Champion GSP will look to make his fifth successful title defense against foe Koscheck. The two had met previously at UFC 74, where the American Kickboxing Academy product was riding a 5-fight win streak inside the cage coming into the bout, meanwhile, “Rush” was coming off of a disappointing and shocking knockout loss to the unheralded Matt Serra at UFC 69.

While competitive in spots, St. Pierre was able to dominate the wrestling department against the former NCAA champion, en route to a unanimous decision victory.

UFC officials made the fight-card official yesterday, with GSP vs Koscheck serving as the headliner. While the card is filling up quickly, no co-main event has been announced as of yet.

The rematch is 3 years in the making, and both competitors have improved leaps and bounds. While GSP has gone undefeated since then, eventually reclaiming his welterweight title against Matt Serra in a rematch at UFC 83 in his native Montreal Josh has faltered against some of the top competition in his division. With losses to Brazilians Thiago Alves and Paulo Thiago inside of a three-fight stretch, Josh was able to bounce back with three-straight wins over Frank Trigg, Anthony Johnson, and most recently UFC castoff Paul Daley (UFC 113), have enabled the brash and cocky fighter his shot at the title.

No other bouts have become official as of yet, however the following bouts are rumored for the fight card as well.

Thiago Alves vs. John Howard
Mark Bocek vs. Dustin Hazelett
Sean McCorkle vs. Stefan Struve

So, MMA peeps, what do you think of the fight card so far? With the bout officially official, who do you think takes the rematch? Sound off in the comment section below.

The 2009 event opened up to a large audience, and has become a propellant in the mixed martial arts world, opening up the eyes to a mainstream audience, by the community taking leaps and bounds in order to legitimize itself as not only a legitimate sport, but one that deserves that same sort of recognition that most others receive, here in these United States.

While some categories have changed, in order to be politically correct, must stay the same. Voting continues until November 26, where till then you can cast your votes online at All winners are determined by a fan vote, and ballots can be cast through Nov. 26 at www.worldmmaawards.com.

The full list, which was formatted by MMAJunkie.com, of finalists includes:

CHARLES “MASK” LEWIS FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

* Anderson Silva
* Brock Lesnar
* Frankie Edgar
* Jose Aldo
* Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

FIGHT OF THE YEAR

* Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 117
* Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin at UFC 116
* Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung at WEC 48
* Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116
* Jorge Santiago vs. Kazuo Misaki at Sengoku 14

KO OF THE YEAR

* Anthony Njokuani vs. Chris Horodecki at WEC 45
* Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110
* Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Lyoto Machida at UFC 113
* Mike Russow vs. Todd Duffee at UFC 114
* Rich Franklin vs. Chuck Liddell at UFC 115

SUBMISSION OF THE YEAR

* Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida at UFC 117
* Chris Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116
* Cole Miller vs. Dan Lauzon at UFC 108
* Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen at UFC 118
* Fabricio Werdum vs. Fedor Emelianenko at “Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum”

BEST PROMOTION

* Bellator
* DREAM
* Strikeforce
* UFC
* WEC

LEADING MAN OF THE YEAR

* Bjorn Rebney, Bellator founder and CEO
* Dana White, UFC president
* Joe Silva, UFC VP of talent relations
* Michael Schiavello, HDNet broadcaster
* Scott Coker, Strikeforce founder and CEO

INTERNATIONAL FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

* Alistair Overeem
* Dan Hardy
* George Sotiropoulos
* John Hathaway
* Shinya Aoki

BREAKTHROUGH FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

* Charles Oliveira
* Evan Dunham
* George Sotiropoulos
* John Hathaway
* Jon Jones

FEMALE FIGHTER OF THE YEAR

* Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos
* Megumi “Mega Megu” Fujii
* Miesha Tate
* Sarah Kaufman
* Zoila Frausto

