The UFC itself recently revealed that Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, the last man to hold the WEC Lightweight Championship, will be fighting for the second time inside the Octagon at UFC 136. His opponent will be well-respected veteran Jeremy Stephens.

Also, MMA Junkie has reported that UFC 137 will see the return of Brandon Vera. Vera’s currently-scheduled opponent will be Eliot Marshall.

Those who witnessed it live will probably never forget Anthony Pettis’ wall walk cage kick that came near the end of a thrilling five-round war against Ben Henderson at the final WEC event, WEC 53. The win was supposed to give Pettis the next shot at the UFC Lightweight Championship, but it didn’t end up working out that way. Pettis would instead debut in the UFC against Clay Guida, and in one of the biggest disappointments of the last several years, Guida would abandon his long-admired style of “the scrappy brawler” and instead lay on Pettis for three rounds, taking home an ultra-boring Unanimous Decision.

Pettis’ opponent, Jeremy Stephens, is currently on a two-fight win-streak and has won four out of his last five fights. Stephen’s biggest moment in recent memory came when he KO’d Welterweight journeyman Marcus Davis in Davis’ Lightweight debut, literally KO’ing Davis right out of the UFC.

Brandon Vera is another fighter that recently had to endure a humbling loss before getting kicked out of the UFC. In one of the bigger “what could have been” stories in MMA, Vera once seemed poised to take the UFC by storm but was recently released on the heels of a three-fight losing-streak. However, that third loss would end up being overturned when his opponent, Thiago Silva, was found to have tried to cheat on his urine test. Thanks to the resulting scandal, the UFC has decided to give Vera one last chance.

While Eliot Marshall isn’t in the exact same situation, he is coming off of a humbling loss in his second go-round inside the Octagon. Marshall recently lost his UFC return by first-round TKO to Luiz Cane. Marshall’s current UFC record stands at a decent 3-2.

I really hope Jeremy Stephens tries to strike with Anthony Pettis. I’ve seen Jeremy Stephens fight, and I know that that’s generally what he likes to do, so I do have some high hopes for this fight. Pettis may not have the best ground game, but his striking is definitely on another level. This should be a rebuilding fight for Pettis, and hopefully it ends in dramatic fashion.

I think Brandon Vera does deserve another shot in the UFC… but only one more shot. It’s become clear to me that Brandon Vera will never realize his full potential, and there are only so many times I can see him fight and really care about it. If Vera doesn’t win this fight, he definitely deserves to get cut. Eliot Marshal probably won’t get cut if he loses, but then again, he got cut from the UFC after only one loss, and after having won three fights beforehand.

Overall, I think these two fights are good additions to what should be amazing cards.

MMA Junkie was the first to report on this likely match-up, which would take place on June 4, 2011.

Brookins is a 12-3 Octagon newcomer, beating out Michael Johnson to win their season of “The Ultimate Fighter”. In the past, Brookins had competed in both Bellator FC and the WEC. Brookins is currently on a four-fight win-streak that includes two submission victories in addition to his unofficial wins on “The Ultimate Fighter”.

Jeremy Stephens is a talented MMA veteran with a pretty big 19-6 record, including eleven fights inside the UFC. Stephens has won three of his last four, and is coming off the aforementioned KO victory over Marcus Davis, spoiling Davis’ Lightweight debut and effectively getting Davis kicked out of the UFC. Stephens is a knockout artist with fourteen of his nineteen wins coming by (T)KO, with one win by Submission due to punches.

I hate to be negative, but I just don’t see any way for Jonathan Brookins to beat Jeremy Stephens. Whenever I think about Brookins, I picture his fight with Johnson. More specifically, I recall how Brookins had his chin high in the air, and how that nearly cost him the fight several times. Brookins has a lot of potential, but he’s also got a lot of rough edges.

Let’s not mince words here: if Brookins doesn’t protect his chin, he’s going to sleep. Stephens will KO him, he’ll even do it within the first round if Brookins makes the same mistakes he made against Johnson. Stephens knows how to spot opportunities to land his punches, it’s the main reason he’s won far more than he’s lost and also the main reason he’s won so many by (T)KO. Brookins’s relative inexperience combined with his inability to tuck his chin could end up being a recipe for disaster.

