Who has two thumbs and can’t wait for our liveblog? This guy! Props: MMAJunkie.com

It’s time for UFC 138 on Spike TV, and we’re here because we’re here. Get it, that works because…you know what, just Google it if you don’t get it. We can’t give you all of the answers, after all. Weekend editor Seth Falvo is handling tonight’s liveblog duties, so let’s just get it started. Hit “refresh” early and often.

This week’s Ask The Potato is too hot to handle.

Ask the Potato is back and as credible as ever- which is almost an accomplishment worth bragging about. This week, while coming up with the smartass quips that you’ve come to expect from us, we noticed that even some minor celebrities have taken notice of this feature and submitted their own questions. Naturally, we’re handling this development the way you would expect us to. We’re placing their questions before your (somewhat) serious questions in order to address people with more clout than you. Just remember, guys: We didn’t sell out: We bought in.

So let’s get to it, shall we?

Too late to suck up now, Brock. You’ll have to settle for PPV. (Pic Props: Sherdog forums)

Perhaps the only draw back to the UFC’s debut on FOX will be the lack of fights actually making it to the air. Zuffa’s new broadcast partners have opted to place all of their eggs into one oversized basket in the form of the heavyweight title bout between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos. But good news is here for those who speak Spanish or simply don’t care what’s coming through their television speakers: two undercard bouts will be airing live on FOX Deportes.

The featherweight scrap between Dustin Poirier and Pablo Garza as well as the Clay Guida-Ben Henderson lightweight bout—which could potentially crown the number one contender at 155 lbs.—will serve as the lead-in to the main event on the Spanish sports channel.

(Video courtesy YouTube/UFC)

- Rashad says Jones may need a therapist after their fight (BleacherReport)

- David Freese could have your girlfriend (WithLeather)

- Johnny Eduardo injured and out of UFC 139 bout with Michael MacDonald (Tatame)

- Alves’ nutrition coach Mike Dolce blames wonky scale on Thiago being over weight (MMAFighting)

Shane Carwin refutes retirement rumors (FightLine)

- Alvarez-Ioki rematch could happen in February in Japan (MMAWeekly)

- 10 books you might have missed in your childhood (HolyTaco)

- How Coca Cola can win Mexico’s drug war (TuVez)

- Alex Trebek makes an awkward threesome (Clutch.MTV)

- DC Universe online now free to play (TheRugged)

- UFC goes multi-platform for Fox debut (FightersOnly)

- Watch Tim Sylvia’s purple belt ceremony get painful (MiddleEasy)

- 11 awesome thing you didn’t know your iPhone could do (MadeMan)

- Amateur fighter and superhero booked on assault charges (TheFightNerd)

Years of sacrifice set to pay off for ProElite headliner Andreas Kraniotakes (CageJunkies)

- Nude girl buys horse, shoots it and resides in it a la Empire Strikes Back (ScreenJunkies)

(Video courtesy of YouTube/IGN)

If you’re going to make a PRIDE mode promo for the new Undisputed game, there’s nobody (not even our good pal, Jerry Millen) better to pump us up for it than Bas Rutten.

IGN posted this awesome trailer for UFC: Undisputed 3 today and it makes us want to go out and soccer kick and headstomp fools to prove that “PRIDE never die.”

Maybe we’ll save the urge until tomorrow night when we head down to the local watering hole to hang with a bunch of drunken MMA experts to watch the UFC 138 re-broadcast. Either that or we’ll do what we always do and make bets with the idiots who are either too drunk or too oblivious to know that the fights happened earlier in the afternoon.

