(Do a shot every time Tito’s attorney says "unfortunately." Video courtesy of KTLA via MMA Weekly.)

Directly after being released by the Huntington Beach Police Department yesterday on $25,000 bail, Tito Ortiz and his attorney Chip Matthews organized a news conference in North Hollywood to address his domestic assault charges. Their side of the story goes like this: Ortiz "never laid a hand on" his girlfriend Jenna Jameson. Jameson, an OxyContin addict for over a year (so they say), relapsed on the notorious painkiller, and when Tito confronted her about some pills that he’d found in their house, things got heated. After he left, she contacted the police department through another individual; her father Larry Massoli, reportedly. An emotional Ortiz thanked his fans and family for their support. He said he saw his parents go through addiction, and wouldn’t let it affect his family again. "I hold everything dear to my heart that Jenna will be okay," he said.

Of course, Jenna’s account of what transpired is markedly different…

(Dana White and Tito Ortiz during happier times)

UFC president Dana White was contacted this afternoon by TMZ to enquire about whether or not Tito Ortiz would likely be let go from the promotion due to the felony domestic violence charges that were laid against "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" stemming from an alleged assault on his girlfriend Jenna Jameson this morning. 

(Roy vs. Fedor, rib-eating contest, no wet-naps allowed. MAKE IT HAPPEN, DANA.)

— Spike TV has confirmed that the previously reported matchup between Matt Hamill and Keith Jardine will headline the TUF 11 finale (June 19th, Las Vegas). Hamill is coming off his DQ "victory" over Jon Jones via 12-to-6 elbow annihilation, while Jardine has eaten three straight losses against Quinton Jackson, Thiago Silva, and Ryan Bader; you’d have to assume that this is his last chance to score a victory if he wants to keep his gig with the UFC. Not sure if the match deserves a headlining spot, but we’re interested to see what happens.

— According to a recent Twitter post, Roy Nelson will likely be taking on Cheick Kongo in his next match, which early reports are pegging to UFC 116 (July 3rd, Las Vegas). Nelson most recently scored a 39-second knockout of Stefen Struve at "Florian vs. Gomi," while Cheick Kongo snapped a two-fight losing streak by beating down Paul Buentello at "Vera vs. Jones." Which means that Junior Dos Santos is now completely out of opponents.

— Speaking of UFC 116, Sportsnet‘s Showdown Joe Ferraro first passed along rumors that the stacked event will also host bouts between Nate Marquardt and Alessio Sakara, and Brendan Schaub vs. Chris Tuchscherer. MMA Junkie has since confirmed those reports. UFC 116′s current lineup is after the jump; kill whoever you have to in order to get tickets.

(Video courtesy TMZ.com)

Jenna Jameson is asked by a TMZ reporter if she plans to press charges against her longtime boyfriend, former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, for allegedly assaulting her in their Huntington Beach, CA home earlier today, to which she replies, "Of course."

When asked by the cameraman about what transpired that morning, Jenna said she couldn’t talk about it, but reassured him that, both she and her twin 13-month-old boys would be fine.

"Everything is okay," Jameson said. "He’s in jail."

Video of Ortiz’s arrest after the jump.

(Ortiz and Jameson in happier times)

TMZ is reporting the injury-plagued UFC light heavyweight Tito Ortiz has been arrested for felony domestic assault and is en-route to jail in Orange County, CA.

Police responded to a 911 call at the home that Ortiz and longtime girlfriend Jenna Jameson share with their twin sons. According to the report, sheriff’s deputies noted "visible injuries" on Jameson, prompting the arrest of "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy."

We’ll have more as details become available.

