(The finals of the 205+ division. See all the videos here.)

It sounds like the opening to a joke that only MMA nerds would appreciate: ‘Josh Barnett walks into a grappling tournament…’ And yet this is how MMA’s best inactive heavyweight spent his Valentine’s Day weekend, tapping out all the poor bastards who had the misfortune to end up on the mat with him, and doing so with great ease. The dudes who signed up for the advanced division of this southern California grappling tournament probably expected some stiff competition, but they almost certainly did not expect to face a guy who was widely considered to be Fedor Emelianenko’s toughest challenger before a positive steroid test derailed the fight and torpedoed an entire organization.

This brings us to our pressing question for today – is Barnett’s grappling tournament bad-assery awesome, or not awesome? Follow me after the jump and let’s discuss the merits of both sides.

(Photos courtesy of flickr.com/takeanapfightgear and ModelMayhem. Click thumbnails for larger versions. Props to MMA Fight Girls for the tip.)
  
  

Speaking of professional hot chicks, Conquest MMA/Take a Nap Fight Gear has added the lovely Cali-Luv to their stable of models, which already includes hotties like Jenny P and Adree DeSanti. According to her Model Mayhem profile, Cali is an exotic mash-up of German, French, Scottish, and Native American ancestry who loves ice cream, classic rock, and the color pink; she does not like sweat ("icky"), seafood, or the IRS. To see a little more of Cali — as in, more than might be tolerated by the human resources department at your place of business — click here.

(Check out the communication skills on these ladies.)

Now that they are becoming more and more big time with each new sunrise, Bellator has decided that the next step is to improve their stable of ring girls. And how do you do that? The same way creepy casting directors meet their dates for Saturday night – unnecessary auditions!

In a move that is just begging for their email inboxes to be filled with alarming nude photos (take it from someone who worked for an MMA org conducting a ring girl search, it happens more than you’d think), Bellator is asking interested applicants to send photos and resumes to their Chicago offices. To be considered you should have “excellent communications skills, a vivacious and outgoing personality as well as an outstanding camera presence.” Translation: you should speak English, be really hot, and not be a completely unlikable jerk, at least when people are watching.

Does that sound like you? Probably not, no. Our completely informal demographic research tells us that most likely you are a) a dude, b) not all that attractive, or even in possession of socially acceptable hygiene habits, and c) at least sort of a jerk. But, shockingly enough, we know there are some women who read Cage Potato, and maybe even some who’d like to try their hand at ring girlin’. To those women, let us be the first to say, go for it.  We’re even willing to help.

(Props: MMA Scraps)

Those of you who had your FightPicker pools ruined by Rich Clementi’s second-round TKO loss at King of the Cage on Saturday night may have found yourselves drinking stale coffee in your squalid apartments on Sunday morning, staring out the dirty window at the stray cats stalking the dumpsters in the alley and wondering aloud, ‘How the hell did Clementi get beat by Quinn Mulhern? Who the hell is Quinn Mulhern, anyway? And why is my life so horribly depressing?’

The answer to at least one of those questions can be found in a UG post by “No Love” himself, who explained his sub-par performance thusly:

(As any rider could tell you, it’s the longest eight seconds of your life. Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

Just two months after his dominant UFC debut against Brian Stann at UFC 109, Phil "Mr. Wonderful" Davis (5-0) will reportedly return to the Octagon at UFC 112 (April 10th, Abu Dhabi), to face Swedish slugger Alexander Gustafsson (9-0). Gustafsson made his own UFC debut at #105, where he knocked out Jared Hamman in 41 seconds. (Video of that fight is after the jump, in case you don’t remember it.) It seems like the UFC wants to waste no time in fast-tracking one of these guys into light-heavyweight contendership, at the expense of the other.

For the record, Davis ideally wanted to make his next UFC appearance in June, and graded his performance against Stann a B-. "I’d say that I need to refine everything," Davis told MMAFighting.com. "I can’t really say I need to do better at just this or that. I think my standup needs to get better, I think my wrestling needs to get better, I think my jiu-jitsu needs to get better, and I think I need to work at being more explosive." [Ed. note: No comment.]

