Here is the full fight card:

Main Card
Robbie Lawler vs. Renato Sobral
Evangelista  Santos  vs. Marius Zaramoskis
Tim Kennedy vs. Trevor Prangley
Conor Heun vs. K.J. Noons

Preliminary Card

R.J. Clifford  vs. Jeremy Umphries
Marcus Kowal  vs. Hugo Sandoval

Marcus Kowal vs. Hugo Sandoval (135)

Round 1

Hugo comes out testing the distance with strikes and Marcus shoots. Marcus gets side control but Hugo is quick to get back to half guard.  Position battle and Hugo gets back to guard. Marcus stands up and looks to try a standing guard pass but is content to throw a heavy punch as he lands back in guard. Hugo locked up a triangle but Marcus powered out of it only to get an illegal up kick for his efforts.  Crowd unhappy as a point is deducted from Sandoval. Back to standing, and Marcus shoots. They battle for position and Marcus ends up in side control, transitions to back control and round ends.

Round 2

Hugo comes out swinging and drops Marcus with a hard shot. He looked to be out as Hugo went in to finish and Herb Dean steps in to stop it.

Hugo Sandoval by KO at :43 of Round 2

R.J. Clifford  vs. Jeremy Umphries

Round 1

Umphries shoots and ends up in half guard. Clifford working to get back up with Jeremy on his back.  Jeremy takes him back to the mat and sinks in one hook. Clifford doing a great job of fighting off the choke attempt. Works back to his feet and tries to roll out of the back control. Jeremy back with one hook in on the mat but R.J. is right back up. He finally breaks free and puts Umphries on his back and is working punches as the round ends.

Round 2

Both men come out throwing punches until Jeremy shoots, takes Clifford down. R.J. works to his feet to get dropped back to the mat. Much like the first round with Umphries on his back. Finally Umphries locks in the rear naked choke and Big John steps in when he notices RJ is out.

Jeremy Umphries by RNC at 2:27 in Round 2

Conor Huen vs. KJ Noons (160)

Round 1

Both guys come out aggressive Noons changing levels with his strikes and Conor utilizing kicks to keep the distance. KJ opening up a bit with good body shot combos. Crowd seems to love this fight so far. Conor shoots and takes Noons down. They acramble and he gets the back working on the rear naked choke.  Starts unloading punches as Noons scrambles to get free. Swaping from mback to full mount until Noons finally gets to his feet in another scramble. round ends with Noons dropping Huen.  10-9 Conor Huen

Round 2

Conor throwing head kicks to start the round. Both men exchanging combos. A little back and forth with no real significant strikes being landed. Noons lands a solid left as Conor throws a front kick. Noons lands a big body shot followed by a solid left. Conor follows with a big right of his own. The both men start swinging for the fences. Noons stuffs the shot by Conor and both men look to be tiring. Round 2 ends with Conor getting the takedown.  10-9 Noons

Round 3

Conor comes out throwing lots of kicks still. Both men exchange in the center of the cage landing some good shots. Noons is not out boxing Conor like many thought. Blood coming from the cheek of Conor but he comes back and lands a good left.  They both bounce around and Conor goes for a takedown only to be stuffed as he dives across the cage.Both men are exhausted trying to give it their all. Round ends with Noons peppering the jab and going for a flying knee and Conor pushing him against the cage and looking for a choke. 10-9 Noonswins by

30-27 Huen 29-28 Noons 29-28 Noons

Winner by split decision KJ Noons

Tim Kennedy vs Trevor Prangley (185)

Round 1

Kennedy throws a combo at Trevor and then pushes in for the shot. Prangley tosses Tim but Kennedy hops back up and is looking for a double leg. Both men up to their feet and clinched against the cage. Finally Tim gets his takedown and is in half guard. Tim gets full mount on Trevor who gives up his back . Trevor stands up and Tim locks in the rear naked choke and forces Prangley to tap

Tim Kennedy wins vis rear naked choke at 3:35 of Round 1

Marius Zaromski vs “Cyborg” Evangelista Santos

Round 1

Both men start cautious and then Santos unleashes. They separate and Santos rocks Marius and rushes in but Marius circles and recovers. Nice kicks by Marius to the body of Santos followed but a hard right. Santos comes right after him and drops him with a short hard right. He jumps down and starts punching as the ref stops the fight.

Santos wins via KO at 2:38 of round 1

Robbie Lawler vs Babalu Sobral

Round 1

Sobral comes in and locks up Robbie looking to take the fight to the mat fast. Robbie has his back against the cage and is fighting off the takedown until Bog John separates them. Robbie throws a bog punch and Babalu shoots as Lawler throws a flying knee. Both men back toe to toe and the crowd is booing until Sobral slams Lawler down. Robbie bounces right back up. They exchange and Lawler throws a kick and has his leg swept. Sobral follows him down but Lawler is right back up to his feet.  10-9 Sobral

Round 2

Round 3

Nothing much happening  through two minutes in the final round. Robbie needs to turn in on to win this fight. Spinning back fist from Sobral shocks the world…not much to say. One minute left and Robbie is just now stalking but not throwing. Sobral eating a jab or two but not much more. final round is a tough one to score. 10-8  Lawlor

These men entered the Octagon with more questions than answers surrounding them and their fight careers. The fans and some of my media brethren were saying that Rich was on the downside of his career and that age had caught up to him. Franklin had lost two of his last three and needed a win last night to begin his run at the title in the light heavyweight division.

Chuck Liddell stepped into the Octagon a man on a mission as well. Chuck had found himself on a major slide losing four of his last five and three of those being via knock out. However this was a different Chuck Liddell according to all reports.

Chuck had not had a drink of alcohol in over nine months, had stopped being out until the early morning hours and even showed up to the weigh-ins looking ripped with six-pack abs. His trainer John Hackleman had stated that this was the best Chuck he had ever seen. He was faster, stronger and more focused than in any other training camp. All of that may be true as Chuck looked great right from the start but in the end it did nothing to stop him from getting his third straight knock out loss.

When the cage door closed and the bell ran Chuck became the hunter walking Franklin down and using early aggression that no one was used to seeing from the former champion. Typically Chuck likes to force his opponent to over commit to strikes, always looking for that counter punch that will send them to the mat. This fight was different as Chuck was wasting no time looking to hurt Rich earlier.

Both men were throwing kicks and the speed advantage that Rich had seemed to be nullified by the predator like stalking the Iceman was doing inside the Octagon. Rich didn’t have time to settle in and fight that cerebral fight I talked about here.

Franklin was being slightly overwhelmed and went in for the shot only to have it stuffed. He ate a shot to the head and body for his efforts while he came back with an inside leg kick to Chuck’s thigh.

The exchanges had the crowd buzzing as Rich threw solid leather in the form of a left hook which led to yet another fiery exchange and Liddell shooting in and taking Rich to the ground. Neither fighter is really known for their ground game and while I hate to use the following statement it does ring true here. Both Rich and Chuck have very underrated ground games. Yes, I said it!

Rich used the butterfly guard to keep Liddell off balance and unable to land heavy shots. Chuck went for a choke but Rich fought it off and got back to his feet.

Fireworks went off here as they took the center of the Octagon and Rich threw shots to the body and did some nice work with a solid combo on Chuck. Chuck is not one to back down though and he rocked Franklin with his trademark right hand only to be hurt himself when following up by a left hand from Ace.

Liddell rocked but sensing the kill was near pushed in and had Rich against the cage. He started throwing with reckless abandon and that was the first and last mistake he would make that night as Ace landed a solid shot straight to the jaw of Chuck that sent him to the canvas out cold.

The downfall of Chuck was his inability to remain calm and stay focused. Maybe it was the pressure to win, to knock someone out rather than to be knocked out but when he felt he had Rich hurt he pushed to much. He threw wild punches and as usual left himself wide open for a counter shot. Whatever the reason, Chuck was knocked out yet again which I can’t believe makes anyone happy.

Chuck has been one of the most predominant faces in the UFC for a long time and seeing him go out like that made many cringe. I come from Ohio and have had the chance to train with Rich Franklin and Team Jorge Gurgel and while I was excited to see Ace get a win, I was anything but excited to watch a legend like Chuck go out like that. One can say he went out on his sword though like a true warrior.

Of course this takes nothing away from Rich Franklin. As one man loses and hopefully, for his own safety, rides off into the sunset another man emerges in the light heavyweight division. This test did not tell us if Rich can actually make a title run but it did confirm just how tough this guy truly is when he is inside the Octagon.

Early in the round Chuck threw a body kick that Franklin blocked and for his efforts he received a broken left forearm. That did not deter him from continuing to fight and even throwing punches with that hand. Rich has shown before that no matter what happens to him in a fight he will not quit. When being interviewed by Joe Rogan after the fight he said he came there to fight and that even though he could feel the bone clicking in his arm he never thought about quitting, after all fighting is his job.

So no matter what happens with Rich from here on out I believe the man is a true warrior and solidified his place in UFC history with his knock out of the legendary Chuck Liddell.

So as the lights went up in the aftermath of UFC 115, we seemingly say goodbye to one of the sports best and at the same time we have to give respect to a man many believed was washed up and was expected to be a stepping stone on the road back for the legend. As they say, this is MMA and anything can happen.

Chuck comes into this fight coming off back-to-back losses yet is amongst other mixed martial arts (MMA) writers and fans he seems to be the very clear favorite in this fight.

Chuck came into the weigh-ins looking better than Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio has ever seen him. He had a visible six pack which many see as a sign that Chuck is in the best shape of his life. However there have been times when fighters come in looking tight and very lean which could be a sign of a tough weight cut.

Chuck has always been a very big light heavyweight and this fight is one that will test Rich’s ability to seriously make a run for the title in the division.

Can Rich deal with the size of Liddell and/or the power of such a big fighter? I fully believe he will tonight.

Rich has always been a very cerebral fighter and one with good technical striking. He comes into fights with a very specific game plan and sticks to it, even if it doesn’t seem to be working. This has been a positive and negative for Franklin.

Rich did not leave his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio to train for this fight. The past few fights he has traveled out west to Seattle  to train with world renowned Matt Hume. Could staying home make the difference in this fight?

No, it won’t be the difference maker but will be is the stand-up game of both men.

Chuck brings amazing power into this fight which has been the Achilles heal of Franklin in his past fights. He tends to get lost when a fighter has more power and it has shown in his losses to UFC middleweight champion “The Spider” Anderson Silva (26-4) as well as “The Phenom” Vitor Belfort (18-8). This fight will come down to where Rich excels though and not what his weakness seems to be in fights.

Rich is a southpaw that has done very well working angles, moving away from big right hands and using kicks to the legs and body to wear opponents down. This strength is something Chuck has struggled with in the past, “The Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine (14-7-1) ring a bell to anyone?

I see Rich circling away from the big looping punches Chuck throws with reckless abandon and using his kicks to work the lower end of Liddell and to drain him of some of the power he needs to win this fight. Rich will use his range to stay just out of the reach of Chuck’s big shots, which come very slow. Chuck has taken advantage of fighters pushing forward as they get frustrated and then landing the big, slow and looping counter punch to end the fight. Rich will not be suckered into this and will be content to grind out a victory here.

Will this fight see the end of Chuck Liddell’s career inside the Octagon? Only Chuck and UFC president Dana White have the answer to that.

Fighters.com wants to know who are you picking in this fight and why?

Curran got the judges’ decision by scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 28-29. Many fans were furious over the decision saying that Imada should have won. Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio scored the fight 29-28 for Imada.

Imada seemed to control the first two rounds by dictating where the action took place, using kicks to the body and the legs of Curran and getting off faster and landing cleaner shots than his opponent.

Fighters.com did not feel Curran took over the fight until round three where he seemed to finally find his range and won the effective striking portion of the awful ten-point must system.

Imada was visibly upset at the loss but when the fight is left in the hands of the judges, you have to expect that anything can happen. Especially when most of the judges we have today all come from the world of boxing and don’t seem to fully understand or value leg kicks and ring generalship MMA style.

With this victory Curran has earned himself a title shot against Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez (18-2) who was there to watch the fight.

“It was a tough fight, it could’ve gone either way,” Alvarez said. “That’s what happens when you leave it to the judges. I’m impressed and looking forward to fighting him.”

Also on the card was Fujii who many consider to be one of the top pound-for-pound women in the sport. She is a jiu jitsu and judo black belt so it comes as no surprise that a majority of her wins have come via submission. This fight however saw her beat a game Sarah Schneider (4-5) vie har very first TKO.

Megumi pushed the action with strikes and takedowns but Sarah did a great job keeping her from advancing positions by using tie-ups on the ground.

However the constant pressure by Fujii eventually wore Sarah down and in the third round she took her down and this time was able to work to full mount where she unleashed punches until he ref was forced to step in and stop the fight.

Now that she has this fight under her belt she can look forward to Bellator’s first woman’s tournament scheduled to take place later this summer. A tournament where she will be favored come August 12 when the 115 pound tournament starts off.

Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio want to know how you scored the Curran vs. Imada fight and your thoughts on the woman’s tournament.

The two men will go to war to determine who will become the TUF season 11 champion and earn the six-figure contract from the UFC.

Court was a true dark horse coming into the competition but one Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio felt was highly promotable due to his background story.

Court has stated he is a drug addict. His story is one of redemption after being clinically dead from a heroin overdose.

“I’d lie, cheat, steal. I didn’t have anything. I pawned the majority of the [expletive] I had. I didn’t have anything. I lost pretty much everything I had. Life wasn’t looking good. Guys at my workplace didn’t want me around and I got switched from crew to crew. My life was horrible. It was nothing. I was a waste,” he told Yahoo Sports.

His first venture into black tar heroin is one he will never forget. “I remember it like it was yesterday,” McGee says. “I remember what vein it was in. I sat there and he made one up in a spoon. He shot it, just a little bit, and I remember I fell back in my seat and two tears rolled out of my eyes. They hit my earlobes and I just went ‘Ahhhh.’”

Court tells us about the night his life changed when he took that does of heroin that had him declared dead.

“At the time, they were using Meth and the rule was nobody in the house but me,” McGee says. “They walked in and saw this girl there and they were angry right away. ‘Who the [expletive] are you?’ They were freaking out that she was there. And she was freaking out and yelling back, ‘I think he’s dead. I think he’s dead.’ “

After coming back to life Court spent time in a rehab facility and as with most addicts he relapsed a few times. Once, as talked about on TUF, he took a drink in Las Vegas and wound up in Iowa with a long sleeve shirt on and no pants, unsure of how he’d gotten there but craving Meth.

His turn-around came on April 16 2006, Easter Sunday where he quit drinking and doing drugs for good. He has been sober ever since. Hoe fought drug addiction and now faces another fight, the fight to become “The Ultimate Fighter”.

Standing in his way is a very tough Kris McCray. Kris began studying martial arts at the age of 12 with Tae-Kwon-Do and Karate. As Kris got older he played many other sports but none gave him that excitement he felt from wrestling and kickboxing.

