The People’s Champion, showing Chael Sonnen how it’s done. Props: @CopperHeartCT

With the UFC’s quick return to Rio de Janeiro, the promotion had high expectations to live up to. Their last visit saw a nearly perfect performance from one of the sport’s most dominant champions, a local favorite earning a quick finish, and (most) Brazilian fighters outmatching their foreign opponents on their ways to victory. It was going to be difficult to entertain the local fans the same way that UFC 134 did, yet the UFC’s return to Brazil netted nearly identical results.

Heading into his title defense against Chad Mendes last night, critics were starting to say that Jose Aldo was beginning to coast his way through fights. That the fight finisher fans grew to love in the WEC had been replaced by a fighter content to go through the motions en route to a decision victory. In front of his home country, Aldo made an impressive statement by finishing “Money” Mendes in the first round.

Mendes displayed improved striking, but that means little when facing the lethal limbs of Jose Aldo. To win this fight–or even stay competitive–Mendes needed to put the champion on his back, yet time and time again his best efforts were thwarted. Though Aldo blatantly grabbed the fence to prevent one takedown, a follow-up attempt from the same position seconds later barely took his feet off the ground. Had he been deducted one point- or ten- it’s hard to imagine the fight going any other way. The brilliant takedown defense and impeccable timing he showed throughout the bout were on full display in the closing seconds of round one. Aldo’s transition to the fight ending knee was nothing short of perfection, something only a dominant striker of his caliber could dream of pulling off.

“I’m not even kidding you, man! It must have been four feet of linguiça. And ‘Humble’ ate the whole thing, just now backstage!” (Photo: UFC.com)

It’s 1 AM in Rio De Janeiro and and the locals have turned out in droves to cheer on their countrymen and wish death upon foreigners. It may not be very sporting of them, but we’ve pretty much thrown professionalism out the window this weekend.

Is Mendes the right Alpha Male to topple Aldo in his own backyard? Does Belfort have enough power to put away one of the UFC’s top heavyweights? And will Palhares’s overwhelming desire to tear limbs apart overcome his instinct to stop fighting in the middle of a bout?

Come join me, Chris Colemon, inside for the answers to these questions and more.

(From L-R: Gabriel Gonzaga, UFC president Dana White, Squidward Q. Tentacles, and the guy who totally isn’t Dana White’s bodyguard. Photo via MMAJunkie)

Before the UFC 142 pay-per-view card kicks off from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, FX will be airing four fights from the preliminary card, featuring the return of veteran lightweight striker Sam Stout as well as formerly-retired heavyweight Gabriel Gonzaga. Follow us after the jump for round-by-round results from the live prelims broadcast starting at 8 p.m., courtesy of rookie CagePotato liveblogger Anthony Gannon. Porra, you guys!

(Video courtesy of YouTube.com/UFC)

Dana White’s latest vlog walks us through the behind the scenes drama at yesterday’s weigh-ins. Before the action unfolds we get to tag along with the multimillionaire fight baron as he soars over the slums of Rio in a private helicopter. Poetry.

Things get interesting when Vitor Belfort checks in at the arena. Watching “The Phenom” gnaw away on a towel of crushed ice like a starved animal as he learns that “Rumble” is nowhere in the vicinity of 185lbs makes Johnson’s massive failure all the more unforgivable. Vitor had the option of stopping his cut and fighting at a catchweight, but ultimately chose the path of the professional and made the contracted weight. That 20% of Johnson’s purse probably didn’t hurt his decision.

Join us back here this evening as we kick off our Liveblog with the prelims on FX!

“I’m going to prove once and for all that I am the #1 Light Heavyweight in the world from the Åland Islands to the Faroe Islands.”

It looks like the UFC’s first venture to Sweden will be a success, at least as far as live gate revenue is concerned. According to a report from MMAViking.com, tickets to the April 14^th card sold out in under an hour. As usual, UFC Fight Club members and UFC Newsletter subscribers were given first crack at tickets before they were sold to the general public.

