(Eric Pele gets ready to hand Antonio Silva his only career loss at a Bodog Fight event in December 2006. Four months later, Pele got his ass kicked by Aleks Emelianenko. You do the MMA-math.)

Though they don’t offer much in the way of sources or details, Fighters Only Magazine just published this juicy rumor:

In my opinion, both Silva and A. Emelianenko sit just outside the heavyweight top ten, so a match between them would be both exciting and meaningful. It’s been too long since either man has faced high-level competition, and the fight makes logical sense: the guy who’s exiled from the U.S. because of a steroid suspension facing the guy who’s exiled from the U.S. because of NOT HEPATITIS. (Though let’s be honest, if Aleks’s last-minute dropout from "Banned" was simply a case of late paperwork, don’t you think he’d get his shit together in time to be on the"Day of Reckoning" card?) Make it happen, Sengoku equivalent of Dana White.

Also mentioned in the Fighters Only article was Bigfoot’s recent rant on the Brazilian MMA TV show Brasil Combate regarding the marquee heavyweight in his old fight organization, EliteXC:

Ouch. I mean, he’s basically saying that Jorge freakin’ Gurgel could beat Kimbo. No word on when/where Mr. Ferguson’s next fight might be, but hey, the dude’s got enough on his plate right now.

Mad props to Kronk on the UG for pointing out these amazing pics of Kyra Gracie from Brazil’s VIP Magazine. More goodness in the thumbnails below…

Previously: Hot Potato: Kyra Gracie

(High on the list of the last places you want to see Demian Maia: mounted on top of you.  Photo courtesy of NBC Sports.)

The UFC seems committed to offering the remaining “Ultimate Fighter” coaching spot to the winner of the Rich Franklin-Dan Henderson bout at UFC 93 this weekend, despite the fact that neither of them seem excited about getting the job, least of all Franklin.  That makes for not only an anti-climactic main event (just picture Franklin, if he wins, standing in the Octagon afterwards and making a face like your dad used to when you’d give him a tie for Christmas every year), but it’s also likely to carry over into making the inevitable season-ending coach fight into something of a bore.

The hell of it is, the solution to this problem is right in front of the UFC, and it’s Demian Maia.  He wants a shot at Michael Bisping, and probably wouldn’t mind the low pay and Vegas exile that comes with the coaching job.  What’s more, Bisping can’t seem to stop talking about Maia despite the fact that a fight with him isn’t on the horizon at the moment.  

Just check his comments to the UK’s Telegraph in a story published yesterday:

Rising star Damian Maia [sic], a submission expert with great striking skills, unbeaten in 10 fights, has been making loud noises within Bisping’s earshot.

“I don’t like the sound of those noises, and I will pacify him,” said Bisping. “Damian is a really nice guy, a gentleman and a sportsman. He wants to go as far as he can in this sport.  …A lot of people seem to want to call me out. I don’t want to sound arrogant but they get beaten or knocked out when they come up against me. Damian is a submission expert, but he won’t get me down, and he’ll get knocked out. He’ll just have to get to the back of the queue for now.”

(Anyone else feeling suddenly very uncomfortable?)

Odds for the five televised bouts at UFC 93 are out on all the big betting sites.  Since the undercard (with the possible exception of the Martin Kampmann-Alexandre Barros bout) is made up mostly of guys you don’t know well or at all, it’s probably best that the off-shore experts don’t entice you to guess your money away.  Then again, maybe you have a hot tip on Tom Egan that you’re just dying to act on.

The most favorable odds on the ‘net are compiled, as usual, from our friends at BestFightOdds.com.  

Rich Franklin (+115) vs. Dan Henderson (-125)
Mark Coleman (+320) vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (-336)
Alan Belcher (+275) vs. Denis Kang (-271)
Jeremy Horn (+275) vs. Rousimar Palhares (-455)
Marcus Davis (-131) vs. Chris Lytle (+121)

Thoughts…

(Not his finest moment. Photo courtesy of UFC.com.)

Following UFC 92, deposed light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin received a medical suspension for a left hand injury, blocking him from competition until late June unless the hand was cleared by an orthopedic doctor. But according to The Sun, the situation has become a little more serious:

Tough break. But on the bright side, this makes a championship bout between Evans and Quinton Jackson even more likely. Though Rampage originally said he wanted to avenge his UFC 86 loss to Griffin before taking another shot at the title, he has since changed his mind, and it’s highly unlikely that he’d want to wait 9+ months for Griffin to heal up anyway. But who knows, maybe Lyoto Machida can pull off some insane finish against Thiago Silva at UFC 94 and convince Dana White than his 14-fight win streak is more title-shot-worthy than Jackson’s one-fight win streak. Unfortunately, Machida will likely be passed over again if he picks up another decision win.

