“Not true! We are doing couture vs franklin not chuck,” said White via Twitter.

“Natural” Randy Couture (18-10) tapped out “The Hammer” Mark Coleman (16-10) at UFC 109 in Las Vegas February 6.

Despite the denial, Sherdog reported it checked with it’s sources and “the Liddell-Franklin bout is still in play.”

No, UFC 1 created the most prominent forum ever for martial arts styles to mix, but the philosophical underpinnings of MMA began in the San Francisco Bay area in 1965 by an ingenious martial arts pioneer: Bruce Lee, known in his native China as Jun Fan.

Lee’s daughter, Shannon, spoke exclusively about her father’s contribution to mixed martial arts and her efforts to assert his legacy within the sport.

Mrs. Lee recounted the story that lead Bruce to the epiphany on which modern MMA is founded.  The story is now legendary, but rarely told in context of the history of mixed martial arts.

Lee was already challenging traditional notions by 1965.  He was a practitioner of Wing Chung kung fu under Master Yip Man in Hong Kong and had been teaching the art since 1959 after expatriating to the United States.  Lee was calling his style Jun Fan Gung Fu, but it was essentially his approach to Wing Chun.  After opening his school in Oakland, his teaching of non-Chinese began to cause controversy among other Chinese martial artists in the San Francisco Bay area.  Lee defended his spreading of Wing Chun and a duel was arranged between Lee and a fighter fielded to defend the art’s tradition of Chinese exclusivity.

The fight was to be no holds barred.  If Lee won, he could continue to teach Jun Fan Gung Fu to anyone he desired.  If he lost, he’d close his school and quit teaching to non-Chinese.

The duel wasn’t televised on pay per view and no documentation exists but a few first-hand accounts, including Lee’s own, his wife Linda’s, and his opponent Wong Jack Man’s (which, notably, differs dramatically from Bruce and Linda’s).

Shannon Lee told Fighters.com the version told by her parents.  The fight lasted three minutes and, after absorbing strikes from Lee during the first minute, Man began to literally run from Lee.  But, Lee desired a conclusive victory and chased Man, beating him into verbal submission.

But, Lee felt the fight should’ve ended quicker. He was disappointed with his physical conditioning and the limitations of his traditional Wing Chun martial art.  This was a key turning point in the history of mixed martial arts, a philosophical evolution from traditional to modern, the way fighters think and train today.

After the fight, Lee had an image created of a burial mound with a tombstone to symbolize his death as a traditional martial artist and his rebirth as the first modern mixed martial artist, though of course the term “mixed martial artist” would’ve been unknown to Lee.

Lee went on to inspire generations of Westerners to train martial arts through his cinematic work and even developed an entirely original fighting style based on his epiphany he called Jeet Kune Do.  It was his writing and research in cross-training traditional styles with a focus on practicality and emphasis on physical conditioning leading him to create Jeet Kune Do that is truely the foundation of MMA as we know it today.

Shannon Lee doesn’t consider Jeet Kune Do a linear precursor to MMA, but a style all it’s own.  However, she does encourage Fighters.com’s tenth-ranked welterweight “Killa B” Ben Saunders (8-1-2) to talk about his foundation in Jeet Kune Do and it’s influence on him as a professional mixed martial artist.  Through her LeeWay Media Group she produced “How Bruce Lee Changed the World” for the History Channel last year, which included commentary by Saunders, Fighters.com and UFC middleweight champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4), tenth-ranked heavyweight “Natural” Randy Couture (18-10), and UFC President Dana White.  The documentary is available to rent on NetFlix.

Mrs. Lee also told Fighters.com that she plans to make her father’s place in MMA history more apparent over the next year through her production company, licensing company, and the non-profit Bruce Lee Foundation.

Shannon said she’s had talks with the major MMA apparel companies over the years to license Bruce Lee’s image and market it to MMA fans, but that nothing substantial or, she thought, worthy of her father’s legacy had come about until recently. In the next year she told Fighters.com that MMA fans will have to opportunity to honor Bruce Lee’s connection to the sport with apparel that’ll be designed and marketed for them.

