According to MMA Weekly, Gracie would face a different opponent if Al-Turk is unable to obtain a visa.

Al-Turk would be returning to the Octagon after a TKO to “Cro Cop” Mirko Filipovic (23-6-2) at UFC 99 in Cologne last June.

Gracie tapped Peter Graham (0-3) in an arm triangle at Art of War 14 last September.

The first fight that sticks out is “The Filipino Assassin” Phillipe Nover (4-2) versus “The Saint” Rob Emerson (9-8). This is a fight that has big consequences for both fighters. Both fighters are coming off of back to back losses staring at the three strike rule. When you have a fight in which one fighter must win to stay in the UFC, it tends to bring out the best in them. This is special because both men are trying to avoid getting the dreaded pink slip from Dana White and Joe Silva.

Emerson is a very aggressive fighter that loves to stand and trade shots with his opponent. Nover is no stranger to striking as he has trained in one martial art or another since he was ten years old. He has been focusing on his jiu jitsu for a while now and may want to try and end this fight early with a take down and submission. Now matter where the fight goes you can be sure that these two will leave it all in the Octagon in hopes of keeping their job with the most recognized MMA organization in the world. Fireworks should go off inside the Octagon during this one and sadly we may not see it.

The next intriguing match up you may not see is between Mostapha al Turk (4-4) and Rolles Gracie Jr. (3-0). Mostapha is a man who has not been able to have any success since his arrival in the UFC. He has been TKOed in both fights which I don’t think he will have to worry about in this match with UFC newcomer Rolles Gracie. Rolles is undefeated with all wins coming via submission which is not surprising being that he is a Gracie. I am always intrigued by the chance to see a Gracie step inside the Octagon. After all, it was another Gracie that many of us watched eyes glued to the television, as he submitted much larger men with moves most of us had never seen before. Now we have yet another Gracie entering into the UFC. Rolles has been splitting his time training between Greg Jackson’s MMA and Team Renzo Gracie (13-6-1). It will be interesting to see how far along his stand up game has evolved as most of the Gracie’s have lacked solid striking. However going against an admitted submission wrestler in al Turk, we could see the fight hit the mat very fast and witness the newest generation of Gracie pull off a submission reminding us all of Royce Gracie (14-3-3) and the start of the UFC.

The last fight that I wish was on the main card features “All American” Brian Stann (8-2) welcoming “Mr Wonderful” Phil Davis (4-0) to the UFC. I know Brian Stann has not come in with guns blazing since he came over from the WEC but the fact that he has transferred to Jackson’s Academy should intrigue anyone. Jackson has a knack for making average fighters become top ten fighters. Brian is very athletic and Greg Jackson is sure to have given him some new tools for his tool belt. Brian is also a fan favorite due to his hero status as a recipient of the Silver Star while serving in the Marine Corps.

Phil is one of the world’s top prospects in the sport being a four time All-American wrestler at Penn State University, a national champion and finishing his college career with a record 0f 116-20. These are major accomplishments that have the MMA world watching and waiting to see how he will fare in the sport. Training out of Alliance Training Center in San Diego he has managed to keep his record perfect even if it was only four fights.

All Star wrestler and world class prospect debuting against the Marine Corp Captain who many call an American hero. Intrigued yet? I don’t know about you but I get very excited to see fighters making their UFC debuts, especially when the guy happens to be such a major prospect. If he beats Stan his status of prospect becomes set in stone and he will sky rocket in popularity. That is if anyone other than those attending the event actually were to see the fight.

Those are three most intriguing fights we may not see at UFC 109. Is there a fight I did not mention that you feel belongs here? Maybe a fight I mentioned that you laughed out loud while reading about here? As always you can join me on MMA Gospel Radio every Wednesday from 8-10 PM EST by logging into www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel. We have the “Cageside Chat” open where you can talk with our other listeners as well as myself and co-host. Hope to see you there.

French heavyweight Cheick Kongo (12-4-1) will meet UFC newcomer Mustapha al Turk (1-0), “The Hammer” Matt Hamill (4-2) will meet Reese Andy (7-2) in a light heavyweight bout.

Other bouts announced were “Piranha” Ryo Chonan (15-8) versus “Bad” Brad Blackburn (12-9-1), Antoni Hardonk (7-4) versus Mark Burch (10-2), and Dan Evensen (10-5) versus Pat Barry (1-0).

Kongo defeated Evensen with a first-round TKO at UFC 87 in August.

Al Turk defeated Gary Turner (3-1-1) by first-round submission due to strikes in March.

Hamill is hoping to come back from a third-round TKO loss to second-ranked middleweight “Ace” Rich Franklin (25-3) at UFC 88 in September.

Andy is also looking to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to “The Truth” Brandon Vera (7-3) in July.

