UFC 86

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Cole Miller vs. Jorge Gurgel at UFC 86

by Dann Stupp on Apr 23, 2008 at 11:06 am ET

"The Ultimate Fighter 5" cast member Cole Miller (13-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) will look to rebound from a recent loss when he meets fellow lightweight Jorge Gurgel (12-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) at UFC 86.

The July 5 event takes place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and features a main event of UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin.

Sources close to both fighters confirmed the bout with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). Bout agreements are being finalized, though both fighters have agreed to the fight.

Miller, part of the famed Florida-based American Top Team, most recently suffered a second-round TKO to Jeremy Stephens. The January loss at UFC Fight Night 12 snapped a four-fight win streak, which included a September 2007 victory over Leonard Garcia.

The submission specialist, who turns 24 on Saturday, will look to get back in the win column when he takes on 31-year-old Gurgel, who competed on "The Ultimate Fighter 2." Gurgel most recently defeated John Halverson at UFC 82 in March. After finishing his first nine career victories via submission, Gurgel's past three wins -- all in the UFC -- have come via decision.

Tyson Griffin vs. Marcus Aurelio at UFC 86

by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Apr 11, 2008 at 11:39 am

UFC lightweights Tyson Griffin (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) and Marcus Aurelio (16-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC) will meet at UFC 86, an event that takes place July 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

The fight, which will likely appear on the televised portion of the pay-per-view event, was first reported by MMAWeekly.com.

According to the report, bout agreements are expected to be signed shortly.

Griffin will look to continue his ascent in the UFC's lightweight division as he goes for his fourth straight victory. Aside from a loss to Frankie Edgar, Griffin has been perfect in the UFC, defeating David Lee, Clay Guida, Thiago Tavares and Gleison Tibau. (In fact, his resume outside the UFC is nearly as impressive with victories over WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber and Duane "Bang" Ludwig.)

Aurelio, a longtime PRIDE Bushido fighter, made his octagon debut at UFC 74 and was upset by Guida. However, the American Top Team fighter has since rebounded for dominating victories over Luke Caudillo (first-round TKO) at UFC 78 and Ryan Roberts (16-second submission) earlier this month at UFC Fight Night 13.

Despite being nearly three months away, UFC 86's fight card is almost full.

Stevenson vs. Tibau official for UFC 86

by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Apr 10, 2008 at 1:07 pm

A long-rumored UFC 86 bout between UFC lightweight contender Joe Stevenson (28-8 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and Gleison Tibau (15-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) is now official.

The organization recently added the fight, which has been guaranteed TV time on the pay-per-view broadcast, to the Events section of UFC.com.

UFC 86 takes place July 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and features a main event between UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin, who can currently be seen each Wednesday on episodes of "The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest."

Stevenson returns to action for the first time since his UFC 80 loss to B.J. Penn. The fight, which was for the UFC's interim lightweight title, headlined the January event. Stevenson was floored and suffered a cut early in the fight, but he proved resilient and survived the round. Penn, though, ended it in the second with a rear-naked choke.

Stevenson, the welterweight winner of "The Ultimate Fighter 2," had strung together five consecutive victories to get the title shot. He now looks to get back into contention against Tibau, who had a four-fight win streak snapped by Tyson Griffin at UFC 81 in February.

Tibau, part of the famed American Top Team, has won six of his past eight fights. Prior to the loss to Griffin, the 24-year-old Brazilian delivered highly touted British fighter Terry Etim his first career loss during UFC 75 in September.

The UFC 86 card now includes:

• Champion Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin (for UFC light heavyweight belt)
• Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle*
• Ricardo Almeida vs. Patrick Cote*
• Justin McCully vs. Frank Mir
• Joe Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau
• Justin Bucholz vs. Corey Hill*
• Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Siver
• Cole Miller vs. TBA*
• Jared Rollins vs. Ben Saunders*
• Steve Bruno vs. TBA*

Ben Saunders vs. Jared Rollins at UFC 86

by Dann Stupp on Apr 08, 2008 at 8:47 pm

Ben Saunders (5-0-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Jared Rollins (6-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC), two survivors from the recent purge of talent from "The Ultimate Fighter 6," will meet at UFC 86, a July 5 event that takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

A source close to one of the fighters -- one that's signed a bout agreement -- alerted MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) of the fight today.

