(Props: SXSW)

By Fidel Martinez, TuVez.com

I should preface this review by stating that at best I’m a very (very) casual fan of MMA, and at worst I’m completely ignorant about the subtleties of the sport. With that said, I don’t think that admission disqualifies me from writing about a documentary film on the subject. In fact, I think I’m exactly the kind of person that filmmakers Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker were targeting with Fightville.

The film, which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival on March 12th, profiles four individuals involved in USA-MMA, a “feeder” league based out of Lafayette, Louisiana. The stars are two fighters (Dustin Poirier and Albert Stainback), their trainer (Tim Credeur), and their promoter (Gil Guillory, owner of USA-MMA). Epperlein and Tucker do a fantastic job at showing the nitty-gritty of a lower-level fighting league. From the unglamorous setting-up of the ring in a rodeo to the fighters balancing their personal lives (work, family, etc.) with their full-time job of training, Fightville provides an important contrast to the extravagance of the UFC — with its millions of viewers, hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money for the headliners, ring girls, and promotional muscle.

(“Us Californians have a pretty chill attitude about the law of gravity, brah.” Photo courtesy of MMAFighting)

Jon Jones will be defending his new belt against former teammate Rashad Evans, Urijah Faber will be rematching Dominick Cruz in another title fight (this time at bantamweight), and we probably won’t be seeing Mirko Cro Cop around these parts again. But what’s in store for the other winners and losers from UFC 128‘s main card? Allow us to offer a few suggestions…

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua: The obvious matchup is Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Rampage is fighting Matt Hamill at UFC 130 in May, but I think Shogun vs. Rampage 2 is worth booking for this fall no matter what happens in the Hamill fight. Rua and Jackson’s history in PRIDE creates an easy-to-promote storyline, and to be honest, Shogun could probably use a few more months to get in shape. Not to take anything away from Jon Jones’s brilliant performance on Saturday night, but Shogun looked like he usually does when coming back from knee surgery — a little soft, and with questionable conditioning.

Eddie Wineland: With Miguel Torres also booked at UFC 130, the only other option that makes sense is former bantamweight title contender Joseph Benavidez, who deserves a higher-profile fight after being buried in a dark match against Ian Loveland this weekend. I’ll even go one step further and suggest the event where this match should take place: UFC on Versus 4, main card.

“It’s always darkest just before the dawn.  Also during a knockout.”

Another day at the office for those tournament-throwin’ characters in Bellator, with an earlier start time meant to stay out of Big Daddy Zuffa’s sun and results guaranteed to make us look like we have no friggin’ clue what we’re talking about.  For the record, the CagePotato picks for the featherweight quarterfinals in Concho, Oklahoma were Larkin, Reis, Karakhanyan, and Straus.  So who’s up, who’s down, and who choked?  If necessary, re-introduce yourselves to the 145ers, then come on in for quick results from the event.

Just don’t mention last night’s UFC event.  Some of us are wearing our Pride shirts in mourning.

“In Mirko’s case, GTL means “Going to Lose”.

It may be too early to declare that a new era has begun, but last night proved that the old one is on life support. The Prudential Center is used to watching some pretty lopsided beatdowns, but even the hometown crowd seemed surprised at what they were watching. Unlike the Nets, fans actually expected Shogun to put up competitive effort.

Last night was business as usual for the newly crowned LHW champion, Jon Jones. Shogun, who landed only eleven strikes all night, was outclassed in literally every aspect of the fight. It’s no exaggeration to say that Jones made Shogun look like the 23 year old fighting a legend of Pride. For that matter, it’s barely an exaggeration to say that Jones made Shogun look like the untrained mugger he stopped in the park earlier that day. It’s tempting to prematurely declare the Jon Jones Era after last night. But let’s wait until he defends the belt first.

(Seven pounds over, and dropping his shorts just in case. Positivity’s a great thing, James, but sometimes you have to meet it halfway. Props: mmanewspl)

Just two weeks after it was announced that he blew a steroid test back in California, cursed UFC veteran James Irvin was back in action last night in the main event of KSW 15 in Warsaw. And if you thought this would a redemptive performance for the Sandman, then buddy, you don’t know James Irvin. The bout was held at a catchweight after Irvin came in juuuuuust a bit heavy for his scheduled middleweight title fight against Mamed Khalidov. His initial weigh-in tipped the scales at 197 pounds — 12 over the limit — but after four hours in the sauna, Irvin managed to get down to 192, and the match went on at a catchweight — with the middleweight belt still on the line, for some reason.