You know as well as I do how hard it is to get people to shell out their hard-earned krona so close to Walpurgis Night, which only emphasizes how popular the sport has become in Nordic sphere. Though the capacity of Sweden’s Ericsson Globe Arena tops out at 14,000 seats, the fast sellout is reminiscent of the organization’s previous trips to Canada and Brazil.

Full line-up for the event after the jump:

And he’d been training so hard, too. It’s damn near perfect.

It appears that we’ll have to wait a little longer for the UFC debut of former Cage Potato guest blogger and Maximum Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion Ryan Jimmo. Yesterday, the UFC announced that Jimmo was injured while preparing for his debut against Karlos Vemola, and has been taken off of the card. Consequently, Vemola has been dropped from the card, as the UFC will not pursue a replacement opponent for the Czech fighter. The injury suffered by Jimmo has not been disclosed at this time.

Also of note, Swedish-Iranian lightweight prospect Reza Madadi has also been injured, and has pulled out of his UFC debut against the recently re-signed Fabricio Camoes. Unlike Vemola, the UFC is pursuing a last minute replacement opponent for Camoes, who has won two straight since being released by the UFC after a loss to Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 111. Depending on the severity of the injury, Madadi will now likely make his UFC debut at the UFC’s inaugural show in Sweden on April 14.

UFC on FX is set to go down on January 20th from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. The fight card now looks like this:

Well, fat people are supposed to be jolly.

You’ve trained several months for a fight, flown to another country, missed weight, been publicly lambasted by your boss, forfeited 20% of your purse, risked your health, and jeopardized your career in the sport’s biggest promotion. What do you do?

You have yourself a good chuckle:

“I’m already laughing at what ppl are saying. Yeah it was for medical reason and I did what the UFC Dr Told me to do. Believe it or don’t I give a fuck cuz the ppl close to me were freaking out but I’m still alive and something like this has never happen before. Say what you want I’m still gonna do my thang. You try not having feeling in your legs and can’t move then and see how you look at life after that.”

I have no doubt that Anthony Johnson required medical attention while cutting weight, but it was for a “medical reason” much like getting rushed to the ER because of alcohol poisoning is due to a “medical reason”. He’s not the random victim of an unpreventable illness. Like the sorority chick with marker on her face and puke on her dress, Johnson’s medical issue stems directly from poor decision making and willfully pushing his body beyond the limits from which it can recover. He’s now missed weight in over 25% of his UFC bouts. Anthony Johnson, my friends, is on a bender.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/InsideMMA)

- 245 Tebow Photobombs (WorldWideInterweb)

- 25 Laziest Players in NFL History (Complex)

- Celebrity Death Predictions for 2012 (ScreenJunkies)

- Rob! Bingo Card (TuVez)

- Edita Vilkeviciute is Kind of Awesome (Guyism)

- Why Your Girlfriend Should Be Banished From Your Gym (AskMen)

- Dana White Issues Statement on Johnson Missing Weight *Again* (MMAMania)

- 10 Crappy TV Shows Based On Good Movies (Clutch.MTV)

- More Bang for Your Buck With Compound Lifts (TheRugged)

- CollegeHumor is Making an Actual Movie (FilmDrunk)

- Pacquiao Dodges Mayweather Fight Taiwanese Animation Style (TerezOwens)

- 25 Bizarre Flavored Beers (HolyTaco)

- Dos Santos, Aldo and Belfort On Brazil, Futures and More (FightersOnly)

- Released From BAMMA, Marquardt a Free Agent (BleacherReport)

Totally Looks Like:  Sean Kingston

By now, you’ve probably heard the big news of the day:  Anthony “Hey Yo, Is That My Tummy Rumblin’?” Johnson missed weight today in historic fashion, tipping the scales at 197 pounds.  According to some research that I absolutely did not just do, twelve pounds is the most that anyone has ever blown weight anywhere ever, and you can feel free to correct me in the comments.  Vitor Belfort has agreed to fight a catchweight at 197, but has asked that Johnson weigh-in again tomorrow at no more than 205.

