Friday, June 5 3:49 pm PT: It's a great weekend to be an MMA fan, with major cards from both Strikeforce and WEC. However, if you're in Poland or Aruba, your enthusiasm for the sport may be tempered.
Two of this weekend's best regional MMA shows, both slated for Saturday -- Pro Fight 4 in Szczecin, Poland and Vengeance FC 2 in Oranjestad, Aruba -- were both cancelled late this week. Pro Fight were forced to nix their fourth effort at the Szczecin Sports House on Wednesday due to paltry ticket sales, while Vengeance FC officials told Sherdog.com Friday that their event at the Renaissance Aruba Resort and Casino would be rescheduled as a result of a venue conflict.
In a statement on the promotion's official Web site, Pro Fight revealed that Saturday's event was cancelled "as a result of small interest and weak ticket sales."
Friday, June 5 11:35 am PT: Training partners Nick Diaz and Jake Shields have equally imposing competition Saturday: Both men will be stepping outside of the welterweight class to confront middleweights in Scott Smith and Robbie Lawler.
The last in a weeklong series examining fighters who moved up a weight class and didn’t look any worse for the effort:
The man with the biggest smile on his face after Lyoto Machida’s capturing of the light-heavyweight title on May 23 wasn’t his father, his brothers or Lyoto himself: It was Penn, who holds the improbable honor of going the distance with MMA’s newest mythic figure.
Newly minted UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida got a hero’s welcome from more than 100 fans that greeted him at Belém International airport this week. The 31-year-old Machida knocked out Rashad Evans in the second round of their UFC 98 title tilt on May 23 in Las Vegas.
“I knew they would have a party for me, but I didn’t expect that much,” said the clearly moved Machida.
