According to Sherdog, Antonio Silva has verbally agreed to fight Russian PRIDE standout Sergei Kharitonov for EliteXC’s vacant heavyweight crown at “Saturday Night Fights” on July 26th, pending approval from the California State Athletic Commission; the CSAC previously blocked Silva from competing at K-1 Dynamite!! USA last June due to a pituitary gland tumor, but “Bigfoot/Pezao” underwent surgery last summer to have it removed.

Kharitonov holds a career record of 15-3, with notable wins over Fabricio Werdum, Alistair Overeem, and Semmy Schilt. If the matchup comes together, it would certainly alleviate some of the concerns we’ve had regarding the EliteXC heavyweight title’s legitimacy, considering that Kharitonov is more talented and deserving of a belt than any other heavyweight currently on their roster. So keep your fingers crossed, and you might just see Silva vs. Kharitonov headlining the three-fight Showtime card that will lead into the CBS broadcast.

In other news…

The best highlight video of the week, featuring the world’s greatest lightweights (and Melvin Guillard) laying waste to their opponents. Watch it and take pride in your naturally petite frame. Props to Chris Keller via “CRE” on the UG.

Here’s the PRIDE Bushido 9 fight between Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett and Dokonjonosuke Mishima, in which the Horse quotes Forrest Gump, extolls the virtues of masturbation, tears apart a stuffed animal, and gets subbed with a heel-hook. Props to MMAScraps.

(Who could fire that lovable face?)

Yesterday MMA Payout reported that Gary Shaw might be on his way out the door at Pro Elite now that CBS is becoming more of a player. It’s not hard to imagine why. There’s the tracksuits, the not-so-nuanced views on MMA, the general sleaze factor that comes oozing out of the man’s pores. But son Jared Shaw (Elite XC’s VP, a position that is no doubt his by merit alone) has come to his defense in an interview with Ariel Helwani of MMA Rated:

All the reports I have read have been absolutely erroneous. There’s no truth to CBS pushing Gary Shaw out or anything like that. Gary might not be as much in the limelight because of his other business, which is boxing. He’s also spending a little more time at home with the rest of his family. You’re going to see Jared Shaw everyday so you don’t have to think that Gary Shaw is gone. I don’t know why they would keep one Shaw and not another. We’re both here and Gary is still a major force. He’s still spoken to everyday…He’s a major part of this company and everything he’s done as a promoter we’ll continue to utilize and continue to follow his lead.

Oh well then, that rumor is put to rest. Like Jared, I can’t imagine why they’d keep one Shaw and fire the other. I mean, if you were going to get rid of one, wouldn’t you also get rid of…uh-oh. I just had a terrible thought. Jared, maybe you should think about updating the old resume, if you know what I’m saying.

The explanation that his “other business” is taking up too much of his time seems odd, especially since his work as a boxing manager hasn’t been going so well lately. But Jared assures us that everything is juuuuuust fine:

(Let the search for an opponent begin.)

Elite XC officially announced its July 26 event in a press release sent out to the media today, noting that the card will feature three title fights: Robbie Lawler-Scott Smith for the middleweight title, Jake Shields-Nick Thompson for the vacant welterweight title, and Antonio Silva-TBA for the newly created Elite XC heavyweight title. Because nothing says ‘this belt isn’t very important‘ like announcing a title fight with only one participant a month out from the fight.

The Silva bout, along with two others, will air live on Showtime. The other two title fights will air live on CBS alongside two other bouts.

Said Pro Elite Executive Chairman Doug DeLuca, “One venue, two networks and seven exciting world class fights adds up to an entertaining and memorable mixed martial arts event in prime time.”

That one venue is the Stockton Arena in Stockton, Calif., home to such sports teams as the Stockton Thunder and the Stockton Lightning.

