(Video courtesy of YouTube/EskriMMA)

Shooto featherweight champion Hatsu Hioki announced today that he has relinquished his belt and that he is moving on from the Japanese promotion in search of other challenges.

“At this time, I’ve returned the Shooto world lightweight title,” Hioki told Sherdog.com via email. “There is a pride in wearing the Shooto world title, but I think that, in the near future, I would like to challenge a new stage of pride.”

According to Sherdog, the popular 24-4-2 fighter, who holds a pair of wins over UFC featherweight contender Mark Hominick as well as one a piece over Takeshi “Lion” Inoue and Marlon Sandro, is being flown in to Vancouver, BC to attend UFC 131. I think we can all connect the dots on where he’s fighting next.

(If only this were real.)

If you aren’t familiar with Masato Toys, it’s basically the body of work of a talented Photoshop artiste whose specialty is creating parody MMA action figures. You may have seen his work on various MMA forums in the past.

His latest masterpiece is this Steven Seagal figure, complete with, “official front-kick patent” and, “Gene Lebell restraining order.”

If this thing was real, we would have one.

You can find his work on the Masato Toys Inc Facebook page.

Check out some of our other favorites after the jump.

(Rear-naked chokes exist in a surplus in some markets, causing their value to be diluted, but their rarity at UFC 130 inflated their value to $70,000 apiece. See, I told you economics could be fun! Photo courtesy of Heavy.com.)

The UFC paid out $1,211,000 in disclosed salaries and bonuses to the fighters at UFC 130, according to new figures released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The highest paid fighters were headliner Quinton Jackson — whose salary was a flat $250,000 — and Frank Mir, who doubled his $125,000 to-show pay by defeating Roy Nelson. Three other fighters were able to crack the six-figure mark thanks to their $70,000 performance bonuses. The full UFC 130 payout list is below; keep in mind that the figures don’t include deductions for taxes, insurance, and license fees, or additional revenue from sponsorships and undisclosed discretionary bonuses.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson: $250,000 (no win bonus)
def. Matt Hamill: $32,000

Frank Mir: $250,000 (includes $125,000 win bonus)
def. Roy Nelson: $15,000

Travis Browne: $86,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus, $70,000 Knockout of the Night bonus)
def. Stefan Struve: $21,000

(“And you made sure my nose looks like a big-ass clove of garlic? Okay, perfect.”)

We weren’t expecting much trash-talk in the lead-up to UFC 134‘s middleweight championship headliner between Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami — but the Spider continues to be the aggressor in the pre-fight war of words. This weekend, Silva gave an interview to Brazil’s O Globo newspaper, and expressed disappointment at Okami’s association with longtime training partner Chael Sonnen:

“You have to find the best person to train you, and I think he chose wrong…I will never line up with a loser, a loser in every sense. [Sonnen] did not win the fight (against me), (he) was caught doping, is being sued for various things, and is suspended from the UFC…Want to be a champion? (Be) allied with good people.”

(“At least I’ve still got my modelling career.”)

Remember when Kurt Pellegrino said he would retire if he lost to George Sotiropoulos at UFC 116 and then decided that because he was injured in the bout and came close to finishing G-Sots in the closing minutes, he was taking a do-over on his vow?

Well, it looks like Pellegrino made the same pledge to himself prior to his UFC 128 fight with Gleison Tibau as ‘Batman’ announced today via his personal website that he has opted to not sign a new contract with the UFC following back-to-back losses in the Octagon. Instead, the 16-6 Point Pleasant, NJ lightweight who is 7-5 in the UFC says he will shift his focus to his jiu-jitsu students and on improving his jiu-jitsu, wrestling and boxing skills for if and when he decides to make a return to fighting.

(“You kick one little girl at a birthday party and nobody ever lets you live it down.”)

In an effort to constantly increase and improve our interactive offerings to the Potato Nation, we’ve come up with a new concept for a series of ongoing articles that will give our readers the opportunity to interact with some of MMA’s biggest stars.

We dubbed the series, “Breakfast With a Champion,” because we will be posting them early in the morning for you to read and because the concept is that you send us your questions for various titleholders and we forward them and post the replies here when we get them back.

