Eddie Alvarez meets Mike Aina in April for EliteXC

Eddie Alvarez (12-1) just defeated Ross Ebanez last Friday and is already booked for EliteXC's fight card on April 26th. He will do battle against BJ Penn trainee Mike Aina (8-6-1).

If Alvarez can beat Aina he should be in line for a shot at KJ Noons for the welterweight title. Unfortunately for Alvarez, Aina is not the fighter his record speaks of.

Every single one of Mike Aina's losses was a result of a decision, and they weren't to cab drivers either. He lost a split decision to IFL Lightweight Champion, Ryan Schultz, a decision loss to top UFC contender, Roger Huerta, and most recently a controversial split decision loss to Nick Diaz at EliteXC: “Uprising” back in December. Many believed Aina won the brutal three round war against Diaz.

Aina has gained a ton of confidence and has a great shot against Alvarez.

All Fighters Make Weight

All fighters made weight for UFC 81

The full weigh-in results included:

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (237) vs. Tim Sylvia (261)
Brock Lesnar (265) vs. Frank Mir (255)
Jeremy Horn (185) vs. Nate Marquardt (185)
Ricardo Almeida (185) vs. Rob Yundt (185)
Tyson Griffin (155) vs. Gleison Tibau (156)
Kyle Bradley (170) vs. Chris Lytle (170)
Tim Boetsch (205) vs. David Heath (205)
Marvin Eastman (185) vs. Terry Martin (186)
Rob Emerson (155) vs. Keita Nakamura (155)

The fighters are allowed to weigh one pound more than the division limit for non title fights.

Bisbing vs. McCarthy Set for UFC 83

Michael Bisbing is set to make his welterweight debut against Charles McCarthy at UFC 83 in Montreal. This fight was tentatively scheduled to take place at a March 8 event in England.

Bisping only recently decided to move to middleweight. The 28-year-old cited a distinct size disadvantage as a reason; many fellow light heavyweights were cutting weight from 220 or 225 lbs. down to 205, whereas Bisping was dropping from just 210 lbs.

As for McCarthy (captain miserable), he’ll look for his second consecutive win inside the octagon. The 27-year-old suffered a legendary TKO (via spinning back kick) to David Loiseau at UFC 53 before earning a spot on “The Ultimate Fighter 4,” a special “comeback” season of the UFC’s popular reality series. He lost to Pete Sell in a preliminary bout but bounced back for a first-round submission of Gideon Ray in the show’s live finale. This will be his first fight in almost a year and a half.

Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard set for UFC Fight Night 13

The card keeps getting better and better and if we don't see this fight, it's a complete joke. But finally we're getting two studs going at it. Both of these fighters have a great story and we've gotten to know them over the last year.

Frankie Edgar is a Jersey Boy who was a standout wrestler in high school and has been a force in the lightweight division. He's had great battles and most recently dismantled veteran tough guy Spencer Fisher. He is rising up the lightweight ranks in spectacular fashion.

Gray Maynard was a favorite to win TUF 5 but lost to eventual winner Nate Diaz in a fight many believed Maynard was winning when he was submitted. Maynard had a bit to prove since the taping of the show and has won his last two fights and was winning another fight that was scored a 'no contest' when he slammed Rob Emerson and knocked himself out even though Emerson tapped.

This is a must see fight and if it's not televised, shame on the UFC.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua confirms bout against Chuck Liddell

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua will take on Chuck Liddell in June, the 2005 PRIDE GP Champion confirmed to Brazilian website TATAME.

Rua signed the contract yesterday and told TATAME that he plans on avenging former Chute Boxe teammate Wanderlei Silva's UFC 79 loss to Liddell.

Formerly considered by many to be the number one light heavyweight in the world, Rua suffered a setback in his UFC debut, losing to Forrest Griffin via rear naked choke with 15 seconds remaining in the fight.

Rua vs. Liddell is currently slated for June 14 at the O2 Arena in London, England. Though in an interview with Sports Illustrated, Liddell said his trainer would like to move the fight closer to home in Las Vegas.

Rua said he had a knee injury and wasn't 100% for his bout with Griffin which he did have surgery on recently. However, that doesn't account for him being gassed after the 1st round either.

Dan Henderson was recently interviewed and almost stated for a fact that people were using steroids in Pride FC because there was no testing. It most certainly explains why they're not doint to well in the UFC which has a strict performance enhancing substance policy.

