Season 12 coaches of "The Ultimate Fighter" Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck have been expected to tangle with one another at UFC 124, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in a welterweight clash. Champion GSP will look to make his fifth successful title defense against foe Koscheck. The two had met previously at UFC 74, where the American Kickboxing Academy product was riding a 5-fight win streak inside the cage coming into the bout, meanwhile, "Rush" was coming off of a disappointing and shocking knockout loss to the unheralded Matt Serra at UFC 69. While competitive in spots, St. Pierre was able to dominate the wrestling department against the former NCAA champion, en route to a unanimous decision victory. ...

While the ufc is the largest and most popular organization on the planet in the realm of mixed martial arts, other promotions are now giving the chance for the true veterans of the sport to either start all over again, or continue their way back to the top. Israel FC, an upstart promotion out of--you guessed it--Israel has began to take on a steady stream of veterans in for their promotional debut in what is turning out to be an all star cast of competitors. ...

For someone who once approached the upcoming video game “EA Sports MMA” with an incredible amount of hesitation, now more and more I’m thinking that October 19 can’t get here soon enough. In order to generate interest and encourage fans to open their wallets and put down a pre-order, EA Sports is revealing the entire roster of the game on a week-by-week, division-by-division basis. The Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight roster has already been revealed, and recently the Middleweights took center stage. EA Sports also recently revealed a teaser image of a famous venue that has yet to see a Mixed Martial Arts event. ...

UFC Hall of Famer “The Hammer” Mark Coleman (16-10) and former UFC welterweight champion “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (19-8) have been cut by the UFC following losses at UFC 109 in Las Vegas last Saturday. ...

UFC 109 took place last night and was an event I did a few articles on here. I wanted to take the time to eat some crow and give my thoughts on the event. First let me start by saying I was 100% wrong about Chael Sonnen (24-20-1). He dominated Fighters.com fourth-ranked “Great” Nate Marquardt (29-9-2). This is the first time we saw Nate unable to do anything for 14 minutes. He looked a bit lost off his back and other than two guillotine attempts he had nothing to offer in the way of submission offense. Congratulations to Chael for proving me wrong. ...

I thought I would sit down and make my picks for UFC 109 today. We usually make picks on MMA Gospel Radio and we made a few with The Fight Pastor however I have had more time to think and these are my official picks, enjoy. ...

Today most of you will log onto the internet, check your email and Facebook and maybe post a thing or two on Twitter. This is what we do these days right? Fighters as well as promoters have taken notice and social media is beginning to have a very large impact on the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). ...

Xtreme Couture's "Phenom" Vitor Belfort (18-8) scored his bulliest victory in four-plus years TKOing Fighters.com's ninth-ranked middleweight "Ace" Rich Franklin (26-5) at 3:02 of round one in a 195-pound catch weight main event at UFC 103 in Dallas Saturday night. "Jesus, I love you," shouted Belfort in the Octagon after the fight, and in his dressing room he added,  "God gave me a gift and I'm using it.  And, I'm ready.  A lot of people thought I was done, you know, and that's what I'm bringing to this game - hope, faith, and hard work. ...

Fighters.com's eighth-ranked heavyweight “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-9) and tenth-ranked “Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski (14-7) support causes close to their heart and their legacies. On 15 August at the Britannia Arms in San Jose, Arlovski will join "Rumble" Anthony Johnson (7-2), Cung Le (6-0), and Jon Fitch (19-3) to "Knock Out Dog Fighting". ...

