(One blind punch can sure screw up a guy’s picks something awful. Photo courtesy of Fight Magazine.)

By now we’ve all had a chance to see how we fared in our individual FightPicker pools, and then follow that up with the appropriate amount of gloating/sobbing at the sight of the overall standings. I’ll admit that I wasn’t feeling too great about finishing third in my pool, but hey, that’s what I get for thinking Nick Diaz and Marius Zaromskis would take longer than a round to reach that level of reckless abandon. Third felt acceptable. It felt almost dignified. Then my wife pointed out that she beat me. By a lot. And not only did she win her pool, she’s tied for first overall.

I spent the next several hours sitting alone in a dark room, feeling bad about myself and reevaluating some life choices. If only Melvin Manhoef hadn’t gotten quite so overeager, I kept telling myself, things might have been different. But that’s not the way it worked out, thanks to Robbie Lawler’s Hail Mary right hook, and now I get to hear about it for the rest of my life. Or until I redeem myself with UFC 109.

Feel free to use the comments section below to curse your picks, brag about what a magnificent human being you are, complain about some perceived injustice, or do whatever you need to do to process the results.

(Skip to the 0:21 mark to see Ariel Helwani having a near-death experience at the hands of Wes Sims.)

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Wes Sims would claim his loss to Bobby Lashley at last night’s Strikeforce event was the result of an incompetent referee and an unscrupulous opponent. I guess I also shouldn’t be surprised that he showed up to fight looking like he might be five months pregnant, or that he claims to think that the fight was stopped too early. But the fact that he could say, with a straight face, that Lashley didn’t do anything but take him down and lay on him, that seems absurd even for Sims. As anyone who actually watched the fight knows, it was Lashley doing most of the work on the mat while Sims was, in Mauro Ranallo’s words, “holding on for dear life but not defending himself intelligently.”

If you go back and watch the video, just after the two-minute mark you can clearly hear the referee warning Lashley about the thumb to the throat several times, so maybe Sims has a legitimate gripe there. Did it change the outcome of the fight? Based on the fact that Sims’ game plan seemed to consist of a test of strength followed by a lot of pained facial expressions, I’m going to go ahead and say no.

Check out Lashley’s bemused response to all this nonsense after the jump.

(Nick Diaz vs. Marius Zaromskis)

From last night’s Strikeforce: Miami show. More after the jump…

("Nice flower-tattoo, cupcake. I just got a tattoo of the Virgin Mary being ripped apart by pitbulls, directly on my asshole." / Photo courtesy of Strikeforce. More pics are below, including one of an alarmingly fat Wes Sims.)

Tonight’s Strikeforce event at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida (aka "Miami") has such a fantastic mix of high-level MMA and can’t-look-away freak shows. On the top of the card you’ve got Nick Diaz battling for Strikeforce’s vacant welterweight title against head-kickin’ rising star Marius Zaromskis, while 145-pound lady-champ Cristiane "Cris Cyborg" Santos makes her first belt defense against Dutch submission artist Marloes Coenen. On the other end of the card, 47-year-old former football star Herschel Walker will kick off his cage-fighting career against Greg Nagy, while Wes Sims — who owns the physique of a 47-year-old — will do his best to avoid getting squashed by pro-wrestler Bobby Lashley. And somewhere in-between, Robbie "Brawler" Lawler and Melvin "Man-Hoof" Manhoef will launch leather at each other until one of them can no longer intelligently defend himself. If you’re not excited for this card, then you probably don’t use words like "excited" in general. Live results from the Showtime broadcast will be piling up after the jump, starting at 10 p.m. ET. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest.

Update: Dubus22 wins the t-shirt! Please send your name, address, and size to feedback@cagepotato.com.

(The Matt Serra video blog continues down its usual path.)

