Pena injured following "assault", Pennington now faces andrade at ufc 171

Raquel Pennington vs Jessica Andrade now set for UFC 171

by Ben Heather @benheather

Earlier this week reports came out that The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 women’s champion Julianna Pena had suffered a knee injury ahead of her scheduled fight against Jessica Andrade at UFC 171. At the time no details emerged of how the injury happened that was until Dana White tweeted last night

What happened to @VenezuelanVixen at "her gym" is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard. Ranked #10 out for 2 years. #leavethatgymnow
— Dana White (@danawhite) January 30, 2014

The extent of Julianna Pena's injury is a torn ACL, MCL, LCL and meniscus. Though how it happened at Sik-Jitsu Fighting Systems, where Pena trains in Spokane, Washington is still a bit of a mystery and during the UFC 169 pre fight scrum Dana added what he has been told about the incident.

"It’s the worst injury I’ve ever heard of, ever, in this sport, and you hear about those types of injuries in football," he said. "Apparently, when she came into the gym she was training in her gym and one of her training partners, a guy, was saying to her, ‘oh, you’re wearing your Ultimate Fighter shirt, we’re real scared.’ He says that and was talking smack to her and then basically attacked her.

"He jumped on her back, started cranking her neck, and the way she fell her knee blew out. The most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard in my life. A year-and-a-half to two years she’ll be out, and I told her to leave that disgusting gym and go somewhere else with new coaches, new training partners, whatever. And that’s all I know."

All White knew was that it was a man that caused the injured but he didn't know who but in his opinion it sounded like assault.

"It sounds like assault to me, but how do you consider it assault in a gym? You know what I mean?"

When Dana was told of Rick Little's version of events he was shocked at how different it was from what he was told. Little said that Pena didn't do her proper warm up and was training with some guys before he arrived when the injury happened.

"That’s so far from the story she told me right after she was completely hysterical and crying, completely opposite," he said. "Completely different story from what she told me. Somewhere in the middle lies the truth."

Pena will travel to Los Angeles next week to undergo surgery and hopefully repair her knee.

With the injury to Pena, Jessica Andrade was left without an opponent. That was until Pena's fellow TUF season 18 housemate Raquel Pennington stepped up and will fill in against the Brazilian Andrade.

Pennington defeated Roxanne Modafferi in November in her UFC debut, while Andrade got back to winning ways picking up her first win in the UFC against Rosi Sexton in October following a loss to Liz Carmouche in her UFC debut.

John Hathaway vs Dong Hyun Kim Headlines TUF China Finale

John Hathaway vs Dong Hyun Kim Headlines TUF China Finale
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

John Hathaway will take on Dong Hyun Kim at the Finale of The Ultimate Fighter China, in the main event of the evening.

The Finale of TUF: China will take place on March 1st, at The Venetian Macao’s CotaiArena and streams on UFC Fight Pass, the UFC’s recently launched digital network which is currently unavailable in The UK. A launch date for the service in the UK is yet to be confirmed.

Hathaway vs Kim where originally scheduled to meet over 3 years ago at UFC 120 in London, however an injury force Kim to withdraw from the card.

One of the UK's most promising prospects, John Hathaway (17-1, 7-1 UFC) had his UFC debut in 2009 at UFC 93, where he defeated Tom Egan by TKO. He followed that up with decision wins over Rick Story, Paul Taylor and Diego Sanchez before falling short against Mike Pyle, who replaced Kim at UFC 120.

Following the loss to Pyle, Hathaway rebounded with decision wins over Kris McCray, Pascal Krauss and John Maguire, however the 26 year old has not fought since 2012 due to an inflammatory bowel disease known as ulcerative colitis.

South Korean, Kim (18-2, 9-2 UFC) enters the bout on a 3 fight win streak made up of impressive decision victories over Paulo Thiago, Siyar Bahadurzada, and most recently Erik Silva, who he knocked in a shock “Knockout of the Night” victory.

A long time top 10 welterweight, Kim's only 2 losses have come to former interim champion Carlos Condit, and Damian Maia, a bout which Kim lost due to an injury sustained during a throw.

The Ultimate Fighter: China features a cast of featherweights and welterweights and is currently airing on Liaoning Satellite TV in China. Former Strikeforce champion Cung Le serves as an a mentor to the fighters.

Fighter vs Writer - TUF 18 Finale

Fighter vs Writer: Michael Wootten - The Ultimate Fighter Season 18 Finale 
by Ben Heather @benheather

Welcome to another Kingdom MMA fighter vs writer challenge.

