The UFC’s UK office announced today that the original plan of not having a UK show this year has changed as the promotion is planning on bringing the Octagon back to the LG Arena in Birmingham for UFC 138. According to the Twitter post above, the show will be underwhelmingly headlined by a middleweight match-up between Mark Munoz and Chris Leben. Sorry Josh Koscheck.

VidProps: JoslinEnt/YouTube

We asked yesterday if the Potato Nation was interested in seeing more technique videos, and the answer via Facebook was a resounding affirmative. Which is good, because we were going to start sharing these anyway, because we were interested ourselves. Also because it’s easy to post videos and let you entertain yourselves, sort of like buying your kid a game console so you don’t have to talk to them so much.

What? We’re great parents. Except Ben; his kid always tries to interrupt when we’re taping The Bum Rush. (True story.)

Anyway, we had one fan who’s a CIA agent, and he requested some stuff from catch wrestling. Since we happen to enjoy the homegrown American flavor of submission grappling (and we don’t want to be erased by the government), we are happy to oblige with this video from catch wrestling icon Erik Paulson. Check out his counter to the chicken wing from guard (AKA kimura attack from guard), and try it on your small child tonight. Just don’t break anything. And don’t mention our names when Child Services shows up.

[RX]

By Anton Gurevich

On July 30th, Fedor Emelianenko will step inside the Strikeforce cage for the 4th time in his career, this time facing fellow MMA legend and former PRIDE Champion Dan “Hendo” Henderson at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The fight against Henderson will be a defining moment in Emelianenko’s illustrious MMA career, as he will look to bounce back from two consecutive defeats, against Fabricio Werdum via submission and Antonio Silva via TKO (doctor’s stoppage).

One of the men behind Fedor’s success as a Mixed Martial Artist is his eternal Sambo coach and mentor Vladimir Voronov, who has trained “The Last Emperor” since the age of twelve. Voronov holds numerous honors as a Sambo specialist and coach, including the prestigious “Honoured Coach of Russia”. We had an opportunity to speak to the Sambo legend about Fedor Emelianenko’s preparations for Dan Henderson, motivation, the state of Russian MMA and much more…

Everyone was surprised to see Fedor and Alexander Emelianenko training together recently. What kind of effect did it have on Fedor’s preparation?
Well, first of all, they are brothers. Alexander wanted to train and he joined us for this camp. I consider him to be the second best Russian fighter after Fedor. And that’s exactly why having him as a sparring partner was a very positive thing for Fedor.

Henderson recently stated that he thinks Fedor has problems with motivation. What can you say about Fedor’s motivation coming to this bout?
Right now, he’s very motivated. It’s hard to say what will happen during the fight, because it all depends on Fedor. As coaches, we have done and are doing everything in our power to help Fedor reaching the peak of his physical and psychological condition. Now, everything depends on Fedor

Continue reading this article on Lowkick.blitzcorner.com…

(Ah, 2007 — when picking up a draw against Tito Ortiz could be the greatest accomplishment of a fighter’s career.)

By Jared ‘DangadaDang” Jones

In a sport where upsets come as easily as a lone, well placed punch, the rematch has become not only commonplace, but a huge commodity for the UFC as well. Fight fans worldwide have embraced the rematch because they offer a chance to witness a fighter’s redemption first-hand. Sometimes these matches provide us with instant classics, and set in place the even more lucrative Trilogy, while others serve only to confirm what we already knew.

Tito Ortiz, the man behind some of the UFC’s most profitable rematches and trilogies, is looking to continue his path to redemption and possibly contendership (!) when he takes on Rashad Evans at UFC 133. Though the odds are against him, his recent win over Ryan Bader proved to us that he can still choke someone out when it’s called for. (No Brett, you’re doing it wrong.) And since Ortiz stepped up to the plate, so shall I. Here are four upcoming UFC rematches and how I believe they will go down…

Tito Ortiz vs. Rashad Evans – UFC 133

(Click image to watch video.)

What happened the first time: Ortiz was able to secure a takedown within the opening minute of the fight, giving him the edge in a grappling-and-clinch-heavy first round, but after repeatedly grabbing the fence in the second frame, referee Big John McCarthy deducted one point from Ortiz, nullifying a round he would have won. Rashad was able to mount some offense in the third and secure a takedown of his own, resulting in a draw across the board.

Brittney: if you’re thinking of hurting yourself, call us. We insist.

