(This is normally where we would place a screencap of the fight. Unfortunately, the quality of SFL streams is so poor that the screencap looked more like a Jackson Pollock than it did anything else and no amount of enhancing could do it justice.) 

As you may or may not know given the plethora of fight action that occurred this past weekend, Indian upstart promotion Super Fight League held their fourth event in Mumbai, India. Now, we have been predicting the collapse of SFL for some time now (turns out we just had the wrong promotion) and when it was reported that CEO Ken Pavia had resigned from the organization, it only fueled similar predictions around the MMA blogosphere. Throw in the fact that SFL couldn’t even reel in Bob Sapp for their fourth event — which was headlined by a 1-2 fighter taking on a 11-8 fighter — and you’ve pretty much got all the ammunition you need for an official deathwatch.

But despite all of the things going against them, SFL’s fourth event turned out to be a modest success, at least in terms of the fights themselves. With the exception of the opening fight between bantamweights Irfan Khan and Kaushik Sen (freaking little guys, amiright Michael?), every fight was finished within the distance and impressively so. But no one, I repeat, no one, could top the knockout turned in by Bhabajeet Chowdhury, which was easily one of the most fantastic finishes we have seen all year.

Video after the jump. 

(And here we have Ronda Rousey putting one of Mike Beltran‘s braided moustache-chains in her mouth. Damn, that is sexy… / Photo via TitoCouture)

Maybe you’re at work right now. Maybe you’re eating lunch, or riding public transportation. No matter where you are or what you’re up to, I’d like you do something for me — reach into your pants and check to see if you have two healthy, fully-functioning testicles. (Yes, even you, angrylittlefeet.) If everything is in order, pat yourself on the back. Unfortunately, not every man is so lucky. I’m not trying to turn this site into BummerPotato.com, but did you know that testicular cancer is the most common cancer in American males between the ages of 15 and 35? And that over 8,500 men will be diagnosed with the disease this year? And that about 360 men will die of it?

Hell, did you know that 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime, and that approximately 242,000 new cases of that disease will be diagnosed in 2012? You probably didn’t know any of this, which is fine, but now you do know, and if you feel like doing something about it, we should talk.

For the second year in a row, CagePotato.com is partnering up with Movember to spread awareness and raise money for testicular cancer, prostate cancer, and other men’s health issues. If you want to help us in this month-long quest, here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Register yourself at us.movember.com/register.

Step 2: Join our Movember Team at mobro.co/MotatoNation.

By Elias Cepeda

Hey ‘Taters. I’ve been working on a new MMA podcast called “The Conversation” over the past few months, and we’re finally ready to debut it. The concept is simple — in depth, retrospective conversations with the most fascinating people in the fight world.

The production is basic and it’s something that I’ll be working to improve over time. What I hope shines through are the incredible stories that the remarkable people we speak with share during these honest and intimate conversations.

For this episode I traveled to New York to visit with everyone’s favorite Gracie, Renzo. In fact, it was just about a week or two before his now famous mugger smackdown tweet-a-thon. In my own head, I like to think that Renzo discussing self-defense and street fights during this podcast recording got his old-school juices flowing again. That, of course, is nonsense.

Renzo is always Renzo. He has deeply held convictions and stories that would make the fictional “World’s Most Interesting Man,” look like a mail room clerk in comparison.

And if you thought you’ve heard all the crazy stories Renzo had to tell before, I guarantee you have not before now. Renzo details a very independent childhood that had him fighting drug dealers on beaches to living in an Amazon brothel, experiencing lots of firsts. He goes on to talk about his pioneering family and a bit about his own time in Pride and the UFC.

He also opens up about the direction his careers have gone, possible regrets, and looking towards the future. If you love fight stories, life philosophy, and laughing your ass off, join us after the jump for this informal conversation with Renzo Gracie. Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

(Heading into his bout at UFC 144, Jackson found strength in the words of his former Shaolin master: “Ret ra rage fro froo you.” Ten minutes later, this happened.)

Rampage Jackson’s ongoing feud with the UFC — which we feel so far removed from that we’ve all but completely forgotten what started it in the first place (money? boring fights? stank bref?) — has clearly taken a toll on both his popularity and his fighting career over the years, as Twitter rants and rape videos are wont to do. After getting submitted by Jon Jones at UFC 135, Jackson showed up heavy, then got wrestlefucked by Ryan Bader when we last saw him, in a performance that would quickly be out-shined (not in a good way) by his hilariously awkward foray into the Japanese hip hop scene later that evening. Needless to say, it appeared as if the power-bombing, Liddell era-ending Rampage we all came to know and love was but a distant memory.

