According to Jess Liaudin, via a MySpace bulletin, he will fight fellow Brit, Paul Taylor at UFC 85.

Both fighters will be coming off of losses sustained at UFC 81. Liaudin suffered a first round KO to Marcus Davis while Paul Taylor was decisioned by Paul Kelly.

This fight will be the second time these two have clashed with the first fight taking place back in 2003. Taylor was victorious via what Liaudin has labelled a “controversial decision”.

UFC 85 will be held in London’s 02 Arena on June 7th. It will be headlined by a light-heavyweight clash between former UFC light heavyweight champion, Chuck Liddell and The Ultimate Fighter Season 2 winner, Rashad Evans.

This welterweight clash will most likely take place on the un-televised preliminary card.

Read more UFC 85 content on FiveOuncesOfPain.com.

The ratings for UFC 75 on Spike TV from this past Saturday, and they’re pretty damn good.

According to Spike TV, the show drew a 3.1 overall (3 million total homes) rating for a staggering 4.7 million viewers (I think the are factoring in multiple people watching at individual homes). The telecast peaked at 5.6 million viewers during the main event featuring Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Dan Henderson in a UFC vs. PRIDE 205 lbs. unification title match.

Looking at the breakdown of demographics, the show drew a 5.7 (1.6 million homes) when it came to males between the ages of 18-34; for males 18-49 it drew a 4.5 (2.5 million); and a whopping 6.2 (1 million) for males 25-34.

If the UFC can’t bolster its sponsor roster with ratings like that, I’m not sure what else they need to do. UFC 75 was the most watched mixed martial arts event in North American history.

The show did very well in the key male demos against its competition. In the male 18-49 demo is outdrew Oregon vs. Michigan on ABC, NASCAR on ABC, Virginia Tech vs. LSU on ESPN, and Penn St. vs. Notre Dame on ESPN.

For males 18-34, it outdrew all those events with the lone exception being NASCAR.

Hey, here’s a random thought pertaining to the UFC and Spike TV. Why not make the Michael Bisping vs. Matt Hamill rematch another edition of “Bad Blood” and televise it live and free on Spike?

The show opened with Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan talking about how Henderson vs. Rampage was going to be the first of many PRIDE vs. UFC matches. That left me scratching my head. I’m sorry, but has Fedor been signed to unify the PRIDE heavyweight title against Randy Couture and the UFC heavyweight title? Has the UFC stepped up and beaten K-1 to the punch for Takanori Gomi and will we see him fight B.J. Penn again? And maybe I missed it and Dan Henderson has already agreed to fight at 185 and unify the titles in that division?

I guess if Chuck Liddell beats Keith Jardine then Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva for Dec. 29 will officially be signed and that will count as a PRIDE vs. UFC match. But other than that, what else is on the immediate horizon? I just don’t see the Super Bowl of MMA series ever taking place. Which is fine, but it’s time to stop promoting such a concept if there’s no guarantee of a satisfying payoff.

There’s also no point in promoting a PRIDE vs. UFC feud if you aren’t going to even show PRIDE enough respect to put their titles on TV. Maybe I missed it, but I don’t recall seeing Henderson’s PRIDE middleweight and welterweight titles being brought to the ring. And after Jackson was named the winner there was only one belt put around his waist — the UFC light heavyweight title. Did the PRIDE middleweight and welterweight titles decide not to sign contracts so the UFC elected to make the decision not to put them on camera? Were they lost in the mail when they were sent over from Japan? Why couldn’t they have waited until after the unification match to retire the PRIDE title?

Enough with the sarcasm because I thoroughly enjoyed UFC 75. It was a much better production than UFC 72 or UFC 70. For some reason those two international shows had a stale feeling (the resolution and lighting weren’t that great for those shows). UFC 75 truly felt like a big event and commercials aside, I really did feel like I was watching a PPV for free. Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan were very good on the show and Randy Couture added a lot during the Henderson vs. Rampage main event.

Even the commercials were better! UFC 70 felt so B-league when it came to advertisers. There weren’t any Girls Gone Wild promos or anything like that for UFC 75 so the prestige of the event wasn’t taken away from. The timing of the matches was good and the editing of the pre-recorded comments by Goldberg was a lot more seamless than usual.

