(This is, like, the only bag in the gym that would agree to be kicked by Tim Kennedy. PicProps: MilitaryTimes.com)

About a month ago we brought you news that bonafide badass Tim Kennedy was having a tough time finding an opponent in Strikeforce’s 185-pound division. Well, as of this writing Kennedy has been out of action nearly five months and with nothing yet scheduled he apparently got so fed up with waiting that this week he decided to say "fuck it" and start naming names. Dig this interview with MMAFA.tv, where Kennedy alleges that nearly every middleweight in Strikeforce has said “thanks, but no thanks” to a meeting in the cage with him during the last few months.

“It’s absolutely atrocious,” Kennedy says. “Strikeforce approached me for the December and January card. I said, ‘Definitely, just give me a name and I’ll take the fight.’ Benji Radach was the name, I said yes. Then they tell me he doesn’t want to fight me. Joey Villasenor was another name, but I understand him saying no because we trained at Jackson’s (team) together. Matt Lindland was another guy who said no. Robbie Lawler has turned me down three or maybe four times. They asked Melvin Manhoef to fight me and he said ‘(expletive) no.’ ”

(Would you believe that this photo was taken just two years ago before Alistair discovered the benefits of horse meat?)

When Strikeforce announced that heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem would be fighting Fabricio Werdum in the quarter finals of its heavyweight grand prix and that the winner would be facing Fedor Emelianenko in the semi-finals, the news raised more than a few eyebrows.

According to "The Reem," even he was a bit taken aback by the San Jose, California-based promotion’s decision to eliminate three heavily-anticipated potential final round match-ups so early in the tournament, but he says that it’s not his job to question the decision of his employer and that he’ll fight whomever Strikeforce puts in front of him.

"I have been looking for a big fight for more than a year now. Tournament or no tournament, Werdum was going to be my first fight in Strikeforce [in 2011]. All the fighters in that tournament are good, so there are no easy fights," he explained to MMAJunkie. "I’m a little surprised [that our bracket has myself, Fedor and Fabricio in it], and I don’t know why this bracket is designed this way, but my job is to fight. I’m not picking opponents, so if that’s the way they made the bracket, so be it."

("We train every aspect of MMA at this school — striking, grappling, conditioning, *and* pass coverage." Photo courtesy of sifuchowwingchun.com.)

By CagePotato contributor Chris Colemon

A new year is upon us, and for many of you disgusting fat bodies that means you’ve resolved to get into shape. For those who haven’t already thrown in the towel, you’ll want to make sure that your workouts are enjoyable, otherwise you won’t stick with it for the long haul. If you’ve ever beared witness to the fitness of the modern warrior, you may have noticed some pretty yoked dudes. Thanks to the variety of disciplines involved, MMA training provides an intense, well rounded workout.

The good news for you is that MMA gyms are popping up in every city, and whether you’re hoping to make a title run or simply looking to drop a few pounds, they’ve got a pair of board shorts in just your size. But before you sign up, be forewarned that not everyone you meet will be as likeable as your GSPs and your Jon Joneses. Here’s a quick rundown of who you may be sharing snorkels with at the gym. If you find yourself thinking, “There’s no one at my gym like that,” you may want to look again.

The Armchair Blackbelt: You learned all you needed to know about this guy when you saw him leaning on his bike in the parking lot. Today may be his first day at the gym, but he was watching the UFC before Brock was even champ, so do yourself a favor and go teach someone else how to slap on an armbar. He’ll play along and do these silly little drills for now, but after today’s performance he’s pretty sure the coach is going to want to move him out of the beginner’s class. He’s a ball of coiled, nervous energy, and the second he hits the mat he’s going for a gogoplata. Down the road he’ll make guest appearances at the gym, if only to tell you how he would have smashed his last opponent were it not for that nagging knee/back/skull injury that’s plagued him since he joined the team. Even when he doesn’t actually train, he’ll ask you to snag a picture of him fist-posing cageside so he can update his Facebook.

