MMA Coverage

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive

UFC president Dana White saw Kenny Florian's loss to Gray Maynard at UFC 118 on Saturday night as yet another sign that Florian cracks under the pressure of the big fights, falling short just as he's about to reach the top.

But to hear Florian tell it, the defeat was far more physical than mental.

"I take what Dana said as a compliment because I think he really believes in my skills as a fighter," Florian told MMA Fighting via email Monday morning. "I was capable of winning the fight but I would have to have fought a very boring fight. I felt great mentally & physically. I have more work to do on my wrestling & have already made the arrangements to become much better in that area of my game."

It's not the first time White has taken aim at Florian's mental game. After his loss to B.J. Penn at UFC 101, White accussed Florian of being less aggressive in title fights, suggesting he had some sort of "mental block" when a belt was on the line.

Tags: Kenny Florian, MMA News by Ben Fowlkes
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Filed under: UFC, News

Nate Diaz absolutely brutalized Marcus Davis Saturday night at UFC 118, using his striking to turn Davis's face into a mess in the first two rounds before choking Davis into unconsciousness in the third.

"I feel good," Diaz said afterward. "I think I broke my hand in the second round."

But while Diaz may have suffered a broken bone, it was Davis who really suffered in the fight.

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Tags: MMA News, Nate Diaz by Michael David Smith
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Filed under: UFC

Gray Maynard became the UFC's No. 1 lightweight contender Saturday at UFC 118, but he wasn't very exciting in the process.

Maynard beat Kenny Florian by unanimous decision, staying undefeated in his professional MMA career and controlling the fight with a wrestling style that is brutally effective but not particularly entertaining to the fans.

"I'd love to come back here and have you guys cheer for me some time," Maynard said as the fans booed him at the end of a fairly boring fight.

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Tags: Kenny Florian, MMA News by Michael David Smith
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Filed under: UFC

Demian Maia returned to the Octagon for the first time since being humiliated by Anderson Silva in April, defeating Mario Miranda by unanimous decision at UFC 118.

It wasn't a pretty fight, but it was a fight that Maia won handily, winning all three rounds on all three judges' cards.

Early in the fight Maia took Miranda to the ground and proceeded to methodically advance his position and get Miranda's back. Maia is one of the best Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioners in the world, and it seemed just a matter of time before Maia would win by submission. But Miranda did a nice job of wriggling free and standing back up after a couple minutes of Maia controlling him. The rest of the round was fought standing up without either fighter doing much damage, but Maia clearly won the round because he controlled the action on the ground.

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Tags: Demian Maia, MMA News by Michael David Smith
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Filed under: UFC

The 41-year-old former boxing world champion James Toney made his mixed martial arts debut Saturday night at UFC 118. It did not go well.

UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture easily beat Toney by first-round submission, confirming what everyone suspected: In a mixed martial arts match, a good mixed martial artist will beat a past-his-prime boxer.

"This was exactly what I trained to do," Couture said.

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Tags: MMA News, Randy Couture by Michael David Smith
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Filed under: UFC, News

When Frankie Edgar beat B.J. Penn in April to win the UFC lightweight title, many fans thought it was a fluke. But Edgar did it again on Saturday at UFC 118, winning another unanimous decision and showing without a doubt that he's the best lightweight in mixed martial arts.

This time around it wasn't even close, with Edgar winning all five rounds on all three judges' cards.

"I want to thank B.J.," Edgar said afterward. "He brought the best out of me.".

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Tags: B.J. Penn, MMA News by Michael David Smith
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Filed under: UFC, Videos

UFC President Dana White and select fighters will meet the press late Saturday night for the UFC 118 post-fight press conference, and we'll have the video right here at MMAFighting.com.

The post-fight press conference will be an opportunity to find out who the winners of the Fight of the Night, Knockout of the Night and Submission of the Night Bonuses are, as well as to see how the fighters are looking after their battles inside the Octagon.

The post-fight press conference will begin about half an hour after the main event concludes, and the video is below.

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Tags: Dana White, MMA News by Michael David Smith
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Filed under: UFC, News

Joe Lauzon, Nate Diaz and Marcus Davis each pocketed a $60,000 performance-based bonus at Saturday's UFC 118 in Boston, Mass.

Lauzon, a Boston native, spoiled Gabe Ruediger's return by dominating Ruediger before tapping him out with an armbar. Lauzon won the Submission of the Night. Lauzon has now won a post-fight award in each of his last three fights and the armbar was Lauzon's third career Submission of the Night.

Diaz and Davis threw down for nearly three rounds until Diaz rendered Davis unconscious with a choke. No stranger to post-fight awards, the two shared the honor for Fight of the Night. It was Diaz's fourth and Davis' third Fight of the Night award.

UFC 118 saw five submissions and five decisions -- and no knockouts.

Tags: MMA News, Nate Diaz by Ray Hui
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Filed under: UFC, News

BOSTON -- On the night that multi-time boxing champion James Toney made his mixed martial arts debut with the intention of showing that boxing is the most effective combat style, it was ironic that there was not a single knockout recorded. Instead, it seemed that subconciously, the athletes of the UFC were intent on showing Toney how varied and effective other forms of fighting could be.

Toney was on the receiving end of the fifth and final submission of UFC 118, losing to Randy Couture in a one-sided fight that will be his first and last foray in the UFC, according to company president Dana White. When asked if he would stick to his pre-fight promise of only a single fight for Toney if he lost, White said yes.

"He's the IBA and NABO heavyweight champion. He's a boxer and that's what he does," White said. "He wanted to fight, he picked a fight with our guys and he fought tonight. He's a tough guy, he's been around. I have a lot of respect for him, but you can't expect a guy to come in with one discipline and do well. He stepped up, he came in and did it. He picked a fight and he got one."

Tags: MMA News, Randy Couture by Mike Chiappetta
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Filed under: MMA Videos, UFC, Videos

BOSTON -- Randy Couture met with the press following his dominant win over James Toney Saturday night at UFC 118.

Couture talked about why the fight played out exactly like he thought, why he has no interest in boxing Toney and whether he believes the MMA vs. boxing debate is over.

Check out the highlight video of the press conference below.

Tags: MMA News, Randy Couture by Ariel Helwani
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