In a new interview with MMA Weekly, Volkmann shared the following sentiments: “There’s too many people that are too sensitive out there… I guess you’re definitely not supposed to have an opinion about certain policies that effect you… Last I checked we’re not in the Soviet Union… I talked to Monte (Cox) and Monte talked to the UFC and Joe Silva, and he said they’re not upset about it. They’re with me on this one.”

For any who haven’t kept up-to-date with the scandal, Volkmann semi-jokingly called out Obama in a post-fight interview following his victory over Antonio McKee at UFC 125. Volkmann is a licensed chiropractor and took issue with Obama’s health care overhaul, popularly known as “Obamacare”. The resulting scandal led to Volkmann being visited by the Secret Service, as well as appearances on several national television shows. The general attitude in the MMA community, however, seems to be far more lukewarm.

In all honesty, I count myself among the many that just can’t understand why people are making such a big deal out of this. Volkmann was obviously joking when he said he wanted to fight Obama, and while the joke was certainly unfunny and probably uncalled for, it’s hardly scandalous. Having viewed the interview, I can safely say that it seemed like Volkmann’s challenge was nothing more than a spur-of-the-moment lapse in judgment brought on by the adrenaline rush a big victory brings.

It’s not like Volkmann is a malicious person, or a bad human being. If I had to be perfectly honest, Volkmann pretty much flew under my radar before this scandal broke out. While some may think of that as a negative, I think that can also be a positive: Volkmann never really made any sort of impact on me before this scandal, but if you asked me outright what I thought of the man, I’d say that I respected him as a talented performer that’s displayed some good skill in the Octagon.

I don’t mean to inspire some grand political argument, but I do think that people are being a bit too uptight about the matter. I do think a visit from the Secret Service was justified, though. Ultimately, every threat must be examined and nothing can be left up to chance, no matter how aloof or improbable a threat seems. But it really should have stopped there.

Volkmann is entitled to his opinion, and he’s dealt with the consequences of his actions. It honestly feels as if this media frenzy has been built around him simply because competing television networks want to push their agendas and will latch on to any halfway-interesting story or borderline-celebrity that even briefly appears on the public radar. I may not agree with Volkmann, but ultimately, he gets a pass from me. I’m more than ready for this entire bizarre little episode to be put to rest.

And what about you, fans and friends? What’s your opinion on Jacob Volkmann?

According to Five Ounces of Pain, Antonio “Mandingo” McKee has been released from the UFC after having only one fight with the organization. At UFC 125, McKee lost via Split Decision to Jacob Volkmann after McKee spent several weeks hyping up his UFC debut, which included a bizarre interview where he compared himself to Muhammed Ali. The defeat to Volkmann marked the first time McKee had been beaten in MMA since 2003.

Five Ounces of Pain also brings word that Brandon “The Truth” Vera has officially been released from his UFC contract after a one-sided loss to Thiago Silva at UFC 125. The defeat marked Vera’s third in a row, a far cry from when he first entered the UFC and took the Heavyweight division by storm. Now it looks as if Vera will use the time off he needs to heal his horrendously-broken nose by looking over contracts.

In all honesty, I’m not too surprised with either firing and I don’t think the UFC is losing that much with these two no longer on the roster. If you’ll recall, I actually predicted that Vera would get the axe the day after UFC 125 in my traditional “What’s Next for the Winners and Losers” series.

In all honesty, I never understood the hype behind Antonio McKee. Everyone criticized him for continually winning by decision, but that never really bothered me. What bothered me is the amount of hyper-active self-promotion Antonio McKee involved himself in. The man built himself up as a destroyer, someone that would take the UFC by storm, and in the end he couldn’t even squeak by one single UFC opponent. I’m really finding it hard to empathize with the man, because frankly, he became so in love with himself that he overlooked his opponent and paid the price.

I certainly do feel a bit sad for Vera, though. Vera is a tough lesson that a lot of hot prospects should learn from: sometimes the incredible hype that goes alongside being a young and dominant fighter can turn into your worst enemy even if it starts off as your best friend. Vera began believing his own hype and developed a bloated sense of self-worth, and it took several humbling victories to send him crashing back down into reality. Unfortunately, he learned his lessons too late, he now sports a 11-6 record and is now a free agent. Vera should still be able to make a pretty penny on the regional circuit and I wouldn’t be surprised if Bellator, Strikeforce, or even SHINE Fights scooped him up. But his story is a somber one, and it’s a firm reminder that the phrase “anything can happen in MMA” is quite the double-edged sword.

And what about you, fans and friends? What’s your opinion on the UFC releasing Brandon Vera and Antonio McKee?

