Having signed new television deals with Fox Sports Net (live events), NBC (1/2 hr highlights package) and Telemundo (1 hr highlight show), and brought in some of the finest up and coming talent around for their tournament based set-up they had already marked themselves out as one’s to watch in the forthcoming months.

Today however they went a step further by announcing a high-profile signing, former UFC lightweight fighter Roger Huerta.

Huerta will fight in Bellator’s lightweight tournament, and if he goes on to win it he will face last year’s champion Eddie Alvarez in what would certainly be an intriguing encounter.

He is expected to have his first fight in the opening round of the eight-man tournament on April 8th, though his opponent is still to be announced.

After six straight victories in the UFC, and having appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated magazine, Huerta was well on his way to becoming a star in the sport before losing to Kenny Florian at UFC 87 in 2008.

Later he turned down a new long-term deal with the company in order to pursue an acting career. He featured in the movie version of the Tekken video game franchise, but it proved not to be as successful he had hoped.

In September of ‘09 he returned to the UFC for the final fight on his contract, and lost out to Gray Maynard by split-decision.

Despite the back-to-back defeats Huerta (21-3-1 1nc) is still a talented fighter, and with his acting ambitions apparently on-hold for the time being he is a quality addition to the Bellator roster.

He had apparently also been speaking to Strikeforce in recent weeks, and if he hadn’t fallen out of favor with the UFC due to his desire to become an actor it is likely that they too would still have been happy to keep him on the roster, making this somewhat of a coup for Bellator.

Bellator also recently announced another former UFC fighter Josh Neer will compete for the promotion in a ’super fight’ with Eddie Alvarez. The bout is believed to be taking place in May at a catch-weight of 160lbs.

The information comes directly from Versus own twitter page.

“Great news DirecTV subscribers: VERSUS is back! Tune into channel 603 to catch up on what you’ve been missing, including NHL tonight!”

This is great news for mixed martial arts fans on the DirecTV platform who have been missing out on several WEC events recently since Versus was pulled due to a contract dispute.

It’s also perfect timing since the UFC are just set to launch their first ‘UFC On Versus’ event this Sunday evening featuring Jon Jones Vs Brandon Vera in the main event.

The promo features current lightweight champion BJ Penn, who narrates a brief history of his career to date while real-life footage of him is merged with footage taken directly from the game.

I like the Penn trailer since it gives casual fans a chance to learn about and connect with a character they will be able to play in the finished game, but I would have liked to have seen more actual footage of the new features that have been added since last years 3.5 million selling release.

Check it out for yourselves below.

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“I’ve been getting stronger in every workout,” the former UFC heavyweight champion said. “Only difference is I guess everyone has their genetic limit to how much weight they can really put on.”

“I’ve kind of plateaued off, I don’t really think I’m going to get much bigger. Strength wise, yeah, tendons and nervous system and stuff, and the one attribute that I feel has increased the most is actually my speed, I’ve never felt quicker.”

Despite his new regime Mir has also come to the realization that there is always a risk of over-training.

“I think it’s a huge advantage to keep fighting consistently. I think that all fighters and all athletes see that,” he admits. “I think that when you take three of four months to get ready for a fight you over-train. I think you train too much, or you take too much time off and you get out of shape.

“I think by getting fights consistently closer together your always in decent shape so you can train smart and effective with quality training in the gym. Otherwise you get stagnant, you know who wants to spend four months in the gym with no payoff, no fights? I’m a fighter, I want to be in the arena competing.”

Mir also went on to discuss his next opponent at UFC 111 on March 27th, Shane Carwin.

“There is a lot of mystery about him. It’s an advantage I feel, on March 27th, once we enter the octagon, that he hasn’t been to the third minute of a single fight for me. As far as preparation for that fight, I think it’s a disadvantage for me that I haven’t seen a lot of footage on him.”

The fighter also discussed his new company ‘Suffer’ which has just launched a new magazine.

Watch the full press conference below…

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“Thinking that life couldn’t get any harder? It just did! Another challenge that god has given me! WOW..,” one of the post stated.

Earlier today we learned that he is no longer set to face Chuck Liddell after the conclusion of TUF Season 11.  Instead Rich Franklin is now reported to be Liddell’s opponent at the UFC 115 event on June 12th.

This has lead to further questions over what has happened to Ortiz, which were only further amplified when Fighters Only claimed that, “Ortiz is out of the fight but not because of injury; he is healthy and is not suffering back problems as some rumours claim. The reason for his withdrawal is known to Fighters Only is something that may significantly impact his future as a fighter, but we cannot report the details at this point.”

