Brock Lesnar is quickly becoming the hunting world’s most terrifying pitchman. First there was his battle-cry for Fusion Ammo, which resulted in the unfortunate death of training partner Chris Tuchscherer. Now there’s the above promo for Wildlife Research Center’s Scent Killer 99%, which vows to smash human odor just as well as Brock smashes heavy bags. We can’t help wondering if Lesnar simply yelling about the product was the most effective way to go. If Scent Killer really works, why not have Brock go through an hour-long workout, spray him down with the stuff when he’s done, then put him in an enclosed room with a blindfolded grizzly bear? I don’t hunt, but I feel I’d pick up a bottle of Scent Killer just out of respect.

After the jump, Brock has a special message for Dana White…

When Joe Rogan declared the beginning of “the Machida Era” at UFC 98, the Dragon became just the latest in a string of dominant fighters who have defined MMA and its development with their unique styles. In this sport, there always seems to be one or two guys who are way ahead of the pack, just waiting for everybody else to catch up. So we decided to go back and recreate MMA’s historical timeline by “era” — starting with you know who…

The Royce Gracie Era: November ‘93 – April ‘95

If the first UFC events were “infomercials for Gracie Jiu Jitsu," then Royce Gracie was the mothafuckin’ Slap Chop. Among all the dojo theorists and tough guys of dubious origin in the brackets at UFC 1-4, Royce was the only one who knew how to finish a fight in the real world, thanks to the grappling system his family had been honing for decades. And when martial arts enthusiasts saw the nondescript gi-clad fighter control opponents from his back and submit them with an arsenal of choke-holds and arm-locks, it was love at first sight.

Famously, the 170-pounder was chosen over his older, larger, and more intimidating-looking brother Rickson to represent the Gracie family in the UFC because Royce’s success would prove that a smaller man could beat larger ones through proper technique. Though Royce would take a five-year break from competition after his tedious 36-minute draw against Ken Shamrock at UFC 5, he’d fulfilled his objective by then: America had learned the Gracie name, and the BJJ phenomenon had officially begun.

(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

You can pretty much skip past the first nine minutes of Dana White’s latest WEC blog, in which DW talks to reporters, puts on a seatbelt for the first time in his life ("It doesn’t feel good!"), bitches about his schedule to Coach Rashad Evans, and talks charity with Al Bernstein. The real important stuff comes at the end, where we get a closer look at Dana White as a father. Basically, he treats his sons like he treats his employees — busting their little balls and putting the shock pen on them when they’re not paying attention. (There’s a great "David After Dentist" moment at 9:12, where one of his boys says "I hate that shock pen! It scares the crap outta me! It feels like I’m a dead man now!") Anyway, those kids will grow up to be very well-adjusted, I’m sure of it.

After the jump: With all the nuthugging we’ve been doing on Mike Brown lately, you may have forgotten that there’s another guy in the main event of Sunday’s WEC show. In this video feature, Urijah Faber talks about his motivation to get revenge on Brownie and his preparation for their rematch. As for this gameplan this time out? "I may try to catch him with that same elbow again," Faber says.

(Those are the Chinese characters for "best" and "eva." Photo courtesy of Strikeforce.)

The idea of a spiritually grounded Phil Baroni kind of freaks us out, to be honest. But the NYBA you knew as a young, brash, self-destructive middleweight is gone, and in his place is an older, wiser, fired-up welterweight who won’t quit until he’s a world champion. With his fight against Joe Riggs scheduled for the main card of Saturday’s Strikeforce show, we called Phil yesterday to chat about sex, steroids, destiny, being reborn at 170, and what he really wants to be remembered for…

***

CAGEPOTATO.COM: So I’ve been watching some of your recent interviews — do you really believe that not having sex helps your athletic performance? I thought that was just some bullshit myth.
PHIL BARONI: Yeah, I believe it. I know it to be a fact, man, especially when it comes to taking punches. You take punches better when you abstain from, ah…punching your own loads out.

