Vitor Belfort isn’t the only life coach in MMA anymore. Eric Thomas, the motivational speaker whose words are behind videos like this, has been working with Roufusport fighters and will even be backstage with Anthony Pettis, Erik Koch, and Pascal Krauss tonight as they prepare to fight at UFC on Fox 6 in Chicago.

“Eric was so excited to work with our athletes that he decided to come in of his own accord and speak to our guys on the day of their fights. So he’ll be backstage with them, getting them mentally ready to put on the best show they can. It’s going to be awesome,” head coach Duke Roufus says.

“Eric is a huge influence in my life, and has been a daily motivation to me.”

Thomas recently went to Milwaukee to get Duke Roufus’ boys (check out video of the talk above) all wound up. We suppose the idea that “when you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, you will succeed,” that Thomas preaches has a more literal-than-usual meaning and application for pro fighters, so the pairing makes sense.

What we’re wondering, though, is how much motivational shouting fighters can take back stage. Burt Watson may not take kindly to having to share platitude air space with another guy. We’ll keep you apprised of any beef that may or may not develop tonight backstage at UFC on Fox 6.

- Elias Cepeda

(“You are SO lucky I’m wearing shoes that restrict my movement to baby steps or I’d knock you out right here.” Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.)

All 22 fighters scheduled to compete on tomorrow night’s UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Dodson card will be hitting the scales live from the Chicago Theatre in, you guessed it, Chicago starting at 5 p.m. EST. Luckily for you, we will be hosting a video of the weigh-ins RIGHT HERE. I know, right? The things we do to ensure that you guys are happy.

Anyway, the weigh-ins kick off in just a few minutes, so get in here for all the action!

No, the above image is not something that was drawn up by a 7 year-old Japanese schoolboy in between classes, nor is it Dr. Scholl’s experiment gone awry involving a rubber factory and an army of millipedes. The utterly ridiculous mishmash of trampoline springs and synthetic leather pictured above is actually the Rampage Jackson-endorsed Reebok shoe responsible for Page’s latest tantrum aimed at the UFC. I cannot emphasize enough that I am not joking here. On a Rampage-Jackson-alternative-business-venture scale of “Rampage Punch” to “Now shake it, *you* shake it, I wanna see that ass butt-naked,“ I give it a solid “Transsexual rape video.” No, I will not go into further detail.

Set to hit the shelves on February 1st, the only thing more outlandish than the look of this thing is the 140 dollars it will cost you to pick up a pair. For one third of that price, I will gladly push you down a flight of stairs, trip you in a crowd, or use whatever method you prefer to achieve the sprained ankle you will inevitably suffer while wearing these moon shoes. Jackson says that the design was inspired by all terrain vehicles, but could someone please explain to me what sport or everyday activity these things could possibly be useful for? Or what group of people Reebok is trying to promote with these? Unless competitive hopscotching troglodytes are a huge undiscovered market that has just been waiting to be tapped into, I expect that these things will be filling the bargain bins at Reebok stores nationwide by Christmas. Anyone disagree?

(Everything you ever wanted to know about James Thompson‘s failed gong-and-dash against Aleksander Emelianenko. Mega-props to ColossalCollective)

- Lawrence Epstein Explains the UFC’s New Code of Conduct, Punishments for Fighters (BleacherReport)

- UFC On Fox 6: What Do MMA Fans Have Against The Little Guys? (Deadspin)

- Interview: In the Ring With Rampage Jackson (MensFitness)

- UFC Won’t Schedule More Women’s Fights Until After Rousey’s Debut at UFC 157 (BloodyElbow)

- Fightweets: Matt Hughes’ Most Memorable Moments (MMAFighting)

- Video: Anderson Silva Talks Contract, Next Fight (FightDay)

- Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis and the Best of the WEC in the Octagon (Fightline)

- White: ‘Rampage’ Made $15.2M Over 11 Fights, But ‘Shoots Himself in the Foot’ (MMAJunkie)

- Gallery: A History of Athletes Catching Murder Charges (Complex)

- Be Glad They’re Extinct: 3 Bizarre Dinosaurs You Never Learned About (DoubleViking)

- Girls With Absolutely Gorgeous Faces (WorldWideInterweb)

- Jesse Pinkman Saying ‘Bitch’: The DEFINITIVE Supercut (ScreenJunkies)

(Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting.com)

Before Clay Guida was a UFC star, appearing on television screens all across the world, he fought constantly in the U.S. Midwestern regional circuit. Often, he fought multiple times per month. He was a lightweight and the UFC didn’t even have a lightweight division at the time, to say nothing of the three divisions below it that they have since added. Clay fought in halls, bars — anywhere there was a tough guy and a crowd, really. His locker rooms were sometimes bathrooms and closets.

