Daily Rumors 8-1-09

"One of the reasons I didn't want to get into explaining that was because I don't want to be the guy who starts accusing people of greasing. I don't want to be the guy making excuses or anything like that. But since B.J. keeps pressuring that issue and talking about it, fine, [Roger] Huerta is who I was talking about if they want the story. It wasn't about Georges." sportsillustrated.cnn.com


Wanderlei Silva has promised his fans they will be excited when they learn who his next opponent will be - and at what weight he will fight him. fightersonlymagazine.co.uk

"It's going to be a big surprise to everybody,” the former PRIDE FC middleweight champion told Planet Tatami. fightersonlymagazine.co.uk


Up until Thursday, Daley had been hot property having courted offers from the UFC, Dream, Bellator and Strikeforce. Although all of the promotions have their appeal, it is understood that Daley’s desire to blast his way through the Top 10 is a key motivator. Daley has always maintained that his experience across the world was “on the job” training before he went into the thick of it with the UFC. mmaweekly.com


"I think time really cures everything," Ortiz (15-6-1) said Friday during a UFC media call. "Dana came to me, he was a man of his word, and he apologized to me for the things he did prior." mma.fanhouse.com

"I think the fans are just as over the Dana-Tito [expletive] as we are," White said. "It's exciting to have him back 100 percent, get him in the mix at 205, and none of the [expletive] drama with me and him." mma.fanhouse.com


UFC President Dana White had his long-awaited conference call on Friday, and after all was said, no one could be happier about the news of the day than Dan Henderson, who learned that his next fight will be against Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight title. mma.fanhouse.com


"I'm not sure," Barnett said when I asked him what else he can do to fight the positive test. "But I have people working on it." mma.fanhouse.com


Former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin's (25-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC) training plans continue to change, and a recently announced UFC 103 main-event bout with Vitor Belfort (16-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) will now take place at a catchweight of 195 pounds instead of the originally announced light heavyweight class. mmajunkie.com

"Just found out I will be fighting Vitor at a catchweight of 195 (pounds) as per his request," Franklin today posted on his Twitter account. mmajunkie.com


Returning to Sengoku this weekend, Dan Hornbuckle will look to pick up possibly the biggest win of his young career when he faces Japanese favorite Akihiro Gono. A winner in nine out of his last 10 fights, Hornbuckle has stayed low on the radar in many conversations about up-and-coming welterweight fighters, but the American hopes to change that on Aug. 2. mmaweekly.com


Takeya Mizugaki returns to action on Aug. 9 to face Jeff Curran at WEC 42, live on Versus in the U.S. mmaweekly.com