Benson Henderson v Anthony Pettis 2 is on

Benson Henderson set to face Anthony Pettis at UFC 164

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

The lightweight title fight we all wanted is on. Albeit in controversial fashion. Anthony Pettis was due to face Jose Aldo at UFC 163 on August 3rd. He will now fight at UFC 164 on August 31st. He was forced to pull out of the Aldo fight with a minor injury on doctors orders. A mere 4 weeks later he will instead face off for the Lightweight title.

Pettis is no stranger to the title controversy. Pettis entered the UFC as the reigning WEC lightweight champion after Zuffa merged the companies. He was originally scheduled as the No1 contender in early 2011 until Frankie Edgar battled Gray Maynard to a draw. With no one winning the fight the rematch was scheduled straight away. Leaving the Pettis situation up in the air. He decided not to wait around and battled Clay Guida to a tough split decision loss. That loss cost him his number 1 contender status. 

Ben Henderson will know all about Anthony Pettis and will relish his chance to take revenge. Henderson was struck by the now infamous show time kick. Pettis launched himself off the cage to land a flying kick to Henderson face and drop in the 5th round off the last ever WEC bout. The fight was awarded fight of the year 2010 and the rematch is a long time coming. 

Henderson has now defended his UFC lightweight strap 3 times after controversially winning the title from Frankie Edgar. He edged another controversial Edgar decision before dominating Nate Diaz. He went back to the normal with another controversial decision this time over Gilbert Melendez. Henderson has been there and seen it all. He will hope his title experience will help in this much anticipated rematch.

Ross Pearson discusses the UK MMA Expo and his seminar on Sunday

Ross Pearson talks to Kingdom MMA about his seminar at the UK MMA Expo

by Ben Heather @benheather

The UK MMA Expo is now less than a week away. The Expo which is taking place in Manchester will happen this weekend July 20th -21st. As part of the expo not only will you be able to meet some of the best UK MMA fighters but you can also train with some of them too. For all the details on the expo go to www.ukmmaexpo.co.uk

We have been bringing you some interviews with these fighters. The fighters will be discussing what they will be doing in each of the seminars and also how they believe the UK MMA Expo can help to promote the sport of MMA in the UK. We all love MMA and know how great a sport it is and hopefully the UK MMA Expo will go a long to to educating more people in the UK. Guys who come along as a casual fan or with a friend who loves MMA and go away wanting to know more about it, watch a live event or even decide that they would like to take it up as a hobby.

We have already interviewed Rob Sinclair, Jo Jo Calderwood, Che Mills and Jimi Manuwa and now in the latest interview of the series I caught up with UFC lightweight fighter Ross Pearson to discuss his seminar at the UK MMA Expo.

Ross will be hosting a training seminar which takes place on the 21st July at 14:15pm. That seminar is a one hour seminar led by Ross and I recently asked him what will be involved in the seminar.

"My seminar is mainly based on the transitions in MMA striking to wrestling -wrestling to ju-jitsu - ju-jitsu to striking, a lot of drills so participants to take drills away with them & work on them in there own gym."

"I try touch base on all areas of MMA  because not one area in MMA is better than the other, you need to work on all areas to be the best "

I know a lot of the UK fans are very excited at the prospect of being able to train with Ross Pearson so I also discussed with him who the seminar was aimed at, can anybody turn up and take part or do the people buying tickets to take part need some experience in MMA?

"All levels are welcome I try to keep drills as simple as possible so people feel like they have taken something from the seminar & not thinking like they have forgetting the little details what makes the move perfect."

I asked Ross how he felt to be asked to hold a seminar at the UK MMA Expo for his fans.

"It's awesome! I'm very excited to show the UK fans just some of the things I've learnt on my travels and training with the best fighters & coaches in the world."

Finally we spoke about how in his opinion the UK MMA Expo is helping the sport of MMA in the UK.