After a successful high school wrestling career, Kris went off to college, while teaching high school wrestling in his spare time. Kris entered the U.S. Army Reserve at age 21, spending 6 years in service. During this time, Kris began learning Jiu Jitsu and joined Team Gold Medal Grappling, a Master Lloyd Irvin affiliate. Kris also worked many odd jobs to support himself, ranging from taking tickets at a movie theater to bouncer, security guard, butcher, and anything else he could do to make ends meet.

Kris started fighting amateur MMA in 2006/2007 and went undefeated, with a record of 10-0-0. His talent caught the eye of MMA promoter S. Marcello Foran and in October 2008, Kris began fighting on the professional MMA level. He quickly became a rising star in the UWC – Ultimate Warrior Challenge. After going 4-0-0 (all first round victories), it was clear Kris was ready to test himself against the best in the world.

Now he sits ready to make a name for himself and earn the six-figure contract that all the men entering TUF 11 wanted to call their own. He had a hard road to the finals actually setting a TUF record of fighting five times.

This will be a battle of two very good wrestlers who also love to stand and bang. Fighters.com expects this to be one heck of a fight that will likely end up being a stand-up war.

The official line up for “The Ultimate Fighter 11″ finale is as follows:

MAIN CARD

Matt Hamill vs. Keith Jardine
Court McGee vs. Kris McCray
Chris Leben vs. Aaron Simpson
Spencer Fisher vs. Dennis Siver
Rich Attonito vs. Jamie Yager

PRELIMINARY CARD

John Gunderson vs. Mark Holst
Seth Baczynski vs. Brad Tavares
Josh Bryant vs. Kyle Noke
Chris Camozzi vs. James Hammortree
Travis Browne vs. James McSweeney

Jason Dent is well known for his time on “The Ultimate Fighter” season nine where he lost to eventual winner “The Real Deal” Ross Pearson (16-5-1). I would say Dent is also known for his chin and the fact that he has only been stopped once due to knock our or technical knock out in his career. That is until he stepped inside the cage with Chris Lozano.

Chris was recently a guest on MMA Gospel Radio and talked about his thoughts on Dent. Chris has never been out of the first round as a pro, finishing all his fights by KO. He knew Dent had never been knocked out and that this was easily going to be the biggest test of his career.

He has never been so right as this fight was a war right from the start. Jason impressed me as always with his solid chin. Chris came out looking very fast with some crisp striking. He was using kicks punches, kicks and some spinning backfists to keep Dent guessing. All the whole Dent was working the leg kick. I think Dent wanted to slow Chris down, get him into the championship rounds and then put him on his back. The only problem with that was he did not take into account the heart that Lozano showed us all he had that night.

Going into the second round you could already see a welt starting to form on Lozano’s leg. It was clear that if this kept up he may lose all his power or end up unable to walk. As I was watching it struck me that we could be seeing a replay of the “Junior” Jose Aldo (16-1) versus “California Kid” Urijah Faber (23-4) fight. That fight had Aldo destroying the lead leg of Faber essentially making his striking and takedown attempts null and void.

However Chris seemed to dig deep and started switching stances and began throwing some of the most vicious elbows I have seen so far in the sport. He threw them from many different angles and you never could tell where the next one was coming from. Chris managed to do what so many have tried before and failed at which is to knock down Dent. Dent’s chin has never been a question but in this fight Lozano rocked him a few times.

In the end Ohio Athletic Commissioner Bernie Profato stopped the fight in between rounds. Dent was getting rocked and the fight was stopped “due to cuts”. Seeing Dent’s face I did not think any cut he had was bad enough to stop the fight and currently Fighters.com is awaiting a response from the Ohio Athletic Commission as the exactly what Mr. Profato saw that made him call the bout.

Lozano is a very hot prospect and showed in this fight that he has the skills, heart and warrior spirit to make it very far in this sport.

Petruzelli announced the fight, which takes place July 3, via his Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Seth takes the spot that had been reserved for “Robot” Steve Cantwell (7-3). Cantwell was expected to fight until the Nevada State Athletic Commission pulled him from UFC 108 in January. Since that time they had re-licensed Steve but this fight with UFC newcomer Romero fell apart in the past few weeks.

Petruzelli is not just known for his underdog victory of Kimbo, he made it to the semi-finals of “The Ultimate Fighter” (TUF) season two.

After the show he stepped into the Octagon twice, losing both times before being released. The losses were to “The Hammer” Matt Hamill (7-2) and Wilson Gouveia (12-8) with the last loss coming at UFC Fight Night 9 in 2007.

Since that time he has gone 4-0 with the hopes of getting back into the UFC. Many speculated that we might me see Seth back inside the Octagon after Kimbo’s stint on TUF. The UFC had a chance to put together a rematch that many would have liked to have seen. That did not happen and here we are with Seth about to fight a highly touted Romero.

Romero has signed a four-fight deal with the UFC and recently began training at AMA Fight Club with UFC veterans “The Mongoose” Jim Miller (17-2) and Dan Miller (11-4). Over half of Romero’s wins come via first-round stoppage.

What are your thoughts on Seth being back in the UFC? Should they have brought him back to face Kimbo before cutting him?

Jens Pulver

The announcement has been made official, “Little Evil” Jens Pulver (22-13-1) has been cut from Zuffa. This means he is no longer working for the UFC or the WEC. Jens had worked on as a member of the broadcast team for both UFC and WEC events in the past and was rumored to be taking a job as a full time commentator for the WEC, something the fans seemed excited about. However all that came to a halt weeks ago when the rumor started that Jens was getting cut.

After the UFC 114 press conference Saturday UFC president Dana White stated “He has been released. We had talked about Jens being a part of the WEC somehow, but he’s not broadcasting.”

Dana White

I think we at Fighters.com need to rethink the way we do business because according to the UFC president, “Most of these goofy MMA sites, what you have to understand is, these guys are in it for the money,” said White. “They get paid from all the smaller promotions. They get paid a lot of money from the smaller promotions. So they feel like they have to put some of their guys. That’s the way it works. It’s sick and drives me crazy.

This is what he told Steve Cofield of Yahoo.com when discussing mixed martial arts (MMA) rankings and specifically the pound-for-pound lists that have “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (31-1) on the list. “(Fedor’s) not even the best heavyweight in the world,” said White. “To put him on the pound-for-pound list. I think some of these guys don’t even know what pound-for-pound means. It’s just so disrespectful to all the other fighters it’s crazy.”

“It’s not a real pound-for-pound list. Either they don’t know pound-for-pound is or the obvious is they’re being paid.”

I am unaware of any MMA sites that get paid off for their rankings nor do I know anyone with a MMA site that is in this for the money as most make very little covering the sport but do it for the love of MMA.

KJ Noons

Strikeforce: Los Angeles which takes place on June 16 just received a new fight. KJ Noons was (7-2) stepping inside the cage to fight “Crazy Horse” Charles Bennett (22-16-2) at Strikeforce: San Jose. Sadly Bennett has pulled out of the fight for reasons that have not been made clear as of yet.

Stepping in to replace Bennett is “Hurricane” Conor Heun (4-3) and that fight is now moved up to the Los Angeles card which happens in conjunction with the E3 expo, Electronic Entertainment Expo which is an annual video game conference.

There was much hype leading up to this fight from as far back as UFC 96. We sat and watched them throw verbal jabs at one another on “The Ultimate Fighter” as opposing coaches. We then had to wait until Jackson had finished with the “A-Team” movie for the fight to finally take place. There was even a war of words on Twitter between the two men leading up to the event.

I think everyone knew this fight would end one of two ways, Rashad by decision or Rampage by knock out. The end result was Rashad Evans with a unanimous decision victory in what was more or less a grappling and position battle.

Rashad caught Rampage at the opening bell with a shot that seemed to rock him. From that point on it was Rashad uses the clinch to push Jackson against the cage and effectively neutralize the striking of Rampage. It is an effective tactic when you have a wrestler going against a striker.

This tactic is not something one can really complain about since the sport is mixed martial arts (MMA) and wrestling is a part of that. However that does not mean someone has to like watching a fighter that uses this tactic. Rashad seems to have become a fighter many fans love to hate and the tactics he used Saturday night did nothing but help to cement his status as a one of the more hated fighters in the UFC. I think Jackson was hurt less by the loss than Rashad was by the type of win he pulled off.

I come from a wrestling background so I enjoy that aspect of the sport but I would much prefer to see a wrestler use his skills to not just control where the fight takes place but to finish fights. I believe many of the fighters with a wrestling background game-plan fights with strikers to become a decision victory. They want to use the cage to clinch, put try to wear their opponent down and grind out a win. In today’s sport of MMA we no longer are supposed to be watching style versus style. Now MMA fighters are touted as well rounded athletes that mix all the styles together and this simply is not true.

There are some out there that do it well and there are wrestlers that use their control to work on submissions or striking from a dominant position. Rashad did neither of these things as he seemed content to coast to a win.

Of course we can also lay blame to Jackson for not being more effective in the clinch and the takedown defense department. After all it is his job to know he is facing a wrestler and to be prepared to counter such a tactic. I have even heard some go so far as to say we should blame UFC matchmaker Joe Silva for always giving us striker versus wrestler match-ups. These fights tend to lead to upset fans but there is no way he can only have striker versus striker or wrestler versus wrestler. It is just not a viable solution.

Regardless, Rashad survived yet another third round disaster as he was put down by Rampage. Rashad fought through it to survive and Jackson is now taking some heat for not being more aggressive in going for the kill after the knock down.

In the end Rashad comes out on top and gets the title shot against current UFC light heavyweight champion “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (19-4). It is another grappler versus striker fight but the difference here is Rua’s underrated jiu jitsu skills. Not his ability to submit guys per say but more his sweeps and ability to get back to his feet.

As a fight fan what did you think of the main event at UFC 114?

The night started with prelims thanks to Spike TV. “The Upgrade” Dan Lauzon (12-4) came into this fight against Efrain Escudero (8-1) after having a disagreement with his coaches and his brother, UFC fighter “J-Lau” Joe Lauzon (18-5). They refused to travel with him to the fight because they felt he had not spent enough time in the gym and did not follow their plan correctly. This fight proved that the older brother knows best as Dany seemed to tire quickly in the fight. He was never able to score much and Efrain had his way the entire fight. What shocked me was Efrain not using his wrestling background more in the fight. While Efrain is a good prospect he will have to work on becoming more aggressive, looking for the finish and finding the balance between striking and wrestling.

Next up was Dong Hyun Kim (10-4-2) versus Amir Sadollah (3-2) in the final fight on Spike TV before the pay-per-view (PPV) started.

Kim used his solid wrestling base to take Amir down at will during this fight. The one thing that stood out was that while Amir has improved his striking, you can’t do much of that if you can’t stop takedowns. I was shocked at the number of people on Twitter stating that they thought Amir would now get cut from the UFC. Since winning “The Ultimate Fighter” season seven he has gone 2-2 in the UFC and was coming off of back-to-back wins before running into the takedown machine named Dong Hyun Kim. That does merit a cut from the organization and one has to remember he is the face of “Inside the Octagon” on Spike TV. Amir will need to go back to work and spend a ton of time with high quality wrestlers in order to succeed in the UFC. I look for Joe Silva to allow him to do just that and his next fight will probably be against a striker.

Kim, while impressive with his takedowns and top control, never seemed to go for the finish in the fight except when he had the neck tie position. This position is rarely seen in MMA and I have to give credit to Amir for fighting through it. I am looking forward to seeing what UFC matchmaker Joe Silva does with Kim after this win.

The first fight on the PPV was the first fight back inside the Octagon for “The Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (21-4) after his lopsided loss to then UFC lightweight champion “The Prodigy” B.J.  (15-6-1). He decided after that loss to move back up to 170 and last night against “Hitman” John Hathaway (12-0) it was apparent that the move was a bad decision. He was simply outclassed by the young Hathaway. I stated in this article that Diego is not an elite fighter and this is further proof of that. His best bet would have been to stay at lightweight and work to get back to the title just like “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (13-4) did after being defeated in his title shot. Diego will continue to have a home in the UFC, as a stepping stone.

Hathaway however is the complete opposite from Diego. A prospect that at 22 has nowhere to go but up after a win over “The Ultimate Fighter” season one winner. He did much better than many expected him to in this fight. He showed excellent takedown defense which he will need as he wades into the deep end of the division. I will enjoy watching the young man develop over the years.

Six weeks ago Forrest Griffin (17-6) had to pull out of his fight that was scheduled for UFC 114. The UFC replaced him with “The Hitman” Jason Brilz (18-3-1). Many thought that his opponent “Lil Nog” Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (18-3) would walk right through Brilz. Brilz shocked the MMA world by not only going all three rounds with Nogueira but actually dominating him at times during the fight. This fight ended up being a split decision win for Nogueira which brought boos from the crowd and talks of bad judges from those on Twitter.

This was a close fight with Lil Nog controlling the stand up in the first round. The second was a battle of position with Lil Nog using amazing sweeps off his back and both fighters working for guillotines. Brilz sunk in a very deep choke that many would have tapped out to but Lil Nog is a black belt in jiu jitsu and showed great poise in the position.

No matter the outcome, Jason Brilz was the winner in this fight. He gained respect from many in the MMA community and garner quite a few new fans as shown by the massive increase in followers on his Twitter account. Noguiera will continue to rise through the division and Brilz will follow closely behind him. I hope the UFC and Joe Silva decide to put these two back inside the Octagon together sometime in the future.

The hype surrounding Todd Duffee (5-1) was not unwarranted contrary to what you may have heard. Yes, Todd was viciously knocked out in the third round by his opponent Mike Russow (13-1) who is the complete opposite of Duffee in the physique department. This does not mean he is a bad fighter or that the high praise was not deserving. His first fight inside the Octagon was a seven second knock out and he almost repeated that performance by rocking Mike early in the first. Russow was being dominated until the third round. Todd was able to stop any takedown attempts, push away from the clinch and landed strikes at will on the very durable chin of Russow. Then as writers all across the country were starting to pen their pieces on another Duffee win inside the Octagon, Russow stunned the world by catching Todd with a right hand that had put him out cold.

I have my doubts about Russow making it very far in the division. He carries around a lot of unnecessary weight and may be better off trying to work a new conditioning program. His striking was bad until that right hand and he never could get the fight to the mat where he wanted it.

Todd will learn from this mistake and grow as a fighter. He is only 24 and has much to learn and will need to work cardio as well. He seemed to burn out and lose a lot of steam in the middle of the second round. He will need all the cardio he can muster if he plans on making a major push to the top of the UFC heavyweight division.

What can I say about “The Count” Michael Bisping (19-3) and his win over tough Dan Miller (11-4)? Miller looked lost from the start of the round and I have to wonder about his decision to not look for takedowns earlier in the fight. Bisping was the better striker and is great at beating mid-level fighters. I am still not sure he has what it takes to beat the best in the division. Sadly to all the Bisping fans out there, I see him as a gatekeeper in the division. Only time will tell if I am wrong.

There of course is the main event but that will have to wait for another article. After the fights were over I was left with a feeling of dissatisfaction. I was let down for some reason and I am not really sure why. In a night that had a clear favorite being pushed and one being beaten, a knock out by a guy who was never in the fight and the “most anticipated grudge match in UFC history” one would think I would have been excited afterward but that was not the case.