Jackson was then expected to finally bid the UFC adieu at last weekend’s UFC 153 event against Brazilian slugger Glover Teixeira, but then yada yada yada he got injured. Teixeira would go on to beat the ever-loving dogshit out of Fabio Maldonado, whereas Jackson would go on to eat the ever loving shit out of some chili cheese FRITOS. But after consuming those heavenly bits of artificially flavored corn and realizing that Teixeira was in fact a legitimate opponent to build his post-UFC resume on, Jackson quickly doubled back on his “I don’t care who I fight anymore” mentality and proceeded to call Teixeira out on Twitter:

Yo @danawhite set up that fight with Glover please! Lets give him what he wants..fans I won’t let u down #fightofthenight

Dana White quickly responded with “sounds good bro,” which basically means that this thing is a done deal. Basically.

(Props: OneStopMMASpot via BloodyElbow)

On Sunday at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2012 Final 16 event in Tokyo, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic learned the hard way that not everyone in the fight business is as sweet as Pat Barry. During the third round of his match against American kickboxer Randy Blake, Cro Cop threw a questionable uppercut at Blake, who was getting to his feet after slipping to the mat. This did not make Randy Blake very happy. The action was called back in, and when Cro Cop moved in to apologize, Blake fired a straight right that put the 38-year-old Croatian on his ass. For the last time: Protect yourself at all times, especially when you’ve just pissed off a former star of the World Combat League.

The moment was reminiscent of Floyd Mayweather‘s controversial stoppage of Victor Ortiz last September, but unlike Ortiz, Cro Cop was able to dust himself off and fight until the last bell, earning a majority decision victory. With the win, Cro Cop qualifies for a spot in the eight-man 2012 Grand Prix Finals bracket, December 26th at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where he hopefully won’t be trying any more of this nice-guy crap.

(Buy it here.)

On Saturday night at UFC 153, Anderson Silva TKO’d Stephan Bonnar with a knee to the solar plexus that briefly paralyzed him, followed by some punches on the ground. The fight was called at 4:40 of round 1, which means…TOPDOG, YOU ARE OUR WINNER. The Dog’s prediction of “Anderson Silva def. Stephan Bonner via TKO (strikes) @ :23 seconds left in Rd. 1” — though strange in its syntax — came closest to the fight’s actual result, which means he gets the Blacktalians t-shirt, as promised. So Topdog, please e-mail contest@cagepotato.com with your real name, address, and shirt size, and we’ll get it sent out ASAP. The rest of you can get the shirt the old-fashioned way. Props to Longo/Serra MMA and East Coast MMA Fight Shop for the hookup.

Props: mmafanmade.tumblr.com

By George Shunick

If there’s a word that sums up UFC 153, it’s got to be “wow”. Anderson Silva gave another performance indicating that we do indeed live in the Matrix. Jon Fitch was in the most exciting fight of the night, and one of the best of the year. Big Nog submitted a man impervious to jiu-jitsu. Demian Maia choked/neck-cranked a man so hard he had a mini-hemorrhage and blood spurted out of his nose. And perhaps most impressive of all, Wagner Prado actually stopped a hat thief.

The bottom line is UFC 153 was an amazing card that delivered from top to bottom. Could it have been better if it had Frankie Edgar square off against Jose Aldo? Probably. But I’ll take another transcendental show from Anderson Silva any day of the week. And that’s exactly what his fight with Stephan Bonnar was. After a slip, Bonnar pressed Silva into the cage, presumably looking to wear the smaller fighter down. Silva wasn’t having any of it, offering a few knees, shoulder shrugs and nothing else. Bonnar backed away and then things got weird. Silva remained on the fence, hands down, encouraging Bonnar to hit him.

Now, I know Stephan Bonnar isn’t the world’s greatest striker. He’s never shown serious knockout power, and his technique has never been the best. But he’s still a 230 pound man who’s spent the majority of his adult life learning how to hurt people. He’s a professional fighter. And for about 4 minutes and 40 seconds last night, those facts didn’t amount to jack shit. Silva dodged, deflected or simply absorbed Bonnar’s offense for about two minutes, demonstrating what a black belt in Tae Kwon Do is worth against a man who seems to know what you’re going to do before you do. Then, Silva decided to end the fight. He tripped Bonnar, established some separation, and then connected with a debilitating, pin-point knee to the solar plexus. Bonnar – who had never been stopped with strikes before – collapsed and waited for the end to come. Mercifully, it did.

