For the first part of my look at ufc 136 called “A First Look At UFC 136”, I took an in-depth look at three match-ups that would more than likely anchor the UFC 136 main card and undercard. It was the first three of six major match-ups that were all announced nearly at the same time for the increasingly-epic UFC 136 event. Now it’s time to focus on the other three matches, and they’re all huge: we’ve got Frank Edgar vs. Gray Maynard for the UFC Lightweight Championship, Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian for the UFC Featherweight Championship, and Melvin Guillard vs. Joe Lauzon. Let’s dive right in. ...

It’s always a tough pill to swallow when an exciting fighter comes into a top-level bout only to under-perform and get resoundingly beaten. This, unfortunately, has been the case for much of Joe Lauzon’s UFC career. Lauzon has looked amazing in several UFC bouts only to falter when put against top-level competition, and history seemed to repeat itself at UFC 123, when a good first round by Lauzon was tarnished by a horrible second round that saw Lauzon emerge out of his corner like a shambling zombie. His opponent, fast-rising star George Sotiropoulos, quickly pounced on the opportunity and secured a fight-ending Kimura submission. So, what went wrong this time? Here’s what Lauzon himself had to say. ...

Following last nights return to the state of Michigan, 4 fighters were awarded additional bonuses for their efforts. UFC 123 took place in the suburbs of Detroit, at the Palace of Auburn Hills before a stellar crowd. The main event of the evening was billed as a battle between two former light heavyweight champions in Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida. While the 205-pound match up was the main affair, a few men shined a little bit brighter then the rest, and have since been the hot topic of discussion, and deservedly so. ...

What’s next? It’s a subject that is on a lot of people’s minds now that ufc 123: “Rampage vs. Machida” is in the history books. What does the future hold after a great night of fights that saw several interesting stories come and go, with several great fights here and there? If you’ve followed me at all, you’d know that I simply can’t resist getting my two cents in. So here we go again, fans and friends: get ready for the next edition of my “What’s Next” column, where I predict the future for the big winners and losers of UFC 123. Let’s get started. ...

It’s easy as 123, fans and friends. UFC 123, that is. “Rampage vs. Machida” is now a thing of the past. It was a night filled with surprises and a not-inconsiderate amount of controversy. In the main event, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton Jackson won against fellow former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida in a fight that even “Rampage” himself felt was so incredibly close that it deserves an immediate rematch. In addition to that, the long-standing rivalry between former UFC Welterweight Champions BJ Penn and Matt Hughes came to a dramatic end at UFC 123, with Penn KO'ing Hughes before the half-minute mark. Here are the full results as well as some commentary for UFC 123: “Rampage vs. Machida”. ...

This weekend marks one of the last major UFC shows of the year and of the decade, as the promotion looks to put on UFC 123: “Rampage vs. Machida” on November 20. The main event sees two former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions clash in an epic showdown with serious title implications, while the co-main event sees two former UFC Welterweight Champions meet for a third and final time. As is customary for any major MMA event, I’m bringing the crystal ball back out and giving my official picks and predictions for all the major fights of UFC 123: “Rampage vs. Machida”. Let’s get to it. ...

In a duel between former champions, light heavyweight's Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Lyoto Machida are now officially set to face each other later this month, serving as the headliners for UFC 123. The 11-bout card has been made official by the promotion today, including two-televised Spike TV bouts serving as the lead in for what is shaping up to be a good night of fights. Along with the highly anticipated light heavyweight match up, a pair of former welterweight champion's are set to face one another for a third time in order to put to rest a rivalry that has lasted for over 7 years, when BJ Penn meets UFC Hall of Famer, Matt Hughes in the co-main event of the evening. ...

Dan Lauzon (13-4), brother of UFC lightweight Joe Lauzon, and youngest ever UFC competitor begins the long road back to the big time on December 2^nd in Lincoln, Rhode Island when he headlines the “Snow Brawl” facing Damien “The Omen” Trites (5-3).  Snow Brawl is promoted by Jimmy Crutchfield’s CES MMA and is his third event. It is back to the regional circuit for Dan Lauzon, who many tabbed as an MMA wunderkind when he first broke on the national scene at UFC 64 fighting Spencer Fisher. ...

November is a busy month.  We have a big political election this week, something called the World Series - was a big hit - in San Francisco at least, a menu full of pro and college football, and then Thanksgiving to round out the month.  What should not be lost amongst the chop chop of daily life, is a plate full of spectacular MMA this month.  Rampage is back at it, Matt Brown fights for his UFC career survival, and Joe Lauzon may have the toughest opponent of them all this month.  Check out five fights you MUST watch in November. ...

