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. ...

Former UFC fighter "The Silverback" Seth Petruzelli (11-4) best known for his TKO win over Kimbo Slice (4-2) at an October 2008 EliteXC show is returning to the Octagon. His opponent will be light heavyweight Ricardo Romero (10-1) at UFC 116. ...

American Top Team's Wilson Gouveia (12-7) has inked a big return to mixed martial arts after being cut by the UFC following consecutive losses.  Monday he signed a multi-fight deal with Edmonton-based Maximum Fighting Championship and will fight Canadian star "Big Deal" Ryan Jimmo (8-1) at MFC 25: Vindication at the Winspear Centre/Enmax Hall in Edmonton April 9. ...

The second week of December brought with it a big week in mixed martial arts competition as equally as it delivered a big week of success for the increasingly impressive American Top Team gym headquartered in Coconut Creek.

From the UFC's "Fight for the Troops" on Spike TV Wednesday night in Fayetteville to the debut of Mixed Fighting Alliance in Miami, American Top Team set the pace of champions. ATT fighters scored big as well at CQC "In the Cage" in Charlotte and during the UFC's Ultimate Fighter Season 8 Finale in Las Vegas Saturday night.

"Snowman" Jeff Monson (25-8) defeated "Suave" Ricco Rodriguez (30-9) via unanimous decision Saturday night during the main event at the Mixed Fighting Alliance debut in Miami.

"I am happy with the win but I was a little sloppy tonight." Monson told Fighters.com following the fight.

The main event battle at MFA "There Will Be Blood" was a full round war with each fighter going the distance but Monson winning on all cards in the end. Monson, famous for his blunt honesty, had criticism for his performance.

"A win is a win but I need to improve." The Abu Dhabi and UFC veteran told Fighters.com. "My jiu-jitsu felt good in the fight but my boxing was a little weak." Monson continued, "I need to spend more time in the American Top Team gym here in Florida. You know, I need to work with more guys down here to prepare for fights."

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Wilson Gouveia (12-5) tapped out Canadian middleweight “The Athlete” Jason MacDonald (19-11) with elbow strikes in round one at the season eight live finale of The Ultimate Fighter Saturday night in Las Vegas.

The Brazilian Gouveia came out with a leg kick. MacDonald followed a right-left punch combo with a single-leg takedown, but Gouveia refused to stay down. Trading strikes, Gouveia dropped MacDonald with a hard left jab, and immediately fell on him with hammerfists and elbows, splitting open MacDonald’s head.

Referee Josh Rosenthal stopped Gouveia’s assault of MacDonald at 2:18 of round one.

Wilson Gouveia (11-5) weighed in at 189 pounds Friday for his middleweight bout against “The Athlete” Jason MacDonald (19-10) at the live finale of The Ultimate Fighter 8 Saturday night in Las Vegas. The Nevada State Athletic Commission would not allow Gouveia to cut the remaining pounds for safety reasons.  Instead the match will proceed at a catch weight of 189 pounds, with Gouveia forfeiting 20 percent of his purse to MacDonald. Gouveia used to fight at light heavyweight.  He made his middleweight debut in August, submitting Ryan Jensen (13-6) with a second-round armbar. All other fighters on the card made weight. ...

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). ...

Canadian middleweight “Athlete” Jason MacDonald (19-10) will face American Top Team’s Wilson Gouveia (11-5) at the live finale of The Ultimate Fighter 8 on 13 December. MacDonald’s manager, Mark Pavelich, confirmed the fight on MMA Weekly Radio Wednesday. MacDonald submitted “Punisher” Jason Lambert (23-9) with a rear naked choke at UFC 88 in September, just one month after he himself tapped out to Demian Maia’s (8-0) rear naked choke. Gouveia armbarred Ryan Jensen (13-6) in round two at UFC: Fight Night 15 in September. ...

The UFC announced Thursday that “Gumby” Jeremy Horn will face Wilson Gouveia (10-5) at UFC Fight Night 15 in Omaha 17 September. Horn hopes to rebound from back-to-back losses, to Nathan Marquardt (26-8-2) at UFC 81 in February and to Dean Lister (11-5) at the TUF finale in June. He was submitted both times by guillotine choke. American Top Team fighter Gouveia is also looking to come back from a 24 May loss.  He was TKO’d by UFC newcomer Goran Reljic (8-0) in round two. ...

