Brandon Vera: Genuine Class

When James Irvin was asked about the four guys who turned down a match with Anderson Silva before he accepted it, he refused to name names. When Lyoto Machida was asked about the fighters who have reportedly been turning down fights against him, he refused to name names. Luckily there are straight shooters like Brandon Vera.

“They offered me Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Lyoto Machida and then Reese Andy,” Vera told The Baltimore Sun. As Vera explains, Henderson, Silva, and Sokoudjou all said no to the matchup, and Vera himself wanted no part of Machida. Wanderlei Silva has said repeatedly that he has no interest in fighting anyone before the end of the year, so he gets a pass — but Hendo and Soko just got their spots blown up, so to speak.

We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they probably balked at the short notice of the fight, and didn’t refuse it due to any sort of fear of the matchup. Whatever the case, Vera’s frank soundbite probably won’t win him many friends in the UFC. But what else would you expect from a guy nicknamed “The Truth”?

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What’s Up, Shogun?

Tatame.com.br checks in with Mauricio Rua — translation by CagePotato’s Luiz De Souza.

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Shogun Wants to Fight in December

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua talked to TATAME after being away from the ring since September of 2007. He seems very excited about returning to the Octagon after having a magnetic resonance done. “My knee is doing fine, thank God. I was going to begin training hard again this week, but I talked to my doctor and we are doing a few exams first. I am already boxing and lifting weights, and I think that next week I will go back to practicing some jiu-jitsu, and with time I will start training harder,” said Shogun, who last Saturday saw the fight with Griffin, the man who defeated him in the Octagon, winning the belt. Shogun does not think of revenge against Forrest Griffin.

“I will train hard for whoever comes next. I am coming from a loss so I cannot pick my opponent. There is nothing set yet, but I hope to come back in December. It’s more comfortable for me that way,” affirmed Shogun, who is this month, opening another branch of Universidade da Luta, in Curitiba (Brazil). “On the 21st there will be an event for the media, and on the 22nd there will be a huge class for more than 800 students. Wanderlei Silva will be here, everyone will…It’s going to be great,” said the athlete.

Previously: Rua Blows Out Knee, Will Not Face Liddell

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Randy Couture as King Sargon

From Xtreme Couture MMA:

Mark August 19th on your calendar. That’s when “Scorpion King 2″ starring Randy comes out on DVD and BluRay.

See how the legend of The Scorpion King began! When a young Mathayus (Michael Copon) witnesses his father’s death at the hands of the king (UFC Champion Randy Couture), his quest for vengeance transforms him into the most feared warrior of the ancient world. From the director of Resident Evil: Extinction and Highlander comes a heroic adventure filled with heart-stopping action and thrilling visual effects!

Interesting…we just assumed that he’d be playing a good guy. But this is even better, because every time Randy is given a villain role, he knocks it right the fuck out the park. Couple more pics after the jump.

Previously:
Christ, What an Asshole
Randy Couture’s Cauliflower Ear Gives Riveting Performance on The Unit

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Mike Tyson Not Impressed By Ricco Rodriguez’s Performance

(Rodriguez and Davis. Photo courtesy of the Las Vegas Sun.)

Sad news coming out of Las Vegas today: Apparently, former UFC heavyweight champ/Celebrity Rehab star Ricco Rodriguez competed in a pro boxing match last night at the Las Vegas Hilton, losing a slow-paced four-round decision to a gentleman named Chad Davis. Punishing the scales at 270 pounds, Rodriguez was heckled by boxing legend/rapist Mike Tyson, who was sitting ringside, and who had clearly paid to see blood:

“Are you going to throw some punches or what?” he asked in the first round.

Ricco’s opponent, Chad Davis, from Phoenix, taunted the former UFC champ at the end of the first with a little hip gyration maneuver.

“Come on,” Tyson implored. “Try to hurt each other.”

Rodriguez has one other boxing match under his belt — an October 2006 KO of Brandon Baker — while Davis came into the fight with an 0-1 record (thanks boxrec.com!). The match took place just two weeks after Rodriguez’s last MMA bout, a submission win over Chris Guillen at an Ultimate Combat Experience event.

Related: Mike Tyson’s Brunch-Out!!

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TapouT Knows What the Kids Want

(Would you let these men design your child’s bed?)

From a Press-Enterprise profile on the growth of the Tapout brand:

Its following is such that TapouT now enjoys the trappings of celebrity, including its own TV show, Hollywood-agency representation and product licensing that goes beyond fight gear. There will soon be TapouT bottled water and energy drinks, and it’s also considering lending its name to youth bedroom furniture.

“It’s very cool — we’re looking at what would be sort of a caged bed,” said Dan Caldwell, one of the company’s founders, who goes by the name Punkass.

Well, it finally happened — TapouT has become drunk with their own power. Either that, or they’ve run out of ideas. The t-shirt juggernaut now offers everything from bikinis to rash guards to belt buckles to sandals; basically, anything you can conceivably wear, you can buy a version of it with the TapouT logo. So now what? Energy drinks, sure, that one’s a no-brainer. But what other products can they stamp their “inyaface” ‘tude onto? I have to say, an S&M bed for children wouldn’t have been my first guess. First of all, they’re probably too big to sell at Hot Topic. And also, A CAGED *BED*, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING *MINDS*?!?

You know I don’t like to speak ill of others, but it feels like TapouT might be starting to extend past its area of expertise (apparel), and, you know, dilute the brand or whatever (furniture?). I imagine Mask, Punkass, and Skyscrape sitting around their office, mountains of cocaine in front of them, spitballing ideas. “Bros, don’t even trip, I’ve got our next trillion-dollar idea,” Mask says. “Dig it: CageBed.” Meanwhile, Alejandro Sosa’s hit squad is swarming into the compound, but they’re all too high to notice what’s happening on the security cameras. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

(Props to Robert at MMAPayout for the tip.)

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What’s New, Gerald Harris?

From April to June, TUF 7 castmember Gerald Harris was brave enough to guest-blog the “Rampage vs. Forrest” season for CagePotato.com, despite being knocked out of contention by Amir Sadollah in the round-of-16. He sent us this quick update today, to share with all the fans of his posts on our site. Give it a read and don’t be a stranger…

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Well, I figured that it’s better late than never. I have been in the process of moving to Phoenix, Arizona, so I haven’t had the time to write. I was actually making this move in January and had no idea where I was going to work out. Things didn’t go so well in Oregon financially, so I had to pack up and move in with my momma. It was hard, because I was a pro fighter, 28 years old, college graduate, and I was so poor I had to move in with a parent. Now, this isnt about pride, but I just expected more from myself. Oregon was good to me, I trained with Team Quest and built some lifetime friendships, but I had to move.

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Is Joe Duarte “The Next Anderson Silva”?

From Yahoo! Sports:

[Dana White] said he’s found “the next Anderson Silva,” a lightweight who is competing in Season 8 of TUF at 155 pounds, though he declined to release the fighter’s name because it might spoil the season. “I was going off when I saw this guy,” White said. “He’s 24 and he’s destroying people. It’s sick how bad ass he is. I’m getting goose bumps talking to you about him.”

Early message-board speculation is pointing to Joe “Hybrid” Duarte, a 24-year-old San Diego-based fighter who claims on his website that he’s been selected for Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir. Duarte is 3-0 in pro MMA, 9-0 in pro boxing, and 19-1 in Muay Thai. According to his bio page, he walks around at 185lb-190lb (remember, he’s a lightweight) and is “really, really, really RIDICULOUSLY strong,” thanks to his Chamorro ethnic background. And yes, he does destroy people. His last two MMA matches are after the jump:

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