Now, maybe I’m not shocked by this — but damn brotato, how do you miss — how do you go UP a weight class because you have a nightmare cut at 170 and the boss has said you belong at 185, then proceed to bulk up like you got a call from Vince McMahon?  

Serious question: is Anthony Johnson dyslexic with numbers or something?  Just checking.

(“If they aren’t with us, they’re against us, and in that case we will crush them.”)

The much ballyhooed ESPN: Outside the Lines (which we originally erroneously identified as E:60) episode dealing with UFC salaries and the assertion that the promotion is becoming a monopoly will air Sunday morning on the sports network and Dana White says he’s looking forward to it.

According to the UFC president, the company is preparing to counter-program the show with the uncut and unedited version of the interview with UFC chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta to expose ESPN and the outlet’s main MMA analyst Josh Gross, who contributed to the episode.

(Stay classy.) 

Today, CagePotato is brought to you by the letter R. Specifically, R for retirement.

If the name Peter Aerts doesn’t immediately bring to mind a cavalcade of classic kickboxing matches against a list of opponents that reads like a who’s who of the sport, then might we recommend you do a little research on one of the greatest combatants to ever don the heavy gloves. After collecting over 100 victories in a career that spanned nearly 25 years, kickboxing legend Peter Aerts has announced that his June 30th match against #7 ranked heavyweight kickboxer Tyrone Sprong will be his last.

In a true testament of his character, Aerts will be going out in the same fashion in which he came, by taking on the best; his first professional fight saw him square off against fellow legend Ernesto Hoost, and now he will be going out, win or lose, against a top prospect in Sprong. Known for his trademark head kick finishes that earned him the nickname, “The Dutch Lumberjack,” Aerts built his reputation through vintage battles with the likes of Hoost (five times), Jerome Le Banner (four times), Semmy Schilt (five times), and Ray Sefo (three times). Having competed in every K1 tournament except for 2009, Aerts also earned the moniker “Mr. K1,” taking home tournament gold in 1994, 1995, and 1998, and placing second in 2001, 2006, 2007, and 2010.

Aerts’ crowning achievement by far was his devastating run through the 1998 K1 World Grand Prix, in which he dispatched all three of his opponents in 6 minutes and 43 seconds, a record that held until 2009, when it was broken by Semmy Schilt. As a HUGE fan and close follower of his career, I would personally like to wish Mr. Aerts all the best in his future endeavors on behalf of everyone here at CagePotato, and have compiled a brief look back at some of his greatest hits below, starting with his first rematch against Hoost that took place at the 1993 K1 Quarterfinals.

(UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo pictured with his summer intern, Chad.)

UPDATE: Yes, Anthony Johnson came in at 197 pounds. Gory details after the jump.

Weigh-ins for tomorrow night’s UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes event are scheduled to begin today at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT in Rio. You can watch the action right here on CagePotato.com, in either of the video players after the jump. We’ll also be posting the full weigh-in results after all 20 fighters have hit the scale. Will there be any disrespectful hat-smacking this time? How terrifying will Anthony Johnson look as a middleweight light-heavyweight? And will the huge broad on the right be replacing Chandella permanently? Stay tuned…

(Unfortunately, rehab for”The Spider” consisted mainly of wearing a Power Balance bracelet and eating Whoppers.)

It looks like Anderson Silva is not nearly as bionic as we thought.

TATAME is reporting that the UFC middleweight champ has sustained *another* injury and his return to training and competition will likely be pushed back as a result, meaning the winner of the UFC on Fox 2 bout on January 28 between Chael Sonnen and Mark Munoz may have to wait a while before getting a title shot.

(“Avehay ouyay eensay atwhay wanehay is earingway?” “I owknay. I inkthay atthay is ymay arfscay.” “Guys, I know pig latin. And Gina, you can have your scarf back after the premiere.”)

The fine folks at Relativity Media have generously offered us a Haywire prize-pack to give away to one lucky reader who comes up with the best caption for the photo above.

The rules are simple: post your best (or worst) subtitle for the candid shot of Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor and Steven Soderbergh  above from last week’s premiere for the film in the comment section by 6:00 pm ET today for your chance to take home some swag from the movie including a Haywire t-shirt, bracelet and mini-poster. One entry per reader. The winner will be announced Monday.