COACH OF THE YEAR

* Cesar Gracie
* Firas Zahabi
* Greg Jackson
* Rafael Cordeiro
* Shawn Tompkins

GYM OF THE YEAR

* American Kickboxing Academy
* American Top Team
* Black House MMA
* Greg Jackson’s Submission Fighting
* Wand Fight Team

RING GIRL OF THE YEAR

* Arianny Celeste
* Brittney Palmer
* Chandella Powell
* Natalie Skyy
* Rachelle Leah

BEST LIFESTYLE CLOTHING BRAND

* Affliction
* Fight Chix
* RVCA
* Silverstar
* TapouT

REFEREE OF THE YEAR

* “Big” John McCarthy
* Dan Miragliotta
* Herb Dean
* Josh Rosenthal
* Mario Yamasaki

MOST MEMORABLE RING ENTRANCE

* Anderson Silva
* Clay Guida
* Jason “Mayhem” Miller
* Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal
* Tom Lawlor

BEST TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT BRAND

* Everlast MMA
* Fairtex
* Hayabusa
* TapouT
* Venum

BEST TECHNICAL CLOTHING BRAND

* Bad Boy
* Hayabusa
* Jaco
* TapouT
* Venum

MEDIA SOURCE OF THE YEAR

* “Inside MMA” on HDNet
* MMAjunkie.com
* MMAWeekly.com
* MMAFighting.com
* Sherdog.com

MMA JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR

* Aaron “Tru” Teweles, Freelance
* Ariel Helwani, MMAFighting.com/Versus.com
* Conner Cordova, MMAReligion.com
* Gareth A. Davies, Telegraph.com
* John Morgan, MMAjunkie.com

So, MMA peeps, any surprises here? Anyone you would have liked to seen in some of these categories? Who do you think will take home some of the honors of the night? Sound off in the comments section below.

The restraining order is meant to put a hold to the illegal broadcasting of UFC events on the “HQ-Streams.com” website. Zuffa alleges that the streaming site, which broadcasts streams of popular MMA events and pro wrestling shows to its subscribers, charged customers a $6.99 flat free to see UFC 113 in May and UFC 117 in August. The streams were also made available to monthly subscribers under their monthly subscription service at $11.99 per month. Those in charge of the site left a brief message to its userbase: “Too (sic) All Members Of The Forum, There won’t be any UFC 118 stream here this Saturday. We don’t want our site to get into troubles with Zuffa!”

Now, this is something I can actually get behind. The people involved with this website are looking to profit from something they have no business profiting from. It doesn’t matter if it’s only seven or twelve bucks, it could be for a penny and this would still be a case of internet pirates profiting off the hard works of others. This is literally an example of internet pirates taking money out of someone else’s pocket and putting it into their own. The UFC is wholly in their right to go after these people, and in cases as cut-and-dry as this, I have a feeling that they’ll continue to notch victory after victory.

But, here’s the thing no one ever really realizes when you have a big company going after internet pirates. Internet piracy cannot be tamed, it cannot be stopped, no court cases or judge‘s ruling or fines levied will permanently stop the flow of internet piracy. And do you know why that is? It’s because some people don’t do it for the money. Some people just want to be a part of the underground. For every site like HQ-Streams.com, where people are actually trying to profit at the expense of others, there’s a growing legion of stay-at-home nerds with high-speed internet and a love of Mixed Martial Arts that want to stream MMA just because they can, for no other reason other than because they think it’s cool to be an internet pirate.

At the end of the day, I respect and support the UFC trying to protect its assets. Even with their near-monopoly of the MMA market, every penny counts as MMA continues to expand and the UFC leads the charge, breaking down barriers and getting MMA legalized in areas that probably wouldn’t have ever legalized MMA had it not been for the UFC’s team of highly-trained and undoubtedly highly-paid lobbyists.