The Sadist: He burned his neighbor’s cat when he was nine and he’s been chasing that same high ever since; he’d all but given up when he stepped foot into an MMA gym for the first time and totally crippled someone. His inner beast has no leash, and the slightest suggestion that he isn’t the alpha male at the gym will set it loose. Training jiu jitsu? He’d sooner elbow you in the face than tap. Accidently butt heads while sparring? Here comes the body slam. There is no half-speed, there is no practicing technique. His only saving grace is that he’s found an outlet for his aggression. Without MMA, he’d be forced to unleash his wrath upon the unsuspecting public.

(Sorry little lady, you must be as tall as the Fabricio Werdum sign in order to ride the rock-o-planes. PicProps: ProMMANow)

Everyone’s favorite Portuguese-to-English MMA news resource is at it again this weekend, posting a lengthy (and adorably mistranslated) interview with Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix participant Fabricio Werdum. Tatame.com sits down with Werdum as he prepares for the pie-in-the-sky tournament at the Reign Training Center in California, getting the scoop on the Porto Alegre native’s recovery from an injury that kept him out for much of 2010, how he feels about giving Alistair Overeem a rematch from their 2006 bout and who he thinks will emerge from the other (obviously weaker) side of the tournament bracket.

The answers (in order) are: Good, not so good, Kharitonov and Barnett. Though he is fully recovered from the elbow he jacked up while shocking the world in defeating Fedor Emelianenko last June, Werdum doesn’t sound particularly psyched about his upcoming date with Overeem. Weirdly, the fact that he’s reportedly getting a shot at the Strikeforce heavyweight belt in the first round of the GP doesn’t even come up. He does however indicate that he’s looking forward to a second meeting with Fedor in the semis, which he casually mentions could be on pay-per-view. Werdum says he’s been “working on his bang” to get ready for The Reem but still plans on taking the bout to the mat, where he’ll use his conditioning and “smartness” to get the victory.

("I’ll take Gilbert Godfried for the win, Joe." PicProps: UFC.com)

Those of you who were paying attention to Phil Davis’ Twitter account this week (and really, why wouldn’t you be?) already knew that the light heavyweight up-and-comer recently inked a bout agreement he was just dying to tell us all about. Now, it seems he won’t have to. Those damned internet websites are at it again, citing “sources close to the event” saying that Davis will take on Matt Hamill at the already stacked UFC 129 in Toronto. And why not? Hamill’s the dude the UFC traditionally likes to run up against its 205-pound prospects (and sometimes, its 205-pound graybeards) to see what they’ve really got in the tank. Makes sense to us.

Also on the horizon, it’s reported that fresh off showing his lack of social skills against Brandon Vera at UFC 125, Thiago Silva will step in the cage against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 130. Both guys are coming off wins and it’s conceivable that the winner of that bout could be added to an ever-growing list of title contenders at 205-pounds.  But wait, that’s not all. After the jump some other alleged upcoming dates in the Octagon.

(OK, Julia watch for the le-. Never mind. VidProps: ProMMANow.)

What’s this? A fairly solid Strikeforce Challengers card that (for once) accomplishes its stated mission of showcasing a bevy of the promotion’s up-and-coming fighters? Believe it, people. Strikeforce managed to prolong some of the momentum it established late in 2010 and took advantage of the Showtime channel’s free preview weekend on Friday night with a decent card that saw a number of its more favored prospects pull off victories. Granted, things dragged a little bit down the stretch with Daniel Cormier, Ovince St. Preux and Tyron Woodley grappling their way to consecutive unanimous decisions, but on the whole this show has to be considered something of a success, at least as far as the often maligned Challengers series goes.

For the more punch-hungry fans out there, Amanda Nunes’ lightning quick 14-second knockout of Julia Budd certainly broke the monotony of the wrestling clinic, too. Video of that at top. After the jump, further musings on what it all means …

(Video courtesy YouTube/MMATrailers3)

– Worst parents ever! (break) 

– Pettis won’t wait on the winner of Edgar-Maynard III (mmaweekly)

– The 11 greatest trick football plays of 2010 (mademan)

– If you want Mir vs. Nelson at UFC 130, you’ll probably get it (middleeasy)

– Sonnen’s manager and trainer Matt Lindland says Chael isn’t tough (mmajunkie)

