Middleweight "Crippler" Chris Leben (18-7) has been suspended 30 days by the Oregon State Athletic Commission following getting choked unconscious by Jake Rosholt (6-1) at UFC 102 in Portland Saturday.

Leben, an original The Ultimate Fighter contestant, is required to have a CT scan of possible facial fractures before his suspension is lifted.

Heavyweight Chris Tuchscherer (15-2) has been suspended 45 days with a facial laceration after his first-round TKO loss to "Napao" Gabriel Gonzaga (11-4).
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Did you miss me? The much-anticipated, most thorough rankings in mixed martial arts returns with Fighters.com's July Heavyweight Rankings. Let's get right to it, shall we?

"Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko (29-1) retains the Fighters.com heavyweight championship, which he's set to defend from ninth-ranked "Babyface Assassin" Josh Barnett (20-5) at Affliction M-1 Global's Trilogy in Anaheim 1 August.

But, with Affliction's run thought to be at its end, Fighters.com worries that whomever wins will return to Japan to fight freaks and middleweights.
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The UFC's Fight for the Troops delivered excitement and thrills to MMA fans and military personnel alike Wednesday night at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville. In preliminary results, Justin McCully (9-4-2) defeated "Manic Hispanic" Eddie Sanchez (8-3) via unanimous decision. In welterweight action, Dale Hartt (5-1) defeated Corey Hill (2-2) via TKO (doctor stoppage due to leg injury) at 0:20 of the second round in what appeared to have been a potential broken leg after Hartt checked a leg kick. Naval officer, "Hollywood" Steve Bruno (10-4) defeated Johnny Rees (10-2) via submission (rear naked choke) at the 3:44 mark of round two. Following the fight, Bruno thanked the enthusiastic crowd largely composed of Army personnel for saving his life following a helicopter crash in Iraq. Former Ultimate Fighter Luigi Fioravanti (14-4) defeated Brodie Farber (12-5) via unanimous decision. ...

The rest of the UFC Fight for the Troops fight card, happening 10 December in Fayetteville, NC, has been revealed by USA Today.  The event will be headlined by Fighters.com’s fourth- and ninth-ranked welterweights Josh Koscheck (11-2) and Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2). The remaining bouts are: Luigi Fioravanti (13-4) v Brodie Farber (13-4) Dale Hartt (5-1) v Corey Hill (2-1) “Berserk” Ben Saunders (6-0-2) v Brandon Wolff (7-2) Timothy Credeur (10-2) v Nate Loughran (9-0) “Hater Hurter” Johnny Rees (10-1) v Steve Bruno (11-4) Justin McCully (8-4-2) v Eddie Sanchez (8-2) Five fighters on the card have served in the military.  Fioravanti was a Marine, Hartt, Credeur, and Bruno served in the Navy, and Wolff was a Navy SEAL. Missing from the card is a previously announced match between former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion “All American” Brian Stann (6-1) and current champ Steve Cantwell (6-1).  Stann, a former Marine, has reportedly sustained a foot injury in training and was forced to withdraw from the event. ...

From Russia with gloves, "Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko(28-1) stamped his heavyweight dominance on "Maine-iac" Tim Sylvia's (24-5) head in Anaheim, east of Los Angeles, 19 July. His dismantling of "Big" Tim in 36 seconds earned him the Fighters.com Heavyweight Championship, jumping from sixth and dumping Sylvia from third to seventh. The "W" strips naked UFC President Dana White's proclamation that all other promotions are the minor leagues, at least at north of 205-pounds. In fact, Emelianenko's victory makes clear that the Octagon hasn't been the proving grounds for the world's top heavyweights for quite some time. The UFC Champ, second-ranked "Minotauro" Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1), took a thrashing from Sylvia in February before tapping the two-time UFC titlist in a guillotine. Nogueira loses his Fighters.com Heavyweight Championship, falling into the top contender spot, but a top contender whose register already records two UD losses to the new champ four years ago. Nog' is set to clash with un-ranked former UFC Champ Frank Mir (11-3) after Mir tapped rook' Brock Lesnar (1-1), which tells you all you need to know about the UFC heavyweight class. But, Emelianenko's new promoter, Affliction, is playing the name game too. ...

The heavyweight division paces like a heavyweight slog.  I'm tempted to switch to a semi-annual evaluation...but not until after this weekend. There were a couple of shakers this month, but no movers. In London 7 June, seventh-ranked "Vai Cavalo" Fabricio Werdum (11-3-1) played a samba on "The Truth" Brandon Vera's (8-2) noggin for a first round TKO. Werdum remains the top contender to "Minotauro" Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's (31-4-1) UFC Heavyweight Championship. Of course, Big Nog' is pitted versus struggling, but dangerous former UFC Champion Frank Mir (11-3) in a made-for-TUF match-up in October. Werdum will probably draw the winner of 9 August's eighth-ranked "Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring (28-13) versus Brock Lesnar (1-1) fight, maybe on the same October UFC card to build the follow-up versus the winners. Also in action this rankings period, tenth-ranked "Napao" Gabriel Gonzaga (8-3) blew through confidence-booster Justin McCully (8-4-2) in Las Vegas 5 July to break a two-fight losing streak for the man who sentenced "Cro Cop" Mirko Filipovic (23-6-2) down a spiral the Croatian has yet to ascend from. ...

