(Video courtesy YouTube/UFC)

The UFC takes its traveling roadshow to Vancouver, in spite of some friction from residents and the city who seem a tad bit opposed to the Octagon invasion in their city.

(photo courtesy Esther Lin/allelbows.com)

(I do this because I love you, Josh.)

At yesterday’s pre-UFC 115 press conference, UFC president Dana White pulled no punches while expressing his opinion of Josh Koscheck’s recent suggestion that Olympic-style drug testing should be used in the weeks leading up to his end of year showdown with Georges St-Pierre.

"I think that’s what an athletic commission is for. The athletic commissions have been around for a long time. When fighters start talking about other guys being drug tested? Shut up. Worry about you. It’s been a long time since somebody [on our roster] tested positive for steroids. When we first took over, guys were popping here and there and I said, ‘You have to be a moron to do steroids in this sport.’ It’s just dumb."

(Bellator Savings and Loans? I’m not familiar with that bank, Mr. Curran. We’ll have to put a hold on that check)

By DL “Colorful Prose” Richardson

As the second season of Bellator draws to a close, we get less of the tournament battles and more of the feature bouts and tryout fights. That’s not necessarily a complaint: fighters can put on some captivating performances when there’s a lot on the line, and we’ve seen it already this season. Tonight, the main event is the final of the 155 pound tournament, but there’s considerable buzz around the stateside return of Megumi Fujii. Fujii, who came in at 19-0, is considered one of, if not the, top pound for pound women’s fighters. Bellator rounds out the live show with a heavyweight bout with a potential invitation to next season’s tournament on the line.
Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly, and I’ll tell you what went down, what I think about it, and the secret ingredient to in El Famous Burritos.

(Dial in and tune out. That’s what we did when we made the show)

Grab yourselves a cup of coffee or mushroom tea and settle in with us for the next hour and a half and give this thing a listen.

Depending on the reception, The Bum Rush Radio Show could become a regular feature here on the site.
 

 
(Thumbs up for morphine.)

Dana White told MMAJunkie today that the UFC’s light heavyweight belt may be put on ice for a good portion of 2010 as champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua recovers from a recent knee surgery to repair an injury incurred during his fight with Lyoto Machida at UFC 113 last month.

"He just got out of the hospital; it was a successful surgery," White said. "He had the surgery in [Los Angeles], and he’s going to be doing all his therapy in (Las) Vegas. So he’ll be in Vegas for the next five weeks."

Despite reports by MMA Live that the Universidade de Luta fighter had incurred the injury training for the bout, the UFC president asserts that the injury definitely happened during the fight.

(Props: acray4448 via Fightlinker)

There’s only one explanation for this: Chuck Liddell‘s walkout-expression is so intense that it causes amnesia. When the Iceman comes out for the main event on Saturday, it will have been almost 14 months since Mike and Joe saw that unnameable, unknowable look in his eyes. But will they mention it for the fifth consecutive time?

Related reminders:

– Your UFC 115 predictions for MMA Fightpicker! Make them!

– Come back to CagePotato.com Saturday night for our liveblog of Liddell vs. Franklin. Spike TV prelims start at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, and the pay-per-view broadcast kicks off at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.

You already know that Court McGee vs. Kris McCray will be the co-headliner at next Saturday’s TUF 11 Finale show (Spike TV, 9 p.m. ET/PT), and we also told you that Rich Attonito won the "who gets to kick Jamie Yager’s ass" sweepstakes. So who else will join them at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas? Spike has confirmed the following bouts for the event…

Josh Bryant vs. Kyle Noke: No, Bryant won’t be facing off with fellow semi-finalist Brad Tavares in a third-place match. Instead, he has drawn Kyle Noke, the Australian veteran who was upset by Kris McCray in the TUF 11 quarterfinals.

Brad Tavares vs. Seth Baczynski: You see what they did there? Tavares and Baczynski get to have a rematch after their quarterfinal match ended abruptly via soccer kick disqualification.

(Chuck just enjoying life at Shady Acres Retirement home.)