It was small-time, but the energy in those halls and bars would spike when Guida came out to fight. He was a spastic ball of energy from his walk to the cage and on through the fights themselves, and Clay built a fan-base in the area that raucously cheered for him and rabidly followed him.

On local MMA shows, fighters get paid very little, if anything, to fight. Promoters use the fighters to sell tickets, however, and then give a small percentage of the sales back to the fighters. Matchmaking at this level often takes who can sell tickets into heavy consideration. Clay sold a lot of tickets. And he didn’t exactly have a personal assistant or PR team to help him handle the transactions. Back in the day, Clay would hock tickets while training for fights, weigh in, show up on fight night, and then combine warming up with getting tickets to those of his friends and family that needed them.

Since joining the UFC in 2006, Clay has moved beyond fighting in smoky suburban Chicago rooms, but his fans often follow him around the country and world for his fights. If it wasn’t for the amount of work he puts in at the gym that reveals how serious he takes his job, you’d think life is just one big party for Guida. He enjoys having loved ones around him, and the more people that come out to support him, the better, because it makes the celebration afterwards that much more fun.

That said, all the attention and work that goes along with taking care of friends and fans can take a toll on a fighter and affect their energy and focus. There’s always another request for the fighter to fulfill as he prepares for battle, always another favor for him to do. As best as can be observed, Guida does all that he can with a smile on his face. He knew, however, that if he held his training camp back home because he was scheduled to fight in Chicago this Saturday at UFC on Fox 6, it would be a mess. Instead, Guida chose to stay in New Mexico and keep his camp there at Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn’s gym as he has the past few years.

“That’s why we’re out here in New Mexico,” Guida told CagePotato last week. “We’ve really got to focus. I love everyone back home and we’re going to have a great time there during the fight, but training camp needs to be just about preparing.”

(Let’s just say that one of these men doesn’t start each morning with six ounces of lean protein. / Photo via AllElbows)

Following Vitor Belfort‘s stunning head-kick finish of Michael Bisping last weekend, UFC president Dana White threw out an interesting suggestion for the Brazilian’s next opponent: “[Luke] Rockhold. That’s what we’re talking about.”

Rockhold, who is now officially a UFC middleweight following a flawless nine-fight run in Strikeforce, hasn’t competed since his decision win over Tim Kennedy last July, and recently called out Costa Philippou for his UFC debut — a move that now seems pretty damn humble. By comparison, a match against Belfort would give the AKA product a much higher profile for his Octagon debut, and could help break him as a new UFC star if he’s victorious.

In a related story, Anderson Silva‘s manager Jorge Guimaraes told SporTV that they’d like to face Rockhold next: ”It would be champion against champion. It’s a good fight to promote.” And it would, in the same way that Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez is a good fight to promote. We just can’t shake the feeling that there’s at least one other guy in the UFC middleweight division who’s a little more deserving.

So here’s my idea — a single-night four-man tournament to determine the next middleweight title contender, featuring Belfort, Rockhold, Chris Weidman, and Hector Lombard, in which all fighters would be required to be on TRT. (An alternate bout between Jacare Souza and Minowaman would be slated on the prelims.) I know, I know, I should have Joe Silva’s job. It’s all politics, bro.

(Sorry Ben, I don’t think we can count those as “significant strikes.” GIF via ZombieProphet/BloodyElbow)

For the first time since his controversial technical submission of Ryan Thomas during his Bellator debut three years ago, Ben Askren has finished an opponent. Sure, it was one of those sort-of-assisted finishes where the doctor steps in between rounds to wave the fight off, but let’s not take anything anything away from Funky Ben, here: The undefeated Bellator welterweight champion smashed the living dog-poop out of Karl Amoussou for three full rounds last night, and might have permanently injured him had the fight gone on any longer.

It was a prototypical performance from Askren, who spent most of the fight on top of Amoussou, throwing down punches and elbows. Still, there seemed to be a greater sense of urgency from the champ in this fight, a little more intention with his strikes. He slashed open a cut above Amoussou’s eye with an elbow in the first round, and by the end of round three, Amoussou’s left eye was swollen shut and his face was a wet canvas of blood. The fight was mercifully stopped before the fourth round could begin, giving Askren a well-deserved TKO victory.

