After having successful surgery to repair a brain anomaly just last week, Thiago "Pitbull" Alves will indeed get back to action as quickly as he had hoped with the original match he was preparing for in March when he faces Jon Fitch in Vancouver at UFC 115 in June. The announcement was made late Sunday night by UFC president Dana White via his personal Twitter account. Alves and Fitch met for the first time nearly four years ago, with Fitch coming out on top via TKO after a vicious upkick stunned the Brazilian, and he finished the fight with punches on the ground. Ever since that time, Alves has been gunning for another shot at Fitch and the ...

Today begins the official start of Chuck Liddell's UFC training camp, and though there may be some question about who exactly Liddell is preparing for, the Iceman says one thing was never in doubt, and that was the fact that he would continue his MMA career. Liddell, speaking on Spike's Inside the Ultimate Fighter podcast, said that although he took some time away from the sport after being knocked out by Mauricio "Shogun" Rua last April and was advised by UFC president Dana White to retire, it was never an option. "I never considered retiring," he said. "I knew ...

If you've been paying any attention to the news about UFC 115 this week you know that things are very confusing. That is the event that has long been expected to feature The Ultimate Fighter season 11 coaches Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz in Vancouver. Rumors have buzzed around the event for more than a month, most of them having to do with the status of Tito Ortiz and whether or not he'll be able to fight. I documented the rumors here and speculated on the active role of Dana White and the UFC PR machine in deliberately putting out disinformation and spin to build heat for TUF 11. Now there's a whole new cloud of rumor ...

The old saying of 'where there's smoke, there's fire' doesn't seem to do the Tito Ortiz rumor mill justice. How about 'where there's hot ash reigning from the sky, a volcano has erupted'? That seems to fit nicely. The latest report regarding Tito Ortiz's health, or lack there of, states that Ortiz has "multiple herniations in the neck" forcing the light heavyweight fighter to withdraw from his fight with Chuck Liddell at UFC 115 in addition to causing an early TUF 11 exit. This latest account from Five Ounces of Pain is consistent with certain elements of previous reports surround Ortiz's health such as leaving the reality show early. Last weekend the MMA-verse was inundated with reports that Liddell would fight Rich ...

While the New South Wales Combat Sports Authority (the commission in charge of regulating this past weekend's UFC 110 event) has yet to release an official list of medical suspensions from the UFC's first trip to Australia, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has confirmed the status of one high-profile competitor. According to Marc Ratner, the UFC's Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, newly minted middleweight Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1 MMA, 3-5 UFC) will be free to return to action after a mere 30-day suspension. The news clears the way for a recently reported potential fight between "The Axe Murderer" and Japanese middleweight star Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at UFC 115 in June. Although not yet officially announced, UFC 115 is expected to take place June 12 ...