(Video courtesy megavideo/UFC)

With Sonnengate taking the piss out of the fact that there’s a UFC event this weekend, a lot of us (myself included) forgot that he UFC 119 countdown show was on last night.

If you happened to miss it and you were looking for something to do at work today instead of finishing up putting the new cover sheets on your TPS reports, we got you covered. 

We won’t spoil it for you, but the first thing that becomes clear in the latest episode is that they have switched up the format which gives the show a David Fincher movie feel to it.

I’m a fan of the new style, but then again the frenetic pace and non-stop jittery transitions seem to mimic my ADHD-controlled thought pattens, so it could just be me.

A few notes on the show after the jump:

(Images courtesy of TokyoFiveBrand.com.)

This Saturday at UFC 119, former UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra will step back into the Octagon against old buddy Chris Lytle, who he defeated back in 2006 to win TUF 4‘s welterweight trophy. Serra is coming off his first-round KO of Frank Trigg at UFC 109 and hopes to make it two in a row against The Bonus Collector, who most recently subbed out Matt Brown at UFC 116. To commemorate the occasion, our friends at Tokyo Five want to give one of you a Muteki duffel bag stuffed to the gills with T5 gear. (Check out Tokyo Five’s denim, tops, and athletics selection to get a better idea of what you stand to gain here.)

You know what this means. Glory for one, heartbreak for many — it’s caption contest time. Check out the photo after the jump, and post a clever caption in the comments section below by Thursday at midnight ET. We’ll pick out our favorite and post it on Friday. First place gets the haul from Tokyo Five, runners-up will get CagePotato t-shirts. Simple as that. Now go take what’s yours…

(Poor kid. He didn’t even get a chance to go on a three-fight losing streak. Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com)

Following his submission loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 22, TUF 8 lightweight winner Efrain Escudero has been released from his UFC contract. Escudero confirmed the news last night via Twitter, writing "I was released by the Ufc today speaking to strikeforce and bellator. Taking a week off and make my way back!!!!!"

Escudero becomes just the second Ultimate Fighter-winner to be pink-slipped in the show’s five-and-a-half-year history; TUF 4‘s Travis Lutter got canned in April 2008. TUF winners tend to get a lot of leeway in their UFC careers — check out the spotty records of guys like Mac Danzig and Kendall Grove — but missing weight and garbage-ass performances will get you on the UFC’s bad side no matter who you are. Escudero struck out big time last week when he missed weight by an unacceptable four pounds, then lost to an up-and-comer in a fight that was entertaining despite Efrain’s best efforts to stall.

We’re sure Effy will land on his feet, and may even battle his way back to the UFC one day. But between this and Todd Duffee‘s firing two weeks ago, it seems like the UFC is becoming less interested in giving second (or third) chances to fighters who aren’t performing up to expectations.

("This isn’t going to end well, I can feel it.")

 Well, the Chael Sonnen PED case just got a whole lot stranger.

According to a report by Sports Illustrated’s Josh Gross, Sonnen indicated to California State Athletic Commission officials who administered his pre-fight drug screening urinalysis that he had taken a banned substance that might show up in the test.

That’s pretty much the nail in the coffin of his UFC career if true, but Chael being Chael will likely blame it on this guy with the Hispanic accent who has been impersonating him in interviews:

(Pic props: lookoutawhale via the UG)

(Photo courtesy UFC Magazine)

If you can bet past the fact that she is 90 percent man-made, that she likely had wrinkly sex with Hugh Hefner and that she is rumored to have had sex with Josh Koscheck, then "Girl Next Door," Holly Madison’s photo spread in the latest issue of the UFC Magazine will likely appeal to you. 

Last week, Vitor Belfort let us all know that instead of expecting a title shot if he defeats Yushin Okami at UFC 122, he expect[s] Jesus, bro, every day. Well, it seems that the Lord has rewarded Belfort’s devotion. The UFC’s Marshall Zelaznik confirmed today that the Belfort/Okami main event in Germany will determine the next challenger to Anderson Silva‘s middleweight belt. "Both Vitor Belfort and Yushin Okami are one win away from a shot at the UFC middleweight title and are coming to Germany with a great deal to win and lose,” Zelaznik said.