Anyway, the numbers don’t really matter. Khalidov opened the bout with a spinning back kick (as he tends to do), then dropped to his back when it didn’t connect. Irvin dived on for some ground-and-pound, and was immediately caught in an armbar. The fight was over in 33 seconds. On the bright side, Irvin didn’t leave the fight badly injured, as we assumed he would. Hopefully that’s the last time that Irvin accepts a fight at middleweight…on short notice…overseas…against a really tough opponent…when he has a drug suspension hanging over his head.

(“’I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.’ Walt Whitman, bitches! What!” Pic: UFC.com)

If you believe Jon Jones’ personal Twitter feed, it sounds like he, Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn chased down and subdued a criminal crackhead this afternoon after they witnessed said crackhead stealing a GPS navigation system out of some lady’s car. That’s Jersey for you. Seriously though, can you even imagine the poor, unlucky-ass vagrant who’s just out for his Saturday afternoon smash-and-grab when he suddenly finds himself involved in a foot pursuit with this fucking guy? That’s one race you are not going to win, son. Yahoo’s Steve Cofield has the story, though to get the gist you really only have to read the following two sentences, which sound like they came out of a goddamned Joseph Wambaugh novel or some shit: “In the scuffle, the robber was bloodied. The trainers said some blood got on their pants.” Pure Poetry, Cofield, for real.

Now, if Jones manages to follow up his citizen’s arrest by winning the UFC light heavyweight title tonight against Shogun Rua at UFC 128? That’ll make for a pretty epic day, man. Speaking of epic, our live blog of the PPV event kicks off at 10 p.m. EST. Prior to that, we’ll probably shoot you some short recaps of the SpikeTV prelims, too, if we feel like it. Don’t be afraid to hit refresh early and often. You won’t want to miss this …

Rua practically gazing into a mirror.

No matter who you’re rooting for at UFC 128, you’re all but guaranteed an exciting night of fights that have the potential to launch some careers and end others. Luckily for lazy writers everywhere, many of the bouts line up perfectly with tried and true analysis that’s been written a hundred times before. Here’s a half-hearted breakdown of tonight’s action, joined by your blisteringly accurate predictions in the comments section.

Jon Jones force feeding his destiny to Brandon Vera.

It’s crazy that so many people are looking past champion Mauricio Rua, fully anointing Jon Jones the future of the light heavyweight division before they even step in the cage. Crazy, but kind of understandable. Jones is incredibly athletic, innovative, and unpredictable, and it looks like he has all of the physical tools to take out anyone in his path. The bookmakers know it, and it’s become painfully obvious over the last couple of weeks that “Bones” does as well.

Jones has displayed no shortage of confidence in recent interviews, stating that he’s already won the fight and that he’s currently signing autographs as “Champ 2011”, leading some to question whether he’s lost touch with reality. Hearing Jones—who’s greatest accomplishment in the sport to date was his recent victory over Ryan Bader—already discussing his legacy and the impact he wants to make on the world is enough to make you question if he is really focused on the task at hand or if he’s taking his opponent too lightly and setting himself up for failure. Believing in yourself is a must to succeed in this sport, but can Jones’s over-abundance of self-confidence actually work against him in this fight? Hell if I know. That’s why I got in touch with Brian Cain, the famed sports psychologist who has worked with MMA standouts like Georges St. Pierre, Rashad Evans, and Rich Franklin. My feeble attempts at arm-chair psychology and Cain’s insightful answers await you after the jump.

