We head to the one and only Sherdog for a mostly-official confirmation that the UFC plans to pit “Cro Cop” against “Big Country”. The fight is tentatively scheduled for UFC 137, the same event where Georges St. Pierre defends his UFC Welterweight Championship against Nick Diaz.

A legendary fighter well-known for his incredible run in the equally-legendary PRIDE FC promotion, Mirko Cro Cop has fallen on hard times ever since PRIDE folded. Before PRIDE fell, only one man had managed to ever knock out Mirko Cro Cop. Post-PRIDE, three men have stone-cold KO’d him while Junior dos Santos submitted him with strikes. Currently, Filipovic is on a two-fight losing streak with both losses by KO. Following a horrendous showing against Frank Mir, Cro Cop was most-recently KO’d by rising upstart Brendan Schaub.

His opponent, Roy Nelson, has also had a tough time of late. Once a 13-2 fighter, Nelson is currently on a two-fight losing-streak as well and has won only two of his last six bouts. Nelson seemed poised to take the UFC by storm after winning the tenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter” by KO and then KO’ing Stefan Struve, but he ran into a lot of problems against Junior dos Santos and most-recently Frank Mir. The Mir loss in particular has led many to demand that Nelson finally lose his trademark gut, although Nelson has said that his poor performance was because he showed up to that fight with an illness.

This is coming from a major Roy Nelson fan, so please believe me when I say that I don’t say this lightly: I’ve finally passed the point where I can defend Roy Nelson for being so very out of shape.

We can debate it all we like, but the fact of the matter is that Nelson has won twice in six fights. He’s also getting older, and with age comes declining ability. Nelson’s skills as a fighter haven’t declined yet, but his body’s ability to deal with his size has. I’m not one of those guys that are going to laugh at Roy Nelson and call him fat, I find that completely moronic and very hypocritical. As Joe Rogan once said “People look at him and say ‘that guy’s a professional athlete’? Yes he’s a professional athlete, and he’ll kick your ass.”

But when it comes to a professional athlete fighting another professional athlete, Roy Nelson has reached the point of no return. His cardio looked beyond horrible against Frank Mir.

Here’s what I think is going to happen in this fight: if Roy Nelson shows up in his usual shape and Mirko Cro Cop fights like his job and career is on the line (both probably will be), then I think we might see the Mirko Cro Cop of old one last time. But if Roy Nelson shows up with even ten pounds of the gut shaved off, he’ll be able to beat Cro Cop. And if Nelson shows up with the gut gone entirely, he’ll probably knock out Cro Cop in the first round.

First up, let’s head to MMA Mania for news on how the fighters of UFC 130 are holding up. The official medical suspensions stand as such.

Quinton Jackson: Must have left hand x-rayed; if positive then must be cleared by orthopedic doctor or no contest until 11/25/11; minimum suspension, no contest until 06/28/11, no contact until 06/19/11.

Frank Mir: Must have left ribs cleared by doctor or no contest until 11/25/11; minimum suspension, no contest until 06/28/11, no contact until 06/19/11.

Stefan Struve: Suspended until 07/28/11; no contact until 07/13/11 for precautionary reasons.

Brian Stann: Must have right thumb x-rayed; if positive then must be cleared by orthopedic doctor or no contest until 11/25/11; minimum suspension, no contest until 06/28/11, no contact until 06/19/11.

Jorge Santiago: Must clear left orbital fracture with ENT or ophthalmologist or no contest until 11/25/11.

Rafaello Oliveira: Suspended until 07/28/11; no contact until 07/13/11 for precautionary reasons.

Michael McDonald: Must have left shoulder cleared by orthopedic doctor or no contest until 11/25/11; minimum suspension until 07/28/11, no contact until 07/13/11.

Next up, we go to the one and only Sherdog for the official list of reported payouts for UFC 130. As expected, several of the major headlining attractions left with a considerable chunk of change. Here’s what everyone made.

Quinton Jackson — $250,000 (no win bonus) def. Matt Hamill — $32,000

Frank Mir — $250,000 (including $125,000 win bonus) def. Roy Nelson — $15,000

Travis Browne — $16,000 (including $8,000 win bonus) def. Stefan Struve — $21,000

Rick Story — $34,000 (including $17,000 win bonus) def. Thiago Alves — $33,000

Brian Stann — $46,000 (including $23,000 win bonus) def. Jorge Santiago — $36,000

Demetrious Johnson — $12,000 (including $6,000 win bonus) def. Miguel Torres — $30,000

Tim Boetsch — $36,000 (including $18,000 win bonus) def. Kendall Grove — $28,000

Gleison Tibau — $50,000 (including $25,000 win bonus) def. Rafaello Oliveira — $10,000

Michael McDonald — $12,000 (including $6,000 win bonus) def. Chris Cariaso — $4,000

Renan “Barao” Pegado — $10,000 (including $5,000 win bonus) def. Cole Escovedo — $6,000

So it does look like both Quinton Jackson and Frank Mir could be out for nearly the rest of the entire year, which is a shame since both men scored big wins at UFC 130. But they’re both dealing with serious injuries, and I wish them both the best as well as a speedy recovery.

In regards to the UFC payroll, it doesn’t surprise me that Jackson and Mir made off with a quarter of a million. What surprised me is how much their opponents made in comparison. Here’s some simple math for you, fans and friends.

According to this payroll, Quinton Jackson made nearly eight times as much money as his opponent, “Ultimate Fighter” standout and longtime journeyman fighter Matt Hamill.

The discrepancy gets even worse when you compare Frank Mir’s salary to that of Roy Nelson. The former UFC Heavyweight and Interim Heavyweight Champion, Mir, made nearly seventeen times more money that the winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 10, Roy Nelson.

Of course, this money does not include things like bonuses, whether traditional or untraditional. It also doesn’t include things like sponsorship deals.

But still… that’s one whopper of a discrepancy. The UFC is definitely home to the big, big paychecks… it just appears that that’s only true for a very select few.

5. Miguel Torres vs. Demetrious Johnson living up to its potential.

I was very hesitant about Miguel Torres after his bore-fest of a UFC debut, I’ve made no secret of that. But he honestly redeemed himself a whole lot (though not completely) at UFC 130. This was a Miguel Torres I could like: his style is wholly different, but the old fire and passion is still there, as is the hunger to get a dramatic finish. Johnson was simply the better man, and as I predicted, this fight saw him fully emerge as a UFC Bantamweight Championship contender. All told, it was the best fight of the UFC 130 preliminary card.

4. Frank Mir controlling and dominating an over-matched and overweight Roy Nelson.

When Frank Mir is off… he’s way, way off. But when Frank Mir is on? When Frank Mir is on, it becomes very apparent why he’s a former Heavyweight champion. Mir showed up in great shape and really controlled Roy Nelson, who is a tough opponent for anybody. Both men ended up gassing, but mostly because the first round of their fight was so frantic and exciting. It wasn’t the best performance of Frank Mir’s career, but it did demonstrate that he’s still a force in the UFC’s Heavyweight division after all this time.

3. Quinton Jackson fully shaking off the ring rust against Matt Hamill.

Jackson didn’t look too impressive against Rashad Evans, the same could be said for his bout with Lyoto Machida. But when you look at his UFC 130 fight with Matt Hamill and consider that he had a fractured hand going into the bout… Jackson looked very impressive. With some of the shots he hit Hamill with, you have to wonder if those shots would’ve knocked Hamill out if “Rampage” had his hands at full strength. This wasn’t the full rebirth of the Quinton Jackson of old, but it was a huge step in the right direction.

2. Brian Stann dominating Jorge Santiago.

Even if we put aside the tremendous story of a former Marine and Silver Star recipient fighting on Memorial Day weekend, it’s tough to look at Brian Stann and not picture him as a possible title contender before the year is through. Stann seems to be putting it all together at Middleweight: fast hands, crisp striking, and dangerous KO power. Jorge Santiago came into the UFC after an amazing run in Japan… and Brian Stann may have just sent him back there. It was a fantastic performance, and when you add in Stann’s background, it was the best feel-good moment of the night.

And my personal pick for the best moment of UFC 130 is…

1. Travis Browne’s Superman Punch KO on Stefan Struve.

If you ever wondered why this was called the “Superman Punch”, here’s your answer: if someone knows how to use it correctly and has good power in his hands, it’s nearly guaranteed to knock an opponent senseless. Like many flashy strikes, it’s mostly used not to damage but to create openings and get inside an opponent’s head. But Browne utilized the move to its full effect when he folded up the gigantic Stefan Struve. That’s a highlight that will be on Browne’s reel for the rest of his career, and it was honestly the best moment of an underwhelming UFC 130.

So there you have it, fans and friends: those are the moments I’ll be remembering from UFC 130: “Rampage vs. Hamill”.

Next for Brian Stann: Now that he’s dropped down to Middleweight, Brian Stann just keeps finding a way to finish people in dramatic fashion. He’s now on a three-fight win-streak with three stoppages: tww KO’s and one submission. He’s also got one “Fight of the Night” award under his belt as a Middleweight. Stann is a huge breath of fresh air in a division still recuperating from Anderson Silva’s reign of destruction, so I see Stann being immediately put into a “contender eliminator” fight in his next bout.

Next for Roy Nelson: I feel quite sad to say this, but it’s time for “Big Country” to lose the “big”. Perhaps it’s Nelson getting up there in years, perhaps it’s the simple fact that what everyone said would happen finally is happening. But Roy Nelson has got to lose weight, and fast. His cardio is abominable if it goes past the first round, and Mir proved that it’s even abominable in the very first round if you know how to work him. If Nelson doesn’t show up to his next fight at a trim 220, 240 at maximum, then he’s doomed to stay knocking out UFC Heavyweight bottom-feeders until he loses a few in a row and the UFC cuts him.

Next for Frank Mir: What an interesting situation Frank Mir finds himself in. He continues to find ways to prolong his career as a top-flight UFC Heavyweight, and to be honest, I think he looked awesome against Roy Nelson. I don’t have anything against Frank Mir, I actually consider myself a bit of a fan of the man. But it worries me that he can look great in some fights only to get pummeled in other fights. Based on his name and style, Mir will probably get a “contender eliminator” fight for his next fight… but if it’s someone who knows his tricks and has good punching power, he could lose his shot at the title once again. And since he’s been fighting in the UFC for so long, there are a lot of people out there that know his tricks. And since it’s the UFC Heavyweight division, a lot of people have good punching power.

Next for Matt Hamill: Much like Roy Nelson, I truly hate to say this. But I think this fight proved that Matt Hamill is and always will be a gatekeeper. He’s awesome against a certain type of opponent, but that opponent doesn’t have “best in the world” status. Expect Hamill to be a staple of the UFC’s “Fight Night Live” outings for the foreseeable future.

Next for Quinton Jackson: At least for now, Quinton Jackson has preserved his spot as one of the best 205 fighters in the UFC. What’s next is anyone’s guess, considering how many top-ranked Light Heavyweights are in the UFC and constantly fighting for their shot at the championship. I will say this, though: one way or another, we’ll know by the end of the year whether or not Quinton Jackson will fight for a championship. If he does, he faces a tough but not insurmountable task. If he doesn’t, he’ll continue fighting for one and winning more than he loses so long as he shows up in shape, focused, and healthy.

And that’s what I think, fans and friends. But what about you? What do you see happening in the near and not-so-near future of the big winners and losers of UFC 130: “Rampage vs. Hamill”?

Full results courtesy of MMA Weekly.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson defeats Matt Hamill via unanimous decision (30-27 x3). Frank Mir defeats Roy Nelson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26). Travis Browne defeats Stefan Struve via KO at 4:11 of the first round. Rick Story defeats Thiago Alves via unanimous decision (29-28 x3). Brian Stann defeats Jorge Santiago via TKO at 4:29 or round two. Demetrious Johnson defeats Miguel Torres via unanimous decision (29-28 x3). Tim Boetsch defeats Kendall Grove via unanimous decision (30-27 x3). Gleison Tibau defeats Rafaello via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:28 of round two. Michael McDonald defeats Chris Cariaso via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28). Renan Barao defeats Cole Escovedo by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).

I’ll begin with my most prevalent reaction to this card: as the title says, this card lives up to the “anti-hype”. Some fights were good, but some fights weren’t. Some fighters gave good performances, some fighters gave marginal, average, and occasionally sloppy/bad performances. It was an average event in a day and age where “average” is below average. This is the UFC we’re talking about, and most people decried this as a glorified “Fight Night Live” card. With only a few exceptions, they ended up being right.

Renan Barao left me honestly a bit disappointed. With his kind of record, I thought he would totally blitzkrieg Cole Escovedo and set himself up as an immediate Bantamweight Championship contender. I said the exact same thing about Michael McDonald, who once again showed tremendous talent but squeaked his way past a close decision. Gleison Tibau put on a good performance, but he’s the definition of a journeyman.

I think Tim Boetsch could be a force at Middleweight, but he seemed to be playing it safe for most of his fight and it got a little boring at times. On the very positive side, Miguel Torres took a huge step forward in redeeming himself with his heartfelt, entertaining performance against Demetrious Johnson. In losing to “Mighty Mouse”, Torres actually gained back some of the respect that I lost for him when he made an incredibly boring UFC debut.

I loved seeing Brian Stann go to town, and I also liked seeing Travis Browne KTFO Stefan Struve. But I have to wonder if either of those two fights belonged on the main card of a major UFC Pay-Per-View. I personally found the bout between Rick Story and Thiago Alves very boring. And after being a fan of Roy Nelson for most of his career, I now have no choice but to admit that Roy Nelson’s quirky physique has stopped being quirky and started becoming the Achilles Heel everyone says it would end up becoming. As much as he loves it, Nelson needs to lose his gut… and quickly.