As you may have guessed, the Nick Diaz-Thomas Denny bout is one that Elite XC is relying on to drive ticket sales, and it is expected to be one of the four bouts featured live on CBS. We had originally hoped that Diaz would face Elite XC 160-pound champ KJ Noons on the card, but after Noons’ father’s negative remarks about the Diaz brothers and the city of Stockton, it’s may be best for that not to happen.

There’s also word that CBS is using its increased financial stake in the company to try and influence matchmaking. CBS apparently felt there weren’t enough stars on this card and MMA Payout claims it has sources attesting to “significant internal pressure” to put a big name like Gina Carano on this event in order to generate more fan interest.

(Sean McClure, Jon Hatton and B.J. Santiago of the AFL: the dumbasses in question. Photo courtesy of americanfightleague.com.)

Okay, you want to talk delusional? Then read this wild-ass Bizlex.com profile of William “BJ” Santiago, CEO of the American Fight League, that was recently dug up by MMA Payout. You may remember the AFL as the upstart Kentucky-based fight club that just signed Tara LaRosa to a monumental $500,000+ four-fight deal, as well as ex pro-wrestler Bobby Lashley and possibly Kim Couture. Anyway, Santiago has big, big dreams, and doesn’t foresee any difficulties in paying for them. Witness:

In its first year, the group forecasts revenues between $15 million and $20 million. By 2009, the AFL plans to double those revenues. The group will have events in 12 to 15 states this year. Within two years, there will be an AFL event taking place every week somewhere in the country.

Both Santiago and Hatton attribute this success [Ed. note: you mean *will* attribute this *projected* success?] to the organization’s pursuit of two unique agendas: a minor league or grassroots style professional circuit and a positive public image campaign…

Veteran, credentialed fighters will tour throughout the country in any of the 33 states where fighting is legalized. Rankings, as well as matches, are determined based on earned points, with fighters also competing for a predetermined purse…

Amateurs and pro-rookies are given an opportunity to prove their worth in the grass roots system. This local or “farm” system allows fighters to gain experience and reputation based on a point system. Such a platform allows fighters to move up in the sport, Hatton said.

Let’s skip ahead a bit because the details only get more convoluted from there. Hey guys, how about other revenue streams?

(Courtesy of HDNet Fights.)

If you happen to do your social networking on Facebook, heads up: HDNet Fights’ Facebook page now features a “Fight of the Week,” presented in a high-quality, wide-screen format. The latest joint (above) is a three-round gem from last year’s “Reckless Abandon” event — the rematch between Jason “Mayhem” Miller and Tim Kennedy, which contained the classic Kenny Rice line “It would look like Rob Zombie has stepped in and started directing this fight.” To keep on top of the latest HDNet Fights news and to see more fights of the week, swing by their Facebook page and become a fan.

(One of these two men is still telling this story.)

What do you do when you’re an over-the-hill fighter who has repeatedly refused to take the dignified route to retirement? Apparently you challenge another over-the-hill fighter who you faced a couple of times back when you were both still relevant to the sport. That’s the only possible explanation for why Ken Shamrock thinks it’s a good idea to call out Royce Gracie like it’s 1995 all over again:

The second time I beat him in every aspect of the fight; in fact his corner had to carry him out. Fans have been calling for a rematch ever since. After this particular fight Royce left the UFC. As a matter of fact I ran the entire Gracie family out of the UFC. His talk is cheap. Let’s settle it in the cage. I heard Royce agree to a rematch three times now, every time he has come up with a reason not to fight me. Royce and my brother Frank should get together and write a book about how to set up fights and not fight.

At least Shamrock’s smack-talking skills haven’t atrophied at the same rate as his physical ones. Where this statement goes from being the typical crazy Shamrock banter to being completely out of touch with reality is when Shamrock claims that “fans have been calling for a rematch ever since.”

Really? Fans want to see a rematch of the thirty-six minute stallfest that ended in a draw? What fans? Where do they live? Could they accurately be described as fully functioning adults?

