(“It’s an honor to meet you, man. The Hills Have Eyes is, like, my favorite movie ever.”)

According to new reports, the UFC will hold its first Fan Expo of 2012 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas on July 6-7. The expo will be held in conjunction with a major UFC event on July 7th, likely at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. As of now, no fights have been announced for the card; we’ll keep you posted as soon as we know more.

The July 2012 UFC Fan Expo will be the first held since October 2011, when the two-day convention was tied to UFC 136 in Houston. Though we couldn’t make it out to that one, CagePotato has enjoyed a checkered history with these expos, highlighted by a crowd-pleasing punch-machine, a lifetime ban, and a drunken night in Toronto. Should we plan for another meetup in Vegas?

For the latest updates on appearances and events connected to July’s UFC Fan Expo in Las Vegas, keep your eye on ufcfanexpo.com.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/UFC)

Nothing groundbreaking this time around, but I’m starting to agree with Nick Diaz about how it’s strange that the UFC expects fighters to be cordial and play nice before an event.

By Mike Russell

(Nothing like a shady promoter profiting off of the blood, sweat and tears of fighters.)

Last year when a video began circulating of a pair of eight year olds competing in a three-round grappling exhibition in a cage during the intermission of a UK-based MMA event, the Internet exploded with outrage from pundits and fans of the sport.

Widespread worldwide media coverage of the match prompted the police in Lancashire, England where the event took place to launch an investigation into whether or not any laws were broken by the promoter. They ruled that the event was not illegal and that the boys were never in any harm and as unsettling as seeing two pre-pubescent youths competing in a cage meant for men was, since they were only basically having a no-gi grappling match no charges were ever laid.

It’s too bad that Alabama authorities aren’t as thorough.

On July 30, 2011 in Priceville, Alabama a local karate school owner by the name of Robert Clairday held an underground event in which two 12-year-olds actually fought inside a ramshackle homemade cage.

One of the kids, Christian Echols, is the son of Ray Echols – Clairday’s business partner in his gym, Fear None MMA, who also helped promote the rogue event that was held at Morgan County Celebration Arena — a dirt floor horse arena.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/EcholsRazorRay)

(Jesus Christ Rumble, pull yourself together, will you?) 

If you recall, about a fortnight ago, super middleweight contender Anthony Johnson showed up to the UFC 142 weigh-ins at a Weigh-In Failure Leaderboard Record of 12 pounds heavy for his clash with former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort. Dana White all but fired Johnson on the spot, labeling him “unprofessional,” to which Johnson responded by laughing at all us ignant haters. After a strong start in his fight with “The Phenom,” Johnson quickly gassed and succumbed to a first round rear-naked choke, and was given his walking papers promptly afterward.

Well, it seems that, despite missing weight for 25% of his UFC bouts, “Rumble” still has an outside chance of getting back into the sport’s highest promotion. When questioned about the issue following the UFC on Fox 2 press conference, White stated:

[Johnson] needs to go fight somewhere else, get some wins and come in on weight. He needs to prove to me that he can be a professional, show up on weight and do the things that he needs to do. [If] he gets a few fights under his belt and does that, we’ll talk.

Sometimes you gotta give it up for the third man in the cage. Other times, not so much. More GIF greatness after the jump.

Windsor, Ontario MMA fans will likely only have to wait a few more months for their next live fight fix.

CagePotato.com has learned that Bellator Fighting Championships have penciled in an event for April 6 in Windsor, Ontario and that the event is likely to take place at Caesar’s Windsor Casino, just across the Ambassador bridge from Detroit.

(“I didn’t like working for the David Duke of MMA anyway.”)

Antonio McKee is really limiting his employment options these day.

The 41-year-old Las Vegas native today weighed in seven pounds over the 155 pound limit for his Maximum Fighting Championship title defense against Brian Cobb tomorrow night in Edmonton, Alberta. As a result of the infraction “Mandingo” will be fined 20 percent of his purse stripped of his title and will be let go from the remainder of his contract with the promotion.

(Skip to the 4 minute mark for the true trash talking, and give your prayers to the poor man that is apparently being sodomized off camera.) 

It seems a day rarely goes by in the MMA blogosphere that doesn’t yield another hilarious, if somewhat polarizing quote from Ronda Rousey. She’s made dick jokes about her colleagues, she’s threatened to kill an entire audience with her bare hands, and now it seems she’s honed in on none other than that B-boying sonofabitch, Georges St. Pierre. About half way through the above interview, Rousey asks the reporter who his favorite fighter is, after declaring that hers is “The Last Emperor” himself, Fedor Emelianenko. When he states that his is GSP, Ronda reacts with a classic “Oh no you di-int” face before letting her feelings about the current welterweight champ be known:

I think [fighting] is about finishing your opponent. It’s about entertainment. It’s not the Olympics; it’s not about coming home and bringing a metal and just getting the win. It’s about pulling more fans in and be entertaining, and I think that fighters that just try to win by points and come away with a win are actually bad for the sport.