Fighters Only caught up with Dana White this week and spoke about Chuck Liddell’s future with the promotion should the Iceman lose to Rich Franklin at UFC 115. According to the UFC president, Liddell will be given a gold watch and a nice retirement package if he doesn’t win Saturday night.

“Yes[he'll be done], and I think he will say the same thing. But let me tell you what the difference is – the difference before, when I wanted him retired, was that he wasn’t doing the right thing," White said. "He was out partying every night and doing the wrong thing not the right thing. He wasn’t living the life of a professional athlete."

By CagePotato contributor Dallas Winston
To see past installments of Dallas’s incredibly thorough (and usually accurate) fight breakdowns, click here.

The UFC’s infusion of Pride and other overseas fighters had a significant impact on the nearly invincible aura surrounding Chuck Liddell and Rich Franklin.

Only a few short years ago, the duo had thoroughly cleaned out their respective divisions as UFC champions, shellacking any and all takers with unorthodox striking that commonly ended in highlight-reel knockouts, until Pride’s demise opened the flood gates for an influx of hungry new blood.

Before first meeting Anderson Silva in 2006, Franklin boasted a stout 20-1-1 clip, ending all contests but one by stoppage — fourteen of which were handled in the opening frame — with some mysterious karate guy accounting for his only stain on the carpet. Since that dark eve of the profoundly deviated septum at UFC 64, Franklin has notched a mediocre 5-4 run, checkered by three brutal first-round beatings and one tight decision loss, all dealt by former Pride fighters (although Vitor Belfort’s classification should remain amorphous).

(The conclusion of the Tavares/McGee semi-final battle. Props: WWELegendKillerV1)

The two-hour last-actual-episode of TUF 11 begins with Tito Ortiz being whitewashed out of the production. Rich Franklin is slotted into the opening credits. His poster replaces Tito’s in the gym. Ace signs the bout agreement to fight Chuck Liddell. It’s almost as if Tito…never existed.
 
Rich was under the impression that he was just coming by to promote his fight with Chuck; he didn’t know Tito was completely off the show, and that he’d have to help Kris McCray train for his semi-final fight against Josh Bryant. Dana White calls up a few notables from the Xtreme Couture camp to help out as assistant coaches: Forrest Griffin, Gray Maynard, and Tyson Griffin. The guys help Kris with wrestling techniques, and Kris is surprised at how smooth the transition is.

It takes some getting used to for Chuck, though: "I go from fighting a guy I hate, to fighting one of the nicest guys in MMA." But when the time comes, he’ll be ready to rumble. 

(Let me get this straight…Catchweight bouts have title implications, now?)

Strikeforce held a media conference call today ahead of its mid-week June 16 show next Wednesday. On the call were Renato "Babalu" Sobral, his manager, Richard Welner, his opponent on the card, Robbie Lawler and Strikeforce president, Scott Coker. 

(Which was it, BJ, the grease or the steroids?)

Well, it didn’t take long for BJ Penn to expound on Josh Koscheck’s revelations made this week that the former UFC lightweight champ called him up to give him the 411 about Georges St-Pierre’s secret to his muscular physique. 

Penn denies contacting Koscheck, but says if he had, he would have said exactly what he allegedly did, anyway.
 

(Props: Bellator.com)

After eight shows and a whole lot of colorful prose from ReX13, Bellator’s second season is entering its climactic Finals stage tomorrow night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Headlining Bellator 21 will be the lightweight final between grappling ace Toby Imada — who submitted James Krause and Carey Vanier (both via second-round armbar) to get to the end of the bracket — and Pat Curran, who earned his spot in the finals by knocking out Mike Ricci and scoring an upset decision over Roger Huerta. The winner of the fight will face Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez later this year.

(Photo courtesy of Tim’s official Facebook fan page.)

by CagePotato contributor Matt Kaplan

Tim Kennedy is a family man, a rising MMA star, and a war hero. He is guided by a strong moral compass and upholds what he thinks is right. As a result, he will no doubt rub some of you the wrong way.