We didn’t really think much of it when a rumor started going around that Brittney Palmer was on her way out of the UFC.  There were some vague Twitter messages of bad luck, and Dana gave her some flack over screwing up which network was broadcasting UFC Live, but surely he wouldn’t just toss her, right?

Well, kids, no official announcement has been made, but we don’t really expect one either.  Brittney Palmer is no longer listed as an Octagon Girl.  If it turns out that Anonymous did this, we’ll never forgive them.  Until then, we’ll mourn for our favorite Octagon Girl (except Ben;  he’ll never get over Arianny).

We wish Ms Palmer well in her future, which is suddenly more open for her to concentrate more on her art interests. Come on inside for one more collection of Brittney’s greatest hits, and leave your tearful comments.

Thanks to Tracy Lee/Combat Lifestyle, Omar Gomez Photography, Fighters Only magazine, and any other photographers who we will identify later when they send us a salty email.

** UPDATE ** Brittney’s portrait has mysteriously reappeared on the UFC site, so take from that what you will. No official word about her employment status has been had, but if we see her at the next show, we’ll call it a win. (They still haven’t fixed Chandella’s age, though.)

[RX]

(Well, at least he went out on a high point.)

So much for determining the best heavyweight outside of the UFC. We heard rumblings about this earlier today, and now it’s official: Alistair Overeem will not be competing in the remainder of Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Grand Prix. The reason seems to be entirely due to scheduling, as Zuffa and Showtime want to run the tournament semi-finals on September 10th, while Overeem feels he won’t be physically ready to compete by then. Said Dana White:

“Sept. 10 was the date Showtime wants us to go, so it’s the date we’ve got to go. It’s unfortunate that Alistair is unavailable, but situations like this are why there are alternates in the tournament.”

What the deuce? Is DW taking orders from Showtime now, or is he just using them as a scapegoat? Would Showtime really be so short-sighted that they would go forward with the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix semi-finals without its biggest star, just so they could stick to a date on a schedule? PLEASE, SOMEONE TELL ME WHO TO BE MAD AT.

Kenny Florian will be taking another fight at lightweight before heading back down to featherweight for his UFC 136 title fight with Jose Aldo when he takes on Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante this Summer at the All Balls Brawl.

(“This guy is f*cking fighting on September 10.”)

Well, it looks like there was actually some truth to the rumor that Alistair Overeem was experiencing some friction from Zuffa and could possibly pull out of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.

If Chris Andersen had half the mean mug that Anthony Johnson has, he’d have a spot on this list.

With the NBA lockout in full effect, many players are beginning to weigh their options for ways to stay busy. Kevin Durant is considering playing overseas, while Nate Robinson is considering a jump to a more attractive lockout. With the way that things are looking, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see an NBA player decide to put on the four ounce gloves and try his hand at MMA.

Normally, lists that focus on tough NBA players are composed of cheap shots, sucker punches and bush league fouls. This is not one of them (Ed. note: For the most part, at least). This is also not a fusion of this year’s All Star teams made under the assumption that all it takes is a lot of success in one sport to be a professional MMA fighter. We already have numerous examples disproving this. One more rule: Retired NBA players, like Charles Oakley and Jerry Stackhouse, are ineligible.

Rather, this list will focus on current players who may realistically accept an MMA fight during the NBA lockout. Coincidentally, most of them are heavyweights. Let’s start by getting this guy out of the way as soon as possible:

5.) Ron Artest, F, Los Angeles Lakers

(video courtesy of YouTube/NaturalBornKillerMMA)

Joe Rogan interviewed Tito Ortiz on the latest edition of UFC Insider and let’s just say Tito’s linguistics skills are as good as they’ve ever been.

Let’s break down the less than three-minute interview after the jump, shall we?

(Inside Your Soul: It’s where Hioki is looking and the name of his t-shirt company.)

Hatsu Hioki was born 28 years ago in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.

Why he matters:
Hioki (24-4-2) is one of Japan’s most decorated fighters, having won titles under the Shooto, Sengoku and TKO Championship Fighting banners. The recent UFC signee has beaten a glut of the world’s top 25 featherweights including Mark Hominick, Marlon Sandro, Ronnie Mann, Takeshi “Lion” Inoue and Masanori Kanehara and now he will finally get the opportunity to test his skills against more of the world’s best in the Octagon.

VidProps: PhuketTopTeam/YouTube

Since some of you seemed to enjoy our last technique video, we thought we’d throw another one at you and see what happens. Rather than BJJ, though, we’ve decided to drop some Sambo knowledge on you bastards.