How do you explain the science behind that?
Aw man, I’m not a scientist. It makes you fuckin’ mean, I’ll tell you that much. I’m lean and mean right now. It fuckin’ works. You don’t think so, then don’t do it — you’re not a fighter anyway, so who cares?

Don’t you think your wife’s needs should come before your job?

Props to MMA Fanhouse for turning us on to the new-ish feature on Wanderlei Silva’s YouTube channel called "Old School Video Series," in which the Axe Murderer tells the stories behind his early fights in Brazil before showing us the classic carnage. It’s kind of like a vale tudo version of VH1 Storytellers. Above is the first installment, in which a 20-year-old Wanderlei Silva enters his first eight-man tournament to earn money for his new daughter, and leaves with a broken hand, a broken nose, no prize money whatsoever — and his first knockout victory. After the jump: Wandy’s second fight against Marcelao Barbosa ends abruptly due to shoulder-injury, but at least he actually gets paid for it. By the way, if anybody can explain the weird sound effect that comes at the 2:18-2:19 mark of that vid, please, by all means. (Is it possible that he has his large intestine miked up?)

(He’s got comedic timing, too.)

Mike Thomas Brown destroyed the myth of the unbeatable Urijah Faber with his upset knockout victory at WEC 36 last year, but respect (and until recently, money) have still been hard to come by for the American Top Team featherweight.  With the rematch now just a couple of days away, Brownie talks paydays, fame, and beating the oddsmakers in our one-on-one chat with the WEC 145-pound champ.

CagePotato.com: A lot of people seem like they’re still not buying you as the real WEC featherweight champ.  Do you feel like you still need to prove that your win over Faber wasn’t just a fluke?

MB: No, I think I’ve proved it now.  I mean, I read a lot on the internet, people saying it was a fluke and all that.  But I think when I beat Garcia pretty quickly too, and almost in the same way since I hurt him with the right hand and then finished him off, then it was basically like a replay.  That showed it wasn’t a one-time deal, that I could do this to good guys.  Leonard had never been finished before so I was proud of being able to put him away.

(The fact that Faber got KTFO’d by Brown last time just means he’s due for a win, right? Photo courtesy of ESPN.)

If Saturday’s Strikeforce matchups seem a little too unpredictable for you to throw some money down, may we suggest taking your mortgage payment disposable entertainment income and wagering it on Sunday’s WEC event instead? There might be some "sure things" to be found here — and when you bet on smaller fighters, they appreciate it more. Check out these odds from our new friends at MMA Moneyline and let’s see if we can’t get daddy his proverbial new pair of shoes:

Urijah Faber (-115) vs. Mike Brown (+120)
Jose Aldo (-360) vs. Cub Swanson (+300)
Donald Cerrone (-400) vs. James Krause (+450)
Josh Grispi (-150) vs. Jens Pulver (+130)
Manny Gamburyan (-225) vs. John Franchi (+200)
Rafael Rebello (-110) vs. Kyle Dietz (-110)
Mike Campbell (-275) vs Anthony Pettis (+260)
Scott Jorgensen (-145) vs. Antonio Banuelos (+135)
Frank Gomez (-140) vs. Noah Thomas (+135)
Seth Dikun (-115) vs. Rolando Perez (-110)

Okay, you want our advice?

Sources have confirmed to MMA Junkie that the rumored bout between returning welterweight contender Frank Trigg and perennial threat Josh Koscheck will indeed take place at UFC 103 (September 19th, Dallas); bout agreements have been sent out are expected to be signed shortly. Though his last two UFC appearances resulted in first-round rear-naked choke losses to Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre, Trigg is now on a four-fight win streak, including wins over Edwin Dewees and Falaniko Vitale. Koscheck is coming off an upset knockout loss against Paulo Thiago to UFC 95 in February, and needs a win to still be considered one of the best 170-pounders in the division.

UFC 103 will come just three days after UFC Fight Night 19 (September 16th, Oklahoma City), which will serve as a lead-in to the season premiere of For the Love of Kimbo.