A general thought that I have is in regard to a lot of people who have issues with Dana White for being critical of the competition. At the end of the day though, the UFC knows how to put on an event and they know how to run an MMA fight promotion. They aren’t in the learning stages. It isn’t trial and error with them. They have the game down to a science. I’ve even spoken to people inside the industry who aren’t fans of Dana and the way he carries himself yet even they admit that the UFC simply understands the business of MMA better than anyone else out there.

The fights themselves were good. There wasn’t a match of the year candidate but there weren’t any clunkers either.

Onto the matches…

Houston Alexander TKO over Alessio Sakara in round 1 - I guess technically as a journalist I’m supposed to remain impartial and not root for guys and what not. But this is the fight game and I pride myself as not being your typical sportswriter. So full disclosure: I’m a Houston Alexander fan. I was of Houston’s after the demolition of Jardine; I became a bigger fan last week after I interviewed him with Eric “Performify” Foster for MMAjunkie.com; and I completely marked out when he mugged Sakara and then got on the mic and showed MMAjunkie.com some love during his post-fight interview with Rogan. The guy is just a cool dude.

When Eric and I interviewed him he was super nice to us. I wondered if maybe it was because he knows we’re “media” and he was buttering us up a bit? Not so. With the Junkie name drop he showed me that he just sincerely appreciates the fact that Junkie gave him fair coverage leading up to his debut vs. Jardine. Everyone buried him but Junkie gave this guy the chance to tell his story. I think he claimed Junkie to be a sponsor but to my knowledge that technically isn’t the case. The site has done a lot to support him (as they do for a lot of fighters) but I don’t think they funded any of his training. I think he used the sponsorship route so he could work the mention in. I’m sure Eric and Dann can correct me if I’m wrong.

The fight itself was short but brutally entertaining. Rogan said it best when he stated “Houston Alexander is violent.” It’s kind of a weird statement considering this is fighting and fighting by nature is violent but Alexander kind of elevates the level of violence in his fights. It’s almost like not watching MMA but more of a guy assaulting another dude. Honestly, I can’t say I haven’t learned anything more about him as a fighter but we can’t say Alexander has fought nothing but suspect competition since entering the UFC. Granted, I don’t place a lot of stock in Sakara as an opponent but Keith Jardine rates as a quality win in my mind. I believe this dude is for real but I know not everyone does. But at the very least you have to admit that this guy is entertaining as hell.

Luke Thomas, Matt Cava and I discussed on the UFC 75 preview last week on Inside the Cage Radio how the “Italian boxer” thing in regard to Sakara is just a flat out promotional joke. Kudos to Luke for doing the research on Sakara’s boxing background because even though he is a boxer in Italy, his record isn’t all that impressive. His wins have come against some pretty weak competition. If you’re really a good boxer, wouldn’t you eventually graduate from the Italian boxing scene and take your act international? He’s simply a guy at this point that the UFC knows will do nothing but trade hands and probably end up losing the exchange.

Back to Alexander as I round this up. The UFC has struck gold in him and they need to keep the Houston Alexander express running. I don’t want to see an extended layoff for him that could kill his momentum. He’s used to fighting often so I’d book him to fight Stephan Bonnar at UFC 78 in Newark this November.

Marcus Davis armbar submission over Paul Taylor in round 1 - I wish I remembered the site but I remember reading a column by a pretty well-known pundit who claimed a year and a half ago that Davis was past his prime and was winding down his career. In reality, who could blame him? But the fact is that Davis is far from done as he’s in his prime right now. Davis was nothing more than a boxer for years but his work with Jorge Gurgel has paid dividends in his ground game. And his continued work with Kru Mark Della Grotte is also apparent. When I finish my overachievers article, Davis will be on it because this guy made himself into a mixed martial artist brick-by-brick. I guess his kettle bell work has paid off too because I don’t remember his physique ever having as much definition as we saw last night.

As for Taylor, he seems like he has solid kickboxing skills but I don’t think we need to see him as anything more than a local guy they use on the non-televised preliminary portion of European shows.

So what’s next for Davis? He’s on a 10 fight win streak and has won five consecutive fights in the UFC against Forrest Petz, Shonie Carter, Pete Spratt, Jason Tan, and now Taylor. It’s time for the UFC to challenge him and give him a step up in competition in the welterweight division. Josh Koscheck is coming off a loss at UFC 74 so why not Koscheck vs. Davis as Kos’ first match back?