(For those of you who are questioning my Sambo credentials: first, asking for my bona fides while i’m trying to learn you something is disrespectful. Second, i studied under 33rd Degree Combat Sambo Master Zangief, and i accept your apology.)

The video comes to us from Silviu Dorin Vulc at Phuket Top Team, a name that may become more familiar to you if this whole OneFC thing takes off. Sambo, as you no doubt are aware, is a Russian hybrid martial art developed by the military that incorporates judo and folk wrestling styles, and has become something of a big deal in Russia. It’s the background of choice for famous commies like Oleg Taktarov, Andrei Arlovski, and the experimental military cyborg the Emelianenko (both “A” and “F” series).

What we found interesting was the interplay and transition from a common standing clinch position (even more familiar to the Muay Thai guys that Vulc trains) to a submission on the ground. At the risk of sounding edumacated, it’s a microcosm of the development of our sport: assimilate everything, use what works, and discard what doesn’t. If only a famous, charismatic fighter would articulate that for us.

[RX]

(Awww, looks like Cindy got into momma’s makeup drawer!)

When it comes to finding replacements for UFC 133‘s increasingly cursed lineup, UFC matchmaker Joe Silva has clearly reached the “eff this noise, I’ll be at the bar” stage of the process. The latest update is that Rich Franklin has been removed from the card entirely, after his original opponent Antonio Rogerio Nogueira went down with a shoulder injury this weekend. For the record, King Mo twitter-offered to step up against Ace — a compelling possibility in its own weird way — but the UFC ignored his ass. Anyway, it’s a real shame. All those ice baths for nothing.

As a result, Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama is now the co-main event of “Evans vs. Ortiz II”, and Brian Ebersole vs. Dennis Hallman has been promoted to the main PPV card. (Yeah, you still have to pay for this one. Sorry.)

And damn, we didn’t even tell you: Vladimir Matyushenko pulled out of his prelim fight against Alexander Gustafsson last week due to injury. Stepping in to replace him will be none other than Matt Hamill, who’s coming off his decision loss to Rampage Jackson in May. I know, it’s impossible to keep up with all these lineup changes at this point, which is why we put the current UFC 133 fight card after the jump. Pray that things don’t change much from now until August 6th.

(Props: IronForgesIron via Fightlinker)

So this little gem went down during the Honggang Yao (black trunks) vs. Nam Jin Jo (white trunks, swishy hips) match at Legend Fighting Championship 5 in Macau on Saturday. Yao wisely backs off, wanting no part of what Jo is offering. Despite his fabulous moves, the South Korean fighter lost a unanimous decision.

Previously: GIF of the Year Candidate: Drunk Broad Almost Touches Diego Sanchez

You tell us who looks more “All American”, Mr. Weidman. (Pics: JustinTrapp.com, SBRForum.com)

There may not be an event this weekend, but that doesn’t mean the boys behind the scenes at Zuffa aren’t working hard. Fights have been announced this weekend at a furious pace, and there seems to be no end in sight. Let’s hope Joe Silva’s getting some of that “Anderson Silva money”. Without further ado:

The UFC Fight Night 25 card is starting to flesh out. Lightweight Evan Dunham will take on recent TUF graduate Shamar Bailey. Dunham was last seen being picked up off the canvas following a brutal TKO loss to Melvin Guillard at Fight for the Troops 2. His prior controversial split decision loss to Sean Sherk was tallied as a victory by the only person that really matters, so his back isn’t exactly against the wall here. As for Bailey, he failed to make it to the finals of The Ultimate Fighter 13 despite being a hands on favorite to take the trophy, but he did win a plodding, uninspiring decision over Ryan McGillivray at the finale. Bailey needs to show that he’s got more in his arsenal than world-class smothering.

Still here? More announcements are after the jump!

Do this again some time? Sure…

The bookings just keep coming in. The UFC has announced yet another fight for an already stacked UFC 136 card, as well as a pair of very interesting fights to UFC 137. Who said Sundays are for resting?

The UFC has announced that former WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and Jeremy Stephens have agreed to fight at UFC 136. Anthony Pettis is looking to rebound from a loss in his UFC debut, where he was on the wrong end of a unanimous decision to Clay Guida at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale in June. That fight was less than exhilarating, but by no means due to a lack of effort from the dynamic lightweight. Meanwhile, Jeremy Stephens is riding a two fight win streak into the cage, with wins over Danny Downes at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale and Marcus Davis at UFC 125, earning him Knockout of the Night honors. The craziest part of this booking? Due to the stacked nature of this card, it’s currently listed on the prelims. Yeah, UFC 136 is shaping up to be an outstanding card.