But people will stream MMA with no thought of ever turning a profit from it, just because they can. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: internet piracy is one great, big, swelling, ever-growing hydra. I applaud the UFC for protecting its rights and I’m with them 100% in going after companies and websites attempting to profit at the UFC’s expense. That isn’t meaningless. What’s meaningless is the belief that cracking down on some internet pirates will eliminate internet piracy as a whole. The UFC can make headlines and save profits by going after the big fish, but it’s the quiet ones they have to be wary of. Because no one has stopped them yet, and they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

And what do you think, fans and friends? Is the UFC fighting a losing battle against piracy, or do you think they’ll make an example out of so many people that they actually win the fight?

UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has undergone successful knee surgery this past June, and is still in recovery mode. According to UFC President Dana White in a recent interview with Sportscenter revealed that he intends on making Rua’s return in the Spring or early Summer of next year.

Dana also made a mention on the champ’s proceedings towards his knee surgery, which marks Shogun’s third in just under three years, that he had Rua come to the states to have the surgery done. The first two surgeries took place in his native Brazil, though some might remember Rua’s sluggish returns to the octagon post-knee surgeries. His initial UFC debut against Forrest Griffin at UFC 76 in Anaheim, California in 2007, did not go quite as easily as most fans and media alike had predicted. “The Ultimate Fighter” veteran submitted the former Pride champion with a third-round rear naked choke.

Over a year later, at UFC 93 in Dublin, Ireland, “Shogun” returned on the winning side of things when he rallied back against then UFC fighter Mark Coleman, defeating the former heavyweight champion with strikes in the third round. However since those sluggish performances, Shogun is red-hot.

Despite sporting a subtle 3-2 record inside the cage, his actions speak volumes. After earning his bid for a title shot after knocking out former champion and UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell at UFC 97, Rua then went the distance with then champ Lyoto Machida at UFC 103 and on all accounts beat “The Dragon”, but in a surprising turn of events, lost by unanimous decision, much to the dismay of the fans and press alike, who were all left scratching their heads.

The rematch was set, and at UFC 113 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in May of this year, the Brazilians battled it out and “Shogun” exacted revenge when he knocked out Machida inside of the first round, to claim Number One supremacy.

The knee surgeries were taxing on the Brazilian, but the UFC head honcho is more optimistic about Rua’s recovery time and methods of returning back strong this time around. With what looks like a year-long layoff for both “Shogun” and challenger Rashad Evans–who was last seen in action in May as well, with a unanimous decision win over heated rival Quinton Jackson at UFC 114.

Do you think the fight being pushed to a later date would benefit both fighters on a stint with “TUF”? Rashad was an excellent coach, “Shogun” is the man–though his English is limited.

Im my opinion, the longer this fight is pushed, the less attention it will receive and the less relevant it will become, even if it is a title fight. So to keep both competitors in the public eye, a visit towards a possibility with “The Ultimate Fighter” should be addressed.

I just don’t think you can get much more classless than trying to attack your opponent after the final bell has rung and his back is turned to you. I’ve heard people joke about how Daley’s punch after the bell was the only good punch he landed in the entire fight, but that’s just making light of a very serious situation. Daley blatantly attempted to cheap-shot his opponent after spending almost their entire fifteen-minute encounter on his back, and he only gets one month off? Thirty days is nothing to a Mixed Martial Artist. Most MMA fighters only compete a couple of times a year, the rest is spent training. Whenever his suspension does go into effect, it’s likely that Daley won’t be fighting that month anyway, since it’s been confirmed that he has a fight scheduled for September 11, and it’s also recently been confirmed that this suspension will not interfere with that fight.

One of the things that has me feeling absolutely no sympathy for Paul Daley is the fact that he could’ve been one of the UFC’s biggest welterweights if he had just kept his head on straight and not let his anger get the best of him. In a division mostly dominated by American wrestlers, Paul Daley was a great breath of fresh air: a British knockout artist. Even if Daley’s Achilles Heel (the ground game) would mean that he’d never work his way up to a title, Dana White has proven time and time again that so long as you can bring the fans entertaining fights while keeping your head above water and winning more than you lose, your spot in the UFC is secure. Even without the UFC, Daley remains incredibly marketable, having already competed once on PPV for Impact FC, and his upcoming September 11 fight against Jorge Masvidal will be part of Shark Fights 13, which according to rumors will also be shown on Pay-Per-View. Add to this the rumors that Daley is in close negotiations with Strikeforce, and you’ve got someone that actually seems to be carrying on pretty well after receiving a permanent ban from the world’s biggest MMA promotion.