UFC 86, which features a main event between UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin, was officially announced last week.

MMAjunkie.com first reported last month that Saunders was expected to be part of the card.

The Florida-based fighter, a "TUF" quarterfinalist, was eventually knocked out of the competition by show runner-up Tommy Speer. The 25-year-old defeated Dan Barrera via split decision in the show's opening round, and the two fighters met again at the live finale in December. There, Saunders earned a unanimous-decision victory.

Rollins, meanwhile, was knocked out of the first "TUF" round with a knockout loss to George Sotiropoulos. The 31-year-old returned at the live finale and dropped a third-round TKO to Jon Koppenhaver but picked up a "Fight of the Night" bonus in the process.

Guillard vs. Siver set for UFC 86

by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Apr 04, 2008 at 5:13 pm

UFC lightweight Melvin Guillard (21-7-2 MMA, 4-3 UFC), who briefly left the organization after back-to-back first-round submission losses, will return to the UFC to fight Dennis Siver (11-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) at UFC 86.

The event, which features a main event between UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin, takes place July 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view event was officially announced overnight on UFC.com.

The Guillard-Silver fight will take place on UFC 86's un-televised preliminary card.

Guillard, who entered the UFC through the second season of "The Ultimate Fighter," had emerged as a promising lightweight contender, but after a failed drug test for cocaine, high-profile losses to Joe Stevenson and rival Rich Clementi, and more than a few questionable comments made in interviews, he agreed to compete outside the organization.

Guillard headlined and earned a unanimous-decision victory over Eric Regan (9-9) in a Rage in the Cage event last month.

He's now set to return to the UFC against Siver.

MMAjunkie.com passed along a report earlier this week that the 29-year-old fighter had been booked for the event. The German made his octagon debut at UFC 70 and suffered an 81-second submission loss to Jess Liaudin.

Siver bounced back for a second-round knockout of Naoyuki Kotani at UFC 75 before a unanimous-decision loss to Gray Maynard earlier this year at UFC Fight Night 12.

Report: Mir vs. McCully at UFC 86

by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Apr 02, 2008 at 10:06 am

Heavyweights Frank Mir (11-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) and Justin McCully (8-3-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will meet at UFC 86, an event that features a title fight between 205-pound champ Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin on July 5 in Las Vegas.

The report comes from MMAWeekly.com, citing sources close to both fighters.

Mir is riding high after a come-from-behind victory over Brock Lesnar in February. McCully, meanwhile, will return from injuries and fight in the octagon for the first time since his successful UFC debut nearly a year ago.

Mir, a former UFC heavyweight champion, earned co-main-event status during his UFC 81 fight with former NCAA Division I wrestling champion and WWE performer Lesnar. On the verge of suffering a TKO early in the fight, Mir got a break when Lesnar was deducted a point for blows to the back of the head. Lesnar continued to deliver brutal strikes, but Mir survived to slap on a fight-ending kneebar just 90 seconds into the fight.

Mir, who suffered a devastating motorcycle accident in 2004, picked up his second straight victory and his third win in his past four fights.

With his victory over Antoni Hardonk a year ago, McCully, a member of Tito Ortiz's Team Punishment, is now 3-0 since returning to MMA after a three-year break from the sport. He has a four-fight win streak and has won five of his past six fights overall.

Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle Likely for UFC 86

by Dann Stupp on Mar 26, 2008 at 8:00 am

Welterweight contender Josh Koscheck (10-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) and "The Ultimate Fighter 4" runner-up Chris Lytle (25-15-5 MMA, 4-7 UFC) will likely meet at UFC 86.

