It took one day, one single day, for the upcoming ufc 136 card to go from a few matches to nearly complete. Yesterday, a grand total of six fights were all announced throughout the day for the upcoming event, with several major can’t-miss attractions scheduled for the card. It was news so huge that I’m going to have to break it up into two parts. So here’s the first part of “A First Look At UFC 136”, featuring the first three recently-announced bouts: Dave Herman vs. Mike Russow, Josh Grispi vs. Matt Grice, and Demian Maia vs. Jorge Santiago. ...

An anticipated featherweight showdown is beginning to take shape. Josh Grispi will hope to make an impressive showing in his second outing with the UFC as he takes on "The Ultimate Fighter" veteran in George Roop, come this June. Grispi was touted as a huge factor in the featherweight division following his assimilation into the organization after the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion was merged with the UFC. However, he showed little of the talent he displayed in the defunct organization when he was deftly defeated by the unheralded Dustin Poirier upon his octagon debut this past January. He will now have a second-chance to impress. ...

When it was announced that the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion would cease operations in 2010 and that all the best WEC fighters would be making their way into the UFC in 2011, one fighter in particular was on everyone’s mind and remains that way to this day: the WEC’s Featherweight engine of destruction, Jose Aldo. Now the UFC Featherweight Champion, Aldo recently had to pull out of a fight with Josh Grispi due to an injury. However, that hasn’t deterred Aldo in the slightest, and looking forward, Aldo recently stated that not only does he want to keep his championship firmly around his waist, he also wants to add the UFC Lightweight Championship to his trophy case. ...

UFC 125 “Resolution” is fast approaching us, fans and friends, and New Year’s Day should give us an amazing card filled with great fights. Much has been made of the main Pay-Per-View card, since it features big match-ups featuring major stars like Nate Diaz, Takanori Gomi, Clay Guida, and many more. But here’s something you may not know: this show even has a ridiculously stacked undercard. It’s so good, in fact, that it warrants a Top 5. So here are five great reasons to find a way to watch UFC 125’s undercard. ...

Ever since his fight with Jose Aldo at UFC 125 was cancelled, little has been made of WEC wrecking machine Josh Grispi. Grispi went from an eagerly-anticipated co-main event slot at UFC 125 against Aldo… to the undercard of the same show in a bout that has barely registered on anyone’s radar. Many are assuming that Grispi’s new opponent at UFC 125 is nothing more than a sacrificial lamb. Everyone except Grispi’s opponent, that is. In a new interview, Dustin Poirer vocally made his case and promised that fans will remember his name before UFC 125 is through. ...

It was reported through several media outlets yesterday that the newly minted UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo would bow out of his co-main event slot at UFC 125 against top contender Josh Grispi, due to injury. Speculation then arose whether or not the Massachusetts native would remain on the card despite the loss of Aldo. Shortly thereafter, it now appears that Dustin Poirer will now drop down to the 145-pound division in order to face Grispi at the pay-per-view event. While Josh should be the decided favorite heading into the bout, it's a big risk with little reward. The 22-year-old has risen above the rest in his class to be noticed as the top challenger to Aldo's title, and a loss to Dustin would be a major setback in his career at this point. ...

Just a couple of days after receiving his coveted UFC featherweight title in a special ceremony preceding UFC 123 last Saturday, Jose Aldo has had to bow out of his title defense against top contender, Josh Grispi. The Brazilian went an incredible 8-0 inside the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion before it had been officially announced that the soon-to-be-defunct organization would be assimilated into the UFC fold. Both companies both operate under the Zuffa umbrella. Aldo had filled in as the co-main event at UFC 125, which takes place on Jan. 1 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, slot when an injured Shane Carwin had fallen to injury as well, a back injury that will keep him out of the octagon for the foreseeable future, requiring invasive back surgery. For Jose, he will be back to training in one month, and will hopefully debut within the organization in the first quarter of 2011. ...

Former World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion Jose Aldo is on a plane. The Nova Uniao product is on his way to the States to pick up his coveted UFC title, which has been assimilated due to Aldo being the last reigning and defending champion in the WEC, which just a couple of weeks ago was merged with it's sister promotion under the Zuffa banner. Jose will be back in action in January after crushing season five finalist of "The Ultimate Fighter" Manny Gamburyan inside of the first round at WEC last September, via knockout. ...

He’s one of the WEC’s hottest commodities. He’ll be fighting for the first time at a major UFC event for the newly-established UFC Featherweight Championship. He’s riding high with a fantastic unbeaten streak that includes a number of amazing finishes. He’s young, talented, and looks to take the world by storm. And no, he’s not Jose Aldo. He’s Josh Grispi, the next man to challenge the Brazilian phenomenon, and he’s coming for the belt. In a recent interview, Grispi spoke at length about why he thinks he’ll be the first man to beat Aldo in nearly five years, and only the second man to beat Aldo in Aldo’s entire MMA career. ...

Josh Grispi has long been heralded as "the next big thing" in the 145-pound division. While Jose Aldo got their first, Grispi was never far behind. Opening up his WEC career with a first-round submission victory over current featherweight contender Mark Hominick, everyone knew that "The Fluke" was no joke. After going a perfect 4-0 within the organization, picking up wins over Micah Miller, Jens Pulver, and L.C. Davis in his last outing, finishing all competitors inside of the first-round, people were clamoring for a match up pitting the Massachusetts native against the Brazilian phenom, and when word had it that Grispi would next be taking on Eric Koch in November for WEC 52, it looked like his coveted shot at the title would have to wait. Well, Mr. Grispi, wait no longer. ...

Can we call him the former WEC champion yet? With the merge of the WEC organization being absolved into the UFC (finally), a lot of changes will be made. Perhaps the promotion's most recognized, or rather most dominant fighters, Jose Aldo will defend his title for the first time inside the UFC in January. Along with Dana White's formal announcement during today's teleconference with the mixed martial arts media outlets, he also gave notice that their now featherweight champion will defend his title on the big show at UFC 125 in Las Vegas. ...

"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? ...

The WEC on Thursday added two more fights to its 3 August card in Las Vegas. Bantamweight Brian Bowles (5-0) will fight “Angel of Death” Damacio Page (10-3), and Micah Miller (9-1) will meet “The Fluke” Josh Grispi (8-1) in a featherweight match-up. Bowles, from Athens, GA, last fought in WEC 31 in December, where he KO’d “Louro” Marcos Galvao (6-2) in the second round. He made his professional debut two years ago. Albuquerque’s “Angel of Death” made his WEC debut in February when he replaced an injured Jesse Moreng (8-1) on short notice to win a unanimous decision over Scott Jorgensen (4-2). American Top Team fighter Miller will look to win his third fight in a row after his first career loss last June at WEC 28, a unanimous decision that went to Cub Swanson (12-2). Nineteen-year-old Grispi also made his WEC debut in February, submitting “The Machine” Mark Hominick (15-8) with a rear-naked choke in the first round. ...