The heavyweight-only main card of UFC 146 takes another hit as the injury bug has forced Mark Hunt to withdraw from his scheduled bout against Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve. Fortunately, UFC officials announced today that Lavar Johnson has jumped at the opportunity replace Hunt on the card.

According to Johnson, “I heard last night there was a chance I could get this fight and I accepted right away. You don’t get chances like this too much in life, so when you are lucky, you got to make the most of it.”

Since transitioning from Strikeforce, Johnson (17-5) has proceeded to earn “Knockout of the Night” performances in both of his UFC fights. He has recorded first round finishes of Joey Beltran at UFC on FOX 2 and most recently of Pat Barry at UFC on FOX 3 on May 5th.

The young Struve (23-5), who is usually never in a dull fight, has won four of last five outings. He has recorded six wins by knockout and fifteen by submission. He is coming off a first round technical knockout of Dave Herman at UFC on FUEL TV 2.

UFC 146 takes place from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 26th. Heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos will put his title on the line against former champion Frank Mir in the main event of the card.

Lavar Johnson replaces injured Mark Hunt at UFC 146 is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

UFC on FUEL TV 3 Post-fight press conference video is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

A dynamic featherweight bout matching Dustin Poirier and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung will headline the UFC’s fourth event on FUEL TV. The fight will be contested over five rounds from the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia on Tuesday, May 15th.

The preliminary card will be streamed on the UFC’s Facebook page at 5:30pm ET and the main card will be televised live on FUEL TV beginning at 8:00pm ET. If you can’t catch the action live, follow along below as the results are posted after each bout.

UFC on FUEL TV 3 – Preliminary Card Results
Francisco Rivera defeated Alex Soto by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Johnny Eduardo defeated Jeff Curran by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

Rafael Dos Anjos defeated Kamal Shalorus by rear-naked choke submission at 1:40 of the first round.

TJ Grant defeated Carlo Prater by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Cody McKenzie defeated Marcus LeVesseur by guillotine choke submission at 3:05 of the first round.

Brad Tavares defeated Dongi Yang by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

UFC on FUEL TV 3 – Main Card Results

Tom Lawlor vs. Jason MacDonald
Lawlor defeated MacDonald by knockout at 0:50 of the first round. Lawlor cracked MacDonald with a straight left to the jaw and then connected with a right behind the ear that finished the fight. MacDonald dropped face first to the canvas as the referee called off the fight.

Fabio Maldonado vs. Igor Pokrajac
Pokrajac defeated Maldonado by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28). The light heavyweights put on a Fight of the Night worthy performance in an entertaining bout. The fight took place in close quarters with both fighters landing their fair share of powerful shots. Pokrajac had success with knees from the clinch while Maldonado would put together flurries of strikes. Surprisingly both fighters would remain standing in a very close fight.

Jeff Hougland vs. Yves Jabouin
Jabouin defeated Hougland by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27). Jabouin put on a dominating striking performance thanks in part to a dynamic array of kicks. Both fighters were picking their shots early but it was obvious that Jabouin’s quickness was a big advantage. Late in the first round Jabouin landed a spinning back kick to the liver of Hougland which knocked him half-way across the cage. Hougland covered up on the ground as Jabouin began to land punishing shots from the top. It appeared that the referee was close to stopping the contest but the tough Hougland would survive. Jabouin would continue to showcase his offensive arsenal for the next two rounds which includes a big left that dropped Hougland, as well as, more spinning kicks, a flying knee and a punishing ground game.

Jeremy Stephens vs. Donald Cerrone
Cerrone defeated Stephens by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Cerrone was successful in imposing his gameplan avoided the power of Stephens while dominating the fight standing. He used timely combinations and brutal leg kicks to pick apart Stephens who could never really get on track offensively. Cerrone’s outstanding footwork and movement also helped to keep Stephens guessing for three rounds. It was an impressive performance for Cerrone who rebounds from a loss to Nate Diaz.

