A comprehensive list of all UFC roster moves, releases, signings, and fight announcements from flyweight all the way up to heavyweight.

The List

Overview

First Team

• Heavyweight: Cain Velasquez
• Light Heavyweight: Jon Jones
• Middleweight: Melvin Manhoef
• Welterweight: Matt Brown
• Lightweight: Jim Miller
• Featherweight: Cub Swanson
• Bantamweight: Francisco Rivera
• Flyweight: John Moraga

Second Team

• Heavyweight: Fabricio Werdum
• Light Heavyweight: Glover Teixeira
• Middleweight: Brian Rogers
• Welterweight: Mike Pyle
• Lightweight: Joe Lauzon
• Featherweight: Dustin Poirier
• Bantamweight: Ronda Rousey
• Flyweight: John Lineker

Third Team

• Heavyweight: Lavar Johnson
• Light Heavyweight: Anthony Johnson
• Middleweight: Chris Weidman
• Welterweight: Rory MacDonald
• Lightweight: Eddie Alvarez
• Featherweight: Chad Mendes
• Bantamweight: Ivan Menjivar
• Flyweight: Will Campuzano



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Event name: UFC on Fox 5
Date: December 8, 2012
Location: Seattle, Washington
Venue: Key Arena
Broadcast: Fox

Main Card (FOX, 8 p.m. ET)

* Benson Henderson vs. Nate Diaz
UFC Lightweight Title Fight
*Alexander Gustafsson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
*Rory MacDonald vs. B.J. Penn
*Matt Brown vs. Mike Swick

Preliminary (FX, 5 p.m. ET)

*Yves Edwards vs. Jeremy Stephens
*Raphael Assuncao vs. Mike Easton
*Ramsey Nijem vs. Joe Proctor
*Daron Cruickshank vs. Henry Martinez
*Nam Phan vs. Dennis Siver
*Marcus LeVesseur vs. Abel Trujillo

Preliminary (Facebook, 4:30 p.m. ET)

*John Albert vs. Scott Jorgensen

Event name: UFC 154
Date: November 17, 2012
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Venue: Bell Centre
Broadcast: PPV

Main Card (PPV)

* Georges St-Pierre (C) vs. Carlos Condit (IC)
Welterweight Title Unification Fight
* Johny Hendricks vs. Martin Kampmann
* Tom Lawlor vs. Francis Carmont
* Mark Bocek vs. Rafael dos Anjos
* Mark Hominick vs. Pablo Garza

Preliminary Card (FX) 8pm ET

* Patrick Cote vs. Alessio Sakara
* Cyrille Diabate vs. Chad Griggs
* John Makdessi vs. Sam Stout
* Antonio Carvalho vs. Rodrigo Damm

Preliminary Card (Facebook) 6pm ET

* John Maguire vs. Matt Riddle
* Azamat Gashimov vs. Ivan Menjivar
* Darren Elkins vs. Steven Siler

Cancelled

* Constantinos Philippou vs. Nick Ring

UFC Lightweight Champions Infographic by

A Lineal History: UFC Welterweight Championship Infographic by

UFC Middleweight Champions infographic by

UFC Light Heavyweight Champions infographic by

UFC Heavyweight Champions infographic by

UFC Champions infographic by
"Today is a sad day for me," Hamill announced last year on his official website. "After six years and 13 fights in the UFC, I'm ready to hang up my gloves and retire from this amazing sport."

"I was ready to make this decision after UFC 130, but my friends, family coaches and most importantly my daughter encouraged me to give it one last chance," Hamill continued. "My career has been plagued by injuries starting with 'The Ultimate Fighter' and disrupted my training ever since. There hasn't been even one training camp where I've been able to train without training around an injury. I have not been kind to my body and it has nothing left after 28 years of nonstop competition. It's time to finally give it a rest."

No reason was given explaining what prompted Hamill to return to professional MMA.

The only deaf fighter to have competed in the …

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The longtime welterweight contender Jon Fitch is set to square off with Brazilian Erick Silva at UFC 153, MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani has learned. Sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed the two had verbally agreed to the pairing.

