Former UFC fighter Paul Kelly has been sentenced to 13 years in prison after he was convicted of running a drug ring in England.

Kelly and childhood friend Christopher St. John McGirr were arrested as part of a wide spread surveillance operation. They were accused of supplying drugs to other dealers.

“You were in business with Mr. McGirr supplying heroin to other dealers,” said Judge Mark Brown, according to a report by the Liverpool Echo.

“In my judgment, you decided to supply Class A drugs when your contract with UFC was terminated. You obviously enjoyed the high life and saw selling heroin as an easy way to make money.”

Following a trial, Kelly was sentenced to 13 years in prison, while McGirr received an 11-year sentence.

Kelly fought in the UFC for three years, where he amassed a 5-4 record in the Octagon. He fought three more times after leaving the UFC, winning two and losing one.

At 28 years of age, it’s unlikely that he will ever be able to fight at the highest levels of the sport ever again.

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Article source: http://www.mmaweekly.com/former-ufc-fighter-paul-kelly-sentenced-to-13-years-in-prison-for-drug-trafficking

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is headed to Boston on Aug. 17 for its sophomore effort in the city. UFC on Fox Sports 1: Shogun vs. Sonnen is slated for the TD Gardens and is set to serve as featured programming for the launch of Fox’s new nationwide sports channel, Fox Sports 1.

A Boston Herald report on Tuesday brought to light an issue that UFC officials faced in regards to all mixed martial arts competitors in Massachusetts being required to have a valid Social Security number, even foreign-born participants. The report noted that the UFC was seeking an exemption from the law, and suggested that the event could be cancelled altogether if things weren’t worked out.

The report jumped the gun a good bit, as UFC sources assured MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday that the event “is not in danger, and we’re working on getting visas and social security numbers. Tickets are on sale and moving well.”

The UFC later in the day offered an official company statement, again assuring that the Aug. 17 event was not in jeopardy of being cancelled.

For the first time since 2010, the UFC is very excited to return to TD Garden in Boston on Saturday, Aug. 17 with a live event card to coincide with the launch of the FOX Sports 1 network. Tickets went on pre-sale today for the event and are already off to a tremendous start.

There were some questions that surfaced regarding licensing requirements for mixed martial artists and boxers to have social security numbers in order to compete in the state of Massachusetts. Last week, these requirements were brought to UFC’s attention and we immediately began working to ensure that all athletes affected by this are in full compliance. We are continuing to work on this and anticipate a positive outcome.

We look forward to bringing another successful event to Boston during an incredible week for sports fans in the city.

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Article source: http://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-affirms-it-is-working-on-compliance-for-ufc-on-fox-sports-1-shogun-vs-sonnen-athletes

EA Sports recently released a first look at the new EA Sports UFC video game, which has numerous new gameplay features thanks to the new EA Sports Ignite gaming engine.

EA Sports UFC creative director Brian Hayes goes through the improvements feature-by-feature in this video, courtesy of FoxSports.com.

The game is expected to launch in Spring 2014.

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Article source: http://www.mmaweekly.com/ea-sports-ufc-video-game-ignite-based-gameplay-features-revealed-video

UFC officials on Monday added two middleweight bouts to the UFC 164 fight card. Derek Brunson squares off with Yoel Romero, while Magnus Cedenblad faces Jared Hamman.

UFC 164 features lightweight champion Benson Henderson putting his belt on the line against TJ Grant in the main event on pay-per-view. The event is slated for Aug. 31 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

Brunson (10-2) was rebooked for UFC 164 after his UFC on Fuel TV 10 bout with Ronny Markes was cancelled on the day of weigh-ins. Markes was pulled from the fight after being involved in a car accident.

Brunson is one of the fighters that moved over to the UFC when Strikeforce closed up shop. He debuted in December at UFC 155, winning a unanimous decision victory over Chris Leben.

He’ll step into the Octagon against Romero (5-1), who is another Strikeforce transfer. Like Brunson, Romero won his first UFC bout, which also served as his middleweight debut, when he knocked out Clifford Starks at UFC on Fox 7 in April.