(Say it ain’t so, KenFlo.) 

Bad news out of the Boston Herald today, as it is being reported that UFC middleweight lightweight featherweight lightweight contender Kenny “KenFlo” Florian has suffered a lumbar herniated disk in his lower back as a result of an existing weight lifting injury he sustained in November. The injury is apparently so serious that KenFlo’s orthopedist and neurologist have agreed that he should consider retiring from the sport after nearly ten years in the game. Florian was less than positive about his outlook, but believes that every cloud has a silver lining:

[Retirement is] possible, unfortunately. I’ve kind of been going back-and-forth with some of the doctors, so it’s possible. I’m going to see. As of right now, obviously I can’t compete and train like I was at all. I’m just kind of doing what I can and hoping that things heal up and get better. I’m just kind of in a holding pattern. That’s why I decided to do this commentary for the time being and take this next six months to really heal up and try to make some money on the side. It sucks. The last couple of months I’ve just been figuring out what’s going on and what I’m going to do.

It’s not good. That’s why I’m trying to stay hopeful. We’ll see. I’ve been out here in (Los Angeles) doing this show every week for ‘UFC Tonight’ for Fuel TV and doing some other things. I’m just hoping that it can heal up and get better and then see if I can go back to doing what I was doing. So far, I still need to rest. If I go to do something physical, I’m just not able to do it. That pain is coming back.

(The folder is fist-posing too, in spirit. Props: @WandFC.)

With filming for The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil starting next month in an undisclosed location, you may be wondering: “And dennnnnn??” So here’s a rundown of what we know so far…

— The season will feature two weight classes, featherweight and middleweight. Each bracket will feature 16 fighters to start, and an elimination round will narrow the talent down to eight fighters in each division, who will then move into the TUF: Brazil house.

— The show will air locally on the Globo channel in Brazil on Sunday nights starting March 25th, and will also be aired on FUEL TV in the U.S.

(Dan Henderson vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira highlights, via DJIL PROD)

Fun fact: Alexander Gustafsson only got the UFC on FUEL 2 headlining spot against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira because Dan Henderson turned the fight down first. As Ariel Helwani reported on UFC Tonight and via Twitter, ”the original plan was if [Rashad] Evans beat [Phil] Davis, he would face [Jon] Jones. The winner of Hendo/Nog would then fight for the #1 contender. Now, since Hendo turned down the Nog fight, his status is unclear.”

Henderson says he had several good reasons for passing on Lil’ Nog, who previously submitted him by armbar at Pride Total Elimination 2005. As he explained on Clinch Gear Radio:

“I was under the impression that [UFC President Dana White] still kind of was on the fence whether he was going to put me in front of Rashad or not, that’s assuming Rashad wins. [White] did offer me a fight with ‘Little Nogueira.’ I didn’t think the fans would be interested in that fight, and not as much time as I would like to prepare for a five-round fight. So I told him I would wait to see what happened with the Rashad fight. I would like to fight Jones now rather than if I took that fight with ‘Little Nog,’ I wouldn’t be fighting Jones until another eight-nine months…

(“Don’s worry Anderson-Kun, that’s just my chi you’re feeling against your thigh.”)

The 25 percent of Steven Seagal’s autobiography that isn’t utter bullshit is going to make for a fascinating read.

In the latest bizarre chapter in the life of “The Gimmer Man,” Seagal is being sued for non-payment to a former movie producer and business associate with mob ties for failing to pay monies owed to him.

According to a report from the Daily Mail, Seagal agreed to pay $500,000 to Julius Nasso, who he co-owned a film production company with until it dissolved in 2007. Nasso sued Seagal for $60 million back in 2002 for failing to deliver on four movies he agreed to star in, but the suit was eventually dropped after several months in the courts.

(“What the hell did you put in my Bud Light?”)

According to Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Antonio Inoki’s Inoki Genome Federation is trying to put together a pro wrestling bout between recently retired former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and former PRIDE and WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko.