Jorge Lopez vs. Amir Sadollah
Sadollah defeated Lopez by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). Sadollah earns a hard-fought bout against Lopez which was contested primarily in the clinch against the cage. Sadollah would threaten with a guillotine while getting a slight edge in the clinch work.

Dustin Poirier vs. Chan Sung Jung
Jung defeated Poirier by darce choke submission at 1:07 of the fourth round. Man that was an awesome fight that is a a Fight of the Year candidate. The featherweights put on an incredible show with the Korean Zombie putting the pressure on Porier for the entire fight both standing and on the ground. On the ground Jung quickly transitioned with multiple submission attempts which kept Poirier on the defensive. Flying knees, big uppercuts and ground-and-pound gave Jung the advantage through the first two rounds. The pace slowed in the third round as Poirier appeared to be finding his range. However, the Zombie came out in the fourth and continued to press through whatever Poirier threw at him. An uppercut from Jung sent Poirier backwards into the cage where the Zombie meets him with a flying knee. Poirier shot for a takedown but Jung was able to sprawl and quickly locked in the choke which put Poirier to sleep.

UFC on FUEL TV 3 Bonuses

Following the event, UFC President Dana White announced the following $40k fight bonuses:

Knockout of the Night – Tom Lawlor
Fight of the Night – Dustin Poirier and The Korean Zombie
Submission of the Night – The Korean Zombie

UFC on FUEL TV 3 Results – Korean Zombie submits Dustin Poirier in epic main event is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

Fight week, blog week, ratings lesson…

UFC President Dana White forgoes the typical fight week video blog to address some of the ratings misconceptions surrounding the UFC on FOX 3 event on May 5th. White sets the record straight on the key male demos along with the impact of Cinco de Mayo, the Avengers opening and the NBA playoff ratings.

Dana White breaks down the UFC on FOX 3 ratings is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

Xtreme Fighting Championship (XFC) female fighter “Hurricane” Heather Jo Clark is set to square off against Sofia Bagherdai at XFC 18: Music City Mayhem in a 120-pound catchweight bout. XFC official announced the match-up earlier on Monday.

XFC 18 takes place from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee on Friday June 22nd. The main card will be televised live on HDNet.

Clark (4-2) will be making her second appearance under the XFC banner after signing a multi-fight contract. She is a former collegiate and professional hockey, as well as, an amateur boxer. Clark, who trains at Jackson’s MMA, has recorded all four of her career wins by stoppage with two wins apiece by knockout and submission.

Bagherdai (4-2), a professional fighter since 2007, began her career with three consecutive wins including two victories by technical knockout. She took a break from competition in 2008 before returning to action recently at Invicta FC 1 in April.

Credit: OfficialXFC.com

XFC 18: Music City Mayhem – Main Card

• John Salter vs. Reggie Pena (Main Event)
• Scott Barrett vs. Gabriel Salinas Jones (Co-main Event)
• Heather Jo Clark vs. Sofia Bagherdai
• Luke Sanders vs. Zachary Sanders
• Jason Blackford vs. Donny Wallace
• Matt Metts vs. Scott Holtzman
• Dustin West vs. Joe Ray

Heather Jo Clark vs. Sofia Bagherdai feature bout set for XFC 18 is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

“The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung and Dustin Poirier are set for their five round main event featherweight clash at UFC on FUEL TV 3. Jung and Poirier successfully made weight today with each fighter tipping the scales at 145 pounds.

UFC on FUEL TV 3 takes place from the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia on Tuesday, May 15th. The preliminary card will be streamed live on the UFC’s Facebook page at 5:30pm ET and the main card will be televised on FUELl TV at 8:00pm ET.