MMA Fighting caught up with Dana White last night in Rio after UFC 153 to dig into topics not fully explored during the post fight presser and the Prez had some interesting things to say. The most ear-catching thing for us came near the end of the interview when White said that the UFC was hoping to have suspended heavyweight Alistair Overeem fight for the title against the winner of Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos as soon as he was cleared to.

Overeem came to the UFC in late 2011 and earned a title shot after stopping former champion Brock Lesnar in the first round. This, of course, came after he led the Nevada State Athletic Commission on an international goose chase as they tried to get him to complete his pre fight drug tests.

Then as he was nearing his next fight, Alistair tried to run out on a random drug test conducted by the commission and then, when he ultimately did take it, failed. As a result, he’s currently suspended.

(How about dropping to your knees and begging for a swift death? Would that work? / Photo via MMAFighting.com)

The matchup between UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and light-heavyweight non-champion Stephan Bonnar has been called everything from a “fun fight,” to a mother’s worst nightmare. Tonight at the HSBC Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, we’re going to find out what this weird freak show will actually look like. Our only prediction is that Griffin Bonnar‘s first image of his father will be a bruised and lumpy one.

Luckily, there are plenty of far-more-legitimate matches on the UFC 153 main card, including Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Dave Herman, Erick Silva vs. Jon Fitch, and Glover Teixiera vs. Fabio Maldonado. And as with previous shows in Brazil, the local fans will make sure that the show is just as entertaining outside of the cage.

Round-by-round results from the UFC 153 pay-per-view broadcast will be stacking up after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, courtesy of CagePotato liveblogger-supreme Anthony Gannon. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and be sure to tell us how you feel in the comments section. Thanks for stopping by.

Last night Eddie Alvarez scored a dramatic first round KO win (video above) over Patricky “Pitbull” Freire at Bellator 76 and potentially earned a UFC contract. The fight was the last on Alvarez’ contract with Bellator.

After Alvarez won, UFC President Dana White reportedly tweeted him saying, “congrats Bro!!! Let’s talk ”

Alvarez isn’t the top lightweight in Bellator after losing to Michael Chandler, but he has rebounded nicely from that loss with the win over Patricky and Shinya Aoki. Alvarez has long been regarded as one of the best fighters in the world not signed to the UFC.

We’ll keep you posted on developments with this story as they emerge. For now, enjoy Alvarez’ nasty KO.

- Elias Cepeda

(We don’t mean to insinuate, but…) 

Before you even go there, no, Ambien is not a banned substance. At least not to our knowledge. But the truth is, not much has been revealed in the few hours since it was made public that Jake Shields was just suspended for six months after testing positive for a banned substance in his UFC 150 post-fight drug test. The situation is a bit bizarre to say the least, with no details currently available as to the alleged substance that Shields was busted for, or why it took two months for this test to be made public, or when the suspension was handed out. All that we know is that Shields’ has already released a statement apologizing for actions:

To my friends, fans and the UFC,

Prior to my professional bout at UFC 150 in Denver, Colorado, I used a substance prohibited by Colorado Boxing Commission rules.

This was a mistake that I fully regret. I have shared this issue with my family and the UFC and I have apologized to them and now I also apologize to you, the fans. I promise this will never occur again in my fighting career.

I accept the Boxing Commission’s decision for a six-month suspension, which will expire in February. I ask that you accept my apology. I will be back fighting soon, and hope that the fans of MMA will support me until that time.

Given Shields’ training partners, one might assume that the substance Shields was busted for would be of the herbal variety. You know, the sticky icky. Feeling irie on fight night, mon. Nawmsayin? Anyone?

(If only the fight were held under West Coast Pose-Down rules, Bonnar would actually have a chance. / Photo via MMAFighting.com, click for full-size image.)