And in the main event of UFC 130, a star-struck Matt Hamill fought an injured (we’d find that out in Jackson’s post-fight interview) Quinton Jackson. Even Jackson himself gave his performance a failing grade, rating it a five out of ten. Jackson kept himself alive in the Light Heavyweight title hunt, but Matt Hamill seemed so far out of his element that I think many people will rightfully question what this win proved.

Overall… I normally don’t mind being wrong, but I really wish I had been right. I really wish this card had been a “sleeper hit” and answered all the cynics. But it didn’t… and that’s very unfortunate.

MMA Weekly brings us the scoop, and here are the highlights: ““What I don’t like about the Strikeforce Grand Prix was the left side of the bracket was pretty much all the tough guys, the other side’s not as strong as the other four… Sergei [Kharitonov] all you’ve got to do is put him on his back… Same thing with [Brett] Rogers, put him on his back… Same thing with [Alistair] Overeem… Barnett will probably win the whole thing on the right side… Whoever wins on the left is going to win the whole thing.”

Now before I even start (and you should know by now what happens when I begin with that little line, fans and friends), I’d just like to say that I’ve followed Roy Nelson since the IFL days and have remained a fan since then. My fandom took a bit of a hit a time or two, but right now I’m as big of a fan of Roy Nelson as I’ve ever been.

But… wow. Wow. Roy Nelson has some bizarre opinions.

Since he’s a grappler first and foremost (and yes, Roy Nelson is a grappler first and foremost) I understand why he thinks that the easiest route to victory over the strikers in Strikeforce’s tournament is to simply take them to the ground. But the days of this sport being that one-dimensional are far, far gone. I haven’t seen Sergei Kharitonov’s ground game, so I don’t know if that’s his Achilles Heel. If it is, though, I’ll concede that Nelson earns that point.

But Brett Rogers? The only person that has managed to hold Brett Rogers on the ground for any prolonged period of time has been Alistair Overeem, who is basically a genetic freak and a living goliath. Against just about anyone else, though? Rogers has the pure power necessary to simply buck you off. Rogers has a lot of unchained aggression, and Josh Barnett is not a submission specialist. Rogers is more likely to get mounted than submitted when he tries to buck Barnett off, and even when in the most disadvantageous position of them all, I still think that Rogers could get himself out of danger through sheer force alone, so long as he’s not facing a monster like Overeem.

Speaking of Overeem, it’s almost laughable to think that the ground game is his weakness. Alistair Overeem is so good at striking that people forget that his ground game is more than passable, it’s constantly evolving and he has some heinous Ground and Pound. Overeem is the commanding favorite to win it all, even with the involvement of submission specialists like Fabricio Werdum and great wrestlers like Josh Barnett.

Roy Nelson is a good fighter, and he has offered some interesting thoughts on many different subjects… but when it comes to this, I just don’t wholeheartedly disagree. I have to wonder what Nelson was thinking when he made these blanket statements.

5. Three free fights on Facebook.

The main event of the free Facebook preliminary broadcast features a battle between two journeyman UFC fighters, and that’s always an interesting and competitive bout. But you’ve also got two fighters who basically don’t belong on the prelims and could be major stars in a very short amount of time. The first one is Renan Barao, who possesses an incredible record of 25-1. The second is Michael McDonald, with a record of 12-1 with eleven stoppages. Those fighters shouldn’t be missed, so the Facebook stream shouldn’t be missed.

4. Two big fights on Spike TV

Speaking of journeyman, one of the UFC’s most popular Middleweight journeyman will be in action at UFC 130: Kendall Grove. Grove takes on Tim Boetsch, who recently had a four-fight win-streak broken. But even bigger than that, you’ve got former top-ranked Pound-for-Pound stalwart and long-reigning WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres taking on the fiery Demetrious Johnson. Whoever wins that fight will be only one or two fights away from a shot at the UFC Bantamweight Championship.

3. Brian Stann fighting on Memorial Day Weekend.

No matter what your personal feelings are on the current war situation, we should all agree that Memorial Day is a time best served for reflection and honoring the fallen. Brian Stann will fight for both his country and his comrades when he steps into the cage at UFC 130, which takes place during Memorial Day weekend. Stann is so pumped for this fight that he recently gave an interview where he said that he’d fight every single day of this weekend if he could. Depending on how his fight with Jorge Santiago goes, Stann may take a huge step towards the UFC Middleweight Championship at this event.

2. Nelson vs. Mir is going to surprise a lot of people.

People are thinking this is going to be a good fight and a fun brawl… and I honestly think they’re wrong. It’s going to be a good fight… and a superbly-technical ground war. In a way, this is the fight Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira should have been: striking will be put on the backburner although not abandoned entirely, while both men dazzle fans with their ground wizardry. If you’ve got even a modicum of respect for the ground game, this is a must-watch fight.

And the number-one reason to watch UFC 130 is…

1. Matt Hamill’s coming-out party.

I’ve talked about it for so long, and now the day is finally here. Later today, I fully believe that Matt Hamill will finally step into the role of a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship contender. He’ll be facing arguably the toughest test of his career, but that’s going to motivate him to put on the best performance of his life. I can’t wait to see Matt Hamill triumph over adversity one more time and become the fighter I always knew he could be.

So there you have it, fans and friends: five great reasons to tune in and see UFC 130. What about you? As the date draws ever-closer, what are you most looking forward to for this event?

Quinton Jackson vs. Matt Hamill: I’ve staked my claim in Matt Hamill’s corner ever since this fight was first announced, and that’s not changing anytime soon. I know Matt Hamill can beat “Rampage”, I’ve seen his heart and will carry him through too much to ever doubt him again. We’re going to see the best Matt Hamill we’ve ever seen in this fight, and he’s going to surprise a lot of people. Hamill will show up in great shape and very focused, and will beat Jackson by Unanimous Decision.

Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson: It all comes down to two things: size and strength. Both of these fighters have it, but I think Roy Nelson has more of it. As awkward as it is, Roy Nelson’s big belly allows him to really control people on the ground, it’s nearly impossible to get out from under it. Nelson also has big one-hit knockout power, whereas Mir has good power but really needs to soften a guy up before TKO’ing them. Even the big power punch he landed on Cheick Kongo wasn’t enough to turn out the lights in an instant, and that was full-force and dead square on the chin. Both are so good on the ground that neither one of them is getting submitted, and although Nelson has both speed and power in his strikes, I think Frank Mir won’t get stopped and dropped. Roy Nelson wins a tough, close bout by Unanimous Decision.

Travis Browne vs. Stefan Struve: Stefan Struve is a bit of an enigma. When he’s put up against a good opponent, his size, reach, and heart all make him a very formidable foe. When he’s put up against someone with huge punching power, though, he can go out like a light in under a minute. Unfortunately for Struve, eight of Browne’s ten wins have come by some form of (T)KO. If Struve takes this fight to the ground, he’ll likely win by Submission by Round 2. But if Struve wants to stand and bang just to prove that he can, that chin is going to betray him before long, and Browne will win by TKO by Round 2.

Brian Stann vs. Jorge Santiago: Santiago has been on a very good run outside of the UFC, but it’s an entirely different level of competition inside the Octagon. Brian Stann is quickly molding himself into a top-tier Middleweight, and he looked excellent in his fight with Chris Leben. I just can’t get past the fact that Santiago has been dropped and stopped five times in his career, over half of his career losses have come from someone cracking his chin. That’s exactly what I think is going to happen here: Brian Stann wins by first-round KO.

Rick Story vs. Thiago Alves: Story may be on a good five-fight win-streak, but three of those wins were decisions and two were Split Decisions. Thiago Alves hasn’t fully recaptured the magic of his 2008 run, though. However, he looked like he was well on his way to doing just that in his last fight. I think this fight will end with Alves taking a firm step towards another title shot, even though Story will make him work for it. Thiago Alves wins by TKO in Round 3.

And that’s what I think, fans and friends. But what about you? Who do you see winning, and why, at UFC 130?

The Event: UFC 130, currently scheduled for May 28, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Three preliminary fights will be streamed at the UFC’s Facebook page starting at 6:45 PM ET. Two additional preliminary fights will then be shown on Spike TV starting at 8:00 PM ET. The main UFC 130 Pay-Per-View card starts at 9:00 PM ET.

Why You Should Care: This isn’t hype talking: this card really does have something for everybody. You’ve got a great grappling/BJJ match-up in Roy Nelson vs. Frank Mir in the co-main event. In the main event, Quinton Jackson is a knockout artist while Matt Hamill is the journeyman that’s closer than ever to realizing his dream. You’ve got strikers like Thiago Alves, submission specialists, grinders, wrestlers, “jack of all trades” fighters, and more.

What to Look Forward to in the Main Event: Both Quinton Jackson and Matt Hamill want a shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. For Matt Hamill, it’s a dream he’s spent most of his MMA career working towards. For Quinton Jackson, it’s a shot at redemption after some tumultuous years, and quite possibly his last chance to capture UFC gold before he retires. Both men will push the pace and make this fight exciting no matter where it goes.

What to Look Forward to in the Co-Main Event: Frank Mir and Roy Nelson are two very different fighters, but they share several interesting similarities. Mir recently abandoned his super-muscular 265 pound physique in favor of his more-natural 240 or so, while Nelson routinely tips the scales near the Heavyweight weight limit based mostly on the size of his famous beer belly. But the one thing these two share most in common is that they’re highly-distinguished grapplers and submission specialists with fierce punching power. Much like Hamill/Jackson, this fight should be entertaining no matter where it goes.

Why You Should Watch This Card: In addition to the great co-main and main events, you’ve got several good fights on the main Pay-Per-View card and especially the free preliminary cards. If you’re a WEC fan, you’ve also got some big former WEC names competing on the card, names like Miguel Torres. If you’re a fan of the mid-tier, Kendall Grove and Gleison Tibau are competing. The list of fighters competing at UFC 130 runs the gamut, and while they may not be the best the UFC has to offer, they’re certainly an interesting group of good-to-great fighters.

Why You Shouldn’t Watch This Card: As I just admitted, these honestly aren’t the best fighters the UFC has to offer. Quinton Jackson vs. Matt Hamill is a good fight, I even keep promising it’s going to be great, but I agree with the cynics that it’s not a particularly notable main event. Mir/Nelson is good, but then you have to ask yourself if you think Mir and/or Nelson could really pose a threat to the UFC’s upper-echelon Heavyweights. UFC 130 features a host of matches that should be good, sure, but very few of them are particularly meaningful.

Closing Thoughts: For all the cynicism this card has inspired, I’m actually really looking forward to UFC 130. It’s shaping up to be a great event, overall. It may not be the best or most star-studded event in UFC history, but it should be an excellent way to kick off the UFC’s summer endeavors.

And what about you, fans and friends? Anybody out there looking forward to UFC 130?

Frank Mir has spent most of his professional career in the Octagon: to date, only two of his nineteen professional MMA fights have occurred outside of the UFC. In Mir’s original UFC run from 2001 to 2004, he quickly took the Heavyweight division by storm, winning six of seven bouts and the UFC Heavyweight Championship. The UFC’s Heavyweight division was admittedly one-dimensional back then, and Mir’s submission skills were a breath of fresh air amongst a crop of fighters who normally used their large size to swing big punches. Few old-school fight fans can forget when Mir snapped Tim Sylvia’s arm like a twig to claim the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

Unfortunately, a very bad motorcycle accident forced Mir on the sidelines for so long that the UFC stripped him of his championship. Mir attempted a comeback in 2006, but the fight seemed to have gone out of him: he was sloppy as well as out of shape. Mir found new life and underwent a major career resurrection when he fought Brock Lesnar at UFC 81. Booked as little more than a sacrificial lamb, Mir submitted Lesnar in the first round and began an epic rivalry with the soon-to-be UFC Heavyweight Champion. Since then, Mir has fought for and won the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship, lost it to Lesnar, and then fought for it again against Shane Carwin. Mir’s four most-recent fights have seen him go 2-2, with both wins and both losses via stoppage.

His opponent, Roy Nelson, is a puzzle amongst the Heavyweight division. Famous for his big gut, Nelson made waves in the short-lived IFL organization and won that promotion’s championship. He also made waves after the IFL folded when he revealed that the UFC would only allow him into the Octagon if he lost weight. Nelson refused to do so and ultimately had to compete on “The Ultimate Fighter” to earn his shot inside the world’s most prestigious MMA organization.

But when the time came, Nelson seized his opportunity. Nelson ran right through the woefully-mismatched Season 10 cast, ultimately KO’ing Brendan Schaub to win the season. He then followed that up with a thirty-nine second KO of Stefan Struve. Most recently, Nelson lost to Junior dos Santos via Unanimous Decision. Nelson likely took solace in the fact that he was the only fighter to ever take the feared Brazilian wrecking machine to a three-round decision.

The thing I like the most about this match is that it could go anywhere and still be entertaining. Frank Mir’s stand-up has improved a lot, and Roy Nelson’s standup has always been very dangerous. When it goes to the ground, both men are very gifted. Aside from Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mir may have the best pure ground game in the UFC’s Heavyweight division. Nelson’s may not be as good, but it’s definitely good enough to stand toe-to-toe with Mir’s for a prolonged period of time. It could go either way, so I’ll reserve judgment until my official “Picks and Predictions” post.

And that’s it, fans and friends! Only one entry remains in “A Closer Look at UFC 130”. Be sure to be here tomorrow when the series concludes and I give my official UFC 130 picks and predictions!