In other fight-booking news…

(My God, the animosity between these two. It’s like the entire room could burst into flames at any moment.)

MMA fans have a full dance-card this weekend, with Strikeforce putting on a stacked Showtime event on Saturday night (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT), and the WEC following it up on Sunday night with a show on Versus headlined by featherweight champion Mike Brown’s second meeting with Urijah Faber (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT). Be sure to come back here Saturday night for the Strikeforce liveblog — and get psyched for the whole shebang by reading the latest installment of the longest-running MMA argument on the Internet. Ben vs. Ben starts right now…

Brett Rogers says he wants to stand and bang with Andrei Arlovski on Saturday. That sounds like a horrible idea for "The Grimm," given that Arlovski is just as big and strong as he is but with much more technical striking. Does Rogers stand a chance with that strategy, or is he an unconscious man walking at this point?

BG: WTF? Is Rogers supposed to take Arlovski down and sub him out with his battle-tested Grimjitsu? I’m not trying to hate on Brett’s ground game, because none of us have actually seen it; he’s a brawler, and thus far he’s only had to face other brawlers. Arlovski, on the other hand, actually has some submission skills in his back pocket. So while we know that Rogers will be fighting an uphill battle on Saturday night, I’d say his odds decrease even further if the fight goes anywhere else besides stand-and-bangville.

Brett’s only shot is to stick to his bread-and-butter and swing those hamhocks. The fact that Arlovski’s hands are far more technical means that the Grimm will probably get picked apart. But Arlovski’s unreliable chin makes him vulnerable to what Rogers brings into the cage. That’s what makes this fight compelling for me: Brett Rogers definitely should not be able to beat Andrei Arlovski — but he just might.

BF: With regard to the submission skills in Arlovski’s back pocket, I hope your finger slipped and you really meant to type ‘submission skill.’ As in, his straight achilles lock. That’s all the dude’s got on the mat and he goes to it like it’s his signature killer move, so let’s not pretend that there any Arlovski-platas in the near future.

TUF 9.10, Osipczak vs. Johnson – Watch more Funny Videos

It’s time to pick TUF 9‘s semi-final matchups, and while this could have been another opportunity for an argument, Bisping and Henderson are pretty much on the same page. They’d like to see Cameron/Ross and Jason/Andre in the lightweight bracket, and James/Demarques and Nick/Frank for the welterweights. The fighters are asked who they want to take on. James wants Damarques and Damarques wants James. ("I want to hurt his feelings.") Nick wants Frankie and Frankie wants Nick. Ross wants Jason, but Jason wants Andre, and Andre is "happy to fight eeva."

Cameron breaks ranks and brings up his teammate Jason Dent as the guy he’d like to fight. He tries to backtrack, but the seed has already been planted in Dana’s head. DW suggests putting teammates against each other in the semis. "Fuck that, no way," Bisping says. Then, echoing the thoughts of every Internet message board conspiracy theorist: "What so you can guarantee one of each in the finals?…I think we have the stronger team and you’re worried that you’ll have an all-UK final."

(If Arlovski comes in with the same game plan as that big-ass tire, at least we know Rogers will be ready for him.)

There are exactly two indicators that something is important in contemporary American society: 1) there is a commemorative plate about it, and 2) you can bet on it.  Don’t believe me?  Then just consider two of the most important things happening in MMA this week – the Strikeforce event on Showtime this Saturday night, and the “Ultimate Fighter” Kimbo-mania that has set the internets on fire. Kimbo Slice is currently a +275 underdog to make it into the final two on this season of TUF.  The fact that there’s even a line this early on tells you what a big deal it is.  Still waiting on that commemorative plate, though.