That above all else is why I think Daley should have been handed a far stiffer punishment, with more time off and even a fine. Daley has always been a bad-boy, but his actions against Koscheck were unforgivable. With several fights lined up and with many rumors pointing to a Strikeforce debut sooner rather than later, it’s obvious that Daley isn’t feeling the sting of his actions. Simply put, thirty days isn’t nearly enough time for one of the most despicable, stereotype-justifying things you could ever do in the middle of an Octagon/cage/ring/whatever. It’s not enough by far.

But that’s my opinion, fans and friends. Do you agree or disagree with Paul Daley being suspended for thirty days for his attempt to hit Josh Koscheck after their fight was over?

Matt Mitrione Versus Joey Beltran

Just days after they both won at UFC 113, Truefighting is reporting that Matt Mitrione (2-0) and Joey Beltran (10-2) are in talks to fight at UFC 117 in August.

Matt is coming off a TKO victory over Kimbo Slice (4-2) in which he looked much improved. The improvement came by training with kickboxing legend Duke Roufus and UFC heavyweight prospect “HD” Pat Barry (3-2).

Beltran was on the winning end of a unanimous decision over “The Thrashing Machine” Tim Hague (8-4).

Shogun

It was stated on MMA Live before the fight between “The Dragon” Lyoto Machida (16-1) and now UFC light heavyweight champion “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (19-4) that the winner would defend their title based on the outcome of another fight. That fight would be the long-anticipated bout between “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-7) and “Sugar” Rashad Evans (14-1-1) which takes place May 29 in Las Vegas at UFC 114.

However after Shogun won via KO, UFC president Dana White was asked at the post-fight press conference about the match-up. He stated he was unable to answer that at this time and would have to wait and see what happened in that fight. Now it looks like we will see that fight after all. Dana was interviewed by Carmichael Dave and stated “The winner of the Rampage Jackson vs Rashad Evans fight will get the first shot at Shogun.”

The better fight from a promotion standpoint would Rampage versus Shogun as they met back in Pride:Total Elimination 2005 when Shogun knocked out Jackson in 4:47.

A win over Rashad would put Rampage on a three fight win streak and without a loss to Machida like Evans has, would make him a clear-cut contender for the title.

Randy Couture

Speaking of Shogun, former champion “The Natural” Randy Couture (18-10) heard that Shogun and his manager had been discussing a fight with him. Randy posted the following via his Twitter account: “Just finishing the deal for Toney and every ones talking about shogun . Love to fight him but toney first ! He must Have called me out and I missed it . Great performance by rua . Id love a crack at him after toney in aug . Maybe rua in oct ufc 120″

Randy has stated that his next fight is all but signed with former boxing champion “Lights Out” James Toney (0-0) in what many call boxing versus MMA.

Stay tuned to Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio as we keep you updated on all the latest around the world of MMA.

“I’ve had a long flight home to consider my actions and regret the mistake I made on Saturday. I would like to apologise to the UFC and the Athletic Commission for what I’ve done as well as all the fans and sponsors that support me.”

“I would also like to offer my sincerest apologies to Josh Koscheck who did not deserve the cheap shot I threw. He did what he needed to do in order to win the fight and get the job done, and I foolishly reacted to the situation. There is no excuse for my actions and I know what I did was very unprofessional. I was immensely frustrated by a collection of things that took place throughout the fight as well as leading up to it, but I’m certainly not trying to condone or excuse my actions.”

