#5: Affliction: Banned, 7/19/08

(Photo courtesy of Sherdog)

Sure, the pacing was a little shaky, and the picture quality for the pay-per-view broadcast was kind of dark, and apparently some of you don’t think that Megadeth’s Rust in Peace is one of the most kickass records ever released. But you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Affliction’s debut MMA show gave us a supernova of heavyweight star power, featuring Fedor Emelianenko’s 36-second destruction of Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski’s beatdown of Ben Rothwell, and Josh Barnett’s redemptive KO of Pedro Rizzo; elsewhere on the card, we got to see Matt Lindland, Babalu Sobral, Vitor Belfort and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in action. The organization has since turned into a bit of a shit-show, but with Banned, they gave us nearly everything we could have hoped for.

#4: UFC 87: Seek and Destroy, 8/9/08

(Photo courtesy of ESPN)

The UFC’s visit to Minneapolis proved the following…
— Brock Lesnar is an absolute beast. His takedowns can’t be stopped, and his punches tend to break facial bones. He will mock you after he beats you.
— Kenny Florian is a fantastic fighter, and worthy of a title shot; Roger Huerta maybe had a little more hype than substance.
— Demian Maia is one of the most talented submission specialists in MMA, in any organization, in any weight class. His choke-out of Jason MacDonald gave him his third-consecutive Submission of the Night bonus.
— Ben Saunders might actually be a contender one day.
— Jon Jones is athletic and explosive. I’m sorry, but the clichés are true sometimes.
— Jon Fitch is one tough son-of-a-bitch.
— If you’re fighting Georges St. Pierre, tough ain’t enough.

Wow.  Who would have thought that a) we’d ever see Mark Hunt get knocked out by something as simple as a left hook-straight right combo, b) in the opening seconds of a fight, and c) by a middleweight.  This is the guy who walked right through a Cro Cop high kick.  Hats off to Melvin Manhoef.  Maybe now he’ll get that fight with Kimbo Slice that he wants. 

More videos from Fields Dynamite 2008 after the jump.

(Shockingly, this wasn’t the best fight of the night. Photo courtesy of CageWriter.) 

Total Bummer Update: The fight between DREAM lightweight champion Joachim Hansen and Gesias Cavalcante was canceled. Hansen did not pass a pre-fight medical examination, reportedly due to a recent hospitalization for a head injury. So that sucks.

K-1 Youth Tournament
Reserve fight: Taishi Hiratsuka def. Daizo Sasaki via KO, 1:00 of round 2
Semi-final 1: Koya Urabe def. Tatsuya Kusakabe via TKO, 2:21 of round 3
Semi-final 2: Hiroya def. Shota Shimada via unanimous decision
Final: Hiroya def. Koya Urabe via unanimous decision

DREAM rules: Ikuhisa "Minowaman" Minowa def. Errol Zimmerman via submission (toe-hold), 1:01 of round 1

K-1 rules: Artur Kyshenko def. Yoshihiro Sato via unanimous decision

DREAM rules: Daisuke Nakamura def. Hideo Tokoro via submission (armbar), 2:23 of round 1

DREAM rules: Andy Ologun def. Yukio Sakaguchi via KO, 3:52 of round 1

DREAM rules: Bob Sapp def. Akihito Tanaka (aka "Kinniku Mantaro") via TKO, 5:22 of round 1. Tanaka put Sapp in trouble early with takedowns and ground-and-pound, but Sapp was able to get to his feet and tag Kinnikuman with some of his big, wild punches against the ropes until the fight was stopped.

DREAM rules: Semmy Schilt def. Siala "Mighty Mo" Siliga via submission (triangle choke), 5:31 of round 1

DREAM rules: Hayato Sakurai def. Katsuyori Shibata via TKO, 7:01 of round 1

K-1 rules: Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Kozo Takeda via TKO, 2:37 of round 1. Kawajiri dropped Takeda twice with punches in the first round, then once more with a flying knee. It was the first in a series of dominant victories by MMA fighters in kickboxing matches at Dynamite!! 2008.

5. Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le (3/29/08)

Someone had to shut Frank Shamrock up.  Thank God for Cung Le.  Shamrock stayed true to his promise to stand and trade with the San Shou sensation, though maybe it would have been a better idea if he didn’t.  He got kicked in ways he never imagined until a broken arm forced him to give in after three rounds of action, just when it was starting to get really good.  Watching these highlights just makes you mad at Cung Le for running off to be a movie star instead of sticking around in MMA for a while.  It also makes you wonder what would happen to Frank’s new braces if he got kicked in the face like that now.  Perhaps we’ll never know.

4. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin (7/5/08)

They don’t get much closer than this light heavyweight championship fight at UFC 86.  Simply mentioning who you think won the bout (cough*Griffin*cough) is enough to start a message board argument that will produce countless personal attacks and ultimately accomplish nothing, but that just proves what a close battle it was.  Five rounds of back-and-forth action led to a unanimous, though oddly scored decision victory for Griffin, and a few sleepless nights for Jackson.  “Rampage” says he’d like to run it back in ’09.  We’d rather see him fight Evans for the title, but we also wouldn’t complain about seeing a repeat of this scrap.

(Now that I think about it, Kinnikuman would fit in perfectly with the TapouT crew.  Somebody get Punk-Ass to bring the bus around and pick him up.)

Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that you really want to bet on K-1 Dynamite 2008 tonight, which you probably won’t get to watch until tomorrow and which may or may not turn out to be a total shitstorm.  First, you’re a crazy son of a bitch, you know that?  Second, we got you covered.  Here are the best odds on the ‘net, courtesy of BestFightOdds.com:

Joachim Hansen (+150) vs. Gesias Cavalcante (-105)
Kazushi Sakuraba (-125) vs. Kiyoshi Tamura (+120)
Eddie Alvarez (-105) vs. Shinya Aoki (+120)
Semmy Schilt (-531) vs. Siala Siliga (+450)
Hong Man Choi (+160) vs Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (-155)
Daisuke Nakamura (-110) vs. Hideo Tokoro (+135)
Alistair Overeem (+270) vs. Badr Hari (-250)

Thoughts…

(Gesias Calvancante, Kazushi Sakuraba, and Kinnikuman dress to impress at the Dynamite!! 2008 press conference. Photos courtesy of Sherdog.)

Heads up: Fields Dynamite!! 2008 kicks off tomorrow evening in Saitama, Japan, which, because of the sizable time difference, means it’ll be going on late tonight if you’re in the U.S., beginning at 3 a.m. ET. Since the 18-fight card won’t be broadcast live in the U.S. on HDNet or internet pay-per-view, you may have to resort to more roundabout means if you want to watch it live. At any rate, we’ll have full results and videos for you tomorrow, so don’t go nuts. Kinniku Mantaro, get ready to shock the world…

(James Malec’s booking photo, courtesy of canyonco.org)

Sherdog has a new update on last Friday’s report about the Christmas night shooting death of UFC/WEC/EliteXC vet Justin Eilers in Canyon County, Idaho. Here’s what we know now:

— Eilers was indeed shot by his stepfather, James Robert Malec, at a house owned by Malec and Eilers’s mother. Malec used a large caliber handgun to fire a single shot which punctured Eilers’s lung before exiting his back.

— Following an argument between Eilers and his girlfriend (the mother of his son), which culminated in his girlfriend leaving the house, Eilers reportedly got into a confrontation with Malec, and began "verbally challenging" him. Eilers apparently broke some glasses and other items, was asked to leave, but refused.

— Eilers’s son was in the house at the time of the shooting, but did not actually witness it, contrary to initial reports. Eilers’s girlfriend returned to the house shortly after the shooting and, along with Eilers’s mother (who did witness the shooting), attempted to apply pressure to the wound until paramedics arrived.

(‘It’s not a skirt, you assholes.  The Romans wore these. Read a book.’)

The surprises just keep coming for the New Year’s Eve K-1 Dynamite show.  Jerome Le Banner is sick with the flu and has been forced to pull out of his fight with Mark Hunt, and Melvin Manhoef has agreed to take his place.  Despite the incredible weight difference between the heavyweight Hunt and the sort of middleweight Manhoef, the two will fight an MMA bout under “Dream rules” for three five-minute rounds.  

