We reported earlier that Ricardo Arona might be fighting again very soon, so in the spirit of Ricardo jumping back into the fray, let’s check out a couple of his battles.

First, the Arona/Rampage Jackson fight from 2004, which went down at PRIDE – Critical Countdown and was cloaked in controversy. At the 1:10 mark, Arona lands a kick and several shots to Rampage’s melon that seems to temporarily KO Jackson. After pleading with the ref to stop the fight before Rampage pulled it together, Arona found himself again on the bottom-side of the grappling match. Exactly a minute later, Rampage power-slams Arona — which included an accidental, yet illegal head-butt — to end the fight.

And here’s Arona’s last fight, which happened at PRIDE 34 around a year ago. In case your memory is as shitty as mine, the handy internet tells us that Arona got KTFO by Sokoudjou at 1:59 of the first round.

Here’s hoping when Arona comes back he retains the form he showed against guys like Kazushi Sakuraba, Dean Lister, Dan Henderson, Murilo Rua, Guy Mezger, and Jeremy Horn (twice). Only time will tell…

Georges St. Pierre on moving up to middleweight to fight Anderson Silva:

“I’ve been thinking about it. It’s going to depend on the scenario. I have a lot of training partners at 185 and my weight class is 170…if one day, I have the opportunity, the way is clear, and I did everything I had to do in my division, of course I will (fight Silva).”

Rush vs. Spider would be a fantastic fight, but by the time GSP cleans out the welterweight division, Silva will already be at 205 making Rampage and Wanderlei his bitches.

Quote of the Day Runner-Up — Matt Serra to the people of Montreal:

“So boo me. Boo me you drunks!”

Oh come on, Matt, have some class. Is that what Rocky said to the Russians?

(Dan with mentor Matt Serra and some randoms. Photo courtesy of SimmlerBJJ.com.)

Apparently, Ultimate Fighter 7 knockout victim Dan Simmler regularly posts under the name “Macaco_Louco” on NHBGear.com‘s MMA forum. Simmler typed up his reaction to last night’s TUF episode directly after it aired, and posted it on this thread:

Hey,

So that wasnt as bad as I thought, I honestly didnt remember much. I found it kind of funny actually that I had no idea where I was.

I dont remember the flying whatever that was, I think triangle, and I dont remember anything else pretty much either.

The fiirst thing I remember was at the hostpital. So, I have a deviated septum in my nose, cant breath good at all with out a breath right strip, I had one on and right before my fight, I was told I couldnt wear it. I wasnt given a good reason, just that I couldnt, so as a result, I was breathing through my mouth the whole time, that just made things worse when I got hit. My mouth was wide open and I broke my jaw in three places. two on the left, one on the right. It was very painful to say the least.

One week after I got home to the day I decided I was going to train “Light” with a student, and I took his back and he pushed off and his head smashed me under the jaw with the back of his head, rebreaking the jaw. The hostpital is literally across the street from the school and I was kept over night and had surgery the next day. They put two small plates, 4 screws and wires back to keep it shut. For a little over 7 weeks I had nothing but shakes and tomato soup. It was horrible. I lost about 20 lbs and now I am waiting to get the ok to spar and get back to the grind. Ill be back and do better.

I am sorry that I couldnt have done better, I was happy to get it over with and see what I did and what mistakes I made and where I can improve. Thanks for the support…

The UFC did pick up the tab for the injuries, they didnt have too but they did and I was greatful for that.

As for the punch, the original broke the left side of my jaw , the next to broke in two spots on the other side. The jaw broke on both sides at the wisdom teeth and on hte right side by the hinge. Sucked but it happens. Thanks for the good words.

The saddest part? Before the knockout, Dan could spell perfectly.

Anyway, to prove that Simmler isn’t just some pussy-ass poser, here’s a video of him actually pulling off the flying-triangle that he tried to finish Matthew Riddle with last night:

(“Maximus” could be battling T-Griffin at UFC 86.)

We mentioned yesterday that lightweight Tyson Griffin would likely be fighting at UFC 86 — the event featuring a headlining battle between Rampage and Forrest Griffin on July 5th. An opponent had not been named, although we suggested it could be Nate Diaz due to Nick’s bro recently calling Tyson out. It now looks like Griffin’s opponent will be Marcus “Maximus” Aurelio.

