If you’re looking for something to do this afternoon while you pretend to be busy at work, get out those TPS reports, lock your office door and turn on the latest episode of The Bum Rush Radio Show so you can fool your bosses into thinking you’re hard at work.

On this episode Ben, Mike and Jared break down the main card of Saturday’s UFC 140 event in Toronto and give their thoughts on some of the hot button topics of the week.

(The CagePotato HR Department: Boldly squashing inter-office disputes since 2007.) 

Just like pictures of hot womens and irresponsible opinions, pre-UFC event bickering has become a fixture here at CagePotato. In advance of this weekend’s card in Toronto, we locked Danga and ReX in a miniature Octagon with energy drinks, a blow-up doll, and a set of questions. We were dubious about the doll, but ReX insisted that hilarity would ensue, and he assures us that it did. It wasn’t mentioned in the final article, but some things you just don’t want to ask about.

Come on in past the jump and witness the confusion of two men discussing MMA while being distracted by said hot womens, touching on the subjects of likability, MMA Math, and the potential importance of fashion choices.

(“He’s never going to be forgotten. I think about him still every day and I don’t think that’s ever going to change.” – Sam Stout)

We caught up with consummate crowd favorite Sam Stout over the weekend at the MMA Expo in Toronto and we touched on a number of topics, including how the healing process is going for him and his Team Tompkins teammates since losing friend and mentor Shawn Tompkins. We also spoke about how the team is rallying behind Mark Hominick this weekend as “The Machine” gets set to take to the Octagon for the first time in his career without “The Coach” in his corner Saturday night when he takes on “The Korean Zombie.”

Stout is candid about the affect Tompkins’ death had on him and he reveals the team’s plans moving forward. Definitely a must-watch interview.

Check it out after the jump.

(Mike who? Well, if there’s an ass that needs motorboating, I’ll be there.) 

When Carlos Condit was called up to face Nick Diaz for an interim title shot at UFC 143 in the wake of Georges St. Pierre’s knee injury, one person who felt left out of the mix was none other than former title challenger Josh Koscheck, who was originally scheduled to face Condit at the same event. Kos later tweeted that he would indeed be fighting at UFC 143, possibly as a middleweight. But now it seems that the TUF 12 coach will be fighting back at welterweight against up-and-comer Mike Pierce, who recently announced the match-up via his Twitter.

Pierce is coming off an entertaining three round shellacking of Paul Bradley at UFC on FOX 1, and is perhaps best known for actually managing to mount some offense against Koscheck’s AKA teammate Jon Fitch in their battle back at UFC 107, a feat that has been deemed nearly impossible at this point in Fitch’s career. Pierce is 5-2 in his octagon run thus far, including the aforementioned loss to Fitch and a split decision loss to Johny Hendricks at UFC 133, as well as wins over Brock Larson, Amilcar Alves, and Kenny Robertson.

(“I appreciate the recognition, but really, this award belongs to CagePotato. Get up here, guys.”)

By Jason Moles

This time last year, I gave you a list of predictions that really created a stir. I boasted that the UFC would host an event in Mexico and be legalized in New York. Man, was I ever wrong about that. I apologize. But I also said that Dana White would coin a new phrase, land a network TV deal and that a famous athlete would cross over into the world of mixed martial arts. Not bad, eh? 2012 is quickly approaching so get the champagne on ice and let’s get to those wild predictions…

1. FOX will reprimand Dana White for his inevitable off-handed comments.

“Faggot“, “f*cking retarded”, “dumb bitch” — these are all things that have been uttered by the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Dana White. The UFC may be MMA’s pinnacle and FOX’s diamond in the rough, but if the promotion is ever to secure a spot in the mainstream, it needs to display more control over its mouthpiece and his tongue. Advertisers tend to frown upon such public displays of hostility and bigotry. When Uncle Dana slips again and gives someone an earful, you can be certain that it won’t go unpunished as it has in the past. This goes for you too, Rogan and Rashad.