- Cops: Jeremy Stephens’ Alleged Victim Beaten Unconscious, Stopped Breathing Twice (MMAFighting)

- UFC 153: Bonnar vs. Silva, Tex Cobb vs. Larry Holmes and Courage Through Standing in Front of a Locomotive (BloodyElbow)

- Erick Silva Talks Twilight Series, Fighting Jon Fitch (HeavyMMA)

- Jon Fitch: Getting Title Shots Is A ‘Popularity Contest’ (Fightline)

- VADA Offers Drug Testing for TUF Finale Main Event, Carwin’s Camp Says That’s News to Them (MMAWeekly)

- Bellator 76′s Rad Martinez Out to Prove He’s no ‘Charity Case’ (MMAJunkie)

- Emily Ratajkowski Gets Saucy with Sara Underwood in Carl’s Jr Ad (MensFitness)

- 30 Hilarious Animal Photobombs (Complex)

- The Ultimate Faceplants Compilation (WorldWideInterweb)

- Chefs of Anarchy: New York’s Best Fries (MadeMan)

- Christopher Walken Reads “Honey Boo Boo” (ScreenJunkies)

- Russian Soldiers Flee Exploding Ammunition Stockpiles (EgoTV)

- B*tch, Get Off My Bus: Uppercut Edition (WorldStar, Baby)

By Jim Genia

It is physically impossible to walk into a Kevin James flick with high dramatic expectations. I mean, come on, this is the man who brought us such cinematic classics as Zookeeper, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry. If you bought a ticket to anything starring the actor and thought you were getting a shoe-in for this year’s Academy Award for Best Picture, you deserve to have your mullet set on fire. That said, James — who’s long been a supporter of the UFC, and whose presence at Octagonside has been frequent and well-documented by Zuffa cameraman desperate for an eight-second cutaway shot of something even just moderately noteworthy — stars in Here Comes the Boom, a UFC-centric comedy that opens today. How is it? Well, it’s no Gone with the Wind, but it’ll do.

The premise is simple, and something we’ve seen a million times before: an apathetic dude starts to give a crap about something noble, and goes through hell to do some good for that thing he previously did not give a crap about. James is, of course, the apathetic dude, a high school biology teacher named “Scott Voss” from Boston, MA, who puts about zero effort into teaching and too much effort into trying to land a date with the school nurse (Salma Hayek, cleavage-alicious as usual). But when budget woes spell impending doom for the music teacher’s job (played by a schlubby Henry Winkler — remember the Fonz? Yeah, he’s dead now.), it’s time for Voss to step up and do something drastic to plug up the school’s fiscal hole. And hey, what better way to earn cash then to become a UFC fighter?

Well, it’s official: The debate should no longer be about whether or not Strikeforce is headed for an early grave, but whether or not we should allow their lifeless corpse to continue resting in its vegetative state or simply pull the plug. Less than a month after cancelling their September 29th card due to injury, word has just broke that Strikeforce will also be cancelling their event scheduled for November 3rd in light of another slew of injuries.

We know the discussion of the injury curse is beyond old news at this point, but is anyone else still having trouble coming to terms with the pure scale of devastation it has wreaked on the sport in 2012? Even the UFC has been forced to, as BG put it, scrape the bottom of the matchmaking barrel for available fighters and they’ve poached upwards of half the fighters that Strikeforce previously had under their banner, to the point that one key injury could completely undo a card. Thank God the UFC would never be forced to resort to such drastic measures.

In either case, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker was already looking to the future when discussing the second straight cancellation:

Due to a series of injuries, we were forced to cancel the upcoming card on Nov. 3, but are already working to put together a stacked card in January.

Yeah, Scott, we’re sure UFC 156 will be pretty great too.

(Sorry guys, but this shitty Photoshop is as close as we’ll get to seeing these two face off. / Image via MMAMania)

Considering how many times Jon Jones and Anderson Silva have told us that they’ll never fight each other, most reasonable people would have given up hope on that particular fantasy-match by now. Of course, UFC president Dana White is not exactly known for being reasonable. Asked by a fan on Twitter yesterday if Jones vs. Silva would ever happen, Dana replied “it will.”

That simple phrase — seemingly based on nothing other than his own desire to promote the fight, and his long-standing belief that any fighter can be convinced to do anything if you put enough money in front of them — resulted in a predictable firestorm on twitter. There were the gullible UFC-marks who expressed their excitement for the match as if it was already booked, and the detractors who questioned if Dana could actually put it together.

Props to Reddit/MMA for capturing part of the ensuing tantrum…

(It was at the UFC 153 pre-fight press conference that Stephan Bonnar revealed his true gameplan to defeat Anderson: G.T.L.) 

