Mixed Martial Arts

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Photo: Vitor Belfort, from Brazil, celebrates after defea

Vitor Belfort, Jacare Souza treat Brazilian fans to special night at UFC on FX 8: Sunday, May 19, 2013; Brazilian fighters win in each of the top four bouts, though one comes with controversy; By Case Keefer; Nights like Saturday are rare in the UFC. For the first time in 15 months, a span of 41 events, the top two fights on a UFC card both ended with first-round finishes.

Photo: Brazilian fighter Vitor Belfort trains during the

Unaffected by criticism, Vitor Belfort sets goals ahead of UFC on FX 8: Wednesday, May 15, 2013; Fighting: Rematch with Jon Jones continues to drive Belfort; By Case Keefer; Vitor Belfort can’t escape the recent negativity circulating about his career from others. It’s everywhere Belfort turns, especially from his next opponent and former Strikeforce champion Luke Rockhold. Belfort saw, and was constantly reminded of, various interviews where Rockhold questioned his manhood and mocked the testosterone-replacement therapy the 36-year old has utilized before his last two fights.

Photo: Chris Weidman, left, punches Mark Munoz during the

Chris Weidman guarantees victory over Anderson Silva at UFC 162: Thursday, May 9, 2013; Fighting: Challenger says Fourth of July weekend card will usher in new era; By Case Keefer; Beating the best fighter in the world once just isn’t enough. Chris Weidman plans to do it twice. The middleweight division’s top contender sees his impending UFC 162 date against champion Anderson Silva on July 6 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena as just the beginning.

Photo: Heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos top, gets h

UFC 160: Looking ahead to Las Vegas' Memorial Day weekend card: Wednesday, May 8, 2013; Fighting: Velasquez, dos Santos could set up a trilogy fight with victories at MGM Grand; By Case Keefer; Instead of moving on from the fight that left him bruised and beltless, Junior dos Santos chose to relive it repeatedly. Dos Santos, the former heavyweight champion, has watched the film of his UFC 155 unanimous-decision loss to Cain Velasquez more times than he can remember.

Photo: A defeated Chael Sonnen is seen after losing to ch

Chael Sonnen contemplating retirement after failed title bid at UFC 159: Sunday, April 28, 2013; Sonnen on Jon Jones: "He's a lot better than I thought he was"; By Case Keefer; As Jon Jones savored the moment during his walkout at UFC 159 and took his time before entering the octagon, Chael Sonnen grew restless. Sonnen waved his hand and yelled at the champion. “Come on,” Sonnen said over the roar of blaring speakers and adoring fans. “Get over here. Let’s fight.”

Photo: The broken foot of Jon Jones is tended to after Jo

Could Anderson Silva await Jon Jones after he returns from toe injury?: Sunday, April 28, 2013; UFC 159: Chael Sonnen among the growing chorus demanding a fight between the two best in the world; By Case Keefer; The pain eased as Jon Jones forced himself to recall the joy. Jones limped into the UFC 159 post-fight press conference after beating Chael Sonnen by first-round TKO with a big toe mangled so horrifically it made a pay-per-view audience of somewhere around a half-million people queasy.

Photo: Champion Jon Jones, top, lands an elbow against Ch

UFC 159 live blog: Jon Jones proves point in quickly dispatching Chael Sonnen: Saturday, April 27, 2013; Michael Bisping out-boxes Alan Belcher before unfortunate finish; By Case Keefer; NEWARK, N.J. — Jon Jones vies for something he’s set as a goal for years in the main event of UFC 159 against Chael Sonnen. Jones will tie Tito Ortiz’s record of five straight light heavyweight title defenses with a victory. Follow a live round-by-round blog, which includes scoring.

Photo: Jon Jones, left, of Endicott, N.Y., gets in a kick

UFC 159: Where to watch in Las Vegas: Friday, April 26, 2013; By Allison Duck; Chael Sonnen takes on Jon Jones in a light heavyweight championship fight. Find out where to watch.

Photo: UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen takes part in a news

UFC 159 weigh-in: Chael Sonnen offers bold closing remarks: Friday, April 26, 2013; Alan Belcher shoves Michael Bisping; Nick Catone comes in two pounds too heavy; By Case Keefer; NEWARK, N.J. — Those lamenting a sharp reduction in the amount of boasts and brags from Chael Sonnen before UFC 159 left Friday’s weigh-in at the Prudential Center happy. After making weight for his light heavyweight title fight against Jon Jones (205), Sonnen (205) delivered a speech in his vintage form.

