(Video courtesy of FCFighter.com)

If you thought Bruce and Michael Buffer had game (and we’re pretty sure you did), wait until you see their younger, more athletic brother’s repertoire of flashy ring announcing moves.

(We know Josh, we’re frustrated too.) 

I’m going to level with you for a second, Potato Nation. As I write this, it’s nearing five o’clock on what has been a dull and dreary Friday here in the Adirondacks. I’ve spent nearly all of my money on a bunch of ill-advised Christmas gifts and I’m looking to throw the rest into a bar tab starting pronto, so I apologize for my rather apathetic candor whilst delivering this news.

It has recently been announced that a date for the long anticipated finals of Strikeforce’s heavyweight tournament has been set at last, and a location has also been determined. March 3rd, at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio. UFC/ PRIDE veteran Josh Barnett will face undefeated prospect Daniel Cormier. In two and a half freaking months. If you recall, this Goddamned tournament began over 10 months ago.

(Photo via Strikeforce.com)

By Anton Gurevich

This weekend, Ovince St. Preux will step inside the Strikeforce cage to face the former Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi as part of the stacked Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal fight card in San Diego, California. Representing Knoxville Martial Arts Academy, 11-4 St. Preux will look to prove a point about his future as one of the best 205′ers on the planet.

Twenty-eight year old Ovince St. Preux turned his career around after fighting six times (!) in 2010, improving his MMA record from 3-4 to a more appropriate 9-4. In 2011, St. Preux recorded two important victories against Abongo Humphrey and Joe Cason that eventually solidified his place on the Light Heavyweight landscape.

Speaking in an interview to LowKick.com, St. Preux gave Gegard Mousasi the credit for being the biggest name he ever faced inside the cage or ring. The Haiti-born fighter expects a well-rounded game from Mousasi, who he considers as one of the 10 best Light Heavyweights in MMA.

Check out this interview on Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com!

(All of these fighters have been ordered to wear sumo suits over the holidays.)

Well, it’s looking like UFC 142 may give a few of Zuffa’s most injury-plagued cards a run for their money.

According to various reports, the current body count stands at four as as many fighters have pulled out of the event for various reasons.

As a result the UFC is now scrambling to find replacements for Paulo Thiago (injury), Rob Broughton (injury), Siyar Bahadurzada (injury) and Stanislav Nedkov (visa issue) to face their respective former opponents Mike Pyle, Edinaldo Oliveira, Erick Silva and Fabio Maldonado.

Tatame first reported the news today of Thiago’s elbow injury, while the UFC tweeted that Broughton, Nedkov and and Bahadurzada were all off the card due to unnamed afflictions. Conflicting reports have since surfaced stating that Nedkov had issues securing a work visa for the January 14 show in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

If replacements can’t be found, one or maybe two of the bouts in question could be salvaged, but with six scratches, the card would take the final slot in the five most cursed cards in UFC history.

Check out the top four after the jump.

We had the opportunity to speak with Strikeforce welterweight contender Tyron Woodley yesterday ahead of the busy grand opening weekend of his St. Louis American Top Team affiliate gym, ATT Evolution and we touched on a variety of topics including his upcoming bout with Canadian prospect Jordan Mein, his gym’s revolutionary youth program and the rampant use of PEDs in the sport. We also touched on his thoughts on the inevitable GSP-Diaz match-up and why he thinks Stockton’s best fighter was right to turn down a fight with him.

You can download the interview directly HERE if you aren’t subscribed to The Bum Rush on iTunes.

Check out the highlights of our chat with T-Wood after the jump.

(This is what I get for offering them a ticket to The Gun Show.) 

Oh, those wacky Brits. It appears that, while touring the UK as part of a MMA seminar tour, former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk was accidentally pegged in connection with a well known crime boss (our guess would be Salvatore Riina) when the vehicle he was riding in was stopped at a roadblock.

After a small misunderstanding, machine gun toting bobbies descended upon Sherk and forcefully removed him from the car, which they believed to be loaded with illegal firearms. Fighters Only has the exclusive:

As he was being ferried into the area, the car he was travelling in was stopped by a roadblock and armed police swooped on the vehicle. Police had the vehicle on their database as being linked to a local man who they believe to be a key gangland figure. 

Sherk thought the car was being subjected to a routine stop until it turned out to involve several carloads of police officers carrying automatic weapons, including Hechler and Koch MP5 machine guns – the UK police do not normally carry guns. 