Griffin is 11-1 and is riding a three-fight win streak. His only loss was to Frankie Edgar 14 months ago. He last fought at UFC 81 when he beat Gleison Tibau via decision — on a side note, Tibau will take on Joe “Daddy” at the same event. Griffin has spent about half his career in the UFC, while Aurelio has three UFC fights under his belt to go with his years in PRIDE. The 16-5 “Maximus” hails from American Top Team and has won his last two — the most recent being an armbar victory over Ryan Roberts at UFC Fight Night 13. Previously, he fell three times in a row, although all was to top talent: Clay Guida, Takanori Gomi, and Mitsuhiro Ishida. The Brazilian is — what else? — a BJJ specialist and more often than not, finishes fights. He has 10 subs among his 16 wins, compared to three decisions. All of his losses were via decision.

This could be one of the best match-ups on the card, which currently looks like this (although not all are confirmed):

– Quinton Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin
– Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle
– Joe “Daddy” Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau
– Frank Mir vs. Justin McCully
– Tyson Griffin vs. Marcus Aurelio
– Justin Buchholz vs. Corey Hill
– Melvin Guillard vs. Dennis Siver
– Ben Saunders vs. Jared Rollins
– Cole Miller vs. ???
– Steve Bruno vs. ???

And speaking of Joe “Daddy” and “Maximus”, Joe’s newborn son has been named Maximus. For what it’s worth, my aunt had a cat also named Maximus. It had chronic diarrhea and was blind in one eye.

Here’s a fun fact: Matt Serra’s Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale match against Chris Lytle (11/11/06) was his sixth-consecutive pro fight to end in a decision. “The Terror” went 3-3 during that stretch, suffering notable losses to B.J. Penn and Karo Parisyan, but turned his career around by edging out Lytle in a split decision — in which two of the judges scored it 30-27 for Serra and the other scored it an equally plausible 30-27 for Lytle — and earning his title shot.

(Jason Miller on the unpleasant end of an Army Ranger “stress position.”)

Two new MMA-based television series are being readied for debut — and we’re already liking them better than The Iron Ring and Settle Your Grudge.

— Next Monday through Wednesday at 10 p.m., the mini-series T.O.P. Army Fighter will air on the Military Channel. Each episode features military personnel competing in four-man tournaments — in seven weight classes ranging from flyweight to heavyweight — using modified MMA rules that prohibit knee strikes to the head and leg-locks, among other attacks. The fights will take place in a ring and will employ a scoring system that awards points for things like takedowns and passing guard. Army Ranger and MMA pro Tim Kennedy (IFL, HDNet Fights) will be one of the 28 servicemen competing on the show. Sounds like it could be a bit too complicated for its own good, but hey, it’s fighting on free TV. Now we just have to figure out what the hell the Military Channel is.

— GI vs. Pro, a series where MMA-trained armed services members fight professional mixed martial artists, debuts July 19th on Fox Sports Net. The action will be more traditional than T.O.P. Army Fighter‘s, with each match slated for three five-minute rounds inside a circular cage. The GI team will be led by BodogFIGHT/FCC vet Nick Agallar, while the Pros squad will be led by UFC/KOTC vet Chris Brennan. Both lightweights will face off in a match during the show’s September 13th finale.

— In other MMA-on-TV news, Strikeforce on NBC premieres late this Saturday night at 2 a.m., immediately following Poker After Dark. The first episode will focus on Cung Le, and will include his June 2006 fight with Brian Warren. With that time-slot, how could it not succeed!

(Props: MMAJunkie)

The process of weeding out the pussies and posers from the real fucking fighters was completed last night on The Ultimate Fighter, as eight more guys earned beds in the TUF house and eight more were sent back from where they came. The episode started out gruesomely, with Matthew Riddle’s jaw-breaking knockout of Matt Serra student Dan Simmler (the moaning aftermath of which is shown above). Even as Simmler was being loaded into the ambulance, he still wasn’t sure whether the knockout came during practice or during an actual fight. We hope the spiderwebs have cleared by now.

As for the rest of the fights…

Luke Zachrich def. Patrick Schultz via rear-naked choke
Tim Credeur def. Erik Charles via armbar
Brandon Sene def. Aaron Meisner via rear-naked choke
Gerald Harris def. Mike Marello via decision
Daniel Cramer def. Jeremiah Riggs via decision
Jesse Taylor def. Nick Rossborough via rear-naked choke
Matt Brown def. Josh Hall via TKO

If I were one of the coaches, my first pick would be Credeur, a 10-2 BJJ black-belt who finished his opponent in under a minute. He could be the Mac Danzig of the show — far too experienced for these other jokers to deal with.