An exciting lightweight match up has been added to the seemingly stacked UFC 127 card, which will be taking place in February of next year, in Las Vegas, Nev. The headliner, a rumored bout pitting UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva against former teammate Vitor Belfort is tentatively scheduled for the event, as well as light heavyweight bouts pitting former champions Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin against one another, as well as Ryan Bader versus phenom, Jon "Bones" Jones. Said lightweight match up, which will be Kenny Florian against Evan Dunham, is a fight that no true mixed martial arts fan would want to pass up. ...

ufc 123, which takes place at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan, will be host to a great night of fights. While your still wiping away the crust from your eyes after watching UFC 119, try to have something to look forward to. While there are no titles on the line come November, what we do have is an exciting and dynamic night of fights. The UFC just made official today the fight card, which will include a headlining bout pitting former light heavyweight champions Quinton Jackson versus Lyoto Machida, in a contenders bout. ...

Some may remember Jason Reinhardt as the guy who got choked out of "The Ultimate Fighter" veteran Joe Lauzon, back at UFC 78 in November of 2007, in just 74 seconds of the opening round. What you probably didn't know, is that before his one-and-done stint with the UFC, was that Jason was an undefeated fighter, who regularly competed in both the bantamweight and featherweight divisions. ...

An explosive lightweight match up has been added to ufc 123 for November in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The UFC's first trip since UFC 9, which was headlined by estranged Hall of Famer's Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock in what was then considered a Super Fight, the world's largest organization will bring a headlined Pay Per View card featuring former champions Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Lyoto Machida. ...

The UFC’s choice to air select preliminary fights from select Pay-Per-Views free on Spike TV remains a novel idea that should work in theory but has rarely worked in practice. For one, new programming is generally more interesting to watch than repeats, so new UFC as opposed to old Spike TV reruns should be a formula for success. Also, these are preliminary fights to major Pay-Per-Views, so it should be a great incentive to get fans to order the Pay-Per-View itself. It’s a win-win for both Spike, who can look forward to a ratings bump, and the UFC, who can look forward to a buyrate bump. However, the recent UFC 118 preliminary fights delivered the lowest ratings yet seen for these “Prelims Live” specials, putting the entire effectiveness of the process in doubt. ...

While UFC 118 may not have been the best MMA card of 2010, it certainly was one of the most interesting. And even if it doesn’t take the top spot for “MMA Event of the Year”, I’d say that it easily makes Top 10, perhaps even Top 5. Some of the preliminary matches were outright boring, but then you had Joe Lauzon put on the performance of his life while Nate Diaz took one giant step forward towards getting out of the shadow of his brother Nick. Then of course you had the shocking main event fights: Gray Maynard lived up to his nickname “The Bully” by dominating Kenny Florian in a way that few other men were ever able to do, James Toney was sent packing back to pro boxing via an Arm Triangle Choke by UFC Legend Randy Couture, and in the main event, Frank Edgar solidified his position as the best Lightweight in the world by putting on an absolute clinic against BJ Penn. Here are the official results for UFC 118: “Edgar vs. Penn 2”, as well as my analysis of several of the major fights. ...

While speaking recently to Fighters.com about his upcoming fight at UFC 118 against Gabe Ruediger, Joe Lauzon also shed light on what might have been wrong with BJ Penn in his loss to Frankie Edgar last spring.  Lauzon has trained in Hawaii with Penn and Penn is working this week at Lauzon Mixed Martial Arts in the Boston area while preparing for Edgar/Penn 2 Saturday night.  Looking back, Lauzon felt his buddy was primed for a great showing vs. Edgar the first time around. ...

After starting his UFC career 3-0, Joe Lauzon has gone 2-2 in his last four fights and is chomping to start up a new win streak and get back in the lightweight title discussion.  At UFC 118, the Brockton, MA native will face Gabe Ruediger, his former Ultimate Fighter 5 housemate in the first ever MMA card at the Boston Garden.  Ruediger replaced Terry Etim who withdrew due to a rib injury.  Lauzon, a former computer tech specialist, spoke with Fighters.com about UFC 118, his favourite song from T.I., and why windows PC’s get the dreaded blue screen of death. ...