Cheick Kongo defeats Mirko Cro Cop via unanimous decision - I guess nobody lives in fear of that left high kick anymore so guys are willing to come right at Cro Cop and fight him like anyone else. Cro Cop got beat my a bigger, stronger, and faster fighter who brought the fight to him the entire time. The crazy thing is, Cro Cop didn’t look that bad. He came into the fight in good shape and really stepped up his training. You could tell though that he gave into frustration. He’s not used to people fighting him like that. So now you’ve had Gonzaga and Kongo go right at him. It looks like the Cro Cop myth has been broken. He’s getting paid a ton of money and has yet to be involved in a big money matchup for the UFC and he’s not in a position to be involved in one for his next match.

Kongo really pushed the pace and you could tell that Cro Cop didn’t like it. Cro Cop is used to attacking guys and didn’t like constantly being put on the defensive. I think maybe he took Kongo lightly and assumed that because he was the more respected striker from a reputation standpoint that he’d be able to dictate the terms of the match. He just didn’t have a plan B when he realized things weren’t going his way.

I was also surprised to see Kongo show some ground skills. I didn’t think there was a chance in hell the match would go to the ground. Then again, I didn’t think there was a chance in hell the match would go the distance. I still wouldn’t call Kongo proficient on the ground but at least he showed us something on the mat. Some progress is better than no progress. I guess working with Juanito has made a huge difference. Man, I remember in PRIDE when Rampage had trouble affording decent sparring partners. Thanks to his success and his new affiliation with Juanito, he’s going to have top sparring partners for years to come and probably won’t have to pay a dime because a lot of people are going to want to improve their games under Juanito’s tutelage.

Kongo is just so marketable. I mean, the dude is huge and he’s jacked and he’s a striker! What more could you ask for? You just put him on a poster and non-MMA fans are just going to assume this guy is lethal. If he can improve his ground game further and develop a takedown defense then he could actually turn into what Cro Cop once was.

So what’s next for these two? How about an extended vacation for Cro Cop and a match between Cheick Kongo and Andrei Arlovski?

Michael Bisping wins split decision over Matt Hamill - If you’ve read my work you know I’m a Bisping mark. And if you listened to the UFC 75 preview on Inside the Cage you know that I said I might cry if he lost. Well, Bisping didn’t lose but I almost cried anyway. I’m a Bisping fan and even I know that Matt Hamill won that fight. Luke, Matt, and I kind of buried Hamill on the radio show last week but wherever Hamill has trained lately it’s done him some good because now he has some semblance of a standup game. Look, he’s very stiff when he punches and has no rhythm (like most wrestlers) but I was still surprised by his boxing skills in the first round. He was really heavy handed and now knows how to capitalize on that attribute. He’s clearly done a lot of sparring because he took some decent shots from Bisping and kept his composure (BTW, I love how they say he had to drop out of TUF 3 because he had a concussion… welcome to fighting!).

When I spoke with Bisping he basically indicated he didn’t think Hamill could hurt him. His concern was getting taken to the ground and being controlled by Hamill. He wasn’t worried about standup and wasn’t worried about ground and pound. Basically, I don’t think Bisping was mentally prepared to get hit last night. It’s possible he went light on sparring and instead focused more on his takedown defense during training. He just kind of looked shocked that Hamill was standing with him and his face looked like a mess towards the end of the first round.

Two things are obvious to me after this match.

First, Bisping needs to drop down to middleweight… NOW! His philosophy about not needing to fix something if it wasn’t broken made a lot of sense at the time but I’ve done a 180 after last night’s bout. It’s inevitable that he’s going to have to move to 185 lbs. There’s just no way around it. He’s not big enough and doesn’t have the punching power. Hamill was just too strong. Why wait until he loses to drop? What’s the point in not making the move until he gets obliterated by someone like Liddell, Silva, or Shogun? Why not take his perfect 14-0 record and pack his bags for the middleweight division and go there with his head held high as opposed to making the move under the auspices of trying to make a comeback. It’s not like the division doesn’t need him.

And second, I have to go on a rant about the judging, which is something I rarely have done in the past but Hamill got robbed and I can’t contain my thoughts any longer.