Next New Year’s, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the UFC will return to Nevada with a lightweight title fight pitting current champion Frankie Edgar, who is riding on a 5-fight win streak (which included two back-to-back victories over former champion BJ Penn) will look to exact revenge when he defends his title against the only man to defeat him, undefeated UFC lightweight title challenger Gray Maynard.

Also in action, former Interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin is coming back to action after succumbing to his first defeat as a professional at UFC 116 when he tangles with the former IFL heavyweight champion and season 10 winner of “The Ultimate Fighter”, Roy Nelson.

Nate Diaz has recently been announced as a new addition to the card. Making his third consecutive trip to the welterweight division, Diaz will look to go three-in-a-row following some recent success with victories over Rory Markham and Marcus Davis (respectively) finishing both competitors before it went the distance.

Meeting Diaz will be Korean Judoka, Dong Hyun Kim. An undefeated prospect in the 170-pound division, Diaz will arguably be his toughest test to date, and should Dong come away from the bout in impressive fashion, it could spell title implications.

While no official word has come as far the order of the match ups, though I would assert that the card should look something like this. Here is the event in it’s entirety, though additional match ups are soon to be announced.

Main Card:
-Lightweight Championship bout: Frankie Edgar (champion) vs. Gray Maynard
-Heavyweight bout: Shane Carwin vs. Roy Nelson
-Lightweight bout: Clay Guida vs. Takanori Gomi
-Middleweight bout: Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann
-Welterweight bout: Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim

Preliminary:
-Light Heavyweight bout: Brandon Vera vs. Thiago Silva
-Middleweight bout: Phil Baroni vs. Brad Tavares
-Lightweight bout: Antonio McKee vs. Jacob Volkmann

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of match ups so far? Any additional bouts you would like to see make the main card? Which bouts do you think, should they be featured, for the Spike Prelims special?
Sound off in the comment section below.

He hasn’t put together the most exciting fights in his career, which is made evident by his 18 decision victories in his 25 wins as a professional, but his wrestling base has been something that has carried him through a 13-fight win streak (with 1 draw in the 14 fight stretch). However, since turning a corner in his career, finally at the ripe old age of 40, McKee is now on the heels of a two-fight finishing streak, most recently dispatching notable veteran Luiz Azevedo in defense of his MFC lightweight title.

The 7 years Azevedo has competed as a professional mixed martial artist, he has defeated some of the sports best, including Rodrigo Damm, Din Thomas, and currently holds a victory over WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo–the Novia Uniao product’s only career defeat.

Making a promise to himself in an effort to finish fights as a last “hoorah” to the big time, McKee has finally reached the pinnacle of his career when he was recently acquired by the worlds largest organization: the UFC.

The recent acquisition of Antonio has now set up a lightweight battle between two talented wrestlers, as “Mandingo” is now slated to face Jacob Volkmann in January, for UFC 125 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

UFC 125 is expected to be the showdown of fellow lightweights Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar, who will do battle for the New Jersey native’s 155-pound title.

While McKee’s road to the UFC has been a long one, almost 11 years in the making to be exact, he has finally reached a goal that at times seemed almost unattainable. And while he’s picked up some fans along the way, he’s also picked up some slack as well from the media for his previously lack luster performances, which MMA legends Guy Mezger and Bas Rutten often found themselves apart of the band wagon. None the less, McKee took the time to thank all of them, and what better way to do it than on Twitter.

The following excerpt is what @ELNegro01 had to say (aka McKee).

“My time to show the world that I keep my word! I AM THE BEST! The UFC will put me to the test! 1st victim will fall JAN 1st, 2011! MAd love to everyone out there! My family, friends and fans who have supported my 10 yr fight journey so far and to my HATERS: I love you even more! You made this possible for me, all you keyboard warriors and shit talkers led by your heartless ringleaders Bas Rutton and Guy Metzger, ha”

Aside from the obvious grammatical errors, MMA peeps, what do you think of Antonio’s inception into the UFC? Do you think he can become a force to be reckoned with? And what do you make of his statements towards his doubters? Sound off in the comments section below.

After knocking out Tyson Griffin in just over a minute in the first round of their lightweight affair, Gomi not only picked up an impressive win over a perennial contender, he picked up the “Knockout of the Night”, which added additional pleasure to his already impressive portfolio, as the former Pride Lightweight champion.

Here are the fighter payouts, initially reported by MMAJunkie.com, through the California State Athletic Commission. Gomi earned the event high.

The following is in bout order.

