(For the sake of perspective, let’s recall how "The Simpsons" has portrayed the boxing world in the past.)

Here’s a newsflash for you.  Remember that MMA-themed episode of “The Simpsons” that we were pleasantly surprised with, if only because it wasn’t as hackneyed and completely unfunny as every episode of the show for the last six or seven years has been?  Well, UFC president Dana White wasn’t laughing, and not just because he lacks the ability to find anything funny if it doesn’t involve someone getting shocked:

"I was disappointed," White says. "I think it was typical of people that don’t know anything about the sport. I know it’s for fun, but the second half of it really wasn’t even funny. …We like fighting.  But to make it sound like the UFC crowd is this bloodthirsty crowd that shows up and just want to see people get their (butts) kicked — that’s not true. That’s the stigma that the mainstream has of us. … The Simpsons program will show you how mainstream we’re not.” 

While it’s hard to argue with DW when he says that the portrayal of MMA and its fans on a cartoon comedy was a little reductive and not 100% accurate, it seems like he’s missing the point.  This is an over-the-top attempt at satire.  When “The Simpsons” does shows on anything – even mainstream sports like football or baseball – accurate representation is not the goal.  For instance, there’s this:

(Props: bigguvnor)

You have to hand it to British MMA fighters — what they lack in technique, they more than make up for in willingness to flail their arms around until someone gets knocked out. Like a pasty, heavyweight version of Sanchez vs. Guida, Ashley Pollard and Ian Hawkings gave the crowd what they paid for at Ultimate Challenge UK in August, slugging it out like two albino gorillas fighting over a female in estrus. Pollard eventually won when Hawkings’s natural instinct to run like hell got the better of him. Deal with it, Floyd Mayweather!

(Just to get you in the holiday spirit: Forrest Griffin as Supergirl, Seth Petruzelli as Kimbo Slice, Mauricio Rua as Fred Flintstone with Wanderlei Silva as a drunken gladiator, Arianny Celeste as a sexy schoolgirl, and three fat guys as the TapouT crew.)

Check this out, Potato Nation. Halloween is just two weeks from now, which means you’re probably scrambling to come up with a clever costume. But we all know that the streets are going to be jam-packed with Zombie Obamas and Pedobears. So we’re looking for your best MMA-themed Halloween costumes. They could be faithful renditions of well-known fighters, or references to more obscure moments in the sport. The only requirements are that they’re related to MMA in some way, and that they make us LOMFAO.

Come up with a unique concept, cobble it together using whatever you can steal from Party City*, and e-mail a photo of yourself to feedback@cagepotato.com. The winner will get a super-awesome prize package, the contents of which cannot be revealed at this time because we’re not sure what it’ll be yet. But trust us, it’ll be absolutely spooktacular. Here’s the thing, though: You must submit your entries by Thursday, 10/29, so that we can post the finalists on Friday. In other words, you won’t actually have to go out in public wearing your costume if you don’t want to, which is great news if you’re planning to dress up as Brock Lesnar’s Tattoo. Holler in the comments section if you have any questions, and good luck!

* Shoplifting is in no way endorsed by CagePotato.com or Break Media, but we all know times are tough, and we don’t expect anybody to drop a lot of cash on this contest when the return on investment could turn out to be an autographed 8×10 of Tim Sylvia.

(Tiki vs. Robbie Lawler @ UFC 40, 11/22/02. What? He just got cut. And Rasputin just got a little wet.)

If you were listening closely during last night’s episode of "The Ultimate Fighter," you might have heard Team Rampage assistant coach Tiki Ghosn commiserating in the locker room with a frustrated "Rampage" Jackson after yet another loss.  Tiki doesn’t exactly seem like he’s in the kind of friendship with Jackson that would allow him to question the coaching strategies that led them to this point, so instead he joined in on the bitch session by throwing his hands up and saying, "We can’t fight for them." 

That’s true.  The only problem is, Tiki has never won a fight in the UFC.  Not once in his eleven-year, 11-7 career.  He’s had four fights in the Octagon and lost them all.  He’s never even made it into the third round of a UFC fight, if we want to get technical.  That’s not to say that he necessarily sucks.  He did beat pop sensation Genki Sudo in his pro debut, and he’s currently riding a two-fight win streak.  But lest Tiki be allowed to go around disparaging the abilities of the Team Rampage UFC hopefuls as if he’s some kind of future hall of famer, we thought a little Tiki Ghosn career primer was in order.  Enjoy.