It’s hard to call it a hometown decision because the lone UK judge, Chris Watts, scored it 30-27 for Hamill. It was the two clowns from the U.S., Jeff Mullen and Cecil Peoples, who scored it 29-28 for Bisping. The hometown thing was still a factor though because the crowd reaction had to have influenced how Mullen and Peoples scored the match. Peoples has a history of judging poorly. To this day I do not understand why boxing judges who don’t understand the MMA game are used. MMA is getting bigger and needs MMA-specific judges. Look, if there’s a guy who understands both boxing and MMA then he should be allowed to judge. But he should be used as an MMA judge based on his merits in regard to MMA and his boxing credentials should have nothing to do with anything. Seriously though, you could take random fans from the audience and they know how to judge an MMA match better than people like Dalby Shirley and Cecil Peoples. And correct me if I’m wrong, isn’t Peoples a lousy boxing judge? I’m sure he’s a nice guy and all and knows his stuff, but I think he might have short-term memory issues. I’m not just saying that to be funny. Perhaps five minute rounds are too long for him and he only remembers the last three minutes of each round?

The biggest issue is accountability. The NBA, NFL, and MLB have a grading system for their officials and use that system to determine who gets assigned to playoff and All-Star games. Do the commissions have any kind of accountability system whatsoever? Or is being a judge like a bureaucratic position and the only way to lose your gig is if you do something corrupt and get caught?

BTW, can someone tell me why everyone pronounces Bisping’s last name as “Bis-Bing?” Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t there a “P” in his last name instead of a “B?” Is it a UK thing where “P” is pronounced “B” like “R” is pronounced as “H” in Brazil?

So what’s next for these two? Obviously a drop to middleweight for Bisping. If he stays at light heavyweight then I really need to see a rematch between him and Hamill. As for Hamill, if Bisping drops then I’d like to see him possibly face one of the losers in the upcoming Liddell vs. Jardine, Shogun vs. Griffin, and Ortiz vs. Evans matches.

Quinton Jackson defeats Dan Henderson via unanimous decision - Finally a UFC main event with a payoff! It’s nice to have a match with a lot of hype going into it that lasts more than two minutes. Rampage vs. Liddell was just so unsatisfying. This one did the trick for me. And what was with the intense staredown from Jackson before the start of the match? Henderson simply grinned but Jackson didn’t break character and Henderson wiped the grin off real quick. It’s kind of weird trying to staredown a friend of yours. I guess it sent a message to Henderson that the match was going to be no joke.

Henderson is a strong guy and really showed a lot of moxie vs. Rampage but the match kind of reminded an NFL game where a 265 lbs. speed rusher gets off to a strong start against a 300 lbs. offensive lineman but just wears down as the game progresses. By the end of the match Henderson was clearly tired.

It wasn’t non-stop action but I thought the wrestling was good and I thought the exchanges the two had when it came to punching were plenty of action.

Rampage looked well prepared and I don’t care about the size disadvantage, a win over Henderson is impressive. He looked like a complete fighter tonight and reminded me of the old Rampage. He’s a worthy champ and I can’t wait to see a rematch with Shogun early next year.

As for Henderson, I think he can be a .500 guy at light heavyweight but he can be a dynasty if he goes back down to middleweight. If I was the UFC I would sign him to an extension and pay him like a top light heavyweight but get him to commit to the middleweight division. I know Henderson wants to stay a light heavyweight and I know he can hang with the best guys in the division, but money talks and bullshit walks. Pay him fairly and I’m sure he’ll go back down. They promoted the hell out of the PRIDE vs. UFC feud at the top of the show and they really don’t have the fighters under contract to make those claims. But they still have the PRIDE welterweight (185 lbs.) champ in Henderson under contract and I think a match between him and the winner of Anderson Silva vs. Rich Franklin is the only way to go.

UFC Light Heavyweight Unification Bout:
Quinton Jackson defeats Dan Henderson - Unanimous Decision

Cheick Kongo defeats Mirko Cro Cop - Unanimous Decision

Michael Bisping defeats Matt Hamill - Split Decision

Houston Alexander defeats Alessio Sakara - TKO (strikes) Rd 1.

Marcus Davis defeats Paul Taylor - Submission (armbar) Rd 1.

Check out much more UFC 75 content on 5 Oz of Pain.

The long-awaited fourth episode of Inside the Cage Radio is now available for your listening pleasure!

This week hosts Sam Caplan (FiveOuncesOfPain.com) and Matt Cava (UFCTakedown.com) welcomed both Dann Stupp of UFCjunkie.com and Luke Thomas of BloodyElbow.com into the cage as guests.

 

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Dann joined the crew to help break down UFC 74. He was in Vegas for the event and brought his insider’s perspective to the show. The crew discussed whether Randy Couture is truly unbeatable; who and what is next for Randy; more fallout from the Renato “Babalu” Sobral fiasco; whether Josh Koscheck was ever truly ready for GSP; and much more.