Now, we all know that the UFC 122 main event has been upgraded to an official title eliminator because Chael Sonnen pissed hot and will be suspended for up to a year. Obviously, that wasn’t mentioned in the announcement. At some point, the UFC is going to have to make some kind of public statement on the fact that their Fight of the Night-winning former #1 contender won’t be around for a while, and won’t be getting that immediate title rematch that Dana White told everyone about. But for now, promoting Belfort vs. Okami is a more pressing issue, I guess.

As for Belfort, he’s just living proof that if you put your faith in God, you’ll experience miracles. I mean, the dude who said Lance Armstrong gave himself cancer by taking steroids failed a freakin’ steroid test the next month? Honestly, who saw that coming?

(What, this??No, it’s not sparring; it’s physiotherapy.)

When Marcus Aurelio dropped out of SHINE Fights’ lightweight grand prix with an elbow injury less than a day after it was announced that all fighters who competed on the unsanctioned card would receive between 60 and 90-day suspensions that would be enforced by all of the membership bodies governed by the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC), a lot of MMA fans and pundits (including this one) called bullshit.

It appears we were all right.

Less than two weeks after pulling out of SHINE’s 155-pound single-night tournament, Aurelio says his arm has has recovered enough to let Shinya Aoki try to rip it off Saturday night at DREAM 16 in Nagoya, Japan.

"I was doing everything right, so my arm is back," Aurelio told MMAjunkie.

(Right eye, hospital. Left eye … uh … hospital. PicProps: Sherdog)

While Dana White and Mirko CroCop didn’t totally get their stories straight over the weekend about the status of the fighter’s injured (or not injured) eyeball, both guys voiced confidence that CroCop will be able to compete in his scheduled UFC 119 main event against Frank Mir on Saturday. Unfortunately, their opinions don’t really matter, as multiple media outlets remind us this week that CroCop will still face a medical exam by the Indiana Gaming Commission before he’s allowed to fight.

("Stop it? My naughtiness, I thought you said, ‘Snap it.’"

When Rousimar Palhares inexplicably stopped to tell the ref that he thought Nate Marquardt’s leg felt greasy in their Ultimate Fight Night 22 bout Wednesday night, armchair fighters, referees and coaches alike collectively yelled, "What the hell are you doing?" at their television screens.

It turns out, they weren’t the only ones yelling.

Palhares’ longtime Brazilian Top Team trainer and coach, Murilo Bustamante told Tatame that he too was screaming from the sidelines for his charge not to let up and says that they have learned from the rookire mistake that may have cost Rousimar a title shot in the near future.

“We’ve talked about it a lot, he knows what he did wrong. I guarantee it won’t happen again, he learned the lesson on the worst possible way, paying for his distraction and lack of naughtiness," Bustamante explained. "Maybe the other fighter could stop to see what it was about, but Nate kept on going and didn’t do anything illegal. It was a lesson learned. It happens.”

(Props: ix3623vault)

After a laughably transparent hype-up, Mariusz Pudzianowski and Eric "Butterbean" Esch squared off Saturday night at KSW 14 in Lodz, Poland. The main event was a disaster before the fight even started. Check out the above video, in which an underprepared Polish soul-singer named Mateusz Krauwurst absolutely murders "The Star Spangled Banner" in a botched tribute to Esch’s homeland/shorts. For reference, here’s a quick phonetic transcript:

"Ohhh say can you see
Mah’downse, duh-early lied
Were so proudly behaaaaaaved
Byyyyy the twilight’s that leaving
[pause, scattered laughter]
Hair the rockets were glare
And the rockets were glurrrrrr…
[singer nervously hums, then quits]"

It didn’t bode well for the 450-pound American power-puncher. And unfortunately, the fight was just as embarassing… 

(Chael’s growing bacne problem: the smoking gun? Or were the mats just not washed after Lindland used them? Image courtesy of CageWriter.)

