We’re not exactly sure where the correlation between mixed martial arts fighters and police dog demonstrations started, but man if it isn’t glorious every time. Released by the Network of Champions, this video is the first in a series that features current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones going through the Birmingham Sheriff Department’s training routine. Jones was also allowed to partake in some EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operation Control) training, some simulated gun play, and even got to hip toss a fool who decided to get fresh with him. Don’t worry officer, it could have been worse.

As you may or may not know, Jones received a degree in criminal justice from Iowa Central Community College back in 2005, so perhaps he was a little more prepared to take a mauling than the average UFC fighter. Bones attests that the dog was racist, and history tells us that he was probably right.

Join us after the jump for a behind the scenes look at the awesome Rousey/Tate promo Strikeforce managed to muster up and more.

(“Where I come from, this is what happens to you when you come in smelling like cabbage during a staredown.”)

Dereck Chisora must think he’s the Paul Daley of boxing. The brash Brit today slapped WBC heavyweight kingpin Vitali Klitschko across the face during the staredown at the weigh-ins for their championship bout tomorrow night in Munich. He may not get as good of a shot past the Ukranian can-crusher’s juggernaut’s guard tomorrow night.

The Zimbabwe-born England-raised fighter is just 1-2 in his last three fights. Not sure how rankings work, but in the UFC you might have been fired, not given a title shot after a slide like that.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/UFC)

It only took UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones around 10 minutes yesterday to fire his first shot at number one contender and former teammate Rashad Evans at the pre-UFC 145 press conference in Atlanta.

Responding to a question about how he seemed confident that he would beat Evans after watching “Suga’s” performance against Phil Davis in the main event of last month’s UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis event, “Bones” said that he doesn’t feel that Rashad has really improved since he left Team Jackson to join The Blackzilians.

By Elias Cepeda

(“Where I come from, asking a guy if he’s on drugs will get you slapped, homie.”)

UFC welterweight Nick Diaz and his most recent positive test for marijuana after competing against Carlos Condit at UFC 143 in Las Vegas, may present Nevada with a first of its kind disciplinary situation, according to Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) Executive Director Keith Kizer.  Diaz is a resident of California, where medical marijuana has been legal since 2003, and the fighter has said that he has been prescribed marijuana by doctors to treat psychological issues.

We’re not going to waste time with meaningless words. Happy Friday, Potato Nation.

(Chandella as her alter ego Mariah Ashton.) 

Well ho-lee shit. It seems that if you do enough digging on any given ring girl, you will find out that she has done porn at one point in her life. According to a few unconfirmed sources from around the MMA blogosphere, it appears that Chandella Powell will be joining the ranks of Logan Stanton, Natasha Wicks, and Edith Labelle as a former UFC ring girl due to…get this…failing to disclose that she once appeared in a couple softcore porn photo shoots and videos under the name “Mariah Ashton.” What was originally passed off as a common bestiality flick was recently discovered to contain none other than the first ever African American UFC ring girl going “toe-to-toe” with another young starlet. How could you keep this from us, Carmen?

As we all know, Chandella was absent from the UFC’s FUEL TV debut last night, and hasn’t said a word on her Twitter account since Saturday. And since we also know that it is physically impossible for any woman, let alone a public figure, to ignore their Twitter for more than an hour or so, this can only mean that these rumors are unquestionably true. We are not going to provide links to any of the evidence against Ms. Powell, because if you haven’t searched the internet and found them yourself by this point I would be sorely disappointed, Potato Nation.

To give you some perspective on how to deal with this, join us after the jump to see how a few members of the CP staff coped with the heartbreaking news, via a string of emails.

(Under Stockton rules, fights are judged by who moved forward the whole fight and the winner is the fighter who takes his opponent’s back in the final minutes of the bout.)

Shortly after the main event between Jake Ellenberger ended last night at UFC on FUEL, Nick Diaz took to his Twitter account to post a rare pair of tweets about the fight.

According to Nick, even though pretty much everyone else who saw the fight agreed that “The Juggernaut” took the decision, he believes that Diego “The Exorcist” won the fight. I guess Nick missed the counter-punching clinic that Jake put on, or maybe he’s still sore that he lost the fight to Condit even though he was the one moving forward like a Sherman tank the whole fight and in spite of the fact that Carlos landed more. Whatever his reasoning was, it’s unlikely that he’ll be called upon by NSAC or CSAC to fill in scorecards for them any time soon.