And, this is at an opportune time for the sport and Bruce Lee’s legacy.  Mrs. Lee told Fighters.com that the People’s Republic of China has been promoting Bruce Lee as a model Chinese, including commissioning a 50-part documentary on Lee for CCTV produced by Mrs. Lee’s production company.  There are also talks of converting Bruce Lee’s childhood home in Hong Kong – now a by-the-hour hotel, Shannon laughed – into a Bruce Lee Museum.  This is all while in-roads are being made for MMA in China.  The Beijing-based Art of War FC has been staging MMA events in China since 2005.  And, the UFC recently signed an agreement with Sohu.com to stream UFC events live to its 2 billion Chinese users.  Associating PRC-condoned Bruce Lee with MMA in China can only grow both the sport and the legacy of Bruce Lee.

And, as far as Fighters.com is concerned, it’s about time Bruce Lee be given his proper place in the history of modern mixed martial arts.  He was thirty years ahead of his time in the way he thought about reality fighting, but also his passion, charm, and grace is a model for the sport.

Trigg was laid out in the first round by “Terror” Matt Serra (10-6).  Coleman was dominated and eventually submitted by fellow HOFer “Natural” Randy Couture (18-10) in the main event.

For Trigg, it was his second consecutive first-round knockout loss since returning to the UFC for the first time since exiting on consecutive first-round rear naked choke submission losses in 2005.  It seems clear to Fighters.com that Trigg is not a UFC-level talent any longer and giving him his walking papers is justified.

But, Coleman got a raw deal and so did fans.

After winning a unanimous decision over “American Psycho” Stephan Bonnar (11-6) at UFC 100 in Las Vegas last July, Coleman was hyped by the UFC into a main event versus Couture.  That was a ridiculous stretch.  Bonnar has lost four of his last six fights in the UFC’s 205-pound division, only managing wins over Mike Nickels (8-3) and “Ravishing Red” Eric Schafer (12-5-2).  Couture was coming off a narrow, but legitimate win over “Truth” Brandon Vera (11-4).  Coleman and Couture should’ve never been matched to begin with because Coleman hadn’t earned victories in the division at the same level Couture had.

And the fans got to pay for the bad matchmaking.  I asked a casual fan last night if they had watch UFC 109 and he said, “That was Couture-Coleman?  Psht… No!”  And after I described the result of the main event, he said, “Well, of course…”

And, you know, that’s about the right reaction.  The rest of us though, the core MMA fans were going to buy UFC 109 anyway.  And, we were shorted on a true main event, because Couture-Coleman surely wasn’t.

This furthers the pattern of bad matchmaking in the UFC Fighters.com has been writing about over the last year or so.  It’s disappointing particularly because UFC President Dana White has promised he wouldn’t let mixed martial arts devolve into the mess that professional boxing is in because of bad matchmaking.  However, White is doing precisely that.

But, Coleman also suffers from the UFC’s bad matchmaking.  Coming off the win over Bonnar, Coleman probably could’ve earned another couple of UFC wins at Bonnar’s level and a little above, putting together a nice run either back into legit main event status or into retirement.  But, because he was overmatched versus Couture, the UFC is de facto forcing him into retirement off the loss.

It seems the bad matchmaking will continue too.  As Reverend Turk Vangel wrote at Fighters.com Tuesday, now Couture is being overhyped as a potential 205-pound title contender.  Just think about this.  Couture beat a guy whose most illustrious win in the last four years is over a guy who is 2-4 over his last six fights.  As was expected, Couture dominates that guy so thoroughly the UFC cuts him.  And, that earns Couture talk of title contention?  Dominating Coleman, who himself is only 1-3 in the last four years? Dominating a guy whose only win in the last four years is a guy who is two for his six?  Dominating a guy who the UFC has conceded by cutting him that he doesn’t even belong in the UFC 205-pound division?  This earns Couture talk of a title shot?