The beauty of it is that you get to ask questions that typically don’t get asked by journalists and you get to contribute to the content you want to read in one of two ways: By posting questions for future guests and by suggesting which champs you want to take your questions.

We’ll do our best to get in touch with as many of them as we can and to answer as many of your questions as possible. All we ask is that you keep your questions respectful and that you spread the word about the series.

So without further adieu, check the first instalment of Breakfast With a Champion, featuring Alistair Overeem after the jump.

(Meanwhile in Roy’s stomach, a dozen undigested cheeseburgers cried for mercy. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

Look, I was all for sweeping UFC 130 under the rug and never mentioning it again, but since ReX has shamed me into doing this, it’s time to look back at Saturday’s big winners (and big, big losers) and see if we can devise some future matchups for these guys that will actually produce interesting fights. Make it happen, tiny atheist.

Quinton Jackson: Dana White seems dead-set on giving Rampage a title shot if his hand is healthy enough to accept it. Ugh, terrible. Why the UFC isn’t interested in promoting the hottest rivalry in the sport is anybody’s guess. (And don’t give me that bullshit about “timing”; it’s more likely related to White’s personal feelings about Rashad Evans.) In a perfect world, Rampage sits out for a few months and faces the winner of Shogun vs. Forrest at UFC 134 in Rio. With losses to both on his record, I don’t think motivation would be an issue.

Matt Hamill: Sure, on paper Hamill was coming into the fight against Rampage with a five-fight win streak — but considering that the most impressive victory in that streak (by far!) was his knockout of Mark Munoz, you have to wonder where the Hammer really sits in the light-heavyweight pecking order. My first thought was that Hamill should face the resurgent Vladimir Matyushenko next — but Vlad already has a date in August. So give him the winner of Kyle Kingsbury vs. Fabio Maldonado at this Saturday’s TUF 13 Finale. Either Hamill rebounds, or a rising prospect gets a big-name notch on their belt. Seems win-win to me.

VidProps: TheAzyunyh2

Now that contracts have been signed and announcements have been made, we can officially start looking forward to seeing Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson go at it later this summer. Sure, there’s no title on the line, and sure, there’s not much of anything on the line other than bragging rights, but according to a memo sent out to all MMA media and bloggers back in 2003, we are required to be excited anytime Fedor is set to fight, even if there are exactly zero fights announced for the rest of the card.

The promo trailer is a tried and true tool used to raise excitement for future matches, and it’s one tool that amateurs — by which we mean unpaid fans — usually outshine the pros. This is because, just like Mom’s cooking and anything that is still produced by hand, it’s made with love. Watch this video of Fedor and Henderson during their respective ups and downs over the past decade, and tell us you can’t feel the love. It’s that fuzzy feeling you get when the music syncs up just right and you feel tempted to jump up and fist pump.

Whatever you do, don’t jump out of your seat and fist pump at work! Everyone in the cubicle farm will see you, and you’re supposed to be working extra hard to make up for slacking off since last Wednesday. Just watch quietly and feel the love. Sure, it may feel like you’re just watching Fedor knock Brett Rogers’ face sideways, but believe us: it’s love.

[RX]

(“If you hear something late at night / Some kind of trouble, some kind of fight / Just don’t ask me what it was…” Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly)

With Jason Miller being drafted for a high-profile gig coaching The Ultimate Fighter, Mayhem’s original UFC return opponent Aaron Simpson was left without a dance partner. However, the UFC confirmed last night that Simpson will remain on the UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber 2 card (July 2, Las Vegas) against undefeated TUF 11 semi-finalist Brad Tavares.

Kind of a downgrade for Simpson in terms of name value, but Tavares (7-0) is one of the best prospects in the middleweight division, and is coming off a first-round knockout of Phil Baroni in January. During his stint on The Ultimate Fighter, he won three consecutive fights before being choked out by Court McGee in the semis, then outpointed Seth Baczynski at the Finale show.

Brock Lesnar has a gut feeling. It’s a bad feeling.