Fightlinker claims to think it’s a good idea as long as they do it in Japan with extended rounds. If the fight does happen, it had better not be in a place with an athletic commission, and any time you admit that you could only put on a fight in a place where there is no official oversight, aren’t you basically admitting that it’s a fight that is not athletically meaningful?

(Now maybe work on defending it. Just saying.)

Former WWE wrestler Brock Lesnar is getting wise to this jiu-jitsu stuff with help of seven-time world champion Rodrigo “Comprido” Medeiros. While the business end of the submissions is the part that Lesnar should really be worried about, it’s good to see that he’s getting help from someone who knows.

Lesnar’s taking on Heath Herring at UFC 87, and while “The Texas Crazyhorse” has a fair amount of submission victories under his belt, the last one was back in 2003. Herring might rather keep it standing in order to test out the angry four-year-old punching style that Lesnar displayed against Frank Mir.

In a recent interview with MMA Weekly, Herring had this to say about what he expected from Lesnar:

“From my own personal experience, guys that are that green and new, they kind of revert to that adrenaline rush and that’s what I’m anticipating he’s going to do as well. I think he’s going to be pretty wild and come out and do what we saw him do against Frank (Mir).”

Lesnar may be working out with “Comprido”, but Herring says he’s been training with Randy Couture. At least both guys will be well-prepared. One has to wonder though, what becomes of Lesnar if Herring puts a second straight loss on his record?

(Props: the UG, via Five Ounces of Pain)

(Photo courtesy of DanHenderson.com)

MMA Weekly reports that Dan Henderson’s next Octagon appearance will be a middleweight bout against Rousimar Palhares at UFC 88 (September 6th, Atlanta). Palhares (8-1) is the Brazilian Top Team rising star who pwned Ivan Salaverry so hardcore during his Octagon debut at UFC 84 that Salaverry retired from fighting. Henderson is coming off of back-to-back title fight losses, to Quinton Jackson at UFC 75 and Anderson Silva at UFC 82. Palhares has serious potential, to be sure, but his relative lack of experience puts him at a great disadvantage against one of the most accomplished fighters in the world. Still, if Palhares can pull off an upset, he’ll put himself in the mix for a middleweight title shot.

In other UFC fight-booking news…

— Joe Lauzon has agreed to fight Kyle Bradley at UFC Fight Night 15 (September 17th; Omaha, Nebraska). Bradley, a Team Voodoo product and veteran of various regional leagues, made his Octagon debut as a welterweight at UFC 81, where he was destroyed by Chris Lytle in 33 seconds. He’ll now be fighting at his natural weight of 155.

— Rory Markham, a Bettendorf-based IFL standout who most recently submitted Jay Ellis at Adrenaline 1 on June 14th, will be making his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 14 (July 19th, Las Vegas). His opponent will be Brodie Farber, a former Rage in the Cage middleweight champion who’s won his last six fights in the MMA Xtreme organization.

— Thomasz Drwal, the Polish light-heavyweight whose 13-fight win streak was snapped by Thiago Silva at UFC 75, will make his second Octagon appearance at UFC 87 (August 9th, Minneapolis) against 5-0 IFL veteran Andre Gusmao. Drwal was slated to fight David Heath in February, but was forced to pull out of the bout with a knee injury.

(Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly)

From his Spike.com blog:

It was a long walk back to the dressing room after the fight. The doctor was there waiting on me, telling me I had to go to the hospital to get a CAT scan and stitches, letting me know they were giving me a medical suspension of 45 days. I was in no mood for that, and I know I was rude about it. I’ve known him for a while, but I don’t think I ever got his name. If he happens to read this, I would like to offer him my sincerest apology for my disrespectful behavior.