Cedenblad (10-4) hasn’t set foot inside the Octagon since April of 2012, when he lost his promotional debut to Francis Carmont. He was originally expected to return against Rafael Natal at UFC on Fox 6, but had to pull out of the fight due to eye problems according to Swedish MMA site MMANYTT.se.

Hamman (13-5) is at a critical juncture in his UFC tenure with this fight. He amassed a 1-2 record at light heavyweight in the Octagon before dropping down to middleweight. Unfortunately, he hasn’t fared any better at 185 pounds, winning his first bout in the division, but losing his last two.

Coming off of a loss to Michael Kuiper last August at UFC 150 in Denver, Hamman is in desperate need of a victory if he wishes to remain on the roster.

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Article source: http://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-164-gains-derek-brunson-vs-yoel-romero-and-magnus-cedenblad-vs-jared-hamman

The UFC on Fox 8: Johnson vs. Moraga main card begins Saturday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT (tape delayed on the U.S. West Coast) with the preliminary bouts beginning at approximately 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT. (Click on the fight link or graphic below for UFC on Fox 8 play-by-play or click here for UFC on Fox 8 quick results with no play-by-play.)

UFC ON FOX 8 PRELIMINARY BOUTS

BOUT #1 - John Albert vs. Yaotzin Meza

BOUT #2 - Aaron Riley vs. Justin Salas

BOUT #3 – Ed Herman vs. Trevor Smith

BOUT #4 - Michael Chiesa vs. Jorge Masvidal

BOUT #5 – Spencer Fisher vs. Yves Edwards

BOUT #6 - Julie Kedzie vs. Germain de Randamie

BOUT #7 - Danny Castillo vs. Bobby Green

BOUT #8 – Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Robbie Lawler

BOUT #9 - Brendan Schaub vs. Matt Mitrione

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Article source: http://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-on-fox-8-live-results-and-play-by-play

When the UFC announced it was expanding to open up a 125-pound division, Joseph Benavidez believed that, campaigning at his natural weight for the first time, nothing could stop him from becoming a champion.

His only two career losses at that stage were to Dominick Cruz, but moving down a division meant that the 28-year-old would never again have to deal with opponents possessing the same sort of height and reach as the undisputed 135-pound king.

Benavidez dispensed with Yasuhiro Urushitani in the opening round of the four-man UFC flyweight tournament only to be outpointed by Demetrious Johnson in the final. The fight was sufficiently close to have ended in a split decision, but it is a setback that is still fresh in his memory.

“I think about it a lot (because) that was something I counted on for a long time, that once they start the flyweight division I was going to be the champion automatically,” he said. “I think it was a close fight and the judging’s so subjective it depends what they’re looking at, but for me I know I didn’t go out there and fight as good as I could.”

Any time a fight finishes and the judges can’t agree on who won there is controversy, but Benavidez’s disappointment stems more from the feeling that he didn’t perform to his full potential than the actual decision.

“I’m not really happy with it to the point where I can say ‘I deserved that’ because I don’t really feel I went out there and fought as good as I could.”

The failure to become UFC flyweight champion right out of the gate prompted a bout of soul searching and Benavidez even wrote a poem about his feelings in the aftermath of that defeat. An unashamedly introspective athlete, he conducted his own personal post mortem on the fight and pinpointed exactly what went wrong.

“I’m the kind of guy that needs to be happy and have a fun time and everything needs to be real loose and the fight needs to be like another day,” he said. “That’s how I’ve always fought except for that one fight where I thought it was life or death. I’m not a mean guy, but for some reason I was like ‘I hate Demetrious. I want to kill him.’ But he’s the nicest guy and I actually like him, so I think that definitely affected it.”

Taking an emotional approach to his first-ever UFC title match was a mistake that still haunts Benavidez, but it is one he is unlikely to repeat.

“I learned a lot from that fight. You learn a lot from losing, technically and what you can improve on, but the biggest thing I realized is it’s not life or death out there and I don’t need to obsess over the title. As long as I’m getting myself better as a fighter, it’s going to be there.”