He is unapologetically pro-military. He thinks that too many high-profile fighters are irresponsible, and that your favorite scary MMA t-shirt is lame. His shorts will never promote alcohol, tobacco, gambling, or pornography, and he snickers at nicknames that have “Killer” or “Assassin” in them. He takes seriously his role as a professional athlete and would like to see more of the MMA community follow his lead.

For some of you, Tim’s patriotism and wholesome principles are breaths of fresh air. Others, however, might be wondering if his high horse actually has a name. Either way, there’s no denying that Tim is one of MMA’s most quintessential warriors (for real).

A U.S. Army Staff Sergeant with the 19th Special Forces Group, Tim is a trained sniper and combatives instructor whose combat heroism has earned him the Bronze Star. Now, with an already impressive military record to his credit, Tim is preparing for just his second fight as a full-time fighter and has already lined up in his crosshairs the Strikeforce middleweight championship belt.

On June 16 at Strikeforce: Los Angeles, Tim Kennedy (11-2) will climb into the cage with rugged South African veteran Trevor Prangley (22-5-1), his biggest test to date. Tim has yet to fight someone with the combination of size, strength, toughness, and experience that is Prangley, so he’s keeping to a basic plan of attack: dominate the fight in every possible way. Why get fancy, right?

CAGEPOTATO.COM: Your last fight was against Zak Cummings back in September. Why the long lay-off?

(Pinky up, Iron Mike.)

I know, I know, this isn’t MMA-related, but there’s something so surreal about seeing a man who was once the most dangerous fighter in the world sipping chamomile and honey at a tea party, that I figured you guys would let it slide just this once.

Mike Tyson sat down with The Daily Line’s Reese Waters for a one-on-one interview that spanned a variety of topics from his torrid relationship with cannolis to selling duplicate wedding gifts at pawn shops. 

(Way to support the sport, Vancouver.)

If UFC 115 goes off this weekend without a hitch, it won’t be because of the help and support of the City of Vancouver.

According to Vancouver Athletic Commission chair Mirko Mladenovic, the event has been close to being cancelled several times due to the city’s stringent insurance demands of the UFC. Mladenovic told the Vancouver Sun’s Candice MacKinnon that the "astronomical" and "substantial" amount of insurance the city requires will likely deter not only the UFC from coming back to Vancouver during the two-year trial sanctioning  period, but he also doubts any other promotions will want to deal with the "ongoing nightmare" Zuffa and the VAC has had to go through while organizing the event.

(Cruz and Benavidez’s first meeting last August: Dominick may have gotten the nod for Octagon control, but Joe definitely had the mad-dogging advantage. Photo courtesy of SI)

Next Sunday’s WEC 49 might be low on marquee fights, but the organization will be making up for it in a big way at their August 18th show, which is slated to go down in Las Vegas. As reported yesterday, former featherweight champ Urijah Faber will make his bantamweight debut at the event, following a 2-3 stretch in his last five fights — including an agonizing loss to Jose Aldo in his last title challenge. Faber’s opponent is expected to be Takeya Mizugaki (12-4-2, 2-2 WEC), who made his WEC debut in a memorable five-round war against Miguel Torres last year, and has since picked up decision victories against Jeff Curran and Rani Yahya. Faber has stated in the past that he cuts very little weight to make 145 pounds, and a drop to 135 wouldn’t be a problem for him.

Headlining the card will be an even more important bantamweight scrap: Dominick Cruz‘s first title defense against Faber’s teammate Joseph Benavidez, who Cruz previously outpointed at WEC 42. Cruz became champion in March thanks to a brilliant striking performance against then-champion Brian Bowles. Benavidez earned his title shot by choking out Miguel Torres at the same event, and hopes to avenge the only loss on his record. The 8/18 show — which we’ll refer to as WEC 50 until further notice — will be broadcast on Versus.

Semi-related: The day before he handles color-commentary duties for WEC 49, Kenny Florian will be working the booth for the TUF 11 Finale.

