Sadollah vs. Catone set for February 7th

After being scratched from the undercard of "UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar," a bout between "The Ultimate Fighter 7" winner Amir Sadollah (1-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and UFC newcomer Nick Catone (5-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has been rescheduled for February.

Catone confirmed the bout for the as-yet-unannounced UFC Fight Night 17 in a video interview with iguillotine.com.

"I was training about three months for the fight very hard and was definitely disappointed about not getting in there and making my debut," Catone told iguillotine.com. "But it looks like Feb 7, we're going to get it on at the Ultimate Fight Night 17."

The bout, originally scheduled for Nov. 15, was scrapped just four days prior to the pay-per-view event when Sadollah was hospitalized due to a leg infection.

The full details of the injury were not released, Sadollah discussed his concerns about the infection in a post on his official blog in the days leading up to the eventual cancellation.

"It started on Friday with a small mark on my leg," Sadollah stated. "I immediately went to the doctor, and he gave me medication and told me if it got worse to go to the hospital. Well, it got worse, and on Sunday I went in and have been here ever since. I am hoping they will discharge me by Thursday."

The February bout will be just Sadollah's second as a professional, and his first since defeating C.B. Dolloway in June in the finals of the seventh season of "The Ultimate Fighter."

Catone, a Ring of Combat and Cage Fury Fighting Championships veteran, is undefeated in first five professional contests. Three of his wins have come via TKO.

According to Catone, bout agreements have been signed and UFC Fight Night 17 will take place at The Palms in Las Vegas.

Randy Couture WILL go down to Lightheavyweight

Nothing was ever reported, nor has there been any mention of it but I'm playing a bit of fortune teller and I will predict that Randy Couture will be dropping down to the lightheavyweight division. At least as long as Brock Lesnar is the heavyweight champion he will.

It's the only thing that makes sense for Couture since his days are numbered. If Lesnar loses Couture could easily get back into the heavyweight mix but considering the champion fights only 2 or 3 times a year Couture's heavyweight days are numbered. 45 is a great age for a mid life crisis, not a mixed martial artist. Couture has to fight and fight now, which is why the lightheavyweight division makes the most sense.

There are a ton of intriguing matchups since Chuck Liddell is no longer the gatekeeper with Couture's number. Hell, maybe they should fight for a 4th time in a battle of the geriatrics. Given that Forrest Griffin is the champ and is fighting Rashad Evans, throwing Randy Couture in the mix of those guys would show just where the 'TUFers' really stand. You can't say Griffin or Evans aren't elite fighters given one is the champ, and one is fighting the champ, but we've seen these guys from their beginning or since the UFC became mainstream.

Are the old guys ready to pass the torch or is the lightheavyweight division lacking a legend such as Randy Couture. It may be tough for a 45 year old to suck down 20 pounds given his slower metabolism or he might not be able to rehydrate and maintain his stamina for the fight but he would be extremely competitive in the division. So competitive that if his skills don't diminish too greatly over the next year, he could contend for the title.

If Couture drops to lightheavyweight, it instantly thrusts that division as the most competetive, next to the lightweight division. With Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson, 'Rampage' Jackson, Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell as the supporting cast of the crop of new guys, this division could put on some of the best matchups we've seen in a division.

That all changes if Frank Mir or Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira beat Lesnar in the next fight. Or if Couture doesn't want to drop down in weight. I seriously doubt he'll be reading this website considering only about 9 people across America drop in here but if he did, this would convince him to drop down to lightheavyweight. Then again, if he did read this website he would wanna kick my ass considering I've been bashing him for the last 9 months about his 'Superfight' with Fedor. Simply because Fedor would walk through him.

What do you guys think about this option for Couture?

Reality Check: Size DOESN'T Matter

UFC 91 certainly proved that size doesn't mean anything when it comes to MMA. It's a bit contradicting that I just ranted about how size matters but if you saw how easily Kenny Florian dismantled Joe 'Daddy' Stevenson, you would be saying the same thing. Even though they weight the same, or probably not by fight time, there's a huge difference in body type between the two.

Joe Daddy looks like a guy who's been in the gym, has packed some muscle on his frame in thickness and width, and looks like a dude who could scrap. Kenny Florian looks like he's never even touched a weight in his life and resembles someone more suited for the chess club.

Well throw all that out the window because Kenny Florian is one of the baddest men in the UFC. You can't tell me that Florian is stronger than Stevenson yet when the two tied up, it was Florian who threw Joe Daddy down and worked a vicious ground game that would make any jiu jitsu practitioner proud. Within minutes Florian was tapping out Stevenson with a rear naked choke in his most dominating victory of his career.

Joe Stevenson is not a pushover. He's an all world fighter and will beat 95% of the lightweight division. He just happened to match up against a better fighter who might be the only threat in the lightweight division to give BJ Penn a run for his money. I can't imaging Florian beating Penn but nothing Kenny Florian does will surprise me anymore. The way he's been fighting it just proves that SIZE DOESN'T MATTER.

Reality Check: Size DOES Matter

Did UFC 91 really tell us who the better fighter is between Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture? I'm not quite sure if it did. As a matter of fact, I think the fact that Lesnar is already the UFC heavyweight champion in only his 4th professional fight definitely tarnishes the belt not just a bit, but a lot.

If Lesnar and Couture fought 10 times, Lesnar would easily win 7 of them, have a tough time in 2 of them, and possibly lose one of them on a fluke. The guy really is just too damn big.

The main reason it tarnishes the belt simply is that Brock Lesnar is no where near the fighter that Randy Couture is. Yet he now holds a belt that was once the most coveted in MMA. Don't get me wrong, Lesnar is a freak of nature who is a superior athlete as well. That doesn't mean he's the best mixed martial artist in the world in only 4 fights. It puts a big black eye on the integrity of the UFC heavyweight championship belt.

Lesnar has major holes in his game, and he's extremely green in this sport yet he's already the champ??? The problem is he's too big for anyone to expose the holes in his game and that's what puts a damper on his winning the title. He cuts down to 265 lbs to make weight and then shows up to fight at about 285 lbs. Who knows when he's gonna lose since the champions only fight about 2 or 3 times a year. There's no one in the heavyweight division that can actually match the strength of Lesnar so regardless of their fighting capability, they may just get bulled around the cage until he wears them out. The only way someone will knock out Lesnar is gonna be by a miracle. I'm not saying it won't happen but it won't happen easily, or by anyone currently in the UFC. Randy Couture said in his post fight interview that Fedor would tear up Lesnar. What does that say about that superfight between Couture and Fedor then? That fight will probably never happen after what has transpired. If it does, there will be absolutely no shred of hype left and it should be on public television.

I'm still shocked that the UFC would give a newcomer a shot at the title so quickly which is why the belt is tarnished. But it just goes to prove, SIZE DOES MATTER.

The Real UFC 91 Re-cap

Massive heavyweight Brock Lesnar (3-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) defied the odds and earned one title while dropping another.

With a stunning second-round TKO of the legendary Randy Couture (16-9 MMA, 13-6 UFC) Lesnar can finally put to rest the moniker of WWE-import in lieu of UFC heavyweight champion.

Lesnar looked patient throughout the round-and-a-half it took to dispatch of the 45-year-old Couture. "The Natural" controlled Lesnar in stretches by forcing his adversary against the cage. But the former collegiate wrestling champion used a heavy right hand to crumple Couture to the mat.

Once the former champion had fallen, Lesnar followed with a barrage of punches. Referee Mario Yamasaki gave Couture all the respect one could ask for, and the crowd favorite was given plenty of time to recover. The offense did not cease, and Yamasaki was forced to halt the contest at 3:07 of the second round.

Following the bout, the always-outspoken Lesnar told announcer Joe Rogan he liked the sound of his new title.

"It sounds good," Lesnar said. "I can't believe it. I want to thank (UFC President) Dana White, the UFC, and I want to thank this guy, Randy Couture.

"It takes a lot of balls to take a year off and come back and fight a young buck like me."

Lesnar also addressed the personality traits that have made the former professional wrestler a heel in most MMA fans' minds.

"I just believe in hard work and that it pays off," Lesnar said. "I may come across as a cocky SOB, but I'm just confident."

Gracious in defeat, Couture admitted the massive difference in size proved too difficult to overcome.

"There was some big ass ham hocks coming at you," Couture said of Lesnar's oversized hands. "It's hard to get out of the way of those."

"That's just a big son of a bitch, that's all there is to it."

When pressed regarding his immediate future, the 11-year veteran said time will tell.

"We'll let things settle out and figure out what we want to do," Couture said. "I still feel like I'm getting better as a fighter. We'll see what happens."

Meanwhile, Kenny Florian earned his second shot at the UFC's lightweight title. Again.

Three months since a unanimous-decision victory over Roger Huerta in a bout to crown a No. 1 challenger for B.J. Penn's lightweight belt, Florian again had to prove his top contender's status. And Florian (11-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) did it in swift and convincing fashion with a first-round submission victory over Joe Stevenson (29-9 MMA, 6-3 UFC).

The fight, which served as UFC 91's co-main event, remained relatively close through the first half of the first round. However, once Florian scored a late-round takedown, he easily transitioned into full mount, took his opponent's back when Stevenson rolled over, and sunk in the fight-ending rear-naked choke during "Joe Daddy's" last-ditch effort to escape.

The tap-out came at the 4:03 mark.

Florian, who's now six consecutive fights since an October 2006 loss to Sean Sherk for the vacant title, remained polite in the pre-event build-up. But he made a bold statement once the fight was over and clearly stated his intentions to challenge for Penn's title.

"I want B.J.'s belt," Florian said. "I consider you the master. I want to kill that master."

Penn, though, will first move up a weight class to fight Georges St. Pierre for his welterweight belt on Jan. 31. The duo kicked off a press tour today in Las Vegas to promote the fight. They next head to Toronto and wrap up the tour later this week in Hawaii.

In an intriguing welterweight bout that was promoted to the televised main card last week, Dustin Hazelett did nothing to hurt his goal of setting a career UFC record for Submission of the Night bonuses.

Two months after he was awarded his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, and five months after he won first career Submission of the Night bonus (and Fight of the Night bonus -- in the same night), Hazelett (12-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) defeated fellow prospect Tamdan McCrory (9-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) with a slick arm-bar submission at 3:59 of the first round.

The fight resembled a Muay Thai contest early on (aided by Hazelett's recent work with training partner and striking stand-out Dorian Price), but after forcing the fight to the mat, Hazelett secured McCrory's right arm. For the next minute, he methodically and masterfully went to work looking for a way to force the submission. Although an omoplata at first appeared possible, Hazelett ultimately settled for an arm-bar submission -- one that had McCrory in obviously agonizing pain.

Prior to UFC 91, Hazelett had never appeared on a televised UFC card. The opportunity arose only after "The Ultimate Fighter 7" winner Amir Sadollah was forced out of his bout with Nick Catone due to a leg infection.

