(Props: MMA Mania)

Maybe the epic visual presentation for St. Pierre vs. Penn 2 has spoiled us, but we’re getting the sense that the UFC’s design department doesn’t really care about their upcoming Montreal show. Above is the poster image they’ve released for #97, which features old stock images of the four headliners in front of a generic cage background, surrounded by a cloud-like fog. Are these the men that are guarding the gates to MMA heaven? And what’s up with the janky-ass bubble-block lettering?

It seems significant that UFC 97 will be just the second UFC pay-per-view event since September to be identified with a word ("Redemption") rather than by the headlining matchup (i.e., "Couture vs. Lesnar," "Franklin vs. Henderson"). We’re guessing that’s because the idea of "Silva vs. Leites" headlining a card tends to bum people out. Still, "redemption" works well as a unifying theme. Liddell and Rua will be battling to rescue their careers after putting in woeful performances in their last fights, and Silva will be trying to redeem himself in the eyes of fans after his oddly restrained and anti-climactic performance against Patrick Cote in October.

Still, if it were up to us, we’d call the card "Silva and Liddell," have the two of them on the poster by themselves, and hope fans are duped into thinking that they’re fighting each other. And we’d dial back the fog machine by at least 50%.

After the jump: The latest announced and rumored matchups for UFC 97. [Updated at 12:16 p.m. PT]

Apparently I’m a subscriber to the UFC.com newsletter — which means I can totally buy tickets before the rest of you commoners, right? — and this poster came into my inbox today. Maybe this is nit-picky, especially in light of the three amazing headlining fights on this card, but can we talk about the “ill will” font? The name wasn’t blowing me away to begin with, and that’s the weakest, most limp-dicked presentation I’ve ever seen. White crayon, all lowercase? If that’s that creative direction they were going with, why not call the event “nap time” or “i’m sad”? Whatever happened to overcompensation? If I was designing this thing, I’d put “ill will” in all caps, in a tread plate-inspired font that shot fucking fireballs. No, don’t thank me, my wisdom is a gift to the world.

(It was either this or a picture of a beer bottle.)

Just two weeks after the UFC debuted its first big-name sponsor, with Harley Davidson taking the center of the Octagon at “Nemesis,” MMAPayout reports that a sponsorship deal with Budweiser may be close to being finalized. From Adam Swift’s report:

Negotiations reportedly began as part of the UFC’s negotiations with CBS. Once the CBS deal stalled, conversations continued between the UFC, Budweiser, and Spike TV…UFC President Dana White has been adamant in recent media appearances that the company is on the verge of landing several blue chip sponsors. Budweiser, on the heels of Harley-Davidson, would certainly fit that bill and silence much of the criticism directed at the UFC for its failure to lure mainstream sponsors.

The collapse of the CBS deal is a gut-shot, to be sure, but a sponsorship from the King of Beers would be a fantastic consolation prize, considering that the UFC will remain ghettoized to some extent as long as its biggest sponsors are Xyience and Mickey’s Malt Liquor. It’s understandable that large corporations would want to take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to associating themselves with blood-sports, but there’s no denying the UFC’s reach among young men. On the other side of the coin, a Bud sponsor in the UFC’s corner would probably give them more juice the next time they try to negotiate with a television network. As the biggest name in MMA, the UFC deserves Budweiser. Let EliteXC have Mickey’s Big Mouth. As for the IFL? We’re thinking Natty Light.

By the way, those Bud girls at the top of this post may look hot now, but in 20 years they’ll look like this:

(“If you’re gonna tease me, at least let me shove this down your shorts, homie.”)

The Nevada State Athletic Commission today released the salaries for Saturday night’s UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

The entire payroll for the show, which was attended by 10,040 fans and earned a reported live gate of $2.3 million, was $880,500.

Nick Diaz took home the biggest paycheck out of the night’s combatants with $200,000, not including discretionary back room bonuses which are rumored to have brought Diaz’s payday to the $1 million range. The next highest payout went to Josh Koscheck, who doubled up on his $73,000 base salary with his razor-close win over Mike Pierce, bringing him to $146,000. In third was Carlos Condit, who took home $110,000 for his win over Diaz including a $55,000 win bonus.