Brock Lesnar is reportedly convalescing from his latest dust up with diverticulitis, after undergoing scheduled surgery Friday to deal with the chronic and debilitating intestinal disorder. According to the Baldfather, Lesnar had “about twelve inches” of his colon removed, and there’s perhaps a bit of irony that Mr “Write That Down In Your Little Notebook” is uncomfortable in the bunghole region. “He said he’s a little sore, but the operation was a huge success,” says Dana.   Take it with a grain of salt, but Lesnar and the UFC are optimistic for a to return to the cage in early 2012.

Just in case you missed the important part in there, Brock Lesnar just lost about a foot of his large intestine.  Also,  how has no one mocked up the Trash Talking Kids “Eat Some Broccoli Lesnar” yet?

How does it seem like they could exchange outfits and still not look one bit weird?

Shout out to CagePotato blood brothers Heavy.com and Jeremy Botter James Law, who snapped this shot of 5’3″ Demetrious “Might Mouse” Johnson and 6’11” Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve brohugging in the lead up for UFC 130.

When Hollywood inevitably decides to reboot the Mad Max franchise — and you know that those sons of whores in Hollywood will do it, sooner or later — these two would hold down the part of Master Blaster. Beyonce will be Aunty Entity, of course, and Mad Max will be played by Mel Gibson.  As soon as Miley Cyrus has a kid, it will be penciled in as the feral child.

Oh shit, we just totally gave them an idea, didn’t we?

[RX]

(Video courtesy of YouTube/MMAHeat)

I’ve worked for several major corporations who mandated that their employees sit through mind-numbing lectures and videos detailing what comments and suggestive behavior constitute sexual harassment. There’s a thin line between what are regarded as harmless remarks like, “I like your dress,” or, “Nice haircut,” and what’s considered lewd.

I remember one video in particular that stands out. According to the, “sexual harassment expert” in the film, sexually suggestive comments and innuendos don’t become harassment until a set boundary between the two parties has been crossed. For example, when a woman tells a man that she doesn’t appreciate him making remarks about how her jeans fit or what he’d like to do to her, it becomes harassment when he makes them again.

If you look back at Quinton Jackson’s history of dry-humping and sniffing the behinds of female reporters, it’s not surprising that he told MMA Heat’s Karyn Bryant following his UFC 130 win over Matt Hamill Saturday night that he wanted to “motorboat” her and that she better get away from him before he “humps” her like he has other women interviewers like our own Heather Nichols.

“…and I saw his knee looked like it was getting bigger and bigger … and then it hit me.” (VidProps: Karyn Bryant)

Karyn Bryant caught up with Ricky Story after UFC 130, and he wasn’t getting his jaw wired up.   After determining that he wasn’t suffering from a concussion, Bryant asks him about the fight, and reminds him that he absorbed some damaging shots in the process. Story allows that, yes, he was hit with some fearsome blows, and he even wound up taking a bite out of his mouthguard (!!!). Sounds like maybe you don’t want to order from that mouthguard manufacturer any more?

Story seems a little sheepish, saying his performance “was definitely good enough for the win,” except he doesn’t seem so definite.    Awww, cheer up, big guy.   MMA crowds boo, it’s their thing.  It’s like Red Wings fans throwing octopi on the rink, or Philidelphia Eagles fans being turbo douches and needing a jail in the stadium.

Mark Miller wastes no time knocking out Nikolaj Falin. Props: MMATKO

Chances are that you knew about the United Glory Tournament Finals that took place yesterday in Moscow. It featured some pretty intriguing fights, was available on YouTube and cost less than ten bucks. Of course, many of you figured you could save your money and check Cage Potato this afternoon for some highlights and a quick list of results. Don’t worry, we got your back as usual.

The welterweight tournament, which began in October of 2010, came to an end with a scrap between Golden Glory teammates Tommy Depret and Siyar Bahadurzada. To those of you who have concerns that two teammates fighting each other would lead to a boring fight, relax and take notes. Tommy Depret gave current SHOOTO light heavyweight champion Siyar Bahadurzada trouble in the opening round, but once the second round started, this fight was all Bahadurzada. Bahadurzada used his superior hands and clinchwork to get finish off Depret. Yes, we have a video of this after the jump.

(Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com. “Roy Nelson is exhausted” gif placed after the jump by popular demand. But if you move your head from side to side while looking at this picture, it’s basically the same thing.)