Having remained sat in his passenger seat because he had not understood an instruction to exit the vehicle, Sherk was dragged out by tense officers. They cuffed his hands behind his back and pulled him away where he was none too gently searched before being dumped on the floor.

(“My God! The utter lack of humor in this contest was powerful enough to tear my skin!”)

Oh crap, I forgot all about this. So who was able to turn agonizing heartbreak into comedy? First, your finalists:

bitteralex: I wonder if it FEELS like a goat’s vagina?

Machiavelli: Lesson learned; Machida will definitely remember to take a carrot with him the next time he goes to pet the buses.

mikeraphon: I need a rematch like I need another hole in my head.

Rear Naked Poke: Round 5 just released the new Lyoto Machida Coin Bank, available this December.

Big Daddy Duker: A true practitioner of Machida Karate will never make noise while sneezing…no matter what the cost.

HabitualLineStepper: I’d better cover this up before I end up in the backseat of a car with Hendo and Brad Penny.

And now, the winner, because every contest needs one:

(Props: YouTube.com/Strikeforce)

Reminder — Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal goes down tomorrow night in San Diego, and we’ll be liveblogging the Showtime broadcast beginning at 10 p.m. ET. Strikeforce recently released this promo video focusing exclusively on the lightweight title competitors and Cris Cyborg; Gegard Mousasi and Ovince St. Preux are nowhere to be seen, and the only glimpses we get of KJ Noons and Billy Evangelista are brief clips of them getting beat up by Jorge Masvidal. Still, this could be a surprisingly entertaining card for those who actually care enough to watch it. Either way, that clip of El Nino ruining Kawajiri’s life with elbows never gets old.

After the jump: Jorge Masvidal gets interviewed by three hot Spanish chicks, nearly slaps the crap out of one.

(Penny for your thoughts, Brett.)

Heavy.com is reporting that the planned heavyweight bout between Brett Rogers and Tim Sylvia has been scrapped because “Da’ Grim” was denied a travel visa to Japan due to his recent dust-up with his wife that landed him behind bars and on trial for domestic assault.

(Hey amigo, don’t forget to bag the stool. I’ll be making salad as a side tonight.) 

One minute it’s an emergency NSAC meeting, and now this. Don’t worry folks, the charges facing former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will not affect his December 30th battle with Alistair Overeem at UFC 141, but Lesnar is now a fugitive in a country where sodomy is legal nonetheless. The charges aimed at Brock stem from a recent hunting trip he took to Alberta; I’ll let CJCYFM.com explain:

A recent hunting trip to Alberta has landed former WWE and Ultimate Fighting Champion Brock Lesnar in some trouble.

Fish and Wildlife officers confirmed the international celebrity has been charged with three counts in contravention to the Alberta Fish and Wildlife Act.  The charges came before Medicine Hat Provincial Court Thursday morning and include improper affixation of tags, spoilage of skin and edible flesh and possession of a controlled animal.

Neither Lesnar, nor his co-accused Chad Stryker, appeared in person in court.  Their matter has been put over until January 19th.

Phew. At first, the charges don’t sound that bad. That is, until you consider the fact that the controlled animal in question was a Garthok.

(You know what? I still think Chad Griggs could have whipped all your asses.)

Strikeforce put out a press release today announcing their contract renewal with premium cable channel Showtime, which officially begins with the Rockhold vs. Jardine event on January 7th. Under the terms of the new agreement, Showtime will produce and televise up to eight live events, and will also begin broadcasting undercard fights on Showtime Extreme.

Said Dana White: “We’re excited about this renewal with Showtime and I expect to put on some big Strikeforce events next year. I never thought I would say this, but I am very much looking forward to building Strikeforce and working very closely with Showtime.”

According to the press release, the winner of the World Grand Prix Heavyweight Tournament (either Josh Barnett or Daniel Cormier) will compete again on Showtime under the Strikeforce banner in the months to follow. But after that, the reign of big men in Strikeforce will be history.

(Well, it was a nice vacation while it lasted.)

On Tuesday, we let out a long, weary sigh when we heard news that TUF 8 madman Junie Browning had allegedly beat up a woman at a bar, then beat up the bar’s staff and guests, then continued to beat up all of them later at a hospital. Considering Junie’s history of hospital violence, the story was all too believable.