- Frank Shamrock says don’t count Marloes Coenen out just yet. (Cagewriter)

- Jay Hieron just wants his mom to see him fight on TV. (Fighters Only)

- Wes Sims has been training for Bobby Lashley his whole career? (MMA Fighting)

- Strikeforce: Miami preview and predictions. (Heavy)

- Roxanne Modafferi is at it again in Japan. (Fightlinker)

- Marius Zaromski is always just one kick away. (Fight Magazine)

- Booked: upcoming fights on the MMA horizon. (The Rumble)

- Top 10 most lethal strikers in the UFC. (Bleacher Report)

- Kurt Warner announces his retirement. (Scores Report)

- A movie about being a man: The Graduate. (Ask Men)

- This is what happens when a protest gets protested. (Asylum)

- 25 people kicked in the nuts. (Holy Taco)

- 16 villians we’d rather see win. (Screen Junkies)

- How to break up online. (Made Man)

- Greatest fan commercial…ever. (All Left Turns)

- Insane kid jumps onto the top of a moving bus. (Nothing Toxic)

(Finally, someone to ask Herschel Walker the hard-hitting questions, like how do you deal with a spontaneous erection in the middle of math class? Photo courtesy of All Elbows.)

The main card fighters all managed to make weight today for Saturday night’s Strikeforce: Miami event, though we did find out that if Herschel Walker plans on making a serious go of it in MMA, he might want to consider a drop to light heavyweight.  Not that there’s no market at all for a 214-pound heavyweight, but it is quickly disappearing. 

The boys on the undercard did have a few minor glitches, with some coming in heavy and some laboring under paperwork problems, but as long as "Cyborg" Santos avoided female trouble we have to term this one a complete success.  Don’t forget that we’ll be liveblogging the entire Showtime broadcast, so come back here on Saturday night to get your fill of commentary, live results, and what passes for wit around these parts.  Full weigh-in results are below.

Nick Diaz (169.5) vs. Marius Zaromskis (169)
Cristiane Santos (144.5) vs. Marloes Coenen (143.75)
Bobby Lashley (252.25) vs. Wes Sims (258.25)
Melvin Manhoef (185.75) vs. Robbie Lawler (185.75)
Herschel Walker (214.25) vs. Greg Nagy (210.5)
Jay Hieron (170.25) vs. Joe Riggs (170.5)

(Props: LesnarMMA)

Like those helpful little video clips you sometimes see on Al-Jazeera or North Korean state television, Brock Lesnar‘s YouTube channel just put out some footage of a somewhat-healthy-looking Lesnar getting back into the swing of training, with the added claim that the formerly ailing UFC heavyweight champ is "ready to give Frank Mir another mauling, or to knock out Shane Carwin." Obviously he’s still in recovery mode — his punches and knees are thrown at a fraction of full strength, and this may be the first time we’ve seen him look fatigued in the gym — but at least he’s out of bed and heading in the right direction. Look closely at the 0:34 mark, and you’ll notice Chris Tuchscherer telling one of his campmates about this chick who just broke up with him over text message, that heartless bitch.

(From Monson’s tattoos to the girl in the halter top standing up for no reason, EA Sports has all the details of an MMA event down cold.)

The great thing about pro fighting video games, aside from the opportunity to feel like you have personally knocked out Josh Koscheck, is the ability to make dream match-ups that never happen in real life, such as Muhammad Ali vs. Mike Tyson, Blade vs. a small Asian woman, or Bobby Lashley vs. someone who presents a real challenge.  No offense to Wes Sims, who oddsmakers believe is more likely to win on Jeopardy! than he is to win at Strikeforce: Miami, but when you’re more excited about fighting in a warm climate than you are about your own chances for victory, people tend not to take you seriously.

Aside from showing off some sharp graphics, the shots of Lashley in the forthcoming EA Sports MMA game really make us dwell on what an appropriate opponent Jeff Monson would have been for Lashley.  Obviously Monson has more experience, but the size and strength difference might help even things out, and at the very least we’d find out where Lashley is in his evolution as a fighter.  Instead, we’ll have to content ourselves with finding out how much punishment Sims is really willing to take on a week’s notice. Our guess is, just enough, but no more than is absolutely necessary.

More screen shots of Lashley from the EA Sports game are after the jump, in case you’re interested.

Trying to interview Nick Diaz is a lot like trying to help an elderly person use the self checkout machine at the supermarket.  It’s a test of patience and will, and a part of you knows that you never should have gotten mixed up in this to begin with.  But, if you keep at it, as Ariel Helwani does in this video, you’ll eventually reach the point where all the groceries have been scanned and bagged, even the produce, and your new friend will smile at you around wrinkled eyes and ask, ‘Who do I make the check out to?’  That’s when it all feels…worth it?