UFC on FUEL TV 3 – Official Weigh-in Results

Dustin Poirier (145) vs. Chan Sung Jung (145)
Jorge Lopez (171) vs. Amir Sadollah (171)
Jeremy Stephens (155) vs. Donald Cerrone (155)
Jeff Hougland (135) vs. Yves Jabouin (135)
Fabio Maldonado (205) vs. Igor Pokrajac (205)
Tom Lawlor (186) vs. Jason MacDonald (185)
Francisco Rivera (134) vs. Alex Soto (135)
Dongi Yang (186) vs. Brad Tavares (185)
Marcus LeVesseur (155) vs. Cody McKenzie (155)
Carlo Prater (155) vs. TJ Grant (155)
Kamal Shalorus (155) vs. Rafael Dos Anjos (156)
Johnny Eduardo (135) vs. Jeff Curran (135)

The weigh-in show begin at the 10:45 mark in the video below…

The Korean Zombie, Dustin Poirier on weight for UFC on FUEL TV 3 is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

Featherweights Dustin Poirier and Chan Sung Jung (The Korean Zombie) discuss their upcoming main event fight at UFC on FUEL TV 3 on Tuesday, May 15th. The bout has the potential for fireworks are both competitors are capable of finishing the fight standing or on the ground.

UFC on FUEL TV 3 takes place from the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia. The six bout main card will be televised live on FUEL TV at 8:00pm ET.

• Chan Sung Jung vs. Dustin Poirier
• Amir Sadollah vs. Jorge Lopez
• Donald Cerrone vs. Jeremy Stephens
• Yves Jabouin vs. Jeff Hougland
• Igor Pokrajac vs. Fabio Maldonado
• Jason MacDonald vs. Tom Lawlor

Korean Zombie & Dustin Poirier pre-fight interview for UFC on FUEL TV 3 is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced three more fights for their fourth event to be held on FUEL TV. The bouts will showcase the entertaining bantamweight and flyweight weight classes.

• Ultimate Fighter 14 finalist TJ Dillashaw will hook’em up with Vaughan Lee in a bantamweight contest. Both fighters are coming off solid wins in their most recent bouts. Lee submitted Kid Yamamoto in the first round at UFC 144 while Dillashaw controlled Walel Watson at UFC on FUEL TV 1.
• In another bantamweight showdown Raphael Assuncao will meet Issei Tamura. Assuncao last competed at UFC 134 where he would record a unanimous decision over Johnny Eduardo. Tamura is coming off an impressive UFC debut with a second round knockout of Tiequan Zhang at UFC 144
• A bout in the 125-pound flyweight division will feature Chris Cariaso taking on Josh Ferguson. Cariaso will look to extend his winning streak to three bouts following decision wins over Vaughan Lee and Takeya Mizugaki. Ferguson, who competed on Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter, makes his flyweight debut. He has recorded all eight of his career wins via submission.

UFC on FUEL TV 4 which takes place on July 11th is expected to be held at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. Headlining the card is a pivotal middleweight clash between Chris Weidman and Mark Munoz.

A trio of bouts added to UFC on FUEL TV 4 in July is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

The Bellator Fighting Championships rolls into Caesars in Atlantic City on Friday, May 11th for Bellator 68.

Highlighting the card is the season six featherweight tournament final between Daniel Straus and Marlon Sandro. Also on tap is a bantamweight tournament semifinal matching Marcos Galvao against Travis Marx.

The main card Bellator 68 will televised live on MTV2 and EPIX HD at 8:00pm ET and the preliminary card streaming live on Spike.com at 6:30pm ET.

Bellator 68 – Main Card Results

Marius Zaromskis vs. Waachiim Spiritwolf
Zaromskis defeated Spiritwolf by technical knockout (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of the second round. Another fight, another disappointing finish. Their first fight in November 2010 was ruled a No Contest after just 6 seconds when Spiritwolf was poked in the eye. A very close first round featured a lot of work in the clinch with Spiritwolf keeping out of range from the power of Zaromskis. The bout turned into a brawl in the second round as both fighters had the other in danger. Spiritwolf seemed to be tiring as Zaromskis landed powerful shots and knees from the Thai clinch. However, Spiritwolf circled out of harms way and unloaded a barrage of strikes that rocked Zaromskis. Zaromskis went into survival mode as the fight hit the ground with Spiritwolf in his guard. The referee watched closely as Spiritwolf dished out punishment on the ground but Zaromskis would survive the round. Between rounds the cageside physician would call an end to the fight due to a cut above Spiritwolf’s eyebrow.

