UFC Decide Against Renewing Roger Gracie's Contract, Now a Free Agent

UFC will not renew Gracie's contract

By Tommy Strong @strong_tea

The UFC have decided Middleweight Roger Gracie will not get a second fight inside the octagon. Having only fought once for the UFC since moving from Strikeforce, his unanimous decision loss at UFC 162 to Tim Kennedy and his underwhelming performance was enough for the powers above to decide not renew his contract. Not even the surname Gracie could save him.

Ivan Rupp of Combate.com confirmed that this was Gracie's last fight of his 4 fight contract which rolled over from Strikeforce.

Roger leaves the UFC with an MMA record of (6-2), he will now be free to talk to other organisations to pursue his career. With the likes of Bellator and WSOF looking for talent, I'm sure it won't be long before we see Gracie back in action.

UFC 163: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

My review of UFC 163

by Tommy Strong @strong_tea

UFC 163 came and went with a bit of a whimper with Jose Aldo retaining his UFC Featherweight belt for the fifth consecutive time at the HSBC Arena Rio de Janiero, Brazil,  and the co-main event seeing a somewhat controversial decision in the eyes of the fans and the fighter!!

Jose Aldo def. Chan Sung Jung (4th Rd TKO)
The Ugly

Jose Aldo proved once again why he is so formidable at 145lbs, Aldo pressed the action from the off, The Korean Zombie was hesitant in coming forward in a relentless fashion we are accustomed too and where he earn't his nickname.

Aldo made the most of this , landing strikes and taking Chan down and taking control of the first three rounds.

Going into the 4th, the Korean Zombie threw an overhand right to the head of Aldo which missed, leading to a dislocated shoulder, you could clearly see the pain Chan was in, and in the process tried to pop his shoulder back into its socket.

Having failed to do so, Aldo took the advantage straight away landing a kick to the damaged shoulder and jumped all over him, with little else to do but cover up under the barrage of strikes, Herb Dean called an end to the action.

Phil Davis def. Lyoto Machida (29-28 x 3)

The Bad: The Fight & Decision ? 

Im glad we don't see too many of these fights! It was a stinker. With so much on the line for both fighters it became a very cagey fight where both were hesitant to engage or force the action.
Machida was the more aggressive of the two, and was stealing the first two rounds until Davis managed take downs at the end of the first and second round, but doing little once down.

Going into the third Machida landed the better strikes and stuffing the take downs Davis was gunning for.

When the Judges came back with a majority decision , I think everyone expected a Machida win.

29-28 on all 3 judges score cards, Bruce Buffer announced the winner..................
Phil 'Mr. Wonderful' Davis!!!

Cezar Ferreira def. Thiago Santos (1st Rd Sub)

Blink and you would've missed this fight! Cezar wasted no time in hunting down Santos landing a left hook which staggered Santos. Cezar could smell the blood and went in for the kill, sinking in a guillotine choke forcing Santos to tap after just 47 second into the first round.

Thales Leites def. Tom Watson (29-27 x 3)

Leites made his return to the UFC since being released in 2009, looking very impressive against Watson. Controlling the fight from the first bell, showing superior grappling and wrestling skills to control Watson and taking him to the mat at will and keeping him down.

Landing heavy damage throughout the first and second round, Watson had little success until the they got back on their feet.

Watson landed some good strikes when Leites was tired at the end of the second and third round, but it wasn't enough to earn a round let alone a win.

John Linekar def. Jose Maria  (2nd Rd TKO)

If Linekar carries on to miss weight he will either be forced to moved back up to Bantamweight or see himself in deep trouble with the UFC. Having missed weight by 4lbs on Friday its the second time in his last four fights he's failed to miss weight!

Maria look very tentative on his UFC debut with Linekar walking him down looking to land a right hand to finish the fight early. Though it was Maria that started well, landing a wonder spinning backfist that landed flush on Linekar who was on wobbly legs, Maria sensed Linekar was in trouble and landed some heavy shots which saw him in serious trouble.

Linekar managed to survive the first round , into the second Maria started the stronger and faster of the two until he throw a leg kick which seemed to hurt himself. Linekar pounced on the opportunity handed to him and landed some heavy shots to Maria, forcing the ref to stop the fight.

The Good:

With Joe Rogan away with prior arrangements, ex UFC Middleweight Brian Stann stepped up to take his place. With some concern of how the relationship between Goldberg and Stann would work, I was assured after a few minutes he would be a great replacement.

I was very impressed of how informative Stann was, he came across very well without all the excitement of Rogan at key times. As much as I enjoy Rogan and Goldberg, I wouldn't mind seeing more of Stann in future events! Bravo UFC, good call.

Masvidal vs Khabilov in the works for later this year

Masvidal vs Khabilov announced for November

by John Haigh @JohnBJayHaigh

A lightweight bout between Jorge Masvidal and Rustam Khabilov is in the making for an unannounced UFC on Fox Sports 1 event in November.