All the fighters for tomorrow night’s UFC 153 event are scheduled to hit the scales starting at 3 p.m. EST this afternoon from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, so make sure to swing by the Tater to check out all the intense, barely-clothed staredowns you could ever ask for. Did that come off as gay? Because we didn’t mean for it to come off as gay; not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Anyway, a string of injuries (go figure) and a good old fashioned case of hepatitis have dramatically altered the face of UFC 153, leaving us with a main event matchup that, when viewed through an incredibly narrow and skewed lens, is almost plausible. So swing by this afternoon to see whether or not Stephan Bonnar will piss himself after he realizes just how big of a mistake he has actually made, whether or not Anderson Silva will come dressed as a Jabbawockee again, and whether or not the Brazilian audience will still be donning their “I fucked Chael Sonnen Last Night” t-shirts. Also, be sure to swing by tomorrow at 10 p.m. EST for our official liveblog of all the action!

(He beat the crap out of Jamie Yager, so he’ll always be a legend in our book. Photo props: Justin M. Bowen/ Las Vegas Sun)

When UFC matchmaker Joe Silva calls you to fight on short notice as an injury replacement, sometimes it’s better to not even answer the phone. That’s the lesson we’ve learned from a contradictory pair of recent firings that seem to define the phrase “damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”

As confirmed by MMAFighting.com, welterweight contender (and former CagePotato guest-blogger) Rich Attonito has been released by the UFC. Attonito had an official record of 3-2 within the Octagon, and last competed at UFC 140 in December 2011, where he was TKO’d by Jake Hecht. Here’s the sequence of events that led to Rich’s firing, from the MMAFighting report:

When [Pascal] Krauss pulled out of UFC on FUEL TV 5, [Joe] Silva offered Rich Attonito the fight against [Gunnar] Nelson via Attonito’s manager Dan Lambert. Lambert spoke to the American Top Team fighter, who agreed to take the welterweight bout. The next day, Lambert called Silva to tell him Attonito said he would not be able to make the 170-pound weight limit on short notice. Silva then offered him the opportunity to take the fight at a 175-pound catch weight, which both Attonito and Nelson, through his manager and father Haraldur Nelson, agreed to. The next day, Lambert called Silva back again to inform him that Attonito would not be able to make the 175-pound catch weight either. As a result, Silva decided to release Attonito from his contract.

Here’s the deal: When the UFC offers you an opportunity to come in as a replacement fighter, you generally don’t get a day or two to think about it. Attonito’s crime was speaking too soon — agreeing to a fight before he realized that making weight would be impossible. But at the time the fight was offered to him, saying “no” to Joe Silva probably seemed like the bigger sin.

Anyway, Attonito changed his mind and got fired for it. And you probably remember what happened next…

(An approximation of Dana’s reaction when we asked him the minimum number of dicks we would have to suck to get a press pass back.) 

Yes, you read that title correctly. No, it is not sarcasm and no, this is not a feeble attempt to get back into Dana’s good graces on our part. There are some bridges that are simply meant to be burned and we are willing to accept that. But we think you all should know that The Baldfather is finally expected to undergo surgery to combat the Meniere’s Disease he has publicly struggled with for some time now, and we should all be willing to put our personal issues with the guy aside for the moment and wish him the best of luck and a smooth recovery.

Dana made the announcement this morning via his Twitter:

Taking off right now for UFC RIO!! Anderson Silva vs Stephan Bonnar, pumped for Erick Silva vs Fitch too. Here I come BRAZIL!!!!!!
Saw the Dr today about my menieres and I’m getn the surgery when I get home from Brazil!!!!! #getmyfuknlifeback

If you are unfamiliar with the disease, head after the jump for a full breakdown.

(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

Anderson Silva, Stephan Bonnar, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Dave Herman, Fabio Maldonado, and Glover Teixeira were in attendance for the UFC 153 press conference in Rio earlier today, fielding questions from a multi-national conglomerate of media professionals. The full video is above, though as you can imagine, there’s a lot of translation involved. Short version: The UFC wants to host a stadium show in Brazil next year, Anderson Silva is seriously not interested in facing Jon Jones, and Dave Herman has pretty much signed his own death warrant by insulting jiu-jitsu before a fight against Big Nog. Bonnar looks pretty chill, considering the circumstances.