Further revelations have emerged later today when MMAJunkie claimed that Ortiz may not have even completed his stint as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter.

“MMAjunkie.com has learned from additional sources that Ortiz was not able to complete the filming of “The Ultimate Fighter 11,” though the reasoning behind his absence wasn’t immediately known.

Those same sources suggested that Franklin was possibly brought in as a replacement coach to finish out the season’s filming, and “Ace” now meets Liddell as an opposing “TUF” coach.”

It’s certainly a puzzling set of circumstances.  Clearly something significant must have happened to Ortiz, but the UFC may be attempting to keep the full details under wraps until the latest season of TUF airs as this will undoubtedly be a focal point of the show.

Since Fighters Only appeared to rule out an injury problem the logical reasons behind Ortiz being replaced would seem to be either an illness of some kind, or perhaps some sort of fallout that’s occurred during the taping of The Ultimate Fighter.

One things for sure, for better or worse there’s never a dull moment when Tito Ortiz is around.

Update:

Dana White has denied that Franklin Vs Liddell is in the works, and claims that there is nothing wrong with Ortiz, though he hasn’t confirmed or denied that the fighter was replaced on the show.

Doubts remain however, with MMAJunkie sticking by their original story.  Is it a case of ‘no smoke without fire’ or not?

Read more on these latest developments here

It’s rare to get him to talk about the sport for the whole interview however, but that’s just what Ron Kruk of HDNet has managed to do, and as always with Roach it’s enjoyable to hear his thoughts.

First off Roach gave his impressions on some of the MMA fighters he has worked with.

BJ Penn:  “My first MMA fighter to train with was Penn.  Great guy, I think he’s one of the best strikers I’ve ever worked with…he can really punch.”

Anderson Silva: “I couldn’t figure him out completely at first.  He is one of those guys, in the gym he goes at 30 to 40 percent, you know?  He’s just getting his timing, getting his thing going.  I had him spar with a couple of my guys, young heavyweights, and it was about even.  I said, uh, maybe he not as good..maybe he shouldn’t fight Roy Jones,” says Roach.

“Then I watch him on TV and I said, you know what?  That’s a whole different guy.  Now’s he’s got his A-game, he’s giving it 100% on the TV fight.  I see him measure people, set things up.  He’s a very intelligent guy, he knows distance, he knows where his comfort zone is.”

Andrei Arlovski: “Andrei I liked a lot because he went from a ground guy to a stand up guy, he loves stand-up.  I thought he could do well as a heavyweight.”

Roach also mentioned several other fighters who he would like to work with one day.

GSP: “GSP I’ve never met, but I’d like to work with him though, because he’s a talented guy and he’s a very intelligent fighter.”

Fedor Emelianenko: “Fedor, I would like to work with him.  His balance is not good – he’s flat footed a lot and he’s  heavy – easy to box if you use in-and-out or side-to-side motion.  He can be outboxed but the thing is he’s such a good puncher, you’ve got to be careful of that. And of course he’s a Sambo guy as well so he does have a  good ground also.  He’s one of the most complete fighters out there.”

In the wide-ranging interview Roach also admitted there was no doubt that it was tougher to switch from boxing to MMA than the other way around since boxers had no previous experience of fighting on the ground, and mixed martial arts is a more complicated sport.

“Boxing is a fight, it’s a complicated sport on it’s own, but then you take the ground game into effect also, and you’ve got to learn like five different sports to be good a good MMA fighter,” he says.

When asked which boxer he believed would have the best chance in MMA he suggest a fighter he trains,Manny Pacquiao, since he believed he had the speed and movement to keep out of danger, and noted that the pound-for-pound great had some muay-thai experience.

As for who hit harder, a boxer or an MMA fighter, Roach was certain it is the boxer since they train exclusively with their hands.

Finally he was asked which sport had the brighter future.

“I think that in about 10 years – if everything keeps going the way it is – boxing’s going to decline a bit with the audience, and MMA’s going to have that young audience. I think the boxing promoters have really lost sight of entertaining the people.”

Be sure to watch the full interview below to hear more of Roach’s thoughts on the sport.

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The news first emerged on the UG forum, where the original rumor that UFC were planning an April 17th event emerged from (and was later confirmed by Dana White).   Later Fighters Only confirmed that they too have heard the same news from a ‘reliable source.’

MMAWeekly and MMAJunkie later established that it is in fact UFC 115 on June 12th that the bout is being earmarked for.

This will come as a surprise to many given that Liddell was already scheduled to fight Tito Ortiz on that date after the culmination of The Ultimate Fighter Season 11 show which they have just finished starring in as coaches.