If the purpose of Arlovski 360 is to get fans to relate to Andrei on a personal level, he loses a little bit of ground in the latest episode, as we’re introduced to the Pitbull’s personal chef, jeweler, flag-maker, and club-owner homeboys. One of his friends even delivers the line "Guys wanna be like Andrei, and girls wanna be with Andrei." Must be nice. Meanwhile, Fedor is probably making his own borscht, sewing his own flags, and sleeping with his wife exclusively. [*shudders*] Careful of that rock-star lifestyle, Andrei — you saw what it did to Chuck.

Below: Gilbert Yvel — generously described here as "a fairly controversial fighter with a bit of a checkered past" — is going to rely on his unpredictability to beat Josh Barnett at "Day of Reckoning," and the general consensus is that Barnett will try to stand and bang with him. Sounds like a crowd-pleasing strategy, as long as it doesn’t blow up in his face… 

(Photo courtesy of Amazon.com)

This is both a very good and very difficult time to write a book about mixed martial arts.  Good, because interest in the sport is at an all-time high.  Difficult, because you can’t assume your audience already knows anything about the sport, including basic terminology and modern origins.  The hardcore fan doesn’t want to hear the same familiar back story about the Gracie family again, but the new fan (or the simply curious, book-buying non-fan) needs that info just to understand the conversation.  

This is a problem.  With Blood in the Cage, L. Jon Wertheim has solved it in a way that should appeal to the masses without boring or condescending to the aficionados.  That alone is an accomplishment. 

The way Wertheim manages it is by weaving together two stories: Pat Miletich’s and MMA’s.  The book is essentially a biography of both, using one as a jumping off point for the other.  

To that end, Miletich might be the perfect choice.  His rise from local Iowa ass-kicker to martial arts enthusiast to UFC champ to trail-blazing trainer is not only interesting enough to keep you turning pages, it’s also a story that largely mirrors the rise of MMA in America.  

(Running around shirtless like that, it’s no wonder he got sick.  A little chicken soup will fix you right up, Mark.)

Affliction’s second event has hit its first real snag as the organization revealed that Mark Hominick has come down with pneumonia and has been forced to pull out of his bout with former IFL fighter L.C. Davis.  Affliction is looking for a replacement for Hominick and hoping that they won’t have to scratch the bout altogether.  Fans of brutal head kick knockouts should remember Davis for this little beauty (skip to 12:22, and have your ‘holy shit’ face ready), and it’d be a real shame if he ends up with no one to fight.

In other Affliction news, Tom Atencio has been hitting the media circuit hard lately.  He spoke with USA Today about the many questions surrounding “Day of Reckoning” and disputed rumors of poor ticket sales, and also responded to the backlash against Gilbert Yvel ever since it was announced that he’d take on Josh Barnett in the evening’s penultimate bout.  On the subject of Yvel’s penchant for illegal and downright despicable acts in the ring, Atencio called for leniency:

Those are in the past. It’s been four years since he’s had any problems, yet people still want to bring that up. Yeah, did he do things wrong? Yes he did. Did he pay for them? Yes he did. We sat in front of the California athletic commission and they approved him to go forward in the process. So I think that’s just it. I think it needs to be dropped. He has a chance to prove himself and if he comes out and fights and he puts on a good show — which I think he will; I know he will — then let’s just leave it alone.

After the jump, Atencio appears on Inside MMA and assures everyone that things are going juuuuuust fine.

Even though it never made it onto the broadcast of WEC 36 — a gross oversight that actually led to people getting demoted — the lightweight war between "Razor" Rob McCullough and Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone still managed to make it onto many MMA pundits’ fights-of-the-year lists. But unless you caught the WEC’s "Best of 2008" special last month, this may be the first time you’ll see it in its entirety. Part one is above, and part two is after the jump; major props to MMA Scraps.

