Get Ready to Officially Dislike Randy Couture

The following is a quote from Randy Couture when asked about a fight between the current interim UFC heavyweight champ Antonio Nogueira.

“… I’m 44 and looking at the end of my career. I want to fight the best guy in the world and be considered the best guy as well. That fight is the only way that will happen. It doesn’t make sense – the UFC is criticizing me for not fighting (Antonio Rodrigo) Nogueira, and I have a lot of respect for Nogueira. I think he’s a great fighter, but he’s been beat by Fedor twice. That fight doesn’t make sense for me right now. If I have more fights left in me after Fedor, maybe I’ll fight Nogueira then, but right now, it just doesn’t make sense.”

So the fight just doesn't make sense huh? Basically Couture doesn't want his legacy tarnished by losing to Big Nog. There isn't a doubt in my mind that Big Nog defeats Couture simply due to Couture's inactivity.

Still, how doesn't it make sense? You're the UFC champ, he's the interim UFC champ. You guys should fight. Anyone who doesn't realize what Couture is doing is an idiot. Couture is actually insulting our intelligence.

Couture doesn't wanna fight Nogueira because he lost to Fedor twice. Did Randy Couture forget he lost to Chuck Liddell twice in knockout fashion just a couple years ago? When did Randy Couture become that invincible?

He's gone too far folks. I have completely lost respect for Randy Couture now. He is putting himself way beyond MMA at this point. Why won't someone tell him we've figured it out? If he loses to Fedor, well he accomplished everything, and is commended for going in and fighting, yet should have lost. If he lands a lucky punch, he goes out on top. But at this point, the risks outweigh the benefits. By the time they fight, Couture may be on the cover of AARP magazine.

The UFC made Randy Couture rich, very rich. Now that he's very rich, he feels that he can call the shots. He's not that in touch with reality anymore and everyone is losing respect for him because of it.

What about Fedor's point of view? He's gonna fight Tim Sylvia because he needs to get some fights in. Maybe he thinks a fight with you doesn't make sense because you got knocked out twice by Chuck Liddell. At a lighter weight class no less. I don't think Fedor should go out of his way to fight Couture considering his lack of success in the light heavyweight division prior to retiring.

Randy Couture, if you aren't heard from anymore, you won't be missed. You're trying make yourself much bigger than MMA, the very thing that gave you all your success. In the future all of this is going to outweigh your accomplishments. Your legacy is already tarnished, regardless if you fight Fedor. Since you're not even fighting anymore, you should stay out of MMA news in the future.

The man who was once the most popular fighter on the planet has completely forgotten what it took to get him there. You're gonna read it hear but mark my words, Couture is gonna learn a harsh lesson about reality from this whole ordeal.

Goodbye Randy, not only are you not a warrior, you aren't even a man.

Let's see some comments!!!!!!!

Jake O'Brien Dropped from UFC, Ready to Sign With PFC

Jake O'Brien (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC), a 23-year-old heavyweight who suffered his first professional loss to Andrei Arlovski in March, has been released from the UFC and has agreed to a two-fight deal with the Palace Fighting Championship.

Ken Pavia, O'Brien's manager has confirmed situation.

Needless to say, Pavia was a bit surprised by the UFC's decision to sever ties with O'Brien, a former Purdue University wrestler who had finished eight of his 10 professional victories via knockout -- seven of which came in the first round.

According to Pavia, O'Brien had recently signed a new contract with the UFC and had two fights remaining on the deal.

"Yes, you could say we were surprised by the UFC's decision," Pavia said.

With an upset victory over veteran fighter Heath Herring in January 2007, O'Brien pushed his UFC record to 4-0. However, a few months after the fight, he underwent surgery because of "stingers," a painful nerve injury that originates in the spine. O'Brien went under the knife, and doctors entered through his neck to implant a medal rod and cadaver discs in his spine. At first, doctors feared the injury might be career-ending.

However, O'Brien underwent physical therapy and returned from a 14-month layoff to fight Arlovski, a former UFC title-holder and one of the world's top-ranked heavyweight fighters.

"Jake really wanted that fight at UFC 82," Pavia said. "However, had we known that his tenure with the organization was at risk when we were presented with the Arlovski fight, we may have approached it differently."

O'Brien is the latest known victim in the UFC's recent purge of talent. Rumor has it that the UFC simply had too many fighters under contract, and a couple dozen of them were dropped from the organization in recent weeks.

Pavia says he's regretful that fight fans didn't get to see everything O'Brien had to offer before the decision was made.

"I don't think they've seen the true Jake," he said. "He's still a kid, and he's still learning. He has an identical twin brother who's a Golden Gloves champion, and Jake handles him. However, when he's fighting and when you put him in a high-pressure situation with a big-name opponent, like most fighters, he goes back to what's comfortable for him. His element is wrestling."

The decision to drop O'Brien will probably come as a bit of surprise to fight fans who have seen the UFC recently cut ties with a number of heavyweight fighters. By mid-2007 the UFC's heavyweight division was deeper than ever. Since then, though, current champ Randy Couture has resigned from the organization. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic was given permission to leave his UFC contract to fight in Japan. Former champ Tim Sylvia was also allowed to walk, and former title-holder Arlovski could be right behind him.