Rumors of Lytle's involvement in the event surfaced last week, but Ken Pavia, Lytle's manager, would only tell MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Lytle got a "big opponent" for the event. Since then, a sponsor for one of the fighters tells us the fight is close to being announced.

The bout is destined for the main card of UFC 86, which takes place July 5 in Las Vegas,

Koscheck is coming off a victory over Dustin Hazelett at UFC 82. The youngster gave Koscheck a tough fight, but the American Kickboxing Academy fighter eventually ended it with a second-round knockout.

The fight was Koscheck's first since an August loss to Georges St. Pierre, which snapped his five-fight win streak and cost him a shot at the title.

He'll now take on the veteran Lytle, who most recently stopped UFC newcomer Kyle Bradley with a 33-second TKO at UFC 81.

"The Ultimate Fighter 4" welterweight runner-up previously battled Thiago Alves at UFC 78, where each fighter earned a $55,000 "Fight of the Night" bonus for the performance. The back-and-forth, up-and-down battle included knockdowns from both fighters. However, the fight was stopped after the second round because of a cut over Lytle's eye.

Lytle has now won three of his past four fights.

Cote vs. Almeida at UFC 86

by Dann Stupp on Mar 25, 2008 at 10:52 am

Rising middleweight contenders Patrick Cote (12-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC) and Ricardo Almeida (9-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) will meet at UFC 86, an event set for July 5 in Las Vegas.

The Fight Network broke the news today, learning of the bout from Cote and and the Canadian's training partner, David Loiseau.

Although Almeida himself did not confirm the bout in their report, MMAjunkie.com was told from a source close to the fighter that he was presented with the fight and accepted it last week.

UFC 86 will likely take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center or the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Sin City. The event features a headline bout between "The Ultimate Fighter 7" coaches: UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson and challenger Forrest Griffin.

Cote, 28, wil go for his fourth straight victory in the UFC -- and his fifth straight overall. The fighter began his UFC career with four straight losses, including a submission defeat to Travis Lutter in the finals of "The Ultimate Fighter 4," a special "comeback" season of the reality series. Of his four victories since then, three have come via first-round knockout against Jason Day, Kendall Grove and Drew McFedries.

He'll now take on Almedia, 31, who returned from a near-four-year layoff at UFC 81. There, he defeated Rob Yundt with a 68-second submission victory. Almeida, who fought for the UFC, Pancrase and PRIDE prior to the layoff, has now won seven straight fights.

The winner of the Cote vs. Almeida fight could earn serious consideration for a middleweight title shot, largely because the division is lacking depth, as far as true contenders are concerned.

Report: Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin Set for UFC 86 on July 5

by Dann Stupp on Mar 03, 2008 at 4:59 pm

Just two weeks after "The Ultimate Fighter 7" season finale takes place, UFC light heavyweight Quinton Jackson (28-6 MMA, 3-0 UFC) and Forrest Griffin (15-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) -- the show's two coaches -- will headline a UFC 86 event in Las Vegas.

The report comes from Dave Meltzer's print edition of the Wrestling Observer.

As of today, though, the date hasn't officially been approved by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. However, an NSAC representative today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that it's not uncommon for the UFC to announce a date that hasn't been scheduled with the commission -- especially when it's four months away.

Back in December UFC president Dana White announced that Jackson and Griffin would serve as coaches on "TUF 7," which is currently filming in Las Vegas, and would then headline a major UFC event.

Jackson, who debuted in the UFC with a win over Marvin Eastman in February 2007, defeated Chuck Liddell three months later to win the light heavyweight championship. His first title defense was a successful one as he defeated Dan Henderson via unanimous decision at September's UFC 75 event.

Griffin, the light heavyweight winner of "The Ultimate Fighter 1," secured his title shot with an upset victory over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in September. The submission victory pushed his UFC record to 6-2, which has included victories over Stephan Bonnar (twice), Bill Mahood, Elvis Sinosic and Hector Ramirez.