News of the fight was first reported on Tuesday's edition of "UFC Tonight" on Fuel TV. No official date or venue has been announced for the event.
Masvidal (25-7) who won just over a week ago with a second round submission victory over Michael Chiesa at "UFC on Fox" in Seattle. Masvidal finished the contest with less than one second remaining in the second round. A onetime No. 1 contender in the now defunct Strikeforce, Masvidal is (2-0) in the UFC. He recorded a unanimous decision over Tim Means in his promotional debut in April.

Khabilov (16-1) has also got off to a 2-0 start in the Octagon. The 26-year-old prospect has finished back-to-back fights since singing with the UFC last year. A long-time resident of Jackson's Mixed Martial Arts, Khabilov knocked out Vinc Pichel in his UFC debut in December. In his most recent performance, he retired Yancy Medeiros with a thumb injury, which resulted in a TKO win at UFC 159.

Anthony Johnson Meets Mike Kyle at WSOF 5

Anthony Johnson Meets Mike Kyle at WSOF 5

A light heavyweight slugfest between knockout artist Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (15-4) and slugger Mike “MAK” Kyle (20-9-1) headlines World Series of Fighting’s return to Revel Casino Hotel’s Ovation Hall in on New Jersey’s Revel Atlantic City on Sept. 14.

The contest serves as the main event of “World Series of Fighting 5: Johnson vs. Kyle,” which airs live on NBC Sports Network in The US and marks the promotion’s second visit to the world-class venue.

With 23 knockout victories between them, both Johnson and Kyle are fierce strikers capable of downing any foe with a single blow.

Johnson, made his World Series of Fighting debut at the promotion’s very first event and delivered a “Knockout of the Year” candidate finish of the durable D.J. Linderman. The 29-year-old Blackzilians product returned to action in March and scored a convincing decision win over former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder Andrei Arlovski.

Johnson now returns to the light-heavyweight division on the strength of a five-fight win streak and quickly is establishing himself as one of WorldSeries of Fighting’s most dynamic athletes.

Meanwhile, Kyle is a 12-year veteran of the sport who hails from one of MMA’s most-respected fight camps, American Kickboxing Academy. A resident of San Jose, Calif., Kyle is no stranger to the spotlight and has stepped in the cage against a who’s who list of MMA’s top fighters in two weight classes, including Paul Buentello, Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante, James Irvin, Gegard Mousasi, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva Krzysztof Soszynski and Fabricio Werdum, among others Kyle fought most recently in May, when he needed just 21 seconds to score a knockout win over 86-fight veteran Travis “Diesel” Wiuff.

World Series of Fighting 5 features a five-fight main card in addition to a full lineup of preliminary contests. Additional bouts will be announced in the coming weeks.

The live, two-and-a-half-hour NBC Sports Network telecast of the World Series of Fighting 5 main card begins at 9 p.m. ET. The night’s preliminary bouts stream live on World Series of Fighting’s official website, WSOF.com, beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Fighter vs Writer: UFC's Mike Wilkinson predicts UFC 163 (The Results)

Fighter vs Writer: UFC's Mike Wilkinson predicts UFC 163 (The Results)

by Ben Heather @benheather

On Saturday night Mike Wilkinson stepped in to the hot seat to challenge Kingdom MMA in the latest Fighter vs Writer feature.

This week we put forward our very own predictions Guru (we hoped) Tommy Strong and hoped he could follow in my footsteps and get the win after the past two events. At UFC 161 Chris was beaten by Jim Alers and then last time out Jack drew with Phil Harris. So it was about time that we got back to winning ways.

Below you will be able to see the results as the fights happened. It was a closely contested battle and Mike certainly proved to be a respectable opponent for Tommy.

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.

UFC 163 Results

John Lineker Def. Jose Maria by TKO RD2

• Mike Wilkinson: Tome by Decision - Score 0
• Tommy Strong: Lineker by Decision - Score 1

Score after the 1st fight: Mike Wilkinson - 0 Tommy Strong - 1

Thales Leites Def. Tom Watson by Decision

• Mike Wilkinson: Watson by Decision - Score 0
• Tommy Strong: Watson by Decision - Score 0

Score after the 2nd fight: Mike Wilkinson - 0 Tommy Strong - 1

Cezar Ferreira Def. Thiago Santos by Sub RD1

• Mike Wilkinson: Ferreira by TKO - Score 1
• Tommy Strong: Ferreira by TKO Rd 1 - Score 1

Score after the 3rd fight: Mike Wilkinson - 1 Tommy Strong - 2

Phil Davis Def. Lyoto Machida by Decision

• Mike Wilkinson: Machida by Decision - Score 0
• Tommy Strong: Davis by Split Decision - Score 1

Score after the 4th fight: Mike Wilkinson - 1 Tommy Strong - 3

Jose Aldo Def. Korean Zombie by TKO RD4

• Mike Wilkinson: Aldo by TKO Rd 3 - Score 2
• Tommy Strong: Aldo by TKO Rd 2 - Score 2

Score after the 5th fight: Mike Wilkinson - 3 Tommy Strong - 5

FINAL SCORE MIKE WILKINSON - 3 TOMMY STRONG - 5

Kingdom MMA would like to thank Mike Wilkinson once again for his participation in Fighter vs Writer. For more on Mike Wilkinson, check out and follow Mike on Twitter - @M_WilkinsonMMA

Fighter vs Writer - UFC 163 Main Card Picks Challenge - Mike Wilkinson vs Tommy Strong

UFC Fighter Mike Wilkinson challenges Kingdom MMA in a picks challenge

by Tommy Strong @Strong_tea

Welcome to another Kingdom MMA fighter vs writer challenge.