– Man stars in real life remake of "The Blob" (holytaco)

– It looks like the Machida fight may be Randy’s last for a while (screenjunkies)

- Marquardt vs. Akiyama set for UFC 128 (mmafighting)

– Dana White calls Evans-Rua "The fight everyone’s been waiting to see" (fightline)

- Clippers owner Donald Sterling may be the creepiest owner in sports (scoresreport)

- Don’t balktalk a Russian with a pipe (thesmokingjacket)

– Thiago Alves saddened that former trainer accused him of having lipo (fightersonly)

– Murilo Bustamante reflects on 20 years in MMA (thegarv)

Dude Nearly Gets Toe Ripped Off Doing Jiu-Jitsu – Watch more Funny Videos

Considering the plethora of horrific injuries we have witnessed in MMA over the years from Corey Hill’s grisly broken leg to Marcus Davis’ Sloth-like hematoma, until today we were pretty sure we had seen just about the worst injuries possible. Then someone sent us a link to this cringeworthy video of a guy who nearly got his toe ripped off while training jiu-jitsu and we changed our minds.

If you pass out at the sight of blood and projectile vomit whenever your significant other ropes you into watching an amateur cyst dissection, then you might not want to click the play button. 

On the bright side, at least it didn’t happen to us.

Strikeforce returns to Nashville for the first time since The Incident tonight when their "Woodley vs. Saffiedine" Challengers card pops off at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. You can catch the main card on Showtime beginning at 11 p.m. ET/PT. (It’s one of those free preview weekends, by the way.) If you have no plans tonight but feel like staying up late anyway, here’s what you could be seeing…

Tyron Woodley (7-0) vs. Tarec Saffiedine (10-2-1)
Coming off a dominant first-round TKO over Andre Galvao, Woodley has been making his name as one of Strikeforce’s best welterweights. The former University of Missouri wrestler will meet Belgian Team Quest product Saffiedine, who is 2-0 under the Strikeforce banner and is coming off a huge decision win over Brock Larson at Shark Fights 13 in September. 

Daniel Cormier (6-0) vs. Devin Cole (18-8-1)
We’re not sure why Daniel Cormier didn’t get an alternate-spot in Strikeforce’s heavyweight tournament — with six stoppage wins on his record and championship belts in two separate leagues (King of the Cage and Australia’s Xtreme MMA promotion), he’s one of the fastest-rising prospects in the division. IFL vet Devin Cole is coming off a decision loss to Aaron Rosa at Shark Fights 13, but he’s a seasoned vet who might be able to withstand the pressure that Cormier brings.

(This guy knows what I’m talking about.)

The first week of 2011 is coming to an end, and it seems like a good time to give away a few t-shirts. Fun fact: This is the third "Comments of the Week" post that we’ve published in the last three months. It almost seems like we should change the name to something…I don’t know…more fitting somehow. If you have any suggestions, we’d love to hear ‘em, because we’re absolutely stumped.

Anyway, three commenters stood out from the pack this week, setting a standard for the new year that ALL of you should be living up to. If your name is called, please send your real name, address, and shirt-size to contest@cagepotato.com and we’ll hook you up…

(Somehow, screwing this guy over in a business deal would never cross our minds. PicProps: Top MMA News)

A couple years ago I interviewed UFC and Pride vet and all-around good guy Gary Goodridge as part of a project I was working on for another publication. At the beginning of our conversation I think I asked something innocuous like, “Hey Gary, how you doing?” to which Goodridge responded with an audible sigh and said: “Man, I’m broke as a joke and looking for a job.” I laughed. Nervously. During the course of our talk it became clear that “Big Daddy” wasn’t kidding. After  nearly 50 MMA fights and 40 kickboxing bouts, the 15-year fight vet was pretty much at loose ends. He’d morphed into a cautionary tale – and a particularly heartbreaking one because he is such a nice dude – for all the young fighters out there who are living like they think those paychecks are just going to keep coming forever.