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(Props: TMZ via MMAMania)

Of course, we already knew that. But when a director can’t even be bothered to come up with some spin about “managing expectations” and “making it up in the international market,” you know a film is pretty much fucked. As the jerkoff TMZ cameraman puts it, “all of ‘em can’t be great successes.” Very comforting. Does this mean Gina Carano is going back into hiding for another two years?

(Always with the forehead contact, eh Mike?)

Staredown gif via ‘unfilter’ on the UG. The full UFC on FOX 2 press conference video is after the jump, in which Dana White clarifies that Chael Sonnen is not actually the middleweight champion, nor will he be challenging for the light-heavyweight or heavyweight titles after this fight.

(UFC on Fox 2: Evil Twins.)

Just a friendly reminder that you can watch the Chael Sonnen Show UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis pre-fight press conference live right here starting at 2:00 pm ET sharp.

The smack talk between Sonnen and Bisping will likely be taken to the next level when the two of them are seated within ten feet of each other, so it’s definitely worth checking out.

Let us know your picks for Saturday night in the comment section while we wait for this thing to start.

The video feed is after the jump.

(“Welcome my friends to the show that never ends. I’m serious. I’m gonna ride this money train until the wheels fall off.”)

Even when it’s someone else’s turn in the spotlight, it seems that Chael Sonnen has a way of stealing some of their thunder.

Take yesterday’s open workouts for Saturday night’s UFC on Fox 1 event in Chicago. Though Sonnen wasn’t in front of the camera delivering his best Ric Flair impersonation, he was still attracting most of the attention behind the scenes.

The Sonnen Circus was in full gear as MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani interviewed Chicago-based heavyweight Mike Russow. Putting on a tumbling clinic for the media, who lapped it up while snapping photos and rolling camera to catch the display for posterity, Sonnen demonstrated why he’s one of the most polarizing personalities in MMA.

Check out the GIF goodness after the jump.

(Let’s see you try and ban these babies.)

Much has been said about the recent Zuffa ban on firearm, knife, and ammo sponsors from all UFC events since it was announced just a few days ago. Many believe that the ban is a result of the UFC’s desire to smooth out some edges in light of a major network deal, which makes sense, although a FOX representative has come out saying that the rule only applies to UFC broadcasts on their network.

And while it is a fair assessment that the UFC would want to avoid as much controversy as possible, many of us cynics are looking at the sponsor ban as the first loose thread that will eventually unwind the metaphorical Zuffa sweater. Simply put, when a network begins to control the content of the sport it is broadcasting, it’s only a matter of time before fights are being set up and determined by evil corporate executives with dollar signs and ratings numbers in their eyes. You know, like Rollerball predicted all those years ago.

Luckily, we have former UFC middleweight title contender Nate Quarry here to weigh in on the issue, and as he is no longer under a Zuffa contract, it’s nice to get a perspective on the issue from a fighter who isn’t living in fear of DW’s wrath. Before you all go off the handle, that was a joke, Potato Nation. Anyway, Quarry had some interesting things to say in regards to the ban, stating the following on The UG:

(Video via PerformanceMMA)

Twitter is a marvelous tool. Dana White tells fans where to find free tickets, media outlets break stories, and your friends can share the crazy stuff they find on the inter-webs.

Coach Marc Montoya from Factory X in Denver, CO, decided to tie a tennis ball on a headband with an elastic string. Add this to the list of things you can think up while being bored out of your mind watching Haywire. The “Skull Blaster,” as he likes to call it, allows the fighter to work on striking, knees, and if you’re dumb enough to really put some heat on it, head movement. Too bad it won’t teach Chael how to get out of a triangle.

If you decide to try this at home, please send us the video. We wouldn’t want something that embarrassing to go to waste.