“Josh implemented his game plan perfectly taking me down and staying on top of me for the majority of the fight. I was also frustrated about him claiming (and acting like) I knee’d him in the head on the ground when it was clear for all to see in the video replay that I didn’t connect at all with the knee I threw. Then finally, the verbal abuse Josh hit me with in the final 30 seconds of the fight simply pushed me over the edge and my frustrations came out as I knew I’d lost the fight, was unhappy with my own performance and had then been ridiculed by my opponent to top things off.”

“This is certainly no excuse for my actions; I fully deserve to be punished for what I did and hope that everyone I have disappointed can forgive my rash decision. I feel very disappointed in myself for losing my cool and hope that I am able to address my temperament and bounce back from this low point in my career.”

“I feel ashamed and embarrassed by what I did and hope that together my team and I can get through this issue. It will be a long road back from where I am now to earning the trust and respect of the UFC and the MMA fans that have supported me for so long, I know I’ve let you all down but I’m determined to make it up to you all.”

Paul was released from the UFC following his antics and UFC president Dana White stated that he would never be allowed back in the UFC . Fighters.com and MMA Gospel Radio will keep you updated on any news relating to the story.

The first fight went the full five rounds and was left in the hands of the judges. What transpired was, in my opinion, highway robbery. The judges gave the fight to Machida despite the fact that Shogun constantly attacked the legs of Machida which effectively took away his ability to attack. He used Octagon control and effective striking yet lost the fight.

Shogun was visibly stunned by the loss and the UFC agreed to an immediate rematch between the two men. Shogun used that 25 minute fight as a learning experience and came into this fight determined to not let the fight get in the hands of the judges.

“For my first fight, I trained and studied Lyoto Machida‘s game and tried to fight according to his style – in a safer way,” Rua said. “For this fight, I knew him better, so I tried to exploit him and to take more risks and take more chances and go to try and finish the fight.”

This is exactly what happened as he pushed forward from the start of the fight. Machida used that aggression to take Rua down but the often talked about yet seldom seen ground game of Rua’s allowed him to get back to his feet. Then the aggressive Shogun of old paid a visit to the Octagon. He used strikes to push Machida against the cage, unleashing a flurry. Machida slid his way out and they stood in the center of the Octagon, Rua pushing forward and Machida delivering a good body shot. Then Shogun caught Machida with what appeared to be a glancing shot off his head that sent the champion to the mat. Shogun wasted no time following him, achieving full mount and unloading powerful shots. The “Dragon” had been knocked out cold and before the referee could even stop the fight, Shogun was already standing up to celebrate. Things were suddenly right in the world as the man many called the champ had just become the champion.

All of this came from his new gameplanning which is an added component to his approach to fights. This is the reason he seems to be a much smarter fighter than during his streak back in 2005.

“I think now I’m a different fighter than I was back then,” Rua said. “I think now I train much more based on my opponent because I think this is the evolution of MMA nowadays.”

There are many journalists and fans alike that had given up on any of the old Pride fighters, especially on Shogun. His loss to Forrest Griffin (17-6) at UFC 76 followed by his abysmal performance at UFC 93 against “The Hammer” Mark Coleman (16-10) led fans to believe he was finished in the sport. However there were a select few who still believed in the man that was once one of the most feared strikers on the planet. Those who supported him through thick and thin were given a gift unlike any other. The gift of redemption as their fighter came back from the dead to become a world champion.

The comeback of a lifetime even had Dana White singing the praises of Rua. “To go out and knock out Lyoto Machida in the first round in the way that he did, I mean to say it’s impressive is stupid,” White said. “It’s unbelievable. It’s incredible.

“When [Rua] first came over into the UFC and I was talking about the ring rust – he had had the back-to-back knee surgeries – I always believed that once this kid got back in and was active, he had the possibility to do some great things again. Let me tell you what: ‘Shogun’ Rua is back. Not only is he the champion of the light heavyweight division, he is back.”