Though at times it seems like Diaz would rather be doing anything else than answering Helwani’s questions, we do eventually get some answers that help us further understand his bizarre and often openly contradictory world view.  For example:

– A decision should not be decided by takedowns.  It should be decided by who was winning at the end, and who would have won if the fight would have continued indefinitely.

– A decision should be decided by who looks more "fucked up" afterwards.  Even if you tapped the guy out but got your ass beat, you still got your ass beat.

Some of you have been asking us why we don’t give CagePotato t-shirts away anymore. Others have been asking us why our store site has completely shit the bed. The answers to those questions are 1) Because we’re lazy, and 2) Don’t ask us, we just work here. But it’s been too long since we’ve shouted out our best commenters, and that insult ends…right now. Picking up "Devil Horns" tees this week are…

skeletor on "Get Your Sleeveless T-Shirt Out: The UFC Now Has a Gym": I think you get to train at the gym for something like $20 for the first month, but you have to come in early when no important people are around to see you. If you do well enough they will do like a multi-month contract for about $45 dollars. The more buff you get the more you have to pay, and it can get pretty out of hand. The biggest problem is if you ever leave for another gym or they kick you out for not being able to squat as much as some of the new guys, Dana will publicly berate you. He will then begin to question the the validity of you’re max on the bench, and say you only went to the friendlier less dictator like gym down the street because he didn’t want you at his gym anymore.

If you’re not ready for the UFC gym I would suggest trying out a smaller gym like Strikeforce. They have some good equipment just not nearly as much, but the fees are less, and the owner isn’t such a dick. Also they let you work out at other gyms for as long as you want, even if they take the time to build a whole workout room around your specific needs.

I hope this clears up some of the questions you had. So to sum it all up, it looks like Chuck could use some fiber in his diet.

landOencagement on "Renzo Gracie’s Only Problem Is His Wife Complaining": BJ Penn looks like the baby from Dinosaurs in that clip.
[Ed. note: OMFG.]

If your name has been called, please e-mail feedback@cagepotato.com with your address and shirt size, and we’ll get a shirt out to you pronto.

(Props: GenghisConMMA via BloodyElbow)

Of Robbie Lawler‘s 18 wins, 15 have come via KO/TKO; of Melvin Manhoef‘s 24 wins, 23 have come via KO/TKO. We may not agree with Lawler’s strategy going into tomorrow night’s fight, but sometimes you just have to say "fuck it, this is going to be a slugfest, and it’s going to be awesome." Genghis Con‘s preview compilation for the middleweight battle captures that spirit perfectly. Lawler vs. Manhoef is going to end with somebody staring at the ceiling, the owner of a brand-new concussion. The only questions are: Who will it be, and how long will it last?

After the jump: Wes Sims makes it very clear why he’s such an enormous underdog against Bobby Lashley, and Chael Sonnen takes a break from his homophobic Republican heel routine to speak candidly about his upcoming UFC 109 matchup with Nate Marquardt, which will very likely produce the UFC’s next middleweight title challenger.

(If this fight were in prison, we wouldn’t even have to think about who to bet our smokes on.)

Good news for all you members of the First Church of the Stand and Bang, heavyweight strikers Gilbert Yvel and Pat Barry are going to give you some of what you crave at UFC 115 this summer.  According to the Las Vegas Sun, both guys have agreed to a bout that hardly needs any gentlemen’s agreement about how it will go down.  Both fighters are known as much for their love of kicking and punching people as they are for their reluctance to engage in the ground game, so this should be a stand-up battle all the way, and probably one that won’t last very long.

Barry’s coming off a second-round TKO of Antoni Hardonk at UFC 104 in October, and Yvel got knocked out by Junior Dos Santos in his Octagon debut at UFC 108 earlier this month.  Yvel may have the experience advantage and a total willingness to fight dirty, but if he looks as sloppy against Barry as he did against Dos Santos he could be in for a rough night.  According to what he told the Sun, however, that was just first time jitters:

(Uh-oh, looks like someone ate that half a sandwich in the office refrigerator that Bobby was saving for lunch. He wrote his name on it for a reason, people.)

