Misc. News...

[Thomer]

...or maybe newz...

Originally Posted by Alex Sharratt / Eurosport

Matt Serra is a man in demand after revealing he is recovering well from his herniated disk, while Tito Ortiz has been offered a route back into the UFC...


First-up, rumours of Matt Hughes' demise might have been a touch premature. The former welterweight champion was thought to be considering his future in the sport after his second loss to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 79 on December 30.

But now the 34-year-old has admitted he still yearns for a fight against Matt Serra, the motormouth New Yorker for whom he built up a considerable disliking for during their spell of coaches on series 6 of The Ultimate Fighter.

"I've already talked to [UFC president] Dana White and [UFC co-owner] Lorenzo Fertitta, and we'll probably see what happens with Georges and Serra," Hughes said. "And if Serra loses, I might go against him. Nothing is set in stone, just an idea right now."

Any potential fight would be seven months away at the earliest, as Serra and GSP have had their welterweight title fight confirmed for UFC 93 in April in St. Pierre's home town of Montreal after Serra confirmed that his recovery from a herniated disc is going smoothly.

Meanwhile, in further fall-out from UFC 79, it was revealed that Nate Mohr, the talented 24-year-old lightweight, suffered a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his defeat to Manny Gamburyan in Las Vegas.

THE RETURN OF THE BAD BOY?

Lyoto Machida's reward for extending his unbeaten MMA record to 12-0 with a submission win over Rameau Sokoudjou at UFC 79 is an offer to fight former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz. Machida has already accepted the fight and is awaiting acceptance from Ortiz.

Jacob Christopher Otiz, once MMA's hottest ticket-seller, has not fought since July 2007, when he drew with Rashad Evans at UFC 73, due to a "recurring injury" and has one fight left on his UFC contract. He was spotted ringside at the Mandalay Bay Events Center last week, applauding at the end of the epic Chuck Liddell - Wanderlei Silva brawl.

HORN STEPS UP AT LATE NOTICE

Veteran middleweight Jeremy Horn will return to the UFC on February 2 after stepping in at late notice to fight Nathan Marquardt in Las Vegas

Marquardt was due to face Thales Leites until Monday, when the Brazilian revealed a broken hand would force him out of the fight.

Horn has been out of the UFC since May 2006, when he beat Chael Sonnen. Since then, he has dropped in weight to 185 pounds been fighting in the International Fight League, where his most recent fight was a a submission setback versus Jorge Santiago last September.

BARONI: I'M NOT DONE YET

"New York Badass" Phil Baroni says he is considering offers from Showtime's EliteXC and a new promotion in Japan as he plots his return to the global top-table of MMA.

"I've received offers from Showtime and a new show in Japan that just opened up," he told punchdrunkgamer.com. "I'm trying to figure out what I am doing next, but first I need to get in shape before I can do anything.

"I just want to get back into a big organization and fight I have a lot of fights left in me. Now that I have my head and my experience I can make a good run. I want to win a big streak of fights in a row and win a major title in a major organization. Of course the UFC is everyone's first choice. I have a lot of fight left in me and I want to prove I am better than I've shown."

After a run of four defeats in the UFC from 2002 to 2005, Baroni bounced back with five wins in seven fights in PRIDE, although his career took a blow in the summer of 2007 when he tested positive for two types of anabolic steroids after a submission loss to Frank Shamrock in a high-profile co-promotion between EliteXC and Strikeforce.

ANOTHER NEW KID IN TOWN?

Bob Meyrowitz, the owner of the UFC from 1993-2001, and event promoter Live Nation have signed a deal to start their own MMA promotion. The name, first event, and goals of the promotion are expected to be announced shortly. Quite apart from playing a huge roll in the development of MMA, Meyrowitz is also the man credited with giving "Big" John McCarthy his nickname - for which we are all grateful.

Meanwhile, HDNet Fights has confimed that their upcoming February 15th show has been cancelled and as of this time there is no date set of a rescheduling.

Interesting fight match-ups announced this week:

Seven-time UFC veteran Pete Spratt taking on undefeated welterweight Ryan Ford in the main event of Maximum Fighting Championships 15: Rags to Riches

Kimbo Slice will brawl with veteran Tank Abbott in an anticipated slugfest in the EliteXC heavyweight division on February 16 in Miami.

Urijah Faber, a Californian with a superb 20-1 MMA record, taking on Jens Pulver in a future World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight title bout.