In a new interview with MMA Weekly, Nelson recently said the following: “You’ve got Frank, he’s a two-time UFC champion… He’s a living legend of the heavyweight division for the UFC… I’ve got to be the better striker, the better grappler, because at the end of the day Frank’s one of the most complete mixed martial artists… It’s a fight that going to be a complete mixed martial arts fight… I think it’s one of the fan favorites for the weekend. I like to say we’re saving the card.”

Before I begin explaining why I wholeheartedly disagree with Roy Nelson’s statement, I’d just like to say that I’m a big fan of Roy Nelson. My fandom wavered a bit during Season 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter” when he was portrayed as someone who thought he was bigger than TUF, but to be honest? With the level of success he’s had in the UFC, he pretty much was bigger than TUF. I’m glad “Big Country” has managed to overcome the stigma of his unique body type and become one of the UFC’s go-to Heavyweights.

I think Roy Nelson vs. Frank Mir will be a great match, if it lives up to its potential. I even agree with Nelson that it’s a fan favorite: it’s certainly one of the fights I’m looking forward to the most. I think Frank Mir needs a huge and dramatic win after the abomination of a fight he had with Mirko Filipovic. And I think Roy Nelson gets right back into title contention if he beats a former champion like Mir. There’s a lot on the line in this fight, and if that brings out the best in both men we’ll be in for a real treat.

But as far as “saving” the card? I just don’t see it. It’s a great match, yes. But it’s not the only great match of the scheduled broadcast. Even with the loss of Frank Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 3, UFC 130 is shaping up to be a very solid event. As I keep saying, Quinton Jackson vs. Matt Hamill is going to surprise a lot of people. Don’t believe me? That’s fine. Nobody believed me when I said Frank Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 2 would be an awesome fight. I know I’ve made a wild prediction or two in my time, but I’m a big fan of “Rampage” and I think Matt Hamill doesn’t get nearly enough credit as an entertaining fighter. Trust me, it’s going to be a good one.

Plus, you’ve also got fighters like Thiago Alves and Stefan Struve competing on the main card. Both are entertaining fighters that love to finish and constantly look for the KO. In addition to that, you’ve got the great Brian Stann facing a resurgent Jorge Santiago, who’s won eleven of his last twelve fights. And to top it all off, you’ve even got Kendall Grove and Miguel Torres fighting on the Spike TV prelims.

So while I may be a big fan of Roy Nelson, that doesn’t mean that I have to agree with everything he says. UFC 130 will be a solid event, and while Roy Nelson vs. Frank Mir adds a whole lot of value to this card, it’s not “saving” anything.

Instead, what he wants to do is reclaim the top spot in his division. It wasn’t all that long ago when Mir had become the promotion’s most coveted star. A submission whiz with knockout power and good looks to boot, however a subsequent motorcycle accident derailed much of the allure that surrounded the young champion way back when in 2004.

Now, after having come back from his ordeal, and notching up victories over the likes of former champions Brock Lesnar, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Mirko “Cro Cop”, Mir is looking to reestablish himself as a viable heavyweight contender, however the submission ace doesn’t necessarily feel that a potential win over Roy Nelson will do much for his career.

The two heavyweights are scheduled to meet on the main-card for “UFC 130: Edgar vs. Maynard III” on May 28th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Mir, 31, last competed at UFC 119 where he knocked out the KO artist in “Cro Cop” with a big knee in the final round of their heavyweight tilt, which served as the main-event of the evening.

Hoping to add on to the win, Frank was looking forward to names such as Shane Carwin that would help vaunt him back to the upper echelon of the division. Never one to turn down a fight though, Mir accepted the bout with Nelson when it was presented to him, though he felt that a win wouldn’t do anything for his career necessarily.

“Roy is coming off a loss and the way our sport works I want to fight a fight where I have a lot to gain,” said Frank during a recent interview with MMA 30.

“A win for either of us doesn’t move us towards a title shot. I was looking for a fight with Carwin, he has only lost in a title fight.”

Nelson is currently coming off of a loss to top contender Junior dos Santos last August. Despite a gutsy performance turned in by “Big Country”, which saw the heavyweight fighter go to a decision with the Brazilian striker, Nelson found himself dominated from start to finish. The loss snapped a two-fight win streak for Nelson, who was able to score knockout victories over Brendan Schaub (to win the tenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”) and budding contender Stefan Struve. Prior to his stint in the UFC, Roy lost back-to-back fights against Andrei Arlovski (his first and only knockout loss to date) and a controversial decision to former title challenger Jeff Monson.

So overall, Roy is just 2-3 in his last five bouts, which doesn’t necessarily breathe “heavyweight contender”, but the UFC has done stranger things, case in point: Shane Carwin vs. Olav Einemo.

So, MMA peeps, what do you thin of Mir’s assessment on the bout? Do you agree with it, and if so, who would you have liked to see Mir step back inside the cage with? Sound off in the comment section below.

With credit going to MMA Junkie, the UFC recently confirmed as official the following bouts for UFC 130: Frank Edgar (c) vs. Gray Maynard for the UFC Lightweight Championship, Quinton Jackson vs. Thiago Silva, Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson, Brian Stann vs. Wanderlei Silva, and Thiago Alves vs. Rick Story.

MMA Junkie also recently revealed that a match-up pitting Stefan Struve against Travis Browne was official for the UFC 130 preliminary card.

This comes on the heels of the major announcement that the UFC 129 fight card is now officially complete, and features several amazing matches that will take place in front of a possible crowd of at least 40,000.

While I don’t think that UFC 130 is as good as UFC 129, I do think it’s an amazing show and fully encapsulates how hard the UFC is focusing in on making all the best fights come together in 2011.

There’s simply too much to like when it comes to UFC 130. Frank Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 3 should be an amazing encounter that has the potential to be an even bigger, even better match than their second encounter. I still believe in Frank Edgar, and I know that if he can come back from the beating “The Bully” gave him in the first round of their second fight, he can pretty much come back from anything. My early prediction is that this will be another super-close fight between two incredibly gifted athletes, but I think the third time will be the charm: this time Edgar will finally solve the puzzle, and he will finally beat Gray Maynard.

Add to that the awesome wars that should be Thiago Silva vs. Quinton Jackson and Brian Stann vs. Wanderlei Silva. In particular, Silva/Jackson should be an epic brawl that I expect will end with a dramatic KO. Both men are at pivotal moments in their careers, and a big KO will almost certainly put the winner right back “into the mix”. Stann/Silva should also be a major proving point for both fighters, and will likely be one of the most explosive fights of the night.

And to top it all off, you’ve got Roy Nelson vs. Frank Mir and Thiago Alves vs. Rick Story, which are important matches for all involved and should be some very exciting fights to watch.

So while UFC 129 may be shaping up to be one of the best cards of the last several years, UFC 130 is also shaping up to be a landmark event and possibly one of the best events of 2011, which has already been a fantastic year for Mixed Martial Arts and should turn out to be a banner year for the sport as a whole.

And what about you, fans and friends? What’s your early reaction to the UFC 130 card?

Coming to us courtesy of MMA Weekly, Mitrione recently said the following: “For this fight, I wanted to emulate Dominick Cruz…  I love the way you fight brother, you’re elusive, and I wanted to be just like that… I can’t say where this really puts me as far as my progression as a martial artist… I haven’t really had the chance to capitalize or really see where my ground game is…  I know as a stand-up guy I can really let ‘em fly… I’m just saying I don’t exactly know where (my ground game) is. I prefer to trade leather, I’d prefer to let my shins and my hands fly.”

For someone who was known as “Meathead” during his time on the tenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”, Mitrione sure has progressed considerably. I think the sky’s the limit for Matt Mitrione, and I can’t wait to see how he does against the UFC’s best. It will be very interesting to see whether or not a higher level of competition will finally be able to give Mitrione the early-career setback that some hot prospects have fallen victim to, or if Mitrione is destined to become the next Jon Jones or Junior dos Santos.

Moving forward, I think the key here will be finding ways to test Mitrione in all areas of the game and against an increasingly-higher level of competition. In a recent post I speculated that Mitrione’s next opponent should be Pat Barry, and I definitely still stand by that claim. I think this would be a great fight, since Mitrione has shown a lot of skill as a boxer while Barry is most dangerous when he’s given room to utilize his experiences as a kickboxer. It would definitely be quite exciting to see how Mitrione’s punches match up to Barry’s leg kicks.

I think Mitrione should also face a ground expert and/or submission specialist sooner or later, though the Heavyweight division seems to be lacking them for the most part (although, now that I think of it, Sean McCorkle may be a good candidate). The two best Heavyweight ground specialists, Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, are probably a bit higher than the skill level Mitrione should be facing right now. A fight with either of those two would be the equivalent of getting thrown into the shark tank: Mitrione has a chance of winning, but his chances of losing would be at their highest. I think Mitrione would take a fight with Mir or Nogueira without hesitation, but I also think that that’s not the type of fight he needs to be having right now.

So I say give Mitrione another striker, but one that’s at a higher level than any he’s faced before. Other potential opponents include Cheick Kongo, Brendan Schaub, or even Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin. But no matter what the future holds for Matt Mitrione, I’ll certainly be keeping an eye on him and I look forward to seeing him continue to evolve into a complete Mixed Martial Artist.

And what about you, fans and friends? What do you make of Mitrione’s comments, and what do you think the future holds for him?

Here’s what Nelson had to say over at MMA Junkie: “It’s definitely frustrating when you put your time and effort into something and then the rug is kind of pulled out from underneath you… I’ll fight Shane Carwin, Frank Mir, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Brock Lesnar, Junior dos Santos, Cain Velasquez – any of those guys I’m cool with… For me, it really doesn’t matter. My goal is always to be champion.”

As I said at the start of this piece, I’ve always been a fan of Roy Nelson. I’ve watched Roy ever since he started knocking people out in the IFL, and I’m very happy that he’s had the success that he has. Nelson is entertaining, a finisher, and has shown a lot of skill in his numerous wars. Most MMA fans continue to judge him by the size of his gut, but for me, it’s his big heart that has continuously made me a fan of the man.

Is it so strange to envision a world where Roy Nelson is UFC Heavyweight Champion? I can admit that it doesn’t seem likely, but as hectic and unpredictable as MMA has been lately, would it really surprise you? A lot of the purists balk at the idea of Roy Nelson becoming a UFC champion, but then again, a lot of them balked at the idea of a former pro wrestler becoming a UFC champion. That’s not said to disrespect Brock Lesnar, that’s said only to prove my point, which is that you can never judge a book by its cover and that the only way to truly find out if a fighter is a potential champion is to put them against the best and see how they do.

If people keep underestimating Roy Nelson, he’ll keep proving them wrong. Many fans thought Nelson would be easy pickings for JDS, but Nelson absorbed some of JDS’s best punches and still took the man to a decision, in the process nearly gassing JDS out and exposing some potential flaws in a surging Heavyweight monster that, until then, had been a flawless engine of destruction. He’ll have his hands full with Frank Mir, but Frank Mir will have his hands full too. It’ll be a great fight between two skilled competitors, and the fact that both men have their fair share of detractors and cynics shouldn’t take away from that.

And what about you, fans and friends? What do you make of Roy Nelson’s recent comments, and how far do you think he’ll be able to go as he continues to fight the best in the UFC?

If you’ll remember, fans and friends, I was one of the Nelson fans that basically campaigned for “Big Country” to receive a match with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. A lot of people seemed to reject the notion of Lesnar vs. Nelson, but I felt that it would have been a fantastic match. The difference in size and muscularity alone made it an instant must-see, but let’s not forget, Roy Nelson has quickly become a legitimate major-level star in the UFC.

If Lesnar beat Nelson, it would have immediately established that Lesnar was here to stay and wanted his championship back. If Nelson beat Lesnar, it would have given Nelson the kind of victory he would have had if he had beaten Dos Santos, instantly making him a championship contender. Everybody wins, and it would have been a very interesting fight between two men that love taking it to the ground and smothering their opponents, albeit in hugely different ways.

But Frank Mir is no slouch, and despite the downright boring performance he put on when he mercifully KO’d Mirko Cro Cop after three utterly atrocious rounds, the man is still a top-division UFC fighter. He played it safe to a fault against Cro Cop, but I think Mir will open up against Nelson. Or Nelson, unlike Cro Cop, won’t be as afraid to go to the ground with Mir as Mir was to keep the fight standing.

It’ll be interesting to see who takes control of the fight on the feet, since Frank Mir’s striking game seems to fluctuate bizarrely on a per-fight basis. He looked like he could more than hold his own against Cheick Kongo and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, but against Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar he faltered and faltered hugely. Some may say that that’s just Frank Mir not being able to cope with large wrestlers, but the thing of it is… in certain ways, Roy Nelson is a large wrestler.

Does Roy Nelson have bulging biceps and a body that looks to be carved out of granite? If you’ve ever seen him fight, you’d of course be laughing right now. But consider this: doesn’t Nelson do the same thing those muscle-bound behemoths do? Doesn’t he set up his takedowns with those big fists? Doesn’t he vigorously pursue a takedown and use his size and weight advantage to bull-rush opponents? Lesnar and Carwin may use their ridiculously-toned bodies to keep their opponents down while Roy Nelson uses his sizable gut, but isn’t the outcome the same? Don’t all three use their distinct advantages to smother, stifle, and ultimately pound out opponents?

