Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar is now stuck between a rock and a hard place. Lesnar, the largest pay-per-view draw in the UFC, has recently been sidelined once again with a second battle with diverticulitis, an intestinal disease which previously had him sit out from active competition for just under a year due to the severity of the condition. Brock was originally scheduled to be taking on Junior dos Santos in a title eliminator at UFC 131 where the two men were to headline the event. Now, Lesnar has since been replaced by former interim champion Shane Carwin, to which current titleholder Cain Velasquez thinks that the promotion made the right decision. ...

Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem had one heckuva 2010.  We're talking about a fighter that picked up the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix Championship and the DREAM Interim Heavyweight belt, on top of destroying Brett Rogers to keep his Strikeforce belt intact.  That said, according to an interview at BJPenn.com, Overeem is well aware that UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez deserves the current number one MMA heavyweight ranking....at least for now. ”I agree that Cain Velasquez holds the number one position; he had a very good year and beat the champion in very impressive fashion," Overeem said.  "Now Cain is sidelined for the rest of the year and having the Strikeforce GP tournament in 2011 there is enough room to take that number one spot. The winner of the GP should be number one in the rankings because I still believe Strikeforce has the best heavyweight division in the world.” ...

UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is coming off the biggest year of his young professional mixed martial arts career. In 2010, the proud Mexican-American knocked out former PRIDE champion and legend Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira last February. The fight put him in place to challenge for the promotion's heavyweight crown later that year, and the American Kickboxing Academy product did not disappoint as he dismantled then titleholder Brock Lesnar inside of the first-round of their October meeting. The win dubbed Velasquez as the best heavyweight fighter on the planet, as well as the new heavyweight champion, but it came with a price. ...

It seems that every other MMA fighter is an All American wrestler.  Then again, college wrestling is the most obvious farm system for professional MMA.  However, one fighter may have a wrestling pedigree that is unrivaled across the sport.  Daniel Cormier, who fights Devin Cole tonight co-headlining the Strikeforce Challengers card in Nashville, TN brings a monumental wrestling history with him every time he steps into the ring.  Cormier was a three time Louisiana wrestling state champion in high school and NCAA Championships runner-up at Oklahoma State.  Impressive, but Cormier was just getting started.  He was the USA national champion in 2005-2007.  Cormier finished fourth on in the 2004 Olympics and was named captain of the 2008 USA wrestling team. So, there are wrestling credentials and then there is Daniel Cormier’s wrestling credentials.  He will bring all that history with him tonight as he faces Cole, another strong wrestler. ...

If there is a fighter with more upside potential in the sport of MMA than Tyron Woodley, let him please step forward.  Woodley, an All American wrestler at Missouri has torched through his first seven opponents and now faces his toughest test, against Tarec Saffiedine, headlining the Strikeforce Challengers card in Nashville, TN tonight and broadcast on Showtime.  Woodley, was tagged early with the “potential” word not only for winning, but for his diversity of talent on the ground and with his hands.  However, how he operates in the cage is what flagged him beyond his early career win-loss record.  It is his speed that has opponents flummoxed.  Speed and movement beyond strength or belt colors are becoming the tell-tale traits right now for MMA success, and Tyrone Woodley operates with both.  Like Frankie Edgar or Dominick Cruz or Cain Velasquez, Woodley is showing the needed tools and showing them with lightening speed. With potential MMA riches on the horizon, Woodley's task now is executing against fighters he should beat, which is far from easy.  Saffiedine has won 9 of his last 10 fights and brings a kickboxing pedigree. ...

As expected, the news that newly-crowned UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez will be out until at least Summer 2011 due to a torn rotator cuff has swept the MMA world at large. Many people are frustrated that the UFC’s Heavyweight title picture has taken so long to get itself worked out, as it looks more and more likely that we’ll be getting yet another showdown for an “Interim” belt. And the man most affected by this sour bit of news (other than Cain himself, of course), UFC Heavyweight phenom and current top contender Junior dos Santos, recently turned in a pretty controversial interview that saw him outright accuse Velasquez of some sort of foul play. Here are all the details. ...

For many, many, many, many… many reasons, Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos is already being thought of as one of the best possible fights of 2011. Cain Velasquez is the current UFC Heavyweight Champion, while JDS has been rocketing to the top and knocking out opponents left and right. But unfortunately, it seems as if the “Heavyweight Curse” has reared its ugly head again, as it was recently reported that Cain Velasquez has suffered an injury and won’t be competing for at least six months. ...

