Here is the official fight card for WEC 47:

These are the prelim matches that may or may not make the broadcast:

In an interview with MMA Fighting, UFC heavyweight Cain Velasquez talked about his UFC career and a future fight with Brock Lesnar.

on where he fits into the heavyweight rankings:
I’m not sure. I think I’m up there. We’ve got to see what happens with Frank Mir fighting Shane Carwin this month, but I think I’m right up there, and depending on what happens when they fight, I might be next in line for the heavyweight title.

on his readiness for Brock Lesnar:
Yes. I’m ready. I think I’ve been ready for a while. The way this sport works is you’ve just got to prove yourself when you get the chance. I want to fight the best so I can be the best.

on his gameplan in a fight with Brock:
I think I’d have to wear him out for the first two or three rounds, because he’s so big and strong. I’d need to be weary of him at the beginning.

on Mir vs. Carwin:
I think it’s an interesting fight, they’re very well matched. Mir has the better jiu jitsu game, both guys have power on their feet, both guys have good positional wrestling. It’s hard to say who will win but I think Mir always comes out with a great game plan and I think he really has that going for him. What Carwin can do is knock you out and that makes him dangerous, too.

on the popularity of mma vs boxing for hispanics:
Yes, I went down to Mexico and did some media and met with some people, and they’re really getting into it. Not everyone knows about the UFC yet, but the people who do are really excited about it. Just like when the UFC goes anywhere, once people see what we do they get hooked.

Also check out our interview with Velasquez from 2009.

UFC has added Matthew Riddle (3-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and Greg Soto (7-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in an opening fight preliminary match at UFC 111.

UFC 111 takes place March 27 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Full card after the jump
…read full article…

Nowadays, a prospect will be spoon fed until a mega-payday and title shot against some paper champion comes his way. Then, and only then, will the world see if the young star truly has what it takes to be a world class fighter. That’s why we have guys like Andre Berto and Nonito Donaire sporting two and three year title reigns, respectively, without having faced more than one world-class challenger apiece.

Fights like Sonsona-Vazquez, where both young fighters have a ton to lose, just don’t happen all that much anymore. Lest we forget, though, that this is 2010, the contest is for the vacant WBO super bantamweight title. So, yeah, a bogus paper title is on the line. But, more importantly, this is a dangerous bout between two young, talented fighters just starting to realize their potentials.

According to a report at MMA Junkie, Marc Ratner, the UFC’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, middleweight Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1) will be free to return to action after a 30-day suspension.

This news clears the way for a recently reported potential fight between “The Axe Murderer” and Japanese middleweight star Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-1) at UFC 115 in June.

Although not yet officially announced, UFC 115 is expected to take place June 12 at GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Akiyama had been slated to face Silva at the UFC 110 card before the promotion elected to pull him in favor of Bisping. Akiyama told MMAjunkie.com prior to the Australian event that he was expecting to face the winner.

The main event of UFC 110 was one of the most anticipated heavyweight matches in recent months, with many observers predicting that the clash between young, powerful wrestler Cain Velasquez and the veteran, resilient grappler Antonio Nogueria would produce a scientific battle with Velasquez trying to impose his will on the ground while Nogueria hunted for a submission. Instead, we saw Cain Velasquez dominant the future Hall of Famer in a way that nobody (not even Fedor) has ever managed. While it wasn’t the expected fight of the night it was a remarkable, breakout performance from Cain Velasquez as he finished Nogueria within three minutes after dissecting him in  a fluid, devastating kickboxing performance.

…read full article…

On tonight’s UFC 110 event, Stephan Bonnar will square off against Krzysztof Soszynski in a prelim fight.

Bonnar is on a 2 fight losing streak, and there has been speculation that a loss at UFC 110 could put his UFC status in doubt. With the promotion cutting Mark Coleman after UFC 109,

During Friday’s UFC Fight Club Q&A session at Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia, the site of UFC 110, UFC president Dana White reiterated his earlier comments by noting Bonnar has a lifetime license to fight in the UFC.

In comments made to MMAJunkie.com, Bonnar is not letting that vote of confidence make him complacent for the fight:
“I’m putting it more in their hands… Whereas in the past it’s been more in my hands.”

On his strategy for the fight tonight:
I’m still going to do my homework, but I’m not too worried about him catching me. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not disrespecting his ground abilities. But I know my abilities and people I’ve been rolling with. I’ll be good.

credit: MMA Junkie

With only 48 hours remaining until the Saturday night’s Australian debut for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s, there were several major changes made to the evening’s card. The biggest: Anthony Perosh (10-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) replaces the ill Ben Rothwell (30-7 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in a UFC 110 main-card fight with Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (25-7-2 MMA, 2-3 UFC), once considered among the most feared strikers in the world. The Australian Perosh is returning to the octagon for the first time since his 0-2 stint with the company in 2006.

Also of note, an unexpected shoulder injury suffered by Elvis Sinosic has forced the cancellation of his preliminary-card bout with fellow Australian Chris Haseman.

UFC 110 takes place Saturday at Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

[Source: MMAWeekly]

If you’re buying into the hype of this weekend’s UFC 110 main event (“up-and-coming phenom against one of the best of all-time”), you know already that this has the potential for a great, great fight. Both men (Minotauro Nogueira and Cain Velasquez) possess rare traits that will surely make this fight exciting; Nogueira’s legendary toughness, BJJ savvy and striking prowess against the raw power, wrestling skill and tenacity of Velasquez. At yesterday’s pre-event press conference in Sydney, Australia, UFC president Dana White added more incentive for the participants: the winner would be the man receiving an immediate title shot at Brock Lesnar upon his return.

White said, “[Nogueira and Velasquez], the winner of this fight puts them right in the mix because something could happen to either Shane (Carwin) or (Frank) Mir (who are meeting at UFC 111 in Newark, NJ) in that fight where they couldn’t fight Brock, so the winner of this fight would fight Brock.”

Lesnar has been inactive since this past July’s UFC 100 event, battling a potentially career/life-threatening case of diverticulitis, however, in January announced he would return to fighting this year. An exact date for Lesnar’s return has not yet been established.

Photo Credit: Sherdog

Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Yoshihiro Akiyama has gone on record saying that while he still wants to face Wanderlei Silva (and grab the Middleweight title while he’s at it), it looks as though the Japanese star is destined to fight the winner of this weekend’s UFC 110 Silva-Michael Bisping fight instead. Originally, the card was to have Akiyama facing Silva, but UFC made the correct decision, putting Bisping in with “The Axe Murderer” in an effort to promote the best card possible.

Like Akiyama, we’ll have to wait until the wee hours of Saturday morning to know who his next opponent will be. In that same interview with MMAJunkie, Akiyama (13-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) mentions that hopes that not only does Silva prevail, but needs him to escape the fight relatively healthy so as to allow the match-up to happen as early at UFC 115 in Vancouver.