One week ago today, Invicta FC CEO Shannon Knapp posted a Facebook message warning fighters and fans about the predatory, deceitful and manipulative tactics of MMA manager Brett Atchley, causing numerous other fighters to come forward and describe in great detail what a rotten guy he apparently is. Now, Knapp has revealed to Inside MMA that Atchley will no longer be allowed to attend future Invicta FC events. Via Inside MMA:

“In light of the documented information that has come to us – and this is via text messages from Mr. Atchley, along with email and things of that nature – with the misuse of our company name, my name [and] also in light of the fact that some of these sexual misconduct allegations have taken place at our events, we’re going to stand firm in saying Mr. Atchley will not be welcome at our events.”

Couldn’t have happened to a[n allegedly] nicer guy.

In his defense, Atchley offered the following statement:

“I am stunned and deeply saddened that my reputation as a hard-working manager can be torn apart by a few unfounded malicious attacks against me and my character. I categorically deny all of the false allegations that have been made and look forward to an opportunity to clear my name.”

If it were only “a few” allegations, Atchley probably wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. In reality, there are multiple reports here and here covering the terrible things that he’s been accused of doing. It didn’t exactly help his cause that he would falsely represent Invicta FC, either; not a good way to keep up appearances with a promotion.

We’ll keep you up-to-date as this continues to unfold.

@SethFalvo

(Video via " target="_blank">MMA Fighting)

After UFC 160, Dana White announced that Forrest Griffin has retired. The announcement came as a surprise to the MMA world.

Griffin won the first season of The Ultimate Fighter and went on to become the first truly unified light heavyweight champion of the world when he won the UFC 205 pound belt. His last fight was a win over Tito Ortiz in July of 2012.

White also announced that Griffin and his fellow TUF 1 finalist Stephan Bonnar will both be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame next month. Griffin spoke with MMA Fighting last night after the announcement and spoke about why he made the decision to retire and what he'll do next.

- Elias Cepeda

(Photo via Esther Lin| MMA Fighting)

Antonio Silva is every bit the monster the UFC’s hype machine have promoted him as but champion Cain Velasquez once more proved to be too quick for “Bigfoot.” Just as he did one year ago in their first meeting, Cain wasted little time in stopping Silva in the first round, via ground strikes.

“Pezao” absolutely earned the title shot he received Saturday night – he has a list of victims that include two former UFC heavyweight champions, former long-time pound for pound kingpin Fedor Emelianenko and, most recently, Alistair Overeem – but Velasquez once more proved that the combination of his quickness, relentless pace and striking power are very hard to beat. In the post fight press conference, Silva objected to the stoppage by referee Mario Yamasaki, saying it was premature and that he allowed Velasquez to hit him to the back of the head illegally.

“I do agree the fight was stopped too early,” the Brazilian said.

“It’s clear watching it that I took several illegal blows to the back of my neck.”

It was also clear that Silva was out of the fight altogether before he hit the ground, after Velasquez clipped him with a left and hammered him with a right. Strikes to the back of the head being illegal is one of the least clearly defined, hard to enforce and altogether counterproductive to realistic sport fighting rules that exists in MMA, besides. At the least, fighters should not be allowed to hide behind the rule while laying prone, face down.

Yamasaki did his job and protected Silva from taking more damage by stopping the bout after it was clear Antonio could not move himself out of danger but before the brave fighter was beaten senseless.

Grant vs. Maynard Goes On Too Long

The referee officiating TJ Grant and Gray Maynard’s lightweight contender’s bout can’t say he did the same. Grant dropped Maynard with flush punches and knees to the chin multiple times and delivered more clean punishment to a defenseless Maynard while on the ground before the referee stepped in all too late and called a halt to the bout.

Maynard was out of the fight from the first nasty jaw shot that he took and did nothing to avoid or mount his own offense during many, many shots afterwards from Grant. It all happened quickly but when a fighter does nothing but fall over and over again, he’s been done for awhile and the referee should have recognized this earlier than he did.

The “stakes” of a fight, whether it is a number one contender’s fight like Maynard’s and Grants, or a title bout, shouldn’t matter when it comes to deciding how long a fighter should be allowed to take a beating.

(Yep. A whole lot of regrettable tats in this room. / Photo via MMAFighting.com)

Sit back, warm up your jaws, and get ready for CagePotato’s main card liveblog of UFC 160. The pay-per-view broadcast will be popping off at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, and your friend George Shunick will be sticking round-by-round results after the jump.

