Recently in UFC 99 Category

After UFC 99, Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic drew the ire of the MMA community when he announced he was leaving the UFC, although it had been reported he was supposed to fight several more times there. Most speculated he was jumping back to DREAm, the Japanese promotion he had fought under after leaving the UFC the first time. here's an exclusive from Robert K from Big Odds Mike who translated an article from the Croatian site index.hr.

Exclusive UFC owner visiting Cro Cop in Croatia

Index understands that Lorenzo Fertitta, the head honcho and part owner of the UFC flew to Zagreb with his own private jet earlier this morning. He was driven to Mirko's residents shortly after, where he stayed for two hours talking with the Croatian fighter. He returned to the airport afterwards, smiling, where his private jet flew off in to an unknown destination.

Nice shot. Wanderlei has asked for a rematch and I'd like to see it - at 205. Looks like it won't happen, since Dana White wants Franklin to take a run at the LHW title and Wandy to drop down to 185. ... Hey, here's another one: how about Silva vs. Liddell II? Man, that first one was a war. We'll see what's next for both fighters - I'll keep you updated.

Here's the description written on his youtube channel: "The Fight Camp" is a Documentary Feature Film about the legendary, mixed martial arts fighter Wanderlei Silva, preparing for the greatest fight of his career in the UFC. Motivated by his loyal fans from around the world, and with the heavy burden of his last career loss, Wanderlei Silva like a true champion, overcomes all obstacles, to push forward through the toughest fight camp of his life.

by Kevin Iole, mmajunkie.com:
COLOGNE, Germany - Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic's return to the UFC was a short one.

Not long after stopping Mostapha Al-Turk in the first round of UFC 99 on Saturday at Lanxess Arena in his first fight in the UFC since back-to-back losses in 2007, Filipovic informed UFC president Dana White that he had signed a three-fight contract with the Japanese-based DREAM organization.

White had signed Filipovic less than a month ago to a one-fight deal, the first time in more than nine years that he'd done that. He had worked out terms on two additional fights, but said he'd only put pen to paper for Saturday's bout.

To see the fight, click the red circle with the arrow in it, then click the green circle with the arrow in it. The video should play.

OFFICIAL RESULTS from mmajunkie.com:

Rich Franklin def. Wanderlei Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Cain Velasquez def. Cheick Kongo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic def. Mustapha Al-Turk via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 3:47
Mike Swick def. Ben Saunders via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 3:47
Spencer Fisher def. Caol Uno via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Dan Hardy def. Marcus Davis via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Terry Etim def. Justin Buchholz via submission (D'Arce choke) -- Round 2
Denis Siver def. Dale Hartt via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1
Paul Taylor def. Peter Sobotta by unanimous decision
Paul Kelly def. Roli Delgado via unanimous decision
Stefan Struve def. Denis Stojnic via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 2:37
John Hathaway def. Rick Story via unanimous decision

From Jake Rossen's live blog of the Mike Swick-Ben saunders fight, as the two are on the ground:
"Are you going to hold me all night?" Swick asks. "We can stand back up, b-tch," Saunders responds. Actual exchange.

Swick won in the second round by TKO.

From what I understand, during the UFC 99 Countdown show for the Marcus Davis- Dan Hardy fight, Hardy made a joke about how crappy Davis' Web site looked, and Rogan laughed. Not only that, but Hardy trains at Eddie Bravo's 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu, where Rogan trains (Rogan and Bravo are good friends).

Just watched the weigh-ins for UFC 99: The Comeback, and since I can't find a video that will allow me to pirate it and put it up here, I'll give you the highlights:

Couple of shoving matches in the undercard. Denis Stojnic and Stefan "The Skyscraper" Struve squared up and got really, really close. Stojnic - maybe feeling a little bit uncomfortable at that point - pushed Struve, which prompted Joe Rogan to say, "First I thought they were gonna make-out, then a fight breaks out."

Then we had Roli Delgado and Paul Kelly. Joe Rogan said Delgado had an "epic beard" and called him the "Crazy Jew-ban" which I'm guessing is a reference to his mixed heritage. Anyway, it was Delgado with a push on Kelly after the two went forehead-to-forehead.