For this challenge we challenge some of the biggest names from the world of MMA to give us their picks and fight outcomes for specific MMA events. Then they will be challenged by one of our writers, who will make their own predictions. Previously we have challenged the likes of Luke Barnatt, Jim Alers, Mike Wilkinson, Phil Harris, Cathal Pendred and Dustin Poirier.

This weeks opponent was a perfect man for the job and the only man for the job this weekend. He was part of Team Rousey on the current series of TUF, unfortunately losing in the semi final of the show to Chris Holdsworth. He is of course Michael Wootten.

The Scoring
If you predict the correct winner of the fight you will get one point and if you predict the correct method of victory you will get an extra point. However, if the fight ends in a stoppage and you predict the round as well the method you could earn a third bonus point. If the fight goes the distance you can only earn a maximum of two points.

The Predictions

Gray Maynard vs Nate Diaz

Wootten: Great main rematch and main event. It will be a very close fight and both posses different styles but I am a Diaz fan so I am going with Nate.

Prediction: Nate Diaz - Submission Round 2 

Heather: I love this fight, it could go either way and is a perfect replacement main event for the event, even though both guys come in to the fight after losing in their last outing. My main thought on this is whether Diaz can get the fight to the ground if he can it should be his fight to lose but on the feet I give Maynard the advantage. That being said over three rounds I see Diaz having enough to take the win.

Prediction: Nate Diaz - Unanimous Decision

Julianna Pena vs Jessica Rakoczy

Wootten: Having seen a lot from both girls throughout my time in the TUF house I am very excited to see both girls fight against each other. I think Jessica will win via TKO in the third round. I feel her footwork and boxing experience will be the key.

Prediction: Jessica Rakoczy - TKO Round 3

Heather: Like Mike I think that Jessica will be able to dominate this fight if it stays on the feet. How confident I am that it will stay there I am not sure.... Pena looked a beast in the house dominating her fights and getting the wins but was never really challenged. Rakoczy will certainly do that tonight but I think Pena will have enough and keep Rakoczy down to bring home the win and title of first women's TUF champion.

Prediction: Daniel Cormier - Unanimous Decision

Chris Holdsworth vs Davey Grant

Wootten: Chris and Davey are two great athletes that have different styles. Its a very interesting match up but I think Davey will win via TKO in the second round due to his physicality.

Prediction: Davey Grant - TKO Round 2

Heather: For me, this is the ultimate clash between head and heart. My heart certainly is telling me that Davey will win and bring home the title to the UK. As Mike knows unfortunately all too well, Holdsworth is a beast and certainly has proved why he is a BJJ black belt with the way he submitted Mike on the show.

That being said if Davey turns up bringing his A game like he did to make it on to the show and no thinks no matter what happens I will get the win then it will be a very entertaining fight and could go either way. However, I have to go with my head on this and predict a win for the American.

Prediction: Chris Holdsworth - Submission Round 2

Jessamyn Duke vs Peggy Morgan

Wootten: Tough fight for me to call having seen both these girls train and fight. Two similar styles match up wise as both are very competent strikers. Peggy has the size advantage and Jessamyn has the advantage on the ground. I think Jessamyn will win via sub in the third round.

Prediction: Jessamyn Duke - Submission Round 3 

Heather: I like Mike think that Duke should be able to make the most of her skills getting the fight down to the ground where she will finish the fight.

Prediction: Jessamyn Duke - Submission Round 2

Roxanne Modafferi vs Raquel Pennington

Wootten: Roxy vs Rocky is a clash of styles and experience. Roxanne has been in the game for many years now and rocky is inexperienced compared to Roxanne. But I see rocky being too big and strong at the weight and finishing the fight in the first round.

Prediction: Raquel Pennington  - TKO Round 1

Heather: As Mike has said, you can not even try and say that Roxanne does not have the experience on her side in this fight. I think that experience should see her through and help her defend against the size and strength advantage that Pennington will certainly have.

If she does not use her past experience this fight will be very tough for Modafferi but I think she will be able to pull of a decision victory.
Prediction: Roxanne Modafferi - Unanimous Decision


So that's our predictions for the fights, we will be live tweeting on Saturday night as always and we will keep you all informed as to how the challenge is going with latest scores throughout the main card.

Thanks again to Mike for providing us with his picks for this weekends fights and it just leaves me to say.... May the best man win!!

Andy Ogle vs Cole Miller Scheduled For Manchester

FIGHT NIGHT 30 SEE'S THE RETURN OF ANDY OGLE! 

By Tommy Strong @strong_tea

HELS BELS Photography

The UFC has announced a featherweight bout in Manchester England that will see Englishman Andy Ogle pick his wits against American Cole Miller at next months event, Fight Night 30 on Oct 26th.