Yeah, we know what we said we said about last night’s show, but despite the underwhelming co-main events there was a fair amount of action on the card (yes, even from those two fights). Join us after the jump then get something to eat while the page loads.

(All props go to the legendary Zombie Prophet)

(Photo courtesy of UFC.com. Rampage’s victory reaction gif is now after the jump.)

When the anticipated rematch between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard was scrapped from this card, we were left with a few big names and a lot of hope. Despite a few stellar knockouts earlier in the evening, UFC 130 ended much like my date to see “No Strings Attached”: a lot of booing, a disappointing 15 minute fight, and I was out $50.

Every UFC card has to be about something, and with no gold up for grabs the storyline for this event became Quinton Jackson’s climb back up to the top of the Light Heavyweight division. Dana White declared and Rogan and Goldberg echoed that an impressive, entertaining victory over Matt Hamill would land Rampage a title fight with champ Jon Jones. Rampage secured the win, but his shot at the belt is still up in the air.

(Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com. Gif is now after the jump.)

Already a fixture on the UFC highlight reels of Junior Dos Santos and Roy Nelson, Stefan Struve became the victim of another first-round knockout tonight at UFC 130, succumbing to what might be the most devastating superman punch ever thrown inside of an eight-sided cage. The victorious Travis Browne increased his MMA record to 11-0-1, and was awarded UFC 130′s Knockout of the Night bonus for his efforts, picking up an additional $70,000.

UFC 130′s other performance bonuses went to Brian Stann and Jorge Santiago (Fight of the Night) for their two-round bang-up that kicked off the pay-per-view broadcast, and Gleison Tibau (Submission of the Night) for his rear-naked choke of Rafaello Oliveira during the prelims; it was the only fight on the card that ended via submission.

(Man, Edith LaBelle has really let herself go.)

After sorting out some technical difficulties with my satellite company, I am set up to get this b*tch blogged for y’all.

Let’s get to it.

Spoilers are after the jump. You’ve been warned, yo.

Different styles make for an interesting fight.

Though Zuffa officials have yet to announce the fight, Sherdog.com reports that Dan Henderson and Fedor Emelianenko have officially signed bout agreements to face one another. This match-up has been in the works for a while now and will add some major firepower to the July 30^th event at the Sears Center in Chicago.

This is a big fight for everyone involved. Following two consecutive stoppage losses to Fabricio Werdum and Antonio Silva, Fedor’s unbeatable mystique has been shattered. With Strikeforce’s top heavyweights competing in the Grand Prix Tournament from which he was exiled, this bout gives Fedor a shot at a meaningful win against a highly respected legend. After all the talk of his possible retirement from the sport, a victory here would prove that Fedor is still very relevant in the MMA landscape.

Props: MiddleEasy.com

Either Anderson Silva and is performing the best troll job ever by continuing to train with Steven Seagal, or being the best pound for pound fighter alive is so boring that Seagal is the only person who can motivate him to keep training. MiddleEasy posted this video today of the two training, with Seagal continuing to demonstrate his tough love coaching style. Don’t bother asking what exactly Seagal is trying to accomplish with the drill. If he’s trying to show Anderson Silva how devastating a jab can be, he’s preaching to the choir.

Frustrated that Silva (who wasn’t wearing gloves or handwraps, mind you) wasn’t punching fast enough, Seagal eventually drops Silva with a wrist throw. And by “eventually”, I mean less than thirty seconds into the session. It’s completely crazy, but what else would you expect from a guy who can market a drink called Asian Experience and a song called Alligator Ass while keeping a straight face?

Pulver vs. Davidson (video by Zuffaforce)

It doesn’t seem like all that long ago that we’d shell out $50 to watch Jens Pulver knuckle up with the top fighters in the world on the sport’s biggest stage. Those days are long gone, brother. Jens’ losing skid on the regional circuit was recently broken by a two-fight win streak, but last night we were reminded once again how far he’s fallen. Pulver took on Brian Davidson and it wasn’t pretty. Unable to match Davidson’s speed in the standup, Pulver looked to take this fight to the ground often, but he found little comfort on the mat. Following his first takedown Lil’ Evil ate an illegal up-kick that had him staggered; his second takedown yielded little action on the ground, and his third attempt ended with Davidson taking his back and securing the rear naked choke. After the fight, Pulver—who has lost seven of his last nine bouts–declared that he had no intentions of retiring and that he wanted to go out on his own terms. He’s a grown man and can do as he pleases, but let’s hope those terms don’t include a long string of KO losses.

