(Brittney Palmer makes love to the camera for her 2013 calendar, via TitoCouture)

- Jose Aldo Opens as -175 Favorite Over Frankie Edgar at UFC 153 (MMAWeekly)

- Anderson Silva: ‘A Lot Of People Thought I Was Gay’ Growing Up (Fightline)

- That’s not urine, okay? It’s a home-made sport drink called Machida-Ade. (Facebook.com/CagePotato)

- Michael Bisping Talks Jon Jones, Chael Sonnen and UFC 152 Fight With Brian Stann (HeavyMMA)

- Matt Mitrione vs. Phil De Fries Slated for UFC 155 (MMAFighting)

- Dennis Siver vs. Eddie Yagin Moved To UFC On FOX 5, All UFC 151 Fights Now Rescheduled (BloodyElbow)

- MMA: Inside the Cage #109: “The Truth About Tag Team MMA” (MMA: Inside the Cage)

- Bruce Lee Kicked Fashion’s Ass (MadeMan)

- The 101 Greatest ESPN GameDay Signs – EVER (BustedCoverage)

- Does Alcohol Really Help People Get Along? (MensFitness)

- The 10 Worst Movies of Summer 2012 (Complex)

- Shay Maria Pops a Balloon on Her Boobs (WorldWideInterweb)

- 5 Reasons Burning Man Is Not as Cool as You Think (EgoTV)

(Hey, this just means One FC will rake in big bucks for “Sylvia vs. Arlovski 5: Please, God, Make It Stop”)

By Elias Cepeda

It’s a good thing the MMA world was so excited to see the fourth meeting of Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski at One FC 5: Pride of a Nation today in the Philippines, because now it might just get a fifth. The two former UFC champions were set to clash Friday near the top of the Singapore-based organization’s card, and they did, but with an unsatisfying result for fighters and fans alike, thanks to One FC’s convoluted and dangerous rules regarding kicks to the head of downed opponents.

They are legal. Sort of.

Phil Baroni won his bout earlier in the evening after effectively using kicks to the head of his opponent Rodrigo Ribeiro. However, when Arlovski landed glancing kicks to the head of Sylvia after dropping him to the mat on all fours with a punch combination, the referee called the blows illegal and gave Sylvia time to recover. When Sylvia could not, the fight was ruled a no contest. You see, One FC allows kicks to the head of a downed opponent only after a fighter is given express, in-the-moment permission by the referee. What could possibly go wrong?

(Check out GIFs of the Baroni and Arlovski finishes — as well as full results from One FC 5 — at the bottom of this post.)

Besides giving referees a strange discretion that would seem to do nothing but open up new and exciting opportunities for oversight, slip ups, and corruption, such a rule necessarily stops the action in fights and gives fighters something else to think about other than the only two things they should be — attacking their opponent and defending themselves.

(Seems like a lot of prison tattoos for just 16 days. Impressive.)

UFC flyweight contender Ian McCall was released from jail Thursday, after a 16-day stay resulting from an August 14th arrest for driving on a suspended license and not completing the terms of a previous arrest in 2008. MMA Fighting’s Mike Chiappetta filed his report yesterday and McCall also tweeted in celebration after his release.

“Free at last free at last … time to get back to work,” the Creepy one tweeted Thursday. According to Chiappetta, McCall now faces a year of probation and a $300 fine.

It’s somewhat upsetting to think that McCall served actual jail time for non-violent offenses and citations, while other celebrities get off with none after bludgeoning women. That’s neither here nor there, we suppose, but in any case McCall can get back to his family and MMA career now that he’s been reformed.

In his last fight, McCall lost a decision to Demetrious Johnson June 8th and with it the right to fight for the inaugural UFC flyweight championship.

- Elias Cepeda

Our friends at With Leather just put together an incredible/awful collection of cheesy WWF promo photos from the late ’80s and early ’90s, and as we were browsing through some of these gems while drinking our coffee this morning, we couldn’t escape the eerie feeling that we’ve seen these faces elsewhere. The same snarling mugs, the same wacky personas — it’s obvious that some of our favorite MMA fighters owe a debt to these guys. So follow us back to pro wrestling‘s golden age, and allow us to make some startling comparisons.

Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart was the original…
Hillbilly Jim was the original…
Legion of Doom were the original…
Junk Yard Dog was the original…
Ultimate Warrior was the original…
The Honky Tonk Man was the original…
Tatanka was the original…
Big Boss Man was the original…
George “The Animal” Steele was the original…

(“…and don’t even get me started about these goddamned Diaz brothers.” / Photo via CombatLifestyle)

By George Shunick

With a few notable exceptions like Dong Hyun Kim and Yushin Okami, Asian MMA fighters have struggled to live up to expectations while fighting in the UFC. While there are plenty of explanations for this, it appears the UFC doesn’t do these fighters any favors. In a recent interview, Dong Hyun Kim enumerated some of the issues faced by Asian fighters that are compounded by the UFC’s policies. Kim’s comments were translated by Sherdog user Hufusopem, and touch on a number of concerns, including sponsorship issues and traveling fees.

According to Kim, “no matter how ‘fair’ the UFC is, the Asian fighters especially Korean fighters are automatically at a disadvantage. Even right before my fight with Demian [Maia] my airplane ticket cost after getting discounts, was 1,100 dollars (Not to add in me paying for my teammates and coaches to accompany me). And on top of that, it is ludicrously expensive to get ready to train and get a training camp in the US before your fights.”

$1,100, before adding in teammates and coaches?? That’s a lot to ask of a fighter. Particularly if that fighter, unlike Kim, isn’t an established star. He continues, “It’s ultimately very hard to be a UFC fighter. If you go to America, there are a lot of fighters who are barely eeking by financially. I see some fighters who have fights a few days away doing personal training. A lot of that has to do with the UFC being too stingy about sponsorships. Also because of UFC’s policies it is really hard to get sponsors for a lot of fighters… If you pay off the training camp and your coaches you honestly don’t have much left. Ultimately, you only have one maybe two opportunities to make it big. In MMA anyone can lose and when you do lose you go instantly to the back of the line.”

(And he *still* looks like the smaller fighter. / Photo via MMAJunkie)

We had a feeling that dropping to featherweight would be Frankie Edgar‘s quickest path to another title shot — we just didn’t think it would happen this fast. As first reported by USA Today, Edgar will step in to face Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight title at UFC 153 (October 13th, Rio de Janeiro), after original challenger Erik Koch was forced to withdraw due to an undisclosed injury.

If Edgar is victorious, he will become just the third fighter in UFC history (after Randy Couture and BJ Penn) to win a belt in two separate weight classes. We feel awful for Koch — who has already been inactive for nearly a year due to injuries and postponements — but you have to admit that this is one of the rare times in which an injury to a main event fighter results in a more compelling matchup. Said UFC president Dana White of the booking:

(Props: @MiguelTorresMMA via MMAMania)

Well this is just friggin’ unbelievable. If a new report from Dave Meltzer at Wrestling Observer is accurate, Miguel Torres‘s recent UFC re-firing wasn’t due to his knockout loss to Michael McDonald earlier this year. Allegedly, it was due to the same lapse in judgement/humor/decency that got him fired the first time. As Meltzer writes:

The cutting of Miguel Torres was disciplinary in nature although it was not said what the cause was, only that he was cut. His record wasn’t bad, with a knockout loss to Michael McDonald who is going to be a top star (provided his hands don’t keep betraying him as he’s already broken them a couple of times) and a close loss to Demetrious Johnson, both top guys. He made the r*** joke on twitter and was fired, then brought back, and apparently he made some sort of a similar mistake.

The tweet at the top of this post was dug up by MMAMania, who point out that it was sent a couple weeks after the McDonald loss. And while it still hasn’t been confirmed exactly what led to Torres’s latest firing, it’s astounding that he would still be playing with fire like this. For those people who viewed Torres as a victim of over-sensitivity during his first UFC firing, you have to admit that he would have to be the dumbest motherfucker alive to continue making rape jokes after he already lost his job once.

If someone could be literally addicted to making rape jokes — and if such a person exists, it would be Miguel Torres — this would represent a pretty obvious rock bottom, and a sign that he needs help. What the hell, man. Seriously.

Finally, a Sensei Seagal claim that I don’t immediately label as bullshit.

As hard as we’ve been trying, we just can’t change the subject from holier-than-thou hypocrites around here. At least not in the comments sections of our articles. It seems like the comments sections of every article we’ve written since Thursday have deflated into a bunch of angry, semi-literate geeks who possibly don’t even like MMA calling each other the worst names they can think of before accusing each other of being hypocrites. Coincidentally, I just started reading the comments section of our articles on Thursday morning.