Of course, Browning has his own version of the events, which paint him as a marked man in a corrupt country, doing his best to defend himself. Here’s what he wrote on his Facebook page immediately after the incident:

“Wow what a helluva weekend?!.. Some pussy named Sie Menzies and about 10 of his friends started a fight with me, I guess just to test a ‘UFC fighter guy’ at his shitty little bar in Karan Thailand. Had a beer bottle and glass mug shattered on my head then to make everything better, stabbed severely by some crazy Thai bitch. On a positive note I managed to break a few orbital bones, at least a couple jaws, and some unconscious bodies laying on the ground before I blacked out from loss of blood and apparently had to be resuscitated in the ambulance. So, how was your weekend?”

Once the gravity of situation sets in, Junie becomes deathly serious:

(Video courtesy of YouTube/1stYoshi)

When I was a kid I used to dream about settling all of my conflicts Bruce Lee-style by knocking fools out with backfists and spinning roundhouses.

Now, there’s a pretty good chance that the video above is fake, considering the kick doesn’t seem to connect, but if it isn’t it’s one of the best incidences of poetic justice we’ve ever seen.

Dude insults rap battle opponent and gets shoved and called out by the poor sport before demonstrating some Ong Bak-esque Taekwondo on his ass. Cue walk-off KO.

Related after the jump: Check out an MMA rap battle between two crazy Canadians.

Former Team Tompkins fighter Kasheem “The Dream” Peterson was acquitted by a London, Ontario jury Tuesday of all charges against him stemming from an April sexual assault arrest in the city where he was staying for the month to help his then-coach Shawn Tompkins prepare Mark Hominick for his UFC 129 bout with Jose Aldo.

As the verdict was read out, Peterson, who had sat stone-faced throughout the trial nodded to the jury.

(This is where we’d normally make some sort of Geico Caveman reference, but those jokes, like the commercials, have been played out to the point of eye-gouging redundancy. So, uh…beauty and the beast?) 

Though they may not get your engine revving, a couple of sure-to-be-undercard bouts have been booked for the UFC’s debut on FUEL TV, the first of which being a featherweight match-up between grappling wizards Jonathan Brookins and Rani Yahya. After lateral dropping his way through season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter, Brookins recently saw a four fight win streak snapped at the hands of featherweight contender Eric Koch in a three rounder reminiscent of Couture vs. Vera that saw Brookins unable to get Koch to the mat.

Yahya, on the other hand, is likely fighting for his future in the UFC. Just 1-3 in his past four, with the lone win coming against a struggling (and last minute replacement) Mike Brown, we last saw Yahya on the losing end of a unanimous decision to Jose Aldo‘s next challenger, Chad Mendes. Prior to the Brown win, Yahya was outclassed by Takeya Mizugaki in another decision at WEC 48 and TKO’ed by future flyweight champ Joseph Benavidez at WEC 45.

(Video via MMA Mania)

Brock Lesnar: “He’s in over his head. He doesn’t really understand the beast that he’s gonna enter the Octagon with…I’m gonna defeat Alistair Overeem. That’s the bottom line, and there’s nothing else to say…At the end of the day, he’s gonna get his ass beat…it’s gonna come down to will, and who wants this fight more, and Brock Lesnar wants this fight more than Alistair Overeem.”

Alistair Overeem: “I’m gonna tear this guy apart, piece by piece…I’m gonna beat up Brock Lesnar, and it’s gonna take me no more than two rounds to do that…Brock definitely doesn’t like to get hit. I’m gonna hit him, and I’m gonna hit him as hard as I can. And I’m pretty good at it…I would put my money on a knockout in the first round, but personally I can guarantee a knockout in the second…If you guys think Cain Velasquez hits hard, wait ’til you see what I’m gonna do to him.”

The UFC 141 video trailer also previews the lightweight feature between Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone. It seems there’s already a bit of tension between the two (starting at the 6:53 mark)…

(Full gallery is after the jump. Thanks to Babes of MMA for the tip!)

Brooke Lynette is a 26-year-old London-based model who gigs as a ring girl for the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship. Originally hailing from Scotland, Brooke describes herself as an MMA geek, music lover, and Chael Sonnen admirer, and also runs a side-business called Beauty by Brookelyn, specializing in beauty treatments and hair extensions. Follow her life on twitter @Brrrookelyn, and check out more of our favorite Brooke Lynette photos in the gallery below…

(Video courtesy of UStream/MMAFightCornerRadio)

Forrest Griffin was on MMA Fight Corner Radio this weekend and when asked whether or not he would entertain a third fight with Tito Ortiz, the former UFC light heavyweight champ didn’t hesitate in answering.

“If people would pay to see that fight, I’ll get paid to fight that fight,” Griffin said. “I care more about where the fight is; I don’t travel well. If that fight [with Tito] happens in the continental United States, I’m down.”