The tone is set in the first round round as McCullough drops the much-taller Cerrone with punches twice, but Cowboy manages to keep his shit together, score a knockdown of his own, then pounce on Razor and nail him with some heavy ground-and-pound. A bloodied and mouthpiece-less McCullough reverses the position, but finds himself knocked to the mat two more times before the bell rings. And that’s just the first five minutes. Enjoy… 

(Carmelo Marrero winds up to club Rafael Real at a WCO event in November 2007. Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

FiveOuncesofPain is reporting that TUF 8 light-heavyweight winner Ryan Bader — who defeated Vinny Magalhaes last month to win the show’s six-figure contract — will be returning to action at UFC Fight Night 18 (April 1st, Nashville). His opponent will be Carmelo Marrero (10-2), an American Top Team fighter who went 1-2 in the UFC in 2006-2007. Marrero made his Octagon debut as a heavyweight at UFC 64, where he scored an upset split-decision over Cheick Kongo. Unfortunately, he then took a first-round loss via armbar to Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 66, and was then choked out by Wilson Gouveia at UFC 71 after dropping to light-heavyweight; Marrero was released by the UFC shortly after. Since then, "The Fury" has gone 4-0 with one no-contest, most recently winning a split decision over Steve Steinbless at WEC 36 in November — and earning a return trip back to the UFC.

In other UFC news…

— A little higher up the light-heavyweight ladder, Matt Hamill (5-2) will reportedly be welcoming WEC vet Mark Munoz (5-0) to the Octagon at UFC 96 (March 7th, Columbus). A former NCAA wrestling champion at Oklahoma State and current protege of Urijah Faber, Munoz scored first-round TKO victories in his last two fights, against Ricardo Barros at WEC 37 last month and Chuck Grigsby at WEC 34 in June. Hamill most recently defeated Reese Andy by second-round TKO at last month’s UFC 92.

— Randy Couture will most likely face Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in his next fight, but not until the second half of this year. Couture had to undergo surgery recently to remove a pair of abnormally large bone spurs from his elbow, which means he’ll be out rehabbing for a while.

UFC Primetime on Spike

If you’re watching this preview of "UFC Primetime" — the 24/7 type show that the UFC has put together to hype the Georges St. Pierre-B.J. Penn fight — and thinking that it looks like the best piece of MMA promo you’ve ever seen, you’re probably right.  Our good buddy Ariel Helwani has been working on it and he swears we’ll like what we see when the first episode premieres this Wednesday night, so don’t miss it.

UFC 93 video blog, episode 2 – Watch more free videos

Here’s the next installment in Dana White’s UFC 93 video blog, where the UFC prez and Rich Franklin commiserate over England’s shitty food, Dana confronts Dan Henderson on his perceived shit-talking, and more fun with the British TUF 9 tryouts.  Man, that Dana White sure loves his Guitar Hero, doesn’t he?  Guess you need something to do when you spend so much time traveling, and it’s either that or read fucking books.

(You’re never too old for toys. Courtesy of the good people at Round 5.)

Okay, we’ve heard just about enough from you people about how great you are at predicting fight outcomes.  It’s time to step up and put the reputation of your assumed internet identity where your mouth is, and maybe even take home a sweet prize in the process.  Here’s how:

First, head on over to this thread in our (free/easy-to-use/totally awesome) Cage Potato forums.  Then make your picks for each of the ten scheduled bouts at UFC 93.  For each fight pick the winner, round, and method (note: please choose from submission, TKO, or decision. No need to specify type of submission, of differentiate between TKO and KO, but simply saying "Henderson by ownage, R1" will earn you nothing more than the disdainful mockery of your peers).

Each correct pick is worth one point, though you’re only eligible to receive points for round and method if you get the winner right.  Just to safeguard against the dreaded tie, also answer this tie-breaker question: what will be the ending time of the night’s fastest finish? (the closest without going over gets it)

And what do you stand to gain from this contest, other than mad respect?  We’re glad you asked…

(Hey, at least you’ll get to keep those totally sweet t-shirts…)

You may have completely forgotten about it because there’s been virtually no promotional push to speak of, but yes, Affliction will be holding its long-delayed sophomore MMA event just 12 days from now, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Fedor Emelianenko will face Andrei Arlovski, Josh Barnett will take on Gilbert Yvel, and very few people will be watching.

According to Bloody Elbow, only 1,400 tickets to "Day of Reckoning" had been sold as of last week. (FYI, the Honda Center can hold about 18,000 spectators.)   At first, Tom Atencio wouldn’t confirm or deny that figure, but now he’s saying that the ticket sales are comparable to last July’s "Banned" event, where over 6,000 tix had been sold three weeks before the show. CagePotato can neither confirm nor deny how full of shit Atencio’s public statements are.

