I have to admit, it was pretty difficult to pick a winner for my unofficial “Best Performance Of The Night” award following the surprisingly-awesome Strikeforce: “Challengers 14” show. There were a host of memorable moments and great finishes, with the card having four of its five televised fights end with dramatic submissions. But in the end, I ended up going with the man who finished his opponent in under forty seconds, a talented MMA veteran who took a giant step in the right direction at “Challengers 14”. Here’s why Carlo Prater gets my unofficial award for putting on the best performance of the night at Strikeforce: “Challengers 14”. ...

It only just happened, but Ryan Couture is now an undefeated 2-0 professional MMA fighter. The son of the legendary Randy Couture, Ryan fought a tough three-round battle against an outmatched Lee Higgins at Strikeforce: “Challengers 14”.. Even though Higgins staved off several submission attempts and worked through several close calls, in the end this was a fight that was all Ryan, almost all the time. But what does this mean? Is Ryan Couture ready for the main stage? Here’s my answer to that question: my top 5 opponents for Ryan Couture. ...

Well, color me surprised. After a long string of drama, including fighters pulling out and athletic commissions refusing to play ball, Shine Fights has finally held their third event. Much has been said and written about the constant maelstrom of controversy that has engulfed Shine Fights as of late, and Fighters.com has been there every step of the way. But the event has finally come to pass, and as someone who’s been a vocal opponent of Shine Fights in the past, I’ll give credit where credit is due and say that I was immensely entertained by their Lightweight Grand Prix. ...

As futile an effort as it seems at this point, it appears that the much-beleaguered Shine Fights isn’t going down without a fight. The promotion has been plagued with problems ever since the cancellation of their “Worlds Collide” event, which would have seen boxing great Ricardo Mayorga make the transition to MMA to face Din Thomas. Much has been said of the proposed Lightweight Grand Prix that Shine Fights is trying desperately to salvage, and I and other talented writers at Fighters.com have done our best to keep fans appraised of the situation. In that regard, Shine Fights has recently announced the opening-round match-ups for their Lightweight Grand Prix. ...

Shine Fight Promotions has inked a deal with The Fight Network to broadcast American Top Team vs. The World, the promotion's second show headlined by "Jucao" Roan Carneiro (12-8) versus "Macaco" Jorge Patino (17-10-1). American Top Team vs. The World will be held in Miami 4 September, but broadcast on The Fight Network 12 September. ATT's Carneiro enters Shine off of a 2-3 stint in the UFC ending with split decision loss to "Piranha" Ryo Chonan (15-10) at UFC 88 in Atlanta last September. Patino won a UD over "Blackjack" Beau Baker (7-2) at KAPMMA in Newark last February. The card also features UFC vet Junior Assuncao (8-4), WEC vets Carlo Prater (24-7-1), "Maverick" Micah Miller (12-3) and "Irish Assassin" Ryan Healy (4-4-1), and PRIDE and DREAM vet "Buscape" Luis Firmino (12-4). ...

"Natural Born Killer" Carlos Condit (23-4) can take his WEC welterweight title defense over Hiromitsu Miura (9-5) in Las Vegas Sunday night one of two ways. At 4:43 of round four, Condit touched - and, maybe that's all too literal of a description - Miura with a knee to the noggin. Miura's body and heart gave in to a brutal back-and-forth battle.  He dove for Condit's ankle, and that was it.  He had nothing left. Several times, Condit could've similarly surrendered on the receiving end of clean punches from the one-time middleweight, but didn't. That's why Condit is a champion and Miura isn't, both tonight and in general. However, before the fight Condit made clear that he didn't feel like Miura should be on the other side of the cage from him. Isn't that always the preface to a brutal back-and-forth battle? ...

Fighters.com was at Body English inside the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas Saturday for the WEC weigh-ins. Everyone made weight, except for WEC lightweight title challenger "Wrecking Ball" Marcus Hicks (8-0), who needed an hour to drop one pound before stepping into the cage across from Champ "Worm" Jamie Varner (14-2). Curiously, WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann (6-0) weighed 201 1/2 pounds, causing "Version 2.5" Rory Singer (11-8) to shout from the crowd, "201!  What!?" Stann's opponent, Steve Cantwell (5-1), weighed-in at the 205-pound limit. Refresh Fighters.com tonight for live coverage from The Joint in Las Vegas. ...