Under that logic, should Serra now be back in the 170-pound title picture after his knockout of Trigg?

UFC and White need to take the UFC back to it’s matchmaking principles and return to merit-based matchmaking, not WWE-, professional boxing-style overhyping of fighters creating poor value for fans and shorting fighters like Coleman of a chance to win in legit matchups.

Randy Couture is a fighter that I admire and have a hard time picking against but he is not near the top of the division. How can a fight against Coleman, a man not in the top ten of the light heavyweight division, suddenly put Randy in the top five? If Mark had beaten a top tier fighter in his last fight then I might be able to see an argument for it but his win was over Stephan Bonnar (11-6) whose last win inside the Octagon was in October of 2007.

The light heavyweight division is not a weak division. If it was not so stacked with guys ready to make title runs then putting Randy in their makes sense.

Currently you have guys like “Little Nog” Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (17-3) and “Bones” Jon Jones (9-1) making a splash in the division and the top spots held by Fighters.com and UFC light heavyweight champion “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (16-0) and “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (18-4). Rounding out the top five is “Sugar” Rashad Evans (14-1-1) in my opinion. This leaves Randy on the outside of the top 5 at the very least. That does not include the fact that Fighters.com and UFC middleweight champion “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4) has fought a few fights in that division and has to be considered a contender.

I can easily put Randy in the top ten of the division but that would be it for now. He has slowed a bit with age and doesn’t get his punches off as fast nor are his take downs as explosive. The only way to see exactly where he fits in the rankings is to put him in a fight with someone like “Bones” Jones, “Little Nog” or even Anderson Silva.

Silva has a fight coming up against “The Phenom” Vitor Belfort (18-8) and with Randy fighting as often as he has been this fight would be to far out for it to be the next fight for Randy. It is a fight that would bring in massive pay-per-view numbers though. The man many feel is the pound-for-pound best in the world versus Captain America is an easy sell.

Who should Randy fight next in order to keep moving toward a title shot in the future? Would Jones be to much for him? Maybe a fight with Thiago Silva (15-2) who is coming off a loss to Evans at UFC 108 would be smart.

No matter who Dana White and Joe Silva find for Randy to fight, I am sure many will say it is a fight Randy can’t win but history shows it is never smart to count out Randy Couture.

Coleman was submitted by “The Natural” Randy Couture (18-10) in a rear naked choke at 1:09 of round two.  Though he dotted Couture’s jaw with sporadic punches, backing up his fellow UFC Hall of Famer, Coleman was never really at an advantage in the fight.  Couture hit Coleman more often during exchanges, controlled Coleman in the clinch, and submitted him on the mat.

“He’ll always be a part of this organization,” added White. “I just think he’ll have a hard time competing with the guys at the top level. Age is a factor with him.”

Coleman came into the fight from a unanimous decision over “American Psycho” Stephan Bonnar (11-6) at UFC 100 in Las Vegas last July, his biggest win since 2006 when he TKO’d Fighters.com’s third-ranked light heavyweight “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (18-4) at PRIDE 31 north of Tokyo. Rua suffered a broken arm during a Coleman slam and the fight was ended.

But, White didn’t like what he saw of Coleman versus Couture.  He said, “[Coleman] went in there, and he wasn’t able to do anything. He didn’t get off. Randy pretty much beat him everywhere.”

At 45-years old, Coleman is obviously still competitive at a certain level, as he demonstrated versus Bonnar.  Coleman hasn’t spoken out about White’s comments to clarify his future.

Paulo Thiago (8-1) versus “Quick’ Mike Swick (14-3)

Fighters.com fourth-ranked welterweight Thiago takes on ninth-ranked Swick. Thiago was originally slated to fight seventh-ranked “Kos” Josh Koscheck(14-4) but that fight feel through and his teammate stepped up to get revenge.

Thiago is primarily known for his grappling but after the brutal uppercut KO of Koscheck many have been talking about his punching prowess, including Paulo himself.

Swick is a fast and aggressive striker with amazing takedown defense. His striking, while not technically perfect, has vastly improved and his use of the counter-punch is something he has relied on after his stint on The Ultimate Fighter Season One.