The chances of the one-off fake fight happening are slim-to-none considering Brock mentioned that one of the main reasons he retired was to spend more time with his family after his pair of diverticulitis scares the past two years. Travelling to Japan likely isn’t high on his list of family vacations.

In a recent interview given to Jim Rome, Dana White was a little more candid than we have seen when discussing Brock Lesnar’s recent retirement, specifically what was going through the former UFC Heavyweight Champion’s mind moments after becoming permanently incontinent compliments of an Alistair Overeem body kick. “It felt like I got kicked by a horse,” said Lesnar. Ok, so maybe that’s an exaggeration, but White states that Lesnar didn’t see himself taking down “The Reem” anytime soon, figuratively or literally:

The conversations I’ve had with Brock Lesnar since that fight, all indications point to it’s over. … Here’s what Brock said to me, he said ‘I’ll tell you what after my surgery from diverticulitis, this last surgery I had, I have never felt so good in my life.’ He said ‘I’ve had the best camp I’ve ever had, no injuries, I was in great shape, all the things that could go right, went right, that guy is just that much better than me and it’s time for me to retire.

Well, this pretty much seals the deal on that issue. If there were any doubts as to Mr. Lesnar’s heart and true investment in MMA, here you go.

(Photo via the Justin Levens Remembrance Album on CombatLifestyle.com / Props to Deadspin‘s brilliant “Dead Wrestler of the Week” feature for the inspiration.)

By Ben Goldstein

All murder-suicides are shocking. Not all of them are entirely surprising.

On December 17th, 2008, UFC/WEC veteran Justin Levens and his wife Sara McLean-Levens were found dead inside their condominium in Laguna Niguel, California, both from gunshot wounds. Initial evidence suggested that Justin was the shooter. “It was a chest wound that penetrated her heart and killed her, and his was to the head,” said O. C. Sheriff Coroner’s Office spokesman Jim Amormino.

Amormino confirmed that painkillers and anti-depressants were discovered in the Levens’s home, along with the handgun Justin allegedly used to end their lives. Police had visited Justin and Sara at least twice in the previous month, once to investigate a possible drug overdose.

At the time of his death, Justin Levens was 28 years old and hadn’t won an MMA match in over two years. He’d gone 0-5 in 2007 — an agonizing year in which his close friend and IFL teammate Jeremy Williams committed suicide, also by shooting himself — and was dealt a six-month suspension by the California State Athletic Commission in July 2008 when a pre-fight drug test came back off-the-charts for the painkiller Oxymorphone. For the last five months of his life, Levens was unable to earn a living as a fighter, and fell deeper into a spiral of depression and prescription drug use.

Justin didn’t leave a suicide note. There were no signs of a struggle. He and Sara had already been dead for four days when their bodies were discovered.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/

With all of the resistance New York and it’s crooked supporters have put up against the legalization of MMA in the Empire State, it’s surprising that none of these do-gooder groups have ever raised a stink about any really dangerous sports like football, or cheerleading — the latter of which accounts for nearly 67 percent of catastrophic sporting injuries in females.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/katrinaberarducci)

A recent report showed that between 1982 and 2007, there were 103 fatal, disabling or serious injuries and three deaths recorded among female high school athletes, with the vast majority occurring in cheerleading. The study went on to say that 25% of NCAA Insurance program funding went towards cheerleading-related injuries.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/UFCTHQ)

THQ released this hilarious video today of Frank Mir’s final day of motion capture filming for the next edition of UFC Undisputed. Apparently this dude from THQ thought it would be funny to get all of the fighters in the game to do the Hokey Pokey — either for his own satisfaction since he was likely picked on in high school or because he was planning on releasing the footage as a special feature or Easter egg.

Well, either Frank caught on to the ploy or someone tipped him off. Either way, he made the prankster shit his pants.

Check out a few more of our favorite MMA pranks after the jump.