In addition to reviewing UFC 74, the show also previewed UFC 75. Sam and Matt were once again joined by Luke Thomas, who brought his vast technical knowledge to the fold. The three broke down Dan Henderson vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Mirko Cro Cop vs. Cheick Kongo, Michael Bisping vs. Matt Hamill, and Houston Alexander vs. Alessio Sakara. Be sure to tune in as they talk about upset possibilities; whether Cro Cop and Bisping are overrated; whether Hamill belongs in the UFC; how Henderson should approach fighting a bigger opponent in Jackson; and lots more.

Give the show a listen… in the first few minutes you’ll hear Sam’s strategy for hitting on Rachelle Leah and a little later, Matt’s rant on the Sobral choke incident.

Inside the Cage Radio is growing strong! Over 5,000 hardcore MMA fans have already tuned in - this is only our 4th episode and we’re seeing our audience grow exponentially each week. Thanks so much for your support!

The UFC held a media conference call today to promote UFC 75 on September 8 in London. The event will be televised on a tape delay basis on Spike TV in the United States.

On the call was UFC president Dana White, Pride middleweight and welterweight champion Dan Henderson,  UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Michael Bisping, and Matt Hamill.

Here are what I consider to be the biggest stories coming out of the press conference:

1. Dana announced that Renato “Babalu” Sobral has been released from his contract. My editor at CBSSports.com, Denny Burkholder, asked Dana if he felt the media was making too much out of the Sobral vs. Heath situation. White said that the fans expressed how they felt after the match and that up until that point Sobral had been a fan favorite. He said if it had been an arm, leg, or an ankle he would have been fired on the spot. He then added that Sobral has been cut from his contract. It was confusing because he made mention that Sobral would have been cut if had done something other than a choke, only to reveal seconds later that it had been cut. Some people are reading it as that Sobral was going to be cut regardless of what he did to David Heath but I did not hear it that way at all. He did term Babalu’s departure several different ways though such as “not renewed” and “cut.” It was a little opened ended.

A reporter later asked if Babalu was finished with the UFC forever and Dana said he doesn’t like to say never.

I asked a followup in regard to Dana’s comments in the Las Vegas Sun where he said he would talk to Babalu and that he was considering disciplinary action. I said it didn’t sound like Dana was going to dismiss him at the time and I asked what changed his mind? Dana didn’t agree with my assessment and said the writer from the Sun asked right after the incident happened. He said he wasn’t going to talk about disciplinary steps before speaking to Sobral and that he never changed his mind.

2. Dana White said “Nobody gives a shit about Josh Barnett.” Dana was asked to respond to Barnett’s questions about Randy Couture being a “paper champion,” to which Dana replied, “Nobody gives a shit about Josh Barnett, especially not me.” Mauro Ranallo contacted Barnett to get his reaction. Those comments from Barnett will be played on Fight Network Radio. I also spoke with Barnett and will be posting his reaction online after I finish my guest spot with Mauro.

3. Dana said that they “aren’t even close” to finalizing a new contract with Spike TV.

4. There were a TON of questions about Pride and a ton of comments from Dana about them. The most notable in my mind being that soon after they signed a deal with Pride, the UFC lost its TV contract in Japan. It sounded as though Dana insinuated it had to do with Pride having a bad name in Japan right now and that they suffered repercussions because of it.

5. I never followed up on reports yesterday about Ryo Chonnan signing with the UFC because they sounded like bunk. A reporter asked Dana if Chonnan had signed. Dana paused after the question (it sounded like he was conferring with someone in the room with him) and then responded “No.”

Other highlights:

- Dana was asked about Fedor and he confirmed he’d be meeting with him on Thursday (today). He was pressed if he thought there might be a press release announcing a signing today and Dana responded, “We’ve been talking with these guys for months. Who knows what will happen.” A followup was asked about a pending announcement and Dana said something to the effect, “Sure, put in a good word for us with them?”

- After the fight on Sept. 8 the Pride middleweight title will be retired. The UFC light heavyweight title will serve as the unified title.

- Rampage said he’s preparing for Dan Henderson the same way he prepared for Matt Lindland when he fought him last year in the WFA.

- Dana congratulated Dan Henderson on the birth of his baby daughter. Henderson’s wife had a planned delivery last night.