The Lowercase a-Team – Watch more Funny Videos
(Another gem from our friends at Break.com, in honor of The A-Team’s release this Friday. Remember, there are no little roles, just little people. Do what tiny Rampage says and follow Break on Twitter.)

– ‘King’ Mo Lawal Comments on Training Sessions with James Toney (MMAFighting)

– Let’s Hope Jan Finney Is Training as Hard as Cyborg in This Clip (MiddleEasy)

- Fedor Emelianenko, M-1 Global and Strikeforce headed to Pay-Per-View (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Inside the Life of Chuck Liddell (MMA Scraps)

- UFC Grants Dan Miller Another Chance (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Pat Curran Is On MMA’s Fast Track (FightMagazine)

– ‘UFC Undisputed 2010′ Off to a Slow Start (WatchKalibRun)

– Enter this week’s UFC 115 pools on MMA FightPicker! (fightpicker.cagepotato.com)

(Video courtesy YouTube/WWE)

If you missed Quinton "Rampage" Jackson’s foray into the world of professional wrestling on Monday night’s WWE RAW Viewer’s Choice show, count yourself lucky. Let’s just say that Rampage and his A-Team co-stars fit right in with the calibre of acting that was featured on the show, which isn’t saying much. Hopefully his lines in the A-Team are few and far between.

(Video courtesy YouTube/TheReem)

This episode of Alistair Overeem’s web-based mini documentaries opens with the Strikeforce heavyweight champ returning home from his media tour of the U.S. following his win over Brett Rogers at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery last month. Meeting him at the airport are his teammate Marloes Coenen and his mom, Clair, who says she’s always afraid when he fights that he might get hurt, despite him being a "big boy."

Ubereem’s  training partner — recent Strikeforce signee Siyar "Afghan Killa" (insert Josh Koshcheck or Jake Shields joke here) Bahadurzada makes a guest appearance in the vid, as does renowned Golden Glory coach Cor Hemmers who talks a bit about the strategy they employed for Alistair’s fight with Rogers.

(If you’re wondering why Tito has his jersey tucked in, it’s because he has to go out to dinner after this.)

Tomorrow night marks the last episode of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz before the finale show, featuring both of TUF 11‘s semi-final matches. By now, most of the season’s early standouts — Nick Ring, Kyacey Uscola, Jamie Yager — have fallen by the wayside, and we’re left with four guys who scrapped their way to the semis through effective strategies and unbelievable toughness. It’s still anybody’s game, so let’s take a close look at who’s left…

BRAD TAVARES (Team Liddell)

Pro record: 4-0, all wins by stoppage
TUF record: 3-0
How he got here: The dynamic Team Tompkins product knocked out Jordan Smith in less than a minute to make it into the house, then outworked James Hammortree to win a three-round decision. His quarterfinal match against Seth Baczynski started out well until Baczynski soccer-kicked him in the face and was disqualified.
Odds of winning the show: 4-1. Though he’s a little unseasoned, Tavares is the only fighter in the group who never seemed like an underdog. He’s well-rounded, aggressive, and always exciting to watch. In this semi-final field, his success will depend on his ability to defend takedowns and avoid being smothered.

(Video courtesy YouTube/UFC.com)

As much as I dig the production and polish of the UFC Primetime series, I still enjoy watching the traditional UFC Countdown shows because they offer more than just an inside glimpse into the camps and pre-fight lives of the two main event fighters. 

Tonight’s UFC 115 countdown features interviews and training footage featuring Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell, Rich "Ace" Franklin, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and Pat "HD" Barry.

(Will a union help or hinder MMA?)

Looking at the salaries for last month’s Moosin: Gods of Martial Arts event, I couldn’t help but wonder how some fighters make what they do. Although many people are against a fighters union, I’m beginning to think there are merits to forming such a group. The Moosin payouts solidified my opinion.

Here are a few reasons why:

Tim Sylvia: $50,000 def. Mariusz Pudzianowski: $110,000

Now, I get why Pudzianowski gets paid a large amount of money to fight. He’s a freak show. My problem with this is that this was only his third MMA fight and that he lost decisively to Tim Sylvia. Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira made $120,000 (with a $60,000 win bonus) for his win over Jason Brilz. Is Pudz in the same class as Lil’ Nog?

