(Hmm. I’m gonna go with “treat.” Full gallery is after the jump.)

As first reported by The Chosun Ilbo, Korean model/TV personality Kang Ye-bin has been selected as a guest Octagon girl for the UFC’s “Franklin vs. Le” event in Macau, China on November 10th. The adorable host of UFC Inside on Korea’s Super Action channel, Kang had this to say about her new appointment:

“I’m thrilled to be Korea’s first Octagon Girl. I’m just a little anxious whether I’ll be able to do a good job, but I’ll try my best and hopefully I can raise the spirits of our three Korean fighters in the UFC. I’d like to look sexier and hotter than Arianny Celeste.”

Darlin’, you just signed your own death warrant. But while we have her around, let’s check out some of the Internet’s best Kang Ye-bin photos in the gallery below…

(Oh, well hello there.)

Ok, so the good news is that DREAM isn’t actually dead. The bad news is that it is a far cry from what it used to be. It was announced today that the organization will return with another New Year’s Eve show this year AND THERE ISN’T ONE FREAK SHOW FIGHT SCHEDULED ON THE CARD.

“Glory Sports International (GSI), owner and operator of the Glory World Series…will be responsible for presenting ‘DREAM 18 – Special NYE 2012’, a New Year’s Eve MMA mega-event taking place at the Saitama Super Arena on December 31,” a press release reads.

The press release also says that the card will have ten MMA bouts and three kickboxing ones. Featherweight champion Hiroyuki Takaya, Tatsuya Kawajiri and lightweight contender Satoru Kitaoka are the only three fighters confirmed for the event. Great fighters all, sure, but we had better see a Giant Silva or Zulu Jr. thrown into the mix before things are done or we will be incredibly disappointed. Does Minowaman have anything scheduled these days?

(Props: AXS TV Fights)

It seemed like a foregone conclusion that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson would fight new light-heavyweight hotness Glover Teixeira for his UFC farewell bout. Unfortunately, Teixeira’s medical suspension could delay the meeting even further, as the Brazilian slugger may have injured his right hand and elbow while breaking his arm off in Fabio Maldonado’s ass at UFC 153.

In this clip from Inside MMA, Bas Rutten drops the bad news on Jackson, who explains that he’d rather not wait six more months to get back in the cage…so what’s Forrest Griffin up to these days, anyway? When Bas is informed that Griffin vs. Phil Davis has already been booked, it’s tantrum time for Quinton:

“That’s gonna be a boring fight! No disrespect to anybody, but that’s gonna be a boring fight, I’m sorry…This is why I’m leaving the UFC. I don’t understand what Joe Silva’s doing. Joe Silva have a complex, something’s wrong with him. The guy can’t match *shoes*. What kind of matchmaker is this guy? What is he thinking? Give me Forrest. Everybody wants that, that would sell, everybody wants to see me and Forrest fight again. Everybody keeps talking about it.“

Before we even get into the awesome that is UFC Tonight’s recent “Fighter Trivia” episode, I just want to put it out there that I will beat any of you in any game show trivia challenge. Any of you. When I was in college, the only channel my RCA 630TS television received was The Game Show Network. Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, Family Feud, Double Dare, right down to the early pioneers of Press Your Luck, Match Game, Pyramid, and The Price is Right were at my disposal on a near 24/7 basis. When I wasn’t browned out in an alleyway looking for a jar of marmalade and bus ticket to Santa Fe, you could assume I was getting my trivia knowledge on with Brawlin’ Bob and the gang.

So you can imagine my excitement when I came across this gem of an idea Fuel TV devoted an episode of UFC Tonight to, with Ariel Helwani playing the proverbial Bob Eubanks role. The premise is simple, a group of fighters are subjected to what I assume is five rounds of trivia (there aren’t videos of all 5 rounds to confirm/deny this) covering everything from their knowledge of The Ultimate Fighter to that of pop culture. They are paired up for certain rounds, but mostly are forced to go on their own until one man is declared the winner.

For the inaugural segment, Michael Bisping, Rashad Evans, Dominick Cruz, and Kenny Florian were chosen as participants. Spoiler alert: Cruz doesn’t know sh*t about sh*t, and Bisping knows more about Dora the Explorer than we would have ever imagined.

After the jump: Two snippets from the show in which Florian forgets that Bisping and Evans fought at UFC 78 (along with the rest of the world) and Cruz fails to identify Bruce Springsteen by his nickname. Unforgivable, Dom.