I was pissed off about the fight, f**king sad, f**king raging, on edge, all of it heavy with me, trying to maintain, trying not to explode. Camera men in my face, corner men, doctors, security, paramedics, friends, journalists, too many bodies crowding me, too many hands pulling me too many ways. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe, standing there afraid of the man that would come out if I lost control…

Losing sucks. It’s been pretty tough the last couple of days. I’ve been keeping to myself. I haven’t felt like talking with anyone. I haven’t seen anything about the fight. I know I looked really bad. I don’t need to see it, or hear about it to know that. I’ve been having some serious health problems for a while now. They’ve caused me some problems in my daily life and have seriously affected my training. I obviously haven’t been the same guy in the ring.

I’m going to be taking a little time off to see a doctor. If we can’t get this health issue figured out, I’m done, I’m retiring. I don’t want to step back into the Octagon unless I’m 100%, and I can give the fans the type of fight they deserve to see.

There’s only one thing that can bring a man like Evan Tanner out of a funk this deep: A cross-country motorcycle trip.

(Quit staring, sicko. Photo courtesy of Combat Lifestyle.)

Steve Cofield has an interesting piece on Yahoo! wherein he lambasts the “sickos in the blogosphere” for reveling in Kim Couture’s pain after her fight in Las Vegas on Friday night. The main thrust of the article is Cofield trying to figure out what went wrong that allowed Couture to suffer a broken jaw, among other injuries, and still fight for three rounds. Cofield describes Couture as “ill-equipped to defend herself” and says that many fans left the arena that night “sickened” by what they saw.

This argument raises an obvious double standard regarding men’s and women’s MMA. Kim Couture isn’t the first fighter to suffer a broken jaw. She’s not the first to keep fighting with one either. The fact that she did so speaks to her toughness, and if she were a man we probably wouldn’t feel the need to say anything more about it than that.

But that’s not what’s happening, simply because she’s a woman. Suddenly, what would have been gutsy becomes sickening. We start looking around for someone to blame, rather than reminding ourselves that this is a tough business where people routinely get hurt and fight hurt.

Earlier today lightweight prospect Chris Horodecki shot down the rumor that he will soon be fighting Takanori Gomi in Sengoku, though he remarked that he would certainly accept the bout if offered to him.

The internet has been abuzz with the news since MMA Weekly listed the Gomi-Horodecki bout in their rumors section regarding the August 24 Sengoku offering, though it still seems a long way from official at this point.

When reached for comment earlier today, Horodecki told Cage Potato that there have been no real discussions regarding a fight with Gomi. Horodecki said he’s still waiting for a fight, and would welcome the chance to take on a top ten lightweight like Gomi.

“Of course I’d fight him,” said Horodecki. “Why wouldn’t I?”

If the bout is eventually signed, the timing would likely work out well since Horodecki was previously preparing to fight on the IFL’s August event prior to its cancellation.

(Silva, Machida, & Silva: Attorneys at Brawl)

Via FiveOunces:

According to the June 23 print edition of the Wrestling Observer, [Wanderlei] Silva’s likely next opponent is undefeated light heavyweight prospect Thiago Silva. The bout could take place in October despite the fact that Wanderlei Silva has reportedly asked not to be scheduled to fight again until December.

The Observer indicated that Wanderlei Silva was given a choice of facing either Thiago Silva or Lyoto Machida. A specific reason for why Thiago Silva is considered the more likely option than Machida was not given, although Dave Meltzer indicated that the UFC is having trouble finding willing opponents for Machida.

Damn son, this Machida got everyone shook! But I ain’t mad: With their similarly aggressive styles, Wandy vs. Thiago has the potential to be a fantastic fight. Still, the UFC will eventually have to throw one of the Silvas at Machida, because it seems that only a hyper-aggro fighter who’d be willing to literally chase Machida around the cage (and absorb some damage in the process) would stand a chance of beating him. In the meantime, the UFC needs to go to their hungry/struggling 205-pounders and demand that they fight Machida; preferably, their LHWs who are sloppy enough for Machida to submit or knock out (lookin’ at you, Lambert). The Dragon will almost surely be fighting for UFC’s light-heavyweight title one day — it’s time to start getting him over with fans, and he’ll need to finish some fights before that happens.

