As the new year looms closer and closer, the Super Bowl weekend card looks to be a star studded affair. Previously mentioned, the main event of the evening is looking like it will be a battle between Brazilians when Vitor Belfort challenges former teammate Anderson Silva for the ufc middleweight title. Also on the card, a battle between light heavyweights Ryan Bader and Jon Jones will battle it out for top contenders status in a stacked 205-pound division. Seemingly a shoe in for co-main event honors, the bout was trumped when a recent news breaker was published, which will garner a lot of attention come fight time. ...

Can anyone in the UFC handle Jon Jones? It honestly doesn’t look like it, at least so far. Perhaps the true test for Jonny Bones will be taking on true best-in-the-world competition, and the likely final stepping stone to getting fights just like that comes in the form of a fight with fellow surging Light Heavyweight star and winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8, Ryan Bader. The two are set to meet at UFC 127 on Super Bowl Weekend, which has always been an event of very high importance in the UFC. But according to Jones, Bader is just another name in a list that has gotten so long that Bones is beginning to get sick of fighting fighters like Bader. ...

The ultra-successful "ufc Prelims" special, which has served as a lead in to the Pay-Per View portion of UFC bouts, will be returning on Nov. 20, when the organization visits Auburn Hills, Mich. for UFC 123. Headlining the nights festivities will be former light heavyweight champions Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida in a non-title bout, with a trilogy between former welterweight champions Matt Hughes and BJ Penn being completed that night, serving as the co-main event of the evening. Prior to these bouts, a pair of middleweights and 170-pound fighters will be in action as part of the Spike TV special, which will have the potential to reach 96.1 million people at home in these United States. ...

The meteoric rise of Jon Jones has been well documented, while the less flashy climb to the top that Ryan Bader has traveled has been perhaps less noticeable. But, none the less, both competitors will find themselves pitted against one another when the collegiate wrestlers meet at an as of yet announced event in Las Vegas, Nev., for UFC 127. Jones, the proverbial golden boy of the light heavyweight division, has been nothing but impressive since his inception into the UFC. While his record reads 11-1, by all means the Endicott, New York, native is an undefeated prodigy. ...

At the recent UFC 119: “Mir vs. Cro Cop” event, surging Light Heavyweight star and winner of Season 8 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality TV show Ryan Bader scored the biggest win of his young career when he defeated veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. The win was Bader’s twelfth fight in his three-year career, and preserved his unbroken win-streak. However, controversy has begun to find its way into the discussion of “Darth Bader” and his big win, with many thinking that “Little Nog” maybe should have earned the decision nod, or at the very least, that the fight itself wasn’t all that exciting. Now that Bader is most likely looking at a match with fellow upstart Jon Jones, here’s what he had to say regarding the future of his career. ...

UFC veteran Goran Reljic, made waves in the UFC in 2008 when he defeated then light heavyweight contender Wilson Gouveia, with second strikes. With an opening like that, which earned both him and Gouveia "Fight of the Night" honors, the sky appeared to be the limit for the Croatian sensation, who has trained alongside legend Mirko "Cro Cop". However, a 2-year lapse would follow where Goran had suffered from a serious back injury, putting him out of commission, and out of the minds and ears of the fans and media alike. ...

Despite setbacks here and there, the old guard of MMA has proven that they aren’t going anywhere. Chief among the veteran MMA stars still competing and still actually doing well is Antonio Rogerio Nogueira or “Little Nog” as he’s affectionately known. While big brother Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was last seen getting flash-KO’d by the seemingly-unstoppable Cain Velasquez, the smaller Nogueira hasn’t lost since PRIDE 33 all the way back in 2007. Despite winning a close Split-Decision over Jason Brilz, the Brilz fight in particular drew a lot of ire, as many think that Brilz deserved the nod and that Nogueira has finally begun to show his age (for those pointing out that Nogueira is only 34, more on that later). Heading into his fight with Ryan Bader, “Little Nog” recently stated that he was looking to stand with his opponent. Unfortunately for him, if Rogerio Nogueira does adopt this gameplan, he’ll more likely than not find himself in the same position as his brother. ...