From TUF to top! New UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin (16-4) demoralized and upset former Champ "Rampage" Quinton Jackson (29-6) by unanimous decision Saturday night in Las Vegas. "This is the greatest night of my life," Griffin said after toppling the odds. Though Jackson won the first round by staggering Griffin with a left, then dropping the challenger with a right uppercut, Griffin laid the groundwork for his decision victory by whittling away at Jackson's lead leg with low kicks. “He jacked my leg up,” Jackson admitted. In the second round, Griffin buckled the champ with a leg kick and passed to mount on the mat, grinding elbows into Rampage's head, but doing little damage. Rampage limped into round three searching for a knockout, but managed only a combination that Griffin weathered, though he admitted, "Every punch that motherfucker threw hurt.” Jackson scored a fourth-round takedown; but, Griffin wrapped a leg triangle, then transitioned to an omoplata when Jackson freed himself from the triangle. Jackson stood out of the submission and cracked Griffin with a right hand, opening a cut on the challenger's right eyelid, then followed with a left as the bell ended the round. It was back-and-forth and both fighters felt they needed the final round to win; but, Jackson seemed disappointed by the situation, while Griffin was inspired. Griffin got back to game plan in the fifth round, stinging Rampage's lead leg, as Jackson threw desperate haymakers without landing. The judges scored the fight 48-46 twice and 49-46 once for Griffin. Fighters.com scored it 48-46 for Griffin, our new champion. “He whupped my ass,” Jackson admitted after the battle; but, Griffin said, "It was close and I think we’re gonna have to do it again.” ...

"For all you Rampage haters, you might as well get used to me," Fighters.com's Light Heavyweight Champion "Rampage" Quinton Jackson (28-6) announced to the crowd at the UFC 86 weigh-ins in Las Vegas Friday.  "I'ma be here for a long time," he added, then flashed the peace sign. Rampage weighed in at 205-pounds, as did eighth-ranked title challenger Forrest Griffin (15-4). Xtreme Couture's Griffin said, "It's nice to fight in your hometown.  Thank you, guys." Griffin smirked in the gaze of an intense Rampage stare down. All fighters on Saturday night's card made weight. Only lightweight Gleison Tibau (15-5) missed the mark, but by the allowed one pound at 156-pounds.  Tibau will fight "Daddy" Joe Stevenson (33-8). 6'4" lightweight Corey Hill (2-0) looked absolutely emaciated at 155-pounds. ...

In boxing rankings, champions have mandatory defenses versus the number one challenger and voluntary defenses versus a top-fifteen challenger. Through no fault of his own of course, Fighters.com's Heavyweight Champion "Minotauro" Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) won't meet either threshold when he defends his UFC title versus Frank Mir (11-3). So, what's Fighters.com to do?  Second-ranked "The Natural" Randy Couture (16-8) admitted this week to Canada's Globe and Mail, "I'm also OK with the idea that [I may not fight again].  I may get a bad [court] ruling and I can't really see myself at this point going back and fighting two more times for the UFC if that's what the state says I have to do." Should 19 July's more competitive match-up between third-ranked "Maine-iac" Tim Sylvia (24-4) and sixth-ranked "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko (27-1) be for Fighters.com's Heavyweight Championship? Both Sylvia and fourth-ranked "Pitbull" Andrei Arlovski (12-5) climbed two spots on fifth-ranked "The Babyface Assassin" Josh Barnett's (22-5) inability to put away "The Snowman" Jeff Monson in Tokyo last month coupled with Barnett's submission of ninth-ranked Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) falling off his two-year record. Of course, Arlovski officially announced today that he'll fight top heavyweight prospect Ben Rothwell (29-5) 19 July.  Rothwell steps-in well-hyped from the IFL and Arlovski looks to shake out of his funk. Barnett returns on the same undercard to seek revenge from a 2001 KO loss versus now largely irrelevant "The Rock" Pedro Rizzo (16-7) and Aleksander Emelianenko fights "The Headhunter" Paul Buentello (25-10) in my pick for fight of the night in Anaheim, outside of Los Angeles. This weekend in London, seventh-ranked "Vai Cavalo" Fabricio Werdum (10-3-1) and returning prospect "The Truth" Brandon Vera (8-1) will battle for the UFC's top contender spot. Eighth-ranked "Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring (28-13) will fill-in for injured "Hammer" Mark Coleman (15-9) versus the UFC's version of market-friendly "Kimbo Slice" Kevin Ferguson (3-0), former pro-wrestler Brock Lesnar (1-1), in a fight that shouldn't even be sanctioned, but only a big lug like Herring could find a way to lose. In July, tenth-ranked "Napao" Gabriel Gonzaga (8-3) has a lot to prove versus Justin McCully (8-3-2); and, McCully might be thinking the same thing. ...