Marcin Held vs. Derrick Kennington
Held defeated Kennington by heel hook submission at 2:08 of the first round. Kennington dropped Held in the opening moments of the bout as he clearly had the better striking game. However, Held shot for a takedown but dropped down to wrap up Kennington’s leg. Kennington tried to defend but was forced to quickly tap.

Seth Petruzelli vs. Carmelo Marrero
The fight was cancelled after Petruzelli was too ill to fight. Petruzelli would post the following on Twitter, “Guys, I have unbelievable news. The doc wouldn’t clear me to fight. I have been feeling sick for past week but haven’t told anyone. When the doc checked me he said he heard weezing and fluid in my lungs. Got a 2nd doc for another opinion and he said same thing. I am so sorry…I feel like I’m in a nightmare”

Marcos Galvao vs. Travis Marx (Bantamweight Tournament Semifinal)
Galvao defeated Marx by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). Galvao becomes the first fighter to advance to the bantamweight tournament final as he won the stand-up battle against Marx. A very close bout saw Galvao set the pace in the first round as he pressed the action behind combinations and knees. Marx would turn the tables briefly in the second round as he began to employ more effective striking as Galvao’s output slowed. However, Galvao regained the advantage in the final frame by outworking Marx and landing the more significant strikes.

Daniel Straus vs. Marlon Sandro (Featherweight Tournament Final)
Straus defeated Sandro by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27). Straus wins the season six featherweight tournament and will earn a title shot against the winner of current champion Pat Curran and Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. It was Straus who would dictate the fight as he was the busier fighter. In addition, he was also more successful working in the clinch. Sandro appeared tentative until the final round where he picked up the intensity. He would briefly threaten with a standing arm/head triangle but Straus would easily defend the submission. Late in the fight, Straus would score a big suplex and worked for a neck crank/rear-naked choke until the final bell.

Bellator 68 – Preliminary Card Results

Francois Ambang defeated Gregory Milliard by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

Anthony Leone defeated Claudio Ledesma by split decision (30-27, 30-27, 28-29, 29-28).

Aung La Nsang defeated Jesus Martinez by technical knockout at 0:36 of the first round.

Don Carlo-Clauss defeated Jacob Kirwan by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

Marcin Held vs. Derrick Kennington

Bellator 68 Results – Daniel Straus defeats Marlon Sandro to win featherweight tourney is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

A lightweight clash featuring John “The Natural” Alessio and Shane Roller has been added to UFC 148 on July 7th. UFC officials announced the match-up on Thursday evening.

Alessio (32-15) returned to the UFC after almost six years as a late addition to face Mark Bocek at UFC 145. He would end up dropping a unanimous decision to Boeck. Prior to the loss, Alessio had won ten of eleven bouts which helped him earn the return trip to the UFC.

Roller (10-6), a veteran of the WEC, will be looking to put an end to a three fight skid. In his UFC debut Roller would pick up a win over Thiago Tavares at UFC Live 3. However, he has since suffered consecutive losses to Melvin Guillard, TJ Grant and Michael Johnson.

UFC 148 takes place from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The event features the long awaited title rematch between middleweight champion Anderson Silva and rival Chael Sonnen.

John Alessio vs. Shane Roller added to UFC 148 is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

The international expansion of The Ultimate Fighter continues as the UFC officially announced that the next show will take place in Australia.

The show will pit Australian fighters against their counterparts from the United Kingdom in a series that has been nicknamed “The Smashes”. According to the UFC’s Managing Director of International Development Marshall Zelaznik, “The popularity of MMA has exploded in Australia and the UK, with gyms opening all over the respective countries. There is an athlete in one of those gyms who hasn’t had the chance to show the world what he can do – The Ultimate Fighter is going give to him that opportunity.”

