(Menjivar facing Matt Serra in his UFC debut two weight classes higher than his natural 135-pound bracket.)

Ivan Menjivar is not new to the sport, but to many post-TUF fans the Canadian MMA pioneer whose resume includes bouts with Georges St-Pierre, Matt Serra, Caol Uno, Joe Lauzon and Urijah Faber is an unfamiliar face in the Octagon.

After spending the better part of four years away from the sport rehabbing injuries and raising a family, “The Pride of El Salvador” is back and will get the opportunity to compete in front of his legion of fans in his adopted Canadian homeland when he takes on Charlie Valencia Saturday night in Toronto.

We recently spoke with the 21-7 bantamweight and touched on a number of topics including his long-awaited return, his career as a moneyweight fighter and his early days in the sport.

Check out what Ivan had to say after the jump.

(Back when Dana still hadn’t perfected his menacing glare)

Cage Potato has learned from a source close to the fight that Canadian mixed martial arts pioneer Ivan Menjivar will step into the cage for the first time since 2006 to take on King of the Cage veteran and one time Felony Fighter Shad Smith at W-1: Judgment Day June 19 in Montreal.

(Coors Light?! And here we thought Canadians were passionate about the quality of beer they drink.) 

A little over a year ago, Georges St. Pierre was riding high. He had defended his belt for the sixth straight time against Jake Shields at an event that both obliterated North American attendance records and satisfied his home country’s need for bloodshed without having to sacrifice his first born child, as is tradition. Although he was being bashed by some critics for his apparent lack of finishing power, “Rush” would quickly meet a challenger that would bring out the inner killer his fans had been waiting for since UFC 83. Needless to say, things were going well for old GSP.

And then he took an arrow to the knee.

Yes, after blowing out his ACL, the welterweight kingpin was forced out of action for so long that even his stand-in champion went missing in an apparent attempt to find him. In the time since we last saw St. Pierre, his beloved homeland of Canada eeked out a respectable 36th place in the Summer Olympics, celebrated the 60th anniversary of one of their biggest television programs, and even closed the book on one of the most bizarre crimes in the country’s history. So overall, it was a decent year for any Canadian not named Georges St. Pierre.

But come November 17th, all that will change for at least one man, as GSP is set to finally make his triumphant return to the cage at UFC 154. And to celebrate his return, we’ve decided to dig up the fight that started it all. It took place in January of 2002 in Montreal and pitted the future champ against future UFC/WEC bantamweight (sheesh) Ivan Menjivar in his professional debut.

Video after the jump. 

As we approach the big showdown on Saturday night, here’s some lesser-known Georges St. Pierre fights to get you in the mood. First, it’s St. Pierre’s second Octagon appearance at UFC 48, where he beats down current IFL welterweight champ Jay Hieron in under two minutes. Next, it’s GSP’s first pro fight, where Rush staves off the scrappy Ivan Menjivar to score a very questionable TKO via verbal tapout at the end of the first round. And finally, it’s the “GoldenPalace.com” TKO fight against Dave Strasser, which St. Pierre took after his first career loss (vs. Matt Hughes at UFC 50); lovely half-guard to side-control pass at 5:11 and the fight-ending kimura is just as slick.

(GSP vs. Jay Hieron, UFC 48, 6/19/04)

(GSP vs. Ivan Menjivar, UCC 7, 1/25/02; fight starts at the 4:06 mark)

(GSP vs. Dave Strasser, TKO 19, 1/29/05; fight starts at the 3:57 mark)

Props: MMAScraps

(Even the undercard of the WEC’s historic final card is stacked with exciting fights. RIP WEC, you won’t be forgotten. Bottom pic props David West.)

Although most people think that undercard bouts are of little consequence, one dark match on tonight’s final WEC 53 card will have great ramifications to the futures of its combatants, and if my hunch is correct, could potentially be a barnburner that will hopefully make it on the Versus broadcast.