Be sure to swing by CagePotato.com Saturday night beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT for our liveblog of the UFC 153 main card!

(If it didn’t work for Ken Shamrock, then chances are it ain’t going to work for you.) 

Look, spinning backfists aren’t for everybody. Sure, if you’re a malnurished Vietnam vet with a mean streak a mile long, then you can pretty much do whatever you want in the ring and get away with it. But if you’re an overweight amateur fighter who suddenly thinks he’s the white Yahir Reyes, it would probably be in your best interest to leave the study of centrifugal forces to the scientists. This theory also applies when you’re a trash-talking UFC middleweight fighting in the biggest rematch of your life against the pound-for-pound G.O.A.T who you have done nothing but belittle and insult for the past three or so years.

This was a lesson that Matt Lawrence would learn the hard way when he stepped into the ring against Dillon Cleckler at Island Fights 18.

Video after the jump. 

(Photo courtesy of Cassie’s Facebook page; click for full-size version. Full gallery is after the jump.)

Props to BabesofMMA for introducing us to Cassie Crisano, a 3-1 amateur MMA fighter from Middletown, New York, who will be making her professional debut this Saturday against Janice Meyer at Cage Fury Fighting Championships 17 in Dover, Delaware. The fight will be streamed live on CFFC.tv.

Like Miesha Tate before her, Cassie took to wrestling early in life, competing among the boys on her high school varsity team. Her competitive accomplishments included finishing second at the first Women’s National Wrestling tournament in Albuquerque, and becoming the 138-pound New York State women’s champion. After a long recovery from a near-fatal auto accident in 2002, Cassie began training in MMA four years ago, and made her amateur MMA debut in December 2010.

In her own words: “The problem with women in MMA is that there are just not enough of us to be able to take it to the next level as the men. There are too many women that want to be classified as ‘A FIGHTER’ but the skill level of being a well-rounded fighter is just not there. The talent pool is just not big enough yet. So when a one-trick pony pops up from out of nowhere they become a rising star which ultimately in the end makes women’s MMA look like it’s a joke.”

No offense, Ronda? Get to know Cassie better on Facebook and Twitter, and check out more of our favorite Cassie Crisano photos in the gallery below…

(Well, at least the poster is as half-assed as the main event.) 

By Dan “Get Off Me” George

I’ll be honest, when I first heard of the new main event for UFC 153, I thought we were all the victims of some intricate ruse on the UFC’s part. Surely the head honchos at Zuffa didn’t consider a “fun” squash match on the level of Joe Lauzon vs Jens Pulver to be the best possible option for a country that was recently denied the biggest fight of all time, right? But I guess when an injury curse on the level of 2012′s hits, you do what you can to simply stay afloat, and in that sense the UFC has succeeded.

Luckily for us, the UFC has also succeeded in putting together a card that provides plenty of opportunities to prosper from a wagering perspective as well. This time around, I will attempt to follow the lead of Jared “Money Bags” Jones, who provided both the gift and the curse for UFC on FX 5: Browne vs. Silva with his parlay picks, so follow me as I highlight a few names on the preliminary cards for Facebook and FX and breakdowns of all fights on the PPV portion of UFC 153. All betting odds come courtesy of BestFightOdds.

Facebook + FX prelims

Reza Madadi stands out in the two FB fights; Sweden has been hot in the octagon lately and I think “Mad Dog” (not Anthony Macias) at around -200 has the right combination of size and all around ground advantage to deal with Marcello’s submissions game and win his second straight UFC fight.

Gleison Tibau hovering around -160 should be able to stifle fellow Brazilian Francisco Drinaldo and find a way back into the UFC win column after dropping a hard fought loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 148. Tibau has fought solid competition throughout his lengthy UFC career and I do not think Francisco has the right tools to win this fight. An underdog that may be worth a look is Renee Forte at around +200 against Sergio Moraes, who dropped a unanimous decision last time out due in part to his in-ring demeanor, which did not seem to go over well with the judges.

(Struggling towards victory in the middle of a barren wasteland — an apt metaphor for Friday-night television, if you think about it.)