Ogle (9-2) hasn't fought since February 16th, where he defeated John Grispi via unanimous decision in London, England. He was expected to fight Conor McGregor at UFC Fox Sports 1 in August, but was forced to pull out of the fight due to an injury and was replaced by Max Holloway.

Miller (19-8) a former 'TUF' 5 contestant has been around the UFC a lot longer, making his debut back in 2007 at the finals defeating Andy Wang inside the first round, since then Miller has gone on to have a further 13 fights inside the octagon.

Miller returned to featherweight last year and is now (1-3) , he will coming into the fight on the back of a close decision loss to Manny Gamburyan only last month and will be eager to keep his UFC career alive.

UFC Fight Night 30 in Manchester, will be headlined by middleweight title contenders Michael Bisping vs Mark Munoz, with the co-main event which will see a lightweight clash between Ross Pearson vs Melvin Guillard.

The Bigslow returns to the Octagon in Manchester

Luke Barnatt vs Andrew Craig set for UFC Fight Night 30

by Ben Heather @benheather

Luke Barnatt (6-0 MMA 1-0 UFC) will get the chance to fight for the UFC in his home country on October 26th when the UFC returns to Manchester, England. Barnatt who made his way in to the UFC through the latest series of The Ultimate Fighter where he was Chael Sonnen's number one pick making him the number one pick overall. He then proved to Sonnen why he was picked first by brutally knocking out Gilbert Smith with a flying knee in his first fight in the house.

Luke ultimately lost out to Dylan Andrews in the third round of his quarter final fight. This loss may have put Luke out of the running to become TUF champion but it did put an extra $25,000 in his pocket when it was awarded the fight of the series. Once out of the house Luke made his UFC debut at the TUF 17 Finale on his 25th birthday where he squared off against fellow house mate Collin Hart. He came out of the fight with a unanimous decision giving him a perfect 6-0 MMA record.

But now comes the real test for Luke, fighting in his home country against a step up in opponent can he keep that perfect record intact?

Andrew Craig (9-1 MMA 3-1 UFC) will be doing all he can to make sure that is not the case. Craig comes in to this fight after picking up possibly the biggest win of his career at UFC 162 where he defeated Chris Leben. That victory got Craig back in the winners circle after losing the first fight of his career to Ronny Markes at UFC on FX 7 in January.

It seems to me that Andrew Craig has the attitude to fighting that he will fight anyone, anywhere and I love that in a fighter. If you take his record since he has signed for the UFC it certainly backs that up. In his four fights for the UFC he has fought and beat Kyle Noke in his home country of Australia, lost to Rony Markes in his home country, Brazil and had two fights in the USA as well. Now in October he will be coming to England to fight one of our own and I am sure the crowd in Manchester will certainly let him know which fighter is being favoured.

The card for UFC Fight Night 30 is filling up now but I am sure we will get a couple more fight announcements in the coming days which will finalise the card.

UFC on Fuel TV 10 Main Card Result: Leo Santos vs William Macario

Leo Santos is crowned TUF Brazil 2 champion after submitting Macario

by Ben Heather @benheather

Firstly before I begin I am not going to lie to you all. I have not seen a single fight in the whole series of TUF Brazil 2 nor do I know anything about either fighter other than I have researched quickly on the Internet before this fight.

Leo Santos started his MMA career 11 years ago when he lost to Taknori Gomi, that fight is probably the biggest fight of his career before tonight. Since then he has worked his way through various promotions including fights with both BAMMA and Cage Warriors. He was supposed to fight Rob Sinclair for the BAMMA lightweight title before refusing to fly to the UK as he knew he wouldn't make weight.

He came in to the Finale with a 12-3 record and comes from the renowned Nova Uniao team which already boasts two UFC champions in Jose Aldo and Renan Barao.

William Macario came in to the fight with a 6-0 and is the third youngest fighter signed to the UFC.

The fight itself started of as a back and forth affair before Macario worked the clinch to pin Santos up against the cage. Santos then attempted a guillotine choke while still being pushed against the cage. It never really looked like causing Macario any trouble though and his head popped back out a couple of seconds later. The fight then moves off the fence and in to the middle of the octagon where a big exchange is made with both men landing big shots but taking them well.

Then two minutes in to the round Macario lands a trip which is where the fight stayed for nearly the next two minutes with Macario on top trying to find the room to move so he can let off his attacks. With just over a minute Santos gets off the mat and the fight goes back to Macario holding Santos on the cage again. With 45 seconds left the fight comes back in to the middle of the cage where Santos throws a powerful leg kick but Macarino catches it. The round ends with the two on the floor in the but no real action happened when it got to the mat.