After back-to-back wins over Ian McCall and Darren Uyenoyama, he is ranked as the number one contender in the flyweight division and a rematch with Johnson seems inevitable. Benavidez has clearly earned his way back into contention, but coming off two fights in three months he’s not in a hurry for UFC title shot number two.

“I’m just waiting it out. I got two fights pretty quick at the beginning of the year, so this is a good time for me to get to travel and mix up my training a little bit, which I always like to do,” he explained. “I’m down to fight anyone they put in front of me. A lot of people ask me if I want a title fight, but that’s going to come so I’m just getting better until then.”

Benavidez took advantage of this break from competitive action to make a trip to Evolve MMA in Singapore, where he spoke to MMAWeekly.com. As a long-term member of Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male, he’s used to training alongside the best in the business, but says he has still picked up some new tricks on his travels.

“The training at Evolve is top notch. A world champion is right in front of me every single time I go whether it’s wrestling, BJJ or the Thai trainers and you don’t find that anywhere. It’s amazing,” he stated. “I think the way they have the gym and the team situated is revolutionary. You have these guys coaching the classes and being able to fight and you’re going to see a lot of success like that when guys are able to train full-time and be around the sport all day.”

The flyweight title, which he is ultimately working his way back towards, will be on the line next month at UFC on Fox 8. Number-four-ranked Brazilian John Moraga is challenging Johnson, but Benavidez believes that the belt is unlikely to be changing hands that night.

“Moraga’s a tough guy and the thing with the top guys in the world is at any weight class most of the championship fights are going to be pretty close decisions, so the judges can always make a difference, but I think Demetrious will do enough to win. He’s really on top of his game right now.”

A title might continue to elude him, but dropping down to flyweight has given Benavidez a new lease of life. He didn’t exactly embarrass himself campaigning at 135 pounds, where Cruz was the only fighter to beat him, but feels much more comfortable in this new division.

“At 135, I had to be like a mouse, a faster guy, and I’m kind of fast, but I’m more of a powerful guy. And at 135 I had to compromise so many things to compete. I had to be in and out. I couldn’t just grab the guy or stand in the pocket with guys that were so much bigger than me. At 125, I feel I don’t have to compromise my style for anyone, I can be just as strong and just as fast and I think it’s definitely the weight class for me.”

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Article source: http://www.mmaweekly.com/joseph-benavidez-happy-biding-his-time-before-ufc-title-shot-number-two

Courtesy of Damon Martin and official MMAWeekly.com content partner Bleacher Report.

UFC president Dana White received a mountain of scrutiny when his promotion decided a few months ago to release top ten welterweight fighter Jon Fitch.

At the time, Fitch was coming off a loss to Demian Maia, which moved his record to 1-2-1 over his last four fights.  White stated several times that it was never anything personal with Fitch, and while his wrestling based style may not have resulted in the most exciting performances, it ultimately had nothing to do with his release.

“I have nothing against Jon Fitch, I never did.  It was all hyped up (expletive),” White said about the former UFC fighter when speaking to the media following the conclusion of UFC 161.  “I think Jon Fitch used it as a little bit of ammo when he got cut and tried to spin it that I hated him and all this other stuff, which was complete (expletive).  I felt that Jon Fitch was on the downside of his career.”

Fitch quickly signed with upstart promotion World Series of Fighting, where he made his debut with the organization on Friday night.

It did not end well for the American Kickboxing Academy welterweight.

Just seconds into the first round of his fight against fellow former UFC fighter Josh Burkman, Fitch got caught with a quick punch that hurt him before being stuck in a guillotine choke that landed the two competitors on the mat.

Burkman wrenched up the choke and before he could react, Fitch was unconscious. The entire fight lasted 41 seconds.

When it was over, White received a slew of messages via Twitter saying Fitch’s loss justified his decision to release him, and ultimately he was correct in his assessment of the former title challenger.

White, who admitted he went out of his way to actually watch the fight on Friday to see Fitch’s performance, says that in reality he was wrong about what he expected would happen.  While Fitch may have not had the most impressive record when he left the UFC, White believed that he would probably run roughshod over the other welterweights fighting outside the Octagon.