It’s official now, and he has the “Mantlers” to prove it. Here’s the Spider picking up his award at SpikeTV’s Guys Choice Awards on Sunday. Our kudos to Silva for his perfect pronunciation of “Sorry, my English is no good,” and to Chris Leben for providing Anderson with an entire highlight reel via their match at UFC Fight Night 5. Klitschko never had a chance.

(Props: MMA Scraps)

(War Dummer!)

12. Marcin Assman

1. Yakubkhodjaev Ahrorkhodja

Whaddya want, it’s a slow news day. Did we forget any?

Previously: The 10 Worst MMA Nicknames Ever (which should really include this guy)

You know what the best part of this video is? It isn’t hearing IFL welterweight champ Jay Hieron do his best not to bash the IFL even though they canceled his next fight and yet aren’t allowing him to take another, though that is uncomfortable watch.

No, the best part is at the 1:54 mark when MMA Rated’s Ariel Helwani informs him of Jay Larkin’s comments comparing ground fighting to “gay foreplay”. The look on Hieron’s face at that moment, it’s priceless. He also goes on to say that he’s never met Larkin, which seems odd.

Hieron seems to be taking the whole IFL cancellation in stride, though I have to say I might be slightly more pissed off if my employer was keeping me from making a living. They aren’t giving him a fight in August, and also aren’t allowing him to look for other fights until after August. So basically they’re telling him to take the summer off, and if he doesn’t want to, then they’re forcing him to take the summer off. Nice.

Nothing like hanging out in fighter purgatory to make you wonder what happened to that organization that was supposed to be taking great care of their fighters.

(Jake Shields’s legs are the only things that can make Nick Diaz smile.)

Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! Sports reports that Jake Shields will face former BodogFight champ Nick “The Goat” Thompson for EliteXC’s vacant welterweight title during the second CBS “Saturday Night Fights” broadcast on July 26th. EliteXC has been trying to establish Shields as its official 170-pound ruler since last fall, but Shields’s title shot has been foiled repeatedly, first by Mike Pyle’s contract disputes causing their match to be a non-title bout, then by Shields getting injured, then by Drew Fickett getting injured. As long as there are no more freak occurrences, Shields will finally get a chance to become a world champion, but the belt could be pulled from his grasp again — in the ring this time. Thompson is one of the best welterweights in the world, and represents Shields’s toughest test since April 2006, when he beat Yushin Okami and Carlos Condit in the same night at Rumble on the Rock 9. Shields has won his last nine fights; Thompson has won his last 12. Who will survive and what will be left of them?

In related news, the rumored rematch between 160-pound champ KJ Noons and Nick Diaz will not be happening on the July 26th show. Instead, Diaz will fight former King of the Cage champion Thomas “Wildman” Denny at the event, which will be held in Stockton. Denny has a 26-16 record, with wins over James Fanshier, Tony Fryklund, and most recently Malaipet Sasiprapa in a disqualification win at ShoXC in March. EliteXC most likely sees this as an easy win for the hometown anti-hero; it’s just too bad the booking had to come at the expense of matchups with Noons and Hayato Sakurai.

10,000 BC comes out today on DVD and Blu-Ray, and Warner Home Video is providing one lucky CagePotato reader with a disc in the format of their choice. All you have to do to get it is provide a brilliant caption to the above photo of Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell, some woman, and a terrified little boy enjoying a log ride. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but judging from the box cover it involves a battle between a caveman and a two-ton sabertooth tiger, and that’s good enough for me. Please submit your captions in the comments section by Friday morning at 8 a.m. ET; the winner will be announced shortly after. Good luck and God bless.

(Alessio finishes Spratt with a broken arm. Photo courtesy of MMA Weekly.)