“I told you guys that it was just a matter of time before my hands got some power in them,” Askren said after the fight. “I dominate positionally, and my hands [have] power too. Welterweights anywhere in the world better watch out, I’m coming.” Askren’s next challenge will likely be the winner of this season’s welterweight tournament, which produced four semifinalists last night…

(After Dana caught Hughes sleeping on the job yet again, he figured it would be better to just give the former champ a cushy office position where no one would bother him anymore.) 

Although former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes has been off everyone but PETA’s radar for the past couple of years, the MMA community has still been waiting on bated breath to see when the Hall of Famer would make an official announcement regarding his retirement for some time now. Hughes stated last October that he was “fully retired” but didn’t seem as if he had quite come to terms with hanging up his gloves just yet. That is, until earlier today at the UFC on Fox 6 press conference.

Along with the announcement of his retirement, Hughes also stated that he, like Chuck Liddell before him, would be accepting a front office position with the UFC titled “Vice President of Athlete Development and Government Relations.” That’s funny, here I thought the UFC was for the separation of church and state. *steals basketball and nails three pointer* 

Anyway, Hughes had the following to say while assessing his current role in the promotion he has called home for the better part of his MMA career:

It’s funny, the road God puts you on; you just don’t know where you’re going to end up. What started out as a hobby brought me to the UFC and here in front of you know. I love this sport, and the new position is the best way for me to stay in it moving forward. I look forward to using my experience and providing a perspective for both the UFC and the fighters, so thank you guys. 

Answer: Helwani’s shoes, because at least Koch gets paid to wear that shit. (“Shout out to Sun Seekers Milwaukee.”) Videos courtesy of YouTube.com/MMAFighting.

Why don’t we just make it Brazilian Girl Week here on CagePotato? Shortly after meeting UFC ring girls Aline and Camila, we discovered another smashing specimen — Shooto Brasil‘s Aryane Steinkopf. Like Juliana Salimeni, Aryane was a member of the “Panicats” model crew on Panico na TV, and her list of credits include a cover appearance on Playboy Brazil last year.*

Check out a ton of our favorite Aryane Steinkopf photos in the gallery below, and follow her life on Facebook and twitter.

* Hit the “next page” link for some NSFW samples. You’re welcome.

This is Pedro Nobre, the TUF: Brazil alum who made his UFC debut last weekend at UFC on FX 7 against fellow Brazilian Iuri Alcantara. As you can tell from the neck brace he is sporting in the above photo, his debut did not go well. Alcantara landed a few supposedly illegal shots to the back of Nobre’s dome, and likely in an effort to make up for his poor performance during the Alessio Sakara/Patrick Cote debacle at UFC 154, referee Dan Miragliotta waved the bout off and declared it a no contest when Nobre was unable to continue.

The only problem was that 90% of the shots Alcantara landed, if not all of them, were neither illegal nor all that devastating (at least from our perspective), which prompted Dana White to post the following on Twitter:

In fact, White became so enraged by Nobre’s Oscar-worthy performance that he recently all but completely closed the door on Nobre’s future UFC aspirations.

After the jump: White’s scathing comments, along with a gif of the stoppage.

(Click chart for full-size version. For previous Databombs, click here.)

By Reed Kuhn, @Fightnomics

The UFC flyweights comprise the smallest division — both in size, and in numbers — but they’ll get a prominent showcase this Saturday at UFC on FOX 6, as Demetrious Johnson defends his title against John Dodson. So how do Mighty Mouse and the Magician stack up against the rest of their 125-pound competition? Analyzing an entire UFC weight class with a point-in-time assessment allows us to see how fighters might perform against each other, even though they may not meet in the Octagon for a long time (if ever). And since every fight starts standing up, we’ll also start with striking.

The Analysis:

In order to understand standup striking performance, which is more multifaceted in MMA than it is in boxing, I need to boil down a few of the most important variables that determine success as a striker. These are fairly uncomplicated variables in isolation, but together they can summarize a fighter’s overall capabilities. Here, I’ve focused on three fundamental, offensive metrics:

Accuracy: I’ve used power head-striking accuracy (as opposed to body or leg strikes, or jabs to the head), where the average for UFC Flyweights is about 25%. Certainly, great strikers can attack the body and legs, but the most likely way to end a fight by strikes is by aiming at the head. The accuracy of the power head strike is a great indicator of a fighter’s striking prowess, and there’s a wide range within a single division, as we’ll see. This is the vertical axis, so more accurate fighters are higher in the graph.