The end of the episode brought a glimpse at what was to come during the rest of the season, and man was it ugly. The property destruction and general mayhem inside the house reaches Lord of the Flies levels; apparently, winning one fight on 48 hours notice doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not a douchebag poser. If this is what we have to look forward to, then the season’s promise of “big changes” was a joke. And to be honest, the first two episodes weren’t all that groundbreaking to begin with. In my opinion, the fighters’ personal stories and interpersonal conflicts are what make The Ultimate Fighter so entertaining; watching wall-to-wall, heavily-edited fights between relatively untalented guys I don’t care about doesn’t really do it for me.

Am I wrong?

UPDATE: A much-higher quality version of the Riddle/Simmler knockout is here.

(Arona, coming soon to a cage near you.)

PRIDE vet Ricardo Arona has stated he’ll be back at it very soon. It’s been exactly a year and a day since Sokoudjou KO’d him in the first round at PRIDE 34 and Arona says he spent the time off training and getting his shit together — my words, not his. He has been working on his physical training as well as becoming a better student of the game, and now both US and Japanese organizations are courting him to fight. So he’s weighing his options. While no specific date was revealed or a possible opponent named, a fight for the native of Brazil appears on the horizon.

Any fighter who is outta’ there for more than a year is prone to collecting a little rust, but Arona, who is 13-5 overall, isn’t worried about losing his timing:

Undoubtedly, if you compete all the time you’ll get always better at the ring, but I’m not worried with this kind of challenge. Although I don’t get into the rings, I’ve faced challenges all day in my life, in everything I do. Being well prepared, the mind will be ready too and I’m not worried about that, I’m worried of being 100%.

Good theory, but the challenges I face in everyday life — like pretending I’m not looking at the cashier’s boobs while she rings up my case of beer and pound of jerky — doesn’t really prepare me for anything other than avoiding being creepy while in public. Maybe Arona will have a different experience.

Since the downfall of PRIDE, Arona has been linked to the UFC, Yarennoka!, and HCF events, but none of those panned out. A bout of Dengue Fever further kept Arona out of action. If you don’t know anything about Dengue Fever, it’s not the start of a good week — unless you enjoy a good rash.

Moving on…“Shaolin” Ribeiro is also ready for action again and says he is recouped from his eye injury. He is slated to fight on a DREAM card in the near future, but it’s not clear who he will fight or which event it will be. “Shaolin” had this to say:

“I’m training full-contact fighting as usual and can do everything. My eye’s 100% and this was just another injury like any other. I should fight in April or May, I’m ready for them to call me, whether its a normal match, part of the GP or a reserve fight, I have a contract with K-1 and I’m ready. On the winners of the first phase of the GP, I wasn’t suprised by anything, all the ones to win were really tough, including Eddie Alvarez who beat Andre Dida. I already knew of him from Bodog. He’s really tough and I knew that if he wasn’t doing well standing, he’d take him down.”

The Brazilian lightweight is 19-2 overall and is a veteran of Shooto, Cage Rage, and K-1 Heroes.

(Props Tatame, FightLinker)

(“Hey, Ladies, where’s the fire?”)

At 38, The Iceman is talking about doing what scores of athletes in every sport have done before him: go into coaching after he’s done competing. Liddell has stated that he loves what he does — not sure if he meant getting drunk and groping chicks, or fighting — but he figures he’s got between 2-4 years left in the cage. The reality of age is starting to creep in and he’s got a plan for the future…or at least an idea of what he might do in retirement.

From The Sun:

“I definitely will be moving into coaching. I’ve got a couple of guys that have been training with me for a long time and they’ve helped me get to where I’m at today.

“So if nothing else I’ll be around for a few years helping them out with their careers.”

Well, at least he won’t be going into “acting” and polluting the already-polluted movie field, right?

(And boom goes the dynamite. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

According to UFC welterweight Thiago Alves on Monday’s edition of TAGG Radio, Karo Parisyan has come to terms with his sort-of controversial TKO loss at UFC Fight Night 13, which Parisyan immediately protested as soon as he regained his faculties:

“You can look at the replay,” Alves said. “Even I looked at it after the fight. He was out. He fell. He had no reaction at all. I kept punching and punching, and sometimes when you’re out, when you get punched again you wake up. You don’t know what just happened.

“That was [Parisyan's] concern. He thought that nothing happened. ‘Why’d you stop the fight?’ you know? When he saw the replay, even (Parisyan’s coach Randy) Couture was like, ‘You got knocked out.’ After a while, [Parisyan] texted my coach and apologized and everything. Karo’s a great guy.”