For obvious reasons, it was not at all surprising when Goodridge agreed to take on Gegard Mousasi at K-1’s New Year’s Eve Dynamite!! 2009 show on kind of ridiculously short notice, was further depressingly predictable that he lost that fight by ugly TKO inside of two minutes and unbelievably ridiculous that FEG took more than a year to send Gary his paycheck. Since this was so clearly an example of an aging fighter taking a fight he had no business taking simply because he needed a payday, the whole “getting paid” stage was a pretty important part of the equation. So, it warms even the blackest heart to report that Goodridge finally got his bread this week. Well, most of it.

Jacob Volkmann vs Barack Obama (with: Ariel Helwani, presented by: Jay Leno) from starglide1 on Vimeo.

(Don’t give him any money. You know he’ll just spend it on N.O.-Xplode. Photo courtesy of Myron Watkins.)

By CagePotato contributor Jason Moles

This week, our nation’s attention has been captured by redneck birds and the Golden Voice Hobo, only one of which has a happy ending. (No, not that kind…the other kind. Yes, there is another kind.) The rags-to-riches-to-rags-and-back-to-riches tale of fortune for Ted Williams is the polar opposite of that of many fighters lately. In the last two weeks, Zuffa has cut six fighters and suspended one more. The economy is still in the can and homeboys gotta eat, so if Strikeforce or Bellator don’t come calling soon, this is where you’re going to see ‘The Expendables’ next:

Brandon "The Truth" Vera: Some believe the number 13 to be unlucky, and for Vera it was. After exactly that many fights in the Octagon, his days in the spotlight are over. From now on he’ll be slinging dinuguan [Ed. note: Eww.] with a side of balut  [Ed. note: *barfs*] at his aunt and uncle’s restaurant, Manila Good-Ha, in L.A.’s Koreatown. It’s a match made in heaven for Vera because he’ll never have to worry about getting punched in the nose again — that is, unless he back-talks his wife Kerry. He’s just gotta make sure Jon Jones’s order is just how he likes it.

Marcus "The Irish Hand Grenade" Davis: The former TUF 2 contestant will grow out his hair and learn how to drop flying-elbows off the top turnbuckle. Davis will join forces with Samoa Joe, the man he trained back in 2008, to form the world’s most obscure tag-team since The Oddities. At some point Marc Mero, also a former boxer, will come out of retirement to challenge The Irish Hand Grenade to a Caribbean Strap Match for bragging rights as the best ‘real’ fighter in TNA. Dan Hardy will interfere and cost him the match leaving him to reconsider life in some barn with his ex-Army sniper friend.

Ben Mike and Chad are back this week with the thirteenth episode of Potato Nation’s ever-growingly popular bi-weekly Bum Rush Radio Show podcast.

On this show the guys run through the big winners and losers from the UFC’s New Year’s Day UFC 125 card, dissect the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament and give their thoughts on Chael Sonnen’s latest scandal.

Later on in the show former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal stops by to chat about a number of topics including the status of his knee rehabilitation, his tryout with the WWE and the unlikely character who influenced him the most to become a fighter.

As always, we suggest you download the podcast through iTunes and ask that if you like the show you give us some positive feedback in iTunes as well as here in the comment section.  If you don’t have iTunes, (we aren’t going to judge you, but man, who doesn’t have iTunes?) you can download the show the old fashioned way HERE. 

We welcome your suggestions for future segments or guests you would like to hear on the show as well as any recommendations to make the show better.

Hopefully we can make your Friday 78 minutes less mundane.

(Not pictured: Stefan Struve’s cover for ‘Tall-Ass Honkey Weekly’.)

No, Yoshhiro Akiyama will not be taking on a convicted white-collar criminal in his next appearance. ESPN reports that Akiyama will instead face off against Nate Marquardt at UFC 128: Shogun vs. Evans, March 19th in Newark. The Japanese middleweight star is coming off two consecutive losses against Chris Leben (humiliating!) and Michael Bisping (slightly less humiliating, but still!), and likely needs a victory to keep his contract. Marquardt is coming off his own underwhelming loss against Yushin Okami at UFC 122, but will certainly be the favorite in this matchup.