(Was there ever any doubt?)

Thanks to all 426 of you who took the time to vote for your favorite finalist in our “CagePotato’s Next Top T-Shirt” design contest. The winner, with 32.2% of the popular vote, was Ben S.’s “Fryed Tater” design. Congrats bro! We’ll be in touch if/when we decide to make your funny little dream a reality. For now, we’ll send you one of our existing CagePotato t-shirts for your efforts. And what the heck, we’ll send CPtees to the 2nd and 3rd place finishers as well: Daniel S. (“Fightin’ Dudes,” 20.7% of the vote) and Bobby (“Nothing to F@%k With,” 14.6% of the vote). To see the full results breakdown, please consult this pie chart or this bar graph.

Now tell us the truth: If we produce those “Fryed Tater” shirts, you’d wear one, right?

(Edgar might not have a gold belt anymore, but the black eye and bonus-check will always be part of his ensemble.)

FightLine passes along a report from No Mundo Das Lutas claiming that UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo is set to face former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar at UFC 156 in Brazil (January 19th, city/venue TBA). Edgar had planned to drop down in weight to replace the injured Erik Koch against Aldo in a featherweight title fight in Rio at UFC 153 but then Aldo himself had to pull out due to injury.

Right now this is still a rumor, but it’s clearly a fight that both Aldo and Edgar still want, and we figured it was only a matter of time before their title bout was rescheduled. Aldo has not lost in nearly seven years and has a fourteen fight win streak. Most recently he knocked Chad Mendes out with one second left in the first round of their UFC 142 main event.

Edgar has lost two fights in a row, both close decisions to current lightweight champ Benson Henderson. It has been reported that Edgar walked around at around 160 pounds for years as he fought at 155 pounds, whereas opponents like Henderson and Gray Maynard were upwards of 180 pounds. Given his frame and walking weight, it isn’t inconceivable that Edgar could fight at 135 pounds but Dana White and fans have clamored for years for Edgar to at least give featherweight a shot.

Edgar was loathe to drop down in weight but the opportunity to fight for another world title despite being on a two-fight losing streak was too good for him to pass up. Is this the fight you want to see, taters? And if it happens, who do you have in it?

“Scarface” and “Answer” highlight videos await you after the jump.

(It isn’t often that you can document the exact moment someone’s UFC career went to shit, yet here we are…) 

If you were to ask any knowledgeable fan of the sport circa 2008 what they thought of Luiz Cane, they would likely tell you that he was “one of the most underrated LHW’s in the division.” Following an unsuccessful UFC debut — which was halted when Cane accidentally struck James “Curse Watch” Irvin with an illegal knee — “Banha” absolutely blistered Jason Lambert and Rameau Sokoudjou in back-to-back contests, then scored a solid UD victory over Steve Cantwell to solidify his place as a rising contender. No, not the five fight losing streak Steve Cantwell, we’re talking about the Brian Stann TKOing, Al-Hassan arm-breaking Steve Cantwell. Cane’s chin appeared to be made of iron, platinum, unobtanium, or whatever element you’d prefer to compare it to, and combined with his solid takedown defense and devastating hands, looked to be on the fast track to a title shot.

But then, things fell apart (as they oft do in MMA) and Cane would quickly find himself fighting not just for a win, but to remain employed under the promotion in which he had once thrived.

It all started when Cane squared off against PRIDE veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 106.

(Elias is the “eccentric American” on the left. Photo courtesy of Facebook.com/HardKnocksFighting. If you missed the first two installments of The Travel Chronicles, click here to catch up.)

By Elias Cepeda

He was a two hundred and twenty five pound Canadian amateur MMA heavyweight champion. She was a buck and some change, blonde, twenty years old and from California. They would both knock me on my ass. I just didn’t know it yet.

A few days after my win in May I got a friend request from someone named Chad. I didn’t know him but for whatever reason I accepted. He was a young aspiring fighter out of La Ronge, Canada and recommended that I contact the matchmaker for Hard Knocks Fighting, Sarah, which put on pro/am MMA events in Northwestern Canada. Ronda Rousey had made her MMA debut at Hard Knocks and the organization was developing a strong reputation. Chad was going to make his MMA debut in July and had seen tape of my fight on CagePotato.