The second round opened up with Santos coming out swinging both with some big punches but also with a high kick before shooting to try and take Macario down but did not succeed. Macario then gets hold of Santos and pins him up against the cage again. By this point Macario is looking very tired and cant hold Santos on the cage so he escapes and the fight works its way back to the middle of the octagon. Santos manages to get hold of a decent Muay Thai clinch and lands a good knee to the body of Macario.

Macario has now started to drop his hands and Santos is certainly making the most of this opportunity. However then Macario goes in for a takedown which succeeds and he ends up in the guard of Santos but halfway through the round the fight ends up back on its feet. Not too much action at this point before the fight goes back to the cage. This time Santos goes for the trip and looks to have Macario falling on to his back before he grabbed the cage and managed to pull himself in to top position. Marc Goddard and everyone else watching clearly saw it happen and so Marc stood the fighters up and warned Macario.

After the fight restarts the fighters go back to the cage and Macario is still holding Santos against the cage, but not for long as Santos gets a trip and throws Macario to the floor. As he lands, he lands in side control and only a couple of seconds Santos manages to get the full mount and from here as soon as he spotted the opportunity he made sure the fight wouldnt carry on as he choked Macario until he tapped and in the proces he came out of the fight as the new UFC TUF Champion.

Miesha Tate: An unwanted surprise in to face Ronda Rousey

Miesha Tate replaces injured Cat Zingano for coaches role on TUF 18

by John Haigh @JohnBJayHaigh

Filming for season 18 of TUF Rousey vs. Zingano began on Tuesday but there was a huge shock in store for UFC women’s champ Ronda Rousey. Cat Zingano blew her knee out while training on May 16th.
Rousey did not know about Zingano’s injury... nobody did, it was a very well kept secret by the UFC and when Miesha Tate walked out in the UFC training centre she was clearly shocked and stormed out of the gym looking for UFC President Dana White. She later said she was angry because she thought she was the one being replaced, apparently?

Rousey, though, was pleased with the change.
“This is what we really wanted all along,” Rousey told Yahoo! Sports. “Everyone said an Ultimate Fighter between me and Miesha would be the best. We have a personal history with each other and this is a personal show. For some reason, me and Miesha are intertwined in fate like Ali and Frazier or something like that."

“I think people will look back at this as one of the monumental rivalries and look back at this as one of those things that really cemented women’s MMA.”
Tate said she was disappointed that it had took an injury to Zingano to get the spot on the show but felt she was winning the fight with Zingano when referee Kim Winslow stopped the fight. A lot of people agree with Tate it was a fight full of controversy that we at Kingdom MMA took time to discuss – http://www.kingdommma.co.uk/2013/04/kingdom-mma-roundtable-on-talking.html

Tate said she was thrilled to not only get the spot on the show but also the shot at the tittle and to see Rousey get visibly angry when she appeared.
“It was rewarding to see that,” she said. “I was like, ‘Yay! This is getting good.’ I watched her go to her corner and her corner was up in arms. I was just sitting there in the doorway thinking, ‘This is awesome.’"
“I felt I was cheated a little in that fight with Cat. I had two solid rounds and one not-so-good round. Either way, I felt I was meant to be here and it’s come full circle.”

Season 18 of TUF will be on our screens in September and is part of the new Fox Sports 1 channel in the states, I believe this will be on BT Sports in the UK as part of the new TV deal. The coaches are slated to fight December 28th and that fight could turn out to be one of the most anticipated fights of the year.

This is also the first season to feature women coaches with men and women’s divisions in the competition.
Added to that the rivalry between the two coaches, these two really don’t like each other and have history as Rousey took the title from Tate under the now defunct Strikeforce promotion in 2011. It was that fight which got UFC president Dana White’s interest in women’s fighting. To that point, White had maintained that the UFC would be men-only.

Zingano underwent surgery on her right knee on Tuesday to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus, as well as to clean up other damage. She said she injured the knee as she came down after clearing a short hurdle.

“I was doing my regular routine, my strength and conditioning,” Zingano told Yahoo! Sports by telephone shortly before she was wheeled into surgery. “I was jumping over tunnels that were about 12 inches high. I’d jumped over them like 10 times already. This one time, I jumped up and my left knee came down right on track and my right knee bent outward."

Zingano said she will be able to resume training in six to nine months. She said the most crushing part of the injury is that she will lose the opportunity to fight Rousey for the belt. She said White promised her she would have the first shot at the Tate-Rousey winner.

Dana white said it made more sense for Tate to fill the spot on the show rather than one of the others in the UFC’s women’s division.
“But with Miesha, she and Ronda already had a great fight and they have a history together. They don’t like each other. We’ll make it work. We always do. You know how I say every day when I wake up, I know some bad [expletive] is going to happen? Well, this was one of them, but we’re doing the best we can here.”