The show is expected to debut in the Fall 2012. Tryouts for the show will be held in Sydney on June 12th and in London on June 15th for fighters who are citizens of Australia or the UK. In addition, you must be between the ages of 21-35 and weigh 130 to 170 pounds. Each prospective participant must have had three professionals fights with two wins.

The live tryouts, scheduled for June 12 in and June 15 in London

The Ultimate Fighter – Australia vs. UK coming in the Fall is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

The next challenger for Jon “Bones” Jones’ light heavyweight title is official. As expected, former Pride and Strikeforce champion Dan Henderson gets the title shot at UFC 151 in Las Vegas on September 1st.

UFC President Dana White made the announcement late Wednesday saying that both fighters have verbally agreed to the bout.

Jones (16-1) is coming off his third consecutive title defense against a former champion when he defeated Rashad Evans at UFC 145. In 2011, Jones captured the title with a dominating win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua then successfully defended the belt against , Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Lyoto Machida,

Henderson (29-8) is currently on a four fight winning streak which includes an epic victory over Rua at UFC 139 in November. The fight marked his return to the UFC following a four fight stint with Strikeforce. During his time in Strikeforce, Henderson captured their light heavyweight title by defeating Rafael Cavalcante and also recorded a first round technical knockout of Fedor Emelianenko.

Jon Jones defends title against Dan Henderson at UFC 151 is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

A pair of heavyweight match-ups have been added to the UFC on FOX 4 card in August. UFC officials announced that verbal agreements are in place for Oli Thompson to meet Phil De Fries and Rob Broughton to face Matt Mitrione.

Thompson (9-3) and De Fries (8-1, 1NC) will look to get back on the winning track after suffering losses in their most recent bouts. Thompson saw his five fight winning streak come to an end when he dropped his UFC debut to Shawn Jordan at UFC on FX 2. De Fries holds seven of his eight wins by submission. He will be making his third appearance in the UFC. He defeated Rob Broughton at UFC 138 but fell to Stipe Miocic in just 43 seconds at UFC on FUEL TV 1.

Broughton (15-7-1) is also on a two fight skid which includes the setback to De Fries and a decision loss to Travis Browne. He began his UFC career with a third round submission win over Vinicius Kappke de Queiroz at UFC 120. Mitrione (5-1) is an alumni of The Ultimate Fighter Season 10. In his last outing at UFC 137, Mitrione would be outpointed by the veteran Cheick Kongo. He opened his UFC career with five consecutive wins which included four by stoppage.

UFC on FOX 4 takes place on August 4th from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The event features the UFC debut of Hector Lombard who will square off against Brian Stann in a middleweight bout.

Heavyweights Thompson vs. De Fries, Broughton vs. Mitrione join UFC on FOX 4 is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

UFC Director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright leads the press conference to officially kick-off the promotion of UFC 149. Featherweight champion Jose Aldo will put his title on the line against number one contender Erik Koch in the main event of the card. UFC 149 takes place on July 21st from the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This will mark the first of three UFC events to be held in Canada during 2012.

Press Conference Video To Announce UFC 149 Aldo vs. Koch is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News

In more injury news, Rich Attonito has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming welterweight scrap against Rick Story at UFC on FX 4 on June 22nd. Papy Abedi has agreed to replace Attonito to take on Story.

Will the third time be the charm for Abedi (8-2)? He entered the UFC riding an eight bout winning streak but has since suffered consecutive rear-naked choke submission losses. He fell to Thiago Alves at UFC 138 and most recently to James Head at UFC on Fuel TV 2. Seven of Abedi’s career wins have come via stoppage with five knockouts and two submissions.

Story (13-5) will also be looking to put an end to a two fight skid in which he was outpointed by Charlie Brenneman and Martin Kampman. Prior to the losses, Story had won six straight fights in the UFC which included victories over Thiago Alves, Johny Hendricks and Dustin Hazelett.

UFC on FX 4 takes place from Revel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Headlining the event is a lightweight battle between Clay Guida and Gray Maynard.

Papy Abedi in for injured Rich Attonito, faces Rick Story at UFC on FX 4 is a post from: MMA Interplay UFC News