Speaking of notable bookings, heavyweight contender Stefan Struve — who has slugged his way to back-to-back wins over Christian Morecraft and Sean McCorkle — has drawn another rising prospect for his next outing. According to MMAJunkie, Struve will return at UFC 130 (May 28th, Las Vegas) against undefeated Travis Browne, who just suffered through a foul-filled draw against Cheick Kongo at UFC 120. The only other match reported for UFC 130 at this point is Thiago Alves vs. Rick Story.

(Video courtesy YouTube/LayzietheSavage)

When Cecil Peoples isn’t screwing up the judging of important title fights or telling fans who disagree with his bias towards his fellow karate stylists to "go to hell," he’s causing countless near death experiences like the one above inside the cage.

Our pal Layzie the Savage was cageside at the Long Beach Fight Night event Sunday night to capture the latest in a long line of patented Peoples fuck ups.

I used to think that CePe must be wearing a pair of these when he judges to hide the fact that he’s sneaking a few winks and that he already pre-filled out the scorecards before the show, but now I’m thinking he must have Angry Birds installed on his iPhone because he’s proven himself an equally inattentive in-cage official as he is a cageside one.

Seriously, the dude makes Steve Mazzagatti look like Herb Dean.

(Above: Brandon Vera gets smashed up by Jon Jones in March. Below: Marcus Davis does his best Abobo impression during his fight with Nate Diaz.)

It’s not like we didn’t see this coming. After Phil Baroni and Antonio McKee lost their jobs, there was no way that the axe wasn’t going to drop again on UFC 125‘s other repeat-losers. Here’s the latest…

Brandon Vera: The Truth has been released from his UFC contract after his shutout decision loss to Thiago Silva, which represented Vera’s third consecutive defeat, and sixth loss in his last nine outings. Due to the nasty broken nose he suffered last weekend, Vera won’t be able to compete anywhere until March 3rd at the earliest.

Marcus Davis: The Irish Hand Grenade has also been bounced out of the Octagon. Davis’s knockout loss against Jeremy Stephens was his fifth loss in his last eight attempts, and second-straight defeat by stoppage. The TUF 2 vet was hoping to re-invent himself as a lightweight, and had controlled Stephens in the first two rounds before having his lights put out in the third. Davis is one of only eight UFC fighters who have earned five or more performance bonuses.

Instead of piling on the abuse, let’s remember Vera and Davis for the dangerous, exciting fighters they used to be before their luck abruptly ran out. Video proof is after the jump…

("…and when I said I wanted to wring Barack’s neck, I meant I wanted to re-align his vertebrae.")

Well Jacob Volkmann won’t be getting the fight that’s at the top of his wishlist for 2010, but the UFC lightweight did get two things this week that most fighters, or even U.S. citizens will never receive: a visit from the Secret Service and guaranteed yearly IRS audits for the rest of his life.

The men in black visited Volkmann’s home before locating the mixed martial artist at his Brooklin Center, Minnesota gym on Tuesday where they questioned him about remarks he made to Ariel Helwani after his UFC 125 win over Antonio McKee. When asked by Helwani whom he would like to face next, Volkmann dryly responded that he wouldn’t mind stepping into the Octagon with President Barack Obama to let him know what he thought of his healthcare policy.

Apparently whenever anyone in the country makes a perceived threat towards the President, SS protocol requires them to be interviewed to discern whether or not the threat was legitimate.

According to one of the agents who paid him a visit, several calls came in to Washington to report that Volkmann had threatened Obama’s life, but they wouldn’t say whether or not they came from Bob Reilly’s office.

(Quit playing it so safe, Frenchy. PicProps: SBNation)

Uh-oh! We ain’t saying no names, but it looks like at least one aging UFC superstar might be a little bit jealous about Chuck Liddell’s new “job” as the UFC’s Executive Vice President of Business Development. We’ll give you a hint … let’s see here … it’s a guy who … ah fuck it, it’s Matt Hughes. Yeah, we were conducting our bi-monthly spin by Hughes’ blog this week to make sure we filled our quota for smug, semi-coherent unchristian Christian blather when we stumbled upon this gem. Country Breakfast’s latest entry, headlined simply “Chuck’s Retirement,” is so textbook Hughes that it makes you wonder if the former welterweight champ is really even still writing these things himself or if it’s just some computerized algorithm that will continue to publish blogs in Hughes’ name long after the human race has faced the wrath of his vengeful God.