Hazelett has now won five of his past six fights -- all in the UFC and all but one via submission. In fact, he's posted nine submission victories with his 12 career wins.

At just 22 years old, Hazelett's undoubtedly become one of the welterweight division's most promising prospects.

Gabriel Gonzaga (10-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) wants another title shot, and though the title picture is tied up until at least mid-2009 with the current four-man heavyweight championship tournament, Saturday's victory over Josh Hendricks (15-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) will keep "Napao" near the top of the contenders list.

Gonzaga dropped Hendricks with an early right and followed with a few punches for good measure. Referee Steve Mazzagatti stepped in to halt the bout and awarded Gonzaga the victory just 61 seconds into the first round.

Gonzaga has now earned back-to-back victories since an August 2007 title loss to Randy Couture and a subsequent TKO defeat to Fabricio Werdum six months later.

"I want a title shot, and next time I'm going to get the belt," Gonzaga said.

The loss snapped an 11-fight undefeated streak Hendricks put together over the past three years.

In the night's first televised bout, Demian Maia (9-0 MMA 4-0 UFC) made suprisingly quick work of veteran middleweight Nate Quarry (10-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and forced a tap-out via rear-naked choke at 2:13 of the first round.

After a slick transition to take his opponent's back, Maia locked in a body triangle and soon secured the fight-ending choke.

The victory, which was the undefeated Maia's fourth in the UFC, obviously forces the fighter into the middleweight division's title picture. But Maia's not sure if a fight with current champ Anderson Silva is a lock.

"It's up to Dana White and (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva," Maia said. "There are many tough guys (in the division)."

In the meantime, Maia may have other plans. With the UFC searching for a coach to oppose Michael Bisping on the upcoming eighth season of "The Ultimate Fighter," candidates Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson don't seem especially interested in the position.

But is Maia?

"Maybe Michael Bisping is a good fight for me," he said.

The coaches typically meet in a post-show fight. Could a Bisping vs. Maia fight crown a top contender?

PRELIMINARY CARD

In a lightweight fight that won over the live crowd, Aaron Riley (27-10-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) dropped the first round to Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Jorge Gurgel but won the next two for a close but unanimous decision victory. All three judges scored the fight 29-28 for Riley, who returned to the UFC for the first time since January 2006. Sticking with recent tradition, Gurgel opted to keep the fight standing. Riley, though, couldn't truly capitalize until the final round -- the only round either fighter decidedly won.

UFC newcomer Rafael dos Anjos continually took the hard-hitting and energetic Jeremy Stephens to the ground and out of his comfort zone through two rounds of action, but "Lil' Heathen" exacted his revenge in the third. Connecting on one of the most brutal uppercuts in recent history, Stephens (14-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) followed dos Anjos (11-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) to the mat and delivered a barrage of punches before Mazzagatti could halt the bout. It was the 11th knockout victory in 13 career wins for Stephens.

Persistence paid off for Mark Bocek (6-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC), who transitioned from submission attempt to submission attempt during his lightweight bout with Alvin Robinson (9-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC). In what was his most impressive UFC performance to date, Bocek eventually forced the tap-out via rear-naked choke at 3:16 of the third round.

Ryan Thomas (9-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) controlled the first round with takedowns and ground and pound, but late replacement Matt Brown (7-6 MMA, 2-1 UFC) secured an early arm-bar submission in the second and forced the tap-out just 57 seconds into the round. Brown, who replaced an injured Matt Riddle on just two weeks' notice, is now 2-1 since appearing on "The Ultimate Fighter 7." The lone loss came to undefeated Dong Hyun Kim via close split decision.

UFC 91 Re-cap

I told you so. Just kidding but I did tell you so. I'll be providing an actual re-cap a bit later. Check back this evening.

Quickest, Most Brief UFC Preview EVER!!!

It's almost showtime and I just decided to weigh in on a few points. There will be no smart talk, no great stats, everything is coming as I type.

First off, I'm standing by my posts earlier in the year that Randy Couture beat an injured Tim Sylvia and a not so good Gabriel Gonzaga. This comes to me while watching the countdown of UFC 91. They're praising Couture for those victories and all I keep saying is that this is the same guy who lost to Chuck Liddell twice at 205.

Couture beat Tim Sylvia who had a certified back injury prior to the fight and isn't really that good. Sylvia proved that by getting healthy and then getting his head handed to him in 36 seconds by Fedor, Couture's dream fight.

Then Couture beat Gabriel Gonzaga and they keep praising that one. Ok, Gonzaga was a favorite because he decapitated Cro Cop. You can't take that away from him because he put fear in some people's eyes. The fear became shame as Gonzaga then lost to Fabricio Werdum. Werdum was gonna be the next in line to fight for the title but then got knocked out in the first round by some clown and has been released by the UFC.

There you have it. Couture hasn't fought anyone good in a long time and Lesnar has.....um.......fought............3 guys. For a total of 18 minutes!!!

That's all I have for a Lesnar preview simply because people are scared of him. Not the best of analytical reporting but mine nonetheless.

WINNER OF FLORIAN VS. STEVENSON GETS TITLE SHOT

Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White stated at the UFC 91 pre-fight press conference that the winner of the lightweight match-up between Kenny "Ken-Flo" Florian and Joe "Daddy" Stevenson would get the next shot at the title.

"The winner of this fight definitely gets the shot," said White.

Florian was widely considered the No.1 contender to B.J. Penn's UFC lightweight crown after handily defeating Roger Huerta at UFC 87 on Aug. 9. Florian and Stevenson have each had the opportunity to compete for the belt and both came up short.

Florian lost to former UFC lightweight titleholder Sean Sherk at UFC 64 on Oct. 14, 2006 by unanimous decision after five rounds. The Bostonian has strung together a five-fight win streak since being defeated by Sherk in a bout that saw Sherk cut and bloodied by the end of the 25 minutes.

Stevenson was submitted by current champion B.J. Penn at UFC 80 on Jan. 19, but rebounded by defeating Gleison Tibau by guillotine choke at UFC 86 six months later on July 19.

"It's a great fight overshadowed by the heavyweight fight," said the UFC president. "It's going to be a sick fight. It should be. On paper it is."

Amir Sadollah Addresses UFC 91 Withdrawal

Amir Sadollah released a statement Wednesday from the hospital expressing his disappointment for having to pull out of UFC 91 due to a leg infection.

“To all my fans, I really appreciate all the support you have sent my way and I am so sorry I am not able to fight this weekend,” Sadollah said on his website. “I trained harder for this fight than any other fight in my life and I was looking forward to this more than you know.”

Sadollah said he found a small mark on his leg on Friday and immediately went to the doctor. He received medication, but the infection worsened on Sunday and he’s been hospitalized since at least Wednesday.

“I am very sorry if I disappointed anyone,” Sadollah continued. “A lot of work by a lot of people went into this. For it to end with something totally out of my control makes it difficult to swallow. I will be back in the gym as soon as possible and will be ready to fight as soon as [matchmaker] Joe Silva can get me back in.”

The fight would have been Sadollah’s first since winning “The Ultimate Fighter 7" middleweight tournament by submission over CB Dollaway in June. Sadollah was scheduled to face Nick Catone, an undefeated USKBA middleweight champion looking forward to his UFC debut.

Dustin Hazelett vs. Tamdan McCrory has been bumped up to the pay-per-view in place of Sadollah-Catone on Saturday's event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Catone, it's been reported from a very reliable source (our favorite bowling alley bartender), will make his octagon debut February 7th. His opponent probably won't be announced for a few weeks but he's already in fight shape, that's for sure. He's been doing a bit of extra training in Muay Thai, sharpening his clinch and knee strikes. It's definitely going to be a long anticipated debut and we'll keep any happenings updated as they occur.

Leg Infection Forces Sadollah from UFC 91 Card

A leg infection has forced The Ultimate Fighter season seven winner Amir Sadollah to withdraw from his UFC 91 bout against Nick Catone this Saturday. After an exhaustive search for a replacement, the middleweight matchup will not be replaced on the card, but the welterweight showdown between rising stars Dustin Hazelett and Tamdan McCrory will be bounced to the pay-per-view portion of Saturday’s event.

As important as it was for Sadollah to get his UFC career going, it also marked the UFC debut of our favorite bowling alley bartender's stepson, Nick Catone. As the main contributer to the website, I feel it's appropriate to take an informal approach to this post.

Stephanie is our bartender at the bowling alley and I've known her for close to 9 years. Over that time, she has kept me up to date on her stepson Nick Catone. Nick was an outstanding wrestler in New Jersey in the early 2000's and Stephanie would update everyone on which tournament he was participating in and what place he took. Nick fell into the same trap that a lot of wrestlers fall into. There's just no career for a wrestler like there is in the major sports. In the major sports, half educated beasts skim their way through college until their big pay comes on draft day. Even the most uneducated, criminal minded person still gets paid millions for playing major sports.

Unfortunately for wrestlers, they actually have to study in college because not much money is put into the wrestling programs simply due to there being no future in it. There's just no professional wrestling league. Of course there's the fake, high flying, soap opera that's called 'pro wrestling' but that's not quite what these athletes are accustomed to. I'm not saying pro wrestlers aren't athletes but it's not the professional level of amateur wrestling.

So that brings us to Nick Catone. He had no where else to go after his wrestling career was over. That is of course until MMA became popular which he's been involved in for about 3 years. He's put together a decent amateur MMA record and was obviously recognized enough by the UFC to be put on the card.

Catone's road may be less traveled than Sadollah's but it doesn't make him any less deserving. I'm sure the fight was put together for Sadollah to get his first UFC win and to put together a name for himself since he won TUF but Nick Catone had other plans. It's a shame he won't get a chance to fight this weekend but we're gonna be following his UFC career as it progresses. There's also no way you could assume Sadollah was going to walk through Catone and it'll be exciting to see both of these young guys get their careers started. Catone has a 4 fight deal and is in fighting shape so it's pretty safe to assume that he'll be put on an upcoming Fight Night or the next UFC event.

Nick Catone may be an unknown but they were all unknowns in the beginning. We're gonna pay a little more attention to this local boy because he has a ton of talent, and because Stephanie is our favorite bartender. It may have been a blessing that Sadollah had to pull out of the fight.

Any news on Nick Catone will be reported right here on this website. We will certainly have inside information.

UFC 94. St. Pierre vs. Penn II Officially Announced

The Ultimate Fighting Championship today officially announced its Jan. 31 "UFC 94: St. Pierre vs. Penn II" event, which takes place Jan. 31 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The main event features a UFC welterweight championship fight between current title-holder Georges St. Pierre and UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn.

The fight, which airs live on pay per view, is a rematch of their March 2006 bout in which St. Pierre earned a split-decision win.

With a victory in the rematch, Penn could become the first fighter in UFC history to simultaneously hold belts in two different weight classes.