UFC 114 let me down and that is the Monday Gospel. What did you think of UFC 114 overall?

Make sure to follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mmagospel where I tweet live during the fights.

This war of words will finally come to blows inside the Octagon as the Pride veteran Rampage takes on “The Ultimate Fighter” (TUF) season two winner Evans, finally ending the feud. This fight has some major significance as it is the first ever UFC event headlined by two African-American fighters but also will help to shape the top of the UFC’s light heavyweight division.

It has been very apparent these men dislike each other to put it mildly. During their time on TUF Evens criticized Rampage for the way he handled his team even going so far as to say he quit on them. Jackson has called Rashad “fake” and said that he needs to be “shut up.” The tension between the two got even deeper during the conference-call for this event.

Rashad Evans said that Jackson was “perpetuating negative stereotypes with his public persona” while Quinton Jackson fired back saying Evans was “being gay”. As you can see from their verbal jabs, these men could not be more different.

Rashad grew up in a nice neighborhood in upstate New York where he was a National Junior College wrestling champion before moving on to wrestle at Michigan State where he graduated with a degree in Psychology. In contrast, Rampage grew up in some of the most downtrodden parts of the city fighting the the lure of the streets every day on his way to a rags to riches story.

Stylistically this fight is a very tight affair with Rashad having the perceived edge in wrestling and Jackson the edge in striking.  May fans that I have talked to seem to believe that the wrestling Rashad brings to the Octagon will be the determining factor in this fight. However one must realize that Rampage Jackson has done very well against wrestlers he has faced. He did very well against Olympic wrestler “Hendo” Dan Henderson (25-8) and beat another in a controversial decision when he faced “The Law” Matt Lindland (22-7).

I feel the biggest factor in this fight will be Rampage and the log layoff he has had due to filming the movie “A-Team”. Ring rust has always been a major factor in fights and he will have to have had an amazing training camp to not gas out in this fight.

That being said, Rampage will look to exploit the major weakness in Rashad, his chin. Rampage has very accurate and powerful strikes with a solid chin. I would not be shocked at some point in the beginning if we saw Rashad try and stand with Rampage.

If this fight goes three rounds I think Rashad takes the decision but my gut tells me to expect a Rampage knock out of Rashad Evans in the first or second round.

I think Dana White would be happy with a Rampage win as it sets up a re-match from the Pride days between Rampage and the current UFC light heavyweight champion, “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (19-4). That fight would be an easy sell for the UFC as they would be able to use the footage from the earlier fight to push this one.

Who do you think wins this fight and how?

The ceremony took place during the UFC Fan Expo on the main stage at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. UFC President Dana White made a presentation of Matt’s achievements and then presented Matt with the award. Matt Hughes thanked the fans for the award.

“To be honest, it’s you guys that pay that admission that write my check, so I’ve got to take my hat off to you guys,” Hughes said.

Dana stated that Matt could have taken other offers to move to other promotions but he chose to stay in the UFC all these years.

“He’s acting very humble here; he’s been a great partner and been one of the people who have helped build this sport and the UFC to what it is today,” White added.

Hughes’ first fight inside the Octagon came at UFC 22 before Zuffa purchased the company. He defeated Valeri Ignatov (0-2) via unanimous decision. Since that time he has fought 22 more times in the UFC going 17-5.

His most recent fight came at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi where he beat Renzo Gracie (13-7-1) in the third round via TKO. This is his second win in a row after defeating former Renzo student and rival “The Terror” Matt Serra (10-6).

Matt’s next fight will be against another Gracie pupil as he steps inside the Octagon to take on “Cacharrao” Ricardo Almeida (12-3) at UFC 117 in Oakland, California.

Matt holds the record for the longest welterweight title run in UFC history with five consecutive defenses from UFC 34 to UFC 45. He lost the belt to “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn (15-6-1) before regaining the title with a submission win over current UFC welterweight champion “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (20-2) at UFC 50 and defended it another two times before Georges avenged the loss at UFC 65.

Matt Hughes joins Fellow UFC Hall of Famers Royce Gracie (14-3-3), “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” Ken Shamrock (27-14-2), “The Beast” Dan Severn (93-16-7), “The Natural” Randy Couture (18-10), “The Hammer” Mark Coleman (16-10), “The Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-7) and Charles “Mask” Lewis Jr.

How do you feel about current fighters being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame and who do you feel should have been inducted?

The suspensions come as a result of the post-fight brawl that broke out in the cage at “Strikeforce: Nashville” at the Bridgestone Arena on April 17.

The five individuals will not be named according to their regulations, until all administrative actions are finalized.

According to Loretta Hunt, “the nine-member commission voted to propose $20,000 fines and nine-month suspensions for all five individuals at a formal disciplinary hearing. However, these initial figures can all be reduced to fines ranging between $5,000-$7,500 and three-month suspensions if the recipients do not contest the proceedings and agree to “settle this matter with a consent order.”

In three of the cases, the commission found cause to move forward with a formal hearing for a civil penalty of $20,000 each as well as associated costs and a nine-month suspension. The individuals can agree to a “consent order” which would allow them to bypass the hearing and agree to a three-month suspension and a reduced fine of $5,000.

The fourth individual can receive the same deal but with a higher fine of $7,500. That is due to the fact that the individual did not respond to the commission’s inquiry as instructed.

The fifth individual also gets the $7,500 settlement fine because of lack of proper response. This individual is not licensed with the state and the complaint alleges “unlicensed activity” according to Christopher Garrett who is the director of communications for the state of Tennessee.

The brawl was live on CBS after Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields (25-4-1) had defended his title. During the post-fight interview “Mayhem” Jason Miller (23-6) interrupted Jake to demand a rematch.

This led to shoving and eventually turned into a brawl. Also involved in the brawl were Strikeforce lightweight champion “El Nino” Gilbert Melendez (18-2), “Diablo” Nick Diaz (21-8) and UFC fighter Nate Diaz (11-6).

Stay tuned to Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio as we work to bring you the latest on this story. As always please let us know your thoughts in the fines and suspensions by commenting below.

The workout program is a voluntary one run by MMAthletics. MMAthletics is a company founded by FOX Sports NFL Insider Jay Glazer and former UFC champion and current hall of famer “The Natural” Randy Couture (18-10). As the popularity of MMA has risen , so has the number of NFL players who train in the sport in the off-season. These men are looking for that extra edge over their opponent. Working to become stronger, faster and more mentally prepared to do battle on the gridiron.

MMAthletics looks to bring that fighter mind-set to these men by breaking them down to build them back up.

“If you hit me once, I’m gonna hit you back five times,” Glazer said of importing a MMA mentality to the NFL. “When the cage door shuts, your job is to break the will of the man across from you. It’s the same with football. When the game starts, essentially that cage door shuts. It’s your responsibility not to lose. We find what a player’s breaking point is and re-establish it every few days. By the end, football has become easy.”

In today’s world there seems to be an MMA gym on every street corner. Some are good and others not so good. NFL teams see these men in which they have a lot invested in, going out and picking gyms to train with and what makes sense is to keep it in house. This allows the team to supervise the training and make sure that player safety is the most important thing. These workouts are done together as a team and coincide with OTA’s.

Head coach Mike Smith seems very impressed with the early results.“There’s a lot of carry-over to football with some of the disciplines they were talking about — wrestling, leverage (drills) and martial arts with the kicks to open up hip flexibility. That sparked my interest. I felt if guys were going to go out and do this on their own, why not bring this service into our team and make it available for the guys? I’m very impressed with what’s happened the first two weeks. I think the players are really enjoying it. It’s just another part of their repertoire of things they can do to prepare themselves for a long 16-game season.”

Preparing themselves for the rough grind that is an NFL season is always tough and any advantage a team can get over the others is one they will explore.

In a league where teams will copy what others do if it seems to work, all eyes will surely be on the Falcons this year. If they do well Fighters.com expects to see other teams utilize MMAthletics to integrate MMA into their OTA’s as well.

On a side note, this type of training could even bring more fighters into MMA after a football career. This would mean faster, stronger fighters who know all to well the art of war.

Stay tuned to Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio as we work to keep you updated on MMA in the NFL.

Wright starts this Monday and said “This is a wonderful opportunity to grow as an individual.”

During the press conference reporters wanted to know why Tom was picked to head UFC-Canada. Both Dana White and UFC chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta had very good things to say about Mr. Wright.

“He brings a nice blend of business and sports experience to [the job],” Fertitta said.

Dana stated “There’s no doubt he’s the man to lead the charge.”

Both men said opening the Canadian office and the hiring of Wright are all parts of the “full-court-press” to expand regulation in Canada where it’s largest city, Toronto, currently bans mixed martial arts (MMA). The office is set to talk about the sport’s growth, safety record in terms of fighter safety and the ability to bolster local economies with their events.

The UFC has had great success with the European market and with Canada making up 17% of the UFC’s total business the move to Canada was perfect.

“When we thought about what we had accomplished in the U.S. … we decided we had a product we really wanted to take global,” Fertitta said. “Obviously things have gone well for us in the U.K. and Europe. As we sit here today, our focus is now Canada.”

The UFC has hosted three events in Canada, all in Montreal. They will be back in the country for UFC 115 in Vancouver while the WEC will hold an event in Edmonton, WEC 49. There have been rumors of a March 2011 event at the Rogers Centre in Toronto but when asked about that Dana smirked and said he couldn’t confirm any set dates for the future.

Wright told the press that they plan on holding three events a year in Canada and that Toronto as well as other Canadian cities are on their radar.

This move is coming at the right time for the UFC. They just held a great event in Montreal and the momentum is strong in Canada. Fighters.com feels this move was absolutely about making their presence known so as to legalize the sport in Toronto.

Renzo Gracie announced the news about his black belt student making his way into the UFC.

Branch is an exciting fighter who turned pro in 2007 and since then has a record of 6-0 all coming via stoppage. Three were technical knock out (TKO) victories and the other three were submission wins.

It is rare to see a jiu jitsu black belt who also possesses good striking and knock out power so early on in his MMA career. This makes Branch a unique prospect who could end up making some big waves in the UFC considering their ability and willingness to bring a fighter along slowly.

Stay tuned to Fighters.com to find out when Dave will be fighting and who is first opponent inside the Octagon will become.

Cyborg is the best striker in female mixed martial arts (MMA) and has proved time and again that she is the proverbial irresistible force.  She has wins against some of the best in “Conviction” Gina Carano (7-1), “The Queen of Spades” Shayna Baszler (11-6) and most recently Marloes Coenen (14-3).

Santos has won nine fights in a row with seven of the past eight ending via knockout but this does not mean Jan is overmatched.

Jan is a fighter that struggled in the beginning going 4-6 but in that time she never backed down. She faced Julie Kedize (10-8), “TakeDown” Miesha Tate (9-2) as well as Erin Toughill (9-2). She has since matured as a fighter getting four straight wins heading into this title fight.

Fighters.com thinks to many people are looking at Jan’s record and assuming she will get run over by the very aggressive Santos. If you watch Jan fight and also look at her record you will see a fighter that is very strong, has amazing cardio and in her career has never been knocked out.

MMA Gospel Radio, “The Official Voice of Fighters.com” will sit down with Jan for an interview on Wednesday May 26. Until then I can only speculate what her strategy will be for the fight.

Cyborg tends to bulldoze opponents and overwhelm them with speed and power very early on in a fight, generally breaking their will. This is where Jan can actually win this fight. Jan will need to overcome the early barrage and she has the chin to do just that. Then she can work her game and stretch Santos into the later rounds, testing her cardio and overall endurance.

Cyborg is not the only one in this fight with power and skill. Jan has the ability to end fights but also has been in wars in the past. She knows what it takes to succeed this is her chance to show the world that she is not a mismatch but rather the perfect fighter to end the reign of Cyborg Santos.

MMA Gospel Radio airs on Wednesdays from 8-10 PM EST/ 5-7 PST and can be found by going to www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel where the show streams live and we have a live chat so you can ask our guests questions.

The talk of this fight taking place all started when Melendez appeared on “Inside MMA” on HDNet. Melendez recently beat Shinya Aoki (19-5), a man many believed to be a top three fighter in the lightweight division. Now Melendez believes the fight between him and Alvarez could be for the number one ranking.

“I think he’s an amazing fighter, and that’s why I call out Eddie Alvarez,” Melendez said. “Let’s unify those titles. I’d love to fight that guy and test myself. I think if I could beat him, I could be No. 1 and vice versa.”

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney jumped behind Melendez seeing the chance for a major fight that indeed would have major implications in the divisional hierarchy.

“I will do everything I can to get Gilbert what he asked for,” Rebney stated. “Gilbert wants the fight, Eddie wants the fight, and I want the fight. All we have to do is get Scott Coker on board, and together, we can make this happen. Eddie wants to fight the best, and Gilbert wants to fight the best, and there is no reason why any promoter or network should stand in the way of that.”

Scott Coker agreed that they need to put this fight together for the benefit of the fans and since Bellator and Strikeforce have already worked together it should not be hard to make come to terms.

“We’ve lent them three or four fighters already, and we had a brief conversation about (loaning) Roger Huerta, but the terms, conditioning, time just weren’t right,” Coker said. “But we’d love to work with them.”

This all hinges on Eddie winning his first title defense this fall when he will fight the winner of Toby Imada (26-14) versus Pat Curran (11-3).

Eddie Alvarez may just be the most underrated fighter in all of MMA. He keeps knocking down everything put in front of him and Fighters.com feels it is time he gets the recognition he deserves.

Recognition that would come from a cross-promotional super-fight fans have been waiting to see. When Pride FC was still around talk always surrounded Pride champs versus UFC champs. The fans and media alike wanted this to happen and we never truly got to see it unfold. Now these fights are starting to take place with fights like the aforementioned Aoki versus Melendez.

Fighters.com believes that if anything can save the inevitable sinking ship that has become Strikeforce it will be fights like this. Scott Coker needs to continue to work with Dream and Bellator in order to give fans match-ups that will not only put butts in the seats but also bring in the viewers. Something they have not been able to do their last two events.

Fighters.com hopes for the sake of the sport we get to see this fight at the beginning of next year. Stay tuned for further updates.

Alistair is the heavyweight champion in Strikeforce although a casual fan of the organization probably doesn’t know this fact. This would be due to his inactivity here in the states. The last time he fought for Strikeforce or in the U.S was back in November of 2007. Since then he has been active in Japan and Holland but has yet to defend his title.

He has gone 6-0 with six first round stoppages, dealt with an injury received as the result of a night-club incident as well as constantly mentioned concerns over his massive frame that many believe is due to performance enhancing drugs.

Media and fans alike called for Overeem to be stripped of the title but Scott Coker did not feel it was the correct move. “There was dialogue about [stripping Overeem of his title], but I was really against that,” Coker said. “In 2007, I think he fought for us in November, and in 2008, I don’t think we really had a fight for him. In 2009, when we launched the TV deal, that was just last year. Since we’ve had the TV relationship with Showtime and CBS and went from a regional promotion to a national promotion, it’s just been a year.