Chonan won a split decision over “Jucao” Roan Carneiro (12-8) at UFC 88.

Blackburn TKO’d James Giboo (8-3) in round two in July.

Hardonk defeated Eddie Sanchez (8-2) with a second-round TKO at UFC 85 in June.

Burch, a UFC newcomer, TKO’d Alex Rozman  (0-4) in round one in May.

UFC rookie Barry won his last fight in May with a first-round TKO of Mike Delaney (26-17-2).

UFC 92 is headlined by a title fight between Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin (16-4) and “Sugar” Rashad Evans (12-0-1), a bout between second-ranked heavyweight “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (44-4-1) and Frank Mir (11-3) for the interim title, and a light heavyweight match-up between second-ranked “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (26-7) and sixth-ranked “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (32-8-1).

Fighters.com’s sixth-ranked middleweight “Thunder” Yushin Okami (22-4) versus “Boogeyman” Dean Lister (11-5) and “Doberman” CB Dollaway (7-1) versus Mike Massenzio (11-2) are also on the card.

“I had a lot of doubts going in here,” Baroni said after losing three straight and spending his entire career at 185-pounds, “but I erased them with that right hand.”

The usually brash “Bad Ass” lost a bit of bravado with the 15 pounds of inflated muscle, graciously admitting, “I feel really lucky to have this opportunity.”

In an unfortunate scene of MMA hooliganism, a friend of Jansen’s attacked Baroni in the cage after the knockout; but, order was quickly restored.

A reinvigorated Baroni asked after the fight, “Who’s next?”

CageRage is owned by ProElite, which also owns EliteXC and Icon and has a working relationship with Strikeforce, leaving open a lot of options for Baroni in his new weight class.

Heavyweight Neil Grove (6-1) knocked out “Buzz” Robert Berry (12-8) at 1:29 of round two, ending any leftover controversy from a Grove corner stoppage “W” over Berry last December.

Mustapha al Turk (6-3) earned the CageRage British Heavyweight Championship in two minutes of G’n'P on James McSweeney’s (1-2) head.

“Kong” Tom Watson (6-3) won a unanimous decision over John Phillips (6-2).

Heavyweight “Crazy Bear” Stav Economou (7-0) stayed undefeated with a unanimous decision over Piotr Kusmierz (1-1).

CageRage British Featherweight Champion “The Flame” Robbie Olivier (15-8–1) defended his belt from “Ash Cream Man” Ashleigh Grimshaw (5-4-1) with a second round rear naked choke.

Featherweight “One Punch” Brad Pickett (14-4) used a guillotine to choke out Italian Cristian Binda (4-5).

Irish Jason Young (4-1) pounded Francis Heagney (4-3) to earn the vacant CageRage British Lightweight Championship by unanimous decision.

“When I can’t beat mid-level guys.  I’m not going to let myself get beat by mediocre fighters,” Shamrock confided.

Saturday at CageRage 25 in London, “Buzz” Robert Berry (12-7) knocked out Shamrock at 3:26 of round one.

“He comes to fight,” Shamrock had described Berry; and, it’s likely this loss won’t convince the king of the Lion’s Den to retire.

Shamrock is 3-8 since his Y2K return to MMA.  He’s lost five consecutive fights by first round stoppage since TKOing Kimo Leopoldo at UFC 48 in 2004.

Ken won’t retire because he’s a fighter with fight left in him.  He won’t retire because, even after four consecutive losses, he still headlines a card; and, after five straight losses, his next fight will be a main event too.  He won’t retire because we still pay to watch him fight, because our memory of Shamrock at his best continues to eclipse Shamrock at this, his worst.

The “Ashikan Judan” Masakazu Imanari (14-5-1) earned his stage name by twisting “White Bear” Jean Silva‘s (15-8-3) foot in a heel hook at 2:30 of round one for the CageRage World Featherweight Championship.

British heavyweight Rob Broughton (7-3-1) dealt undefeated Neil Grove (5-1) his first “L” in a majority decision.

Middleweight “Kong” Tom Watson beat Pierre Guillet to a TKO at 2:05 of round one.

Heavyweight Mustapha al Turk (5-3) submitted kickboxer Gary Turner (4-1) on strikes at 3:19 of round one.

Heavyweight Ivan Serati (8-2) stopped Roman Webber (4-4) at :48 of round one.

Brazilian “Lagartixa” Henrique Santana (5-3) won a unanimous decision over England’s Michael Johnson (5-5).

Giorgio Andrews (3-0) made it a tough night for the Shamrocks by winning a TKO over Ken’s son Ryan Shamrock (1-1) after Ryan broke his hand in the first round.

Undefeated John Hathaway remained so with a TKO of Marvin Arnold Bleau at 1:32 of round one.

Finally, John Phillips (7-1) opened the night with a TKO of Jake Bostwick at 4:10 of round one.