"This may be the most anticipated rematch in UFC history," UFC President Dana White stated in today's press release. "Their first fight was an epic battle of two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. After that fight, St. Pierre would go on to win the UFC world welterweight title, and Penn would go on to win the UFC world lightweight title."

Although not officially announced, a light heavyweight bout between Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva is expected to take place at UFC 94. Karo Parisyan will look to reclaim contender's status against Dong Hyun Kim, and Stephan Bonnar also meets Jon Jones on the card.

Hermes Franca Arrested on DUI Charge

UFC lightweight Hermes Franca was arrested early Thursday in Jupiter, Florida for driving-under-the-influence.

The 34-year-old was booked at the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office at 2:38am and released at 10:10am. He was charged with “Traffic Offense-DUI Alcohol or Drugs 1st Offense.”

Hours before the arrest Franca, who lives in Jupiter, attended WEC 36: Faber vs. Brown at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

Chris Leben Fails Drug Test, Suspended 9 Months

Chris Leben has tested positive for the anabolic steroid Stanazolol following his loss to Michael Bisping in the main event of UFC 89 on October 18 in Birmingham, England.

Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! Sports reports that Leben has been suspended for nine months and fined one-third of his purse for the positive test.

“I am obviously disappointed with Chris, who has made great strides getting his life back on track,” UFC president Dana White said to Yahoo! Sports. “To his credit, he has taken responsibility for his actions and is accepting the punishment that has been handed down. But as always, the UFC puts the safety of its athletes first and foremost, and we won’t tolerate anyone using performance enhancing drugs in our organization.”

The drug test was conducted by the UFC since the UK does not have an independent athletic commission.

This just goes to show that Dana White does have favorites. Leben was just in jail a few months ago for a parole violation that scrapped the first Bisping fight and now he's suspended. Anyone who was on the cusp with Dana White would be cut from the roster immediately. There's definitely a double standard going on and the UFC is too big for anyone to do anything about it.

Matt Hughes and Matt Serra Rumored for April

The long awaited bout between former 'TUF' coaches has been rumored to finally take place in April. The date hasn't been set yet but it's being discussed that the fight will take place in Illinois.

The original bout, with tremendous hype, was scheduled to take place in December 2007 but Serra had to pull out with a herniated disc in his low back. Georges St. Pierre stepped in and made short work of Hughes in their third bout.

This fight has lost much of its luster due to the inactivity of of Serra and the slump of Hughes. Not to mention nothing is on the line but pride. When they were due to fight, Matt Serra was the current welterweight champion but has since lost his title in the rematch with St. Pierre.

Given the circumstances, it should still be a hightly anticipated fight.

UFC 90 Re-cap

Patrick Cote (13-5 MMA, 4-5 UFC) lasted longer than any other challenger, but UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (23-4 MMA, 8-0 UFC) scored his eighth consecutive UFC victory and fourth straight title defense -- but not in the manner he wanted.

After forcing the UFC 90 main event into a third round, Cote dropped to the mat and was unable to continue after injuring his knee 39 seconds into the round. I

t was an unfortunate and bizarre ending to Saturday's "UFC 90: Silva vs. Cote" event, which took place at a sold-out Allstate Arena in Rosemont near Chicago in the UFC's first-ever trip to Illinois.

The fight was a bit strange from the get-go. Silva, largely considered the world's top pound-for-pound fighter, was sometimes slow to engage. He was unusually patient, often retreated after Cote threw punches, and his feet and hand movement sometimes bordered on comical. He did damage when he struck, but the exchanges interrupted extended stretches of inaction.

Prior to the fight with Cote, Silva had never been taken into the third round during a UFC fight. However, it'd be a short round. While taking a high hop before shooting in, Cote's knee slightly buckled, and he immediately hit the canvas while securing the injured leg.

"It was an old injury," Cote said. "I'm so sorry guys. It was a great fight before. ... I was the only guy to go into the third round with Silva, so I was doing a good job."

The ending caused a chorus of boos from the Allstate Arena crowd, one that proved restless throughout the night. Just about any stretch of inactivity was met with boos, and the Silva-Cote fight got the loudest of the night. Silva, though, felt it was unwarranted.

"He should be applauded, and I'll be back here to put on another show for everyone," Silva said through translator and manager Ed Soares.

"Thank you ladies and gentleman for coming. Sorry. Sorry."

After already defeating perennial contender Karo Parisyan and former UFC heavyweight champion Matt Hughes in 2008, Thiago Alves (16-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) closed out his fight year with another signature victory -- this time over fellow title hopeful Josh Koscheck (11-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC).

Although Alves ultimately settled for a unanimous-decision victory (30-27, 29-28, 30-27), he had Koscheck -- who filled in for an injured Diego Sanchez on just two weeks' notice -- in trouble throughout the fight. Koscheck was dropped in the first with a short left, he was continually knocked off balance with stinging leg kicks, and an onslaught of strikes in the third round had Koscheck staggered and in survival mode.

Despite Alves' success, though, Koscheck showed signs of life throughout the fight. His ever-improving stand-up game and powerful right hand connected often, but Alves survived and was never in any real trouble.

"He gave me a really hard time," Alves said.

However, Koscheck, a former NCAA Division I national wrestling champion, simply couldn't take down his opponent. Alves successfully sprawled out of every takedown attempt and usually punished his opponent for trying.

The victory -- Alves' seventh straight in the UFC (one shy of the organization's record) -- has the 25-year-old wanting one thing.

"I would love to fight for the title," said Alves, who requested a title shot after his victory over Hughes in June. "Mr. Dana White, I'm still a good boy, so please hook me up."

Coming into UFC 90, a growing contingent of MMA fans wondered why Fabricio Werdum, who previously had been all but promised a shot at the heavyweight belt, was no longer a part of the UFC's title talk.

With reigning champion Randy Couture's return from a contract dispute to fight Brock Lesnar next month, and with "The Ultimate Fighter 8" coaches Frank Mir and interim UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira fighting in December, Werdum became the odd man out.

At UFC 90 UFC newcomer Junior dos Santos (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) assured Werdum (11-4-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) will stay that way.

The Brazilian fighter, at one time a 10-to-1 underdog heading into the fight, scored one of the year's biggest upsets and most brutal uppercut knockouts with an 81-second TKO of Werdum.

Undeterred by his first fight under the bright lights of the UFC, dos Santos connected flush with a right uppercut that sent Werdum to his knees. Werdum was down for good, but dos Santos continued with a burst of punches before the referee halted the bout.

For dos Santos, it was seventh first-round stoppage in seven career victories.

In a key lightweight bout, veteran experience won out over young potential as Sean Sherk (33-3-1 MMA, 7-3 UFC) secured a close but unanimous decision victory over Tyson Griffin (12-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC).

Sherk, fighting for the first time since his title loss to B.J. Penn in May, had Griffin in trouble early after securing the Xtreme Couture fighter's back and working for a rear-naked choke. Griffin, though, carried Sherk to his corner to receive instruction from Randy Couture and eventually broke free of the hold.

It was the only real trouble Griffin, 24, was ever in, though the fighters traded more than a few solid blows through the three-round fight. In fact, after a few successful takedown attempts in the first, Sherk was content to keep the fight standing for the remainder of the bout. Griffin connected on a few bursts of strikes, but Sherk scored more frequently and with better accuracy thanks to an effective jab, quick knees and an array of combinations.

"I was confident I won the fight," Sherk said.

The judges agreed and awarded the 35-year-old the fight with winning scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

After the bout, Sherk, who was stripped of the title after a failed drug test in 2007, was perfectly clear of his next goal.

"I want another shot at the belt," he said.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Thales Leites def. Drew McFedries via submission (rear-naked choke) -- Round 1, 1:18
Spencer Fisher def. Shannon Gugerty via submission (triangle choke) -- Round 3, 3:56
Dan Miller def. Matt Horwich via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Hermes Franca def. Marcus Aurelio via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Pete Sell def. Josh Burkman via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Affliction Makes it Official: Fedor-Arlovski on Jan. 24

Affliction has finally confirmed that Fedor Emelianenko-Andrei Arlovski will indeed take place January 24 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Affliction released on Tuesday a commercial (see below) for the "Day of Reckoning" event.

Prior to the release of the commercial, Affliction would only say that the main event and January 24 date would probably happen, but wouldn't confirm the details 100%.

Vladimir Matyushenko, Jay Hieron, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Josh Barnett, Chris Horodecki, Matt Lindland and Vitor Belfort are all being advertised for the event.

Of the advertised fighters, the matchups originally put together for October 11 were Josh Barnett vs. Andrei Arlovski (Fedor would have fought Arlovski but Fedor suffered a hand injury), Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort, Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon, and Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

Affliction's roster is pretty weak so they can only put together a couple ppv's per year but they might not have enough talent to put on a worth ppv card. But it's up to them to battle the UFC. You can also be certain that there will be another conflicting UFC event that same night so we're in for a good night of programming on January 24th.

EliteXC Closes its Doors

Sorry guys. It's been a while since I've posted and a bunch of stuff has happened. I'm gonna do my best to keep up with the important news of MMA. Today is a perfect time to start.

EliteXC, the first MMA promotion to hold a live event on network television, has ceased operations after less than two years.

Its parent company ProElite has filed for bankruptcy and the lone remaining EliteXC event of 2008 “A Night of Champions” has been cancelled.

The event in Reno, Nevada was scheduled to feature title bouts between Robbie Lawler-Joey Villasenor and Eddie Alvarez-Nick Diaz.

Diaz’s camp confirmed the shutdown and fight cancellation on GracieFighter.com.

“We are confirming that EliteXC has folded. What this means for our fans and supporters is that there will not be a Nick Diaz vs. Eddie Alvarez fight on November 8th,” the website stated.

The future of ProElite’s assets – which includes King of the Cage, Cage Rage and Icon Sport – will likely be decided in bankruptcy court.

The EliteXC production was fair at best but it still provided live fights on network television. They did a decent job of promoting but certainly promoted the wrong guys in their organization. The writing was on the wall and the Kimbo loss basically put the final nail in the coffin. The entire night actually put the nail in the coffin.

Actually, the way the entire night unfolded gave CBS some serious cold feet about the unpredictability of the fight game. Shamrock having to pull out and another opponent being named right on the spot after a month of promoting didn't sit well with the network executives. But more importantly, watching Jared Shaw, a representitive of EliteXC, screaming at the referree that Seth Petruzelli was hitting Kimbo in the back of the head, also put CBS in an awkward position. It didn't help when Petruzelli said in an interview that the EliteXC officials tried to influence his fight plan against Kimbo by offering him money to stand and trade with Slice. It was very amateurish how Jared Shaw behaved, CBS could easily read into that and pulled the plug.

What we had with EliteXC was possible competition for the UFC and more free fights. They were never gonna come close to the UFC but every time EliteXC was on, the UFC put some conflicting programming on SpikeTV. They televised a UFC event, did a profile on Chuck Liddell, and had a behind the scenes of The Ultimate Fighter. As an MMA fan, we were the winners.