"Jake's goal was always to become the UFC's heavyweight champion, and maybe this is the best route for that happen," said Pavia, who hasn't ruled out O'Brien's possible return to the UFC.

O'Brien has agreed in principle to a deal with the PFC. He's expected to sign his contract in the the next few days, and he's scheduled to make his debut with the organization at the July 19 "PFC 9" show in Lemoore, Calif.

"Getting Jake was a great opportunity for us," PFC President Christian Printup said. "We get to work with one of the most promising young athletes today. We've had the pleasure of working with him in the past... He's very personable and talented, and he's good for the sport."

The California-based PFC is one of the country's best-drawing regional promotions and can be seen in approximately six million homes through Comcast, DIRECTV and the DISH Network.

Tyson Griffin vs. Marcus Aurelio Set for UFC 86

UFC lightweights Tyson Griffin (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) and Marcus Aurelio (16-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC) will meet at UFC 86, an event that takes place July 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Griffin will look to continue his ascent in the UFC's lightweight division as he goes for his fourth straight victory. Aside from a loss to Frankie Edgar, Griffin has been perfect in the UFC, defeating David Lee, Clay Guida, Thiago Tavares and Gleison Tibau. (In fact, his resume outside the UFC is nearly as impressive with victories over WEC featherweight champ Urijah Faber and Duane "Bang" Ludwig.)

Aurelio, a longtime PRIDE Bushido fighter, made his octagon debut at UFC 74 and was upset by Guida. However, the American Top Team fighter has since rebounded for dominating victories over Luke Caudillo (first-round TKO) at UFC 78 and Ryan Roberts (16-second submission) earlier this month at UFC Fight Night 13.

Despite being nearly three months away, UFC 86's fight card is almost full.

Joe 'Daddy' vs. Gleison Tibau Set for UFC 86

A long-rumored UFC 86 bout between UFC lightweight contender Joe Stevenson (28-8 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and Gleison Tibau (15-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) is now official.

The organization recently added the fight, which has been guaranteed TV time on the pay-per-view broadcast, to the Events section of UFC.com.

UFC 86 takes place July 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and features a main event between UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin, who can currently be seen each Wednesday on episodes of "The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest."

Stevenson returns to action for the first time since his UFC 80 loss to B.J. Penn. The fight, which was for the UFC's interim lightweight title, headlined the January event. Stevenson was floored and suffered a cut early in the fight, but he proved resilient and survived the round. Penn, though, ended it in the second with a rear-naked choke.

Stevenson, the welterweight winner of "The Ultimate Fighter 2," had strung together five consecutive victories to get the title shot. He now looks to get back into contention against Tibau, who had a four-fight win streak snapped by Tyson Griffin at UFC 81 in February.

Tibau, part of the famed American Top Team, has won six of his past eight fights. Prior to the loss to Griffin, the 24-year-old Brazilian delivered highly touted British fighter Terry Etim his first career loss during UFC 75 in September.

The UFC 86 card now includes:

Champion Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin (for UFC light heavyweight belt)
Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle
Ricardo Almeida vs. Patrick Cote
Justin McCully vs. Frank Mir
Joe Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau
Justin Bucholz vs. Corey Hill
Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Siver
Cole Miller vs. TBA
Jared Rollins vs. Ben Saunders
Steve Bruno vs. TBA

The Ultimate Fighter 7 - Episode 2 Recap

For the first time in the history of "The Ultimate Fighter," UFC president Dana White forced all competitors to win a fight to earn a spot on the cast. Last week's season debut of "The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs. Team Forrest" introduced us to eight cast members, and tonight, we learned the other eight.

Last week's winners were Mike Dolce, Cale Yarbrough, Amir Sadollah, C.B. Dollaway, Dante Rivera, Nick Klein, Paul Bradley and Jeremy May.

This week, we jump right into the fights to find out who will be joining those winners in the "TUF" house.

Dan Simmler (1-0) vs. Matthew Riddle (1-0)

Simmler's trained by UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra, and like most of his students, he says his ground game is better than his stand-up. He faces the equally inexperienced Riddle, who claims he's "no pu**y" and will earn a spot in the house.

We're underway, and Riddle gets the early takedown with a beautiful hip toss, but he eventually allows his opponent to stand up again. After a missed flying armbar, Simmler eats some punches and elbows but gets back to his feet. While clinched up, Riddle throws some ineffective knees and suddenly finds himself pinned against the fence. Simmler works for position, but Riddle fights through it to score the takedown. He spends the remainder of the round trying to mix in some strikes from the top, but Simmler ties him up for the most part. Riddle likely wins the round.

Round two begins, and just as quickly, it ends. Riddle floors his opponent with a stiff right hook, and Simmler's knocked to the canvas and into a complete and total daze. Sprawled on the mat, Simmler seems only partially awake and moans in what appears to be a combination of pain and disappointment. The doctor says his jaw is a mess.

