(Video courtesy BJPenn.com)

BJPenn.com caught up with Dan Hardy recently to talk about his upcoming October 16 showdown with former WEC welterweight champ Carlos Condit and to get his thoughts on his Team Jackson-trained opponent.

"I think he’s a gamer; I think he’s tough. I enjoyed watching his fights in the WEC. Obviously, I’ve been keeping an eye on him since he came to the UFC. Just watching his fights, paying attention, making sure I’m aware of who’s in the division. He’s had a couple of tough fights but you know, he’s shown a lot of heart. I think he’s a good opponent. He comes to finish and that’s what I want. He’s not gonna be the kind of guy that’s gonna try and grind out a decision; he wants to either get a submission or a stoppage. Perfect  opponent for me because we can have a tear-up and entertain the fans."

(The belt is now being gently caressed by Shogun as he relaxes at home watching SOAPNet. How does that make you guys feel?)

According to a new report on MMA Junkie, the rumored fight between former UFC light-heavyweight champs Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida has been targeted for a yet-to-be-announced event on November 20th. As Rampage tweeted last night, "almost ready 2 sign the bout agreement! i would tell yall who im gonna get down with, but i cant spell his name….hahaha." As always, Quinton, your near-illiteracy is hilarious. (Come on, it’s not like he’s fighting Vinicius Kappke de Quieroz.)

Both fighters are coming off of tough defeats, with Jackson suffering a unanimous decision loss to Rashad Evans at UFC 114 in May, and Machida getting KTFO’d by (and losing his belt to) Mauricio Rua earlier the same month at UFC 113. The winner of this fight would rebound to the top of the light-heavyweight pile, while the loser would plummet out of title contention. Can Rampage follow the Shogun game-plan and smash the Dragon, or will he be a sitting-duck for Machida’s unorthodox attacks?

No other matchups are currently rumored for the 11/20 event, which would come just a week after the UFC’s return to Germany at #122.

(Paul Thatcher shoots model Jade Bryce for FIGHT!’s July 2010 issue. She enjoys camping, Roger Huerta, and covering her boobs with boxing gloves. Props: FIGHT! Magazine)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

– Bold MMA Predictions For The Second Half Of 2010 (Heavy.com/MMA)

- Chad Griggs: Lashley Is Strikeforce’s Golden Child, But Very Beatable (MMA Fighting)

– The Most Ridiculous Nick Diaz T-Shirt Ever Printed (MiddleEasy)

– Community Interview: WEC Featherweight Contender Josh Grispi Answers Questions From Fans (LowKick)

– After TUF Loss, DaMarques Johnson Still Climbing the UFC Ranks (Versus MMA Beat)

– Mitrione vs. Beltran, Dollaway vs. Doerkson set for UFC 119 Prelims on Spike TV (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Brock Lesnar Makes it Rain, PPV Buys That Is (Watch Kalib Run)

– Knockout of the Day: Segio Junior vs. Thiago Gomes da Silva (MMA Scraps)

(Does training with Martin "The Hitman" Kampmann help Pyle prepare for John "The Hitman" Hathaway?

Xtreme Couture welterweight Mike "Quicksand" Pyle will step in for injured Dong Hyun Kim to face fast-rising British welterweight John "The Hitman" Hathaway at UFC 120 on October 16 at the O2 Arena in London, England.

The bout was first reported by Gareth Davis of the UK’s The Daily Telegraph and CagePotato.com has since confirmed the bout with sources close to both camps.

(We’ll see who’s smiling after September 15, playboy)

A middleweight bout between The Ultimate Fighter 11 contestant and CagePotato.com guest blogger, Rich "The Raging Bull" Attonito and UFC newcomer, Rafael "Sapo" Natal has been added to UFC Fight Night 22: Maia vs. Belcher on September 15. The UFC announced the bout today.

Attonito (8-3) is undefeated in the Octagon, having beaten Jamie Yager out of the UFC via second round TKO in his promotional debut at the TUF 11 finale on June 19. 