 By Oliver Chan

“With all due respect to Spike…  Mr. Hill, Mr. Shanks, and I have 50 gross rating points and promotions in the cushions of our couches.”  - President of FX, John Landgraf, on the performance of TUF on Spike (8/18/11)

There’s a lot to be said about the declining ratings of The Ultimate Fighter since the move to FX and rightfully so. FX has yet to see the same success as TUF had when it was on Spike. However, as John Landgraf pointed out during the August 2011 press conference announcing the deal with the UFC and Fox, Spike simply does not hold a candle to the ratings delivery that FX gets. When you compare the numbers on a national level, he’s right.

Just take a look at the Nielson Prime-time numbers from 3Q11:

(Click to enlarge)

Comparing the two networks, FX has an increase of the 18-34 and 18-49 demos on both impressions delivered as well as the ratings share over Spike. It’s also important to realize that according to the Cable Advertising Bureau, Spike is available in close to 99 million homes, where FX is in just over 97 million.  In other words, FX still manages to attract move viewers, despite being in less than 2 million homes than Spike.

South Florida has its Blackzilians, and New York has its Blacktalians. The incredible t-shirt you see above is a collaboration between Longo/Serra MMA and East Coast MMA Fight Shop, and features the famous “Ray Longo as a younger, suprisingly handsome man” photo that the acclaimed trainer proudly hangs in his gym, and proudly uses as his twitter avatar. You can buy one of these shirts right here for $26.

Of course, we wouldn’t even mention this if we weren’t giving you a chance to win one for free. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s fight-picking time. And we’re going to keep it real simple this time. On Saturday night, Anderson Silva will meet Stephan Bonnar in the main event of UFC 153 in Rio. You’re going to tell us who will win and how. Your entry should be in this format:

Maybe I’m just a sucker for slow motion and piano ballads (except for Coldplay. F*ck Coldplay.), but I must admit that the first advertisement for Bellator’s move to Spike TV in 2013 is a surprisingly well made and dare I say poignant bit of filmmaking coming from the network behind such subtle, highbrow programming as Manswers, 1000 Ways to Die, and those endless goddamn CSI reruns. I get it, Grissom, you’re f*cking smarter than everyone else and can figure out any mystery in twenty minutes, now please stop f*cking showboating SO I CAN TRY TO CATCH A GLIMPSE OF GAP TOOTH’S OR GINGER LADY’S TITS ALREADY!!

Anyway, back to the ad. Featuring such familiar faces as lightweight champion Michael Chandler, light heavyweight/TNA superstar King Mo Lawal, and former Strikeforce LHW champ Babalu Sobral among others, the 30 second clip succeeds in getting me amped up for a promotion I have literally been aware of for years now, so a kudos is in order to the gentlemen over at Spike.

(It’s pretty obvious who takes the “Cooler Hairstyle” category.)

It’s time for some real talk, Potato Nation. Stephan Bonnar is booking a one-way train ticket to Painsville Station on Saturday night and Anderson Silva is the conductor. I know it, you know it, the bookies know it, and your mom knows it (I asked her last night. Say hi to her for me, alright?). Matter of fact, if “The American Psycho” is simply able to come away from the fight in the same state of matter he began it in, everyone watching will unquestionably declare his performance a win for America, the UFC, and perhaps even the Caucasian race.

But this fight is about more than who’s accomplished what or who holds what title or who may or may not have lost to a decrepit Mark Coleman. There are several x-factors at play here, and when we decided to match up Stephan Bonnar and Anderson Silva for one of our infamous head to head sessions, the results might surprise you. Let’s get started.

AGE
Bonnar: 35
Silva: 37
Advantage: Bonnar

SIZE
Bonnar: 6’3″, walks around at roughly 235 lbs, 80 inch reach
Silva: 6’2″, walks around at roughly 215 lbs, 77.5 inch reach
Advantage: Bonnar

By Elias Cepeda

For me, it’s simple – there’s only so long I can watch something I find fascinating before needing to try it for myself. I saw the first UFC when I was ten and I began training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu when I was 15.

Growing up admiring the Gracie family and studying their history, I’d often wished that I didn’t have that five-year gap. More recently, however, I just wished I’d made better use of the time I had.

Less taking off for basketball seasons in high school and more drilling in class. Less time getting old in a chair at work and more reps in the ring.

Saulo Ribeiro, BJ Penn, and Gunnar Nelson all become elite black belt grapplers in just a few years. That isn’t me and no matter how much time I would have spent grappling I wouldn’t have been a BJ Penn.

But I could have been a lot better than I was at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, competed more and learned more about what I can and cannot do. That’s the thing with fighting – you find out what you know and who you are.

