ESPN.com presents Mixed Martial Arts http://espn.go.com/mma/ 60 en-us Tue, 21 May 2013 22:25:38 webmaster@espn.go.com http://assets.espn.go.com/i/espn/teamlogos/lrg/trans/espn_dotcom_black.gif 110 110 UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will defend his title Saturday at UFC 160 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas against Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, whom he defeated in their first meeting last May at UFC 146. In the co-main-event, former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos will try to get back into title contention as he takes on Mark Hunt. In addition, Gray Maynard and TJ Grant will fight to determine the No. 1 contender for the UFC lightweight title.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/mma/post/_/id/18058/ufc-160-by-the-numbers Tue, 21 May 2013 07:10:15 EDT 18058 It’s a second opportunity for Cain Velasquez -- a do-over, so to speak. For the second time as a pro, Velasquez seeks the first successful defense of his UFC heavyweight title. Velasquez lost the title to Junior dos Santos in November 2011, but reclaimed it from him 13 months later at UFC 155. He puts his belt up for grabs Saturday night at UFC 160 in Las Vegas against Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva. This will be their second meeting in a one-year span, but Velasquez’s first title defense since recapturing it.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/mma/post/_/id/18007/velasquez-my-focus-on-bigfoot-silva Mon, 20 May 2013 09:20:21 EDT 18007 Luke Rockhold walked into a cage Saturday night in Jaragua Do Sul, Brazil, believing he suffered from an unfair disadvantage against Vitor Belfort. Whether or not it's true that Belfort's testosterone levels had been altered to his benefit, Rockhold made it so in his mind. Standing across the Octagon from "Mohawk Vitor" (i.e. the amped-up, angry, throat-slashing version of "The Phenom" Chael Sonnen has described lately), Rockhold had already accepted the reality and responsibility of the task in front of him.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/mma/post/_/id/18019/following-first-loss-rockhold-left-with-questions Sun, 19 May 2013 13:45:51 EDT 18019 Vitor Belfort’s knockout win over Luke Rockhold on Saturday in Jaragua Do Sul, Brazil, was almost a perfect story. The “old dinosaur,” as Belfort calls himself, tamed the “young lion” with a spinning wheel kick in the first round that was really more fine art than it was athletic feat. All professional sports move quickly, but none are as unforgiving as a fight. It’s one of the best characteristics of martial arts, and it was on display Saturday.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/mma/post/_/id/18009/belforts-next-fight-needs-to-be-in-u-s Sun, 19 May 2013 12:59:05 EDT 18009 SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Luke Rockhold rolled his eyes. This was the talented 28-year-old middleweight, six weeks ago, being sheepish. Apparently he wasn’t crazy about the world learning that his trainer, Javier Mendez, is under medical treatment for testosterone replacement therapy. When Mendez's use was revealed, Rockhold thought it would be embarrassing. How come? Well, no one's slammed licensed hormone therapy harder than Rockhold, and now the man in charge of preparing him to fight turns out to be on the same stuff as the embodiment of all things evil in enhanced MMA, Vitor Belfort.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/mma/post/_/id/17994/rockhold-still-doubtful-of-belfort-testing-system Fri, 17 May 2013 06:58:08 EDT 17994 LAS VEGAS -- It's 100 degrees in Las Vegas and feels hotter inside Wanderlei Silva's gym. At one point while I'm there, he grabs my shoulder and admits he killed the air conditioning earlier when no one was looking and opened the back door to allow the desert heat inside. "Very hot in here," he says. Then he tilts his entire body back and laughs diabolically before adding, "If you don't want to sweat, stay on the couch." Silva (35-12-1) is neither putting off nor anxiously awaiting his next UFC fight.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/mma/post/_/id/17973/wand-the-probability-i-ko-sonnen-is-big Wed, 15 May 2013 16:57:25 EDT 17973 UFC 159 karma, you did it again. Pat Healy revealed Tuesday he was popped for pot after dismantling Jim Miller in Newark a couple weeks ago. So the one guy who appeared unharmed -- better yet, better off -- following the weirdest Zuffa event since the UFC's debut in Las Vegas in 2001 has crashed back to earth. This figures. The submission win, which vaulted Healy into most top-10s at 155, was overturned, and he'll need to forfeit $130,000 in bonuses.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/mma/post/_/id/17971/the-curse-of-ufc-159-strikes-again Wed, 15 May 2013 16:20:01 EDT 17971 Taken at face value, Tyson Fury's challenge of Cain Velasquez is pointless because we already know the result. Still, even if the callout is self-serving, even if it's designed to drum up interest and a payday, you have to admit there's something admirable about a talented boxer, early in his career like Fury, loudly challenging the best heavyweight mixed martial artist to a cage fight. Maybe someday Fury will suffer through getting what he wished for, and we’ll suffer for having watched it happen, but you better believe his moxie won’t go unnoticed.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/mma/post/_/id/17954/history-hardly-on-tyson-furys-side Tue, 14 May 2013 10:15:31 EDT 17954 No matter how long Daniel Cormier competes or how much he improves as a fighter, there are two mixed martial artists he is unlikely to ever face in the cage -- UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and Bellator light heavyweight contender Muhammed Lawal. It’s unlikely to happen because Cormier will do whatever is necessary to avoid either man. He considers both his brothers, and nothing that will move Cormier to test the American Kickboxing Academy family bond -- not even a title shot.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/mma/post/_/id/17949/cormier-doing-the-cut-to-205-correctly Mon, 13 May 2013 06:18:30 EDT 17949 LAS VEGAS -- There is no doubt about it: Chris Weidman believes he’ll beat Anderson Silva on July 6. I had the opportunity to eat lunch with Weidman on the Las Vegas Strip this week. We sat directly down the street from the MGM Grand, where he and Silva will fight for the middleweight title in less than two months at UFC 162. The biggest thing I took away from the interview is that Weidman is sincerely convinced that, basically, he’s got this.]]> http://espn.go.com/blog/mma/post/_/id/17938/nothing-fake-about-weidmans-confidence Fri, 10 May 2013 10:23:25 EDT 17938