Giving tickets away for free might not be the best long-term business strategy, but it had the desired effect for Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center on Friday night. “A Night of Combat” drew almost nine thousand spectators with its promise of free tickets and a fight card divided between boxing and MMA.

To hear the Las Vegas Sun tell it, the show accomplished its modest goals through partnerships and an “outside the box” approach to fight promoting:

In this case, by giving tickets away, Libonati created a nice crowd, which met the needs of promoter Artie Pelullo, ESPN, Channel 13 News, Lotus Broadcasting and his other partners. Each received 1,000 free tickets of their own, to be distributed among the people with whom they do business. In return, Libonati got some free publicity.

To help underwrite the show, Libonati brought on a fledgling company called MLSE — Major League Sports Entertainment — which wants to introduce its brand to Las Vegas. On Friday night, MLSE shook hands with about 9,000 spectators, so it can be assumed its needs were met.

[...]

In the end, Libonati said the T&M will break even on the boxing-MMA card, probably even make a little money. He’ll make a lot more in the long run through business relationships that were made or maintained.

“Our model is you’ve got to create more than a receipt,” he said. “This type of special event thinking is what has made us unique in our industry. By creating special events, we are able to generate revenues that are shared by the entire campus.”

This, of course, was the same event that saw Kim Couture enter with high hopes and leave with some facial reconstruction. Also that night, John Alessio won by choking out Pete Spratt with a broken arm. He broke his forearm blocking a kick earlier in the fight, then grimly soldiered on toward the victory. You hear that, Kalib Starnes?

(Dustin Hazelett earning his bonus money. Photo courtesy of UFC.com.)

The list of official salaries from the Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale has been released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The numbers are below; each winning fighter’s payout represents a doubling of his base salary.

Diego Sanchez: $70,000
Dustin Hazelett: $64,000 (includes $20,000 Submission of the Night bonus and $20,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Drew McFedries: $46,000 (includes $20,000 Knockout of the Night bonus)
Spencer Fisher: $36,000
Kendall Grove: $32,000
Josh Burkman: $30,000 (includes $20,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Dean Lister: $28,000
Jeremy Horn: $25,000
Evan Tanner: $25,000
Amir Sadollah: $16,000
Matthew Riddle: $16,000
Jeremy Stephens: $16,000
Matt Brown: $16,000
Luigi Fioravanti: $10,000
Marvin Eastman: $9,000
C.B. Dollaway: $8,000
Dante Rivera: $8,000
Matt Arroyo: $8,000
Tim Credeur: $8,000*
Cale Yarbrough: $8,000*
Rob Kimmons: $6,000
Rob Yundt: $5,000

* Credeur and Yarbrough both reportedly received their to-show salaries, even though their match was canceled the night of the fight due to Credeur testing positive for Adderall.

(“All day! All night! You feel! My heat! Feel, feel, feel, feel my heat!”)

Big news for people who care what weight class Phil Baroni fights at: MMA Weekly reports that in light of his three consecutive losses — to Frank Shamrock, Kala Kolohe Hose, and Joey Villasenor — the New York Badass is dropping from middleweight to welterweight, and will make his 170-pound debut on July 12th at Cage Rage 27, against a British fighter to be named later. Baroni explained his decision in a post on Sherdog.net:

Im making the move because I want to be a World Champion. I dont fight for pay day’s or fame, to be on tv or chick’s. I got into MMA because I wanted to be the best fighter in the world.

This is what I feel at this point in my career I need to do. Im feel Im a better fighter than Ive shown in the ring esp as of late.

As far as the move to Welter Weight goes I feel great. Im more athletic. Im in much better condition, my hand speed is back, an I would go as far as to say Im alot quicker than I was at my previous best.

Im not going to make any predictions or promises. Ive been very humbled as of late. Ive been handed a real wake up call.

From the TUF 7 finale preliminary card: “Gumby” eats his third-straight submission loss, while “The Boogeyman” puts himself back in the UFC’s middleweight picture.