Of course, if you like something closer to immediate gratification, you can just choose from these lines on Saturday’s Strikeforce fights, courtesy of BestFightOdds.com:

Jake Shields (-115) vs. Robbie Lawler (-105)
Brett Rogers (+300) vs. Andrei Arlovski (-340)
Joe Riggs (+105) vs. Phil Baroni (-115)
Scott Smith (+300) vs. Nick Diaz (-310)
Kevin Randleman (-110) vs. Mike Whitehead (+105)
Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (-370) vs. Mike Kyle (+300)

The breakdown…

(Props: Rob Hustle on the UG)

Remember when identifying yourself as a karate black belt used to mean something, back before MMA came along and changed all that and way back before Lyoto Machida came along and changed it again?  Well, years from now we will look back on this moment from NBC’s "I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!" and think to ourselves, ‘Now that was the exact moment when the public lost respect for the jiu-jitsu black belt.’ 

(Props: CageWriter)

How true, Sugar. Here’s more footage from yesterday’s TUF 10 media day, in which Rashad Evans talks about his loss to Lyoto Machida. Mentally, it seems that Evans was defeated before he even stepped into the cage at UFC 98. He says he wasn’t prepared to deal with the demands of being a champion; he was getting his ass kicked in practice and couldn’t do anything about it, and was even losing fights in his dreams. Then, Steve Cofield digs in that ass with a barb about how Rashad didn’t use his wrestling, and Rashad kinda sorta almost blames Greg Jackson for the loss (but not really).

He also says Forrest Griffin could give Machida problems, insists that the Dragon doesn’t really hit hard, and describes the bizarre sensation of being knocked out while fully awake. In case you were wondering, Sugar’s last words in the fight were "Man, you hit like a b—"

(Props: "ZzFDKzZ" on the UG)

Holy crap, you guys…this is really happening.

TUF 10 is scheduled to premiere September 16th, directly following UFC Fight Night 19.

Ariel Helwani with the monumental scoop:

(Props: Cage Writer)

Things haven’t exactly panned out for Affliction in the MMA promoting business.  They’re closing in on their third show in a little over a year’s time and they have yet to figure out how to gets fans in the arena without paying ridiculous fighter salaries that almost guarantee they’ll take a loss on the event.  So what do they do to improve the old bottom line?  They go back to what they know best: gaudy, overpriced t-shirts. 

But apparently Affliction feels they’ve accomplished all they can in the field of pro fighting, and they’re now moving on to the NFL.  What you see above there is the Washington Redskins “Affliction Warrior tee.”  Yes, they are seriously trying to sell that for $31.99.  And yes, we realize that’s actually a price cut for Affliction gear.  Are NFL Affliction t-shirts bound to be the next big thing in pro football sports apparel?  We’re going to go out on a limb here and say no.  Here are three good reasons why:

(You know who gets no play from the ladies, Bob?  A loser, that’s who.)

The New York State Assembly’s Tourism, Arts, and Sports Development Committee finally voted on bill A02009 this morning – known to you jokers as the thing to move MMA towards legalization in New York State – and it passed with a 14-6 vote.  The bill has been referred to the Codes Committee for another vote, which means MMA is now closer to being sanctioned in New York than ever before. 

(Marcus Jones vs. Eduardo Boza, 11/10/07)

Though the UFC is keeping the cast of TUF 10 under wraps for the most part, MMA Junkie is reporting that four of the 16 heavyweight hopefuls did time in the NFL before taking up fighting. Here’s a cheat sheet:

Marcus Jones: First-round draft pick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1996; spent six seasons as a defensive tackle, then moved to the Buffalo Bills for two years but didn’t play in the regular season. Training out of Gracie Tampa with Rob Kahn, the 35-year-old made his professional MMA debut in October 2007, and now holds a 4-1 record, with all fights ending in the first round.

In this CageWriter video from an Ultimate Fighter media day held yesterday in Las Vegas, UFC prez Dana White gives a few more details about the signing of Kimbo Slice and his future with the organization. Notably, Dana repeats his assertion that Kimbo’s TUF contract will be the same as everybody else’s, but adds that it will be "a lot fucking different" if he actually wins the show. He refutes the theory that Kimbo will be protected in any way in the matchups or saved for the later episodes, and says that theoretically he could be picked first to fight. Also, Icey Mike is one of the smartest guys he’s met in this business, apparently.