It’s largely business as usual for yesterday’s Dana vlog. We see Dana make good on his promise to treat MMA enthusiast/homicidal maniac-thwarter Joseph Lozito to a behind the scenes weekend at UFC 128. Yesterday’s weigh-ins may have been low on seething anger and hostility, but it’s always cool to catch the action up close and personal.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/Tatame)

- Jackson Resizing Jones’ Mountain to Climb at UFC 128 (TheRugged)

- Enter MiddleEasy’s ‘Design a Shirt, Save Japan’ Contest! 100% profit going to the ‘Save The Children’ charity (MiddleEasy)

- Find out why 81 movies are called that in two minutes (ScreenJunkies)

- Dana White debates the MMA in NY issue (MMAConvert)

- The 7 douchiest super heroes of all time (Clutch.MTV)

- UFC 128 weigh-in video (MMAFightVideosOnline)

- Jerry Millen alleges M-1 Global is in massive debt (FightersOnly)

- A vagina like a clown car (HolyTaco)

- ‘Jon Jones: In the moment’ outdraws UFC 128 countdown show (MMAJunkie)

(Maybe it’s not too late to learn to hit the 3-wood, Jase. Pic: Some Blog)

Well, this is just about the most pussy thing we’ve ever heard: Sherdog reports this week that UFC B-listers Jason Brilz and Jake Ellenberger are likely out of their jobs as assistant wrestling coaches at University of Nebraska-Omaha, as the university plans to scratch its powerhouse grappling program while making the jump to Division I.

A longtime juggernaut at the NCAA Division II level, UNO reportedly has designs on joining something called the Summit League, a D-I conference that includes such bastions of higher learning as Oral Roberts, Southern Utah and Western Illinois but does not offer wrestling or football. As a result – and despite the fact the Maverick grapplers have won six national titles in the last eight years – the school plans to cut both sports, replacing them with (holy fucking shit) men’s golf and soccer. Are you kidding me? Men’s golf? To make matters worse, Brilz reports UNO brass called longtime wrestling coach Mike Denney to let him know they were axing his whole program the same night the team won its third consecutive national title.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/UFC)

Damn, New Yorkers are crazy for the UFC — that and free shit. I can’t imagine begging Dana and the fighters for their clothes, tickets or autographs. Maybe it’s just me.

The Cliffs Notes of this episode are after the jump.

(Props: Ariel Helwani)

The UFC 128 weigh-ins just went down at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and all 24 fighters hit their marks without incident. Seriously, there wasn’t even any shoving or uncomfortable nose-mashing. Oh well. Full results continue after the jump. Don’t forget to come back to CagePotato.com tomorrow night for our liveblog of the action!

PPV MAIN CARD
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (205) vs. Jon Jones (205)
Urijah Faber (135.5) vs. Eddie Wineland (135.5)
Nate Marquardt (186) vs. Dan Miller (185)
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (229) vs. Brendan Schaub (245)
Jim Miller (155.5) vs. Kamal Shalorus (155)

(Props: UFC)

At this point, even we’re sick of hearing about Jon Jones‘s abilities and what Greg Jackson thinks of them. But I just spent the last twenty minutes watching Spike’s “In the Moment” special on Bones, and if you’re a fan of the 23-year-old phenom, I suggest you do the same. The mostly first-person account of Jones’s lead-up to UFC 128 introduces us to his brother, girlfriend, and daughters, and gives us a lot more insight about his training in Albuquerque. Definitely worth your time.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/WandFightTeam)

Trainer Rafael Cordeiro and Wanderlei Silva spoke this week about the impending tilt between UFC light heavyweight champion and their former Chuteboxe teammate Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and challenger Jon Jones.

According to Wand, the fight will likely be the first of several for the pair, but he feels that Shogun will take the bout via leglock.

(Talk of “disrespect” and “walking the walk” begins about the four-minute mark. Vid: MMA Fighting)

So, when confronted with the fact that Jon Jones has apparently been tagging his signature with the phrase “UFC Champion, 2011” during autograph signings and public appearances leading up to UFC 128, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua – who is still the champ, remember – seemed none too pleased. Unfortunately, Rua has never been known as a particularly fiery orator (and was speaking through an interpreter, anyway) so when asked for comment by Ariel Helwani on Thursday, he ended up saying some corny ’80s shit that sounded like he was aiming for “don’t let your mouth write checks your ass can’t cash,” but didn’t quite get there.

Unfortunately, things only got more banal from there: Hearing of Shogun’s criticism, Jones essentially played dumb, acting like he couldn’t possibly understand why signing his name as the future UFC champion would piss off the current UFC champion and the man he’s supposed to fight this weekend. Point of fact, Jones said it’s Shogun who’s been disrespectful headed into this fight, not him. Then Jones said some bullshit about “The Law of Attraction” that actually made us slump back in our office chair and sigh, “C’mon son.”