(You DID NOT just call me Chris from ‘N Sync!) 

Although Stipe Miocic‘s quick knockout of previously undefeated heavyweight Philip De Fries may have netted him the $50,000 Knockout of the Night bonus, our pick for sweetest KO went to Jonathan Brookins, who proved that not every Brazilian has the femur mangling leglock ability of Rousimar Palhares when he ground-and-pounded Vagner Rocha into oblivion inside the first two minutes of their preliminary card match-up. Not many of us knew what to make of Brookins after he dropped a UD to Eric Koch back in September of 2011. The fight proved that Brookins’ wrestling could in fact be thwarted, and that his striking had not made the leaps and bounds it needed to in order to balance things out. Last night’s fight was made to be a test of both.

Well, if anyone is still doubting the power in Brookins’ hands, they should probably shut right the hell up. Brookins did what Donald Cerrone, or any of Rocha’s previous opponents for that matter, couldn’t, and shut off his light switch with a series of increasingly punishing strikes before the ref managed to step in. To be honest, it was kind of scary to see that someone as docile and plain daffy as Brookins had the capacity for such brutality. And just as Brookins resembles the missing evolutionary link between man and ape, he was able to evolve in his own right, to connect one of the missing links in his game, and should be applauded for it. Not only did his knockout save a Facebook card that was luke warm at best to begin with, it made up for the fact that the Loeffler/Roberts match was cancelled after Loeffler rolled his ankle in the pre-fight warm up. Talk about shit luck.

(This is a make or break fight. The winner will be the fans.)

Up-and-coming Quebec light heavyweight Steve Bosse will face the toughest test of his career in May when he takes on former Strikeforce 205-pound champ Renato “Babalu” Sobral at Instinct 4: Babalu vs. Bosse in May.

Instinct MMA president Stephane Patry, who was the founder of Quebec’s most successful promotion, TKO,  announced the bout today via press release. Patry also stated that a date and a venue for the show have yet to be locked down, but should be finalized in the coming days.

(The power of YES!! compels you! Check out some of the meme-worthy photoshops over at The UG.) 

Over the past week or so, the sports world has come down with a serious case of LINsanity, a disease that mimics the effects of Yellow Fever and is brought about by way of bereavement. Though it was the general consensus that this mind altering sickness originated with the uncanny rise of New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, last night’s inaugural UFC on FUEL event opened our collective eyes to the virus’ true host: Diego fucking Sanchez.

Yes, it seems that ever since Diego suffered his first professional losses, which came in back-to-back fashion at the hands of Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch at UFC 69 and 76, the man has become consumed by a mixture of evangelical optimism and bipolar rage to the point of parody. As he made his way to the octagon for his main event clash with top contender Jake Ellenberger last night, it quickly became apparent that it was Sanchez who was in need of an exorcism, which made the Gregorian monk feel of his entrance appear all the more ironic.

(Between rounds he also drank holy water and said the Rosary.)

I had to check to make sure someone didn’t slip something into my drink when I saw that Diego was trying to perform an exorcism on Jake Ellenberger prior to their UFC on FUEL main event last night.

(Video courtesy of LiveLeak)

When a guy announces prior to a street fight that he “knows karate,” you pretty much know he’s full of shit. This dude from Poland decided to demonstrate the katas he learned as a young boy on a seemingly unwilling victim, and narrated the entire altercation.

Besides a whole lot of rolling around and a few face-slaps, not a whole lot happens, but not because he wasn’t trying. He whiffs on a soccer kick as his opponent is getting back to his feet and tries to land the perfect punch, to no avail. I wonder if he realizes that the people watching aren’t laughing with him?

(Remember, the winner of this fight becomes the #2 contender for the UFC Intercontinental Temporary Welterweight Championship of the Midwest. So you’d better believe that Thiago Alves will be watching this one with great interest. / Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com. For more photos from this set, click here.)

Tonight, the UFC will air their first-ever live fight card on FUEL TV — or so they say. Like most Americans, I don’t have the channel in my cable package, so I’m pretty much taking them for their word here. Luckily, our new liveblogger/boxing-analyst friend Steve Silverman does get the channel, and he’ll be handling play-by-play for the main card starting at 8 p.m. ET.