After the jump: Quinton Jackson says he doesn’t trust his temper around Rashad Evans and hopes he can get through TUF 10 without going to jail. Plus, day 2 of Dana White’s WEC 41 blog, in which DW tries to get predictions on the Faber/Brown match from some of his fighters — like many casual MMA fans, Wanderlei Silva and Rampage aren’t even aware that it’s happening — then Dana tries one of those soul handshakes with Rashad and calls him "homey."

(Some say Goldberg had a legit sexual harassment claim after what happens in the 0:49 mark in this interview, but clearly he was asking for it walking in there dressed like that.)

The war of words between Strikeforce fighters Joe Riggs and Phil Baroni this week seemed to promise an interesting encounter on today’s media conference call to promote Saturday night’s Strikeforce event on Showtime.  The only problem is that Riggs failed to pick up a phone in time, so Baroni was left alone with Jake Shields and the notoriously tight-lipped Robbie Lawler to do all the talking.  Fortunately Baroni had prepared all his life for just such a moment.

Some highlights from the NYBA:

(Check the sweater/sport coat combo.  If Cliff Huxtable were white, humorless, and utterly incapable of reason, he’d be this man.)

Tomorrow, June 3, is a big day for those of us who have been following the cause of MMA in New York State, because the State Assembly’s Tourism, Arts, and Sports Development Committee is set to vote on whether to move forward with allowing MMA to be regulated.  The most vocal opponent of our beloved sport is, of course, Assemblyman Bob Reilly.  We’ve attempted to understand the man’s arguments and tried to get him to explain his opposition in a semi-coherent fashion, and all we’ve come away with is a headache and disdain for self-righteous track coaches everywhere. 

But as the vote draws near and Reilly’s moment in the national spotlight comes to a close, it seems as if his reasoning is getting somehow shakier, if you can believe it.  With that in mind, it seems only fitting to recap some of Reilly’s favorite logically unsound arguments, just so we know what we’re up against tomorrow.

(Props: YouTube.com/TRIGGZINC via TheGarv)

When it was announced that Triggonomics brand-manager Frank Trigg was returning to the UFC after a four-year absence, we had a lot of questions — like who his first opponent would be, and when exactly he’d be fighting, and had he picked out his next weigh-in outfit yet. Well, we still don’t have specifics, but in this enlightening video blog recorded Sunday, Twinkle Toes tells us the following:

— He’d rather crash and burn against top-ranked opponents then face lesser-known guys, and he decided to return to the UFC because every top welterweight other than Jake Shields fights there.

(Jorge Santiago gets to his feet after choking out Kazuo Misaki in the fifth round of their title fight at Sengoku no Ran 2009, while UFC superfan Satoshi Ishii [bottom left] tries to comprehend what the hell he just witnessed. Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

After racking up five-straight wins in Sengoku and earning the promotion’s middleweight belt, American Top Team fighter Jorge Santiago will be making his U.S. return at Affliction’s third event on August 1st. MMA Weekly has confirmed that the top-ten-ranked 185′er — who has gone 9-0 since leaving the UFC in 2006 — will collide with Vitor Belfort in a match that’s expected to be on "Trilogy"’s main card.

Formerly a light-heavyweight competitor in the UFC, PRIDE, and Cage Rage, Belfort has gone 2-0 as a middleweight in Affliction, with knockout victories over Terry Martin (at "Banned" last July) and Matt Lindland (at "Day of Reckoning" in January). With this bout in place, the pay-per-view lineup for Affliction’s third and not final MMA event is looking pretty kickass. Get caught up after the jump…

Well that sure didn’t take long.  Less than twenty-four hours after we posted Joe Riggs’ comments about Phil Baroni’s past and possibly present steroid use, Baroni has fired back hard in an interview with Cage Writer’s Steve Cofield.  The steroid accusations make Baroni so mad that he comes back after his shower to talk more shit on Riggs, making an issue out of “Diesel’s” own history with drug use after saying that Riggs "crossed the line."  Combine that with the uncomfortable sexual remarks peppered throughout this video, and Baroni admitting that even he doesn’t know where his rants are going sometimes, and you have yourself just another fun day inside Xtreme Couture.