"Expos are huge for the growth of MMA in the UK because the fans get to see what really goes on in a fighters life, the sport,the business, they also get to meet there favourite fighters and support them in all there future fights, spreading the word about MMA/fighters causing more talk more interest in watching the sport & there favourite fighters." 

So there you have it, that's Ross Pearson giving his opinion of the UK MMA Expo and if you would like to take part the details for his seminar are below.

Ross Pearson Training Seminar
Date - 21st July 14:15PM
Ticket Cost
Seminar Only Entry £25
Seminar + Sunday Expo Entry £30
Seminar + Weekend Expo Entry £35

PLEASE NOTE: Seminar only tickets will not get you access into Event City as the seminars are held inside the Expo. All seminar tickets must be bought in conjunction to an Expo ticket to allow entry into Event City. Only buy the option of without Expo entry if you already have an Expo entry ticket for the same day or are also buying Expo entry for the same day with another seminar ticket.

Jack Mason "After 35 pro fights this will be my first arena show and I can't wait!" ahead of Cage Warriors 57

Jack "Stone" Mason talks to Kingdom MMA before Cage Warriors 57 fight

by Ben Heather @benheather

On Monday I caught up with Jack "Stone" Mason ahead of his fight at Cage Warriors 57, which takes place in Liverpool's Echo Arena on Saturday night. Just before I spoke to Jack news had been released to say that Jack would not be fighting Bruno Carvalho but instead fighting Ali Arish on less than a weeks notice.

Ben: Today (Monday) it was announced that your opponent has changed, how will that change things on the final week before the fight?
Mason: Not a lot to be honest! This was literally a last minute change so all my training camp was done and I just have to focus on making the weight now so to be honest I won’t get any time to work on any specifics for Arish.

Ben: Did you have a specific game plan for Carvalho and will that now change due to the change of opponent to Arish?
Mason: I had a very specific game plan for Carvalho which I’ve been working on with my team for 6 weeks and I was fully prepared for what he was going to bring to the table. Arish is stylistically hugely different to Carvalho and with no time to really plan or train specifically for Arish it’s not exactly an ideal scenario. That being said I’m very confident in my skills right now and think I match up well with Arish, I expect it to be an interesting fight.

Ben: Are you pleased that Cage Warriors were able to find you a new opponent at such short notice?
Mason: Yes, I’m truly thankful to Cage Warriors for keeping me with a fight and to find me such a high calibre replacement. Ali Arish has a 19-2 Pro MMA record and is currently ranked #8 in the rankings. I don’t know many people in UK MMA who would take such a tough fight with 6 days notice but there was no way I was going to turn down this opportunity. I really appreciate Ali taking the fight at short notice too as if he didn’t I’d have been without a fight!

Ben: What do you know about your Arish and do you like the new match up?
Mason: Arish has a 19-2 Pro MMA record and is currently ranked #8 in the rankings, and has faced and beat some legit competition. I know his style is very wrestling based but also has powerful hands. Of course this is a tough match up for anyone in the Welterweight division but as I’ve said before I’m very confident in my skills and I think a lot of people will be shocked about how this fight goes down.
 
Ben: Are you disappointed that you can't fight Carvalho the opponent you had been training to fight? And do you hope you can fight him in the future?
Mason: Of course I’m hugely disappointed that I’m not facing Carvalho, I’ve spent all camp preparing to face him and to have the hard work wasted is very annoying. I’m not entirely sure about the details of why he can’t fight but by all accounts I’ve heard he is a bit of a princess. I honestly don’t think I’d want to commit all that time preparing for him just to see it wasted again so I’d have to give it careful consideration. It’s definitely not something I’m going to be pursuing after I beat Arish that’s for certain.

Ben: How has the camp been?
Mason: Training has been fantastic and I feel like I’ve improved significantly since my last bout.

Ben: You are going to be at the UK MMA Expo this weekend. What day/ time can your fans head over and see you there? If they can't make it to your fight.
Mason: I’ll be on the QNT Sports Nutrition stand (D23) on the Sunday after the fight so please come down and say hello!