A jiu-jitsu instructor at Renzo Gracie’s New York Academy, in his last bout Natale (12-2) defeated UFC veteran Travis Lutter by knockout at Moosin: Gods of Martial Arts in May.

(Images courtesy of UFC and Wikipedia)

Are you noticing a pattern here? By bizarre coincidence, the top six fights at UFC 117 (August 7th, Oakland) all feature an American fighter taking on a Brazilian fighter. It’s not an official gimmick like UFC 58′s "USA vs. Canada" setup — in which the Yanks went 5-3 against the Canucks — but it’ll be an interesting theme for the night, and hopefully the UFC will make the most of it. (Sorry Chandella, but we’ve found your replacement.) I’ll go out on a limb and say Brazil takes this event in a 4-2 rout, with Fitch and Guida scoring the only wins for the home team. Your predictions?

After the jump: Joe Rogan runs down the Hughes vs. Almeida matchup, and Jon Fitch discusses his co-headlining rematch against Thiago Alves.

(Del Rosario’s most recent Challengers appearance against Brandon Cash, 11/6/09)

Strikeforce’s next "Challengers" card goes down this Friday in Everett, Washington, headlined by a heavyweight bout between Shane Del Rosario and Lolohea Mahe, and the women’s 135-pound title fight between Sarah Kaufman and Roxanne Modafferi. Two questions come to mind…

– Why is a 9-0 steamroller like Del Rosario fighting a 4-1-1 novice who’s coming off a loss?

– Why is that fight headlining this card, as opposed to the women’s title fight?

The answers are: 1) It’s Strikeforce, do you really expect brilliant matchmaking? 2) As rumor has it, Strikeforce is displeased that Kaufman’s last three fights have gone the distance. So they’re pretty much going to stop pushing her. Anyway. Die-hard fightpickers can check out the full set of pool questions for this event after the jump; please make your selections at fightpicker.cagepotato.com or apps.facebook.com/mmafightpicker.

Unrelated: Our good friends at AskMen.com have released their 2010 Great Male Survey, which is honestly one of the greatest sociological research projects of our time. Over 100,000 men participated, giving their opinions on sex, grooming habits, current events, and so much more. Things we learned: 49% of men would punch a co-worker in the face if they could get away with it. 3% of men feel that MMA is too violent for their tastes. 19% of men would track their partner’s movements ("with a GPS implant, for example") if they had the ability. 53% of men feel that "sex addiction" is just a convenient excuse for guys who get caught cheating. Well, obviously.

Do us a favor and check it out here.

(Josh, you ‘air look ridiculous. I can see da roots. And it is so dry and brittle. Let me give you the name of my ‘airdresser in Montreal.)

According to Josh Koscheck, Christmas will come two weeks early for him this year and his present will be a fight with UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre on December 11.

"Can’t wait until tuf 12 airs in Sept! & oh ya did u guys know, that I am going to be the next welterweight champion come dec 11th," Koscheck tweeted today.

(Video courtesy YouTube)

Sylvester Stallone was on Late Night with David Letterman last night and had some complimentary things to say about his The Expendables co-star Randy Couture (around the 4:09 mark).

Randy Couture Discusses The Expendables, UFC 118 Fight With Ja – Watch more Funny Videos
(Randy is one of those strong, soft-spoken types, and unfortunately my camera didn’t do a great job of picking up his audio, especially near the beginning. I recommend listening to this with headphones, at a decent volume.)

UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture was in New York yesterday doing press for his supporting role in The Expendables, and I got a chance to point my Flip cam at him for about 10 minutes and ask stupid questions. Couture revealed the secret behind Sylvester Stallone’s cartoonish forearms, weighed in on which member of the The Expendables is the toughest S.O.B. in real life, and explained why this movie was important to his budding movie career.