Fitch was supposed to face Aaron Simpson in July, only to be forced out after suffering a knee injury. The setback apparently won't keep him on the shelf long. Upon returning, Fitch will be attempting to win for the first time in three fights. At UFC 127, he fought to a draw with B.J. Penn, and in his follow-up match at UFC 141, he was knocked out by Johny Hendricks, marking the first time he had been finished since 2002.

Fitch is 23-4-1 with 1 no contest.

Silva has looked spectacular in all three of his octagon outings. He debuted with a knockout of Luis Ramos at UFC 134, then appeared to earn a second straight first-round KO at UFC 142, only to be controversially disqualified for strikes to the back of the head. Silva then followed that up with a first-round submission win over Charlie Brenneman at June's UFC on FX 3.

Silva is 14-2 with 1 no contest.

Fitch will be tasked with facing Silva on his home soil, as the bout emanates from Rio on October 13.

Tatame has confirmed that Brazilian wrecking machine Thiago Silva is no longer training with American Top Team, a camp which made Silva into one of the top light heavyweights in the UFC today. The muay Thai expert now finds new life amongst the Blackzilian team based out of Boca Raton, Florida. The Blackzilians have proven to be amongst the top flourishing teams in MMA with the recent additions of Silva and Alistair Overeem, who join the ranks alongside former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and one-time rival to the Brazilian.

Silva most recently lost a unanimous decision to the surging Alexander Gustafsson this passed April in his first bout after a year on the shelf for failing his post-fight drug test after UFC 125. The failed test caused Silva’s dismantling of Brandon Vera to be overturned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Silva was recently penciled in to face former champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, but was kept off the bout due to injury. The Brazilian currently has no fight scheduled, but will be reunited with Jz Calvan, the Villefort brothers, and Jorge Santiago, who left ATT to join help form the Blackzilian camp last year.

Ahead of the UFC’s November venture into Macau for UFC on Fuel TV 6, the promotion has inked highly touted Korean prospect, Road FC Bantamweight Champion Kyung Ho Kang. Welcoming Kang to the octagon will be Ultimate Fighter 12 veteran Alex Caceres.

Kang (11-6) comes into the bout on the strength of three consecutive submission victories in the Road FC ring, recently winning the promotion’s first bantamweight championship at Road FC 8. The Busan native has seen the final bell only once in all of his career wins.

Caceres (7-5) is on 2-1 run inside the octagon, with the sole loss being a contentious decision he dropped to Edwin Figueroa in February. “Bruce Leeroy” last competed two weeks ago, in a performance that saw the Miami native put together a brilliant grappling display to earn a second round submission over Damacio Page, forcing the Jackson’s product to tap to a triangle choke.

UFC on Fuel TV 6 takes place November 10 in the Cotaiarena in Cotai, Macau. While main event has been announced, Dana White has been adamant about hoping to have former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le headline the event.

Only a day after being pulled from UFC on Fox 4, it appears that Travis Browne will get a big step up in competition when he faces Antonio Silva in the UFC on FX 5 main event. The event will take place October 5 from Minneapolis, Minnesota. UFC officials announced the move earlier today.

Travis Browne has yet to taste defeat in his young MMA career. The massive heavyweight uses a combination of skill and athleticism to overwhelm his opponents where ever the fight ends up. The Team Jackson-Winklejohn talent will put his fourteen-fight unbeaten streak on the line when he faces the man known as “Bigfoot.”

Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva will be looking to get back on track after consecutive losses to AKA teammates Cain Velasquez and Daniel Cormier. The BJJ and Muay Thai specialist will be looking to use his more polished skill set to take out Browne.

UFC on FX 5 was originally planned for Indianapolis, Indiana before being moved to Minneapolis, MN. The October 5 event will take place from the Target Center, with more bout announcements and ticket information expected to come soon.