So in that spirit, I’m relaying news to you about a certain lawman who seems to actually fancy himself as Above the Law. It appears that UFC trainer/Actor/CIA agent/Energy Drink Salesman Steven Seagal owes a boat load of money to the State of California. As in, more money than training playing patty-cake with Rafael Cavalcante can possibly be bringing in. To hear it from TMZ.com:

Taking out a boatful of terrorists hell-bent on nuking Honolulu does not mean you can skip out on paying your taxes … so the State of California has filed a giant tax lien against action film star Steven Seagal, TMZ has learned.

(This is your promo, for real? It’s like the UFC gives even less of a fuck than we do at this point.)

FX has released the list of 32 welterweights who will be competing on the 16th season of The Ultimate Fighter, which debuts on Friday, September 14th, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. You can check out the names after the jump, though not a lot of these guys jump out, besides Bristol Marunde, who lost to Jacare Souza in Strikeforce earlier this year. On the other hand, we do have at least one terrible nickname, and one terrible actual name.

The premiere of “Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson” will be a two-hour elimination episode, in which the 32 TUF hopefuls are immediately cut down to 16, who will then be divvy’d up by coaches Shane Carwin and Roy Nelson (a former TUF winner himself). From the press release: “Carwin and Nelson are two guys who just can’t stand each other and Roy and I haven’t exactly seen eye to eye either — he’s been a nightmare for me to work with on this show with all his stupid BS,” said UFC president Dana White. Oh God, Dana. Please tell me you didn’t eat the special sushi.

Carwin and Nelson will fight each other at the show’s live finale on Saturday, December 15th, on FX.

At UFC 144, the organization made a triumphant return to the Land of the Rising Sun with an evening full of exciting fights, culminating in Benson Henderson winning the lightweight championship from Frankie Edgar. Add on the way that the polite, educated Japanese fans packed the Saitama Super Arena, and it felt like it would only be a matter of time before the organization returned to Japan for more events.

Today, Japanese sportspaper NikkanSports is reporting (translated by MMAWeekly) that the UFC is planning on returning to Japan with a series of four smaller events in 2013. The events will showcase local, Japanese talent and will take place at a small, yet-to-be-determined venue. The UFC is reportedly aiming for 5,000 people attending each event.

(Props: MischiefMaker37 via TheUG)

“I really do believe that madness and excellence are just next door neighbors.”

So says Joe Rogan in this fascinating highlight reel focusing on a trio of “extreme winners” — Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, and Michael Jordan — narrated by clips from Rogan’s podcast. Rogan proposes that “a lot of success in athletics comes down to almost like a psychosis. At a real high level of anything, there’s a certain amount of almost crazy behavior to get to this incredible position…there’s a madness.”

Over the clips covering each athlete’s monumental career, Rogan shares his thoughts about the behavior and performances of each athlete, and what made them such outliers in professional sports. Maybe this is only tangentially related to MMA, but if you’re interested in Ali and Tyson, and the mental edges (or disorders?) that make athletic legends so different from the rest of humanity, you’ll want to watch this.

(“Okay, new plan. We change our names, cross the border into Mexico, and open a bar on a nice beach somewhere. Nobody ever has to know about what happened here. Twenty years from now, we’ll be laughing about it.”)

If you’re one of the last remaining Jon Jones supporters on Earth, it must seem that we’re just piling on at this point — like we wake up every morning searching for new ways to drag down the UFC light-heavyweight champ and steal his swag. But honestly, this stuff finds us. And as much as I’d rather spend my time on more relevant MMA coverage, I just can’t let this one go. Here’s an unbelievable detail from a new Wrestling Observer article, passed along by BloodyElbow:

Jones was very upset after Chael began calling him out and mocking him on Twitter, going as far as to contact [UFC president Dana] White and ask him to tell Chael to stop.

Let’s just state the obvious, here — this is the kind of thing a child would do. And it’s the last thing Jones needs at a moment when many MMA fans already view him as a coward for the way he wouldn’t accept a fight against Sonnen on short notice. (Once again, Chael’s ability to get inside a rival’s head is astounding, and he just picked up a boatload of new ammunition for their inevitable fight. And yes, Jones vs. Sonnen will happen someday. Dana dislikes Jones too much and loves money too much for it not to happen.)

Meanwhile on the UG, Joe Rogan made a post trying to put the recent Jon Jones hate-orgy into perspective:

(Nice try, Kelli. The sign out front clearly says “NO HAND BRA.”)

