pavilion, today’s UFC on FOX 7 weigh-ins were held less than a mile away at the California Theater. The small theater was completely filled with cheering fans and all the fighters they came to see made weight.
The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale Weigh-in Pictures
Amidst everything else going on, the UFC has themselves a busy day today with the UFC on FX 6 taking place in Australia and The Ultimate Fighter 16 finale weigh-ins. All 24 fighters made weight today for tomorrow’s event that will crown The Ultimate Fighter 16 welterweight winner.
UFC on FUEL TV 4 Weigh-in Results and Photos
SAN JOSE, Cal. – Still recovering from Saturday’s UFC 148, MMAValor.com was inside the HP Pavilion for today’s UFC on FUEL TV 4 weigh-ins. A few of the fighters would need to step onto the scale behind a towel but all 22 fighters on the UFC on FUEL TV 4 fight card made weight.
TUF Live Finale Live Results and Event Pictures
The long grind of the first live version of The Ultimate Fighter ends tonight at the TUF Live Finale in Las Vegas. Featuring 12 of the 16 TUF Live contestants, the 10 bout card will be headlined by an important match-up in the welterweight division between Jake Ellenberger and Martin Kampmann.
TUF Live Finale Weigh-in Results and Pictures
All the fighters for tomorrow’s TUF Live Finale were on weight as they stepped onto the scales inside the Pearl at the Palms. The 20 fighters, including 12 of the 16 TUF Live fighters will begin entering the Octagon tomorrow starting at 2:45pm PT / 5:45pm ET.