(Props: WatchKalibRun)

After laying low for most of the month, the completely arbitrary numerical rankings system known as The Potato Index has been jarred from its slumber following this weekend’s absolutely insane "Aldo vs. Faber" event. And now, it’s time for some scores to be handed down with the wrath of a fat goth chick. Let’s hit it…

Jose Aldo +199
Aldo did what most of us expected him to do, which is run through the California Kid like a hot knife through corn-rowed butter. But his unfortunate stalling in the last round — when he could have put Faber out of his misery at any moment, or at least followed his corner’s advice and let Faber up when he went down — suggested that the WEC featherweight champ is cool with just running out the clock sometimes. It’ll be a problem if it becomes a habit. For now, you can’t get too mad at him, especially since Faber absorbed a level of damage that would have stopped almost any other fighter.

Urijah Faber -74
His hometown paper may be calling for his retirement, the freakin’ vultures, but let’s look at the positives: Faber still has one of the most passionate followings in all of MMA. He will not quit, no matter how bad things are going for him. And although his legacy at featherweight may be ending, there’s still a bantamweight division in the WEC that would probably love to have him. Time to set up Faber vs. Torres?

(Junior "The Dream Crusher" Dos Santos)

According to a report by Guilherme Cruz on Tatame.com, fast-rising UFC heavyweight contender Junior Dos Santos made a request to UFC brass to face Cain Velasquez in his next fight, and was flatly denied.

Feeling that a bout between himself and his American championship contender counterpart would help to clarify which of the pair is first in line at a shot at the winner of the July tilt between Shane Carwin and current heavyweight kingpin Brock Lesnar, Cigano figured the UFC would agree with his view that the fight made  sense and would ensure they both stayed busy in the interim.

Apparently the UFC didn’t agree, and now both fighters sit in holding pattens waiting for the promotion to sort out their somewhat blurry heavyweight title picture, unsure when they will fight again.

(Skirting the Unified Rules, Lil’ Emel uses the Force Choke to incapacitate his opponent)

For years now, fans and reporters have hypothesized that Fedor Emelianenko is some mystical being whose powers were not of this world — a Jedi, perhaps.

It seems that his younger brother, Aleksander, has similar gifts. 

   
(Images courtesy of JorgDubin.com)

Art galleries don’t usually draw the TapouT-clad juicehead crowd — but thanks to an upcoming exhibition at the Peter Blake Gallery in Laguna Beach, that’s about to change. From May 6-29, painter Jorg Dubin will be showing nine of his MMA-themed works at the space, which feature such MMA legends as Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Brock Lesnar, and Fedor Emelianenko. Cage-fighters and naked chicks, huh? Sounds like something we can get behind. (Even if the one with Keith Jardine and the redheaded Mariska Hargitay-lookalike gives us the creeps for some reason.) But there’s deep meaning behind these bizarre and unique works. From the press release:

(Chan Sung Jung reacts to his decision loss to Leonard Garcia on Saturday night. We feel your pain, buddy. Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.)

— WEC’s fighters are already seeing some benefits from their promotion’s first foray into pay-per-view. Though performance bonuses have totaled just $10,000 for recent WEC events, Zuffa handed out end-of-night bumps worth $65,000 following WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber. Picking up the hefty checks were: Leonard Garcia and Chan Sung Jung for their epic Fight of the Night brawl that ended in a controversial decision win for Garcia; Manny Gamburyan for shocking the world with his first-round Knockout of the Night against Mike Brown; and reigning lightweight champ Ben Henderson, for his quick guillotine choke Submission of the Night over Donald Cerrone.

— Only one bout from the 11-fight card didn’t get airtime on Saturday night: Former bantamweight title challenger Takeya Mizugaki handed Rani Yahya his second straight loss during the prelims, edging out the Brazilian by unanimous decision (29-28 x 2, 30-27).

— Dana White was so hot on Jose Aldo after Saturday night’s main event that he’s already talking about a three-title reign. "I had heard that he wants to move down a weight class, win that belt and then go to 155 to fight BJ in the UFC," White said during the post-event press conference. "If he can do that, I don’t know if he can cut that weight and make that light a weight division, but he’d be the first guy to win three titles in three different weight divisions." We’re all for ludicrously overblown hype, but can we wait until Aldo makes a couple more title defenses in his own division first?

 
(Urijah Faber’s Jose Aldo-inflicted case of elephantiasis of the leg.)