Closing out the preliminary card of UFC 110 this Saturday will be a light-heavyweight bout between Elvis Sinosic and Chris Haseman, which will make minor history as the first UFC fight contested between two Australians. While the local Sydney crowd will surely mark out for the scrap, it’s a shame that the competitors have to be so unworthy. Sinosic (8-11-2, 1-6 UFC) has dropped his last two fights, and hasn’t won a match in over three years. The semi-retired Haseman (20-16, 0-1 UFC) last competed in November 2008 when he knocked out Yuji "The Pink Typhoon" Hisamatsu, breaking a four-fight losing streak that dated back to 2002. Basically, neither of these guys would be getting another shot in the UFC if they weren’t both Australian, and available on the day of the show. (It says a lot about the state of Australian MMA that these are the two biggest/best stars they could pull for their Aussie vs. Aussie feature.)

But there is one hook to hang the fight on: The King of Rock ‘n’ Rumble and the Hammer met once before, way back in March 1997, at an eight-man Caged Combat: Australian Ultimate Fighting tournament that was won by Brazilian Top Team co-founder Mario Sperry. Haseman’s performance in the tourney was notable because he scored two wins via chin-to-eye submission. The video above shows the semi-final match between Sinosic and Haseman; Haseman chins Elvis out at the 4:00 mark. Though the technique is currently outlawed by the Unified Rules under the "no gouging" clause, it would be a fitting tribute to Australia’s colorful MMA history if the refs could look the other way this weekend. Do you really think those descendants of criminals will give a shit?

Previously: Completely Unnecessary Rematch Alert: Wes Sims vs. Tim Sylvia II

If you look up James Te Huna‘s MMA record on the internet to learn a little something about him in advance of his Octagon debut at UFC 110 this weekend, you’ll see that he’s officially 11-4 with a nice little five-fight winning streak going. What you won’t see, however, is this bizarre moment in his fighting career. Our buddies at The Rumble dug up a video of Te Huna fighting alongside Api Hemara, who actually submitted Te Huna in his pro debut, in a tag team MMA fight that pits the New Zealanders against two virtually indistinguishable Russians.

The rules to this thing seem unclear to everyone, and this results in several confusing moments for the fighters, the ref, and the crowd.  Somehow they make it through whatever constitutes a whole fight without anyone accidentally punching their own partner, and the Kiwis eventually secure a decision victory to salvage some dignity. As we all know, the only thing more embarrassing than participating in a tag team MMA match is losing one. Part two is after the jump.

Let’s be honest — trying to predict the results of fights between guys you don’t really know is a fool’s errand. But we appreciate those of you who set aside logic and participated in MMA FightPicker last week anyway. I placed a respectable third in my pool (Contender Pool 10 #308 represent!), but was ultimately sunk by the upsets at King of the Cage: Vengeance. UFC vet Rich Clementi did his career no favors by getting TKO’d by young upstart Quinn Mulhern (video here), while Mike Kyle wore down the much larger Travis Wiuff with strikes until an exhausted Wiuff collapsed against the cage at the end of the second round. In the event’s title fights, KOTC heavyweight champ Tony Lopez picked up his 16th-straight win by finishing Tyler East with a triangle choke, while bantamweight champ Abel Cullum subbed Joe Coca via kimura in the first round.

As for the other action in last week’s pools, Alan Omer proved his status as a featherweight to watch by sinking a triangle choke on Paul Reed in the fourth round of their title fight at BAMMA 2, and dangerous Icelander Gunnar Nelson kept his undefeated streak alive by finishing Sam Elsdon in the first by rear-naked choke. Don’t ask me about the fights at Rage in the Cage; a couple dudes won by decision, and that’s all you need to know.

The top three players going into last week failed to pick up any chips (LOSERS!), allowing some new names to storm up the leaderboard. Currently in first place with 385 chips is Steffmeister, who must be a die-hard King of the Cage fan with at least a working knowledge of the British featherweight scene. Rounding out the top 5 are…

2) brade1584: 355 PotatoChips
3) Ciarán Parnell: 350 PotatoChips
4) Jokulgoblin: 275 PotatoChips
5) Aaron Rampey: 270 PotatoChips


They’re up there, but you can still catch ‘em if you beat some ass in this week’s pools, which focus on UFC 110 in Australia. Take a look at the questions after the jump, make your picks at fightpicker.cagepotato.com, and stay tuned because our first prize pools are launching this week. Thrilling details to come…

Bobby Lashley was in studio with the guys from "Inside MMA" recently, and wouldn’t you know it, they just happened to have the results of an online poll question about who Lashley should fight next.  Fans agree that Brett Rogers would make the most interesting next opponent, but Lashley isn’t even trying to pretend that he wants that fight.  In the twisted caverns of his mind, it makes no sense to fight any somewhat credible opponent unless it’s the champ.