A few notable points that have emerged since yesterday’s bombshell that Chael Sonnen tested positive for performance enhancing drugs following UFC 117…

– According to the L.A. Times’ Lance Pugmire, Sonnen tested positive for a "natural steroid" before his fight with Anderson Silva. Natural steroids, such as androstenedione and dehydroepiandrosterone, aren’t chemically altered like synthetic steroids, and can be sold over-the-counter as supplements at health food stores.

– Sonnen is facing a year-long suspension and a $2,500 fine, which he has 30 days to appeal. According to California State Athletic Commission Executive Officer George Dodd, Sonnen’s positive test emerged from a urine sample he gave before the fight that was processed through the UCLA Olympic drug-testing lab.

(We’d like to see you talk your way out of this one … PicProps: Us?)

Oh, this is not good. The biggest comeback story of 2010 may well be fizzling out before our very eyes, as the California State Athletic Commission tells Sherdog that Chael Sonnen tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in the wake of UFC 117.  CSAC Executive Officer George Dodd says Sonnen was notified over the weekend that he’d popped positive for PEDs after his loss to Anderson Silva at that event.

(Thanks to a traditional Croatian remedy, CroCop’s eye will be just fine. PicProps: Sportal.hr)

This week’s rumors that Mirko CroCop would withdraw from UFC 119 due to injury were indeed greatly exaggerated, but reports that the UFC and Pride vet suffered a mishap in training contain at least a modicum of truth, according to the fighter himself. CroCop told the Croatian sports website Sportal.hr on Saturday that he did take a blow to the eyeball while making final preparations for his fight with Frank Mir next weekend, but assured everyone it’s not something we need to worry our pretty little heads over.

“I got hit in the eye, but nothing scary,” CroCop said, with thanks to MMABay (or somebody) for the translation. “This isn’t the first nor the last punch like that. It won’t stop me from traveling to fight, and to fight next Saturday against Frank Mir.”

(“How’s taste my deteriorating hand speed and growing proclivity for getting knocked out cold?” PicProps: UrDirt)

At this stage in Andrei Arlovski’s career, brainstorming new and interesting ways to get punched really hard in the face sounds (at least to me) like a fairly questionable move. Given that two of Arlovski’s last three MMA fights and three of his last five losses have ended with him taking unscheduled naps in the middle of the ring, conventional wisdom tells us a punch-and-kick only contest would be the last thing the former UFC champ would want to get involved in. Nonetheless, Arlovski is rumored to be booked to make his K-1 kickboxing debut on Oct. 2 in Seoul, Korea, at least according to something Michael Schiavello shouted (then tweeted) during Friday night’s King of the Cage broadcast.

 
(Video courtesy YouTube/MMAPrime)

- Jerry Millen needs work (mmafighting)

– Approaching 40? Design a workout program for your old ass (bullz-eye)

– Strikeforce conference call audio (sherdog)

– 25 celebrities in ridiculous disguises (holytaco)

– Barnett wants Arlovski for his Strikeforce debut (middleasy)

– 3 things needed to date out of your league (mademan)

– Time is running out for Fighters Only’s World MMA Award nominations…nudge, nudge…(fightersonly)

- Chael Sonnen allegedly used plants to set up his prepared UFC Q&A responses (watchkalibrun)

– ‘Parenthood’ actress Minka Kelly (screenjunkies)

– The five most underrated fighters in MMA (bleacherreport)

- 15 god awful video game commercials (filefront)

– Gina Carano’s hottest pics (bannedinhollywood)

- It hurts to admit it, but Josh Koscheck is right. (ultimatefighter)

– 25 disturbing celebrity tattoos (break)

– Exclusive interview with "Crazy Pride screaming lady," Lenne Hardt. (lowkick)

(Video courtesy YouTube/EASports)

I took a first year Marketing when I was working on my PR degree and one of the first tactics the professor taught us was the trend of using the campaigns of competitors to flip the script and make your own product look better.

Like the Pepsi commercial that depicted a Coke and a Pepsi delivery driver sharing a can of their respective company’s soft drink with one another. When the Pepsi driver tries to get his drink back, the Coke driver refuses and a fight, and 90′s hilarity ensues.

Another oft used technique in comparative advertising that is commonplace during election time, is for politician’s campaign commercials to focus on refuting the claims of their opponents with counterpoints.