2. A champion will test positive for a banned substance.

(Torres following his unanimous decision loss to social media. / Photo via ESPN)

Update: Torres has released a statement about his release. Check it out at the bottom of this post.

Miguel Torres — former undisputed WEC bantamweight champion and die-hard fan of rape jokes — has been released by the UFC. Dana White confirmed the firing yesterday evening, telling SI.com, “his career with us now is over.”

The reason for Torres’s release was a tweet that reportedly read, “If a rape van was called a surprise van, more women wouldn’t mind going for rides in them. Everyone likes surprises.” Torres later removed the tweet and replaced it with an edited version. White was informed of the tweet second-hand by Michael Landsberg and made the decision to fire Torres shortly after.

So why is Torres being made an example of, when Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans made similar off-color statements recently? Basically, it’s because he didn’t have a good enough explanation.

(Apparently now the Zuffa is going to have to start trying again with Strikeforce.)

During today’s pre-UFC 140 press conference and media scrum UFC president Dana White revealed that his *other* MMA promotion will indeed be sticking around on Showtime and that he will lead the organization as it makes some changes in 2012.

“[Strikeforce is] staying, and hopefully I’ll have all the information for you next week,” White said. “Just sit and wait and watch what I do. Trust me, it’s going to be just fine. Like I said last time I talked to you guys about this, I’m getting into this, and I’m going to handle it. Watch and see. We’ll see what happens. I know I keep saying this every week, but that deal should be wrapped up any day now, and then I’ll make the decisions on who goes where and what’s going to happen. So we should know hopefully by Monday.”

(Meanwhile, back at the GQ press conference.)

In case you missed the full episode this week, we’ve got the entire UFC 140 countdown show for you right here.

Not sure if the production crew for the show has changed since the UFC has cut ties with SPIKE, but this episode has a much different feel than past editions, including new graphic and title sequences and a lot of slow motion shots .

Overall it’s a decent show.

One interesting factoid that came out of the episode is that Only Chuck Liddell in the past five years has successfully defended the UFC light heavyweight belt more than once. Jones has done it once and so has Machida.

Personally, I don’t feel that Lyoto deserves to be a 4 to 1 underdog, but I guess we’ll know come Saturday night.

Check out the entire show after the jump.

(“Well little lady, what are you willing to do to bring your grades up in this class? Oh, you’re already a straight-A student? Shit.” / Photo courtesy of CarmenValentina.com)

You asked for it and you got it. CagePotato’s sassy adult film star friend Carmen Valentina has taken time out of her busy schedule to answer an assload of your burning questions. Seriously, she put in some effort on this one, so please show her love by following her on Twitter and visiting her official site, and if you have any more questions for her, drop ‘em in the comments section. Stay tuned, because you haven’t seen the last of Carmen around here…

Spicymeatball asks: Have you ever had a boyfriend while working in your film career? If yes, what are some of the challenges trying to have a relationship while being an adult actress. Do you save anything special for your significant other?

Yes, dating someone in the adult industry (pornchick, stripper, etc.) is challenging. It really depends on your view of sex and your level of confidence. Most guys have wanted to bang a pornchick, but not a lot have the confidence to handle dating one, and want the girl to change everything about themselves once they are officially dating. I can handle compromise, but not someone who will try to control me.

Everyone has different boundaries. The biggest problem I’ve had is when people aren’t honest about what exactly those boundaries are. If you want the bragging rights of dating a chick in the adult biz but can’t handle competition, or are a firm believer in monogamy, then you should really find someone that shares your same values and beliefs. Trust me there is someone out there for everyone.

By CagePotato Contributor Shawn Smith

(What has two thumbs and loves to bang? This guy)

For over a decade Mark Hunt has been a polarizing figure in the world of mixed martial arts. At 5 foot 10 and 260 lbs, he’s not your average heavyweight, but that hasn’t stopped him from putting on many exciting performances during his career. His hefty build and nonchalant demeanor are misleading. Rest assured though, Hunt is a dangerous fighter who wholeheartedly loves the fight game.