For this challenge we challenge some of the big 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 and Phil Harris. Last time out at UFC 162 Phil Harris managed to draw with our very own Jack. Leaving Jim Alers the only fighter to beat one of our Kingdom MMA writers.

For this event I will be challenging Mike Wilkinson, who fought on the last UFC event in Brazil. Unfortunately for Mike it didn't end how we all wanted at UFC on Fuel TV 10 and resulted in the first loss of his career. Hopefully we will see Mike back in the octagon soon where he can get back to winning ways. As yet Mike does not have a fight lined up but I am sure it is only a matter of time before something gets announced.

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:

Main Event: Jose Aldo vs Jung Chan Sung

Wilkinson: The zombie has been looking good in his last fights but I don't think he is able to beat Aldo at this stage in Aldo's career.

Prediction: Aldo by TKO Round 3 

Tommy: I see this being a formality for Aldo, even though Jung looked great against Dustin Poirier in May '12, i think Aldo will be too big and too strong for the Korean Zombie. I just can't see anyway Aldo losses unless its by DQ or... actually or nothing! Aldo doesn't lose this.

Prediction: Aldo by TKO Round 2

Lyoto Machida vs Phil Davis

Wilkinson: Machida has come back with a vengeance since his loss to Jones even though I like Davis and his style I don't think he is going to match Machida's stand up.
Prediction: Machida by Decision

Tommy: Im torn between these two fighters, I keep changing my mind on who wins. It really is a toss up. I know Machida is a big favourite, though my head and heart are telling me Davis wins. That probably means I should pick Machida! But I am going for the upset.

Prediction: Davis by Split Decision

Cezar Ferreira vs Thiago Santos

Wilkinson: Cezar has had a big lay off but won the TUF Brazil and is probably looking to win in style.

Prediction: Cezar by TKO

Tommy: Both fighters have not fought for a year, I can't confess to know much about Santos. Though I'm going for Cezar to win.
Prediction: Cezar by TKO Round 1

Thales Leites vs Tom Watson

Wilkinson: Leites is coming back from a lengthy lay off, his last fight in the UFC was in 2009 and he has not fought in over a year. Watson looked good in his last fight in the UK with a win and a bonus.
 
Prediction: Watson by Decision 

Tommy: Leites hasn't fought for the UFC since 2009 but has won his last 3 fights. Watson showed great heart against Nedkov from the brink of defeat to knocking out Nedkov in an epic fight that will be a contender for fight of the year. Though there are two sides to Watson, if he turns up like he did against Brad Tavares he losses, if like he did against Nedkov I see him winning.
Prediction: Watson by Decision

John Lineker vs Jose Tome

Wilkinson: Tome's first fight in the UFC and he is the underdog but being Brazilian and fighting in his home town comes in his favour.

Prediction: Tome by Decision 

Tommy: Having the advantage of picking after the weigh ins, Lineker missed weight by 3lbs. It will be interesting to see whether this will have any effect on him come tomorrow night.

Tome could be a real handful for Lineker though with his style and having home advantage he could pull of an upset here. With that in mind I'm still backing Lineker to grind out a win.
Prediction: Lineker by 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!!

UFC 163 - UK Betting Odds

UFC 163 - UK Betting Odds

With UFC 163 approaching at a rapid pace, we team up with partners William Hill to bring those who fancy a little flutter the latest clear cut, betting odds - Good Luck, and don't miss out on your free £25 bet below!

Preliminary Card
1/10 Rani Yahya v Josh Clopton 6/1
4/7 Viscardi Andrade v Bristol Marunde 11/8
4/5 Ednaldo Oliveira v Francimar Barroso EVS
1/4 Ian McCall v Iliarde Santos 3/1
3/10 Vinicius Magalhaes v Anthony Perosh 5/2
1/4 Amanda Nunes v Sheila Gaff 3/1
4/5 Sergio Moraes v Neil Magny EVS

Main Card
2/9 John Lineker v Jose Tome 16/5
4/5 Thales Leites v Tom Watson EVS 
1/4 Cezar Ferreira v Thiago Santos 3/1
2/7 Lyoto Machida v Phil Davis 13/5 
1/7 Jose Aldo v Chan Sung Jung 9/2  

* Blue denotes The Favourite