However, it’s not like Stephens is unbeatable. Three of Stephens’ six losses have been by submission, and Brookins made his mark on TUF 12 thanks to a pair of Rear Naked Choke victories. Professionally, eight of Brookins’ twelve wins have come by submission. If this fight goes to the ground, “Lil’ Heathen” may be in for a not-so-little world of hurt.

But in the end, I’ve simply got to call for the veteran to upstage the talented prospect. I think Stephens’ technique and killer hands will be too much for Brookins. Regardless, it should be an interesting fight that fully proves where both men stand in the increasingly-crowded UFC Lightweight division.

And what about you, fans and friends? What are your thoughts on this potential match-up?

MMA Junkie reports that UFC 125 “Resolution” managed to put 12,688 fans into the seats of the MGM Grand Garden Arena. It was not revealed how many complimentary tickets were handed out. The live gate receipted totaled $2,174,780.

As always, the UFC handed out several post-fight awards at their post-fight press conference, and we head to MMA Mania to get the scoop. For their efforts at giving fans an early Fight of the Year contender, both UFC 125 headliners, Frank Edgar and Gray Maynard, were awarded “Fight of the Night”.  For his crushing and some would say come-from-behind KO of Marcus Davis, “Lil’ Heathen” Jeremy Stephens was awarded “Knockout of the Night”. Clay Guida ended a bizarre but perhaps brilliantly tactical fight with Takanori Gomi by submitting him with a Guillotine Choke, and for his efforts Guida was awarded with “Submission of the Night”. All four men received a $60,000 bonus for their efforts.

Of course Edgar/Maynard 2 was Fight of the Night. As good as some of the UFC 125 fights were, and some were pretty good indeed, I just don’t think that anything held a candle to the fireworks both men gave us in their five-round tilt. I’ve already got a ton of respect for Frank Edgar, and it just continues to grow after UFC 125. Gray Maynard also fully proved that he’s one of the best Lightweight MMA fighters currently in the game. I’m very happy that both men are earning so much praise for their performances, since I seemed to be one of the few MMA fans leading the charge and swearing up and down that this fight would be worth watching.

Clay Guida’s performance against Takanori Gomi may be the butt of several jokes for the next several weeks, but it’s undeniable that it ended up working. Guida’s style confused us all, but most importantly, it definitely confused Takanori Gomi. Guida put together so many feints, he changed levels so many times, that Gomi was probably seeing double or even triple by the time the fight was over. Guida has always been a bizarre man, but he’s also always found a way to make it work for him, most of the time. I’m a Guida fan to begin with, and even if I wasn’t, I can’t hate the technique, because it worked. So I’m glad that Guida won so dramatically and earned himself a nice little bonus in the process.

It really saddened me to see Marcus Davis KO’d so viciously, but I think “The Irish Hand Grenade” has no one to blame but himself. I distinctly remember sitting in baffled silence, wondering if Marcus Davis had just cost himself the fight, when Davis had Stephens hurt and hurt badly early in the fight and then proceeded to try and grapple with him rather than finish the job and knock him out. I also distinctly remember thinking “Jeremy Stephens wouldn’t let an opportunity like that pass him by if he got the opportunity.” And he did get that opportunity, and just as I thought, he didn’t let it pass him by. While I’m sad that Marcus Davis’ Lightweight debut was spoiled in such a dramatic fashion, I’ve got no real problems with Jeremy Stephens and I commend him for his brilliant knockout.

And what about you, fans and friends? What did you think of UFC 125’s award-winning performances?

In a new interview with the Canadian Press, “The Irish Hand Grenade” said the following: “I’m healthy and what I’m really looking forward to is going out there and surprising some people. I want people to see that there’s a different me… A lot of that weight I was carrying around before was unhealthy stuff… Next thing you know I’m walking around a smaller, more streamlined version of me but I’m healthy… My mind went from contemplating retirement to now I’m looking at making a run in the 155-pound division.”

I’ve been a bit of a fan of Marcus Davis for some time now, and I’m glad to see that he’s healthy, focused, and determined. There’s a long line of fighters in the UFC that have found new life in a different weight division, and while it remains to be seen if Davis becomes one of those athletes, the odds of it happening certainly look good. Davis has always been an iron-chinned striker, in a division where he’ll likely have a muscle advantage and finally won’t be at a significant reach disadvantage, Davis may be able to start putting together some impressive wins.