I don’t have a problem with Sylvia making $50,000, especially since he was paid double that for his last UFC fight against Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira at UFC 81. I do take issue with the fact that "The Maine-iac" was paid $800,000 for getting thumped by Fedor at Affliction: Banned, when Emelianenko got $300,000 (not including what M-1 negotiated for themselves).

("Yeah…long white hair. Like Saruman. That’s what I’mma do." / Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

According to a recent report on MMAFighting.com, Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal has been offered a slot on a yet-unannounced Strikeforce card in Houston on August 21st. Though he was born in Tennessee, went to college in Oklahoma, and does most of his training in California, Lawal considers himself a Texan by heart. No opponents for Mo have been rumored at this point, and few legitimate challengers to his belt spring to mind; Scott Coker may even want 205-pound standout Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante to defeat Mike Kyle in a rematch before giving him a title shot. We’ll update you when we know more.

In the meantime, Lawal is keeping busy by helping James Toney prepare for his UFC debut. Seriously:

(Kos and Georges enjoy their first staredown on the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ set. Props: twitter.com/ufc)

Now that TUF 12 has started taping, it’s time for Josh Koscheck to start building heat for his December fight against Georges St-Pierre — and he’s following the Floyd Mayweather playbook to the letter. In a story posted last night on MMA Junkie, Koscheck breathed new life into the steroid accusations first brought up by BJ Penn:

"From what I’ve heard from other fighters in other camps, yeah, [St-Pierre] has done steroids and HGH, possibly. I don’t know. This is just on hearsay information that I’ve gotten…B.J. Penn and his camp gave me a little phone call. They were saying, ‘Yeah, he’s on steroids. He’s this; he’s that.’ I said, ‘Yeah, there’s a possibility.’ The guy is pretty ripped all year round…I think Olympic-style testing would be great for our sport. At least you do it a couple times out from the fight. I think it will be a great idea."

Olympic-style drug testing involves taking blood, which is more effective than the standard urine tests used by athletic commissions because it allows for the identification of a greater range of P.E.D.’s, including human growth hormone. But Koscheck’s first attempt at getting one over on St-Pierre was unfruitful, as the champ shook off the accusations without getting too upset, and said he’s down with any testing they throw at him:

(Video courtesy MMAWeekly)

During a Q&A session at this weekend’s UFC Fan Expo UFC president Dana White revealed that his promotion’s middleweight champion, Anderson Silva may be moving up a weight class sooner than anticipated.

Although he has only fought twice at that heavier weight, the way that he defeated, or rather destroyed both of his opponents is why White’s interest in having him move up is so high. In between title defenses, Silva packed on considerable muscle to move up and knock out James Irvin at UFN 14 and Forrest Griffin at UFC 101.

“I think Anderson is here today, and many of you will see what a huge guy this guy is. He’s huge. And not only has he dominated the 185-pound division, he’s done very well going up to 205," explained White. "I actually honestly can see him going up to 205 and mixing it up, up there. I don’t know. We’ll see. Anything can happen and things change all the time in this sport, but that’s the direction I see him going.”

(Photo courtesy of MMA Junkie)

By Elias Cepeda for CagePotato

After an impressive seven-year career competing around the Northwest and as a member of the Nevada Lions in the IFL, John Gunderson (22-7) finally got his ticket to the big show when we was invited to fight Rafaello Oliveira as a late replacement at UFC 108. Though he lost that match by decision, his performance was enough to earn him a second shot — and that’s when things got tricky. A scheduled meeting with Paul Taylor fell apart when Taylor withdrew from the match not once but twice. Luckily, Canadian newcomer Mark Holst has agreed to replace Taylor at the TUF 11 Finale on June 19th. Gunderson took some time to update us on his upcoming redemption-match, and his quest to find success in the UFC while juggling his other two jobs — personal trainer and soccer dad.