(Props: MMA Fanhouse)

Here we are, three weeks away from the big Fedor Emelianenko-Brett Rogers Strikeforce fight in Chicago, and CBS is starting to put some of its promotional muscle behind the event.  But here’s the problem: how do you hype a guy who most Americans have never heard of when he doesn’t speak much English and you don’t own any of his fight footage?  You basically have two choices: you can show him working out while flashing various quotes about how great he is, or you can film a commercial where he fights an entire pride of lions in the big cement pit behind Vadim Finkelchtein’s house.  For reasons that I’ll never quite understand, CBS has decided to go with the first option.  Whatever.  They’re the ones who’ll have to live with that regret.

Props to Fightlinker for turning us on to Mika Nagano, a 4-2 veteran of the Smackgirl and Jewels promotions in Japan. The 25-year-old fighter was an amateur grappling champion before turning to MMA, and has won her last three fights by armbar. She’s also quite a looker, and used her natural charm to promote her last Jewels fight with a semi-nude photo-shoot. Those pics (among many others) are after the jump; you can see a few more photos here and here.

Due to popular demand, we now bring you the second installment in our ongoing series: What Your Favorite Fighter Says About You.  This is where we do a little psychological profiling of MMA fans in an attempt to discover exactly what type of bloodsport-loving jerk you really are.  If you missed part one, do yourself a favor and check it out here.

NICK DIAZ

You grew up on the wrong side of the tracks.  The town that side of the tracks was located in was really not that bad, but still, you’re from the worst part of it and people need to recognize that.  You most likely finished high school or at least eventually got around to getting your GED, or maybe you got confused and did both.  One thing you are not confused about, however, is your personal policy of taking no shit off nobody.  This has led to numerous unnecessary fistfights, loud arguments with family members on various front lawns, and a lifetime ban from at least one bowling alley.  You don’t have a girlfriend, because bitches are always expecting you to go and do stuff with them, so forget that noise.  You probably work in a service industry establishment, but the goal of both you and your manager is to keep you from interacting with the customers at all costs, which is why you now work “in the back.”  You smoke a lot of weed, even though you have to take a drug test every six months.  You just get some pee from your ten-year-old cousin and outsmart those fuckers.  You absolutely love jam bands.
Your favorite fight: Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi

("What the hell he need the stool for?")

By now, anyone watching this season of “The Ultimate Fighter” has been forced to confront two questions: ‘Is “Rampage” Jackson the worst coach in the history of the show?’ and ‘Doesn’t that bother him?’  The former light heavyweight champ has been pretty mum about the show’s portrayal of him so far.  Instead he’s been busy feuding with Dana White and retiring from fighting in order to focus on his acting career, so it makes sense that he might not be sitting down with Tiki Ghosn and a bowl of popcorn every Wednesday to see how the show has turned out. 

But after last night’s episode again showed a disinterested ‘Page who can’t even be bothered to check on his unconscious fighter after the team’s fifth straight loss, Jackson took to his blog to issue a response:

Justin Wren vs. Wes Sims – Watch more Funny Videos
(The sad ending of Wren vs. Sims.)

Last night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter began with Matt Mitrione tweaking his shoulder while rolling with Titties. Back in his football days, he would just take a cortisone shot and get right back into action. But Rashad tells Matt that he ain’t getting no damn cortisone shot, because of the damage it’ll do in the long run. He’s just going to have to suck it up and deal.

Marcus Jones is itching to fight next, and asks Rashad — who still has control of the picks — to give him a match. Rashad keeps it mysterious, telling Big Baby he very well might be fighting next; who can say, really? Jones interprets it as a promise, and gets hyped up: "It was like I was cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, you know what I’m sayin’?"