The total list of paydays include:

Jon Jones: $46,000 ($23,000 win bonus)
def. Vladimir Matyushenko: $31,000

Yushin Okami: $46,000 ($23,000 win bonus)
def. Mark Munoz: $22,000

Jake Ellenberger: $24,000 ($12,000 win bonus)
def. John Howard: $15,000

Takanori Gomi: $80,000 ($40,000 win bonus)
def. Tyson Griffin: $30,000

Jacob Volkmann: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus)
def. Paul Kelly: $17,000

Matt Riddle: $24,000 ($12,000 win bonus)
def. DaMarques Johnson: $10,000

Igor Pokrajac: $12,000 ($6,000 win bonus)
def. James Irvin: $20,000

Brian Stann: $34,000 ($17,000 win bonus)
def. Mike Massenzio: $5,000

Charles Oliveira: $12,000 ($6,000 win bonus)
def. Darren Elkins: $8000

Rob Kimmons: $18,000 ($9,000 win bonus)
def. Steve Steinbeiss: $6,000

http://mmajunkie.com/news/20176/ufc-on-versus-2-fighter-salaries-takanori-gomi-earns-event-high-80k-payday.mma

Do any of the figures above shock you, or are they as expected? I personally though, Jon Jones would be receiving a bigger pay day by now, since Brandon Vera was at one point making a flat rate of $100,000, after 3 fights into his UFC career, though at the time, Vera can be likened to the phenom that is Jones.

Florian weighed the limit at 156 pounds and Gomi weighed 155 pounds.

The Ultimate Fighter 10 champion “Big Country” Roy Nelson (14-4) and 6? 11? heavyweight prospect “SkySkraper” Stefan Struve (23-3) both also made weight for their matchup.  Nelson weighed 263 pounds while Struve weighed 248 pounds.

Fight night 21 will air live on SpikeTV at 8:00 PM EST.  The rest of the weights below:

Nate Quarry (186) vs. Jorge Rivera (186)
Ross Pearson (156) vs. Dennis Siver (156)
Rafaello Oliveira (156) vs. Andre Winner (156)
Ronys Torres (155) vs. Jacob Volkmann (155)
Rob Emerson (154) vs. Nik Lentz (155)
Gleison Tibau (156) vs. Caol Uno (156)
Lucio Linhares (184) vs. Yushin Okami (184)
Gerald Harris (186) vs. Mario Miranda (186)
Charlie Brenneman (170) vs. Jason High (170)

Topping the bill is the return of former UFC light heavyweight champion “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (15-6-1) as he is set to face former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin (16-4) in a rematch of the 2006 fight that was Griffin’s first loss in the UFC.

Although a winner of the inaugural Ultimate Fighter reality show, to many observers Griffin’s loss to the veteran Ortiz was the fight that catapulted the Xtreme Couture fighter into the deeper ranks of professional MMA. Now currently coming off a two fight losing streak, Griffin has a lot to win and a lot to lose when he faces Ortiz for the second time.

For Ortiz, UFC 106 will be a triumphant return to the promotion following over a year of bad blood with the organization. His last appearance in the Octagon was a losing effort at the hands of current UFC light heavyweight champion “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (13-0) at UFC 84 in May, 2008.

UFC 106 will also feature two heavy-handed welterweights as Josh Koscheck (13-4) is set to clash against “Rumble” Anthony Johnson (8-2) in the co-main-event. Johnson is recently coming off a devastating win over “Zenko” Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-3) in 41 seconds of a catchweight bout at UFC 104.

The fight card is rounded out by a series of bouts that set a theme of old versus new when veteran of the UFC and PRIDE Fighting Championship “New York Bad Ass” Phil Baroni (13-11) returns to the Octagon for the first time since UFC 51 in 2005 to face off against The Ultimate Fighter 7 champ Amir Sadollah (1-1).

Fighters.com seventh-ranked light heavyweight “Banha” Luis Arthur Cane (8-1) and fellow Brazilian ”Minotoro” Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (12-3) continue the theme of veteran versus up-and-comer. Nogueira makes his UFC debut following a near decade-long career worldwide.

Remaining main card bouts for UFC 106 include UFC veteran and Judo superstar “The Heat” Karo Parisyan (18-5) as he meets Dustin Hazelett (11-4). “Irish Hand Grenade” Marcus Davis (14-4) is set to fight American Top Team’s “KIlla B” Ben Saunders (5-0-2 ). And the Ultimate Fighter 3 winner, “Da Spyder” Kendall Grove (9-6) will take on wrestler and WEC alumnus Jake Rosholt (6-1).

UFC 106 is rounded out by Paulo Thiago (7-1) versus Jacob Volkmann (9-0), Brock Larson (27-3) versus Brian Foster (9-12), Caol Uno (25-11-4) versus Fabricio Camoes (6-0), and George Sotiropoulos (10-2) versus Jason Dent (29-9).