Sadly, Karo is probably still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he just lost his highly cherished title shot — which, to hear the guy talk in previous interviews, seemed to be his sole reason for fighting. To add insult to injury, UFC matchmaker Joe Silva all but promised Alves a future crack at the 170-pound belt:

“Right now I heard I’m right behind Jon Fitch,” Alves said. “That’s what Joe Silva told me.”

And I guess that makes sense, except for two things:

Since this morning’s Baszler/Chan viddy was pulled off YouTube in nothin’ flat, here’s another must-see: Gesias “JZ” Calvancante vs. Joe Lauzon in an amateur MMA match that took place I don’t know when and I don’t know where (if you can fill in the blanks, please hit us with the info in the comments section). The fight starts out as a jiu-jitsu chess match — honestly, it looks like the guys are just playing Twister at one point — until Lauzon scores the full mount and rains down some green leather. But JZ reverses the position and the round ends. In the second frame, Calvancante patiently works to Lauzon’s back and slips in the rear-naked choke; Lauzon stands up with JZ on his back, and eventually goes down like a wounded animal. It’s an interesting look back at a time when Joe was just starting out and Gesias wasn’t such a freakin’ beast.

(Comes complete with cauliflower ear and courtroom-ready business suit.)

— Randy Couture has weighed in with his thoughts about the not-yet-official fight between Fedor Emlianenko and Tim Sylvia:

“…we’ll see what happens. I think it’s going to be an interesting fight. Fedor just fought a pretty tall opponent in Hong Man Choi, so obviously he’s been in that mode of dealing with a guy that size, but I think Tim is a little more seasoned fighter than Hong Man has proved to be. But Hong Man wasn’t easy so it will be interesting to see how Emelianenko deals with him and a pretty good indicator for me, having just fought Tim this last year, as to where I stand and how things might go if I finally get the chance to fight Fedor.”

How hard was it for Randy to swallow this one down? He’s spent the past few months in a battle of words and lawsuits after leaving the UFC mainly so he could be the one to fight Fedor. Now Big Tim is allowed to leave the UFC and almost immediately starts negotiations to fight the Russian heavyweight. Dana White gets to sport his devilish grin for another day…

— The Natural’s wife — fresh off her first MMA win — chatted with FightHype about her win, her future in MMA, and her husband’s future in MMA. But she also attempts to make us feel sorry for her because she has to shoulder the cross of the Couture name.

“I think it would probably be cool to go through this experience without the last name Couture.”

We look forward to the comments from Potato reader, Kim Couture is a c***.

— Chris Leben visited “The Lights Out Show” recently and mentioned a couple of dudes he wants to step into the cage with:

“We’re talking to Joe (Silva – UFC Match Maker), and we’re starting to look for a fight. If you win 4 or 5 fights in a row, you’re pretty much guaranteed a title shot, so I figured maybe Okami or Bisping would be a fun fight for me.”

Would another fight with Anderson Silva turn out any differently than his last meeting with the middleweight god? Of course not. But we’d be into both Okami and Bisping — and wins over both wouldn’t be something the UFC could ignore. Leben is 18-4 overall, but is 3-3 since he met Anderson Silva in the summer of ’06. He’s got two wins in a row and if he needs 4 or 5 W’s in a row, that’d probably put him in line for a title shot sometime next year. Provided he doesn’t get KTFO by his drunken friends first.

Man, that joint could use a serious maid service.

(Tyson Griffin could potentially settle his grudge with Nate Diaz in July. Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly.)

— Ultimate Fighter 6 semi-standouts Ben Saunders and Jared Rollins will meet at UFC 86 (July 5th, Las Vegas). Saunders, who has been working out with the death squad at American Top Team, most recently defeated Dan Barrera via unanimous decision at the TUF6 finale last December, while Rollins suffered a third-round TKO loss during his “Fight of the Night” against Jon Koppenhaver on the same card.

— Tyson Griffin will likely be fighting at UFC 86 as well, against a yet-unnamed opponent that could be Nate Diaz. Diaz recently called out Griffin after his star-making triangle-choke of Kurt Pellegrino at UFN 13, and the UFC might give the baby his bottle, so to speak.

— The TUF 7 finale card on June 21st is turning into a full-fledged Fight Night, with three fights booked (so far) that don’t involve the show’s castmembers. Besides the previously mentioned main event between Diego Sanchez and Luigi Fioravanti, Josh Burkman will take on Dustin Hazelett, and Marvin Eastman claims that he’s fighting fellow middling middleweight Drew McFedries; the match will be the last one on the Beastman’s UFC contract. Burkman vows to retire if his fight against Hazelett goes to a decision.

