[Centraal] MMA topic #31 Affliction's Downfall?

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Op dinsdag 11 augustus 2009 23:41 schreef Fokski het volgende:

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Ik was al verbaasd hoe gemakkelijk Silva Irvin zwaar open haalde met wat mij een gemiddelde stoot leek en dat Chris Leben KO geslagen werd. Maar het laat ook zien dat Dan Henderson geen off-day had tegen Silva en dat Rich Franklin het zo slecht nog niet deed voor iemand die tegen Silva vocht om te winnen (itt een Leites of Cote).

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Sometimes the fourth time is the charm. That’s what veteran welterweight Dennis “Superman” Hallman is hoping with the recent announcement of his new contact.

“I just signed a four-fight deal with the UFC and it’s good to be back with MMA’s premier organization,” Hallman announced to MMAWeekly.com. “I’m prepared to come in there and perform to the best of my abilities and climb back up the ranks.” Having been four years since Hallman last appeared at a UFC event, he feels much has changed within him to make this next run more successful than previous ones. “I’m a more mature Dennis Hallman,” he stated. “I think I’m better prepared physically and mentally to compete at a high level.

“Every time you get cut (from the promotion) it kind of brings you back to reality and you’ve got to get back on the horse and see what your problems were in the past and correct them. I’m fortunate enough to have a fourth shot at the UFC, and I’m going to take as best advantage of it as I can.” After months of rumors, Hallman’s agent, Ken Pavia, was able to seal the deal, and now Hallman expects to be thrown into the deep end welterweight mix pretty much right away.

“There’s a lot of guys in the UFC that I can kick the (expletive) out of, so I’m pretty confident going in there,” he exclaimed. “With the contract that I’ve signed I think they’re going to be putting me in with some tough guys right away, so I’m prepared for that as well.” As for when that debut may happen, signs point to later this year, if not sooner depending on if other fighters are forced out of their scheduled match-ups.

“They said that if somebody gets injured and I’m ready, then that would be the time that I would fight,” commented Hallman. “But November is when I’m looking at to get scheduled.”

Riding a five-fight winning streak, it could very well be the time for Hallman to finally fly high in the UFC and earn a long-awaited title shot. “Just like Superman, I don’t die,” chuckled Hallman.

“I’m back – you can’t kill Superman.”

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Tamdan McCrory has been let go by the UFC following a split decision defeat at the hands of John Howard at UFC 101.

Apparently a representative of “The Barn Cat” was notified of the release by UFC matchmaker Joe Silva sometime Monday evening according to a recent report on the Underground News.

McCrory earned a reputation as a tougher than nails, well rounded mixed martial artist during his time with the UFC where he put together a respectable record of 3-3 while compiling wins over the likes of Pete Spratt and Luke Cummo, and dropping bouts to Akihiro Gono and Dustin Hazelett.

With an overall record of 11-3 and a fighting style that refuses to disappoint, Tamdan would make a fantastic addition to the Strikeforce welterweight roster that is currently hungry for talent.

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The Ultimate Fighter 7 semifinalist Dan Cramer has been released by the UFC following his loss last Saturday at UFC 101 in Philadelphia, FanHouse has learned.

Cramer (1-1), one of the few fighters to make his pro MMA and UFC debut at the same time, dropped a lopsided decision to castmate Matt Riddle on scores of 27-29, 26-30 and 27-30. Cramer entered coming off a split decision win over season six's Matt Arroyo at UFC 94 in January.

Prior to his pro debut, Cramer was 3-0 in amateur competition and 2-1 as a Team Rampage middleweight on The Ultimate Fighter 7.

Cramer at only 23 years of age remains a welterweight prospect out of the American Top Team and will likely be invited back to the UFC once he gains more experience.

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Thales Leites, who less than four months ago competed for the UFC middleweight title, was given his walking papers in a meeting Wednesday afternoon with the UFC, FanHouse confirmed with a source close to Leites.

Leites (14-3) had exclusively fought for the UFC since The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale in November 2006, where he lost his promotional debut to Martin Kampmann, but would bounce back with five straight wins to earn a shot against champion Anderson Silva. However, after the two turned out a lackluster and tentative five-round performance, both faced heavy criticism and required a strong follow-up outing to restore their reputation.
Both were in action last Saturday at UFC 101 for their next fights and Silva stole the show with his dismantling of former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin, but Leites on the other hand, dropped a split decision to Alessio Sakara for his second straight fight decided on the scorecards. It was a close fight but the result was apparently enough for the UFC to release him.

Although the loss was the Nova Uniao member's first back-to-back of his career and an exit from the UFC is obviously a regression, Leites is a fighter that should have no trouble finding a new promotion to compete for as he could instantly be a contender in any other organization.

FanHouse has also learned that George Roop and Dan Cramer have been cut following losses at UFC 101.