Ben: Last time out you fought in the UAE, will it be good to be back and fight in a big arena in Liverpool?
Mason: Fighting on any Cage Warriors event is a privilege and to fight at the Echo Arena in Liverpool is something I am hugely excited for. After 35 professional bouts this will be my first arena show and I can’t wait!

Ben: This card is a massive card for UKMMA have you heard/ felt a buzz for this card that has differed to some of your previous fights?
Mason: Even with some of the last minute pull outs this is one of the best MMA cards to grace UK soil, maybe the best! Yes the buzz for this card is incredible and I expect everyone to be watching and talking about this. I was up in Liverpool last week training with Danny Roberts and the buzz about the show already is huge, the whole city seems to be going to it. Looks like it’s going to be a special event!

Ben: Do you think a win here puts you next in line for a title shot? Or at least in title contention. After all you are already 7-1 in your last 8 fights.
Mason: A win over #8 ranked Arish is a big win and I will be have more wins on Cage Warriors than any other Welterweight including the current champ. I’ll leave that up to Cage Warriors to decide when I’ve earned my shot, I just need to go out and get my job done on Saturday.

Ben: What's going to happen on Saturday night? How do you expect to get the win?
Mason: It will be a surprise!

Ben: Do you want to say thank you to anyone?
Mason: I’d like to thank all my training partners and coaches at BKK Fighters, Tsunami Gym, Ministry of Martial Arts and Laurence Irving Strength & Conditioning for giving up their time to train with me and of course my girlfriend and family. Without these people in my life I wouldn’t be able to achieve anything.

I’d also like to say a huge thank you to my sponsors, please check out their websites and follow them on Twitter:

·         www.britishfighter.co.uk                        @BritishF1ghter
·         www.qntuk.com                                    @QNTUK
·         www.funkygums.com                             @FUNKYGUMS
·         www.ignitept.co.uk                                @LI_Strength
·         www.blankmmauk.com                         @BlankMMAUK

Thanks very much to Kingdom MMA for the interview, it was a pleasure.
If you’d like to keep updated on my training and future fights then please check out my website www.jackstonemason.com and follow me on Twitter @JackStoneMason

Kingdom MMA would like to thank Jack for his time in answering all of our questions the week before his fight. As he mentioned he will be fighting on the Cage Warriors 57 event in Liverpool on Saturday night but if you can't make it to see him fight he will also be at the QNT Sports Nutrition stand at the UK MMA Expo on Sunday.

UFC on Fox 8 card gets a shape up due to injuries

More injuries force a mix up to the Fox card

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

UFC on Fox 8 has had a bit of a shape up due to injuries. UFC on Fox takes place in Washington on July 27th. A spate of injuries this week had matchmakers scratching there heads.

On the main card Siyar Bahadurzada, who was originally an injury replacement for Tarec Saffedeine, had to pull out of his bout with Robbie Lawler. So now Bobby Voelker has stepped in to take the fight.

Voelker was originally scheduled to take on James Head in late August so it will be interesting to see how that effects his preparations. Not only in regard to the fact that his camp was design to peak a month after the new date for his fight but also, meaning no disrespect to James Head but Robbie Lawler is in a different league and is a massive step up in competition. A win for Voekler on short notice however could change the route for his career.

Matt Mitrione v Brendan Schaub has also been scratched from the card due to an injury suffered by Mitrione in the buildup. This fight will likely be held at a later event and had been brewing along nicely with tweets back and forth between the two.  

Bobby Green also suffered an injury and has been replaced by Tim Means for his fight with Danny Castillo.

Lastly Yves Edwards also got a change of opponent as Spencer Fisher was forced off the card. Daron Cruickshank will be his replacement.

