(Negotiations seemed to be going fine, until Lashley abruptly announced he wasn’t ready to face the champ.)

… and it’s Ron Sparks. The two undefeated heavyweight prospects have verbally agreed to fight on the undercard of Strikeforce’s planned June 16 show, which will feature Robbie Lawler vs. Babalu Sobral as its main event.

Given that Sparks is 5-0 in MMA, isn’t a totally unskilled freak show, a fat light heavyweight or formerly homeless, it looks like a small step in the right direction for Lashley. However, considering that Sparks is basically a kickboxer (albeit a giant one at 6-5, 285) and hasn’t fought anybody of note in his MMA career, the cynics among us will argue that he’s another opponent tailor-made for defeat at the hands of the two-time NAIA national wrestling champion and former Olympic hopeful. From what we already know about him, that probably suits Bobby Lashley just fine.

(After talking it over with Art Jimmerson, Ricardo Mayorga opts for a very traditional game plan against Din Thomas. PicProps: Sherdog.com)

UPDATE: SI.com’s Josh Gross reports via Twitter that a judge actually did rule in favor of Don King Productions on Saturday, but further updates indicate Shine Fights might say "damn the man" and move forward with Ricardo Mayorga vs. Din Thomas anyway. More as it develops …

Lest James Toney get too comfortable in his standing as mixed martial arts’ resident crazy-mouthed pugilist, former boxing champ and all-around maniac Ricardo Mayorga also makes his MMA debut tonight. Or at least we think he will.

Mayorga, who is best known for his public beer drinking, cigarette smoking and across-the-board not-giving-a-fuck, is slated to face Din Thomas in the independent Shine Fights promotion in Fayetteville, NC. The company remains steadfast that the show – available on PPV for a mere $29.95, if you’re interested – will go on despite some last-minute legal wrangling by Don King. The hirsute boxing promoter was seeking granted an injunction this week to stop Mayorga from appearing, claiming it would violate King’s exclusive contract with the fighter. As of this moment that request – which sounds suspiciously like legalese for: "Break me off a piece, homie," – has not been granted.

(Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery preview courtesy YouTube/The Fight Network; Randy’s goatee-chinstrap combo courtesy douchebags worldwide)

- Ken Shamrock vs. Rizzo NOT Mark Coleman on July 17 Impact Fighting Card in Australia (MMAFighting)

- Rampage calls fight with Shogun a "very interesting" prospect (FightersOnly)

- Obama an MMA fan? President chats about UFC 113 with martial arts instructor while visiting NY (BuffaloNews)

- Cyborg to defend her Strikeforce title June 26 on Fedor vs. Werdum card (MMAJunkie)

- Four fighters including Jacare miss weight for Saturday’s Strikeforce event (Sherdog)

- Mayorga says if Thomas beats him at next weekend’s Shine Fights event, he will retire from MMA (YouTube/FightHub)

- Goulet and Hague both dropped by UFC following UFC 113 losses (TopMMANews)

- Joey Karate breaks down UFC 113 (YouTube/10thPlanet)

- Dan Quinn’s Twitter page (Twitter)

- Overeem shatters sledgehammer while filming Strikeforce promo (CageWriter)

- Werdum offers Rogers advice to beat Overeem (GracieMag)

- Teacher "UFCs" a student (EbaumsWorld)

- 10 Hottest British Babes (MadeMen)

- Investors looking to make Rambo V sans Stallone (ScreenJunkies)

- The 9 Sexiest Secretaries (Chickipedia)

-  Monica Keena photos (HolyTaco)

- Victory Lane Girls (AllLeftTurns)

- Jedi A-holes (Ebaumsworld)

(Photo courtesy Esther Lin/Fanhouse)

In his first public interview since losing his UFC light heavyweight title to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 113 last weekend, Lyoto Machida told Brazilian televison station, Globo Esporte, that he is in no hurry to fight for the belt he owned for 11 1/2 months. Besides healing from a fractured orbital bone sustained in the fight Saturday night that may require surgery,  Machida wants to take the time to analyze tape of the loss and shore up any weaknesses before stepping back into the Octagon with Rua, or whomever holds the strap when he is ready to fight for it again in approximately ten months to a year. 