I didn’t feel ready to fight yet again — my knee hadn’t gotten more injured in my last fight, though it still wasn’t strong — but I thought I’d at least introduce myself to Sarah to put me on their radar. I’d never been out of the U.S. except for Mexico, and getting flown out and put up to fight in another country as a lowly amateur seemed like a prospect not to be missed. How many people other than high level professionals get that type of chance?

Sarah and I spoke, she looked at my May fight tape and said she was definitely interested in including me on a card at some point. Perhaps if they had an event in the fall I could jump on board after training during the summer to improve. Canada would come a lot sooner than I expected, and would become the first stop on my summer travels.

Shortly after speaking with the Hard Knocks Fighting matchmaker I happened to meet a girl at a concert my friend’s band was playing at. Turns out he was a mutual friend of ours. She was passing through Chicago quickly to see his concert and would soon be heading home to California from school.

I’d seen her behind me at the concert. I stared. She smiled.

(Jeff Blatnick with Madeleine Genia. Photo courtesy of the author.)

By Jim Genia

Jeff Blatnick, a two-time Olympian and gold medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling in the 1984 Summer Olympics, died today at age 55 due to complications from heart surgery. It’s a blow to amateur wrestling, as Blatnick was a indefatigable coach, and it’s a blow to MMA, as Blatnick was a pioneer in the sport and widely considered to be one of the best cageside judges in the business. And if you knew the man, and were privileged enough to call him a friend, well, it isn’t so much a blow as it’s an Anderson Silva-esque knee to the solar plexus.

His accomplishments were many and awe-inspiring. His gold medal came after battling back cancer, and he only gave up competing when the cancer returned and he had to undergo chemotherapy. When the UFC came along, Blatnick became its first face of true legitimacy, working in front of the camera as a commentator (a gig he held from UFC 4 to UFC 32) and later, behind the scenes as the organization’s — and really, the sport’s — vanguard in the quest for sanctioning and mainstream acceptance. Prior to the crafting of the Unified Rules, there were the rules that Blatnick helped develop to tame the spectacle. And perhaps most notable of all, there was the name he wanted the sport to adopt: “mixed martial arts.” (Before then, it was called no-holds-barred – a barbaric throwback to the bloodsport that wound up banned throughout most of the country in the mid ’90s).

On the off chance you weren’t convinced by welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre‘s “come at me bro” challenge to Carlos Condit in regard to his previously obliterated knee, then perhaps this segment that Ultimate Insider recently ran documenting GSP’s lengthy recovery from surgery will finally put your worries to rest. Unless you’re a Condit fan of course, in which case you might piss yourself when you see GSP drag one of his training partners behind him like a World’s Strongest Man in a bus-pulling competition.

In the video, St. Pierre discusses how his injury actually helped reignite a long quelled flame within him, as well as how his training partners, coaches, and team of doctors all but completely removed the mere memory of the surgery he underwent some months ago. But according to “Rush,” the biggest lesson he took away from the recovery process was that “elth is the most important thing in the world. You can ave welt, evryting, money, but you don’t ave elth, it’s useless.”

Spoken like a true champion.

-J. Jones

(We’ll give you an A for effort, Rashad, but we don’t think you have the..ahem… skin tone to pull off Sloth from The Goonies this Halloween.) 

For those of you who were hoping to see Rashad Evans test the waters at middleweight, it looks like you’ll have to keep waiting, because it has been reported by the Brazilian outlet SporTV that Evans will be facing off against Antonio Rogerio Nogueria at a TBD event planned for Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas.

Prior to his failed light heavyweight title bid at UFC 145, the TUF 2 winner scored big victories over Phil Davis — who trounced Nogueira back at Ultimate Fight Night 24 — and Tito Ortiz — who was defeated by Lil’ Nog in December of last year. Following hsi win over Ortiz, Nogueira recently called out Forrest Griffin — who lost his title to Evans at UFC 92 and defeated Ortiz in his last appearance — but was beat out for the spot by the last man to defeat him: Phil Davis. So according to MMA math…I’m illiterate.

(Photo via Kat’s ModelMayhem page. Full gallery is after the jump.)

There are some moments in life where the only logical response is hnnnng. Discovering Kat Kelley was one of those moments. The Las Vegas-based model was recently tapped to be a ring girl for the World Series of Fighting promotion, and will be in action during its inaugural event in Las Vegas, which will air live on the NBC Sports Network at 10:30 p.m. on November 3rd. Follow Kat’s life on Twitter and Facebook, and check out a whole mess of our favorite Kat Kelley photos in the gallery below. You’re very welcome.