In this case, the algorithm is something like: Act like a dick, act like a dick, holiday snapshot of the kid, Bible verse, end. It’s interesting to note here that in this entry ostensibly about Chuck’s retirement, Hughes spends just a couple short paragraphs on Liddell before segueing straight into an out-of-the-blue indictment of Georges St. Pierre’s “boring” performance against Josh Koscheck at UFC 124. Shit. Now, that’s just sour grapes, plain and simple. First the Liddell stuff …

("Minced martial arts is great. I watch it all the time.")

It looks like former UFC lightweight and welterweight champ BJ Penn has brought in a new secret weapon to help him prepare for upcoming UFC 127 bout with perennial contender Jon Fitch in Australia.

Fight Hype is reporting that “The Prodigy” has spent some time in Las Vegas honing his pugilistic skills with acclaimed boxing trainer Floyd Mayweather Senior.

The father of IBO, IBA, IBF and WBC welterweight and WBC super welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Junior, Senior has trained several top boxers including his son, Oscar De La Hoya, Leila Ali, Ricky Hatton, Joan Guzman and Chad Dawson.

“Joy” says that when “The Prodigy” first showed up at his gym, his nickname didn’t seem to be an accurate description of the Hilo, Hawaii native’s fighting prowess, but with a few days of his tutelage, Penn picked up a lot.

“BJ Penn is a cool dude, man. I’ll be honest, at first, it didn’t seem like he could fight that good. I mean, I don’t know about his ground game and all of that stuff, but he’s got some pop and in just the three days I’ve been working with him, he has improved, man,” he says. “In his words, man, he told me, ‘I ain’t never seen some of this stuff you’re showing me, man.’ And that’s only after three days. BJ is learning fast, man. He’s a good guy.”

You’ve seen him serve a monk, an old lady, and his boss. You’ve seen him wreck a punch-machine with high kicks. But son, you ain’t ready for a hulked-up Pat Barry with a full head of hair. The above photo was part of a blog post called "THUNDA CAT TRAINING!" that Pat recently put up on Alienwarearena.com. As the UFC heavyweight writes, "SuckerPunch has set me up at Complete Clinics where I have been doing sessions in the CVAC machine and my new Strength and conditioning coach, Eric Gramza, is turnin me into a GORILLA!"

Barry is set to scrap with Joey Beltran at UFC Fight for the Troops 2 on January 22nd. Unfortunately for the Mexecutioner, gorillas do not hug their enemies. Some more alarming pics of Pat Barry are after the jump…

(Oh boy. This is really going to affect his position as "baddest N-word on the planet." / Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

“I feel like I’m the Muhammad Ali of MMA. I feel like I’m the Don King of MMA. I feel like I’m the Tupac Shakur of MMA. I’m the mouth, the talent, the brains, and I’m also the business side. Where does that put me? That puts me as one of the all-time greatest black mixed martial arts fighters.” — Antonio McKee 

"I feel sad for the opponents, you know? I hope maybe they’ll just let me submit them, because I really don’t want to hurt them. What are they going to do, stop me from taking them down? Stop me from ground-and-pounding them? Stop me from hitting them with the elbows? Come on, you serious?" — Antonio McKee 

"GSP needs to be compared to *me*." — Antonio McKee

"You’re fucking fired." — Dana White

(Somehow we see this tournament going down before Strikeforce’s HW GP.)

With the current buzz surrounding the recently announced Strikeforce 2011 heavyweight grand prix, we figured we’d take a look at what kind of tournament the UFC could put on if they were so inclined.

Contrary to popular opinion, the calibre of the UFC’s HW GP would be just as good, if not better than Strikeforce’s. The only noticeable difference is that there really wouldn’t be any mismatches in Zuffa’s heavyweightpalooza.

Even if Joe Silva decided not to put the matches together that we hypothesized in order to save some of the more anticipated pairings for the sem-final and final rounds, shuffling the card around would not cause a great disparity in the calibre of opponents.