When we had trouble finding betting odds for the Bobby Lashley-Wes Sims fight for our Strikeforce: Miami edition of the Gambling Enabler, we initially chalked it up to the fact that the bout was a late addition.  Maybe we were right, or maybe it just took a little longer for oddsmakers to count this high.  A quick glance at BestFightOdds.com today reveals that Lashley is anywhere between a 12-1 and 15-1 favorite to beat Sims on Saturday night. 

Those of you who believe deep down that "certified black man" Wes Sims will take this can make a handsome profit by throwing some cheddar down on him while he’s still a 7-1 underdog.  Or you could just bury that cash and hope that a money tree grows in your backyard.  At least if that plan fails you’ll be able to dig your nest egg up again in time to bet it all on Frankie Edgar. 

So basically, what we’ve got here is another Lashley fight where he faces off against someone who was brought in to lose, this time on about a week’s notice.  Lashley still talks like since he’s only had four fights, fans shouldn’t expect him to fight anyone other than the Bob Sapps or Jason Guidas of the MMA world, but you can only have so many squash matches before it becomes a game of diminishing returns.  If Lashley wants to be taken seriously, it may be time for him to admit that his palooka punch card is just about full.

(Sorry, Chuck. If you had your own clothing line, maybe Dana would let you replace the Ultimate Fighter logo with your own brand name. But you don’t, and now you look like an asshole. Photo courtesy of twitter.com/spike_tv.)

The eleventh season of The Ultimate Fighter kicks off on March 31st. Here’s some stuff we’ve learned about it lately…

— According to recent reports by FiveOuncesofPain and Bloody Elbow, the middleweight castmembers selected for the show include KOTC/Bodog vet Kyacey Uscola (18-15), Australian EliteXC vet Kyle Noke (16-4-1; won a unanimous decision over Uscola in September), Victor O’Donnell (8-1; seven wins by submission), Travis Lutter BJJ student Cleburn Walker (8-4), Kris McCray (5-0; all wins by first-round stoppage, three in under a minute), American Top Team product Charles Blanchard (7-2), Warren Thompson (5-0; all wins by stoppage), and Charlie Lynch (6-0; all wins by stoppage). The Boston Herald also reports that Greg Rebello (9-2) and Woody Weatherby (7-3) will be part of the cast.

— Chuck Liddell’s assistant coaches will be his longtime trainer John Hackleman, highly regarded boxing coach Howard Davis Jr., jiu-jitsu ace Scott Epstein, and Strikeforce middleweight champ Jake Shields. Tito Ortiz’s assistant coaches will be his longtime trainer Saul Soliz, WEC lightweight Rob McCullough, BJJ ringer Cleber Luciano, and, as promised, a public-relations specialist to be named later.

(Props: MMA Scraps)

If the internet age has taught us anything, it’s that by the time you start posting videos of yourself pleading for someone to give you something, you have passed a point of no return.  For whatever reason, people stop taking your requests seriously once they see you shouting into a cheap video camera while your boys mill around impatiently behind you.  Bonus points if you pause your video rant to say hello to a "beautiful girl" off camera who may or may not actually exist, and may or may not actually be beautiful. 

This is James Toney‘s second "UFC call out" video, and by far the more entertaining of the two.  The fact that he’s pumping these out now probably means that negotiations have stalled after Dana White made an offer that Toney described as "a joke."  So now he’s resorted to semi-coherent DIY video productions to get his big money fight in the UFC.  Yeah, that’s probably been the missing piece of the puzzle all along.

If I could ask the internet to grant me one wish, it would be for someone to break into Brock Lesnar‘s home, tie him to a chair, force him to watch this video, and record his reaction for us all to see.  I realize that’s a tall order, but maybe we could get Big Stacks there to do it.  If he’s James Toney’s bodyguard, I’m guessing he’s done a lot crazier stuff for a lot less reward. 

Earlier this week we speculated that oddsmakers were only giving Melvin Manhoef the slight edge over Robbie Lawler because they thought Lawler was foolhardy enough to stand and strike with Manhoef rather than take it to the ground, where he would enjoy a distinct advantage. Unless Lawler is doing a great big fake-out in this video interview with Ariel Helwani, the oddsmakers know Lawler better than he knows himself. Yes, he realizes that he’s probably much better on the ground than Manhoef, and he probably also realizes that he could get it there if he wanted to. But that’s not how Lawler likes to party. He wants to go toe-to-toe with a man who’s known for having vicious stand-up and very little else. He wants to play to his opponent’s one strength rather than exploit his easily exploitable weaknesses. So he says, anyway.