Expect an explosive season with these two coaching and the men and women competing on the show all living under one roof.

New TUF series reported TUF Canada vs Australia

The Ultimate Fighter: Canada Vs Australia

by John Haigh @JohnBjayHaigh

It has been reported today that the TUF Team Canada vs. Team Australia is in the works. According to a report on FUEL TV’s “UFC Tonight,” “TUF: Team Canada vs. Team Australia is expected later this year.”

Few details have been confirmed as of yet but try outs are expected to be held over the next couple of months.

Apart from “TUF Brazil”, “TUF The Smashes” is the only other international version of the show to be held out of the United States and the only one to have fighters competing from their respective countries.

UFC officials have long hinted at other international versions of the show and Canada has often been mentioned as a participant. Canada has one of the UFC’s biggest followings holding several pay per views a year now for the last couple of years.

There has been no speculation over the coaches for this season yet but keep checking Kingdom MMA for any updates on this story.

TUF 17 Finale: Weigh in results

Weigh in Results for The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 - Finale

by Ben Heather @benheather

 Tomorrows The Ultimate Fighter season 17 finale live from the Mandalay Bay Events Centre in Las Vegas Nevada, is now set after the weigh ins have now made the fights official. The finale between Uriah Hall and Kelvin Gastelum is the co-main event of the night and both men weighed in within the 186lbs limit.

In the main event, a bantamweight battle between Urijah Faber and Scott Jorgensen. Both men weighed in under the 136lbs limit at the weigh ins, and will now clash in a bid to bid to move a step closer to a potential title shot.

Also on the main event, is the second ever women's bantamweight fight in the UFC. A fight between Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano. Dana White announced that the winner of this fight will get the next title shot in the UFC's women's division and will also be a coach on the next series of The Ultimate Fighter coaching against Ronda Rousey.

All of the other fighters made weight when they stepped on to the scales, with the exception of Maximo Blanco who failed to make the weight for his facebook prelim fight against Sam Sicilia. Blanco was given an extra hour to lose the 1lb he had to lose to make weight.

Full list of results from today's weigh in can be found below.

Main Card - Live on ESPN at 2am Sunday 14th April 2013

Urijah Faber (136 lbs) vs Scott Jorgensen (135.5 lbs)
Uriah Hall (185 lbs) vs Kelvin Gastelum (186 lbs)* - For The Ultimate Fighter 17 Title
Miesha Tate (135.5 lbs) vs Cat Zingano (136 lbs) - For the chance to coach on TUF 18
Travis Browne (239 lbs) vs Gabriel Gonzaga (261 lbs)
Bubba McDaniel (184.5 lbs) vs Gilbert Smith (185 lbs)

Prelims - Live on UFC.tv

Josh Samman (184.5 lbs) vs Kevin Casey (185 lbs)
Luke Barnatt (185 lbs) vs Collin Hart (184.5 lbs)
Dylan Andrews (186 lbs) vs Jimmy Quinlan (185 lbs)
Clint Hester (185 lbs) vs Bristol Marunde (185.5 lbs) -

Facebook Prelims - Live on facebook

Cole Miller (146 lbs)* vs Bart Palaszewski (145 lbs)
Sam Sicilia (146 lbs) vs Maximo Blanco (147 lbs)**
Justin Lawrence (145 lbs) vs Daniel Pineda (145 lbs)

* Had to use the towel to make weight
** Missed weight 1 hour to weigh in again

Kingdom MMA: TUF 17 Finale Main Card Picks

 Kingdom MMA TUF 17 Finale Main Card Picks

 by Ben Heather @benheather

Urijah Faber (27-6) vs. Scott Jorgensen (14-6)

Scott: These two set aside their friendship to battle it out in what should be an exciting encounter. Both fighters have a good all round skillset, but Faber's game is honed to a higher level with him being a veteran of a number of title fights. Jorgensen will put up a spirited battle, but we have seen him out-gunned by Renan Barao and Eddie Wineland in the recent past and he doesn't seem to have the quality to break the top 5 of the division. Like Faber's recent non-title fights, we'll be reminded why he should still be considered one of the top bantamweights in the world.

Prediction - Faber by Submisson Round 3

John: In recent fights both fighters have pretty similar records and will be both desperate to score back to back wins for the first time in two years. I see Jorgensen just edging this one. In recent years I have found Faber to fall just short of the mark and get any real momentum going since he lost the WEC featherweight title for the first time.