“We had an opportunity to have a fight with him last year, but then he was injured, and then he had a fight with K-1. But with Golden Glory (Overeem’s management team), we had a clear understanding that he was going to have to fight for us in the spring of this year and then fight for us and have the U.S. be the priority from here going forward, which they agreed to. I know he wants to fight in K-1 at the end of the year, but he’s going to be available between now and December, and that was part of the deal.”

Saturday he steps into the cage to finally defend that title against Brett Roger who possesses serious knockout power.

I am not alone in questioning the match-up between the champion and a man coming off a loss to Fighters.com top-ranked heavyweight and arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the world, “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (31-1).

I had an extremely difficult time remembering the last time a challenger received a title shot immediately following a loss until I remembered Justin Eilers (19-7-1) getting a shot against then current UFC champion “Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski (14-7). Typically a loss would knock you out of title contention rather than catapult you into a main event for the strap.

This match-up is a direct result of the lack of depth in Strikeforce which in turn makes it difficult to give fans fights that have a significance in the overall division as well as exciting fights the casual fan will pay to see take place.

This is an issue that plagues Strikeforce and if not corrected could spell the end of the organization.

Typically the lack of depth in Strikeforce has been in the middleweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions as the UFC and Bellator have been active in signing some of the best known talent as well as the high level prospects. Yet here we are discussing a fight in the heavyweight division that is illogical to say the least.

The casual fans will eat up the story of Brett Rogers considering he was a tire changer at a chain store and now is a full-time fighter. However, they will also see a man who got beat by “the Russian guy” in his last fight and likely be confused by why he his now fighting for the title. Strikeforce needs to be bringing fighters up through the ranks and giving them some television time even if the ranks are very shallow.

The end to Strikeforce is near if they can’t bring in more fighters while retaining the fighters on their current roster as well as spending time to properly promote the up and comers.

The UFC has a unique avenue for just that in “The Ultimate Fighter” and the “Ultimate Fight Nights” on Spike TV. They can use these to give people exposure to the young fighters so when they get a bug fight the fans are already invested one way or anther in the fight. Strikeforce does have their Challenger series but the number of people actually watching that pales in comparison to the same style UFC events. I would guess the people watching that series is those of us in the media as well as the hardcore MMA fans that can never seem to get enough of the sport.

Hopefully we can see a change come about in Strikeforce as I feel the organization could be good for the sport but that will need to happen soon or they will be forced to close up shop.

Lashley was supposed to fight in both April and May events for Strikeforce but scheduling issues kept him from fighting. Verbal agreements have been reached and the contracts are expected to be signed shortly.

Ron Sparks,a massive heavyweight at 6-foot-5, 285 pounds, was last seen in Revolution Fight League:Maximum Impact this past June. His opponent was “Big”Jonathan Ivey (29-42) who he bested in a unanimous decision victory.

Ron will have a big challenge when he steps inside the cage against Lashley.

Lashley is a two-time NAIA national wrestling champion who also competed for the U.S. Army. Now he trains with American Top Team and has even opened his own ATT affiliate in Aurora, Colorado.

His last fight was in January where he fought “The Whole Show” Wes Sims (22-14-1) who he beat via TKO in the first round.

He was given Sims just eight days prior to the fight after having two other opponents dangled before him only to see the Florida State Boxing Commission say no to both opponents.

Ron Sparks is a relatively unknown and this fight is one the hardcore fans will likely be upset with upon hearing of it. Many have called for Lashley to step up in competition even with only five fights under his belt. I’m playing the catch-up game,” Lashley told MMA Junkie. “Some of these guys have 10, 20, 30 fights under their belts. I have a mere five fights. So, of course, any opportunity I have to take a fight, I want to jump on it.”

If Lashley wins this fight I believe Strikeforce will be forced to give Lashley a much tougher opponent and Fighters.com and all the hardcore fans will be excited to see how he performs in the upper echelons of the division.

TMZ once again scoops the entire mixed martial arts (MMA) world by announcing that the Orange County District Attorney rejected the case based on “insufficient corroboration to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he attacked his girlfriend Jenna Jameson.”

Tito was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence after officers were called to the couple’s residence on April 26 in Huntington Beach, California.

The lack of charges filed likely stems from the constant changing story of Jenna. Originally she stated Tito had been physical with her. Tito stated he found the pill Oxycontin in her pants and this was the reason for the argument.

Later Chip Matthews, Tito’s lawyer, told Sherdog that the incident had been a “misunderstanding” and the couple was moving towards reconciliation.

Then Jenna recanted once again and the District Attorney decided to take a look at the charges.

I am sure all the MMA fans worldwide are happy to see an end to “As the World Turns” starring Jenna and Tito.

Jacob “Stitch” Duran is one of the premiere cutmen in the world. He works in boxing and in mixed martial arts (MMA) for the UFC, WEC and many other organizations. Cutmen not only wrap the hands of a fighter but work on cuts in between rounds in order to keep the fighter in the fight. He will join us to talk about the importance of a cutman and the right and wrong ways to deal with cuts and swelling.

Next up will be Bellator fighters Joe Warren (3-1) and Ryan Thomas (13-4).

Joe Warren comes from a greco-roman wrestling background having won the 2006 Pan American and World Championship. Since he has transitioned into the world of MMA. He joined Team Quest and has fought in Dream but coherently is fighting in the Bellator featherweight tournament. His next fight is against a former MMA Gospel guest, “Insane” Georgi Karakhanyan (14-1) in the semi-final round.

Ryan comes back to MMA Gospel Radio to join “The Reverend of MMA” Turk Vangel and co-host Gary Freidman to discuss his next fight with Ben Askren (4-0) who he lost to at Bellator 14 in what was viewed by all fans as an awful stoppage considering Ryan was not out from the choke. The first time Ryan was on the show we had a great interview with him and posted it here as MMA Gospel Radio is “The Official Voice of Fighters.com” Take some time to read that interview and then join us tonight.

You can listen live and join in the live chatroom by going to www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel. If you want to chat with other MMA fans and get the chance to ask any of our guests questions, all you need to do is take about one minute to register and you can join in the fun that is MMA Gospel Radio.

Waylon comes from a wrestling background and works very good submissions despite the loss to Santino DeFranco (0-0) on “The Ultimate Fighter 9″. I have had the opportunity to watch Waylon compete at a NAGA event where he manhandled the competition.

Stepping in on short notice against a guy like Melvin will not be an easy task. Melvin was once known for his lack of ground skills but those have improved drastically since moving to New Mexico to train under Greg Jackson.

The UFC seems to be setting up Melvin with one grappler after another. Surprising to many people he was able to beat two men with very legitimate jiu jitsu games in Ronys Torres (6-2) and Gleison Tibau (18-6). The fight against Tibau many feel Melvin lost as it was a split decision at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale.

This is the first time in the history of the UFC that a fighter has lost the first elimination fight on The Ultimate Fighter to eventually find himself back inside the Octagon. Lowe is currently on a six-fight win streak with his last fight being against Steve Berger who he knocked out brutally in the first round at King of The Cage: Bad Boys 2.

This will be an interesting match-up as Waylon has never faced a striker with the speed that Melvin possesses and coming into this fight on short notice, while it will impress the UFC, it could be detrimental to him. It takes time to prepare properly for a man with as much potential as Melvin when the only thing really getting in his way is himself.

Matt Mitrione Versus Joey Beltran

Just days after they both won at UFC 113, Truefighting is reporting that Matt Mitrione (2-0) and Joey Beltran (10-2) are in talks to fight at UFC 117 in August.

Matt is coming off a TKO victory over Kimbo Slice (4-2) in which he looked much improved. The improvement came by training with kickboxing legend Duke Roufus and UFC heavyweight prospect “HD” Pat Barry (3-2).

Beltran was on the winning end of a unanimous decision over “The Thrashing Machine” Tim Hague (8-4).

Shogun

It was stated on MMA Live before the fight between “The Dragon” Lyoto Machida (16-1) and now UFC light heavyweight champion “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (19-4) that the winner would defend their title based on the outcome of another fight. That fight would be the long-anticipated bout between “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-7) and “Sugar” Rashad Evans (14-1-1) which takes place May 29 in Las Vegas at UFC 114.

However after Shogun won via KO, UFC president Dana White was asked at the post-fight press conference about the match-up. He stated he was unable to answer that at this time and would have to wait and see what happened in that fight. Now it looks like we will see that fight after all. Dana was interviewed by Carmichael Dave and stated “The winner of the Rampage Jackson vs Rashad Evans fight will get the first shot at Shogun.”

The better fight from a promotion standpoint would Rampage versus Shogun as they met back in Pride:Total Elimination 2005 when Shogun knocked out Jackson in 4:47.

A win over Rashad would put Rampage on a three fight win streak and without a loss to Machida like Evans has, would make him a clear-cut contender for the title.

Randy Couture

Speaking of Shogun, former champion “The Natural” Randy Couture (18-10) heard that Shogun and his manager had been discussing a fight with him. Randy posted the following via his Twitter account: “Just finishing the deal for Toney and every ones talking about shogun . Love to fight him but toney first ! He must Have called me out and I missed it . Great performance by rua . Id love a crack at him after toney in aug . Maybe rua in oct ufc 120″

Randy has stated that his next fight is all but signed with former boxing champion “Lights Out” James Toney (0-0) in what many call boxing versus MMA.

Stay tuned to Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio as we keep you updated on all the latest around the world of MMA.

“I’ve had a long flight home to consider my actions and regret the mistake I made on Saturday. I would like to apologise to the UFC and the Athletic Commission for what I’ve done as well as all the fans and sponsors that support me.”

“I would also like to offer my sincerest apologies to Josh Koscheck who did not deserve the cheap shot I threw. He did what he needed to do in order to win the fight and get the job done, and I foolishly reacted to the situation. There is no excuse for my actions and I know what I did was very unprofessional. I was immensely frustrated by a collection of things that took place throughout the fight as well as leading up to it, but I’m certainly not trying to condone or excuse my actions.”

“Josh implemented his game plan perfectly taking me down and staying on top of me for the majority of the fight. I was also frustrated about him claiming (and acting like) I knee’d him in the head on the ground when it was clear for all to see in the video replay that I didn’t connect at all with the knee I threw. Then finally, the verbal abuse Josh hit me with in the final 30 seconds of the fight simply pushed me over the edge and my frustrations came out as I knew I’d lost the fight, was unhappy with my own performance and had then been ridiculed by my opponent to top things off.”

“This is certainly no excuse for my actions; I fully deserve to be punished for what I did and hope that everyone I have disappointed can forgive my rash decision. I feel very disappointed in myself for losing my cool and hope that I am able to address my temperament and bounce back from this low point in my career.”

“I feel ashamed and embarrassed by what I did and hope that together my team and I can get through this issue. It will be a long road back from where I am now to earning the trust and respect of the UFC and the MMA fans that have supported me for so long, I know I’ve let you all down but I’m determined to make it up to you all.”

Paul was released from the UFC following his antics and UFC president Dana White stated that he would never be allowed back in the UFC . Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio will keep you updated on any news relating to the story.

The first fight went the full five rounds and was left in the hands of the judges. What transpired was, in my opinion, highway robbery. The judges gave the fight to Machida despite the fact that Shogun constantly attacked the legs of Machida which effectively took away his ability to attack. He used Octagon control and effective striking yet lost the fight.

Shogun was visibly stunned by the loss and the UFC agreed to an immediate rematch between the two men. Shogun used that 25 minute fight as a learning experience and came into this fight determined to not let the fight get in the hands of the judges.

“For my first fight, I trained and studied Lyoto Machida‘s game and tried to fight according to his style – in a safer way,” Rua said. “For this fight, I knew him better, so I tried to exploit him and to take more risks and take more chances and go to try and finish the fight.”

This is exactly what happened as he pushed forward from the start of the fight. Machida used that aggression to take Rua down but the often talked about yet seldom seen ground game of Rua’s allowed him to get back to his feet. Then the aggressive Shogun of old paid a visit to the Octagon. He used strikes to push Machida against the cage, unleashing a flurry. Machida slid his way out and they stood in the center of the Octagon, Rua pushing forward and Machida delivering a good body shot. Then Shogun caught Machida with what appeared to be a glancing shot off his head that sent the champion to the mat. Shogun wasted no time following him, achieving full mount and unloading powerful shots. The “Dragon” had been knocked out cold and before the referee could even stop the fight, Shogun was already standing up to celebrate. Things were suddenly right in the world as the man many called the champ had just become the champion.

All of this came from his new gameplanning which is an added component to his approach to fights. This is the reason he seems to be a much smarter fighter than during his streak back in 2005.

“I think now I’m a different fighter than I was back then,” Rua said. “I think now I train much more based on my opponent because I think this is the evolution of MMA nowadays.”

There are many journalists and fans alike that had given up on any of the old Pride fighters, especially on Shogun. His loss to Forrest Griffin (17-6) at UFC 76 followed by his abysmal performance at UFC 93 against “The Hammer” Mark Coleman (16-10) led fans to believe he was finished in the sport. However there were a select few who still believed in the man that was once one of the most feared strikers on the planet. Those who supported him through thick and thin were given a gift unlike any other. The gift of redemption as their fighter came back from the dead to become a world champion.

The comeback of a lifetime even had Dana White singing the praises of Rua. “To go out and knock out Lyoto Machida in the first round in the way that he did, I mean to say it’s impressive is stupid,” White said. “It’s unbelievable. It’s incredible.

“When [Rua] first came over into the UFC and I was talking about the ring rust – he had had the back-to-back knee surgeries – I always believed that once this kid got back in and was active, he had the possibility to do some great things again. Let me tell you what: ‘Shogun’ Rua is back. Not only is he the champion of the light heavyweight division, he is back.”

After the fight had ended a frustrated Daley threw a punch at Koscheck and had to be restrained by referee Dan Miragliotta. Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg did a much better job than what we saw Gus Johnson do when the Strikeforce brawl took place. Joe went so far as to say that Daley should be in jail for assault.

After the fights had ended Dana White made it clear that he was unhappy with Daley and that the UFC was not going to stand for antics such as that. “He’s done,” White said “I don’t give a [expletive] if he’s the best 170-pounder in the world. He’ll never come back here again.

“I don’t care if he fights in every show all over the world and becomes the best and everybody thinks he’s the best pound-for-pound best in the world, he will never fight in the UFC ever again,” White said. “He’s done.”

Technically you can say that Daley lost four times this evening as he lost a coaching spot on the
“The Ultimate Fighter” and a title shot as well.

Koscheck used his takedowns to put Daley where he has the least experienced, on his back. Koscheck is a former four-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler who has won a national championship. Once he got Daley down it was easy for him to blanket him and ride out the decision. It made for a boring fight as he used little to no ground and pound and the fans voiced their displeasure by booing.

Kimbo Slice (4-2) suffered a similar fate to Daley in a shocking announcement from Dana White. After being completely dominated by a much improved Matt Mitrione (2-0), who scored a TKO victory in the second round, Kimbo seems to have been cut from the UFC. During the post-fight conference Dana said ” That’s probably Kimbo’s last fight in the UFC”.