(“We just think this is a smarter fight for Fedor right now.”)

In a comment released through his website M1MixFight.com, Fedor Emelianenko’s manager Vadim Finkelchtein dumped a bucket of cold water directly onto the balls of everyone who started breathing heavy at yesterday’s report of an imminent Fedor/Maine-iac match:

“At the moment we can’t certainly say the bout will take place come July because the contract is not signed. However, the both parties are involved in the negotiation process and we are about to break the finishing tape although we haven’t come to an agreement concerning every detail as of yet”

Vadim, I swear to God, if you fuck this up. Of course, the details they’re still hashing out likely have to do with money and the ring-vs.-cage thing. But the thought of Vadim playing hardball in negotiations when Fedor finally has the chance to face a top-ten heavyweight outside of the UFC is completely infuriating. For all of Finkelchtein/Echteld’s efforts to protect Emelianenko’s value (i.e., ensure he doesn’t take fights he can lose), they don’t seem to realize that Fedor’s value drops further each month that he doesn’t face credible opponents. You gotta give a little, guys! For the record, MMAPayout is reporting that Emelianenko has already been offered over $2 million per fight from Affliction.

But Finkelchtein’s statement wasn’t the only interesting bit posted on M1MixFight this week…

(Yeah, I’d slap this dude, too.)

So there’s a completely unconfirmed rumor floating around painting a mental picture that makes me smile. A few forums are saying that yesterday, Jason “Mayhem” Miller darted out of Legends in Hollywood to chase down former child star Danny Bonaduce — who happened to be walking by. The red-headed douche apparently lives nearby, in case you’re curious.

Anyway, the eyewitness claims that “Mayhem” confronted Danny about stealing a bit from the fighter’s radio show which Bona-douche then used on his own show. For the finale, Miller simply slapped Bonduce in the face and walked calmly back into Legends. Just normal afternoon conversation between two super classy guys.

While this may be total crap, it certainly would be awesome if it were true. The fact that “Mayhem” slapped him instead of punched him just adds the cherry on top, so even if proven false, I’m still telling myself this is a true story. We’re not sure exactly how the real thing went down, but luckily we have a reenactment of the event.

(Last strut to a battle for “Semtex”?)

Paul “Semtex” Daley…what a tangled web you weave.

We reported some few odd days ago that the 17-6-2 “Semtex” would be retiring soon, but would first defend his Cage Rage welterweight crown on May 10th. Well, I suppose we jumped the gun — aided in part by Daley’s apparent bi-polar disorder — because the fighter has now ditched vacated his Cage Rage title. The report comes from the Cage Rage official site and it states that the welty might not return to defend the title until next year — if ever. From the site:

This has come as a surprise to many of Paul’s fans, but he has openly said he will return but now needs some time to focus on other areas of his life. Everybody at Cage Rage would like to wish Paul Daley all the best in his new ventures and we look forward to seeing him back soon.

With Paul Daley vacating the title, the door has opened for two new contenders to throw down the gauntlet for the Cage Rage British welterweight title, phenomenal striker and veteran of some of the greatest Cage Rage wars, Marius Zaromskis will once again be strapping on his gloves to fight the very durable and hard hitting Che Mills. These two fighters met once before in an awesome battle at Cage Rage Contenders 2, where the fight ended via a big KO from a knee that Che Mills landed during a trade off of strikes. This one has war written all over it, so get yourself ready as the bombs begin to fly.

After “Semtex” KO’d “TUF” alum Sam Morgan in January, he decided on an early retirement. He was expected to at least defend again before said retirement, but we guess the thought of an early vaca was too much for Daley to pass up. Chances are he’ll be back, but for now, we’ll continue to assume he’s 12 shades of crazy.

In case we never see him fight again, enjoy the “Semtex” highlight vid after the jump.

I know, I know: At this point it’s like “who fucking cares,” right? But for those of you who enjoy following the YAMMA saga on a schadenfreudic level, Mark Kerr has reportedly been taken off the suspended list in Connecticut, which allows the New Jersey Athletic Control Board to give him the go-ahead to compete at YAMMA‘s debut card this Friday, in a “Master’s Superfight” against Oleg Taktarov. Well, assuming he passes final medical exams, that is — no foregone conclusion, considering how much abuse Kerr’s body has endured over the years, both inside and outside the cage. The YAMMA bout would come just two weeks after his last fight; Kerr defeated Chuck Huus by keylock submission at a CCCF event in Oklahoma on March 29th, bringing his career record to 15-6.