Now it's up to Affliction (good luck) to try and battle the UFC for mixed martial arts supremecy. That's not going to happen at all but as long as there's another company, the UFC has to keep putting on great shows. Which as of late, haven't been as good as a couple years ago.

So it's goodbye to Kimbo vs. Shamrock, Gina Carano vs. Cyborg, and....well that's pretty much it. And Kimbo-Shamrock wasn't gonna be anything spectacular anyway. The major mistake was not promoting their welterweight champion, Jake Shields. Here's hoping he gets signed by the UFC because he's an instant contender at 170.

So I bid a hearty good luck to Affliction, but I also know that their days are probably numbered as well. In a couple years it's gonna be UFC or nothing which is not a good situation at all. It's gonna be WWE all over again.

Parisyan Injured, bout with Yoshida Scrapped

A last-minute back injury has forced welterweight contender Karo Parisyan to withdraw from his UFC 88 bout with Yoshiyuki Yoshida.

Saturday’s UFC 88 card will continue with nine bouts, and the welterweight bout between Dong Hyun Kim and Matt Brown will now be aired on the pay-per-view broadcast, which begins at 10pm ET / 7pm PT.

Here is the final card for tomorrow:

205 lbs. Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans
205 lbs. Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hamill 1
85 lbs. Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares
185 lbs. Martin Kampmann vs. Nate Marquardt
155 lbs. Thiago Tavares vs. Kurt Pellegrino
205 lbs. Tim Boetsch vs. Michael Patt
170 lbs. Matt Brown vs. Dong Hyun Kim
185 lbs. Jason Lambert vs. Jason MacDonald
170 lbs. Roan Carneiro vs. Ryo Chonan

HE'S BACK! UFC ANNOUNCES COUTURE VS LESNAR

Amidst a groundswell of rumor and speculation concerning former UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture’s future, the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Tuesday announced that “The Natural” is indeed returning to the Octagon.

Couture will face rising star Brock Lesnar in the main event of UFC 91 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Nov. 15. The fight will be a five-round, title bout, Couture’s first since resigning from the organization in October of 2007.

There was strong speculation the Nov. 15 event would take place in Portland, Ore., but UFC president Dana White said that despite ongoing negotiations to do an event in Portland, and future plans to do so, this fight would take place in Las Vegas.

In announcing the fight, White steered away from saying that Lesnar, with a 1-1 record in the UFC and 2-1 overall in his MMA career, was the No. 1 contender for the heavyweight title. He offered no defense of the bout being for the title, saying, “We can basically put on fights that fans want to see… Mark my words, Couture vs. Lesnar will be the biggest fight in UFC history.”

The announcement appears to have ended a legal battle between Couture and the owners of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Zuffa, LLC, over the terms of his fight contract. Up until the announcement was made, the two parties were in arbitration proceedings to determine if and when Couture would be able to fight outside of the UFC.

Due to Couture’s absence, the UFC had crowned Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira its interim heavyweight champion. He is scheduled to defend his interim title against Frank Mir in December. White said that fight would still take place with the winner facing the winner of Couture and Lesnar sometime in 2009 to unify the heavyweight title.

Couture has reportedly begun training full time for the bout at his Las Vegas Xtreme Couture gym.

Elite XC Champ KJ Noons Issues Statement Criticizing the Company

EliteXC lightweight champion K.J. Noons, who's currently embroiled in a public spat with EliteXC officials after his management team refused to return phone calls requesting an Oct. 4 rematch Nick Diaz, has issued a formal statement on the matter.

Noons emailed the statement to several MMA outlets.

Noons alleges EliteXC officials of a variety of misdeeds, including poorly publicizing his career, breach of his confidentially agreement, poor pay, threats of a lawsuit, and instigating a now-infamous in-ring scuffle between Noons' and Diaz's camps during a June event in Hawaii.

In the statement, Noons claims the problem isn't with Diaz and, instead, stems from two years of the sub-par treatment from the organization, specifically ProElite CEO Chuck Champion and Vice President Jared Shaw.

Noons also states that he's now going to focus on his boxing career since it has the potential to be more lucrative than MMA. However, he predicts the fight with Diaz will happen but "probably not" on Oct. 4, when the organization returns to CBS airwaves for its third installment of the "Saturday Night Fights" series.

K.J. NOONS STATEMENT -- AUG. 28 2008

It is not about being scared to fight Diaz, who I previously defeated, it is about the fight I am currently in with Elite XC regarding my career.

I would first like to address all the false allegations and insults from Jared Shaw, aka $kala, VP of Elite XC. You will see why I am so disgusted of how Elite XC treated me and how it applies to this proposed fight and my career.

$kala says:

Honor my contract. Elite XC wants to talk about honoring the contract. How about when Elite XC honored the contract and my pay to fight Edson Berto went down after I lost my first fight. That was not part of my contract. Or how about the contract Gary Shaw breached by not promoting my boxing career? Gary Shaw only gave me one out of four of the agreed upon fights. I have not boxed for over a year. When I signed with Elite XC, I was promised they would promote both my boxing and MMA careers. I could have signed with another MMA only company, but I wanted to box too.

Elite XC does me a favor after I lose, by putting me on the first ShoXC against Edson Berto? Berto's father is good friends with Jared's father, Gary Shaw who wants Berto's brother on a boxing contract. Berto was the next guy Elite XC wanted to build. But I win that fight and now I am 1-1. Elite XC gives me an opportunity to fight Diaz. Elite XC puts me against Diaz because Elite XC's roster was so light and there was nobody else to fight him.

Elite XC creates a new weight class for Diaz because he beat Gomi. Giving Diaz a belt and creating a weight division (160) he can make, will make your belt legit. Sorry to ruin Elite XC's plans and beat him.

Elite XC never promoted or took care of me as their champion.

Examples:

In the Elite XC's DVD where Diaz and I fought there are two (2) baseball cards of Diaz and Kimbo. Hello! I won the fight and Elite XC's promoting Diaz after I beat him? Or how about the day Elite XC flew Diaz in to do a signing on the DVD where he lost. Wow, that must have been uncomfortable Nick? Signing a DVD, and it is a fight that you lost. Why wasn't I flown in for the signing?

Elite XC has never promoted me on either of their websites, EliteXC or Pro-Elite.

Elite XC offered me a fight on the first CBS show, but only if I signed a new long-term contract. Instead of promoting their best fighters on CBS, you have to be on a long term contract for them to promote you. That was not our deal.

Consider when Elite XC gives a couple thousand tickets away at their CBS show in Stockton. Elite XC gives me a hard time about comping me one extra ticket for my cousin that helped me train for my fight. I only get four tickets per show. I am the main event in Honolulu, my home town! I did not ask for any tickets for my family and friends and they gave me a hard time about one extra ticket!

Or how about when Elite XC brought Diaz into the ring after my last victory in Hawaii to disrespect me and my family.

Chuck Champion (President Elite XC) threatens me, my family and my manager with lawsuits and how he's going to sue me. HAHA. Pretty hard to sue a guy who does not make jack with your company. I'm glad $kala disclosed how much I make, which breached the confidentiality clause of the contract. I will break down the real numbers for you. I am the defending world champ, I have been the main event for Elite XC three out of four times on Showtime. In almost two years I have made approximately $83,000?

After paying my trainers and managers fee, I have $50,000 thousand. After taxes, probably 30 grand. Divide that by two years for $15,000 thousand a year. Divide by 52 weeks that amounts to approximately $300 a week. I do not know anybody that can survive on that amount of money. My buddies make more money than that in a couple days being a bus boy or bar back. And yes you can argue I should fight more. Elite XC doesn't give me fights or promote me, they ice me. Gary Shaw Productions only gave me one of the agreed upon four fights per the boxing contract.

And I do not want to ramble on about all the little small stuff that I can keep going on about. But the straw that broke the camel's back is they want me to fight Diaz for the second time. Diaz is not the number one contender and they are paying Diaz three times more money than me. Diaz complained after the Stockton fight, he was not paid enough. How do you think that made me feel? Yes you can argue that Diaz gets more for the draw, therefore I do not deserve as much compensation. If that is the case, it is a result of Elite XC terrible job promoting me. Instead of promoting me as their champ and upcoming athlete, Elite XC has resented me for ruining their plans to make Diaz their champ. That is just total disrespect. So it comes down to money and what is fair. I am tired of being bent over by Elite XC with no Vaseline.

am right when I say Diaz is not the number one contender. Elite XC is trying to force this fight for their ratings. Eddie Alaverez is the number one contender and anybody with half a brain knows that a fight with Eddie is a way harder fight for me than Diaz. I will fight Diaz, but Elite has to be fair. I'm not ducking Diaz, why the hell would I be scared of someone I already beat.

With that being said, I am going to focus on my boxing career. I can make more money doing 6 and 8 rounders every other month and make more than I did being the Elite XC defending world champ. At least I will be able to sleep at night and be able to look myself in the mirror everyday. That right there is worth more than $300 bucks a week or fighting a guy I cannot stand for less money than him the second time around.

Will the Diaz fight happen, yes. Will the fight happen on Elite XC on October 4, 2008, probably not. The way things are being run by Chuck Champion, a guy whose history is newspapers, not fighting, and $kala, someone who talks a lot of game, but has never put on a pair of gloves, never stepped in a ring or cage. $kala has had everything handed to him with a silver spoon from daddy. Does anyone else but me think $kala just wants to be famous and stir up all this dirty laundry? I guess any publicity is good publicity. When I think about it, it has been good promotion for their October card since nobody is talking about it until you bring up the Noons vs. Diaz match up.

Before I end, I would like to thank my team, my trainers and workout partners for helping me prepare for my fights hours every day. I would like to also thank my manager Mark Dion for standing behind my decision making. I want to be a fighter who is not doing whatever I am being told like some kind of mindless puppet.

Thanks for hearing my side.

K.J. NOONS

Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock for EliteXC 'Heat'

Former street brawler Kimbo Slice will take on UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock in the main event of EliteXC “Heat” Saturday, Oct. 4 on CBS, the promotion confirmed Monday.

Shamrock, who has lost five fights in a row and seven out his last eight fights, is nowhere near title contention in any major organization, but he continues to be a ticket seller due to his popularity in the past as a UFC fighter and a WWE pro wrestler.

EliteXC is banking on the popularity of the two fighters to boost its "Saturday Night Fights" ratings on CBS. The first EliteXC-CBS event on May 31, headlined by Slice, drew record ratings, but without a star attraction on the second event on July 26, ratings fell 43% from the first.