We’ve all seen the, "[insert name of politician] says that lowering the cost of healthcare isn’t a priority of his. That’s because his wife is a doctor. Shame on you [insert name of politician here]. Paid for for the campaign of [insert name of opposing politician here].

EA Sports is following in the footsteps of its political hopeful counterparts in its latest ad spot refuting the executive VP of THQ’s claims that no MMA fan is going to buy the new EA Sports MMA game when it comes out.

(None shall pass. / Props: geraldhurricaneharris.com)

Since returning to the UFC following his TUF 7 stint in 2008, UFC middleweight standout Gerald Harris has gone 3-0, with all fights ending in KO/TKO, and all fights taking place against New Guys. In what has to be some sort of freakin’ record, Harris will welcome another UFC first-timer to the Octagon at UFC 123 (November 20, Auburn Hills). As first reported by Tatame and confirmed today by UFC.com, Harris is slated to face Maiquel Jose "Big Rig" Falcao Goncalves, a 25-3 Chute Boxe product with 21 wins by KO/TKO, whose last seven fights resulted in first-round stoppage victories. That’s a scary resume, to be sure. Still, let’s recap the devastation that Gerald Harris has inflicted on folks who tried to make a good first impression in the UFC:

(Above: ‘Ayyyyyy‘ — An expression of combat known worldwide. / Below: Matt Major shows off the design that got him eliminated on last night’s episode of Project Runway.)

By ReX “I H8 FSN” Richardson

Last night, Bellator XXIX went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin (which I believe is a Native American word meaning “Dude, I Think We’re Lost”) and put on the first nationally-televised MMA event ever in the state. Bellator seems to thrive by signing fighters hungry for wins, and has kept the energy up by focusing on the lighter weight classes, so it was a bit of a curveball when a heavyweight tournament was announced. Many questioned if Bellator could pull enough quality heavyweights with the conditioning necessary to put on entertaining fights. Heavyweight fights in the Bellator promotion to this point have been a mixed bag, but we’re starting to see the cream rise so I’m optimistic that some fun stuff happens. A couple of loser-leaves-town matches round out the televised card, featuring some guys who’ve been bounced out of tournaments previously (and want back in), plus they snagged the tubby Guida brother to test the light heavyweight waters.

Come on in and I’ll fill you in on the latest Bellator results and news. I promise I’ll lay off the fat jokes this time.

(‘Razor’ is looking to get back to the top, no matter what it takes.)

Three years ago “Razor” Rob McCullough was on top of the world. The WEC champion was riding a nine-fight winning streak of which eight were finishes and there seemed to be no end to his run.

Then it happened.

In the third round of his second title defense, it seemed like McCullough was close to finishing Jamie Varner. Before he could go for the kill, Varner spit out his mouthgard and got a timeout to rinse it off, which allowed him to recover. Soon after, “The Worm” caught “Razor” with a handful of punches and won via TKO.

Four fights later McCullough was fired from the WEC without much explanation, in spite of the fact that he split them 2-2.

Since being unceremoniously dropped by the promotion, Razor Rob has gone 2-0 under the Tachi Palace Fights banner and most recently defeated UFC veteran Corey Hill last weekend by unanimous decision.

According to the former WEC lightweight champ, who is enjoying life sober, married and as a father of a six-month-old son, says he’s doing what he has to do to get back on the roster of a major organization, which he reveals is likely to happen soon and he says he’ll fight anyone who wants to fight him.

We caught up with Razor this week and spoke candidly and at length about a variety of topics including his childhood, his life, his family, his new goals as a fighter and the business of MMA.

I’ll warn you that the interview is very lengthy, but it’s worth the read if you have time as it reveals a personal, thoughtful and mature side of McCullough that fans rarely get a glimpse of in his pre-fight interviews.