UFC 142 goes down this Saturday from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and though it doesn’t feature quite as epic a lineup as the UFC’s return to Brazil at UFC 134, the fact that the card has still maintained its two marquee match-ups is something to brag about, if only due to how cursed a card this has been. So if you, like Siyar Bahadurzada, Paulo Thiago, Stanislav Nedkov, and Fabio Maldanado, find yourself watching the action from the sidelines on Saturday night and suddenly in need of some extra dough, then we are here to help. Check out the betting lines below, courtesy of BestFightOdds, and join us after the jump for some sound betting advice.

Main Card
Erick Silva (-525) vs. Carlo Prater (+415)
Edson Barboza (-270) vs. Terry Etim (+230)
Rousimar Palhares (-525) vs. Mike Massenzio (+415)
Anthony Johnson (-110) vs. Vitor Belfort (-110)
Jose Aldo (-240) vs. Chad Mendes (+200)

Preliminary Card
Antonio Carvalho (-225) vs. Felipe Arantes (+175)
Mike Pyle (-460) vs. Ricardo Funch (+340)
Yuri Alcantara (-195) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (+160)
Sam Stout (EV) vs. Thiago Tavares (-140)
Gabriel Gonzaga (-120) vs. Edinaldo Oliveira (-110)

(I’m only posting this photo because Bill Paxton is one of the greatest American character actors of the last 30 years. That’s Bill Paxton, right? Or is it Bill Pullman. I can never keep those two straight. Anyway, daaaaaamn.)

While reporting on the New York premiere of Haywire for Fightlinker, author Matthew Polly landed a one-on-one interview with star Gina Carano, in which he got Gina to confirm what we all suspected — that you’re not hearing her actual voice in the film:

POLLY: [W]hen I was listening to the movie your voice sounded a little different to me. I know this has been brought up in other media outlets but I didn’t know if they tweaked the sound or that’s just how it came out in the movie.

GINA: Yeah absolutely and I’m surprised that hasn’t come up sooner. Stephen Soderberg wanted Mallory Kane [the character she plays in the movie] to be a completely different entity than Gina Carano. So he definitely went in and I went in to AVR and he did some tweaking. We all knew that that was going to come up because people know me so well in the MMA world. But he is quite a genius in what he has created and it still was an honor to be a part of it.

(War Machine poses with the kids’ MMA class that he is somehow allowed to teach. Props: @WarMachine170)

Two interesting updates to Bellator’s sixth season, which begins March 2nd…

— After signing to the promotion in December, War Machine has secured his quarterfinal opponent for Bellator’s upcoming welterweight tournament. As he wrote on Twitter yesterday, “Fuck ya its on! My first fight in @BellatorMMA tournament will be March 30th vs. Karl Amoussou!! Gonna send him back to France in peices!!” It will be Machine’s first appearance since his impressive post-prison win against Roger Huerta in November.

Karl “Psycho” Amoussou (13-4-2, 1-1 in Bellator) is indeed French, and has also competed for M-1, Strikeforce, DREAM, and Pancrase. The Haute Tension product most recently scored a first-round TKO over Jesus Martinez in a 175-pound catchweight bout at Bellator 59 in November. Bellator’s Season 6 welterweight bracket will include Bryan Baker, Brian Foster, undefeated triangle-choke specialist David Rickels, and Season 5 tournament finalist Ben Saunders. War Machine is already looking forward to an emotional reunion with his TUF 6 castmate.

In other news…

A national anti-violence group, the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence sent a four-page letter today to New York State Assemblymen and women today, urging them to oppose the legalization in their state based on a weak argument that unfortunate comments made by fighters and UFC president Dana White in the past promote violence against “women, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people” in particular. The group also claims that the UFC basically encourages it’s fighters to talk like sailors.

Now, I’m as against some of the bad PR moves certain fighters have made with their loose lips and lapses of judgment the past few years, but I have yet to hear anyone who has ever cashed a UFC paycheck threaten to beat a homosexual, a woman or someone who has undergone a sex change. Using a gay slur against a straight person, although reprehensible, is not intended to be offensive to the group it ultimately defends, the same as a fighter calling another fighter “a bitch” is not done to offend female dogs. The difference is the SPCA has better things to do than write letters all day.