FiveOunces also reports that Ron Waterman has been submitted and approved (pending final medicals) as an alternate for YAMMA’s eight-man heavyweight tournament. If you want to see pictures of what the YAMMA pit will actually look like, click here. An empty kiddie-pool with a fence around it? Revolutionary.

Previously: Goodridge Out of YAMMA; For Real This Time?

(“Yaaaaaaaaay!”)

Sherdog breaks it:

Top ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko will fight Tim Sylvia on July 19. The Russian mixed martial arts champion confirmed the bout to Sherdog.com on Tuesday.

“[Sylvia] is a good fighter, a strong fighter, the former UFC heavyweight champion, which is important,” Emelianenko said via telephone from Stary Oskol, Russia. “I am looking forward to fighting him and training hard for this fight.”

While Emelianenko was short on details, Sherdog.com has learned through sources close to the negotiations that Fedor-Sylvia would headline a card tentatively scheduled for the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, the home base of HDNet Fights.

HDNet Fights CEO Andrew Simon declined to comment on the report, however sources indicate the bout will air on the Mark Cuban-owned network and is rumored to be promoted by Affliction, a clothing brand closely tied to MMA.

Emelianenko hasn’t faced an elite-level heavyweight since Mirko Filipovic at PRIDE Final Conflict in August 2005; we can’t wait to see where his skills currently stand, and if he really deserves to top our HW rankings. An interesting side-note to this booking is Monte Cox, who recently parted ways with Fedor when M-1 Global became Adrenaline MMA. Even though the fight won’t be held under the Adrenaline banner, Cox is still Tim Sylvia’s manager, which means he’ll still be getting paid at least 10% of a shit-ton of money. That, my friends, is how a smart gambler plays.

More on this story as it develops…

One UFC newcomer we forgot to mention in our post on the UFC 84 lineup was Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares, a 7-1 Brazilian Top Team fighter who will be facing off against middleweight Ivan Salaverry on the show’s undercard. Five of Palhares’s seven wins have come via first-round submission. To give you a taste of what “Toquinho” is capable of, here are his two fights from a single-night, four-man Fury FC tournament last December, where Palhares defeated Fabio Negao and Daniel Acacio, both by leglock.

Carina “Barbie Girl” Damm just won her third fight in a row with her win over Sofie Bagherdai at FFF 4 – Call of the Wild on April 3rd in L.A. We love watching chicks fight, but especially love it when they’re kinda’ hot and have an accent — and not, like, a valley girl accent.

Vitals: Brazilian, 5’4″, 120-ish, likes wearing pig tails
Record: 8 wins (5 via subs, 3 decisions), 3 losses (2 via subs, 1 decision)
Noteworthy: Trains with her brother, 7-1 fighter Rodrigo Damm. She appeared in a spread for Japanese Playboy — clothed, unfortunately.

Carina’s win streak started with a decision win over Molly Helsel, which also broke “Barbie Girl” out of a two-loss slump. Parts 2 & 3 of the fight, plus more pics are after the jump. Enjoy.

Part 1

Last week, it was revealed that Dana White put the official kibosh on the proposed boxing match between Anderson Silva and Roy Jones Jr., due to its conflict with Silva’s UFC contract. In a new interview with the New York Daily News, Jones expressed disappointment at the way things were handled:

“I don’t see how it could discredit the UFC,” Jones said. “The guy has boxed before and he’s a tall, slick, left handed fighter. That gives everybody problems. It would be a good fight. As fighters we’re supposed to be trying to do things that amaze people and make history. This could have been something that people really wanted to see. I just think it’s wrong not to allow him (Silva) to get the opportunity to live out his fantasy to be in the ring with one of his heroes.”

Jones also added:

“If I had a high school wrestling background, I’d be willing to try that stuff (mixed martial arts),” Jones said. “But I’m lost on the ground.”

I’m still not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, Silva would get schooled in a boxing match with RJJ, and it would absolutely discredit UFC fighters in the eyes of the casual sports fan — many of whom already believe mixed martial artists are talentless brawlers who lack the skill of pro boxers. But then again, isn’t this the kind of thing that would help spread awareness of MMA and its stars on a worldwide level? And wouldn’t Dana White benefit from giving his stars a longer leash so they don’t all become disgruntled and leave the Octagon for freer pastures?

Your thoughts?

