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Boxing has long been called the Theater of the Unexpected, but mixed martial arts can lay claim to that title as well, because with so many ways to win, there are also so many ways for big favorites to lose. As we hit the halfway point of 2013, here are the biggest upsets of the year thus far.5 – Kelvin Gastelum-Uriah HallUriah Hall was scary during season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter. So scary that many believed all the New Yorker needed to do was show up for his final bout against unheralded Kelvin Gastelum and pick up his UFC contract and trophy. Gastelum, a 21-year-old who fought against the ... Read the Full Article Here

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 ... Read the Full Article Here

And so it begins. With half of 2013 in the books, it’s time to recap the top fights, fighters and finishes of the year thus far, and what better place to begin than with those who entered the Octagon for the first time this year?5 - Conor McGregor If you could capture the “It” factor and bottle it, you would be a billionaire. Thus, explaining it can be difficult, but you still know it when you see it. Ireland’s Conor McGregor has that “It” factor and it was evident even before he made his UFC debut in April against Marcus Brimage. The question was, would he deliver on fight night? Did he ever, ... Read the Full Article Here

Former UFC® and PRIDE® champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (21-7, fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil) will meet controversial and charismatic light heavyweight contender Chael Sonnen (28-13-1, fighting out of West Linn, Ore.) on Saturday, August 17 at the TD Garden in Boston, Mass. The main event highlights an action-packed card that will serve as the inaugural live sports broadcast on the newly minted network, FOX SPORTS 1. “We’re finally coming back to Boston and we’re bringing the most stacked card in UFC history,” UFC President Dana White said. “In the main event, former UFC light heavyweight cha ... Read the Full Article Here

RESURRECTING RASHADIt wasn’t a highlight reel knockout or slick submission that got Rashad Evans back into the win column for the first time since January of 2012 on Saturday night. And though either of those options would have been nice, the best thing for the former light heavyweight champion’s career may have been the gritty, close three round split decision win he took against Dan Henderson in the main event of UFC 161. Against one of the sport’s true legends, and one who is still very dangerous, Evans had to dig deep, come back strong in the final round, and fight this one out on heart an ... Read the Full Article Here

Fighters typically sport an enviable pair of arms. You can develop a similar set of guns through a new regime of three-a-day training sessions based on the functional training concepts that guide many professional fighters.Andy Hennebelle, strength and conditioning coach at UFC Gym in Corona, California, designed the workout to be as taxing and unpredictable to the biceps and triceps as a fight is to the rest of the body. “Muscle growth is about challenging the muscle to adapt, so you need to put the body under enough strain that the volume in itself forces the body to adapt and grow,” H ... Read the Full Article Here

UFC lightweight Isaac Vallie-Flagg has had a rough time lately. An injury forced him out of his fight with Sam Stout and his dad is dealing with cancer. Ike obviously has a great relationship with his dad so, with Father's Day upon us, we gave him a chance to share a little about his about his dad and what kind of man he is, how he's doing and what he thinks of his son's career of trying to beat the snot out of other grown men inside the Octagon. He had no shortage of love and gratitude for the man that, biologically, isn't his father but in every other sense of what a father should be couldn' ... Read the Full Article Here

Seven fighters joined UFC® President Dana White at the UFC® 161 post-fight press conference - Rashad Evans, Dan Henderson, Roy Nelson, Stipe Miocic, James Krause, Alexis Davis, and Shawn Jordan.Jordan earned Knockout of the Night for his main card-opening win over Pat Barry. "The Savage" lived up to his moniker, blitzing Barry early in the first round to force a quick stoppage. The victory was the only knockout on the card.Krause had quite the UFC® debut, taking home both Fight of the Night and Submission of the Night bonuses for his three-round brawl with Sam Stout. After cutting St ... Read the Full Article Here

That’s right boys and girls, it’s time for the first ever Manitoban edition of the Downes Side! It’s been a long time coming and I’m sure you’ve all marked your calendars for the province’s premier summer event. Take that, Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival!With matchups of fan favorites meaning that someone's hero has to lose, there will be as many broken hearts once the UFC rolls into the MTS Centre in Winnipeg as there are among job-hunting theater majors. The main event of the night features two stars who have put on tremendous one-man shows over the years as “Suga” Rashad Evans and Dan Hend ... Read the Full Article Here

Lightweight James Krause spoiled the Canadian sweep in the UFC 161 prelims from Winnipeg, becoming the first man since 2006 to stop Sam Stout in a well-rounded performance that signaled his long-fought arrival in the UFC. Jake Shields vs. Tyron WoodleyPower wrestlers Tyron Woodley and Jake Shields played their heavy pressure game for fifteen minutes in the featured UFC 161 prelims, with Shields earning the split decision nod for his attempts to fight in his continued run at welterweight.For all three rounds, and Shields played offense with jabs and leg kicks, then went for takedowns (18 in tot ... Read the Full Article Here

Winnipeg fans in the MTS Centre witnessed a mixed bag of performances from beloved UFC veterans on Saturday night, as main eventers Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson waged a careful war while heavyweights Pat Barry and Roy Nelson were outshined by up-and-comers Shawn Jordan and Pat Barry, respectively.Rashad Evans vs. Dan HendersonAfter disappointing losses in their last outings, former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans and former Strikeforce and PRIDE champion Dan Henderson clashed in a return for glory in the main event of UFC 161. It was a back-and-forth, measured bout but Evans’ con ... Read the Full Article Here