The CBS card is now complete:

- Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock
- Jake Shields vs. Paul “Semtex” Daley (Title Bout)
- Gina Carano vs. Kelly Kobald
- Murilo “Ninja” Rua vs. Benji Radach
- Cris Cyborg vs. Yoko Takahasi (Swing Bout)

This could be the best opponent for Slice, but it could also be the worst. If Shamrock defeats Slice, it could stall the plans for the poster boy of EliteXC. But if Slice wins, it could vault him up and give him a bit of credibility with a victory over an established fighter. Granted, Shamrock is nothing compared to what he once was.

If you ask me, EliteXC is making a desperate move which could work in their favor. One thing is for sure, this fight will get some serious ratings. I doubt it's gonna be a good fight but it will be a watched fight.

Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon at Oct. 11th Affliction bout

Former International Fight League stand-out Chris Horodecki (12-1) has agreed to make his Affliction debut against one-time UFC fighter Dan Lauzon (10-2) at the organization's Oct. 11 event.

"Affliction: Day of Reckoning," which features a headline bout of Andrei Arlovski vs. Josh Barnett, takes place at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas and airs on pay per view.

Horodecki, a 20-year-old MMA prodigy, was one of the IFL's most recognizable stars before the organization recently halted operations.

The Canadian fighter will now meet Lauzon, a fellow 20-year-old who -- at the ripe age of 18 years, six months and 16 days old -- became the youngest fighter ever to compete in the UFC. Lauzon suffered a first-round TKO to Spencer Fisher at UFC 64 -- and a subsequent submission defeat to Deividas Taurosevicius -- but he's posted six consecutive stoppage victories since then.

UFC Confirms Florian vs. Stevenson at UFC 91

A lightweight bout between title contenders Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson has been confirmed for UFC 91.

UFC President Dana White told Yahoo! Sports that the two Ultimate Fighter contestants will meet on pay-per-view on Nov. 15 at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Oregon.

Both have fought for the UFC lightweight belt and have fallen short. Florian lost to Sean Sherk at UFC 64 in Oct. 2006, but has won five in a row to put himself close to another shot. Stevenson lost to BJ Penn earlier this year but returned in July at UFC 76 to submit Gleison Tibau.

This is certainly going to be a very entertaining fight but it's not what's best for the UFC. There's too many 'what ifs?' in this fight. If Stevenson wins, does he get another shot at BJ Penn? Meanwhile Florian has destroyed everyone since he lost to Sean Sherk in 2006 runs the risk of not getting his title shot at BJ Penn.

If Florian doesn't win, the lightweight division will be in shambles. It could turn into the middleweight division all over again.

This all but confirms that BJ Penn will be going up in weight to fight Georges St. Pierre. It goes to show tha as much as Dana White says the other organizations don't bother him, they obviously are. There's no need to have St. Pierre fight BJ Penn in their next fight, especially when Florian was supposed to get a shot at Penn with a win over Roger Huerta.

Hey, I'm not gonna be upset watching Penn vs. St. Pierre but I do know that the UFC is making promises to the fighters that they can't keep. Just because they feel threatened by other organizations.

ELITEXC'S SILVA, AFFLICTION'S DEWEES FAIL DRUG TESTS

California State Athletic Commission Assistant Executive Director Bill Douglas has confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that Affliction fighter Edwin Dewees and EliteXC fighter Antonio Silva have tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. On Aug. 1, Douglas said that both cards were “not out of the woods” and positive tests were likely on both cards.

Dewees, 26, tested positive for Nandrolone, a common illegal steroid, following his losing effort against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at Affliction “Banned” on July 19. The level of drug in Dewees’ system, 499ng/mL, far outstrips other high profile fighters who have been ensnared by the CSAC since it began drug testing in March of 2006.

“The level of drug in his system makes it very hard to explain,” Douglas said.

Also hard to explain is Silva’s positive test, which showed the presence of Boldenone, an anabolic steroid mainly veterinarian in nature. According to Douglas, the CSAC does not record the level of Boldenone in a fighter’s system, as the drug’s long half-life in the body make false positives extremely unlikely.

Both men have been suspended one year from the end of their respective bouts, and have been fined $2,500.

Dewees declined comment saying he needed to check with his lawyer before making any statements.

Silva and his representatives were unavailable for comment.

Aside from Justin Levens, who has already been reported as testing positive for pain killers, all other EliteXC and Affliction fighters from the noted July events tested negative for any banned substances, whether recreational or performance enhancing.

Man is Dana White licking his chops at this. It's not good news when two upstart organizations who were supposed to threaten the reign of the UFC have blemishes on their record so soon in their promotion. It's not uncommon for it to happen, especially in the UFC, but with a roster of only a handful of fighters, it's a black eye. The UFC has over 200 fighters on their roster. If two of their fighers test positive, it's 1%. If Affliction only has 30 fighters on their roster and one of them tests positive, you're already at 3%.

It's not too much of a situation as it's gonna happen a lot over the next few years, in all organizations. But it doesn't look good when the upstarts are already headlining in a poor manner.

Tyson Griffin vs Sean Sherk Official for UFC 90 in Chicago

Rising 155-pound star Tyson Griffin will put his four fight winning streak on the line at the Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois on October 25th when he squares off against his most accomplished foe to date, former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk, in a key matchup on the UFC 90 main card.

Las Vegas’ Griffin has been nearly perfect in his UFC stint, going 5-1 since making his Octagon debut in 2006. Among his victims are Clay Guida, Thiago Tavares, Gleison Tibau, and most recently, Marcus Aurelio. In Sherk, Griffin will be taking on a nine year veteran of the sport who is looking to get back in the win column after a loss to BJ Penn in their UFC 84 title fight in May.

Also added to the UFC 90 card is a battle for Brazilian bragging rights when Fortaleza’s Hermes Franca takes on Rio Grande Norte’s Gleison Tibau in a lightweight bout, and a clash of former Ultimate Fighter alumni between season two’s Josh Burkman and season four’s Pete Sell, who will be making his welterweight debut in the UFC’s initial foray into the Windy City.

Full cast announced for 'The Ultimate Fighter 8'

Spike TV revealed today the 32 cast members for the eight season of its UFC reality TV series, "The Ultimate Fighter: Team Mir vs. Team Nogueira," which premieres Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 10pm ET/PT.

UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and former champion Frank Mir serve as opposing coaches guiding 8 lightweights and 8 light-heavyweights as the contestants battle through a single-elimination tournament to be crowned the season's division champs.

Sticking with the opening "twist" that began last season, all 32 fighters will compete on the first two episodes (airing Sept. 17 and 24) to narrow the field of fighters down to 16.

The two finalists from each division will battle Saturday, Dec. 13 at the live finale on Spike TV for the six-figure UFC contracts.

Lightweights

Jose Aguilar
Age: 25
MMA Record: 17-3-0
Trains With: Grapplers Edge
Location: Las Cruces, NM

Fernando Bernstein
Age: 25
MMA Record: 2-0-0
Location: San Clemente, CA

Marcus Brimage
Age: 22
MMA Record: 1-0-0
Location: Birmingham, AL

Junie Allen Browning
Age: 22
MMA Record: 2-0-0
Trains With: Four Seasons Martial Arts
Location: Lexington, KY

Rolando Delgado
Age: 26
MMA Record: 7-3-1
Trains With: Westside Fight Team
Location: North Little Rock, AR

Joseph Duarte
Age: 24
MMA Record: 3-0
Trains With: Unleashed Training Facility/ Alliance MMA
Location: San Diego, CA

Efrain Escudero
Age: 22
MMA Record: 10-0-0
Trains With: Southwest Martial Arts
Location: Tempe, AZ

Brandon Garner
Age: 26 MMA
Record: 4-1-0
Trains With: Team ROC
Location: Raleigh, NC

David Kaplan
Age: 28
MMA Record: 3-1-0
Trains With: Lloyd Irvin Team
Location: Camp Springs, MD

Brian McLaughlin
Age: 23
MMA Record: 5-0-0
Trains With: Team Gracie Tampa
Location: Tampa, FL

Wesley Murch
Age: 25
MMA Record: 4-2-0
Trains With: Trojan Gym
Location: Bristol, UK

Shane Nelson
Age: 24
MMA Record: 11-3-0
Trains With: BJ Penn’s MMA
Location: Hilo, HI

Phillipe Nover
Age: 24
MMA Record: 5-0-1
Trains With: Team Renzo Gracie
Location: Brooklyn, NY

Ido Pariente
Age: 30
MMA Record: 13-4-0
Location: Tel Avis, Israel

John Polakowski
Age: 26
MMA Record: 3-1-0
Trains With: The Pit
Location: San Luis Obispo, CA

George Roop
Age: 26
MMA Record: 7-3-0
Trains With: Ultima MMA
Location: Tucson, AZ

Light Heavyweights

Ryan Bader
Age: 24
MMA Record: 7-0-0
Trains With: Arizona Combat Sports
Location: Chandler, AZ

Antwain Britt
Age: 29
MMA Record: 4-0-0
Trains With: Bombsquad MMA
Location: Virginia Beach, VA

Jules Bruchez
Age: 30
MMA Record: 3-2-0
Trains With: Ronan Dojo
Location: Lafayette, LA

Lance Evans
Age: 30
MMA Record: 4-2-0
Trains With: TKO MMA
Location: Niagara Falls, NY

Karen Grigoryan
Age: 26
MMA Record: 5-0-0
Trains With: RusFighters Sport Club
Location: Russia

Jason Guida
Age: 30
MMA Record: 26-13-0
Trains With: Hellhouse Gym
Location: Chicago, IL

Ryan Jimmo
Age: 26
MMA Record: 6-1-0
Trains With: Titans MMA
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia

Kyle Kingsbury
Age: 26
MMA Record: 7-1-1
Trains With: American Kickboxing Academy
Location: Sunnyvale, CA

Tom Lawlor
Age: 24
MMA Record: 4-1
Trains With: American Top Team
Location: Oviedo, FL

Ryan Lopez
Age: 25
MMA Record: 5-3-0
Location: Oklahoma City, OK

Vinicius Magalhaes
Age: 23
MMA Record: 2-2-0
Trains With: Team Quest
Location: Temecula, CA

Eliot Marshall
Age: 27
MMA Record: 5-1-0
Trains With: Eastern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Location: Boulder, CO

Tom Matijacic
Age: 31
MMA Record: 4-0-1
Trains With:
Location: Tigard, OR

Sean O’Connell
Age: 24
MMA Record: 1-0-0
Location: Salt Lake City, UT

Shane Primm
Age: 23
MMA Record: 1-0-0
Trains With: Team Gracie Tampa
Location: Tampa, FL

Krzysztof Soszynski
Age: 30
MMA Record: 16-8-1
Trains With: Team Quest Location: Temecula, CA

Dana White once again has Loose Lips

Dana White was once again asked about where he believes Fedor Emelianenko is ranked among heavyweights. This was his entire quote:

“He’s not the best pound-for-pound fighter, not even close, but he’s one of the four or five best heavyweights. But we all have to thank him for getting rid of Tim Sylvia. He’d been stinking out the joint the last couple of years and Fedor did everyone a favor by beating him so easily and getting rid of him.”