(If you’re into easily digestible religious platitudes and being able to express your entire worldview on a bumper sticker, Belfort is pretty much your guy. PicProps:  Urdirt.com)

Look, nobody would blame Vitor Belfort if he’s a little pissed off right now. Dude has been trying to get Anderson Silva in the cage with him since January, but owing to the middleweight champion’s ongoing frailty, fights scheduled for UFC 108, UFC 109 and UFC 112 have all had to be postponed. Now, due to the world’s most unexpected beatdown at the hands of Chael Sonnen and yet another injury to Silva, Belfort will instead accept a dangerous (and, frankly, thankless) fight against Yushin Okami in Germany at UFC 122 in November.

A lesser man – or perhaps a man who isn’t married to a Brazilian Playboy model and therefore can’t already consider his life an earth-shaking fucking success – might think this was a raw deal. He might stew over it, maybe go on Tapout Radio and say some crazy shit about it, but not Vitor Belfort.  As he explained on Thursday during an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s “The MMA Hour,” Belfort doesn’t get mad, he gets Jesus.

"You know what I’m expecting?” he said, when asked if he thought a win over Okami would earn him a title fight. “I’m expect Jesus, bro, every day. I’m expecting Jesus to come into my life and choose my path. Whatever out there is good for me."

(The moral of the story? When Gina Carano does it, it’s awesome. When Paulo Filho does it, it’s terrible. / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com)

Anybody can be forgiven for missing weight by a half-pound — as long as it doesn’t become a habit. But when an MMA fighter comes in a full four pounds heavy, as Efrain Escudero did this week for his doomed UFC Fight Night 22 bout against Charles Oliveira, it tends to raise some eyebrows. As we’ve done previously with steroid busts, we decided to catalog the worst scale-fails in MMA history, arranged by number of pounds over the limit. When the information was available, we also listed the punishments the fighters were given, along with their excuses for missing weight, which range from injuries to salt water to the dreaded “menstrual period.” This is by no means a definitive list — but we’d like it be, eventually. So if you know of any other occasions where fighters missed weight by four pounds or more, or missed weight for multiple fights, please let us know in the comments section.

* Note: We’ve eliminated the “Repeat Offenders” section. In the instances where fighters has notably missed weight on more than one occasion (see: A. Johnson, P. Daley, T. Alves), we’ve ranked them in the leaderboard by their greatest weigh-in failure.

Karl Knothe @ Shark Fights 17
Weigh-in date: 7/14/11
Weight: 253.75 pounds, 23.75 over the 230-pound catchweight limit
How is that even possible? Due to some miscommunication between Knothe and his management, Knothe was never informed that his scheduled bout against Ricco Rodriguez was supposed to be at a catchweight, instead of at heavyweight.
Result: The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation disallowed Knothe from competing due to the large weight-gap and concerns over excessive weight-cutting. Knothe was paid a portion of his salary anyway, while Ricco Rodriguez instead faced 5-12 replacement Doug Williams. Rodriguez won via rear-naked choke in the first round.

Ricardo Mayorga @ Omega MMA: Battle of the Americas
Weigh-in date: 5/2/13
Weight: 175.9 pounds, 20.9 pounds over the limit for his contracted lightweight match against Wesley Tiffer, who came in at 153. Needlessly to say, shoving ensued.
How was this fight even allowed to happen?: The match took place in Managua, Nicaragua — which is Mayorga’s hometown, by the way — and the Nicaraguan combat sports commission that was overseeing the event didn’t seem to have a problem with the ludicrous weight discrepancy. (I hear they’re much more stringent when it comes to cock-fighting.)
Result: Mayorga by TKO after two rounds, aided by a fairly illegal knee to the spine. Stay classy, Ricardo.

(Video courtesy YouTube/218DeShawn)
If you pay attention to the small details in life, chances are you noticed the clip at the end of last night’s premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 12 that showed a brief glimpse of Josh Koscheck being his endearing self as he appears to grab a Team St-Pierre member by the throat before a scuffle ensues.

Middleeasy made a slowed-down gif of the video above and it turns out that the dude Kos rape chokes is either a somewhat rotund crew member or a random guy who wandered in off the street wearing a TapouT shirt in GSP’s team colors. Whatever the case is, it’s likely just another instance of a set-up scenario or creative editing to make JK look like the bad guy. It all seems very "WWE" to me. He nearly crack a smile as he confront the Biz Markie lookalike who likely hasn’t been a lightweight since junior high.