On the menu this evening: Balls-to-the-wall welterweight veteran Diego Sanchez will face Jake Ellenberger, who’s riding high off his 53-second knockout of Jake Shields. Plus, Stefan Struve puts his long limbs on a flamboyant high-school acting teacher, Stipe Miocic and Philip De Fries meet in a battle of undefeated heavyweight prospects, and TUF 14 bantamweight finalist TJ Dillashaw returns to action against Walel Watson. Total cost to the consumer: $0.00.

“UFC on FUEL 1: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger” results await you after the jump. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest. Thanks for being here, guys.

(“I would not fight anyone here. These are my friends.”)

Anderson Silva made a stop on the Max & Marcellus show on ESPN 710 radio this morning and made some interesting comments about some of his potential future fights.

Although he mentioned his upcoming rematch with Chael Sonnen, who he says ” no respect nothing,” “The Spider” named injured welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre as his most apt opponent out of anyone in the UFC right now.

(Photographic proof that EVERYTHING in India ends in choreographed dance.)

Their name is Super Fight League, and when you click on the main page of their website, you will immediately be serenaded by a theme song that can only be described as…divine. Seriously, it’s like Eddie Van Halen, Lil Jon, and Sean Paul drank paint thinner, blew coke, and played Star Fox until this song came out. THAT’S HOW EPIC IT IS.

Anyhow, aside from being India’s very first MMA promotion, Super Fight League will also go down in MMA history as the first promotion to sign an exclusive deal with Youtube. Awesome, right? You want to know what’s even more awesome? Their very first card will be headlined by a heavyweight clash between James Thompson and Bob Sapp. Yes, that Bob Sapp.

Check out the awesome promo after the jump.

(Diego Sanchez is like the movie Inception: A dream inside of a nightmare inside two more dreams which are actually nightmares. Photos courtesy of MMAJunkie.com)

All fighters made weight at yesterday’s UFC on FUELTV weigh-ins, which seemed to sail by at a faster pace than normal. Maybe it was the lack of name power, or perhaps it was the absence of the usual drama and near brawls that we have become accustomed to over the past few weeks. In either case, it was a reserved, quiet evening for all participants involved. Except Diego Sanchez. He doesn’t do “reserved.”

Instead, we were treated to what appeared to be a night of MMA fighters mimicking the looks of pseudo-celebrities. Sean Loeffler came out posing as the singer from Crazy Town, making it rain on the audience like they were the 2 a.m. shift at Scores, and Jonathan Brookins stuck with the Geico Caveman look that has gotten him some fine honeys up to this point. But the most bizarre shift in appearance undoubtedly went to Dave Herman, who pulled off Neil Fallon TO PERFECTION.*

(BANG BANG BANG BANG! VAMANOS VAMANOS!)

Join us after the jump for the full weigh in video and results.

(Remind me to ask Diego for a small loan during fight week.)

Love him or hate him, Diego Sanchez is an exciting fighter who brings it each and every time he’s in the cage. What is most polarizing about him is that most fans think that he’s a really strange dude. From his stevia experimentation,”Yes!” mantra, cartwheels and his denial that he may have lost a fight to his recent call-out of his teammate Carlos Condit, it’s an understatement to say that the TUF winner marches to the beat of a different drummer, but that’s part of his appeal.

The fighter formerly known as “The Nightmare” (sorry, I’m not calling him “The Dream”) takes on Jake Ellenberger tonight at UFC on FUEL 1, so we figured we’d take a look back at some of his GIF-worthy moments the past few years.

Check out the other 10 after the jump.

(A preview of Gustafsson’s placement on the list? There’s only one way to find out.) 

A great man once said that geology was the study of pressure and time. That man’s name was Red, and although he was simply using the phrase as a metaphor for prison life, he could’ve just as easily been talking about hype. Because hype, not unlike geology, has the ability to form diamonds from coal, and just as easily crush the greatest boulders into dust.

As MMA fans, we know the hype game more than any; if we’re not prematurely declaring it “The_____Era,” then we’re likely discrediting legends of the sport, even going as far to say that their wins never held any validity in the first place. Sounds insane, doesn’t it? Well, welcome to the world of cyberhype, the deadliest, fastest spreading strand of hype there is. And as with Kei$ha and CSI spin-offs, there is little we can do to stop this disease, so instead we’ll just try and act like we were into it before it got popular.

Here are five of the hottest prospects in the UFC, ranked in order of how long we knew about them before you did.