Standup Striking Pace: Prior analysis reveals that outpacing your opponent is a key predictor of success, and certainly correlates with winning decisions as it reflects which fighter is dictating the pace of the fight. Here, I’ve used the total number of standup strikes thrown as a ratio to the same output from a fighter’s opponents. All strikes attempted from a standup position are counted, including body shots and leg kicks. This is the horizontal axis in the graph, and the average for the whole division must be 1, so fighters with superior pace appear further to the right.

Knockdown Rate: The objective of every strike thrown is to hurt your opponent, and knockdowns reflect which fighters connect with the most powerful strikes. I’ve used the total number of knockdowns a fighter has landed in their matches*, divided by the number of power head strikes landed to see who does the most damage per strike. The size of the bubble for a fighter indicates their relative knockdown rate; the bigger the bubble, the higher their knockdown rate. The very small bubbles indicate fighters who have yet to score a knockdown in their Zuffa fights.

* The data includes all UFC, WEC, and Strikeforce fights through UFC 155 on December 29th, 2012. Many of these fighters competed in other higher weight classes, but for the purposes of this analysis, that data was still included and analyzed.

Now that we know how to interpret the chart, let’s see which fighters stand out…

By Elias Cepeda

With how often former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Muhammed Lawal talks about money, one might think it is his only motivation. He can go on and on about how cash motivates him during fights and how he invests wisely so as not to have to depend solely on professional fighting for income.

Lawal’s financial focus fits in well with the namesake of the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas, where Lawal does much of his training these days. (San Jose, CA, the home of the American Kickboxing Academy where he has previously trained during fight camps, got “too expensive,” according to Mo.) But just as with Floyd Mayweather Jr., there is a lot more substance behind the former wrestler’s style and talk.

The fighter known as “King Mo” has not been able to fight professionally for over a year because of a suspension stemming from a positive steroid test after his last fight against Lorenz Larkin. So, for the past year Mo has not gotten paid a red cent to fight — yet he says his motivation to train hard never waned.

“I never had a problem [staying motivated]. Never,” he tells CagePotato. “I love being in the gym, I love working out. My mind is always on fighting of some sort.”

(“Hey Norman, ever play skin the cat?”)

As Dana White announced earlier today at the UFC 158 press conference, a lightweight bout between TUF: The Smashes lightweight runner up and presumable collector of Haunter Pokemon memorabilia, Colin Fletcher, has been booked to take on TUF 16 runner up and sensitive artist, Mike Ricci, on the welterweight-heavy UFC 158 card in March.

On the heels of a UD loss to Northern Ireland’s “Stormin” Norman Parke at UFC on FX 6, Fletcher will no doubt be looking to utilize his reach advantage against Ricci, who will be making the drop from welterweight following a unanimous decision loss of his own to Colton Smith at the TUF 16 Finale. Ricci has gone win-loss in his past six contests, including notable losses to Daron Cruickshank and Pat Curran, and holds notable wins over Strikeforce veteran Jordan Mein and Canadian Rory MacDonald…

…I’m sorry, that’s Canadian Rory McDonell, who was able to score his last victory by, and I quote, “Gogoplata Straight Armbar.” Seriously, if you doubt me, just check out this photo of the finish. How that sub was somehow overlooked by nearly every MMA site out there is beyond me, but feel free to discuss this massive oversight in the comments section. Because, let’s be real, it’s probably more interesting than the subject at hand.

-J. Jones

(“Why yes, Dana, the blonde gentleman in the lower left *is* my doctor. What of it?”)

The Sam and Diane relationship between Josh Barnett and the UFC continues to forge ahead, Potato Nation. Fortunately, we have more than an outdated UFC.com profile to go with this time. During the media scrum following the UFC 158 press conference earlier today, Dana White was questioned by MMAMania about the likelihood of seeing “The Warmaster” back in the octagon, and the UFC President was surprisingly optimistic:

I have not (spoken with Barnett). It’s probably going to happen.

There you have it; absolute and undeniable proof that Barnett is back, baby. And here you thought we were just tugging your respective dicks this whole time. Shame on you.

(Jorge and Bigfoot: They run Bartertown. / Photo via Sherdog)

Arguably the most talented fighter to be included in our 50 Worst Fighters in UFC History list, Jorge Santiago‘s undeniable abilities as a knockout artist and BJJ practitioner have mysteriously failed him inside the Octagon. The former Sengoku champion and Strikeforce Middleweight Grand Prix winner has already burned through two stints with the UFC, which both ended in back-to-back losses. But thanks to an injury withdrawal on the UFC on FUEL 7: Barao vs. McDonald card, Santiago is getting a third chance to prove himself.