Fitch Confirms Fight With Chris Wilson at UFC 82

Akihiro Gono had to withdraw from his welterweight fight with Jon Fitch due to a broken hand. It wasn't known if the UFC was going to find a replacement for Gono or if the fight was going to be scrapped.

The name Chris Wilson had been rumored about but very vaguely. Well it turns out it's been confirmed by Jon Fitch that he will indeed be fighting Chris Wilson at UFC 82.

My take on this is........ who the hell is Chris Wilson?

Odds for UFC 81

For those new to 'recreational' money lines, all bets are based on $100.
For instance, fighter A might be favored at -150 to win the fight. That means you have to wager $150 to win $100.
Fighter B might be an underdog at +130 to win the fight. That means if you wager $100, you will win $130.

Because there are no point spreads or handicap in fighting to even things out, you simply run the risk of wagering more money for the fighter that's more likely to win.

When Matt Serra fought Georges St. Pierre for the welterweight title GSP was a huge favorite. The line read as follows:

Georges St. Pierre - 385
Matt Serra +330

If you took Georges St. Pierre, you lost $385 for every $100 wagered because he was expected to easily win.If you took Matt Serra, you won $330 for every $100 wagered because no one expected him to win.

Here are the latest odds for UFC 81

Keita Nakamura -260
Rob Emerson +200

David Heath -270
Tim Boetsch +210

Terry Martin -215
Marvin Eastman +175

Chris Lytle -600
Kyle Bradley +400

Tyson Griffin -325
Gleison Tibau +250

Nate Marquardt -220
Jeremy Horn +180

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira -175
Tim Sylvia +145

Brock Lesnar -135
Frank Mir +105

Report: Takanori Gomi signs with World Victory Road

The following was reported by mmafighting.com.

Though rumors had the Pride lightweight champion close to a deal with the UFC, Sherdog.com reports that Takanori Gomi has signed with World Victory Road.

Since Zuffa’s purchase of Pride, “The Fireball Kid” has been one the more hotly sought after free agents on the market. With this deal sealed, Gomi is expected to debut on the March 5th Sengoku card against a still undecided opponent. Specifics regarding the length of the deal haven’t been confirmed, but the former Pride star is expected to make approximately 190,000 USD per fight.

Gomi has been out of the ring since his spectacular fight, and submission loss, against Nick Diaz in February of last year. The bout was later overturned to a No Decision due to Diaz testing positive for marijuana.

Gomi currently ranks number one on MMAFighting.com's list of the top lightweights in the world.

For my own take, this is a serious blow to the UFC's pride. Obviously they have deep enough pockets but for a cupcake organization to be able to sign Gomi for that kind of amount says they mean business. Not to mention, Gomi past up on all the recognization that comes with being a UFC fighter and is an instant threat in the lightweight division.

There's gotta be some behind the scenes stuff that we, the fan, don't know about. Of course we don't know the behind the scenes stuff but why are high profile fighters turning a cold shoulder to the UFC?

Burkman Says Swick was Scared

Josh Burkman says he was ready for a war with Mike Swick last Wednesday. He knew Swick was gonna bring it. At the weigh ins, the stare down, he saw fire in Swicks eyes. In a moment, it was gone though. He states that once the fight began and they clinched, Swick knew he was in there with a better fighter and he fought scared.

The world according to Burkman. Ok, Burkman did get hosed in this decision but he proved absolutely nothing about him being the better fighter. He was busier and that was about it. He didn't strike, go for takedowns, or try to submit. All he did was clinch and press Swick up against the cage. That's not proving you're a better fighter.

The truth of the matter is, and I posted this in my re-cap of the fight, they both fought scared. Burkman was just as scared as Swick was and it wasn't because of who they were fighting. It was because neither fighter looked particularly great in their last couple fights and they know Dana White and the UFC have short term memory. That kind of pressure makes a guy fight a bit tentative and that's exactly how both of them looked.

Really, the fight should have been a draw or they both should have lost. They accomplished nothing in Dana White's eyes either.

Belcher Out of UFC 81

Alan Belcher has been force to withdraw from his fight against Ricardo Almeida due to severe bronchitis.

Undefeated Alaska Fighting Championship veteran Rob Yundt will step in to take his place.

Almeida is making his return not only to the UFC, but mixed martial arts in general following a layoff of nearly four years. He had been on a six-fight winning streak and held the middleweight King of Pancrase title when he decided to walk away from the sport in mid-2004 to focus on his jiu-jitsu academy.