UFC 95: Feb-21-2009

[UkrainianGuy]

:ht


The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to London’s O2 Arena on Saturday , February 21st, and in the UFC 95 main event, it will be one of the most intriguing bouts of the New Year as exciting welterweight contender Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez makes his lightweight debut against former world title challenger Joe “Daddy” Stevenson. UK fans will also be treated to an all-star cast of the UFC’s finest international talent in pivotal bouts that can’t be missed.

on Spike TV




Fight Card:Joe Stevenson Vs. Diego Sanchez

[UkrainianGuy]

TROY MANDALONIZ VS. PAUL KELLY AT UFC 95
"The Ultimate Fighter" season six alum Troy "Rude Boy" Mandaloniz is packing on the pounds for his next fight.

The Hilo, Hawaii native will on Tuesday sign his bout agreement for a welterweight scrap with Paul Kelly at UFC 95 on Feb. 21 in London, England. Kelly is expected to sign his agreement in the coming days.

Though U.K. native Kelly has expressed a desire to fight at lightweight, it appears he is putting off the cut for now. The Wolfslair fighter went toe to toe with fellow Brit Paul Taylor at UFC 80 in an all out slugfest. In his last outing, Kelly suffered his first loss to Marcus Davis at UFC 89. Overall, Kelly carries a record of 7-1 in professional competition.

The 28 year-old Mandaloniz made his last appearance over a year ago at the season six finale of the reality show. There, he defeated fellow cast mate Richie Hightower in the first round with punches. He carries a professional record of 3-1 in professional competition.

[UkrainianGuy]

CHAEL SONNEN VS DEMIAN MAIA SIGNED FOR UFC 95

As UFC 95 in London starts to take shape, a pivotal middleweight bout between Chael Sonnen and Demian Maia has been inked for the event at the O2 Arena. It marks the UFC's first foray into England in 2009.

The announcement was made on Maia's personal website and confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by independent sources.

Since making his debut in the UFC, Maia has proven to be a force in the 185-pound division, reeling off four-straight wins over solid competition, including his most recent win over former "Ultimate Fighter" competitor Nate Quarry at UFC 91 in November.

His opposition, Chael Sonnen, will be making his official return to the UFC after a successful run in World Extreme Cagefighting. The promotion did away with its middleweight and light heavyweight divisions following its last event in 2008.

Sonnen's most recent fight was a dominating performance over former WEC champion Paulo Filho in November that saw the Team Quest member avenge a previous loss to the Brazilian in 2007.

The main event for UFC 95 was announced over the weekend as UFC President Dana White confirmed that Diego Sanchez would make his lightweight debut against Joe Stevenson in London.

[UkrainianGuy]

After a stunning performance in his last fight putting Yoshiyuki Yoshida away with a powerful knockout, Josh Koscheck is set to return to action at UFC 95 in London, England on Feb. 21 at the O2 Arena.

"Koscheck will be fighting on the London, England card and is looking forward to his opponent," said representatives of Zinkin Management to MMAWeekly.com on Monday.

No official bout agreements have been signed for the event, but it has been rumored that his opponent will be undefeated Brazilian prospect Paulo Thiago, who would be making his UFC debut at the event.

Since his time on the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter," Koscheck has built himself into one of the top fighters in the welterweight division.

Stepping up on short notice, Koscheck dropped a decision to Thiago Alves in October. Never one to back out of a commitment, he returned in December for an already scheduled bout and knocked out Yoshida in their headliner.

His potential opponent, Paulo Thiago, is a tough Brazilian fighter who has spent his career working primarily with the Jungle Fight promotion.

If the fight becomes official, it will surely be featured on the main card that also has a main event pitting Diego Sanchez in his first lightweight bout against Joe Stevenson.

[UkrainianGuy]

Spike TV heads across the pond for the fourth time to telecast a UFC fight card when “The Ultimate Fighter” champions Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez (Season 1), making his debut in the lightweight division, and Joe “Daddy” Stevenson (Season 2) meet in a bout which headlines the telecast live on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 9:00pm ET/PT (same-day tape delay) from the O2 Arena in London, England.

UFC 95’s co-features are pivotal bouts in the middleweight and welterweight divisions, as Wilson Gouveia and Nate Marquardt meet at 185 pounds, and Rory Markham and Dan Hardy collide inside the Octagon at 170 pounds.

On the undercard, Josh Koscheck will look to spoil the UFC debut of newcomer Paulo Thiago in welterweight action, and submission specialist Demian Maia will welcome Chael Sonnen back to the UFC’s middleweight division in Sonnen’s first bout since coming over from the WEC.

[UkrainianGuy]

JUSTIN MCCULLY VS NEIL GROVE CONFIRMED UFC 95

A heavyweight bout for UFC 95 in London has been confirmed as Justin McCully will make his return to the Octagon to face British fighter, and UFC newcomer, Neil Grove, on the undercard of the show.

The bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly Radio by McCully's agent, Ken Pavia, on Thursday night.

Currently sporting a 2-1 record in the UFC, McCully looks to keep the momentum from his last fight, a win over Eddie Sanchez, going and he has a tough test ahead with his opponent slated for the England show.

Neil Grove is a tough as nails British heavyweight that has spent the majority of the last two years of his career fighting for the Cage Rage promotion in England.

In his career, Grove has picked up big wins over fighters like James Thompson, James McSweeney, and two victories over Robert "Buzz" Berry.

The bout between McCully and Grove will not be a televised fight at this time.

UFC 95 takes place on Feb 21 in London, England and will be broadcast as a same day tape delay on Spike TV.

[deleteduser0001]

nothing on this card (or the last UK card) sets me on fire or makes me wanna watch.

[gordi]

Demian Maia vs. Chael Sonnen has a decent chance to be a hell of a fight. Sonnen is a great wrestler with no real jiu jitsu and Maia is a great ground fighter with superlative submission skills. Both can hit, both can take a punch, and both have great conditioning and stamina. With Maia's skills on the ground, there's no chance of Sonnen going into "lay 'n' pray" mode, he'll have to try to use his skills to keep it standing. I'm intrigued.

[evoke]

Junior dos Santos' stand up was really good. Hope to see more of him.