Stann-Sakara both watched three-fight winning streaks laid to waste in 2011 and will be coming off defeats when they meet up at the Ericsson Globe Arena.

News of the match-up was first reported by Swedish outlet MMANytt and has since been confirmed by MMAJunkie.

The fight will mark the first for Sakara in more than a year after injuries and illness kept him out for most of last year. His previous fight took place in March at UFC Live 3 where he was outpointed by Chris Weidman. Prior to the stumble the 15-8 Italian had beaten Joe Vedepo, Thales Leites, and James Irvin in consecutive clashes.

As many fans may recall, Stann was on the cusp of contendership after wins over Jorge Santiago, Mike Massenzio, and Chris Leben but ran into Chael Sonnen at UFC 136 where he suffered a second-round submission loss. Stann holds an overall record of 11-4 with eight TKOs.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

A former Marine, Stann shows no fear when he stands across from his opponent, a man who is looking to beat him into submission or stoppage. Having been put in tough situation and extreme circumstances during his time in the military, Stann describes a fight as, “a game of pick up basketball.”

In his latest blog for FoxSports.com, Stann says, “I’ve never feared a fighter or a fight, and have only ever been concerned with whether I was truly good enough to get to the places I want to reach in this great sport of mixed martial arts.” Against Sonnen, “All American” will get to test his skills against the man who gave UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva the toughest fight of his UFC career, coming within two minutes of capturing belt before falling victim to a triangle choke.

Undefeated in three middleweight bouts, Stann has been working a full-time job throughout his entire MMA career. That has changed while preparing for his showdown with Sonnen. “I’m no longer running out of the cage after practice to multiple conference calls and meetings. I’ve got people around me who can help me lead the charity organization that I run, Hire Heroes USA, which helps US veterans find employment after discharge, and I’ve stopped doing my corporate real estate job — and it’s been tremendous.”

Now spending all of his moments focusing on MMA, Stann says, “I now have more time to watch films of my opponent, do one-on-one sessions with my coaches, recover more, train more and just immerse myself in the lifestyle of a professional fighter. Rather than try and cram a 30-hour workday into 24 hours, I now enjoy a far more manageable schedule and I can really focus on being a professional athlete, preparing the right meals and living the right life.”

With his newfound time, Stann has found that spending all day in the gym might not be such a good thing for his body, saying, “My coaches get upset with me from time to time and are often trying to kick me out of the gym. I sometimes get into that dangerous cycle of getting tired and thinking it is best to train even harder, rather than allow my body to recover.”

When he steps into the cage on October 8, the former WEC light heavyweight champion won’t be looking as his battle with Sonnen as a matter of “life or death.” To him, “professional fighting is just an athletic competition. It is a game.” He continued with, “What’s the worst that can happen in a fight? You might get beaten, stopped, knocked out or submitted. I’ve been through all that already.”

While he promises no victory on Saturday, he does promise that, “I will fight to the absolute best of my ability — which is actually all we can control in there.

“We cannot control what our opponent does, only our own actions,” said Stann. “Stepping into the Octagon with doubts or concerns about the fight or your opponent will only hold you back and prevent you from being the best fighter you can be at that moment. It really isn’t about who the best fighter is, it is about who fights best in that moment. Knowing that keeps me focused on exactly what I need to do to win my fight.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC*

Brian Stann

Stann, though, found a way to balance serving his country with building an MMA career, and he worked his way up to becoming the World Extreme Cagefighting light heavyweight champion in 2008.

Now, Stann is set for his biggest fight inside the Octagon when he takes on Chael Sonnen October 8 at UFC 136. It has been reported that the winner of the bout will get the next crack at UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

Having seen the pain that war causes, the Jackson’s MMA fighter makes sure to make the most of every single day, including those that involve training as an MMA fighter.

“I will never, ever complain about training,” Stann recently wrote on his FoxSports blog. “I truly feel blessed to be able to make a living from this sport and to be in a position where I am able to train, learn and improve on a daily basis. For those very reasons, training is only a fun and enjoyable experience for me. Each day is new, different and exciting, and every session presents me with a platform upon which I can build for a better future.”

Stann entered the UFC after dropping his WEC title to Steve Cantwell. He lost to Krzysztof Soszynski in his debut, but rebounded to defeat Cantwell and Rodney Wallace. After a loss to Phil Davis, Stann decided to drop down to 185 pounds and he hasn’t looked back, winning three straight fights, including a pair of “Fight of the Night” honors.