The plot thickens yet  further when you take into account comments from Fighters Only that suggests Ortiz may have some sort of issue that has not yet been revealed.

“Ortiz is out of the fight but not because of injury; he is healthy and is not suffering back problems as some rumours claim. The reason for his withdrawal is known to Fighters Only is something that may significantly impact his future as a fighter, but we cannot report the details at this point.”

That would certainly tie in with a recent article we published asking, ‘What’s Troubling Tito Ortiz?’ after he  made a series of posts on his twitter account that suggested that all was not well with the former UFC light-heavyweight champion.

At the time there was speculation that he was splitting up from his partner, Jenna Jameson, but subsequent posts from Ortiz suggest that is not the case.

Update:

There remains confusion over whether Franklin – Liddell will indeed take place or not.  All the major MMA sites reported on this bout, including Sherdog reporter Loretta Hunt stating that the two fighters had verbally agreed to the bout, backed up by MMAJunkie’s lead reporter John Morgan stating the same, citing sources close to the promotion.

Despite that, Dana White has since posted two messages on twitter that appear to refute these claims.

“Not true! We are doing couture vs franklin not chuck.”

“Nothing happened to tito. Tito and I are cool.”

Since then John Morgan has stuck by his original story, posting the following update:

“MMAjunkie.com has been informed by additional sources close to the promotion that while a Couture vs. Franklin fight has been discussed, there are numerous obstacles that could potentially prevent the matchup from taking place, and bout agreements have not been distributed.”

There’s clearly a lot more to come from this story so stay tuned to fightofthenight.com for all the latest details.

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Article updated on 13/03/10 to include the latest information regarding UFC 115 now being the reported destination of the fight, and further amended to reflect both Dana White’s rebuffals, and John Morgan’s additional info.

In a new interview with HDNet’s Inside MMA show Toney explained why he has been pushing so hard to get a fight in the octagon.

“I’m a big fan of mma, don’t get me wrong,” the boxer said. “I never said nothing less about the sport, but when you come and disrespect a man who’s 20 years deep, and has won 12 world titles in 6 different weight divisions, and go ‘mma sport is better than boxing’ – you gotta be kidding me.”

As for who he wants to fight first, Toney makes no bones about his desire to fight the best the promotion has to offer.

“I want Brock Lesnar. I’m the heavyweight champion of the world, versus the UFC champion – that would be a hell of a match.”

He’s not the only fighter on Toney’s list though. In fact he has a laundry list of big name opponents he’d like to square off against.

“Either Chuck Liddell, Brock Lesnar…Randy Couture…Tito Ortiz or whatever his name is, it doesn’t matter. I’m not a sideshow, this is the real deal here.”

It’s certainly going to be interesting to see how Dana White and Co. handle this situation. Of course there’s no chance he’ll be fighting Lesnar right off the bat, and for Toney’s sake that’s probably just as well.

The real question is whether they will give him a ‘tune-up fight’ first – Toney’s camp have been pushing hard for Kimbo Slice – or if he will be thrown in right away with one of the other established stars he’s been suggesting.

It’s hard to say which way it’ll go, but the answer will tell us much about how the UFC views James Toney.

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In the past couple of years there have been a number of films featuring familiar names from the MMA world, though more often than not these have been dodgy low budget b-movies trying to cash in on the sports popularity (If your not sure what I’m referring to then check out this clip featuring Rampage Jackson from the film ‘Death Warrior’ as a good example).

More recently however some have began to make in-roads into securing more significant roles in credible films, and even the occasional Hollywood blockbuster.

So sit back, grab some popcorn and read on as we pick out some of the movies that are either out now, or still to be released that feature familiar faces from the world of mixed martial arts.

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Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson - The A-Team: In Cinemas On 11th June

Plot: “A group of Iraq War veterans looks to clear their name with the U.S. military, who suspect the four men of committing a crime for which they were framed.”

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Of all the mma stars currently featuring in movies Rampage’s starring role as ‘B.A Baracus’ in The A-Team remake is arguably the most high profile. Appearing alongside familiar Hollywood stars like Liam Neeson and Jessica Biel this one is being pitched as a potential summer blockbuster.

According to the director Joe Carnahan (Smoking Aces / Ticker) they decided not to have Rampage try to copy Mr.T, but rather to create a new, updated version of B.A Baracus for the movie.

The A-Team could be a hit and catapult Rampage to movie stardom. On the other hand a popcorn movie like this may be easy prey for the critics, and there’s also the risk of a backlash against him from nostalgic fans who wanted Mr.T to resume his iconic role from the original TV series.