“I wasn’t right. I cut Jon Fitch, I said he went 1-2-1 since 2011, and he’s on the downside of his career.  He’s 35 years old, he hasn’t looked impressive at all, but I said he’ll be a world champion at the World Series of Fighting,” White stated.  “I said he’ll go over there and win a title.

“Did I think Fitch was going to win?  Yeah, I thought Fitch was going to win.  I said Fitch is going to wrestle-(expletive) him for three rounds and win the fight.”

Fitch did not win and now he will have to work to stage an even bigger comeback to see if he can reclaim a spot in the top ten of the welterweight division.

As for Fitch’s opponent, White knows Burkman very well having employed him for several years after his appearance on The Ultimate Fighter season two.  Whether that means Burkman will get the call to return to the UFC remains to be seen.

“I like Josh Burkman very much,” White stated.  “Another guy from season 2 of The Ultimate Fighter.  A great guy, has always been a good kid, and I’m happy for him.”

Check out more UFC coverage from official MMAWeekly.com content partner Bleacher Report and Damon Martin.

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Article source: http://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-president-dana-white-admits-he-was-wrong-about-jon-fitch

Courtesy of Damon Martin and official MMAWeekly.com content partner Bleacher Report.

UFC president Dana White has never been shy when talking about the mistakes made by certain referees and judges that can cost a fighter a win or loss, and potentially affect their long-term futures with the decisions they make.

The biggest axe that White has to grind on that subject comes by the way of referee Steve Mazzagatti, who he has repeatedly slammed for bad decision-making whenever he’s involved in a fight.

The latest infraction involving Mazzagatti didn’t even take place in White’s organization, but it didn’t stop him from seeing just how incompetent the referee can be in making calls during a fight.

The bout in question was the main event in the World Series of Fighting 3 card pitting former UFC welterweight title contender Jon Fitch against Josh Burkman. The fight ended when Burkman locked up a guillotine choke and Fitch went unconscious.  Before Mazzagatti even motioned to check the fighter’s condition, Burkman let go of the hold and was standing up over his opponent, who laid motionless on the canvas.

“Does anyone disagree with me that Mazzagatti’s a (expletive) toolbox?  I mean he literally did nothing,” White said about the referee’s performance on Friday night.  “Literally when (Fitch) goes limp, he goes limp, he’s out and then (Burkman) rolls him (expletive) over, lets his head (expletive) flop to the thing and then stands up over him.  He’s literally like this standing up over him before Mazzagatti even (expletive) gets in the picture.”

Mazzagatti is a mainstay in the referee pool used by the Nevada State Athletic Commission whenever fights come to the state.  The commission assigns the referees to each individual bout, and the promotion has no say in which referee works a particular fight.

White believes Mazzagatti’s continued incompetence is going to eventually get a fighter seriously hurt because he simply does not understand the sport.

“The Nevada State Athletic Commission is going to keep this (expletive) guy around until he seriously hurt somebody.  That guy is dangerous.  He’s dangerous,” White stated. “It’s disgusting.  At what point do you realize that this guy is an incompetent fool and he’s going to hurt somebody.

“I wonder what’s going to happen when somebody gets seriously hurt in a Mazzagatti fight.  What are they going to write it off to?  Anything can happen?  This is a combat sport and anything can happen? This guy is dangerous.”

The only problem that White sees with his continued outrage about Mazzagatti’s refereeing is the fact that whenever he screams the loudest, the Nevada commission quickly reacts by placing him as the referee in the biggest fight possible.

White chalks it up to the commission flexing their muscle, and not being willing to admit fault that Mazzagatti is just a terrible referee.

“They’ll make him the main event now. Now because I said this, the Nevada State Athletic Commission will give him the (Anderson) Silva fight (at UFC 162),” White said.  “It’s not corrupt when you talk about the Nevada State Athletic Commission and the fact that they keep doing this, it’s complete and total ego. Because I keep complaining, they will keep putting him front and center.”