The UFC has confirmed that TUF 13 castmember Justin Edwards has pulled out of his February 16th welterweight match against undefeated Icelandic phenom Gunnar Nelson due to an undisclosed injury, and will be replaced by Santiago. On paper, this is a much better matchup than the original one — Nelson vs. Edwards felt like somewhat of a mismatch, while Santiago is certainly on Nelson’s level in terms of talent, and has far more fight experience. Then again, Santiago has been straight-up cursed inside the UFC. The most we can say is that it’ll be a much better gauge of how good Gunnar really is, and if he deserves the hype that has followed him into the UFC.

Santiago won two fights last year under the Titan FC banner, both by first round stoppage, and he currently trains with the Blackzilians. For a complete lineup of the UFC on FUEL 7 card, follow us after the jump…

(Yep, that guy in the middle is going to be the referee. And that’s not even the scariest part.)

It is a pretty well known fact that Frankie Edgar has been at the center of some controversial decisions during his run as the UFC lightweight champion (and before it, and after it…). It is also a pretty well known fact that Steve Mazzagatti has been responsible for more botched calls in his refereeing career then Carly Rae Jepsen was in 2012. It is also also a well known fact that many of the current judges in MMA couldn’t tell a leg kick from a kneebar if their lives depended on it.

So with all that in mind, you’d think the Nevada State Athletic Commission would try their hardest (or try at all, really) to ensure that the upcoming featherweight title fight between Edgar and Jose Aldo at UFC 156 would be held under the supervision of the sport’s finest referees and judges, as to avoid any controversy that could possibly come as a result of their own incompetence. You would be wrong. As MMAJunkie reports:

During a meeting Tuesday in Las Vegas, the Nevada State Athletic Commission tapped veteran referee Steve Mazzagatti to officiate UFC 156′s main event.

Additionally, the commission named Adelaide Byrd, Jeff Collins and Junichiro Kamijo to judge the featherweight title fight, which pits champ Jose Aldo (21-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) against ex-lightweight champ Frankie Edgar (14-3-1 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC). 

My God, that was like reading over the list of dinner specials at a Tallahassee Denny’s establishment. At 4 a.m. Sure, the food looks decent enough when doctored up on the glossy menu, and besides, you’re already half in the bag. But then you happen to take a glance at the nutritional facts…and your heart suddenly sinks with the realization that there is no way your night doesn’t end with anything but rhythmic bouts of explosive diarrhea and shame.

The Ultimate Fighter returned last night with the two-hour premiere of “Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen,” and since the show is no longer on Friday nights, we figured we’d give it a look. Full results from the 14 middleweight elimination fights and team selections are at the end of this post, but first, let’s run through what worked, what didn’t, and what really didn’t…

The Good
- Allowing the fighters’ friends and family members to watch their elimination fights. It raised the emotional stakes for the competitors, removed the eerie silence that plagued the elimination rounds of previous seasons, and led to moments like this. Also, Andy Enz’s dad should be hired as an assistant coach. ”REFUSE TO LOSE!”

- The stoppages. Eight of the 14 elimination fights ended in the first round. In general, there weren’t a lot of point-fighters or reality-show goofballs on display — just a bunch of raw, aggressive dudes who came to win.

(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

Georges St. Pierre and Nick Diaz will be in attendance this morning for the first UFC 158 press-conference at the Bell Centre in Montreal, hyping their March 16th welterweight title fight. According to MMAJunkie, Diaz has successfully made a flight to Montreal — yes, this is actually newsworthy — which means we hopefully won’t have a repeat of the no-shows that got him fired from UFC 137. Will Diaz be openly confrontational now that he’s face to face with his least-favorite Canadian? Or will he just do his vaguely hostile mumbly thing? Watch the headliners field questions from media in the video player above, beginning at 10 a.m. ET / 7 a.m. PT, and please share your insights in the comments section.