(“…so yeah, I’d say I’ve been pretty smart with my money.” Photo via CombatLifestyle)

After a December meeting with Paul Daley failed to come together, former UFC contender Nate Marquardt has been re-booked at BAMMA 9 (February 11th, LG Arena; Birmingham, England) against welterweight Yoshiyuki Yoshida. The promotion confirmed the news today. Said BAMMA CEO David Green:

“We are very excited to announce what we believe to be a great headline fight for the fans at BAMMA 9 for the World Welterweight Title. Yoshiyuki Yoshida is a UFC, Bellator, and One FC veteran who comes with notable wins over the likes of Dan Hardy, War Machine and Phil Baroni. Both Yoshiyuki and Nate are very excited about fighting at BAMMA 9 and although we had planned for Nate’s first fight to be in December, we believe it is worth waiting a further 8 weeks for such a great match up.”

(Video courtesy of YouTube/westfesttv)

Just like with everything else in life, celebrities seem to all be copping a move right out of Justin Bieber’s playbook when it comes to cross-promotion by publicly calling for a piece of UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s time.

You may recall that Anderson joined the alleged 17-year-old baby-maker (the infant type, not the song) onstage during a recent concert and followed up the appearance with a head-scratching choreographed dance routine he performed on a Brazilian television show. Well, Snoop recognized the potential marketing cash cow of the team-up and has extended an offer for Anderson to join him on tour.

“Wat up, though? This is big Snoop Dogg. Anderson Silva, man, come hang out with yo’ boy Snoop Dogg, man. You just won a new championship belt,” Snoop explained. “Come bring it to the show so I can show you mine and we can mix and match and put some of that….in the air.”

(Unbelievable props: YouTube.com/ClubCarmenValentina)

Carmen Valentina is a fun-lovin’ porn chick who just happens to be a daily reader of CagePotato.com. She was so smitten with our recent Georges St. Pierre GIF gallery, that she wanted to pay tribute in some way. And so, she recorded the above video of herself dancing, inspired by GSP’s own goofy moves.

We appreciated the opening shout-out, and we loved the dancing — but at the 1:20 mark, things take a turn for the legendary. Thank you Carmen Valentina, for producing the greatest Free CagePotato message to date, then personally insulting our staff writer DangadaDang. See, I told you guys she was one of us!

Show Carmen some love at @ClubCarmenXXX and CarmenValentina.com, and check out some of our favorite Carmen Valentina photos after the jump.

(We’re all going to ARBYS!!!!)

Well, at least we can say he’s consistent. In what has been the most detrimental factor in Thiago Alves‘ career, the former welterweight title challenger once again showed up to a weigh-in overweight, just barely tipping the scales yesterday at 172 pounds, or a pound over the limit. Though not nearly as bad as his previous entries, the fact of the matter remains that this marks the third time in Alves’ last seven fights that he has initially failed to make weight. Aside from showing up heavy to his fights with Matt Hughes and Jon Fitch at UFC 85 and 117, respectively, Alves was also busted for using a banned diuretic to make weight for his match against Tony DeSouza back at UFC 66. MRuss would not approve.

“The Pitbull” was given an hour to drop the pound, and did so successfully.

Join us after the jump for the full weigh-in results and the intense Leben/Munoz and Alves/Abedi stare-downs:

The Bum Rush is back this week with a short and sweet version of the show. In this episode Ben and Mike run through last weekend’s UFC 137 card and the week’s top stories lightning-round-style.

Sticking with the low key feel of UFC 138, the event’s pre-fight press conference skipped the flashy fighter introductions, swapped Dana White with Marshall Zelaznik, and got right to business. Zelaznik informs us that UFC 138 is a couple hundred seats shy of selling out and has already broken the all-time revenue record for the LG Arena in Birmingham, England. Pretty crazy considering that this is a place that has hosted the likes of Queen, Iron Maiden, David Bowie, and most importantly The Spice Girls. Remember to stop by tomorrow night and check in on our liveblog of the event, and of course thank us for filling up your pockets like they were laundry bags. And have a good weekend, Potato Nation.

-Danga 

(Video courtesy of IronForgesIron)

When Dana White’s mom released a “tell-all” book a few months back, we all figured that it was a result of sour grapes for not being cut a check when Dana started making stacks of cash.