(Let’s just say that Cristiane has a way of “convincing” men to do what she wants. We won’t give away the secret, but it involves a garden hose, a tub of creamed corn, a circus midget, and a LOT of tears.) 

What a difference one year (and a smokin’ hot champion) can make.

Over the past few months, we’ve seen UFC President Dana White pull a 180 on such topics as TRT, fights that “make sense,” and most importantly, women’s MMA. Where less than a year ago, Dana could be quoted as saying that we would “never” see women in the UFC – unless they were informing us what round it is, of course — nowadays, his attitude seems to have shifted in the opposite direction. This could partially be due to the success of such smaller promotions as InvictaFC, but is more a result of Dana’s budding fascination with Ronda Rousey, who he has referred to as “unique,” “a Diaz brother,” and “a f*cking dude trapped in this beautiful body.” We’re not sure how he would consider the second quality to be all that endearing, but needless to say, The Baldfather recently informed Sports Illustrated that WMMA is on its way to the UFC:

It’s absolutely going to happen.

[It] could happen tomorrow, it could happen a year from now.

We’ve just heard word that Scott Coker has hung himself.

(Props: AXS TV Fights)

It’s time to admit to ourselves, once and for all, that Anderson Silva isn’t the kind of champion we’d like him to be. After thoroughly conquering the middleweight division, fans assumed that the logical next step for the Greatest UFC Fighter of All Time would be to take more competitive matches against the elite in the light-heavyweight division. Of course, that’s not happening. Silva clearly has an agenda in the final stage of his career, and it doesn’t involve fighting non-superstars, or 205-pound phenoms who actually have a chance of beating him.

As Silva’s manager Ed Soares reiterates in this clip from Inside MMA, Anderson wants to fight UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre next, at a suggested catchweight of 177.5. And after that…well…Michael Bisping, maybe? The idea that Anderson Silva would fight Jon Jones is immediately dismissed by Soares, and the name Chris Weidman — remember him? the UFC’s actual #1 middleweight contender? — isn’t even mentioned.

(That *is* his serious face. Props: Zimbio)

The UFC continues to build up the TUF 16 Finale into a legitimately entertaining card, adding a heavyweight bout between roach-smasher Pat Barry and Shane Del Rosario to the lineup; MMAJunkie confirmed the booking yesterday.

Barry’s last Octagon appearance ended in a TKO loss to Lavar Johnson, which dropped his UFC record to 4-5. Meanwhile, Del Rosario suffered the first defeat of his career during his promotional debut at UFC 146, when he was steamrolled by Stipe Miocic. In other words, a bad loss for either fighter could seriously reduce his job security. Considering the stoppage ratios of both men — Pat Barry has only gone to decision once in 12 pro fights, and Del Rosario has only been out of the first round once in 12 pro fights — it’s very likely that this fight will end with somebody getting KTFO’d. So who’s it going to be?

The TUF 16 Finale will also feature Roy Nelson vs. Shane Carwin, Dustin Poirier vs. Jonathan Brookins, and the welterweight season finale between two of these jokers.

(Props to MMAFighting for the find. The fight starts/ends at the 45 second mark.)

Yesterday’s knockout of the day featured a poor sap who was simply unprepared to deal with his opponent’s Rockette-esque strategy of starting the show with a high kick. And while today’s victim was lucky enough to make it through her opponent’s first kick intact, she completely forgot to follow the most basic rule of fighting: Always keep your hands up. This mental error would prove most detrimental to her 1-0 record as a professional fighter.

Someone grab a spatula.

-J. Jones

(Kirk Lazarus gave this performance five out of five crab apples.) 

I have never met Jason Miller before. Like most of you, the only perception I have of “Mayhem” as a person has been constructed through interview snippets, heavily-edited reality shows, Twitter ramblings, and the occasional MMA fight. And while this criteria alone may be enough for me to declare my dislike for certain fighters, I have always found it difficult to assess just who exactly this Miller character is — especially in light of recent events — let alone render a verdict on the guy. Because that’s what Mayhem is: a character. And for people to believe that he is truly this completely bonkers, attention-starved individual at every waking moment seemed as ridiculous to me as believing that Chael Sonnen truly is the character he plays on TV. Yet in both instances, there is a strong majority of people who seem to feel this way.