The crowd gave its biggets pop for the return of Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, who is fighting Mostapha Al-Turk. It'll be very interetsing to see if Cro Cop can channel some of that left high kick magic from days gone by.

Marcus Davis, who has engaged in a pre-fight war of words with Dan Hardy, looked to be in his best shape ever. I guess he really was motivated for this fight, having said he spends a considerable amount fo time each day thinking about how much he hates Hardy. We'll see if his condition plays a role tomorrow. Surprisingly, the two had an uneventful stare-down.

In another version of the ol' grappler vs. striker match-up, French kickboxer Cheick Kongo and collegiate wrestling sensation Cain Velasquez weighed in and squared off. Kongo stuck his face in Velasquez's, but unlike when he squared off with Al-Turk, he didn't jab his head in there like he was gonna head-butt him. Maybe it was something in Velasquez's eyes, although I don't know if that's going to prevent Kongo from throwing his patented nut-shots. Let's hope Cain is ready.

Finally, Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin weighed in. Silva was very tight, Franklin looked about the same. I truly believe this fight could go either way. People talk about how Silva is old, but Franklin is about two years older than him. Silva has more losses, and has been knocked a few times, but Franklin was destroyed by Anderson Silva twice and knocked out by Lyoto Machida a while back. We'll see. I like both fighters, so it sucks they have to fight, because someone's gonna lose.

By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

Mirko Filipovic joined the UFC two years ago amid more hype and expectation than perhaps any fighter in mixed martial arts history - and Cro Cop flopped.
After three desultory fights forced Filipovic into a yearlong retreat for mental adjustments and knee surgery, he returns to the octagon at UFC 99 on Saturday night in Cologne, Germany, against Mostapha Al Turk. The former anti-terrorist policeman in his native Croatia should have plenty of countrymen cheering the start of his second run toward the UFC heavyweight title.

After a heartfelt message to all his fans, Wand gets back to the snorkel training at about 4:30 in this video.

According to Jerod Phillips, owner of Hanover-based MMA fightwear company Tap or Sleep, York County pro Biff Walizer was at York Mixed Martial Arts Academy in Red Lion, to get some training in with George McGinnis and his crew.

Although Biff is still managed by LionHeart Fighters, it just doesn't make sense for him to travel up to State College on a semi-regular basis. George is a legitimate teacher in BJJ and his academy is very close to where Biff lives.

George has also hooked up with Bob Bitner from Hanover Academy of Mixed Martial Arts to do some training between the two camps. The partnership of sorts is mutually beneficial: Bitner, who comes from a striking background, gets his fighters exposed to an advanced ground game. McGinnis, whose focus is the ground, gets striking experience for his fighters.

Also in Red Lion, Mark Jovich brought his fight team from his traditional martial arts school in New Cumberland, to MACE. There, Jovich's fighters have integrated with James Olewiler's fighters to create what I can only think will be a formidable fight team.

In addition, I have heard that quite a few people from various academies in the area are going to Academy of the Combative Arts to see BJJ 2nd degree black Daniel Beleza.

All of this cross-training makes sense. It fosters a sense of camaraderie among the fighters, trainers and academy owners in the area, and it pushes fighters to be at their best and develop a willingness to learn something new, or something old in a new way.

I think it's a good idea. Wanderlei, who's coming off a loss to Rampage, is moving down to middleweight and has a main event fight against Rich Franklin at the next UFC, which is 99, in Germany.

McFedries, who's been hot and cold in his UFC career, just absolutely destroyed Xavier Foupa-Pokam at UFC 98.

Both of these guys - Wanderlei and McFedries only know one thing - push forward and bang. It would be an all-out war until someone drops.

here's wanderlei's latest video, Knockout Secrets

McFedries vs. Foupa-Pokam FOR THIS VIDEO, JUST ENTER THIS SEQUENCE, 73433, IN THE BOX AND THEN CLICK THE BENT ARROW TO THE RIGHT. THE VIDEO SHOULD PLAY.

from mirko's Web site:

These days the boys from Cro Cop team are training in full force. After a long break and highly demanding recovery process, Mirko Cro Cop is ready to fight in MMA again.