(Props: russinapanzer)

The 1980 Miracle on Ice still gets more recognition, but Rulon Gardner‘s legendary Greco-Roman triumph over Alexander Karelin at the 2000 Summer Olympics was just as unlikely. One of the most intimidating figures in sports history, Karelin had been undefeated for 13 years, and hadn’t even given up a point in six when he met Gardner in Sydney. The American managed to shake loose a point from the Russian Experiment while shutting down Karelin’s offense, and went home with a gold medal. It was just one of many brushes with death that the former farm-boy managed to survive.

Gardener retired from wrestling four years later after taking a bronze medal in Athens, but he wasn’t done competing. On New Year’s Eve 2004, Gardner competed in his first and only MMA match at PRIDE Shockwave 2004, where he won a unanimous decision against 1992 Judo gold-medalist (and PRIDE/Sengoku veteran) Hidehiko Yoshida. The second round of that fight is above. Gardner never competed in another MMA match.

Somehow, Rulon has managed to gain 200 pounds since then. That’s the bad news. The good news is, he can currently be seen as a contestant on the eleventh season of The Biggest Loser, which premiered last night on NBC. Hey, if it worked for Fat Gina Carano, why not an Olympic legend? After the jump: A video feature on the historic Gardner vs. Karelin match, and Gardner’s intro package from TBL…

(Nogueira takes ice baths to quell hip pain and to treat his hypergonadism.)

Many fans of Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira were disappointed by the spotty showing of former PRIDE star when he made the transition to the UFC. Some hypothesized that he was slower as a result of the accumulative damage the scores of punches and kicks his head has absorbed over the years, while others assumed he had lost a step due to age.

According to Nogueira, who by the way is only 34, the reason he hasn’t performed to the potential he demonstrated in Japan is that he has been secretly battling a pair of nagging injuries for the past four years. 

 “This is an injury I have had for about four years. For the past two years it has been bothering me a lot. I have been training for all the last fights I had, and it was very painful. My last 3 fights were very painful. To tell you the truth, when I was training in 2005, I felt it a little bit in my hip but it wasn’t that much. 2006 it hurt me. When I trained for the Couture fight it hurt me so bad, then this year it was impossible for training," Nogueira explained during a recent interview with SanDiegoMMA.net. "After Anderson Silva’s fight when he fought Chael [Sonnen], I was there in the group and from there I had training the next day and I couldn’t walk, so I went to Colorado [to see a doctor]. My physical trainer told me [the doctor in Colorado] was the best hip doctor in the world, Dr. Philippon. He took a look at me and said ‘you can’t fight. You are 40% on your performance.’”

(Holiness is next to craziness. PicProps: Bonyacaiusa.com)

Gotta admit, those “I’m Expect Jesus, Bro, Every Day” bumper stickers we had printed up a few months ago aren’t exactly flying off the shelves like we hoped they might. Nonetheless, UFC middleweight contender Vitor Belfort isn’t letting that rattle his unwavering faith that a higher power will lead him to the gold at UFC 126. Belfort may be in direct violation of a CagePotato ban on invoking the help of the savior in MMA competition, but it’s hard not to like his enthusiasm in this prefight hype video from UFC.com, when he discusses his strategy against Anderson Silva.

“I think every day that I’m gonna win the fight, that I’m gonna push the pace,” Belfort says. “I have to look for the opening, look for the gap and if it goes to the ground I have to look for the submission. If we’re (standing) I have to look in his eyes and know I’m gonna beat him. He’s the champion and I’m the challenger, it’s gonna be a lion facing a lion. It’s gonna be a great, great fight. I’m on a journey right now, I’m about to accomplish my journey. In the name of Jesus, I’m gonna leave there with a victory, for sure."

(Jimmo making Wilson Gouveia think long and hard about returning to jiu-jitsu competition. Photo courtesy PicYourAngle Photography)  

Arguably Canada’s top light-heavyweight fighter, Ryan “The Big Deal” Jimmo raised eyebrows when he turned down an MFC title bout against promotional newcomer Glover Texeira earlier this year because he felt that the Brazilian hadn’t done enough to earn a the opportunity to fight for the strap. Jimmo had to win seven fights in the MFC to be considered for a shot, and figured that anyone else he would have to fight for the belt should have to at least win one fight under the organization’s banner to earn the same..

