The UFC 146 card continues to take shape with the addition of several matches on Wednesday.
The Memorial Day weekend event will take place in its traditional home of Las Vegas, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 26.
Among the bouts announced is one including the arrival of unbeaten former Strikeforce heavyweight Shane Del Rosario, who hasn't fought since last February after suffering major injuries during an April 2011 car accident. Del Rosario (11-0) will face Gabriel Gonzaga (13-6).
In what will more than likely be a standup fight, Duane "Bang" Ludwig is slated to meet Dan Hardy at UFC 146 on May 26 in Las Vegas, the UFC confirmed Wednesday.
Two welterweights with weaknesses on the floor and a strong preference to keep the fight standing, Ludwig and Hardy are both looking to get back on the winning track after coming off submission losses to Josh Neer and Chris Lytle, respectively.
Superior Cage Combat middleweight champion Bristol Marunde has signed on to replace Derek Brunson against former titleholder Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza at next Saturday's Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey event.
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker confirmed the signing on Wednesday via Twitter.
Brunson was scratched from the contest after failing his pre-fight medicals by testing below the commission's minimum vision threshold without his contact lenses. Ohio Athletic Commission Executive Director Bernie Profato revealed that Brunson's vision is 20/400, which fails to meet the state standard of "uncorrected visual acuity."
A temporary suspension of Nick Diaz's fighter license was issued during a Wednesday meeting of the Nevada state athletic commission, stemming from the positive drug sample he produced during the weekend of UFC 143.
The suspension was requested by Nevada deputy attorney general Christopher Eccles, and unanimously approved by the commission until a follow-up disciplinary meeting can be scheduled. At that hearing, Diaz will have the opportunity to present a defense. He was not present at Wednesday's meeting.
TOKYO -- Just days ahead of his bout with Jake Shields at UFC 144, Yoshihiro Akiyama discusses how the Japanese fans will receive him, the arrival of a 'new Akiyama style', how he felt about the drop to welterweight and which leading Hollywood actor inspires his fashion choices.
Last summer, Fedor Emelianenko was in the midst of the worst stretch -- the only bad streak, really -- of his career. But the "Last Emperor" wasn't ready to retire, and now he's won two in a row.
He's likely to attempt to add his next victory to his fight ledger in June, according to M-1's global director of operations Evgeni Kogan, who told MMA Fighting that recent rumors of a concrete date and opponent are incorrect.
"We're working towards securing a Fedor fight in Monaco for the summer, sometime around the time when Formula One happens," he said. "Specifically, a little while afterwards."
TOKYO - Cheick Kongo talks about his last performance against Matt Mitrione, the changes at Wolfslair, his upcoming UFC 144 fight against Mark Hunt, why he would want to fight Frank Mir if he won this weekend and much more.
TOKYO -- Norifumi 'Kid' Yamamoto discusses his elation to be fighting for the UFC in Japan, preparing for his UFC 144 opponent Vaughan Lee, and why he believes he's had disappointing performances thus far in his UFC career in this exclusive interview.
Will Frankie Edgar successfully defend his lightweight title against the third man to challenge him? Or is Ben Henderson ready to become the new 155-pound champion of the world? Can Rampage Jackson notch his first win in Japan in six years? Or is Ryan Bader ready to pull off a career-reviving upset? Could Mark Hunt pull off a stunning third consecutive UFC victory? Or is Cheick Kongo set to end Hunt's winning streak?
I'll attempt to answer those questions and more as I predict the winners at UFC 144.
What: UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson
Where: Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan
When: Saturday, the Facebook preliminary starts at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, the four-fight FX card starts at 8 and the seven-fight pay-per-view card starts at 10.
Predictions on the seven pay-per-view fights below.
TOKYO -- Yushin Okami talks about his UFC 144 fight against Tim Boetsch, training with Chael Sonnen at Team Quest and bouncing back from a loss to middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Check out the one-on-one interview below.
TOKYO - Benson Henderson talks about being in the main event of UFC 144, his reception in Japan, possible holes in Frankie Edgar's game, if size will play a factor and more.
TOKYO -- Watch below as lightweight Takanori Gomi talks about his UFC 144 fight against Eiji Mitsuoka, his return to Japan, the rise and fall of Japanese MMA, the differences between Japanese and American MMA fans and his current losing streak.
In today's instant-access, Twitter-driven media sphere, it's relatively hard to keep a story under wraps. So when word dribbled out over the weekend that former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal was caught in a medical crisis, with an ACL tear and extreme bout of staph threatening his health to a point where amputation entered the conversation, it was alarming to say the least.
Now on the mend, King Mo adressed the rumors while recounting the chilling experience that changed his life. Catch up with Lawal's story, along with all the other MMA you may have missed on the Morning Report.
TOKYO -- Watch below as Jake Shields talks about his UFC 144 fight against Yoshihiro Akiyama, his return to Japan, why he doesn't regret fighting Jake Ellenberger immediately following the death of his father, how he is looking past his recent losing streak, and more.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
Scoreboard data copyright © 2012 by STATS LLC. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC is strictly prohibited.
OpenCalais - Powered by Thomson Reuters
•
Odds Shark 