Photo: Roy Nelson hits Mike Mitrione with a right during

From timid striker to knockout brute, Roy Nelson hopes to stay on tear at UFC 159: Friday, April 26, 2013; UFC 159: Nelson trails only former champions for most knockouts in heavyweight history; By Case Keefer; For the first three years Roy Nelson was a professional fighter, he never trained in boxing or even hit any type of punching bag. The Las Vegas native said he found striking unnecessary for mixed martial arts.

Photo: Jon Jones, left, of Endicott, N.Y., kneels in the

Jon Jones seems like an unlikely fighter, but inside the UFC cage, he's ruthless: Thursday, April 25, 2013; Fighting:; Tony Gervino, New York Times News Service; In a sport where the difference between winning and losing is often a momentary mental lapse, Jon Jones’ audacity seems incongruous with his personality, which is thoughtful, measured and risk averse.

Photo: Middleweight challenger Chael Sonnen boxes during

No surprise in UFC 159 breakdown, betting odds and picks: Thursday, April 25, 2013; Fighting: Sonnen's a long shot, but not the longest shot; By Case Keefer; The common refrain leading up to UFC 159 suggests that Chael Sonnen beating Jon Jones would mark the biggest upset in promotional history. Odds-wise, that’s untrue. At least two underdogs bigger than Sonnen, in main events no less, have prevailed in the past.

Photo: Anderson Silva rolls out of the way of a punch fro

Chael Sonnen complimentary of Jon Jones before UFC 159: Wednesday, April 24, 2013; Fighting: Sonnen: 'Jon Jones could beat up Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali in the same day'; By Case Keefer; Chael Sonnen got called out, and it’s in his nature to answer. This wasn’t by a fighter in the octagon, though. It was from someone in the Mandalay Bay stands at “The Ultimate Fighter” 17 finale two weeks ago. While Sonnen signed autographs and took pictures, one fan hollered over the pack to “come over here.”

Photo: Josh Thomson, left, kicks Nate Diaz during the sec

Josh Thomson commences second UFC stint with head-kick knockout: Sunday, April 21, 2013; Thomson puts a beating on Nate Diaz like no one ever had before; By Case Keefer; SAN JOSE, Calif. — At an event that tied the UFC record with eight fights finished by knockout, Josh Thomson had the best one of all. The hometown fighter, making his first UFC appearance in nine years, became the only man to ever knock out Nate Diaz.

Photo: Benson Henderson, center, celebrates with his fina

How Benson Henderson's post-fight proposal came together at UFC on Fox 7: Saturday, April 20, 2013; Henderson's next title defense will be against the winner of Gray Maynard vs. T.J. Grant; By Case Keefer; SAN JOSE, Calif. — As he walked out of the octagon after UFC on Fox 7, Benson Henderson shrugged his shoulders and inched his index finger and thumb together to create a paper-thin separation. The gesture to signify how tight his split-decision victory (48-47, 48-47, 47-48) over Gilbert Melendez was with his right hand. What mattered most to Henderson was in his left.

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Nick Diaz fails to back up years worth of talk

A welterweight title fight that felt incredibly different wound up remarkably the same. Georges St. Pierre manhandled nemesis Nick Diaz with his wrestling. St. Pierre won every round on every judges' scorecard in Montreal for his sixth straight unanimous-decision victory. Diaz had preached his superiority over St. Pierre for years, but when he finally got his chance, he looked as helpless as all the other challengers to the 170-pound division's throne in the last six years. St. Pierre's consistency continued to amaze. Now it's on to Johny Hendricks, who defeated Carlos Condit in the evening's co-main event. Could he be the one to finally threaten St. Pierre?

Main Card Results
Winner	Loser	Method
Georges St. Pierre	Nick Diaz	Unanimous Decision
Johny Hendricks	Carlos Condit	Unanimous Decision
Jake Ellenberger	Nate Marquardt	Knockout
Chris Camozzi	Nick Ring	Split Decision
Mike Ricci	Colin Fletcher	Unanimous Decision

Date	Event	Headlining Match	Location
May 3	NABF Super Featherweight Title	Francisco Vargas vs. Jose Aguiniga	Las Vegas: The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan
May 4	WBC Welterweight Title	Floyd Mayweather vs. Robert Guerrero	Las Vegas: MGM Grand Garden Arena
May 18	UFC on FX 8	Vitor Belfort vs. Luke Rockhold	Jaragua, Brazil
May 25	UFC 160	Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva	Las Vegas: MGM Grand Garden Arena
June 8	UFC on FUEL TV 10	Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Fabricio Werdum	Fortaleza, Brazil
June 15	UFC 161	Renan Barao vs. Eddie Wineland	Winnipeg, Manitoba
June 22	WBA Welterweight Title	Paulie Malignaggi vs. Adrien Broner	Brooklyn, N.Y.