Since it’s been a relatively slow news week, we figured it was time to put together a gallery that’s been on our to-do list for some time — a definitive collection of every notable MMA ring girl who has posed nude. And we don’t mean that “implied nude“ bullshit, or that cutesy rear-view-only stuff. We mean fully naked, with boobies and everything. Use the “next page” links or the links below to navigate through the gallery, and keep in mind that the NSFW photos will be linked off of those landing pages, to further guard against embarrassing misunderstandings at work.

Amii Grove
Arianny Celeste
Ashley Nicole Arthur
Ashley Salazar
Ayumi Sogawa
Brandy Brewer
Brittney Palmer
Chandella Powell
Danielle Loveland
Hayley Sams
Iryna Ivanova
Jade Bryce
Jordan Daniele
Juliana Salimeni
Logan Stanton
Maria Melilo
Paige Chapman
Paizly Contreras
Poppy Thompson
Rachelle Leah
Rhian Sudgen

(Five minutes later, Lesnar whipped up a fabulous vulture shit salad and the two feasted for days. Photo props go to the UG.)

Here’s what you need to know: a UGer by the screenname hmb recently reached out to UFC President Dana White and asked whether or not The Baldfather thought he could sign Brock Lesnar vs. Fedor Emelianenko in the near future. Improbable, we know. But being a man of the people, DW actually responded to the anonymous question with a question of his own:

Is this the fight u guys want to see? Post a thread asking if people want to see this fight.

Although the likelihood of this pairing ever coming to fruition is beyond implausible, the response was an overwhelming “yes.” And since the popular subject on CP today seems to be fantasy matchups and whether or not we’d actually want to see them, why not partake in a little more needless speculation?

We’ve added a poll after the jump to gauge your level of excitement for this potential match. Vote if you’d like to, and feel free to argue over who would win and how in the comments section. Seriously, we love it when you argue.

(We should be surprised that not ONE of those dudes is checking out Arianny’s ass, right?) 

I’m going to come right out and say it: I don’t get Dubstep. It’s loud and annoying for the sake of being loud and annoying, and 95% of the songs I have heard seem to aimlessly drift between bass drops and cartoonish, cookie-cutter sound effects blatantly lifted from “artist” to “artist” before coming to a crashing, albeit relieving end. In my opinion, Dubstep is little more than the musical personification of the ever-increasing laziness and style-over-substance attitude of current American society. It is the genre Michael Bay would have created if he wasn’t too busy giving the world cinematic diabetes. So on a musical level, I find pretty much everything that the character known as deadmau5 has created to be utterly incompetent horseshit.

And it appears that his music video for the track “Professional Griefers,” which somehow managed to snag the endorsement of the UFC, falls right in line with that belief.

Not only does the video portray MMA fans as drunken, inbred rednecks, but this Dead Mouse feller even has the balls to replace legendary UFC announcer Bruce Buffer with some roided-up neanderthal behind the mic. But hey, IT’S GOT COMPUTER ANIMATED FIGHTS AND CRASHBOOMRAWR, YOU GUYS!! And Arianny Celeste’s breasts even make an appearance, so it’s all good!

Video after the jump. 

At least Tim Sylvia still has a remotely athletic physique from the chins up.

When I woke up this morning, Lafayette was beginning to take on water, a two hundred pound athlete was destroying fools in sumo wrestling, and Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski was the most relevant fight taking place this weekend. Wait…this guy? And this guy? The most relevant fight of the weekend?! Naturally, the first thing I did was check my calendar to make sure I didn’t somehow travel back in time to 2005- as most of you did after reading that last sentence, I’m sure. Upon realizing that yes, it is in fact 2012, I said “Fuck it,” ate a gallon of ice cream for breakfast, and went back to sleep. If the rest of the universe just doesn’t care anymore, then neither do I.

Since it’s all we have to look forward to this weekend, we might as well at least try to get excited about the relatively meaningless nostalgia fight with this video of Andrei Arlovski’s open workout for the local Philippine press. Arlovski introduces himself with an enthusiastic “How’s taste my pee pee?” as he does some light drilling with Travis Browne (yes, that Travis Browne). After some basic drills, Andrei Arlovski answers some questions for the local media. The Pitbull, bless his heart, avoids an uncomfortable rape reference by saying he’s going to “play proctologist” and stick his hand up Tim Sylvia’s ass during the fight – not in a sexual way, but in an “I am beating the shit out of you and want to make this as humiliating as possible” way. He then tells the media that he plans on knocking out Tim Sylvia during the fight, a strategy we’ve seen backfire on him before. Before the clip ends, he brings things up to 2007 by shouting “THIS IS SPARTA!” while everyone laughs.
Video is after the jump.