After the fight had ended a frustrated Daley threw a punch at Koscheck and had to be restrained by referee Dan Miragliotta. Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg did a much better job than what we saw Gus Johnson do when the Strikeforce brawl took place. Joe went so far as to say that Daley should be in jail for assault.

After the fights had ended Dana White made it clear that he was unhappy with Daley and that the UFC was not going to stand for antics such as that. “He’s done,” White said “I don’t give a [expletive] if he’s the best 170-pounder in the world. He’ll never come back here again.

“I don’t care if he fights in every show all over the world and becomes the best and everybody thinks he’s the best pound-for-pound best in the world, he will never fight in the UFC ever again,” White said. “He’s done.”

Technically you can say that Daley lost four times this evening as he lost a coaching spot on the
“The Ultimate Fighter” and a title shot as well.

Koscheck used his takedowns to put Daley where he has the least experienced, on his back. Koscheck is a former four-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler who has won a national championship. Once he got Daley down it was easy for him to blanket him and ride out the decision. It made for a boring fight as he used little to no ground and pound and the fans voiced their displeasure by booing.

Kimbo Slice (4-2) suffered a similar fate to Daley in a shocking announcement from Dana White. After being completely dominated by a much improved Matt Mitrione (2-0), who scored a TKO victory in the second round, Kimbo seems to have been cut from the UFC. During the post-fight conference Dana said ” That’s probably Kimbo’s last fight in the UFC”.

Kimbo is a former streetfighter turned internet sensation thanks to Youtube. Dana had been very critical of Kimbo when he was in the now defunct EliteXC, calling him a freak show. Since then his stance as changed.

Slice joined the cast of “The Ultimate Fighter 10″ and took the challenge Dana White had offered. Since that time Dana has earned respect for the former street king. “I said that I have a lot of respect for Kimbo and how he’s handled this whole thing – a lot of trash-talking for a couple of years, by me,” White said. “He took me up on my challenge. He came in to ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ and tonight he got beat by Matt Mitrione. Mitrione was 1-0, and he came in and took Kimbo out tonight.

“I’ve got nothing but respect for Kimbo. I like him as a person. He carried himself really well.”

Right before Dana left the press conference to be interviewed by ESPN he was asked once again about Kimbo and his response was “Yes, we are going to be cutting him”.

This is an odd move as Kimbo, like it or not, is a large draw when on television. He has been a part of three of the four most watched mixed martial arts events in the history of the sport. Last night many journalists and fans alike were questioning the validity of Dana’s statement especially since he loves to take things away from Strikeforce. “Slicing” Kimbo from the roster would essentially land Kimbo right back on national television as Strikeforce would take him and put him on a live CBS card. Dana could always say that Kimbo could not cut it in the big leagues but regardless he would be giving fans over to Strikeforce, a promotion he seems hell bent on squashing.

Kimbo was simply outclassed in the fight with Mitrione, who has been training with four-time Kickboxing world champion Duke Roufus. That training paid off as he chopped Kimbo down with leg kicks that took away any shot he had at going for the knock out. Once the power was gone Matt took the fight to the mat and ended up in full mount where Kimbo could do little but cover up and wait for the fight to be stopped.

Stay tuned to MMA Gospel Radio and Fighters.com for more on these stories and much more.

Middleweight “El Dirte” Joe Doerksen (44-12) has been tapped for a return to the UFC versus “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (6-2) in place of injured “Crazy” Timothy Credeur (12-2) at UFC 113 in Montreal May 8, according to Sherdog.

Doerksen rides five-right win streak back into the Octagon for the first time since a TKO loss to “The Athlete” Jason MacDonald (20-13) at UFC 83 in April 2008.  He won a split decision over “Hitman” Chad Herrick (6-5) at King of the Cage in Detroit April 16.

Lawlor lost a split decision to  Aaron Simpson (6-0) at UFC Fight Night 20 in Fairfax, Virginia January 11.