American Kickboxing Academy's "Quick" Mike Swick (14-2) and Xtreme Couture's "Hitman" Martin Kampmann (15-2) will fight at UFC 103 in Dallas 19 September, announced the UFC today, and the winner will be the next challenger to UFC welterweight champion "Rush" Georges St. Pierre (19-2), according to a report by MMA Junkie. Both former middlweight title prospects who dropped weight to compete at 170-pounds, neither Swick nor Kampmann have proven themselves against the UFC's established competition: former champions "Terror" Matt Serra (9-6) and Matt Hughes (41-7) and former title challengers "Pitbull" Thiago Alves (16-4) and Jon Fitch (19-3). Swick trains with Fitch and former welterweight contender Josh Koscheck (12-4) and most recently outclassed "Killa B" Ben Saunders (7-1-2) with a second round TKO at UFC 99 in Cologne last month. But, Swick's most noteworthy "W" is a unanimous decision over nails-tough "Irish Hand Grenade" Marcus Davis (16-5), who never cracked the top ten himself. ...

Fighters.com's seventh-ranked middleweight “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (18-6) won a unanimous decision over Falaniko Vitale (26-8) Friday night in Broomfield, northwest of Denver. Judges' scores were 29-28 twice and 30-27 once. After the unimpressive performance, Trigg talked retirement:  "I've got a few fights left.  I'm not ready to retire yet, but we've started preparing for that."  Trigg plugged his clothing line, Triggonomics.  "I've got a passion for fashion." Trigg landed a straight left in the first round that forced Vitale to the fence.  Trigg closed distance and hammered elbows, mostly grazing Vitale.  Vitale exploded from the fence with a combo of punches. But, that was as exciting as the fight got.  Twice in the third round, the crowd booed when it appeared the fighters had mutually agreed to take a break. "It wasn't the altitude," Trigg contended.  "It was the fact that I have a one-month old child at home.  It's hard to be an MMA family." ...

Fighters.com's seventh-ranked middleweight "Twinkle Toes" Frank Trigg (17-6) made a successful comebackwith an anti-climactic unanimous decision over Makoto Takimoto (4-5) in Saitama, north of Tokyo, 25 August and plans to fight Falaniko Vitale (26-8) 3 October in Denver. Trigg also welcomed a son, Stone, to his family in September.  Congratulations from Fighters.com. The remainder of the Middleweight Top Ten was on holiday last month...well, at least at middleweight. Top contender "Ace" Rich Franklin (23-3) made a successful return to light heavyweight in Atlanta 6 September.  He remains wishy-washy about his future in either division. But, before Franklin could move-up to 205, Fighters.com's Middleweight Champion "Spider" Anderson Silva (22-4) beat him there.  Franklin must wonder whether Silva is going to move to Cincinnati and start teaching high school math too. Silva is preparing to defend his Fighters.com and UFC titles versus "Predator" Patrick Cote (13-4) in Chicago 25 October. Third-ranked "Ely" Paulo Filho's (16-0) WEC title defense versus Chael Sonnen (20-9-1) was postponed from tonight to 5 November due to Hurrican Ike. Fourth-ranked EliteXC champ "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (16-4) is rumored to be considering a rematch versus Joey Villasenor (26-6), whom Lawler KO'd in 22 seconds in 2006. ...

Fighters.com's Sixth-ranked lightweight Eiji Mitsuoka (13-5-2) popped Rodrigo Damm (8-2) with an overhand right in the first round Sunday night in Saitama, north of Tokyo, then slid a rear naked choke around the BJJ player's throat for the tap at 3:13 of the round. Mitsuoka advanced to the second round of the Sengoku lightweight tournament, the winner of which will fight second-ranked "Fireball Kid" Takanori Gomi (29-3). Gomi headlined Sengoku's fourth battle with a narrow decision over DEEP Lightweight Champion Seung Hwan Bang (5-2). It was Bang who provided the bang in his stand-up exchanges with the notorious big-puncher Gomi. But, Gomi edged Bang with stinging leg kicks and championship conditioning for the decision. ...