Remember  after the Machida-Shogun fight when UFC judge Cecil Peoples made the asinine comment that leg kicks don’t win fights?

Despite the fact last night that the fight between Urijah Faber and Jose Aldo went to a decision, it was obvious that "The California Kid" was done midway through the bout due to the damaged he sustained to his legs from the trauma inflicted by the feet and shins of the champion. In the final two frames of the bout, Faber could barely stand on his lead leg and had to be helped back to the stool between rounds.

("Due to my contract with No Fear, I am legally forbidden from pissing my pants right now." / Photo courtesy of the WEC 48: Weigh In Pics gallery on CombatLifestyle.)

Sure, we’re calling it a WEC event, but things will be running a little differently tonight: Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg are handling commentary, Chandella is co-headlining the ring girl pit, and the fighter introductions will be delivered by the sensual vocal stylings of Bruce Buffer. Plus, you’re paying for it, which would be a bummer if the card wasn’t so stacked. In the headlining slots: Jose Aldo makes his first featherweight belt defense against former champ Urijah Faber, and lightweight champ Ben Henderson tries to make it 2-0 against cowboy-hatted nemesis Donald Cerrone. Plus: Mike Brown, Anthony Njokuani, Scott Jorgensen, Leonard Garcia, and a man known as "The Korean Zombie" will all be fighting for your entertainment. Round-by-round "Aldo vs. Faber" results can be found after the jump starting at 9 p.m. ET; refresh the page every few minutes for all the gruesome details.

(Big Dog is planning to eat Matt Hughes’ country breakfast August 7.)

According to an MMA Weekly report, a bout between former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes and Renzo Gracie disciple, Ricardo Almeida is in the works for UFC 117, August 7 in Oakland, CA.

Almeida will be looking bring a “W” and honor back to the Gracie academy while seeking revenge for Renzo and his other UFC-employed black belt, Matt Serra – both of whom were defeated by Hughes in the past year. Serra shared “Fight of the Night” honors in a unanimous decision loss with Hughes at UFC 98, while the aging Gracie was crippled with leg kicks by the Hillsborough, IL native who eventually pulled the trigger on a TKO victory in the third and final frame of their fight at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, UAE earlier this month. Hughes also holds a win over Renzo’s cousin, UFC legend Royce Gracie.

(Video courtesy Youtube/Zuffa LLC)

Zuffa president Dana White’s latest WEC: Aldo vs. Faber video blog is up, and besides the obligatory Pinkberry stop and hugs and handshakes with fighters, there are actually a few funny moments in this edition.

Here are the video’s Cliffs Notes highlights for anyone too Emo to bother to watch:

It looks like Round 5 is trying to get Dana to okay a prototype of an action figure version of him they did for their line of incredibly bad action figures. I’m not sure if they have the same guy who does caricatures at the mall do the concept drawings for these things or if maybe they commissioned the supposed award-winning sculptor from New Jersey that did chocolate Dana White to do up this non-likeness, but I doubt we’ll be seeing this version of DW immortalized in plastic on store shelves any time soon.

If you fast forward through to the end of the vid, you’ll see that contrary to popular belief about its demographic, the UFC’s reach extends far beyond Affliction-wearing, 20-something douchebags and has jumped the shark to the BDSM community. Seriously, who puts on a get-up like that, looks in the mirror and thinks, “Damn, I look good. I’m gonna go hang out at Pinkberry and see if I can’t meet Dana White.”
 

(The Diaz brothers discuss competing with class, the delusion that MMA is a sport, and give the definitive answer on who would win in a fight between them. Wonderful stuff from Fight Magazine.)