On tonight’s menu: Cain Velasquez will attempt to defend his heavyweight title against his old buddy Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, while ex-champ Junior Dos Santos and Mark Hunt throw down for the next crack at the belt. Plus, light-heavyweights Glover Teixeira and James Te Huna put their three-fight win streaks on the line, lightweights Gray Maynard and TJ Grant meet in a potential #1 lightweight contender’s match, and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone opens things off by roping an outmatched calf named KJ Noons.

Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and let your voices be heard in the comments section. Thanks for being here, guys.

(Mike Tyson‘s first night as Dana White’s bodyguard was also his last. / Photo via the UFC 160 weigh-in photos gallery on MMAFighting.com)

The FX Prelims broadcast for UFC 160 kicks off tonight at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, and our man Anthony Gannon will be laying down live round-by-round results after the jump. So will Khabib Nurmagomedov redeem himself after shitting the bed at yesterday’s weigh-ins? Can Mike Pyle enter the four-fight win streak club? And which obscure TUF winner will we have to start caring about, Colton Smith or Robert Whittaker? Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest updates, and use the comments section to let us know you’re here.

(Photo via MMA Junkie)

MMA Junkie is reporting that heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will earn a $400,000 purse for competing in the main event of tonight’s UFC 160 card, win or lose. “Velasquez is scheduled to make a flat $400,000 paycheck at UFC 160 with no win bonus on the line,” Junkie writes.

Of course, this number wouldn’t represent any discretionary bonuses that the UFC may or may not choose to give Velasquez. If the report is true, it might signal a major change in the champion’s purse pay structure.

It was reported that Velasquez earned $100,000 in “show money” for each of his prior two bouts (a win at UFC 146 win over Antonio Silva and a win over Junior Dos Santos at UFC 155), as well as an additional $100,000 in “win money.”

Traditionally, flat pay purses have been had by some of the biggest stars in MMA. If Junkie’s report is correct, it appears as if Velasquez got an improved contract along with that shiny UFC heavyweight title belt this time around.

- Elias Cepeda

Video after the jump.

If we weren’t supposed to be talking about Fallon Fox until her next fight took place, then today the unofficial ban has been lifted. Last night, Fox defeated then 2-1 fighter Allana Jones by way of modified north-south choke at CFA 11. Fox improved her record to 3-0 with the victory, and will now fight Ashlee Evans-Smith for the CFA featherweight tournament championship.

Other than that, there really isn’t much to see here. Believe it or not, a bout between two inexperienced minor-leaguers that was bumped to co-main event status due to the transgender status of one of the participants didn’t produce a memorable scrap.

Also, Allana Jones chose “Dude Looks Like a Lady” as her entrance song.

The video of the fight and commentary are available after the jump.

(Video via MMA Heat)

It’s been a minute since Daniel Cormier made his successful UFC debut with a unanimous decision win over former champ Frank Mir. This week, DC engaged in the personal fan press conference exercise that is the UFC Fan Club Q&A when he fielded questions from folks in Las Vegas to see UFC 160.

During the Q&A, Cormier discusses dissapointing himself in the Mir fight, UFC jitters, teammate Luke Rockhold‘s recent loss, facing Jon Jones, Anderson Silva and what changes he’s planning to make in his lifestyle in order to one day fight at 205 pounds. It’s an at-length, fun and sometimes intimate session with “DC” so enjoy.

- Elias Cepeda

(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

The 24 fighters on the UFC 160: Velasquez vs. Bigfoot 2 card weighed-in earlier today in Las Vegas — with varying degrees of success. First, the bad news: Undefeated lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov might have just cursed himself to another year of FX curtain-jerking by coming in a whopping 3.5 pounds over the 155-pound limit. Instead of trying to cut 2.5 pounds to make 156, Nurmagomedov forfeited 20% of his purse, 10% of which will go to his opponent Abel Trujillo, with the other 10% going to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. As if that didn’t make Nurma look like enough of a jackass, he followed up the weigh-in by donning his traditional Ben Askren wig then shoving Trujillo for no particular reason. (Skip to the 9:53 mark of the above video, and you will see a side of Burt Watson you’ve never seen before.)

In other news, both heavyweight bouts on the main card feature 20+ pound weight differentials, with Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva coming in 23 pounds heavier than champion Cain Velasquez, and Mark Hunt out-hefting Junior Dos Santos by 25. Check out the full UFC 160 weigh-in results after the jump, and be sure to come back to CagePotato.com tomorrow night for our liveblogs, starting with the FX prelims at 8 p.m. ET.

(Sooooo…any big plans for this weekend? / Check out lots more “That’s Enough Internet For Today” pictures at WorldWideInterweb)

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