Check it out after the jump and judge for yourself whether or not the fracas seems staged.

(Another of NY’s many aspiring criminals)

With states like New York refusing to regulate mixed martial arts, MMA gyms have basically become modern day speakeasies.

It’s in those establishments where fighters not only hone their skills, they also compete in smokers and unsanctioned underground fights which are a by-product of archaic lawmakers who refuse to legitimize the sport.

MMA opponents like Bob Reilly likely look at MMA gyms in the same light as his counterparts in Washington look at Al-Qaeda training camps.

The irony that fighters can legally train to break the law and trainers can supply them with the tools to commit such "crimes" in these locales is head-shakingly ludicrous, yet in 2010 we continue to fight for ordinance of a sport that is in essence, the oldest and purest form of competition known to man.

Our boy, KahL-One, has put together an incredible series of mini-documentaries about the thriving fight community in New York.

Check out episode one after the jump.

("The guy has titties. I couldn’t do a comedy bit next to a guy with titties. For real." Props: Spike.com)

Comic actor Kevin James has long been a familiar face at UFC events, so we suppose it was only a matter of time before this happened. According to a report on deadline.com (via MMAMania) the star of such critically acclaimed films as Grown Ups and Paul Blart: Mall Cop has his next masterpiece in the works, and yep, it’s MMA-related:

James is attached to play a physics teacher whose school faces drastic cutbacks. In an attempt to save his best friend’s job and the music program his students love, he moonlights in the octagon as a mixed martial arts fighter, ultimately leading to brawling in the UFC. The film is on a fast track, and production presidents Matt Tolmach and Doug Belgrad hope to get it into production next year.

I know what you’re thinking — the idea of shlubby-ass Kevin James getting a UFC contract is way too far-fetched, even in the context of a screwball comedy. But remember, Roy Nelson was an untrained paralegal with no MMA experience before going on TUF 10, and you all saw how well that worked out. One more thing: The music-teacher best friend in the movie? I’m willing to bet that the role will be an embarrassing gay stereotype played by Rob Schneider. Seriously, you all have to pay me five bucks if I’m right.

(Images courtesy of Esther Lin/Shark Fights, Victory Belt)

Thanks to everybody who entered this week’s caption contest — even those of you who referred to "General Custer" as "General Custard." After sifting through 280 of your entries, we’ve pulled out the two that we think are most worthy of winning a signed copy of Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts: The Ground Game, in stores now. As usual, there are a bunch of captions that were almost good enough. Let’s take a look at those first… 

(Video courtesy YouTube/Fight!Mag)

I’ve always been amazed with the fact that "Big" John McCarthy is as, or more famous than a lot of MMA fighters. Think about it. How many football referees or baseball umpires can you name, let alone who you would want an autograph from?

I worked with BJM at The Fight Network a few years ago and no matter if he was at an event doing color commentary or just hanging out at the station, he would get requests non-stop for photos and autographs. It’s crazy to think that besides guys like Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture, Big John is more recognized than a lot of marquee fighters for his involvement in the sport and his regulation of landmark bouts over the years.

He has his own gym, MMA refereeing and judging certification course, his own Xtreme Couture signature shirt and will be releasing an autobiography, "Let’s Get it On!" which he has spent the last few years writing with MMA journalist Loretta Hunt, who also wrote Randy Couture’s "Becoming the Natural.".

The videos above and after the jump shot by Fight! Magazine give some insight into the stories that will be shared in the book and if they are any indication, the tome will be well worth picking up.

In the clips he talks a bit about his time with the LAPD, the origin of his fight-starting catchphrase and the fateful favor he did for his then-jiu-jitsu teacher, Rorian Gracie that would lead to his career as one of the most respected and recognizable officials to ever call a fight.