"Suga" Rashad EvansPositive: Classic "sweet science" nod for a fast and powerful puncher Negative: Misspellings are nothing to joke aboutOverall awesomeness score: 77Dan "Hendo" HendersonPositive: Fun to say and everything about Henderson is naturally badass; has inspired a second generation of fighter nicknames in "Bendo."  Negative: What happened to “Hollywood” Henderson or “Dangerous” Dan?Overall awesomeness score: 88Roy "Big Country" NelsonPositive: One-punch knockout artist with a mullet-- what else are you going to call him? (He says training partners gave him the name because of hi ... Read the Full Article Here

All that matters is this fight.The last fight is history, and what comes next is completely unknown, so heading into UFC 161, all Rashad Evans is thinking about are Dan Henderson and the task at hand.That’s a very different mindset and set of circumstances than what the former Ultimate Fighter winner and UFC light heavyweight champion has usually encountered during fight week.A fixture at or near the top of the 205-pound weight class for the better part of the last five years, each of Evans’ last 10 or 11 fights have been accompanied by championship implications and one eye on the future. For ... Read the Full Article Here

The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) confirmed today the next international installment of its famed reality show will feature two leading Commonwealth mixed martial arts countries, as Canada meets Australia in The Ultimate Fighter® Nations. Series veterans Patrick Côté (20-8) and Kyle Noke (20-6-1) were officially named coaches of the 22nd edition of the show, which will feature welterweight (170lbs) prospects. UFC President Dana White's exclusive announcement: http://on.ufc.com/177w0svA nine-year veteran of the UFC, Côté first appeared on the reality series in 2006 when he joined a cas ... Read the Full Article Here

UFC 161, which is headlined by the light heavyweight bout between Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson, and the heavyweight bout between Roy Nelson and Stipe Miocic, airs live on Pay-Per-View from the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada at 10pm ET / 7pm PT. Four prelim bouts will air live on FX at 8pm ET / 5pm PT, and fans who “like” the UFC on Facebook can also see two additional prelim bouts at 7pm ET / 4pm PT.MAIN EVENT Dan Henderson (204) VS Rashad Evans (206)PPV MAIN CARDStipe Miocic (243) VS Roy Nelson (260)Igor Pokrajac (206) VS Ryan Jimmo (206)Rosi Sexton (135.5) VS Alexis Davis (134)Sh ... Read the Full Article Here

UFC 161: Evans vs HendersonPress conference?!  https://vine.co/v/blFuLaQuFqE  -Rashad Evans ‏Getting in a lil night sweat with my team #ufc161 #canada #winnipeg #believeinhendo pic.twitter.com/EiuzxxJShF  -Dan Henderson ‏GUY RUNS UP TO ME IN THE LOBBY AND SAYS "SHAWN CAN I PLEASE HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH" I SAID ABSOLUTELY, THEN SPELLED IT WRONG!!! @savageshawn -Pat Barry ‏Is it Saturday yet? #UFC161  -Stipe Miocic ‏Going to work, headed to Canada #UFC 160 http://fb.me/1IQ52lkMe  -Roy Nelson ‏With Roy and Gil http://instagram.com/p/aeRtqlIoAI/  -Jake Shields ‏@smiocic ... Read the Full Article Here

As far as Dan Henderson is concerned, the sooner everyone forgets his UFC 157 split decision loss to Lyoto Machida in February, the better. It is a constant reminder though, even as he gets ready for a UFC 161 main event clash with Rashad Evans in Winnipeg.“Why is everybody always talking about that fight?” said Henderson of the Machida bout. “I thought I’m promoting Rashad Evans.”He is, but after three rounds of less than scintillating action against “The Dragon” warning flags went up that a) Hendo wasn’t fully recovered from the knee injury that scrapped his UFC 151 title fight with Jon Jone ... Read the Full Article Here

A teacher teaches. It’s ingrained in them to open our eyes to a realm of new possibilities with knowledge they have previously acquired. Whether it is the quadratic equation in algebra, the capital city of Burundi in world geography, making an S curve with a band saw in woodshop, or it could be a fascinating kneebar submission inside the Octagon.In Brock Jardine’s case, the lesson was the latter as UFC welterweight and full-time high school teacher Kenny Robertson taught a valuable exercise in minding where one’s feet are when tripoding up to shake off an opponent. “I wrestled all through coll ... Read the Full Article Here

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon "Bones" Jones will defend his title against #2-ranked Swedish contender Alexander "The Mauler" Gustafsson at UFC 165 in Toronto, Canada on September 21.The bout will be Jones' third title defense in Toronto; he also defeated Lyoto Machida at UFC 140 in December of 2011 and Vitor Belfort at UFC 152 last September in the Canadian city.The bout has been building heat on Twitter with Gustafsson first tweeting "Its on @JonnyBones cant wait to get in that cage with YOU!!!" and Jones responding "Fighting me is not good for your image @AlexTheMauler FYI".The two also ... Read the Full Article Here

UFC RETURNS TO MILWAUKEE AS BENSON HENDERSON DEFENDS LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE AGAINST TJ GRANT AT UFC 164® HARLEY-DAVIDSON HOMETOWN THROWDOWN AUG. 31 http://www.ufc.com/event/UFC164#/fightPlus: FRANK MIR vs. JOSH BARNETTTICKETS FOR UFC® 164 HARLEY-DAVIDSON HOMETOWN THROWDOWN: HENDERSON vs. GRANT AT BMO HARRIS BRADLEY CENTER ON SALE FRIDAY, JUNE 21Las Vegas, Nev. – The legendary Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC) Octagon® is set to ride into Milwaukee’s BMO Harris Bradley Center for the Harley-Davidson 110th Anniversary celebration, giving fans of the two all-American heavyweight brands an opportun ... Read the Full Article Here