(Perhaps the greatest “It’s time!” in UFC history. Thank you, Brazil.) 

I know it’s a pretty obvious fact to state, but I would be remiss if I did not tell you that Bruce Buffer is the greatest ring announcer to ever walk the face of this or any other planet, bar none. The man’s passion for his job is unmatched by his counterparts (sorry, Jimmy Lennon Jr., but you gotta step your shit up!), and his in-ring enthusiasm harnesses enough power and masculinity to immaculately conceive with over 90 percent of his audience, male or female, on any given night. Seriously, Buffer has the Howard Sternian ability to bring a woman to full climax using only the sound of his voice and a speaker with the bass cranked up, except when he does it, the woman throws herself into a volcano afterward. And as far as Buffer’s ocular presence goes; have you even seen the Buffer two-step? How about the Buffer 360? The man simply dominates in every medium he is presented with.

However, in the past couple UFC events, the Buffernation has noticed a infinitesimal, yet present crack in Bruce’s armor. Mainly, his decision to start saying “It’s fight time!” rather than his traditional “It’s time!” when introducing the main event. The audiences in attendance simply could not wrap their minds around this concept, and their reactions varied from this to this. Riots almost immediately broke out in downtown L.A after the world was greeted by this abomination at UFC on FOX 4, and many of us went as far as to claim that it was the exact moment the UFC reached its tipping point.

Thankfully, Lord Bruce has realized his mistake, which he attributed to “going through some marketing aspects” in a recent interview, and claims that we can all expect the classic “It’s time!” at the next UFC event. So rest assured, Potatoites, all is once again Yub Nub in the land of mixed martial arts.

After the jump: A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Buffer 360, for nostalgia’s sake, and a tribute to the man behind it all.

(A glimpse into a dystopian future, via ScienceofViolence)

Judging from this new article on SporTV, Anderson Silva‘s current hiatus from fighting is exactly what we thought it was — a way to avoid title defenses against low-profile contenders and hold out for something big. Namely, a superfight against UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. Here’s what the Spider had to say about the fight he wants more than anything (translation via BloodyElbow):

“Regardless of who wins, even if St. Pierre loses, a fight with me can happen. A fight like this is above anything else. St. Pierre is one of the greatest of the UFC. Right now, a fight with Condit is meaningless.”

“Meaningless”! That’s heel-talk, brother! GSP was recently medically cleared to take on interim champ Carlos Condit at UFC 154 (November 17th, Montreal), and even if the Canadian legend loses that fight, it’s safe to assume that fans would still turn out in droves to see St. Pierre fight Anderson Silva sometime next year.

Here’s my only problem: If Silva is putting off middleweight title defenses against deserving contenders in order to wait for a potential match against GSP — which could be held at a catchweight below 185 pounds — shouldn’t Silva relinquish his middleweight title to do so? I’m not going to hate on Andy for making the last fights of his career count, but his pursuit of big paydays shouldn’t put an entire division on hold, right? Dana White might need to step in and regulate, or else we could eventually be looking at another ridiculous interim champion situation, and nobody wants that.

(Props: NYCulturalPhysician via RedditMMA)

The athletic gaijin in the video above is Pavel Bojar (aka Takanoyama Shuntaro), a Czech sumo wrestler who has worked his way into Japan’s top Makuuchi division, despite being one of the lightest competitors in modern sumo history. At 6’1″ and just 200 pounds, Bojar relies on his judo background to make up for the tremendous weight disadvantages he generally faces, employing a slick arsenal of throws and trips, rather than just bull-rushing his opponents out of the ring. Watch the above video to see how far a little bit of actual grappling talent can get you in this weird sport. Look, I’m not trying to crack on the rich history of Japanese sumo wrestling, but for God’s sake, check out the tits on the guy at the 1:52 mark, who had just finished falling out of the ring like a moron. This is an athlete? Ronda Rousey would ruin half of these guys.

As Reddit/MMA reminds us, today is the seventh anniversary of Fedor Emelianenko and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic‘s meeting at PRIDE Final Conflict 2005, an instant classic that still ranks among the greatest heavyweight fights in MMA history. Emelianenko had already held the PRIDE heavyweight title for two-and-a-half years by the time he made his belt defense against Cro Cop, and entered the match with a PRIDE record of 10-0 with one no-contest. Meanwhile, Cro Cop had earned his shot at Fedor on the strength of a seven-fight PRIDE win streak that included victories over Alexander Emelianenko, Josh Barnett, Kevin Randleman, and Mark Coleman.