Amir Sadollah kicks some ass at Combat Sports Challenge 20 (4/28/07) — rocking his trademark hipster haircut even then. Props to MMATKO.

The most breathtaking video you’ll see all day is after the jump.

C.B. Dollaway tapped out in his fight with Amir Sadollah. That seemed clear to everyone but Dollaway following the bout. His vague protest of the stoppage seemed to be rooted in the belief that just tapping once wasn’t really a tap. That’s basically the MMA equivalent of trying to tell your girlfriend that it wasn’t cheating because it was with a prostitute. In other words, it’s an argument that’s doomed from the start.

In an interview with MMA Weekly, Dollaway kind of owns up to it:

“With the tap, I didn’t fully commit to the tap, but I did hit him once. I guess they ruled that a tap. I thought you had to go on and start tapping out. I did hit him once. Right as I did that, I felt my arm get into a position where I could get out. At that point Herb (Dean) ruled it as a tap out.”

Maybe the reason he felt his arm get into a better position after the initial tap was because Herb Dean stepped in and Amir began to let him go? You know, since by tapping his leg Dollaway indicated that he wanted to stop fighting. That’s usually how it works.

Whether he fully committed to the tap or not, tapping once is the same as tapping a dozen times. It’s a signal that you want to quit, which is why you probably shouldn’t tap at all if you don’t want to quit.

Good for him for sort of owning up to it in a very oblique way though. That’s kind of dignified almost.

I think we could accurately describe this video as a solid idea that needed a little more planning. As much as I like the concept of the MMA community shaming Gary Shaw into putting Kimbo Slice up against quality opponents, just pointing out the obvious about Kimbo and then tearing a copy of ESPN the Magazine in half isn’t really going to get it done. I also have my doubts about whether or not Gary Shaw can be shamed. It’s going to take a real team effort from the entire MMA world to do it.

So rather than simply criticize, I think we should offer Jeff Monson some notes to make his second effort a little stronger. Let’s try and keep it constructive. I’ll go first.

- Jeff, I like that you opted not to wear a shirt in order to show off your tattoos and that you used those UFC posters as a backdrop, but I just feel like there’s something missing right now.

Maybe you could hold the magazine up to your face and mock Kimbo’s voice a little before ripping the thing in half. Or you could come up with a stupid nickname for him and then you could keep referring to him that way throughout the video. I think that would really amp up the emotional resonance.

Other thoughts?

According to GracieFighter.com, Nick Diaz will no longer be fighting Hayato “Mach” Sakurai at DREAM.5 (July 21st; Osaka, Japan) for the league’s vacant welterweight title, due to contractual obligations with EliteXC: “Apparently EliteXC has other plans for Diaz and the July date might conflict with their plans.” You could probably figure out what those plans are, but for the record, sources have informed FiveOuncesofPain that a rematch between Diaz and K.J. Noons for EliteXC’s 160-pound title will be added to the next “Saturday Night Fights” broadcast on July 26th.

Though the event was initially rumored to be held in St. Louis, it looks like that idea is being scrapped, as several major sporting events (including a monster truck rally; go figure) are already scheduled to take place in the Gateway City around that time. Now, the buzz is that the Diaz/Noons bout will take place somewhere in Stockton, California, the city that spawned those rotten Diaz brothers. Obviously, it’s a wise move from a marketing standpoint — just as EliteXC’s “Street Certified” event featuring Kimbo Slice was a hit in Kimbo’s hometown of Miami, and “Shamrock vs. Le” did bang-up business in San Jose, Nick Diaz’s rabid civic pride could translate into a wild sellout crowd in Stockton, which would be a perfect backdrop to a live television event (providing that there are no riots in the arena, of course).

At this point, EliteXC: Unfinished Business (working title) will still be headlined by the middleweight championship rematch between Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith, as well as Jake Shields vs. TBA for the vacant welterweight belt.