UFC lightweights "J-Lau" Joe Lauzon (18-4) and "Hands of Stone" Sam Stout (14-5-1) will matchup at UFC 108  in Las Vegas January 2, according to MMAmania and since reported by other publications. ...

Lightweight Hermes Franca (19-7) will face “J-Lau” Joe Lauzon (17-4) at UFC Fight Night 17 expected to take place 7 February in Las Vegas, Franca confirmed to MMA Junkie Wednesday. Franca came back from two straight losses to win a unanimous decision over “Maximus” Marcus Aurelio (16-7) at UFC 90 in October. Lauzon tallied a win over Kyle Bradley (13-6) at Fight Night 15 in September. ...

"J-Lau" Joe Lauzon (16-4) announced Saturday that he will fight lightweight Kyle Bradley (13-5) in Omaha 17 September. Bradley took a man-sized 33-second ass whoopin' from welterweight "Lights Out" Chris Lytle (25-15-5), but had taken the fight at 170-pounds on short notice. "J-Lau" has fewer excuses for the thrashing he suffered through in April courtesy of Fighters.com's seventh-ranked lightweight "KenFlo" Kenny Florian (9-3). Omaha will host SpikeTV-broadcast UFC Fight Night 14 headlined by another lightweight thriller between TUF 6 Champ Mac Danzig (18-4-1) and "Carpenter" Clay Guida (23-9). ...

While chatting with Fighters.com’s ninth-ranked lightweight “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (9-3) Tuesday afternoon, he broached two myths that frustrate him and I.  Let’s quash them. Myth one: “I can beat Rich Franklin.” Or, whoever you have a delusional cage fantasy about.  I only say second-ranked middleweight “Ace” Rich Franklin (23-3) because I live in Greater Cincinnati and most often hear his name when I reveal I write about MMA; but, I’m sure, if you live in Vancouver, it’s Denis Kang (29-10-1) and, in Boston, it’s Florian. You can’t beat any of them, even if you saw them get thrashed by another elite fighter. Neither can your cousin who just got out of jail, nor your friend who just reached brown belt in BJJ. What is it about mixed martial arts, the most grueling and graceful athletic endeavor in organized sport, that makes couch potatoes think they can put down their Cheetos, brush the orange dust from their stained fingers, and compete at an elite level? No one watches baseball and thinks they can hit a 95 mph cut fastball 450 feet like Alex Rodriguez.  No one watches gymnastics and thinks they can roll out of bed into a triple axel.  (Well…no one watches gymnastics…) UFC fighters, as well as many mixed martial artists in other promotions, are elite athletes.  They’re experts in the fighting skills of many disciplines, but that’s just where it begins.  Their cardio and strength training is as regimented and diligently-followed as the top athletes in any other sport, perhaps more so. The fact is, even if you are as skilled in martial arts as a UFC fighter, there’s a genetic element that most of us just aren’t born with.  Just like many of us will never run a 4.4 forty or bench press 700 pounds, no matter how dedicated we are. It’s often a comment from someone who’s never trained or hasn’t trained since they were in high school wrestling and doesn’t realize they’re neither 18-years old, nor in any kind of athletic shape anymore. The only thing worse than saying, “I can beat Rich Franklin,” is saying, “I still think I can beat Rich Franklin,” a week after he picks you apart like a chicken carcass in front of 22,000 at the Centre Bell.  That’s not ignorant; that’s insane. Myth two: “Kenny Florian: Not Your Average Fighter.” Again, Florian or whoever in the sport can pack a coherent sentence with more than eight words is considered unique.  Often, it makes a headline in main stream media; but, I’ve seen it creep into MMA media too. Elite fighters are as intelligent as computer geeks.  Wait,that’s “J-Lau” Joe Lauzon (16-4).  Well, they’re as intelligent as people with master's degrees.  Well, that’s Rich Franklin.  OK, they’re as intelligent as lawyers.  