Rua told Tatame, “Glaube is a guy who comes from karate and I am very honored to have him in our academy. It is a privilege, I think he is the best in Brazil. At heavyweight, he was the guy who most represented Brazil abroad. Everyone here at the academy is a fan of his.  Glaube is living in Curitiba and is with us for two months. We already were fans of the guy before this. The guy is an extraordinary person, super humble. He has a lot to help the people there in the gym. It’s an asset to the academy.”

Rua is scheduled to rematch Fighters.com and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (16-0) at UFC 113 in Montreal May 8.  Machida is a karate stylist, though not from the Kyokushin tradition like Feitosa.

Machida beat Rua in a controversial five-round unanimous decision at UFC 104 in Los Angeles last October.

Beltran became a Fighters.com favorite after stopping Rolles Gracie (3-1) at UFC 109 in Las Vegas February 6.  Beltran was a last-minute replacement for Mustapha Al-Turk (4-4) and wasn’t given much chance to defeat the much-hyped Gracie.

Corvin enters his Octagon debut versus Beltran off a doctor stoppage TKO over Scott Barrett (9-1) at XFC 7 in Knoxville in February 2009.

Slice had been slated to fight Matt Mitrione (1-0) at UFC 113 but many speculated that Kimbo would fight Toney in the street brawler versus pro boxer math-up since the Slice and Mitrione fight was not on the official fight card for UFC 113 at UFC.com. Well, let’s put that baby to rest as that fight is now official for UFC 113 on May 8 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

UFC 113 is a card headlined by the rematch between Fighters.com and UFC light heavyweight champion “The Dragon” Lyoto Machida (16-0) and third-ranked “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (18-4). The first fight between these two took place at UFC 104.

This will give Canada their first live look at Kimbo Slice and leaves James Toney without an opponent at this time. This is something I am glad to see from the UFC.

Never did I want Kimbo to fight James Toney because I felt it was a fight tailored made for Toney to win. I feel the best thing to do is put him in against a more well rounded fighter to show the world just how tough it can be for a pure boxer in the sport of mixed martial arts. I am not saying they should make sure Toney loses but I do feel they have done the right thing by not giving him a tailored made win.

The one issue I have with Toney using his boxing in the UFC is that he is mainly a defensive striker that likes to lay back on the ropes and draw his opponent in to him so that he can then hit him with the stunning power he has. This “lazy” style of boxing will not work in the UFC inside the Octagon. He will have to change his game up completely so feed him a guy that has decent leg kicks and take downs to see just how serious he is taking this sport.

Cote’s knee gave out in the third round versus Silva and Cote has had two surgeries in the 16 months since he last fought.

Belcher TKO’d Wilson Gouveia (12-7) at UFC 107 in Memphis last December.

Slice won a unanimous decision over “Assassin” Houston Alexander (9-6) in a 215-pound catchweight fight at SpikeTV’s The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale in Las Vegas December 5.

Mitrione knocked out former Tampa Bay Bucs first-round draft pick “Big Baby” Marcus Jones (4-2) at the same event.

Yoshida was knocked out in 41 seconds by an overweight “Rumble” Anthony Johnson (8-3) at UFC 104 in Los Angeles October 24.

Guymon tapped in an armbar to Rory MacDonald (10-0) at UFC Fight Night 20 January 11.

Fighters.com and UFC Welterweight Champion “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (19-2) and fifth-ranked “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (23-6) are set to battle for the top spot at UFC 111 in Newark March 27.  Predictions range far and wide, from Hardy has one foot in the grave to Hardy is the man to upset St. Pierre like “The Terror” Matt Serra (9-6) di at UFC 69 in Houston in 2007.

Fighters.com doesn’t worry about Hardy’s health, but think he’ll be easily handled by the champ.