Here’s the trailer for the movie which hits cinemas on June 11th.

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Randy Couture – The Expendables: In Cinemas On August 13th

Plot: “A team of mercenaries head to South America on a mission to overthrow a dictator. ”

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Randy Couture is no stranger to acting having had a leading role in the ‘Scorpion King: Rise Of A Warrior’ amongst other projects, but this should be his biggest movie to date.

Starring alongside a rogues gallery of action stars like Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li and Dolph Lundgren, as well as other Hollywood actors like Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis and Charisma Carpenter, this movie should certainly attract a lot of attention when it’s released late in August.

It’s certainly not the kind of film that’s going to be up for The Oscars next year but the big question here is, how big of a part will Couture actually play in the film alongside all these familiar names from the silver-screen? If the trailer is anything to go by then it won’t be too big.

Judge for yourselves by watching the trailer below.

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Gina Carano – Knockout: In Cinemas Sometime In 2011

Plot: “A black ops super soldier seeks payback after she is betrayed and set up during a mission.”

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Gina Carano will be surrounded by an all-star cast which includes Ewan McGregor, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, Michael Fassbender and Channing Tatum, for her first starring role.

At the helm is Steven Soderbergh, the oscar winning director of films like ‘Traffic’, ‘Erin Brockovich’ and the Oceans 11-13 series, and that gives some hope that this spy-thriller could be the most credible and stylish film featuring an MMA star to date.

I’m curious to see how this one turns out. Carano certainly has the looks and natural charm to be a movie star, but she has always been camera-shy outside of the cage so it will be interesting to see if she can make an impact as an actress on the big screen.

This one is still in production so there’s no trailer as yet. Instead you’ll have to make do with a fleeting glimpse of Carano on set in Dublin getting chased by a SWAT team.

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Chuck Liddell – Passion Play: Release Date TBC

Plot: “An angel under the thumb of a ruthless gangster is saved by a trumpet player down on his luck.”

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Chuck Liddell’s first acting role at just 10 years of age in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it part in ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’, and he’s had small roles in a handful of television and movie sets since finding fame in the octagon.

His latest foray onto the big-screen is believed to be a minor part as a gangster in ‘Passion Play’, starring Mickey Rourke, Megan Fox and Bill Murray. It’s rumored Liddell had to pass through several auditions to get the part though, which suggests he will at least have some kind of speaking role.

The film, which is directed by Mitch Glazer (who wrote the scripts for ‘The Recruit’ and ‘Scrooged’), sounds a little out-there with Megan Fox’s character described as a “a caged circus freak with wings. All indications are that this one will be geared towards critical rather than commercial success when it eventually comes out.

Again this film is still in production so the best we can dig up as a preview is a photo of Fox and Rourke on-set.

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Andrei Arlovski – Universal Soldier: Regeneration – Out Now On DVD

Plot: “When terrorists threaten nuclear catastrophe, the world’s only hope is to reactivate decommissioned Universal Soldier Luc Deveraux.”

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He might not have had much luck in his fights recently, but Andrei Arlovski has been having a little more success with his fledgling acting career.

The film brings back the two adversaries who made the original Universal Soldier back in the 80’s a hit – Jean Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren, and throw’s Arlovski into the mix to up the ‘bad guy’ quotient. UFC fighter Mike Pyle makes an appearance in a smaller role.

Though the film went straight to DVD it has been well received by critics and fans, with both Arlovski and Pyle receiving a solid reception for their roles. Of course their roles were more action-orientated than anything else, but still, this could have turned out a lot worse.

Watch the official trailer below, and as an added bonus see Arlovski and Pyle fighting to the death in a full scene from the movie.

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Bob Sapp – Conan: Release date TBC 2011

Plot: “The tale of Conan the Cimmerian and his adventures across the continent of Hyboria.”

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Bob Sapp, who I guess can loosely be described as a mixed martial artists (though in recent times he more accurately resembles a human punching bag), is set to feature in a reboot of the Conan franchise, playing a villain known as Ukafa.

Sadly Arnold Schwarzenegger won’t be reprising his role as Conan, apparently the little known Jason Mamoa (Stargate) takes that honor, while Mickey Rourke and Stephen Lang (Avatar) have also been cast. Marcus Nispel who previously directed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday The 13th remakes will be at the helm.

Regenerating franchises has been big business in Hollywood lately so this could potentially be a good role for Sapp, though the cast that’s so far been assembled doesn’t exactly scream big-screen blockbuster to me. If nothing else at least it should keep Sapp from embarrassing himself in MMA bouts for a while.