Now we’re pretty sure we were right and that this crazy woman has some sort of vendetta against her son, considering she’s teamed up with one of Dana’s most bitter enemies, Jerry Millen for the scathing interview above. Millen posted the video on YouTube under the pseudonym “louisthompson90010,” but it’s clear that it’s him posing some of the questions. It’s sad really that he would travel on his own dime to interview this spiteful woman in an effort to make Dana look bad.

Millen’s motives become clear from the get go and you can see that through choppy editing and leading questions that he was able to make June White seem like an even more bitter estranged parent than she already did when she called Dana Rosemary’s Baby and claimed he had no soul.

Some highlights of the combined douchebaggery of JW and JM after the jump.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/AudreAuditore)

If you’ve seen the latest TV spot for the soon-to-be-released Assassin’s Creed: Revelations game, you may have done a double take when you saw a character that looked an awful lot like BJ Penn.

Don’t worry, you aren’t going nuts. Penn appeared in the commercial sandwiched between Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose and the game’s protagonist, Ezio Auditore da Firenze.

Before we’ve even had time to clear out the cobwebs from UFC 137, this Saturday already promises to bring us more bone crushing action with UFC 138, featuring a showdown between middleweight sluggers Chris Leben and Mark Munoz. And since we will be treated to a free card this weekend, why not turn that extra cash…into more extra cash? Check out the betting lines below, courtesy of BestFightOdds, along with our advice, which should have already netted you some extra dough this month.

By Ryan Ventura

When I was ten years old my uncle bought me a brand new Playstation game that helped blossom my love and interest in combat sports. K-1 Revenge came out in 1999 and it introduced me to many kickboxing legends that I admire and still enjoy watching today. Names like Ernesto Hoost, Peter Aerts, the late Andy Hug, Mike Bernardo, and many more. One name in the game that really stood out to me at the time was Mirko Tiger. Not because of his style or the way he played, but it was his name itself that I just found to be very cool. He wasn’t the best fighter in the game, but the ring announcer mentioning the name ‘Mirrrrrkooooooo Tiiiiggggeeeerr’ has always stuck in my head.

Eventually I got older, found out that his real name was Mirko Filipovic, became more familiar with his kickboxing accomplishments, and of course his run in PRIDE. The man who would later be best known as ‘Cro Cop’ began his kickboxing career in 1996 following in the footsteps of fellow Croatian legend Branco Cikatic. The southpaw of course got the nickname Cro Cop from his days working as a commando in the Croatian polilce anti-terrorism unit.

Continue reading this tribute to one of the all-time greats at Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com.

By Jason Moles

To paraphrase a bit of legendary cinema, Bas Rutten’s new TV show is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever seen. At no point in the rambling, incoherent episode was El Guapo even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone who tuned in is now dumber for having watched it. I award this show no points, and may God have mercy on Bas’s soul.

Former UFC heavyweight champion turned TV show host, Bas Rutten, has a new show out on Fuel TV titled Punk Payback, which is somewhat odd considering none of the law-breaking punks actually get their comeuppance like they do on Bully Beatdown. So that’s strike one, right there: blatant false advertising.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/Blockbuster.co.uk. Gina’s voiceover courtesy of Bea Arthur)

If you simply can’t wait until January to watch Gina Carano pretend to be Jason Bourne and you live within a reasonable distance to Hollywood, you’re in luck as “Haywire” has just been added to the line-up for this weekend’s AFI Film Festival according to The Playlist.

The best part is, tickets for the screening of the Steven Soderbergh film are absolutely free.

(Time will tell what changes are in store for MMAFighting)

Well, apparently the rumor that MMAFighting.com’s time as an AOL property was ticking down had some teeth to it.

CagePotato has learned that the popular MMA website has been bought by Vox Media Inc.

Vox Media, formerly SB Nation, is a web media company whose properties include SBNation.com, BloodyElbow.com, MMAMania.com, BadLeftHook.com, CagesideSeats.com, GalsGuidetoMMA.com and HeadKickLegend.com. The company owns more than 300 sports-based blog sites — the majority of which are staffed by part-time editors and are largely based around stories and posts submitted by fans.