Rampage is understandably bummed out by the fact that his team still hasn’t won a fight. Losing messes with Rampage’s sex life, which doesn’t need any more setbacks. The team practices aren’t doing much to encourage him, either. Zak Jensen is unable to perform a drill where he has to shimmy to the cage with a guy on top of him. He’s a good wrestler, apparently, but shuts down when he’s on his back; even Kimbo controls him from top position. Scott Junk says that Zak talked himself up so much when he first arrived at the house, but he’s just a "turd" at practice. Rampage won’t get his hopes up if Zak is picked to fight.

(It’s not a damn library, Mayhem. For the last time, buy something or get out.)

Strikeforce put Jake Shields and “Mayhem” Miller on a media conference call today in order to get one thing straight: you’d have to be a real jerk to miss their fight on the Nov. 7 Chicago event on CBS.  Okay, so they didn’t word it exactly like that, but Miller came close, saying that he can’t be blamed if MMA fans don’t watch because, “I’m Twittering, MySpacing and Facebooking. I’m out there. I might as well be spray painting about it on walls.”  When reached for comment about that last remark, Jeff Monson issued a prolonged, cold stare before slowly shaking his head and then disappearing into the night. 

This card also has that whole Fedor Emelianenko/Brett Rogers thing going on, but Strikeforce is drawing the heat where it can for right now.  Something about Fedor’s blank facial expressions and cryptic Russian phrases don’t translate well on conference calls, and Rogers is most likely trying not to give away any more vital parts of his game plan.  Instead, Scott Coker had to answer some hard questions about what’s going on with Strikeforce’s contracts, particularly with their champions (looking at you, Overeem).

Okay, so it’s not MMA-related, per se, but for those of us who grew up on the WWF — or in the 1980s in general — it’s a sad day indeed. Legendary pro-wrestling performer/manager Captain Lou Albano (born Louis Vincent Albano) died today in Mount Vernon, New York, at the age of 76; he had been in hospice care for several weeks, battling an undisclosed illness.

Albano was best known for his work with the WWF/WWE from 1983-1996, where he appeared as a Hawaiian-shirt wearing loudmouth with rubber-bands dangling from his trademark facial piercings, and managed a laundry list of pro wrestling stars. His crossover stardom hit a peak in the mid-80s when he forged a co-promotional partnership with pop star Cyndi Lauper, appearing in four of her music videos. (Our personal favorite is the extended clip for "Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough," shown above, which also featured over-the-top cameos by Roddy Piper, the Iron Sheik, Freddie Blassie, and Andre the Giant.) Later, Albano parlayed his fame into acting roles, and released an autobiography titled Often Imitated, Never Duplicated. Rest in peace, wildman…

("…moooooooorrrrrrrre brreeeeeaaaaaaasssssst miiiiiiiiilllllllk…")

Props to Fightlinker for unearthing this absolutely amazing baby picture of Brock Lesnar, proving once and for all that Lesnar arrived in this world enormous, ornery, and ready to consume everything in his path. (Not pictured: The tiny pacifier tattoo on his chest.) Check out that Krang-esque head-shape; my God, his poor mother. More awesome pics of MMA fighters as youngsters after the jump…

(Your problem now, Indiana.)

Well, this is probably a bad sign.  Just a week after being fired from the UFC for an assault arrest following what may or may not have been a suicide attempt, Junie Allen Browning is wasting no time getting back into action. The mercurial lightweight reportedly has a bout set for November 28 at MMA Big Show: Onslaught at the Belterra Casino in Florence, Indiana.  Browning will be taking on 1-0 Ohio-based fighter Scott Cornwell, and he’ll be doing it just across the state line from his hometown of Lexington, Kentucky.

According to MMA Big Show owner/promoter Jason Appleton, who wrote the website article in which he quoted himself, “’I’ve seen Junie fight in Louisville, KY back in the day as an amateur and he always put on a hell of a show. Him and his brother were always fun to watch,’ explains Jason Appleton.”

Yep, we’re just going to act like nothing unusual at all is going on here.  That always works out for the best.

(Time to fill out those work visa applications, girls.)

Give Strikeforce credit, now that they’ve become a major player in the MMA scene they’re busy filling the holes in their roster as quickly as they pop up.  Their most recent addition is All-American wrestler and flamboyant Sengoku terror, Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal.  Strikeforce has reportedly signed Lawal on to compete in their 205-pound division – also known as the weight class Gegard Mousasi is currently dominating – but he’ll also be able to keep fighting in Japan.  Does this mean Strikeforce is inviting another Alistair Overeem scenario, should Lawal some day become light heavyweight champ?  We’re going to go ahead and say no, based purely on the unfounded assumption that, as an attention-hungry American, King Mo would probably rather hold it down on the domestic scene than run off on a study abroad hiatus for two years. 