– Manny Gamburyan vows to "do genocide" on Mike Brown tomorrow night at WEC 48. (Bleacher Report)

– Ben Henderson’s dream job? Exotic food-eater. (Cagewriter)

– BJ Penn shreds Dana White in his new book. (BloodyElbow)

– Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin official for UFC 116 in July. (MMA Fighting)

– M-1 says Strikeforce is to blame for their recent negotiation delays, and Fedor is frustrated at his long layoff. (Sherdog)

– Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida in the works for August. (MMA Weekly)

– Chael Sonnen’s latest bit of anti-Silva propaganda. (Inside MMA)

– Three featherweight fights added to DREAM.14, including Joachim Hansen vs. Hiroyuki Takaya. (Nightmare of Battle)

– TUF 11 "Minority Report" member Kris McCray defends Jamie Yager and says Rich Attonito took a dive. (The Rhino Den)

– 2010 NFL Draft first-round recap. (Scores Report)

– Awesomely sexist vintage ads. (Asylum)

– The Top 29 Best Cities To Live In. (Ask Men)

– 25 Examples of Unintentional Porn. (Holy Taco)

– 8 Bands Worthy of a 3D Concert Film. (Screen Junkies)

– How to Facilitate a Threesome (Made Man)

– Ten-car smash-up at the Texas Motor Speedway. (All Left Turns)

– Jeweler defends store against thieves with samurai swords. (Nothing Toxic)

– Must-see: Variety show erupts during baseball rain-delay. (Break)

("I expect biased media coverage in Sacramento. But no Get Fuzzy on the comics page? What the fuck is wrong with this town?" / Photo courtesy of the WEC 48: Out and About in Sac gallery on CombatLifestyle.com)

Just wanted to let y’all know that we’ll be liveblogging WEC: Aldo vs. Faber tomorrow beginning with the Spike TV prelims broadcast at 9 p.m. ET, and continuing to the pay-per-card at 10 p.m. So swing by as the WEC makes history/rapes our wallets, and let us know how you feel.

Speaking of which, have you made your WEC 48 FightPicker predictions yet? The currency may be fake — but the excitement is as real as it gets.

Let’s Get It On! MMA, the new tournament format mixed martial arts promotion owned by Elaine McCarthy, wife of acclaimed referee “Big” John McCarthy kicks off its first season tonight in Canada. Featuring tournaments in two weight classes – welterweight and lightweight – the winner of each division of the round robin will earn a contract with Strikeforce to compete in their Challenger series as well as a $25,000 paycheck.

Speaking to Sportsnet MMA columnist James Brydon, McCarthy, who was the event coordinator at several early UFC events explains that tourney will split time between Edmonton, Alberta and Gatineau, Quebec and will feature nine events. She says that although there are other promotions out there that follow the tournament format, none feature a region versus region format like LGIO.

 
(The Navy was stumped, so they brought in Cyborg Soldier to plan the execution of "UFC: Warzone" in Afghanistan)

It looks like UFCs plans to hold a show for troops stationed in Afghanistan will happen sooner than later — the problem is, nobody will know for sure until days away from the event. According to a story in the Las Vegas Sun, keeping the date a secret is a security measure necessary for the safety of the soldiers and civilians who will be at the event.

UFC president Dana White says that that executing the "secret mission" will be a challenge but he’s looking forward pulling off the operation in spite of the reservations of some of his employees.

"We’re working on it right now. White said. It’s so crazy that they can’t tell us exactly where or when it would happen. The military is going to let us know when we can do it," White explained. "We’re going to chopper in at night. There are a lot of people who are scared. (Announcer Joe Rogan) said, ‘Oh (expletive), we’re going to do what?’ We’re going to fly in, set this thing up as fast as we can and get the (expletive) out of there."

War, UFC and war, Dana White!

(Brett Cooper/Steve Carl photo courtesy of Bellator.com. Videos to come soon, hopefully.)

…are after the jump. Read on to see how Dan Hornbuckle fared in his Bellator debut, and if Ryan Thomas made the most of his welterweight tournament do-over.

(Either he’s suffering from jet-lag, or he stayed up all night watching a Bad Girls Club marathon. / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.)