When Simmler finally comes to, he doesn't even realize he's been in a fight and continually asks what happened. He's shipped off to the hospital via ambulance to get checked out.

Coach Quinton Jackson calls it the Knockout of the Century.

Luke Zachrich (7-1) vs. Patrick Schultz (7-1-1)

Like yours truly, Zachrich fights out of Cincinnati. He's experienced, low-key, confident and doesn't like his opponent's haircut (who can blame him?). Like Zachrich, Schultz is very experienced and just as confident. Of course, this fight begs the question: who determined the opening-round match-ups? It seems odd to have two one-fight veterans in the first fight followed by two seven-win veterans in the second. Regardless, this fight assures that at least one of the season's most experienced competitors is going home.

We're underway, and Schultz catches a kick early and sends his opponent crashing to the mat. However, he prefers to keep it standing and allows Zachrich to stand up. What a mistake. Zachrich tags him with a couple punches, takes the fight to the mat, fends off a reversal, traps an arm, and starts raining down punches. After securing the mount position, Zachrich is quickly given his opponent's back, and Schultz is choked out seconds later by the rear-naked choke.

Timothy Credeur (10-2) vs. Erik Charles (10-5)

Credeur is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with plenty of stamina; Charles has speed, power, a crooked nose and sinus problem. He gives one final, dramatic sniff before it's fight time.

The first round is underway, and Credeur gets the early single-leg takedown, works for position, grabs an arm, and forces the tap-out via arm-bar. That was a quick one.

With that fight finished, Jackson starts to notice that his assistant coaches are getting shut out by Forrest Griffin's coaches, who have corner duty throughout the fights. Dana finds it funny.

Like last week, we now see a few fights as highlights packages:

Brandon Sene (2-0) vs. Aaron Meisner (2-0)

Meisner sets the pace early and unloads some strikes, but Sene collapses on top of him and works from top position. Jackson, tired of sitting idle, decides to offer Meisner some help and runs to his corner. "Rampage" quickly deduces that Meisner doesn't listen to instructions and would be a poor student. It doesn't matter, though, because Sene takes his back and chokes him out anyway.

Mike Marrello (7-1-1) vs. Gerald Harris (6-2)

Harris shoots early, lands a big takedown, and then picks apart his opponent on his feet. If the highlights were accurate, Harris dominated the fight. However, he couldn't finish it, and he settles for the decision victory over Marrello.

Daniel Cramer (0-0) vs. Jeremiah Riggs (1-0)

Again, we only see the highlights, but this one appears to be high-energy but a little sloppy. However, Cramer's scrappiness starts to take over, and he batters and bloodies his opponent throughout the first round. The coaches quickly deduce that Riggs could be dangerous with some good teaching, and as round two starts, he can only stop Cramer with illegal upkicks to the face. A point is deducted, and Cramer continues the assault, reclaims the mount position, and finishes the round in dominant fashion to force the stoppage.

Riggs has an impressive performance and earns the respect of the coaches, Dana and his fellow fighters. It's a shame; he would have been fun to watch this year.

Nick Rossborough (8-3) vs. Jesse Taylor (6-2)

Rossborough is a confident veteran hailing from Utah; Taylor is a father with no job who's hungry for a break and a shot at stardom.

Dana and Griffin quickly deduce that Rossborough is rockin' the Slim Shady look as the first round starts. Slim gets thrown to the mat early, and Taylor begins to batter him with punches while he's pinned against the fence. Taylor swarms his opponent and rains down punches while working for position. He soon secures the mount, and after Rossborough gives up his back, Taylor locks in the rear-naked choke for the victory and, as Griffin says, sends Slim "back to 8 Mile."

Josh Hall (3-2) vs. Matt Brown (9-6)

Once again, I get to see a fellow Ohioan with Brown, a no-nonsense guy who deduces that it's do-or-die time. He takes on Hall, who makes it abundantly clear that he's there simply to smash some skulls -- just like his friend, Mac Danzig, the winner of last season.

Rampage knows Hall and is obviously rooting for him. Griffin says his opponent, Brown, is unassuming and looks a little small for 185. Could that be some foreshadowing?

We're underway, and Hall looks like he has the double-leg takedown before Brown breaks free. After a stalemate against the fence, Rampage continues to talk about Hall, and Griffin throws out some instructions for him. (No love for Brown, it seems.) After some dirty boxing, Hall then lands some kicks. Brown, though, follows with a neck-snapping jab and a leg kick. He's then taken down, but Brown remains calm and fends off his opponent's strikes while pinned against the fence. Brown continues to work for position and finally locks in a triangle choke. Hall tries to slam out of it twice, but it only makes the hold tighter. Somehow, Hall does break free, but Brown rains down a series of hammerfists and a barrage of ground and pound right as the round comes to a close. Herb Dean jumps in to stop it, though, with just seconds left, and Brown gets the victory.

"That kid's a f***ing animal," Dana says.

So there, you have it. Eight winners for a total of 16 cast members.

Dana then addresses the newest cast.

"We came up with his concept to get rid of the p***ies and the posers," Dana said. "There's none here in this room today."

Once again, until next week.