Check after the jump for the latest additions to UFC 137, as well as current fight cards for both events.

It’s impossible to follow the sport and remain emotionally detached from the action. Whether it’s the pre-fight trash talk, a fighter’s struggle to the top, or the raw emotion of two guys putting it all on the line, sometimes it feels like more than a simple contest we’re watching. But if you think you’re emotionally invested in a fight, imagine if you were likely to the square off with the winner.

The most recent episode of the UFC Ultimate Insider takes you cageside to get the reactions of some of the promotion’s top contenders while their future opponents duke it out. Featured in the video are Cain Velasquez (Lesnar vs. Carwin), Vitor Belfort (Silva-Sonnen), Anthony Pettis (Edgar-Maynard), Ryan Bader (Rampage-Machida), Junior Dos Santos (Lesnar-Velasquez), and Chuck Liddell (Couture-Machida).

Not content with merely adding fights to their roster this weekend, the UFC has added an entire event to its lineup. Welterweights Charlie Brenneman and Anthony Johnson have signed to duke it out on October 1st. Joining them on the card will be the very necessary rematch between Matt Wiman and Mac Danzig.

Brenneman was the only real winner of the sordid Marquardt TRT saga last month. “The Spaniard” snuck onto the UFC Live 4 card the day before the event, when Marquardt was pulled from his match with Rick Story due to unacceptably elevated testosterone levels. Brenneman had been toiling away on the undercard prior to scoring the upset victory over Story. Anthony Johnson was originally slated to take on Marquardt in that bout, but he was sidelined by rotator cuff injury. After a long injury lay-off, Rumble returned to action last March with a win over Dan Hardy.

A bit about Wiman-Danzig, and more details of the event, are after the jump.

If this wasn’t the perfect chance to pull the ol’ switcheroo, I don’t know what is. (Pic: MMAFight.com)

Just as other cards have been steadily beefing up their rosters, UFC 133 has taken another major hit. The UFC announced last night that Antonio Rogerio Nogueira has pulled out of his bout against Rich Franklin due to a shoulder injury.

The promotion now finds itself in the exact position it was in only days ago when an injury to Phil Davis sent them scrambling to find a suitable light heavyweight replacement for their main event bout. It was slim pickings at that time, with Machida attempting to ransom off his services for “Anderson Silva money” and Tito taking the fight after initially turning it down. They now have three weeks to sign a replacement or remove Franklin from the card.

Machida’s reasons for turning down the Evans bout—namely short notice and the need to relocate his entire training camp to the US—have only been exacerbated at this point with even fewer days on the calendar. Of course, maybe he’s willing to suck it up after Dana was vocal about his feelings on the matter. Middleweights Chris Leben and Chael Sonnen had also volunteered their services, but Sonnen now has a dance partner. Could we see “The Crippler” make the jump to 205lbs to take a swing at another legend?

Vitali Klitschko is Ukrainian for “Kimbo Slice“, right? Video Props: Liverkick.com

Liverkick recently posted an interview that Alistair Overeem cut with a Polish reporter. The interview starts off slow, with Overeem forgetting the names of the cities he visited, giving the mandatory compliments to Polish fans and just generally playing it safe with his analyses of upcoming Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix fights. At the 4 minute mark, things really get interesting. Alistair is asked about what he will do if he wins the Grand Prix, thus cleaning out Strikeforce’s heavyweight division. Aside from fighting in the UFC, Overeem expresses interest in pursuing a boxing match against current IBF, WBO, IBO and Ring Magazine world heavyweight champion (as well as WBA super heavyweight champion) Vitali Klitschko.

Wait…what?

Sure, Alistair is more than capable of winning in K-1. But there’s a reason Jerome Le Banner has fought no one you’ve heard of in his boxing career: Good kickboxers aren’t always good boxers. Plus, after watching the 42-2 champion dismantle Shannon Briggs and Odlanier Solis, there is no way that this wouldn’t end badly for someone who recently was exhausted from watching Fabricio Werdum flop for three rounds.

Izumi’s mouthpiece (and teeth) seek greener pastures. (Pic: MMAFighting.com)

Somewhere in time, between our last night and our this morning, Japan was getting busy with the Dream Fight For Japan Grand Prix Finals. As is par for the course, this event was not broadcast here in the USA, but it probably will be at some point in the next few weeks, so if you can hold out and don’t want to ruin the show by reading the results look away, and look away now.