Is it a good idea for Manhoef, a vicious striker with an almost non-existent ground game to face a much heavier and damn near impossible to knock out fighter like Hunt, who also packs a serious wallop of his own?  Short answer: no.  No, it is probably not a good idea.  Especially on short notice.  But unlike many of the other bad ideas on the Dynamite NYE show, this one I’d actually love to see. 

Dammit, Japan.  Just when I want to curse your lack of rules and regulations, you go and do something like this to leave me more conflicted than ever.  I just can’t quit you.

In other news…

(Props: URDirt.com)

The big news out of Japan today is that Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, who is scheduled to take on Katsuyori Shibata on the New Year’s Eve Dynamite card, has unwittingly become a porn star.  A Japanese website has screen shots from videos featuring Sakurai and as many as three women who are not his wife.  One of them is allegedly the yoga instructor from his gym.  One of them is also pretty hot.

We don’t want to jump to any conclusions (yes we do), but we would like to point out that this is exactly why you don’t make sex tapes if you’re even remotely famous.  It’s tempting, yes.  You’re just dying to see what your patented "Carpet Bomber" technique looks like on film (the answer is, inevitably, not as cool as you think) but if you make a sex tape and don’t immediately erase it, somehow, eventually, it will get leaked.  And odds are it will be a most inopportune time for you, such as a couple days before a big fight.  

But now that I think about it, maybe this all a calculated ploy by Sakurai.  Maybe he’s MMA’s Kim Kardashian.  This puts him back in the news and adds some new interest to a fight that has been largely ignored, what with the freak shows and the big fights and the other freak shows that are oddly meaningful.  Now, suddenly, here we are talking about Sakurai and who he’s banging.

God, I hope this doesn’t become a popular publicity stunt for fighters who want a fast ticket back to the spotlight.  The last thing any of us needs is a Houston Alexander sex tape.  We already know that once the action hits the ground he’s clueless. 

#15: Junior Dos Santos uppercuts Fabricio Werdum directly out of the heavyweight top ten at UFC 90 (10/25/08)

#14: Shane Carwin forcibly ejects Christian Wellisch’s mouthpiece during his Octagon debut at UFC 84 (5/24/08)

#13: Yves Edwards’s daredevil hopping-knee against Edson Berto at EliteXC: Street Certified (2/16/08)

For knockouts #15-8, click here.

#7: Shaun Parker and Tyler Bryan knock each other out while guest referee Shonie Carter momentarily loses his shit @ LFC 25 (5/16/08)

#6: Thiago Alves’s rocket-powered flying knee to Matt Hughes’s jaw at UFC 85 (6/7/08); replay starts at 2:19.

#5: Jeremy Stephens throws his fist like a fast-pitch softball and strikes out Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC 91 (11/15/08)

#4: Josh Koscheck gives Yoshiyuki Yoshida two brutal knockout punches for the price of one at UFC Fight for the Troops (12/10/08)

#3: An on-the-ropes Rory Markham pulls the head kick of the year directly out of his ass against Brodie Farber at UFC Fight Night 14 (7/19/08)

#2: Rashad Evans damn-near kills Chuck Liddell with the Overhand Right From Hell at UFC 88 (9/6/08)

#1: Duck, duck, duck, GOOSE! Rampage slays his personal demon at UFC 92 (12/27/08)

BONUS: The Worst Knockout of the Year
Seth Petruzelli taps Kimbo Slice’s off-button at EliteXC: Heat (10/4/08), bringing down the entire organization in the process.

If you liked this list, do us a solid and Digg it.

(Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

The UFC handed out $1,561,000 in disclosed salaries and bonuses for Saturday’s "Ultimate 2008" card, with the fighters in the three main events taking home the lion’s share. Quinton Jackson came out on top, adding a $100,000 win bonus and $60,000 Knockout of the Night bonus to his $225,000 base salary, while Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira came in second place simply on the basis of his meaty quarter-million-to-show payout. Complete figures are below: 

Quinton Jackson: $385,000 (includes $100,000 win bonus, $60,000 Knockout of the Night bonus)
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: $250,000
Wanderlei Silva: $200,000
Rashad Evans: $190,000 (includes $65,000 win bonus, $60,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Forrest Griffin: $160,000 (includes $60,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
Frank Mir: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus)
Cheick Kongo: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus)
Yushin Okami: $32,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus)
Antoni Hardonk: $28,000 (includes $14,000 win bonus)
CB Dollaway: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)