(This will either be a really great fight or a really boring 15-minute feeling out process.)

Well, it looks like Dana White had his fingers crossed when he promised everyone this week that there wouldn’t be any more Strikeforce fighters heading to the UFC.

MMAWeekly is reporting that Fabricio Werdum (14-5-1) will be returning to the Octagon for the first time since being knocked out at UFC 90 by current UFC heavyweight kingpin Junior dos Santos when he takes on Roy Nelson (16-6) at UFC 143 February 4 in Las Vegas.

(Oh, have I got your attention now? Good.) 

When rumors started flying that Alistair Overeem had failed his pre-fight drug test for UFC 141, therefore ruining his chances to participate in one of the biggest heavyweight matches of all time, there weren’t many of us who were quick to defend him. The fact is, despite Alistair never testing positive for steroids, his Incredible-Hulkian transformation from this guy to this guy has tested our beliefs as to exactly how much bulk one can add without the use of juice.

And when Alistair was only granted a conditional license by the Nevada State Athletic Commission due to his urine sample being over three weeks late, it only steepened the hill to which the rumor snowball was careening down. So, you can imagine our surprise when Alistair told Yahoo Sports that he felt there should be more drug testing in MMA:

(“Dun, dun, dun, dun, da-dun, dun, da-dun. Dah, dah, dah, dun, da-dun, dun, da-dun…“)

Props to MMAMania for directing us to the current betting lines for this Saturday‘s Strikeforce women’s featherweight title fight between Cristiane “Cris Cyborg” Santos and mysterious ex-dominatrix Hiroko Yamanaka. As of now, the champ is a -900 favorite, meaning that you’d have to bet $900 to collect a $100 profit if she wins. Yamanaka is a +550 underdog, meaning that a $100 bet would return a $550 profit if hell freezes over the challenger takes the belt.

Here’s why you might bet money on Yamanaka to score an upset: Cyborg hasn’t competed since June 2010; Yamanaka has gone 3-0 since then, with all wins by stoppage. Yamanaka might be able to keep Cyborg at bay with her height and range. Crazy shit happens in this sport all the time.

Here’s why you shouldn’t actually consider doing this: Literally every other reason you could possibly think of, including Cyborg’s unparalleled aggression, her history of consuming Japanese opponents, her home field advantage in the U.S., and most importantly, that it sucks to lose even small amounts of money in this economy.

If you have to bet on something this weekend, fill out this helpful questionnaire, then continue reading for a few wagering suggestions that are almost as risky, but not completely insane.

(Will MMA finally be able to overcome the mythical Friday Night Death Slot?)

By Jason Moles

Last week, it was announced that Bellator Fighting Championships would be changing the night they broadcast their weekly fights, beginning with their Season 6 tournaments in March 2012.

Instead of competing for an audience on Saturday nights, when most fans are preoccupied with UFC pay-per-views and college football, Bjorn Rebney in conjunction with Viacom, has determined the best night for the largest number of MMA fans to enjoy the show is Friday. Good choice? Perhaps.

Also airing on Friday nights starting in 2012 is the UFC’s flagship reality series, The Ultimate Fighter. In its fifteenth season, Zuffa decided to mix it up a bit in hopes of revitalizing fan interest and attracting new viewers by airing the fights live.

So will Bellator gain any ground if they’re still competing with the world’s largest MMA promotion? Will the in-house shenanigans, trash-talking coaches, and UFC brand be able to attract a larger audience than an entire night of live fights, some of which have been classified as ‘Super‘? Not only can we not be in two places at once, we can’t watch two television programs at the same time either. So, who wins the ratings war?

(“Is it wrong that I held the specimen cup up to Brock’s chest when he came in to give his sample?”)

We can always count on our bros over at FightLinker to steer us in the direction of disgusting videos and today is no exception.

The FL crew tipped us off to this vid of our favorite fainting MMA male nurse, Philippe Nover, doing a little outpatient procedure on himself to drain some liquid out of a swollen elbow he sustained in his Bellator 59 split decision loss to Marcin Held a few weeks ago.
If you faint easily like Philipe, you might want to skip this one.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/notlookoutawhale)

If you aren’t familiar with the work of lookoutawhale and Chaplin’s House, do yourself a favor and spend some time getting to know them before you enjoy their latest collaborative masterpiece, “The UFC Bunch,” featuring Dana White, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, Bruce Buffer, Joe Rogan, Chuck Liddell and Joe Silva.