Previously:
- Of Course Nick Diaz Isn’t Returning Dana White’s Phone Calls
- UFC 158 Odds: Georges St. Pierre Opens as a 4-1 Favorite Over Nick Diaz
- St. Pierre Explains Why He’s Fighting Diaz at UFC 158; Hendricks to Face Jake Ellenberger

The recent information that has been unearthed regarding renowned martial arts trainer Lloyd Irvin and two of his students is nothing short of horrific. One such allegation dates back to 1989, and involves Irvin’s role in the gang rape of a 17 year-old woman. The other involves the rape of one of Irvin’s students on New Year’s Eve, as perpetrated by two other students of the Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts School in Washington, D.C. Despite being vehemently pressed for information over the past few weeks, Irvin has remained silent on both cases, instead focusing his attention on the recovery of the female student that was accosted.

That is, until now.

Irvin recently issued a statement in the form of an open letter that addressed both his own involvement in the 1989 case and that of the New Year’s Eve case currently under investigation. In it, Irvin is both understandably apologetic and sincerely candid while describing the circumstances involved in both cases. Not to take anything away from as well respected a member of the MMA community as Irvin, we have placed the entire letter, completely unedited, after the jump. It’s a long read, but ultimately necessary if you want to understand the events from the perspective of at least one of the parties involved.

(And when I say “bitch,” I mean it in the politest sense of the word possible.)

*takes a seat in rocking chair, lights up corn cob pipe*

You know, kids, there used to be a time when words like “retirement,” “marriage,” and “my totally real dead girlfriend” used to mean something. Perhaps it was just a simpler time back then, but when a man (or a woman that had somehow shoehorned her way into an office environment) gathered his co-employees around and announced that he was hanging it up, it was meant to be permanent. Bill Russell never came back. Vince Lombardi never came back. Pete Maravich tried to come back and dropped dead on the spot. Retirement was supposed to be a one way street, paved with early bird discounts, cheap medications, and eventually death. Sweet, sweet death. But then Muhammed Ali had to go and ruin everything.

*sets down pipe to chase Jehovah’s Witnesses down sidewalk*

In the past couple years, we’ve seen such notable fighters as Jamie Varner, Matt Hamill, and Chris Lytle announce their retirement from MMA. Of those three, the first two have already returned to the sport, and the latter has suggested that he would fight again under the right circumstances. And now, you can add UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz to the list of fighters who feel they might have called it a career a bit early. In an interview with BloodyElbow, Ortiz stated that he would be open to the idea of coming out of retirement, but only once all of the injuries that have plagued his MMA career since ever were finally dealt with:

Right now, I’m only four weeks out of neck surgery, and then I have to get the ACL surgery. I still need to recover from that before I start thinking about anything, and if I’ll compete again. You never know, I may come out of retirement. It’s all about how my body recovers.

(“Thanks Jay. Joining me now backstage is none other than…uh…wait a minute. You’re Anderson Silva’s son, right?”)

If you’ve been watching the NFL playoffs on FOX over the last couple weekends, you’ve surely noticed the frequent UFC promos throughout the broadcasts hyping a “World Title Fight” on January 26th between “Johnson and Dodson.” At no point is the word “flyweight” ever mentioned — because that would be a turnoff to casual fans, I guess? — and in most of the live promos I’ve seen, Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson‘s first names aren’t even included. Basically, they’re hoping that the mere promise of a “title fight” will be enough to lure some football fans into tuning in this Saturday night, even if those viewers have no idea who the headliners are, or what belt they’ll be fighting for specifically.

By sticking to the ironclad rule that a title fight will always get headlining-priority no matter who else is fighting on the card — a policy that previously drew some fan-criticism when Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche was given the UFC 157 main event spot over Dan Henderson vs. Lyoto Machida — the UFC has painted themselves into a corner. Johnson and Dodson simply aren’t as well-known, marketable, or admired as some of the other fighters competing at UFC on FOX 6, namely Quinton Jackson, Donald Cerrone, and Anthony Pettis.

It’s a problem, because TV ratings and buyrates are so closely tied to who’s headlining each event. Instead of perhaps making Rampage vs. Teixeira or Cerrone vs. Pettis the headliner, the UFC is choosing to keep things vague (“world title fight!” “Johnson!”) and hope for the best. We’ll see if that proves to be the right decision, or if the ratings will plunge compared to the strong showing of UFC on FOX 5. I know the UFC wants to pump up its budding flyweight division, but I can’t help wondering if they’re doing themselves a disservice when there’s so little heat around that weight class. Could they re-consider their “championship fight always gets the main event” policy down the road?

Since I’ve been thinking about this lately, I’ve decided to present my own rundown of which fights I’m actually looking forward to this weekend. If you see things differently, please hurl some abuse at me in the comments section. Let’s begin…

(Takes one to know one, we guess.) 