(I have come for your women.) 

As promised, Yoshiro Akiyama has already completed his transformation to 170 pounds, and besides looking a little gaunt in the face, it’s safe to say that he has taken this “Sexyama” thing to a whole ‘notha level. I mean, first the music video and now this? You are making it increasingly difficult for the rest of the male population to get laid, Mr. Akiyama.

Below, we have Akiyama’s weigh in photo leading into his UFC debut match against Alan Belcher as a basis for comparison, courtesy of mmajunkie.com.

(Leonard Garcia goes full zombie before his rematch with Chan Sung Jung at UFC Fight Night 24. Props: PlatformNation)

Man, it would have been awesome if we thought of this idea before Halloween. Ah well. Check out the gallery after the jump for 15 classic examples of MMA fighters playing dress-up before hitting the scale. Enjoy.

(Round two of Dillashaw vs. Delorme, via IronForgesIron)

Roland Delorme’s foot is still as red and lumpy as Bruce Vilanch’s face. It hurts like a bitch, but at least he can’t transmit it to anybody else, whatever it is. And there’s still a good chance he’ll be cleared to fight, so fingers crossed.

Jason Miller brings in former Chute Boxe coach Rafael Cordeiro — who currently trains Mayhem at Kings MMA in Huntington Beach — to work with the Team Miller guys on striking drills. But Michael Bisping ups the ante, bringing in Tito Ortiz — his coach on TUF 3 — for a ground-and-pound clinic. “It’s not about the money or fame,” Ortiz tells the blue team. “It’s about us being men and seeing who’s the baddest guy alive.” Marcus Brimage is star-struck: “I was like, wow…that’s a big fucking head!”

Brimage and Akira Corassani are still harping on the fact that TJ Dillashaw asked to fight Delorme instead of Dodson, looking for an easy road to the bantamweight semi-finals. So Akira and Diego Brandao hatch a plan to get even with TJ. It’s a pretty simple plan, really — they plan to beat the shit out of him at practice.

(According to Jones, Michael Jordan jacked his swagger before anyone knew who “Bones” was)

Jon Jones was asked by a Rolling Stone reporter recently to address Urijah Faber’s comment that he may well be MMA’s answer to Michael Jordan and Jones answered like a typical 24-year-old.

“I don’t really know what to say to that,” Jones replied. “I don’t want to sound cocky, but I do hold myself in high regard.”

A rule of thumb: Whenever someone says “but,” it usually means “Ignore everything I said before the but.” It’s like saying, “No offense,” after saying something incredibly offensive.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/MMAHEAT)

The UFC held a conference call today in which Dana White and both main event competitors for the promotion’s inaugural Fox broadcast, Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, fielded questions from the MMA media.

Among other topics, White addressed the possible scenario that the Velasquez-JDS fight could be over faster then the planned pre-fight extravaganza and said that if it is, then there won’t be any other fights shown on Fox, period.

“There’s only gonna be one fight. The heavyweight championship is the only fight that’s gonna be on Fox, [even if] it goes 10 seconds.”

Check out the highlights of the call after the jump.

(Don’t worry Bob, it can only get better from here. That has to be true at least once in a while.) 

Imagine this scenario; you’re an up and coming fighter in the cut-throat world of MMA who’s finally earned his shot at the big time. The packed stadium, the camera crews, the ring girls, they’re all there. And best of all, your fight is about to be broadcast for the world to see. “I’ve made it,” you think as you bathe in the bright lights shining down on you.

But then, before you know what hit you, you’re looking up at a large, possibly Rastafarian man, who’s asking if you know where you are. And for the rest of your life, you are dubbed “that guy who got destroyed by ______ .” No matter what you accomplish, you will always be known for one bump in the road that just about everyone happened to witness. Well, here at CP, we know this story all too well, so we decided to check up on a few of these poor suckers, VH1 style, and find out what they were up to. Because knowing is half the battle. Enjoy.