No word yet on who Lawal might face in his Strikeforce debut, but he could be ready to fight by December.  Maybe “Babalu” Sobral will be recovered from his own nightmare scenario at the hands of “The Dreamcatcher” by then?

(Photo courtesy of ABC News.)

You could see it on Anna Trebunskaya‘s face Monday night during judging — Chuck Liddell‘s plodding two-step was the last gasp of his Celebrity Dancing career. The show’s viewers made it official yesterday, voting the former UFC light-heavyweight champion off of Dancing With the Stars. Look, we all know how unfair that is — Louie Vito should have been the next to go, obviously — but in the end, Liddell finished the season in 11th place out of 16 competitors, beating out Ashley Hamilton, Macy Gray, Kathy Ireland, Tom DeLay (stoppage due to injury), and Debi Mazar. That’s pretty damn impressive for a guy who came into the show as a complete amateur. As Trebunskaya told Chris Cuomo on GMA today:

Despite Anna’s obvious bitterness, we’d like to salute Chuck for trying something highly challenging and potentially embarassing in order to promote his sport in front of an unfamiliar audience. And just because the Iceman has been voted off, that doesn’t mean we’ll stop covering DWtS. Come back next Tuesday morning to find out how Aaron Carter handled the Paso Doble!

(Props: Fighters Only via MMA Mania)

In his first public statement since being arrested for multiple assaults following an alleged suicide attempt, Junie Browning apologized for whatever went down that night, but suggested, of course, that people don’t know the full story. "Stuff gets a little more complicated than it seems to be when you read it on paper. I have a lot of problems and I’m working on them. That’s just about all I can really say…I’m truly sorry for what happened, and if I could take it back I definitely would." Browning thanked the fans for their support and the UFC for the opportunity he was given, and promised he’ll make it up to everybody one day. Get well soon, Lunatic.

As for Browning’s mentor Shawn Tompkins — who drove Junie to the hospital during his Klonopin bender — the highly respected striking coach is going through some life changes of his own…

(Props: ComingSoon.net)

As "Rampage" Jackson ponders a film career at the expense of a fighting one, he may want to take a look at Randy Couture‘s recent work in "The Expendables."  Granted, this is just the trailer, but Couture has all of one line in it (no action movie is complete without someone uttering, "We’ve got company"), and he doesn’t even get called out at the end with the rest of the crew.  Think of it as a glimpse into your future, ‘Page.  The MMA world may think of you as a star, but to the general movie-going audience you’re just another dude who works cheap and can act well enough in short bursts.

Other than that, thoughts on the trailer?  Sure, it looks formulaic and incredibly derivative, but part of the appeal of an action movie like this is that you know exactly what you’re going to get.  I swear, though, if I go see this thing and Jet Li gets to hack his way through more lines than Couture (who plays a character named "Toll Road"), I’m going to be seriously disappointed.

(Overeem’s last Strikeforce appearance, vs. Paul Buentello on 11/16/07.)

It’s no secret that Alistair Overeem isn’t exactly eager to come back to the U.S. to defend the Strikeforce heavyweight title that he won and then absconded to Europe with almost two years ago, but hey, maybe Brett Rogers’ recent shucking and ducking accusations might be enough to get him to consider putting that belt up for grabs again, right?  Wrong, sucka.  Very, very wrong.  Not only is Overeem not even going to respond to Rogers (sounds like someone else we know), he lets us all know straight up that fighting in Strikeforce is at the very bottom of his to-do list right now: 

During the press conference you said you will not comment on Brett Rogers words, but I need to ask again. This doesn’t bother you? Him talking the smack on the internet about you and how you’re not defending your Strikeforce title? 

I will not comment on this, I am very busy with K-1 right now, with all the fight I have there. When there will be time to meet in the ring he will see. For now, I will not comment. I am very busy these days, i have a fight in Glory, then in DREAM.12 and after that I’ll fight in the K-1 Finals so I am very busy with training and fighting and I don’t have time for this bullshit.