All the silliness that’s fit to print is after the jump …

(“Alright ladies, now smile as if you have any f*cking clue what’s going on right now.”)

Thanks to everybody who entered this week’s caption contest, which produced over 200 entries, most of them pretty damn funny. And yet, only three of you will be earning t-shirts from Alchemist Clothing. Doesn’t seem fair, does it? Anyway, let’s begin with some honorable mentions…

destinationblood: All they had left at the Halloween store was stewardess costumes, Rambo guns and a Fred Flintstone tie.

J. Spaceman: Hey Frye, this is how a real man pads his record!

missedcue: Even elite MMA fighters need Apple tech support.

missedcue, again: Dana: “Yeah I guess that’s cool but you still ain’t getting into the Smasher Group.”

intercept440: GAY TEST: If you notice the inconspicous black guy in the back ground…I have some bad news for you.
[Ed. note: Or, if you noticed Tim's pants before anything else...]

Ajax Says: After what happened in the fifth grade, Tim swore he would never have a bad yearbook picture ever again.

MaxS: No ladies that’s NOT a gun in my pocket…that’s just what “Ranger Up” means.

Morningwood: Now THIS is how you raise 120 bucks!

And now, the big winners:

(Who says you can’t go home? Pic: SB Nation)

Sometimes it feels like nearly every middleweight fighter not crippled, crazy or comatose has gone on record in the last few months expressing a desire to fight Wanderlei Silva. At the risk of turning this post into a glorified game of MMA telephone, the reconstructed timeline looks something like this … buckle up, because this is going to get complicated …

Chael Sonnen called out Wanderlei a while back – and the two were briefly rumored as “TUF” coaches – before it turned out Sonnen had a little something-something he had to take care of first. That left Chris Leben to call out Wanderlei following his win over Yoshihiro Akiyama, only to fall to Brian Stann and then see Stann steal his idea. A bout between Stann and Silva was even fleetingly confirmed, before it seemed like Wanderlei begged off, saying he didn’t want to play the heel against an American Hero. Silva himself then turned around and called out Vitor Belfort, but Belfort ignored that come-on and said he wanted to fight Michael Bisping. (Bisping being the guy you call out if you haven’t already called out Wanderlei Silva, we guess.) OK, deep breath. You with us so far?

This week Leben reiterated his desire to fight Wanderlei and then Wanderlei supporters allegedly launched a Twitter revolution directed at Dana White, urging him to make the fight between the two sluggers. Guess what, though? White ain’t even trying to hear that, see. He wants Wanderlei to fight Belfort, maybe in a big money fight at UFC Rio later this year. But NOW guess who may not want to fight Vitor? That’s right, Wanderlei. Wait, what? An attempt to make sense of it all after the jump …

(Video courtesy of YouTube/BadBoy)

Here’s a video for all of you members of the Potato Nation who have Mauricio “Shogun” Rua counted out of his first UFC light heavyweight title defense this weekend against Zuffa hypemonster, Jon Jones.

Shogun’s camp seems to be pretty convinced that Jones is going to want none of Rua standing, and as such, have focused training largely on what they’re going to do when “Bones” inevitably takes the fight to the canvas. It’s interesting to note that although Rua only picked up one of his 19 wins by submission, he has been a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu for six years — three years longer than Jones has been training in mixed martial arts.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/UnitedGlory)

If you’re looking for something to do Saturday afternoon while you wait for UFC 128 to start, remember that Team Golden Glory will be streaming the second round of its $150,000 United Glory welterweight MMA and heavyweight kickboxing grand prix tournament for free starting at 2:00 pm ET.

The last show was pretty damn good and the stream was even better than some paid streams I’v bought. This one should be just as good with Golden Glory standouts like Siyar Bahadurzada and Gokhan Saki serving up heaping helpings of head and leg kicks for everyone’s viewing pleasure.

Here’s the promo:

(Video courtesy of YouTube/UnitedGlory)

Check out the full card and video highlight of the last event after the jump.

(Props: twitter.com/HeidiNorthcott)

Looks like somebody‘s already celebrating. Got any wild St. Paddy’s Day plans, Potato Nation? Who’s drunk already?