What am I going on about? Well, it just so happens that Mayhem recently agreed to partake in a lengthy interview with Ariel Helwani, having finally shed the “Lucky Patrick” alter-alter-ego that saw him storm off Helwani’s show just a few weeks ago. In the interview that awaits you after the jump, Miller discusses everything from the Twitter war he and Dana White engaged in shortly after his firing to his bizarre arrest in a San Viejo church. And while I was happy to see that Miller appeared to be in sound mental shape for the time being, I couldn’t help but feel as if his explanation for those events was a little fishy.

If you’ve got the time, check out the video and let us know if you agree.

(Props: lancasterltd)

As you know, CagePotato is organizing a Movember team this year, and is currently accepting members and donations. Our friends at Lancaster LTD are honoring Movember as well, with a line of special edition t-shirts — featuring such manly men as Bruce Lee, Muhammad Ali, and Evel Knievel — and a series of short films focused on the personal legacies of these individuals. Check out the first installment above, in which Snoop Dogg (aka Snoop Lion) talks about his love for Ali.

If you’re not already tapped out from donating cash to the Mo’tato Nation, please swing by the Lancaster LTD/Roots of Fight Movember network and consider chipping in a few bucks to the cause. Thanks so much, guys, and start getting your razors ready for Movember 1st!

The battery charge against UFC featherweight Chad Mendes was dropped by a judge yesterday. Mendes had been charged with sucker-punching a bar patron then fleeing the scene during a July 29th brawl at the Lacey Inn Bar in Hanford, California. Mendes faced up to six months in jail and a $2,000 fine. Instead, he plead no contest to a lesser count of public disturbance and has paid a fine and avoids jail time.

“I have said from the beginning that the ridiculous allegations published by the media were either false or incredibly sensationalized,” Mendes said in a statement. “(Monday’s) outcome proves it.”

There clearly was not enough evidence to support the charges against Mendes and he can now look towards his December bout against Hacran Dias on the UFC on FX 6 card.

- Elias Cepeda

(Who caught staph from who?)

MMA Weekly reports that UFC lightweight contender Anthony Pettis was admitted to a Milwaukee-area hospital after it was discovered that he had a staph infection in his elbow. Pettis’s manager Mike Roberts stated that the infection isn’t expected to be serious, but “Showtime” was hospitalized as a precaution.

Pettis, who had to undergo shoulder surgery earlier this year on the same arm, is still expected to fight Donald Cerrone in potential #1 lightweight contender’s bout in January. Hopefully Pettis’s infection was caught early enough to not cause further complication. Untreated, staph infections can be life threatening. The infections are common among wrestlers and fighters, who spend lots of time on mats which can be petri dishes for bacteria and viruses.

We’ll keep you posted on Pettis’s health as developments are made public. After the jump, check out a healthy Pettis kick ass in a career highlight video.

(Henderson, seen here making Shane Roller rapidly consider cutting to featherweight at WEC 40.) 

No, we are not jumping on the Nate Diaz bandwagon. Not yet, at least.

In a recent interview with MMAJunkie, current UFC lightweight champion Ben Henderson resentfully admitted something that no athlete is ever quick to declare: He ain’t getting any younger. And because of this, it is getting harder and harder for a massive lightweight such as “Smooth” to make the required cut for each of his title defenses. How much weight does he cut? Henderson didn’t reveal the exact number, but several close sources claimed that the lightweight champ normally resides around the 180-pound mark often up to just a few days out from fight night. It’s a massive, draining cut for any athlete to undergo, and as we’ve seen in the past, can have devastating effects on the human body. Henderson is no different, and acknowledged that he has struggled to deal with the cut as he has gotten older:

When I was in college and wrestling, I would wrestle all day long and not get tired. I remember wrestling hard for five hours – literally five hours hard –  and be just fine. I would eat friggin’ Taco Bell, be fine, and wrestle again.

I’m growing, but as far as maturing and getting thicker, I think I’m getting older right now, and it’s getting harder for me to lose the weight … and it’s harder for me to keep the weight off.

Henderson’s UFC on FOX 5 opponent, Nate Diaz, is no stranger to the difficulty of weight cutting, having moved up to welterweight to fight on several occasions but finding much less success there. The same could be argued for Henderson, who stands at a mere 5 foot 9 and would hold a distinct size disadvantage were he to move up in weight. But according to Henderson, it is only a matter of time until the choice is no longer an option.