I hesitate to buy into his talk of making a run at the championship, however. There’s plenty of top-division talent already in the UFC’s Lightweight division, and even more are about to come in thanks to the WEC/UFC merger. Marcus Davis has got his work cut out for him if he ever wants to challenge for the UFC Lightweight Championship, especially when you consider that the division as it stands right now is dominated primarily by submission specialists and wrestlers.

I think there’s quite a lot riding on Davis’ upcoming fight with Jeremy Stephens, who is no slouch by any stretch of the imagination. Both men match up together so well: they’re both veterans, they’ve both had up-and-down UFC careers, and they’ve both got an impressive number of wins by (T)KO. “Lil’ Heathen” does in fact have more than double the (T)KO’s of Marcus Davis, but again, Davis is dropping down and should retain a lot of the power that made him famous. Plus, Davis has a very under-rated ground game and Stephens has been submitted three times in his six career defeats.

All in all, I’m really looking forward to this match. This one’s going to be a brawl to remember, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended via KO. I’ll plant my flag in the camp of Marcus Davis, but I know that Jeremy Stephens is no joke and will fight Davis tough-and-nail. And what about you, fans and friends? Any opinion on Davis’ recent comments or his upcoming Lightweight debut?

Since his inception in the UFC in 2005, Davis has been known for his boxing prowess, having knocked out three of his opponents inside the octagon. However, his submission game has been playing catch-up. In addition to his knockout ability, Davis has shown that he is no one trick pony, having submitted four opponents in the cage as well, adding veterans Pete Spratt, Paul Taylor and Paul Kelly among his victims.

Losing three of his last four bouts, “The Irish Hand Grenade” knew that a change was in order. So when he announced his drop to the lightweight division a couple of weeks ago, and when Jeremy Stephens took to twitter begging for the fight, it looked like it would only be inevitable.

Stephens, like Davis, has no qualms with punching people in the face. A noted brawler in the 155-pound division, Jeremy is looking to regain some momentum in his career as well. After riding a two-fight win streak inside the octagon with victories over Justin Buchholz and the always tough Sam Stout, he rise to the top was quickly halted when “Lil Heathen” met with the resurgent Melvin Guillard.

Billed as a potential “Fight of the Night” candidate, the bout did not deliver to the hype. A methodical and slow tempo to the bout left many in attendance yawning at UFC 119 last September, and in the end Guilard edged out Stephens by split-decision after three rounds.

Stephens has since apologized about his performance, and will look to rectify those mistakes when he meets the wily veteran in Davis.

Both men are coming off losses and should be leaving it all out on the line, in order to record an impressive performance to vaunt themselves back into the thick of the things in the lightweight division. For Davis, who was recently submitted by Nate Diaz at UFC 118, a win here is especially important for him. At 37-years-old, a win right now in this point of his career is everything.

UFC 125 takes place on January 1., at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, Nev. MMAJunkie.com reported the validity of the bout.

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the match up? This has the potential of being either a “Fight of the Night” or “Knockout of the Night” candidate. How will Davis perform after the weight cut? Sound off in the comment section below.

From bell to bell, “Lil Heathen” is gunning for the knockout victory, which is evident through his victories over standouts Rafael dos Anjos and Cole Miller. So when Stephens called out fellow slugger Melvin Guillard to action, it was a bout that was implicated as an all out slug fest.

Unfortunately, the two dynamic lightweights didn’t exactly deliver to the billing, and the three-round affair turned lackluster very quickly. In the end, “The Young Assassin” was declared the victor by split-decision, extending his winning streak to three-in-a-row while snapping Stephens’ two fight win streak inside the ufc.

However, Jeremy will have the chance to vindicate himself should he successfully campaign himself for a bout against former welterweight contender, Marcus Davis, who suggests that his career will continue now as a lightweight.

Twitter has become a phenomenon all on it’s own doing. And Stephens is perpetuating the movement by recently tweeting his desire to take on Davis, and he took it straight to the top.

“@Ufc I see Marcus Davis is droppn to 155. PLEASE give me that fight! No disrespect, but I don’t think Marcus will RUN like my last opponent”, wrote Stephens on his twitter account (please excuse his diction).

Davis recently announced the news of his drop the 155-pound division with the MMAJunkie.com crew, after a glorified career at welterweight, where at one time Marcus was considered among the worlds best in his weight class.

After a recent rough patch, where “The Irish Hand Grenade” had been defused by the likes of Dan Hardy, Ben Saunders and most recently Nate Diaz in three of his last four performances, it was then that Sityodtong product opted to make a move to the lightweight division, where he will be on equal footing with opponents of equal stature.