Exploding onto the K-1 scene in 2001 Hunt defeated Jerome Le Banner, Stefan Leko, and Francisco Filho en route to becoming the promotion’s World Grand Prix champion that year. A short time later, he decided to try his hand[s] at mixed martial arts. Following a submission loss to Hidehiko Yoshida in his MMA debut, Hunt rattled off five victories in a row against the likes of PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva, fearsome Croatian striker Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, and Japanese MMA pioneer Tsuyoshi Kohsaka.

These days “The Super Samoan” calls the UFC home. After falling on hard times in the last days of PRIDE and early days of DREAM, Hunt, who dropped his first UFC bout to Sean McCorkle, has turned things around by putting together two victories in a row inside the Octagon against a pair of formidable opponents in Chris Tuchscherer and “Big” Ben Rothwell.

The UFC recently announced that Hunt will be returning to Japan to take on French striker Cheick Kongo in what should be a stand-up war of attrition at UFC 144 in February.

We recently had the opportunity to speak with the seasoned veteran about his past present and future in the sport.

Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Just a friendly reminder that we’ll have the UFC 140 pre-fight press conference stream here starting at 1:00 pm ET. At the event, which will take place at the Toronto International Film Festival Lightbox,  will be main card participants Jon Jones, Lyoto Machida, Antonio Rodrigio Nogueira, Frank Mir, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Tito Ortiz.

Will Tito keep shoving his self-invented, “The People’s Champion” moniker down everyone’s throats?

Will Frank Mir tell everyone how much better he is than the Nogueiras?

Wil Jon Jones explain why he will always be the betting favorite in his future fights?

Will anyone ask Lyoto about drinking piss?

Will Lil’ Nog be asked any questions?

All of these questions and more will be answered after the jump at 1:00.

(Props to ShockBlastMedia for the vid. KO comes at 1:36) 

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Dan Lauzon; his last run in the UFC saw him get Toby-Imada’d by Cole Miller and outpointed in a snoozefest by TUF 8 winner Efrain Escudero. All of this came amidst a falling out with his older brother, UFC lightweight contender Joe Lauzon, who spoke out about Dan’s lack of motivation and desire to train. Well, it seems that Dan has finally begun to heed the advice of his big bro, because he’s rattled off four consecutive wins, all by stoppage, since being released by Zuffa over a year ago. Or, it could just be that he’s fighting people way, way below his level, as is the case in the above video.

Our good buddies at Victory Belt are about to release The Grappler’s Manifesto: The Guide to Strangling, Torquing, & Bludgeoning Your Way to Victory in The Cage [Ed. note: My God this title], in which some of the world’s greatest grappling instructors and MMA fighters — including Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Greg Jackson, Dave Camarillo, Randy Couture, and Neil Melanson — share their secrets for winning fights on the ground. Compiled by writer/trainer Lance Freimuth, the 272-page tome is packed with never-before-published techniques, and we’d like to give a copy to a lucky CagePotato reader in a test of fight-picking expertise.

This Saturday at UFC 140, Jon Jones will attempt to make his second light-heavyweight title defense against ex-champ Lyoto Machida. Plus, Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira rematch in the heavyweight division, and Tito Ortiz returns to action against Big Nog’s slightly-smaller twin. Submit your predictions for these three fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:

(“I’ve turned over a new leaf, Fujiko. So no funny stuff this time. Just a normal Swedish massage and asshole wax, please.”)

War Machine‘s career comeback is picking up steam. After his third-round TKO victory against Roger Huerta last month — War’s first match after spending a year in prison for assault — the previously-troubled welterweight has announced his signing with Bellator: “So it’s now official public knowledge. I signed with Bellator and will be in the next welterweight tournament. [I] can’t wait to be back fighting on live television with the big boys.”