It appears that Frank Mir will be the first fighter to cross from the UFC to Strikeforce when he faces Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion Daniel Cormier this fall. The reports nix original reports that Cormier would face former UFC champion Tim Sylvia in his final UFC fight. USA Today reported the match up citing sources from both the UFC and Strikeforce.

UFC President Dana White had this to say about the matchup:

“The reality is, Cormier is one of the best heavyweights in the world. He just won the grand prix and beat Josh Barnett. He needs to fight opponents of that caliber, and Frank Mir is that guy.”

Frank Mir last fought at UFC 146, where he lost to UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos. The loss stopped a three-fight win-streak for the former UFC champion.

While this may seem odd while lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez cannot find a UFC opponent, it is important to remember that Strikeforce had already decided to scrap the heavyweight division. So while Mir could win and immediately rejoin the UFC, any lightweight who defeated Melendez for the title would have to remain with Strikeforce.

The Mir vs. Cormier fight will take place this fall.


UPDATE


It was originally reported the bout would co-headline “Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Healy” but it appears the bout will actually take place later in the fall according to original reporter John Morgan‘s twitter account.

No sooner than it breaks, there’s already a little change. …

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Tim Sylvia appears to be headed back to the Zuffa stable after launching a strong social media comeback campaign and winning his last three fights. Sylvia will take on Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champion Daniel Cormier at a currently unnamed Strikeforce event on September 29. MMAJunkie first reported the news.

Sylvia has not fought for Zuffa since his UFC 81 loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, a fight that Sylvia dominated before making a mistake on the ground. Sylvia floundered for awhile after the loss, including a devastating loss to Fedor Emelianenko and showing up in terrible shape in a loss to Ray Mercer. Sylvia found a renewed drive after having a four-fight winstreak ended by Abe Wagner at Titan FC 16, Sylvia has since shed weight and won three straight.

While it may appear odd for Sylvia to face Cormier, it is important to consider that, with Showtime and Strikeforce trying to cut the heavyweight division, that Strikeforce was left with only Josh Barnett and Daniel Cormier on their roster.

Sylvia has been pushing hard for a second chance in the UFC and an impressive showing against a top prospect like Cormier would go a long way in helping that effort.


UPDATE

UFC Presidnt Dana White once again crushed Tim Sylvia's hopes of Octagon return, this time writing off the rumored Heavyweight match-up with Daniel Cormier.

Earlier this weekend, MMAjunkie.com suggested that Sylvia signed a four-fight deal with Strikeforce, starting with promotion's Heavyweight …

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Surging bantamweight and brother of UFC Lightweight contender and former WEC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis, Sergio Pettis, has inked a deal with the flourishing Resurrection Fighting Alliance. While Pettis has yet to see an opponent named, he is likely to compete in the promotion’s October event in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Roufusport product currently holds an undefeated 5-0 record with only one of ”The Phenom’s” opponents making it to see the final bell.

Additional names expected to be part of the October event, which has yet to have an official date and venue set, are UFC veterans Tyson Griffin and Gilbert Yvel, UFC star Anthony Njokuani’s brother, Chidi Njokuani, and rising prospect Bubba Jenkins. A recent string of high-profile signings have seen the promotion rise to prominence, and as we are told, we can expect more announcements over the coming weeks.

With the next position of title challenger ostensibly up in the air, Dana White said after UFC 149 that “there are a few big fights coming up, we’ll see what happens.” One of those big fights has now been confirmed for UFC 153 in Rio, as Alan Belcher faces off with former title Challenger Vitor Belfort. Both men have not been shy about challenging one another, Belfort recently took to twitter to call out the American, who said a meeting with Belfort would be the most important fight of his life.

Belcher (18-6) has looked absolutely unstoppable since his UFC 100 loss to Yoshihiro Akiyama, riding a four-fight win-streak, with all wins coming via stoppage. “The Talent’s” most recent run has seen him dominate Wilson Gouevia, Patrick Cote, Jason McDonald, and Rousimar Palhares. The Roufussport fighter looked to impress in his match-up with “Toquinho”, as he not only soundly defeated the Brazilian but did so in the submission ace’s own realm, grappling.