“I think the UFC has me at a 70 (inch reach), and I think they do that because they feel bad for me,” said Davis while speaking with MMAJunkie. “My reach is 69 (inches). That’s got to be the worst reach at 170. Every fight that I’ve had in the past year and a half, I think the closest (opponent) to my reach has been six inches longer than my reach.”

At 37, it’s not likely that Marcus can work his way up to another title shot, and he knows that. But if he can knock a few heads around and entertain a few more people before his time is up, Davis is more than welcome to oblige.

“I’m not going to blow smoke up anybody’s ass and say I’m going to be this phenomenal 155-pound fighter and I’m going to be a champion,” he said. “I know that I’m a 37-year-old guy who’s basically got the body of a 55-year-old guy, and I’ve got a face that likes to open when you look at it wrong. Those are things that I’m always going to battle as a fighter.

Should the bout come to fruition, it would undoubtedly be an exciting one for the fans. Neither Davis nor Stephens have been known to back down from a slug fest.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the potential match up? Sound off in the comment section below.

Justin Buchholz (9-3) will replace Torres, according to MMA Junkie.

Stephens is on a two-fight losing streak, most recently on the short end of a unanimous decision versus Gleison Tibau (16-5) at Fight Night 18 in Nashville last April.

Buchholz tapped in an arm triangle to Terry Etim (13-2) at UFC 99 in Cologne last month.

Lightweight Stephens earned “Knockout of the Night” with an epic third-round uppercut delivered to the chin of Rafael dos Anjos (12-1).

Welterweight Hazelett secured the second “Submission of the Night” of his career with his “armbar from the omoplata”, forcing “Barn Cat” Tamdan McCrory (10-2) in round one.

The back-and-forth lightweight scrap between Riley and Gurgel was “Fight of the Night”, which Riley took in a narrow unanimous decision.

Stephens started the match with some solid striking; but, Dos Anjos scored a takedown.  Stephens gained half-guard and successfully defended two omoplata attempts, the second of which ended at the bell as Stephens’ shoulder was bent to the brink.

Taking the advice of his corner, Stephens kept the fight standing in round two, circling and throwing powerful right crosses and overhands.

Approximately 90 seconds into the round, dos Anjos scored a Matt Hughes-style slam and transitioned out of a crucifix, taking Stephens’s back and working for a rear naked choke.

Stephens rolled out of the position and fought off a very close armbar attempt, ending up in dos Anjos’s guard.   Stephens rained down elbows, forcing dos Anjos to go on the defensive.

Stephens struck like lightning at the beginning of round three, winding up and throwing a long right uppercut that landed on dos Anjos’s jaw, snapping his head back and leaving him unconcious against the cage.

Sadollah submitted “Doberman” CB Dollaway (7-1) via first-round armbar in June to win the previous season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Catone, who will make his UFC debut, finished his last four fights in the first round, most recently TKO’ing Eric Tavares (5-9) in June.

Stephens dropped a unanimous decision to “King” Spencer Fisher (21-4) in June at the TUF finale.

UFC newcomer dos Anjos is riding a nine-fight win streak, most recently winning a split decision over Takafumi Otsuka (6-3-1).

The future shines brilliantly for The Ultimate Fighter’s newest blast into the mainstream consciousness, Amir Sadollah (1-0).

In his professional debut, Sadollah tapped “Doberman” CB Dollaway (6-1) in an armbar at 3:02 of round one to win the seventh season of the popular SpikeTV reality show contest.

“Nightmare” Diego Sanchez (19-2), one of the two original Ultimate Fighters, looked physically fitter than ever in his third-round TKO of American Top Team’s Luigi Fioravanti (12-4) at 4:07.

After back-to-back “embarrasing” losses, “Spyder” Kendall Grove (9-5), TUF 3 champion, recaptured past glory in a three-round split decision over former UFC titlist Evan Tanner (32-8).

The likeable young TUF walk-on from Virginia, Sadollah, versus the cocky All-American favorite, Dollaway, was a rematch of an exhibition fight fought on the final episode of last season’s The Ultimate Fighter.

Saturday’s finish was almost a replay of that fight’s end.

But, unlike the first fight, Dollaway made haste taking the samboist to his back and pounding him, opening a shallow cut on Sadollah’s forehead.