Strikeforce announced this week that it will hold an event 3 October at the Broomfield Event Center in Denver, CO, titled Payback, to follow up its September show at the Playboy Mansion. The event will feature a rematch between welterweights “Bang” Duane Ludwig and “Squeeze” Sam Morgan (19-10). Morgan knocked out Ludwig in 52 seconds at Ring of Fire 16 in 2005. Denver-native Ludwig lost his last fight to Fighters.com’s third-ranked lightweight “Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-3). Morgan is coming off back-to-back TKO losses, first to current Strikeforce Middleweight Champion and April's Fighter of the Month Cung Le (6-0) in November, then to “Semtex” Paul Daley (18-6-2) in January. ...

The middleweight top ten whirls like a dervish across the UFC, WEC, EliteXC, DREAM, Sengoku, and Strikeforce, leaving Fighters.com's Middleweight Champion "Spider" Anderson Silva (22-4) to defend versus "Predator" Patrick Cote (13-4) in Chicago 25 October. The UFC seemed intent that sixth-ranked "Thunder" Yushin Okami (21-4-1) miss his de facto UFC top contender challenge of Silva, marketing Cote versus "Cachorrao" Ricardo Almeida (9-3) in Las Vegas 5 July as an eliminator fight even before Okami pulled up lame with a broken hand. Cote won by split decision. ...

Fighters.com’s seventh-ranked middleweight “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (16-6) will face Makoto Takimoto (4-4) at World Victory Road’s Sengoku 4 on 24 August in Saitama.  Trigg confirmed the match to MMA Junkie Monday. Trigg last fought in December, submitting “Babyface” Edwin Dewees (35-12) with a first-round kimura at an HDNet Fights event. Takimoto, an Olympic gold medalist in judo, most recently faced “Cyborg” Evangelista Santos (16-11) at Sengoku 1 in March and was submitted in the first round via Achilles lock. ...

Affliction MMA officially announced Monday that Jay Glazer, "Twinkle Toes" Frank Trigg, “Big” John McCarthy and Michael Buffer will make up its broadcast team for its 19 July debut event. Glazer will provide the play-by-play commentary. He is a senior writer for Fox Sports, sideline reporter for NFL on Fox, and co-hosted PRIDE FC shows on Fox Sports Net. Trigg will be colour commentator. Trigg (16-6), a PRIDE and UFC veteran and Fighters.com’ seventh-ranked middleweight, co-hosted PRIDE on FSN with Glazer, and currently co-hosts MMA Weekly and TAGG radio shows. McCarthy, as previously reported, will commentate and also conduct interviews. Michael Buffer will be the ring announcer. Buffer announces boxing and professional wrestling matches and is known for his catchphrase, “Let’s get ready to rumble!” Mauro Ranallo, who was previously believed to be part of the team, was not mentioned in the press release. ...

It's with a heavy heart that Fighters.com's June Middleweight Rankings saw legendary "Hollywood" Dan Henderson (22-7) fall from the top ten. But, the cold, hard ledger reveals Hendo' hasn't had a win at 185-pounds in two years. Hendo's previous rank was filled by tenth-ranked "Mayhem" Jason Miller (20-6), falling a notch to newly ninth-ranked "Jacare" Ronaldo Souza (9-1). Souza debuted in the top ten after pulling off a tight two-round unanimous decision over Miller in DREAM's Middleweight Grand Prix 15 June. Also in June Japanese action, "Grabaka Hitman" Kazuo Misaki (20-8-2) cemented his seventh ranking with a UD over "Pink Pounder" Logan Clark at Sengoku. Misaki now seeks revenge over new Sengoku add-on, seventh-ranked "Twinkle Toes" Frank Trigg (16-6). No Sengoku match-up has been announced for Trigg; but, one would assume Misaki's home nation promotion wants to match the old enemies as soon as Trigg is ready. Sixth-ranked "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (15-4) was pulling away from "Hands of Stone" Scott Smith (13-4) in the third round of their EliteXC title fight 31 May in Newark, west of New York City, when a thumb to Smith's eye rendered the result a No Contest. Lawler held steady in June, as did the entire middleweight top five. ...