According to a story from the East London Advertiser, the winner of tonight’s bantamweight bout between El Salvador-born Canadian Ivan Menjivar (21-7) and Brit Brad Pickett (19-5) will earn a UFC contract while the loser will go home empty handed.

Menjivar, who has faced a slew of UFC and WEC veterans including Joe Lauzon, Urijah Faber, Georges St-Pierre, Bart Palaszewski, Jeff Curran and Jason Black in his nine-year career has already experienced fighting in the UFC Octagon, having lost a hard fought decision to Matt Serra at UFC 48.

Despite not having the experience that Menjivar has, Pickett, who picked up Fight of the Night honors for his UFC 50 decision loss to Scott Jorgensen (who is fighting Dominick Cruz tonight for the inaugural UFC 135-pound strap), does have the advantage of already having three fights in the WEC and of having kept active the past seven years since he began fighting. Menjivar returned to the cage in June from a four-year absence from competition he spent rehabbing an injury and raising a family to fight under the W-1 banner and defeated Aaron Miller by a first round triangle.

W-1 president Jack Batemen contacted Cagepotato today to inform us that Ivan Menjivar will now be facing Aaron "Blood Spiller" Miller instead of Shad Smith at the promotion’s June 19 "Judgment Day" event. 

As we reported today, the fight will be Menjivar’s first in more than three and a half years.

A native of El Monte, California, Miller is a King of the Cage veteran with a record of 8-6. He is a former two-time Division 1 CIF wrestler and trains out of Gracie Barra Honolulu.

Menjivar (20-7) is a veteran of the UFC, IFL, K-1 Hero’s and the now defunct Canadian TKO organization. A talented featherweight who has faced a lot of talented fighters in his career including Georges St-Pierre, Urijah Faber, Matt Serra and Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro, "The Pride of El Salvador" fought most of his career above his natural weight class.

According to Batemen, the venue for the event has also changed from the Pierre Charbonneau Centre in Montreal to the Coliseum de Laval in Laval, Quebec.

(VidProps: Versus.com)

We hate to say we told you so (no we don’t) but Brad Pickett’s undercard bout with Ivan Menjivar at WEC 53 turned out to be a pretty good scrap. According to people who were on the scene in Glendale on Thursday night, the unaired prelims for this event were pretty epic. Maybe that’s what induced the live crowd to boo every takedown and cheer every Jesus reference during the televised portion of the card. Or maybe Arizona just sucks, who knows. We’re still waiting for the emergence of video evidence of the slam Eddie Wineland laid on Ken Stone – which briefly caused rumors to circulate through the arena that Stone had a broken neck. (He didn’t. He was fine.) – but for now we’ll have to make do with this pleasing little three-rounder. Spoilers (if you can call them that four days after the event) are after the jump.

Photo courtesy of fighthousemanagement.com

Yesterday, the UFC announced that top bantamweights Renan Barao and Ivan Menjivar are now scheduled to meet at UFC 148. Barao, who was initially scheduled to meet Jeff Hougland at the event, confirmed the switch on his Twitter account by saying “Menjivar is my new opponent at UFC 148. I know him.” Brevity is the soul of wit, people.

Don’t be surprised if the winner of this fight meets the winner of UFC 148′s (expected) main event clash between Urijah Faber and champion Dominick Cruz. Both fighters are 3-0 in the octagon, with Menjivar coming off of a wild, back and forth fight against John Albert at UFC on FUEL, which saw “The Pride of El Salvador” take home a first round rear-naked choke victory and Submission of the Night honors. Meanwhile, Barao has gone twenty nine straight fights without a loss. His most recent fight was a dominant performance against Scott Jorgensen at UFC 143, which saw him take home a unanimous decision victory.

As for Barao’s initial opponent? Jeff Hougland will step in for an injured Mike Easton to fight Yves Jabouin at UFC on FUEL 3.

Dana’s Video Blogs are often great for two reasons: you get to see some cool shit from just over his shoulder, and you get just a small hint of how much money he has. This final UFC 133 entry is no different.