So, a few things come to mind…

(Denis Kang: There can be only one. Photo courtesy of PrideFC.com.)

From international stars to local yokels, this Saturday’s UFC event in Dublin will feature another crop of fighters who will be scrappin’ in the Octagon for the first time. Read on, and you’ll know just as much as Mike Goldberg…

DENIS KANG (MW)
?Experience: 31-10-1 record, with 15 wins by submission and 12 by KO/TKO. Is the reigning Sprit MC heavyweight (80kg+) champion and was a finalist in PRIDE’s 2006 welterweight grand prix. Holds notable victories over Murilo Rua, Amar Suloev, Akihiro Gono, and Marvin Eastman.
Will be facing: Alan Belcher (13-5, 4-3 UFC)
?Lowdown: Chances are, you’re already familiar with “The Super Korean.” Kang became a consensus top ten middleweight (and superstar in Asia) after going on a 22-1-1 run from April 2003 to March 2007, but his momentum was stalled following back-to-back losses to Yoshihiro Akiyama and Gegard Mousasi. Still, the Canadian BJJ black belt is a huge acquisition for the UFC, and the most credible threat to Anderson Silva’s middleweight title since Dan Henderson. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time that the UFC has tried to bring Kang aboard; he was offered a spot on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, but turned it down in order to compete in Korea. Kang had previously trained with American Top Team in Florida, but has recently been working out in Montreal with Georges St. Pierre due to some visa issues which are close to being settled.

ALEXANDRE BARROS (WW)
?Experience: 13-5 record, primarily in Brazilian leagues like Heat FC, Meca, and the International Vale Tudo Championship. Currently on a nine-fight win streak. ?Ten of his 18 fights have gone to decision; one of those decisions was a loss to Matt Hughes in 2000.
Will be facing: Martin Kampmann (13-2, 4-1 UFC)
?Lowdown: Who knows, maybe “Baixinho” could pull a Junior Dos Santos, and score a dramatic win over an established UFC vet after being plucked from Brazilian obscurity. But most likely he’s just being brought in to give Kampmann a relatively easy first fight at welterweight. Judging from this highlight reel, the Gracie Barra Combat Team member is aggressive with his hands and likes to throw the head kick. Still, he hasn’t beaten anybody close to UFC caliber. We don’t predict big things.

(Props: BloodyElbow)

Though it won’t be televised in the U.S. for some inexplicable reason, the UFC taped a "Countdown" special for #93 that is airing in the U.K. on Setanta Sports and on UFC.com. Here’s part one, which covers the long-awaited meeting of Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson. 8:56-9:33 is pretty priceless; Ace seems to be taking interview cues from the Forrest Griffin school of deadpan humor. You can check out parts 2-5 on the UFC Direct Videos YouTube channel for more pre-fight trash-talk, as well as the origin story of Mauricio Rua and the improbable comeback story of Mark Coleman.   

(Props: TheGARV)

Even though TUF 9 still hasn’t locked down their Team U.S. coach, Dana White reveals in his new video blog that taping of the first two episodes is already kicking off at Wolfslair Academy. Also, this Wednesday will see the premiere of UFC Primetime, the hype-show for St. Pierre vs. Penn 2. (Also known as "The Baddest Motherfucking Countdown Show You Will Ever See.") Now that that’s out of the way, we can focus on the action — a wild, driving vs. walking race through the streets of Manhattan, Dana making an appearance at a SpikeTV conference (notice how unamused he looks when he’s introduced to the crowd with a highlight reel of him dropping F-bombs), editing of the aforementioned Primetime special, a visit to Pinkberry, and a glimpse inside Wolfslair before the elimination fights.

Bonus, after the jump: Mike Tyson’s ill-fated appearance as an MMA ref at a World Cage Fighting Championships event in March 2006. I have to say, that first stand-up due to inactivity on the ground might have been a little premature… 

(Is that an Under Armour coat?  Wouldn’t that be more like Outer Armour?  Or just Armour?  I’m confused.)

According to his official website, Matt Hughes has spoken with UFC matchmaker Joe Silva and agreed to a May 23 fight with rival Matt Serra in Las Vegas. 

Hughes stresses that the bout isn’t "100% confirmed" yet, but he’s up for it and as long as Serra can work off his pasta weight without reinjuring his back there’s no reason they can’t finally settle this feud.  And honestly, it’s about time.  There’s only so long you can put something like this off until everyone, including the fighters, forgets why there was so much animosity to begin with.

