A new month is now upon us, which means all-new fights and much-anticipated epic encounters. Near the start of every month I’ll be counting down the five fights I’m looking forward to the most, and why I’m looking forward to them. This is “Top 5 Most Anticipated Fights of August 2011”. Let’s get started. ...

Every Friday, Fighters.com will present the “Fighters Friday News And Notes”, compiling several of the top stories from around the internet. Here are all of the best stories from this week of MMA coverage. ...

Every Friday, Fighters.com will present the “Fighters Friday News And Notes”, compiling several of the top stories from around the internet. Here are all of the best stories from this week of MMA coverage. Dominick Cruz vs. Demetrious Johnson Announced For “ufc On Versus 6” (Five Ounces Of Pain) New York MMA Gyms Growing Despite The Sport’s Illegality In New York (MMA Training) Another Candidate For “Worst Referee Of All Time” (Fightlinker) An Exclusive Interview With Noted Coach Gil Martinez (Find MMA Gyms) Dana White Says Tito Ortiz May Get A Title Shot If He Wins At UFC 133 (Fightline) A Look At Japanese MMA For The Rest Of The Year (MMA Fighting) Sarah Kaufman Ready To Reclaim Her Title Pending strikeforce Win (MMA Weekly) ...

I’ve been a fan of Jon Jones for quite some time… it’s hard not to rally behind a young upstart that demolishes, absolutely demolishes, everyone that’s put in his path. But recently, with Jones getting more and more of the spotlight, he’s been the focus of more and more interviews. In some of these interviews, he’s said some pretty strange things. It’s rubbed some people the wrong way, and he’s even been compared to LeBron James in terms of an outstanding athlete with a massive ego. Most of the time I simply think it’s haters hating, but thanks to a recent interview… I’m beginning to think they may have a point. ...

Hello again fans and friends and welcome to the start of a new weekly series! The “Thursday Round-Up” will feature a variety of interesting stories from around the internet. So without further ado, here are some of the top MMA stories from around the web. A Great “ESP-XC” MMA Workout (MMA Training) The Worst Referee Ever (Fightlinker) An Interview With ufc Gym Vice President (Find MMA Gyms) Rich Franklin Talks UFC 133 (Fightline) Nate Marquardt Now Cleared To Fight (Five Ounces Of Pain) Well-Known Manager Alex Davis On Fight Management (MMA Junkie) Kazuo Misaki Signs With strikeforce (MMA Weekly) ...

What do we do about bad judging in MMA? It’s becoming an increasingly-larger problem, and it’s quite the paradox: the competence of most judges seems to be declining almost as rapidly as the sport of MMA is evolving. And yet there’s a recent report floating around that’s quickly swept several major MMA news outlets. Is it a breath of fresh air, a quick-fix solution with no lasting impact, or simply a band-aid on a shotgun wound? Here are my thoughts on what is being called the “half-point” judging system. ...

Normally when I report on the FBI seizing a website over the internet and shutting it down, I’m talking about online pirating of copyrighted MMA events, whether live or not (though most of the time live). But today the FBI has managed to wrangle a much bigger fish, and in the grand scope of things, an entirely different beast: online poker websites. What does this have to do with MMA? Simply put: online poker has continued to support MMA in the past, even with the UFC and Bellator no longer allowing them. ...

Right now it’s pretty tough to be a fan of Chris Lytle. For the first time in a long time, “Lights Out” looked well on his way towards a spot atop the ufc’s ever-crowded Welterweight division and perhaps even one day a shot at the UFC Welterweight Championship. Then Chris Lytle met and lost to Brian Ebersole at UFC 127 in Australia. It was a tough loss for a tough man that once admitted that he can’t keep starting over. Recently, however, Chris Lytle confirmed that he would not be retiring. Here are all the important details. ...

Today, the UFC held an event  to once again state their case for the legalization of MMA in New York. It’s been a long and mostly fruitless battle up to this point, but many predict that that’s soon going to change. Personally, I’ve supported this initiative since day one and am continually proud to do so. In fact, here’s my own personal list of the top 5 reasons why I think MMA should be legalized in New York. ...

It’s an unfortunate fact of life: the more popular something gets, the more it has a chance of developing a seedy underbelly. As Mixed Martial Arts continues to sweep the globe with the UFC leading the charge, there have emerged several “one and done” promotions hoping to make a quick buck by cashing in on the latest craze. Most of the time these promotions exist very briefly and quickly find out the cardinal truth of MMA: there are no overnight successes. This trend has unfortunately given rise to another trend: fighters not getting paid. And that’s exactly what happened at a recent event in the Dominican Republic featuring former UFC stars like the much-maligned Keith Jardine. Here are all the details. ...

I admit, I’m a pretty big fan of online blogs. I read a lot of them with regularity, especially MMA-related ones. When doing my daily scouring of information, I came across this one blog post on MMA Mania, from one of its more controversial members. To summarize, the user is advocating that we allow the use of knees to the head of a grounded opponent in American Mixed Martial Arts in order to neutralize the dreaded “lay and pray” tactic. And the more and more I think about this, fans and friends, the more and more I agree with it. Here are my thoughts on this somewhat-controversial matter. ...