Though both fighters would later complain that they came into the fight less than 100% healthy, Emelianenko and Filipovic put on a thrilling war for the entirety of the three-round, 20-minute fight. Cro Cop started strong, breaking Fedor’s nose with punches and punishing him with kicks to the body, but Fedor regained momentum as Cro Cop’s cardio began to fade, slugging his way to a unanimous decision victory. It was Emelianenko’s toughest fight to that point, and arguably his most entertaining. As for Filipovic, he may have fallen short of the PRIDE heavyweight title that night, but his greatest career triumph was just around the corner.

After the jump: If you have the time to spare, the complete fight is below…

(Based on this, we’re gonna say…maybe?) 

As a quick perusal over the average forum, message board, or comments section on a given CagePotato, MMAMania, BloodyElbow, etc. article will show you, most fans of this thing called MMA would like to think that, on the off chance they were dropped into a random group of their peers and asked to debate various MMA-related issues, they would surely come out the victor. Hence our frequent inability to both see or respect another person’s argument on a given subject, admit in the slightest that we could be wrong, or realize that there might be no right answer to begin with (we’re looking at you, Nippletwist). 

However, it would be fairly easy for anyone of us to notice a direct correlation between the increased awareness/popularity of MMA and an increased understanding of the sport by the average person. It only makes sense; with information regarding everything from various techniques used by certain fighters to the long-term effects of the sport on the human body being made more available by the day, the opportunities for fans to elevate their knowledge in regards to the sport are seemingly endless. Even if you aren’t a fan, all you have to do is go channel surfing for about thirty seconds these days to find something MMA-related to absorb.

But let’s be honest, we are still a long way from the universal acknowledgement, not to mention acceptance, of MMA. Go ahead; ask the three nearest people to you at the office what their opinion is on MMA legalization in your state. Make sure not to mention the phrase “UFC” in any way, shape, or form while doing so. Prepare yourself, for you are about to stare deep into the vacant, soulless eyes of someone who hasn’t the slightest clue what the hell you’re talking about. Creepy, isn’t it?

(Photo via Sherdog)

At the risk of using the word “bro” twice in one day, bro, Vitor Belfort is an old-school guy. From the day he beat the crap out of that pig-butt Jon Hess during his MMA debut in 1996, he’s been loved and feared for his lightning hand-speed, devastating power, and savage finishes. And next month at UFC 152, he has the opportunity to become the UFC light-heavyweight champion for the second time in his career — he’ll just have to get through Jon Jones to do it. Do you believe in miracles?

In honor of this historic upcoming fight, we’ve rounded up some of the greatest Vitor Belfort GIFs on the Internet. Note: Because some of your computers can’t handle it when we post multiple GIFs on the same page, we’re going to stick with one per page for this gallery. Use the “next page” links to advance through the gallery, and if you prefer the old setup, let us know in the comments section. Enjoy…

(The gang discusses favorite/greatest MMA fighters. Spoiler alert: You probably don’t agree with them.) 

If you’ve visited CagePotato in the past year or so, you are undoubtedly aware of the entertainment that a roundtable discussion between friends can bring. From memorable fighter run-ins to the P4P baddest motherfuckers ever, we have held many a debate in this fashion, and as is usually the case, the UFC and FuelTV have once again decided to ride in on our coattails. They began with the thoroughly captivating Champions edition, which featured the likes of Forrest Griffin, Jon Jones, Chuck Liddell, and Frank Mir discussing everything from the dark days of the UFC to its meteoric rise, and have continued the series recently with a panel of fighters that can only be described as “legendary.”

Randy Couture, Royce Gracie, Mark Coleman, and Tito Ortiz sit in for this edition, and dish on respect, favorite fighters, regrets, and the time Wanderlei Silva nearly soccer kicked Mike Van Arsdale’s head from his body. Tito Ortiz manages to air out his regrets without once mentioning Affliction or dick pics, and should be commended for his incredible ability to mentally blackout painful memories.

Join us after the jump for a collection of videos featuring the legends talking shop. We know this isn’t exactly breaking news or anything, but it’s real slow out there today, so why not take a trip down memory lane in the meantime?

(“Dilegua, o notte! Tramontate, stelle! Tramontate, stelle! All’alba vincerò! Vincerò, vincerò!”)