Dos Caras Jr.

What (most of us) know him for: As one of the victims of the greatest MMA technique of 2003.

What he’s been up to: As it turns out, Dos Caras Jr. has actually had a rather successful career since nearly being decapitated by Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic back at PRIDE – Bushido 1. His real name is Alberto Rodriguez, and he actually wasn’t that bad of a fighter. Honestly, considering he both wore a mask and went by a fake name, he was a pretty damn awesome fighter, and easily the most successful. After dropping a unanimous decision to Kazuhiro Nakamura at Pride 27, “Two Faces” went 6-1, with all wins coming by way of stoppage. He even managed to pull out a head kick KO of his own back in 2010 against 3-8 fighter Arthur Bart.

Where he is now:

(Severn and Shamrock: They were like the Michael Jackson and Prince of big, white grapplers who competed in early ’90s no-holds-barred matches.)

Happy Movember, everybody! In honor of the hairiest month of the year, we convinced UFC Hall of Famer Dan Severn to write a weekly column for CagePotato.com. For the first installment, he plucked some topics from our Facebook page, but he’s up for answering anything about his life, career, and moustache, so drop your own suggestions in the comments section. Visit DanSevern.com and Dan’s Facebook page for more Beast-related updates, and join the CagePotato Movember team if you want to help support a good cause!

Matthew Poulin asks: How many fights do you still want?

Dan Severn: It’s not so much how many fights I want to have. I want specific fights right now. I’ve had some verbal offers but haven’t had the opportunity to bring some of these matches to life. Two particular matches I’m still interested are ones with Mark Coleman and Ken Shamrock. Realistically, I think that 2012 will be my final year as an MMA competitor. So whatever gets done gets done; whatever doesn’t, I’ll have to learn to live with I guess.

(They take their TUF teams VERY seriously in Guam)

Besides the fact that except for a few, the majority of mixed martial arts clothing brands are god awful and ooze douchebaggery, add one more reason to not wear your MMA gear on vacation: You might get stabbed.

According to a story on GuamPDN.com, some dude nearly got stabbed in a restaurant in the U.S. colony for wearing an MMA team shirt that his attacker didn’t like.

Check out the insane story after the jump.

(“Do you need a manager?”)

Anderson Silva wants Ed Soares to take his name out of his mouth — at least when talking to reporters about the career decisions of his marquee client.

Silva took exception to Soares’ recent interview with GLOBO recently during which he explained that Silva will likely retire after competing four more times in the Octagon. The usually jovial Brazilian fighter refuted Soares’ assertion and hinted that he may split with his longtime manager as a result his insolence.

“Not true. As one of my coaches, I still have many bottles to sell. I think we keep fighting for another six, seven years. Four years ago, I was a little stressed,” Silva explained in an interview with GLOBO this week. “I decided with my teacher Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira that after another year I would stop. He said he had no reason to, and then I stopped to think, I had one more fight, and then said, ‘I will postpone my retirement for some time.”

(At least there will always be this to tide us over.) 

Bad news for any of you Brits out there planning on attending UFC 138 (because, let’s be honest, you will be the only ones doing so.) Word has it that Paul Taylor has suffered minor whiplash as a result of a recent rear-end collision he was involved in and will not be competing in his main card lightweight clash with Anthony Njokuani.

As you may or may not remember, this is not the first time Taylor has been forced to pull out of a fight at the last minute. Back at UFC 112, he was deemed medically unfit to compete just days before his bout with John Gunderson after suffering a severe migraine as a result of his weight cut. This marks the third total fight in Taylor’s UFC career that he has withdrawn from as a result of injury. One more, and he will be entering James Irvin territory, which is second only to Cabrini-Green in terms of places no one ever wants to find themself.