(Damn you, Tom Petty. The waiting *is* the hardest part. Pic: Rotoexperts.com)

Crazy times at lightweight right now, no? With Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard drawing even at UFC 125, top contenders Evan Dunham and George Sotiropoulos soiling their drawers in recent intended tune-up fights and the UFC playing a carnival shell game with Anthony Pettis’ future, the whole division looks like the end of a bad episode of Monday Night Raw – 20 guys brawling senselessly in the ring while the announcers yell unintelligible shit into their microphones and the screen fades to black. Not to mention, as soon as Zuffa, LLC realizes that Strikeforce has become nothing more than a vestigial organ and folds it into the UFC, Gilbert Melendez will likely show up claiming instant No. 1 contender status. Probably just a day or two after Dana White promises a title shot to somebody else.

God willing and the creek don’t rise, we’ll get some answers over the next couple of months. Edgar and Maynard will (fingers crossed) settle their differences for good at UFC 130, the Pettis Hypothesis will be proved or disproved against Clay Guida in June and either Dunham or Sotiropoulos will get back on track after their newly-announced bout at UFC 132. Until then though, it’s just a goddamn schmazz. When you read our latest rankings after the jump, you’ll see that the top three spots in the lightweight division are pretty self-explanatory. After that, we’re really just picking names out of a hat.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/UFC)

It’s UFC fight week, which means Dana White is back with another video blog giving us mortal men a small behind-the-scenes glimpse of his life as a multi-millionaire jet-setter.

(The ‘Free CagePotato’ t-shirt — coming soon.)

Got some bad news, folks. Our grand plans to bring love, positivity, and a punch-machine to the Toronto UFC Fan Expo (April 29-30, Direct Energy Centre) have been officially shot down by the UFC top brass.

We should have seen this coming. After UFC president Dana White personally promised to ruin us following our leak of Arianny Celeste‘s Playboy photos, CagePotato.com has been blocked from all UFC media events, most notably the MMA legalization press conference at Madison Square Garden in January. (We were initially approved for attendance by MSG organizers, but then told we had been vetoed “due to a recent leaked magazine cover.”) A shame, considering we’ve been one of the foremost online supporters of the MMA in NY regulation efforts.

Still, we held out hope that this wouldn’t affect our appearance at the upcoming UFC Fan Expo in Toronto, considering that we had (without exaggeration) one of the most popular booths at the last UFC expo in Boston, and we were paying a couple grand for the privilege of being there. It turns out the UFC doesn’t even want our money anymore. That’s how you know things have spun out of control.

(Update: Damn autoplay. Check out the video after the jump.)

“I just suffered a huge loss. That’s fighting. That’s the name of the game. That’s the world. As the world turns, people win, people lose, you get your ass back on the saddle and ride into town again…[Dos Santos] is in my way, and that’s the only thing I give a shit about. He’s in my way to get my title back. I was, and I will be again, the UFC heavyweight champion of the world. [Sarah Palin-esque wink/click]”

So says TUF 13 coach Brock Lesnar in his first video promo for The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team Dos Santos, which premieres Wednesday, March 30th, at 9 p.m./8c. We’re curious to see how the moody, insular former heavyweight champ handles a room full of screaming welterweights. Along with his solid team of assistant coaches, will Brock be able to inspire the up-and-coming fighters to be successful? Or are we looking at another heel-coach in the vein of Koscheck and Rampage?

(“FINISH HIM!” shouted the spooky narrator from Mortal Kombat, who had clearly never seen Jon Fitch fight before. Props: MMAConvert)

After their UFC 127 main event ended in a frustrating majority draw, BJ Penn and Jon Fitch have been re-booked for an immediate rematch at UFC 132 (July 2, Las Vegas). The UFC confirmed the news late last night. Both fighters were initially disappointed in their performance, but have since come around to the idea that they both should have won and a rematch is the only logical option. The fight will lead off the live Facebook-stream portion of the evening. (Kidding. It’ll probably be on the main card somewhere.) Maybe this match is a good time to test out the UFC’s proposed use of five-round fights for non-title features. No? Terrible idea?

(Video courtesy of Zuffa LLC)

Jon Jones has a lot of hype to live up to heading into his light heavyweight title fight with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua this weekend and a lion’s share of it is being perpetuated by his own camp.