Lyoto Machida to Tatame.com, via MMA Mania:

“It’s true. I was offered to fight at [UFC Fight Night 14], but Brandon Vera did not want it. I do not know what happened, but he did not accept the fight.”

Hey, I wouldn’t accept a fight against Machida either — then again, I don’t have a reputation to uphold. As previously reported, Vera will instead be fighting IFL vet Reese Andy at UFN 14, which seems like a more appropriate opponent for Vera in his light-heavyweight debut — especially since the match requires Vera to cut weight for the first time and fight just six weeks after his last appearance. Machida is the guy you send in when you want someone to lose in a particularly embarrassing way, not when one of your popular rising stars is riding back-to-back losses and desperately needs to be re-established. Still, does this mean we could be seeing the return of The Dragon, free on SpikeTV?

By popular demand, here’s the video of the grisly fight between Randy’s wife and some other woman named Kim, which ended (one would hope) with Couture rethinking this whole MMA thing. Reportedly it was Rose’s fight-opening overhand right that split Couture’s jaw in two. Props to “Sugar-Free” for hanging in despite the agony. Round 1 is above; rounds 2 and 3 are after the jump.

Update: Couture and Rose each received $1,000 for their fight.

“Best of the Night” bonuses for last night’s Ultimate Fighter 7 finale were $20,000 apiece, and were given out thusly:

Knockout of the Night: Andrew McFedries for his 68-second trouncing of Marvin Eastman (above).

Submission of the Night: Dustin Hazelett for his insane somersault-off-the-back armbar of Josh Burkman. Animated gif after the jump.

Fight of the Night: Dustin Hazelett (again) and Josh Burkman for their two-round war; their fight can be seen free on UFC.com.

(Photo courtesy of Sherdog via Combat Lifestyle via Bloody Elbow, or something like that.)

As you can see, things didn’t go so well for Kim Couture during her professional MMA debut Friday at “Free For All: A Night of Combat,” at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. En route to a decision loss against Kim Rose — who was also making her pro debut that night — Couture suffered a broken nose, a broken jaw-bone (split in the middle of her chin), and a seriously busted grill. Interviewed after the match, Rose told fans in attendance “I felt like destroying something beautiful.” Nah, not really. Results of the MMA half of the MMA/boxing card are below.

John Alessio def. Pete Spratt via submission (rear naked choke), 2:07 of round 2
Kim Rose def. Kim Couture via unanimous decision
Dave Jansen def. Dennis Davis via unanimous decision
Kui Gonsalves def. Ricky Johnson via unanimous decision
Brice Ritani-Coe def. Rob Mitchell via TKO (strikes), 4:33 of round 1

(Props: MMA Weekly)

As debuted on SpikeTV Friday night, here’s the first gameplay trailer for the UFC’s new PS3/Xbox 360/etc. jammy-jam, featuring Rampage vs. Forrest, and commentary by Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg. According to a preview on IGN:

There’s no HUD or health bar, so fighters don’t get worn down till they’re eventually tapped out or KO’d. A fighter can be finished at any time, depending upon the situation. On the other hand, there are more defensive moves and blocking and countering in the game, with a design more similar to traditional fighting games than old MMA or wrestling games. THQ specifically stated that “…button mashing will make you lose.”

Furthermore, the happenings of the fight actually have an effect on fighters during the fight beyond simply wearing them down. When Rampage used punches to the body to weaken Forrest, purple welts similar to what was seen on Liddell’s body when he fought Keith Jardine appeared near Griffin’s kidney. A small cut had formed over the former Ultimate Fighter’s eye, while Rampage had his left eye nearly swollen shut by a series of excellent Griffin knees. All the injuries looked authentic, but also affected how successful each fighter was at accomplishing what they wanted to as the fight wore on.

Reportedly the game will feature an 80+ fighter roster — which still doesn’t explain how War Machine and Saunders made the cut.