Sadollah flailed for position, eventually sucking up the “Doberman’s” left paw and swinging his legs over Dollaway’s head to secure the armbar.

Dollaway stood and remained standing as Sadollah worked the technique.

Finally, Dollaway ended the fight with a single tap causing referee Herb Dean to step in.

Sadollah leapt to his feet and threw his arms in the air.

Dollaway threw his hands out to his sides, complaining about the stoppage; but, replays clearly showed Dollaway tapping.

And, as “Kimbo Slice” Kevin Ferguson (3-0) famously said, Dollaway exhibited in his immature and ridiculous post-fight protest: “Tapping is for bitches.”

“Nightmare” Sanchez showed off a leaner physique and tighter striking game versus a pudgy and lethargic Fioravanti.

In his southpaw stance, Sanchez stalked with his right lead extended and left fist cocked, both of which he used to tag Fiorivanti, who was hesitant to engage on his feet or on the mat.

When Sanchez was able to down Fioravanti, “Nightmare’s” trademark G’n'P dominated.

But, it was Sanchez’s refurbed striking game, highlighted by a roundhouse kick, that won the fight.

In the third round, Sanchez snapped a left kick to Fioravanti’s head, sending Fioravanti backpedaling.  Sanchez followed with a flying knee flush to Fioravanti’s jaw before pounding out the stoppage with his fists.

It was do or die for both Grove and Tanner in the main event, both fighters coming off of knockout losses and at career lows.

However, 6’6″ Grove was just too physical for the former champion, Tanner.

At range, Grove launched long rights that split Tanner’s guard.

But, most of the fight was fought in the clinch, with Tanner, sporting a full beard, resembling a homeless mugger assaulting the Hawaiian for change.

Grove laid on Tanner, wearing Tanner down, while Grove split open Tanner’s head with elbows and peppered Tanner’s body with knees.

The judges ruled it a split decision “W” for Grove by scores of 30-26 twice for Grove and 29-28 once for Tanner; but, Al Lefkowitz, who scored the fight for Tanner, couldn’t have even been in the arena.

Fighters.com scored it 30-27 for Grove.

On the undercard, “McLovin” Dustin Hazelett (11-4) tapped “People’s Champion” Josh Burkman (9-6) in an armbar at 4:46 of round two.

Hazelett won “Submission of the Night”.

Lightweight brawler “King” Spencer Fisher (21-4) ground out a unanimous decision over fellow Iowan Jeremy Stephens (13-3).

TUF 7 contestant Matt Riddle (1-0) won his pro debut with a unanimous decision over Dante Rivera (10-3).

Middleweight Andrew McFedries (7-3) overwhelmed “Beastman” Marvin Eastman (15-8-1) from the bell to score a quick TKO at 1:08 of round one.

In a rematch from 2006, TUF 7 contestant Matt Brown (7-6) TKO’d TUF 6 “No Regard” Matt Arroyo (3-2) at 3:40 of round two.

Veteran “Boogieman” Dean Lister (11-5) submitted über-veteran “Gumby” Jeremy Horn (79-18-5) in a first-round guillotine choke at 3:52.

Similarly, Rob Kimmons (21-3) tapped Rob Yundt (6-2) in a first-round guillotine choke at 3:58.

Loose lips had already divulged details for both events.

At the MGM Grand Garden Arena 24 May, “The Prodigy” BJ Penn will defend his UFC Lightweight Championship against the improper advances of former 155-pound champ Sean Sherk, returning from a banned substances suspension.

My Portuguese is a little rusty, but Wanderlei Silva has also confirmed via his blog that he’s signed to fight Keith Jardine on the Vegas strip.

Other rumored bouts include:

Ryoto Machida v Tito Ortiz
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou v Kazuhiro Nakamura
Rashad Evans v Thiago Silva
Wilson Gouveia v Goran Reljic
Rousimar Palhares v Ivan Salaverry
Dong-hyun Kim v Jason Tan
Terry Etim v Jeremy Stephens
Shane Carwin v Christian Wellisch

At 02 Arena in London 7 June, light heavyweights Chuck Liddell and  Mauricio Rua will headline in a fight that not too long ago would’ve been considered the king-maker at 205.

Brandon Vera has also confirmed he’ll return versus Fabricio Werdum in London.

Brock Lesnar is also rumored to return on this fight card.