Technically, this is true. You may think you’re good in a position or with a move because you hit it on your friends in training, whose games you know and with whom you are comfortable. But wait until you are under duress against a decidedly non-friendly opponent in competition or a fight and see if you execute the same way you did in the gym.

If so, you trained well enough to say you really do know that position, that submission. But if you hesitate, if you freeze or if you’re sloppy because of the added adrenaline that hits you when you fight, then you weren’t exactly as good as you thought you were.

The fight brings that knowledge out about yourself and your technical abilities. It also brings out much more essential things about your being.

Who are you when you’re under attack? Who are you when you’re alone? Who are you when you’re afraid?

In 2010 I fought two amateur MMA fights. The first I took on three days’ notice and the second I had about six weeks to prepare for. I was tired of being an inconsistent Brazilian Jiu Jitsu student who, furthermore, had never tested himself in the type of competition that interested me in the martial art to begin with.

(Where the hell do y’all think you’re going?! Please, I’m begging you, if you stick around, I’ll even break out the Techno Viking dance!) 

We can’t wait to see how Dana White tries to spin this one.

The numbers were just released for all of last weekend’s UFC events. The good news: The main FX card did pretty well and the fourth episode of The Ultimate Fighter hit a seasonal high in terms of viewership (take that with a grain of salt). The bad news: The FUEL prelims were caught by less people than the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee prelims on ESPN 3. Probably.

You see, last Friday’s FUEL prelims only managed to draw in 44,000 viewers, absolutely shattering the promotion’s previous FUEL prelim low of 84,000 for UFC on FX 3. If these kind of numbers do not improve, the UFC won’t have to worry about emerging victorious from a ratings war with the WWE because they will be too busy trying to compete with the Punkin Chunkin people. We expect DW to start lobbing insults at “those four-eyed f*cking scumbag f*cks on the Lience Channel” any day now.

(“Brett, your x-rays came back and I have to tell you, the results are…grim. Ha ha, sorry, couldn’t help myself.” Image via MiddleEasy)

When Brett Rogers was stopped by Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem, and Josh Barnett during his Strikeforce run in 2009-2011, it just seemed like a case of a good slugger being outmatched by three legends of the sport. But when he was dominated for three rounds by relatively unheralded Russian prospect Alexander Volkov at last Friday’s Bellator show, the loss wasn’t as easy to dismiss. Was this proof that Rogers was washed up?

As it turns out, Brett had a good reason for looking so tentative throughout the fight. I mean, damn, just look at that friggin’ x-ray. Here’s what he had to say to MiddleEasy about trying to fight though a cracked arm:

(Does this look like the face of a man who is going to lose?…Probably. / Photo courtesy of Francis Specker)

By Josh Hutchinson

Well Potato Heads, we are staring down the barrel of what would on paper seem like another absurd mismatch for a PPV main event. (Speaking of which, is it just me or does it seem like freak show fights are making a comeback?) Now I could sit here and try to persuade you that this is a legitimate match-up, Stephan Bonnar totally has a chance, Anderson Silva’s heart is not in it, or some equally stupid defense as to why this fight needs to happen, but I like all of you far too much to insult your intelligence like that. For Christ’s sake, even the UFC’s official promo videos for UFC 153 are split between joking that Bonnar has no chance and not showing Bonnar at all, if that tells you anything. So instead I’m going to take a hypothetical look at what could happen if The American Psycho manages to pull off the unbelievable. Because let’s be honest, if it happens, the fallout will be of nuclear proportions. For instance…

Stephen Bonnar, The New Face of Burger King

Should Bonnar prevail, his stock will rise exponentially with sponsors. A miraculous victory over Silva would have Nike, Burger King, and many others reconsidering the amount of support and money that they have thrown at The Spider. At the same time, it would then be easy to spin Bonnar as a legend killer — and therefore a legend himself — and he can be sure to expect a few more 0’s on his future paychecks. To this point, BK has kept their Anderson commercials in Brazil, since American audiences apparently wouldn’t be able to handle a cage-fighting burger pitchman. Bonnar, with his good-guy-everyman image, could break through that wall. New commercial concept: Bonnar and Forrest Griffin get into a furious Stacker-eating contest that leaves both men exhausted, and the other restaurant patrons howling for a rematch.

Anderson Silva pulls a Gina Carano