More Injuries to UFC 163 card

The UFC 163 injury bug strikes again

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

After Anthony Pettis had been forced out of the main event the Brazilian fans could be excused for cursing there luck. They will be doing so again this week after the cancellation of the Maia-Koscheck fight. 

Josh Koscheck has been forced to pull out of the fight with an injury and the UFC wont be looking for a replacement as Maia has also been pulled from the card. I am not sure if this means the injury is not a serious one and the fight could be rescheduled in the next few events but all we know is it will not be taking place next weekend in Brazil.

Maia has recently turned his career around after dropping down to welterweight and a win over Koscheck could have really helped push him in to title contention.

UFC officials announced the news on Friday, but no further details about the nature of the injury were provided.

Kingdom MMA fights to make after UFC 162

The fights we would like to see after UFC 162

by Tommy Strong @Strong_tea

It's been over a week now since UFC 162, and I'm still pinching myself in case its a dream! Did Anderson Silva really get knocked out?!?! Is Chris Weidman really the new UFC Middleweight champion? As it happens it's all true.

Silva vs Weidman

As much as I was completely wrong about the outcome of the fight, there seems to be a very fine line between a genius and a dope! Silva has shown in many cases and especially in his light heavyweight bout with Stephan Bonnar putting his hands down, leaning up against the fence inviting Bonnar to land a punch or take him down, only seconds later to find himself knocked out. This was the genius of Silva and lauded by the fans and media.

Doing the same against Weidman and getting caught and knocked out we all call into question what the heck he was playing at!! Taking nothing away from Weidman as he took advantage of the opportunity given to him by Silva and become the first fighter to ever knock out Silva and put an end to his 7 years as UFC middleweight champion.

Where next for both fighters? Verdict: Rematch!

Even though at the time Silva said he isn't interested in a re-match with Weidman, I think money will talk. Now it has been confirmed we will get to see it. I hope for one it actually happens and nothing changes this between now and December, though the massive downfall of this happening is the title being on hold for so long. As if Silva wins the rematch, there is no doubt the Trilogy will happen, leaving the belt on hold between 2 fighters for another year at least.

If this wasn't to happen, there is only one fighter at the moment worthy of a title shot. If you like it or not Vitor Belfort has steamrolled Bisping & Luke Rockhold by devastating knock out to earn that title shot. With Belfort on TRT the fight would either have to take place in Brazil (which wouldn't be likely) or we will get the see the 'real' Belfort in Vegas without having the helping hand of TRT.

Silva hmmmmmm.. Without a rematch, I think a new challenge up at light heavyweight to take on Rashad Evans.

Frankie Def Oliveira

After three straight losses , even though some of the very questionable, Frankie Edgar went into Saturday nights fight with Oliveira feeling the pressure to get back into the winning circle. Putting on a very impressive performance and beating a very game and solid Oliveira via unanimous decision (30-27 x2 29-28) .
This was the first time since 2010 that Edgar has be in a 3 round fight, and proved once again why he is so feared. 

Where next for both fighters?

Winner: Frankie Edgar vs Cub Swanson

I feel after his loss to Aldo he still needs one or possibly two more fights, to get himself back fighting for the title. With both fighters at the top of their game and with both fighters love a good tear up my match up would be Cub Swanson!


Loser: Charles Oliveira vs loser of Conor McGregor vs Max Holloway

Having lost his last two fights, Oliveira needs to bounce back with a win. Having fought Cub Swanson and Frankie Edgar back to back, I think he'll be given a more winnable fight to get back to winning ways. A fight with either Conor McGregor or Max Holloway could suit the young fighter!

Tim Kennedy Def Roger Gracie:

Someone give me back 15 minutes of my life after having to watch this fight!! Both making their UFC middleweight debuts since signing from Strikeforce.
I'll cut this short to say you and me time from what was a low point of the night! Tim Kennedy def Roger Gracie (30-27 x 2 29-28) 

Winner: Tim Kennedy vs Alan Belcher.