(JM)

(Rashad Evans: He’ll put those hands on you worse than…well, you know. / Photo via MMAFighting.com)

The UFC returns to FOX this Saturday with a three-fight main card that could produce the next title contenders in two different divisions. It’s also packed with betting opportunities that will generously reward the risk-takers. And you’re not a chicken, are you? Huh? Bawk bawk bawwwwwk?? Yeah, that’s what we thought. So consider our UFC on FOX 2: Evans vs. Davis gambling advice after the jump, and be sure to come back for our liveblog, which kicks off at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. But first, the complete odds lineup, via BestFightOdds.com:

MAIN CARD (FOX)
Rashad Evans (-165) vs. Phil Davis (+175)
Chael Sonnen (-400) vs. Michael Bisping (+394)
Chris Weidman (-140) vs. Demian Maia (+128)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FUEL TV)
Evan Dunham (-314) vs. Nik Lentz (+300)
Shane Roller (-218) vs. Michael Johnson (+200)
Mike Russow (-150) vs. Jon Olav Einemo (+152)
Cub Swanson (-136) vs. George Roop (+125)
Charles Oliveira (-458) vs. Eric Wisely (+400)
Joey Beltran (-204) vs. Lavar Johnson (+183)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FACEBOOK.com/UFC)
Chris Camozzi (-170) vs. Dustin Jacoby (+160)

Let’s get started…

You can likely add CBS Sports to the growing list of media outlets on the outside looking in at the boys club that is granted media access to UFC and Strikeforce events after publishing a scathing editorial today. The piece, entitled, “Calling out UFC is a losing fight, but it’s time to step into the cage,” ironically, focused on Zuffa’s heavy-handed press bans handed out when stories such as his get published and the disparity between the company’s gross revenues and total yearly fighter salaries.

As the writer Gregg Doyel, who admits to being a relatively new fan and reporter of the sport mentions, he is hopeful that things don’t change between him and Dana since he has been approved for a press pass for the next Strikeforce show and is remaining optimistic that he’ll still receive his promised media credentials. Take it from us, it ain’t gonna happen.

Well, it’s official. Chael Sonnen’s smack talk has officially gotten dangerous for the West Linn, Oregon native outside of Brazil.

While making an appearance on the Dan Le Batard is… Highly Questionable show on ESPN today, complete with a UFC replica belt, “The Gangster from America” reiterated his claim that Mike Tyson was a fraud just like he asserts Anderson Silva is.

“[The first thing I think of when I think of Anderson is] fraud. Phony. Third thing that comes to mind: paint your face up like Mike Tyson, gain a hundred pounds, sit in the second row and talk about when you meant something to the world, ‘cos your time has passed,” Chael quipped. “Welcome to two thousand and Chael.”

Directed by Bobby Razak, whom you may know as the man behind the amazing Tapout short film, The Future of MMA (that video is after the jump), The History of MMA takes a nostalgic look back at the highs and lows of the sport we love oh so much, and includes commentary from several legends of the sport, including Bas Rutten, Frank Shamrock, Mark Coleman, and referee Big John McCarthy among others. And as luck would have it, Mr. Razak decided to drop the trailer yesterday. We would advise that you check it out.

As you can see, the film touches on many of MMA’s most infamous moments; John McCain’s labeling of the sport as “human cockfighting,” its evolution through Pancrase, and the moment Tito Ortiz decided he had what it took to roc da mic right, yeah. On a side note, we bet Tank Abbott is gonna be pissed when he finds out that his name and photo appear whilst Bas Rutten describes how the UFC used to bring in “big guys with no skill.”

Who are we kidding? Abbott sold his computer for Jim Beam years ago.

Anyway, join us after the jump to check out The Future of MMA, as well as an up close and personal excerpt from The History of MMA featuring Fred Ettish, a fighter whom, after getting obliterated in his only professional mixed martial arts contest at UFC 2, came back to claim his first win in 2009. At age 53.

(Full gallery is after the jump.)

Arianny Celeste is one of the most prolific professional hot chicks of our generation. Just a week after her lovely shoot for EGO, the UFC’s alpha ring girl returns in an even sexier set for Zoo magazine. (Props to TerezOwens for the find.) Check out more great pics from the shoot below, and if you’ll be in Chicago for the fights this week, say hi to Ms. Celeste at the Fight Chix Pre-Party at Proof Chicago!

(Internet personality Mike Tyson‘s latest brilliant cameo.)

We try to keep the begging to a minimum around here. But I could really use your help today. Me and our homeboy Fidel from TuVez have joined forces to launch a new site called BuzzerBeat.com. It’s a really simple concept: The best sports videos, delivered daily. So I’m gonna cash in that favor you owe me, and ask you to do the following…

1) Take five seconds and “Like” BuzzerBeat’s Facebook page. Just one click is all we ask.

2) If you have some time to kill at the office, why not actually browse through the site? You’ll find the latest game-highlights, bizarre sports-related viral videos, and classic clips featuring newsmaking athletes. We vow to become the Internet’s #1 source for Gronk.