This is why I think Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson is so interesting. In a quite bizarre point I’m sure some people will criticize me for making, Roy Nelson is of the same build as a Brock Lesnar or Shane Carwin. He uses his size, strength, and unusual speed for a man of his size and stature in order to get the better of his opponents. Like Carwin and Lesnar, sometimes it doesn’t work. But when it does, much like Lesnar and Carwin, there seems to be no stopping him. Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson should be an amazing fight, and I personally can’t wait to see it happen. And, in case you needed it officially confirmed, I’m definitely pulling for “Big Country” in this bout.

But what about you, fans and friends? What’s your opinion on this fight, and who do you think will win it?

Instead, the Jiu-Jitsu specialist will now be facing Roy Nelson at an unannounced event, UFC 130 which is rumored to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Mir’s territory.

Nelson, the season ten winner of the TUF series was recently embroiled in a contract dispute when Square Ring Promotion’s, which is owned by boxing legend Roy Jones Jr., suggested that Roy was still under contract with their organization, however now everything seems to be free and clear since Nelson is now scheduled to compete in the octagon once again.

“Big Country” was last in action when he was pitted against Junior dos Santos last August at UFC 117. Though he showed a lot of heart throughout the 15-minute affair, surviving some massive shots throughout, it wasn’t enough and in the end the Brazilian walked away the winner and in turn earned the number one contender position for the UFC heavyweight title.

Nelson was scheduled to return at UFC 125 earlier this month, however Nelson’s contract obligations with Jones Jr.’s organization, which to date has only held one event where Roy lost a decision to former UFC title challenger Jeff Monson, came into question.

Now that the issues are no longer paramount, Nelson can now prepare to meet former champ Frank Mir in May for UFC 130. Mir will look to build upon a September victory over Mirko “Cro Cop” when he meets the former IFL champion. Frank was lethargic, to say the least, in the opening moments of the heavyweight tilt with the former PRIDE champion, which headlined UFC 119 several months ago. However, in the third-round the ever improving striker was able to connect on a big knee which halted the bout and earned Mir the knockout win.

Since capturing the interim heavyweight title in December of 2008 with a victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92, Mir has alternated wins and losses inside the octagon, losing the chance to unify titles when he was defeated by Brock Lesnar, then submitting Cheick Kongo, then getting knocked out by Shane Carwin, followed up by the victory over Mirko (respectively).

Should either Mir or Nelson come out the victor, the winner could see a big push towards the title in 2011, if the fight ends in impressive fashion.

So, MMA peeps, who do you think takes this match? Will Mir make another run to the title or will Nelson match gut with brawn against Frank? Sound off in the comment section below.

Here’s the latest on the entire mini-scandal courtesy of an interview the former IFL champion had with MMA Fighting: “As far as I know, I’m fighting in 2011. That’s my plan… I guess from a lawyer’s stand point or even a jury’s stand point, I think it’s kind of hard to say if you have any claims if you’ve never put on another MMA event ever in your whole entire life that I know of… At the same time I look as a plus that my knee got better faster and I’ll be ready anywhere in 2011.”

Nelson is referencing his previous contract deal with Square Ring Promotions, owned by boxer Roy Jones Jr. SRP signed Nelson to compete on its first-ever MMA event, “March Badness”, back in (you guessed it) March 2009. The event saw Nelson lose a highly controversial Unanimous Decision to Jeff Monson.

This is why I think Jones and SRP don’t have a leg to stand on and are just trying to get some money out of the UFC. It’s one thing for a promotion to steal talent, that’s a dirty deed to do and if there’s a contract that should have prevented that from happening, then the promotion holding said contract owes it to themselves to try and get compensated. But that’s simply not the case.

What happened is this: SRP booked one event, a decent little event, featuring a nice mix of fighters. But of course, they lost money. There are no overnight successes in this business; you’d think people would have caught on to that by now. SRP briefly fired a salvo onto the MMA radar and was then never heard from again. And to tell you the truth, I personally forgot that the folks behind “March Badness” even existed until they showed up knocking on the UFC’s door and looking for a handout.

I don’t care how harsh this sounds: I’ve got absolutely no sympathy for SRP or the people behind it. This is a cheap ploy to get some money, any money, back from their failed investment. Worse yet, it keeps Roy Nelson out of the Octagon where he belongs. I’m a huge and unabashed Roy Nelson fan, and I hate to think that he’s wasting his time trying to get this frivolous lawsuit figured out when he should be taking his first steps on the comeback trail following his recent loss to Junior dos Santos. I look forward to the day where this is all swept under the rug and Roy Nelson can get back to doing what he does best. I can only hope that day comes sooner rather than later.

And what about you, fans and friends? Where do you side on this matter?

In fact, his entire UFC career altogether will be put on hold.

Following his scratched heavyweight bout against the aforementioned Carwin at UFC 125, which was to serve as the evening’s co-main event, Nelson had been rumored with a multitude of different opponents. However, some recent events have surfaced indicating that “Big Country” may be heading elsewhere in his career.

Back with former world boxing champion, Roy Jones Jr.

The boxing legend and MMA enthusiast claims to still have the season 10 winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” under wraps with his own show. Jones began Square Ring Promotions and in March of 2009 but together a mix of boxing and mixed martial arts on one night of fights, cleverly titled “March Badness”, where Nelson competed against former UFC title challenger Jeff Monson, losing by unanimous decision.

Nelson gave everyone the impression that it was a “one and done” type of deal, especially when he signed on to the popular reality show and later signed a fighting contract with the worlds leading MMA promotion, the UFC.

“These guys go out and sign with these rinky-dink little promotion companies and sign these bad contracts, and let’s just say Roy Nelson is involved in a bad contract right now that he had before”, said White following the UFC 122 in Oberhausen, Germany last Saturday.

“There’s a couple of different organizations out there that do it.”

“There’s organizations that are locking these guys up to the old-school boxing contracts. The contracts that King and those guys were doing back in the 60s, 70s and 80s where they have options on top of their options – so your contract never ends with these guys.

“These are the kinds of contracts that some of these guys are signing in these other organizations out there that some of these MMA websites go, ‘Oh, stick up for these guys, they’re the small guys.’ The small guys are the guys that are really [expletive] the fighters.”

Until his contract issues subside, there’s no telling when the Renzo Gracie black belt will return to the octagon.

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the recent news? Is it a publicity stunt in part of Jones, possibly picking some attention to gear up for a second show? Sound off in the comment section below.

Thanks to MiddleEasy.com for the transcribe and the find.

Here’s what the former IFL Heavyweight Champion had to say over at Bloody Elbow: “…It really just comes down to the MMA media wanting hits on their website by taking shots at Brock. You would never see anyone of these writers ask Brock to his face why he balls up when he gets punched just as you wouldn’t see them asking me why I’m considered as a lackluster challenge for him… At the end of the day you are going to win some and lose some but the marker of a champion is how many times you can get back up. I think it’s great that Brock wants to fight me. It would be a great matchup and I believe the fans want to see it so let’s make it happen.”

If you’ll recall, fans and friends, I’ve apparently been one of the few advocates of this match. For my initial argument on the subject, please read my “Despite All Their Differences, Roy “Big Country” Nelson is the Perfect Opponent for Brock Lesnar” article, available here. Perhaps it has something to do with me being both a Brock Lesnar fan and a Roy Nelson fan, perhaps it’s simply because I’m giving both men the credit they deserve. And if you’re wondering? Yes, I do think that Roy Nelson and Brock Lesnar deserve more credit than they’re getting.

It still amazes me that people seem to keep judging Roy Nelson solely on his physique. People practically fell over themselves to criticize his lack of cardio when he lost to Junior dos Santos. I say: you try going three rounds with the man and talk about cardio problems. I think Junior’s style would have gassed out just about anybody. Let’s not forget that before that fight, Nelson tore through “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 10 and then proceeded to tear through the UFC with two straight (T)KO victories. Even if Roy Nelson is 2-3 in his last five fights, I still consider him a great fighter that can be a big threat to almost anybody in the UFC. And even if he’s not ready for top-of-the-world talent, you at least have to admit that he has no problem demolishing the UFC’s middle-level Heavyweights.

There are so many arguments both for and against Brock Lesnar that I’d rather not re-state the obvious when talking about why I feel he should get more respect. I don’t like repeating myself, and I try not to. All I’ll say is that Lesnar made some mistakes, but ultimately his loss to Cain Velasquez only proved that he’s human. If Lesnar wants it, the only person stopping him from another championship run is himself. A lot of people are debating whether he wants it or not, but none of us can get in Lesnar’s head.

Ultimately, this is a great fight on paper, and it’s a perfect fit for where both men are at in their careers. Both men need a big win and could score a dominating finish, but both would also gain a lot of respect if this turned into a three-round war of attrition. I really don’t see any reason to stop this fight from happening, other than the preconceived notions on both fighters that the cynics have before the two ever step into the Octagon. It may not happen overnight, but so long as it’s a possibility, I’ll continue to support the idea of Brock Lesnar taking on Roy Nelson.

And what about you, fans and friends? What’s your take on the matter?

There are several reasons why I think Lesnar vs. Nelson would be a great match-up. First and foremost, Roy Nelson is ready for the best and he’s hungry to get back inside the Octagon now that his bout with Shane Carwin has fallen apart. And Lesnar finds himself in almost the exact same spot as the man he so famously submitted: with his back against the wall, needing to prove quite a lot in his next bout. If Roy Nelson fit the mold as the best opponent Shane Carwin could face to both get a huge win over and prove himself against, and Brock Lesnar fits Shane Carwin’s mold, then Lesnar/Nelson is more common sense than fantasy match-making.

Plus, let’s be honest here, it’s a fantastic aesthetic. These two couldn’t possibly be more different. It would be quite a spectacle to see the hulking Viking goliath take on the curly-haired big-bellied brawler. I wouldn’t call this a “freakshow” match despite the huge difference in the physiques of both men, though. I think both Lesnar and Nelson have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they belong in the UFC. This has the potential to be a fantastic fight based solely on the strengths of both men, seeing the disparity in body builds between the man that’s seemingly carved out of granite and the man who carves a path through Burger King would only be a bonus.

Another interesting thing about this match is that both men have all the tools necessary to win and win big. If Lesnar can avoid Nelson’s stand-up, he could probably take Nelson down through sheer force alone. Nelson doesn’t come from a wrestling background, and he certainly doesn’t have the wrestling pedigree that Cain Velasquez has. Lesnar’s takedowns only looked so bad against Velasquez because Velasquez himself is such an amazing wrestler, against Roy Nelson Lesnar’s dreaded Ground and Pound could end up working beautifully and scoring him a major and dominant win.

However, Roy Nelson has good stand-up and a vastly under-appreciated ground game. He also has an extremely solid chin, as seen in his recent bout with Junior dos Santos. I think Nelson has proved that he does have KO power, and I also think that Lesnar has proven unable to cope with the pressure of being rocked. If Nelson can clip Lesnar, I think “Big Country” may actually have it in him to take out the Vanilla Gorilla. Also, Lesnar would be wise to not sleep on Big Country’s ground game. Lesnar’s ground game is so effective because he can put so much weight on you, but the same holds true for Nelson. And if Lesnar tries to power out from underneath Nelson’s girth through sheer force alone, he may leave himself open to a submission.

Ultimately, I think this fight would be too close to call and that’s why I’d love to see it. It’s not a matter of me giving Lesnar more credit or Nelson more credit, I think it’s more about me giving both men the credit they deserve. Both men are highly gifted and very competitive athletes. Styles make fights while personalities sell tickets, and this match-up has the potential to be one of the best and biggest of 2011.

But what do you think, fans and friends? How interested would you be in a Brock Lesnar vs. Roy Nelson fight? And what do you think would win?

With the addition of Jose Aldo defending his now UFC (formerly the WEC) featherweight title against top contender Josh Grispi to the pay-per-view card, the organization opted to pull out the former top contender since his opponent, former interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin had been scratched from the card due to a debilitating back injury.

No suitable opponent could be found to replace the knockout artist, and therefor eliminated the heavyweight contest altogether, a move that Nelson did not take very well.

“I think my feelings were a little hurt. I was hoping they could find somebody to replace (Carwin)”, said the season 10 winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” while speaking with Sherdog.com.

Following his bout with Junior dos Santos last August at UFC 117, Nelson suffered his first loss inside the octagon. A spirited performance from “Big Country” saw the big man drop on several occasions inside of the first-round, though the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt hung tough and made it to the final bell, though dos Santos clearly won every round on the judges score cards, due to his effective striking output. Nelson remains the only opponent in the UFC that Junior, a member of the Black House team, has not finished.

During the heavyweight tilt, Roy suffered a knee injury that required some rehabilitation following the bout’s conclusion. The UFC was there every step of the way to help aid the colorful heavyweight star in order to get him back in action for his previously scheduled co-main event slot at UFC 125, and since his removal feels a bit betrayed by the big wigs.

“This is one of the biggest cards of the year, and I was in the co-main event, and I was really trying to make sure my knee was better,” said Nelson. “The UFC really pushed me hard to get through with my rehab so I could fight on this card. My doctors said I shouldn’t fight again until February or March, but I stepped up because the UFC wanted me to. I stepped up for the UFC, and I hoped they would do the same for me.”

And while Shane Carwin posed an interesting fight to Nelson, the TUF veteran would have been accommodated well should another heavyweight star had stepped up to the plate, specifically big name talent. Mixed martial artist or professional wrestler, Nelson will take on all comers to work his way back to the top.