His decision was met with an even split of support and opposition, but the St. John, New Brunswick native stood by his convictions and was eventually offered another shot at the title vacated by Trevor Prangley against MFC veteran, Dwayne Lewis at MFC 28 on February 25.

If you’re unfamiliar with Jimmo, you likely won’t be for long as 2011 promises to be a breakout year for the two-time Pan-Am medalist and four-time Canadian national karate champion who is riding a 13-fight win streak into his bout with Lewis – a fighter he defeated by decision three years ago.

In 2008 he appeared on the first episode of The Ultimate Fighter 8, but lost a very close majority decision to Antwain Britt and was sent home.

Since then he switched camps and moved from Nova Scotia to Edmonton where he joined the Hayabusa Fight Team, becoming a more well rounded fighter as a result of his hard work, diverse training partners and methods.

Ryan has offered to give the Potato Nation and inside look at his training and thoughts heading into his fight in February and as such he will be doing an exclusive training camp blog for us every week for the next eight weeks leading up to MFC 28.

Check out his second entry after the jump.

(Image courtesy of Strikeforce via MMA Convert)

Strikeforce has just released the bracket for their clusterfuctacular heavyweight tournament, which should clear up some of the conflicting reports about who’s fighting who. What it doesn’t specify is when these fights are taking place. We know that Emelianenko vs. Silva and Arlovski vs. Kharitonov are both happening February 12th in New Jersey. Overeem/Werdum and Barnett/Rogers are tentatively slated to go down in April, exact date and location TBA. And the semi-finals and finals? Your guess is as good as ours, bro. With a little bit of luck, this entire dirty business will be settled by the time President Trump takes office.

(Personally, I think that getting all these guys together for a single-night tournament is the only way you can insure that the semi-finals and finals will actually take place, but we’re trying to stay positive here. For what it’s worth, Scott Coker is adamant that Josh Barnett’s licensing issues will not bar him from competing in the GP.)

(And the first nomination for 2011′s Corey Hill Award is… / Photo courtesy of the DREAM Dynamite!! Photo Gallery on FightMagazine.com)

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…

– Five Lessons: UFC 125 (Versus MMA Beat)

– Antonio McKee: Loss in UFC Debut Was a ‘Humbling Experience’ (MMA Fighting)

– UFC 125 Aftermath: Clay Guida’s Enthusiasm For Fighting Is A Draw For New MMA Fans (SBNation.com/MMA)

– 11 Fighters The UFC Should Sign In 2011 (Heavy.com/MMA)

– Video: Hatsu Hioki vs. Marlon Sandro Featherweight Title Fight From Sengoku ‘Soul of Fight’ (MMA Scraps)

– Watch Dana White Give Snoop Dogg $20,000 in Unmarked Bills (MiddleEasy)

– UFC 126: Silva vs Belfort Official Trailer (LowKick)

– Miesha Tate Targeting March 5 in Ohio for Welterweight Title-Shot (Five Ounces of Pain)

– Brock Lesnar Wants You to Read His New Book (MMA Convert)

(A year is a long time to wait to get beaten up.)

The UFC announced that the long-rumored light heavyweight title bout between champ Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and former champ Rashad Evans as well as a bantamweight contender bout between former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber and former bantamweight champion Eddie Wineland will act as co-main events for UFC 128 Saturday March 19 in Newark, New Jersey.

According to the UFC.com, the event, which will take place at the Prudential Center, will also feature a featherwight match-up between Joseph Benevidez and Ian Loveland as well as a pair of lightweight showdowns pitting Kurt Pellegrino against Gleison Tibau and Edson Barbosa against Anthony Njokuani.

Although they have yet to be officially announced, the event, which was originally being planned for Abu Dhabi, will purportedly also include a welterweight scrap between Mike Pyle and Ricardo Almeida as well as a heavyweight tilt between Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovi?  and Brendan Schaub.