Following the UFC 133 Press Conference, Dana takes your standard helicopter ride to Atlantic City, where he proceeds to “kick the shit out of Caesar’s Palace”. Judging by the fat stacks of cash in his hotel room, The Baldfather is rapidly approaching the point where he must weigh his money rather than count it. We also get a closer look at last night’s weigh-ins and learn that Ivan Menjivar knew that he wouldn’t be cutting any additional weight as soon as he stepped off the scales, opting for a fine instead. A tough weight cut is always something to consider for those of you looking to place any last minute bets.

Here’s your chance to get it on the record. Who is getting their hand raised tonight?

(Even in the off-season, the dude stays in killer shape. Props: @ryanbader)

We’ve got four new UFC fight announcements for you this morning. If you begin to feel overwhelmed, just remember your safe word, and pray that I have mercy on you, you worthless little dung beetle.

- As first reported by ESPN, light-heavyweights Ryan Bader and Vladimir Matyushenko will meet at UFC on FOX 6: Johnson vs. Dodson, January 26th in Chicago. Both guys are returning from being smashed in their last fights: Bader suffered a knockout loss to Lyoto Machida in August, while the Janitor has been sidelined due to injury since being TKO’d by Alexander Gustafsson last December.

- MMAWeekly reports that streaking heavyweights Stefan Struve and Mark Hunt will meet at the UFC’s next Japan event — UFC on Fuel 8, March 2nd at the Saitama Super Arena. The beanpole Dutchman and stocky Kiwi were originally scheduled to meet at UFC 146 back in May, but Hunt was forced to pull out of the fight on short notice with a knee injury.

A proven fight-finisher, Struve has stopped his last four opponents in the Octagon (Pat Barry, Dave Herman, Lavar Johnson, and Stipe Miocic), while Hunt has earned victories over his last three (Chris Tuchscherer, Ben Rothwell, and Cheick Kongo). Though Hunt will enjoy a sort of home-field advantage — he’s had nine previous MMA fights at the Saitama Super Arena, while Struve will be making his Japanese debut — he will also be giving up 13 inches (!) in height.

(That’s right, DJ. Pose through the pain. / Photo via Sherdog)

Due to an undisclosed injury, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming title defense against John Moraga, which was scheduled to go down at the TUF 17 Finale (April 13th, Las Vegas). At this point, it’s unclear when Johnson will be back in action, or if Moraga will remain on the card.

To make up for the loss, the UFC has booked a new fight to take the main event spot — a bantamweight scrap between Urijah Faber and Scott Jorgensen. Faber is coming off an impressive first-round submission over Ivan Menjivar at UFC 157, while Jorgensen snapped a two-fight losing skid by choking out John Albert at UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz, a performance that won him both Submission of the Night and Fight of the Night bonuses. Fun fact: Urijah Faber has gone 6-0 in his last six non-title fights, and 0-5 in his last five title fights.

The TUF 17 Finale will also feature Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Travis Browne, Miesha Tate vs. Cat Zingano, and probably Uriah Hall vs. some other guy from the show.

(Brendan Schaub and the always-relevant MC Hammer. / Photo via Brendan’s Facebook page)

UFC heavyweights Brendan Schaub and Lavar Johnson were originally scheduled to bang on the UFC on FOX 5 preliminary card over the weekend, until an ill-timed groin-pull* forced Johnson to withdraw less than two weeks out from the fight. As a result, Schaub was removed from the lineup entirely. Fortunately, they just got their do-over date.

According to MMAJunkie, Schaub vs. Johnson will now take place at UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche, February 23rd in Anaheim. No word yet on if the match will be part of the main card or if it’ll be re-slated for the prelims — but with supporting bouts already in place between Dan Henderson and Lyoto Machida, and Urijah Faber vs. Ivan Menjivar, the UFC’s historic ladies’ night is shaping up to be a can’t-miss event. (For the record, Hendo says his knee is fine and he’ll be ready to roll.)

* Are groin-pulls ever correctly timed? I guess not, huh.

(Tard face: For when punch face just doesn’t describe it.) 