Thiago has a great chin and even though he knocked out Kos, his striking is sloppy. He loves to drop his hands and against the speedy Swick this could be trouble.

Swick is looking to get a rematch with fifth-ranked “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (23-6) and even though he is taking this fight on short notice he has quite the advantage in training with Kos and third-ranked Jon Fitch (20-3). Fitch, in his usual style, ground out a decision win over Paulo.

I know Paulo could throw that Kos shot and catch Swick but I feel Swick is going to work to keep this fight standing and try to look for those dropped hands of Thiago. The one trend from Swick that concerns me is when he has fought in big fights in the past he seems to hold back.

The Gospel on this one is Mike Swick by Decision.

Demian Maia (10-1) versus Dan Miller (11-2)

Dan Miller is a hardcore MMA fan’s dream. Just a gritty fighter who loves to grind and usually puts on quite the show.

Fighters.com sixth-ranked Damian Maia has the best MMA jiu-jitsu in the sport and is looking to rebound from his crushing knocking out at the hands of fourth-ranked “Great” Nate Marquardt (29-8-2).

Miller has good but not great muay thai skills and just recently received his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. There are differences in skills from one black belt to the next and I feel Dan will want nothing to do with hitting the mat with Maia.

Maia has rudimentary striking at best and will need to take this to the ground but Dan has a good grappling game and will need to use that to keep this fight standing where he has the clear advantage.

This fight may hit the mat and get stalled. I don’t think this will be a Fight of the Night candidate but I feel Maia, if his psyche has recovered from that KO, will catch Miller.

The Gospel is Maia by late third-round submission

“The Terror” Matt Serra (9-6) versus “Twinkle Toes” Frank Trigg (19-7)

The smack alone before this fight has been epic however I don’t feel the fight will live up to the hype. Serra has said he refuses to lose to a man with a tramp stamp while Trigg has made cracks about Serra being a guido. Great stuff from these two guys.

The fight though will not be a barn burner. Matt Serra is another jiu-jitsu black belt but in contrast to Maia, he has not finished a fight via submission in eight years.

Trigg is a wrestler at heart and although Serra has not posed a threat on the ground in years, Trigg’s kryptonite is the rear naked choke.

Serra will likely want to turn this into a stand up war that will make boxing fans cringe as neither man has very clean striking.

I think Frank’s size and strength advantage will play a huge role in this fight

In the end Trigg will need to use a smothering top game to defeat Serra as a loss for him could mean leaving the UFC.

Gospel: Frank Trigg by unanimous decision

I will skip the Sonnen versus Marquardt fight as I wrote a piece this week on my thoughts of that fight..basically it will be Nate winning and getting the next title shot.

This leads us to the much talked about main event.

“The Natural” Randy Couture (17-10) versus “The Hammer” Mark Coleman (16-9)

You either love this fight or hate it. Some see it as two over-the-hill fighters making their last stand and trying to stay in a sport that is passing them by. Others see it as a fight they have been waiting to see since UFC 17.

Tenth-ranked heavyweight, but now fighting at light heavyweight, Couture is a greco roman wrestler who helped to define dirty boxing in MMA.

Mark Coleman is a freestyle wrestler who is the inventor of brutal ground and pound.

Mark has not evolved over the years like Randy has and this is a major area of concern in this fight.

Randy has taken his wrestling and used it to push fighters against the cage, use his dirty boxing and win fight after fight when he has been told he is to old.

While Mark did beat Couture the last time they met, in the 1989 Olympic Wrestling Festival, it was only by a point and much has changed since then.

The first key to this fight is obviously wrestling. While I feel Mark was the better wrestler, the additions to Randy’s game will help him to keep this fight standing where he has a huge advantage over Coleman.

The second key is cardio, cardio, cardio. Randy has it and Mark lacks it. Randy will want to keep the pressure on Mark, pushing him against the cage, using his dirty boxing and wearing him down.