Fighters.com's seventh-ranked middleweight "Twinkle Toes" Frank Trigg (16-6) confirmed to Fighters.com that he is negotiating to fight at World Victory Road's Japan-based Sengoku event. "There are no details as of yet for the WVR card," Trigg said Monday afternoon.  He also quashed rumours that he will fight "Cyborg" Evangelista Santos (16-11) on 27 June's Strikeforce card in San Jose.  "I have no Strikeforce fight coming up." WVR announced after Sengoku Third Battle Sunday in Saitama, north of Tokyo, that the promotion was "in negotiations" with Trigg. In February 2007, Trigg won a UD over eighth-ranked “Grabaka Hitman” Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2) at PRIDE 333. Misaki now fights in Sengoku and challenged, "I would like to get revenge on [Trigg] in the near future." Trigg tapped "Babyface" Edwin Dewees (35-12) in a Kimura in the first round on HDNet Fights in December. Trigg was announced for DREAM's Middleweight Grand Prix, but denied he agreed to participating and has not fought for the Sengoku rival. ...

Fighters.com's top-ranked middleweight "Spider" Anderson Silva (21-4) has sucked the air out of this division. In April, second-ranked "Ace" Rick Franklin (23-3) finessed out of an armbar executed by TUF champ "Serial Killer" Travis Lutter (9-5) to pick apart the Texan in two rounds, but Franklin has no where to go after two stoppages to Silva. As mentioned in 3 May's Bushido Sheet, Franklin was offered a main event versus tenth-ranked "Hollywood" Dan Henderson (22-7) at UFC 85, but turned down the fight. Franklin continues to consider interesting match-ups at 205-pounds. Hendo' dropped a rank in May after his 2006 UD over eighth-ranked "Grabaka Hitman" Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2) fell from his two-year record leaving "Hollywood" without a win at 185-pounds in two years. His March stoppage to Silva leaves him with few good match-ups but for Franklin.  At this point, Hendo' just needs a win in the Octagon. The trail on the "Hitman" Misaki has gone cold since his March submission of Siyar Bahadurzada (13-2-1) at Sengoku. Third-ranked "Ely" Paulo Filho (16-0) is recovering from a substance abuse problem in Brazil. He's scheduled for a rematch with Chael Sonnen (20-9-1) to defend his WEC title, but don't hold your breath for a Silva versus Filho title unification bout. Filho and Silva are friends and refuse to fight each other; and, Filho plans to move to 205-pounds win, lose, or draw to Sonnen. Fourth-ranked Yoshihiro Akiyama's (10-1) run at the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix championship ended before it began when he re-injured a nasal bone fracture in training, causing him to withdraw. Fifth-ranked "Thunder" Yushin Okami (22-4) remains the most likely candidate to take a swat at "Spider", but no official word yet. Sixth-ranked "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (15-4) may be the face of the division when his EliteXC title defense versus "Hands of Stone" Scott Smith (13-4) is broadcast on national television across North America at the end of May. Ninth-ranked "Mayhem" Jason Miller (21-5) debuted before the Nipponese in May with a first-round TKO of Katsuyori Shibata (2-4), but the "W" does little to propel him forward in the division. May Middleweight Rankings 1. "Spider" Anderson Silva (21-4) “Spider” fights like he’s hacked the matrix, making top-tier opponents look like they’re clumsily swatting at a web. In March he choked out former PRIDE champ Hendo’. His two-year record has both volume and quality with a “W” next to each challenger. 2. "Ace" Rich Franklin (23-3) Despite two stoppages to Silva, Franklin is still the best of the rest, even according to Silva himself. "Ace" finessed from a Travis Lutter armbar to pick the TUF champ apart in April and outwrestled notoriously powerful Okami for a decision last July. 3. "Ely" Paulo Filho (16-0) Filho's perfect rap sheet lists solid foes, but only an ’06 KO of Misaki among top-tenners. Chael Sonnen gave him hell in a controversial stoppage, but Filho missed the March rematch. A strong comeback and top-ten challenge will solidify Filho’s ranking. 4. Yoshihiro Akiyama (10-1) The Zainichi judoka ran the K-1 gauntlet of weight-mismatched spectacles before bursting into 185-pound contention with a KO of Denis Kang. Akiyama drew Misaki on NYE, but the end was deemed illegal and the result a NC. He also needs a strong comeback. 5. "Thunder" Yushin Okami (22-4) Okami has been most active among the top ten in the last two years and comes off a knockout of former UFC champ Evan Tanner.  His only UFC loss was to Franklin, but could’ve conceivably been a “W” had he went after “Ace” before the final two minutes. 6. "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (15-4) “Ruthless” rides a four-fight “W” streak since being choked out by Miller in ’06, including a KO of Trigg and stoppages of solid fighters Murilo Rua and Joey Villasenor. Upcoming versus Scott Smith won’t prove much unless he loses. 7. "Twinkle Toes" Frank Trigg (16-6) With all Trigg does, you may have missed his comeback at middleweight the last two years, starting with a TKO of Miller and a UD over Misaki. Lawler iced him at Icon, but he’s returned with a quick stoppage of Edwin Dewees. He’s my division wildcard to watch. 8. "Grabaka Hitman" Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2) Misaki has made successful hits on Denis Kang and Hendo’, but also dropped decisions to Trigg and Hendo’ and a stoppage to Filho. Regardless, he’s won and lost among the division’s best, and may have added a “W” versus Akiyama if PRIDE rules ruled K-1. 9. "Mayhem" Jason Miller (21-5) Always entertaining “Mayhem” has thrown in a stoppage over Lawler and a stoppage by Trigg into a mixed bag of competition the last two years. 10. "Hollywood" Dan Henderson (22-7) "Hollywood" served Silva his first losing round in two years, but couldn't follow-up in round two.  Yo-yoing between weight classes has resulted in a mixed record for the last PRIDE champion in two weight classes.  If he wants 185, he’ll have to commit. ...

