(Josh Hill)

Press release:

ORONTO, February 9^th, 2012 – A showdown between two of Canada’s top bantamweights (135 pounds) – undefeated Stoney Creek sensation Josh Hill (7-0) and rising star Eric Wilson (5-1) from Saskatoon - has been added to The Score Fighting Series (SFS) event at the Hamilton Place Theatre on Friday, March 16^th.

Additionally, a lightweight (155 pounds) matchup between unbeaten Jason Meisel (2-0) of Caledonia and Mike Sledzion (3-2) of Barrie; a featherweight (145 pounds) battle between Lyndon Whitlock (5-2) of Hamilton and Cory Houston (4-1) of Winnipeg; and a heavyweight (max 265 pounds) clash between John Macphearson (1-1) of Hamilton and Craig “War Dog” Hudson (1-1) of Brantford, have all been confirmed for the event lineup.

A marquee lightweight matchup between UFC and PRIDE veteran and Xtreme Couture team member John “The Natural” Alessio (33-14) and Strikeforce and WEC veteran and Team Quest member “Diamond” Ryan Healy (19-9-1) was the first fight confirmed for the event.

The 25-year-old Hill is part of a growing, new breed of MMA fighters who begin their careers without a concentration in any single combat discipline, but rather with a multitude of weapons in all areas of the hybrid fighting sport.  Training primarily out of Iron Tiger Muay Thai, Pura BJJ and Bruckmann Martial Arts, Hill showcased a prolific striking arsenal at the start of his career, but has recently relied more heavily on his wrestling skills to secure wins.

Taking the fight to the mat, however, will be a dangerous strategy against Wilson who possesses a dangerous ground game, including brutal leg locks capable of finishing fights in abrupt fashion.  Also 25 years of age, Wilson trains out of Outlaw MMA and holds a victory over current UFC fighter Roland Delorme.

Wilson suffered his first professional loss last May against another top bantamweight in John “The Haggis Basher” Fraser.  Many MMA insiders believe that neither Hill nor Wilson will look to go to the ground, and that this fight will be settled on the feet.

“Eric is a very tough opponent and is coming off his first loss so I’m sure he will come out hungry, looking to get back in the win column and hand me my first loss in the cage,”  says Hill.  “I’m excited to fight at home in Hamilton for the second time and I’m ready for a war with Wilson.”

Tickets for The Score Fighting Series event start at $30 and are on sale now at the Copps Colesium box office and online at www.ticketmaster.ca.

Found this gem on the Net.  Truth! lol

Matt Hughes does not want to end his UFC career with a loss.  He is coming off two first round KO losses, to BJ Penn and Josh Koscheck, and would rather go out with a W.  In this Inside MMA segment, Hughes talked about how he advised Pat Miletich to get back in there after losing to Renzo Gracie, so he could end his storied career on a high note.  Two years later, Miletich did just that, retiring after he beat Thomas Denny.   Now Matt is faced with the same dilemma.  The problem is that there are no gimme fights in the UFC, and they are not going to put him in there with a can, just to get that win.  It remains to be seen if Hughes will fight again.  Like he says in the segment, it's up to not only him but his wife and the UFC.

Video of the Inside MMA piece after the jump.

Joe Lauzon showed his all round MMA skills in his last fight, a very impressive win over Melvin Guillard back in October.  In that fight J-Lau hurt Guillard with a punch, then choked him out on the ground.  Next up for Joe is Anthony "Showtime" Pettis at UFC 144 in a couple of weeks.  This is another fine bit of matchmaking by Joe Silva, and it should be a great fight. Here is Joe Lauzon's video blog, part 1.  Enjoy.

(Anderson Silva shutting up Chael Sonnen in their first fight)

Nice little video showing a bunch of UFC fighters talking about the rematch between Chael Sonnen and Anderson, which will take place in Brazil.  A few of them actually fear for Chael's life after all of his shit-talking about Brazilians, but Rampage has a different take on that.  Good stuff, check it out.

Dana White is not a happy camper today.  Yesterday, Nick Diaz, the fighter they wanted to put in against Georges St. Pierre, scuttled the plans even worse than by losing to Carlos Condit by testing positive for marijuana.  Now Nick awaits his punishment from the NSAC.  In the past, first time offenders for pot were suspended for six months, and two-time offenders had to sit out a full year.  It's still uncertain what kind of suspension Diaz will face, and we won't find out until April.

Last night, UFC president Dana White issues a terse statement regarding the Diaz situation:

"I am beyond disappointed that he tested positive for marijuana.  It is now in the hands of the Nevada State Athletic Commission."

That's it, Dana?  That's all you got?  Where is your anger and outrage?   You fired Miguel Torres for repeating an off-color joke on his Twitter account and acted all righteously indignant about.  Was that really worse than smoking an illegal drug before a fight?  Don't be scared, homie.  Fly off the handle like you did with Torres.

Oh wait, Nick Diaz is one of the biggest draws in the UFC, now that Brock Lesnar is retired and GSP is hurt.  So he'll get a pass.

Business as usual.

Not that I think Diaz should be fired, mind you.  In fact I think it's silly for the commissions to test for marijuana, but the hypocrisy needed to be pointed out.  Nick does bear responsibility for this, of course, there is no excuse.  I think the NSAC will be fair with their punishment.

Now it's confirmed. Keith Kizer of the NSAC has confirmed that Nick Diaz tested positive for marijuana metabolites, which is the scientific way of saying he had weed in his system.   Nick is a known marijuana smoker, and he makes no apologies for it.  He'd tested positive once before, in Japan, after beating Takanori Gomi in Pride.  His win was overturned and ruled a no contest. In this case, Condit will keep the W, as Nick faces a suspension, fine or both. A complaint for disciplinary action has been filed against Diaz.

This means that not only will we not see GSP vs. Diaz any time soon, it means that the rematch between Condit and Diaz won't take place either, which is another blow to the UFC.  They wanted a rematch because they were hoping to make GSP vs. Diaz, a big money fight.

Also, Diaz did say immediately after the Condit fight that he was retiring.  People chalked that up to his disappointment with the decision, and didn't really believe he'd never fight again.  However, with this failed drug test, he just might hang up the gloves, sending his career up in smoke.

As soon as the NSAC announces the disciplinary action, I will post it here.

OK, maybe the rumors are true. Keith Kizer of the NSAC just sent an email stating that there has been 1 failed drug test from the UFC 143 testing. He didn't say who, because all the tests are not yet in. But this gives a lot of weight to all those speculating that Nick Diaz got pinched for marijuana. As soon as the complete results are in, I will post there here.

From Keith Kizer:

"I am still waiting for all the steroid and drug test results to come back. We did have at least one positive test. I will send out an email later today on that matter."