“The thing is nobody wants to fight a fat guy like me,” said Nelson. “Cro Cop is a legend in this sport, and I would’ve loved to have fought him. I’d like to fight (Antonio Rodrigo) Nogueira for the same reason. I’d love to fight (Alistair) Overeem, Brock Lesnar or The Undertaker. (UFC President) Dana White asks people, ‘So, you want to be a (expletive) fighter?’ I love to fight. I’m one of those guys.”

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the news? When Nelson returns to action, who would you like to see him hang in there with? Does the Carwin fight still intrigue you? Sound off in the comment section below.

Speaking with Fighters Only, here’s what Mirko Cro Cop had to say on the situation: “I know nothing about it, this is the first I heard of it. But it would be an interesting fight for sure. I think Roy’s style matches very well with mine, we could have a good fight. I didn’t hear anything from the UFC yet, but let’s see if they call me.”

Both men have lost one and won one in their most-recent fights. Roy Nelson recently became the only man to ever survive all three rounds against Junior dos Santos, losing to the heavy-handed and heavily-feared striker via Unanimous Decision. Mirko Filipovic was last seen eating a late-round and fight-ending knee by former champion Frank Mir in a fight that some have called one of the worst UFC main events in recent history.

Now, if you’ll recall, I was one of the most adamant nay-sayers when it came to Cro Cop vs. Mir. I’ve been saying for quite a while now that Cro Cop is not relevant and will never be relevant in the UFC. And despite the negativity I know it’s going to inspire, I still firmly believe that, and that’s why I don’t want to see this fight happen.

Mirko Cro Cop does not deserve another top-card fight against another top-level UFC star. Roy Nelson has to endure an incredible amount of mud-slinging due to his unusual physique, but at the end of the day, the man is a great fighter and deserves his spot at or near the top of the card. Mirko Cro Cop hasn’t done anything lately to make me believe that he should get one last “last chance”.

In regards to who I think should face Roy Nelson, I honestly think Frank Mir would be a great choice, or perhaps a rematch with Brendan Schaub. I think both fights would be very entertaining for several different reasons: Mir vs. Nelson would be an incredibly competitive ground war, while Nelson vs. Schaub would be an epic stand-up battle especially when you consider how much of a tear Schaub has been on since losing to Nelson.

So while I’m willing to admit that a Cro Cop vs. Nelson fight does have potential, ultimately I’m siding against this one. If Mirko Cro Cop is given one last “last chance”, it needs to be lower on the cards and against someone who’s an up-and-comer looking to make a name for himself. It may seem harsh, but being a gatekeeper is the only viable option Cro Cop has left if he wants to remain in the UFC.

But what do you think, fans and friends? How interested would you be if Shane Carwin vs. Roy Nelson became Mirko Cro Cop vs. Roy Nelson?

Shane Carwin, the former interim champion, was last seen in action at UFC 116 when he was defeated by a resilient Brock Lesnar, in an attempt to vie for the promotion’s heavyweight title.

Brock, the former champion recently relinquished his title to current champion Cain Velasquez last Saturday at UFC 121 in Anaheim, Calif. after the proud Mexican heavyweight soundly defeated “The Baddest Man on the Planet” with effective strikes en route to a TKO victory inside of the first round.

The bout pitting Carwin and Nelson was set in order to have the victor climb the ladder once again towards the title picture, however “The Engineer” recently announced on his website Shane-Carwin.com that he has sustained a back injury that will keep him out of the January 1st bout for UFC 125, which was to serve co-headlining duties under the main event of the evening between current lightweight champion Frankie Edgar against undefeated challenger Gray Maynard.

“If the doctors do not have to perform surgery, then I will be out eight to 12 weeks,” wrote Carwin concerning his injury. “If they do have to perform surgery, I do not know how long I will be out of action

“This is a hard decision but the right one, and I hope Team Carwin can stand by me through this period of my career,” said Shane. “No one wants to get me back to winning more than me. I just need to be healthy to do it.”

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the news? Who do you think would provide a suitable replacement for Carwin?

If we look at UFC 121, the heavyweight adorning the card who are not scheduled for further action thus far as Gabriel Gonzaga, Brendan Schaub, and of course Brock Lesnar.

I doubt a Gonzaga match up would be too appealing at this point, as the former title challenger is looking like damage goods at this point.

Brock and Nelson would certainly be interesting but it looks like Lesnar may be taking some time off to hunt as he originally intended.

And of course Schaub would provide an interesting opponent for Nelson, as they were both pitted against one another in the season 10 finale back in December, where the former IFL champion knocked out the Greg Jackson product inside of the first round. Both have taken a turn in their careers, where Schaub is at the cusp of top-10 infamy and Nelson is looking to get back on top of the division.

So what do you think guys? Sound off in the comment section below.

Next New Year’s, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the UFC will return to Nevada with a lightweight title fight pitting current champion Frankie Edgar, who is riding on a 5-fight win streak (which included two back-to-back victories over former champion BJ Penn) will look to exact revenge when he defends his title against the only man to defeat him, undefeated UFC lightweight title challenger Gray Maynard.

Also in action, former Interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin is coming back to action after succumbing to his first defeat as a professional at UFC 116 when he tangles with the former IFL heavyweight champion and season 10 winner of “The Ultimate Fighter”, Roy Nelson.

Nate Diaz has recently been announced as a new addition to the card. Making his third consecutive trip to the welterweight division, Diaz will look to go three-in-a-row following some recent success with victories over Rory Markham and Marcus Davis (respectively) finishing both competitors before it went the distance.

Meeting Diaz will be Korean Judoka, Dong Hyun Kim. An undefeated prospect in the 170-pound division, Diaz will arguably be his toughest test to date, and should Dong come away from the bout in impressive fashion, it could spell title implications.

While no official word has come as far the order of the match ups, though I would assert that the card should look something like this. Here is the event in it’s entirety, though additional match ups are soon to be announced.

Main Card:
-Lightweight Championship bout: Frankie Edgar (champion) vs. Gray Maynard
-Heavyweight bout: Shane Carwin vs. Roy Nelson
-Lightweight bout: Clay Guida vs. Takanori Gomi
-Middleweight bout: Chris Leben vs. Brian Stann
-Welterweight bout: Nate Diaz vs. Dong Hyun Kim

Preliminary:
-Light Heavyweight bout: Brandon Vera vs. Thiago Silva
-Middleweight bout: Phil Baroni vs. Brad Tavares
-Lightweight bout: Antonio McKee vs. Jacob Volkmann

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of match ups so far? Any additional bouts you would like to see make the main card? Which bouts do you think, should they be featured, for the Spike Prelims special?
Sound off in the comment section below.

Edgar recently has successfully defended his title against BJ Penn at UFC 118, dominating the former dual champion en route to a unanimous decision victory, with a clean sweep of scores with 50-45 across the board, between all three judges.

Maynard, the only man to defeat Edgar to date, is coming off of arguably the biggest win of his career, when he defeated former title challenger Kenny Florian, at UFC 118. In Maynard fashion, he used his dominant wrestling prowess to control the Boston native on the ground, and won a clear-cut and otherwise uninspired unanimous decision. The bout was for number one contender spot and allowed him his chance to challenge for the title, for the first time, in his undefeated career.

The New Years day event was revealed on a new addition of “The Ultimate Insider“, a UFC web-related series which speaks with some of the biggest names in the organization.

Also rumored for the event is another lightweight showdown between former PRIDE lightweight champion, Takanori Gomi against the wild man, Clay Guida. Gomi, who initiated his UFC career this year in March, was submitted in the third round by the aforementioned Kenny Florian in a disappointing debut, however, bounced back in a big way when he was able to knockout perennial contender Tyson Griffin in a swift fashion, with just 60-some-odd seconds inside of the first round, at “UFC Live: Jones vs Matyushenko”, last August.

Guida, meanwhile, has bounced back from a two-fight losing streak to a two-fight win streak with submission victories over the likes of Shannon Gugerty, and most recently, Rafael dos Anjos, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt (albeit due to injury) at UFC 117.

A recently announced heavyweight match up between former interim champion, Shane Carwin and former IFL champion, Roy Nelson, is expected to serve as the night’s co-main event.

Shane is coming on the heels of his first defeat as a professional, when he was submitted by current champion, Brock Lesnar. After a strong first round, where Carwin managed to drop Lesnar after a bevvy of punches, outworked himself with a vicious ground-and-pound assault. Still in the fight, Brock was able to survive the onslaught, and came storming back in the second, eventually taking down the fatigued Greg Jackson fighter, mounting, then submitting him with an arm-triangle choke.

Nelson, meanwhile, is coming off of a loss to current number one contender Junior dos Santos. After being rocked on multiple occasions throughout the bout, and dropped twice in the first round alone, Nelson was able to gut it out and survived to see the final bell, though the decision ended up going to dos Santos.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the match ups so far? Any complaints? Sound off in the comment section below.

“Big Country” is currently scheduled to face former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin at UFC 125, according to a recent report. In a recent interview with MMA Weekly, here’s what Nelson had to say about his possible opponent: “If Shane Carwin’s the guy, I’m happy to fight Shane Carwin… If you beat him you’re right back where you were, and he beat the crap out of Brock (Lesnar). So I think if I fought Shane, and beat him, then technically I’m just as good as Brock… I basically want to put on a performance and at the same time I want to make sure I’m healthy enough, or if I’m not healthy enough, to still basically win the fight. If I can be 60-percent to win a fight, then I’m happy to be at 60-percent. As long as I know what I have to be.”

These two men couldn’t be more different. Both men regularly tip the scales at or near the 265-pound Heavyweight weight limit, but Carwin is all mass and Nelson is all flab. Nelson has sneaky one-hit KO power, Carwin can lay down a blitzkrieg barrage that finishes an opponent in seconds. Carwin’s cardio was so bad during UFC 116 that he was basically dead on his feet going into the second round, Nelson survived for three rounds against Junior dos Santos and stayed active all the way through, even if he did noticeably slow down towards the end.

To be completely honest, my opinion of Shane Carwin has really soured lately. The combined one-two punch of Carwin gassing out in five minutes and then being linked to a nationwide steroids conspiracy has really got me thinking that he’s not all that he’s cracked up to be. If “Big Country” can survive any first-round onslaughts, he may just have this fight in the bag. Nelson absorbed the fists of Junior dos Santos for three rounds, I think he has it in him to absorb Carwin’s bombtastic strikes for one round.

I think Roy Nelson is very under-rated as a fighter. He definitely has an nontraditional physique, but there are far more instances of him making it work than it hindering his performance. The man has only ever been KO’d once, and he holds fifteen wins in his professional career.

Still, Shane Carwin is a very dangerous fighter. It will be interesting to see what changes he’s made now that the cardio monster has reared its ugly head and claimed Carwin as its next victim. With a better gameplan and a little less muscle mass, Carwin still has the potential to go all the way. Both men are at pivotal moments in their careers, this fight should be a great one.

And what about you, fans and friends? Who do you think takes it: “The Engineer” or “Big Country”?

Carwin himself, in fact, made the news of his return on his official Twitter page (@ShaneCarwin), and since then many have speculated who the former title challenger will be facing.

In his last outing, Carwin attempted to unify his interim heavyweight title, which he earned with a first round knockout of former champion Frank Mir at UFC 111, when he tangled with the current title holder in Brock Lesnar, at UFC 116 last July. After a dominant first-round turned in, where “The Engineer” was able to drop Lesnar with a barrage of punches, eventually gassing himself when he unloaded a heavy dose of ground and pound that had left Brock on the ropes, but otherwise still in the fight.

Lesnar survived the first round scare to turn it all around in the second, eventually taking down the former Division II All-American collegiate wrestler, working to mount, before submitting the 265-pound Goliath with a an arm-triangle choke. The loss snapped an undefeated streak of 12-wins in a row for the Greg Jackson product.

Now returning to action after the disappointing loss, Carwin will tangle with former IFL heavyweight champion and “The Ultimate Fighter” season 10 winner, Roy Nelson.

“Big Country” himself, is coming off a loss of his own. After going 2-0 inside the promotion with a win over hot prospect Brendan Schaub, to claim the TUF title last December, and an additional win over up-and-comer Stef Struve (UFC Fight Night 21, in March of this year)—both by way of knockout, Nelson’s run to the top was derailed when he met Brazilian striker, Junior dos Santos.

Though competitive throughout the whole bout, unfaltering even after being knocked down twice inside of the first round, Nelson walked away from the bout the loser, when a unanimous decision went the way of the Team Nogueria product, who trains alongside the Nogueria brothers (of course) as well as champions Rafael “Feijao” of Strikeforce, and current UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva.

Junior and Nelson were vying for a number one contender’s spot, against the winner of the Brock Lesnar/ Cain Velasquez showdown, which is going down at UFC 121 on October 23.

Nelson and Carwin, though not officially confirmed, will likely serve on the main card for the January pay-per-view card, which is taking place in Las Vegas, Nev. The news was first broke by MiddleEasy.com.

So, MMA peeps, what do you make of the match up? Who do you think will walk away the victor? Sound off in the comment section below.

Beginning to make noise in the heavyweight division, “Skyscraper” will meet with perhaps his most well-known opponent to date, when he tangles with internet sensation, Sean McCorkle.

Perhaps still largely unknown to the main stream mixed martial arts audience, “Big Sexy” has become a true hardcore favorite with his infamy which has been derived from the popular Underground Forums, of MixedMartialArts.com, where his zany antics and outlandish claims have eventually landed him in the big show of the UFC. Obviously, his talent has had something to do with that.