10. Ricardo Almeida guillotines Rob Yundt (2/2/08)
After almost four years away from the game Ricardo Almeida returned at UFC 81 to take on Alaska’s Rob Yundt.  The Gracie fighter wasted no time getting it to the mat and when Yundt tried to reverse postions he locked in a guillotine choke with one arm inside.  Yundt thought he’d just slam his way out, but Almeida wasn’t having it.  He used the momentum to flip Yundt over and then finished the choke from the top position at the 1:08 mark.  Smooth, bra.

9. Yoshiyuki Yoshida chokes out War Machine (5/24/08)

Japan’s Yoshiyuki Yoshida made his UFC debut at UFC 84 against the man then known as Jon Koppenhaver.  Yoshida locked up an anaconda choke less than a minute into the first and Koppenhaver, alpha male that he is, declined to tap and instead took a pleasant little nap.  Okay, so it’s only a technical submission, and not the fanciest finish you’ll ever see, but damn was it satisfying.  War (or Mr. Machine, as he’s known down at the bank) would later get chucked from the UFC for making stupid comments about Evan Tanner’s death and for refusing a fight with Brandon Wolff.  Yoshida would go on to get knocked into a Zen-like peacefulness by Josh Koscheck.

8. B.J. Penn squeezes the juice out of Joe Stevenson (1/19/08)

UFC 92 Video Blog – Watch more free videos

Even though Dana White is a millionaire with fancy cars and a private jet to fly around in, no material object seems to bring him as much pleasure as that shock pen.  He’s still pulling the prank at UFC 92, even on “Rampage” Jackson, who just wants to relax at Octagonside after knocking Wanderlei Silva senseless.  Come on, Dana.  Time and a place, man.

Skip to the 5:37 mark and you can actually see Dana White beginning to realize that Steve Mazzagatti is not a good ref.  He’s less adamant about it than those around him, but that is not the way a man who’s happy about what he’s seeing chews gum.

After the jump, episode two of "Arlovski 360," in which boxing trainer Freddie Roach lays out the game plan that  he thinks will beat Fedor Emelianenko.  It seems…optimistic.

("And when can I meet famous retard Kevin James?" Props to BloodyElbow.)

A few more stories coming out of the Octagon this weekend…

— The UFC has begun exclusive contract negotiations with Olympic gold-medalist judoka Satoshi Ishii, who attended Saturday’s event. Said Dana White: "Satoshi Ishii has the potential to be very successful in mixed martial arts…we look forward to helping him with his training, his career, and his eventual debut in a professional fight." Ishii reportedly planned on starting his MMA training with Fedor Emelianenko’s Red Devil team in St. Petersburg, Russia, but White talked him out of it, and encouraged him to train at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. White also suggested that the 238-pound Ishii drop down to light-heavyweight for his MMA debut.

— Following the kind-of-late stoppage of the Evans/Griffin fight, and the ludicrously late stoppage of the Kongo/Al-Turk fight, the UFC may no longer be requiring the services of referee Steve Mazzagatti.

— Though MMA fans are already clamoring for Evans vs. Jackson, Rampage would rather settle some business with Forrest Griffin first.

— At UFC 92′s post-event press conference, Dana White confirmed that Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Stevenson would indeed be the main event of UFC 95 (February 21st, London). Sorry, mates.

— Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is open to a fight against Randy Couture. “It would be a nice match,” Nogueira said. "He lost his last fight, but he is still a legend." Likewise, buddy.

— The UFC is looking to return to Chicago in July.

— Of all the fighters who have left the UFC, the only one that Dana White regrets losing is Andrei Arlovski. Could he be welcomed back if this Affliction thing doesn’t pan out?