- Dana once again said Pride went out of business for a reason. He indicated that fighters can’t sit around and wait until Pride gets back on its feet and that is why guys like Henderson are making their way into the UFC. Dana added that Japan is a tough place to navigate through business-wise and that it was much tougher than they thought.

- Dana said Pride lost its TV deal due to “rumors” and that the Pride name is not good in Japan right now. He said they’re lucky just to be able to rent office space because of the company’s reputation. He would not offer a timetable for a final decision on Pride’s fate (so there is still some small hope) and that it was their every intention to keep it running when they bought it. He cited their activity with the WEC as an example of them keeping a company alive after acquiring it. He said he wouldn’t rule out doing UFC shows in Japan but that the UFC no longer has a TV contract after they announced the acquisition of Pride.

- There were a lot of questions about Dan Henderson and what weight class he’ll be fighting in long-term. He said he’s not thinking past this fight at all. At another point he asked why should he cut to 185 lbs. when he can beat anyone at 205 lbs.? Henderson didn’t sound cocky when he said it. He said it in a matter of fact tone and it sounds as though he’s very confident coming into this bout.

- Dana did not rule out the possibility of Randy Couture’s next fight being on Super Bowl weekend (damn, that’s an entire football season away!). They aren’t sure about an opponent. Dana said if Fedor signed he might get an immediate title shot. He also said that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will likely fight before the end of the year and if he wins, he could be next in line for a title shot.

- White said it will be awhile before they can gauge their success overseas.

- A question about Shogun came up and Dana said Shogun is a contender right now.

- Rampage was asked about Henderson having not fought in the cage for about 10 years. Jackson didn’t think it was an issue and said fighting in the Octagon is “like riding a bike.”

- Dana was asked about bringing in all the Pride stars and basically said that outside of Fedor that they have all of them under contract. Denis Kang’s name was brought up and Dana said Kang is talented, that they are interested, and that they’ve talked but that he doesn’t consider Kang one of the bigger names from Pride. Can I just say that I’d like to beg to differ?

UFC president Dana White announced today during a conference call to promote UFC 75 on September 8 that Renato “Babalu” Sobral has been released from his contract due to applying a choke too long during this past Saturday’s match against David Heath at UFC 74.

White was asked by a different reporter whether there was a chance Sobral would ever fight for the UFC again. White didn’t shut the door on a return when he responded to the question by saying he didn’t want to say never.

More details to come.

Lee Whitehead of MMAWeekly.com is reporting that Anthony Johnson is no longer scheduled to face Jess Liaudin during the preliminary portion of UFC 75 in London on September 8. According to Whitehead, Liaudin’s new opponent will be Anthony Torres.

You can read the report by clicking here.

Put away your checkbooks! Spike TV just announced that they’ll be airing UFC 75. Here’s the release:

New York, NY, July 16, 2007 — Spike TV will telecast “UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion,” its most star-studded fight card ever, including the network’s first-ever UFC® title fight, a unification bout between UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and PRIDE’s 205-pound Champion Dan “Hollywood” Henderson, on Saturday, September 8 at 9:00 PM ET/PT (same day tape) from The O2 Arena in London, England. UFC 75 also features a major heavyweight battle with international superstar Mirko “Cro Cop” when he takes on France’s Cheick Kongo. As a special feature, England’s own and “The Ultimate Fighter® 3” Light Heavyweight Champion Michael “The Count” Bisping takes on fellow “The Ultimate Fighter 3” cast member Matt “The Hammer” Hamill.

“We are pleased that Spike TV will bring UFC 75 live from London to millions of UFC fans in the U.S. and Canada,” said Dana White, UFC President. “UFC 75 will be the UFC and PRIDE’s first ever unification match – this fight between Rampage Jackson and Dan Henderson will decide who is the best 205-pound fighter in the two organizations. This is the mega-fight that sports fans have always wanted, and after waiting almost a decade not only do they finally get it, they get to watch it for free on Spike TV.”

“Spike TV is thrilled to present such a monumental bout between these two great champions, said Kevin Kay, General Manager, Spike TV. “Not only will this be the first ever unification bout but it is Spike TV’s first ever UFC title fight.”

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is coming off a thrilling victory over Chuck Liddell. Knocking out “The Iceman” less than two minutes into the first round of their fight at UFC 71 in May to capture the light heavyweight crown, Jackson stopped a streak of four consecutive title defenses by Liddell. The 29-year-old has been a rising star in mixed martial arts since his 2001debut with the PRIDE Fighting organization (recently acquired by UFC ownership) he defeated many of the world’s best fighters, including a previous victory over Liddell in 2003. Jackson will put his new UFC title on the line against Henderson, the pound-for-pound superstar who holds two titles in PRIDE.