Oops…that’s first-ranked heavyweight “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) and "Hungarian Nightmare" Christian Wellisch (8-3).  As intelligent as Ph.D.s?  Yeah…that’s “The Snowman” Jeff Monson (24-7) and UFC fighter Terry Martin (16-4).  None of them are unique among fighters in their intellect, they're just a few names off the top of my head. I think the stereotype of the meathead fighter stems from a self-consciousness that prevents some people from allowing for a guy who can both kick their ass and outwit them in a debate on ontological empiricism.  It's a way some people protect their own egos by reducing fighters to cavemen, regardless of the truth. Now, of course there are meatheads in MMA; but, if you scan the top of the sport, most of the elite fighters are college-educated, artistically gifted, or intellectually interesting. Intelligence is not unique among mixed martial artists, just like ignorance isn't unique among those who're surprised to meet a fighter who isn't beating their chest. Notes from around MMA * Rich Franklin (23-3) turned down a fight versus ninth-ranked “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (22-7) that was offered while the UFC rushed to bolster their London fight card after seventh-ranked light heavyweight “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-5) was pulled from the main event with a pulled hamstring. * Despite Franklin’s agent Monte Cox’s assertions on MMAWeekly Radio, Franklin is not considering a career move to 205-pounds, but would consider a one-off in the heavier division “if it was an interesting match-up”.  But for an unlikely challenge of UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and first-ranked light heavyweight “Rampage” Quinton Jackson, what meaningful fight could lure Franklin into a one-off?  Maybe a rematch with “The Dragon” Lyoto Machida (12-0)?  That's interesting... * TUF 7 contestant Brandon Sene (2-0) was robbed on Wednesday night’s episode of the the UFC’s reality program.  Fighters.com scored both of the first two rounds 10-9 for Sene, who was more aggressive and intent on inflicting damage to his opponent, Dante Rivera (10-2).  BJJ player Rivera was able to take the fight to the mat, but managed few serious attempts to end the fight with a submission and was largely unable to avoid Sene’s striking from his back.  Fighters.com did score the final, sudden-death round 10-9 for Rivera; but, the fight should’ve never made it to sudden death. * The Tennessee House of Representatives will vote Tuesday on a bill to create a state athletic commission with the goal of attracting a UFC fight card and the $100 million in revenue that the big show’s events generate for local economies.  Now, which Tennessee native son might like to belt out a howl in a main event on the Mississippi? *  According to the Winnipeg Sun, “Road Warrior” Jonathan Goulet (22-9) and his girlfriend will put the $75,000 bonus he won for “Fight of the Night” versus Kuniyoshi Hironaka (11-5) at UFC 83 towards a down payment on a home.  Goulet hits the road to London 7 June to fight Paul Kelly (7-0). * UFC glove maker, Century, revealed to Fighters.com contributor Jason Wawro that the legend of Brock Lesnar’s (1-1) 4X-sized glove is a myth.  Despite rumors that Lesnar was the first MMA fighter to wear 4X gloves since “Techno Goliath” Hong Man Choi (1-1), a Century executive claimed, “I have the receipts right here and Brock Lesnar, Cheick Kongo, and Heath Herring all ordered 3X-sized gloves.” * When asked about the CBS deal to air EliteXC MMA events, Fox Sports president Ed Goren replied that his company hasn't struck a deal to air the sport because, "We don't need money that badly."  This from an executive of a company popular for such high-brow entertainment as When Animals Attack! and Celebrity Boxing featuring matches between Todd Bridges and Vanilla Ice and Paula Jones and Tonya Harding. ...