(Props: Fightlinker)

God help you, but what you’re about to see is the trailer for an in-production reality show about Gary Shaw and his family, titled Blood, Sweat -n- Bling. We could care less about what a boxing promoter does and what Shaw has accomplished in that field — the clip seems to leave out his brief and hideous stint with EliteXC altogether — so why not just skip ahead to the 4:51 mark and get a load of the segment on his son Jared. Apparently it’s not an act; $kala really is a deluded, epically entitled leech on his father, with absolutely nothing positive to offer society. (Check the freestyle: "Overseas in Greece, stop in Tel Aviv / Sucky-sucky Hong Kong, gotta love them Chinese.")

I have to admit, this trailer actually made me feel sorry for Gary. Between his incarcerated first son, total failure fourth son, worthless idiot wife, and (one would assume) heart disease and diabetes, I do not envy this man’s life. Getting up every morning must be a struggle, to put it mildly. Not that I’d ever watch this show, and I truly hope it’s never made available for other people to watch. But man, how ’bout this Jared Shaw? Is he The Worst, or what?

(Sonic Boooom!  Photo courtesy of NBC Sports.)

On my way through the MGM Grand to the arena on Saturday night I stopped near the food court to drink my coffee and affix my press credential.  A twenty-something guy saw the UFC logo around my neck and started talking to me about the fights, telling me what a huge Frank Mir fan he was and how he thought Mir was going to kill Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

“I don’t think so,” I said.  “I think Mir’s got the least chance to win of all the guys on the main card.”

“Really?” he said.

“Really,” I told him.  “But hey, if you think he’s going to win, put a bet down.  He’s going off at 3-1.  Although there’s a reason the odds are so high.”

“Yeah, no,” he said, making a face like I’d just told him Santa Claus wasn’t real.  “That’s okay.  Thanks.”

I don’t know who that guy was, or whether he reads Cage Potato (I assume he does, being both an English-speaker and an MMA fan), but I want to apologize to him.  My friend, I’m sorry.  Really, really, sorry.  I hope you, and to a lesser extent, Frank Mir, will forgive me.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s see who’s up and who’s down after UFC 92 via the enjoyably arbitrary numerical ratings of the Potato Index.

(Unless he’s using it as a part-time chicken coop, what does Cro Cop want with a cage these days anyway?)

Our buddy Robert at FreeFightVideos has a report that suggests a return to the UFC for Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic might be as simple as a win over Hong Man Choi on New Year’s Eve.  Cro Cop has apparently been dropping hints lately that the fight at K-1 Dynamite will “end one chapter and start another” in his career, and insists he’s not retiring.  So okay, maybe he just means he’ll end the injury-riddled, lackluster performance chapter and begin another kicking ass chapter in 2009, right?

But Cro Cop has been increasingly vague about his plans for 2009, and when Dana White appeared on the “Best Damn Sports Show,” he stated that, “if [Cro Cop] wins, he will definitely be welcomed back into the UFC."

As Robert points out, Cro Cop still keeps a cage in his training facility, though he wouldn’t seem to have any use for it if he plans to keep fighting in Japan. Maybe the thing is just a pain in the ass to take down, or maybe he plans to come back to the UFC for some unfinished business.

Either way, does it seem odd to anyone else that a fight with Hong Man Choi, of all people, is the deciding factor in Cro Cop’s UFC career?  Choi is not really an MMA fighter.  He’s a kickboxer, in the loosest sense of the word, but mainly he’s a sideshow attraction. 

Everyone mocked Fedor for even taking a fight with Choi, and now it’s the fight that determines Cro Cop’s readiness to reenter the Octagon?  Why not ask him to beat Alistair Overeem to prove himself?  Or beat…anyone else, really.  Anyone with actual MMA experience, who isn’t wearing a mask at the time of the fight.  Then again, where is he supposed to find an opponent like that on New Year’s Eve in Japan?

(Rampage mean-mugs his way back to #2. Photo courtesy of the Las Vegas Sun.)

In the wake of UFC 92′s wild string of upsets, we’ve updated the light-heavyweight and heavyweight top ten lists in our Power Rankings section. Some notes:

— Rashad Evans takes the #1 spot at 205 pounds. The UFC’s light-heavyweight division is still a shark tank where almost any fighter could be the best on a given day, but I think Sugar has the skills to defend his belt at least once. Evans/Rampage could be epic; let’s hope it happens soon.