Fabricio Werdum’s UFC salary remained the same as his Strikeforce one as he netted his customary $100,000 flat rate for his win over Roy Nelson, who is still at the lower end of the pay scale of the UFC’s upper-echelon of fighters thanks to his TUF contract. To put it in perspective, Scott Jorgensen took home $500 more than “Big Country” for his loss to Renan Barao, while Mike Pierce matched salaries with the former heavyweight IFL champ.

(Ebersole vs. Lombard, round one. Find round two here, round three here, etc., etc. Vid: YouTube/MMAAustralia)

There aren’t a ton of new faces on this Saturday’s UFC 127 card, but the three newcomers lucky enough to recently sign their lives away to Zuffa, LLC. all seem capable of making notable first impressions. Find out more about this trio of veterans after the jump and let us know how you think they’ll do with your own comments …

(Alexandre Ferreira vs. Lew Polley, 2/29/08. Props: YouTube.com/IFL)

At this Saturday’s UFC 122 event in Germany, four men will begin their journeys from UFC preliminary card prospects to…whatever they end up becoming. For example, our first-ever "New Guys" column included a unknown kid by the name of Jon Jones. Our most recent "New Guys" column included a guy who got beat up by Rob Broughton then fired for steroid use. So, there’s a pretty wide swing here in terms of potential success. Let’s meet the latest batch of Octagon newbies…

ALEXANDRE "Cacareco" FERREIRA (LHW)
Experience: 18-6 record dating back to 1998, with 17 wins by first-round submission, including victories over Heath Herring, Bob Schrijber, Branden Lee Hinkle, and Fabio Maldonado. Has made appearances in Rings, the IFL, and Jungle Fight, among other promotions.
Will be facing: Vladimir Matyushenko (24-5, 5-3 UFC)
Lowdown: A stocky fireplug of a man, the 31-year-old "Cacareco" began fighting professionally while still in his teens. Ferreira comes from a decorated BJJ/luta livre background, and his grappling accomplishments include a 2nd-place finish in the 2003 ADCC Absolute Division tournament, where he placed ahead of Fabricio Werdum, Marcelo Garcia, Saulo Ribeiro, Marcio Cruz, and Jeff Monson.

This Q&A on UFC.com reveals that Alexandre’s favorite striking technique is the "takedown" (!) so don’t expect the guy to do much standing and banging. When asked which college he attended, Ferreira responded "Unfortunately I could not go to college; my college was my survival as a human." He hasn’t competed since a 70-second kimura victory over Walter Mazurkievicz last October. Ferreira was supposed to face Jamal Patterson at "Shine Fights: Mayorga vs. Thomas" in May, but that event famously imploded at the last minute.

(Morecraft vs. Josh Diekmann, 11/14/09; fight starts at the 2:27 mark.)

Two minor-league MMA prospects will be taking a major leap in competition this Saturday, as they make their Octagon debuts in the preliminary card of UFC 117. As we saw with Charles Oliveira at "Jones vs. Matyushenko" on Sunday, sometimes dreams do come true. And sometimes they get crushed and blown away like dust. Get to know the new guys below and keep an eye out for ‘em this weekend…

CHRISTIAN MORECRAFT (HW)
Experience: 6-0 record (all wins by first-round stoppage, three within the first minute) competing in the Reality Fighting and Cage Fighting Xtreme promotions. All fights have taken place in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Most recently scored a submission-via-strikes victory over Lee Beane in May to win CFX’s heavyweight title.
Will be facing: Stefan Struve (19-4, 3-2 UFC)
Lowdown: Another large addition to the UFC’s heavyweight division, Morecraft is a 6’6, 258-pound smashing machine that has been drawing lots of attention in Massachusetts. The 23-year-old began studying the sport with John Burke at the Dungeon MMA Academy, and now calls the Cape Cod Fighting Alliance his home. His take on MMA: "For every way there is to put somebody (in a hold), there’s a way of getting out if you do it at the right moment. And everything flows. It’s an art.” Morecraft digs ’80s metal, and walked out to Kiss’s "Calling Dr. Love" for the Beane fight.