With Brendan Schaub riding back-to-back first-round knockout losses against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Ben Rothwell, you’d think the UFC would want to set him up with an opponent who was less likely to leave him staring up at the lights. Bro, not so much. The UFC has confirmed that Schaub will return to the cage on the star-packed UFC on FOX 5: Henderson vs. Diaz card (December 8th, Seattle) against heavyweight knockout artist Lavar Johnson.

Johnson most recently suffered his first loss in the UFC when he was quickly armbarred by Stefan Struve at UFC 146, but that loss followed a pair of stunning first-round knockout victories against Joey Beltran and Pat Barry. While Brendan Schaub may carry a slightly more varied arsenal than Johnson, Schaub’s main weakness (his chin) matches up terribly with Johnson’s main strength (his big-ass fists). And the Hybrid needs to find a solution to that problem, because a third straight KO loss could mean the end of the line for his UFC run.

In other UFC on FOX 5 news…

Oh geez, you guys. You know how we informed you the other day that Ken Shamrock was involved in a little mall skirmish that ended in him striking a woman he thought was a man? If so, do you remember how all the reports said she was HEAVYSET woman, making sure to emphasize the term by placing it in all capital letters?

Well, as things are apt to do in the life of Ken Shamrock, this story has recently taken a turn from typically bizarre/sad to the even more bizarre and borderline morbid. The above photo of Shamrock’s alleged attacker, all 120 pounds of her, was released today, and it suddenly has us questioning the legitimacy of Shamrock’s story. We mean, just look at her; not even Peter Griffin could make that mistake.

Her name is Melinda Garcia, and according to her, things went down WAY differently with “The World’s Most Dangerous Man Who is Definitely a Man” than what was originally reported. As TMZ reports:

Her name is Melinda Garcia … she weighs 120 pounds … and tells TMZ there’s NO WAY Shamrock could’ve confused her for a man. In fact, she claims Ken is straight up LYING about the fight.

Garcia claims it’s all BS … claiming Shamrock didn’t actually break up the original fight, but rather screamed at her to do it … which she did. Garcia claims Shamrock began to yell at her for not stopping the fight sooner … and then snapped and PUNCHED her in the face.

Garcia says her mom ran over to intervene … and Shamrock punched her too. Soon after the alleged girl-punching, security and police arrived to the scene … and only then, Garcia says, Shamrock backed off.

Garcia also claimed that she plans to file a lawsuit if the police do not press charges, so it got us thinking: If this woman jumped on our back, would we be able to identify her as a woman immediately? Ben said he was on Team Ken, Elias said Team Sane, and Seth said his apartment was taking on water and he didn’t have time for our stupid reindeer games.

So as we like to do in these situations, we’ll ask unto you: At first glance, would you make the same mistake Ken Shamrock, Ms. Swan, and Austin Powers made?

Survey after the jump.

(I don’t know if it’s the angle, the lighting, or the Kabuki makeup, but Gomi is looking freaky as shit these days.)

The UFC’s first trip to China has picked up its first lightweight bout, as Japanese legend Takanori Gomi and TUF 6 winner Mac Danzig are reportedly slated to meet at the November 10th event in Macau. Danzig revealed the matchup on twitter earlier today. Though both fighters have struggled in the Octagon in the past, both are coming off of victories. Gomi scored a second-round TKO of Eiji Mitsuoka at UFC 144 in February, while Danzig most recently won a decision against Efrain Escudero at UFC 145 in April.

In other UFC China booking news, light-heavyweight striker Thiago Silva will have one more chance to save his career at the event, where he’ll face undefeated Bulgarian prospect Stanislav Nedkov. Due to his no-contest against Brandon Vera and subsequent one-year suspension — which was sandwiched by a pair of decision losses to Rashad Evans and Alexander Gustafsson — Silva hasn’t officially won a fight in three years. Meanwhile, Nedkov has only competed once during his two years of being under UFC contract, due to injuries (both his own and his opponent’s) and visa issues. Nedkov’s sole Octagon appearance resulted in a first-round TKO of Luis Cane at UFC 134 last August.

UFC on Fuel TV 6 will be headlined by the (hopefully) crowd-pleasing battle between Rich Franklin and Cung Le. Check out the current lineup after the jump, and hit us with your predictions in the comments section.

Vitor Belfort‘s storied career has been marked by frequent changes in teams and training camps, and his nomadic journey has now led him to the South Florida super-team known as the “Blackzilians.” According to a statement released by Belfort’s management team, Belfort will prepare for his surprise title shot against Jon Jones at UFC 152 (September 22nd, Toronto) alongside the Blackzilian team, with none other than Rashad Evans as his head coach. The team was previously led by Mike Van Arsdale, who parted ways with the camp late last month.

