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Last news: November 23, 2010 16:53:57

Brazilian jiu-jitsu badass, Demian Maia (7-0) will take on Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald (20-9) at UFC 87 “Seek and Destroy” on August 9 from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn., according to MMAMainia.

Undefeated Maia, is 2-0 in the UFC, defeating Ryan Jensen by Rear Naked Choke at UFC 77 followed by his latest victory over Ed Herman by Triangle Choke at UFC 83. Both his fights in the UFC have earned him “Submission of The Night” honors.

Veteran MMA fighter Jason MacDonald also holds a impressive record with wins over Joe Doerksen, Rory Singer, Chris Leben, Ed Herman and Gideon Ray.

His latest win came at UFC 83 “Serra vs. St-Pierre 2″, where he punished Joe Doerksen with elbows to get the second round TKO victory.

It has been a long time coming, the last two years CageToday.com has been a one man show. I have now enlisted the help of two talented writers to help keep the site on tract.

CageToday is pleased to welcome contributing writers Jordan Katz and Nichole Lesniak.

Nichole has been doing the The Ultimate Fighter season 7 recaps and Jordan’s UFC 84 Preview will be posted later today.

We hope to bring you more exclusive coverage as we go forward.

Adrian Tapia [CagE]

According to Jail officials, Chris “The Crippler” Leben has been released on home detention after serving only a portion of his 35 day sentence in lock down. Leben will remain under house arrest until he serves the remaining time on his sentence.

Leben was sentenced to 35 days in prison after turning himself into authorities for violating his probation on an old DUI arrest.

Here’s a clip from Leben’s myspace page:

Hello all, Chris has been released from jail over the weekend. This is all the information I have right now and I’ll be sure to update everyone on his resolved legal issues, immediate plans and the expected date of his next match after Chris gets everything organized.

EliteXC and CBS have announced that veteran play-by-play sports announcer Gus Johnson will join Frank Shamrock and Mauro Ranallo in the broadcast booth for the first ever CBS broadcasted EliteXC show on May 31.

Johnson who has been a longtime NFL and NCAA basketball sports announcer for CBS, will take charge of the play-by-play duties.

Johnson replaces heavily criticized announcer and veteran professional wrestler Bill Goldburg.

EliteXC “Primetime” takes place on May 31th from the Prudential center in Newark, NJ.

TG: CagePotato

Mike Whitehead will take on Renato “Babalu” Sobral at Affliction “Banned” on July 19th

UFC heavyweight contender Cheick Kongo (11-4-1) will face UFC newcomer Dan Evensen (10-2) at UFC 87 “Seek and Destroy” on August 9 from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, according to Kongo’s official mySpace page.

I Will Fight Against Dan Evenson at UFC 87 on August 9, 2008, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

Kongo will look to get back in the win column after suffering a disappointing split decision loss to Heath Herring, earlier this year at UFC 82.

Evensen, a Norwegian fighter, who has fought mainly in Gladiator Challenge and BoDog Fights will be looking to impress in his UFC debut.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Oriz, training hard for what might be his final chance to make an impression in the UFC.

“I started camp four months prior to the fight. That’s the first time I’ve started this early….I was really focused on getting my core strength very, very strong. My back is really strong. My stomach is really strong. You’ll see at the weigh-ins how shredded I am. I’m in great shape….I’ve actually picked it up. I’m running four miles a day. I’ve never done that in my career, ever. I really think I’ve let a lot of my fans down by getting tired after the second round. I’ve never a person like that to get tired. I’ve always pushed full-force for five, five minute rounds. We’re training six, six minute rounds with 30 seconds rests. I’m up here at altitude doing it, so I’m going to be ready for three, five minute rounds without a doubt.”

“It just feels great to be able to train for once and be able to wrestle the way I used to wrestle, spar the way I used to spar, and not have to go through three days of training and have to take four days of….That was really, really bad. It was hindering my fighting style, I believe. I’m very focused, no injuries, and I’m able to focus my time on training.”

Tito Ortiz takes on Lyoto Michida at UFC 84 “Ill Will” on May 24 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“Respect is earned by those who are willing to die for a worthy cause. While all men crave respect, few ever find their battlefield. For Johnny Sanchez, war happens in the ring, on the RED CANVAS. What are you willing to die for?” - IMDB

Due out this year. 2008

Staring: John Savage, George Takei, Ernie Reyes Jr, Maria Conchita MMA Fighters: Gray Maynard, Tyson Griffin, Frank Shamrock, Shonie Carter and Dan Severn.

TG: BloodyElbow

Press Release:

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – In yet another historic moment in the quest to conquer new territory and bring the best of mixed martial arts to fans around the globe, the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization today announced the first-ever UFC event to take place in Minnesota. In the main event, Brock Lesnar, fighting out of his hometown of Minneapolis, will return to the Octagon™ to face UFC Hall of Famer and former PRIDE® superstar Mark “The Hammer” Coleman, and in what many are calling the best lightweight fight of 2008, Kenny “KenFlo” Florian will square off against Roger “El Matador” Huerta in a battle that will move the winner one step closer to a 155-pound title shot. The Ultimate Fighting Championship will present UFC 87: SEEK AND DESTROY, featuring Lesnar vs. Coleman and Florian vs. Huerta, live from Target Center in Minneapolis Saturday, August 9, 2008.