First of all, if you have time to give interviews where you talk about how you’re not going to talk about something, then you have time to issue a response.  I mean, if you really wanted to.  Second, and most importantly, Overeem’s list of upcoming engagements makes it very clear that Strikeforce is the least important obligation on his dance card, which ought to be just plain embarrassing for Scott Coker and the boys.  Like cleaning out the garage, he keeps saying he’ll get to it eventually.  And yet he makes no movement whatsoever to put his shoes on and get to work.

(So this is okay, but if the kangaroo sunk in a deep kimura, that would be inhumane? Got it. / Image courtesy of Worth1000.com.)

As first reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, the UFC could hold its first event in Australia early next year. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Australia may be at square one in terms of mainstream acceptance of the sport. Check out the SMH report and see if you can maybe detect a slight anti-MMA bias:

(Props: UFC)

Though he jacks up his shoulder on tomorrow night’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter, Matt "The Rat" Mitrione is still very much DTF (down to fight). In fact, he tries to convince Coach Rashad that he should be picked to fight next, despite his arm being in a Saran-Wrap cast. Rashad openly calls him "Meathead" now, and casts doubt on his injury. Meanwhile on Team Bumpage, Marcus "Big Baby" Jones is also impatiently awaiting his first match, and becomes convinced that he’ll be picked next. And look, we get a rare glimpse of Wes Sims trying to shake water out of his ear (I think?) as Jones walks past him at the 2:15 mark. The end of the promo still promises a Kimbo return, and vows that fight #5 ends in a "shock result no one saw coming." Rashad is shown crouching over one of his guys in the Octagon while others shout "wake up!" First double-knockout in TUF history?

After the jump: UFC old-schooler Oleg Taktarov stops by BJ Penn’s gym in Hilo to plug his role in Predators, and Brock Lesnar destroys a few more training partners in preparation for his UFC 106 title defense against Shane Carwin.

(Smiling on the outside, damn near dying on the inside.)

While we marveled at how much WEC interim lightweight champion Ben Henderson was able to fight through en route to winning a very close and possibly bullshit decision over Donald Cerrone at WEC 43, he didn’t emerge unscathed from the five-round battle.  Over at Versus.com, Ariel Helwani reports that after the fight Henderson collapsed in the locker room and abruptly stopped sweating, which led to him being rushed to three different emergency rooms to receive a total of four IV’s to treat his dehydration. 

As if that weren’t enough, a strike from Cerrone’s heel seriously injured his left eye in the closing seconds of the bout.  There was some concern that he might have a detached retina, but after seeing a specialist they learned on Sunday morning that it wasn’t quite that bad, and he probably won’t need surgery.  He’s scheduled to see another specialist back home in Phoenix today, but regardless of the diagnosis he will not be able to fight Jamie Varner in December.  We’re sure that will disappoint WEC general manager Reed Harris, who could be heard instructing Henderson to “call [Varner] out” at the end of the Versus broadcast, but Henderson’s manager says he could be cleared to fight in January or February, assuming that the WEC is still around by then and his eye has become fully operational. 

This fighting other people for money, it’s a tough business, no?  

Cain Velasquez is a man of few words.  Like, very few.  Maybe no more than fifteen or twenty throughout this entire six-minute video blog.  Actually, that’s not completely true.  He does a phone interview at the end and it really jacks up his word count, but those of us who have done writing jobs where we get paid by the word know that trick.  You just go back through and add ‘that’ or ‘just’ to every sentence, and before you know it you made yourself an extra thirty bucks. 

Really, all we learn about Cain here is that AKA is a non-stop ball-bust-a-thon when Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch around, he likes to train while listening to the Mexican radio station, and he has an infant daughter who he appears to love.  Looks like you’re going to have to do the talking on this one, Ben Rothwell…

(Dos Santos, Destroyer of Worlds.)