After getting soundly handled by Kenny Florian last month, Takanori Gomi will get another chance to prove himself in the UFC — but it won’t be easy. As first reported by MMA Mania, the Fireball Kid will compete at the next "UFC on Versus" show (August 1st, Salt Lake City) against UFC lightweight contender Joe Stevenson. Though Stevenson is coming off a decision loss to George Sotiropolous at UFC 110, he looked better than ever in his previous victories over Spencer Fisher and Nate Diaz, and has to be thought of as the favorite in this matchup. It’s an absolute must-win for Gomi, who would likely be released by the UFC if he loses. Anybody think he’s got a shot?

Semi-related: Randy Couture is slated to appear on the UFC’s August 28th card in Boston, which has fired speculation that he will be facing former boxing champ James Toney, who he previously called dibs on. You’d better hope this doesn’t actually come together, Randy — this guy’s daddy was an original death fighter, for God’s sake…

(What has one pinky and one thumb up and wants a  title shot? This guy!)

Speaking exclusively with CagePotato.com on Thursday afternoon, Rich Franklin revealed that his days as a middleweight in the UFC are likely numbered and that he is planning on making the best of his new permanent home at light heavyweight by working towards a title shot in his final five fights on his contract.

According to the former UFC middleweight champ, the decision to abandon the weight class he once reigned over in the Octagon was not entirely a personal one.

"The UFC has repeatedly told me that they aren’t interested in seeing me fight at 185 any more. Because of that, I moved up to 205. It all comes down to the fact that they didn’t want to do a Franklin-Silva III," Franklin explains. "I’m a ‘never say never’ type of guy, but the problem is that if the UFC doesn’t want to see me do a title match at 185,  ultimately I would be stuck fighting in that weight class without ever being able to fight for a title again, which would make no sense since that is the whole reason we do this and the goal we work towards as fighters." 

(Using a strategically placed cityscape to hide the source of Arlovski’s "oh!" face, Strikeforce was able to maintain their PG rating for this poster.)

Strikeforce announced this evening that they have added two marquee bouts to their “Heavy Artillery” card set for the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. on Saturday, May 15.

Undefeated jiu-jitsu ace Roger Gracie (2-0) will make his heavily anticipated Strikeforce debut opposite former UFC heavyweight champion and PRIDE standout Kevin “The Monster” Randleman (17-4) live on Showtime.

Also inked in for the card is an interesting middleweight bout with a juxtaposition of styles that will see grappling sensation Ronaldo “Jacare" Souza (11-2 1 NC) and resilient knockout artist Joey Villasenor (27-6) lock horns.

Could it be over this soon for TUF 11 contestant (and CagePotato guest-blogger) Rich Attonito? Richie Boom-Bats looked like a true ass-kicker in his round-of-16 match against Kyacey Uscola, until an illegal knee put an abrupt end to the fight. But instead of taking his DQ victory and sailing into the quarterfinals, Attonito wound up with his hand in a cast. Read on to find out what Attonito had to say about last night’s action-packed episode…

During the Tavares-Hammortree fight we catch a glimpse of Yager cheering Brad on against his own teammate. Afterward Nick pulls Yager aside and confronts him about cheering for the other team. Yager hears Nick out but I don’t think it mattered much to him as he seemed to have his own idea about whose team he’s on. That’s when we catch a four-way discussion between Yager, McCray, Noke, and Tavares about forming their own alliance called the Minority Report.

The rest of the guys on Team Ortiz didn’t take the situation lightly. Especially Kaycey Uscola who likened Yager to the S— on the bottom of his shoe. The bickering we saw in practice aside, this was something major that began to break the unity between some of the fighters on Tito’s team. I understand Yager is close with Brad but I didn’t think it was appropriate to cheer for the other team. If anything he should have sat quietly or cheered impartially just to encourage the fighters. Only one fighter is gonna win the contract so its definitely an individual sport, however, your team and training partners are whats going to help you get there. If this was the mafia, Yager would be getting whacked out for going against the family.