In other action, UFC vet Jake Rosholt put a beating on John Ott until landing an illegal knee at 4:23 into the third round. Rosholt used his decorated wrestling background to put Ott on his back and work him over throughout the fight. The bout could easily have been stopped in Rosholt’s favor prior to the knee, as he opened numerous deep cuts across Ott’s face with elbows and punches from full mount and side mount on several occassions. While Ott attempted to stand in the last minute of the fight, Rosholt landed a solid knee to his face, dropping him to the canvas before doctors declared him unable to continue.

Full results after the jump.

A rare photo from the Cage Potato staff Christmas party.

When it comes to fan interaction and brand building, the UFC is rewriting the book for sports promotions. Between broadcasting fights on Facebook, their latest Twitter crusade, their ever-growing Fan Expo series, and even some brave fighters doling out their phone numbers, the opportunities for fans to connect with fighters and invest themselves in the world of MMA are plenty. Continuing in that mission, the UFC has launched the “UFC Octagon National Tour”.

Overall, this sounds like a pretty cool chance to meet some fighters, get some autographs, and pick up some UFC schwag. The tour will jump around the country, often making pit stops at large festivals like Bonnaroo and the X-Games. If you’ve ever attended any MMA-related event, you know all too well the type of sophisticates that turn out. For every educated fan, you have two guys in chromed-out Ed Hardy shirts talking about how tough Kimbo Slice is. One component of the tour sure to bring out the meatheads is the competitive physical fitness tests. Fans can weigh-in and test their might at pull-ups, vertical jump, and punching strength. Better than simply flexing their barbed-wire tatted biceps for those in attendance, competitors will be given a stats-card designed for Facebook posting so all of cyberspace can taste their machismo.

Any bets as to which member of the Potato Nation will post the highest scores? A schedule of upcoming tour dates and locations is after the jump…

(When did Rampage learn to kick? – Video courtesy of YouTube/TATAMETV)

- Bout Agreements Distributed to Hendo and Fedor (Sherdog)

- Brazilian Dude Does Soundtrack for Street Fighter II With His Mouth (TuVez)

- Made Babe: Arianny Celeste (MadeMan)

- Let’s Make This Clear: Urine is Not Perfume (HolyTaco)

- Bruce Leroy vs. Leonard Garcia targeted for UFC on Versus 5 (MMAJunkie)

- Laugh in the Face of Cancer With the 50/50 Trailer (ScreenJunkies)

- Noons vs. Masvidal fighting for shot at Melendez (MMAMania)

- The Best of Bulls-Heat Game 5 in Slo-Mo (ScoresReport)

- Spiffy Cat Kitten Profile: Ashton Taylor (SpiffyCats)

- Sportsbook says MMA has passed boxing on the Betting Front (CageWriter)

- FEG, DREAM ‘Sold’ to Investor; It’s Showtime Declares War (FightersOnlyMag)

(Come back at 7:00 and see what these two guy look like in their underwear.)

Just a friendly reminder that we will be streaming the UFC 130 weigh-ins live here at 7:00 pm ET.

Will Roy Nelson have a six-pack or a keg?

Will Thiago Alves make weight thanks again to Mike Dolce?

Will Frank Mir come out wearing Whopper boxers?

These pressing questions and more will be answered after the jump.

(Let me guess — ‘27 Dresses‘ was on TBS again.)

We’re just moments away from the official start of Memorial Day weekend, a sacred American tradition in which people across the country drink beer at backyard barbecues in honor of the brave men and women who have given their lives defending this country. While you’re giving it up for the military, please take some time to consider those who have passed on in the UFC. And don’t forget to come back to CagePotato.com tomorrow night for our liveblog of UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill…

EVAN TANNER

A one-time middleweight champion of the UFC, Evan Tanner struggled with addiction and financial problems during the later part of his career. Tanner got sober in 2008, but died just a few months later during a fateful adventure in the Southern California desert. And though he didn’t always treat himself kindly, Evan left behind a legion of fans and friends who revered him for his generosity and positive attitude — much like TapouT founder Charles “Mask” Lewis, who also happened to be fond of the word ‘Believe.’