And hell, let’s make it interesting — I’m going to select a commenter from the BuzzerBeat facebook page at the end of the day and hook him/her up with the latest version of our CagePotato Devil’s Horns t-shirt, the one with the fist on the back. (Yeah, you didn’t even know those existed, huh?)

Any questions, let me know in the comments section. Thanks, guys.
BG

(Video courtesy of YouTube/FightHubTV)

Our friend Marcos Villegas over at FightHubTV caught up with Michael Bisping ahead of his UFC on Fox 1 middleweight contender match-up this weekend and the brash Brit is not surprisingly confident of his chances Saturday night against Chael Sonnen, who he has been preparing to fight his whole life apparently.

“Well, you know…um… it’s a difficult match-up. There’s no two ways about it. Chael Sonnen is widely regarded as the number one contender and he’s closing in on a match with Anderson Silva. I was training for Demian Maia, who himself is a very, very dangerous opponent. He actually holds a very good win over Chael Sonnen. Demian Maia submitted Chael Sonnen. I’ve been training hard — as hard as humanly possible, to be honest, for my fight with Demian Maia. A fight with Chael Sonnen, there’s a lot of people out there who don’t want to take that fight,” he explained. “I didn’t think about it for a second. I jumped at the opportunity. I’m a fighter. This is what I do and I want to have the title. A lot of people said, ‘Oh, you’ve only got a week to prepare.’ I disagree. I’ve been preparing for this my whole life. I’ve been training in martial arts since I was about nine years old; I’ve been training hard for this fight. It doesn’t mean anything. At the end of the day, I don’t care about the style, we’re gonna get in there and fight and it’s gonna be who’s the better fighter. I believe I’m the better fighter, but we’ll see what happens…I believe this is my destiny to be world champion and Chael Sonnen’s in my way.”

(“It doesn’t surprise me. It’s typical of them to look a gift horse in the mouth.”)

Alistair Overeem’s legal counsel, Kent Goss sent out a press release last night to members of the MMA media to address the current $151,000 lawsuit against Golden Glory’s parent company, Knock Out Investments and counter-litigation between his client and his former management team. According to the release, in spite of a series of calculated moves by Golden Glory to discredit Overeem and to affect him psychologically heading into his UFC debut against Brock Lesnar in December, the former Strikeforce, DREAM and K-1 heavyweight champion has opted not to return fire against them. Instead, Goss says, Alistair has waited for the right time to speak out about the claims by Golden Glory and that the time for him to do so is rapidly approaching.

(And YOU get an unnecessarily long beatdown, and YOU get an unnecessarily long beatdown!) 

Bellator recently announced the lineup and first round match-ups for its 6th season middleweight tournament, and it features more than its fair share of familiar faces. First off, after reportedly suffering a heart attack during training back in November, former UFC middleweight Maiquel Falcao will be returning to action against 10-1-1 Norman Paraisy. Paraisy, a Paris, France native, previously fell to a first round rear-naked choke at the hands of inaugural UFC middleweight champion Dave Menne in his last Bellator appearance, which took place back in April of 2009. Paraisy has gone 5-0-1 since the loss, picking up wins over Paulo Filho and Jack Mason among others. True to his fighting style, Falcao last picked up a first round TKO victory over Douglas Del Rio, a video of which is below.

(Falcao also strayed from his usual fighting style, however, as he actually managed to stop punching his opponent when the ref intervened.) 

(Nate Diaz poses with future UFC bantamweight champ Ronnie Ortiz-Magro.)

The UFC confirmed this morning that their third FOX show will take place May 5 at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. Though it hasn’t been officially marked as the headliner, a high-profile lightweight bout between Nate Diaz and Jim Miller will be featured on the main card.

Diaz is coming off a three-round domination of Donald Cerrone at UFC 141 — arguably the greatest performance of his career — making it two wins in a row for Diaz since he returned to lightweight last fall. Meanwhile, New Jersey native Jim Miller bounced back to the win column last Friday with a first-round submission of Melvin Guillard, proving that he still belongs among the division’s elite. Though the fight probably isn’t a #1 contender’s match, it’ll certainly bump the winner very close to a title shot. Fun fact: In 27 combined UFC fights, neither man has ever been stopped.