Prediction - Jorgensen by split decision

Ben: I think this fight is a great match up, both guys like to put on shows and are exciting fighters. My Dad even loves Jorgensen from his WEC days and he is one of the fighters he knows by name. As far as the outcome of this fight, I can only see Faber winning. I think it will be a great war and both guys are very well skilled but i think Faber is a little bit better in all areas. I dont think we will see a finish in the fight though and it wont be through them not trying but we will be treated to an absolute war. I see Faber doing just enough in every round to pull of the victory.

Prediction - Faber by UD

Kelvin Gastelum (4-0) vs. Uriah Hall (7-2)

John: I don’t think this fight will make it to the second round. I know Kelvin Gastelum is undefeated but having seen Uriah Hall’s KO power I just don’t see him maintaining it.
Even thought hall has been defeated twice in the cage both were by credible now UFC fighters and think it will be him that gets the contract.

Prediction - Hall by KO Round 1

Ben: Well I may be the only person who will say this out loud, but i think Gastelum has a half decent chance in this fight. He proved in the house that people underrated him and he is now in the finale not them.

Obviously Hall has got crazy power in his hands and can land kicks that others can only dream of pulling off, but he has not been tested on this show and how good is he on his back. Yes, in the semi final he finished the fight from his back but in all honesty he had already broken Andrews well before that point and it was only a matter of time before he finished him.

 I think if Kelvin can get him down early and work the ground game we could have a big shock here, but at the same time I wouldnt be surprised if we saw a 10 second 1st round KO by Hall.

Prediction - Gastelum by Submission Round 2

Scott: Forget the main event - this is the Uriah that everyone wants to see. Uriah Hall has a lot to live up to after his fights in the house delivering devastating KO after devastating KO. His performances make me think this will be nothing but a similar win for Hall, but there is just a shade of doubt creeping into mind and it's all down to the performnces of Gastelum in the house. He has been the underdog in every fight and whilst not being the most technically sound fighter has always come away with the finish. His only chance in my mind is to get in Hall's face from the opening bell and make the fight a real grind. I don't see it happening though, but there is always that shadow...

Prediction - Hall by TKO Round 2

Miesha Tate (13-3) vs. Cat Zingano (7-0)

Ben: In this fight i see Tate being a step up in competition for Cat and am not sure how she will cope. I think we will see Tate put on a performance and impress on the biggest stage of all in only the 2nd womans fight in the UFC. The prize which awaits the winner of this fight is exactly what Tate has been calling for since she lost to Rousey. Tate has more experience in the cage and on bigger shows so I think we will see the best Tate come saturday night. I hope we get the same from Cat, if we do they will put on a great fight but I think Tate will pick up the win.

Prediction - Tate by UD

Scott: No disrespect to the TUF finalists, but the rewards for the winner of this fight are bigger than any other. A Zingano win is much more interesting proposition in terms of gaining another contender in the UFC's fledgling women's bantamweight division, but I think she'll have her hands full with Tate who I think has the edge grappling wise. Tate can also call on her big fight experience from her time as the Strikeforce champion and should take the W.

Prediction - Tate by UD

John: I’m really looking forward to this fight, I think it will be a close one and turn into a submission battle. While Zingano comes into the fight undefeated, Tate has won 7 of her last 8 fights. And that one defeat was to now UFC women’s Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and the way she’s destroying the women’s division, its hard to hold that against her. With that in mind and Tate having more fight experience I thin she will just edge this fight.

Prediction - Tate by Submission Round 3

Travis Browne (13-1) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (14-6)

Ben: I really felt for Browne in his last fight, I think if he was fit and not picked up the injury early in that fight he could have caused Big Foot Silva a lot of problems.

As far as this fight goes I think Browne will use his cardio and wear down Gonzaga before finishing him in the third round. Gonzaga comes in to this fight with 3 wins in a row, with all coming via submission. In my opinion this has to be what he tries to do if he is going to have any chance of winning this fight. If he can't take Browne down and try for the submission then it will be a long night for Gonzaga.

Prediction - Browne by KO Round 3

Scott: This seems like an epic mismatch with Browne being by far the fitter, faster and more athletic fighter. Gonzaga's cardio was questionable in his last fight and I can see Browne wearing him down early and getting the KO victory quite handily. The only factor in Gonzaga's favour is his BJJ, but I feel Browne has enough wrestling ability to avoid getting taken down.

Prediction - Browne by KO Round 1

John: Having suffered the first loss of his career last time out against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, he’ll be looking to bounce back with a win. And I think if he can stay out of the clinch and avoid Gonzaga’s submissions, I think he will get the victory.

Prediction - Browne by KO Round 2

Bubba McDaniel (20-6) vs. Gilbert Smith (5-1)

Scott: This fight seems like a bit of a grudge match resulting from the events of episode 2 of this season of "The Ultimate Fighter" where Bubba wasn't fully behind his Team Jones teammate.