—Frank Mir jumps to #4 following back-to-back wins over the UFC’s two best heavyweights. That is just craaaaaazy. If Mir can beat Brock Lesnar a second time and unify the heavyweight title, it’ll be one of the most miraculous career comebacks in MMA history.

— I’d love to get some new blood into the bottom of the heavyweight list, but it’ll have to wait until Shane Carwin and Gabriel Gonzaga have their fight in March, or until Dave Herman, Antonio Silva, Alistair Overeem, or Sergei Kharitonov beat a highly-ranked opponent.

Head over to the rankings page to toss in your own opinions, and keep an eye on the lightweight list this week, as four of the top ten fighters will be competing in MMA matches at Fields Dynamite!! 2008 on New Year’s Eve.

Props to CombatLifestyle, Sherdog, UFC.com, Fight! Magazine, TMZ, and the Las Vegas Sun.

#12: Wanderlei Silva celebrates his destruction of Keith Jardine at UFC 84.

#11: Urijah Faber bags himself a couple of sasquatches.

#10: Rashad Evans rushes in to finish an already knocked-dead Chuck Liddell at UFC 88.

#9 (tie): Paul Taylor knocks Chris Lytle’s jaw loose; Taylor gets his foot lodged in Lytle’s mouth.

After the jump: A naked Gina Carano, a punch-drunk Kimbo Slice, and a rather disappointed Joe Stevenson.

(Props: MMA Scraps)

(In some cultures, that’s considered a compliment. Props to IrishLew)

Following a shocking night of fights in which Quinton Jackson exacted revenge against his arch-nemesis, two new champions were crowned, and my sure-thing parlay bet was shit all over, the UFC handed out $60k bonuses to the following fighters…

Knockout of the Night: Quinton Jackson, obviously. Though eight of the Ultimate 2008′s ten fights ended in stoppages due to strikes (seven within the first two rounds), Rampage’s left-hook stiffening of Wanderlei Silva was a picture-perfect one-punch KO, and represented a dramatic return to form. Will Jackson/Griffin 2 be next?

Fight of the Night: Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans for their light-heavyweight championship main event. After an even first round, Griffin found his groove, landing strikes with regularity and ending the second frame with an on-the-button superman punch. But Evans proved just how "athletic and explosive" he really is when he knocked Forrest to the ground in the third and finished him off with some devastating punches from the top — becoming the second consecutive TUF winner to hold the 205-pound strap.

Submission of the Night: Nobody, since no fight ended in a tapout. But hey, you don’t like that gay foreplay stuff anyway.

UFC 92 drew 14,103 spectators for an impressive (though not record-setting) live gate of $3.47 million.

(Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

The MGM Grand is abuzz as the start time for UFC 92 closes in.  Tapout t-shirts flood the casino floor and bored girlfriends in halter-tops linger near the slot machines, popping their gum and sipping Michelob Ultras as part of their continued vigilance against carbs.  Truly, it is a magnificent scene.  And though it may not be officially the main event, all over town you can hear people talking about Wanderlei Silva and “Rampage” Jackson.  The consensus seems to be that short of one man growing wings and flying out of the Octagon, nothing that happens in this fight will be too great a surprise.  That’s how volatile and unpredictable it is.

Your favorite liveblogger is live and on the scene at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, so stick with me all night for news, results, wisecracks and analysis.  Prelims are scheduled to get started at around 5:15 PST.  If you’re holding out hope of seeing Antoni Hardonk and Mike Wessel broadcasted tonight, you might want to skip over that so as not to have it spoiled for you.  Or not.  Your choice.

I would remind you to hit refresh often, but you already know to do that.  You sharp devil, you.

Spend some quality family time with Dana White over the holidays.  Long story short, Dana White loves a good prank.  Even the same prank.  Over and over again.  Also, Dana White is riiiiiiiich.  So who’s going to get pissed?  Not Rashad Evans, apparently.

Weigh-in video is after the jump.

Wanderlei Silva and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson couldn’t just get up on the scales and call it a night.  Nope, there had to be a little extra curricular activity, just to further steal the show with their third fight.

It was an intense staredown to begin with after each man made weight at the MGM Grand this afternoon.  The two were nose to nose when Jackson said something that the microphones didn’t pick up, but it must have been naughty because Silva shoved him immediately.  If you want my guess, Rampage was pulling out one of his old bad breath jokes.  Silva has struggled long and hard with gingivitis, and dental stuff in general is a sensitive topic for him.  