Though it was previously rumored that Gabriel Gonzaga would be taking on Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in December, Fighters.com is now reporting that Gonzaga will instead be taking on another dangerous Brazilian heavyweight, Junior Dos Santos. The match isn’t officially tied to an event yet, but it will likely take place at UFC 107 or 108. Gonzaga recently rebounded from his loss to Shane Carwin by scoring a controversial TKO over Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 102. Meanwhile, Junior Dos Santos has been a perfect 3-0 in the Octagon, most recently breaking down Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic at UFC 103. (Speaking of which, Cro Cop now says he’s not retiring from the sport, and hopes to finish out his UFC contract, though he did want to hang himself in his hotel room after the Dos Santos loss.)

Now that Nogueira is currently without an opponent, the UFC might match him up against the winner of Velasquez/Rothwell to determine the next heavyweight title contender — or they can just give him a shot after Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin settle their grudge in November. And of course if Junior Dos Santos runs through Gonzaga, he’ll be another legitimate candidate for a title shot. Wait a minute, is the UFC’s heavyweight class the new "shark tank" division, like 205 used to be? Right now, it seems be the only weight-class with a deep bullpen of strong, fresh contenders who could realistically challenge for the title. How the hell did that happen?

(Props: PROMMA)

Traditionally performed by drunken rednecks, the two-step was supposed to be right in Chuck Liddell‘s sweet spot. And still these goddamned bloodsucking judges criticized his lack of grace on last night’s Dancing With the Stars. Fine, so he was more of a prop for Anna Trebunskaya in this round, but at least he got to lift her over his head a couple times. (Check out the 0:43 mark during the training montage; I’m sure it took a tremendous amount of self-control not to power-bomb that chick through the basement.)

In the end, the Iceman’s skill with a lasso and ability to take a head-kick weren’t enough to win over the so-called "experts," and he ended up with a score of 17 (just like last week), putting him near the bottom once again; Michael Irvin and Louie Vito tied for dead-last with scores of 16. Let’s put that in perspective: Even if Cecil Peoples showed up as a special guest judge and added a perfect 10 to Liddell’s score, he’d still have one less point than Melissa Joan Hart and Mya. Whatever the dance-studio equivalent of American Top Team is, Chuck needs to go there immediately and start expanding his toolkit, because the younger, hungrier celebrity dancers are closing in, just waiting for a chance to make their names off of him.

(Props: MMA TKO)

We haven’t heard much out of Rich Franklin since his TKO loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC 103, but recently his manager popped up to complain about the illegal blows “Ace” suffered at the very end of the fight.  While J.T. Stewart insists that this is not about “sour grapes,” he says he’s disappointed that everyone saw fit to overlook what he saw as a series of illegal blows just before the stoppage, and wonders why there wasn’t a break in the action due to the blows to the back of Franklin’s head:

“Would it have changed the outcome?  Maybe not. But this is about fighter safety. This isn’t just about Rich Franklin; it’s about Rich and every other fighter knowing the rules will be enforced, whether the fight is about to be stopped or not. … “There’s been no discussion about it.  None. It’s a disappointing [sic]. The commissions, referees, fighters – everyone could have improved the safety of the sport by examining and discussing this situation. But because most people thought the outcome was a foregone conclusion, everyone conveniently ignored it."

That’s one assessment of the situation.  The other is that, as illegal blows go, this is a bit of a gray area. 

For those of you out there who have been feeling like you want to be a part of this MMA craze but you’re too much of a sissy to actually train, and too much of a technophobe to play the "UFC Undisputed" video game, at last there is a product made with you in mind: The Extreme Fight Game (warning: website features sound, but that sound is "Welcome to the Jungle," so it’s okay).  Basically, it’s an MMA board game where you get to kind of, sort of simulate the experience of an MMA fight by rolling a dice over and over again until you find out whether you won.  Hours of rainy day fun for just $34.95.

In an interview with The Fight Nerd, creator Brett Siciliano says he got the idea for the game when he discovered that there was nowhere to play with his Round 5 MMA dolls, and he was apparently too good to make them prance around on an old Trivial Pursuit board like the rest of us.  The game features all of four characters — an American, a Brazilian, an American woman, and a Japanese fighter — which Brett says was done in the interest of being "as political correct as possible."  If you are somehow not already sold on this idea, you should go ahead and watch the video after the jump.  Never again will you see people pretending to be this pumped about a board game.  