Henderson currently holds PRIDE’s 205 pound and 185 pound title. He is the only the only fighter in MMA history to hold two titles in two weight classes concurrently in a major fight organization. He enters his fight with Jackson after a stunning knockout victory over Wanderlei Silva last February, which was compelling since Silva had beaten Jackson twice before. Having represented the United States in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics in Greco-Roman wrestling, Henderson will look to impose his wrestling ability during his bout with Jackson in an attempt to make history again, this time by becoming the first fighter ever to hold both the UFC and PRIDE titles.

Mirko “Cro Cop” returns to the Octagon™ following his first UFC loss to Brazil’s Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 70 in Manchester, England. The fearsome kickboxer turned mixed martial artist was the 2006 PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix Champion and was expected by many to defeat Gonzaga en route to a mega-fight with Randy Couture for the heavyweight title at UFC 74 in August. Instead, Gonzaga turned the tables on “Cro Cop” and caught him with a right leg kick to the head, sending him to the canvas in a stunning upset nine seconds before the end of the first round. “Cro Cop” now goes back to England in an attempt to defeat Kongo and start a new reign of terror in the heavyweight division.

Kongo, like Cro Cop, is a kickboxer turned mixed martial artist. Not much was known of the 6’4” 240-pound Parisian when he made his UFC 61 debut in July of 2006 against Gilbert Aldana. He had an impressive record and a stellar reputation as a kickboxer, but many wondered if he could compete in the MMA arena. He answered that question quickly as he halted the rugged Aldana in the first round. Kongo then jumped back and scored another first round stoppage at UFC 62, this one over Christian Wellisch. At UFC 70, Kongo triumphed with a majority decision over popular Brazilian heavyweight Assuerio Silva, scoring his third win in the UFC.

In other undercard action, light heavyweights Michael Bisping and Matt Hamill will each be putting their undefeated records on the line in a match-up that most expected to see on “The Ultimate Fighter 3” before Hamill was forced to withdraw from the competition due to injury. Fighting out of Widnes, England, Bisping, winner of The Ultimate Fighter 3 in the light heavyweight division, comes into the bout off wins over Eric Schafer and Elvis Sinosic at UFC 66 and UFC 70 respectively.

“The Hammer” trains with Tito Ortiz and Team Punishment in Southern California, and most recently defeated Rex Holman at UFC 68. Hamill is a 2004 inductee in the Division III Wrestling Hall of Fame was the first U.S. wrestler to win gold medals in freestyle and Greco Roman competition in the 1997 World Games for the Deaf. The three-time NCAA National Champion attended the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester.

More details on the event to be announced shortly.

Caleb Newby of 411Mania.com is reporting the following:

UFC 75, featuring the anticipated bout between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Dan “Hollywood” Henderson, is not a lock to be shown on pay-per-view in the United States sources have told 411mania. Both Spike TV and HBO would be potential homes for the huge event (along with pay-per-view), though the status of any UFC programming on HBO has long been questionable. So while nothing has been finalized, UFC 75 appearing on free television (or nearly free television) is still viable as all parties involved work out the details.

You can read Caleb’s report by clicking here.

If it’s not going to be a PPV, my hope is that it’s on HBO. I just don’t know if I can deal with Dan Henderson vs. Quinton Jackson being on tape delay and having tons of commercials between rounds. If it’s a title unification match then it’s too important of a match not to be shown live.

If it is a Spike card, at least give people the option of paying to see it live on PPV.

Loretta Hunt from The Fight Network is reporting that Gleison Tibau will be fighting Terry Etim at UFC 75 on September 8 in London.

UFCJunkie.com is reporting that Marcus Davis will be fighting Paul Taylor at UFC 75 on September 8 in London.

There appears to be some good news coming out of the UFC. According to UFCDaily.com, Stephen Quadros reported on his radio show at Sherdog.com yesterday that the scheduled bout between UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Pride middleweight champion Dan Henderson at UFC 75 on September 8 in London will be for the UFC light heavyweight title.

Click here for the full story.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez will be assisting Mirko Cro Cop as Cro Cop prepares for his next fight at UFC 75 on September 8 against Cheick Kongo. The move to work with Rodriguez could be good for Cro Cop, so long as he doesn’t follow any nutrition advice from him.

