Athletix Sports Daily MMA News

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[VolcomX311]

Another halfer and all is right in the UFC ring girl world again. The new hapa is Jessica Cambensy and she could give Logan Stanton a run for her money. Good stuff.

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It wasn't long ago that Jon Jones floated the idea of a move to heavyweight into the media, only to have it quickly shut down by UFC President Dana White. Jones, the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion, had work to do, White essentially said, and plenty of challengers were breaking down the door for a shot at his belt.

Fast forward to a current climate that sees Jones preparing to defend his title for a fifth consecutive time, against a man who hasn't fought at light heavyweight in seven years, and the notion of Jones moving up in weight no longer seems so far-fetched.

Participating in an online MetroPCS chat with fans on Tuesday night, White, with Jones by his side, posed the question to the 25-year-old champ.

"I'll definitely move up to heavyweight," Jones responded. "But it'll probably be around 2013. Maybe at the end of 2013."

Jones is currently filming The Ultimate Fighter 17 opposite former middleweight Chael Sonnen in advance of the pair's April 27th title fight.

After which, Jones made it clear he still desires a fight against Dan Henderson in order to wrap up the UFC 151 chapter of his life. Minutes later, "Bones" also expressed interest in fighting rising Swedish contender Alexander Gustafsson in order to quiet critics who complain about his reach advantage.

So while a move to heavyweight is obviously on his mind, Jones' reign at light heavyweight still has plenty of mileage left in the tank.

"Right now I have a nutritionist and I'm starting to take the career a lot more seriously than I used to, so my weight cuts are getting a lot easier," said Jones. "I walk around a lot thinner naturally. Right now I'm at, like, 225 (pounds). That's a 20-pound cut. That's really easy. So I might look bigger than most people when I'm fighting, but I'm really not."

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Despite rumors of a possible rumble in Brazil, it looks like UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo will instead see action against Frankie Edgar in Las Vegas when the organization hosts its annual Super Bowl Weekend event. The two were originally scheduled to face off earlier this month at UFC 153 before Aldo suffered minor injuries in a motorcycle accident and was forced to withdraw. According to UFC Tonight, the bout will take place on February 2 at UFC 156. No other fights have been attached to the card.

Aldo will have been out of action for more than a year by the time he steps into the Octagon to lock horns with Edgar. The dynamic 26-year old was last seen stopping Chad Mendes with strikes in the opening round of a January 14 rumble. Regardless of the layoff, Aldo remains one of the sport’s finest fighters, holding an overall record of 21-1 including 15 finishes.

As invincible as Aldo has appeared in each of his fights, few fans doubt the ability of Edgar to get the job done when the cage door closes. The 14-3-1 New Jersey native held lightweight gold as an undersized competitor, beating some of the division’s best including the likes of Sean Sherk, Gray Maynard, and B.J. Penn. The UFC 156 match-up will mark his first in the organization at 145 pounds.

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Cesar Gracie: “I think Nick probably will face Josh Koscheck in his return to the Octagon.”

UFC welterweight Josh Koscheck recently went on Twitter to announce he’d been approached about a fight with polarizing pugilist Nick Diaz in early February when the former Strikeforce champion returns from a drug-related suspension. Diaz’s coach, Cesar Gracie, has since confirmed the likelihood of the two tussling in the immediate future even though his star student is also open to other match-ups as well.

“Personally, I like the option of him fighting Koscheck, a guy who is very popular here in the United States (and) has great public recognition. Everyone knows who he is, especially here,” said Gracie in an interview with TATAME. “Demian Maia is a great fighter. I think (he) would also be a great opponent, but here in America, Maia is not as popular as Koscheck. So I think Nick probably will face Josh Koscheck in his return to the Octagon.”

Gracie also reiterated Diaz would love to fight Anderson Silva too though he understands the UFC brass isn’t keen on the idea.
Diaz (26-8) has been out of action since February, losing a close decision to Carlos Condit and subsequently being suspended for a year after marijuana metabolites were found in his system. The loss laid an eleven-fight winning streak to waste.

The 17-6 Koscheck is also coming off a decision defeat, falling to Mike Pierce in May.

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@ryanbader

Thoughts go out to @ChrisWeidmanUFC & his family. Lost his home in the storm on the east coast. Please show him your support. @magllc @ufc

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This is probably the hardest and fastest I've seen Marcelo spar against anyone, but Cobrinha had a lot to do with the match picking up speed. I'm used to what looks like 50-70% effort on Marcelo's part during these training sessions, but this looked like it was varying from 90-100%.

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[Jessep76]

ZOYKS YO

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A large part of me wished I were born and raised in Hawaii, the Promise Land of hapas.

[Jessep76]

Looks like Bonnar went for broke and picked up some stuff b4 the ban like the rest of us

[JudgementDay]

[Jessep76]

ahhhhh man. Has to be my all time favorite ring girl right there.

[JudgementDay]

ahhhhh man. Has to be my all time favorite ring girl right there.

Shes super hot

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ahhhhh man. Has to be my all time favorite ring girl right there.

My favorite was Logan Stanton.

[Jessep76]

She's not hard to look at either!

[JudgementDay]

Athletix is back and you need to get on this asap!

Trust me guys, you want to be on this list.

http://athletixsports.us6.list-manag...&id=cf9ed86068

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Athletix is back and you need to get on this asap!

Trust me guys, you want to be on this list.

http://athletixsports.us6.list-manag...&id=cf9ed86068

Sweet. I like the countdown. It's like the Mayan Calendar all over again.

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Benson Henderson-Gilbert Melendez, Frank Mir-Daniel Cormier colliding at UFC on FOX 7


Rumor became fact today when the UFC announced Gilbert Melendez and Daniel Cormier, two of Strikeforce’s stand-outs, would make their Octagon debuts on April 20 at UFC on FOX 7 in the failed promotion’s longtime home-base of San Jose, California. As expected, Melendez will battle lightweight champion Benson Henderson in the evening’s main event, while Cormier is set to mix it up with former heavyweight title-holder Frank Mir in co-headlining action.

Melendez, who was the last man to hold Strikeforce’s lightweight strap, will enter the bout with 21-2 record and seven straight instances of success in his rear-view mirror. “El Nino” has taken out a number of notable opponents since coming on the scene, racking up past wins over the likes of Clay Guida, Josh Thomson, Jorge Masvidal, and Shinya Aoki.

Comparably, Henderson is 18-2 with an impressive six-fight winning streak of his own featuring victories over Guida, Jim Miller, Frankie Edgar, and most recently Nate Diaz.

The match-up between Mir (16-6) and Cormier (11-0) marks a bout originally booked for a Strikeforce event in November. However, the fight fell apart when Mir withdrew due to injury and the two have been publicly lobbying for the scrap ever since. Mir is one of the most decorated heavyweights in UFC history, owning past finishes over names like Brock Lesnar and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, while the unbeaten Cormier has earned stoppages against eight of the eleven foes he’s felled.