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney confirmed the signing, though not War Machine’s participation in the next welterweight bracket; his debut date and opponent is yet to be announced. As Rebney told MMAJunkie, “Jon’s not had an easy road. And there’s no doubt he’s made some poor choices, but after having had conversations with him since his release, he really seems to understand where and why things went wrong and wants to make them right…I hope he’s able to turn this second chance into something positive.”

(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

Got an hour to spare? Then check out the full video of yesterday’s UFC on FOX 2 press conference, which was held at the United Center in Chicago and featured all six fighters that would be headlining the show. Here are some of the highlights, most of which belonged to the Gangster From West Linn:

Chael Sonnen on his checkered past: “I actually held public office, and I left the only way a person should — in handcuffs.”

Sonnen on his illegal kneebar during a college wrestling match with Mark Munoz: “Mark’s explanation of ‘heat of the moment’, I appreciate that but I can assure you it was a calculated and premeditated event, and I offer no apology. And secondly, I don’t even remember college. I’m driving around in a car with no insurance, a pocket with no money and the biggest thing on my mind was which kid to sit next to on exam day, so as far as a wrestling match, that was about the fourth thing on my mind. I assure you on January 28th, I will be ready. It will be one more in the win column, one more above the mantle, and one more for the bad guy.”

(“Master Seagal says that nobody can defend this kick if you do it with your tongue out.”)

In a series of tweets he posted today in response to the news today that his upcoming UFC 143 opponent Carlos Condit would be stepping in for an injured Georges St-Pierre against Nick Diaz on the card, Josh Koscheck proved he hasn’t lost his place as one of the UFC’s greatest heels.

The always outspoken American Kickboxing Academy fighter directed his first message on the subject at Condit, inferring that “The Natural Born Killer” dodged a bullet by not having to face him and, “get [his] ass beat.”

(Video courtesy of YouTube/JustDaveMusic)

When you’re humming this later, don’t blame us.

Who knew that some of Mike Tyson’s greatest lines would fit so seamlessly with basic chords on an acoustic guitar?

I’m as big of a Mike Tyson fan as anybody, but he is narrowly behind Tito Ortiz as the most phonetically challenged fighter in combat sport history and this song proves it.

(Full gallery is after the jump.)

Props to BabesofMMA for giving us the heads-up about Kenda Perez‘s glorious new photo-shoot for Maxim UK, in which the Best of PRIDE host gets tastefully nude. Check out the pics below, along with some recent highlights from Kenda’s Facebook page.

(See, not *every* Octagon Girl hates our guts. Photo courtesy of Bill McCoy)

We caught up with Brittney Palmer at last weekend’s MMA Expo in Toronto and the UFC Octagon Girl, who will return from a brief hiatus from the sport at UFC 140 Saturday night, spoke to us about a variety of topics including art school, her fans, fighter Twitter beefs and how she felt about winning the “2011 CagePotato Hottest Women in MMA Grand Prix.”

Check out the interview with Ms. Palmer after the jump.

As co-host of the Opie & Anthony radio show on SiriusXM, comedian Jim Norton has become the designated punching bag for visiting MMA stars. He’s been choked, he’s been kicked, he’s had his foot twisted 180 degrees by Brock Lesnar. And considering what a sick, depraved bastard Norton is, you have to wonder if he enjoys it on some level. Here’s everything we could collect from Jim Norton’s MMA-related body of work. All videos courtesy of opieradio.

Guest: BJ Penn, 4/14/10
Technique: Armbar
In Jim’s words: “That is fuckin’ horrible…Besides the fact that your arm is ready to be ripped out, it puts pressure on your fuckin’ — it stretches you both ways, I didn’t realize it did that.”

(I am not empressed wid my physical therapist’s performance.) 