It’s looking like Renan Barao might be getting a phone call from the UFC after all.

According to Dave Meltzer, bantamweight powerhouse Michael “Mayday” McDonald will not be the man to step up against Urijah Faber in Dominick Cruz’s absence, as he has suffered a hand injury that will keep him out of action for the unexpected future. Meltzer reported in his infamous publication, The Wrestling Observer, that the news came from none other than UFC President Dana White, although McDonald has yet to confirm it himself.

The news comes after the current bantamweight champion was forced to pull out of his heated trilogy match with Faber, scheduled for UFC 148, due to a torn ACL. Dana White announced during last week’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter 15 that Faber’s new opponent would be announced on tonight’s episode, and the general consensus was that it would be the Californian-born slugger, who is coming off a huge win over former WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres, would be the mystery opponent in question. The fact that the other most probable contender, Renan Barao, was already scheduled to face Ivan Menjivar at the same event only confirmed this notion.

If Barao is not the man to claim the empty spot, who else do you think could, Potato Nation? One thing’s for sure, we expect that tonight’s episode of TUF might finally bounce back from the ratings disaster it has been thus far.

We will have more on this story as it continues to develop.

-J. Jones

(Props: V4YDEN via MMA Scraps)

October 2002, Montreal. With first-round stoppages against Ivan Menjivar and Justin Bruckmann under his belt, Georges St. Pierre (2-0) was already the welterweight champion of the Canada-based Universal Combat Challenge when he stepped into the ring against Edmonton native Travis Galbraith, who was a slightly-more-seasoned 5-1 at the time. It took St. Pierre all of four seconds to score the double-leg takedown — Rush was already a natural at age 21 — and aside from an armlock attempt, Galbraith didn’t have much to offer on the ground.

The real reason to check out this fight if you’ve never seen it before is the unique finish, which starts around 3:23. With Galbriath’s arms locked around GSP’s arm and neck, St. Pierre pulls up and drives Galbriath’s head against the mat a couple times. After throwing in a couple of conventional strikes, GSP goes back to the brutal short-slams until his opponent is dazed and the ref stops the fight. After two more wins in Canada, St. Pierre earned his ticket to the UFC. And hopefully we’ll see this finishing move again someday…

Mike Russell caught up with Warrior One (W-1) president Jack Bateman at the MMA Expo in Toronto last weekend to talk about his upcoming show on Saturday night and what the future holds for the burgeoning Ontario, Canada-based promotion. According to the promoter, his organization has some big plans for the rest of 2010 and beyond that includes signing the top free agents from around the world and developing the talent at home in the Great White North.

Besides their "Judgement Day" show set for this Saturday night in Laval, Quebec that features UFC and PRIDE veteran Denis Kang (32-12-1), Shooto veteran Antonio Carvalho (11-4), Zahabi MMA standout Thierry Quenneville (15-8) and the return of Ivan Menjivar (20-7), Bateman says that the promotion is planning two more events this year.

(Jose, don’t you know who his cousin is, bro?)

In a interview with TATAME this weekend WEC featherweight champ Jose Aldo said that he has a good feeling that his next title defense will be against Manny Gamburyan.

According to the dominant Nova Uniao BJJ black belt fighter who trains with the likes of the Nogueira brothers, Anderson Silva and Junior Dos Santos, The fight hasn’t officially been inked, but he indicated that Gamburyan is the frontrunner for the next shot at his belt.

"I don’t really know. When we left Sacramento there were two names we had in mind, but I think maybe it will be Manny Gamburyan, so I can’t really say. We are here now, but I believe we will only know this for sure in some time, I think we will have to wait a bit longer."

(Props: MMAFighting)

Weigh-ins for UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields went down yesterday at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, with all 24 fighters making weight. Well, basically. Ben Henderson hit the scales at 156.5, and was given an hour to lose that extra half-pound, which he did. Bendo didn’t look too happy being on the scale in the first place; the tough cut might be a factor in his fight against Mark Bocek. Later, Mark Hominick‘s weight was announced at 145.25. There is no one-pound allowance for UFC title fights, but the match was OK’d anyway. Possible explanations include miscommunication and the overly trusting nature of Canadians.