An exciting rematch between second-ranked “Pitbull” Thiago Alves (16-4) and third-ranked Jon Fitch (20-3) has also been rumored for UFC 111.  Fitch TKO’d Alves at UFC Fight Night 5 in 2006 and claims he gets a rematch versus St. Pierre if he stops Alves.

Fourth-ranked Paulo Thiago (8-1) and ninth-ranked “Quick” Mike Swick (14-3) of American Top Team will matchup at UFC 109 in Las Vegas Saturday.  Thiago is 1-1 versus ATT, knocking out seventh-ranked Josh Koscheck (14-4) and losing a decision to Fitch.

Koscheck will take on “Semtex” Paul Daley (20-9-2) at UFC 113 in Montreal May 8.

Eigth-ranked Matt Hughes (41-7) and and PRIDE veteran Renzo Gracie (13-6-1) will fight at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi April 10.

Tenth-ranked “Killa B” Ben Saunders (8-1-2) and “Hitman” Martin Kampmann (16-3) will matchup at UFC 111.

Sixth-ranked Jake Shields (24-4-1) has moved to middleweight as the champion in Strikeforce.

Fighters.com’s February Welterweight Top Ten

1. “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (19-2)

2. “Pitbull” Thiago Alves (16-4)

3. Jon Fitch (20-3)

4. Paulo Thiago (8-1)

5. “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (23-6)

6. Jake Shields (24-4-1)

7. Josh Koscheck (14-4)

8. Matt Hughes (41-7)

9. “Quick” Mike Swick (14-3)

10. “Killa B” Ben Saunders (8-1-2)

The first fight ended in a controversial decision for Machida.  The rematch should crown a definitive champion at 205 pounds.

If Rua wins, we could even see a mouthwatering matchup versus top contender “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4), who also reigns as Fighters.com and UFC Middleweight Champion.  Silva has indicated his unwillingness to fight training partner Machida, but Silva and Rua have a war of words between them and a title fight would be a grudge match as well.

Fourth-ranked “Sugar” Rashad Evans (14-1-1) won a workmanlike unanimous decision over fifth-ranked Thiago Silva (15-2) at UFC 108 in Las Vegas January 2 with a return to his wrestling base.  Next for Evans is seventh-ranked “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-7) at UFC 114 in Las Vegas May 29.

Silva should get a second crack at a top ten opponent in his next fight.

Sixth-ranked Forrest Griffin (17-6) and eighth-ranked “Minotoro” Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (17-3) are likely to matchup at UFC 113, though the fight isn’t yet official.

Ninth-ranked Strikeforce champ “Dreamcatcher” Gegard Mousasi (24-2-1) expects he’ll fight rising star “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal (4-0) at Strikeforce in April on CBS.

Tenth-ranked “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1) has been preparing to return after facial surgery, but into the middleweight division.

Fighters.com’s January Light Heavyweight Top Ten

1. “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (16-0)

2. “Spider” Anderson Silva (25-4)

3. “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (18-4)

4. “Sugar” Rashad Evans (14-1-1)

5. Thiago Silva (15-2)

6. Forrest Griffin (17-6)

7. “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-7)

8. “Minotoro” Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (17-3)

9. “Dreamcatcher” Gegard Mousasi (24-2-1)

10. “Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva (33-10-1)

Forrest is coming off a win against “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz (15-7-1) at UFC 106 bringing his UFC record to 8-4.

Nogueira made his UFC debut the same night his current opponent was winning a split decision against Tito. Antonio fought seventh-ranked “Banha” Luiz Arthur Cane (8-2) stopping him via strikes in the first round.

Forrest has had his share of hard to handle losses in the UFC and is hell-bent on trying to get back the title he once held. Standing in his way is Antonio who is not only a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt but happens to be a good striker as well. Griffin has had problems with heavy handed strikers in the past.

This fight added to the card that already includes seventh-ranked welterweight Josh Koscheck versus Paul Daley and Fighters.com and UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida versus third-ranked Mauricio Rua makes UFC 113 the best card of the year to date.