(Props: MMAMania)

(Shane Carwin: Just one of the new faces looking for a big debut at UFC 84.)

— The UFC has confirmed the lineup for UFC 84: Ill Will (5/24, Las Vegas). Besides Penn/Sherk, Ortiz/Machida, and Silva/Jardine, the televised card will feature a light-heavyweight match between undefeated UFC newcomer Goran Reljic and Wilson Gouveia (who most recently knocked out Jason Lambert at UFC 80), as well as another 205-pound match between Thiago Silva and Octagon newbie Antonio “Samuray” Mendes. Ill Will’s undercard features appearances by Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Rob Emerson, Jon Koppenhaver, and new heavyweight acquisition Shane Carwin. Check out the complete card here.

— Shooto has announced their 20th anniversary show on May 3rd, and it’s shaping up to be a killer. Japanese welterweight star Hayato “Mach” Sakurai — whose last three fights resulted in wins against Hidetaka Monma at DREAM.1, Hidehiko Hasegawa at Yarennoka!, and Mac Danzig at PRIDE 33 — will be taking on 13-2 submission specialist David Baron, while “Lion” Takeshi Inoue and Rumina Sato will also compete against opponents to be named later.

— After suffering a nasty eye injury last September during a fight against Gesias Calvancante, Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro is back in the gym and planning his next move. That t-shirt he’s wearing should help to explain why we think he’s the fifth greatest lightweight in the world.

(Tamdan’s profile pic. Not sure if the serial killer vibe is working for you, bro.)

(The Barn Cat in his natural habitat.)

I could spend hours explaining why VH1′s The Pickup Artist was the most entertaining television series of last summer, but in the interest of brevity I’ll just say that the antics of Mystery and his gang of misfit swordsmen — in their quest to score choice poon despite their deeply ingrained social awkwardness and physical disadvantages — brought me a level of joy unmatched by any other reality show in TV history. It captured a world of seductive scumminess that I didn’t even know existed, and revealed techniques like “negging,” “multiple threading,” and “kino escalating” that I would definitely try out myself if my girlfriend wasn’t always right there, watching.

So imagine how psyched I was when I heard that TPA was coming back for a second season. And imagine how psyched I’ll be if UFC welterweight Tamdan “The Barn Cat” McCrory is one of the “Average Frustrated Chumps” looking to improve his pickup game on national television. Yes, Tamdan has thrown his hat into the ring on pickupartist2casting.com, creating a profile that you can vote on to increase his odds of making the cast. Below the nerdy photos is a questionnaire where McCrory describes his lack of success in bagging chicks. Some highlights:

While my dates usually end on at least a fair note, I usually never hang out with that girl again and I’m back to square one. Either I don’t pull the trigger, or they just lose interest and I don’t hear from them again; I’m not really sure what it is…

I am legitimately a contract UFC fighter. No joke, look me up (http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=fighter.detail&pid=654). It’s hard to believe I have so much going for me, but can never seem to get a girl. That and because of my appearance (I’m 6’4″, 180lbs and wear thick rimmed glasses), no one even believes me anyway. Everyone tells me to drop the fighter card, but even when I do it gets me nowhere. People get laid off of just knowing me, yet I never have a girl…

I have an extreme fear of rejection. I hate going out on a limb to impress someone, only to be shut down…I need to have the ability to break out of my shell, and be less reserved. I’m extremely socially awkward and have lot’s of anxiety when it comes to women. I usually have to have a few drinks before I can even start talking, and by that time, I just come off as buzzed idiot.

Man, doesn’t it just break your heart? If you have a moment, please vote and spread the word. The fate of Tamdan McCrory’s penis is in your hands…

(The Maine-iac to fight Fedor in June?)

Some quick snips, courtesy of FightLine:

— Fedor and Tim Sylvia might be fighting soon. The proposed fight is in talks according to an unnamed source. Nothing is set in stone, but the initial chats have already been initiated. If the fight happens, it will go down in Chicago this coming June, promoted by Adrenaline MMA. So far, Jeff Monson will battle Mike Russow on the same card. Remember that ex-UFC champ Tim Sylvia recently signed with Adrenaline MMA, so his involvement in the talks is a no-brainer.

— “The Lights Out Show” has some choice Bas Rutten quotes from a recent interview…and one in particular is about Kimbo’s ground game. Check it out:

“Of course we’ve been training Kimbo on the ground. He just hasn’t been going there yet…and throwing [Kimbo] up against a submission specialist is going to be trouble [for us]…God knows what Kimbo knows. Nobody knows yet, and we all keep it a big secret. We want to keep it a big secret.”