5. Stephen Thompson

Last three fights: (W) Dan Stittgen via KO, (W) Patrick Mandio via UD, (W)  William Kuhn via UD

There isn’t much we can say about Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson that his kickboxing and MMA records don’t. The man has strung together 63 consecutive wins in mixed competition, most recently starching Daniel Stittgen ^ at UFC 143. The hype surrounding Thompson has been overlooked by some, and will be put to the test when he takes on TUF 7 vet Matt Brown at UFC 145.

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere…

-  Marijuana is Not a Performance-Enhancing Drug, It’s Simply Illegal (5th Round)

- UFC on FUEL TV Weigh-In Photos Gallery for ‘Ellenberger vs Sanchez’ on Feb. 14 in Omaha (MMA Mania)

- My First Fight: Diego Sanchez (MMA Fighting)

- Bader Not Intimidated to Face Rampage in Japan (FightLine)

- Image Matters: UFC Business & Media Politics  (MMA Payout)

- Mac Danzig Just Received His ‘Mix Marshal Arts’ license from the DC Athletic Commission (MiddleEasy)

- Britney Palmer Interview (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- Tim Sylvia: I Can Beat 80 Percent of the Heavyweights in the UFC (Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com)

- Johny Hendricks: The Bigger the Fight, the Bigger I Come Out (Five Ounces of Pain)

-  Joe Rogan Thinks Weed is a Performance Enhancing Drug (MMA Convert)

-  A Fight Nerd’s Betting Guide: UFC on FUEL Edition (The Fight Nerd)

-  Is There a need for MMA Managers? (Fight Opinion)

(Everyone head over to Gary’s Twitter and wish him the best of luck.) 

Some really sad news today, Potato Nation. It is being reported that none other than MMA/kickboxing legend and regular CP columnist Gary Goodridge has been diagnosed with early onset CTE/pugilistic dementia at the age of 46. Goodridge, who built a reputation for his hard hitting style and aggressive attack, has fought an incredible 84 times since beginning his professional career in 1996.

CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is brain damage that stems from repeated blows to the head, and is a common occurrence amongst boxers, football players, and hockey players for obvious reasons.

Though the outlook is grim for “Big Daddy,” Goodrige says he wouldn’t change a thing in hindsight. But perhaps a little surprising is the fact that he places most of the blame on his K1 career.

You get the news you just have to deal with it, live with it. There’s no treatment that goes along with it. There’s pills to make it slow down the process, but it’s inevitable.

I have no regrets. I love the way I live my life, I mean I would like to make little changes, but no, I have no regrets. I loved the way my life was, I lived a good life, and I’m happy with what I did. 

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(I guess someone forgot to tell the design team at FUEL that Struve is the taller one.)

Just a friendly reminder that we’ll have the live video stream for the UFC On FUEL: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger weigh-ins for you and your Valentine to watch at 5:00 pm ET tonight. If you’re at home and you’re one of the 17 people who subscribe to FUEL TV, you can watch it on your flat screen.

Will Diego Sanchez spit on Jake Ellenberger’s forehead while he shouts “yes” during the staredown? Will anyone mistake Dave Herman for Macho Man? Will he slam Stefan Struve? Does anyone plan on tuning into the prelims?

These questions and more will be answered after the jump (or in the comment section).

Hey, at least he checked on him afterward.

Today’s video comes to us courtesy, as always, of The Opie & Anthony Show, the hosts of which apparently have some sort of sick fetish involving stand up comics being mangled and choked within an inch of their lives. Can’t they just watch good old fashioned porn like the rest of us?

(Video courtesy of YouTube/ShoSports)

It looks like Showtime and Zuffa are going all-in with Strikeforce’s final push at staying alive.

The latest promo for the March 3 Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey event is fantastic. It might even be better than the “Sympathy for the Devil” UFC on Fox promo.

(“Who wants some?”)

When it was announced yesterday that Mike Kyle sustained an injury, forcing him out of his planned Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey main card bout with Gegard Mousasi, speculation arose that Mousasi would likely be scratched from the event. If the UFC brass would sign off on a crossover bout between Gegard and one of its fighters, the fight could be salvaged and Mousasi could get an upgrade opponent in the process.

Check out who we’d like to see step up on three week’s notice to take on “The Dreamcatcher.”

