Ramsey Nijem on Winning His Fight, Painting His Toenails
by Michael David Smith
Ramsey Nijem stepped into the cage and won his fight against Charlie Rader on this week’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter, using his solid wrestling base to control Rader, take him down and finish him with a rear-naked choke.
But this week’s episode of the UFC’s reality show focused almost as much on Nijem’s personality outside the cage, where his habits — including painting his toenails and watching Glee — make him something very different from the stereotypical cage fighter.
In his weekly interview with MMAFighting.com, Nijem talked about his victory over Rader, shed a little more light on his personality outside the cage, and shared his thoughts on advancing to the next round of this season’s Ultimate Fighter tournament.
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Rob Broughton Mike Brown Junie Browning Paul Buentello Josh BurkmanÂ
With three wins since WEC release, Chad George aiming for UFC slot
COMMERCE, Calif – Chad George picked up his third consecutive win since his release from the WEC in late 2010, and he wants back to the big show in a big way.
But when he returns, he said he’s going to have a much different outlook. Instead of asking himself whether he’s at an opponent’s level, he’ll ask whether they’re at his.
“I’m taking one person at time to prove that they are not,” George told MMAjunkie.com.
Jorge Gurgel Andre Gusmao Alexander Gustafsson Jaime Gutierrez Dave Gomez
Bellator 61 draws second lowest ratings on MTV with 108,000 viewers
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Friday nights have not been kind to the UFC or Bellator thus far from a ratings standpoint. The Ultimate Fighter’s first live season has seen lower ratings than previous seasons on Spike, and Bellator hasn’t fared any better.
According to a report from MMAJunkie.com, last Friday’s Bellator 61 event drew just 108,000 viewers to MTV2, the second lowest mark for the organization on the network.
That number was down from an already below average mark of 169,000 viewers for Bellator 60 the week before. Bellator remains on MTV2 through the end of the year, then will switch to Spike TV in 2013.
After much needed win, Jake Shields ready to move back into UFC Title contention
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
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From November of 2005 to October of 2010, Jake Shields proved himself as one of the top competitors in the sport by winning 15 straight fights through two different weight classes. That streak brought him to a shot at the UFC Welterweight Championship last April, where he suffered his first loss in five years to Georges St-Pierre.
After the death of his father late last summer, he opted to go through with a planned bout against Jake Ellenberger, where he suffered another loss, the first time in his career he had dropped consecutive fights.
At UFC 144 in Japan last month, Shields returned from some much needed time off, and defeated Yoshihiro Akiyama in what turned out to be mostly a striking battle. That fact in and of itself was unexpected, but it was a win Shields needed to get himself back upright following a very difficult 2011.
“For this fight with Akiyama, I was hungry again,? Shields said in an interview with HeavyMMA. ?I hate losing, and the win over Akiyama felt great. I got me back into the win column and back on track. I’m hungry to get back to the top. Now I’m waiting to get my next fight. I really want to get back on track and earn another title shot.”
“I’m already back in the gym trying to get better. I’m pushing my standup and every element of my game to become the best fighter I can possibly be. I’m hungry and I want to go out there and take somebody out.”
Shields believes he can’t be too far out from a return to the top, especially considering some of the wins he’s already got on his record. Still, he’s simply waiting for his next opportunity to prove he belongs in the upper tier of the UFC’s welterweight division, and hopes to get a big fight his next time out.
“My striking still has holes, but it has gotten a lot better,” Shields said. “I am going to continue to work and develop my skills and I believe in the next year I’ll be able to stand with the best strikers out there. I still have a little ways to go, but we have definitely made big improvements.”
“I came so close to the title and fell short. Now I feel like I’m close again. I’ve beaten the current [Interim] Champion, Carlos Condit, and Martin Kampmann, who is a top contender right now. I know I can beat these guys, and it all depends on me working my way back up and getting my shot. I’m not sure what’s next, but hopefully the UFC will give me a contender so I can get back up where I want to be.”
Penick’s Analysis: Shields remains a very good fighter, elite in some aspects, more than serviceable in others, and the fact that he lost to two very good fighters last year doesn’t in any way change that. He’s very capable of competing with anyone in the welterweight division, and anyone the UFC matches him up against is going to have a tough time dealing with his grappling game. He absolutely needs to continue improving his striking game, because many of the guys at the top will not let him off the hook as much as Akiyama did, but if he tightens up some of that aspect, and finds a way to implement his will more often than not in his fights, he’s going to find himself back in consideration for a title fight eventually.
Aldrin de Jesus Todd Duffee Marvin Eastman Stav Crazy Bear Economou Yves EdwardsÂ
Bantamweight bout between Renan Barao-Jeff Hougland added to July 7 lineup
The UFC?s annual July 4th Weekend card grew again today with the addition of a bantamweight bout between sensational scrapper Renan Barao and submission specialist Jeff Hougland. Their fight is the latest in a run of recently announced rumbles for UFC 148 including middleweight match-ups featuring Rich Franklin-Cung Le and Tim Boetsch-Michael Bisping. UFC officials [...]
Jermaine Andrè Yoji Anjo Ao Hailin Shinya Aoki Andrei ArlovskiÂ
Bellator 61 Results: Falcao, Vasilevsky, Santos, and Rogers Advance in Middleweight Tournament
Bellator 61 took place tonight in Bossier City, LA. The event featured the start of the middleweight tournament with Brian Rogers delivering the highlight of the evening with a nasty flying knee knockout of Vitor Vianna.
UFC veteran Maiquel Falcao, Vyacheslav Vasilevsky, and Bruno Santos also advanced with wins tonight.
Mauro Galvao Arman Gambaryan Manvel Gamburyan Sean Gannon Edgar Garcia
Anthony Johnson Signs With Titan Fighting Championships
<B>By MATT MOLGAARD<BR>
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer</B><BR><BR>
Anthony ?Rumble? Johnson (10-4) didn?t reside in the realm of free agency long; Titan Fighting Championships has signed the UFC castaway to a contract.<BR><BR>
Johnson will continue his campaign at middleweight (which began with his final fight in the UFC) for the promotion. He?s expected to make his debut at Titan Fighting 22 on May 25th, according to Titan CEO Joe Kelly. An official opponent has yet to be named.<BR><BR>
Johnson found himself struggling with weight issues during his tenure with the UFC, missing contracted limits on three separate occasions. In his last outing for the Zuffa owned promotion, Johnson missed the 185 pound limit by a staggering 12 pounds (11, considering the one pound leeway afforded fighters competing in non-title fights).<BR><BR>
The bout, a scheduled affair with Vitor Belfort, continued on as planned. Unfortunately for ?Rumble?, Belfort secured a first round submission victory, which certainly hammered the final nail in Johnson?s UFC career coffin.<BR><BR>
Victories over Yoshiyuki Yoshida, Dan Hardy and Luigi Fioravanti anchor the well-rounded middleweights ledger.<BR><BR>
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Luiz Cane Dos Caras Jr  Phil Cardella Roan Jucao Carneiro Shane The Engineer CarwinÂ