In other weigh-in weirdness, Lyoto Machida brought Steven Seagal with him during his face-off against Randy Couture (you can find a rather amazing photo of that moment after the jump), and Ivan Menjivar showed up with a Wolverine claw that definitely didn’t look like it came from a toy store. Just seemed kind of unsafe, that’s all.

Come back to CagePotato.com tonight for live results from the UFC 129 broadcast; remember, Spike TV prelims start at 8 p.m. ET, and the pay-per-view starts at 9.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/MMATrailers)

The UFC 129 hype machine is starting to rev up with the first episode of UFC Primetime: GSP vs. Shields slated for Wednesday. Until then, some of the card’s other main card bouts are getting some play.

In the clip above from the UFC 129 countdown show, WEC featherweight champion-turned UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo expounds on his opponent Mark Hominick.

(In slo-mo for your convenience. Props: kemist. Full-speed gif is at the end of this post.)

Let’s get this out of the way: The cage-spring head-kick that Anthony "Showtime" Pettis landed on Ben Henderson in their lightweight title fight at last night’s WEC 53 event was 1) The greatest kick in MMA history, 2) Maybe the most impressive knockdown in MMA history, and 3) Further proof that Pettis is one of the most exciting 155′ers in the universe. (He’s also punched his ticket to challenge for the UFC lightweight title against either Frankie Edgar or Gray Maynard, who both look dull as hell by comparison.)

We already knew Pettis was capable of stuff like this, but to have the balls to throw that kick in the fifth round of a title fight? If he planted his foot wrong, the video above might be titled "Ultimate Fail." Instead, he clinched the match on the judges scorecards with absolute authority. Said Pettis after the fight: “Duke Roufus plays with us, and we try these new kicks. He told us if one of us lands it in the cage that he would take us to dinner. So he owes me some dinner.”

The main event earned both men $10,000 Fight of the Night bonuses. As action-packed as the "Henderson vs. Pettis" broadcast was, the unaired prelims were equally hardcore, producing five first-round stoppages in seven bouts…

(Holy shit! That dude looks tough!) 

If the abysmal ratings of The Ultimate Fighter 15 are any indication (hint: they are), then most of you are likely not up to speed on the happenings of this season, and I’m no exception. For instance, I couldn’t even name one of the participants still competing (Steve Sicilia?), nor could I tell you which phase of the tournament we are currently in. I chalk up my lack of enthusiasm over TUF 15 to the show’s shift to Friday nights, because personally, I’d rather get bombed on a mixture of hand grenades and PBR and hit on a mid-30′s divorcee with lowered self-esteem then watch Team Faber strip down and get a good sweat on in Team Cruz’s locker room, not that there’s anything wrong with that. But this Friday’s episode may mark the first time in the season that you and I might actually want to hold off on the brain damage and sexual harassment lawsuits for the time being.

After it was revealed that Dominick Cruz had suffered an ACL injury and would be forced out of his trilogy fight with Urijah Faber in last week’s episode, Dana White announced that during this week’s episode, he would reveal Cruz’s replacement. The mystery opponent will square off against Faber at UFC 148 for the interim bantamweight title, because the UFC simply can’t have enough interim champs at one time.

Join us after the jump for more on this story. 

(Former featherweight champion Urijah Faber will get another crack at the bantamweight title.)

UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz may be out of his UFC 148 fight with Urijah Faber on July 7th, but “The California Kid” will still get a title bout that night, according to UFC President Dana White. “So what’s going to happen is Urijah Faber will, he’s going to fight still. He’s going to fight on the same card. Now, I’m looking for the right opponent. The guy who deserves this shot at Urijah Faber,” White said on Tuesday’s episode of UFC Tonight, according to MMA Weekly.