"Either let me fight the way I want to, build up and get a few fights under my belt and then work my way up there, or let me fight the champ."

All due respect here Bobby, but that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.

(Demian Maia puts a hurtin’ on Jason MacDonald at UFC 87. Photo courtesy of MMA Weekly.)

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner in the "Which Barely Credible Challenger Wants to Get Thrashed by Anderson Silva on Two Months’ Notice?" sweepstakes. From UFC.com:

* Sure. He’s also a mediocre kickboxer.

** Come on, nobody uses the phrase "top six." Just say "top five" and hope nobody questions it.

So let’s break this down…

(Cain Velasquez’s pro debut, just for kicks. Props: MMA Scraps)

- Michael Bisping gets testy on UFC 110 conference call. (Fight Magazine)

- Vitor Belfort out four months after shoulder surgery. (MMA Fighting)

- Cain Velasquez talks Big Nog. (The Rumble)

- Bobby Lashley now a full-time mixed martial artist. (Heavy)

- Andrei Arlovski headed for a charity boxing match. (Fightlinker)

- Mark Coleman’s story a glimpse of the future for younger fighters? (SI.com)

- Why Wanderlei Silva isn’t washed up. (Bleacher Report)

- Watch a little girl teaching Demian Maia how to dance. (MMA Share)

- Some ankle-breaking NBA action. (Scores Report)

- Belladonna interviews porn fanboys. (Asylum)

- Kevin Smith on becoming a 38 year-old stoner. (Ask Men)

- Japan has finally perfected the fauxgina. (Holy Taco)

- Nerf gun booby trap! (Break)

- 12 crucial sex lessons from movies and TV. (Screen Junkies)

- "Family Guy" does NASCAR in China. (All Left Turns)

- Stop being a pessimist about love. (Made Man)

- Olympic luge slider dies in horrific crash. (Nothing Toxic)

(‘Nate, whaddaya say we call it a draw and go get some cheeseburgers?’ Photo courtesy of Fight Magazine)

The great mystery as to who will step up and challenge for Anderson Silva‘s middleweight title at UFC 112 on April 10 is looking like it will be solved by process of elimination.  Chael Sonnen, who became the number one contender with his upset of Nate Marquardt, now says he won’t be making the quick turnaround to face Silva in Abu Dhabi.  But with Sonnen and Vitor Belfort both ruled out, who’s left? 

Marquardt is coming off a loss at UFC 109.  Demian Maia won a fairly plodding and unimpressive decision over Dan Miller.  Wanderlei Silva and Michael Bisping are set to go at it next weekend at UFC 110.  Face it, there just aren’t many acceptable substitutes available.  If the UFC grabs the first warm 185-pound body they can find and shoves him into a title fight with Silva, we’re looking at a potential farce of epic proportions.  And haven’t we learned our lesson about matching Silva against guys he’s not really interested in beating up?

The best solution at this point would be to either pull Silva from the event entirely and wait until a credible contender is available, or else forget about the title for a little while and get to work finding an interesting 205-pounder who’s willing to accept the challenge.  Easier said than done, I suppose.

According to a report on Sherdog, Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi has ended his professional relationship with M-1 Global, the promotional outfit best known for handling the career of Fedor Emelianenko. As Mousasi wrote in an e-mail:

Mousasi added that he’d like to come back to the U.S. to train with Josh Thomson at American Kickboxing Academy; the two fighters recently became acquainted in Miami during the last Strikeforce show. So what spurred Mousasi’s split with M-1? Apparently, they wouldn’t keep him on the payroll for life. Mousasi’s former manager at M-1, Apy Echteld, told MMA Junkie that the Last Gypsy broke ties when M-1 refused to sign him into a long-term management deal that would give the Dutch-Armenian fighter "lifetime security" — a contract setup reportedly enjoyed by Fedor Emelianenko.