(Today’s required viewing: “Fight Factory” goes deep inside the world of American Kickboxing Academy. Props to nuvoTV via BloodyElbow. Skip to the 12:43 mark to see Phil Baroni’s infamous bodybuilding video get a different reaction than he was looking for.)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere…

- Daniel James Miller’s Kidney Transplant on Hold (MMA Fighting)

- It’s a Wonderful Life: Phil Davis UFC on FOX 2 Interview Exclusive (MMA Mania)

- Will the Real Chael Sonnen Please Stand Up: Inside the Contender’s Training Camp (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- Demian Maia Talks Silva vs. Sonnen, Says Chris Weidman Is “The Real Deal” (Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com)

- The Karate Hottie Pulled Off a Slick Rear-Naked Choke Last Night and Here’s the Video (MiddleEasy)

- Jon Jones: “Rashad’s Chin Sucks” (Five Ounces of Pain)

- UFC Issues Statement Regarding UFC.com Hackers (5th Round)

- Great Wrestling Moments in MMA History (MMA Convert)

- Culinary Union Attacks UFC on Fox 2 Show With New Anti-MMA Website (The Fight Nerd)

- ESPN’s John Barr on UFC Pay Report Blowback: “It’s Not Our Charge to Do Your Public Relations” (Fight Opinion)

- Diego Sanchez Predicts All-Out War With Jake Ellenberger (FightLine)

- HDNet to Be Rebranded as AXS TV (MMA Payout)

(Video courtesy of G4TV)

If you didn’t already have the date marked on your calendar, the UFC Undisputed 3 playable demo was released today by THQ on both Playstation 3 and XBox 360. In addition to more fluid gameplay, this edition of the game will include the much anticipated PRIDE mode, complete with head stomps, soccer kicks, Lenne Hardt, Steven Quadros and Bas Rutten.

The demo only lets you play for one round, but the full release will be available in stores in three weeks, so don’t freak out over it.

(“Don’t look yet, but tell me if she’s looking at me.”)

It looks like Muhammed Lawal’s positive  steroid test  may have netted him a much bigger punishment than the fine and one-year timeout levied on him by the Nevada State Athletic Commission; he may also have missed out on a chance at redemption against the only fighter to beat him as well as a chance to regain the Strikeforce light heavyweight title.

So Ronda Rousey was on some program called Attack of the Show the other night, and the first thing we gotta say is daaaaaaammmnnnn. We’ve been hearing blasphemous claims of Ronda being a 5 at best around here as of late, and it’s time to squash this beef. Anyone who claims this woman is below a 7 must either email us a photo of their current or previous girlfriend, or send one to our Twitter or Facebook page. Otherwise…LIFETIME BAN.

Now that we’ve moved past her body, perhaps we can discuss her mind, as it is beginning to look like the witty, boisterous apparition that once inhabited Chael Sonnen has chosen Ronda as its next victim. Rousey, despite never fighting at bantamweight, is currently listed as a 4-to-1 favorite over current champ Meisha Tate, and the hype might just be getting to her head. When asked on how dangerous she saw herself, Rousey responded:

I think I am the most dangerous unarmed woman on the planet. [Looks to audience] I could literally kill every single person in this room with my bare hands if I had them one at a time. I wouldn’t do that, but I’m just saying, I could do it. 

(Video via IronForgesIron)

During a guest spot on Inside MMA last night, Michael Bisping took his anti-Sonnen trash-talk to new, anatomical levels:

“Let’s start with the obvious. One, he’s not the middleweight champion. He’s been beaten many, many times. He’s been submitted more times than I care to mention…the last time he lost a fight by submission, there was some issue involving performance enhancing drugs. Now, I don’t know what the deal is, you know, apparently he has one testicle. One testicle. This is why he uses performance enhancing drugs. I’m sorry…that’s not enough balls to fight me next week!”

Okay, can we set the record straight? Chael Sonnen has two testicles, just like anybody else. It’s just that Sonnen’s testicles never developed properly, which is why he has to undergo hormone replacement therapy and wear special underwear. The question is: How much impact will Sonnen’s genitals have on his UFC on FOX 2 meeting with Bisping this Saturday?

It was on this day three years ago that Affliction held its second and final MMA event, “Day of Reckoning” in Anaheim California. It’s not that the event did poorly at the box office or that it didn’t feature great fights, because the show took in $1.5 million and with names like Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Vitor Belfort, Matt Lindland, and Josh Barnett, the line-up rivals any UFC card today. The problem was that the owners of the company tried to pay fighters whatever their asking price because they were friends with most of them, having sponsored them for years.

Case in point, when you are paying Tim Sylvia $800,000 to get KO’ed by Fedor (who only netted $300,000 for the feat), you may need a new business model.

The event, whose main event was broadcast as a pay-per-view with the undercard shown on HDNet,  featured some exciting fights and some dramatic finishes by Emelianenko, Belfort, Barnett and Nogueira.