MMA News & Updates 18-09-2011 for: UFC Shields vs. Ellenberger, Fedor Emelianenko vs Jeff Monson, Rogerio Nogueira / Tito Ortiz Set to Fight in Toronto, "The Korean Zombie", Toronto to Host Bocek vs. Lentz, “The Big Frog”, Bobby Lashley, Shark Fights, Bellator 54 and MMA Fighter Reaches Plea Agreement

• UFC Shields vs. Ellenberger - UFC Fight Night 25 - was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 17, 2011 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. The event was the seventh time that the organization has held an event in Louisiana and first since UFC 37 in 2002. The main event between Jake Shields and Jake Ellenberger was expected to be the first five round non-title fight in UFC history, but the fight was contested at three rounds instead.

Result: Middleweight bout:  Alan Belcher vs.  Jason MacDonald

Belcher defeated MacDonald via submission (strikes) at 3:48 of round 1.

Result: Featherweight bout:  Erik Koch vs.  Jonathan Brookins

Koch defeated Brookins via unanimous decision (30–27, 29–28, 30–27).

Result: Middleweight bout:  Court McGee vs.  Dongi Yang

McGee defeated Yang via unanimous decision (30–27, 29–28, 30–28).

Result: Welterweight bout:  Jake Shields vs.  Jake Ellenberger

Ellenberger defeated Shields via TKO (knees and punches) at 0:53 of round 1.

#!

• Fedor Emelianenko vs Jeff Monson official for M-1 event in Moscow - M-1 Global has officially announced a rumored bout that will see Fedor Emelianenko take on Jeff Monson in Moscow. The M-1 event will take place November 20th at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow. Emelianenko is 31-4 in his MMA career. Widely regarded for years as the greatest heavyweight fighter ever and the greatest pound for pound fighter ever, he looks to break a three fight losing streak. Monson is 42-12 in his MMA career. In his last bout he was defeated by rising Strikeforce star Daniel Cormier.

• Rogerio Nogueira, Tito Ortiz Set to Fight in Toronto - Verbal agreements are for a match between two of the most accomplished light heavyweights in the sport as Rogerio "Lil Nog" Nogueira will face the “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz December 10th at UFC 140 in Toronto. Nogueira and Ortiz were originally set to meet in the main event of UFC Fight Night in March, but an injury sidelined Ortiz, and Phil Davis fought in his place. (Trivia time: Five months later, Ortiz repaid the favor by stepping in for an injured Davis at UFC 133, an from which Nogueira was also forced to withdraw due to injury.)

• "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung and Mark Hominick have verbally agreed to fight at UFC 140 in Toronto on December 10th. Jung is coming off a Submission of the Year win and Hominick's last outing had him pushing featherweight champion Jose Aldo to the limit in one of the best performances of his career."

• Toronto to Host Bocek vs. Lentz - Two lightweight grappling specialists have verbally agreed to face off December 10 in Toronto as Nik "The Carny" Lentz takes on Canada’s Mark Bocek, confirmed UFC president Dana White today. The bout will mark Lentz' return to action after an injury sustained in his UFC on Versus 4 Fight of the Night against Charles Oliveira.

• “The Big Frog” is back. Jeff Curran, after a seven-year absence from the promotion, is back in the UFC, and he doesn’t plan on leaving again. Curran recently signed a brand-new agreement with the world’s biggest MMA promotion, and will face former title challenger Scott Jorgensen in a bantamweight bout at UFC 137 in Las Vegas. He last competed in the organization in January of 2004, when he took a fight with future UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Serra on nine days’ notice as a late replacement, losing a decision in the process. Since that time, Curran has hopped all over the globe, fighting in promotions such as Pride, King of the Cage, the WEC, the XFO, Strikeforce…they’ve all played host to “The Big Frog.”

• Bobby Lashley signs with Shark Fights - The former WWE wrestler, who made a pro MMA debut in 2008 and fought two times under the Strikeforce banner, has signed a three-fight deal with the Texas-based Shark Fights promotion. Officials formally announced the rumored deal on Saturday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

• Bellator 54 - The event took place on September 17, 2011 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Following their victories at Saturday's Bellator 50 event, the organization's four middleweight-tournament winners have been slotted for their next fights. Bellator 54 plays host to the tourney-semifinal matchups of Bryan Baker vs. Vitor Vianna and Alexander Shlemenko vs. Brian Rogers. Bellator chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney announced the pairings at the post-Bellator 50 press conference in Hollywood, Fla. - Bellator 54 takes place Oct. 15 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

Middleweight Quarterfinal bout:  Jared Hess vs.  Bryan Baker

Baker defeated Hess via TKO (strikes) at 2:52 of round 3.

Middleweight Quarterfinal bout:  Victor O'Donnell vs.  Brian Rogers

Rogers defeated O'Donnell via TKO (strikes) at 1:56 of round 1.

Middleweight Quarterfinal bout:  Zelg Galesic vs.  Alexander Shlemenko

Shlemenko defeated Galesic via submission (standing guillotine) at 1:55 of round 1

Middleweight Quarterfinal bout:  Sam Alvey vs.  Vitor Vianna

Vianna defeated Alvey via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

• Apple ValleyMMA Fighter Reaches Plea Agreement - Apple Valley MMA fighter Brett Rogers pled guilty to one count of third-degree assault on Thursday morning stemming from a late June domestic assault incident. Three other charges in relation to the incident were dismissed as part of the plea agreement. A pre-sentence investigation will be conducted in advance of a Nov. 30 sentencing hearing. Rogers remains free on $100,000 bond and could still face jail time, however Rogers’ attorney, Murad Mohammed, feels there is a good chance that his client could see a stay of imposition in any sentence given his lack of previous record and willingness to seek help. “Overall, Brett and I are pleased with the outcome,” said Mohammed. “I think it’s important for everyone, especially Brett’s wife and family, to know that Brett has taken ownership for everything that’s happened. It’s an unfortunate situation for the family and the end result is Brett not having a felony conviction resulting in him returning to his family and continuing to fight.” Rogers has a professional fight scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 20 and the reduced charges will still allow him to maintain his standing.