While Jon Jones has faced the toughest opposition of his career most recently, he's made it look easy and efficient. Even in a losing effort (albeit a disqualification) to TUF veteran Matt Hamill, Jones looked every bit as dominant as he has in wins over perennial contender's Brand Vera and most recently, Vladimir Matyushenko. It's hard to say what will be next for the 205-pound wrestling stud, but Jones in the mean time is enjoying his most recent triumph none the less, which now moves him to 11-1 overall, and marks his fifth win, inside the octagon. ...

All fighters on the UFC 110 card in Sydney Saturday made weight. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (233.2 lbs./106 kg) vs. Cain Velasquez (242 lbs./110 kg) ...

UFC light heavyweights “Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine (14-5-1) and “Darth” Ryan Bader (7-0) will matchup at UFC 110 in Sydney February 21, according to an MMA Weekly report. ...

Fighters.com and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (15-0) weighed in two-and-a-half pounds under the 205-pound light heavyweight limit Friday, a day before he'll defend his titles from sixth-ranked “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (18-3) at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles Saturday. ...

Friday the UFC confirmed that the contender matchup between Fighters.com's seventh-ranked middleweight and former WEC champ Chael Sonnen (22-10-1) and UFC contender “Thunder” Yushin Okami (23-4) is not scheduled for the pay per view broadcast of UFC 104 in Los Angeles October 24. ...

"Darth" Ryan Bader (6-0) defeated Vinicius Magalhaes (3-4) via TKO stoppage during the Ultimate Fighter Season 8 Finale in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The win by Bader earned the former Arizona wrestler the crown of Ultimate Fighter in the light heavyweight division for Season 8.

The main event fight started out Magalhaes throwing kicks from range. Bader took a couple of hard kicks before landing a right hand haymaker that sent Magalhaes into trouble. Bader quickly stood over Magalhaes raining down fists cuing referee Herb Dean to step in and stop the assault.

Ryan Bader officially won via TKO stoppage due to strikes at the 2:18 mark of round one.

Fighters.com spoke this week with The Ultimate Fighter 8 finalist “The Filipino Assassin” Phillipe Nover (4-0) as he was preparing to fly out to Las Vegas, where he will fight Efrain Escudero (6-0) for the season eight lightweight crown Saturday 13 December. Fighters.com:  I saw that you earned your black belt on Saturday, congratulations. Phillipe Nover:  Thank you.  Yeah, I didn’t even really expect it.  I guess when you least expect things, sometimes they happen.  I trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu for about eight years now, and my teacher, Soca (Alexandre Freitas), gave me my brown belt a few years ago.  Soca had a promotion ceremony and he was like, “Be there, man!  You better be there,” and I’m like, “Okay, okay.”  I thought I’d probably get some stripes and then I got my belt instead.  It was a big, big deal for me. Fighters.com:  How is your training going? Phillipe Nover:  Really good.  I really trained specifically for Efrain’s style and what I remember him to be on the show and analyzing his fights.  I train about eight to twelve sessions a week.  I do mostly double days and I’ve been doing about twice a week of live training like sparring and stuff and my conditioning.  I feel really good.  My weight’s good, I feel more ready for this fight than any other fight.  You know, pretty much I had Efrain on my mind for the last five, six months.  I’ve never been so focused on one particular person. ...

PAC-10 champion and NCAA Division 1 All-American wrestler “Darth” Ryan Bader (5-0) answered some questions this past weekend for Fighters.com about his participation in The Ultimate Fighter 8 and his upcoming bout versus BJJ world champion “Pezao” Vinicius Magalhaes (3-3). The light heavyweights will vie for the title of “The Ultimate Fighter” at the live finale 13 December in Las Vegas. Fighters.com’s top heavyweight contender “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) and Frank Mir (11-3) served as coaches for the season. Fighters.com:  Is the Ryan Bader we saw on The Ultimate Fighter the real Ryan Bader?  Do you feel you were portrayed accurately? Ryan Bader:  Most definitely, I thought they did a great job portraying the fighters’ true personalities, at least, if the fighters were actually being themselves.  But I have no qualms whatsoever about how they portrayed me on the show. Fighters.com:  Do you think any of the cast was misrepresented because of the editing? Ryan Bader:  In the end I feel that everybody got their true personalities out.  Some things were over hyped.  Vinny [Magalhaes] really isn’t that much of a dick, and Eliot [Marshall (4-1)] is actually very respectful.  Junie [Allen Browning (2-0)] is a nut just as he was portrayed. ...