"I don’t care who has it; I want to have the opportunity to fight for the belt. If it’s Shogun I’m ok, I’ll enjoy the win more. That punch really got me and in this division it’s really damaging to get hit with a punch like that. When it gets you, it’s really damaging. My plans are to fight for this belt in a year or less — maybe more like 10 months. To regain the belt has become my new dream."

(The cover of Fight!’s May 2010 issue, on newsstands now.)

Thank God as you understand Him it’s Friday, right guys? I remembered to actually look at a few of your comments this week, which means it’s time to give away one-year Fight! Magazine subscriptions to three lucky bastards. And those bastards are… 

steampunk22 on "Filho Blames Bellator for Visa Issues; Says Organization Was Scared Because They Heard He Was in Shape":
Ariel Helwani demonstrates what six weeks of the "Overeem Horsemeat Diet" can accomplish. Plaid shirts will never look the same again.

(One of these circa-2003 douches is CP’s new weekend editor.  Hint: It’s not Vanilla Ice or the guy on the left.)

I’ve been told to come here and introduce myself, but because I know you all have a full day planned of needlessly ripping the new guy while continuing to pine after the chisel-faced zombie who dumped you last month at the first available opportunity to become a "reputable journalist," I’m going to keep this brief. My name is Chad Dundas and for the foreseeable future, I’ll be CagePotato’s new weekend editor.

As a longtime reader and occasional contributor to this site, I assure you my desire in my new position is only to carry on the tradition of excellence set forth by our follically challenged, hairy-armed forbearers. Little will change about CP’s weekend coverage on my watch, except you’ll get a few more updates, I’ll get a little more paid and Goldstein and Russell will have a couple of free days to pursue other interests. I know you’re skeptical, so please allow me to add a few introductory statements …

^{Disclaimer: Dan was unable to consume any Pure H20 tm while in prison, and as such, put on a bit of weight since he did not have the benefit of stevia to melt away fat. Do not be alarmed by his lack of abs in this video)} 
(Video courtesy YouTube/Cold fission, playa)

Dan Quinn posted a new video on his YouTube channel last night and in typical DQ style it doesn’t make a whole hell of a lot of sense, but like any train wreck, I’m compelled to watch it.

He’s worse than two girls one cup.

In this clip, he talks about his 45-day stint in "a level 4 prison," the fact that he would beat Randy Couture in a pure striking MMA match-up with no kicks or takedowns and weighs in on the Sandra Bullock/Jesse James divorce.

The best quote from the video: "When I get fucking spun spun on stevia and weed — because I use Pure H20 ^tm and stevia to rid my body of all toxins…um…you know what? I kind of become a version of Iron Man."

For the record, when Dan shouts out his prison homies, Spencer, Patrick and "that stud from Canada," he was not referring to me.

I’m going to have to try his money saving suggestion to use stevia in place of cocaine at my "Scarface coke parties." Remind me, though, when I start doing my whacked out shirtless video blogs for CP to tidy up my room a bit.

We Are Lebron Video – Watch more Funny Videos

Seems like a lot of you are more interested in hockey this year, but LeBron James may have played his last game with the Cleveland Cavaliers last night, and that’s kind of a big deal, particularly for the people of Cleveland, who stand to lose one of the few things they can truly be proud of. In a show of solidarity/desperation, our friends at the Break Creative Lab produced this music video of notable Clevelanders begging LeBron to stay in their town. Yes, they’re mostly hideous, and often tone-deaf. It is what it is, I guess. My favorite moment is when Marc Brown, Norton Furniture Pitchman, shows up at 2:28 to wheeze his line like the half-dead lovechild of Bob Dylan and Skunk Baxter. If LeBron isn’t moved by the raw emotion of this video, then he didn’t deserve Cleveland’s love in the first place.

(Just kidding, man — sign with the Knicks, okay?)

(Praying works better if you bow your head and close your eyes, Scott)

According to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, his promotion has not been in touch with broadcast partner CBS since the post-fight brawl that occurred at the tail end of the Strikeforce: Nashville event April 17.