Dana White quickly got between them, followed by almost everyone else on the stage, just to play up the drama.  I tell you, it was enough to make you miss Pride.

The rest of the weigh-in went smoothly and predictably.  Frank Mir got booed.  Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Forrest Griffin both got very warm welcomes.  And all fighters made weight (though Dean Lister did have to strip down to hit 186).  The only other excitement was Cheick Kongo pulling the seventh-grade bully move of faking a lunge at Mostapha Al Turk during their staredown.  To his credit, Al Turk didn’t flinch.  Looks like Kongo won’t get those two free punches he was hoping for.

Full weigh-in results are after the jump.  Don’t forget that we’ll be liveblogging all the action Saturday night, so tune in early and often.

Former UFC and EliteXC fighter Justin Eilers is dead after being shot in the chest Thursday night.  Eilers was reportedly at the home of an acquaintance in Canyon County, Idaho and had argued with an ex-girlfriend who was also at the house, before being asked to leave.  Eilers refused and, according to Sherdog, “began throwing dishes and other objects in protest.”

The owner of the home, James Robert Malec, a forty-eight-year-old man believed to be Eilers’ mother’s husband, produced a gun and shot Eilers once in the chest.  Emergency medical personnel attempted to save his life when they arrived at the house and found him wounded, but were unsuccessful.  He was pronounced dead at the scene.  Eilers was thirty years old.

To make matters worse, Eilers’ young son, his mother, and his ex-girlfriend are all said to have been in the room with him when he was shot.  Malec was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

Fans may remember Eilers for his UFC battles with Andrei Arlovski and Brandon Vera.  His last fight was against Antonio Silva for the EliteXC heavyweight title in July, where he lost via second-round TKO. 

Depressing times in the world of MMA.

Previously: WAR QUINN!!!

(Junior Dos Santos spars with Mauricio Rua at the Team Nogueira gym in Rio.)

Even though we’ve been pretty much off the clock since Tuesday, and didn’t post any actual news, you honestly didn’t miss much. But let’s get you up to speed…

– Junior dos Santos, the Team Nogueira heavyweight who scored a shocking upset knockout of Fabricio Werdum during his UFC debut in October, will meet new UFC signee Stefan Struve at UFC 95 (February 21st, London). Struve is a Dutch fighter whose 16-2 record includes 12 wins by submission.

– Cristiane "Cris Cyborg" Santos has signed a one-fight deal with Canadian MMA organization XMMA, and will fight at their February 27th event against an opponent to be named later. (Don’t get your hopes up, it won’t be Carano.)

– Though MMA competition is currently banned in Ontario, the UFC will be pushing hard to do a stadium event in Toronto in 2009.

– Frank Mir is openly bitching about how he has to go five rounds tomorrow night. Don’t worry, buddy, we’re sure Big Nog will be kind enough to sub you before the fourth.

– Satoshi Ishii is a total UFC mark.

– WEC bantamweight Will Ribeiro, who suffered a serious head injury during a motorcycle accident in Brazil, is starting to make some recovery. According to Ribeiro’s manager Ed Soares, "the doctor seems very hopeful." 

– Sherdog is infecting your computer with spyware and adware.

If big, beaming smiles were an indicator of mental health, then Dana White’s latest video blog stands as proof that Quinton Jackson is fully recovered and ready to rock. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. In this clip, DW checks in with UFC 92′s marquee fighters before a press conference on Monday, including Rashad Evans, who is apparently dressing for the job he wants rather than the job he has. We also learn that Dana can never sleep in Japan ("oh, fuck no"), ‘Page and Wandy find endless amusement in bodybuilder underwear, and Brock Lesnar still can’t deal with modern technology. Later, Dana shows off some of his totally sweet Christmas gifts, introduces us to Arianny Celeste’s sister (!), and has his bald head markered up by a mischievous Lorenzo Fertitta. But don’t worry: He gets his revenge by electrocuting an underling. Merry Christmas!

After the jump: Highlights from the aforementioned press conference, courtesy of ESPN.