We’re less than a day away from Halloween, a day of tricking, treating, and dressing up like an idiot on the one day you’re allowed to. Around this time everyone gets talking about what they’ll be dressed as for Halloween, and fear not fans and friends, I’ve got the goods: why not surprise your friends and go dressed as popular MMA stars? It’s quite easy and has plenty of benefits- just read on to find out, as I list my Top 5 MMA Costumes for Halloween. 5. Blind, Deaf, Dumb, Zombie Cecil Peoples The man has blown so many calls in his lifetime that he seems to have no brain. So why not embellish that fact and put together a brain-devouring Cecil Peoples? Bonus points for staring randomly at absolutely nothing and then proudly telling other people to go to hell if they don’t get why you picked your costume. Plus, if any scuffles break out during your long night of partying, you can proudly declare yourself the winner after every one, no matter how bad you get beaten. Everybody (only you) is a winner when you’re Cecil Peoples! ...

He’s one of the most dominant, controversial, highest-paid, notorious, and (in my humble opinion) misunderstood pro boxers of all time. There is only one Mike Tyson, and “Iron” Mike has been an unabashed fan of Mixed Martial Arts for quite some time. In fact, Tyson is scheduled to appear as a guest on an upcoming episode of “The Ultimate Fighter”. In a recent interviewer with The Canadian Press, the famed former boxing champion took on the controversial subject of fellow former pro boxer James Toney trying  (and utterly failing) at competing in Mixed Martial Arts. ...

The meteoric rise of Mixed Martial Arts into the cultural mainstream has been nothing short of a modern-day miracle. This is literally a sport that stood on death’s door a decade or so ago. Now with the UFC leading the charge, MMA’s acceptance into the mainstream continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Many believe that any exposure is good exposure, but I’ve recently found out something that makes me question that belief. It’s recently been revealed that Kevin James, the comedian/actor best known for his leading role in the long-running TV series “King of Queens”, has been tapped to star in an upcoming action/comedy movie that would see him put into the role of a UFC fighter. ...

MMA To Madison Ave: "Can You Hear Me Now!?" By Mike Straka The fastest growing sport in the world just got put on an even faster track to mainstream awareness and one step closer to Madison Ave's biggest dollars after one of the biggest brand licensing companies has jumped directly into the deep end of the mixed martial arts' pool. Authentic Brands Group LLC, a company with a giant global footprint in the worlds of apparel, consumer electronics and action sports has today announced the acquisition of TapouT, TapouT MPS, Silver Star Casting Company, Iron Star and Hitman Fight Gear to it's portfolio, which also includes the Bob Marley Brands, among dozens of others. ...

In the fight to get Mixed Martial Arts legalized around the world, no one location has received the level of scrutiny and scorn for their anti-MMA beliefs than the state of New York. Efforts to get MMA legalized in the state have been thwarted at every turn, whether it’s hiring lobbyists or even making a mini-documentary about the struggle (see Marc Ecko’s “Legalize MMA”, about the fight to legalize MMA in New York, right here). One of the most vocal proponents against legalizing MMA in New York has been Assemblyman Bob Reilly, who recently spoke to MMA Live about his problems with the sport. ...

Talk about your poetic justice. It’s been only a matter of days when I first spoke on the upstart Shine Fights promotion going back on its word and not paying fighters from their failed first event, and now it appears that their second event is also in serious jeopardy. The Virginia Athletic Commission has refused to issue Shine Fights a license to hold their planned September 10 event, which was scheduled for the George Mason University campus in Fairfax, Virginia and was to feature a one-night eight-man Lightweight Grand Prix tournament that was tentatively scheduled to air on Pay-Per-View. Ironically, the one clever idea Shine Fights had leading up to this show has also become the main reason the plug was pulled. ...

The dust has barely settled from the landmark announcement that Mixed Martial Arts is set to be legalized in Ontario, Canada. While I’m sure that Dana White and all the UFC top brass for that matter are already figuring out a can’t-miss card in order to made a definitive statement for their first Ontario show, there’s already an outcry against the legalization, and one group in particular wants to have MMA banned throughout the entirety of the country, not just in Ontario. The B.C. Medical Association wants its national body, the Canadian Medical Association, to consider a resolution at its next annual meeting that would ban both amateur and professional MMA throughout all of Canada. The CMA has even advocated for the ban of both amateur and professional boxing since 2001. While I’m never quick to dismiss the opinion of the men in the white coats, this is one idea I’ll never support. ...

"The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko (30-1) is a 33-year old Russian heavyweight MMA fighter who has 30 wins, including eight by T(KO), 15 by submission, and seven by decision.  He's six-feet tall, 233 pounds, and has a 74-inch reach.  A quiet, spiritual, and stoic man, Fedor Emelianenko is considered by many analysts and MMA fans to be the best MMA fighter ever.   He's the current Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion, the last holder of the Pride heavyweight championship, and has won many other tournaments and awards as well. ...

MMA is a great sport for many reasons, but the free-for-all brutality is definitely a plus. The fights nearly always have a moment that just wreaks of savagery, and in the pent-up world we live in today, that's golden. The downside to the sport is the countless, long minutes of posturing that lead up to the possibility of a truly great knockout. These 12 KO's all bring tremendous violence, usually in a ridiculously short amount of time. Enjoy. ...