Now, I’m no business expert, but I have some management and PR experience and one thing I’m pretty sure that is a paramount component to every successful business relationship is open two-way communication. If it were me, I would have been on the phone with CBS that Monday to set up a debriefing to discuss the incident, what went wrong and how we should move forward. 
Instead, it seems that Strikeforce is taking the don’t ask don’t tell, head in the sand technique, which likely won’t end well as time passes and CBS starts to wonder what the hell is going on.

(Props: YouTube.com/ShoSports)

Another promo, another dilapidated warehouse to shoot it in. Brett Rogers is already used to this. And with his first stare-down with Alistair Overeem in the books, things have officially gotten real. Frank Shamrock gives the fighters props for not nervously pissing themselves during the shoot. There isn’t much you can really interpret from the clip; both fighters seem calm and thoroughly focused. Still, if this was a pectoral competition, it would be the Reem in a walk-off. 

After the jump: Overeem explains his 2.5-year absence from Strikeforce, discusses the legality of horse-meat in the United States — like, actual horse-meat, we’re not using that as a euphemism for steroids this time — and plugs his documentary.

(Hector Lombard produces the fastest K.O. in Bellator history. What, you thought Jay Silva was going to shock the world? Props: YouTube.com/BellatorMMA.)

By DL “Potential Sociopath” Richardson

Say you live in Louisiana. Not the cool part where people party their asses off every day. I’m talking about inland, where you still get the humidity, but no one dresses up before Ash Wednesday, and you can never find a place to sell you a to-go alcoholic beverage. Say you live in Monroe. What do you do for fun? Well, you could go hang out at the Pecanland Mall and hit on that cute girl at Yummy Japan, but if you have any damn sense, you catch the Bellator Fighting Championships whenever they come into town. Last night, Bellator visited the Monroe Civic Center for the semifinal round of this season’s featherweight tournament, and as usual, they put on a show. Full results and recap after the jump…

(Oh, Jenna. When will you learn?)

You’ll all be happy to know that Tito Ortiz and Jenna Jameson are now officially free to go on with their trainwreck life together now that the Orange County District Attorney’s office has decided to close their case without laying charges against the former UFC light heavyweight champion for the highly publicized April 26 fight between the pair at their Huntington Beach home.

(Video courtesy YouTube/Fight Science)

Brandon Vera appeared on Sport Science, (which must have been filmed prior to his face-breaking loss to Jon Jones on March 21 since his mug looks pretty normal) to compare the muay thai kicks of Shogun to the karate kicks of Machida. 

The episode is pretty interesting and the results of "The Truth’s" experiment of repeatedly kicking the head off of a crash test dummy revealed a few things.

1. Muay thai kicks are more powerful than karate kicks

2. Karate kicks are faster than muay thai kicks

3. I never want to be at the receiving end of a Vera kick — especially not one to my head or extremely handsome face.

In the latest installment of his TUF 11 guest-blog for CagePotato.com, Team Liddell’s Rich Attonito breaks down the Seth vs. Joe matchup from last night’s episode, his chess rivalry with Charles Blanchard, and his self-destructive method of coping with being sidelined. We hope you get into treatment soon, Rich…

After Court McGee and Nick Ring’s fight, we catch a glimpse of Nick’s emerging knee problem. How bad was it, only time will tell. But it definitely was a cause of concern for him. Especially when it gave out and brought him to the ground during training. At the time, no one on our team had any idea of Nick’s injury.

The last of the preliminary fights is announced: Seth Baczynski and Joe Henle will close out the first round of competition in the house. Seth definitely seemed like the favorite in this matchup due to his experience and well-rounded skills. I remember the fight him and Court had to get into the house being a war. Seth looked like The Terminator; he never stopped coming forward the entire fight like a machine. When Chris was forced to leave due to his broken jaw, I knew they were going to bring Seth back. He was the best guy out of all of the fighters that lost, and I knew Tito wanted to bring back a guy who would only strengthen his team.

Joe, nicknamed the Geico Caveman, had only started fighting six months earlier and was very new to MMA. He pulled out a late submission in his fight to get into the house, in which he was losing. Because of that Joe was perceived to be the weak link in the house. But perception can be deceiving. While he didn’t have some of the polished skills that a lot of the guys had, he had a ton of heart and potential. You could see him absorbing the techniques we learned daily and improving rapidly. Joe’s grappling is definitely his strength and we knew that if he could ground Seth and get on top, that he could definitely win. The Terminator versus The Caveman was certainly gonna be a fight to watch.