After the jump, Kimbo Slice makes his first appearance on a Dana White vlog, and we suddenly look like some real prescient motherfuckers up in this piece.

As promised yesterday, here is the full interview with Joe Riggs, who opens up about his past painkiller addiction, his ongoing attempts to get Jake Shields into the cage with him, and of course, the possibly “pharmaceutically enhanced” Phil Baroni who he’ll meet in Strikeforce on Showtime this Saturday night.

Cage Potato: Thanks for talking with me, Joe.  You’re fighting Phil Baroni this weekend, but I think we all know that’s not the fight you wanted.  You were pretty adamant about trying to get a fight with Jake Shields.

Riggs: Yeah, that was a fight that I’ve been trying to get for a couple years now and he’s managed to squeak his way out of it every time we were supposed to fight.  This time contracts were signed and everything was ready to go and he just wormed his way out of it.  He’s the type of guy who just wants to fight the fights where the match-ups are stylistically in his favor.  I think he also wants fights, like this one [against Robbie Lawler] where if things don’t go his way he has excuses.

(Relax, Mike — you can’t catch it just by touching him. Photo courtesy of myvegasscene.com.)

According to the Manchester Evening News, the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter: U.S vs. U.K. will be fighting for more than brgging rights during their clash at UFC 100.

(Props: CageWriter)

From Dana White’s appearance last night on the Carmichael Dave Show, in which DW discussed the Kimbo situation for the first time:

"We shot episode one today. He walked into the gym and was, ah…lemme tell you what, he was pretty serious. He wasn’t messing around, he wasn’t joking. He wasn’t laughing. I don’t think he’s a big Dana White fan, either. You know, how could you be after all the things that have gone back and forth? So we’re gonna find out this season if he’s for real or not…

I said a lot of things about this guy, and I’m gonna tell you now, just like I would, I’ve got nothing but respect for him. This guy stepped up and he wants to fight on The Ultimate Fighter. And he’s dead serious about winning this thing too."

(Immediately after reading the news, I searched for this music video on YouTube and cranked my speakers to maximum volume. All props to TheGarv.)

Oh sweet Jesus, thank you Jesus, my prayers have been answered. Yahoo! has the exclusive:

(Highlights from Playboy model LaTasha Marzolla’s MMA debut. Props: PureFight.org)

Xavier Foupa-Pokam’s stint with the UFC was almost as short as his time spent upright against Drew McFedries at UFC 98.  After suffering his second straight loss in as many fights “Professor X” has been cut from the organization and set adrift on the sea of free agency.  It’s a shame, considering the promise he showed in his pre-UFC fights, but the first-round TKO loss to McFedries was all the UFC needed to see in order to decide he wasn’t ready for the big time just yet. 

Speaking of McFedries, he got himself in hot water with his Miletich camp teammates by claiming that none of them were supporting him in the run-up to his UFC 98 bout.  Pat Miletich says that’s absolutely untrue, and it sounds like McFedries either needs to do some public apologizing or else find himself a new place to train.  MFS is brutal enough without having those guys genuinely pissed off at you.

In other MMA news…

(Baroni training at Xtreme Couture, looking ripped.)

Joe Riggs was expecting a fight with Jake Shields in Strikeforce this summer and didn’t take kindly to the news that he would be getting Phil Baroni instead, but talking with Riggs this afternoon he said his focus is now fully on Baroni, who he is expecting to be “pharmaceutically enhanced” when they meet in the Strikeforce cage on June 6.  While the “Diesel” stopped short of saying that Baroni was definitely on the juice, he did say that Baroni exhibits all the typical signs of a steroid user, from his physique to his performance on fight night.

“He always shows up in shape, looking shredded and puffed up, but I think he’ll be pharmaceutically enhanced, too.  Just because he doesn’t test positive for steroids doesn’t mean he’s not on them right now.”