Mixed Martial Arts: 2012

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Silva vs. Franklin 2 to Headline UFC 147

Silva vs. Franklin 2 to Headline UFC 147

UFC 147 now has a new five-round main event, as former middleweight champion Rich Franklin will face "The Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva in a 190-pound catchweight feature. The two first met at UFC 99 in Germany, where Franklin earned a decision win and both men took home Fight of the Night bonuses.

Silva was originally set to face fellow TUF Brasil coach Vitor Belfort in a rematch of their 1998 UFC Brazil bout, but a hand injury forced Belfort to withdraw from the event. Franklin had been training to meet Cung Le at UFC 148 -- plans for Le's next matchup will be announced shortly.

The co-main bout will feature heavyweight stand-outs Fabrício Werdum and Mike Russow, both coming off wins in their last fight.

Plus, two elite Brazilian featherweights will go head-to-head as Yuri Alcantara fights Hacran Dias. The two have nearly 50 combined wins without a defeat in years. Their styles and ability to finish the fight anywhere make for a hard-to-predict bout that should pique the interest of hardcore fans.

A featherweight showdown between Felipe Arantes and Milton Vieira will also take place at this event. Vieira is a longtime veteran of the sport, known for his incredible durability and submission ability, while Arantes is a young prospect with a flashy and powerful striking game.

The remainder of the fight card will feature contestants from TUF Brasil, including the two finalists vying to become the show's first-ever Ultimate Fighter.

Friday, February 17, 2012

The Itinerant Lens: MMA Photographer Keith Mills.

By Jim Genia
February 16th, 2012

This isn’t a story about fighter pay. This isn’t a story about the financial inequities – perceived or actual – in the business of sanctioned fighting. This isn’t about how someone should be compensated for their services, or about how life can be unkind to those who are diligent and hardworking. This is a story about Keith Mills, who, at 43-years old, has been covering the sport of mixed martial arts since before it was even called that, since before there was “The Ultimate Fighter” and live events aired on FOX, since before the bald guy in Las Vegas began issuing forth profanity-laced tirades and made what was once spectacle into a billion-dollar industry. For over eleven years, Keith has been aiming his lens and capturing shots of mixed martial arts competitors in action. His work appears regularly in everything from mainstream outlets ESPN and Sports Illustrated to top MMA news websites Sherdog.com and MMAWeekly.com to the United Kingdom magazine Fighters Only and the Japanese magazine Gong. He’s been flown out to shoot fights in such locales as Costa Rica, Hawaii and Russia. And for the last two and a half years, Keith has been homeless.

When you look at him it makes sense, the Devil, as they say, residing right there in the details. There’s his Abraham Lincoln-esque beard and missing front teeth, his tattered, patchwork denim jacket and the Full Contact Fighter magazine logo tattooed on his upper arm, all contributing to an appearance akin to some Amish/outlaw biker hybrid sans menace, his friendly demeanor the only indication that he won’t hit you with a tire iron when your back is turned. He’s the Octagon Generation’s version of Vietnam War photojournalist Sean Flynn, a figure of stylized eccentricity, shooting pics of combat not from the berm of a rice paddy but from the edge of a cage.
READ MORE: MMA-EXTREME.com - Random MMA stuff. » The Itinerant Lens