(Props: Snakefinger)

Before we get started, we gotta ask: Have you made your MMA FightPicker selections yet? If so, please note that we had to change two of the "Worlds Collide: Mayorga vs. Thomas"-related questions today, as Travis Galbriath has pulled out of his match with Murilo "Ninja" Rua and has been replaced by UFC vet David Heath, and Nick Thompson has reportedly been replaced by Derrick Noble against Eduardo Pamplona. It’s a real mess, so please revisit your pools and make any necessary changes.

The betting sites are only taking action on six of the fights for this Saturday’s Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery show, so wager wisely. Here are the odds, courtesy of MMA Moneyline:

Alistair Overeem (-255) vs. Brett Rogers (+220)
Andrei Arlovski (-170) vs. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva (+160)
Roger Gracie (-435) vs. Kevin Randleman (+325)
Ronaldo Souza (-480) vs. Joey Villasenor (+380)
Vitor Ribeiro (-130) vs. Lyle Beerbohm (+105)
Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante (-195) vs. Antwain Britt (+165)

So how can you make some cash this weekend? Well…

(Coker couldn’t take "The Heat")

According to MMAJunkie, Strikeforce has decided to pass on acquiring exiled UFC welterweight Karo Parisyan’s services. 

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker took the high road in explaining the two sides’ inability to come to terms on a deal.

"We had a cup of coffee," Coker said. "It didn’t work out. "He’s a great kid. We wish him luck."

The impetus behind Coker’s decision was likely a combination of Karo’s unreliability due to his alleged prescription drug addiction and anxiety disorder as well as his more than $40,000 per fight asking price.

He could always fight for the Disgraced Former UFC Fighter Impact Fighting Championships.

*UPDATE*
Someone from Impact Fighting Championships must be a CP reader. MMAJunkie is reporting that Parisyan has signed with IFC and will face Luis Dutra Jr. at the promotion’s July 10 show in Brisbane, Australia.

(Ribeiro could bring BJJ back to the UFC’s 205-pound class)

In a recent interview with TATAME, multiple time ADCC and World Jiu-Jitsu Championships winner Xande Ribeiro cryptically revealed that the next time he competes in mixed martial arts, it could very well be inside the UFC’s Octagon this fall.

Although just 2-0 in his young MMA career, Ribeiro looked like a seasoned pro in his first two bouts. Displaying a surprisingly well-rounded combination of striking and grappling, he defeated Takashi Sugiura by TKO in 2008 and Keiichiro Yamamiya by knockout in 2009 – both under the Sengoku banner. According to Ribeiro, the reason why he hasn’t been very active in the ring or cage is because the priorities the past few years have been to compete in jiu-jitsu and grappling competitions and to run the California-based University of Jiu-Jitsu academy he co-owns with his brother, Saulo.

(Marcus awoke in a strange room with red carpet and red furniture, naked women on the walls. Was he still dreaming? Just then, a midget entered and began to dance. / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.)

We may have supported the idea of a Boston vs. New York rivalry-match between Marcus Davis and Phil Baroni at UFC 118, but this could work out even better. According to multiple sources, Davis has verbally agreed to take on Nate Diaz at the August 28th event in Boston. The Irish Hand Grenade saved his job last weekend at UFC 113 with his second-round TKO of Jonathan Goulet (who has been fired again, by the way). Meanwhile, Diaz is coming off his whipping of Rory Markham in his welterweight debut at UFC 111, which followed a 1-3 stretch at lightweight. There might be one hitch in the plan, however — Diaz’s involvement in last month’s brawl at Strikeforce: Nashville. As MMA Junkie writes: 

Six people who participated in the CBS-televised brawl await possible suspension and/or fines from the Tennessee Athletic Commission, though their names have yet to be officially released. A commission meeting scheduled for Thursday in Nashville was delayed by massive flooding that’s submerged much of the city’s downtown area. The meeting tentatively has been rescheduled for May 27. If Diaz is held responsible for his part in the brawl, the TAC could fine him up to $250,000, though he could appeal the fine and delay its enactment.