Hold on, you thinking what I’m thinking?  Maybe Spike TV could run a special reality series that follows Hughes and Serra as they share a studio apartment together somewhere off the Vegas strip in the weeks before the fight.  Just imagine the hilarity.  Hughes is trying to read his Bible in peace at the end of a long day of training, but Serra is in the kitchen blasting Frank Sinatra and making a pizza pie in his underwear.  And just think of what will happen when Hughes discovers that Serra has been squeezing the toothpaste from the middle of the tube!  Oh, these two will never get along.  At least that show couldn’t be any worse than Double Shot at Love.  It just couldn’t.

(It was going fine until the 1:57 mark. Then things get really uncomfortable.)

- Affliction can’t stop talking about how awesome they are. (Yahoo!)

- Thiago Silva is expecting a track meet against Lyoto Machida. (Tatame)

- Is the UFC phoning it in for UFC 93? (Fightlinker)

- Neil Grove to make UFC debut against Justin McCully. (Fighters Only)

- Tim Kennedy talks war and MMA. (Five Ounces of Pain)

- HIT Squad Dodgeball.  (Matt-Hughes.com)

- Rich Franklin trains for Dan Henderson. (MMA Mania)

- Gina Carano says she doesn’t get paid what you think. (AskMen.com)

- This is why you don’t run from the cops. (Break.com)

- 7 TV shows that really need to exist. (Screen Junkies)

- 10 things Tim Tebow should have put on his eye black. (Holy Taco)

- Skater owns bully. (Nothing Toxic)

- This is too adorable to ignore. (Hip to Code)

(Herb Dean applies some tricks he learned in his fraternity days on a choked-out War Machine.  Shhh, it’s okay, sweetie.  Photo courtesy of SI.com)

Everyone’s favorite MMA laughing stock, War Machine (the fighter formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver), has signed on to fight for Bellator Fighting Championships, the organization that will run on ESPN Deportes in the spring.  I’ll give you a moment to let that sink in…

Welcome back.  If you’re like me, your first reaction is one of sorrow.  War Machine is back, and will be fighting on TV, instead of slipping away into quiet obscurity.  But if you think about it a little more you’ll realize that this is truly a gift.

Even in his relatively short time on the national MMA stage, who has given us more laughs than War Machine?  His life, his worldviews, the zany situations he gets himself into thanks to his inability to control the ridiculous ideas bouncing around in his brain – it’s endlessly entertaining.  And now he’s going to be sticking around in Español!  Thanks, Bellator.

(UFC 97: Big Building vs. Lightning Bolt. Tickets now available at ConvolutedMetaphor.com.)

Hey, sorry we haven’t done t-shirt giveaways in a few weeks — that’s on us, player. But there’s been a lot of commenter brilliance happening lately, so let’s do this…

Lysol on "Rampage Pleads Guilty to Reckless Driving…": I want to see two guest lectures in the near future: The Importance of Sleep, Nutrition, and Exercise by Rampage Jackson and Black Belt Jiu Jitsu Grappling by Tank Abbott.

??? on "Kimbo Slice Has a ‘Boxing Machine’":
http://i713.photobucket.com/albums/ww133/CrushCo/Kimbo.jpg
[Ed. note: This comment somehow disappeared from the post, so we don't know who sent it in or what the exact setup was, but it was something along the lines of "Check out the prize I got from playing this game," and it was kind of amazing.]

John Kimble on "This Just In: MMA Is Finished, XARM to Take Over": Lyoto Machida and Kalib Starnes would be awful at this.

And finally, this idiot-savant-like exchange on our current poll:

If you happen to be any of these people (except for the multiple Anonymouses, because if you can’t come up with a clever screen-name, you’re ineligible to win) and you want a CagePotato "Hall of Fame" t-shirt, send your name, size, and address to feedback@cagepotato.com. And have a great day!

(Another otherwise-lovely photo ruined by red-eye. Props to JunieBrowning.com.)

TUF 8‘s man-you-love-to-hate is close to finalizing his next Octagon appearance. Junie Browning and TUF 5 castmember Cole Miller have reportedly agreed to face each other at UFC Fight Night 18 (April 1st, Nashville). Still a perfect 3-0 as a professional, Browning most recently submitted Dave Kaplan via armbar at last month’s TUF 8 finale, and has been trying to get his game tightened up at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Miller (14-3) is an American Top Team member who last fought at UFC 86 in July, where he choked out Jorge Gurgel. Sounds like a solid step up in competition for "The Lunatik" — will he rise to the challenge?