Mousasi is still under contract with Strikeforce for as many as seven fights, and plans to enter DREAM’s light-heavyweight grand prix later this year. His next match is rumored to be against Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal in April.

There’s nothing we love more than unregulated MMA shows held in parking lots. This lost classic comes from a "Rumble at the River" event that went down somewhere in Minnesota in August 2007. We don’t know who the competitors are; we just know that one is a welterweight and the other is a bantamweight with a peace-sign tattoo on his arm and shaky striking defense. (Try to guess which one is snoozing on the mat nine seconds after the fight starts.) By the way, it took the paramedic so long to get over to the downed fighter because she had to change out of her ring girl uniform first.

After the jump: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson makes an appearance in a slick new Nike commercial that will be running this evening during the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Okay, so maybe his scene has an unfortunate pro-wrestling vibe to it. (What exactly was his opponent doing when Quinton was stretched out on the canvas? Blowing kisses from the turnbuckle?) But goddamnit if ‘Page didn’t get up and deliver the death-blow to that generically tattooed cage-fighter. Cheesy or not, you gotta be psyched to see something like this in a high-profile mainstream ad…

(Something tells me this photo wasn’t Nick’s idea.)

The above photo of Jose Canseco smokin’ and jokin’ with the Diaz boys at their Lodi, California academy comes to us courtesy of NathanDiaz.com, the website that would like you to know that you are, in fact, a punk bitch.  Looks like the unholy union between the Cesar Gracie team and baseball’s most infamous attention whore/steroid snitch is now a reality, at least in some form. 

We were holding out hope that Nick Diaz’s well-established dislike for exactly the type of jock asshole that Canseco is might prevent him from letting Canseco use the squad as a stepping stone in his ongoing attempt to turn MMA into some sort of half-assed celebrity boxing.  No such luck.  Now we just have to pray that one of the Diaz’s breaks his arm in a training "accident" and sends him back to pleading for tanning salon endorsement deals on Twitter, where he belongs.

Strikeforce, if you’re reading, just so we’re clear about this, DO NOT SIGN JOSE CANSECO TO FIGHT FOR YOU.  Herschel Walker was one thing.  He took it seriously, said all the right things, and even though the quality of his fight proved exactly why you don’t put 0-0 fighters on TV, we’re willing to overlook it.  But Canseco?  No way, homie.  He just wants a quick buck and cheap attention.  Stay away.  We cannot stress this enough.

(‘And don’t let me catch you looking at my little sister again!’)

Good news for those of you who already bought your plane tickets to Abu Dhabi and have spent the last few weeks learning how to say, ‘Stand ‘em up!’ in Arabic. Despite losing Vitor Belfort to a shoulder injury, UFC 112 will still feature Anderson Silva fighting someone in the 185-pound range for a big hunk of shiny metal and leather. As Dana White recently told MMAFighting.com, Silva has not been pulled from the event just because his top challenger is out, and he’ll still be defending his belt (so abandon your hopes for a light heavyweight superfight, or a heavyweight super-superfight).

The question that has yet to be answered is, who will this opportunistic middleweight be?

CagePotato.com is proud to introduce MMA Mythology, a new comic collaboration with illustrator/highlight video editor Kahleem "KahL-One" Poole in which urban legends from MMA’s history are brought to life. In the first installment, Wanderlei Silva and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua do battle over a pitbull puppy; yes, this really happened. Click the images for full-size versions, check out the rest after the jump, and let us know what you think!

("Don’t worry about it, Rolles. Listen, why don’t you stick around Vegas for a while and learn the casino trade?" Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

Following his ugly loss to Joey "The Mexecutioner" Beltran last Saturday at UFC 109, Rolles Gracie has reportedly been cut from the UFC, joining Mark Coleman, Phillipe Nover, Tim Hague, and Frank Trigg in the list of fighters who didn’t make it out of that show with their jobs intact.