Despite the fame and fortune, Stann has remained grounded, as he never forgets where he came from.

“Having worked regular jobs my whole life, believe me, it really is a privilege to be a professional athlete,” Stann said. “There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t pause to think just how lucky I am. As just a small cog in his mixed martial arts adventure, I have been allowed to go places, see things, feel things and spend time with people who I will value and remember for the rest of my life.

Now, he faces Sonnen, a man that pushed Silva to the brink before falling via submission in the fifth round of their title fight last year.

“On Octobe 8 at UFC 136, I will walk into the Octagon to face Chael Sonnen, the universally recognized #2 middleweight in the world,” Stann said, “and, yes, it’s fair to say I haven’t had to look far for inspiration or, indeed, motivation.”

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

News of the fight was first reported by Heavy.com and has since been confirmed by the UFC.

Sonnen hasn’t stepped foot inside the Octagon since UFC 117, where he lost to middleweight king Anderson Silva by triangle choke in the fifth round after dominating the prior 23 minutes of the fight. Sonnen was scheduled to get an immediate rematch for the belt but was busted for performance enhancing drugs and was suspended indefinitely by the California State Athletic Commission after a lengthy set of hearings. Sonnen’s suspension in the state of California should not hinder his ability to get licensed in the state of Texas, which is one of the more laid back commissions in the country. Despite not competing since last August, Sonnen has stayed in the headlines via twitter, where he’s continued to trash talk “The Spider” and his teammate Lyoto Machida.

Stann isn’t likely to get caught up in Sonnen’s war of words as he prefers to do his talking inside the cage with his fists. Since dropping to middleweight in August 2010, Stann has posted victories over Mike Massenzio, Chris Leben, and Jorge Santiago to put him near the top of the division. A win over Sonnen could put him in line for a title shot early next year.

UFC 136 is scheduled for October 6 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Along with the event will be a two-day UFC Fan Expo.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

The Memorial Day Weekend match-up was originally mentioned as a possibility in a report on HeavyMMA and has since been confirmed by UFC officials.

Stann has won back-to-back fights since dropping down from the light heavyweight division including the dubya over Leben as well as submission success against Mike Massenzio at “UFC Live on Versus 2”. He is 10-3 overall in his career with seven TKOs to his credit.

The date will mark Santiago’s return to the Octagon after a 1-2 stint in 2006. Since parting ways with the promotion the American Top Team fighter has gone 11-1 with victories over Jeremy Horn, Trevor Prangley, and Kazuo Misaki (X2). The 30-year old Brazilian has finished twenty-one of the twenty-three opponents he’s beaten with nine TKOs and twelve submission wins.

UFC 130 is current set for May 28 and will be headlined by the completion of Frank Edgar’s trilogy with Gray Maynard. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is also expected to throw down with Matt Hamill at the event in addition to former heavyweight champ Frank Mir taking on TUF 10 winner Roy Nelson.

News of the middleweights’ pairing initially came in an official UFC statement while MMAFighting was the first to report the match-up had been scrapped. Stann had requested to fight Silva after beating Chris Leben at UFC 125.

However, while Silva and Stann may not be fighting at the event, UFC 130 still appears to be an exceptionally strong card even though it is still months away. In addition to the conclusion of lightweight champ Frank Edgar’s trilogy with Gray Maynard, the May 28 show will also feature former 205-pound title-holder Quinton “Rampage” Jackson taking on resurgent Brazilian Thiago Silva and Frank Mir mixing it up with rival Roy Nelson.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

It now appears Stann’s dream may come true, as Dana White recently spoke to MMAFighting and explained the UFC is looking at putting the two middleweights together at some point in the next few months.

Silva has been out of action due to a knee injury since outpointing Michael Bisping a little less than a year ago at UFC 110. Ring-rust aside, the Brazilian still represents a serious threat for Stann. Though he is known for his friendly demeanor outside of the ring, “The Axe Murderer” is fearless on his feet and has a highlight reel featuring some of the sport’s most brutal knockouts. Twenty-five of his thirty-three wins have come by way of strikes including a pair of victories over former UFC light heavyweight champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

If the bout takes place as expected it will represent the highest profile match-up of Stann’s career. His first-round flattening of Leben earlier this month was the decorated Marine’s second consecutive win since dropping to 185-pounds and improved his overall record to 10-3.