“I am excited to be heading to Minnesota and Target Center with the first ever UFC in the state,” said Dana White, UFC President. “UFC fans there are going to be blown away by this event - this fight between Brock Lesnar and Mark Coleman is going to be explosive, a battle between the original monster wrestler and the new breed of monster wrestler. Kenny Florian versus Roger Huerta has the potential to be one of the most action packed fights of the year, both have won Fight of the Night awards and they are known for delivering nonstop action. UFC 87 is going to be stacked with incredible matchups and all the fights fans want to see, from the first bout to the last.”

“Target Center is very excited to host the Ultimate Fighting Championship right here in Minneapolis, Minnesota! UFC 87 will no doubt be one of the biggest events in the arena’s 18 year history,” stated Andy Warg, Director of Booking, Target Center.

Tickets for UFC 87: SEEK AND DESTROY will go on sale Sunday, May 25 at 12 Noon CT and will be priced at $600, $400, $250, $125, $75 and $50. Tickets for UFC 87 will be available at Target Center’s Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, online at ticketmaster.com or by calling 651.989.5151.

TG: UFC

IFL Title Fights

Roy Nelson defeats Brad Imes TKO (Punches) at 2:55 of R1
Ryan Schultz defeats Deividas Taurosevicius by Unanimous Decision
Dan Miller defeats Ryan McGivern by Submission (Kneebar) at 3:36 of R1.

Preliminary Card

Danillo Villefort defeats Mike Massenzio by Submission (Kneebar) at 3:25 of R1.
Josh Souder defeats Zac George by TKO (Punches) at 0:47 of R1.
Matt Horwich defeats Joey Guel by Unanimous Decision
John Howard defeats Nick Calandrino by TKO (Strikes) at 2:24 of R3
Aaron Stark defeats Lamont Lister by Unanimous Decision
John Franchi defeats Frank Latina by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:19 of R1

Gary Shaw spoke about EliteXC’s interest with Tito Ortiz at a press conference on Thursday to promote EliteXC “Primetime” on CBS.

“In all my years in the fight game, I can see, touch, feel a superstar….Everytime I see Tito Ortiz, he reeks of stardom. I think when his days in the UFC are over, that I can reincarnate him. Could you imagine Tito and Kimbo Slice in the cage together? I hope when his contract with the UFC is up that he will not be sitting across the table with me, but sitting with me at that table.”

“My door is open. I hope that he’s able to negotiate one day because I would never interfere with a contract. I hope he’s sitting right next to me, not across from my desk, but right with me.”

Dana White hits back at Tito Ortiz during a UFC 84 “Ill Will” press conference call.

Tito Ortiz:

You know what it really comes down to is just (UFC president) Dana White. If he learns to shut his mouth and learns to respect me there is a possibility yet. (He needs to) give a public apology for the things that he has done. That is just what it really comes down to, but I want to go with a company that is going to respect me and see me as the champion I am and the ambassador that I am of the sport and not really downplay me or disrespect me on television or anything else.

Dana White Responds:

“Tito is a f—ing idiot,” White said. “He’s one of the dumbest human beings I’ve ever met. Everything that comes out of his mouth makes no sense.”

“I put up with his s— when he was a good fighter,” White said. “He’s not anymore.”

“He’s not in anybody’s Top 10,” White said. “I have no interest whatsoever in being in the Tito Ortiz business. … I’ve never wanted to see anyone get their ass kicked worse than I want to see Tito get his kicked next Saturday night.”

Tito Ortiz isn’t in his prime, but the guy draws huge PPV sales and is always actively promoting himself in the media. He will be gold to any of these up start MMA promotions looking for a big name to headline a card. Now the real question is, can they afford him and still make a profit.

UPDATE: Now with Audio

Nothing to watch, MMA Live postponed:

The program’s launch was apparently delayed by the UFC’s insistence that it be exclusive to the UFC. The conflict has apparently been resolved as Kenny Florian will be hosting the first two weeks of the program, however, it is unclear the extent of the company’s involvement.

This isn’t the first time the UFC has pushed for exclusivity, however, media companies appear to be increasingly willing to look beyond just the UFC to see if there is a broader MMA market.

UPDATE: it is back up.

According to Josh Gross of SI.com, an expected announcement from Affliction on Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski’s possible signing with the promotion, is expected early next week.

May 19 is the day when Andrei Arlovski could sign with Affliction, SI.com has learned. That is, assuming the UFC declines to match what is believed to be a deal that pays the former UFC champion in the low-to-mid six figures for the first of three non-exclusive bouts.

A representative from Arlovski’s camp explained there was “nothing to report,” though continued on to say negotiations with the UFC were ongoing…Should Arlovski and Affliction complete their deal, the Belarusian is expected to appear at next Tuesday’s press conference at the in Century City, Calif., to announce a fight against former International Fight League heavyweight champion Ben Rothwell.

WEC 34: Faber vs. Pulver takes place Sunday, June 1st from the Arco Arena in Sacramento, CA. Headlining the show is the much anticipated fight between Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver for the WEC featherweight title.

Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis steps into the cage with Mike “Quick” Swick at UFC 84 “Ill Will” on May 25 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada

Stay tune to CageToday on fight night for the latest UFC 84 results.