The last we heard, Tim Sylvia was wanting to fight for the UFC in the future and that he left on 'very good terms'. For Dana White to completely discredit Sylvia is absurd. He was dominating interim champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira before he got submitted and had to carry the weak UFC heavyweight division for about 2 years.

As far as saying Fedor is ranked #4 or 5, who is ranked higher than him? There is no one in the UFC that's even remotely close to Fedor right now. Dana White is not gonna be good for the UFC in the long run.

The UFC isn't going anywhere. But with other organizations rising, and the popularity of MMA on the rise as well, the UFC could be in for some trouble if their president can't stop running his mouth.

White has done more than anyone to get the popularity of MMA to the point where it is today, but he isn't helping his own company by burning every bridge of guys that leave. You can tell he's already setting up the heavyweight division to be Brock Lesnar's in the future but it's horrible business to keep destroying every fighter that leaves the company.

Dana White has overstepped boundaries that even Don King hadn't entered into. He needs to promote the fighters, the UFC and keep his mouth shut. He's losing fans by the day with his antics.

Official UFC 88 Fight Card

The UFC recently confirmed the official fight card for "UFC 88: Breakthrough," which takes place Sept. 6 at Atlanta's Phillips Arena.

The event, which airs live on pay per view, features a headline bout of former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell (21-5 MMA, 16-4 UFC) vs. undefeated contender Rashad Evans (11-0-1 MMA, 6-0-1 UFC).

Additionally, former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin (23-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) makes a return to the lightheavyweight division as he takes on "The Ultimate Fighter 3" alumnus and fellow Cincinnati native Matt Hamill (4-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in the night's co-main event.

Other televised fights include Karo Parisyan (18-5 MMA, 9-3 UFC) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC), and middleweight bouts of Dan Henderson (22-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) vs. Rousimar Palhares (8-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Martin Kampmann (16-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) vs. Nate Marquardt (26-8-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC).

The full card includes:

MAIN CARD

Rashad Evans vs. Chuck Liddell
Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hamill
Karo Parisyan vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
Dan Henderson vs. Rousimar Palhares
Martin Kampmann vs. Nate Marquardt

PRELIMINARY CARD

Kurt Pellegrino vs. Thiago Tavares
Tim Boetsch vs. James Lee
Matt Brown vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Roan Carneiro vs. Ryo Chonan
Jason Day vs. Jason Lambert

BELFORT OUT OF AFFLICTION FIGHT WITH LINDLAND

Vitor Belfort, who was scheduled to face Matt Lindland in a 185lb showdown at Affliction: Day of Reckoning has been forced off the card due to a hand injury as confirmed by Affliction Vice President, Tom Atencio, on Thursday night.

“Vitor is out, I spoke with him I think yesterday and he told me,” said Atencio. “Actually, it was on Tuesday we had a conversation for about an hour or so, and yeah, I guess he broke his hand in two places is what he told me and he had been having 2, 3 and 4 opinions on it. He finally got the opinion that he wanted I guess and they told him to step out for a while.”

Belfort was successful in his first bout for Affliction, knocking out Terry Martin in his debut fight in the middleweight division.

Now, Atencio and the Affliction team will make an effort to find Lindland a new opponent as quickly as possible.

Speculation has run rampant that current Elite XC welterweight champion, Jake Shields, may be the fighter Affliction is courting to face Lindland on the Oct 11 show, but Atencio had no comment.

“I don’t confirm anything until I have all the papers signed,” he simply said.

Shields was still negotiating on his next fight and that a prominent offer was pending for him to fight at 185lbs in a different organization.

“Right now I have a really good offer on the table to fight a top 185-pounder,” Shields said. “I’m just waiting, hoping Elite (XC) will give me that opportunity to go out there and represent Elite and test myself.”

According to Atencio, the promotion has great admiration for Shields, but for now he is simply a fighter under contract to a different organization.

“Jake’s a great fighter, but nonetheless it doesn’t matter because we don’t have him,” Atencio commented. “That’s a fighter that Pro Elite has.”

With Lindland versus Belfort now off the table, Atencio did dispel the rumors that the fight between the two middleweights would have been for a middleweight championship.

This is the major problem with Afflictions miniscule roster. Injuries happen during training all the time and with no backup plan, the fight card immediately loses tons of luster from just one injury.

UFC 87 Recap: St. Pierre Defends Title

After his first title defense ended in disaster, the second provided few surprises and no real danger.

Mixed martial arts' top welterweight fighter and the UFC's 170-pound champion Georges St. Pierre defeated the world's clear No. 2 fighter Jon Fitch in dominating fashion. St. Pierre won every frame of the five-round fight en route to a unanimous-decision victory via scores of 50-43, 50-44 and 50-44.

The main-event title fight capped off Saturday's "UFC 87: Seek and Destroy" event, which took place at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.

St. Pierre (17-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC), who originally lost his title to Matt Serra in 2007, avenged the loss back in April and posted his first title defense with a dominating performance over Fitch (17-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC), whose record eight-fight UFC win streak came to an end.

St. Pierre dropped his opponent midway through the first round, and though he survived, Fitch was never the same. St. Pierre simply outclassed him in every facet of the game.

Although he had a stoppage victory within his grasp at various times, St. Pierre couldn't close out as Fitch continually persevered. And though the loss will no doubt sting, St. Pierre had some encouraging words for the former Purdue wrestler.

"I told him that this loss may be the best thing to happen to him," said St. Pierre, who's long maintained that his loss to Serra, who at the time was an 8-to-1 underdog, forced a redediction to the sport.

In the weeks leading up to Saturday's fight, everyone -- save St. Pierre -- seemed to be looking past Fitch in anticipation of a possible future fight with UFC lightweight champ B.J. Penn. The 155-pound champ has made no secret of his desire to move up a weight class to challenge St. Pierre.

Before he could even finish his post-fight interview, St. Pierre was face-to-face with popular Hawaiian fighter. "Let's do it," Penn said. "Let's put the fight together. Let's get it together." St. Pierre, who won their first meeting in 2006, obliged.

"I'm ready to fight everybody -- everybody who deserves a shot," St. Pierre said. "I know B.J. Penn wants it, and I'm ready to do it. ... I don't want to duck anyone. I'm a proud champion."

With his feet planted and his entire body behind the blow, Brock Lesnar connected on a right hand that sent opponent Heath Herring crashing to the mat just seconds into the night's co-main event. Lesnar, a collegiate wrestling champion who detoured through World Wrestling Entertainment before finding MMA, quickly used his ground skills to control his veteran opponent. In fact, those same skills would keep Lesnar in control of the fight en route to a unanimous-decision victory with a winning score of 30-26 on all three judges' cards.

With Lesnar (2-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) able to take the fight to the mat at will, Herring (28-14 MMA, 2-3 UFC) was unable to mount any real offense and instead spent most of the three-round bout maneuvering for position to avoid punishment. The fight-ending blow never came, but Herring suffered substantial punishment throughout the fight.

After the fight, Lesnar, a clear crowd favorite who fights out of Minnesota, immediately addressed his UFC debut -- a first-round submission loss to former champ Frank Mir in February. Lesnar dominated the first 90 seconds of the fight but was forced to tap out from a kneebar seconds later.

The victory was pivotal one for Lesnar and should earn him the credibility that most fans and even follow fighters have been slow to acknowledge.

"I've just been trying to work on everything every single day to be get better, to be a well-rounded heavyweight fighter and a contender in the UFC," Lesnar said.

Soon after his unanimous-decision victory over one of the UFC's top young stars, Kenny Florian (10-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) nonetheless proclaimed Roger Huerta (20-2-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) a future champion of the UFC's lightweight division.

However, with his first loss inside the cage, Huerta knows his title hopes were delivered a serious setback. Florian, who picked up his fifth consecutive victory since a loss to Sean Sherk for the vacant title in October 2006, simply bested Huerta in all aspects of the fight.

"The Ultimate Fighter" runner-up remained patient and avoided his opponent's wild strikes, and when the opportunity arose, Florian wrestled Huerta to the mat. "I didn't want to get into a brawl with him," Florian said. "I tried to use technique to counter his brawling. ... I've got to give him credit. I thought I'd finish him. He's tough as nails."

In fact, Florian, who's billed himself as "The Finisher" since that loss to Sherk, snapped a four-fight streak of stoppage victories and settled for the first decision win of his entire career. All three judges had it scored 30-27 in his favor.

Although the bout was originally touted as a top contender's bout when it was first announced in May, UFC President Dana White has backed off the promise in recent weeks and said the winner wouldn't necessarily get a shot at the belt. After the victory, Florian admitted that a dominant victory could have made his case.

"I'm not sure (of the title shot)," Florian said. "I hope so. I really wanted to finish him. ... Who knows. We'll see. It's up to the UFC."

In a meeting between cast members from "The Ultimate Fighter 5," Rob Emerson made short work of the show's runner-up. Manny Gamburyan quickly engaged and threw a big, looping punch, and Emerson quickly countered and popped him with a violent right hand to the button.

Gamburyan quickly hit the mat, and after untangling himself from his opponent's legs, Emerson caught him with a short left hook. The blow briefly knocked Gamburyan (9-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) out cold and earned Emerson (8-6 MMA, 2-0 UFC) the knockout just 12 seconds into the fight.

After surviving an early rear-naked choke, Jason MacDonald looked as though he might be able to match -- or at least survive -- Demian Maia's legendary ground prowess.

However, the success would prove to be short-lived. Maia soon has his opponent fending off a dozen subsequent submission attempts that stretched all the way into the third round. With both fighters fatigued in that final frame, Maia used a reversal to claim the full mount, and he after improving his position battered MacDonald with dozens of unanswered punches and elbows.

Maia (8-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) then quickly locked in a rear-naked choke that finally forced MacDonald (20-10 MMA, 4-3 UFC) to tap-out at the 2:44 mark. Maia's victory -- his third straight in the UFC -- moves him a step closer to a potential title fight in a division desperately in need of contenders.

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Champ Georges St. Pierre def. Jon Fitch via unanimous decision (50-43, 50-44, 50-44)
Brock Lesnar def. Heath Herring via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Rob Emerson def. Manny Gamburyan via TKO (strikes) -- Round 1, 0:12
Kenny Florian def. Roger Huerta via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Demian Maia def. Jason MacDonald via submission (rear-naked choke) -- Round 3, 2:44
Tamdan McCrory def. Luke Cummo via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Cheick Kongo def. Dan Evensen via TKO (strikes) -- Round 1, 4:55
Jon Jones def. Andre Gusmao via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Chris Wilson def. Steve Bruno via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ben Saunders def. Ryan Thomas via submission (arm-bar) -- Round 2, 2:28

Aleksander Emelianenko out, Chris Horodecki in for Affliction October 11th

Former IFL fighter and MMA prodigy Chris Horodecki (12-1) has signed a three-fight deal with Affliction and will debut with the organization at its Oct. 11 event at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

However, Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) -- a heavyweight fighter who was pulled from Affliction's debut event just seconds before he was set to weigh in for his fight with Paul Buentello -- will not be part of the October event.

