Lesnar v. Carwin Heavyweight Title Match Scrapped

The anticipated heavyweight title matchup at UFC 106 between current UFC Heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar and contender Shane Carwin has been cancelled according to a Yahoo! Sports Exclusive.

Many deemed the heavy fisted Carwin as the first real challenge that Brock Lesnar has had since entering the Octagon.

Brock Lesnar has been sick for over 3 1/2 weeks and said "he’s never been this sick in his life,” according to UFC President Dana White, who also commented “He said it’s been going on for a long time and he just hasn’t been able to shake it.”

White says he doesn't think it was a case of the swine flu, otherwise known as the H1N1 virus.

It is unknown at this writing who will be the headlining bout (possibly the co-main event of Forrest Griffin v. Tito Ortiz?), or if Shane Carwin will go ahead and fight on this card against another opponent.

After last Saturday's dominating performance at UFC 104 by Cain Velasquez, a Carwin/Velasquez matchup would have many MMA fans salivating at the mouth. Odds are though that at about a month away, that would be too soon to see Velasquez hopping back into action.

Stranger things have happened in the world's greatest sport.

Story Source

"King" Mo to Strikeforce

Sherdog.com is reporting that Mo Lawal is now under contract for Strikeforce, and could fight as early as December.

This is good for both Lawal, and Strikeforce. Good for Lawal in that it will give him exposure to the American fans, and build his reputation so that the UFC will give him a second look. This is good for Strikeforce because it gives them an eccentric character that has a lot of potential, and has name value that isn't the UFC's scraps.

Lawal recently defeated Mark Kerr with a TKO in the first round.

Kimbo Vs. Houston Alexander A Possibility At UFC 107

It's being reported by fiveouncesofpain.com that a Kimbo Slice versus Houston Alexander matchup may occur at UFC 107 in Memphis, Tennessee later this year.

The report states that one of the fighters have been contacted to discuss the possible matchup.

Slice is coming off a stint in the most recent installment of TUF where he lost in his first match against ex-IFLer Roy "Big Country" Nelson.

After a show of power and destruction in his first few fights in the UFC, Houston Alexander has come back down to earth as opponents have exposed his lack of a ground game.

That's what makes this matchup intriguing. Two massively violent stand up fighters with definite knock out power and no ground game. This one could be a brainwave altering brawl.

Hey, don't scoff. This match could have that kind of action.

UFC 107 is scheduled for December 12, 2009 and features the headline championship match between B.J. Penn and Diego Sanchez.

Resurgence of the Phenom

Coming off an extended hiatus, we here at Smashmouth have a lot of catching up to do. I think I would like to start with the biggest thing to happen in the last six months. What could this be? Anderson Silva's destruction of Forrest Griffin? No. Chuck on dancing with the stars? Definitely not. Rampage's departure from MMA? No, we all know that won't last.

No, I'm talking about Vitor Belfort's first round knock out of Rich "Ace" Franklin. While this probably isn't the biggest upset in UFC history, it does establish the resurgence of Vitor Belfort (19-8). Not only had it been over four and a half years since The Phenom had fought in the octagon, it also marked 12 years from which Vitor first walked in as a 19 year old freak athlete.

In Vitor's last fight in the UFC he lost a Split Decision to Tito Ortiz in a lackluster performance. Many thought this had marked the end of relevance for Vitor in MMA. This was until Vitor made a Splash in the MMA world again after he destroyed Matt Lindland, and Terry Martin.

After Affliction disbanded the UFC picked up Vitor's contract, and put him right to work. At UFC 103 Vitor looked great, and proved that he is one of the fastest, and strongest fighters in Mixed Martial Arts. Now with the talks that Vitor will fight Anderson "The Spider" Silva in January it poses an odd question. Can speed and strength overcome skill and style?

Time will tell. But I think that Vitor will be the first fighter in the UFC to upset the Spider, and give the middleweight belt a new home.

UFC 107: Penn Vs. Sanchez

It has recently been announced that BJ Penn will fight top contender Diego Sanchez for the UFC Lightweight Division belt. The fight will take place on December 12 at UFC 107, in Memphis Tennesee.

Penn (14-5-1) is coming off a submission victory over Kenny "Kenflo" Florian. Sanchez (23-2) is coming of a split decision victory over Clay Guida, a fight that many consider to be a "Fight of the Year"candidate.

This will be a very interesting fight for BJ Penn who has yet to come across a fighter in the lightweight division that has truly tested him. Many thought that Kenny Florian would be Penn's biggest challenge. That was until BJ submitted Kenny in four rounds.

The difference in the Penn Vs. Sanchez fight will be how Diego's strength matches up against BJ's. Diego is a lightweight in a welterweight's body, and as we saw in BJ's last three fights at Welterweight, he struggles with this size difference.

With that said, I see Diego taking BJ to all five rounds with a Unanimous Decision win for Baby James.

The Empire Strikes Back

Josh Barnett did his best Lando Calrissian by selling the hopes of MMA fans to roids. 

That is, fans that actually still care about fighters.

Then Tom Atencio finally admits that Dana White is his daddy after Dana chopped off the hand and let him advertise in the Octagon again.

As a fan, I am saddened because the monopoly of MMA is going to continue without a fight. Dana is going to continue to be a godfather and strong-arm people to do what is going to make him rich.

I have less hope for the future. Though MMA may continue to be a strong niche sport, it is going to be run by a guy that very closely resembles the Boston tuff guys the big talking UFC president fled from so many years ago.

Here is to you Godfather. I guess we will all have to bow and kiss the ring.

Barnett 2 Time Looser

Josh Barnett, a top 5 all time heavyweight is busted for the second time by the California State Athletic Commission for using a banned substance.

The baby face assassin is not the kind of guy you look at and think, "oh wow, that dude roids".  He is as much the baby fat assassin, as he is the baby faced assassin known for his endurance as he very much passes the famous banned substances eye test.

I am a bit salted because I think that he was the last person that Fedor Emilianenko needed to beat to clean out all the prominent heavyweights over the last eight years of MMA. I also may be a frustrated cuz it cuts down one of the great months of MMA ever planned.

Congratulations Baby Fat, you have helped take MMA down a peg today and ruined an epic match up between two legends. You have set an organization scrambling for an opponent for their biggest draw, and you put a damper on my August 1st plans.

I understand.  I wouldn't want to fight Fedor either, but you could have just decided to not sign the contract instead of roiding up and failing a test that will leave you banned from fighting in California.

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