Check out more from the dynamic duo after the jump.

You know, with all the…let’s call it bravado, that seems to come hand in hand with a fighter’s success and/or popularity these days, it is nice to see that a veteran like Kenny Florian has managed to remain so humble despite it. In the above video, we get a first hand glimpse at the newly minted lightweight’s Fedor-like courteousness to the up and coming fighters that he not only trains with, but now shacks up with thanks to TriStar Gym’s new dormitory set up. Aside from letting these newbees train, cook, and clean for him, KenFlo even allows them to watch him eat when he is feeling so generous. What a class act.

(“Do you mind if I test this thing out? First, get into a fetal position on the ground…” / Photo via @GeorgesStPierre)

After blowing out the ACL of his right knee in training and withdrawing from his scheduled title defense against Nick Diaz, UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre successfully underwent surgery yesterday in Los Angeles. As he tweeted: “Dr. ElAttrache says my surgery (ACL patellar tendon autograft) was huge success! Ligament very strong. Tks for support!”

St. Pierre wrote last week that he expects to make a full recovery from the surgery in six to nine months. We don’t have an e.t.a. on exactly when he might return to face the winner of Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit, but after two knee injuries and more than a year on the sidelines, it could turn out to be the toughest fight of St. Pierre’s career.

After the jump, more details about GSP’s knee injury from a conference call St. Pierre held last week with his doctor, Sebastien Simard:

(And here we have Ronda Rousey dumping Karo Parisyan on his head. Props: DantheWolfman)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere…

- The Great ‘Must Retire’ List of 2011 (MMA Convert)

- Bellator’s 10 Best Fights of 2011 (The Fight Nerd)

- Photo Gallery: Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos Training for Hiroko Yamanaka (Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com)

- The 25 Most Outrageous MMA-Related Videos on YouTube (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- Spike TV to Counter-Program ‘UFC on FOX 2′ With ‘UFC Unleashed: Evans vs. Davis’ (MMA Payout)

- Arianny Celeste: Chael Sonnen Is Very Polite To Me Backstage (FightLine)

- Keith Kizer: Urine Is ‘Obviously’ Better Than Blood for Steroid Testing (Fight Opinion)

- Dana White Sees Jon Jones as #2 Pound-for-Pound Fighter in the World (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Joseph Benavidez Inspired to Become a Great Champion in New UFC Flyweight Division (MMA Mania)

- Demian Maia: I Know I Can Submit Michael Bisping (MMAFighting)

- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Avoids Surgery on Broken Arm (5th Round)

- Can Someone Please Help Felice Herrig With Her Wardrobe Malfunction? (MiddleEasy)

(“One minute, mom. I’m just getting your gift out of my closet.”)

If you’re like us, you likely haven’t started Christmas, Festivus, Hannukah or Kwanza shopping yet since it isn’t December 24.

There’s nothing worse than that embarrassed feeling you get when a friend or family member shows up at your house unannounced, bearing gifts, and you wrap up one of your half-full bottles of hand lotion or an old alarm clock in newspaper and hope they don’t notice that you forgot to buy them something.

We’ve done you a solid this year, Potato Nation has compiled a list of awesome last-minute gifts you can pick up and have on hand in case someone actually buys you something worth more than a slightly stained coffee mug with your initials on it. The beauty of these presents is that they’re actually items that you can keep for yourself if nobody pays you a holiday visit.

Check them out after the jump.

(“I make this look good.”)

If you didn’t get a chance to watch the replay of the number two best MMA awards – The Fighters Only World MMA Awards Sunday night, don’t worry, we got you.

The highlight of the show were Chael Sonnen’s (likely scripted) one-liners. From poking fun at himself, to taking shots at Wand and Anderson, “The Gangster from America” was on his game.

(Props: UFC.com)

From Big Nog’s arm to Tito’s ribs, UFC 140 gave us more than its share of brutal moments. In case you forget what a nasty business this sport can be sometimes, take a look at the above post-fight photo of Lyoto Machida, who got split open, choked asleep, then unceremoniously dropped onto the canvas by Jon Jones. Enjoy your new scar, buddy. This guy knows what I’m talking about.

Your mission: Come up with a clever caption to the photo above, and submit it to the comments section below. We’ll pick a winner on Thursday who will receive a copy of Straw Dogs, which comes out on DVD and Blu-ray next week, and makes a perfect holiday gift, as long as you’re giving it to somebody who appreciates over-the-top violence. On second thought, you may just want to keep it for yourself…