Well son of a bitch. The UFC injury curse has officially become a plague of biblical proportions. Word just broke that UFC welterweight champion George St. Pierre has suffered another knee injury, described as a “blown ACL,” in training and has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled contest against Nick Diaz at UFC 143. Fear not, UFC 143′s main event has already been replaced by a welterweight interim championship bout between Diaz and former number one contender Carlos Condit. A poor turn of luck, no doubt, but it could be worse for those of you who’ve already purchased tickets.

We’ve partnered up with our friends at Hayabusa for another awesome contest for UFC 140 in Toronto, Ontario, which just happens to be where the company is based out of. Because they’ve had a banner year and their athletes have enjoyed a great amount of success in 2011, they have once again raised the bar with the incredible prize package they put together for the winner.

The rules are simple.

In the attached gallery, you will find a collection of snapshots of action from fights from the past year that feature at least one, and in some cases two, Hayabusa-sponsored fighters. Your job is to do your homework and figure out which event the bout depicted took place at, which fighter or fighters are depicted in each photo and determine which of them are actually Hayabusa-sponsored. Some are obvious due to the huge “Hayabusa” logo on their shorts, but others will take a bit more digging. If you look for other photos of the fight or scour through the videos in your DVD collection, you’ll find the answers.

Trust us, it’s worth the effort.

One entry per person emailed to contest@cagepotato.com by midnight Sunday December 11. To be eligible you need to sign up for the Hayabusa newsletter on the company’s website and “Like” their Facebook page HERE.

In the case that there is more than one winner, a name will be drawn out of all of the correct answers.

Check out the prizes after the jump.

(I know they’re beautiful, Dominick, but just because you promised to get them on TV doesn’t mean they qualify as assistant coaches.) 

The UFC announced yesterday that the fifteenth season of its reality show, The Ultimate Fighter, will feature current bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz and long time rival Urijah Faber as its coaches when it debuts on FX this March.

The pair last met in July at UFC 132, where “The Dominator” earned a unanimous decision nod and evened the score between the two in an exciting back-and-forth battle.Their initial meeting dates back over five years to the glory days of the WEC, where Faber scored a guillotine choke over the current champ within the first two minutes.

Since their UFC 132 Fight of the Night earning brawl, Cruz has scored another unanimous decision win over Demetrious Johnson, whereas Faber recently picked up a second round submission victory at UFC 139 over the man to lose the WEC bantamweight title to Cruz, Brian Bowles.

(Corissa Furr drinks Blue Moon? I drink Blue Moon! OMFG, #soulmates.)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere…

- More Details Emerge on Mystery MMA Fighter Who Thwarted Chicago Carjacking (MMA Mania)

- BJ Penn Column: The Never-Ending Evolution of Mixed Martial Arts (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- Jon Jones: Less Like Jordan, More Like Tebow (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Alistair Overeem Leaves Xtreme Couture (5th Round)

- Tito Ortiz Wants His Last Fight To Be A Rubber Match With Forrest Griffin (FightLine)

- The Top Ten Train Fights in Train Fight History (MiddleEasy)

- Bellator Moving To Friday Nights On MTV2 In 2012 (MMA Convert)

- On Second Thought: Michael Bisping’s Wise U-Turn on Fighting Anderson Silva (Fight Opinion)

- Jon Jones Thinks Rashad Evans Has a Suspect Chin (MMAFighting)

- Check Out This Original UFC 1 Ad From 1993! (The Fight Nerd)

- Anthony Johnson on Vitor Belfort Fight: Somebody’s Getting Carried Out on a Stretcher (Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com)

- WWE Network Set For April 1 Launch (MMA Payout)

And so, the speculation comes to an end. Following his beatdown of Jason Miller at the TUF 14 Finale, UFC middleweight contender Michael Bisping will make a quick seven-week turnaround and fight Demian Maia at UFC on FOX 2 (January 28th, Chicago). The UFC confirmed the pairing early this morning, in advance of a scheduled press conference this afternoon at the United Center officially announcing the fight card.