(For pure intimidation factor, nothing tops Colin “Freakshow” Fletcher as Bicycle Clown. / Full gallery is after the jump.)

Halloween is just eight days away, and you and your girlfriend are probably going to do the plug-and-socket thing again. Ugh, you guys — so lame. Take some inspiration from these MMA fighters who added some creepiness and humor to their entrances, and tell us about your own Halloween costume plans in the comments section.

(“I don’t give a damn about some Bellator fighter that goes by the name of King Mo.” Well, that makes two of you. Video via TNAWrestling)

When Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal signed a dual-contract with Bellator and TNA Wrestling earlier this year, fans wondered how he’d be able to straddle the often-opposing worlds of real fighting and show fighting — a rare trick to pull off outside of Japan. But Lawal’s one-year suspension for steroids has allowed him to focus the majority of his energies on learning the pro wrestling game, and we’re starting to get the feeling that we might lose him altogether. Call it hunch, based on the fact that Mo thinks MMA is a fad, and can’t stand you people. Here’s what he told BleacherReport in an interview published yesterday:

“It starts with the way the fans don’t think for themselves,” Lawal stated. “They have to look to certain people for approval on how they think. They bash the fighters and think fighting is easier than it really is. A lot of people didn’t grow up fighting. They grew up playing football and basketball. So they can relate to missing a pass, a layup, free throws and dropping a pass, an interception or kicking a field goal.

“MMA fans never grew up fighting. They just put on their Affliction or Tapout shirts and say, ‘Hey I’m a fighter or hey I’m going to a fight.’ To me, its a joke. It is a certain demographic that’s involved and I’m not with that.“

(Props: Aaron Tru)

UFC light heavyweight Vinny Magalhaes, his spiritual leader Eddie Bravo and middleweight light heavyweight title challenger Chael Sonnen should just go ahead and form a trolling-themed old-school pro wrestling stable with one another already. Chael’s verbal and written nonsense are well documented, as is Bravo’s weed-induced outlandish comedy/self-promotion.

For his part, Vinny has shown every indication that he’s learned a lot from both of them after studying Jiu Jitsu with Bravo and being in camp with Chael. The Brazilian is no stranger to going on The Underground and writing attention-grabbing posts that are often tongue in cheek.

Ahead of helping Sonnen prepare for his recently announced April title fight against Jon Jones, however, Vinny has turned up the troll volume. In a recent interview with Aaron Tru, Vinny managed to insult Jones and Vitor Belfort, as well as back down from a recent twitter request of his to fight Phil Davis. Check out Tru’s video interview for the Davis back-tracking and more. Here’s a choice nugget where Magalhaes professes his undying faith in Chael Sonnen’s submission abilities (?):

We’ve paid tribute to first-punch knockouts before, but the first-kick knockout is a beast we see far less of in the MMA world, or any combat sport for that matter. Maybe it’s because many fighters don’t feel comfortable exposing themselves by attempting a fight-ending kick when they’ve yet to feel out their opponent, or perhaps it’s because many kicks used early in a fight are for just that: feeling your opponent out. In either case, the crazy bastard in the black trunks who shall remain nameless really couldn’t give two shits about your so-called “tactics” or fancy schmancy “strategery.” Thems things is best left for the book-reading doctor types with their scientist talk and their elevated pinkies and bubbly alcohol drinks, amiright Taters?

So skip ahead to the 1:30 mark to see this feller disregard all of his pappy’s teachings and open the fight with a head kick that scrambles his opponents brains up worse than a June bug in prairie dog hole.

Now start researching other instances of a first-kick knockout and relay them to us in the comments section so we can compile a proper tribute list. Because let’s face it, you guys know way more about this MMA stuff than we do anyway, and we’ll be at the firing range determining which one of your shirt ideas holds up best to our rigorous series of tests for the next few days anyway.

-J. Jones

(We’re sorry, Stephan, but unless those things are actual guns, you’re getting your ass kicked tonight.) 

In the days leading up to UFC 153, many of you (and by you, we mean the entire MMA Interwebz) had some less than favorable things to say about the pairing of Stephan Bonnar and Anderson Silva. As if the bookies hadn’t told us all we needed to know, the general consensus among fans seemed to be the evening’s main event was a “travesty, a sham, and a mockery” that “blasphemed the great sport of MMA” and was a “completely meaningless squash match” whose “insulting pairing” would be reflected in “the abysmal pay-per-view numbers it receives.” And those were the favorable comments.