Last minute injuries and changes in line-up aren’t exclusive to American promotions, and this Dream show had its fair share of adjustments to its card. Within days of the event both Todd Duffee and Mach Sakurai were forced from their bouts due to injuries suffered in training, but there was plenty else at stake and the show did go on.

A pithy synopsis and full results await you after the jump.

No, Ricco wasn’t involved this time. Props: Shark Fights on Twitter

If we were to tell you that Ricco Rodriguez was involved in another weigh-in fail during last night’s Shark Fights 17 at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco, Texas, it’s doubtful that too many readers would be surprised. The guy kind of has a history of missing weight. However, in a turn of events that prove even the MMA gods have a sense of humor, this time it was his opponent Karl Knothe coming in heavy for the 230 pound catchweight fight.

Those of you who remember our post from Thursday are probably a little confused for two reasons. Number one, we already told you that Karl Knothe has competed mostly as a light heavyweight, making it seem odd that he would show up overweight for a fight at 230. Also, we never mentioned that the fight was a catchweight bout. You’re not alone: No one told Karl Knothe about this, either. According to MMAJunkie.com: Both Rodriguez’s camp and Shark Fights officials said the bout was agreed to a catchweight of 230 pounds while Knothe allegedly believed it to be a heavyweight contest. When Knothe weighed in at 253.75 pounds to Rodriguez’s 227.75 pounds, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation disallowed Knothe from [Friday’s] event due to the large gap and concerns over excessive weight-cutting from the heavier fighter. In the same article, Shark Fight’s owner Bud Brutsman says that Karl Knothe’s manager never told him about the catchweight limit. Somebody needs to give this guy Mike Dolce’s number and a competent manager. Assuming “My manager didn’t tell me” isn’t a code for “Wow, I really botched that one, huh?”, of course.

“Me? Fight at 145? Sure thing, chief. I’ll get right on that.”

In keeping with the mantra “everything’s bigger in Texas”, Zuffa announced last night that the increasingly awesome card for UFC 136 has just gotten awesomer. In addition to the Lightweight Championship do-over between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, Jose Aldo will be putting his gold on the line against Featherweight newcomer Kenny Florian on October 8^th.

After a shaky first bid at 145lbs that saw Florian score a decision victory over Diego Nunes, some wise souls had recommended one more warm-up bout for KenFlo before he challenge for the belt, but the fates had other plans. A title defense against Chad Mendes was scrapped so Aldo could nurse lingering injuries, and rather than ‘Rashad’ himself on the shelf Mendes opted to take another bout in the meantime. Now recovered, Aldo will look to redeem himself from the sluggish, illness-inspired decision beatdown he put on Homminick with a return to violent form.

Another exciting addition to the card is after the jump.

16 Year Old Bride’s First Interview – Watch more Funny Videos

- Lingerie football league all-fantasy game line-up [pics] (Clutch.MTV)

- Stout vs. Siver in the works for UFC 137 (FiveOuncesofPain)

- 2011 ComicCon bingo (ScreenJunkies)

- On masculinity: The spectacle of the human body (Guyism)

- A quick word on the subject of ‘Owling’ and ‘Planking’ (HolyTaco)

- Marquardt and Penn beefing on Twitter (FightersOnly)

- How to sneak booze into an event (MadeMan)

- War Machine is a free man (MiddleEasy)

- Win a copy of Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D (TuVez)

- Elin Nordegren likes you for who you are on the inside (WithLeather)

- Guillard vs. Lauzon targeted for UFC 136 (MMAFighting)

- Carmageddon: What L.A. looks like without cars (WashingtonPost)

- Part 2 of Payout’s interview with ProElite VP of Fight Operations T.Jay Thompson (MMAPayout)

- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows takes over Twitter (HollywoodReporter)

- Brett Rogers says he’s innocent and that the eyewitnesses who saw him beat his wife are all crazy (MMAJunkie)

(Video courtesy of YouTube/PinteoMMA)

Vitor Belfort was interviewed recently by PinteoMMA and he soon took the reigns from the reporter to give a speech on the evils of the Internet, specifically Internet porn.

The interviewer seems to be getting a bit uncomfortable as the former UFC light heavyweight champ goes on and on about the topic.

Check out what Vitor had to say about you nasty perverts after the jump.

(Christ, Dana, you’ve never heard of ‘personal space’?)