LOGAN STANTON AND NATASHA WICKS

Dana White announced this afternoon that British heel Michael Bisping and American goofball Jason “Mayhem” Miller will be the coaches on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter, which will start filming soon with a cast of featherweight and bantamweight contestants.

The selection of Miller comes as a surprise, as he was already slated to fight Aaron Simpson in July, a match that now appears to be off. On the other hand, his outsized personality coupled with Bisping’s thin-skinned volatility is sure to produce the kind of excitement and interaction between the coaches that was completely lacking on TUF 13. So, good move, UFC.

Bisping was formerly a coach on TUF 9, leading British fighters Ross Pearson and James Wilks to success in the lightweight and welterweight brackets, but was later the victim of a devastating knockout at the hands of rival coach Dan Henderson. Miller has hosted three seasons of MTV’s Bully Beatdown, leading pro fighters like Jake Shields, Andrei Arlovski, and Eddie Alvarez to satisfying thrashings of untrained douchebags.

Picture is unrelated. Do your worst, Nation. (PicProps: MMTKO)

After a long absence, we decided to solicit questions from our readers to find out what was on your minds, so that we may enlighten and amuse you in an engaging way. Also to keep you jerks occupied, because you get all crazy when you’re bored and that’s why we can’t have nice things.

As always, you can submit questions in the CagePotato Forums (which actually exist behind that button up top labeled “Forums”), or you can submit your queries via email to TheAllKnowingPotato@gmail.com. If The Great And Powerful Potato deigns to answer your question, you agree to buy us beers at the next meet and greet. Those are the rules.

Let’s get to it.

[The All Knowing Potato]

(Video courtesy of YouTube/UFC)

In this episode of his UFC 130 vlog, Dana  spends some time with his son, attends the UFC Fighter Summit and gears up for this weekend’s event.

If you don’t have time to watch it or your boss is a tight ass who banned YouTube in your workplace, the key points in a nutshell are after the jump.

We’ve been off for a few weeks mainly due to logistical reasons, but we’re finally back with another episode of Ben’s mom’s favorite MMA podcast.

On this week’s episode weekend writer Seth Falvo joins us as we break down this weekend’s UFC 130 event and next weekend’s The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale. We also sit down with embattled former UFC welterweight contender Karo “The Heat” Parisyan, who talks about his heartbreaking loss to Ryan Ford at MMA Live 1 last week in Canada, his haters, his thoughts on the media and his plans for the future.

For the previous installments of our conversation with Brock Lesnar, click here and here.

Update: The complete audio from this interview is now at the end of the post.

BRIAN D’SOUZA: [When you were sick], maybe you thought a lot about your family, about what you’ve achieved in life…any regrets?
BROCK LESNAR: No, you know, I thought, if this thing is going to take advantage of me, I wanted to figure out what was wrong with me so I could beat it. When you’re laying there, after the fact, you start thinking about your family, and your friends. It wasn’t until afterwards when you’re thinking ‘Man — I really could have died from this stuff,’ when the dust settles, and you start thinking about it.

And on the other side of things, on the business side, there’s a lot invested in you, or a lot of value to you from the UFC. What was their attitude back then and recently, right now [when you pulled out of the Junior dos Santos fight]?
The first thing that came out of Dana White’s mouth was concern for my health. He said, “Don’t even worry about the fight. Let’s get your health taken care of.” That goes to show a lot about the company, and about the person that Dana White is.

Josh Barnett once told me ‘We have a pro wrestling system for MMA.’ But I kind of believe it’s a star system; I believe this based on the estimated pay-per-view buys which suggest — which we both know — you’re the number one draw in the organization by far. Going into the millions of pay-per-view buys where Georges St-Pierre can maybe do 800,000 or 900,000. How do you feel about being the number one guy?
Well, I don’t feel any different other than I’m glad to be in that spot, that opportunity; it’s a lucrative spot to be in, and at the end of the day, I hope that I can get back in the Octagon to keep trying to pursue those numbers.