Could UFC 103‘s altruistic experiment of airing some of the undercard bouts on basic cable before the main card be a recurring tradition? According to a press release distributed by Spike TV this afternoon, the UFC will be doing another live prelim show on Spike directly before the UFC 104 pay-per-view on October 24th. Guaranteed for the one-hour commercial-free broadcast will be…

Ryan Bader (9-0, 2-0 UFC) vs. Eric Schafer (11-3-2, 3-2-0 UFC): TUF 8 winner Ryan Bader, who most recently won a unanimous decision over Carmelo Marrero at Condit vs. Kampmann, will try to take another step up the light-heavyweight ladder against tough ground specialist Eric Schafer, who’s coming off back-to-back first-round stoppages of Houston Alexander and Antonio Mendes. Seems like a perfect next step in Bader’s development, as well as an opportunity for Schafer to prove that he’s a legitimate contender.

Antoni Hardonk (8-5, 4-3 UFC) vs. Pat Barry (4-1, 1-1 UFC): It might be win-or-go-home time for these two leg-kick specialists, who will both be trying to bounce back from losses. Hardonk most recently suffered a second-round TKO against Cheick Kongo at UFC 97, while Barry was quickly choked out by Tim Hague at UFC 98. It’s too bad that Barry didn’t take the Hague loss as a sign that he should drop to light-heavy, because Hardonk’s reach advantage is going to be frightening.

Other preliminary bouts could air during the broadcast, if time allows. UFC 104′s compelete lineup is after the jump.

(Bibiano Fernandes reacts after submitting Joe Warren at DREAM.11. Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

Following recent events in the UFC, WEC, DREAM, and Sengoku, we’ve updated the featherweight and lightweight pages in our Power Rankings section. To summarize…

FW: Bibiano Fernandes enters for the first time. Hatsu Hioki and Raphael Assuncao rise slightly, while Wagnney Fabiano plummets. WEC 44‘s scrap between Mike Brown and Jose Aldo could alter the top 5. Josh Grispi and L.C. Davis lie just outside the top 10.

LW: Gray Maynard enters for the first time. Shinya Aoki solidifies his place at #2, while Joachim Hansen and Gesias Cavalcante fall. Josh Thomson officially drops off the list due to inactivity, but if he can make it through a training camp without injuring himself, the winner of the rematch between him and Gilbert Melendez could potentially re-enter. Mizuto Hirota and Tyson Griffin are also close. UFC 107‘s match between BJ Penn and Diego Sanchez could alter the top 5.

Give ‘em a look and let us know how you feel…

Yeah, we know.  You only like seeing dudes get knocked out when they’re wearing little gloves.  But just give this one a chance and I think you’ll be pleased.  5’10" stick of boxing dynamite David Tua stepped back in the ring for the first time in over two years recently, and after taking a minute or two to find his range against Shane Cameron, he exploded with the same old ferocity to end things just seven seconds into round number two.  Don’t ask us to explain why the ref did everything he could think of to save Cameron at the end of the first, only so he could take more punishment as soon as the bell rang for the second.  Instead, just sit back and enjoy a different brand of violence for a change.  A little variety is good for you. 

It’s good to see Tua back.  Now if only he could sharpen up his "Wheel of Fortune" skills. 

(Yep, that’s the whole televised portion of the event. Henderson/Cerrone fight starts at around the 81:00 mark.)

While the judges’ decision in Saturday night’s WEC 43 main event between Donald Cerrone and Ben Henderson may have seemed like an absolute travesty to some, the one guy who isn’t complaining is, shockingly enough, the "Cowboy" himself.  After losing three of the five rounds on all three judges’ scorecards, Cerrone acknowledged that there might be some who gave him the nod, but insisted that Henderson “definitely won the fight.”  Wow.  Did not see that coming.  Said Cerrone:

"I’m obviously disappointed in myself.  I didn’t go out there and show what I had the first couple of rounds.  I asked my coach, ‘What round are we in?’ He said, ‘Fourth.’ I said, ‘Oh, [expletive], I better get going.’ …The guillotine, I felt him gargling one time.  But that son of a bitch just kept holding on.  Then one time I felt like he was knocked out on top of me. I was looking at the ref like, ‘What?’ But [Henderson] just kept coming around." 

Fair enough, Donald.  But allow me to tell you why you, and the judges, are wrong: