Johnny Rees (10-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has agreed to replace Luke Cummo and will fight Steve Bruno (11-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at the Dec. 10 "UFC Fight Night 16: UFC Fights For the Troops" event.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) learned of the change over the weekend from a source close to Rees. The bout was first reported by fiveouncesofpain.com.
The fight is expected to be finalized this week.
UFC Fight Night 16, which airs live on Spike TV and serves as a fundraiser for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, takes place in conjunction with the Fort Bragg military institution in North Carolina.
The reason for Cummo's departure for the card wasn't immediately known.
His replacement, Rees, was one of many newcomers who debuted with the UFC after the organization put together a July 19 'UFC: Silva vs. Irvin" card to counter Affliction Entertainment's debut pay-per-view event. Rees, who began his career with 10 consecutive victory fighting for the Indiana-based Legends of Fighting (where he was the organization's welterweight champ), suffered a first-round submission loss (via triangle choke) to fellow UFC rookie Nate Loughran in his UFC debut.
All of Rees' 10 victories have come via stoppage -- eight via submission.
Saturday's "EliteXC: Heat" broadcast, which aired on CBS live from the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., drew 4.3 million viewers, according to early ratings information available to CBS executives.
The numbers were similar to the first "Saturday Night Fights" broadcast in May, which drew a solid average audience of 4.85 million viewers, and they were up sharply from the second EliteXC-CBS broadcast in July, which flopped with approximately 2.6 million viewers.
These latest numbers do not include the final 20 minutes of the "Heat" broadcast (the event ran past its two-hour timeslot), so the numbers should increase slightly when the night's main event is factored in.
However, despite the solid rebound in ratings, the latest "Saturday Night Fights" installment finished behind ABC's college football offerings, FOX's latest episode of "America's Most Wanted," and NBC's repeat of a "Law & Order: SVU" episode.
Full ratings for the event will be available on Tuesday.
"EliteXC: Heat" featured late replacement Seth Petruzelli's 14-second TKO upset of Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson, as well as victories for EliteXC welterweight champ Jake Shields, Andrei Arlovski (in a featured Affliction bout), top female star Gina Carano and Benji Radach.
In the middle of all the EliteXC post-fight hubbub, Shooto’s “Shooting Disco 6′ took place earlier today at Shinyuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan.
In the main event, bantamweight fighter Ryuichi Miki scored a majority decision win by dominating his opponent Jin Akimoto in all three rounds. Akimoto hasn’t won a fight in the last 6 years, when he submitted Alfonso Alcarez via kneebar back at Shooto Treasure Hunt 6 in 2002.
Akimoto is in his late thirties and may be at a career crossroads after this latest defeat.
Daiji Takahashi had to settle for a draw against Seiji Otsuka. Takashi was coming off a two-year layoff and a four-fight losing streak. No question both fighters were disappointed with the outcome of the fight.
Taiki Tsuchiya had a highlight-reel stoppage over Daisuke Matsumoto with just three seconds left in the first round. After a dropping him with a right, he finished Matsumoto with some devastating shots on the ground to secure the victory.
Nothing like waiting until the last second.
Another fight ended in the first round when Takeshi Sato managed to get a submission win over Nozomi Otsuka via rear-naked choke. This was just his second fight and first win ever, having fought to a draw in his debut at Kingdom of Grapple 2007 against Hikaru Sato.
Guy Delameau made his debut a successful one against fellow rookie Hisaki Hiraishi. Delameau scored a unanimous decision win with a strong combination of knees and punches.
In the Rookie Tournament Semifinals, Kosuke Eda put a stop to rising star Haruo Ochi with a unanimous decision victory. Mikiyomi Yamagami on the other hand wasn’t leaving anything to the judges after brutally knocking out Yusuke Sato a mere 18 seconds into round two. An impressive win for just his second fight in mixed martial arts.
Here are the Shooting Disco 6 complete results:
Ryuichi Miki (7-2-3) defeated Jin Akimoto (10-12-4) via majority decision Taisuke Okuno (6-2-1) defeated Yoichiro Sato (1-1-1) via unanimous decision Daiji Takahashi (6-10-3) battled Seiji Otsuka (8-8-5) to a draw Sakae Kasuya (4-3-3) defeated Hidenori Nishino (1-3-1) via unanimous decision Ayumu Shioda (4-6) defeated Kenji Hosoya (2-4) via unanimous decision Taiki Tsuchiya (2-1) defeated Daisuke Matsumoto (3-5) via TKO (4:57-R1) Takeshi Sato (1-0-1) defeated Nozomi Otsuka (1-1) by rear-naked choke (2:41-R1) Guy Delameau (1-0) defeated Hisaki Hiraishi (0-1) via unanimous decision
Bantamweight Rookie Tournament Semifinal Mikiyomi Yamagami (2-0) defeated Yusuke Sato (1-1) by KO (0:18-R2)
Cage Rage Ross “The Boss” Mason was taken to intensive care on Friday after suffering serious head injuries. According to Cage Warriors head Ian Dean, Mason initially died while rushed to the Alexandra Hospital but was resuscitated at the hospital, where he’s been in the ICU as of Sunday afternoon. Investigations are underway as to why Mason was left with serious head injuries on the street.