(“One Punch” may be a catchy moniker for the roguish bantamweight, but it could very well be the thing that stands between Pickett and a shot at the title. / Gruesome photo via Brad’s Facebook page.)

By CagePotato contributor Ben Cartlidge

This Saturday’s UFC 138 event in Birmingham, England, marks the organization’s sole stop in the UK this year and, as expected, the anticipation is already at a feverish level. The card is a mixture of home-grown talent and international mainstays, and is headlined by the first five-round non-title main event in the promotion’s history between Chris Leben and Mark Munoz.

The co-main event features one of the most dynamic fighters to come out of the UK who, after a career spanning twenty-five fights with multiple appearances in the WEC and Cage Rage, is finally making his UFC debut. Brad “One Punch” Pickett meets Nova Uniao prospect Renan Barao, after a back injury forced Pickett to withdraw from his UFC 130 bout with Miguel Torres, in a potentially incendiary affair at 135lbs.

Brad took the time to chat with CagePotato.com about his preparations for this fight and his plan to snap the insane win-streak of his dangerous opponent…

CAGEPOTATO.COM: Renan Barao has twenty-six straight wins, and his only loss was a split-decision in his professional debut, six years ago. Do you think you’ve got the skills to be the first one to finish him?

BRAD PICKETT: Stats are stats. Everyone loves them but I don’t care about them. I’m going to go in there and throw hard and try to knock him out. If I can knock him out then I’ll be the first person to do that which would be brilliant, or the same if I was to submit him. I don’t look at his record and go “look at how many fights he’s won.” There’s no point in breaking it down like that because you just go into it all too much.

I honestly think I’ve fought a lot higher competition than this kid has. I’m not saying that he’s not good because you beat the people that are put in front of you but I don’t think he’s fought someone of my calibre yet. Honestly I believe I’m a better athlete and I’ve got the tools to win it. It’s my fight to throw away.

(Chael Sonnen whips Erik Koch’s ass at UFC Undisputed 3, later denies he used cheat codes. / For more photos, visit the “Chael Sonnen, Rampage Jackson and Chuck Liddell Test Out UFC Undisputed 3” gallery on Lowkick.blitzcorner.com)

This week’s featured stories…

- BJ Penn: A Lesson in Greatness (MMA Convert)
“When last we saw BJ Penn, the Hawaiian legend was battered and bloody and seemingly adamant about his UFC 137 appearance – a hard loss to Nick Diaz that left his eye purple and swollen – being his last trip into the Octagon. Then, days later, came the post on Penn’s website, saying he would take some time off and see where it goes from there. Which leaves us with what? A former welterweight and lightweight champ on the cusp of retirement? A warrior in the waning years of his career? Or simply a fighter who needs some time to reassess his place in the sport? I’d say definitely all of the above. Which isn’t to say Penn is washed up; he is, and will always be, one the best MMA has ever seen.”

- Joe Rogan: If NASCAR’s Not a Monopoly, UFC Isn’t Either (And They Should Buy K-1) (Fight Opinion)
“The people who own K-1, they owe a lot of money, man. They want to start fights but they want to not have to pay all the fighters that they owe money to and they owe just fucking untold millions of dollars to fighters that they haven’t paid. So, they’re in a bad financial situation but it’s because they didn’t promote it correctly. If someone like the UFC came along, if Zuffa came along and picked up K-1 — they’re not interested in it, I’ve talked to them about it — but if someone like that did, if Mark Cuban did or someone with balls and a lot of money who loves the sport, God damn that’s a gold mine. It’s a God damn gold mine. Mark Cuban, go do it! You already got Michael Schiavello working for you.”

- Gameplans For Surviving Fights With Movie Monsters (The Fight Nerd)
“Unless you’re UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, you do not want to be engaged in a stand up battle with a werewolf. The lycanthropic crime against nature may come out overly aggressive and afford you the ability to start dancing around and tagging him. But this thing has a gas tank to rival Clay Guida and one flurry is the difference between looking slick on your feet and a first round loss by technical mauling.”