Fighters.com’s seventh-ranked middleweight “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (16-6) has been dropped from DREAM.2's Middleweight Grand Prix. Trigg had insisted to MMA Junkie over the weekend that he had never signed to fight on the card. "Twinkle Toes" had been matched versus BJJ stud "Jacare” Ronaldo Souza (7-1). Souza will now fight American amateur wrestler Ian Murphy, who has never competed in professional mixed martial arts. Murphy wrestled collegiately at Cal State Fullerton. Trigg was the only Fighters.com top ten ranked middleweight in the Grand Prix. ...

Fighters.com's fourth-ranked middleweight Yoshihiro Akiyama (10-1) has pulled out of 29 April's DREAM.2 Middleweight Grand Prix in Tokyo. The judoka re-injured a nasal fracture originally suffered in a New Year's Eve No Contest with "Grabaka Hitman" Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2). At a press conference in Tokyo Monday, DREAM's producer Keiichi Sashahara announced, "Even a slight blow will cause such heavy bleeding that will have every doctor stop the fight." Though DREAM continues to list an opening round Grand Prix match-up between Fighters.com's seventh-ranked 185-pounder "Twinkle Toes" Frank Trigg (16-6) and "Jacare" Ronaldo Souza (7-1), Trigg denied to MMA Junkie that he's agreed fight for DREAM. With both Fighters.com top ten middleweights pulled from the Grand Prix, the favorite to win is Canadian Denis Kang (29-9-1); but, Kang is 1-2 in his last three fights.  In the first round, he battles surging Armenian Gegard Mousasi (20-2-1), who has won seven straight. ...