Faber, who was also interviewed on UFC Tonight, said he imagines that either Renan Barao, Ivan Menjivar or Michael McDonald will get a crack at him but does not know for certain. Barao is riding a seven-year win streak and is currently slated to face Menjivar at UFC 148. McDonald knocked out former champion Miguel Torres last month.

(This is where we’d normally tell you Taters to keep it in your pants, but since Ronda’s barely keeping it it hers..)

Ronda Rousey, Liz Carmouche, and the rest of the 24 fighters competing at tomorrow’s UFC 157: One Small Step for the UFC, One Giant Leap for Womankind event will be hitting the scales tonight starting at 7 p.m. EST. It’s a card that is all but guaranteed to deliver thrills from top-to-bottom, especially in light of the UFC’s recently implemented “Dan Hardy Stipulation” that renders all UFC contracts null and void should the fighter not “bring it every fucking time.” I’m just reading the press release, folks.

Anyway, join us after the jump for a video of the weigh-ins along with the fastest goddamn results in the entire goddamn internet. Seriously, we dare you to find another MMA site that updates the results faster than we do. You will not.

(Sure, dude. Just trim off some of that disgusting excess fat, and you’ll hit 135 no problem. / Photo via MMAJunkie)

Standing 6’1″ and carrying a 73-inch reach, Pablo Garza is already a freakish physical anomaly in the UFC featherweight division. His Mr. Fantastic-esque body-type has been a key element to his UFC victories, from his flying knee KO of Fredson Paixao during his Octagon debut at the TUF 12 Finale to his manhandling of Mark Hominick at UFC 154 on Saturday.

Garza’s latest win wasn’t just the greatest moment of his MMA career — it also saved him from a possible dismissal from the promotion, as he was coming into the match on a two-fight losing streak. So what’s next for the Scarecrow? Well, he’s going to try to shed 10 pounds of bone and gristle off his already-meager frame, because he’s sure he can be champion at 135. As he told MMA Weekly:

(Video: YouTube.com/UFC)

More so than any of the punches ‘The American Gangster’ landed on the champion during their first encounter, it’s been his incessant jabs since that evening that have caused the most damage. It may have taken a couple of years of unrelenting taunts, but Chael Sonnen has finally gotten under Anderson Silva’s skin. Never underestimate the heart of a pretend champion.

Two weeks ago we saw Anderson’s cool demeanor begin to fade with promises of extreme violence against Sonnen. Things escalated on Tuesday with the champion violating Sonnen’s personal space, a press conference faux pas if ever there was one. Last night, however, the uncannily smooth Brazilian officially lost his cool, popping Sonnen with a shoulder to the face as the two squared off at the weigh-ins. I’m not sure if Brazil has area codes, but if so it’s safe to say which one Silva’s repping.

If you aren’t pumped for this fight, you’re dead inside. Actually, if you read this site, you’re probably already dead inside. So…just enjoy the fight, alright?

Full weigh-in results after the jump.

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

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

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

(BANG BANG BANG BANG! VAMANOS VAMANOS!)

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

(Awww, looks like Cindy got into momma’s makeup drawer!)

When it comes to finding replacements for UFC 133‘s increasingly cursed lineup, UFC matchmaker Joe Silva has clearly reached the “eff this noise, I’ll be at the bar” stage of the process. The latest update is that Rich Franklin has been removed from the card entirely, after his original opponent Antonio Rogerio Nogueira went down with a shoulder injury this weekend. For the record, King Mo twitter-offered to step up against Ace — a compelling possibility in its own weird way — but the UFC ignored his ass. Anyway, it’s a real shame. All those ice baths for nothing.

As a result, Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama is now the co-main event of “Evans vs. Ortiz II”, and Brian Ebersole vs. Dennis Hallman has been promoted to the main PPV card. (Yeah, you still have to pay for this one. Sorry.)

