UFC 120 England Oct 16th

[SPX]

Re: UFC 120 England Oct 16th

Sherdog's "Akiyama Fight ‘Means Everything’ to Bisping" front-page article features a picture of Bisping attempting an armbar on Denis Kang. Good omen.

The omen is one of failure. You said it yourself: It is a photo of an unsuccessful ATTEMPT.

Akiyama shall win this fight.

[edman5555]

Re: UFC 120 England Oct 16th

Bisping can win but no way should akiyama be a big dog.

[Mr. IWS]

Re: UFC 120 England Oct 16th

Cantwell is out....This guy has some shit luck lately.

http://www.fightersonlymagazine.co.uk/n ... hp?id=5444
More bad news for Steve Cantwell. He is off the UFC 120 card less than 48 hours before it is due to start, having ripped a knee ligament in a training session on Thursday night (UK time).

Fighters Only was told on Friday morning that Cantwell has consulted medical staff but is clearly in no condition to compete and has had to be pulled from the bout with UFC debutant Stanislav Nedkov.

He cannot be replaced at this late stage; the weigh ins are today and there would also be no time for a replacement to pass medical checks.

The injury was sustained in a BJJ session, although it is not yet clear whether it was a freak accident or an over-zealous submission attempt from a training partner.

It is the latest setback for Cantwell, who was forced off the UFC 108 card with an undisclosed injury. That was supposed to be his return from a long layoff caused by an unspecified ailment; at one point UFC president Dana White was saying Cantwell ‘may never fight again’.

Cantwell has now not fought since September 2009. He is coming off back-to-back losses to Brian Stann and Luis Cane. At this stage there is no news on how long he is likely to be sidelined for because of the latest injury, but it will be early 2011 at least before he returns, making 2010 a complete write-off for Cantwell.

Update: UFC officials have confirmed that Nedkov will be paid his show money for the cancelled bout.

[SPX]

Re: UFC 120 England Oct 16th

Goddamn it!

That fucking sucks! I was looking forward to Cantwell getting back in the game.

[Mr. IWS]

Re: UFC 120 England Oct 16th

Because Im lazy, someone aware me what time this is on live tommorow?

[poopoo333]

Re: UFC 120 England Oct 16th

Because Im lazy, someone aware me what time this is on live tommorow?

I just read 2 pm. I hope that is when the prelims start... I won't be home until 4 tomorrow. If I miss it I am going to have to stay off the internet until 11pm tomorrow night, lol.

[Ludo]

Re: UFC 120 England Oct 16th

2pm is the prelims. Remember the UK is 5 hours ahead of US Eastern Time.

[poopoo333]

Re: UFC 120 England Oct 16th

2pm is the prelims. Remember the UK is 5 hours ahead of US Eastern Time.

Fuck yeah, hopefully I can get home by 4pm. I will probably miss the 1st fight of the main card then, make sure you guys have streams ready for me

[poopoo333]

Re: UFC 120 England Oct 16th

Watching the pre-fight press conference. Hardy/Bisping got under Condit's skin for sure...Condit looks pissed.

[SPX]

Re: UFC 120 England Oct 16th

That's fine. Condit can look pissed.

Tomorrow he's gonna be looking pissed while he laying on his back.

[MMA_scientist]

Re: UFC 120 England Oct 16th

Condit always tries to mean mug guys. In the WEC he was always mouthing "bitch" over and over to the guy across the cage. Hardy is gonna beat him, IMO. And if Condit is pissed enough to come forward, that will probably help Hardy.

[SPX]

Re: UFC 120 England Oct 16th

LONDON – "I am Sexyama."

Those are the exact words, in English, Japanese superstar Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) used to open his address to the media at Thursday's "UFC 120: Bisping vs. Akiyama" pre-event press conference in London.

While that audacious tag once seemed shockingly accurate when describing the bronzed judoka with the impressive 11-fight win streak – and though Akiyama's performances thus far in the octagon have both been "Fight of the Night" affairs – he's earned just a split-decision win in two trips to the cage. Is that sexy enough to stick around in the UFC should he falter against UFC 120 opponent Michael Bisping?

Akiyama debuted in the UFC in July 2009 at the historic UFC 100 event in Las Vegas. In a back-and-forth battle with an always-tough Alan Belcher, Akiyama earned a razor-thin split-decision victory that many MMA observers felt perhaps should have gone the other way.

Akiyama then returned 12 months later in a memorable three-round submission loss to noted slugger Chris Leben. While the fight is currently nominated for the 2010 Fighters Only World MMA Awards "Fight of the Year" award, the contest saw Akiyama fatigued early on in a bout that appeared his for the taking.

Akiyama, himself, admits he hasn't necessarily lived up to the hype thus far.

"I do not highly rate those past two bouts," Akiyama flatly told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

Perhaps even more troubling was Akiyama's attitude prior to the Leben fight. Originally slated to fight Wanderlei Silva, "The Axe Murderer" was forced to pull out of the contest following a string of training-related injuries. Despite earning a disclosed $160,000 in his bout with Belcher, Akiyama initially balked at his employer's suggestion he face Leben.

The 35-year-old Akiyama says the entire process – from his reluctance to sign the bout agreement to his lack of proper conditioning – was an important lesson in his career.

"Everything was quite a lesson to me, especially how to proceed in the rounds and also how to condition myself to the fight," Akiyama said.

To that end, Akiyama says he spent a month training with the famed Jackson's Mixed Martial Arts team in New Mexico. His opponent contends Akiyama likely won't have evolved much during that short tenure, but "Sexyama" insists a return to vintage form.

In Bisping, Akiyama faces an opponent who has gone just 2-2 in his past four bouts but fights in front of 18,000 of his countryman at The O2 on Saturday night. It's a tall order for any fighter, much less one that may be in dire need of a positive result.

Whether or not Akiyama's employment is on the line Saturday night isn't certain. With the UFC's current global expansion plans, Akiyama's ties to the Japanese and Korean communities would seem to make him a valuable commodity to the fight promotion regardless of his record.

Nevertheless, Akiyama appears to know he may be at a crossroads, and he insists he's prepared to deliver in UFC 120's main event.

"It is a great honor to fight against excellent rivals on the UFC front," Akiyama said. "I've been training hard for this bout, so I'll do my best."

[Svino]

Re: UFC 120 England Oct 16th

Goddamn it!

That fucking sucks! I was looking forward to Cantwell getting back in the game.

That does suck. I was looking forward to Nedkov pulling off the upset.

[zY|]

Re: UFC 120 England Oct 16th

I'm sure Hardy will implement his usual strategy. Inexplicably holding guys against the fence and ekeing out split decisions.

[SPX]

Re: UFC 120 England Oct 16th

I'm sure Hardy will implement his usual strategy. Inexplicably holding guys against the fence and ekeing out split decisions.

Dude, he's had two split decisions in five fights in UFC. What the fuck are you talking about?

Hardy always puts on exciting fights.