Mark needs this fight to hit the mat with him in top position so that he can use that ground and pound to shock the world. Sadly for Mark he will not see this come to fruition.

Randy will tire Mark out and end up getting the takedown himself and beat Coleman at his own game.

I am a born and bred Buckeye and it hurts me to say, Randy Couture wins via TKO due to ground and pound in round two.

There are many fans and journalists of MMA that look at men like Randy and Mark and see old guys that are to stubborn to know when to tap out of a sport they have been apart of for over a decade. I see men who still have that drive to fight and believe that they can still stand inside the Octagon with the men half their age.

Randy has shows time and time again that you can never count him out. He lost at UFC 57 to Fighters.com eighth-ranked light heavyweight “Iceman” Chuck Liddell (21-7) and after that fight many thought Randy was done and that he should retire. His next fight saw him move up to the heavyweight division to fight for the title against”Maine-iac” Tim Sylvia (25-6) in Columbus, Ohio at UFC 68. His detractors said he was old, had not done well at heavyweight in the past and that Tim was just to much for the old guy. Then as if out of spite, Randy shocked the world by knocking Tim done in the first exchange of the fight. Nationwide Arena was on their feet and rocking and through five rounds became what I believe to be the loudest crowd at an MMA fight in the history of the sport. Randy won a unanimous decision, the UFC heavyweight title and some respect that night. Moments like this are what sports are all about.

Mark Coleman is a legend in the sport as well and has had some of the best fights in the sport in Pride and the UFC. His return to the Octagon was one many cringed at due to the fact that Mark looked run down, only a fraction of the fighter he was once. He changed some training methods and decided to get back in the Octagon once again. He lost his “Welcome Back” fight at UFC 93 against third-ranked “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (18-4)in a fight that ended in a TKO but was very lackluster in that both fighters seemed to be running on empty after the first round. It was back to the drawing board for Mark and fans spoke loudly about his inability to compete in the UFC at his age. UFC 100 rolled around and Mark was facing The Ultimate Fighter fan favorite Stephan Bonnar (11-6). Shocking almost everyone in the sport, Coleman won a via unanimous decision. He was back and ready for war once again.

This week we have heard rumors of yet another legend in MMA coming back to the UFC to do battle inside the Octagon. The always rousing “The Predator: Don Frye (20-8-1) was talked about by Dana White in a report from the Bleacher Report. Dana said “I’m not saying Don Frye’s coming back to fight in the UFC,” What I’m saying is, Don Frye’s coming back to dominate the UFC. I called Don Frye and asked him if he was in fact coming back to the UFC. He told me he could not lie to a man of the cloth (although my title is Reverend it is merely for the sake of marrying friends) so he would not comment on that question. Don’s silence on the issue leads me to only one conclusion, he will be back inside the Octagon if for nothing else than for a one fight deal. I can see Don stepping inside the Octagon after the Coleman and Couture fight to challenge Coleman. After all, he did lose to him back at UFC 10: The Tournament via TKO due to punishment.

Don is such a popular fighter amongst the hardcore fans that many will love seeing him back as he is a fighter that displays true grit and told me on MMA Gospel Radio that it is a fighters job to not tap. You fight until you lose and never give up. How will the casual fan that may not remember Don Frye see his return?

Yet another fighter in his middle 40s trying to hang with the boys or as a grizzled veteran hungry for more and ready to once again go to war? Guys like Don Frye, Mark Coleman and Randy Couture dominated the sport at one time and I feel they still have that fight like Randy versus Tim Sylvia in them to bring the crowd to their feet and make us rethink our opinion of legends getting back to action. They have been the elite in the sport at one time and in my opinion they always will have that level of commitment and the shear will to keep fighting and hold on to that status.

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.

Both seventh-ranked Shane Carwin (10-0) and unranked Cain Velasquez (7-0) have been hyped as top contenders ahead of dos Santos primarily because Carwin is all-American and Velasquez is Mexican-American, two key UFC demographics.  Dos Santos has a better record than both Carwin and Velasquez over the last two years and with every bit as exciting finishes as either.  But, dos Santos has been underhyped also because Nogueira is both still a contender and a big draw.  Only one of them can be marketed as a potential contender at a time because they won’t fight each other, and Nogueira is the bigger name.