Of course, we also discussed his upcoming UFC 118 fight against James Toney. The Natural gives his thoughts on Toney’s off-the-wall trash talk, whether or not the match is a "freak show," and how he’s been preparing for Toney’s boxing skills. Some transcribed highlights are after the jump…

(Yang vs. Nastula @ Sengoku 4, 8/24/08)

By CagePotato contributor Dallas Winston

CagePotato.com has learned that new UFC signee Dongi Yang, a.k.a. “The Ox”, will face Chris Camozzi at UFC 121 on October 23rd in Anaheim, CA. [Ed. note: "Dongi" is not a typo. Despite being previously listed as Dong Yi Yang, we're told that Dongi is the correct spelling of his name.]

Thus far, Yang has been a complete wrecking machine overseas, with an aggressive style eerily reminiscent of his Korean Top Team training partner Chan Sung Jung. He’s finished all nine of the fights on his flawless record by way of the crushing power in his heavy hands save for one submission (a triangle choke in his pro debut against Hyung Kyo Lee) and one TKO-via-exhaustion over former PRIDE fighter and standout judoka Pawel Nastula.

Video courtesy KSL)

Hearing guys like Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg explain that Court McGee has come a long way from his days as a junkie pale in comparison to hearing Court and his family members speak about their recollections of some of McGee’s darkest and lowest points in his life.

The guy literally died and was seconds away from suffering irreparable brain damage, but because of a combination of luck and good timing, was resuscitated before becoming a vegetable.

According to The Ultimate Fighter 11 winner, he didn’t know how far he had sunk until after he hit rock bottom and came back to reflect on the life changing experience.

"I started hanging out with the wrong people — drinking, partying. It went from that to worse, to drinking every night," McGee explained. "I started mixing that with the alcohol and then it got worse. It went from that to cocaine and heroin, and then overdose."

(Look at you with your exciting style and appropriately fitting nickname. You make me sick.)

Jake Shields confirmed via his Twitter account today that he has officially signed with the UFC and said that he will indeed face Martin Kampmann in his Octagon debut at UFC 121, October 23 in his home state of California.

"UFC contract officially signed. Fighting Kampmann in CA in a few months. Thanks to @danawhite and everyone for their support," the former Strikeforce middleweight champion tweeted this afternoon.

(Is the 10-point must system suitable for use in MMA?)

After re-watching the Impact FC bout between Denis Kang and Paulo Filho that ended in a split draw – the second notable MMA bout to do so in a month with the other being the WEC 49 bout between Jamie Varner and Kamal Shalorus – I couldn’t help but wonder why MMA continues to rely on a scoring system created and tailored for boxing judging.

When the majority of mixed martial arts organizations adopted the Unified Rules in 2000, along with the governing principles, each organization adopted the system known as the 10-point must system.

Under the guidelines of the 10-point must system, judges score each frame based on their accumulative points tally for the round. The winner of each round receives a score between seven and 10 depending on who won the round. If a round is deemed a tie, both combatants are assessed 10 points each by the judge who perceived the frame to be even. The problem with the system is, when used to score a three-round MMA bout, the likelihood of a fight ending in a draw is exponentially higher than in a 10-round boxing match.

(Video courtesy YouTube/AFCFights)

Well, Canadian MMA has caught up to Japanese MMA and has officially jumped the shark.

Onetime UFC marathoner Kalib Starnes (11-5-1) won the Armageddon Fighting Championships middleweight title Saturday night with an armbar win over former King of the Cage light heavyweight champ Nick Hinchliffe (15-6).

Interestingly, the bout was only Starnes second fighting for the upstart British Columbian promotion and only his first at 185. His only other AFC bout was contested at a catchweight of a catchweight as his opponent, Marcus Hicks (10-20) failed to make either the contracted 185-pound or the then-agreed upon 190-pound catchweight and ended up weighing in at 201 lbs for the bout.