In other fight-bookin’ news…

— UFC Fight Night 18 will also host a middleweight bout between Ricardo Almeida and Matt Horwich, who are both coming off losses. Almeida dropped a split decision to Patrick Cote at UFC 86, while former IFL champion Horwich lost a decision to Dan Miller in his Octagon debut at UFC 90. As accomplished and talented as both fighters are, the loser might find himself without a contract.

— Junie Browning’s Team Mir drinking buddy Shane Nelson, who clawed out a split decision victory over George Roop at the TUF 8 finale, is being brought back to take on Aaron Riley at UFC 96 (March 7th, Columbus). Just like Cole Miller, Riley’s last appearance was also a win over Jorge Gurgel, at UFC 91 in November. Poor Jorge Gurgel.

(Respect the tights, or lose the fight.)

Man, you people do have inquisitive minds, don’t you?  Not only do you have a ton of questions, some of you even write whole, coherent paragraphs while asking them.  The least we can do is try and provide you with some answers in another edition of Ask the Potato.

Got a question of your own?  Head on over to the forums (particularly this thread) and let us know.  Go on, don’t be shy.  Remember your first-grade teacher, the one who said there’s no such thing as stupid questions?  Well she was just killing time until happy hour, so forget everything she told you. 

I hear so much about "The Best Pound-for-Pound" fighter. Is this really a legit "title" of worth or just a lot of "hooey"? Is it really, and I mean REALLY, a legit argument to crown someone the best PFP fighter? – Old, Bald, & Irish

Is it a lot of hooey (interesting word choice, OB&I)?  Yeah, basically.  Not only is it not an actual title in the sense that it can be won and defended, it’s also based on subjective judgments and is ultimately a pointless exercise.  But you know what else?  It’s fun.  So that’s why we keep doing it.

The concept of the pound-for-pound title is generally attributed to boxing observers who wanted a way to celebrate “Sugar” Ray Robinson’s greatness.  He was a middleweight, and the boxing world has always revolved around the heavyweights, even more so back then.  So they started calling Robinson the pound-for-pound best boxer, mostly as a way of giving him the credit they thought he deserved.

In the MMA world, we don’t have the same problem.  We love all our fighters, and not just the big boys.  But we keep the concept alive because it gives us something to argue about, and because – much like chaos moves toward order and order toward chaos – the day we created weight classes was also the day we started trying to imagine what it would be like without them.  

In other words, don’t take it too seriously.  Pound-for-pound rankings are more a thought experiment than anything else.  And we all know Anderson Silva wins any p4p argument, anyway.

im a Norifumi Yamamoto and Shinya Aoki fan. is there any possiblity that they’ll fight in the US and i was wondering if ufc (aoki) and wec (yamaoto) are interesed in them when their contracts are up. and also when are their contract r up? – eat my buns

“Who knew that not sleeping and not eating could mess with your mental state?” says “Rampage” Jackson in this post-guilty plea interview with the OC Register.  

If you had asked me that question before this incident, my answer would have been: everybody.  Everybody on the face of the earth knows that not sleeping and not eating will cause you both physical and mental problems, up to and including death.  After seeing this video, however, I realize I would have been wrong to say that, because at least one person had to find out the hard way.

In this video from Bad Boy, "Shogun" Rua gets his train on in preparation for his bout with Mark Coleman at UFC 93 next weekend.  At least in the gym, this looks more like the old Shogun we all knew and loved, the Grand Theft Title-era Shogun, if you will.  Now we just have to wait and see if that transfers into the Octagon after so much time off.

(Photo courtesy of MMA Weekly.)

It came as no surprise to MMA fans when Mark Coleman was inducted into the UFC’s Hall of Fame last March. After all, the former Olympic wrestler became the UFC’s first-ever heavyweight champion when he defeated Dan Severn at UFC 12 in February 1997, and his legendary career has also seen him win PRIDE’s 2000 Grand Prix and score victories over the likes of Don Frye (twice), Ricardo Morais, and Mauricio Rua. What was surprising was that at 43 years of age, Coleman announced he was returning to the Octagon, and would take on the hulking Brock Lesnar in his first fight back.