While Bisping is rolling on a four-fight win streak, Maia just got back to the win column in October with a unanimous decision over Jorge Santiago, which followed a decision loss to Mark Munoz. Maia is 3-1 overall since his disastrous title challenge against Anderson Silva at UFC 112. When he enters the cage next month, it will have been nearly three years since the former grappling phenom scored a submission in the Octagon — a triangle choke against none other than Chael Sonnen at UFC 95.

(When is Nick going to start playing the game and hit a tanning booth and wear a little lip gloss for photo shoots?)

Frank Shamrock spoke to FightHubTV recently and former UFC light heavyweight and Strikeforce middleweight champion gave his thoughts on the upcoming UFC welterweight title bout between Georges St-Pierre and Nick Diaz.

Shamrock, who admits he underestimated the Stockton native when they squared off back in 2009 in his final bout, says that he feels that St-Pierre is in for a rude awakening come February 4.

(Roop: seen here enforcing the theory that a straight shot to the head will kill any zombie.) 

Looking to rebound from his controversial decision loss to Hatsu Hioki at UFC 137, featherweight contender and TUF 8 alum George Roop has recently agreed to face Cub Swanson at UFC on Fox 2. Prior to the Hikoi loss, Roop scored a brilliant thrid round TKO over Josh Grispi at the TUF 13 Finale in June. Swanson, on the other hand, is coming off a less-than-controversial second round submission via arm triangle choke to Ricardo Lamas in his UFC debut at UFC on Fox 1. The Team Jackson product has dropped three of his last five and should need a win here if he wants to continue fighting under the Zuffa banner.

Fun fact: Roop hasn’t put together a win streak since 2007 and has gone loss-win in his past 9 bouts (excluding a draw with Leonard Garcia), so pure logic dictates that he will emerge victorious from this one. You can’t argue with that science, Potato Nation.

(*crickets*)

From the Toronto Sun via BloodyElbow:

Just eight months after 55,000 fight fans filled the Rogers Centre for the mixed martial arts company’s first ever Ontario show, Toronto will host UFC 140 on Saturday night. The fanfare for the event has paled in comparison to last April’s spectacle when the city had been buzzing for months about UFC 129, which was headlined by Canada’s own Georges St. Pierre. But this time around, it is being held at the much smaller Air Canada Centre…Despite the great line-up, there’s been little hoopla over the city’s second ever UFC event, which still has tickets available.

What the hell happened, Toronto? How did you go from a record-destroying immediate sellout in April to a “Good seats still available!” situation in December? On the surface, it doesn’t make much sense. So let’s throw some excuses around…

(Video courtesy of YouTube/ BlahBlahBlah2145)

While in attendance at the UFC press conference in which the promotion announced announced that it would be making it’s long-awaited debut in Ontario last year, I asked the company’s newly-appointed Canadian director of operations, Tom Wright, whether or not there were plans to implement any community-based programs such as in-school anti-bullying initiatives. Although it was early in his tenure, Wright told me that it was definitely something that they would be looking at and that programs such as these were some of the most rewarding he experienced as the head of the Canadian Football League Commissioner.

It’s been 19 months since Wright was hired and Zuffa announced this week that it’s planning on working with local schools in the Greater Toronto Area, where it’s Canadian branch is located, to implement a mentoring program for youth who have experienced bullying. Though it’s too early to tell, there are indications that a regular stream of fighters could speak to Toronto kids about their own experiences with bullying as youth, teachers and parents and if all goes well, it could become a implemented in schools across the country.

(Props: TMZ via MMAMania)

A: Two, which doesn’t sound so impressive, but when you include Dan Henderson himself and husky MLB pitcher Brad Penny, it’s still something of an accomplishment. Yes, Hendo and Brad are bros, and this is how bros roll on a Monday night in Hollywood. In a related story, paparazzi photographers are the cockroaches of humanity.