Because it’s Monday morning and you’re all still half-asleep and three-quarters hungover, we’d like to present the latest epic highlight reel from Caposa, which presents 2010′s best MMA knockouts from around the world. It’s been a damn good year for head trauma, apparently. But wait, there’s more…

Good news, Potato Nation: CagePotato has secured a booth at the 2010 UFC Fan Expo, which takes place August 27-28 at the John B. Hynes Convention Center in Boston, in support of UFC 118. As with the two previous Fan Expos in Las Vegas, the event will provide fans with opportunities to meet fighters, attend training sessions and seminars, and collect craploads of free swag from the estimated 150 industry vendors that will be hawking their wares. We’ll keep you posted on the fun stuff we have planned at our own little space (booth #2017, write it down), but for now we just wanted to give you an advance heads up that we’ll be there, spreading our message of PotatoPositivity.

Hit up UFCFanExpo.com for more info on the two-day spectacle and to purchase tickets ($30 for Friday, $35 for Saturday, $50 for both days). Let us know if you’re planning on attending, and if you are, please make sure to stop by and say hi!

(“So then the older bull says, ‘Hell son, let’s *walk* down there and screw *all* of them cows!’ Seriously Vitor, I’ve got a million of ’em. Hey, you ever hear the one about the rabbi and the Indian chief … ” PicProps: Las Vegas Sun)

It’s amazing that after nearly two decades of mixed martial arts in this country, reporters are still asking fighters who they want to face next. Really, has any one of these guys ever answered that question with anything other than some variation of “It doesn’t matter/Whoever the UFC wants me to fight next”? Take Vitor Belfort, who is now fully recovered from shoulder surgery and training in Las Vegas for a future bout with the winner of Anderson Silva’s UFC 117 title defense against Chael Sonnen on Aug. 7. You think Belfort is going to admit to Las Vegas Sun Reporter Brett Okamoto that he cares who emerges from that event with the middleweight belt? Fat chance.

(Never surrender, except to leg kicks. VidProps: YouTube/ZP840)

If you can imagine a fight card populated by has-beens and no-accounts, filmed by the blind and narrated by the guys from “Flight of the Conchords” (except without the genuinely funny parts), then you have a pretty good idea what it was like to watch Impact FC’s first-ever pay-per-view on Saturday night. “The Uprising” was filled with plenty of the awkward pauses, even more awkward announcing, terrible camera work and retro graphics that we’ve come to expect from fledgling MMA promotions. As for the actual fighting? It played out about like you might have predicted, too.

Indeed when, just a few moments into the broadcast, nattily attired but totally incompetent ring announcer James White forgot his lines midway through his introductory remarks and had to stop cold to confess he’d drawn a blank, you knew it was going to be a long night. Despite how many times we were informed by the play-by-play team that the action in the cage was “thunderous” or “amazing” the show – filmed around noon local time in Sydney, Australia in a partially filled arena — felt so flat that the fighters themselves would’ve been hard-pressed to break the monotony. Luckily for them, it didn’t seem like they were trying too hard.

(A face made for pay-per-view. PicProps: Middle Easy.com)

As if you needed any reminder. For whatever reason – probably psychologically rooted in our inability to look away from the scene of a car crash – the MMA media has covered the shit out of Impact FC’s rapid fire debuts in Australia during the last couple of weeks. Last Friday’s show – in which Josh Barnett crushed some can named Geronimo Something-or-other — was just a subtle aperitif before tonight’s main course, which is available on pay-per-view for all to see, beginning at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST.

Look, we’re not going to beat around the bush here. Impact FC needs you to buy this card. For evidence, look no further than the promotion’s refusal this week to buy Bob Sapp a plane ticket from Bulgaria to Sydney because it allegedly couldn’t afford it. If true, that’s not the mark of a cash-rich business, people.