But for every fifteen of you complaining, there were apparently five or more of you who were forced to stifle your true excitement over this matchup like a pedo at a tee-ball game, because if the early numbers are any indication, squash matches featuring unstoppable killing machines are the new superfights. According to several reports, the pay-per-view numbers for UFC 153 are in the range of 340,00 to 410,000 buys. These numbers not only exceeded expectation, but are not that far below September’s squash match of the month featuring Jon Jones and Vitor Belfort, which managed to clear over 450,000 buys despite having those little guys that no one cares about fighting in the night’s co-main event.

(Props: Ben S.)

Thanks to everyone who submitted designs for our latest t-shirt design contest!  After sorting through the slush-pile over the weekend, we’ve picked out the eight most creative entries, which continue after the jump. Please use the poll on the next page by Wednesday at 10 p.m. PT to vote for your favorite design. The winning entry will be announed when we feel like it, and will be printed onto actual t-shirts at some point in the future, but possibly never. (Come on, it’s CagePotato. You didn’t really expect us to have our shit together after five years, did you?)

(Props: Andrew R.)

Some of you may have heard of a lil’ MMA fight that’s set to take place next month between the UFC’s interim welterweight champion and some French joker named Georges St. Pierre. GSP has been out of action since successfully defending his belt against Jake Shields in April of 2011 due to multiple knee injuries. Finally, on November 17th, the longtime champ is scheduled to make his return at UFC 154 after undergoing ACL reconstruction surgery and taking the necessary months to recover. In case Carlos Condit is thinking about going after St. Pierre’s newly-recuperated knee, “Rush” has a simple message for his opponent.

“I hope that Condit focuses on targeting my knee. Its not a weak link anymore,” he says in the above UFC video.

“There’s nothing that I can’t do now that I wasn’t able to do. I will leave with the belt.”

(“We’re such social creatures. No one is really worried about getting hurt, we’re worried about being shamed. We’re worried about being embarrassed, about being shown up as not a man.” / Photo via Sam’s official website, WorldIsMadeofFire.com)

In this week’s episode of The Conversation we talk with Sam Sheridan, the best-selling author of A Fighter’s Heart: One Man’s Journey Through the World of Fighting and The Fighter’s Mind: Inside the Mental Game. If you haven’t read Sam’s books, you need to.

Sam is a Harvard-educated visual artist who went on to be a merchant marine and fire fighter, and then traveled the world to train and fight. He lived and battled in Thailand, became a part of the Team Miletich family in Iowa, traveled to Brazil to train with members of the legendary Brazilian Top Team like Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, and accompanied them to Japan for PRIDE events. Sam has himself conversed with the best competitors in the world, from top combat athletes like Dan Gable and Randy Couture to ultra-marathoners and chess champions.

Yeah, Sam has stories to tell. We spend an hour and a half with him going over some of his favorites. Enjoy after the jump, and then please tune in next week for episode 3 of The Conversation with Randy Couture.

(A bit of insider info: The tattoo on Koch’s right arm stands for Zeitgeist, while the one on the left stands for Honey Boo Boo child. True story.) 

It may not come as a shock to any of you, but needless to say, UFC 155 a.k.a the UFC’s annual New Year’s Eve card is looking pretty stacked at this point. Sure, we will lose at least half of these fights to injury, but for the time being we are going to revel in these awesome matchups God damn it and there’s nothing you can do to stop us la la la la we can’t hear you!

Just last week, we announced that Phil Davis would be stepping in to replace Chael Sonnen against Forrest Griffin in the night’s co-main event, and today, a whole slew of interesting matchups were announced, starting with Erik Koch vs Ricardo Lamas.

If you recall, Koch has spent roughly ten years on the shelf due to injury, yet despite this, was in line to receive the next shot at Jose Aldo. Then Jose got injured, then the bout was rescheduled, then Koch injured himself again, then Jose got injured again. My God, that was as depressing an assessment of the current UFC landscape as I’ve ever written. In any case, it appears that Koch will finally return to action on New Year’s against fellow top contender Ricardo Lamas, who is fresh off a victory over Hatsu Hioki at UFC on FX 4. Koch and Lamas find themselves in a very similar position coming into this fight — both are relatively unknown by casual fans yet will likely earn the next featherweight title shot with a win — so expect both guys to try and make a statement with this fight, or at the minimum, talk a lot of shit to Jose Aldo afterward.

In other UFC 155 news…