Tim Kennedy got himself the win on Saturday night, but what proved to be over a limited Roger Gracie. I don't see Kennedy fighting for any title soon though he might prove a stern test for a few middleweight fighters. I would like to see Kennedy prove he's a better fighter than this, and test himself.
I really like the idea of Luke Barnett next for Kennedy , though maybe a little to soon for the Ultimate Fighter contestant. Therefore I put forward to you Alan Belcher, yes he's on a two fight losing streak, though I think Belcher is ranked above Kennedy and would make for a good fight!


Loser: Roger Gracie vs Rousimar Palhares

Whenever you hear the name Gracie I tend to get excited, though it might only be me that isn't excited by the prospect of Roger Gracie? So, what next for Roger, Anderson Silva? Nah, not a chance folks, though a fight vs Rousimar Palhares who is coming of losses to Alan Belcher and Hector Lombard , and with a great ground game Palhares could make for the perfect opponent.

Mark Munoz Def Tim Boestch:

Was great to see Mark Munoz back inside the octagon and a devastating defeat to the hands of now UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. Having to deal with depression, and piling on the weight ballooning to 260lbs. Munoz has worked very hard to get himself back into shape and it proved Saturday night it has all paid off.
With a dismantling display over Boestch , Munoz looked very impressive dominating Boestch and bullying him to a unanimous decision (30-26,30-27,29-28) all in favour of a Munoz win.

Winner: Mark Munoz vs Michael Bisping

With Munoz official ranked 6th and Bisping 4th it makes sense to make the fight happen when/if the UFC return to Bisping's home town of Manchester in October. This would make the perfect main event and push one of them nearer the title shot.

Loser: Boestch vs Luke Rockhold

Since making his middleweight debut back in 2011 , Tim Boestch went onto a 4 fight winning streak with impressive wins of Kendall Grove, Nick Ring, Okami & beating Hector Lombard who hadn't lost for 5 years!
Having lost to Costa Philippou and now Mark Munoz , he will have to work his way back up the rankings and back nearer that title shot. I really like the match up of Luke Rockhold, who himself coming off a KO defeat to Vitor Belfort.

Cub Swanson Def Dennis Siver (Fight of The Night)

This fight wasn't to be missed, and it didn't fail to deliver! Cub always comes into the octagon with one thing in his mind! That's to finish his opponent. And more often than that he does just that! Having KO/TKO'd 4 of his last 5 opponents in his 5 fight win streak Cub is nearing the title shot he has no doubt deserved.
Having to endure an early onslaught from the much bigger Siver , both men went toe to toe for the first two rounds. Then in the third round Swanson came out stronger to finish Siver via TKO.

Winner: Cub Swanson vs Frankie 'The Answer' Edgar

I've always wanted to see this match up and now it makes perfect sense to me! 'The Answer' is Frankie Edgar

Loser: Dennis Siver vs Winner of ( Dustin Poirier vs Erik Koch)

Despite losing to Cub, Siver is still one of the best fighters in the Featherweight division. Being (2/1) since moving down to featherweight we still haven't seen the best of Siver.
With a lot of top ranked fighters already due to fight, this one was a little harder to choose for Siver. Nik Lentz would seem a obvious choice but having a three fight winning streak I don't see this fight happening?
Maybe fighting the loser of Guida v Mendes would make sense. But I'm going for the following! The Winner of Dustin Poirier vs Erik Koch to be his next opponent.

Other entries.... because he was our TUF Smashes champion 

Norman Parke Def Kazuki Tokudome

The ultimate fighter winner Norman Parke put on a great performance in his official UFC debut beating Tokudome via unanimous decision (30-27 x2 29-28) I expect a step up in class for the norther Irishman.

Verdict: Parke vs Winner of (Myles Jury v Mike Ricci)

This has been one of my hardest picks, My head would like Norman in with more competitive fighter , and my heart would like the UFC to take their time with Norman and build him up , giving him more of a chance that some of the British fighters we have seen lately. So in that case I'm going with my head and picking the winner of the up and coming bout between Myles Jury and Mike Ricci.