Bas has spoken, but James Thompson still won’t change any of this.

Forrest Griffin head-butts football helmets for fun.

(Props MMA on Tap)

Randy Couture may be doing “The Sopranos: Biker Gang” very soon.

Bonus: For a Randy vs. Kurt Angle update, go here.

Sean Hannity weighs in on the controversial subject of kids in MMA. In a nutshell, he’s a giant-sized bag of douche.

(Props BloodyElbow)

And since our posted video of Marcus Aurelio’s armbarring of Ryan Roberts has already been pulled by the UFC, here it is again — until this one is pulled by Dana White, of course.

But let’s be honest. The most important video is after the jump…

We’re not going to dignify this clip by going to IMDb and finding out the movie’s actual title, plot, and year of release, so we’ll just say that Randy Couture and Frank Shamrock got together at some point to film a remake of Never Back Down, with all the teenagers replaced by 40-year-olds. We defy you to watch this ten-minute highlight-reel without grinning your ass off. The way Randy kicks over the bench at the 0:58 mark makes me LMFAO every time. We can only hope that Rise of the Akkadian turns out half as good. Anyway, if you’re interested, there’s more…

(A courtroom victory would be a thousand times sweeter.)

In an e-mail exchange with MMAJunkie, Leonard Garcia claimed his innocence regarding his recent drug trafficking arrest, and implied that the charge is based only on groundless hearsay:

“I am fighting it because there is nothing but someone saying I was involved,” said Garcia, who was released from jail on a reconnaissance bond and will return to court on May 5. “I hope to have a smile on my face after this is said and done, but I feel like I’m in a fight for my life…

“I’d like to tell my fans to stick with me and pray that the liar in this case tells the truth,” Garcia said. “I want to get back to doing what I do best: fighting for the fans…

Your past is exactly that. My life has a bright future, and people that don’t have that don’t want me to have one either. May God forgive them.”

On his MySpace page, Garcia adds the following:

“This is leonard, I want to ask all my fans and supporters to keep me in their prayers. Know that I can clear my name and continue to give fans the fights they deserve to watch. And know that I am innocent of a crime that I’m being accused of from 3 years ago…I will get through this mess and make everyone proud of me as I have done before.”

Three years ago, eh? Too bad there’s no statute of limitations on filling two dozen condoms with cocaine, inserting them into your body cavity, then taking a train from El Paso to Lubbock. We’re kidding of course — we actually have no idea what Garcia used to transport the coke.

The fastest way into Charles McCarthy’s head is through the Count’s stomach.

(Props to MMAMania)

(Maybe this legal hottie can sort this shit out.)

It’s only been a couple of months since Zuffa/Pride FC Worldwide filed suit against the former heads of PRIDE because of their alleged defrauding of millions from Pride’s sell to the Fertittas. Dream Stage Entertainment’s president, Nobuyuki Sakakibara, has been silent in the case, but Dream Stage Holdings filed for dismissal since they were not a party to the previous contracts.

Now, Sakakibara, Ubon, and Dream Stage Holdings have sued Pride FC Worldwide — the Nevada and Japanese branches — and have laid down the legal to the Fertitta Bros, too. Ubon is a stock company in Japan owned by Sakakibara, who also owns 95% of DSH. The suit filing went down in Vegas on the 2nd of this month. Sherdog has a full rundown of the mess:

In an ironic twist, the motion accused Zuffa of including the DSE Nevada Corporation in an effort to defeat diversity jurisdiction. Zuffa is currently contesting a similar legal strategy employed by HDNet Fights in its suit against Zuffa for declaratory judgment on Randy Couture’s promotional contract.

The suit filed by the former owners of Pride in federal court, under diversity jurisdiction, seeks damages for breach of the asset purchase and consulting agreements that were part of the Pride transaction, as well as fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

The complaint alleges that Pride was sold to the owners of the UFC with the promise that the Pride brand would be maintained as a “global top-level brand.” This promise allegedly resulted in the former owners’ decision to sell to the Fertittas despite more lucrative financial offers from other suitors.

According to the complaint, Sakakibara also met with another “company which promotes martial arts related events, an operator of another sports-related business and investors in the entertainment industry, and received various offers to purchase Pride or to enter into business partnerships with plaintiffs.”

However, the suit alleges that the defendants had no intention of fulfilling that promise.

From TriumphMMA.com…

Bonus: Pics of the Triumph United Girls after the jump.