If you notice, the crux of the NCDAV’s argument hinges on info they were given by a group called UnfitforChildren.org, which is a front for the Culinary Union — the labor group embroiled in a legal battle with the Fertitta-Owned Station Casinos. The head of the Union is even CC’ed on the letter.

Any decent politician having done his or her homework should be able to see through the thin veil that the CU is hiding behind while it attempts to harm the Fertitta’s *other* business, but then again how many trustworthy politicians do you know?

If I were the UFC, I’d be making some rebuttal-ads similar to the political ones we see around election time exposing the union’s dirty tactics. Until then I’m sure we’ll have plenty of do-good groups nobody has ever heard of like the NCDSV popping up with their soap boxes to tell people what they shouldn’t be allowed to watch or do. Between sips of jasmine tea and blogging about freecycling, these mother hens do all they can to make sure that they browbeat everyone who will listen into condemning anything that they find even remotely offensive, lest they be labeled unsympathetic to women or proponents of violence against them.

The truth is, they probably are sick of their husbands watching UFC on Saturday nights and want someone to take them to the new Rachel McAdams movie.

Anyway, if you have the stomach for it, you can read the entire useless letter after the jump.

(Apparently Corassani treats tapping the same way he deals with flipping to the wrong page of a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Novel. Gif via ZombieProphet at IronForgesIron.)

This should come as no surprise, but none other than TUF 14 alum and all around jackwagon Akira Corassani has been booked to take on British striker Jason Young at the UFC’s inaugural trip to Sweden for its second UFC on FUEL event. Corassani, a Swedish born (the streets, specifically) Muay Thai striker, has trained with the likes of Siyar Bahadurzada, Frankie Edgar, and Eddie Alvarez, and made a name for himself on this past season of The Ultimate Fighter, bringing a combination of power punches and Jersey Shore-like swagger to the house before being choked into wonderland by eventual runner-up Dennis Bermudez in the semifinals.

Young, who has dropped a couple of close decisions to Dustin Poirier and Michihiro Omigawa in his octagon run, will likely be fighting for his job when he takes on Corassani. A word to the wise Jason: steer clear of the leg-locks on this one.

(Edson Barboza uglies up Ross Pearson during his split-decision victory over the TUF 9 winner at UFC 134.)

By Anton Gurevich

This Saturday night, Edson Barboza will head to his native country of Brazil to take on English submission specialist Terry Etim at UFC 142 from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Quickly emerging as one of the lightweight division’s brightest young prospects, Barboza will look to extend his current undefeated streak to 10-0, with hopes of solidifying his place in the UFC’s stacked 155-pound title mix.

A product of The Armory Training Center in Florida, Barboza made his professional debut in 2009, reeling off six consecutive victories and capturing the Ring of Combat lightweight title before signing with the UFC in 2010. Utilizing crippling leg-kicks and precision striking, the Brazilian dispatched of Mike Lullo via TKO in his Octagon debut, which he followed up with back-to-back “Fight of the Night” performances against Anthony Njokuani and Ross Pearson to improve his UFC mark to 3-0.

Now just days ahead of what will be his second homecoming in less than six-months, LowKick.com had an opportunity to speak with Barboza about this weekend’s match-up. Here’s what he had to say about his training at The Armory, his title aspirations, and how his striking stacks up against other UFC lightweights.

READ THE INTERVIEW ON LOWKICK.BLITZCORNER.COM!

(Video courtesy of YouTube/ESPN)

Remember three years ago when ESPN did this gushing segment on UFC president Dana White. Well, it looks like the UFC signing a major broadcast deal with its biggest rival and cherry-picking some of its on-air talent has irked the sports news giant and the gloves are coming off.

An upcoming episode of ESPN:60, which will feature interviews with UFC chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta and Ken Shamrock, who recently lost a lawsuit to the UFC, will examine whether or not critics are correct in calling Zuffa’s stranglehold on the MMA market “a monopoly.”

Translation: ESPN can likely kiss its UFC credentials goodbye. Trust us guys, you’re fucked.

Check out a clip from the soon-to-be-released segment after the jump.