Honestly? As much fun as it would be to watch Lawler and Manhoef play Rock-em, Sock-em Robots on Saturday night, a part of me hopes that Lawler is smarter than that. He needs a win more than he needs to prove what a stone cold bad-ass he is. Knocking out Manhoef in a stand-up war would be entertaining and impressive, but that’s like investing your savings in lottery tickets.  A 401k might not be as thrilling, but it is a lot less likely to leave you crying in the parking lot.

After the jump, part two of RawVegas.tv‘s series with Goran Reljic.  In this episode, Reljic spars with Forrest Griffin and shares a candid conversation about the challenges both of them are facing in the near future.

Vitor Belfort, Renzo Gracie, BJ Penn, Frankie Edgar, and Anderson Silva pose for pictures in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, while Ferrari World looms in the background. Photos courtesy of the UFC 112 Facebook page. More shots after the jump…

(Props: truplya777)

As we learn in the above video interview from Aaron Tru, Strikeforce moneyweight contender Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal doesn’t really know who or when he’ll be fighting next, while Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi says he’ll probably be fighting King Mo in April. As soon as the news reaches Lawal, he should be thrilled, considering he wants that belt and already has Mousasi figured out. Strikeforce’s 4/17 event on CBS is also rumored to feature Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum, and Jake Shields vs. Dan Henderson.

Speaking of the Armenian Assassin, Mousasi has accepted Firas Zahabi’s invitation for him to train with UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre. According to a report on Sherdog, Gegard and GSP have been working out together in Miami this week, helping St. Pierre get ready for his March 27th meeting with Dan Hardy. It’ll be the first time that Mousasi has been part of a training camp in the U.S.:

(He’d prefer cash, but if you’ve got some spare ligaments laying around he’ll take those too.)

Razak Al-Hassan, the fighter best known for the grisly arm injury he suffered after he absolutely refused to tap out against Steve Cantwell, has received his walking papers from the UFC, according to Five Ounces of Pain.  This is one we probably should have seen coming.  The arm-popping loss to Cantwell happened in Al-Hassan’s UFC debut at the injury-riddled Fight For The Troops event in December of 2008.  That kept him out of action for a good chunk of the following year, though he still claimed to adhere to a tapping-out-is-for-bitches mentality. 

When he finally returned in 2009 Al-Hassan lost a split decision against Kyle Kingsbury at UFC 104 to drop him to 0-2 in the Octagon, which is the equivalent of calling in sick to your first day of work at a regular job, and then showing up late, reeking of weed on your second day.  You may not always get fired, but no one will be surprised if you do.

Best of luck finding a new fighting home, Razak, and don’t get down on yourself.  Plenty of guys with good records elsewhere struggle in the UFC, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t good fighters.  Just look at Tiki Ghosn.  We’re not making you feel any better, are we?

George Orwell once said, “To see what is front of one’s nose needs a really good internet video editor.” Since he said this long before the invention of the internet, it probably confused the hell out of people. But as this new video from Lookoutawhale demonstrates, once more Orwell turns out to be right and everyone who doubted him feels like an idiot.

It’s not that we didn’t know how dramatically Dana White’s opinion of a guy can change once the opportunity to make money off of him presents itself. He’s a fight promoter.  Hyping stuff, sometimes through gross exaggerations of the truth, is what he does.  We knew this. But something about seeing the contrast between what DW claimed to believe about Kimbo Slice before he was in the UFC and what he had to say about him after he signed on for "The Ultimate Fighter" really slammed the point home.  White is a salesman, and salesmen tend to value honesty less than they value sales.

Again, we knew this. It’s just probably a good idea to remind ourselves every once in a while.

Speaking of women’s MMA, Brazilian BJJ specialist (and steroid pioneer) Carina Damm can be seen in five galleries of eye-popping photos over at FolhaVitoria.com.br; thanks to Fightlinker for the tip. Damm, who is currently riding a nine-fight win streak, will compete at the next Jungle Fight event in Vila Velha, Brazil, on February 27th. More highlights from the shoot are after the jump…

(Takayo Hashi vs. Chisa Yonezawa @ GCM Valkyrie 2, 4/25/09)

After putting on the biggest women’s fight in history last year, Strikeforce is preparing to build women’s MMA even larger. According to a recent press release, Sarah Kaufman and Takayo Hashi will battle for the promotion’s first women’s 135-pound title at a Strikeforce Challengers event scheduled for February 26th at the Civic Auditorium in San Jose; tickets are on sale right now.