UFC 118 will be headlined by Penn vs. Edgar II, and will very likely feature James Toney’s UFC debut against Randy Couture; Kenny Florian vs. Gray Maynard is also expected for the card.

(Anybody feel like dining in hell tonight?)

Nick Ring is in bad shape after his fight. He felt his knee slip on him, and he tells the doctor that his ligaments are loose. This house is becoming a ghost ship. Court McGee hopes he can come back as Rich Attonito’s replacement after getting robbed last week in his fight against Nick, but will Nick need to be replaced himself?

The last fight before the wild card match is Team Liddell’s last pick Joe "Caveman" Henle against Team Ortiz’s injury replacement Seth Baczynski. "I don’t see how Seth doesn’t win this fight," Dana says, which feels like bad foreshadowing, but we’ll see.

Henle has only been a pro fighter since last July. He got into it "by accident" — finding an MMA gym randomly, trying it on a whim, and winning his first fights. Now he’s on TUF, completely outgunned by some of the more experienced fighters in the house. A substitute teacher and coach when he’s not fighting, Joe has an MBA in financial planning, but doesn’t want to be in an office all day. "I’m not the best fighter in the world," he says. "I will be, that’s for damn sure." Good attitude, but he might be too raw.

(Note to Semtex: If your opponent looks like this guy, don’t fight him. He’s a ringer.)

Paul Daley has been officially let go from his UFC contract for his sucker punch of Josh Koscheck following their UFC 113 clash Saturday night in Montreal, but the British fighter won’t be unemployed long. CagePotato.com has learned that he will be fighting on the July 3 Impact Fighting Championships show at Trusts Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand.

Daley’s management confirmed the news originally reported today by MMA Weekly that "Semtex" received his pink slip this morning and clarified that he will be fighting for the IFC at the upstart promotion’s July 3 event.

(Dana "Do as I say, not as I do" White.)

In an interview with Yahoo! Sports this week, UFC president Dana White said that he doesn’t get along with Josh Koscheck, but regardless of his feelings towards the oft loathed welterweight, what Paul Daley did to him following their UFC 113 bout is inexcusable. 

“I’m no Josh Koscheck fan. Personally, I think he’s [expletive]. We actually don’t get along very well. I like Paul Daley a lot, but what he did was inexcusable. He walked over to Koscheck and Koscheck could have thought he was coming over to shake hands or congratulate him and he took a cheap shot at him like that. If you throw a sucker punch like that after a fight in the UFC, I don’t care who you are, you’re done. He’ll never fight for us again.”

Props: The "PAUL DALEY ROMOSHOP CHALLENGE" thread on the UG, and inspired by this classic. Two more good ones are after the jump.

By the way, Paul Daley has already landed on his feet following his recent firing by the UFC. According to a new report on MMA Weekly, the British sucker-punch artist is fighting on a pay-per-view show in Australia in July — this one, maybe? — and is currently in talks with DREAM, Sengoku, and MFC. Well good for you, Paul. You can’t buy that kind of publicity.

(You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry. Photo courtesy of Fight!)

The UFC has been too busy dealing with their own shit to put much effort into screwing with Scott Coker lately [Ed. note: Remember when they were going to hold a rival fight card in Nashville? God, those were were the days.], but yes, there will be a counter-programming show on Spike this Saturday, which will compete with the Showtime broadcast of Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery. Titled "UFC’s Ultimate Fights," the two-and-a-half-hour compilation special kicks off at 10 p.m. ET/PT, and will feature some of Zuffa’s highlights from this year. On the docket…

Shane Carwin vs. Frank Mir, UFC 111: "The Engineer of Suffering" smashes Mir in round one, earning the Interim Heavyweight Championship and a Knockout of the Night bonus.

Leonard Garcia vs. “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, Aldo vs. Faber: Greatest slugfest since Frye/Takayama. Inspired a best-selling t-shirt.

(Care to share what’s so funny, girls?)

Kevin Iole reveals in latest Yahoo!Sports mailbag that up-and-coming UFC light heavyweight star John Jones declined a slot on the upcoming UFC 114 card as a fill-in for Forrest Griffin against Antônio Rogério Nogueira because he didn’t feel that one month was enough time to prepare for the fight. Jones explained that he hadn’t been in the gym since his win over Brandon Vera a month and a half ago at UFC LIVE: Vera vs. Jones in Broomfield, CO.