Kimbo is a former streetfighter turned internet sensation thanks to Youtube. Dana had been very critical of Kimbo when he was in the now defunct EliteXC, calling him a freak show. Since then his stance as changed.

Slice joined the cast of “The Ultimate Fighter 10″ and took the challenge Dana White had offered. Since that time Dana has earned respect for the former street king. “I said that I have a lot of respect for Kimbo and how he’s handled this whole thing – a lot of trash-talking for a couple of years, by me,” White said. “He took me up on my challenge. He came in to ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ and tonight he got beat by Matt Mitrione. Mitrione was 1-0, and he came in and took Kimbo out tonight.

“I’ve got nothing but respect for Kimbo. I like him as a person. He carried himself really well.”

Right before Dana left the press conference to be interviewed by ESPN he was asked once again about Kimbo and his response was “Yes, we are going to be cutting him”.

This is an odd move as Kimbo, like it or not, is a large draw when on television. He has been a part of three of the four most watched mixed martial arts events in the history of the sport. Last night many journalists and fans alike were questioning the validity of Dana’s statement especially since he loves to take things away from Strikeforce. “Slicing” Kimbo from the roster would essentially land Kimbo right back on national television as Strikeforce would take him and put him on a live CBS card. Dana could always say that Kimbo could not cut it in the big leagues but regardless he would be giving fans over to Strikeforce, a promotion he seems hell bent on squashing.

Kimbo was simply outclassed in the fight with Mitrione, who has been training with four-time Kickboxing world champion Duke Roufus. That training paid off as he chopped Kimbo down with leg kicks that took away any shot he had at going for the knock out. Once the power was gone Matt took the fight to the mat and ended up in full mount where Kimbo could do little but cover up and wait for the fight to be stopped.

Stay tuned to MMA Gospel Radio and Fighters.com for more on these stories and much more.

I started out asking what many fans of Lyle’s wanted to know; how did he feel about working as hard as he has and not getting any recognition out of it. Lyle was very upset as he had just received his fight contract on Wednesday for his fight on May 15 and he was not getting paid what he was originally told he would be paid.

He went on to tell me that he really wanted to fight for Strikeforce and has always talked very highly of them but it seemed to him that they did not want to properly promote him and he felt he no longer wanted to fight for them.

After doing some more research it was shared with me that at the time of my interview with Lyle, he fully believed he was getting the short end of the stick so to speak. However, what happened was very common when it comes to contracts and the understanding of them. There had been a misinterpretation of the contract. An addendum in the contract was missed and this led to Lyle becoming frustrated.

One needs to realize Lyle is a family man who is fighting to support those he loves such as his fiance, his new baby and many more. With a pro record of 13-0 and only one of those fights going the distance, the man is a huge prospect in the sport and should be promoted and paid as such.

Lyle wants the chance to compete on a televised portion of the card and to fight the best in the world.

Strikeforce matchmaker Rich Chou spoke with me and told me that they see Lyle as a very big prospect and actually have plans for him to move up in the division. He then told me of the plans they had if Lyle got past Vitor. They would put him on a televised card against an opponent I am unable to name at this time.

Lyle has a contract that was brought over from Elite XC and then re-worked in good faith. He was supposed to have a televised fight on the Strikeforce Challenger Series but had to turn down the fight due to an injured back at the time.

All this came to a head just hours before my conversation with Lyle. He was very angry and did not have anything kind to say about Strikeforce as is the case many times when something is as fresh as this was for him. He decided to go to the UnderGround and post that he wanted a lawyer to get out of his contract with Strikeforce and that set off the alarms on both sides. He went so far as to tell them he was not going to fight Vitor without getting paid a certain amount.

Once Lyle and his manager, Phil Lanides, sat down and talked and Phil spoke with both Scott Coker and Rich, an agreement was made and now we can look forward to one of the hottest prospects in the sport taking on one of the best pure grapplers in MMA in Shaolin.

Rich told me he was sad and disappointed that it had gone this far as he was the one that signed Lyle to the Elite contract and has watched him grow as a person and as a fighter. When asked why this fight was not televised when many fans consider it to be a “Fight of the Night” candidate he told me it was just a stacked card and many of the fights had major implications in their respective divisions. As of right now Strikeforce is still working on trying to secure a live stream for this fight so that the hardcore fans can watch it on the computer as it happens. One needs to remember that all fights are taped and if one of the main event fights does not go as planned then there is always a chance we could see this fight on TV.

This has been a gigantic mess from the start and has had me running in circles as I am sure were Phil, Rich and Scott. I feel that after the post on the UG, things were handled well by both Strikeforce, Lyle and his management.

Sadly disputes like this happen and in today’s world of Twitter, the UnderGround and other social media a small situation can become blown out of proportion in a hurry. Below you will find the official press release from Lyle given to me exclusively:

Rumors have circulated that StrikeForce lightweight Lyle “Fancy Pants” Beerbohm has pulled out of his scheduled bout with Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro, which is to take place at “StrikeForce: Heavy Artillery” on May 15th in St. Louis. This statement is in response to those rumors, as well as Lyle’s recent post on the Underground.

Lyle’s fight with Shaolin is still on, and will occur as scheduled. Lyle is excited about the opportunity to prove his talent against a world class athlete like Ribeiro, and is focused on delivering the type of dominant performance that he is known for.

In regards to his post on the Underground, Lyle has this to say: “I was upset when I wrote what I wrote, and I apologize if my post caused any problems or confusion. I am committed to being the best fighter I can be, and I want to become the StrikeForce Lightweight Champion. Being the best is all that matters to me. I realize that I must focus 100% on training and fighting, and allow my management to handle the business side of things. And I plan to live by that going forward.”

“I also plan to be the victor in my fight with Shaolin, and prove to the MMA world that I am a legit force to be reckoned with.”

Stay tuned to Fighters.com and to MMA Gospel Radio as we will be bringing you the latest in news from around the world of mixed martial arts.

Other additions to the main card were “Sexyama” Yoshihiro Akiyama (14-2) versus ninth-ranked light heavyweight “The Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (34-10-1) and “The Experiment” Krzysztof Soszynski (20-9-1) and Stephan Bonnar (11-7) rematch.

Fights for the un-aired prelim card were also made official. Brendan Schaub (4-1) versus Chris Tuchscherer (16-2), “Da Spyder” Kendall Grove (11-7) versus Goran Reljic (8-1), “Lights Out” Chris Lytle (28-17-5) versus Matthew Brown (11-8) and Jonathan Madsen (3-0) versus Karlos Vemola (4-0).

Rumors had been flying around about Akiyama and Silva meeting inside the Octagon for well over a year. This fight is one the MMA hardcore are very excited about and a fight that will have the casual fan on the edge of their seats. This very well could win “Fight of the Night” at UFC 116.

The MMA world was buzzing after the fight between Bonnar and Soszynski ended in a TKO victory for “The Experiment”. Bonnar suffered a nasty cut on his head that came from an inadvertent headbutt but the referee ruled the cut stemmed from legal strikes. Bonnar appealed the decision and shockingly the Combat Sports Authority of New South Wales decided not to overturn the decision even though there was clear evidence of the headbutt. Now they get the chance to go back to war and the fans are hoping the result will be much different this time.

Bonnar needs a win here as he has lost three straight and five of his past seven. His opponent is 7-1 in his past eight fights with only one loss in the UFC. That loss came via a unanimous decision to “Truth” Brandon Vera (11-5)back in 2009 at UFC 102.

The entire UFC 116 card as of this release:

MAIN CARD

Champ Brock Lesnar vs. interim champ Shane Carwin (heavyweight title-unification bout)
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Wanderlei Silva
Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski
Kurt Pellegrino vs. George Sotiropoulos – rumored
Cheick Kongo vs. Roy Nelson- rumored

PRELIMINARY CARD

Brendan Schaub vs. Chris Tuchscherer
Matt Brown vs. Chris Lytle
Kendall Grove vs. Goran Reljic
Jon Madsen vs. Karlos Vemola

They faced each other in the quarterfinals at Bellator 14 on April 15. Ben Askren won a technical-submission victory when the referee stopped the fight even though Thomas never tapped out.

As soon as the fight was over Ryan protested but to no avail. Yet in what seemed like fate, British fighter Jim Wallhead (17-5) was forced to withdraw from the tournament when volcanic ash prevented him from traveling to the states to the following week for Bellator 15. Thomas told the “Official Voice of Fighters.com”, MMA Gospel Radio, that Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney made him the first alternate immediately following the fight with Askren. When Wallhead had to drop out, Bjorn went to bat with the athletic commission in order to get Thomas approved for the fight against Jacob McClintock (6-1). Thomas did exactly what he told MMA Gospel Radio he would do as he won by TKO to move into the semifinals.

Both Askren and Thomas have said they really wanted to fight one another again. Bjorn Rebney, the man fast becoming mixed martial arts most beloved CEO, put the fight together and we will now get to see who is the better fighter.

Also scheduled for Bellator 19 is the other semifinal fight between Steven Carl (13-1) and Dan Hornbuckle (16-2).

Carl had a very hard fought split-decision victory over Brett Cooper (8-5) to make his way into the semifinals.

Hornbuckle made his way into the semifinals by way of a triangle choke victory over “The Evolution” Tyler Stinson (17-6).

Stay tuned to Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio for information on the Bellator tournament and for interviews with more Bellator fighters.

MMA Gospel Radio airs every Wednesday from 8-10 PM EST/ 5-7 PM PST. Just go to www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel in order to join in the live chat, listen live and become a part of the show.

Let’s start by trying to define what the “MMA Hardcore” actually means. The hardcore MMA fan usually defines oneself as someone who has been around MMA since it’s birth or shortly thereafter. They watch the UFC but have a strong affinity towards the now defunct Pride Fighting Championships. They watch as much of the sort as they can get often scouring the internet for videos of fights from Japan and other far off places. They spend time on Twitter following fighters and industry insiders and listen to MMA podcasts such as MMA Gospel Radio. I believe this is a fair assessment of the hardcore fan in a nut shell.

Hardcore fans of the sport think of mixed martial arts as “theirs” and this is a stance that I highly disagree with. This automatically alienates any newcomers to the sport. Rather than trying to keep the sport of MMA to ourselves we need to be willing to share the sport with everyone we come in contact with on a day to day basis. The growth of the sport depends on bringing in new fans and tutoring them on the sport, the fighters and the history.

Many come to Twitter or to MMA message boards on various sites and rather than be welcomed they are chastised. I spoke with @BigDog_KA via Twitter and he stated “People seemed kind of annoyed at me for being new. Like it’s a club, and I have to be a fan for X years til I can get in.” How can the hardcore MMA fans want the sport to grow and to become the top sport in the world yet ridicule and cast aside new fans that can do just that?

I understand how annoying it can be when someone tells you that they consider Fighters.com fifth-ranked light heavyweight Forrest Griffin (17-6) one of the pound for pound best in the sport with elite striking a solid chin. However rather than belittle them and possibly take the chance of souring them to the sport, why not take the high road and work to educate these new fans?

I asked the followers of @mmagospel on Twitter their thoughts on hardcore fans verus the casual fan and @scream13 said “Splintering the fan base of MMA always seemed very Anti-MMA to me. My eyes light up when I meet any MMA fans. period.” I happen to know that @scream13 is a hardcore MMA fan. I found it refreshing to see someone so passionate about the sport take the proper stance on new fans. I happen to agree that the splintering of the fan base is bad for the sport as a whole.

There is a class system being established inside the sport and that goes against sports in general, does it not? Aren’t sports a pastime that is supposed to bring together the masses? Regardless of age, sex, race or background sports is something that has welcomed us all and allowed us to form bonds with those that we may not normally run across in our everyday lives.

The elitism of some current MMA fans could lead to a stalled growth in the near future. This will not come specifically because of those on the MMA message boards and forums but it will be the patient zero so to speak. If a person can sit there and turn their back on someone new to the sport who thinks enough about it to actively seek out new information in the form of a message board, how do you think they would treat an even more casual fan?

In today’s economy and with the number of pay-per-view events we are being offered each month, people are flocking to their local bars or pubs to watch the fights. This is where the elitist attitude can have a direct and very negative impact on the sport. I admit that I have been to a bar to watch the fights and heard someone make a comment that made me laugh at first and then got my blood boiling. It was ignorant and told me all I needed to know about their MMA IQ. Later I realized that I was given an opportunity at that moment. It is times like these when you can share your knowledge of the sport. Of course one must do it in a non-condescending way so as not to anger the person but you have the chance to educate and that is a chance all MMA fans need to take.

Some hardcore fans can also be found making fun of those wearing certain combat sport brand clothing. I have witnessed on more than one occasion where someone sees a person wearing a TapouT shirt and laughs at them. They feel they know more about MMA than that person and that they are just being “posers”. Again, obviously they have some sort of connection to the sport. Rather than laugh at them, call them names and think you are better than them because you have been to live events, met fighters and have watched the sport for a long time, invite them to watch the next fight with you.  Yes hardcore fans, I am suggesting you take “The Ultimate Fighter Noob” and allow them to watch the fights with you. This way they become part of the conversation, can hear someone with real knowledge of the sport, learn more than they could on their own and become a real part of the massive growth of this sport.

It is the duty of all fans of the sport to bring in new fans and to make sure these new fans are as educated as possible. It is far time we think of MMA as less of “our sport” and more a sport for every man and woman. Let’s drop the insults and elitist attitudes and welcome the masses that are sure to come with wide open arms.

Multiple sources have cited that the tournament would be scrapped but Sherdog states that after talking to the manager of one of the contestants, it is officially dead in the water.

The cancellation stems from disinterest by Dream’s domestic television carrier, the Tokyo Broadcasting System, in broadcasting the tournament. Fighters.com is unsure as to why they would be uninterested in broadcasting a tournament with fighters such as UFC veteran “Babalu” Renato Sobral (32-9), former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi (23-3-1), Deep light heavyweight tournament winner Yoshiyuki Nakanishi (3-0) as well as Thierry Rameau Sokoudjou (6-5) all being rumored to be in the tournament.

Dream has seen it’s fair share of troubles as of late and this does not bode well for the organization. With accusations of non-payment of fighters and last minute fight cancellations we could be nearing the end of yet another Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion.

With DREAM 14 only a few weeks away the fight card is sparse to say the least with Strikeforce champion “Diablo” Nick Diaz (21-8) taking on “Mach” Hayato Sakurai (32-9-3) in a non-title fight as well as the following fights:

Joachim Hansen vs. Hiroyuki Takaya
Akiyo “Wicky” Nishiura vs. Hideo Tokoro
Kazuyuki Miyata vs. Takafumi Otsuka

Stay tuned to Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio for more information concerning Dream 14 as it breaks.

I have seen many people say they think this fight is a mismatch and that Jones is taking a step back in competition after his dismantling of “The Truth” Brandon Vera (11-5) at the first UFC on Versus.

The Janitor is a grinder in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). Similar to the poker player that can win at the mid and lower stake games but never can seem to pull the trigger in the higher stake games. The Janitor tends to use his strength and wrestling to wear men down and win by Unanimous Decisions.

His opponent Jones is a great wrestler though and will put the Janitor to the test. Jones has four wins inside the Octagon and should have five. He lost to “The Hammer” Matt Hamill (7-2) due to a disqualification from illegal elbows in the process of putting a severe beating on Matt.

Looking at his opponents it is clear the UFC is taking their time grooming him and giving him the best shot at a positive future in the UFC. Jones is very explosive and once on the ground has some of the best ground and pound I have seen in a long time. His striking game, while creative and interesting, has a way to go and this is what the UFC recognizes. Fighters.com believes they see a highly marketable fighter and future champion in Jones and they do not want to push him to fast.

The growth of a fighter can be a long road for some but Jones seems to be taking a short cut. He improves drastically each time I see him fight and his future is very bright if he keeps improving and doesn’t hit the plateau. So many promotions make the mistake of fast tracking a fighter with the potential of a guy like Jones and it ends up backfiring. Not only does it hurt the promotion but it hurts the fighter and can put them back a year or two in the growth process.

Booking this fight between the Janitor and Jones is an all around win for the UFC. They get the chance to see how Jones can handle a man who only has four losses and all against top-level competition. They also get to see if the Janitor can manage to grind out yet another win, making him even more marketable. Should Jones get passed the Janitor I look for the UFC to put him up against someone near the top of the division for his next fight.

Regardless of the outcome much will be learned about both of these fighters when UFC on Versus II takes place August 1 in Oakland, California.

Daley versus Koscheck

“SemTex” Paul Daley (20-9-2) had a few things to say about his next opponent Fighters.com seventh-ranked welterweight Josh Koscheck (14-4). This comes from the UFC: “I know Koscheck is afraid of me. I know he is. Kos was actually in my training room for my first UFC fight against Martin Kampmann, making a load of noise. He’s a major irritant to everyone around him and everyone just wanted him to leave.”

“After I thumped Kampmann, he went totally quiet around me. I knew then he was scared. I also tried to say “Hi” to him backstage after I knocked out Dustin Hazelett at UFC 108, but he pretended he didn’t see me. Again, I could tell he would rather have a root canal done than be around me. I just laughed to myself.”

“I just hope the referee doesn’t fall for his ‘I’ve been poked in the eye and taken an illegal knee’ BS once I rock him. And I will rock him with my first shot. I will walk through a thousand of his right hands which he throws from his behind his arse, land one and say goodnight.”

The war of words between these two has been a good one so far and I hope the fight lives up to the smack talk.

Condolonces

Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio would like to send our condolences to UFC fighter Alessio Sakara (15-7) who has had to pull out of his fight against “The Great” Nate Marquardt (29-9-2) due to the death of his father.

Roy Nelson, Cheick Kongo and Frank Mir

“Big Country” Roy Nelson (15-4) was supposed to face Cheick Kongo (15-6-1) in a fight rumored to take place at UFC 116 on July 3 however due to a back injury that fight seems to be off. The rumor that Roy has heard is that he will possibly be facing Fighters.com third-ranked heavyweight Frank Mir (13-5). This is a fight I would love to see hit the ground as both men are very well versed in grappling.

Strikeforce Melee Update

After the massive brawl witnessed by many of us live on CBS, Strikeforce is taking action as suspensions may be issued from the athletic commission.

“Mayhem” Jason Miller (23-6) was pulled from the headlining spot next month on Strikeforce: Los Angeles and now it seems “Diablo”  Nick Diaz (21-8) has lost his bid to appear on the June 26 fight card in San Jose, California. MMA Junkie cites a source close to Nick’s camp told them he was turned down due to the role he played in the nationally televised melee.

Strikeforce is playing it smart here by not putting fighters on cards that they be pulled from if the commission levies suspensions. They are essentially saving themselves money and a major headache.

Jenna Jameson had accused Tito of injuring her in a domestic dispute but told TMZ “What actually happened has now been dramatically distorted and misinterpreted and remarks that both Tito and I made after the police arrived reflect the state of shock that we were both in”

According to the report Tito is now backing off his original statement that Jenna is an OxyContin addict. The story being told now is that he found two pills and may have jumped to conclusions. Jenna stated that the pills were very old.

According to Tito’s lawyer, Chip Matthews, the whole thing “was a big misunderstanding”

Many news outlets and fans alike had begun to crucify Tito after the arrest. Like I stated in my earlier piece, in order to report accurately and keep from hurting the lives and careers of those involved we must wait until all the facts come out before making any judgments on the matter. Innocent until proven guilty comes to mind when faced with reporting on stories such as this one.

Stay tuned to Fighters.com for more information on this developing story.

As websites push to discuss how Tito has given the sport of mixed martial arts a black eye, Fighters.com wonders why no one is objectively reporting the case and doing as the legal system intended to do. A person arrested for a crime is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty but I guess that does not apply to MMA media. Let’s look at the facts and rumors of this story before we go any further.

The first report that TMZ put out to the public was:
“TMZ has learned Tito Ortiz was just arrested for felony domestic violence at the home he shares with Jenna Jameson.

We’re told when cops arrived at the couple’s home in Huntington Beach, CA — Jenna Jameson had “visible injuries.”

We’re told someone called 911 today at 9:53 AM and reported a “disturbance.”

Tito is currently in custody and on his way to a Huntington Beach jail in Orange County, CA.

Tito and Jenna are not married — but they have twin boys together.

Story developing …”

Dana White wasted no time stating that next to going on a killing spree, this is the worst thing you could do and that he will wait to see the police report before deciding if he will cut Tito from the UFC roster. I believe that basing Tito’s future with the company off a police report is highly irresponsible. With all due respect to the police, the reports are not the clear cut facts in the case but rather what the officers on the scene noticed and dealt with.

Now as a new day dawns on the case, many new allegations are coming from both Tito and Jenna. As of this article Tito was out on bail in the amount of $25,000 and no charges had been filed.Here is where the story gets confusing as statements are starting to be made.  “Unfortunately, Jenna relapsed this morning and suffered the consequences of that,” Chip Matthews, Ortiz’s personal lawyer, said at the press conference. “We’re here because Tito was trying to help her.”

Tito also made a statement in the press conference, he stated “My parents have gone through an addiction, and I’ve seen a mirror again, and I’m not going to let my family go through that.” “I speak from the heart, and as I say … I hold everything dear to my heart that Jenna will be OK.”

Jenna denied that Tito beat her by stating “He didn’t beat me, “We had an argument, and it escalated, and things got out of control … the cops were called, and because there were visible marks on me, they took him to jail.” She goes on to further claim that during an argument Monday morning she, “said something very hurtful to his ego.” She alleges that Tito then grabbed her and, “threw me into the bathtub and tore two ligaments in my shoulder.” Tito’s attorney denied that to TMZ saying  “He did not put his hands on her, he did not hit her, he did not do anything to her.”

Matthews claims Tito found pills in Jenna’s pants pocket and that when Tito confronted her she had an “emotional meltdown.” Rumors indicate that the pills were the popular narcotic oxycontin.

Jenna says Tito’s addiction allegation is, “completely false” and “the last nail in the coffin” for their relationship.

I think it is clear that there is much left to be heard about this case and any rash judgment on behalf of Dana White, the UFC, fans of MMA and/or major media news outlets goes against everything the judicial system in this country was founded upon. I do not condone the abuse of any woman or significant other for that matter but I also hate to see anyone ruined due to a rush of judgment. My MMA Gospel Radio co-host, Gary Friedman pointed out that before crucifying Tito, we should all wait and see what truth comes out of all this. After already witnessing the national sports media burning the players from the Duke lacrosse team at the stake only to find out they were in fact innocent, is this a road we want to travel?

Is Tito being on TMZ bad for the sport of MMA? I have no idea what impact it will have on the sport but I do know the NFL, NBA and MLB all have players that are in the news for these events regularly it seems. I doubt this will have any real effect on the sport but will have more of an effect on the career and reputation of Tito Ortiz.

Stay tuned to Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio as we keep you updated on this story while keeping in mind that Tito is in fact innocent until proven guilty.

MGR: Great behind the scenes stuff that really makes you become a Bellator fan.  Now onto the recent fight with Ben Askren, it was a very close fight back and forth. In the first minute and a half or you used the rubber guard and transitioned into the triangle choke. Can you explain the transition, positioning and how tight you thought it was?

RT: Yeah I was working the rubber guard at first and trying this thing Eddie Bravo calls “The Pyramid” that I had been having a lot of success with lately. I was trying to use that technique and he was posturing up a whole bunch so I couldn’t control him like I wanted to even though I had my legged locked with my hand. He was posturing up so much I thought I would try a hip bump sweep, I posed on one hand and tried to hip heist out and try to flip him over to his back and when I did that he posted his hand down and that gave me the space to turn my hips the other way and go that triangle. That triangle, that thing was deep. I don’t know he got out of that because usually if I can hook their leg and pull myself around at that angle, 99% of the time I finish that triangle. That is what I beat my last opponent Ryan Stout with and he is a really good grappler also. I was really impressed that Ben got out of that choke, I didn’t think he was going anywhere.

He got out of that one and we transitioned a bit more. We had some really good scrambles in that fight both being good high level wrestlers, well he is more high level than me but I am nit to shabby either. He went for that modified guillotine, I forget what he called it, but he didn’t have me. I had space on one side, kicked my top leg back so he couldn’t hook my top leg and make it tighter because he wants both my legs hooked or my top leg. I was just kind of chilling there waiting on his arms to tire out. The thing wasn’t going to get any tighter. I had it framed up really good the only thing that was going to happen was his grip was going to loosen. The next thing I know I feel the referee stick his hand on my chest and I open my eyes and look up and he is waving his hands. He stopped the fight and it was a really bad call because he wasn’t really choking me. His one arm was more on my jaw, not under my chin.

MGR: One of the things that was interesting was afterward the ref said he kept asking you if you were OK but it seemed like it may have been hard for you to hear. Did you hear him say anything to you?

RT: No, I didn’t hear anything. I think my ears were covered and there was a lot going on there when you have an Olympic caliber wrestler torquing on your neck, trying to choke you out. It is kind of hard to listen to anything. When I was pleading my case to the ref, he did not really want to hear my side of the story anyway, but he kept saying “I told you to give me a sign, I told you to give me a sign”. I didn’t hear him say anything to me and then after watching the video he only gave me about a half a second to respond. I would not have had time to react anyway because he gets right there and says something and less than a half a second later he is stopping the fight. What he should have done if he thought I was unconscious was to take my arm and check like Herb Dean and all these other referees do.

MGR: Well you got a free plane trip out it anyways.

RT: Yeah, a free plane trip, an extra $10,000 out of it hopefully and make some extra fans. I probably wouldn’t have been on your radio show if I had just gone out there and won a decision you know. I think everything turned out OK for me.

MGR: After the fight Ben said it was a tainted victory but I had read that in the post-fight conference he kind of went back on his previous statement. Is that right that he kind of went back on that?

RT: Yeah, yeah he did and it really threw me off to because I thought he was going to be cool about everything. When we were in there he told me he knew I didn’t tap and he knew I didn’t pass out or anything. I told him I looked up to him for a long time because we wrestled in college at the same time. We already had the fight so I figured he would be cool and we could get along. At the post-fight conference, an hour and a half later or so, we are in there and then he totally changed his story and tells me I was not going to get of his choke and I need to graciously accept defeat. It looked like I might have been unconscious. He changed his story and just doesn’t want the win taken away because I want to appeal it and I am guessing if he is saying I wasn’t out and I didn’t tap it was probably going to help my case. He knows he can’t beat me otherwise, I am a UFC veteran with a pretty good record so I think he is just kind of looking out for his best interest.

MGR: Now your next fight is against Jacob McClintock and you mentioned it is tough to get good training partners and it is the opposite for him at Arizona Combat Sports. What else do you know about him?

RT: I don’t really know anything about him. everything happened so fast I didn’t even find out I was fighting for sure until yesterday (Tuesday) at about 3 o’clock. Right after that, I was an hour and a half away from home I got the phone call at the gym right before I was getting ready to work out. I worked out finally got home and had to pack all my stuff and hop on an airplane. Today I have busy all day doing medicals and flying so I have not had any time do to any research on him but from what I hear he doesn’t have anything on the internet. He took all his fight videos down, smart move by him. I don’t know much about him but I am going to go in there and do what I came here to do which is fight my ass off.

MGR: Do you have any sponsors or social networking sites you want to mention before we go?

RT: Yeah, if people want to be my friend they can add me on twitter, @ryantankthomas or add me on Facebook or Myspace. My sponsors are Nexxt MMA, Fuel the Fighter.com my nutritionist, El Toro of Danville,IL is a Mexican restaurant that shows my fights.

MMA Gospel Radio (MGR): Welcome Ryan, I have to say, I am happy to hear you got another shot. (in the Bellator tournament)

Ryan Thomas: Yeah, I am too, it’s one I definitely deserved I think. I think people are happy to see me back in this Bellator tournament.

MGR: First off, what got you interested in MMA and how long have you actually been training?

RT: I have been wrestling my entire life, ever since I was about five years old. All the way through college. I wrestled for two years at a junior college and then transferred to Eastern Illinois University. That is where Matt Hughes and Matt Veach wrestled at and I was there for a year. Then my program got cut while I was wrestling there and I wanted to keep competing. My assistant coach at Eastern, Clay French,he was the King of the Cage Champion and I started training with him. I also trained with Chase Beebe, the WEC bantamweight champion. Derick Noble worked out with us back then and been fighting ever since, about four years now. It has been a roller coaster ride, that’s for sure.

MGR: You experienced something this week something I would imagine very fighters have had to experience. With all the ups and downs it should make you feel unique.

RT: Yeah it does, it has been pretty cool and has really helped to get my name out there. That is part of the whole game though. If you want to be one of the best in the world you have to jump on these opportunities, roll with the punches if things don’t go your way. When they do you have to adapt and be flexible and that is what I am trying to do, make the best out of it, keep my head up and hope to get back in there and win this tournament.

MGR: What would say right now are your strengths and weaknesses as a fighter and how have you been working on each of the weaknesses?

RT: I guess I could have started younger with the jiu jitsu and the muay thai but anymore people are starting much younger. I know my opponent Jacob McClintock has been doing jiu jitsu since he was like 12 years old. One weakness I have is I am training in East Central Illinois and there aren’t very many gyms around there and the people I am competing against are at real big gyms that have all the resources at their fingertips. They have a muay thai coach, a jiu jitsu coach and a wrestling coach and surrounded by world class fighters as training partners all in one facility. I am driving all over the midwest, Chicago and Indianapolis and in little Matsue, Illinois where my main gym is but it has been worth it. It got me in the UFC and now in Bellator and I am going to make the best of it.

MGR: Do you ever envision yourself maybe moving to another location, for instance New Mexico or Vegas where there are some of the larger gyms?

RT: Yeah, I am. That is something me and my coaches have been talking about. They all agree with me that I have kind if outgrown where I came from in East Central Illinois. I have outgrown the gyms there and may need to move to a bigger gym where I have more high quality training partners than what i have got right now.

The only bad part is I just graduated from college with my elementary education degree in December. I am taking a couple extra classes so I can be a P.E. teacher also. So I can’t leave right now because I am in the middle of these classes. I need to wait until May till these classes are over. When I signed up for them I didn’t expect to be in Bellator and was having a hard time getting fights so it was the right thing to do at the then. After this semester I am probably going to have to go elsewhere.

MGR: You started your career at middleweight and since dropped to welterweight after just a few fights. Some people find it hard to understand how much difference there is in size from a middleweight compared to a welterweight. Did you feel a big difference in the strengths of opponents when you fought at 185 as opposed to 170?

RT: I don’t think the strength was that big a deal for me because when I first started. The more I fought and as I got to welterweight I stated to fight tougher opponents and a lot of them were stronger than the middleweights I fought. I think welterweight is my home because as I train and learn more about nutrition I have gotten leaner and leaner and I like to cut a little weight anyway so it works out well for me.

MGR: Your two fights in the UFC were against Ben Saunders and Matt Brown. How stressfull was it fighting in the UFC and can you give us just a few thoughts on each of those fights?

RT: The first one I took on short notice, it was 12 days and I had to cut 26 pounds. I really didn’t get to fight to my full potential in that one. I am not happy with how I performed. In that one everything happened so quickly, I did not have time to really enjoy with trying to get in shape and getting medicals. I really didn’t get to have fun with that one like I hoped to. The next one I was supposed to fight Matt Riddle but he got hurt so I got Matt Brown instead. I fought him pretty tough and definitely thing I was winning that fight and I just got caught in an armbar. Yeah, it was pretty awesome fighting in the UFC, it has always been a dream of mine.

MGR: Very few people can say they were able to do that and if you win Bellator you could possibly be back on your way there.

RT: Yeah maybe, I am happy with Bellator. If I can win this tournament and get that belt I am not going to want to go anywhere. I am happy with Bellator and how Bjorn Rebney (Bellator CEO) has treated me.

MGR: We had Bjorn on the show and all our listeners were impressed, as were we and it is nice to hear that you would like to stick with them.

RT: Yeah, they have treated me great. I was really happy for them to bring me on board for the tournament and then after everything that happened last Thursday he made me the first alternate and here I am in Connecticut getting ready to throw down again. He is a great guy. He didn’t have to do all this. With me fighting Thursday in Chicago, I guess Connecticut is one of the stricter commissions and they really didn’t want me to fight but Bjorn pleaded with them and really put his neck on the line and kind of talked them into bringing me on board. He told them what happened to me and the promise he made me about being the first alternate and he really came through for me.

The next installment will be up tomorrow and we will get to hear about the fight with Askren and much more.

The winners of these fights will face each other in the Season Two finals in June with the winner earning the right to face Fighters.com third-ranked and Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez (17-2) in a title fight.

Rebney made the announcement today at a presser at the Wang Theatre, where he was joined by Curran and Alvarez, whose much-anticipated Bellator Super Fight with former UFC contender “The Dentist” Josh Neer (27-9-1) headlines the May 6th Boston card.

“As a fan, I can’t wait for our May 6th show in Boston,” Rebney said.  “Alvarez vs. Neer should be explosive, with Eddie making his first appearance in the U.S. since he won our lightweight title last summer.  Huerta vs. Curran just got really interesting coming off of Pat’s one punch KO of previously undefeated Mike Ricci. Toby’s world class submission wrestling vs. Carey’s world class wresting should be a great fight as well.”

The fallout from recent lightweight fights has the rankings in a mess right now and leaves Alvarez in a position to take the number one spot after the consensus one and two both lost. “The Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-6-1) lost his title at UFC 112 while second-ranked “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (19-5) lost in his American debut on the Strikeforce: Nashville card.

Fighters.com believes that Alavarez is one of the most overlooked fighters in the lightweight division. His only two losses come at the hands of Aoki in 2008 and “The Goat” Nick Thompson (38-11-1) back in 2007.

Bellator has been putting together tough fights in this highly anticipated season and fans are flocking to the tournament format to recapture some of the nostalgia from the early days of the UFC and of Pride Fighting Championships.

E3 is a trade show for the computer and video-game industries that drew 41,000 peope last year.

The announcement was made during a lunch promoting Electronic Art’ MMA game, EA Sports MMA. Strikeforce is the main league in the game appearing as the “premier league” in which the fighters compete. The game is expected to be in stores sometime near the end of this year and will go head to head with “UFC Undisputed” from the UFC and THQ.

The E3 trade show is from June 15-17 at the Los Angeles Convention center and Strikeforce takes place on Wednesday.

The fights will be inside the 7,100 seat Nokia Theatre which is quite the popular destination for national music acts as well as awards shows.

Currently no fights have been confirmed but rumor is “Mayhem” Jason Miller (22-6) will be facing “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (17-5). Also rumored to be on the card is women’s 145-pound champion “Cyborg” Cris Santos (9-1) and much talked about heavyweight prospect “The Dominator” Bobby Lashley (5-0).

MMA Gospel will be live at this event so make sure to follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mmagospel.

The three felonies include sexual assault,attempted sexual assault and open and gross lewdness. Each of these crimes carries a minimum of one year in prison.

According to Barbara Morgan, a Public Information Officer with the Las Vegas Police Department, Whitehead turned himself into the LVPD’s Investigative Services Division on Wednesday.

He was arrested after he failed to answer questions concerning a sexual assault of a female he was allegedly involved in this past Saturday. He is currently being held until a bail hearing can be set.

Additional charges could still be coming for Mike based on the marijuana grow operation detectives found when they went to serve a warrant in response to the sexual assault. Detectives found 50 marijuana plants inside the residence, all of which were confiscated and destroyed after they were granted a warrant for the plants.

Whitehead is best known for his participation on “The Ultimate Fighter 2″ but was released by the UFC after his loss to “The Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine (14-7-1). After the cut he fought for the now defunct International Fight League and Affliction before finding a home in Strikeforce.

Strikeforce seemed like a good place for Mike as he got back-to-back wins until he ran into “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal (6-0) at Strikeforce:Evolution where he suffered a first round KO.

President of Strikeforce, Scott Coker has decided to not comment on the Whitehead situation and is waiting to see how the legal problems shake out. Fighters.com believes it will not be long before he is cut by Strikeforce due to the arrest and pending felonies.

MMA has seen enough problems recently with champions acting more like clowns, fighters using steroids and much more. Whitehead’s case does not help the image of an MMA fighter when presented to the casual fan or the uninitiated. Obviously in every sport there are some that can’t seem to stay out fo trouble but in a sport that is so young and pushing so hard to be accepted by the main stream, every little incident like this one is a step back and makes it harder for the sport to move forward in a positive light.

Stay tuned to Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio as we look to bring you more details in this case as they develop.

Tito has been blasted for lying to fans and telling them the fight between him and Chuck was still on even though he knew he was off of the card. His response came via Twitter and is one all fans and media alike should understand.

“I haven’t lied to anyone. I was told not to say “Anything”! Having a chance to be sued for $5 million was not a chance I wanted to take. So watch TUF 11 and see what happens. I was just doing what I was told, for once. Sorry!”

Fans and media alike are well aware of the nondisclosure agreement coaches and fighters appearing on”The Ultimate Fighter” must sign. It comes as no shock to Fighters.com that he was unable to tell the truth. Regardless many fans felt he should have just stated they would have to wait and see what happens. Now using our brains here, had he come out and not responded to the questions regarding his health, him leaving the show and his fight with “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-7) the media would have gone crazy with it. The only way to ensure that the information stayed locked away until the UFC was ready to release it was to say that everything was still a go and leave it at that.

Regardless of what Tito said or did not say, the change of fighters in the main event seems to have made an impact on the sale of tickets for UFC 115.

UFC 115 takes place in Vancouver and on Tuesday pre-sale tickets were available. UFC fans were not messing around as the set a new record for the fastest sellout in UFC history, with the event selling out just 30 minutes after tickets went on sale at 10 AM PT. Dana White announced it via Twitter by saying “Vancouver sold out in 30 mins!!!! Thank you Vancouver we worked hard on getting it there. Thank you Mayor Robertson.”

There is no way to tell if the change from Tito to Rich had any effect on the speed of ticket sales but I would venture to say that it was a factor. Consider what the headline was and what it has now become.

Chuck versus Tito is a fight fans have twice before and neither fight was very competitive. Chuck did what he wanted in both fights and Tito never really seemed to have a shot during the fight. Other than the fact that so many enjoy watching Tito get beat, what other motivation would there be for fans to rush out and buy tickets to the event? Chuck is now fighting Rich Franklin and this fight is much more intriguing.

Chuck Liddell is on a slide in the UFC with four losses in his last five fights. Even though there have been talks of his retirement by UFC president Dana White, Chuck still has the drive to fight and carries the power to put people to sleep. Chuck has beaten the best during his reign as UFC light heavyweight champion. He has ten knockouts inside the Octagon and had seven consecutive at one time. A UFC Hall of Famer, Chuck is coming in prepared to get back on the winning track.

Chuck told MMA Weekly “I’m ready for this fight, I’m in the best shape of my life, and I can’t wait to get back in the Octagon.”  “I can’t tell the fans what happens in the Ultimate Fighter 11, you have to watch the show, but I’ll tell you how this is gonna end, I’m knocking Rich out.”

Rich on the other hand is a fighter that has been in limbo since his defeats to Fighters.com and UFC middleweight champion “The Spider” Anderson Silva (26-4). He has had a couple of fights at a catch-weight of 195 as well as fights at 205. Rich currently has twelve wins inside the Octagon and is now looking to make a run at the light heavyweight championship as he takes on the former champion.

“Chuck is a gamer,” Franklin said. “He is a professional – take Randy for example. He and Randy are friends, but he didn’t have a problem fighting Randy and punching him in the head, so he sure won’t have a problem punching me in the head. I’m excited about fighting Chuck, I’m going to give everything I have, and I look forward to giving fans a great fight in Vancouver.”

Rich is the epitome of a company man, always saying the right things and doing whatever is needed of him by the UFC. He did not want to coach again on TUF yet here he is stepping in to take over for Tito and face a man who regardless of public opinion, can take you out with one punch.

This is a fight fans love to see, two former champions trying to get back what they once had and coveted. Two true fan favorites who will give us what Anderson Silva did not, non-stop action. I have been asked by fans if I believe Rich has the chin to stand and trade with Liddell and honestly I don’t have an answer to that question. We all watched as Rich stood and traded with a man many thought was the scariest on the planet when he was in Pride, “The Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (34-10-1). Rich went on to win by unanimous decision in that fight. So can he take a shot? I believe he can but I doubt Rich will attack like the fallen that have stood before Chuck in the past.

Liddell is known for his ability to suck fighters inside and is one of the best counter-punchers in the game. Rich is well aware of this and his trainer Matt Hume is sure to develop a game plan that will include getting inside, using the clinch and working some dirty boxing. I would not be shocked to see Rich try and take Chuck down either but getting Chuck down and keeping him there has never been an easy task.

The bottom line is that this fight is one I believe had much to do with the fastest sell-out in UFC history. Two legends known to bring the fight to their opponents and both looking to rise up out of the ashes.

Tito lied but really had no choice, just like the fans in Vancouver had no choice but to clammer for tickets to see what is sure to be a great main event.

“The UFC contacted us yesterday, and I think they want to put a rematch together, so I think a rematch is in the works,” Penn went on to say “I think the next three months, four months at the most,”

This is would seem to put the fight at at either the August 1 Versus show in Oakland or the August 28 fight that takes place in Boston. After the main event disaster at UFC 112 it might make sense to give the fans this fight for free by putting it on Versus. Then again a Boston event is close enough to the home of the new UFC lightweight champion “The Answer” Frank Edgar (12-1) that it may be the best option.

There are those out there that felt BJ won that fight even though he did not look himself. Gone was the killer instinct we usually see from him. This may be attributed to what his trainer Rudy Valentino said when talking to Cage Potato. “He was also battling a sinus infection and was on antibiotics, so he was not one hundred percent. I’m not making any excuses, that is just what happened.”

According to Rudy BJ had a fever in the week leading up to the fight and the infection he had prevented him from training as hard as he should have for a couple of weeks. Originally I contribute Penn’s lackluster performance to him deciding to keep his camp in Hilo, Hawaii rather than coming to the RVCA training facility in California.

Penn  has stated in the past that he had troubles training as hard as he should have in Hawaii due to the distractions and the laid back attitude. The laid back attitude is all part of the Aloha spirit and “Island Time”, where you do things at your own pace with no real sense of urgency. I thought he looked the best we had seen him in his past two fights where he came to California and got away from the things that took him away from hard training.

While nothing is official yet, expect BJ to push for this rematch rather than UFC matchmaker Joe Silva and president Dana White offering it to the only man to have beaten Edgar, fifth-ranked lightweight “The Bully” Gray Maynard (9-0).

Stay tuned to Fighters.com as this story develops further.

Matt Hughes was one of the most dominant fighters the UFC welterweight division. Matt has stepped into the Octagon 21 times and only tasted defeat a total of five times with three of those coming in the last four years.

The former champion controlled the Octagon like no other before him using his far superior wrestling which included highly dominant top control. That dominant control lead to a UFC record nine straight title defenses in which he beat a legend in Royce Gracie (14-3-3) at UFC 60.

I know that for many the fight between Royce and Hughes was hard to watch. It is difficult to watch the man many give credit to for bringing them into the sport and falling in love with jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts (MMA) get thoroughly beaten. Enter Renzo Gracie to defend the family name.

Renzo has been involved in MMA for a long time now and as a Gracie, he feels the need to defend the family name. This is something we have seen time and time again from the Gracie family. When one man goes down another steps up to take his place. Renzo very well could be on the verge of revenge.

Royce was dominated in his fight with Hughes but that was almost four years ago. The Matt Hughes then is not the same Hughes we see today. This is a fight many would think would end up being a stand up war like so many fights between wrestlers and jiu jitsu guys. They cancel each other out and end up trading. I don’t think this is how this fight will go down though.

Hughes has said he needs to get back to what got him the title in the first place. That would be his wrestling and even though he seems to have lost a step, I believe he can get Renzo down. The problem is that Renzo works very well off his back unlike a former opponent Matt faced.

Matt fought “The Terror” Matt Serra (10-6) at UFC 98 where he won a unanimous decision. During that fight Hughes put Serra on his back often. Serra is a jiu jitsu black belt but rarely have we seen him work well off his back. Yet in that fight he did well off his back and some believe Serra could have won that fight. Renzo is a different beast altogether though.

Renzo will work to not just tie up Hughes on the ground but will be looking to use the infamous Gracie jiu jitsu to submit the man that beat his cousin.

This may be a fight between two men who are past their primes but how can one not be intrigued by another Gracie inside the Octagon looking to defend his families honor against a dominant ex-champion? Regardless of age or recent defeats, drama can be found in this fight and should be rather than be dismissed as a battle between two men who have no significance in the division at this time.

You also have to take into consideration that if Renzo wins this fight he will be looking to drop down to 155 so that he can work to avenge his own loss to the top-ranked and UFC lightweight champion “The Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-5-1) which came at K1: World Grand Prix in 2005. Renzo dropped a decision in that fight and has talked of dropping down after this fight. A win will allow him to do that while a loss makes that possibility very slim even though BJ has talked about moving to 170 once again if he can get past “The Answer” Frank Edgar(11-1) on the same night.

As fans we must be willing to look past age, significance of the fight in the division and many other factors. We can always find something that makes the fight worth watching and something to look forward too.

Saturday will be round two in the battle between Gracie versus Hughes and I am one that is excited to see the results.

Dana White has said he does not believe they will receive any rain but that the wind could be an issue. Dana was not very keen on holding an outdoor event and it took much convincing to get him to buy into it.

“I’ve always been terrified of doing an outdoor show,” White said during a recent interview with Rogers Sportsnet.

What has shocked me is that with the risk of rain and wind the UFC has not put together a back up plan. “If it starts raining and the wind starts blowing..right now there is no Plan B” said White.

While it may not rain on the UFC’s parade in Abu Dhabi, it very well might kick up a nasty wind storm. Dana stated “Wind could be a factor. It’s very dusty and sandy there. I’m worried about the wind”

If the wind does start to kick up this could be a major problem for Dana and the UFC. The last thing they or the fans want is any sort of controversy with fighters. Imagine a fighter losing as the wind had picked up and stating he had sand in his eye and could not see. This could happen mid-fight and a fighter turn due to this and similar to an unseen eye-poke, the fight could get stopped.

Not only that but you have to worry about fighter safety inside the Octagon. If the floor of the Octagon becomes covered in sand, even the smallest amount, it would wreak havoc on fighters who are trying to fight off their back. It is enough to be on your back, avoiding some vicious ground pound but to also have to deal with what amounts to sandpaper taking off layers of skin on your back, that is to much to ask of any fighter.

According to many, the fighters should only feel a breeze as the design of the venue reportedly minimizes the concern. The facts remain, fighter safety must come first, weather is unpredictable and titles are on the line.

UFC 112 will see two title defenses as Fighters.com and UFC middleweight champion “The Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4) defends his crown against sixth-ranked middleweight Demian Maia (11-1). The other title up for grabs belongs to none other than top-ranked and UFC lightweight champion “The Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-5-1) as he does battle against sixth-ranked challenger “The Answer” Frank Edgar (11-1).

One of the other concerns raised by many is the religious climate. A country that is known for being predominately Muslim but also tolerant of other religions is a new aspect for a UFC crowd. All across the internet I have talked to fans who seem to wonder what type of crowd the fighters will be dealing with during UFC 112. Will the crowd be like a pumped up, loud and rabid group of fans here in the states or will they be more like the calm and quiet Japanese MMA fans?  Really it is difficult to try and predict anything in the way of crowd reaction.

I feel certain that the crowd will see less of the booing we tend to see here in the states when a fight hits the ground due to the rich history the region has with Jiu Jitsu and submission grappling but other than that I have no idea what to expect.

Will the crowd be tolerant of the swimsuit clad UFC ring girls in a country where the burka is common place? There are many questions lingering about this foray into a new country and the reaction the UFC gets could very well determine if they push into some of the other countries they are looking to explore in the middle east.

Saturday all of this will be answered if the entire event is not wiped out by a massive sandstorm.

If you want to discuss more about UFC 112 you can join myself and Gary Friedman tonight on MMA Gospel Radio from 8-9:30 PM EST/ 5-6:30 PT as we will be joined by Keith Florian and Jake Rosholt. We can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel. Come kick back and listen or join in the live chat during the show.

UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi is where the fight will take place and many seem to be writing off Maia. While Maia has obvious weaknesses in his stand up game there are other points we must take into consideration. Before doing that though we need to examine Silva and what he brings to the table as one of the most dominant champions in the history of the UFC.

Anderson Silva busted onto the scene by systematically destroying everyone they put inside the Octagon with him. If he should beat Maia he would hold the all-time record for title defenses in a single reign. His next record should he win at UFC 112, would be the most wins in title matches for a career. That record is currently held by both Matt Hughes (41-7) and “The Natural” Randy Couture (18-10) who have nine and Silva sits at six currently. Since his introduction to the UFC he has finished every fight except for one and has yet to taste defeat inside the Octagon. Other than a disqualification back in 2006 for an illegal upkick, his last loss was in back in 2004. Dominant is a word that seems to fit perfectly when discussing Silva.

Maia is stepping into the Octagon with a man whose biggest strength is his biggest weakness. We were able to witness just how behind Maia is in the striking game when he decided to stand in his fight with “The Great” Nate Marquardt (29-9-2) at UFC 102. Maia came out looking to use some kicks and in :21 seconds the fight was over after Nate put him out cold with one punch. However after that fight it became very clear that Maia was focusing on his striking when he fought Dan Miller (11-3) at UFC 109. Dan is another fighter in the UFC with very good jiu jitsu but just not on the same level as Maia. Most, including myself, expected Maia to get back to his bread and butter and take the fight to the ground and show Miller just what elite level jiu jitsu is all about. That was not the case in the least bit. Maia actually kept the fight standing and used much improved head movement and a jab that before was nowhere to be found. I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea and think that due this I believe Maia can stand and trade with Silva. Miller’s striking is much different than Silva’s and light years apart. However it is a part of the game Maia has improved on and will need to use in order to avoid the big shots from Silva.

The only way I have heard that people think Maia can win is if he can get it to the ground. I think that is pretty obvious but I am shocked by those that think his chances of taking Silva down are slim to none. Silva will easily be the bigger man in this fight but that does not mean Maia can’t take him down.”Hendo” Dan Henderson (25-7) took Silva down and controlled him from top position until he got away from his own game-plan. I know that Maia is not the wrestler Hendo is but look at his fight with another top contender in the division, Chael Sonnen (24-10-1). Maia came out and shocked people by out wrestling Sonnen. There is no question what happened in that fight. He takes his shot, works off of Chael’s whizzer attempt and then uses better wrestling to gain the dominant top position.

This is what people seem to be glossing over when discussing Maia’s chances of taking Silva down. Anderson Silva does have a long reach and strikes from odd angles and Maia will have to avoid that brutal shot to get inside and take this fight to the ground. Yet Maia has much better wrestling than he is being given credit for and I feel he will be able to put Silva on his back. Once there he will have to make sure to not get locked up in the body triangle Silva loves to work off his back and this is where the fight could become quite the battle.

Demian Maia will surprise a lot of people by being able to do what only a could have been able to accomplish thus far, putting Silva in a spot where he is least comfortable. Will Maia walk away the champion this Saturday? I have no idea but I do know Maia should be as easily dismissed as he is being right now from other media outlets.

Shinya Aoki is a fighter many have wanted to see come to the states and fight for years now. He has been the talk of the town in Japan and finishes people seemingly at will with his super slick submissions. This fight is one that allow him to test the waters in the U.S. and see if those submissions will work against an amazing wrestler.

Aoki was last seen in a fight against Mizuto Hirota (10-3) in which he broke the arm of Hirota using a hammerlock. His list of fighters that he has beaten is impressive however he has a glaring weakness that could be exploited stateside.

Aoki is known for his jiu jitsu and it is very high level. However his striking leaves a lot to be desired and I wonder if his chin will be able to hold up if he continues with his quest to fight the best America has to offer.

Fifth-ranked lightweight “Hellboy” Joachim Hansen (18-8) exploited that chin when they fought in the Dream 5 lightweight grand prix final in 2008. Granted Aoki did end up avenging that loss and won via armbar at the Dream 11 featherweight grand prix but none the less, Hellboy put him out could with strikes.

I have to wonder how well his submissions will work without the pants he typically wears even though Eddie Bravo believes they do not offer a big advantage in the submission game. As the fight wears on and Melendez gets sweaty I would think that the subs will be much harder to come by without the traction he gains from the pants.

He will also be here in  the states where the crowd is much different. Japan may have some of the most knowledgeable mixed martial arts (MMA) fans in the world but they are very quiet compared to the raucous crowds that attend events here in the states. I know he is an experienced fighter but will be quite the culture shock and could throw him off his game.

Gilbert is an interesting fight for Aoki when you look at his skill set. Melendez has a solid wrestling base that shows both good take-downs and take-down defense. We won’t see Aoki try and take him down unless it comes via him jumping guard but if he does I believe Gilbert will have the ability to get back up to his feet.

Standing is where Melendez will want to keep this fight as he is the much better striker. The improvement from Melendez since his losses to Mitsuhiro Ishida (19-5) and “The Punk” Josh Thomson (15-3-1) have been significant. After the Ishida he seemed to work more on his wrestling and his transitions. After the loss to Josh he worked his striking, specifically his counter-strikes and his ability to move in and out.

The work paid off as he has now avenged both of though losses en route to winning the Strikeforce lightweight title he puts on the line against Aoki.

Anyone looking at this fight has to believe that Gilbert will look to keep this fight standing and beat Aoki from the outside. Popping the jab, using good head movement and getting in and out with his punches.

This is a fight that will tell us just how good these two both are inside the cage. Gilbert is a fighter that has been discussed as being a top ten lightweight but given he is in Strikeforce and not fighting the best in the world it is hard to compare him. Aoki is a consensus top five who until this point has not faced a battle tested American fighter. One of these men will walk out of the cage crushed as MMA fans spout how they knew he was over-rated while the other fighter will walk out, head held high and instantly be talked about in the same breath as top-ranked UFC lightweight champion “The Prodigy” BJ Penn (15-5-1)

Granted, TUF 10 had Internet sensation Kimbo Slice (4-1) but TUF 11 has a crop of middleweight fighters that I feel is far superior to any season we have seen thus far on Spike TV.

According to Spike, 1.9 million viewers were watching “TUF 11″ which is an increase of nine percent over “TUF 9″

As I said earlier, I feel this season has a much better cast of prospects who seem to be more technical than those of previous seasons. However, maybe it is because I am a part of the mixed martial arts (MMA) media and at my very core a hardcore fan.

Many casual fans may not know some of the fighters appearing on the show and thus have no idea how good some of them truly are and how compelling their background stories will be once they receive air time.

One fighter in particular stands out when speaking of background stories. Court McGee (9-1) is a fighter that with the proper exposure could become an instant fan favorite. His story was something I ran across on Queen of the Cage. Court is a former drug addict who was actually declared dead from an overdose of black tar heroin. Since then he has found God and has been clean since Easter of 2006. Court hit the epitome of rock bottom and now is on his rise to the top where he hopes to talk to others about the dangers of drugs.

This story alone would be a very uplifting moment if given the time on the show and could be a positive story for MMA as a whole.

“The Ultimate Fighter 11″ on Spike TV features middleweights fighting it out for a six-figure contract with the UFC and the title of “The Ultimate Fighter”.

Coaches for this season are Fighters.com eighth-ranked and former UFC light heavyweight champion “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-7) and his nemesis, former UFC light heavyweight champion “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (15-7-1). Both men are coming off back to back losses inside the Octagon and are supposed to face off against one another after the season ends.

There are rumors that Tito suffered some sort of injury during the taping of the show and that his fight with Chuck may be put on the back burner but we will have to wait and see how this season unfolds before the facts actually come to light.

Stay tuned to MMA Gospel Radio each Wednesday from 8-10 PM EST/ 5-7 PT as we discuss the latest season of TUF and interview some of the top fighters in the business as well as the best new talent you may have not heard of yet. We can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel.

The addition of Caol Uno (25-13-5)to the UFC seems to have become a failed venture. His loss last night to Gleison Tibau (18-6) was one sided and will likely cause the release of Uno from the UFC. Uno offered up nothing in the way of offense and was an easy and much needed win for Tibau.

“The Real Deal” Ross Pearson (16-5-1) looked very sharp in his decision victory over Dennis Siver (15-7). Ross has been known to step in and engage in a slug fest but against Siver, a very dangerous fighter, he had a good game plan. He moved in and out and never stayed engaged to long. He had great head movement and his feints kept Sivers off guard and somewhat confused.

My only critique of Pearson’s performance was his lack of killer instinct. He seemed to hurt Dennis a couple times in the fight and rather than push forward and try for a finish he sat back playing it a bit safe. Granted he got the win but as he moves up in the division he will need to use a similar strategy but also be able to incorporate that finishing instinct. He could go a long way in the UFC given ample amount of time.

While I thought Joe Rogan was a little off his game last night and flat out wrong about a couple of things I will discuss later, he was dead on about Jorge Rivera (18-7). I have never seen Jorge look so good in a fight. He dominated the guy I picked to win the fight, “Rock” Nate Quarry (12-4). He picked him apart in the fight once he found his range. Nate did land some solid leg kicks but again, once Jorge found the range he unloaded on Nate with power shots that seemed to rock the “Rock” each time. I also thought Jorge looked lighter on his feet and seemed to take some solid punches better than he has in the past. This could be the start of a new fight life for Jorge and I am excited to see where he goes from here.

Then there was MMA Gospel fan favorite “Skyscraper” Stefan Struve (16-4) taking on “Big Country” Roy Nelson (15-4) in the co-main event. I think Struve can be a top contender in the heavyweight division in the future. He is young and the sky is the limit for him, no pun intended. Although in order for him to reach his full potential he will need to learn to utilize his height and reach advantage to his fullest. There is no reason Nelson should have gotten inside on Struve with very little effort. Struve needed to use his jab to keep Nelson at bay and instead of the leg kicks he should be using the front kick to the body. These are weapons a man of his size should be using to keep the shorter opponents outside their range so he can pick them apart.

Having said that I don’t feel he gave that fight to Nelson. I think Nelson worked hard and knew exactly what he had to do in order to win. It is hard to judge his performance because the fight only went 39 seconds but that is two big knock outs for Roy, a man many said was to fat and to slow for the UFC.

Now we move to the main event between Fighters.com seventh-ranked “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (12-4) and “The Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-6). This is where my critique of Joe Rogan comes in to play.

If you listened to Joe and Mike Goldberg you would think Kenny was destroying Gomi and that just was not the case. Granted Florian did a very good job in the first round using his jab to throw off Gomi’s plan of attack. That and his fast movement in and out of the pocket kept Gomi from unleashing anything substantial but then again Gomi has never been much of a defensive striker.In the past he has eaten plenty of punches in order to get inside to deliver his death blow. However in the first round he was blanked.

The second round told a different story though. Gomi was able to slip Florian’s jab and use a very effective one-two counter that had KenFlo putting on the brakes when working his own counter. It did not fully stop Kenny but it was working and proved to me that if Gomi were to take his training more seriously he could very well make a come back.

In the end though his ground game is still just awful as it always has been and Kenny’s seems to be getting better. The worst part for Florian is that he is stuck in a division where the champion is seemingly heads and tails above the rest.

All in all the Fight Night was full of exciting fights and fantastic finishes. Some shocking and others, well, not so much.