Coach Greg Jackson says seeing Jones fight is like seeing a Picasso compared to every other run-of-the-mill painting. Boxing trainer Mike Winkeljohn says that comparisons between his charge and Muhammed Ali are well-deserved and similar greatness is in Jones’ destiny. Teammate Clay Guida calls him a super hero action figure-esque fighter.

(The problem with American MMA fans is that they don’t understand the tag-team ground game enough to appreciate it.)

BY MATTHEW “THE FIGHT NERD” KAPLOWITZ

We all have that one friend who still just doesn’t get MMA. You tell him how safe it is, he says he doesn’t believe it since you can punch a dude on the ground. You tell him there are rules in place to keep everyone healthy, he says he doesn’t believe it since you can punch a dude on the ground. See a trend developing? No matter what you say, this person just never understands. Part of it might be because of the numerous videos that highlight brutality or generally idiocy in the sport, and of course those are the videos that get traffic — not the ones that showcase good sportsmanship and quality fighting. I blame “America’s Funniest Home Videos” for this obsession with schadenfreude.

These are fights that your friend who hates MMA references to remind you of how horrible he thinks the sport is, and he could have a point with some of these when taken out of context. These fights make you ashamed to be an MMA fan; some for how strangely they turned out due to circumstances, and others for how damaging they were for the whole of the sport. Just a warning to you: This list might start off jovial, but it will take a sharp turn for the serious as we get closer to the bottom. So let’s dive into this cesspool that is teeming with the lowest common denominator and take a look at 10 MMA fights you wish you never saw, and more importantly, that you may wish never existed in the first place.

10. Kimbo Slice vs. Houston Alexander

The man billed as “The Youtube Sensation,” backyard-brawler-turned-MMA-fighter Kimbo Slice made a splash in EliteXC, until he was jabbed to death by Seth Petruzelli in the appropriate finale for that company. No one knew what would happen to Kimbo, and questioned if he would enter boxing, K-1, or return to MMA. We were soon given an answer when the Florida-native popped up on the tenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” Now, we would really see if he was UFC material by working his way up against other fighters vying for the top spot.

And hey, turns out Kimbo was not UFC material as he was defeated in the first round of the tournament by Roy Nelson. Still, people swooned over Kimbo saying he was given the hardest fighter in the house. Inevitably, Kimbo was granted a second chance at the TUF 10 finale, getting a fight with equally disappointing Houston Alexander, who had built up a reputation for having great hands and little else. It made perfect sense to book these two together, in hopes that one would knock the other into a time when ProElite meant something other than floundering stock prices.

Instead of fireworks, the match fizzled out and dragged out to a dull decision, with Alexander doing little more than throwing some leg kicks and Kimbo being the one to push the fight. Alexander, who was brought in for this one fight after three losses in a row, was cut and Kimbo was cut one fight later after a beatdown courtesy of Matt Mitrione. The moral of the story here — sure, street fighting is fun to watch, but does that equate to being an MMA fighter? It could if they actually trained. Slice was an example of the hype machine gone overboard, and there is a reason why we have not seen a street fighter pushed like that since.

9. Tag Team MMA

You know MMA has gone mainstream when fighters like Georges St-Pierre appearing on the cover of magazines like Men’s Health have become common occurrences.

The UFC welterweight champ is on the cover of the April issue and is interviewed for a feature spread in the Men’s fitness and lifestyle magazine.

Check out the highlights of the article and a behind the scenes video of the photo shoot after the jump.

(Something’s different here. I just can’t put my finger on it)

It kind of snuck up on you there, didn’t it? Don’t worry, us too. Funny, we must’ve had other stuff on our minds this week because it feels like we haven’t given UFC 128 the attention it probably deserves. Without the UFC’s historic acquisition of that other company whose name already escapes us, this weekend’s main event featuring largely overlooked champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and insanely hyped challenger Jon Jones would be one of the most hotly anticipated fights of the year. Instead, it feels as if it’s already on top of us and we haven’t even figured out if Jones and Rashad Evans are still boys yet.

Anyway, you know what you came here for. As always, the odds for this week’s event come to us from Sportsbook.com and our picks are presented for entertainment purposes only. Also, for the purposes of WINNING MAJOR WADS OF CASH! What! … yeah … ahem … you’ll have to excuse us, we’re pretty jacked about this one. After the jump find our foolproof scheme for checking major bank at UFC 128, all without leaving your couch.