(Antonio McKee: Good at fighting, terrible at keeping secrets. PicProps: Sherdog)

Antonio McKee went on Sherdog’s The Savage Dog Show this week in the wake of his victory over Luciano Azevedo and pretty much screamed into his phone for 40 minutes. The effect was dizzying actually, and hosts Greg Savage and Jeff Sherwood could really do nothing about it but sit back and laugh while McKee ranted. There is frankly no way to do it all justice in blog form, but some of McKee’s major bullet points included: He still suspects a vast conspiracy against him and his gym; that he knew he would stop Azevedo in the first round at MFC 26 because he saw it in a vision; that he thinks elbows should be outlawed in MMA because he’s too dangerous when he can use them; and also, that he cried and had to go to church to seek forgiveness after beating Azevedo so badly during their bout.

In midst of these ramblings McKee let slip that, although he hasn’t signed anything yet, he’s currently in contract talks for a four-fight deal with the UFC. Apparently not understanding that he was on a live radio show at the time – and hey, who has time for details when there’s so much shouting to be done? — McKee asked Sherdog not to tell anybody about that until after the deal was finalized. A very short transcript is after the jump.

(Regrets? Does it look like I have any regrets??)

After announcing they had taken a gamble in signing perennial positive drug test denier, Josh Barnett Monday, Strikeforce is letting the questionable bet ride as the promotion revealed today that it has also inked post-bell puncher, Paul Daley to its roster for six fights.

Daley, whose story of why he was dropped by the UFC has been re-told ad nauseam, fought twice since receiving his Zuffa walking papers, finishing Daniel Acacio with elbows in the third round of a July Impact Fighting Championship clash and winning by razor-thin decision to Jorge Masvidal at Shark Fights 13 last weekend.

(Nam Phan vs. Mike Budnik. Props: eze32101)

No need for a lengthy preamble — you’ve already seen the first five minutes of the Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck season premiere, and you know how these things generally go down. We’ve got 28 lightweights, battling for 14 spots. Dana White addresses the troops, Bruce Leroy giggles with anticipation. It’s the elimination round, where the RFFs (real fucking fighters) are separated from the pretenders. Let’s get it.

Marc Stevens vs. TJ O’Brien 
Stevens wrestled at the University of Buffalo when Josh Koscheck was the assistant wrestling coach there. Kos calls him an "okay wrestler." Stevens immediately lands a huge overhand right, then jackhammers O’Brien on the ground until the ref steps in. We later learn that the 13-second TKO is the fastest stoppage in TUF history. "Remember me now?" Stevens asks Koscheck.

Spencer Paige vs. Steve Magdaleno
Paige’s striking is as good as advertised, as he lands a mix of attacks in round 1. Magdaleno ends the round on top, working some ground-and-pound, but it might not be enough to steal the round. They start round 2 swinging for the fences before Paige starts blasting Magdaleno with knees. Magdaleno shoots on Paige and dumps him. Magdaleno looks for an arm triangle, then goes back to abusing Paige from the top. Magdaleno drops to guard when the action goes standing again, and possibly blows the fight, as Paige finishes strong with strikes from the top. Paige takes the unanimous decision.

(Props: Heavy)

The UFC handed out $40,000 performance bonuses to five fighters following UFC Fight Night: Marquardt vs. Palhares, including two separate "Submission of the Night" awards. The honorees are:

Knockout of the Night: Brian Foster, for his 67-second storming of Forrest Petz, which was the lone stoppage on the preliminary card. Petz now drops to 0-2 in his current UFC stint, and will most likely be shown the door.

Submission of the Night (1): Cole Miller, for dropping Ross Pearson with punches in the second round of their fight, then icing him with a rear-naked choke. Miller has scored the SotN award in three of his last five appearances, and officially enters the UFC Performance Bonus Leaderboard. 

Submission of the Night (2): Charles Oliveira, who pushed his record to 14-0 with a huge win over TUF 8 winner Efrain Escudero, secured via standing rear-naked choke in the third round. Though he had trouble getting Escudero to the mat in the first two frames, Oliveira showed off his tenacity in the victory, as well as some impressively unorthodox striking.

Fight of the Night: Kyle Kingsbury and Jared Hamman, for their fast-paced three-round brawl in the prelims. Despite a third-round rally from Hamman, Kingsbury’s domination and damage in the first two frames secured him 29-28 scores from all three judges.

Some other notes on the fights…