There’s been a rash of MMA coverage in traditional media recently, and while it’s not always favorable — or respectful, or accurate in any way — every little bit helps, right? Here’s some of what unsuspecting non-fans have been exposed to as of late…

— Last night’s episode of Lewis Black’s Root of All Evil on Comedy Central focused on “Ultimate Fighting” vs. blogging, with comedians Andy Daly and Patton Oswalt debating which activity is more offensive. Watch the above video for Lewis Black’s opening statements, and click here to see Andy Daly’s really, really, really, incredibly lame condemnation of the sport. From the repeated use of the phrase “Ultimate Fighting” instead of “MMA,” to the bizarre/hostile fantasy of Kimbo Slice being choked with his own intestines, it’s the kind of retardedly uninformed outsider commentary that makes Fowlkes’s forehead vein pop out. (As for the MMA vs. bloggers debate, they’re both equally worthless, and I cry myself to sleep every night while cuddling my filthy dog.)

— Today, the New York Times published a feature on cauliflower ear, and how it’s become a badge of honor for practitioners of “mixed martial arts or ultimate fighting” (hey, progress!). Let me just say first that the NYT is always late to the party with their trend pieces, and by the time they inform their elderly readers about what’s so hot right now, the kids have stopped doing it completely. So you should expect this whole cauliflower ear thing to fall out of fashion any day now. The article’s actually kind of interesting, although it does contain one very FAIL-worthy passage:

With minimal subtlety, cauliflower ear announced itself to a national audience during a Saturday night broadcast on CBS on May 31, when a British fighter’s ear exploded in a shower of blood and pus. The match was stopped as a technical knockout, causing no small controversy among fans, rival promoters and some mixed martial arts officials.

The declared victor, Kimbo Slice, had been promoted as the star of the show. The loser, James Thompson, who had been winning on the scorecard, insisted he was ready to continue despite his bloodied ear. In hindsight, some considered the size of his ear and the volume of its gush suspicious. One popular theory held that his ear had been pumped full of blood for dramatic effect.

Word? How popular could that theory really have been, if in all the coverage of the incident on news sites, blogs, and message boards, it was never once suggested by anybody? Blood doping on your cauliflower ear? Dude, no. Though we give the Gray Lady props for suggesting that their readers watch this video.

— Speaking of the Times, Randy Couture‘s autobiography Becoming the Natural (written with Sherdog‘s Loretta Hunt) will debut at #33 on the New York Times bestseller list on August 10th. Randy will be doing an in-store book signing today at the Las Vegas Barnes & Noble, starting at 7 p.m.