An undefeated giant, standing at 6’7 and cutting down to the 265-pound limit, McCorkle made his UFC debut most recently at UFC 119 in Indianapolis, Indiana before a hometown crowd. The unblemished prospect made short work of former PRIDE star, Mark Hunt. The action unfolded quickly when the reinvigorated Samoan quickly closed the gap with punches, which is indicative of his K-1 background. Sean took control, bringing the fight to the ground where he was eventually able to lock on a fight-ending arm bar, at just 63 seconds inside of the first round.

With the victory, McCorkle is successful in his UFC debut, and has pushed his record to a perfect 10-0, launching him into the big time.

Hoping to derail the momentum of the UFC rookie, Stefan Struve is looking for his second-straight win, when the two giants meet in the cage on December 11, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada for UFC 124.

The news of the bout was first reported by MMAJunkie.com, which will most likely serve preliminary duties on the pay-per-view card, which is headlined by a title fight pitting reigning and defending champion, Georges St. Pierre against rival “The Ultimate Fighter” season 12 coach, Josh Koscheck.

Struve, 22, brings a wealth of experience into the cage at a tender and young age. At 20-4 (4-2 in the UFC), Stefan’s age and experience are unrivaled in the heavyweight division. Let alone, the fact that “Skyscraper” stands as the tallest fighter in the UFC, at a staggering 6’11, which rivals any other fighter in the promotion.

The Dutchman is coming off of an exciting slug fest with the previously undefeated Christian Morecraft, at UFC 117 last August. The early goings of the bout saw Christian largely in control, punching Stefan on several occasions standing, before bringing the action to the ground, mounting, and finishing strong, arguably earning a lopsided 10-8 round. A dejected Struve came back storming in the second. The two heavyweights traded punches against the cage before Struve landed a right hand to the chin in a wild exchange, dropping Morecraft to the ground, polishing it off with a few additional strikes before referee Herb Dean called a halt to the bout in just 22 seconds into the second round.

The win moved Struve improved his record to 20-4 overall, and garnered the Holland native 4 wins in his past 5 fights inside the octagon.

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the match up? Who do you have pegged as the early favorite? Will McCorkle’s size match with “Skyscraper’s”? Sound off in the comment section below.

5. The WEC in general, Jose Aldo in particular.

With their star-studded cards and penchant for delivering amazing fights, the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion has quickly become one of my favorite MMA organizations. The WEC gave us so many Fight of the Year and Event of the Year contenders in 2010 that I think 2011 will be one of their biggest and best years ever. In particular, I can’t wait to see where 2011 takes current WEC Feather Champion Jose Aldo. Aldo has looked phenomenal in every single one of his fights, and looks primed to embark on a career-defining win streak that hasn’t been seen in the WEC since the glory days of Urijah Faber and Miguel Torres.

4. The ascension of Junior Dos Santos

I think that by the end of 2011, Junior Dos Santos will be wearing Heavyweight gold. He’s proven time and time again that it’s almost impossible to take him down, and when he does get taken down, he immediately gets back up. His punching power is unquestioned, and even if his recent fight with Roy Nelson dispelled the myth that there was no one in the Heavyweight division he couldn’t KO, Dos Santos still looked unbelievably dominant. Dos Santos won’t likely run right over people like Cain Velasquez or Brock Lesnar, but history has taught me to never again bet against “Cigano”.

3. The future of Fedor.

For the first time in his life, Fedor Emelianenko has been humbled. People have begun to question his heart and ability, and many Fedor detractors are forecasting doom on Emelianenko, saying that he was never all that good and that his time as an elite Heavyweight has passed. I personally think Fedor can work his way back to the top and stay there for years to come, but we’ll never know until he tries, right? Quite a lot hinges on Fedor Emelianenko’s next fight, perhaps more than any of his legendary fights in PRIDE, so I can’t wait to see both who his opponent is and how he deals with him.

2. The Return of Shogun

I’ve voiced my opinion already in my controversial “Shogun Will Fall” piece, but I would just like to re-iterate that I can’t wait to see if I’ll be eating a big slice of humble pie in 2011, or if I’ll be the one leading the “I told you so” charge. Whatever happens, the return of Mauricio Rua should be quite eventful.

And my #1 pick is…

1. Anderson Silva: The Neverending Reign

Despite all the damage inflicted on his aura of invincibility when Chael Sonnen dominated him for twenty-three minutes, Anderson Silva is still the UFC Middleweight Champion, and once again fans have to ask themselves: who the hell can beat this guy? The answer? Nobody. Anderson Silva fought with a broken rib against a world-class wrestler and still found a way to win. When he’s injury-free, nobody has even come close to putting a dent in his armor. Fans and fighters alike may think that the blood is in the water now that Sonnen proved that Silva is human, but trust me: seeing Silva get back to his dominating ways will be the most fun you’ll have in 2011.

So that’s my list, fans and friends. What are you looking forward to for next year?

After Anderson pulled out a Hail Mary, fifth round submission, after challenger Chael Sonnen dominated the Brazilian for the better part of 4 and half rounds, the Blackhouse teammate was able to pocket “Fight of the Night” and “Submission of the Night” honors, on top of a hefty payday.

The figures below, which is formatted from MMAJunkie.com, were originally disclosed by the California State Athletic Commission, following the bout on August 7.

Anderson Silva: $200,000 (no win bonus)
def. Chael Sonnen: $35,000

Jon Fitch: $108,000 (includes $54,000 win bonus)
def. Thiago Alves: $60,000

Clay Guida: $56,000 ($28,000 win bonus)
def. Rafael dos Anjos: $12,000

Matt Hughes: $200,000 ($100,000 win bonus)
def. Ricardo Almeida: $35,000

Junior Dos Santos: $80,000 ($40,000 win bonus)
def. Roy Nelson: $15,000

Rick Story: $22,000 ($11,000 win bonus)
def. Dustin Hazelett: $18,000

Phil Davis: $18,000 ($9,000 win bonus)
def. Rodney Wallace: $6,000

Johny Hendricks: $40,000 ($20,000 win bonus)
def. Charlie Brenneman: $8000

Tim Boetsch: $32,000 ($16,000 win bonus)
def. Todd Brown: $6,000

Stefan Struve: $30,000 ($15,000 win bonus)
def. Christian Morecraft: $6,000

Dennis Hallman: $30,000 ($15,000 win bonus)
def. Ben Saunders: $12,000

So, Anderson and Matt Hughes were the night’s top earners, deservedly so, but…is anyone surprised by the numbers? For a long time, Anderson has been coveted by UFC President Dana White, as the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, however his numbers don’t represent that. 6 figures, yes, however, a 12-0 i run in the UFC, and moves to light heavyweight would attract a larger base pay and win bonus for the Brazilian, should GSP rack in larger numbers.

Some can make the argument that yes, Georges St. Pierre is a much more popular fighter than Silva of course, at least with Anderson’s most recent performances (aside from UFC 101 and 117), but should popularity or credentials be more decisive come contract time, and a fighters due?

It’s something I run back and forth with, and can’t really decide. I guess that’s why they leave it up to head honchos to figure that kind of stuff out, but what do you think? Performance vs Popularity, which is greater?

And while he claims there is no pressure going into the fight with Nelson, which serves as a number one contender bout after the Brock Lesnar-Cain Velasquez title bout takes place at UFC 121, Dos Santos acknowledges that Nelson is a formidable opponent and it will make his perform at his best, since this fight has so much riding on the line.

“I’m happy for this (opportunity to face Nelson in a number one contender bout). It brings me more confidence, because if I win the fight, and I will win, I will fight for the title. It’s very good for me and I am happy for this news”, said dos Santos, using a new and improved English-repertoire, while speaking with Danny Acosta of Fight! Magazine.

“Everybody can watch, that these guys are amazing fighter’s”, said Junior in regards to his training partners Anderson Silva and Minotauro Nogueria.

“It’s good for me to train with them, and I just want to say ‘thank you’ for them, for training with me and helping me”, said the grateful heavyweight contender.

Nelson, though he has been knocking people out as of late in the UFC, beginning with Brendan Schaub in the finale of the 10th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” and following up his performance with another first-round knockout to heavyweight prospect Stefan Struve, many people may forget of his obvious ground prowess.

Roy is a black belt under Renzo Gracie, and has legitimate skills on the ground, holding a victory over Frank Mir in a grappling exhibition some years ago, though dos Santos is unperturbed and equally unimpressed, since he thinks his brown belt and ever evolving ground game may come as a surprise to “Big Country”.

“I’m just training a lot, training my Jiu-Jitsu too, there in Bahia, Brazil. I feel very good for this fight, (with my) confidence, and I have my strategy, and I will follow my strategy.”

However, the one thing he seems to be impressed with, is his size.

“He has a big belly. I’m going to put some punches there”, said the Brazilian, with a smile.

“Watch this fight, UFC 117. Some very good fighters are participating in this event, and I feel good. I promise a good show for you guys.

Should Dos Santos find himself staring across the Octagon at Cain Velasquez, Junior’s best bet is to pace himself and fight smarter, not harder. However, if he can rock Cain the way Cheick Kongo rocked Cain, he may have to throw it all out there and go for the kill. If Dos Santos finds himself on his back, people seem to forget that Dos Santos trains BJJ with the Nogueira brothers. I don’t see Dos Santos dominating Cain on the ground, but I do see him being able to get the fight standing after absorbing minimal damage. I think Cain may find it hard to even get Dos Santos down, since “Cigano” looked almost insulted and easily blocked the takedowns of Gabriel Gonzaga in their recent fight. So long as the fight remains standing and Dos Santos picks his shots while possessing the cardio to last five rounds, Junior Dos Santos would have a great shot at winning via KO or TKO.

Against Brock Lesnar, Dos Santos wins this one so long as he is once again able to keep it standing, and this will be a tall order against someone that possesses one of the fiercest takedowns in the business. This would simply be a case of a regular-sized Heavyweight going up against the freakishly athletic behemoths that are quickly becoming the norm for the UFC’s Heavyweight division. Even with his BJJ background, I think Dos Santos would be taken down at will in a fight with Brock Lesnar. Junior’s best bet would be to make Lesnar pay each time he tries a takedown: even if it results in him still getting taken down, Dos Santos needs to knee Brock in the face or land an uppercut before inevitably getting dragged to the ground. Constantly getting taken down will likely be Dos Santos’ downfall if the fight goes to the judges, but if he can land just one good counter, Dos Santos has a shot at knocking Lesnar out or TKO’ing him.

If it’s Roy “Big Country” Nelson that takes on Cain Velasquez, Nelson would actually be better suited taking Velasquez to the ground. If Nelson trades with Velasquez for too long, he could find himself getting TKO’d by a superior striker, which is exactly what happened when Nelson met Andrei Arlovski. The Arlovski fight suffered from a clearly biased judge that stood the fight up right as Nelson was making his way into a dominant position, and since then, people seem to have attached this stigma of Roy Nelson just lying on his opponents whenever the fight goes to the ground. If Nelson can remain active on the ground, I don’t see Cain having the power to brute-force Nelson off of him. Nelson needs to advance to his beloved Crucifix position and rain down enough blows to force a stoppage. It’s worked wonderfully in the past, and if he can get it on Cain Velasquez, it’ll work again.

Nelson’s gameplan is almost entirely reversed when it comes to fighting Brock Lesnar instead of Cain Velasquez. Lesnar has enough freakish strength to both take down Nelson with relatively little struggle, and to also shove Nelson off from on top of him through brute force alone. Nelson should only take this one to the ground if he’s close to scoring a TKO, otherwise I see Lesnar getting the better of him. Big Country’s striking has never looked better since he came into the UFC, and Lesnar’s striking has never looked as bad as it did during his recent fight with Shane Carwin.

And what about you, fans and friends? Do you think Junior Dos Santos or Roy Nelson have the ability to beat Cain Velasquez or Brock Lesnar? Also, who do you see winning the fight between Dos Santos and Nelson?

The first and perhaps most obvious choice is Cain Velasquez. Velasquez is seemingly the perfect amalgam of Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin: Cain possesses both brutal ground and pound and vicious one-hit knockout power. Cain is also relatively new to the sport of MMA, and like Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, his quick and relatively painless run to the top leaves the door open for years of domination. Velasquez is also one of the UFC’s most marketable stars. The son of an illegal immigrant, Velasquez will likely be a key figure in developing and continuing any sort of UFC deal with Mexico, up to and including an event in Mexico or even coaching a “Team Mexico” for The Ultimate Fighter. Even without his heritage, Velasquez’s seemingly unstoppable mix of grounding, pounding, and striking makes him one of the best Heavyweights in the world, a fact that I don’t see changing for quite some time.

Another choice that will likely come as a shocker to none is Junior Dos Santos. I’ve said it in the past, and it bears repeating: I’ve learned to never again bet against Junior Dos Santos. For all the MMA purists that swear up and down that a good ground fight is just as good as and even better than two guys sloppily swinging for the fences, nobody can deny that the chance to see a highlight-reel KO is one of the main reasons we all tune in to this sport of ours. And Junior Dos Santos has delivered at least one highlight-reel moment in every single one of his UFC fights to date. Most fans are well aware that his ground skills have yet to be truly tested, and while I think he will have his hands full if he takes on wrestling powerhouses like Lesnar and Velasquez, I truly believe that Dos Santos could separate any and every man currently competing in the UFC’s Heavyweight division from his consciousness. The UFC Heavyweight Division has lacked a championship-level “pure striker” since the days of Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia, and Junior Dos Santos fits that mold perfectly. Even if he won’t be able to stand up to the ground game of some of the Heavyweight elite, I see Junior Dos Santos consistently near the top of the cards for the next several years.