(Cyrille the Snake’s early kickboxing highlights. Props: Gorgeous PX)

UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans goes down this coming Saturday in Las Vegas, with two new faces casting their fates to the wind in the prelims, both of whom have peripheral connections to TUF 9. Who will survive and what will be left of them? Get to know the guys below, and swing by MMA Fightpicker to make your UFC 114 predictions…

CYRILLE DIABATE (LHW)
Experience: 16-6-1 record competing around the world for promotions like Cage Rage, 2H2H, PRIDE, and ShoXC. Has won nine of his last ten fights, with eight of those wins coming via stoppage in the first two rounds.
Will be facing: Luis Cane (10-2 w/1 no-contest, 3-2 UFC)
Lowdown: A veteran kickboxer and mixed martial artist, "The Snake" has been putting the hurt on people since the ’90s. Diabate spends part of his time training at Team Quest in Temecula, and appeared on TUF 9 last year as Team USA’s striking coach, but is doing most of the preparation for this fight in his native France. Standing 6’6", he tends to rely on his endless reach and striking prowess, but says he’s been concentrating on wrestling recently to become a more complete fighter. He hasn’t lost an MMA match since September 2006, when he was nearly stomped to death by Mauricio Rua at PRIDE Final Conflict Absolute.

(Rolles Gracie vs. Sam Holloway, 9/20/07)

A quick look at the four fresh talents who will be hunting for success in the Eight-Sided Shape on Saturday night…

PHIL DAVIS (LHW)
Experience: 4-0 record (3 wins by first-round stoppage) in various regional leagues. Last competed in June ’09, choking out David Baggett at a UCFC event in Pittsburgh.
Will be fighting: Brian Stann (8-2, 2-1 UFC)
Lowdown: They call him "Mr. Wonderful." A four-time All-American and 2008 Division I National Wrestling Champion for Penn State, Davis began his MMA education with Greg Jackson before moving to San Diego, where he now works out with Brandon Vera at the Alliance Training Center. His fighting mentality was instilled in him from an early age, as he had to scrap with his two older brothers for two available seats at their family’s dinner table. By the age of 12, Davis was “eating dinner almost every night.” [Ed. note: Wow, that's kind of fucked up.] Davis thinks it’s pretty cool that Brian Boitano gets roses thrown at him after his performances, and would like that to happen for him someday.

RONNYS TORRES (LW)
Experience: 14-1 record (12 wins by stoppage), with all fights taking place in Brazilian leagues including Shooto Brazil and Jungle Fight.
Will be fighting: Melvin Guillard (22-8-1 with 1 no-contest, 5-4 UFC)
Lowdown: Due to a series of injuries, Torres has been out of action since September 2008, when he scored a first-round submission over Eliene Silva at Jungle Fight 11; Torres was originally supposed to face Guillard last April.  The Nova Uniao prospect with the oddly-pluralized first name has had to cut over 30 pounds to make the lightweight limit. He plans on making his cage-entrance to gospel music. "It is step by step that I will arrive to the top," Torres says. "I only ask that God illuminates me."

(Lucio Linhares highlight reel courtesy of norja01.)

Tucked away on the preliminary card of UFC 107 this Saturday will be two promising Brazilian up-and-comers, trying to make their names on MMA’s greatest stage. Will they prove that they belong there, or will they just be more chum for the Octagon’s sharks? Let’s meet ‘em…

LUCIO LINHARES (MW)
Experience: 13-4 record, with multiple appearances in M-1 Challenge and Finland’s Fight Festival organization. Is currently on a five-fight win streak, with all wins by stoppage and notable victories over Karl Amoussou and Sean Salmon.
Will be facing: Rousimar Palhares (9-2, 2-1 UFC)
Lowdown: A native of Ipatinga, Brazil, the 36-year-old Linhares grew up studying a variety of martial arts including kung fu and capoeira before discovering jiu-jitsu. Now, "the gentle art" is how Spartan makes his living. Linhares is highly-regarded as a BJJ instructor, and his annual seminars in Finland have garnered him the unofficial title of "Godfather of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Finland." (He also competed in the M-1 Challenge as a ringer for Team Finland.) Though Linhares’s start in MMA came relatively late in life, he’s enjoyed great success recently thanks to an improving stand-up game. He describes Palhares as "my hardest opponent to date." However: "I know I have a good Brazilian jiu-jitsu and I am confident to face anyone in the UFC because this is the moment of truth for me."

(Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Dan Henderson, 4/23/05)

Of the 22 fighters testing their fates on Saturday night, three of them will be stepping into the Octagon for the first time — but don’t expect these guys to crack under the pressure. Read on to meet the MMA veterans and submission experts who will be trying to make dominant first impressions at "Ortiz vs. Griffin II"…

ANTONIO ROGERIO NOGUEIRA (LHW)
Experience: 17-3 record, with notable victories over Dan Henderson, Alistair Overeem (twice), Kazushi Sakuraba, and Vladimir Matyushenko (in January, which avenged his first career loss). Has won his last five fights, most recently submitting Dion Staring via triangle choke in May.
Will be facing: Luis Cane (10-1 with 1 no-contest, 3-1 UFC)
Lowdown: Whether you know him better as "Minotoro" or "Lil’ Nog," there’s a good chance you’re already aware of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s twin brother. The 33-year-old veteran of PRIDE, Affliction, and Sengoku has had a decorated career dating back to March 2001, and is considered by many to be one of the ten best light-heavyweights in the world right now. Though Antonio Rogerio comes from a BJJ background like his bro (who he trains with at Black House), four of his last six wins have come via TKO, and he won a bronze medal in boxing at the 2007 Pan American Games. Minotoro hasn’t lost a fight since his shock-upset KO defeat against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at PRIDE 33, nearly three years ago. Says Rogerio of his UFC debut: “For more than three years, UFC was my goal and now I’m just very happy to be here in the best event. The UFC has the best talent in the world, and I feel like now I’m going to be challenged like I’ve never been challenged before in my career…The fans can expect to see a very well-trained and well-prepared athlete who’s very focused and determined to win."

(Hamman vs. Po’ai Suganuma 2, 8/15/08)

The UFC’s trip to Manchester this Saturday will feature just two new faces — and they’ll be fighting each other. So who’s got the better chance of making a successful Octagon debut? Get the know the newbies below and make your predictions…

JARED HAMMAN (LHW)
Experience: 10-1 record (all wins by stoppage in the first two rounds), with appearances in Strikeforce and ShoXC. Last competed in August 2008, where he avenged his only loss — a 15-second flying-knee-related TKO against Po’ai Suganuma that many felt was an early stoppage.
Will be facing: Alexander Gustafsson (see below)
Lowdown: A protege of Brian Warren at Unbreakable Gym and Vladimir Matyushenko at VMAT, the California-bred Jared Hamman was building up momentum as an exciting light-heavyweight prospect when his contract was put on ice in the wake of Pro Elite’s collapse. Or so he thought: "When EliteXC went down, I was told that my contract was being held and being transferred over to Strikeforce. I had plenty of opportunities to fight, but I was told that I couldn’t because I was still under contract…During a meeting with my manager it was discovered that I was a free agent. UFC made me an offer and I went with what I felt was the best decision…In the end, it has given me a whole year to work on my game and increase my skill."

(Props: Esther Lin)

With a full 13 bouts scheduled for UFC 103, fight fans are going to get their money’s worth tomorrow night in Dallas. Six fighters will be stepping into the Octagon for the first time, most of them trying to make the transition from hometown hero to big-time player. Read on to get acquainted with all the new faces, from Semtex to Tractor to Carny...

PAUL DALEY (WW)
Experience: 21-8-2 record, with 16 wins by KO/TKO. Was the former welterweight champion of Cage Rage. Holds stoppage victories over Duane Ludwig, John Alessio, Jess Liaudin, and Xavier Foupa-Pokam.
Will be facing: Martin Kampmann (15-2, 6-1 UFC)
Lowdown: You should already know about this guy. He knocks dudes out, and has never been knocked out himself. Still, if Kampmann can get this one to the ground, it’s a wrap. UFC.com tries to put a positive spin on the reality of the situation: "Chances are, when Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley is around, you’ll either witness a Knockout of the Night or Submission of the Night."