All problems with injuries are history and Cro Cop is very optimistic to start another chapter in his career:
"I feel great, the recovery process is going well and we train at high intensity now. I never had such a strong desire to prove myself and I'll climb up again, or die trying."

Mirko's next fight is set for June 13th in Germany, which means that he's back in the UFC, a place that he didn't have his best moments:
"I decided to fight in the UFC again, because of the stronger competition in the heavyweight division. My next opponent will be Mustapha Al-Turk. I didn't do well in my first three appearances - I wasn't myself. By returning to the cage I want to prove that I can still fight at highest level, no matter when or where," he said.

UFC 99 will be Cro Cop's first fight this year with the possibility of three fights coming by years end.
"It's hard to talk about concrete plans, but I would really like to fight at least three times this year. I wish to fight against quality opponents and to fight my way up to a title shot but for now, I'll focus only on my next fight and after that we'll see what's going to be on the menu next," says Cro Cop.
Although the UFC 99 card looks stacked, it seems that the UFC officials can see the benefits of hiring a top European fighter for their first ever UFC show in Germany.

"I want to say thank you Mr. Dana White for your interest and for an invitation back to the UFC. I owe you a lot from our first deal, and I'll make it up to you," promises Cro Cop.

All news related to Mirko Cro Cop's career are posted on Mirko's official MMA-ID profile on http://www.mma-id.com/CROCOP and Mirko's official homepage http://www.mirko-crocop.com.

Yours truly,
The CROCOP Team

Former friends, now enemies: W. Silva and A. Silva

from Fighters Only:
Wanderlei Silva has told Anderson Silva to put his money where is mouth is ahead of his UFC 99 fight with Rich Franklin.

The two Silvas have had a war of words outside the Octagon since Anderson stated his thoughts about Wanderlei dropping to the 185lbs category on Sensei SporTV, calling the move "pretentious". Since then both have created a tough environment and speculation about a match has grown as they fire verbally at one another.

The latest episode of the series was the announcement of an Anderson Silva/Rich Franklin camp ahead of Franklin's fight with Wanderlei at UFC 99.

The Axe Murderer today shot back: "If Anderson believes in Franklin so much, bet U$ 50,000 and let's see who takes the money".

New video just posted of Wanderlei Silva being put through a gauntlet by trainer Rafael Alejarra in preparation for his UFC 99 fight with Rich Franklin.

Robert K of free fight videos passed along this account of UFC 99 press conference in Germany:
Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta and leading German concert promoter Marek Lieberberg were all part of the UFC 99 press conference in the city of Cologne in preparation for the first ever UFC event in Germany. Randy Couture, Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva rounded out the UFC contingent present at the Lanxess Arena.

"UFC 99: The Comeback" will be headlined by catch weight bout between Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva. The card will take place at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne on Saturday, June 13. Also set participate are Cain Velasquez, Heath Herring, Caol Uno, Spencer Fisher and Ben Saunders. Mirko Cro Cop has indicated that he is a possibility for the event however his name was not mentioned during the press conference.

The media coverage was surprisingly big. Every major media outlet was present for this historic moment. .

Randy Couture alongside German fighters Dennis Siver and Peter Sobotta conducted a brief MMA 101 class for the German press. Couture's knowledge of the German language came in handy throughout. The former heavyweight champion later conducted several interviews with German TV and print media.

from mmaweekly.com:
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is set to make its German debut on June 13 at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne. While several fights have been rumored for the event over the past couple of months, most have not come to fruition.

MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday, however, was able to confirm through multiple independent sources that former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin and former Pride 205-pound champion Wanderlei Silva have agreed to fight each other at UFC 99.

Franklin has fought his last two bouts at light heavyweight, returning to the division after running into a brick wall named Anderson Silva at middleweight. Even though Wanderlei Silva's fights in the UFC have all been at 205-pounds to this point, he has made public his intention of wanting to move down to the 185-pound division.