File Photo: Jeff Sherwood/Sherdog.com
• After a brief period of uncertainty, the UFC announced this week that it will make its Vancouver debut on June 12 with UFC 115 from General Motors Place. There were reports in Canadian media that the UFC and Vancouver officials could not resolve an issue about whether the city would cover insurance for the event. The UFC was looking at Cincinnati, Ohio, as an alternate location for the June card. UFC President Dana White credited Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson for making the show happen. Robertson was quoted in a UFC press release expressing excitement about the event.
The card is expected to be headlined by a Chuck Liddell fight. Liddell asserted in a conference call this week that his opponent will be Tito Ortiz, who has signed for the fight but was absent from the call and has been out of dodge since reports emerged that he falls off the ongoing “The Ultimate Fighter 11” reality show, where he coaches opposite Liddell to build the fight. Rich Franklin has been approached about fighting Liddell, and Heavy.com reported this week that Liddell vs. Randy Couture is also being considered.
• An opponent for Hidehiko Yoshida in the judo gold medalist’s MMA retirement match was announced this week. UFC and Pride veteran Kazuhiro Nakamura, a member of Yoshida’s camp and a fellow judoka, will help Yoshida cap a memorable MMA career.
Due mostly to widely-watched fights with the likes of Royce Gracie and Wanderlei Silva, Yoshida was one of the sport’s biggest stars in Japan between 2003 and 2006. He is 2-4 in his last six fights. The bout will headline the first event from the Astra promotion on April 25 in Tokyo. ASTRA was formed after fighters and management from the J-Rock Entertainment Group, which represents Yoshida, cut ties with the Sengoku promotion late last year.
• The latest HDNet broadcast of the "King of the Cage" promotion on March 26 saw one of MMA's longest winning streaks ended. Tony Lopez, a two-division fighter who put together 16 consecutive wins, largely in KOTC, dropped his heavyweight title to All-American wrestler Tony Johnson, an American Top Team exponent. Johnson controlled position and tempo en route to a unanimous decision. The card from Reno, Nev., also saw Mike Kyle stop Jon Murphy in the second round with strikes, Team Alpha Male prospect Dustin Akbari knock out Jack Montgomery and Quinn Mulhern build off his win over Rich Clementi by submitting Koffi Adzito. KOTC returns to HDNet on April 16.
• Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker confirmed this week that the May 15 fight between Alistair Overeem and Brett Rogers in Nashville, Tenn., will be for the Strikeforce Heavyweight Championship. The decision put Coker on the defensive in the media, as it creates a rare scenario where a fighter coming off a loss gets a title shot. Overeem fights Dzevad Poturak in a K-1 bout this weekend in Yokohama, Japan.