Though that match was scrapped when Coleman suffered a knee injury, Coleman is now fully recovered and will begin the next chapter of his career at UFC 93 on January 17th — just over ten years after his last UFC appearance. He’ll also be competing as a light-heavyweight for the first time, in a rematch against Mauricio Rua. (Infamously, their first fight ended with a broken arm and a foot on Wanderlei Silva’s neck.) We caught up with The Hammer to talk about the mental challenges of MMA, his gameplan for the fight, and what may be in store for the future…

***

CAGEPOTATO: Hey Mark, thanks so much for taking the time to speak with me. What have you been up to this week?
MARK COLEMAN: Just trying to keep myself together mentally and emotionally. It’s getting close to the fight, and at least half this sport is mental so I’m trying to stay strong. Physically, I feel fine; training went well, and I just gotta get through a few more practices and I’ll be ready to go.

Could you tell us more about those mental and emotional challenges that come up before a fight?
Just in general, it’s a tough sport. It’s the most demanding sport in the world, so you gotta keep the warm-up doubt out, you gotta stay mentally strong, you gotta believe in yourself, stay confident, because if you don’t believe in yourself, you don’t stand a chance. But I believe I can do this. I put in a lot of hard work, and I plan on winning the fight.

Would you say your health is 100%, or is your knee injury from last year still somewhat of an issue?
No, the MCL healed up 100%, it’s not a problem.

This is the first time you’ll have to cut weight for an MMA match. How much of a challenge will that be for you, and how are you making it happen?
Surprisingly, it’s not going to be as difficult as I thought. Right now I’m just a little under 220 pounds. I had a very strict diet combined with hard training, and the weight came off pretty good. I don’t anticipate there being a problem making weight. I don’t think I lost too much strength, and I’m very pleased with that as well.

You’ve said that you’ll have a strength advantage on Shogun. Does that mean your plan will be to outwrestle him?

(Who could forget Roger’s haunting performance as Edward Wooferhands? Image courtesy of Orion Car Audio.)

Shocking news from Sherdog: UFC lightweight star Roger Huerta has turned down a five-fight contract extension in order to pursue a career in acting and modeling. "El Matador" has one more fight on his current contract, which he plans to fulfill sometime this year, and may eventually return to the UFC. But for the time being, his interests lie elsewhere:

(Photo courtesy of JacksonsMMA.com)

Greg Jackson wants to get one thing straight: he did not start the nipple tweak.  He doesn’t endorse it and doesn’t seem to understand it any more than the rest of us, and frankly he’s getting a little tired of being associated with the idea of grown men pinching their own nipples on TV.  And yet, as long as his fighters keep winning with it, he’s resigned to the fact that it may not be going anywhere.

This is just one of the fascinating topics we covered in our exclusive talk with trainer Greg Jackson.  Read on and see what else he had to say.

CagePotato.com: Thanks for talking with me Greg.  I know you must be busy with so many different guys fighting in different organizations.  Tell me, what’s a typical month like for you?  Like the next thirty days, who have you got fighting?

Well let’s see, in the next thirty days we’ve got Donald Cerrone fighting in the WEC in San Diego, and then immediately after that we’ve got Georges St. Pierre defending his title against BJ Penn in Vegas on the 31st, and the after that I don’t have anyone until Nate Marquardt fighting in England on February 21st.  After that it heats up again in March.

Does it ever get hard to keep track of so many different guys and their different game plans and strategies?

It’s my job.  It’s like anything.  If you’ve got a long day ahead of you, you’ve got a long day.  I don’t do anything else.  I don’t manage.  I just train guys and make sure they’re following their own personal growth plan and at the same time that they’re training specifically for their opponent.  That’s all I do all day long.  Sometimes it seems overwhelming, like when I step back and realize I’ve got eleven different game plans working, but as long as I take it one at a time it’s not a big deal.

B.J. Penn keeps insisting that the only reason he lost to GSP the first time was because he gassed out, and says that won’t happen again.  What do you think when you hear some of the stuff he says?

Hey, alright! A big thanks to everybody who signed up for our forums to compete in this week’s caption contest. And special thanks to the few of you who were actually funny. Here are the five people who scored subscriptions to Fight! Magazine:

Lethal Infection: John Coffey appears to be losing his touch.

homyluv: Call me Picachu again bitch!!!!!

milo bling: only the japanese would let an inexperienced cartoon character compete in the ring. kinnikuman shouldn’t be in there either.

Kevinhfry: Moments later, Bruce Willis burst in with a Katana.

omfgdommy: DONT FORGET TO CHECK YOUR TICKETS! WE WILL BE GIVING AWAY A FRESHLY PISSED IN PAIR OF PANTIES BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND ROUND!!