CAGEPOTATO.COM: After taking your first UFC fight on short notice you had a full camp and were set to fight Paul Taylor in April at UFC 112 but then the bout didn’t happen because he pulled out. What happened there?

JOHN GUNDERSON: I got the fight with Paul Taylor in Abu Dhabi and flew all the way out there, weighed in and apparently that night Taylor started having problems. He had migraines and got real sick and wasn’t able to compete. The UFC turned around right away and put me on the finale card against Taylor again. But about three or four weeks ago I found out that Paul Taylor pulled out again and now I’m fighting Mark Holst. They didn’t tell me why and I didn’t even ask.

Let’s back up for a second and talk about what it was like to have gone through an entire camp, then go all the way to Abu Dhabi and have your opponent not compete. When did you find out and how disruptive was it?

Oh yeah, I’ve never gone through anything like that. The day of the fight we actually got on the bus to take us from the hotel to the event center which was literally five minutes away. So I was an hour, hour and a half out from fighting and that’s when they told us. You can imagine, go all the way out to Abu Dhabi after losing my first UFC fight. In the back of your head you are thinking that if you don’t win this one, that’s it. So leaving the hotel, I was ready. I felt like it was taken from me but the UFC gave me another opportunity right away so…

Wait, you were on the bus and that’s when you found out? Did you have a period of denial at first, like did you think there was still some chance that you would get to fight?

Ali Sonoma hasn’t been employed as a UFC ring girl since late 2007, but for some reason whenever this woman puts on a bikini, we still care deeply. MMA Fight Girls passes along a couple highlights from a recent GW Burns photo workshop that Ali participated in, which we’ve posted above along with a couple of recent additions to her ModelMayhem profile. Enjoy responsibly.

Previously:
- Ali Sonoma Will Do ‘Implied Nude’ for $325.95
- Ali Sonoma is Also Willing to Show Off Some Skin

***

Ali Sonoma (born March 9, 1985) is a former UFC Octagon Girl who worked for the promotion from 2006-2007. Born in St. Louis, Ali began modeling at the age of 16, and landed her UFC ring girl spot after competing in a UFC Octagon Girl Search contest in 2006. During her time with the UFC, she dated fighter Diego Sanchez. Ali Sonoma was a contestant on ABC’s The Mole following her exit from the UFC. She currently lives in Miami, where she continues to model profesisonally. She has been featured in Maxim, Muscle & Fitness, and Playboy, among other magazines.

Check out these other hot UFC ring girls…
Arianny Celeste
Chandella Powell
Edith Larente

(Grudge? What Grudge?)

In a new interview with TATAME, Demian Maia takes the high road in discussing his fight with Anderson Silva at UFC 112 in April, saying that he would prefer to talk about the future and not dwell on the past, no matter how douchebag-like Silva acted during their bout.

He did say that he truly believes that Chael Sonnen has a legitimate chance at beating the usually dominant champion and that he feels the only way to stop the Team Quest fighter from controlling the fight would be for Anderson to dedicate a large portion of his training to both his defensive and offensive jiu-jitsu games.

"I sure do [think Chael can beat Anderson]. He has a really tough game and it’s hard for anyone to beat him. He has a good takedown, has a good ground game, he’s very big and strong in comparison with the other athletes of the division. It’s a hard fight for everyone because he brings you down and is a hell of a hitter. You have to have a great guard to fight him, otherwise it becomes very hard fight for you. Let’s see what will happen."

(Video courtesy of Sherdog)

According to Renato "Babalu" Sobral, his upcoming 195-pound catchweight bout with Robbie Lawler on June 16 isn’t a one-off appearance for the former Strikeforce champion at a lighter weight as the Brazilian submission specialist is planning a further drop to compete as a middleweight in the foreseeable future.

Since his friend and training partner, Muhammed King Mo’ Lawal won the title Babalu previously held by defeating the man who took his belt, Gegard Mousasi in April, Sobral says that the fact that he would never fight anyone on his team necessitated the drop in weight.