“This is the most important fight of my life, so the time is perfect to join [manager] Glenn Robinson and the Blackzilians and their world class training camp at JACO Hybrid Training Center in Delray Beach,” Belfort said in a press release. “I will have the best trainers and the top fighters in the sport including Alistair Overeem and Rashad Evans helping me prepare for this title fight. I will run my whole training camp at JACO and will win the belt for my fans, family and the Blackzilians in South Florida.”

Belfort hasn’t competed since his submission win over (now) Blackzilian teammate Anthony “Rumble” Johnson in January. “The Phenom” went on to coach The Ultimate Fighter Brazil opposite Wanderlei Silva and the two were set to rematch this past summer before Belfort broke his hand in training and had to pull out.

Sad news out of Brazil today, Potato Nation, as it has been reported that MMA legend Wanderlei Silva’s father, Holando Pinheiro da Silva, was killed in a car accident yesterday. Holando, who makes an appearance around the 1:20 mark of the above video that was shot just a few days ago, fully supported Wanderlei’s career as a mixed martial artist and claimed he was “bringing pride to all of Brazil.”

Badnewsfmcuritaba first broke the news, as translated by Google:

The father of MMA fighter Wanderlei Silva, Holando Pinheiro da Silva, died in a car accident this afternoon. The accident occurred in the region of Castro, where his father lived fighter. The body was taken to the Forensic Institute of Ponta Grossa, in the Campos Gerais region. According to relatives, Wanderlei Silva is in Las Vegas, United States, and was told of the accident by phone. The fighter comes to Paraná tomorrow.

After the jump: A tweet from Wanderlei regarding the news.

(Dantas vs. Nam @ Shooto Brazil 33, 8/25/12. Skip to 4:26 for the knockout.)

By Jim Genia

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “folly” as “lack of good sense or normal prudence and foresight.” Bellator president Bjorn Rebney, however, likely now defines it as making the ridiculous mistake of letting one of his champions fight somewhere else. This past weekend, Bellator bantamweight king Eduardo Dantas was allowed by his American employers to take a fight closer to home in Rio de Janeiro, for the promotion Shooto Brasil. There, he met Oregon-based fighter Tyson Nam — a 12-4 regional competitor and, by all appearances, easy prey. And guess what? Dantas got knocked the heck out in the first round. Yeah, Bellator done goofed.

If there are unwritten rules to promoting MMA events, somewhere near the top of the list has to be “never let your champs fight in other shows.” Because, really, while the reward for said fighter winning is the implication that your organization is superior in terms of the quality of its competitors, the risk is that your guy could get his butt kicked.  In that scenario, what’s implied (or sometimes stated explicitly) is that your fighters suck — or, at the very least, that the fighters in the other shows are better.  And who wants to be the one with the weaker fighters?

Not the UFC, that’s for sure.  Take for instance the failed contract negotiations to get heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko into the Octagon, and the alleged stipulation that Fedor, if he signed with the UFC, wouldn’t have been allowed to even compete in sambo tournaments in Mother Russia. Do you think Dana White wants tarnished fighters? He doesn’t even want them losing in something that’s not even mixed martial arts! (Sadly, this wasn’t always policy; see below.)

(“My advice would be to find a nice cave somewhere and go into hiding for three days. When you come out, they’ll worship you.”)

According to our latest homepage poll, a full 49% of you believe that Jon Jones deserves most of the blame for UFC 151′s abrupt cancellation, compared to just 27% for UFC president Dana White, the guy who actually canceled the event. Public opinion of Jones has gone from bad to irredeemably awful in the last week, and the apology he posted on twitter this weekend probably won’t help much:

“Carrying the cross for my company’s decision. If someone has to take the blame, I will accept full responsibility for the way UFC 151 was canceled. I want to sincerely apologize to all the other athletes/fans who’s time and money was waisted. [sic] I feel terrible about the way that was handled.”

Okay, so we’re just assuming that Jones is comparing himself to Jesus in that first sentence; he could also be comparing himself to Kimo Leopoldo. But considering that there’s already a conception of Jones as a person whose holier-than-thou attitude doesn’t match his behavior, all Jesus-based self-references should probably be avoided for the time being. It’s the kind of thing a publicist would tell Jones, if he still had one.