Lovely. If you’ve won, please shoot your real name and address to feedback@cagepotato.com. No Greg Kellying allowed.

(We know what you’re going to ask, and the answer is "very well, and on a big pile of money.")

Breakin’ news from from The OC Register:

(When you absolutely, positively need someone who will poke you repeatedly in the eye, there really is no substitute.)

While there are any number of reasons why an athletic commission might not license Gilbert Yvel (he is, after all, one of MMA’s most despicable people), it seems as if the CSAC is going to let him fight.  They’ve cleared him to apply for a license, which basically means that all he has to do pass medicals and not pull an Aleks Emelianenko and get himself benched at the last minute.  

But just in case Tom Atencio says he has “people in line if it doesn’t work out."

Trouble is, finding a credible replacement to face someone like Josh Barnett isn’t the same as finding someone to go against Paul Buentello in an undercard fight.  There you could just call up Gary Goodridge and nobody would feel as though they’d lost out.  In the case of Barnett, you’ve got to get a high-level replacement in order for the fight to feel like anything other than a consolation prize or premeditated ass-whipping.  

Atencio wouldn’t say who he has lined up, but whoever it is can’t be a serious opponent for Barnett.  It would have to be someone with enough of an ‘I don’t give a fuck attitude’ to take that fight on short notice, and also someone who is a non-UFC heavyweight not already on the Affliction card, which rules out Paul Buentello, thank God.

Fortunately Affliction has set hopes low by giving Barnett someone like Yvel to begin with, but dammit, if we see “Big Daddy” Goodridge come shuffling out at the last minute again, whatever credibility Affliction has left will be destroyed just as surely as he will.

(Cane vs. Sokoudjou, round 2.)

According to MMABay.co.uk, UFC light-heavyweight Keith Jardine will take on Brazilian up-and-comer Luis Cane at UFC 97 (April 18th, Montreal). "The Dean of Mean" is 3-2 in his last five Octagon appearances, with big wins over Brandon Vera, Chuck Liddell, and Forrest Griffin, and big losses against Wanderlei Silva and Houston Alexander. Cane most recently beat down Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at UFC 89 in October, and scored a first-round TKO win over Jason Lambert before that at UFC 85. All of Cane’s nine victories have come via stoppage, and his only loss was due to disqualification.

Sounds like solid matchmaking to us. A win for Cane would establish him as a serious contender in the UFC’s 205-pound division, while a win for Jardine would re-build his momentum and give him back-to-back victories for the first time since 2006. Keith hasn’t fared well against aggressive strikers in the past — but then again, he’s got that nipple-tweak thing going for him, so maybe this one’s already in the bag.

At this point, no matches for UFC 97 have been officially announced, though a middleweight title fight between Anderson Silva and Thales Leites is very likely.

(Shoulda worn the invincibility tights, Eddie.)

Alessio Sakara, who most recently scored his first win as a middleweight by knocking out Joe Vedepo at UFC Fight Night 15 in September, has been forced to pull out of his Fight Night 17 match against UFC newcomer Jake Rosholt due to an unspecified injury. Replacing "Legionarius" will be Dan Miller, who is 2-0 in the UFC (with wins over Rob Kimmons and Matt Horwich) and 10-1 overall. Rosholt has won all five of his professional bouts by stoppage, and last appeared at WEC 36 in November where he defeated Nissen Osterneck via second-round TKO. The Miller/Rosholt bout is still slated for the undercard of the UFC Fight Night 17 lineup.

In other injury news, top-ten lightweight Eddie Alvarez will no longer be able to headline Extreme Challenge’s "War at the Shore" event on January 23rd in Atlantic City; Alvarez was scheduled to take on ZST/UFC vet Naoyuki Kotani. Unsurprisingly, ligaments in Alvarez’s knee are "looser than they should be" after being heel-hooked by Shinya Aoki at Dynamite!! 2008 on New Year’s Eve. We hate to say it, but it serves Eddie right; booking a fight less than 30 days after you’re scheduled to face Aoki is the kind of pride that goeth before the fall, so to speak. The Alvarez/Kotani fight will likely be scheduled for a later date, and Extreme Challenge is working on putting together a new headlining bout for the Atlantic City event. Alvarez is still under contract for one more fight with DREAM, and will enter Bellator Fighting Championships’ lightweight tournament in April, which will be broadcast weekly on ESPN Deportes.

Unrelated, but Important: Our current Fight! Magazine caption contest ends in about five hours. Get in your last entries ASAP!