Horodecki, a Canadian who turned pro just days after his 18th birthday, fought for the TKO organization before heading to the IFL. There, the now-20-year-old lightweight went 8-1 to become one of the organization's biggest stars. However, in a first-ever IFL lightweight title fight, he suffered a first-round TKO to Ryan Schultz.

Affliction executives have not yet determined an opponent for Horodecki's promotional debut.

Meanwhile, Atencio confirmed that Emelianenko -- a former PRIDE fighter and the younger brother of Affliction fighter Fedor Emelianenko -- will not be part of the Oct. 11 show, as was first planned.

Just as he was about to hit the scale for Affliction's event last month, Emelianenko was unexpectedly pulled from the fight card. (Gary Goodridge was quickly announced as a replacement.) The California State Athletic Commission stated that the 27-year-old fighter failed to meet licensing requirements, though officials could not divulge the reason why due to privacy regulations. Although it was widely reported that Emelianenko had tested positive for Hepatitis B, his camp has repeatedly denied the claims.

Emelianenko was visibly distraught after the decision and said the situation came as a complete surprise. And although he was optimistic the fighter could be cleared for the second event, Atencio said Emelianenko still faces licensing problems and that the organization had to move on without him being a part of the Oct. 11 event.

MATYUSHENKO AGREES TO NOGUEIRA AT AFFLICTION 2

Looking back over the brief, yet meaningful history of the International Fight League, one of the true feel-good stories of the promotion was the resurgence of Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko.

Often in the background of the battle for light-heavyweight attention due to his low-key demeanor, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran stepped into the spotlight in a big way in the IFL, winning all six of his bouts with the promotion en route to claiming its 205-pound championship.

But, as all things must come to the end, with the IFL closing shop this year, Matyushenko was left to look for a new place to call home, and he has found it, agreeing to participate in the upcoming Affliction 2 show, “Day of Reckoning,” on Oct. 11 in Las Vegas in a rematch with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

“I’m feeling great,” Vladimir said of joining Affliction. “I’ve finally figured out what I’m doing with my future.

“It’s hard to train when you don’t know what your next fight is. Affliction is a great opportunity to showcase my skills and test myself again.”

As it currently stands, a finalized deal has yet to be signed, but with a verbal agreement between Matyushenko, his management, and Affliction having been worked out; Vladimir is looking forward to a rematch with Nogueira, whom he defeated six years ago.

“He’s a tough guy,” stated Matyushenko. “I fought him to a unanimous decision (victory), but it was a tough fight, and I’m sure it’s going to be a tough fight this time, but I’m ready. I’m ready for anybody.”

Along with Matyushenko, it appears that fellow former IFL champ Roy Nelson will be appearing on the card as well; following a string of high profile opportunities for former members of the promotion.

SEAN SHERK TO RETURN AT UFC 90 VS TYSON GRIFFIN

Sean Sherk’s quest to regain his Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight belt begins again in Chicago.

After losing the strap to B.J. Penn at UFC 84 in May, Sherk will face off with Xtreme Couture standout Tyson Griffin at UFC 90. Both fighters have agreed to the bout, and are in the process of signing bout agreements, according to sources close to both camps.

Since his loss to Frankie Edgar at UFC 67, Griffin has been on a four-fight tear, recently defeating American Top Team’s Marcus Aurelio at UFC 86 in July.

Griffin’s camp had reportedly been wanting for the fight for quite some time, and with Sherk’s loss, everything seems to have worked out nicely.

“I’ve got five fights left, and I feel like I have a good strong future with the UFC,” Sherk said.

“Maybe one or two wins and I’ll be back in title contention again. I’ve been real careful with who I’m going to fight. I don’t want to fight up-and-coming guys. You start fighting up-and-coming guys and you have to fight more guys to make your way up to the top. I want to fight the best of the best, and that’s what I’m doing with this upcoming fight.”

Fedor-Arlovski Scrapped

Due to smashing his hand against Tim Sylvia's face, Fedor Emelianenko will be forced off the Affliction card in October.

Instead Two former UFC champions will collide in the main event of Affliction's second offering, "Day of Reckoning," on October 11 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Josh Barnett (26-5), fresh off his knockout win over Pedro Rizzo on July 19, will take on Andrei Arlovski (14-5), who -- in what was arguably the best performance of his career -- knocked out Ben Rothwell at the same event.

Affliction originally wanted Fedor Emelianenko to make his first WAMMA heavyweight title defense against Arlovski at this event but Fedor is out due to an injury to his right hand, which the California Athletic Comission suspended him 180 days for. Fedor would be allowed to shorten the suspension if he got clearance for a doctor, but it doesn't look like he'll be ready for October.

Barnett was a question mark for the event after saying he would not take a pay cut in response to the rumors that Affliction was asking fighters to take a 50% pay cut. But Barnett shot down the rumors in a blog posting Saturday:

"Straight from the mouths of my friends Tom Attencio and Todd Beard: No one is being asked to take a pay cut," Barnett wrote. "They would never ask anyone to take a pay cut and don't intend to. Tom was only referring to any fighters that may have been thinking they could get an exorbitant amount of money from Affiction just because. Again, no pay cuts asked and expected and they are doing just fine."

Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Tim Sylvia and Pedro Rizzo are all expected to return for the second Affliction event.

Lawler Defends, Shields and Silva Claim Titles at EliteXC 'Unfinished Business'

Robbie Lawler (18-4) left no doubts after his second attempt at a title defense with Scott Smith (13-5), and the organization crowned two new champions, at Saturday's "EliteXC: Unfinished Business" event.

The show, which took place at the Stockton Arena in Stockton, Calif., was the second installment of EliteXC's "Saturday Night Fights" series on CBS.

Much like the first go-around, the latest installment of the nationally televised fight series had a little bit of everything -- including a dominant win for a hometown hero -- for the near-sold-out crowd and the millions more watching at home on network television.

In the night's main event, Lawler and Smith, who fought to an anticlimactic no-contest in May after Smith suffered an inadvertent third-round eye poke, battled through an evenly matched first round. However, Lawler took control in the second.

After an early clinch to start the round, both fighters were bloodied -- Lawler by elbow strikes, and Smith by frequent combinations. Just when the blood looked like it might become an issue and a possible reason for a stoppage, Lawler dropped Smith with punches and then again with a series of knees to the midsection. After the second fall, Lawler pounched on his opponent with follow-up punches and kicks before forcing a TKO stoppage.

The end came at 2:35 of the second round.

For Lawler it was his sixth consecutive fight without a loss and a solid -- though far from significant -- victory to solidy his worldwide top-10 ranking.

SHIELDS, SILVA NEW TITLE-HOLDERS

In the night's unofficial co-main event -- after months of waiting and a few canceled fights -- Jake Shields (21-4-1) finally got his shot at EliteXC's first-ever welterweight title.

And he made the most of it.

What many labeled potential fight-of-the-night material was instead little more than a grappling session gone bad for Nick Thompson (36-10-1). Shields quickly took the fight to the ground, secured the mount position and then locked in a guillotine choke when Thompson tried to escape. Once Shields took the top position and torqued the choke hold, Thompson was forced to tap out.

The stoppage came just 63 seconds into the fight, snapping Thompson's 12-fight win streak. With the victory -- his 10th straigh -- Shields solidified his standing as the world's top non-UFC welterweight. With EliteXC currently light on welterweight talent, Shields said he wants to bring a fight to the UFC and unify the EliteXC and UFC titles.

The UFC, of course, is unlikely to oblige. But Shields once again earned a quality win over a solid opponent.

In the headline bout of the night's Showtime-televised card, and in a fight to determine EliteXC's first-ever heavyweight champion, Antonio "Giant" Silva (11-1) unleashed a brutal combination of punches and knees to TKO Justin Eilers (19-7-1) just 19 seconds into the second round.

After a one-point deduction in the first round for striking his opponent in the back of the head, Silva immediately pounced on Eilers in the second. Eilers couldn't avoid the onslaught and was forced against the cage while Silva rained down more than a dozen unanswered knees and punches, prompting the referee to halt the bout.

Eilers protested the stoppage to no avail while the belt was wrapped around Silva's waist.

On the way to the dressing room, Silva received a hearty congratulations from a possible future opponent: Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson.

Popular Stockton fighter Nick Diaz (18-7) picked apart former King of the Cage champion Thomas Denny (26-17) with a TKO knockout 30 seconds into the second round.

Denny set a frantic early pace and got the better of the exchanges. Diaz, though, shook off the strikes, and as the first round wore on, his punches connected with increasing frequency. Denny was dazed and wobbled by the end of the round, but he was saved by the bell.

Diaz quickly continued the assault in the second and floored Denny with a combination and uppercuts. Raising his right hand in anticipatory celebration with each punch, Diaz popped Denny with a few additional shots to force the stoppage.

With the victory, Diaz is all but assured a rematch with EliteXC lightweight champion K.J. Noons later this year. Diaz has won three straight fights -- all via TKO -- since that initial loss to Noons back in November.

In the night's lone female bout, hard-hitting Cristiane Cyborg (5-0) made a memorable U.S. debut with a dominating win over submission specialist Shayna Baszler (11-5).

Somehow entering the fight an underdog, Cyborg survived her opponent's early submission attempts before slugging her way through the second round. However, after Baszler was dropped with one such exchange, referee Steve Mazzagatti approached the fighters. Cyborg retreated in celebration -- only to be told seconds later that the fight hadn't been stopped. Baszler, slow to her feet, was again forced against the fence and dropped with a barrage of punches.

Mazzagatti mercifully halted the bout at 2:48 of the second round to award Cyborg the TKO victory.

Report: Fedor vs. Arlovski at Affliction on Oct. 11

So did Randy Couture really want to fight Fedor Emelianenko or did he decide to say 'screw it' when he saw Fedor destroy a healthy Tim Sylvia in 36 seconds?

Yahoo Sports reports that Emelianenko will headline the next Affliction event in a WAMMA title defense against Andrei Arlovski. A venue official at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas told writer Kevin Iole that the second Affliction outing will happen there on October 11.

Both heavyweights had career highlights at last Saturday's "Affliction: Banned" event at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Fedor submitted former UFC champion Tim Sylvia in 36 seconds, while Arlovski aggressively picked apart former IFL standout Ben Rothwell.

Maybe now Couture can fulfill his obligation to defend his UFC Heavyweight title (which will never happen) since Fedor doesn't have Couture on his radar. I won't let this die because I've been calling Couture out for the last 9 months since he began his insane quest to get pummelled by the most dominant heavyweight in history.