From his fights on the show, Smith seems like a fairly one dimensional fighter that will be looking for the takedown from the off. McDaniel is undoubtedly the more well rounded fighter and provided he can defend the inevitable takedown attempts could make this a long night for Smith.

Prediction - McDaniel by UD

John: Honestly I don’t know much about either of these fighters but after looking at the stats I’m favouring McDaniel. With both fighters making their UFC debut I think experience will count and McDaniel has far more. Both fighters have had most of their success with submission victories and think it will turn to a submission match with McDaniel edging it.

Prediction - McDaniel by Submission Round 2

Ben: I think throughout the whole series of TUF 17 I didn't see anything from Gilbert Smith that made me think he could be a UFC calibre fighter. That may be down to the fact he lost in the 2nd episode of the series but from what we have seen on the show I cant see him causing Bubba any problems.

I see Bubba using his experience, the fact he trains with Jon Jones and Greg Jackson in his corner to come up with a plan to easily cruise this fight. I see Bubba picking his shots and cruising his way to his first win in the UFC.

Prediction - McDaniel by UD

Kingdom MMA Exclusive: Rob Sinclair "Curt Warburton is next, he deserves his shot"

Kingdom MMA: Exclusive interview with BAMMA Lightweight World Champion Rob C4 Sinclair

by Ben Heather @benheather

On Tuesday 2nd April 2013 BAMMA Lightweight World Champion Rob Sinclair (12-2 MMA) kindly took some time out of his busy schedule and road to recovery to answer some questions for KingdomMMA.co.uk.

Ben: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview for Kingdom MMA. It is very much appreciated.

Firstly congratulations on your recent news, how long now until you become a father again? I believe your partner is having a little boy, is this correct and will this be your first son?
Sinclair: Yep, it's a little boy, he's due August 12th so we are past half way now, I'm really excited to see him.

Ben: Were you a fan of MMA before you started training?
Sinclair: To be honest not really, and the reason is I'd never even heard of it. I'd seen a clip on TV when I was partying with the boys in Greece but that's my only experience of it.

Ben: When did you first start training?
Sinclair: I started training around 2006, previously I'd done a little Thai boxing but nothing competitive.

Ben: Why did you start training MMA?
Sinclair: Mainly because my brother did, he got me to go training with him.

Ben: Was there a particular fight that you had seen that made you want to get in to MMA?
Sinclair: No there was no particular fight, I went training with Bisping and he was the first person I saw fight live.

Ben: Had you trained in any martial arts before you started training in MMA? Even if it was as a kid?
Sinclair: Like I say I did a little Thai boxing but nothing competitive, I was more into football to be honest.

Ben: Did you ever have any amateur fights? or did you go straight to pro? If so what was your amateur record?
Sinclair: I had what was once called pro b class, which is strikes to the ground with the 4oz gloves on but no elbows. I lost a split decision and I won my 2nd fight then I went straight to pro.

Ben: You now have a 12-2 MMA record with only 3 fights going the distance, do you pride yourself on the fact you put on exciting fights?
Sinclair: Yeah I guess so, I don't like going the distance and if you look at who i have gone the distance with it's pretty impressive. I'm 2-1 in decisions with the one loss by split decision, I like to get in and out, I really don't like to be in there longer than I have to be.

Ben: One of your losses was against Paul Sass, however you are one of only two people to fight Sass to a decision before losing a split decision. Would you like a rematch to avenge that loss even though I believe you are team kaobon team mates now?
Sinclair: No the fight is gone now and we are friends. I wanted the rematch because I wasn't happy with my performance, but I lived and learnt through the experience and it's made me a better fighter now I believe.

Ben: In your last fight against Andre Winner you went to the championship rounds for the first time and yet still proved you had the cardio to control the fight, against arguably your toughest opponent. How did you rate your performance in the last fight?
Sinclair: I was happy with it when I look back, Winner is a tough guy, great experience and a UFC vet. He was the number one in the UK of fighters outside the UFC, so I was happy. I maybe should of thrown more to try and get the finish but again each fight is a learning curve and Andre Winner doesn't lose many, so I'm happy I got the decision.

Ben: The Andre Winner fight was the first main event on channel 5. How did it feel being honoured to main event such a big moment for BAMMA and British MMA?
Sinclair: Yeah it was a great sporting moment for me, and against such a creditable opponent. We could of probably put on an even greater fight if we would have had proper time to prepare. I know Andre had a knee Injury and I had a bad elbow injury, but it turned out to be a great night for TV, BAMMA and the fans.