A collision course can be drawn in relatively little time.
Such is the lesson taught by EliteXC female stars Gina Carano (7-0) and Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos (6-1). The reigning "Face of Women's MMA" has been headed toward a showdown with the feared Brazilian striker since Cyborg's July EliteXC debut.
After both women were victorious at Saturday night's "EliteXC: Heat," EliteXC Director of Fight Operations Jeremy Lappen said the time is quickly approaching.
"I know it's a fight they both want," Lappen said in the post-fight press conference. "We've talked about early next year -- February, March-ish."
Lappen said the scale of the bout could reach heights never-before imagined in relation to women's MMA.
"That's a fight that the fans want to see," Lappen said. "I think it's going to be the biggest fight obviously in female MMA history. I think it will be one of the biggest fights in MMA history. I just think there's that kind of buzz about that fight. So we're extremely excited about putting it on."
Cyborg first came to prominence at her July EliteXC debut in Stockton, Calif. A relative unknown at the time, the Brazilian phenom initially made waves with her chiseled physique at the event's official weigh-ins. Cyborg sported a game to match her frame when she attacked opponent Shayna Baszler with reckless abandon en route to a second-round knockout.
Saying there’s few fights at 170 pounds after his submission of Paul Daley, EliteXC welterweight ace Jake Shields told Sherdog.com’s Greg Savage he like to move up in weight to face Robbie Lawler
Seth Petruzelli, a last-minute replacement for an injured Ken Shamrock, knocked out Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson just 14-seconds into their main event matchup at EliteXC “Heat” on Saturday night at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida.
Shamrock, who was to meet Slice in the “Heat” main event, was forced to withdraw from the matchup after suffering a cut over his left eye earlier in the day. EliteXC ultimately tapped UFC veteran Seth Petruzelli, who was to fight Aaron Rosa in a light heavyweight bout on the event’s preliminary card, to replace Shamrock in the main event against Slice.
Slice closed the distance at the opening bell but Petruzelli connected first with a right that rocked Slice and sent him to the canvas. Slice attempted to recover from the blow but Petruzelli reigned down punches to force the referee to intervene just 14-seconds into the opening round. The upset loss capped off EliteXC’s third “Saturday Night Fights” event on CBS.
OFFICIAL ELITEXC “HEAT” RESULTS
Seth Petruzelli def. Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 0:14
Jake Shields (c) def. Paul Daley via submission (armbar) - Round 2, 3:47 EliteXC Welterweight Championship
Andrei Arlovski def. Roy Nelson via KO (punch) - Round 2, 3:14
Gina Carano def. Kelly Kobold via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Benji Radach def. Murilo “Ninja” Rua via KO (strikes) - Round 2, 2:31
Welterweight Luke Cummo has been forced to pull out of a planned Dec. 10 bout vs. Steve Bruno during UFC Fight Night 16: “UFC Fights for the Troops” in Fayetteville, North Carolina due to injury.
FiveOuncesOfPain.com learned of the development from a source close to one of the fighters last night. The source went on to add that Cummo’s spot on the show will be filled by Johnny Rees.
Rees, 10-1, made his UFC debut during UFC Fight Night 14 this past July, losing to fellow newcomer Nate Loughran due to a first round submission following a guillotine choke.
Bruno, 11-4, trains out of American Top Team in Florida and is coming off a loss in his UFC debut at UFC 87. Facing Chris Wilson, Bruno lost a unanimous decision.
In addition to fighting for the UFC, Bruno has also competed in the IFL and in South Korea’s SpiritMC, where he knocked out Jae Suk Lim at SpiritMC 11 in April of 2007.
UFN 16 will be a three-hour telecast on SpikeTV and is expected to be headlined by matches featuring Mike Swick vs. Jonathan Goulet, Brian Stann vs. Steve Cantwell, and Frankie Edgar vs. Matt Wiman
The legend of Kimbo Slice came crashing down in just :14 seconds as late replacement, Seth Petruzelli, finished off the internet sensation in stunning fashion with a barrage of punches just after the opening bell sounded.