Loretta Hunt from the Fight Network is also reporting that Rodriguez is claiming he’s been approached to fight Antonio “Big Foot” Silva in a clash of super heavyweights at an EliteXC card in November.

Hunt is also reporting that Silva underwent surgery in June to remove a tumor from his cranial region and will be ready to compete again in October. Although the California State Athletic Commission never made an official statement, it is believed that Silva was prevented from fighting on the June 2 “Dynamite USA” card because of the tumor. He could be ready to fight as early as October.

It’s also interesting to note that Hong Man-choi was apparently not allowed to fight on June 2 because of a similar condition. However, he’s not going to have surgery and will be fighting on a K-1 MMA card on August 5 against “Big Daddy” Gary Goodridge. K-1 has talked about returning to the States but their decision to have Hong Man fight without addressing his medical condition could make getting licensed in the U.S. a little bit difficult.

After previously saying a bout scheduled for UFC 75 on September 8 in London between UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson and Pride middleweight champion Dan Henderson would be title vs. title, UFC president Dana White has softened his stance and indicated during a conference call last week to promote UFC 73 that it could be a non-title bout.

According to Carlos Arias of the Orange County Register, White said the following when asked if the bout would be a title unification match:

“No. What we’re doing with that thing is we’re respecting both (the UFC and PRIDE) titles. The UFC title is the UFC champion and we’re respecting Dan as the PRIDE champion. Quinton will walk out with his belt if Dan wins and vice versa.”

So if the titles won’t be unified then I guess the Henderson vs. Jackson match can be considered a title bout? I wonder if that means it will only be three rounds instead of five. MMA is not regulated in the UK so if the UFC wants the match to be five round then they wouldn’t need to get special permission.

MMAWeekly.com is reporting that Houston Alexander has signed a new three-fight contract with the UFC. Alexander had been contracted to more fights under his original entry-level contract but it appears the UFC saw fit to give him a bump in pay. The first fight on the contract will take place at UFC 75 against Alessio Sakara on September 8 in London.

I find the move to be a mild surprise because even though I think Alexander earned a better deal following his fight against Keith Jardine, it isn’t like the UFC to re-do a deal for a fighter who is relatively unproven. If a guy outperforms his pay the UFC has a tendency to reward him through bonuses such as fight of the night and knockout of the night. Dana White has been particularly generous the last few cards as he awarded multiple bonuses for fight of the night and knockout of the night.

The fact that they would break from tradition for Alexander shows that they think highly of him.

Dana White confirmed on ESPNews yesterday that Mirko Cro Cop will be taking on Cheick Kongo at UFC 75 on September 8 in London.

I believe this is a great matchup for Cro Cop in what could prove to be a very exciting fight. Both have similar styles since each are strikers. However, Cro Cop is the more dangerous striker of the two.

I get the feeling that the UFC is trying to set up a win for Cro Cop here so that he can be put in a position to fight for the UFC heavyweight title in his next bout.

In the events section under UFC 75 on UFC.com, Quinton Jackson vs. Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping vs. Matt Hamill are listed as the only two official matches.

See for yourself at:

http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=eventDetail.FightCard&eid=758

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, a match between Michael Bisping vs. Matt Hamill at UFC 75 in London is still scheduled. He said a match between Bisping against Ken Shamrock may have been discussed at one point but that it’s not the current plan.

Brian Knapp from The Fight Network is reporting that the UFC officially announced at a London press conference today that UFC 75 will be taking place in London on September 8.

UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson will fight Pride middleweight (205 lbs.) champion Dan Henderson in a title unification bout in the main event.

No other matches were announced. Mirko Cro Cop was at the press conference but Cheick Kongo was not. Kongo has said he will be fighting Cro Cop and the UFC has presented the match to Cro Cop’s people, but a bout agreement has not been signed. There is a chance Cro Cop’s camp is holding out for a higher-profile opponent.

The reported bout between Michael Bisping and Ken Shamrock has not been announced. The Fight Network’s Loretta Hunt is claiming that a source close to the UFC and a source close to Bisping’s camp has said the match has been proposed.

Rod Donohoo, Shamrock’s agent, confirmed to TFN this morning that negotiations with the UFC for a comeback are taking place but a specific opponent has yet to be presented. Donohoo said they are open to the idea of fighting Bisping but are waiting for a call from the UFC to discuss particulars.