Ben: I believe you have just had the all clear following your injury and now returned to full training again, can you explain what injury you had and how it happened?
Sinclair: No I ain't had the all clear yet, I'm doing what I can. I can't run yet or wrestle, it's around 70% fixed thanks to Emma Fletcher and Dave Bell at Perform Centre. I was training at Full Contact Perform Centre in Rochdale and I was jumping on and off a box and my ankle just gave way.

Ben: You have spoken on twitter about applying for TUF twice and not getting in? Would you apply again if they did another lightweights series?
Sinclair: Yeah I applied twice, I went to Vegas for TUF 14 I think and then the smashes try outs. I got to the last 10 on the smashes series, but that was it. If there was another? Hmmm maybe.

Ben: Who would you like to fight next and when? do you think a fight against Curt Warburton will be your next fight and do you think he deserves a shot at your BAMMA World Championship belt?
Sinclair: Yeah it's gonna be Curt Warburton, I was supposed to fight him in march but this injury happened, so the fight didn't happen. I think he does deserve it, it will be a good fight.

Ben: Other than Curt Warburton do you see many more challengers within the British MMA scene that you have not already beat, or do you think the next challenge may lie fighting for a big American organisation?
Sinclair: I don't know, there's some good up and comers. I just focus on 1 fight at a time and at the moment it's getting my ankle better then I'll look to Curt.

Ben: Would you say you had any weaknesses inside the cage that you need to develop?
Sinclair: Weaknesses? Erm yeah definitely, but nobody has figured them out yet ;)

Ben: I think the fact that you are the Bamma lightweight world champion and only do MMA part time is a great achievement. How much better do you think you could be if you trained full time?
Sinclair: You have no idea, I have no idea, the sky's the limit. I don't think my opponents realise how hard I can hit, or how strong I am, or how mentally willed I am. Imagine training full time, like a lot of my past opponents I've beaten.

Ben: Recently BAMMA have started giving fighters exclusive contracts, is this the same for you and if so how many fights have you got left on your BAMMA contract?
Sinclair: I have 1 more fight on my current contract, then we will discuss another contract.

Ben: If you could fight anywhere in the world where would it be?
Sinclair: Manchester M.E.N Arena

Ben: As a fan do you have a favourite fighter?
Sinclair: Yeah I like Fedor and Chuck Liddell

Ben: If you could put together a fantasy fight who would you want to watch fight and why?
Sinclair: It's gonna have to be Anderson Silva vs Jon Jones, both are very dominant...

Ben: Finally do you have any training partners, or sponsors that you would like to thank?
Sinclair: Yeah I'd like to thank my coach Gav Boardman and Dave Bell from Predators MMA and Perform Centre. Emma Fletcher my Physio, Bad Boy, Real Nutrition, Glenn Slater co, Smuggling Duds, Soulmate Foods, Funky Gums, fightshop.com, my brothers Mick and Lewis, my girlfriend and daughter Georgia and Pascha, my unborn baby boy and my family.

Ben: Thank you for your time and I look forward to seeing you in the cage again fighting for BAMMA.

Keep checking KingdomMMA.co.uk for all the latest news on Rob Sinclair, BAMMA and all the latest news from the world of MMA.

Quarter final fights announced for TUF 17

With the first round of fights now completed the quarter final draw for TUF 17 has been announced

by Ben Heather @benheather

Now that all the first round fights have been battled out and the wildcard fight has given one fighter a second shot at achieving his goal of becoming the ultimate fighter we now know the draw for the next round of fights. With both coaches having four fighters each remaining in the competition it means as yet there will be no fights set between team mates.... just yet anyway who knows what the semi final matchups have in store for us.

The fights for the quarter finals have been announced as follows: (Team Jones fighters in Blue)

Collin Hart vs Kelvin Gastelum

Dylan Andrews vs Luke Barnatt

Josh Samman vs Jimmy Quinlan

"Bubba" McDaniel vs Uriah Hall

The next episode of The Ultimate Fighter 17 will be shown in the UK on ESPN and you will be able to see both the Collin Hart vs Kelvin Gastelum and Dylan Andrews vs England's very own Luke Barnatt.

This will be a episode not to be missed with two fights in one episode.

The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale: Faber vs Jorgensen (Fightcard)

The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale: Faber vs Jorgensen 
Date: April 13, 2013
Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 

Fight Card
Urijah Faber vs. Scott Jorgensen
opponent TBA vs. opponent TBA - "TUF 17" tournament final
Miesha Tate vs. Cat Zingano
Travis Browne vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
Cole Miller vs. Bart Palaszewski
Justin Lawrence vs. Daniel Pineda
Maximo Blanco vs. Sam Sicilia