It’s not a common occurrence for a new UFC fighter to immediately get cut if they lose their debut, but Rolles wasn’t just any prospect — his last name gave him a lot to live up to. Whether the pressure came from Dana White or the fighter’s humiliated uncle, there may have been concern about Rolles tarnishing the Gracies’ UFC legacy with any more godawful performances. As a 3-1 fighter, his story is by no means over. But he’ll need a little more seasoning before he makes a return to the bright lights and high pressure of MMA’s biggest stage.

(Props: The Rumble)

What do you say we take a break from talking about fights that aren’t happening and discuss one that did?  Twenty years ago today, back when MMA was still in the Vale Tudo dark ages, possibly the greatest boxing upset of all time went down in Tokyo, Japan.  Unheralded and often lazy heavyweight Buster Douglas became the first pro boxer to beat the seemingly invincible Mike Tyson via tenth round knockout. 

Tyson actually came into this bout a 42-1 favorite, but a combination of failing to take the fight and his training seriously enough, along with indulgences in what one sportswriter termed Tyson’s "ravenous heterosexuality," helped turn him into a fraction of the fighter he usually was.

Those of you who actually like to read books and stuff might want to check out Joe Layden’s "The Last Great Fight" for an interesting examination of what happened before and after that night.  Those of you who only read the internet can just check out Douglas’s take on things now that he’s had twenty years to think about it.

(8:03 am: Vitor learns about World of Warcraft. 12:16 pm: Vitor calls in sick to training, orders a pizza. 5:37 pm: Vitor suddenly declares himself incapable of fighting Anderson Silva at UFC 112.)

Get your disappointed faces on, Potato Nation.  Vitor Belfort won’t be challenging Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight strap in Abu Dhabi this April, after all.  Brazilian website Tatame broke the news today, which was later confirmed, that Belfort is out of the fight with a shoulder injury.  This is the second time the bout has been put off, and now we’re starting to wonder whether we’ll ever see it happen or whether the MMA gods have deemed it too potentially awesome to take place on an earthly realm.

The immediate question for the UFC is, what now?  They could postpone it yet again, relying instead on the novelty of the event to draw a crowd in the Middle East, or they could get crazy and try to shuffle newly-crowned contender Chael Sonnen into the challenger spot.  It seems unlikely that he’d be able to make the April 10 date considering all the damage he suffered in the win over Nate Marquardt, however.  Physical exhaustion aside, the guy got his forehead sliced in half, which means he’s going to need time to heal before he can even resume full-contact sparring.  Not only would the UFC be asking him to forego a full training camp, they’d be asking him to fight the world’s best 185-pounder with just two months rest after the toughest fight of his career.

Besides, Sonnen seems to have other things on his mind just now…

(Photo courtesy of twitter.com/martinkampmann)

The poor bastard you see in the picture above is UFC welterweight contender Martin Kampmann, who had to pull out of his UFC 111 fight against Ben Saunders on Tuesday due to a stomach-turning gash over his right eye, which he suffered in training. (Damn, those Xtreme Couture guys need to take it easy with the broken-glass kickboxing matches.) Kampmann hopes to return to the cage in May. Saunders, who’s coming off his first-round knockout of Marcus Davis at UFC 106, will now take on Jake Ellenberger, who’s fresh off his TKO victory over Mike Pyle. In other UFC matchup news…

— According to a report on MMA Weekly, TUF 7 winner/Master Tweeter Amir Sadollah will compete next against undefeated Judo specialist Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 114 (May 29th, Las Vegas). Sadollah is riding back-to-back unanimous decision wins against Phil Baroni and Brad Blackburn; due to injury, Kim hasn’t competed since his decision win over TJ Grant at UFC 100 last July.

(Images courtesy of The UG.)

Who knows what will happen when Josh Koscheck and Paul Daley mix it up at UFC 113 (May 8th, Montreal), but Semtex has scored a first-round KO in the battle of insulting pre-fight Photoshops. Peeved at Koscheck’s recent Twitter outbursts, Daley stopped by The UG earlier today to post this call to arms:

The UG’ers quickly got to work whipping up a batch of photoshop destruction, the highlights of which you can see above and after the jump. (See, we told you that forum was the shit.) Enjoy, and if you have your own Joshoshops to add, please post links in the comments section or e-mail ‘em to us…

(Frank’s the guy in the background who is being assured by Josh Rosenthal that everything is going to be all right.  Well, not everything, but you get the point. Photo courtesy of Fight Magazine.)