With a perfect record of 10-0 (eight via TKO), the hard-hitting Kaufman is one of the world’s best female fighters, and has been gaining recognition in Strikeforce thanks to the dominant decision victories she scored over Miesha Tate and Shayna Baszler in 2009. Takayo Hashi (12-1; 4 wins by submission, 8 by unanimous decision) has competed primarily in Japan, where she was one of the standouts of the SmackGirl promotion. Hashi most recently choked out Chisa Yonezawa at a GCM Valkyrie event last April, and avenged her only loss to Hitomi Akano in 2007. She’s known primarily as a grappler, while Kaufman is known primarily for beating the crap out of grapplers.

(Props: SinisterGi.com)

Remember when Toby Imada pulled off that awesome inverted triangle choke in the Bellator tournament last year?  Of course you do.  Your brain isn’t so clogged with Snickers bars and "Golden Girls" reruns that you could go and forget a thing like that.  It was by far the best submission of the year.  Now that we’ve moved on to a new year and Imada no longer has to worry about all you jokers biting his style, he’s going to go ahead and show you how it’s done.  Forget about Blanche and Sophia and the gang for just a few minutes and pay attention.

After the jump, check out round two of Matt Serra‘s video blog, and listen as Don Frye shares a very special memory from the Pride days, just for the hell of it.

(Looking good, Matty! Photo courtesy of Tokyo Five.)

Long Island’s Matt Serra may love to crack jokes, but he wants you to know that it’s not all he’s doing as his fight with Frank Trigg at UFC 109 grows closer. In our exclusive interview, Serra gives us his thoughts on his opponent, his career in the UFC, and why he spends so much time in the barbership.

This fight comes at a time when you and Frank Trigg are both coming off losses and both in your mid-thirties. Where do you think this is going to leave you if you win or if you lose?

I don’t really know, and I don’t care. That’s up to whoever does those rankings or whatever. Technically, I’m coming off two losses. Do I feel like that? No, because I don’t even feel I lost my last fight. They offered me Frank Trigg, and I don’t look at as my chance to move up or anything like that. I see this as an entertaining fight and an exciting fight, on paper, and a good match-up. That’s basically how I look at it. I had the belt, and if my career leads back there then great. If it doesn’t, I’m looking for exciting fights.

Since you are coming off two losses, even though, as you said, the fight with Matt Hughes could have gone either way, do you worry about your job security if you lose this fight?

(Ferrari World artist’s rendering courtesy of skyscrapercity.com)

After weeks of private negotiations and public vagueness, the UFC has finally confirmed that their April 10th show will indeed take place in Abu Dhabi, home of their new partners at Flash Entertainment. Though concerns about the venue delayed the event’s official announcement, an existing outdoor stadium was eventually selected over the gravel-pit setup that Marshall Zelaznik had been touting. From the press release on UFC.com:

(Three out of four former PRIDE announcers agree: Jerry Millen is an opportunistic douchebag.)

By Cagepotato.com contributor Mike Russell

Nearly two years have passed since the collapse of PRIDE Fighting Championships and although the future of the organization most assumed to be dead is somewhat foggy, one fact that has been made crystal clear is that a growing number of ex-employees of the beloved Japanese promotion despise the show’s former American producer, Jerry Millen.

If you recall, Bas Rutten was the first to open up about Millen’s lack of professionalism and knowledge of mixed martial arts as well as his abusive treatment of former commentators Stephen Quadros and Mauro Ranallo. Here’s the quote from Bas’ original post from the Sherdog forums:

Ranallo, who like Rutten worked for the promotion prior to Millen being hired, quit PRIDE in 2006 citing his differences with Millen as his primary reason for leaving:

Now Ranallo’s former broadcast partner Frank Trigg has entered the fray to add his account of Millen’s evil ways in an exclusive and candid interview with Cagepotato.com.