My final choice may shock a few people, it may not. But here it is: Roy Nelson. I’ve been a fan of “Big Country” since his days in the IFL, and his performances inside the Octagon have got me thinking that Roy Nelson has only just begun to realize his potential. His striking has never looked sharper, and his ground game continues to evolve and improve. Plus, he’ll always have the appeal of being a non-standard Heavyweight. Seeing Big Country rub his big belly after turning in another exciting performance will likely never get old. While it’s anyone’s guess as to if he can get past Junior Dos Santos in their upcoming fight, I think Nelson has more than enough skill to consistently be “in the mix”. He may not reach the same heights as Junior Dos Santos or Cain Velasquez, but if he continues to improve, the top-tier better be ready to handle the weight of Big Country.

So what do you think, fans and friends? Who do you see sitting atop or consistently being contenders to the UFC Heavyweight throne?

For Fighters.com and UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar (5-1) it’s been a three-year roller coaster from MMA novelty to undisputed heavyweight champion.  But, after former top-ranked “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko’s (31-2) stunning loss to “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1)  at Strikeforce/M-1 Global in San Jose June 26 and Lesnar’s arm triangle submission of Shane Carwin (12-1) at UFC 116 Saturday, there can be no dispute among any rational fan, fighter, journalist, or promoter that indeed Lesnar now sits atop the mountain in the world heavyweight rankings.

The debate is over, for now.

Lesnar already has second-ranked Cain Velasquez’s (8-0) name on his dance card to defend his new status.

Throughout the last year’s Emelianenko-Lesnar debate, UFC President Dana White repeated “the best fighters in the world fight the best three times per year.”  Yet, Lesnar has never passed that threshold.  Of course, Lesnar suffered from diverticulitis for several months, which postponed his UFC title defense until Saturday.  However, even without the illness, Lesnar would’ve only fought twice in 2009.

Fighters.com challenges White to make good on his promise to keep Lesnar on a four-month fight schedule, which would perch the Lesnar-Velasquez matchup at the top of the UFC 121 card rumored to be heading for Oberhausen, Germany.  More likely though, White will end the year with the matchup at UFC 122 in Las Vegas.

At UFC 117 in Oakland August 7, it seems the next top UFC contender will be decided betwen third-ranked “Cigano” Junior dos Santos (11-2) and The Ultimate Fighter 10 champion “Big Country” Roy Nelson (15-4).

Werdum ascends to the fourth spot with his submission of Emelianenko in the matchup promoted to determine the next Strikeforce title challenger to ninth-ranked “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (33-11).  However, it seems that was only if Emelianenko had won. Since the inconcievable Werdum victory, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has thrown just about every potential matchup at the wall to see what sticks except the natural Overeem-Werdum title fight to crown a clear Strikeforce champion.  Maybe Werdum and Emelianenko will rematch.  Maybe Overeem and Emelianenko will fight for the title to determine who gets the next crack at higher-ranked Werdum.  It’s all confusing and Fighters.com encourages Coker to go with plan A and match the champ Overeem with the top contender Werdum.

Carwin drops to the fifth spot with his loss to Lesnar.  Carwin…dare I use the word…dominated Lesnar in round one, but exposed a weakness on his back in round two that must be fixed if 35-year old Carwin expects to make another run to the top.

Emelianenko drops to the sixth spot.  I’m willing to have a reasonable discussion about where Emelianenko ranks, but not with anyone who’ll continue to rank Emelianenko first.  You’re delusional.  Part of Emelianenko’s ranking is just circumstantial.  For right now, Werdum is a better fighter than Emelianenko as evidenced by the actual fight in which Werdum defeated Emelianenko.  There’s no would’ves, should’ves, or could’ves to discuss after two fighters fight.  Therefore, Werdum must rank above Emelianenko.  Similarly, Werdum was knocked out by dos Santos at UFC 90 west of Chicago in October 2008.  In an effort to rank fighters presently and not historically, Fighters.com limits the considered record of fighters to their work in the previous two years.  Therefore, dos Santos must rank above Werdum who must rank above Emelianenko.  That’s Fighters.com’s method and why Emelianenko ranks sixth after losing to Werdum.

Neither seventh-ranked Frank Mir (13-5) nor eighth-ranked “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-6-1) have any scheduled or rumored fights on their calendars.

Though Coker had mentioned rematching tenth-ranked “The Grimm” Brett Rogers (10-2) and former UFC heavyweight champion “Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski (15-8), Fighters.com has confirmed both with Rogers’s camp and Strikeforce that the rematch has never been officially offered to Rogers.

Fighters.com’s July Heavyweight Top Ten

1. Brock Lesnar (5-1)
2. Cain Velasquez (8-0)
3. “Cigano” Junior dos Santos (11-2)
4. “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1)
5. Shane Carwin (12-1)
6. “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (31-2)
7. Frank Mir (13-5)
8. “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-6-1)
9. “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (33-11)
10. “The Grimm” Brett Rogers (10-2)

Daley versus Koscheck

“SemTex” Paul Daley (20-9-2) had a few things to say about his next opponent Fighters.com seventh-ranked welterweight Josh Koscheck (14-4). This comes from the UFC: “I know Koscheck is afraid of me. I know he is. Kos was actually in my training room for my first UFC fight against Martin Kampmann, making a load of noise. He’s a major irritant to everyone around him and everyone just wanted him to leave.”

“After I thumped Kampmann, he went totally quiet around me. I knew then he was scared. I also tried to say “Hi” to him backstage after I knocked out Dustin Hazelett at UFC 108, but he pretended he didn’t see me. Again, I could tell he would rather have a root canal done than be around me. I just laughed to myself.”

“I just hope the referee doesn’t fall for his ‘I’ve been poked in the eye and taken an illegal knee’ BS once I rock him. And I will rock him with my first shot. I will walk through a thousand of his right hands which he throws from his behind his arse, land one and say goodnight.”

The war of words between these two has been a good one so far and I hope the fight lives up to the smack talk.

Condolonces

Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio would like to send our condolences to UFC fighter Alessio Sakara (15-7) who has had to pull out of his fight against “The Great” Nate Marquardt (29-9-2) due to the death of his father.

Roy Nelson, Cheick Kongo and Frank Mir

“Big Country” Roy Nelson (15-4) was supposed to face Cheick Kongo (15-6-1) in a fight rumored to take place at UFC 116 on July 3 however due to a back injury that fight seems to be off. The rumor that Roy has heard is that he will possibly be facing Fighters.com third-ranked heavyweight Frank Mir (13-5). This is a fight I would love to see hit the ground as both men are very well versed in grappling.

Strikeforce Melee Update

After the massive brawl witnessed by many of us live on CBS, Strikeforce is taking action as suspensions may be issued from the athletic commission.

“Mayhem” Jason Miller (23-6) was pulled from the headlining spot next month on Strikeforce: Los Angeles and now it seems “Diablo”  Nick Diaz (21-8) has lost his bid to appear on the June 26 fight card in San Jose, California. MMA Junkie cites a source close to Nick’s camp told them he was turned down due to the role he played in the nationally televised melee.

Strikeforce is playing it smart here by not putting fighters on cards that they be pulled from if the commission levies suspensions. They are essentially saving themselves money and a major headache.

Nelson is  coming off a knockout of 6’11″ heavyweight prospect “Skyscraper” Stefan Struve (23-4) in 39 seconds at UFC’s Ultimate Fight Night 21 in Charlotte March 31.

Kongo submitted “Head Hunter” Paul Buentello (25-12) on elbow strikes at UFC on Versus 1 March 21.

The matchup is the one Fighters.com feared the UFC would make in lieu of promoting Nelson to higher competition in the division.

But, that reminds me of a story my friend’s dad – good ol’ Paul Heck – told me years ago.  He’s a Vietnam veteran and told us how he enlisted to go to Vietnam.  They’d ask incoming soldiers to rank the top three destinations they would like to be stationed.  Seventeen-years old and seemingly invincible, Mr. Heck scribbled Vietnam atop his list.  He wanted to fight!  But, he didn’t realize then that the military never sent soldiers to Vietnam if they listed Vietnam as their top choice.  The military figured that if you wanted to go to Vietnam you either had a death wish or would be too reckless in battle.  They wanted soldiers in Vietnam who wanted to come home alive.  So, Mr. Heck was stationed in The Philippines and served honorably.

But, that’s my hunch about Nelson and Couture being a little too eager to fight Toney. Regardless of Toney’s ground skills, he and any boxing champion are going to be no joke on their feet.  By virtue of his boxing background, Toney’s hand speed, punching accuracy, and footwork is already among the best in MMA, even as an aging boxing champion.

My concern is that both Nelson and Couture know they could put Toney on his back and finish the fight toot sweet.  They want to try to box him!  And, both will knocked out if they box Toney in a cage, in a ring, in a backyard, or wherever.  It wouldn’t be pretty.

So, what’s the point point of either matchup?  If Nelson or Couture wanted to, they could put Toney on his back and finish the fight pretty quickly.  But, by making either matchup, the UFC risks either popular fighter getting a wild hair up their ass and getting knocked out.  Nelson’s career would survive of course, but he’s bankable and rising.  I’m not sure Couture’s career would survive a knockout loss to Toney.

I like a Toney versus “Kimbo Slice” Kevin Ferguson (4-1) matchup because of they’re both relative novices.  Toney would have a huge advantage on his feet, but Slice would have a slight advantage anywhere else because of his two years of intensive MMA training.  And, it’s a bankable fight on pay per view.  But, evidently it won’t happen.

So, since Toney is going to sell PPV buys regardless of who he fights, I like a matchup versus anyone in the bottom half of the UFC heavyweight division with average or less ground skills.  “Head Hunter” Paul Buentello (25-11), Cheick Kongo (14-6-1), and “Mexicutioner” Joey Beltran (11-3) all fit the bill.

But, Nelson knows Struve isn’t a stepping stone directly to a title shot versus the winner between UFC champion and Fighters.com’s second-ranked heavyweight Brock Lesnar (4-1) and Shane Carwin (10-0) at UFC 116 in Las Vegas July 3.

Fighters.com posed the question, “Who’s next for Nelson?” last week and matchups between Nelson and former UFC champion Frank Mir(13-4) or former UFC title challenger “Napao” Gabriel Gonzaga (11-5) emerged as popular fan choices.

But, Nelson has his eyes on Fighters.com’s favorite in the UFC heavyweight division “Cigano” Junior dos Santos (11-1).

“I think Dos Santos deserves [a title shot] over Cain [Velasquez] just ’cause he’s whipped some better competition,” Nelson told MMA Weekly Radion.  “I mean his very first fight was [Fabricio] Werdum. He’s beat up some really good guys. I think he definitely deserves a good chance or a good stab at it.”

And about a fight versus dos Santos, Nelson said, “I’d love it!”

But, Nelson also indicated interest in fighting heavyweight boxing champion “Lights Out” James Toney (0-0) who recently signed to fight in the UFC.

The addition of Caol Uno (25-13-5)to the UFC seems to have become a failed venture. His loss last night to Gleison Tibau (18-6) was one sided and will likely cause the release of Uno from the UFC. Uno offered up nothing in the way of offense and was an easy and much needed win for Tibau.

“The Real Deal” Ross Pearson (16-5-1) looked very sharp in his decision victory over Dennis Siver (15-7). Ross has been known to step in and engage in a slug fest but against Siver, a very dangerous fighter, he had a good game plan. He moved in and out and never stayed engaged to long. He had great head movement and his feints kept Sivers off guard and somewhat confused.

My only critique of Pearson’s performance was his lack of killer instinct. He seemed to hurt Dennis a couple times in the fight and rather than push forward and try for a finish he sat back playing it a bit safe. Granted he got the win but as he moves up in the division he will need to use a similar strategy but also be able to incorporate that finishing instinct. He could go a long way in the UFC given ample amount of time.

While I thought Joe Rogan was a little off his game last night and flat out wrong about a couple of things I will discuss later, he was dead on about Jorge Rivera (18-7). I have never seen Jorge look so good in a fight. He dominated the guy I picked to win the fight, “Rock” Nate Quarry (12-4). He picked him apart in the fight once he found his range. Nate did land some solid leg kicks but again, once Jorge found the range he unloaded on Nate with power shots that seemed to rock the “Rock” each time. I also thought Jorge looked lighter on his feet and seemed to take some solid punches better than he has in the past. This could be the start of a new fight life for Jorge and I am excited to see where he goes from here.

Then there was MMA Gospel fan favorite “Skyscraper” Stefan Struve (16-4) taking on “Big Country” Roy Nelson (15-4) in the co-main event. I think Struve can be a top contender in the heavyweight division in the future. He is young and the sky is the limit for him, no pun intended. Although in order for him to reach his full potential he will need to learn to utilize his height and reach advantage to his fullest. There is no reason Nelson should have gotten inside on Struve with very little effort. Struve needed to use his jab to keep Nelson at bay and instead of the leg kicks he should be using the front kick to the body. These are weapons a man of his size should be using to keep the shorter opponents outside their range so he can pick them apart.

Having said that I don’t feel he gave that fight to Nelson. I think Nelson worked hard and knew exactly what he had to do in order to win. It is hard to judge his performance because the fight only went 39 seconds but that is two big knock outs for Roy, a man many said was to fat and to slow for the UFC.

Now we move to the main event between Fighters.com seventh-ranked “KenFlo” Kenny Florian (12-4) and “The Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi (28-6). This is where my critique of Joe Rogan comes in to play.

If you listened to Joe and Mike Goldberg you would think Kenny was destroying Gomi and that just was not the case. Granted Florian did a very good job in the first round using his jab to throw off Gomi’s plan of attack. That and his fast movement in and out of the pocket kept Gomi from unleashing anything substantial but then again Gomi has never been much of a defensive striker.In the past he has eaten plenty of punches in order to get inside to deliver his death blow. However in the first round he was blanked.