Randy Couture is a millionaire because of the UFC. He's got a clothing line because of the UFC. A series of gyms in his name have opened because of the UFC. He's got tons of fighters under his wing who fight for the UFC. He's got just about everything and only lost one thing. He lost his legacy. He'll probably be most remembered for quitting which is a shame considering all his other accomplishments. But it's a 'what have you done for me lately' world. Not to mention, Couture will be 46 soon and the fight's hype is all but dead (just like the IFL).

But most importantly, Fedor might have actually killed Couture in the ring.

What did We Learn From July 19th?

In a nutshell, Fedor Emelianenko and Anderson Silva are the absolute best fighters in the world. By far, no debating it whatsoever.

We'll start with the UFC. Anderson Silva would walk through the lightheavyweight division as well. You heard it here folks and it's my opinion but I doubt anyone at 205 can handle Silva. Ok maybe not walk through but he would beat anyone they threw at him. The UFC needs Silva to move up to the 205 lb. division for the sake of the middleweight division.

Think about the matchups that we could see if 'The Spyder' moves up. I'm making a very bold prediction but Anderson Silva would beat Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Tito Ortiz, "Shogun" Rua, and "Rampage" Jackson (if he's not in the looney bin).

It's not gonna happen but it really should, especially with upstart organizations like Affliction putting on a great card. The middleweight division could be great if Anderson Silva wasn't in it and if he did move up he'd be the champ within a couple fights but the matchups would be outstanding.

The other thing we learned is that Randy Couture is going to get mauled by Fedor Emelianenko. Fedor has been scrutenized for not fighting a legitimate contender but it made no difference. Tim Sylvia is not a bad fighter and after all, was the UFC heavyweight champion and Fedor made him look like a child. So much so that Sylvia was quoted as saying, "I've never been hit that hard in my life..... the guy isn't even human."

Randy Couture has stated that he has one good fight left in him but he's gonna need a gun in order to even go the distance with Fedor. It bears worth repeating again but Couture lost to Chuck Liddell twice, beat an injured Tim Sylvia, and a not very good Gabriel Gonzaga.

This fight doesn't deserve the hype it's gonna get because Fedor isn't going to lose for a long, long time.

Your thoughts??

OKAMI OFFLINE, SILVA VS COTE LIKELY AT UFC 90

There has been a lot of speculation about how UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva would do fighting up in the 205-pound weight class. Some of those questions, and a few more that were posed, were answered on Saturday night in Las Vegas as Silva disposed of James Irvin in the first minute of the first round of their light heavyweight showdown at UFC Fight Night 14.

Though Silva proved that he has what it takes to fight at 205 pounds, his immediate plans don’t include another light heavyweight bout. Instead, he has plans to go back to middleweight and defend his title belt.

Even as the fight with Irvin was first announced, UFC president Dana White said that Silva would be making a quick stop at 205 and then defend his belt on Sept. 6 when the Ultimate Fighting Championship stops in Atlanta for the first time.

“Anderson Silva, being the monster that he is, you all know is going to move up to 205 on July 19… If everything goes well, he wants to move back to 185 and fight Sept. 6 in Atlanta, probably against Yushin Okami, then he wants to fight again two months later,” said White at the time.

But even the best-laid plans sometimes hit a snag, and so has Silva’s planned title defense at UFC 88 in Georgia.

“Okami’s out of that fight. He broke his hand. If (Silva) fights in September it’ll be (Patrick) Cote,” stated White at Saturday night’s post-fight press conference at the Palms in Las Vegas.

Cote recently solidified his spot in the queue of fighters waiting for a shot at Silva when he defeated Ricardo Almeida on July 5 at UFC 86.

“(Silva) said he wants to defend his 185-pound title. He said he wants to test the waters at 205. He did (on Saturday night),” continued White. “He’s going to defend his title again in September and then probably try to take another fight at 205."

“I think he wants to take his time. I think he wants to stay at 185 and completely clean out that division, go from there.”

Silva’s ambition puts him on task to fight at least two more times this year after already having fought twice earlier in 2008. It’s something that White admires about his champion.

“(Silva) took the fight (with Irvin) on short notice, moved up to 205, wants to fight all the best guys in the world at 185 pounds, wants to fight all the best guys at 205 pounds, wants to fight every three months… uh, yah. It’s a little difficult for us to move things around, but when a guy has that mentality… I love it.”

White: Affliction will go out of business

UFC President Dana White is making a bold prediction in regards to the future of the Affliction MMA promotion.

"After tonight those guys are going out of business and all [their fighters] will be over here," White said Saturday at the UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Irvin post-fight press conference.

Affliction invested heavily in its inaugural "Affliction: Banned" event Saturday to put together arguably the greatest heavyweight card in MMA history.

While the attendance numbers are a success with 13,989 fans packing Anaheim's Honda Center, it is not yet known how well the event fared in ticket sales and pay-per-view buys.

"Cause they spent a lot of money tonight," White explained. "And I know more about this business than they do. If you spend a lot of money and you don't get that money back, you usually go out of business. "

"Talk to the IFL... They know all about it."

Fedor Emelianenko Dismantles Tim Sylvia at "Affliction": Banned

Famed Russian fighter and new WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko needed just 36 seconds to quiet the naysayers, solidify his standing as one of the world's top fighters, and score his first victory over a legitimate heavyweight contender in nearly three years.

Emelianenko's quick victory over Tim Sylvia capped off Saturday's sold-out "Affliction: Banned" event at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

An announced crowd of 13,988 witnessed Affliction's debut show, which proved to be one of the most remarkable and meaningful events in mixed-martial-arts history.

Emelianenko struck quickly, dodging Sylvia's first punch and flooring the former UFC champion with a barrage of punches. Emelianenko (28-1) quickly pounced on his opponent, took his back, and forced Sylvia (24-5) to tap out from a rear-naked choke just 36 seconds into the fight.

With a stunned, noticeably pro-Fedor crowd on its feet for the entire post-fight festivities, the longtime PRIDE champion skirted a question about where the victory puts him among the world's best.

"Honestly, I don't think about rankings and where people put me and all that," he said through a translator.

After the bout, Emelianenko's possible next opponent entered the ring. There, estranged UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture said he looked forward to clearing up his contract dispute with the UFC so he could fight Emelianenko, most likely under the Affliction banner.

So when could that fight take place?

"Hopefully this year if I'm lucky," Couture said.

In the night's co-main event, a star was reborn when Andrei Arlovski's dominant -- and ofentimes violent -- victory over Ben Rothwell created a truly electric atmosphere inside the hosting venue.

Arlovski, who's been working with noted boxing coach Freddie Roach, showed the type of aggression and quick, crisp striking that previously led him to the UFC's heavyweight championship.

However, the fight was far from a cakewalk. In fact, the second round could go down as one of the year's best, largely because Rothwell proved to be so resilient. Punches in bunches had Rothwell in trouble. But after Arlovski's unsuccessful heel hook, Rothwell became the aggressor, and working from top position, the former IFL heavyweight champion unleashed effective ground and pound with stinging elbows.

After a stand-up, though, Arlovski (13-5) finished the round well, and he carried the momentum into the third and final round, where he finally dropped the iron-chinned Rothwell (29-6) with a barrage of punches and knees before the TKO stoppage at the 1:13 mark.

Arlovski, who was the clear favorite with the crowd, had no predictions for his next bout.

"I appreciate Affliction for putting me on a card with so many great fighters," Arlovski said. "It's up to Affliction."

After a lengthy feeling-out process in the first round, Josh Barnett (23-5) picked up the pace in the second, and he quickly created an opening to floor Pedro Rizzo (16-8) with a big left hook early in the round. Barnett solidified his top-five world heavyweight ranking and avenged his first-ever career loss with the one-punch knockout.

Barnett suffered that first pro loss to Rizzo in February 2001. The former UFC champion avenged the second-round knockout loss with one of his own; Barnett's came at 1:44 in the round. After the fight, he admitted that he had revenge on his mind.

"I said I'd like to have that win back, but you know, Pedro is as tough as they get," Barnett said.

"You take nothing for granted with a guy like him."

While fantasy match-makers have seen many intriguing match-ups in Affliction's stacked heavyweight division, Barnett wasn't selective when asked whom he'd like to fight next.

"Anyone dumb enough to sign that dotted line," Barnett said. "They're all badasses, but they ain't me."

In the night's only featherweight fight, 145-pounders Mark Hominick and Savant Young initiated a frantic pace that was carried through the bout's ultimate second-round conclusion.

Hominick's decisive reach advantage proved pivotal in in the first round, and it likely prompted Young to go for the takedown in the second. However, Hominick was ready for it, and he took a dominant position to fire off multiple submission attempts.

Hominick (16-8) ultimately used a triangle choke to force Young's (9-8) tap-out at 4:25 of the second round.

In one of the night's more intriguing style match-ups, Renato "Babalu" Sobral's jiu jitsu and striking negated Mike Whitehead's wrestling and ground and pound in a three-round war of attrition.

After a fairly inconsequential first round, Sobral was effective in the second, trapping Whitehead with multiple submission attempts. After securing his opponent's arm and shoulder, Sobral was on the brink of a submission victory.

Whitehead, though, survived, but he could never claim a dominant position as Sobral effectively warded off the takedown attempts. By the third round, Sobral (30-7) loosened up and mixed in effective striking to clinch the unanimous-decision victory over White (20-6).

"I had a tough time," said Sobral of his previous training partner. "It was hard to work my submissions. ... I tried hard to finish the fight."

All three judges had it 30-27 for Sobral.

In his first fight in more than 17 months, Matt Lindland (21-5) grinded out a steady, lopsided and not-always-exciting unanimous-decision victory over Fabio Nascimento (8-4).

Lindland had his Brazilian opponent in trouble early after dropping him with a punch. He quickly locked in a guillotine choke, and though Lindland relentlessly worked to salvage the position, Nascimento eventually escaped.

The fighters stood and traded for most of the following two rounds, but Lindland got the better of it, mixing in short but effective uppercuts with crisp elbow strikes. Although clearly beaten, Nascimento kept ticking, and he forced the fight to a decision.

"I hit him a few big shots, and he kept laying it on me," Lindland said.

The judges had it 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27 in favor of "The Law."

Edwin Dewees made it interesting early, but the night's largest underdog couldn't pull off the upset. Instead, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira abandoned a dominant ground position and opted to stand and trade with the late replacement.

After a flying knee grazed his opponent, Nogueira let his hands fly, and a big hook connected flush, sending Dewees to the canvas. Tangled in the ropes and eating a barrage of follow-up punches from Nogueira (14-3), Dewees (35-13) -- who replaced Vernon White in the bout earlier month -- was saved when the referee jumped in to declare the TKO stoppage at 4:06 of the first round.

Tito Ortiz made a grand entrance with girlfriend Jenna Jameson and received a warm reception when walking the floor to their seats.