I’m pretty sure the amount of irony present in the whole Chael Sonnen/Lance Armstrong beef is giving me cancer. Here you have an MMA fighter on PED’s who called out a cyclist of all people for using PED’s just weeks before said MMA fighter was busted for PED’s. Then, said MMA fighter denied that he ever claimed the cyclist was on PED’s, only to come out years later demanding a personal apology from the cyclist, who it turns out was actually on PED’s all the while. It was an act that required a huge set of balls to commit to, yet was pulled off by a guy whose balls are apparently so small that he needs testosterone injections just to survive, again, because he used PED’s in the past. “Pot, meet kettle,” doesn’t even begin to describe it.

In either case, Sonnen recently appeared on his favorite venue for trolling the MMA world, The Jim Rome Show, and picked up where he left off in regards to the now disgraced cyclist, even delving into how Armstrong had threatened to sue him for his statements at one point:

Why are they calling him a bully? That’s what I can’t wrap my mind brain around. Lance is a dweeb, the only thing he’s missing is the tape on the glasses and the high water pants. That guy couldn’t get respect at the local Honky Tonk in my hometown. He threatened to sue me so I threatened to kick his ass and the whole thing went away.

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(Aw yeah. Get ready for some Internet street-justice.)

Rick Hawn‘s lightweight title challenge against Michael Chandler last week at Bellator 85 didn’t go so well. Chandler was able to put the decorated judoka on his back with relative ease, before finishing him with a rear-naked choke in round two. But as disappointing as the loss was for Hawn, it paled in comparison to what came next. As Hawn revealed on twitter last night, “one of my main sponsors from my fight canceled his check cuz he wasnt happy with the outcome or my performance…A lawsuit is pending so I cannot comment on who it is just yet but stay tuned.”

I think we can all agree that a company that stiffs one of its sponsored MMA fighters because he lost should be immediately banned from the sport. But what makes this story sink to another level of scumbaggery is that the sponsor is actually defending the non-payment as a wise business decision. Here’s what the still-unnamed floor-turd had to say in an e-mail purportedly sent to our old friend Mike Russell:

“At this point, a stop payment has been placed on check which cannot be cashed or deposited now. I will not comment on Rick and his fight. That is not my place. But what I will tell you is this: I took a huge chance with him. TV exposure was great…but it only holds weight if he wins or puts on a good show. Neither happened. At the end of the day…not one sole (sp) will run to [my] store and buy product because they [saw my logo and saw] Rick loose (sp) the fight. I’ve made it my career and business to know what nets a return on investment for the brand…and this is the number 1 reason why I DO NOT hand out money or product to fighters.”

(Fight week, barf week. Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

Answer: Nobody. Not even you. Watching this video might seem like a good idea at the time, but once that scalpel goes in at the 5:18 mark and they start separating the damn thing from its hinges, you’ll be like, “nah, it’s cool. I paid way too much for that McMuffin to lose it now.”

The good news is, Dana White‘s surgery for Meniere’s Disease last week — in which a plastic tube was inserted into his left ear, which will allow excess fluid to drain — was a success, although the procedure won’t cure the condition completely. The UFC president will be back in action this weekend at UFC on FOX 6: Johnson vs. Dodson, as will commentator Mike Goldberg, who is returning from an upper respiratory infection.

(We blame you for this mess, TUF 15. In fact, we’re going to blame you for a lot of things moving forward, so just get used to it.)

Great news, Potato Nation! If you thought having the average UFC card spread across three channels on different networks and a social networking device to boot wasn’t complicated enough, it has recently been announced that not only will FX be cancelling all of their sports programming going forward, but the FUEL and SPEED networks will be transformed into sports-based FOX networks to compensate for this change. Those expecting to catch a night of free fights in the future without an Arabic scroll, the flame of Anor, and the ability to answer the bridge troll’s questions three should prepare themselves accordingly. The news was passed along earlier today by Sports Media Watch:

News Corporation will convert the Fuel cable network into general sports channel ‘Fox Sports 2′ this August, Sports Business Journal reported Monday. The launch of Fox Sports 2 will coincide with the conversion of Speed Channel to Fox Sports 1.

Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 will be the chief outlets for News Corp. sports programming. FX, which aired college football coverage the past two seasons and previously televised baseball and NASCAR, will no longer carry sporting events. Fox Soccer is expected to be converted into a general entertainment channel.

(Photo via vip.abril.com.br. Click for full-size version.)