We left one name out of yesterday’s recap of the post-UFC 109 contract-cutting bloodbath, and it is perhaps the least surprising one of all.  Frank Trigg, who suffered his second KO loss in as many fights after being brought back to the UFC in 2009, was also invited to seek other opportunities/paychecks this week.  One has to think that Trigg saw the firing coming after his poor showing against Matt Serra last Saturday.  Not only did he get knocked out, but this fight had loser-leaves-town written all over it from the start.  Why Trigg would dare show up for a fight of that importance with hair is beyond us.

Unlike Mark Coleman, Trigg says he’s not sure yet whether he’ll try to land a gig fighting outside the UFC.  He has some on-camera experience and can probably land a job of some sort in broadcasting, or maybe he’s had enough of working for other people and will resurrect the Triggonomics brand as MMA’s next clothing giant.  Changing the name so it no longer "sounds like a lemonade stand" might be a good first step.    

(Props: Cagewriter)

At least now we know that the difficulty we had understanding James Toney’s previous video rants was not the result of poor video equipment and low production value.  Dark Gable showed up on the Versus show "Sports Soup" to deliver yet another Dana White/UFC call-out, and once again we only understood every fourth word.  Something about candy and Chuck Liddell being "daddy’s little girl."  Other than that it was like trying to understand a voicemail that your very drunk friend left you at three a.m.  You know he’s saying something about what a bitch his ex-girlfriend is, but the details remain hazy.

The most interesting thing about this is that it happened on Versus, which is the UFC’s newest cable network sweetheart.  That’s not to say that the UFC necessarily instructed them to let Toney wander into their studio and then refuse to leave, but chances are good that they probably did not disapprove of the free publicity either, or else it might never have happened at all.  Now we just sit back and wait for Toney’s guest spot on Spike TV’s "Blue Mountain State," where he ambles into the frame to interrupt a date rape scene by calling out "Simba Spice" and imploring the UFC to get their money right and make him a real offer.       

(Arianny Celeste self-shot bikini pics: The reason why Twitter was invented. Photo courtesy of twitpic.com/photos/ariannyceleste.)

There was a time when you had to be a well-connected MMA journalist to keep tabs on where fighters were training and who their next opponents would be. Now you can do what we do — stay in bed with your laptop all day and follow them on Twitter. We call that progress. In case you’re not as tweet-obsessed as us, or if you’re simply too old to understand what the social-networking site is — ‘sup, dad — here’s what to do: Start an account, follow twitter.com/cagepotatomma, then start adding the pages below, which represent the 25 most informative and entertaining MMA-related Twitter feeds currently in operation. Your life will change in ways you never expected. And so, in alphabetical order…

twitter.com/allelbows
Bio: "mma shooter"
Known for her artfully crafted action shots and revealing portraiture, Esther Lin might be the greatest MMA photographer working today. Lately she’s been juggling gigs for MMAFighting, Strikeforce and Showtime, and the best of her work can always be found on her website, allelbows.com. Follow Esther’s tweets for photo updates and observations from her life behind the lens.
Sample tweet: "Fighters Are Dirty: the toilet in my hotel photoshoot room has pee all over it! Guys! Lift up the seat or aim better!"

twitter.com/amirmma
Bio: "Winner of The Ultimate Fighter 7"
It turns out that Amir Sadollah‘s awkward brand of ultra-dry humor is perfectly suited to short bursts of 140 characters or less. Like most UFC fighters, he spends a lot of time tweeting about publicity appearances and food. Unlike most UFC fighters, he somehow manages to make it all genuinely entertaining.
Sample tweet: "Yes Macs are expensive. But you can’t get a virus with them so I save money on condoms."

twitter.com/AriannyCeleste
Bio: "im not that cool. lover not a fighter."
Thanks to Twitter, stalking hot chicks has never been easier! UFC ring-girl goddess Arianny Celeste takes the guesswork out of our unhealthy obsession with her by generously sharing details about where she is, who she’s with, and what she’s doing, pretty much at all times. Also: Bikini pics and bikini pics and bikini pics. Why go anywhere else?
Sample tweet: "http://twitpic.com/112o0r – On my way 2 see an agency. Hope they like me, if not I’ll kick them in the groin area n give em stank eye."