Lightweight champ Frank Edgar will defend his strap against the only individual to beat him, Gray Maynard, in the evening’s main event. Edgar lost a unanimous decision to Maynard in April 2008 before going on to win six straight bouts including two consecutive wins over former title-holder BJ Penn. Comparably, Maynard has won five fights in a row over a list of opponents featuring Nate Diaz, Roger Huerta, and most recently Ken Florian.

Also scheduled to see action on January 1st, 2011 in Las Vegas, Shane Carwin and Roy Nelson will settle their personal differences in the cage and help sort out the heavyweight contendership picture in the process. “Big Country” recently poked fun at Carwin’s alleged involvement in a steroid distribution ring with Carwin responding by taking verbal jabs at Nelson’s physique.

In addition to Edgar vs. Maynard II and Nelson vs. Carwin, the other “UFC 125 – Resolution” match-ups confirmed by the company are as follows:

Clay Guida vs. Takanori Gomi
Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Thiago Silva vs. Brandon Vera
Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann

Rodney Wallace has confirmed to FiveOuncesofPain.com that he had recently signed the contract to face off with the former WEC champion.

FiveOuncesofPain was the first to report the news of Rodney’s signing to the UFC back in mid-September.

Sporting an undefeated record of 9-0, Wallace most recently seized the attention of the UFC after a championship tournament performance during Vendetta Fighting Championships on September 5 where he racked up wins over Gregory Milliard, Aaron Stark and Antwaine Britt in one night, finishing the latter of the two by way of submission.

When asked his thoughts on Stann as a first opponent in the Octagon, Wallace had this to say, “He’s an athlete, but I think he has a lot of holes in his game. It will be what it is on that night. I definitely think he’s an athlete, and he has a lot of heart. Anyone could put a victory together with those attributes, and obviously he has on several different occasions, but now that we’re starting to get into the deep waters of guys that have really well rounded skills, so you have to bring more than just the athletics and a one-two to the table.”

Stann will be looking to make it two in a row following a hard fought unanimous decision victory over Steve Cantwell in a rubber match that occurred at “UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard”. Just prior to his most recent win Stann had suffered consecutive defeats at the hands of the previously mentioned Cantwell, and more recently Krzysztof Soszynski during UFC 97.

The TUF 10 Finale is set for The Pearl At The Palms in Las Vegas on December 5, and will air live on Spike TV.

Well according the MMA Junkie, that may not be the case. Sources close to Al-Hussan have informed them that he has accepted a bout versus Cantwell at “UFC Fight Night 16: UFC Fights for the Troops” and that they are waiting for Cantwell to accept the bout.

Both fighters will be making their UFC debuts with Al-Hussan having made a name for himself on regional shows in the Midwest, compiling a 5-0 record in professional MMA with three of his five victories coming via submission. 

Cantwell, who is 6-1 in MMA with his only loss coming to Brian Stann, is coming off an upset victory over Stann via secound round TKO in a rematch at WEC 35 this past August. In winning that fight, Cantwell won the WEC light heavyweight title from Stann. However, the title reign was short lived as WEC’s middleweight and light heavyweight divisions are being slowly folded into the UFC. Cantwell and Stann were two of the first fighters to appear in the UFC from WEC’s ranks.

A victory for either fighter would go a long way toward cementing their place within the UFC and a win for Cantwell could possibly set up a tiebreaker fight with Brian Stann sometime in the near future.

Stann and Cantwell first clashed at WEC 26 in March of 2007 with Stann winning via TKO in just 41 seconds into round 1. Stann would go on to claim the WEC light heavyweight title and made his first defense against Cantwell at WEC 35 on August 3. This time around, it was Cantwell who got the win, becoming the new champ following a second round TKO.

No word on a possible replacement for Stann is known at this time.

The show, which will be broadcast on Spike TV, will be a fundraiser for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides financial support to deceased and wounded U.S. military veterans.

Expect fireworks as the first time these two locked horns (at WEC 26), Stann TKO’d Cantwell in 41 seconds. Stann is 8-0 with all fights ending by TKO or KO, none leaving the first round.

Look for Ranger Up in Brian Stann’s corner and on his fight shorts Sunday night.

Now we have final confirmation from Felix Martinez, the promoter himself:

It is with deep regret that I have to announce the cancellation of Cage Fury’s October 12th event. I did everything in my power to make this show happen for the fighters and the fans. However, I could not overcome the loss of a major investor for this show who decided to pull out at the last moment. With the loss of this investor, I cannot proceed with another first class event. It has always been my intention to provide the best combative sport entertainment that I could. I am very sorry for having to cancel this event and sincerely apologize to all the fighters, the fans, and our dedicated staff.