And damn, we didn’t even tell you: Vladimir Matyushenko pulled out of his prelim fight against Alexander Gustafsson last week due to injury. Stepping in to replace him will be none other than Matt Hamill, who’s coming off his decision loss to Rampage Jackson in May. I know, it’s impossible to keep up with all these lineup changes at this point, which is why we put the current UFC 133 fight card after the jump. Pray that things don’t change much from now until August 6th.

Barring something completely crazy and unexpected, the fight card for UFC 133 on August 6 in Philadelphia is set in place. Yesterday, the UFC officially announced the addition of a middleweight clash between Rafael Natal and Constantinos Philippou to the prelims. Rafael Natal is coming off of a majority draw against Jesse Bongfeldt at UFC 124, while Constantinos Philippou lost his UFC debut against Nick Catone at UFC 128.

Even though both middleweights are still searching for their first UFC victories, this bout is likely to appeal to the local fans. Both fighters are veterans of Atlantic City’s Ring of Combat, amassing a combined record of 10-2, with one no contest within the promotion.

UFC 133 will be headlined by a light heavyweight fight between Phil Davis and Rashad Evans. Also set for this card is throwback between Rich Franklin and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, the return of Vitor Belfort against Yoshihiro Akiyama and another attempt at the ill-fated Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara scrap. Not to mention the other seven fights listed after the jump.

(Damn, Arianny. Him too?)

After out-pointing Michael Johnson last December to win the TUF 12 lightweight trophy, Jonathan Brookins is gearing up for his first post-TUF opponent in the UFC. MMA Junkie reports that the super-chill bro-dog with the funky hair will take on Jeremy Stephens at the TUF 13 Finale (June 4th, Las Vegas). Stephens is 6-5 in the Octagon (19-6 overall), and most recently knocked Marcus Davis out of a job at UFC 125. Despite Stephens’s spotty record, he’ll be a tough challenge for Brookins, whose biggest weakness seems to be his standup defense; against an explosive power-puncher like Stephens, that could be a problem.

In other UFC booking news…

After nine-and-a-half years of thrilling events, Wold Extreme Cagefighting will take its final bow tonight at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona. But even aside from the historical significance, there will be a lot on the line at WEC 53. In the main event, Ben Henderson and Anthony Pettis battle to become the UFC’s #1 lightweight contender. Dominick Cruz and Scott Jorgensen meet to determine the UFC’s first-ever 135-pound champion. And a host of top 155′ers like Donald Cerrone, Chris Horodecki, Kamal Shalorus, Zhang Tie Quan and Jamie Varner will be fighting to keep their jobs in an unforgiving post-UFC-merger market.

CagePotato.com will be liveblogging the Versus broadcast beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. Come back for all the live results, and to share your fond memories of one of the greatest MMA promotions to ever do it. WEC 53′s full lineup is after the jump…

By Dan “Get Off Me” George

For the first time in UFC history, a card will not only feature but be headlined by a women’s title fight in the bantamweight division. We know what you’re thinking, “How are they going to fit an entire kitchen into the octagon?” but hear us out for a second. Pitting Olympic bronze medalist Ronda Rousey against Marine tuff Liz Carmouche, UFC 157 will look to break down the wall that has existed between men’s and women’s MMA for almost two years now. We kid, we kid, but will the UFC’s women’s division steal the show come Saturday night? And technically speaking, can you steal a show when you are the main event? These questions and others will be answered this Saturday night in Anaheim at the (R)Honda Center.

And with any big MMA event comes the opportunity to chip away at (or add to) those crippling debts we all are surely facing. So join us after the jump as we highlight some of the undercard and all the main card bouts for UFC 157 with the hopes of cashing in on some attractive betting lines, which come courtesy of BestFighOdds as always.

Preliminary card:

Michael Chiesa (-200) vs. Anton Kuivanen (+170)

Currently, Chiesa is right around -225, but look for that line to close around -300 by fight night. Anton has been more of a threat on the mat than on his feet thus far in his UFC run, but giving up almost half a foot in height to the Alpha Male-affiliated Chiesa will do him no favors in either department. Chiesa should be able to control this fight with his size advantage and continue his Cinderella story in the UFC.