After original opponent, Ken Shamrock, had to step out of the bout with a cut over his left eye, Seth Petruzelli stepped out of his scheduled preliminary fight against Aaron Rosa and made it to the main event against Kimbo.
As soon as the fight started, Kimbo strutted across the cage as confident as ever trying to stalk his prey, but instead of landing a big shot he was greeted by a short right hand from Petruzelli that put him down on the ground.
Recognizing that Kimbo was hurt, Petruzelli immediately jumped in with a few more punches forcing his opponent to role over where he proceeded to continue the assault.
As Kimbo’s arms and legs seem to go limp, the referee stepped in between the two fighters and Seth Petruzelli was declared the winner of the biggest fight of his career that he took on essentially 2 hours notice.
“It was an opportunity for me to step up,” Petruzelli said following the win. “I took a year off, started my own business, but it was a chance for me to get my name back out there and do what I had to do. My skill, it’s what I’ve been doing since I was a little kid, this is what I always wanted to do my whole life.”
Never one to back away from a verbal battle, EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw has responded to UFC President Dana White's recent scathing outburst directed solely his way.
Shaw recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that he was unconcerned with White's labeling of him as a "retard," but understands why others might be.
"Names will never hurt me," Shaw said. "But I'm sure it may have hurt a lot of disabled and handicapped people in this world."
White's original comments were made to NBC Sports.
"There's guys out there in the industry that know what they're doing and run a real business," White told NBC Sports. "ProEliteXC, you think that business is being run well?
"Hey Jared (Shaw), you're $60 million in the hole, retard. Get over it.
"These idiots pop up and they start throwing all this money around, and they think they're going to come out and go head to head and compete with the UFC? It'd be like me starting a fast-food joint saying 'I'm going to take down McDonald's.'"
The battle between the UFC and EliteXC is certainly not a new one. For each of EliteXC's two previous CBS broadcasts, the UFC has offered counter-programming designed to lure away would-be viewers of EliteXC.
The trend started when the UFC ran a two-hour block of programming on Spike TV featuring the ultra-popular Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell concurrently with the May 31 network-television debut of EliteXC on CBS. When EliteXC returned to CBS on July 26, the UFC offered a free replay of UFC 84 as alternative viewing.
That same strategy will be implemented tonight, as fans can choose to view the "EliteXC: Heat" event on CBS, or a replay of UFC 86 -- featuring a light-heavyweight title match between Quinton "Ramage" Jackson and Forrest Griffin -- on Spike TV.
An undisclosed injury has forced Brazilian Jiu-jitsu ace Ricardo Almeida out of his scheduled fight at UFC 90 in Chicago. Stepping in to replace him is highly touted middleweight prospect Dan Miller, who will now face Matt Horwich on Oct. 25.
The fight has been verbally agreed to by both fighters and should be signed shortly according to sources close to the situation, as confirmed to MMAWeekly.com
Miller was signed to the UFC recently after a stint in the International Fight League that saw him crowned the last-ever middleweight champion for the now defunct promotion.
Ironically enough his opponent, Matt Horwich, was the first ever IFL middleweight champion, but lost the belt during his first title defense a few months later.
Miller made an impressive debut in the Octagon by submitting veteran fighter Rob Kimmons by rear naked choke in the first round of their match-up at the UFC Fight Night event in mid-September.
Meanwhile, Horwich will be making his UFC debut after a long career that has spanned numerous events all over the world.
A bout between "The Ultimate Fighter 7" cast member Matthew Riddle (1-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and UFC 87 veteran Ryan Thomas (9-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has been added to the nearly-completed undercard of "UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar" according to sources within Riddle's camp.
Featuring a highly anticipated heavyweight title fight between champion Randy Couture and WWE-import Brock Lesnar, UFC 91 takes place Nov. 15 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Now training with Arizona Combat Sports, Matthew Riddle entered "The Ultimate Fighter 7" with nary a professional fight and surprised his fellow cast members with his raw talent.
After earning his way into the house with a devastating knockout of Dan Simmler, Riddle was eliminated in the next round by Tim Credeur. The 22-year-old returned to earn a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Dante Rivera in the season's finale.
Thomas made his professional debut in April 2007. The 23-year-old worked his way through smaller organizations in the Midwest, including Courage Fighting Championships and Extreme Challenge.
Thomas had won 10 of hist first 11 bouts before losing to "The Ultimate Fighter 6" veteran Ben Saunders at UFC 87. Six of Thomas nine career victories have come by way of submission. Both of his losses have been submissions due to an armbar.