Felix Martinez, President, Cage Fury Fighting Championships

Just great. I was really looking forward to this card, too. I was looking forward to seeing how far Kimbo Slice had come since his last fight and how he would stack up against better competition. Not that Tank Abbott is top competition, but he’s a far cry above Ray Mercer when it comes to MMA. I was also looking forward to seeing Duke Roufus’ debut as well as seeing Ricardo Almeida make his way back into MMA.

Definitely a sad day for all the Kimbo marks like myself. Oh well, let’s hope EliteXC or Strikeforce picks him up. He would be perfect for one of these organizations.

According to Nick Lembo, the counsel to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, the card has not been canceled. Lembo indicated he had spoken with CFFC promoter Felix Martinez in the last 24 hours upon hearing some of the rumors. He indicated that Martinez said the show was still on but there are some issues pertaining to the pay-per-view provider. Apparently a deal between CFFC and the initial PPV production company it chose to televise the event is no longer in place.

I attempted Martinez via phone and e-mail in order to make a request for comment but my e-mail was returned because Martinez’s e-mail box is apparently full and my voicemail has not been returned. Attempts to reach two other CFFC officials were unsuccessful as well. When I mentioned this to Lembo, he indicated that Martinez is busy trying to secure a new broadcast deal for the show.

I also contacted Bas Rutten for comment in regard to the fight since he trained Slice for his MMA debut against pro boxer Ray Mercer as well as prepping him for the upcoming fight against Abbott. According to Rutten, the fight is still on to his knowledge because Slice has been training with him every day in preparation for Abbott and has made no mention of the fight being canceled.

Updated: The Fight Network has contacted Martinez and according to the report, CFFC lost its deal with iNDEMAND after an investor backed out. Martinez feels the loss of PPV will be a cost cut and there are plans (but no details) to televise the event over the Internet.

It’s a fairly interesting card and includes the following matchups:

Main Event: Kimbo Slice vs. Tank Abbott – It’s not a relevant bout on the basis of the title picture in the heavyweight division, but Kimbo has been a lightning rod for news and interest. It’s definitely a circus-style main event, but still one that I find very compelling.

Ricardo Almeida vs. Dennis Hallman - Both are guys who are excellent on the ground (Almeida’s Jiu-Jitsu is superb and Hallman is a former NCAA standout wrestler) who have both competed in the UFC. Almeida was once a big time prospect before injuries hurt his career path. This will be a major comeback attempt for him.

Marcio “Pe De Pano” Cruz vs. Brandon Lee Hinkle - Like Hallman vs. Almeida, this is another matchup between two guys with excellent ground skills. Cruz is the BJJ guy and Hinkle is the wrestler. Both have fought for the UFC with Cruz most recently fighting for the IFL and Hinkle having fought earlier this month for Bodog Fight.  Not a bad undercard match for a regional promotion.

Duke Roufus vs. Derek Panza - Both guys are excellent strikers, with Roufus being one of the top kocboxers in the U.S. This will be his MMA debut and I think the K-1 standout is clearly the favorite. A very intriguing matchup.

Chris Ligouri vs. Devidas Taurosevicius - Don’t know much about either fighter but this will be for the NABC lightweight title. I’m not a big fan of sanctioning bodies for boxing getting involved with MMA and would prefer no MMA promoter did business with the NABC. I also know that Ligouri trains with the Rhino Fight Team in Jersey, which is the same where Frank Edgar is based out of.

Anthony Morrison vs. Malachy Friedman - Morrison is a decent prospect who served a suspension for disciplinary issues early this year. All I know of Friedman is that he’s a pretty good poster on the Underground Forum at MMA.tv.

Jose Rodriguez vs. Mike Littlefield - I know nothing about either guy.

John Doyle vs. Jarrid Palmer - Doyle used to train at Philly MMA (the MFS affiliate in Philadelphia) where I used to train. He’s a rugged guy with heavy hands. I don’t know much about Palmer but it will be good to see Doyle fight again.

Morgan takes the CFFC to task for promoting the Slice vs. Mercer fight with ad inserts on Slice’s street fight YouTube clips. The UFC also isn’t spared for their decision to book Noah Thomas vs. Marlon Sims during the televised portion of the live TUF 5 finale.

 I was going to leave my thoughts on this whole situation, but why should I when I agree 100 percent with everything that Adam says:

http://www.fightopinion.com/2007/06/05/street-fights-the-new-way-to-promote-mma/#comment-27458