Shortly after the fights are picked and who’s up but yours truly. Chuck decides to send me in to take out one of Team Ortiz’s top picks in Kyacey Uscola. I think it surprised most of his team that we decided to go after him. Kyacey was the most experienced and seasoned fighter in the house and in my opinion one of the top guys. I was definitely going to be the underdog in most people’s eyes.

Man, you thought going from Japanese MMA royalty to Strikeforce prelim fighter was bad? Dude. Strikeforce sent out a press release this morning announcing that MMA pioneer Matt "The Law" Lindland — who has been stopped in his last two fights against Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and Vitor Belfort — will be headlining the next Strikeforce Challengers event (May 21st; Portland, Oregon), against Kevin Casey, best known as the jiu-jitsu coach of reality-show ass-pimple Spencer Pratt. Casey’s 3-1 MMA record includes a TKO loss to Ikuhisa Minowa, and three wins against guys you’ve never heard of. His Wikipedia page offers this telling anecdote:

[Casey] began to study Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 1999 when he befriended Rockson Gracie, son of Rickson Gracie…Casey has [promoted him]self to Black Belt in Jiu-Jitsu. He was banned from the school by Kron Gracie the son of Rickson Gracie because of his attempt at self promotion.

Really? A guy who recruited his celebutard buddy Spencer to look hard in a music video about his own awesomeness is a shameless self-promoter? You don’t say. Lindland vs. Casey is the ultimate matchup of grumpy old-timer vs. young entitled d-bag. And if Casey wins, we will never hear the end of it. So train well, Matt…and keep protecting our jobs. If you’re curious, the current lineup for Strikeforce Challengers 8 is after the jump.

(The signs were everywhere, including Jake’s FB and MySpace pages. How did we miss them?)

In an interview with All Headline News today, UFC president Dana White asserted that Strikeforce middleweight champ Jake Shields will be on his way to the Octagon sooner than later. Shields technically has one fight remaining on his SF contract, but it will likely expire before he has the opportunity to fulfill the obligation. White is confident that Shields, who definitely exited the promotion on a high note Saturday night with his dominant win over former PRIDE champion and UFC castaway Dan Henderson, will not be long testing free agent waters.

Although the wheels to add the 31-year-old Californian to the UFC’s stacked welterweight roster are not yet in motion, as soon as Strikeforce exercises its rights to re-sign Shields (something White is confident will likely not happen) he says the UFC will make an offer to the Cesar Gracie black belt.

“Jake Shields is definitely going to leave Strikeforce and he’s definitely coming to the UFC," White told AHN’s Shawn Krest.

(Video courtesy YouTube/UFC.com)

When it comes to trash talking, fighters typically fall under one of three categories: those who rely on their pre-fight banter to make up for their inferior skill set, those who don’t necessarily need to talk smack, but do because they have the skills to back up their mouths and those who should stick to fighting and leave the posturing to the pros.

Set to lock horns at UFC 113 May 8 in Montreal are two of the sport’s smack talking idiot savants, Josh Koscheck and Paul Daley. Both definitely can sell fights without saying a word, but the entertainment value of hearing the two of them go at it verbally before either throws a punch, is nearly as good as the fight itself will likely prove to be.

(The end of Lytle vs. Brown I, 8/11/07. Props: tapskilz)

— You might as well give these guys their Fight of the Night checks right now. MMA Fighting reports that a match between scrappy welterweights Chris "The Bonus Hunter" Lytle and Matt Brown has been added to UFC 116 (July 3rd, Las Vegas). Lytle and Brown have met once before, at a Unified Fight League event in August 2007; "Lights Out" won the fight by second-round guillotine choke. Lytle is now riding back-to-back wins against Kevin Burns and Brian Foster, while Brown is coming off his submission loss to Ricardo Almeida at UFC 111.

— In a matchup of lightweight grappling specialists, George Sotiropoulos and Kurt Pellegrino are also slated to tangle at UFC 116. Since his appearance on TUF 6, Sotriopoulos has built up a perfect 5-0 record in the Octagon, and recently picked up the biggest win of his career by outpointing Joe Stevenson at UFC 110. Pellegrino has also been on a tear lately, taking out four consecutive opponents, including a second-round submission via rear-naked choke over Fabricio Camoes at UFC 111 last month. The winner of this fight becomes a serious player in the 155-pound division. Who ya got?