MMA Fighting is reporting that Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard have verbally agreed to meet for the third time in a headlining lightweight title fight at UFC 136 (October 8th, Houston). Following their draw at UFC 125, Edgar and Maynard were originally scheduled for a do-over at UFC 130 in May, which was postponed when both suffered injuries in training. The two 155′ers first met at UFC Fight Night 13 in April 2008, with Maynard winning by unanimous decision.

So, any predictions on how the re-rematch will play out? (I mean, it’ll end in a decision, obviously, but what kind of decision, and for who?) UFC 136′s current list of matchups is after the jump, including newly-added bouts featuring Demian Maia, Mike Russow, and Josh Grispi…

They had all the momentum in the world — and then it fell apart. Whether it was due to poorly-timed losses, fan-unfriendly fighting styles, or both, these UFC fighters have reached a holding pattern in their careers, and will need a few dramatic performances to break out of it…

Demian Maia

After kicking his UFC career off with five-straight submission victories, Demian Maia began drawing comparisons to Royce Gracie Himself. A 21-second knockout loss at the hands of Nate Marquardt put the reins on his hype, and a bland stretch of five consecutive decisions — including his debacle of a loss to Anderson Silva and his most recent defeat by Mark Munoz — snuffed that hype out for good. It’s not just that Maia’s been relegated to the middle of the pack. With all the heat generated by outspoken middleweight contenders like Chael Sonnen, Chris Leben, Michael Bisping, and now Jason Miller, Maia is barely a blip on the radar these days.

Miguel Torres

(Photo props: Ed Mulholland)
From 2004-2009, Torres racked up 17 straight wins (15 by stoppage), won the WEC’s bantamweight title and defended it three times in breathtaking fashion. Not only was he one of the most dangerous fighters in the sport, he was also one of the most consistently entertaining. Back-to-back stoppage losses to Brian Bowles and Joseph Benavidez changed all that. Torres re-located his training camp to Tristar gym in Montreal and re-emerged as a more cautious, measured fighter who jabbed a lot. It was the right choice for his fight record, as he won his next two matches against Charlie Valencia and Antonio Banuelos, but it was clear that we weren’t watching the same mulleted buzzsaw that we knew and loved. Then, at UFC 130, he got outwrestled by undersized up-and-comer Demetrious Johnson. No more win streak, no more fan-favorite cred — Torres is back at square one.

(Lee and Jordan Mein)

According to a Facebook post made by his father Lee, who is also his manager and trainer, Canadian welterweight standout Jordan “Young Gun” Mein has inked a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce and will likely compete on the promotion’s planned September card.

A native of Lethbridge, Alberta, Mein (22-7) has been fighting since he was 16 years old. He trains out of his father’s Canadian Martial Arts Centre – the gym responsible for also launching the careers of UFC veterans Jason Day and Jesse Bongfeldt.

Mein will be riding a five-fight win streak when he steps into the Strikeforce cage, including a decision nod over DREAM welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis in his last bout and wins over Joe Riggs and Josh Burkman. His last loss was a hard-fought decision to Jason High last August.

(Karyn hanging out backstage at Lollapalooza in ’92 with Chili Peppers Anthony Kiedis and Flea.)

On this special short and sweet episode of The Bum Rush, the guys welcome acclaimed MMA reporter and the host of MMA H.E.A.T. Karyn Bryant.

Bryant talks about a number of topics, including her 20 years in broadcasting, what led her to cover mixed martial arts and how she embraces her show being labeled as  ”The Entertainment Tonight of MMA.”

If you’re unfamiliar with Karyn’s body of work, she has worked for some of the most recognized networks including MTV, CNN, TLC, TBS and TNT and has starred in a number of shows, including Junkyard Wars, Malcolm and Eddie and Movies for Guys Who Love Movies.

Check out some clips after the jump.

VidProps: BloodstreamMMA100/YouTube

Strikeforce is forging ahead with this crazy “Grand Prix” gimmick — no telling how they came up with a concept like that, but props to them — and the semifinals could go down in September. If everything goes according to plan, the event should be packed with good matchups. Let’s take a look.

The heavyweight GP will continue with Alistair Overeem squaring off with Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, and “War Master” Josh Barnett against “The Russian Concussion” Sergei Kharitonov. Those two fights alone would be enough to carry a card, but Coker and company want to make it worth your while to watch, so they’ve continued to put together bouts with an eye on producing a blockbuster.

Every other bout currently rumored for the show features a current or former champion for the Strikeforce banner, including a title match for current middleweight champ “Jacare” Souza.