Our chums at RawVegas.tv just posted their most recent video of Goran Reljic‘s "Road to UFC 110," this time focusing on his attempt to learn as much wrestling as he can possibly soak up before heading in to face C.B. Dollaway next weekend, who has shown very little ability to do anything else so far in the UFC.  According to Reljic, wrestling is one thing you really can’t learn while chilling near the treacherous Adriatic Sea back home.  While he says they have some form of Greco-Roman wrestling, he calls it a "disaster" and a "disgrace."  Damn, Goran.  We asked about wrestling, not Croatia’s inflation rate. 

Yeah, I took it there.

After the jump, travel back in time to a point when Chuck Liddell spoke as clearly and coherently as a local TV news weatherman.

(‘Is this about those stolen Octagon bracelets you found in my locker?  Because I was just holding those for Baroni.’ Photo courtesy of The Sun.)

It’s a tough time to be licking your wounds in the UFC. In a move that likely has every fighter to post an ‘L’ on his record at UFC 109 sweating bullets, the organization has reportedly released the “next Anderson Silva,” the “Godfather of ground-and-pound,” and the guy who was on the wrong end of the UFC’s fastest knockout (officially, anyway). Let’s take them one at a time, shall we?

- Mark Coleman (1-2 in his most recent UFC run) lost a one-sided contest of MMA elders to Randy Couture during a week that saw him run out of gas on the 215 freeway and get heckled by Tito Ortiz in his post-fight interview. Losing your job after all that makes your life start to sound like a cliché country music song. Please just tell us that his dog is okay.

(Props: MySpace.com/ammmir via MMA Weekly Insider blog)

You definitely earned this one. And speaking of breathtaking fighter images…

Sure, regional events like King of the Cage and Rage in the Cage don’t have the same big-name caché as UFC and Strikeforce shows, but let’s be serious — it’s still dudes beating each other up. If you don’t find that entertaining, feel free to spend your weekend catching up on old episodes of Private Practice, you sick freak.

Where were we? Oh right, the fights this weekend. Set your DVRs, folks, because this Friday’s King of the Cage card — which is providing us with the first seven questions in our current FightPicker pools — will be broadcast on HDNet, starting at 10 p.m. ET. The show promises three title fights (at heavyweight, bantamweight, and flyweight), plus appearances by UFC vets Rich Clementi, Travis Wiuff, and Mike Kyle. Watch it live and you can be the first person to gloat when your picks come in. As for the BAMMA and RITC events, you’ll just have to trust us when we tell you the results later. Not to sound like a broken record, but please join FightPicker if you haven’t already, and if you’re one of the 1,660 people who have started FP accounts but haven’t entered any pools yet, it’s this kind of indecision and lack of follow-through that’s taking our once-proud country straight to hell.

Very important note: Even though KOTC has been advertising a featured matchup between submission artists Rich Clementi and Anthony Lapsley, "No Love" has announced that he’ll actually be fighting Quinn Mulhern instead. If you’re playing the game this week, please re-visit your pools and edit accordingly.

(He’s got all the vague platitudes you want, but as soon as you ask about specific policy proposals suddenly it’s ‘Se habla español.’)

You know what’s fun about Chael Sonnen’s website promoting his run for Oregon State Representative? For one, there’s a picture of him forcing himself to smile, and another of him having a serious conversation over coffee with a woman who may or may not be a constituent. For another, when you click the “Priorities” tab to see what Sonnen stands for as a politician, you see only a single sentence telling you to “Check back in the coming weeks” to find out what he’s all about. But what’s most interesting is that, if you didn’t already know it, you’d have no idea that Sonnen is a professional fighter. None.

His website describes him as “a successful realtor and vice president of Caged Promotions, a sports and music production and promotion company,” and touts his wrestling credentials both at the University of Oregon (where he earned a degree in Sociology, the hippie) and as an alternate on the U.S. Olympic squad. It even mentions his volunteer work with a local youth wrestling program, and yet nowhere does it reference the UFC, MMA in general, or any kind of fighting career whatsoever.