(“Cheer up my friend, it is not so bad. No matter what, we will always have each other. And I will always have my nearly incalculable personal fortune. And you? Well, you squandered your fleeting fame and gave most of your money to the church … *cough* … did I mention we will always have each other?” PicProps: M-1 Global)

Despite claims by Fabricio Werdum’s manager that his client’s impending elbow surgery is not as severe as initially reported and that he’ll be willing and able to get back in action later this year, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker says a rematch with Fedor Emelianenko isn’t in the cards, at least not right now. Coker told Sherdog.com on Saturday that when he restarts negotiations about Fedor’s future with M-1 Global next week his short list of prospective opponents will include Alistair Overeem, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Sergei Kharitonov.

As for M-1’s insistence that Emelianenko be granted an immediate rematch with Werdum in the wake of the Brazilian’s stunning victory over Fedor late last month, well, the suddenly badass Coker doesn’t appear to give a damn about that.

“I just don’t think they’ll have a choice,” he told Loretta Hunt.

(Jake initially felt some trepidations about it, but Dana assured him that everyone who signs a UFC contract takes pictures like this. PicProps: Sherdog, obviously.)

It must add a certain amount of insult to injury for Strikeforce that the UFC is taking its sweet time signing Jake Shields. It’s almost like Dana White wants to remind Scott Coker (and everybody else) that the MMA world starts and stops at his convenience, not theirs. Yeah, just as soon as he rolls out of bed around 11 o’clock this morning, hits the gym, lunches at Delmonico’s, spends the requisite few minutes berating Marty Cordova and swings by Pinkberry for his snack, he might – if nothing else comes up – get around to locking down the excommunicated Strikeforce champ. Why be so leisurely about it? Because he can, motherfucker. Where else is Shields really going to go?

Despite reports this week from Shields’ own team that he’d finally slapped his John Hancock on one of the UFC’s notoriously draconian legal agreements, the company itself continues to deny it has formally come to terms with the Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu product. According to an MMA Fighting.com story published late Friday night however, Shields’ signing actually is looming and once it goes down, he could be looking at facing Martin Kampmann at welterweight in his promotional debut.

(Video courtesy YouTube/MMAFighting)

- Part 2 of "Backstage with Joe Rogan" (YouTube)

- Sure-fire UFC hall-of-famers (Heavy)

– Shine Fights hasn’t paid Chuteboxe fighters yet for cancelled May show (MMAJunkie) 

– Death in the Cage: The story of fighter Michael Kirkham (MMAFighting)

– 5 reasons why Apple sucks (AskMen)

– Where to take private Ninja lessons in NY (MadeMan)

– DREAM and its new business partner declare war on the world (MiddleEasy)

- 5 of the world’s largest and most worrisome toy collections (Asylum)

– Danzig appeals controversial UFC 115 loss to Matt Wiman (MMAWeekly)

- Seth Meyers’ ESPY monologue (ScoresReport)

- 25 Women wrestling in Jello photos (HolyTaco)

- The Glades actress Kiele Sanchez photos (ScreenJunkies)

- Belfort wants the winner of Sonnen-Silva (TATAME)

(That’s Chad. Take a look at those belts, tough guy. You think anybody wants a roundhouse kick to the face while he’s wearing these bad boys? Didn’t think so. Props: myspace.com/chadgriggs) 

Bobby Lashley (5-0) has long made it clear that he’ll only take fights against two kinds of opponents — champions, and random scrubs. Competing against the kind of mid-level competition that would actually gain him some cred in the MMA world? Forget it, he’s just not interested. And even though the former WWE star would make a minor exception by fighting Fedor Emelianenko — who’s not a champion but, y’know, still pretty high up there — Strikeforce is going to set him up with another low-value opponent for his next fight. No, it’s not Dave Batista…at least not yet.

MMA Mania reports that Lashley will return to the cage at "Strikeforce: Houston" (August 21st), where he’ll take on Chad "The Grave Digger" Griggs (8-1), a Tucson-based heavyweight whose most notable experience came during a 1-1 stint in the IFL back in 2007. Griggs is employed as a firefighter/paramedic, so his nickname isn’t a reflection of his line of work; more likely, it’s a tribute to his love of monster trucks. All of Griggs’s eight wins were earned via stoppage, six of which came in the first round, all against guys you’ve probably never heard of.