There’s no footage available from this movie yet, so instead here’s Bob Sapp showing his full range of acting abilities in a Japanese commercial…

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Cung Le / Roger Huerta – Tekken: Release Date TBC 2010

Plot: “A high-octane action movie about a young man who discovers he holds a great power and must battle a team of elite fighters who will stop at nothing in order to get it from him.”

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Cung Le took a much publicized break from fighting and vacated his Strikeforce middleweight title to work on movies, and action flick Tekken is perhaps the most profile one he’s been involved with.

Based on the popular video game series, Le takes the role of “Marshall Law” alongside fellow MMA fighter Roger Huerta who also put his MMA career on hold to take a smaller role as “Miguel Caballero Rojo.” It’s safe to say there isn’t much acting required from either guy here, but their flashy fighting skills will certainly can in handy.

Both fighters clearly had high hopes for the film, but despite the loyal Tekken fan-base this one has failed to get US cinema distribution so far. It will be released in Japan on the 20th of March, but will go straight to DVD in the UK on April 5th.

Here’s the trailer for the movie which includes a very brief glimpse of both Le and Huerta.

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Heath Herring – Salt: In Cinemas On August 20th

Plot: “As a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt swore an oath to duty, honor and country. Her loyalty will be tested when a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy.”

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Heath Herring stated recently that he is in no hurry to go back to fighting as he’s busy with his acting career, and doesn’t think he’s getting paid enough as a fighter. He is indeed set to feature in a few films, though most appear to be the piss-poor straight-to-DVD efforts that Hector Echavarria makes.

One film that does stand-out on his resume however is the espionage-thriller Salt. Originally written for Tom Cruise, it was rewritten as a female part after he backed out and Angelina Jolie stepped in. Directed by Phillip Noyce (Patriot Games / The Saint / The Bone Collector) this could have the makings of a hit movie.

All sounds good so far, but there is a catch. According to IMDB Herring only appears in an uncredited role as a henchman so it’s unlikely to be a speaking part. Despite that it’s still infinitely better than appearing in a Hector Echavarria movie.

Watch the sneak preview trailer below, but don’t hold your breath trying to spot Herring.

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Fedor Emelianenko – The Fifth Execution: Release Date TBC 2010

Plot: On an island in South-East Asia there is an outbreak of a new disease that affects animals.

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Do you hear that noise? It’s the sound of me beginning to scrape the bottom of the barrel. Fedor Emelianenko’s feature film debut has that straight-to-DVD B-Movie feel to it, but it doesn’t look quite as horrific as some of the movies I’ve seen MMA fighters in over the years…not that that’s saying much!

‘Fifth Execution’ features a predominantly Russian based cast, but there is room for a couple of familiar Hollywood actors who have undoubtedly seen better days – Michael Madsen and Rutger Hauer. The trailer for the film, which you can see below, has been around since last year but yet there’s no official release date set for this one yet which suggests they might be having distribution issues.

It’s billed as an action movie, but I feel it would also work as a ‘mystery’ since I sat through the whole 11 minute trailer (yep, 11 minutes) and I’m still none the wiser as to what it’s all about. See for yourself…

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Tim Slyvia – Oxy-Morons: Due Out In October 2010

Plot: An Independent film depicting the graphic, harsh reality and horror of the Oxycontin drug trade in Boston, MA.

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Finally we’ve got Tim Slyvia’s acting debut in Oxy-Morons, a low budget offering that’s apparently based on the true-story of the lead actor, Johnny Hickey.  As an indie offering with a mainly local cast, don’t expect this to appear on the big-screen any time soon.

Slyvia plays the part of “Monster”, a violent convict who appears during scenes shot in a jail. It’s not clear whether he has much of a speaking part in the film but he is at the center of a fight scene during a riot at the prison.

Like Fedor’s movie, this one has an incredibly long trailer.  Long enough in fact that by the end you feel like you’ve seen pretty much all you need to see, though apparently the full film is 2 hours long. It seems like there might be an interesting story at the heart of this one, but the trailer would definitely have benefited from being much shorter as it’s low-budget roots definitely stand-out like a sore thumb at times.

…I’d still rather watch this than a Hector Echavarria movie though!

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If you enjoyed this article you might be interested in some of our other recent features:

• The Age Factor In The UFC
• Where Are They Now? – The Ultimate Fighters
• 10 MMA Podcasts Worth Checking Out
• The Current Longest Winning Streaks In The UFC
• The Top 12 Fighter Salaries For 2009

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