The commission remains in charge of the referee assignments for each particular show, but fighters do have the right to complain if they do not want a certain person in charge of their fight. Unfortunately, the promotion does not have that same power, so it always comes down to the fighters and their willingness to take the battle to the commission.

At the end of the day, White says he has nothing personal against Mazzagatti because he doesn’t even know him, but his refereeing is atrocious and he believes he has no business inside the sport of MMA.

“The guy shouldn’t even be watching MMA on television, let alone (expletive) reffing it,” White said.

The UFC will return to Nevada in three weeks’ time for UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman, and it will be interesting to see if the commission will place Mazzagatti on the card, and how many fights he will be involved in that night.

Check out more UFC coverage from official MMAWeekly.com content partner Bleacher Report and Damon Martin.

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Article source: http://www.mmaweekly.com/dana-white-outraged-by-steve-mazzagattis-reffing-believes-hell-be-assigned-anderson-silva-fight

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Scott Holtzman seized the night at XFC 24 on Friday night at the Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla., capturing the vacant XFC lightweight title.

Holtzman had initially planned on facing XFC champion Nick Newell for the belt on Friday night, but that was before Newell declined the fight, was stripped of his title, and eventually exited the promotion, signing with the World Series of Fighting.

With Newell out of the picture, the XFC matched Holtzman up with John Mahlow for the vacant title, and Holtzman took full advantage of the moment.

Mahlow scored an early takedown, but as the fight wore on, Holtzman ramped up his takedown defense and a blistering offensive attack. He cut Mahlow with a spinning elbow, then took him down and ground and pounded in the opening round.

Holtzman kept the attack going in round two, grounding Mahlow again. He attempted a submission, but eventually finished the fight by unloading with punches until the referee called a halt to the bout.

XFC 24 Results

Main Bouts:
-Scott Holtzman def. John Mahlow by TKO (Strikes) at 2:53, R2
-Ricky Rainey def. Reggie Pena by TKO (Strikes) at 4:33, R1
-Luis Santos def. Dave Courchaine by TKO (Punches) at 0:10, R1
-Eric Reynolds def. Kevin Forant by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) at 4:13, R1
-Cortney Casey def. Kelly Warren by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:33, R1
-Shah Bobonis def. Deivison Ribeiro by Unanimous Decision, R3

Preliminary Bouts:
-John Cofer def. Chad Livingston by Unanimous Decision, R3
-Nick Smith def. Ladarious Jackson by DQ (Illegal Knee) at 2:38, R2, 2:38
-Patrick Williams def. Gabe Maldonado by TKO (Punches) at 0:50, R1, 0:50
-Jason Ignacek def. Ken Crowder by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 1:03, R2, 1:03
-Gilbert Burgos def. Jason Gladey by Unanimous Decision

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Article source: http://www.mmaweekly.com/xfc-24-results-scott-holtzman-makes-a-statement-captures-xfc-lightweight-title

The UFC 162: Silva vs. Weidman main card begins Saturday at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT with the preliminary bouts beginning at approximately 6:35 p.m. ET/3:35 p.m. PT. (Click on the fight link or graphic below for UFC 162 play-by-play or click here for UFC 162 quick results with no play-by-play.)

UFC 162 PRELIMINARY BOUTS

BOUT #1 - Mike Pierce vs. David Mitchell

BOUT #2 - Seth Baczynski vs. Brian Melancon

BOUT #3 - Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Dave Herman

BOUT #4 - Edson Barboza vs. Rafaello Oliveira

BOUT #5 - Norman Parke vs. Kazuki Tokudome

BOUT #6 - Chris Leben vs. Andrew Craig

BOUT #7 - Mark Munoz vs. Tim Boetsch

UFC 162 MAIN BOUTS

BOUT #8 - Cub Swanson vs. Dennis Siver

BOUT #9 - Chan Sung Jung vs. Ricardo Lamas

BOUT #10 - Tim Kennedy vs. Roger Gracie

BOUT #11 - Frankie Edgar vs. Charles Oliveira

BOUT #12 - Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman

UFC 162 Quick Results

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Article source: http://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-162-live-results-and-play-by-play