Over the past few weeks, we’ve taken a look at several unique knockouts in the world of mixed martial arts, and as Nick Diaz will tell you, now that we’re hooked, there’s no turning back. So today, we pay tribute to yet another aspect of the fight game, specifically, one that only happens on the rarest of occasions, like Halley’s Comet or Bob Sapp showing up to win. We’re talking, of course, about the moment in combat sports when a fighter delivers a shot with such force that it is able to dislodge the airtight mouthpiece from the opponent’s…mouth. It’s embarrassing, often causes a stop in the action, and doesn’t always end in a knockout, but it’s also hilarious, and that’s what we’re all about anyway. So with that in mind, here are some of the finest instances of the flying mouthpiece in MMA.

Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz – UFC 106

Rob McCullough vs. Olaf Alfonso – WEC 19

(Yeah MMA made her a household name, but Hollywood magic made her a size 4.)

According to The Hollywood Reporter, female fighter and thespian Gina Carano has signed on for her second leading film role for the upcoming John Stockwell-directed thriller, “In the Blood,” which will likely mean that a return to MMA is not in the cards for the 29-year-old Strikeforce and EliteXC veteran.

“In The Blood” will begin production in Puerto Rico in the spring. The film is scripted by Dumb and Dumber’s Bennett Yellin and James Robert Johnston. Actor-turned-director Stockwell is best known for his work on Cheaters, Crazy/Beautiful, Blue Crush, Into the Blue, Turistas, and Heart.

(Which one of you sent me the box of horse-flavored chocolates for Valentine’s Day? Delicious!) 

Amidst a long and public dispute with Golden Glory that has yet to be resolved, it appears that UFC Heavyweight #1 contender Alistair Overeem has signed with Authentic Sports Management, and will begin training in Florida alongside Anthony Johnson, Rashad Evans, Melvin Guillard, and fellow K1 kickboxer Tyrone Spong, also known as “The Blackzilians,” for his upcoming title fight with Junior Dos Santos.

Though the team has gotten off to a rough start, Alistair believes ASM, and specifically team leader Glenn Robinson, will push his already decorated career to a new level with their top notch team of industry experts. Overeem sent out the following press release earlier today in regards to the managerial change:

With [ASM], I saw right away that Glenn Robinson has a system in place that allows the fighter to focus on training only, which is so important as I prepare for my UFC heavyweight title fight against Junior Dos Santos,” said Overeem. “ASM has a team of experts to help you grow as an athlete, from Glenn working hands-on as management to Jen Wenk handling my PR and Karen Gough running marketing, a full-time nutritionist, a finance and legal department – you name it they have it. After meeting with ASM, I was convinced that they can make me the new UFC world champion.

(The future is wide open for “The Flash.”)

Bibiano Fernandes contacted us today via email to clear up any controversy that may have arisen from a mistranslated quote from TATAME that we reported on this morning.

According to the Brazilian website,  the DREAM bantamweight champ allegedly revealed during a recent interview that he had turned down the UFC in favor of re-signing with the struggling Japanese promotion after his contract expired following his 2011 DREAM Bantamweight tournament final win over Antonio Banuelos on New Year’s Eve.

(And, yes, Dana has unblocked us on Twitter…Baby steps, right?)

UFC president Dana White announced this afternoon that a middleweight bout between Rousimar “The Kneejerk“ Palhares and Alan “The Talent” Belcher has been signed for the May 5 UFC on Fox 3 card.

The event, which will take place at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, will also feature Jim Miller versus Nate Diaz and Josh Koscheck versus Johny Hendricks on the main card.

(Well, maybe 100-1.)

Over the weekend, we announced that TUF 7 alum Matt Brown, who most recently starched Chris Cope at UFC 143, would be squaring off against world renowned kickboxer Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at UFC 145. Thompson, who is coming off a brilliant head kick KO victory in his octagon debut over Daniel Stittgen, also at UFC 143, amassed an incredible 57 victories as a kickboxer without a defeat before transitioning into MMA, where he has gone 6-0 thus far in his career. Well it seems that Brown isn’t too impressed with “Wonderboy’s” list of credentials, mainly due to a lack of name power in Thompson’s past opponents. Here’s what he told MMAWeekly in a recent interview:

I don’t know what he’s about in MMA. It looked to me he was doing the same old karate, and the karate’s the same thing, like who did he fight in karate? I don’t know. Name me one guy, name me one guy that he fought. I can tell you the guys I train with [have fought] Saenchai [and] Joe Schilling, guys that are well known in the kickboxing/Muay Thai world, on a world level…I’m not too concerned with this guy’s kickboxing. I can go 100-0 beating a bunch of idiots, but that’s not my style.