DREAM has announced additional fights on their 29 April DREAM.2 card featuring a Middleweight Grand Prix. Fighters.com's seventh-ranked middleweight "Twinkle Toes" Frank Trigg (16-6) will welcome Brazilian jiu-jitsu stud "Jacare" Ronaldo Souza (7-1) to the big leagues. Trigg, a former WFA and Icon champion, is the favorite to win the tournament.  He comes off a 1:40 Kimura submission of former UFC tough guy "Babyface" Edwin Dewees (34-12) in December. "Jacare" is on a seven-fight "W" streak after losing his MMA debut by KO in 2003.  The ADCC absolute division runner-up last submitted Wendell Santos (0-1) in October.  Souza has never fought competition like "Twinkle Toes". "The Punk" Ikuhisa Minowa (39-27-8) will stand across the DREAM ring from Taiei Kin (2-2) on the same card. Croation "Benkei" Zelg Galesic (7-3) has been matched against Russian Magomed Sultanakhmedov (4-1). Finalyly, veteran PRIDE and K-1 judoka Dong Sik Yoon (3-4) will fight Shungo Oyama (7-10) in the tournament's opening round. Three other Middleweight Grand Prix fights were announced previously. ...

In the ocean, the depth at which the water is suddenly much colder is called the "thermocline".  Most MMA division top tens have one, where the quality of fighter suddenly drops considerably.  The middleweight division has two thermoclines.  Guess where. 1. "Spider" Anderson Silva (21-4) “Spider” fights like he’s hacked the matrix, making top-tier opponents look like they’re clumsily swatting at a web. In March he choked out former PRIDE champ Hendo’. His two-year record has both volume and quality with a “W” next to each challenger. 2. "Ace" Rich Franklin (22-3) Despite two Silva stoppage losses, Franklin is still the best of the rest, even according to Silva himself. “Ace” outwrestled notoriously powerful Okami for a decision last July and out-classed “The Athlete” Jason MacDonald before that. 3. "Ely" Paulo Filho (16-0) Filho's perfect rap sheet lists solid foes, but only an ’06 KO of Misaki among top-tenners. Chael Sonnen gave him hell in a controversial stoppage, but Filho missed the March rematch. A strong comeback and top-ten challenge will solidify Filho’s ranking. 4. Yoshihiro Akiyama (10-1) The Zainichi judoka ran the K-1 gauntlet of weight-mismatched spectacles before bursting into 185-pound contention with a KO of Denis Kang. Akiyama drew Misaki on NYE, but the end was deemed illegal and the result a NC. He also needs a strong comeback. 5. "Thunder" Yushin Okami (22-4) Okami has been most active among the top ten in the last two years and comes off a knockout of former UFC champ Evan Tanner.  His only UFC loss was to Franklin, but could’ve conceivably been a “W” had he went after “Ace” before the final two minutes. 6. "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (15-4) “Ruthless” rides a four-fight “W” streak since being choked out by Miller in ’06, including a KO of Trigg and stoppages of solid fighters Murilo Rua and Joey Villasenor. Upcoming versus Scott Smith won’t prove much unless he loses. 7. "Twinkle Toes" Frank Trigg (16-6) With all Trigg does, you may have missed his comeback at middleweight the last two years, starting with a TKO of Miller and a UD over Misaki. Lawler iced him at Icon, but he’s returned with a quick stoppage of Edwin Dewees. He’s my division wildcard to watch. 8. "Grabaka Hitman" Kazuo Misaki (19-8-2) Misaki has made successful hits on Denis Kang and Hendo’, but also dropped decisions to Trigg and Hendo’ and a stoppage to Filho. Regardless, he’s won and lost among the division’s best, and may have added a “W” versus Akiyama if PRIDE rules ruled K-1. 9. "Hollywood" Dan Henderson (22-7) "Hollywood" served Silva his first losing round in two years, but couldn't follow-up in round two.  Yo-yoing between weight classes has resulted in a mixed record for the last PRIDE champion in two weight classes.  If he wants 185, he’ll have to commit. 10. "Mayhem" Jason Miller (20-5) Always entertaining “Mayhem” has thrown in a stoppage over Lawler and a stoppage by Trigg into a mixed bag of competition the last two years. ...