Belfort (21-9) comes into the bout on the strength of two victories over Yoshihiro Akiyama and Anthony Johnson. Since being defeated by Anderson Silva in early 2011, “The Phenom” has yet to let his opponents see the second round. After a recent run as a coach on TUF: Brazil, the MMA legend found himself unable to compete at UFC 137 with a broken hand. Vitor will now look to continue his winning ways in front of his countrymen.

UFC 152 takes place October 13 and will emanate from the HSBC Arena in Rio. …

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Event name: UFC 149
Date: July 21, 2012
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Venue: Scotiabank Saddledome
Broadcast: PPV

Main Card (PPV) 10pm ET

* Urijah Faber vs. Renan Barao
Interim Bantamweight Title
* Tim Boetsch vs. Hector Lombard
* Shawn Jordan vs. Cheick Kongo
* Brian Ebersole vs. James Head
* Chris Clements vs. Matt Riddle

Preliminary Card (FX) 8pm ET

* Court McGee vs. Nick Ring
* Roland Delorme vs. Francisco Rivera
* Ryan Jimmo vs. Anthony Perosh
* Bryan Caraway vs. Mitch Gagnon

Preliminary Card (Facebook) 7pm ET

* Antonio Carvalho vs. Daniel Pineda
* Mitch Clarke vs. Anton Kuivanen

UFC president Dana White wants Cung Le to fight in China, and what White wants, he usually gets. Within hours of winning at UFC 148, Le had already heard from White that he wanted him to compete at UFC on FUEL 6, and even though Le is still recovering from injury, that's still the plan.

As long as Le properly heals up from his recent three-round win over Patrick Cote, he'll be facing Rich Franklin at UFC on FUEL 6, White said in a Thursday press interview in Calgary.

According to him, Le has a bone bruise and is in a walking cast, but the promotion is keeping tabs on his recovery in hopes that he'll take a major slot on the card, which will emanate from Macau, the Chinese gambling and entertainment destination.

"I'm very confident that Cung Le is going to be in China," he said.

Le and Franklin were originally scheduled to fight at UFC 148, but Franklin was pulled from the fight and moved up to UFC 147 headlining status opposite Wanderlei Silva after Silva's original opponent Vitor Belfort was injured.

Franklin (29-6, 1 no contest) went on to win by unanimous decision.

Meanwhile, Le's victory over Cote was his first in the UFC after losing to Silva in his octagon debut in 2011.

The original pairing between veteran middleweights is apparently one that the UFC still has an interest in, and as long as Le can soon be cleared, he should have no issues making the November 10 date.

"If he fights in China, he will fight Rich Franklin," White said.



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Succumbing to fan and media pressure, Showtime on Tuesday released video of welterweight Jason High's victory from Saturday's Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy over AKA's Nate Moore. High won the fight 26 seconds into the first round via guillotine choke.

Despite High having beaten fighters on the main card like Jordan Mein and Showtime having ample broadcast time, the channel elected to not show High's preliminary card victory on either their Showtime Extreme or Showtime broadcasts. That decision prompted many in the MMA community to question the sensibility of such a choice. Showtime eventually relented on their blackout and made footage of the fight available online for all to see.

Watch the full fight from several different angles below.







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Event name: Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy
Date: July 14, 2012
Location: Portland, OR – Rose Garden
Broadcast: Showtime

MAIN CARD (Showtime) 10pm ET

* Luke Rockhold (c) vs. Tim Kennedy
Middleweight Championship
* Nate Marquardt vs. Tyron Woodley
Welterweight Championship
* Roger Gracie vs. Keith Jardine
* Lorenz Larkin vs. Robbie Lawler

PRELIMINARY CARD (Showtime Extreme) 8pm ET

* Jorge Masvidal vs. Justin Wilcox
* Pat Healy vs. Mizuto Hirota
* Jordan Mein vs. Tyler Stinson
* Jason High vs. Nate Moore
* Ryan Couture vs. Joe Duarte