It will be Lashley’s first cage appearance sinch his first-round TKO over Wes "The Body" Sims at Strikeforce: Miami.

(Props: twitter.com/evgenikogan)

It’s videos like these that make us think, damn, maybe M-1 Global should give up this silly MMA business and just go into model-hunting full-time. The Russian promotion recently set up shop in St. Petersburg to cast some new M-1 Girls, which we’re assuming is their team of bikini assassins who also hold round-cards during M-1 Selection events. The results were very, very positive; we’re partial to the girl at 0:49-1:15, and the girl at 1:23-1:43. Of course, as Dana White might say, "Oksana and Katarina are jokes, and wouldn’t be able to last five minutes blowing kisses at the camera next to Arianny." Your thoughts?

(Somehow, I don’t think this is the first time Chael rocked this feathered coif.)

Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida spoke with Sherdog.com recently about "The Spider’s" upcoming UFC 117 tilt with Chael Sonnen and "The Dragon’s" rumored bout with Quinton Rampage Jackson among other topics.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m not easily entertained or because every fighter seems to spout the same tired crap to the same tired questions, but I would be much more interested in all the pre-fight drama if they made these guys live together for their entire training camp before they fight like on "The Ultimate Fighter." That way, we could watch them squabble about real issues they have with each other like who left the toilet seat up and who drank the last of the morning urine and didn’t throw out the container. You can’t fake that kind of drama.

(I understand having to run in the cold, but why do I have to wear these thrift store clothes to do it?) 

Prior to his UFC 116 bout with George Sotiropoulos, Kurt Pellegrino raised a lot of eyebrows when he proclaimed that if he lost the fight, he would promptly retire from the sport. 

At only 31-years of age, it isn’t like Pellegrino’s best years were behind him — in fact, some might argue that he is better than he ever was, which made his vow even more newsworthy.

Following the fight, Pellegrino, who held his own in the bout and nearly finished Sotiropoulos at the final bell, revealed that he had torn his meniscus and ACL in the first round of the fight and that he wasn’t goin’ out on a loss that just didn’t sit well.

We spoke to Kurt yesterday to discuss the fight, the injury and the surgery he has to undergo as well as his roles as a fighter and family man and his future in the sport.

(Todd S.)

(Adam F.)

Thanks to everybody who submitted entries for our first-ever Facebook photoshop contest! Y’all gave us some legit LOL’s, for real. And if we could give CagePotato t-shirts to all of you, we totally would, but instead we’re just going to choose our eleven favorites, which continue after the jump. If your work has been posted, hit up contest@cagepotato.com with your shirt size and address, and we’ll get you sorted. We hope your summers are going this well…

(Time to make the donuts. / Photo courtesy of Strikeforce.)

GracieFighter.com makes it official — and we can forget this nonsense about Jake staying at middleweight:

Jake Shields will be debuting at the 170lbs weight division in the UFC. After careful consideration and consulting with UFC representatives it was determined Jake would be finally going back to his original fighting weight. Jake’s opponent is one of the UFC’s top contenders and will be announced shortly.

It’s obviously the best way to go. If Shields can run through one or two prominent welterweights by the time Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck finish their little lover’s spat on TUF 12 (and subsequent title fight), he’ll be nicely set up for a shot at the belt. Any guesses as to who he’ll draw first?

(Video courtesy YouTube/UFC)

The UFC is turning up the marketing machine for next month’s UFC 117 match-up between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen with the usual pre-fight interview videos.

They seem to be emphasizing the golden tongue of Sonnen, whose seemingly stepped-up smack talking has eclipsed pretty much every fighter in the game these days.

What may be surprising to many is that Chael didn’t develop his proclivity for spewing quoteworthy lines overnight.