(Props: iBakedAcake)

This poor, misunderstood Jamie Yager kid just can’t catch a break. During last week’s fight, he cheers for his buddy Brad Tavares, instead of his Team Punishment teammate James Hammortree, which just gives Nick "Blown-Out O-" Ring something else to be upset about. "You’re with us or against us…you need to support us, friendships aside," Nick says. "I hear what you’re saying, and I respect where you’re coming from," Yager says. But Ring doesn’t feel very heard or respected. He goes back to the house to bitch about Yager some more with his housemates.

Yager has his own crew — himself, Tavares, Kris McCray, and Kyle Noke — which he has dubbed "The Minority Report." Noke is not sure why he’s been included with the other multi-ethnic types, but he’s cool with it.

Anyway, this is one of those two-fight episodes, thank God, so we won’t have to suffer through too much girly-ass drama and house bullshit. Still in control, Chuck Liddell chooses his boy (and ours) Rich Attonito to go up against Kyacey Uscola. Uscola (18-15) is a skilled wrestler, and has had a long career that’s seen him lose to such notables as Chael Sonnen, Gegard Mousasi, Joey Villasenor, Mike Guymon, and Kyle Noke. He’s going to miss the birth of his child while being on the show.

("They used Krazy Glue to fix the problem, so I guess you can say my brain is a bit more crazy now." — Thiago Alves)

Three weeks ago, and only a few days prior to his UFC 111 showdown with fellow UFC welterweight contender Jon Fitch, officials from the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board (NJSACB) discovered an abnormality in Thiago Alves’ brain and pulled him from the card. If left untreated, Doctors informed the 24-year-old that the affliction could have proven fatal had he incurred any brain trauma from fighting or even sparring.

NJSACB medical official, Dr. Sherry Wulkan is credited with discovering Alves’ condition from a discrepancy between a CT scan image done on the Brazilian fighter in 2005 and one he had taken a week before the ill-fated fight with Fitch. Subsequent tests revealed that an artery in Thiago’s brain was dangerously close to becoming fused with a neighboring vein.

Alves explains that although it would not necessarily have proven fatal under normal circumstances, had the two vessels joined, his chances of mortality would have increased tenfold.

(Fun fact: Jose Aldo got that scar when he was a baby, after his sisters rolled him onto a barbecue pit. Well, maybe that’s not so much a "fun" fact as a completely horrifying one. Depends on your definition of fun, I guess. / Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

Now that some of you are sitting on hefty tax returns from defrauding the government while in prison, it’s time to see if we can turn those little nest eggs into big, throbbing piles of money. WEC 48 is this Saturday — only on Pay Per View! — and there are plenty of opportunities to beat the oddsmakers. But before we share our red-hot, sure-thing, can’t-miss tips*, let’s take a look at the betting lines, courtesy of BestFightOdds.com…

MAIN CARD
Jose Aldo (-295) vs. Urijah Faber (+289)
Ben Henderson (even) vs. Donald Cerrone (-110)
Mike Brown (-600) vs. Manny Gamburyan (+500)
Shane Roller (-140) vs. Anthony Njokuani (+115)
Scott Jorgensen (-250) vs. Antonio Banuelos (+230)

PRELIMINARY CARD
Leonard Garcia (-130) vs. Chan Sung Jung (+110)
Anthony Pettis (-550) vs. Alex Karalexis (+505) 
Brad Pickett (-127) vs. Demetrious Johnson (even)
Chad Mendes (-465) vs. Anthony Morrison (+375)
Takeya Mizugaki (-150) vs. Rani Yahya (+130)
Brandon Visher (-300) vs. Tyler Toner (+240)

* We kindly request that you don’t consult previous editions of the Gambling Enabler to verify this claim.

Damn, a lot of surprises here…