TUF 8 lightweights Phillipe Nover (4-0) and Efrain Escudero (6-0) and light heavyweights “Darth” Ryan Bader (5-0) and “Pezao” Vinicius Magalhaes (3-3) secured a spot in the finals in Wednesday night’s episodes of the reality television series. Following the broadcast the UFC announced the full lineup for the live finale of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir 13 December in Las Vegas. Also on the card are a previously reported bout between middleweights “The Athlete” Jason MacDonald (19-10) and Wilson Gouveia (11-5), and a rematch between Kevin Burns (7-1) and “Rumble” Anthony Johnson (5-2). Rounding out the main card is a lightweight match-up between TUF 8 competitors Junie Allen Browning (2-0) and David Kaplan (0-0). ...

By Steve Cha "I like the small guys.  They go at it," UFC President Dana White stated to TUF 8 coach Frank Mir (11-3). Lightweights Wesley Murch (3-2) and John Polakowski (2-1), who, in his words, “loves giving hugs to everyone”, didn’t disappoint White in the first fight of the night on Wednesday’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter 8. Both fighters were able to land strikes and take each other’s backs; however, at the end of the first round, British fighter Murch injured his shin on a low kick attempt.  Ouch! Murch braved the pain, but, early in the second round, collapsed; and, the ref was forced to stop the fight. True to his words, Polakowski hugged Fighters.com’s top heavyweight contender and TUF 8 coach “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1), White, and Mir, forcing an admission from Nog': " I don’t care, you know.  I like to hug too." ...

Ryan “Darth” Bader (7-0) is a light heavyweight competitor on The Ultimate Fighter 8, premiering tonight.  He has a strong wrestling background; he was a three-time Pac-10 Championships finalist, and two-time All-American at Arizona State University. Fighters.com:  How did you get involved in TUF 8? Ryan Bader:  My first experience with TUF was when I helped Jesse Forbes [6-2] get ready for his TUF 3 finale. I was a bit reserved with having the "TUF" label put on me but after I saw CB [Dollaway (7-1)] and his explosion onto the MMA scene it just made a lot of sense. I paid my dues at the small shows and I knew it was time to make the move to the UFC. [UFC matchmaker] Joe Silva has a ton of guys like me calling and asking to get in the UFC so TUF gives you a potentially alternate path. So after TUF 7 wrapped I went to Las Vegas to celebrate with CB and got to meet a lot of the producers. When it came time to apply I sent in my application and audition tape and had a phone interview with the producers. A few weeks later we got a call from the producers and they asked me to come up to Las Vegas for medical and interviews. Fighters.com:  Who are some of your heroes, in sports or otherwise? Ryan Bader:  My family, they are very supportive and lead by example. As far at sports heroes, I think any athlete pursuing his or her dreams at all cost is very inspirational. Fighters.com:  Where do you train? Who do you train with? Ryan Bader:  I train at Arizona Combat Sports. My striking coaches are Todd and Trevor Lally, my BJJ is taught by Gustavo Dantes and wrestling by Aaron Simpson (who was also one of my coaches at ASU). ...

Monday the UFC officially announced its line-up for the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, premiering 17 September on SpikeTV. The 16 lightweights and 16 light heavyweights will be coached by Fighters.com's top heavyweight contender and interim UFC Champion “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) and former UFC Heavyweight Champ Frank Mir (11-3). Lightweights Jose Aguilar (0-0) Fernando Bernstein (0-0) Junie Allen Browning (1-0) Rolando Delgado (0-0) Joseph Duarte (0-0) Efrain Escudero (10-0) Brandon Garner (4-1) David Kaplan (0-0) Eric Magee (1-1) Brian McLaughlin (0-0) Wesley Murch (3-2) Shane Nelson (9-3) Phillipe Nover (5-0-1) Ido Pariente (8-3) John Polakowski (2-1) George Roop (8-3) Light Heavyweights Ryan Bader (7-0) Antwain Britt (3-1) Jules Bruchez (0-0) Charles Diaz (3-0) Lance Evans (2-2) Karen Grigoryan (6-1) Jason Guida (17-17) "Big Deal" Ryan Jimmo (6-1) Kyle Kingsbury (7-1) Tom Lawlor (4-1) Ryan Lopez (4-4) "Pezao" Vinicius Magalhaes (0-1) Eliot Marshall (5-1) Sean O’Connell (0-0) Shane Primm (1-0) Krzysztof Soszynski (15-8-1) ...