“Satisfying!  Very satisfying,” described Fighters.com's fourth-ranked lightweight and UFC Lightweight Champion "Prodigy" B.J. Penn (13-4-1) after defeating fifth-ranked "Muscle Shark" Sean Sherk (32-2-1) by TKO after the third round at UFC 84 in Las Vegas Saturday. Veteran referee Mario Yamasaki determined that Sherk was unable to continue after a Penn flurry at the cage that left Sherk on the mat at the end of the third round. The three five-minute rounds were fought entirely standing up, resembling a boxing match. Penn worked a slicker boxing style set-up with a long, snapping jab.  Sherk threw left and right hooks in a stiff, technical style. Penn established his jab in the first round as Sherk pressured. Sherk clinched to muffle “The Prodigy’s” reach advantage; but, Penn landed an uppercut to break the clinch. Sherk attempted to counter with his own jab, but threw it short as Penn followed down the pipe with his left.  Sherk clinched again; but, Penn threw him off. Sherk began round two with a cut under his right eye from Penn’s relentless jabbing.  He shrugged his shoulders before the bell, disappointed with his first-round performance. But, the Minnesotan took the fight to Penn in the second round.  Penn clinched inside Sherk’s left/right hook combo and hammered knees to “The Muscle Shark’s” body. Again, Penn clinched; but, Sherk overwhelmed him with a flurry.  Penn pushed out of the clinch. Unable to solve Penn’s boxing riddle, Sherk began to test his leg kick; but, Penn answered with a left hook. Penn had all the answers Saturday night. ...

Fighters.com was live Friday at the UFC 84 weigh-ins at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Fighters.com's seventh-ranked lightweight "KenFlo" Kenny Florian (9-3), former UFC Middleweight Champion Evan Tanner (32-7), and "Hammer" Mark Coleman (15-8) signed autographs and third-ranked lightweight "JZ" Gesias Calvancanti (14-2-1) was in the crowd with his smokin' hot girlfriend. ...

In January, American Top Team's Wilson Gouveia (10-4) surprised critics by knocking out "Punisher" Jason Lambert (23-7), who was coming off a knockout of former light heavyweight contender "Babalu" Renato Sobral (29-7). Gouveia arrived at Wednesday's UFC 84 open workout with stablemate Thiago Silva (12-0), another rising talent at 205-pounds who will fight "Samuray" Antonio Mendes (14-2). Gouveia talked about his commitment to MMA and the opening night jitters his UFC 84 opponent Goran Reljic (7-0) will be feeling Saturday. ...

"Shogun" Mauricio Rua (16-3) has withdrawn from his UFC 85 matchup versus "Iceman" Chuck Liddell (21-5) according to a Thomas Gerbasi report posted at UFC.com. Gerbasi reports Rua re-ruptured the ACL in his left knee, the same injury he had surgery for following his third round submission loss to Forrest Griffin. The fight was scheduled as the main event for 7 June at 02 Arena in London. A new opponent will be announced shortly; however, most of the UFC's top 205-pound guns are tied up in announced bouts. Two possibilities jump out. "Hollywood" Dan Henderson (22-7) is 0-2 in the Octagon and emerging from a disappointing submission loss to 185-pound phenom "Spider" Anderson Silva. Regardless, his efforts in both UFC fights, versus Silva for the 185-pound title and "Rampage" Quinton Jackson for the 205-pound title, have kept him in the top of the rankings in both weight classes. Liddell's matchup with Rua was a path back to a title shot.  UFC President Dana White is loyal to his friend and the UFC's biggest draw, Liddell.    Substituting Hendo keeps Liddell on course. The question is whether Hendo has the desire to ride the yo-yo back to 205-pounds, where he prefers to fight, and enough time to prepare for a third top, but very different kind of fighter. Since the rumored clash of 205-pound rising stars Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva hasn't yet been officially announced, the UFC may consider reshuffling the deck to give Liddell a top 205-er. The most likely candidate is undefeated Rashad Evans.  Evans comes off a split decision victory over "The Count" Michael Bisping, who has since left the weight class. Evans (11-0-1) has less clout than Hendo among MMA faithful, but, because of his TUF victory on American cable TV, makes a brighter marquee among the general UFC public, who've only watched Hendo lose. The outside shot to get the call is Wilson Gouveia. Gouveia (10-4) is surfing a four-fight win streak, all by stoppage, since losing a decision to Keith Jardine in June 2007.  He last knocked out Babalu-beater "The Punisher" Jason Lambert in January. ...

Tuesday the UFC officially scheduled a home and an away game slotted for 24 May in Vegas and 7 June in London. Loose lips had already divulged details for both events. At the MGM Grand Garden Arena 24 May, "The Prodigy" BJ Penn will defend his UFC Lightweight Championship against the improper advances of former 155-pound champ Sean Sherk, returning from a banned substances suspension. My Portuguese is a little rusty, but Wanderlei Silva has also confirmed via his blog that he's signed to fight Keith Jardine on the Vegas strip. Other rumored bouts include: Ryoto Machida v Tito Ortiz Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou v Kazuhiro Nakamura Rashad Evans v Thiago Silva Wilson Gouveia v Goran Reljic Rousimar Palhares v Ivan Salaverry Dong-hyun Kim v Jason Tan Terry Etim v Jeremy Stephens Shane Carwin v Christian Wellisch At 02 Arena in London 7 June, light heavyweights Chuck Liddell and  Mauricio Rua will headline in a fight that not too long ago would've been considered the king-maker at 205. Brandon Vera has also confirmed he'll return versus Fabricio Werdum in London. Brock Lesnar is also rumored to return on this fight card. ...