The second round told a different story though. Gomi was able to slip Florian’s jab and use a very effective one-two counter that had KenFlo putting on the brakes when working his own counter. It did not fully stop Kenny but it was working and proved to me that if Gomi were to take his training more seriously he could very well make a come back.

In the end though his ground game is still just awful as it always has been and Kenny’s seems to be getting better. The worst part for Florian is that he is stuck in a division where the champion is seemingly heads and tails above the rest.

All in all the Fight Night was full of exciting fights and fantastic finishes. Some shocking and others, well, not so much.

I noted to a friend recently that an MMA Junkie article listing the UFC’s top heavyweight talent included, of course, UFC champion and Fighters.com’s second-ranked heavyweight Brock Lesnar (4-1), his title challenger Shane Carwin (10-0), next in line Cain Velasquez(9-0), ”Cigano” Junior dos Santos (10-1), recently defeated former UFC champion Frank Mir(13-4), and former PRIDE and interim UFC champion “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira(32-6-1).  The article also threw Struve and Cheick Kongo(14-6-1) into the mix at the top of the UFC’s heavyweight division…but no Nelson.  My point to my friend was that I wouldn’t mind leaving Nelson out of a discussion of the UFC’s top heavyweights, but if you’re going to throw in Struve and Kongo, you have to include Nelson.

Struve and Kongo benefit from the same inclination to overhype.  They’re both physically imposing.  Kongo looks like he was chiseled from a 6’4″ chunk of obsidian and Struve stands literally head-and-shoulders above the Octagon cage.  But, with his mullet and soft belly, Nelson fights like Struve and Kongo look like they should fight.

Nelson is good! But, Nelson’s record indicates his ceiling.  He’s been knocked out by former UFC heavyweight champion “Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski (15-7) and lost decisions to former UFC title challenger “Snowman” Jeff Monson (33-9) and former IFL champ “Big” Ben Rothwell(20-7).  There’s a clear delineation between the level of talent Nelson has beat and the level of talent that beats Nelson.

The UFC’s heavyweight division is more interesting now than it has been in years.  Lesnar is the undisputed champion, but still only has a five-fight record that includes a loss.  Is he legitimately dominant, or just yet to be figured out?  Well…figured out again.  Carwin’s KO of Mir earned him the clear top contender spot, but Velasquez’s KO of Big Nog’ puts him just a notch beneath.  That latter knockout also clears the way for Fighters.com’s favorite in the division, dos Santos, who is trained by Nogueira.  Then there’s the old guard of Mir and Nogueira.

Any one of those fighters represents a step up to the level at which Nelson has consistently lost. There are some interesting matchups in the middle of the division, over which Nelson now seems to reign.  So, where does Nelson go from here?

He could await the winners in the UFC 115 matchups between “Cro Cop” Mirko Filipovic (26-8-2) and “HD” Pat Barry (3-2) and “Big” Ben Rothwell (29-5) and “Hurricane” Gilbert Yvel(33-13-1).  In fact, if Rothwell beats Yvel, a Nelson-Rothwell rematch could clearly define how far both fighters have come or what either has lost since their original matchup in April 2007 when Rothwell won by split decision.

Or, Nelson could take on one of the old guard – either Mir or Nogueira – and try to sap from them any of their remaining cache.  Wins over Mir and Nogueira have propelled Carwin and Velasquez to the top of the division, and a win for Nelson over either would push him not far behind.

Or, Nelson could take on either of the top contenders – Velasquez or dos Santos – and try to replace them in line for a title shot.

One fight Fighters.com would loath to see is a matchup between Nelson and Kongo.  I’m so bored with the UFC trying to pass-off Kongo as anything more than a physically imposing, middle-tier heavyweight.  If you want to argue with me, first Google Kongo’s record.  It tells the story.  And, the fact is, Nelson would beat Kongo handily.

Fighters.com’s preference would be for the Rothwell-Nelson rematch to determine whether Nelson has truly improved his game or he’s benefiting from generous matchups in the UFC.  If Nelson could beat Rothwell, he’d have proven he could step-up to the next level of competition.  However, Rothwell has to beat Yvel first and Nelson would have to want to wait until August to fight again.

Where do you think Nelson should go after his impressive knockout of Struve?

Florian weighed the limit at 156 pounds and Gomi weighed 155 pounds.

The Ultimate Fighter 10 champion “Big Country” Roy Nelson (14-4) and 6? 11? heavyweight prospect “SkySkraper” Stefan Struve (23-3) both also made weight for their matchup.  Nelson weighed 263 pounds while Struve weighed 248 pounds.

Fight night 21 will air live on SpikeTV at 8:00 PM EST.  The rest of the weights below:

Nate Quarry (186) vs. Jorge Rivera (186)
Ross Pearson (156) vs. Dennis Siver (156)
Rafaello Oliveira (156) vs. Andre Winner (156)
Ronys Torres (155) vs. Jacob Volkmann (155)
Rob Emerson (154) vs. Nik Lentz (155)
Gleison Tibau (156) vs. Caol Uno (156)
Lucio Linhares (184) vs. Yushin Okami (184)
Gerald Harris (186) vs. Mario Miranda (186)
Charlie Brenneman (170) vs. Jason High (170)

Nelson knocked out of Brendan Schaub (3-1) at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale in Las Vegas December 5, winning the TUF 10 tournament.

Struve won a majority decision over “Head Hunter” Paul Buentello (25-11) at UFC 107 in Memphis December 12.  It was an exciting slugfest narrowly pulled out by the young Dutchman!

Nelson had posted to his Twitter account that he’d fight former boxing champion James Toney, but it was apparently a prank.

White said Nelson has “the worst physique in professional sports” and complained about Nelson’s confidence throughout the competition.

But, none of the fighters on TUF 10 who actually had to step into the Octagon versus Nelson made similar critiques.  All of Nelson’s opponents dutifully promised to win, of course; and, Schaub even promised to knock Nelson out.  But, no one questioned Nelson’s confidence or called him a “fat guy.”

The difference between White and Nelson’s opponents is that White has to promote a phenomenal fat guy while Nelson’s opponents have to fight a phenomenal fat guy.  And, if you’re the king of the streets like “Kimbo Slice” Kevin Ferguson (4-1), a Greco-Roman wrestling champion like Justin Wren (8-2), a decorated kickboxer like James McSweeney (4-4), or a former NFL football player like Schaub, after Nelson etches an “L” into your record, you just got beat-up by that same fat guy you were demeaning as just a fat guy.

White has logged a lot of hours changing the image of the UFC from gritty brawler “Tank” David Abbott (10-14) to clean-cut certified überathlete Fighters.com’s second-ranked heavyweight and UFC champion Brock Lesnar (4-1).

Nelson, his buddha belly, and his curly mohawk crash White’s party.

And, in a sense, White is right. Watching the final episode of TUF 10 with a friend who is aware of MMA, but doesn’t consider it much of a sport, I realized how Nelson turns off fans of mainstream team sports where the rules are conceived to ensure the best athlete wins.  He was appalled that Nelson had reached the finals of a supposed athletic competition.

“Roy is good,” I protested.

“But, wouldn’t he be better if he were in shape,” my friend asked.

I explained, “He is in shape.  Look, he’s training with three former NFL players, doing everything everyone else is doing, and two of those NFL players have had to sit out days of training.  Roy never has.”

My friend was skeptical, even hostile towards Nelson based wholly on Nelson’s physique compared to his confidence.  My friend was rooting for the clean-cut, former professional football player Schaub after watching just one episode of TUF 10.

But, for MMA purists like you and I, Nelson’s physique and dearth of athletic genetics combined with his deep understanding of fighting, proves that MMA, at it’s heart, is a high-skilled athletic endeavor.  Unlike football and unlike action films, fighting is skill-intensive, not based on genetics or looks.  It’s a chess game that tests your will to win by ensuring painful results when you make a bad move.

Watching Nelson knockout Schaub was similar to watching third-ranked Frank Mir (12-4) tap out Lesnar at UFC 81 in Las Vegas in 2008.  As much as onlookers outside of the sport want MMA to be a bunch of thick-headed bar brawlers trading head shots until someone falls, it’s proven time-and-again that, when athletes from other sports step into MMA, they’re quickly humbled by the volume of skills that they have to study and the intensity of training day-in-and-day-out.

On TUF 10, former Tampay Bay Bucs top draft pick “Big Baby” Marcus Jones (4-2) admitted his training in the NFL was nothing close to the intensity and effort of training to fight.

Nelson has done that training for years while also picking up all of the skills necessary to compete at a high level in MMA.  Though spectators ignorant about the sport will look at Nelson and have their misconceptions about MMA confirmed, I look at Nelson and he proves that fighting is as much about skill and heart as genetics.  That’s what attracted many core fans to the sport years ago.  It’s the promise that, even if you’re not born to succeed, you can work hard, study, and overcome your limitations to become successful anyway.

Nelson wasn’t born a 6’6″, 265- pound muscle-bound giant like Jones.  Nelson was born the way you see him today and will kick Jones’s ass with the skills he’s developed through hours of hard work in the gym.

White should spend less time being annoyed with having to now promote Nelson as a certified UFC fighter and devote his effort to promoting Nelson for the symbol of what a high-skilled, heart-testing sport MMA is.  And, whenever one of these magazine cover, chiseled athletes wants to call Nelson just a fat guy, White should serve the guy to Nelson in a clamshell box and watch Nelson descend on him like a Burger King Whopper.

Expect a Burger King endorsement deal for the self-described “fat guy” who entered season eleven of The Ultimate Fighter as the heavy favorite and lived up to the hype right through the finale.

Schaub flicked a jab one time too many and Nelson went over top with a right hook to Schaub’s temple, dropping his Team Rashad teammate to the mat.

Referee Herb Dean jumped in and ended the fight.

Nelson had also scored a takedown earlier in the round; but, Schaub was able to squirm to his feet.  Schaub threw plenty of quick, powerful punches, but hit very little for having such a big target in front of him.

The finalists were determined in the two semi-final fights Wednesday night on SpikeTV.

Nelson TKO’d James McSweeney (3-4) in the first round of their exhibition fight.  Nelson slammed McSweeney in a double-leg takedown and passed to half guard where he trapped McSweeney’s right arm beneath his knee and pounded McSweeney’s head until the referee stepped in.

Schaub TKO’d “Big Baby” Marcus Jones (4-1) in the first round of their exhibition fight.  Though Jones scored an early takedown, Schaub dropped Jones with an overhand right and pounded on Jones until the referee stopped the fight.

The final episode will air for two hours and feature fights that will determine the two athletes who will fight for a six-figure UFC contract at at SpikeTV’s The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale in Las Vegas December 5.

The remaining heavyweights include James McSweeney (3-4), ex-NFL defensive tackle Matt Mitrione (0-0), “Big Baby” Marcus Jones (4-1), “Titties” Darrill Schoonover (10-1), “Big Country” Roy Nelson (13-4),  and Brendan Schaub (3-0).

Wednesday nights episode will feature matchups between McSweeney and Mitrione and Jones and Schoonover, then the winners of those fights in semi-final matchups with Nelson and Schaub.

Though a plotline forced by the show this season has been the return of “Kimbo Slice” Kevin Ferguson (3-1) after his first round loss to Nelson,  light heavyweight “Assassin” Houston Alexander (9-4) has confirmed he’ll fight Slice December 5.

Fighters.com will post live coverage of the final fights of season 10 tonight.  Return to Fighters.com tonight for discussion of the final fights and the season.

Fighters.com scored the fight a draw at 19-19; and, Fighters.com’s fourth-ranked light heavyweight “Sugar” Rashad Evans (13-1-1), who coached both fighters to the quarters, said, “This is a fight that should’ve went to the third round.  This is a third round fight.”

In the first round, Wren exploded forward in flurries, consistently tagging Nelson with near-haymaker right hooks.  Nelson clinched with double-underhooks and landed knees as Wren squeezed Nelson in a bodylock.  The referee broke the fighters’ clinch.  Wren continued placing his right hook on Nelson’s head while Nelson caught Wren with a couple jabs as Wren came forward.

At the end of the round, UFC President Dana White’s opinion was clear, “Justin Wren comes out and absolutely destroys Roy Nelson.”

Fighters.com scored the round 10-9 in favor of Wren.

In the second round, Wren mixed in a leg kick to cap-off his flurries, but his punches were a little wilder, his flurries a bit more infrequent.

Evans commented, “Wren is really, really tired, hands on the hips, throwing punches that just hit nothing but air.”

Nelson took advantage of Wren’s waning stamina, nailing Wren with a jab as he lumbered forward and countering with his on leg kick.  Wren applied a Thai clinch, but Nelson shoved two uppercuts into Wren’s mug and pushed Wren off.  As Wren stuck out another leg kick, Nelson countered with a stiff straight punch.

At the end of the round, now-retired sixth-ranked “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-7) chanted, “One more round!”

And, due to TUF rules which mandate a deciding third round in the event of a draw at the end of two rounds, Fighters.com expected a third round too, scoring the second round 10-9 for Nelson.

But, the judges scored the fight a majority decision for Nelson, who predicted, “If it went three, I would’ve probably won with a KO or TKO.”

White was less certain.  He said, “Uh, yeah, you got the shit beat out of you for the first round.  The day we see Roy Nelson in an exciting fight that he made exciting, I’ll give him his props.”

Nelson advances into the semi-finals.