"KenFlo" Kenny Florian (9-3) finished fellow Bostonian lightweight "J-Lau" Joe Lauzon (16-4) in a vicious pounding from the full mount at 3:28 of round two in the main event of Ultimate Fight Night Live in Denver tonight. The former title challenger from Sityodtong, Florian, dominated the quirky computer tech. "KenFlo" opened a gash on the back of Lauzon's head with elbows from his full guard in the first round, but was warned by referee Herb Dean for striking behind the head. It was a call Dean missed while refereeing a lightweight fight between "Cleat" Rich Crunkilton (16-2) and Sergio Gomez (7-2) at last week's Las Vegas WEC event. After the stand-up, Lauzon clinched for a takedown and stepped over Florians body in half-guard for a knee bar that turned into a Achilles lock that Florian yanked free from. Lauzon snatched an ankle again and reclined into a heel hook that Florian was again able to wriggle free from to end the round. The frantic mat work and elevation exhausted "J-Lau" for the second round and Florian was able to score a takedown into full mount that Lauzon never bucked free from. Florian poured on a cocktail of elbows, straights, and hammerfists from the mount, but Lauzon defended.  Dean called an end to the fight after it was clear Lauzon was to spent to transition out of the bad spot. In a grueling war game between undefeated wrestlers, "The Bully" Gray Maynard (5-0) won a decisive unanimous decision over "The Answer" Frank Edgar (8-1). Maynard set the pace in the first round by stuffing Edgar's takedown attempts and deciding when he'd take the inevitable wrestling match to the mat. Edgar made it a scrap in the second round with crisp 1-2 combos that scored, but Maynard continued to stuff "The Answer's" shot and score his own powerful takedowns, though neither fighter did much more than molest the other on the mat. Edgar was gassed by round three and the bigger "Bully" slammed Edgar three times to convince all three judges he was dominant. Earlier in the night, "Rumble" Anthony Johnson (5-1) pummeled TUF finalist Tom Speer (9-3) over 51 seconds, knocking home the stoppage "W" with a clean straight right that slumped Speer against the cage. "I'm crunk right now, I'm real crunk," said Johnson after the fight. Johnson began the end with a left kick to Speer's head as the wrestler attempted to shoot, followed by a knee that backed Speer to the cage.   Speer was out on his feet when he absorbed the death blow. In a welterweight clash, "The Pitbull" Thiago Alves (14-3) crumpled "The Heat" Karo Parisyan (18-5) with a left knee strike to Parisyan's head in the second round as Parisyan sought the clinch. At 34-seconds of the round, referee Steve Mazzagatti dove across the downed fighter as he defended Alves's follow-up pounding. "The referee did a good job," Alves claimed after Parisyan disputed the stoppage.  "He was out!" Parisyan had won round one with deft, one-off striking versus the American Top Team trained kickboxer, who appeared wary of Parisyan's takedowns.  In his UFC debut last February, "The Barbarian" Tim Boetsch (7-2) surprised David Heath (7-3) with an onslaught ending in a first-round Boetsch TKO. Tonight, "The Hammer" Matt Hamill (4-1) weathered Boetsch's first round avalanche of strikes to reveal "The Barbarian" couldn't continue his barrage passed the first five minutes. Hamill began the fight with a powerful double-leg takedown, but couldn't capitalize before the referee stood the fighters. Boetsch proved effective with a repeating knee strike that split Hamill's lip like a ripe peach, splashing blood across Hamill's chest. In round two, Boetsch heaved heavily from his corner.  He shot for a single-leg takedown and held Hamill's leg as the champion wrestler hovered over him hammering punches.  Boetsch rolled into guard, but had nothing left as "The Hammer" finished him at 1:25 with undefended plugs to Boetsch's face. Fast-rising Nathan Diaz (9-2) submitted Kurt Pellegrino (11-4) in an air-tight leg triangle choke in the second round of their undercard match, flashing double middle fingers in the air as Pellegrino tapped helplessly. Diaz was cut on his right eyelid by Pellegrino punches in a first round controlled on the mat by Pellegrino. Pellegrino dumped Diaz at will and hammered punches and elbows inside Diaz's full- and half-guard.  Pellegrino passed to side control and pinned Diaz's arms, hammering Diaz's unprotected face to open the cut. But, durable Diaz escaped a lost first round. The second round continued as the first, with Diaz getting dumped to the mat by Pellegrino.  This time, Diaz ran his guard up Pellegrino's back and submitted the lightweight in a leg triangle at 3:06 of the round. "He shouldn't have pinned me down like that," Diaz scolded Pellegrino after the hard-won "W".  In the televised card's first fight, "The Assassin" Houston Alexander (8-3) got touched by "The Sandman" James Irvin (14-4) in the first exchange of their light heavyweight match. Alexander was beaten to the punch by a right Superman punch from Irvin as Alexander launched his own right cross. Alexander fell to the mat and Irvin followed with a right exclamation point to Alexander's noggin as referee Steve Mazzagatti dove to Alexander's rescue at :08 of the fight, tying a UFC record for quickest KO. "I was still conscious," Alexander repeated after the stoppage. Amidst boos, Irvin challenged, "We can do it again right now.  If you want to go out into the parking lot, we can do it right now."  In untelevised fights, "The Dentist" Josh Neer (24-6-1) won a unanimous decision over "Dinyero" Din Thomas (20-8), who was returning from a knee injury in his last outing.  "Maximus" Marcus Aurelio (16-5) submitted lightweight Ryan Roberts (8-3) 16 seconds into the fight. "Pitbull" Manvel Gamburyan (8-2) submitted Jeffrey Cox (9-5) in guillotine choke at 1:41 of the first round. "The Carpenter" Clay Guida (23-9) TKO'd lightweight Samy Schiavo (10-5) at 4:15 of round one. Finally, welterweight George Sotiropoulos (9-2) TKO'd Roman Mitichyan (5-2) 2:24 into round two. ...