(Coenen vs. Yoko Takahashi I, 5/3/01)

After looking at the incredibly uneven betting odds on the "Cyborg" Santos-Marloes Coenen Strikeforce women’s lightweight title bout, we couldn’t help but wonder whether Coenen is walking into certain doom on Saturday night.  Since she’s fought mostly in Europe and Japan, we haven’t gotten the chance to see many of her fights until now (except this one), but come on, she can’t be that outmatched against "Cyborg," can she? 

In the interest of at least attempting to know what we’re talking about, we did a little research on Coenen.  What we learned is that her stand-up is decent, though not without some defensive holes, and she really knows her way around an armbar.  Seriously.  The fight you see above was Coenen’s fifth professional bout, and one of three meetings with Takahashi.  She won them all in the first round (two by armbar, one by TKO) and the fights only got more lopsided as Coenen improved over the years. 

What’s interesting is that Santos also fought Takahashi at EliteXC: Heat in 2008, where "Cyborg" won a decision.  So that’s got to be an encouraging sign, right?  Coenen totally owned a fighter who took Santos the distance.  Right?  Guys?

More of Coenen’s fights are after the jump, including her second meeting with Takahashi, her loss to Erin Toughill, and a video of what appears to be Coenen abusing some poor girl from the local middle school.  Seems more and more like either Coenen gets Santos to the mat early and submits her, or else she gets her lovely facial features rearranged.

(‘Lastly, I’d like to thank the good people at Fisher-Price for finally making an award that isn’t a choking hazard. I’m just saying, it’s about time, you know?’)

The date of UFC 113 have shifted just a bit, but the fight card keeps getting better.  As Tatame.com reported earlier today, a light heavyweight scrap between Forrest Griffin and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira has been added to the Montreal event.  Griffin’s coming off his decision victory over Tito Ortiz at UFC 106, and Little Nog smoked Luis Cane in his UFC debut on the undercard of the same event, so these two are both on the upswing with exactly the same amount of rest time, give or take an hour.

Your presence at this website suggests that you’re probably enough of an MMA fan (or misguided potato fetishist) that we don’t have to tell you this, but this is an excellent fight.  Griffin is still trying to erase the memory of the drubbing he received from Anderson Silva, and Nogueira is trying to continue a win streak that is six fights long and counting, so both these guys have plenty at stake.  In a perfect world they could both have their way.  Ours is not a perfect world, my friends, but it is an interesting one at times.

(Props: Fight Magazine)

I blame Brett Favre.  His success with the Minnesota Vikings this year must have every forty-something pro athlete thinking that they still have a few more good years in them.  Maybe some of them do.  But maybe some of them are going to get their brains turned into soup while they find out they’re wrong.

Lately Chuck Liddell is sounding like he won’t be happy until he becomes a cautionary tale.  Coming back to coach "The Ultimate Fighter" opposite Tito Ortiz makes good enough sense, and even the a third fight against The HBBB isn’t such a bad idea.  Liddell’s already beaten Ortiz twice with relative ease, so why not do it once more now that his own reflexes have slowed just enough to make it competitive?  But Liddell doesn’t want to stop there.  As he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

"I would like another fight and then I want another fight after," he said. "Hopefully, Dana’s happy with my two wins and I get a shot at a contender and then a shot at a title. That’s four fights and that’s about as far forward as I’ve thought."

No kidding. 

January has been a slow month for those of us who thrive on the thrill that comes with losing large sums of money on MMA fights. But fortunately we’re going out with a bang this weekend thanks to Strikeforce: Miami, which brings us a loaded fight card on Showtime and provides the opportunity to make reckless decisions that will haunt us for years to come. The good news is, with the launch of our brand new MMA FightPicker game, you can now get all the fun that comes with predicting fights against your CP brethren, but without the threat of getting your thumbs broken when you can’t pay up. You’re welcome.

Odds for Saturday night’s Strikeforce event come to us from BestFightOdds.com:

Nick Diaz (-220) vs. Marius Zaromskis (+222)
Cris “Cyborg” Santos (-550) vs. Marloes Coenen (+461)
Robbie Lawler (+160) vs. Melvin Manhoef (-175)
Herschel Walker (-325) vs. Greg Nagy (+250)
Jay Hieron (-264) vs. Joe Riggs (+275)

The breakdown…