New minted UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will be defending his title in the near future. The proud Mexican-American recently claimed the heavyweight strap when he defeated former champ Brock Lesnar at UFC 121 this past October in Anaheim, Cali. Velasquez battered the South Dakota native with stinging punches in bunches that eventually left Lesnar unable to properly defend himself, which called for the TKO stoppage in the waning moments of the first round. Cain now has a new challenger on the wings in Junior dos Santos, and the two men could be meeting as soon as April, just in time to fight before a ruckus crowd in Toronto, Canada. ...

Frank Mir has faced a long and difficult road since returning to the UFC in 2006 after recovering from a gruesome motorcycle accident. Since then, Mir has fought to the top of the Heavyweight division, at one time becoming the UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion. Since that big win over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92, Mir has gone 2-2 with both losses by (T)KO. Most recently, Mir competed in a horrible three-round snooze-fest against formerly-feared striker Mirko Filipovic that saw Mir pick up the last-minute KO win. After a strong negative reaction towards a possible third encounter with Brock Lesnar, it appears that rising Heavyweight star and former “Ultimate Fighter” cast member Brendan Schaub will be the next man to challenge Frank Mir. Here are all the details. ...

ufc 124: “St. Pierre vs. Koscheck 2” was a proving point for many fighters. Thiago Alves proved that he could still hang at Welterweight and maybe even one day return to his days of dominance. Jim Miller proved that he’s ready to make a serious run at the top of the Lightweight division. Georges St. Pierre proved he’s one of the best Mixed Martial Artists of all time. But perhaps most importantly for the UFC, UFC 124 proved that Canada is still one of the most lucrative markets for MMA. Once again a new UFC attendance record has been set, and if recent rumors concerning UFC 131 in Toronto prove true, these new numbers may soon be shattered. Here are all the details. ...

A large number of people are wondering what’s next for Brock Lesnar, the former UFC Heavyweight Champion that has just recently fallen so hard from grace after receiving a humbling beating courtesy of new Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez. Opinions seem to be mixed, as they always are when talks turn to Lesnar, with some boldly proclaiming that Lesnar will be champion again before 2011 is through while others believe he’ll go running back to the WWE with his tail between his legs and face the Undertaker at WrestleMania. Not only do I think that Brock Lesnar will stay in the UFC, I also think I have the perfect next opponent for him: the winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 10, former IFL champion “Big Country” Roy Nelson. ...

ufc 121: “Lesnar vs. Velasquez” was the latest in a long line of super-cards that once again proved why the UFC is the best promotion on the planet. In the main event, Cain Velasquez trounced Brock Lesnar and became the first Mexican champion in UFC history. The event didn’t rest on that laurel, however, as Jake Shields debuted successfully at 121 while Diego Sanchez and Paulo Thiago had a great fight, in addition to the always-controversial Tito Ortiz fighting and losing to Matt Hamill. The list of fighter suspensions as well as salaries have recently been made public, here are all the details. ...

Cain Velasquez is a mystery wrapped up in an enigma. The guy rarely ever smiles, keeps to himself, humble as all hell, but is still so... Fedor-esque I guess would be the best analogy to describe the proud Mexican-American, who recently claimed a life long goal in capturing the UFC's heavyweight championship. The American Kickboxing Academy's first UFC champion captured the title from the seemingly unbeatable Brock Lesnar, in a swift TKO victory last Saturday at UFC 121. Even after the win, Cain had stated in the post-fight press conference that while happy to cinch the victory, he wasn't completely pleased with his performance. Whoever knew it would take another Mexican to bring the smile back on Cain's face, and he did just that when Velasquez appeared as a guest on the "Lopez Tonight" show last night, where he was candid and all smiles. ...

Now that the ufc has their first-ever champion of Mexican descent, a lot of fans and insiders are beginning to wonder how long it will take for the UFC to hold an event in Mexico. In the past, Mexico hasn’t seemed like that much of a priority to the UFC despite their rapid international expansion. Could this be due to the rampant political strife and ongoing war between the Mexican government and the drug cartels? Shockingly enough, UFC President Dana White sees that as just another obstacle. ...

Brock Lesnar seems to be running out of supporters at an exponential rate following his one-sided loss to Cain Velasquez at ufc 121, although what few supporters he does have are very vocal. Even I believe that Lesnar is far from done, for several reasons. Interestingly enough, the man who Lesnar scored the biggest win in his career to date against has come out in support of Brock. Despite the fact that Lesnar ruined his undefeated streak, Shane Carwin believes that the former UFC Heavyweight Champion is far from done as an elite-level Mixed Martial Artist. ...

UFC 121: “Lesnar vs. Velasquez” was a great event filled with star-studded fighters and lots of up-and-coming talent, and further proved that the UFC likes to finish strong when it comes to their end-of-year activities. The UFC was more than happy to open their wallets after the event, and awarded their traditional “Of the Night” bonuses after the event, with four men pocketing an extra $70,000 for their spirited performances. Here are all the details, courtesy of Sherdog. ...

Really, guys? People are already predicting that Brock Lesnar is going to run screaming from MMA and back to the WWE after losing to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121? O ye, of little faith. It seems that everyone is jumping off of the Lesnar Express and onto the Cain Train following Cain Velasquez’s destruction of Lesnar, with many Lesnar cynics once again trotting out how Lesnar is a failure, can’t take a punch, is a horrible human being, and all manner of other unsavory statements. To which I say: you’ve got to be kidding me, right? Just off the top of my head, here are five reasons why Brock Lesnar will continue to be a major force in the UFC’s heavyweight division. ...

Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got our first Mexican UFC Champion. At UFC 121, Cain Velasquez proved that he’s much more than just hype when he basically ran through defending champion Brock Lesnar and completed an amazing run to the top that began only two years ago, in Cain’s third professional fight as a Mixed Martial Artist. A lone Unanimous Decision victory at UFC 99 now finds itself sandwiched between five (T)KO victories, but Velasquez now faces the toughest test of his career. Junior dos Santos is finally going to be getting his shot at the UFC Heavyweight Championship, and this match-up has the makings of one of the best fights of the last several years. Here are my early thoughts on what I just know will be an epic encounter. ...

ufc 121 “Lesnar vs. Velasquez” is now in the history books, and what an event it was. We saw a new champion, close victories, big victories, and several very entertaining fights. 121 was filled to the brim with fighters that have all spent time at the top of the cards in recent years, but based on their performances at the event, it’s safe to say that some will be keeping that spot for the foreseeable future while others will be tumbling both down the cards and in relevancy. As is customary after every major PPV, here are my thoughts on what’s next for some of the big winners and losers at UFC 121: “Lesnar vs. Velasquez”. ...

Some thought that former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar was just too big and talented in wrestling for Cain Velasquez to implement his usual MMA game plan against.  In other words, the undefeated heavyweight fighter with a Mexican ancestry had been taking people down and pounding on them with a fury that has rarely, if ever, been seen in the UFC heavyweight division.  However, many doubted that he could pull the same off against Lesnar, as the big man would likely spend the majority of the fight on top of him. In the end, many, including this writer, were wrong.   Along with this, here are 3 things we learned or were able to confirm about Cain Velasquez at UFC 121. ...

ufc 121 “Lesnar vs. Velasquez” airs today live on Pay-Per-View from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. In the main event, Cain Velasquez looks to become the first Mexican UFC champion in promotional history when he takes on current UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. The event will also feature the promotional debut of former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields, and the promotional return of former long-reigning UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz. Everyone’s talking about UFC 121, so here are my picks and predictions for the night’s major fights. ...

MMA legend Renzo Gracie took some time this week to speak on-camera with Fighters.com in New York City. In this clip, Gracie shares his thoughts and predictions on all the main card fights at UFC 121. Find out why he is picking Jake Shields over Martin Kampmann plus his thoughts on Brock Lesnar v. Cain Velasquez. Stay tuned to Fighters.com for Part 2 of our video interview where we talk about Matt Hughes, Ricardo Almeida, and the upcoming Frankie Edgar v. Gray Maynard lightweight title fight.  Coming soon. Click through to watch the video. ...

When it comes to the UFC and new partnerships, many of the pieces published nowadays focus on international markets: signing new TV deals, online deals, and things of that nature. But the war for mainstream acceptance in the US is far from over, and the UFC knows this full well. Recently the UFC announced an exclusive partnership with Boost Mobile, naming the cell phone company as the “official wireless partner” of the UFC.  Here are all the details. ...

There is a saying in college and professional basketball that goes … “You can’t teach height.” The point being, is you can teach a player to shoot, dribble, pass, set picks, play defense, run a fast break, and all the basics of the sport, however you can’t teach a player to get taller.  A seven-foot player has certain abilities and opportunities that are unique to him, such as, easy lay-ups, easy rebounds, passing above the zone D, blocking shots … due to height. Per MMA, I will now originate a like-minded term…

You can’t teach Brock!

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