Leeroy Barnes is ready to put a dent in the Cage Warriors Middleweight Division

Kingdom MMA Caught up with Leeroy Barnes before his Cage Warriors 57 fight

by Tom Rooney @oldmanrooney

Tom Rooney talks to Leeroy Barnes ahead of his clash with Frenchman Norman Paraisy at Cage Warriors 57 in Liverpool’s Echo Arena on Saturday night, his first fight for the promotion in almost six years.

The landscape of the European MMA scene is now almost unrecognisable in comparison to when Leeroy Barnes (12-10-0-1) last fought in a Cage Warriors show at CWFC-Enter the Rough House 4 in Nottingham back in October 2007, where he was on the wrong end of a unanimous decision loss to Peter McGurk.

Since then he has had mixed fortunes fighting for numerous promotions across the UK and Europe, but now that he’s back fighting under the Cage Warriors banner, he couldn’t be happier, particularly being on the main card, and is impressed with the changes in the promotion under the stewardship of Graham Boylan.

“The promotion has undergone a huge change since 2007 and has become the top promotion in Europe under the new guidance of Graham Boylan. It's an honour to be on such a stacked fight card on such a big promotion full stop. I honestly didn't think I would make the main card but I have and I'm going to put a performance on that deserves its place.”

Barnes, 28, inked a five-fight, 18-month exclusive deal with Cage Warriors back in May, and is on a two-fight win streak, the last of which was a submission victory over Steve Watson via guillotine less than a minute into the first round at BAMMA 12, this past March. He has been matched with Paraisy, whose last fight ended in a majority draw against ex-champion Chris Fields at Cage Warriors 55 in Dublin. Barnes has been working harder than ever and is confident he’ll have too much for the Frenchman.

“My camp has been excellent; I've been sparring with the Next Gen lads Danny Roberts, Ste Dinsdale and Chris Fishgold as we are all on the same card and there has been a really good vibe. I've not worked on anything different just the same stuff, trying to improve every day. I've just made sure that my cardio is unbelievable as I'm going to set a pace he has never seen before."

“I don't think it’s any specific areas I'm better than him at. My striking is definitely better than his but I think I'm just the better athlete. I'm faster, more explosive, more flexible and fitter and I'll be far more relaxed on the night.... ultimately that’s what will win me this fight.”

Many pundits and fans alike felt that Paraisy was very lucky to come away with a draw against Fields, having gassed in the latter stages of the fight, particularly in the final round. Barnes says that training in the MMA Academy, Liverpool, he is in the best shape of his life and plans to overwhelm his opponent with sheer intensity.

“I completely have the edge in cardio, my fitness and cardio is the best it's ever been. I will be starting fast and I will be pushing a pace he will not cope with.”

For all intents and purposes this is a hometown fight for Barnes and he is excited about putting on a show for the Liverpool fans, as well as being eager to repay the faith Cage Warriors have placed in him. He has given little thought to what ramifications a win will have on his place in the rankings.

“I've fought in nearly every major Arena in the UK from the Manchester M.E.N. to London Wembley but no I've never fought at the Echo in fact this is the first major MMA show at the Echo and it's going to be great to be part of that. I've trained my whole career in Liverpool, so it's going to be special to fight there. Of course the support helps me, I have amazing support and it drives me to repay their belief with great performances."

“Cage Warriors have already told me they see me as being in the top end of their middle weight division and the fact they are promoting a fight with Paraisy as my first fight in a five fight deal shows that. I really appreciate their belief and I'm turning up to prove them nothing but right."

“I don't even want to think about where the win will place me; I'm just focused on the fight and the process of winning. I would like to thank my sponsors, coaches and training partners, I would also like to say a special thank you to my manager Chris from Elite MMA Agency for always having my back.”