(MacDonald giving new meaning to "The agony of defeat.")

In his Sportsnet.ca blog today,  UFC middleweight Jason MacDonald details the surgical procedure he underwent to to repair the gruesome injury he sustained in his UFC 113 fight with John Salter this past Saturday night in Montreal. According to "The Athlete," surgery took three times longer than expected because the damage was worse than x-rays initially revealed, but he is optimistic he’ll be back fighting by the fall.

(GIF of the break after the jump)

(Props: MGVMEDIA via BloodyElbow)

Tonight after The Ultimate Fighter, Spike TV will roll out the latest installment of its UFC Primetime mini-series, focusing on the Quinton Jackson vs. Rashad Evans showdown at UFC 114. Rampage’s acting lessons have clearly paid off, because when he stares into the camera in the above promo clip and vows to destroy us, it’s just so believable, you know? This might be the first time I’ve had the urge to nervously give my cigarettes and fruit cup to a YouTube video. For his part, Rashad could only come up with a weak line about pillows and snuggies, which you can see after the jump. Of course, Rashad has his own acting career to deal with, though it hasn’t quite reached summer blockbuster status…

(Pablo is built like a fighter — a PRIDE fighter)

If you’ve followed the grappling and jiu-jitsu circuits for the past decade, chances are you’ve heard the name Pablo Popovitch.

If not, you’re likely familiar with some of the recognizable names the 30-year-old Brazilian, who is a third degree black belt under the Machado brothers, has defeated on the mats like Marcelo Garcia, Gregor Gracie, Ben Askren, Saulo Ribeiro, Roan Carneiro, Renzo Gracie, Marcus Avellan, Jake Shields, Diego Sanchez, Kenny Florian, Antonio McKee and Hermes Franca.

(Don’t be scurred, Bellator. You can’t fight the power of the plaid vest)

I was going to say the Paulo Filho saga has officially jumped the shark with the embattled Brazilian fighter’s latest whacked out accusations, but then I realized that to do that there would have had to be some semblance of believability that he was not crazy.

In an interview with TATAME today, Filho blamed  Bellator for his inability to obtain the American work visa necessary for him to face Hector Lombard on Thursday night’s card as originally planned and said it was likely because they were scared that the old "Ely" was back to form.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I think maybe people knew I was in a good shape, strong, so they got scared… In fact, I’ve been informed it was a mistake of the event, which didn’t gave me the letter so I could take it to the council. Things were left to be solved at the last minute, unfortunately I won’t fight.”

("Holy crap. Do my eyebrows really look like that?")

So here’s what we know: Josh Koscheck will be playing the fraggle-haired heel in Georges St. Pierre’s next title defense. Kimbo and Semtex are dunzo. Mauricio Rua’s next opponent will be determined by UFC 114′s Rampage vs. Rashad feature. Matt Mitrione and Joey Beltran could face each other at UFC 117 in August, which sounds about right. As for the rest of last weekend’s winners and losers, their fates are still to be determined. Not saying you need any help, Joe Silva, but if things are piling up at UFC headquarters, allow us to offer a few suggestions…

Lyoto Machida: If Antonio Rogerio Nogueira can get through Jason Brilz later this month, Machida vs. Lil’ Nog is the fight that makes sense. A win for Machida would be a perfect rebound against a dangerous, highly-regarded striker, while a win for Minotoro would convince fans that he’s a title threat worth caring about. Even though they’re both members of the Black House collective, Machida hasn’t ruled the match out.

Alan Belcher: He wants Anderson Silva. Isn’t that precious! Still, there’s no denying that Belcher is a rising star with some great recent wins under his belt. My first instinct would be to put him against Michael Bisping if the Count is victorious against Dan Miller at UFC 114. But there’s something just a little too obvious about that. If Belcher can handle Anderson Silva, surely he’d have no problem with Demian Maia, right? Tremendous upside for Belcher, and a good tune-up for Maia, who needs to re-locate his formerly fearsome jiu-jitsu.