But, Fighters.com thinks dos Santos’s time gaining experience versus quality opponents like Yvel and “Cro Cop” Mirko Filipovic (23-6-2) will benefit him in the long run more than being rushed to a title shot like Carwin and Velasquez have been.

In boxing, prospects take a long road to a title shot, building their record and experiences on the path.  They beat power punchers, technical fighters, European stylists, pressure fighters, brawlers, and every look they can get while gradually increasing their level of competition.  They might even lose a fight or two along the way and good fighters will learn from those losses as much as from their wins.  By the time they fight for a title, if they’re management has served them well, they’ve seen it all and are confident going into their first title challenge.

In MMA, prospects are often rushed through the ranks and granted title shots because they’re getting a lot of hype or are marketable, not necessarily because they’re ready physically and mentally.

However, because dos Santos’s rise through the ranks has been limited by his teacher’s contendership, he’s earning an eventual title shot the old fashioned way.  And, he’ll benefit from that in the long run.

Just in the UFC, he’s beaten a world-class submission grappler and certified top ten heavyweight ninth-ranked “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1), a 6′11″ young thoroughbred “SkySkraper” Stefan Struve (23-3), an MMA legend and patient kickboxer Filipovic, and now a intimidating, wild kickboxer in Yvel.  Dos Santos also has one loss under his belt, a 2007 armbar submission to Joaquim Ferreira (3-3).

Dos Santos is already a top contender, though you wouldn’t know it in the UFC’s marketing.  However, when his time finally comes, he’s going to have the skills, experiences, and seasoning to be a long-serving champion.

Fighters.com January Heavyweight Rankings

1. “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (31-1)

2. Brock Lesnar (4-1)

3. Frank Mir (13-4)

4. “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1)

5. “Cigano” Junior dos Santos (10-1)

6. “Grim” Brett Rogers (10-1)

7. Shane Carwin (10-0)

8. “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5)

9. “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1)

10. “The Natural” Randy Couture (17-10)

Emelianenko’s fallen foe at M-1 Global/Strikeforce, fifth-ranked “Grim” Brett Rogers (10-1), wants to comeback versus Strikeforce heavyweight champion “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (29-10).  And, Overeem seems ambivalent about who he fights and whether or not he’s defending his title or not.

And so,  four men makeup what Strikeforce and M-1 Global might call “a good problem to have” atop the Strikeforce heavyweight division.  Especially since the UFC is finding it hard to find four top heavyweights who are healthy enough to fight.

Second-ranked UFC champion Brock Lesnar (4-1) is out indefinitely after minor intesting surgery, but is excpect to return versus sixth-ranked Shane Carwin (10-0).

Fourth-ranked “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1) has had to postpone a fight versus Cain Velasquez (6-0) for the interim UFC title until UFC 110 in Sydney February 21 due to a staph infection.

And, seventh-ranked “Cigano” Junior dos Santos (9-1) lost his UFC 108 opponent, “Napão” Gabriel Gonzaga (11-4), due to Gonzaga’s staph infection.

Third-ranked Frank Mir (12-4) will fight Cheick Kongo (14-5-1) at UFC 107 in Memphis December 12.

Eighth-ranked “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5) is negotiating a return to Pancrase in 2010 to defend his heavyweight King of Pancrase title.

Tenth-ranked “The Natural” Randy Couture (17-10) has moved down to light heavyweight.

Fighters.com November Heavyweight Rankings

1. “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (31-1)

2. Brock Lesnar (4-1)

3. Frank Mir (12-4)

4. “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1)

5. “Grim” Brett Rogers (10-1)

6. Shane Carwin (10-0)

7. “Cigano” Junior dos Santos (9-1)

8. “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5)

9. “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (12-4-1)

10. “The Natural” Randy Couture (17-10)