Following their recent trend of using local ring girl talent for international events, the UFC hired a pair of Brazilian models to add eye candy to this weekend’s UFC on FX 7 card — Camila Rodrigues de Oliveira (who barely exists on the Internet, unfortunately) and Aline Franzoi, a 20-year-old from Guarulhos who hosts some sort of weird kids’ show called Hora Da Festa. We decided to round up some of Aline’s best photos, which we’ve arranged in the gallery after the jump. Enjoy, and see lots more of Aline on her Facebook page.

(Props: YouTube.com/fueltv. Skip to the 0:51 mark for the violence.)

Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s first-round knockout of Thiago Tavares at Saturday’s UFC on FX 7: Belfort vs. Bisping immediately joined Melendez vs. Kawajiri and Miocic vs. Del Rosario in the pantheon of vicious elbows-from-above MMA finishes. The win also upped Nurmagomedov’s career record to a remarkable 19-0, and represented his third straight win in the Octagon. It’s clear that the Russian Sambo/Judo ace has the potential to make a serious impact in the UFC’s lightweight division. So who should he face next? Well, he’s got an opinion about that.

After the fight, FUEL TV’s Heidi Androl talked to “The Eagle” about his ball-busting t-shirt at the weigh-ins and his training at American Kickboxing Academy. Nurmagomedov also mentioned that he really wants to face Nate Diaz in his next fight. It was a smart bit of post-fight matchmaking, as a meeting with Diaz could give Nurmagomedov the exposure that he’ll need to break into the title mix.

On the other hand, Diaz might not want to face a relative newcomer without much name value. (As with the frequently-ducked Glover Teixeira, there just isn’t much upside to fighting a dangerous, non-star like Nurmagomedov.) Though I’m sure Diaz vs. Nurmagomedov would be an entertaining scrap, I wouldn’t be surprised if the UFC books Khabib against another mid-level opponent before letting him in the cage with Top 5-caliber competition. Any other ideas on who Nurmagomedov should take on next?

Let’s make two things clear from the beginning: Vitor Belfort is an amazing fighter, and an equally terrible trash talker. He demonstrated both of these things on Saturday night, with both his brilliant finish of Michael Bisping and his callout of Jon Jones immediately afterwards.

Of course, Jon Jones is a little busy at the moment, getting ready for Chael Sonnen and all. Belfort addresses this by asking Dana White to “Take that clown away” so he could have his rematch with Jones instead of having Bones fight Sonnen in the spring.

No one is here to say that Belfort can’t beat Sonnen in the cage – especially at light-heavyweight – but “The Phenom” doesn’t exactly live up to his nickname when it comes to trash talking. Even though I wouldn’t count Belfort’s post-fight interview as a callout of Chael Sonnen, the clown comment definitely left a sour taste in his mouth. Sonnen wasted no time responding to Belfort’s comments, using his commentary gig on the post-event FUEL TV broadcast to issue the following statements:

(Now that we’ve settled our differences, Michael, I’d like to tell you about a friend of mine)

By Elias Cepeda

If Michael Bisping’s trash-talking mouth didn’t write checks that his fists couldn’t cash so often it’s very likely he’d be known as a British MMA pioneer with incredible work ethic and who improved greatly over the course of his career. Instead, Bisping has done his darndest to mask his real accomplishments by playing up imagined ones.

He’s campaigned, with his mouth, for a title shot for years despite losing to every top-tier fighter he’s faced and being gifted wins over less than top-tier ones. Coming into Saturday’s fight against Vitor Belfort in Sao Paulo Brazil, UFC President Dana White said that Bisping would earn a title shot against Anderson Silva with a win.

At that point, Bisping had a one fight win “streak.” Before that win, a decision against Brian Stann last September that could have easily been scored instead for Stann, Bisping lost to Chael Sonnen – who’s twice been beaten by Silva. Not long before that, Bisping walked away with a win against Jorge Rivera in a fight that he should have, in fact, lost by disqualification for his blatant and repeated fouls. His break-out UFC fight was a ludicrously bad decision win over Matt Hamill.

Every time the UFC has pushed Bisping into a fight with a fighter he’d given no indication he should be in the ring with, he’s lost. He’s said it is his destiny to be a world champion and insulted almost everyone else in his division, yet Bisping has lost to every fighter that had been or would go on to be a world champion that he’s faced.

Rashad Evans, Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson and now, Vitor Belfort. Bisping’s win streak is back down to zero after getting TKO’d by Belfort in the second round of their main event Saturday.

Hopefully the talk of him getting a title shot any time soon has also been knocked out.