Catone Finally Makes His UFC Debut this Saturday

While it's not the opponent Nick Catone has been focusing on since the summer, 'TUF 7' winner Amir Sadollah, who had to pull out once again, he is finally making his octogan debut at UFN this Saturday.

Unfortunately Catone went from being the fight before the main event of UFC 91, to fighting on the undercard this Saturday against another UFC virgin, Derek Downey, who took the fight on 2 weeks notice.

In November, Catone arrived in Vegas two days before the weigh ins only to find out that Sadollah was forced out of action due to a leg infection. The UFC was forced to scrap the fight because they couldn't find a fighter on such short notice so they hyped the fight for Ultimate Fight Night. Lightning struck Catone once again but not for the good as Sadollah broke his collorbone 2 weeks ago.

This fight card has been taking a beating in terms of injuries. So much so that they didn't disclose the injury until a replacement had been found. They contacted the 'TUF 7' runner up, CB Dolloway, for the fight but he was also injured.

Now Catone is relegated to the undercard and a fight with an unknown. It's not the first obstacle he's had to climb, and it certainly won't be the last. There's no news on whether or not the Catone/Sadollah fight will ever take place. Catone may not be unknown anymore by the time Sadollah is ever in shape to fight.

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.