STEVE LOPEZ (LW)
Experience: 12-1 record, primarily in Midwestern regional leagues. Holds a submission-via-strikes victory over The Gooch. Last competed in October 2008, when he scored a decision win over Alejandro Villalobos.
Will be facing: Jim Miller (13-2, 3-1 UFC)
?Lowdown: A South Bend native and member of the Bulldog Fight Team, Lopez comes to this fight as a replacement for Thiago Tavares. The UFC first noticed Lopez when he tried out for TUF 9 — and injured his shoulder in the process. The former wrestler was inspired to try MMA when he saw The Smashing Machine, and made his pro debut in February 2007 at a four-man tournament, which he won via two consecutive knockouts. He just wants to get in there and scrap: “Win or lose, I hope the fans say ‘man, this kid’s tough – he’s got heart and he don’t back down.’ And this fight is the type of fight I’m looking for – Jim Miller, Roger Huerta, Tyson Griffin – I’m looking for grinders. Those just have Fight of The Night written all over them. I’m not afraid to stand and bang, and I can take a whuppin’. We throw down hard in practice, I’ve never been knocked down, and these are the fights that interest me.”

(Johny Hendricks vs. Richard Gamble, 3/15/08)

Saturday night will see the Octagon debuts of three welterweights who joined up with the WEC just before the league folded its 170-pound division. Now the UFC will give these fighters a chance to prove themselves — slotting one of them in a high-profile main card fight against TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah. Get to know UFC 101’s trio of newbies below…

JOHNY HENDRICKS (WW)
Experience: 5-0 record (3 wins by TKO, 1 by submission). His last two fights were in the WEC, where he defeated Justin Haskins and Alex Serdyukov.
Will be facing: Amir Sadollah (1-0 MMA/UFC)??
Lowdown: While wrestling at Oklahoma State University, Hendricks won two NCAA Division I titles at 165-pounds, and was a three-time Big 12 Conference champion. After graduating in 2007, he racked up three MMA wins in local Oklahoma shows before joining the WEC. But despite his fearsome wrestling credentials, he doesn’t plan on laying on top of Sadollah for three rounds. As he said in this UFC.com profile: “You can’t afford to play in Amir’s guard at any point. A lot of wrestlers have tried that with Amir and have ended up failing badly…I actually now like to stand and strike. I’ve tried to finish all my fights while standing on my feet. If I take a guy down and he wants to get back up, I’ll just let them…I want to provide entertaining fights, not wrestling matches. If I’m not active on top, I’ll back out and stand up. The happiness of the fans is what pays the bills and I’m aware of that.” Hendricks has recently been training at Striking Unlimited in Las Vegas.

(Peter Sobotta highlight reel. How do you say "I FINISH FIGHTS!" in German?)

The UFC 99 lineup is packed with plenty of European faces, and as usual, a couple guys will be getting called up to the majors for the very first time. Get acquainted with the latest batch of Octagon newbies below…

PETER SOBOTTA (WW)
Experience: 8-1 record, with all wins by stoppage. Has competed almost entirely in Germany, where he has lived since he was three years old. (He was born in Poland.) Sobotta’s last fight was a third-round TKO of Kerim Abzailov at a KSW event last September.
Will be facing: Paul Taylor (9-4-1, 2-3 UFC)
?Lowdown: One of the local scrappers brought in for the UFC’s Deutschland debut, 22-year-old Peter Sobotta is a well-rounded prospect known for his aggressive offense. No, he’s never beaten anybody you’ve heard of, but he may be able to overwhelm the injury-addled Taylor. Sobotta grew up training in Judo and Tae Kwon Do, took up MMA as a teenager, and had his first pro fight at the age of 17. According to this interview on nokaut.com, Sobotta trains at Berserker’s Gym, is studying to be an "IT system merchant," and is not a morning person.

(Foupa-Pokam’s most recent fight, against Kyacey Uscola at PFC 12 in January. The KO comes at the video’s 8:12 mark.)

UFC 97: Redemption goes down this Saturday in Montreal, and among the card’s horde of Brazilians, Canadians, and TUF vets are three dudes who will be looking to prove themselves in the Octagon for the first time. These are their stories…

***

BRIAN STANN (LHW)
Experience: 6-1 record primarily in the WEC, with all wins by first-round TKO. Holds victories over Aaron Stark, Steve Cantwell, and Doug Marshall.
Will be facing: Krzysztof Soszynski (16-8-1, 1-0 UFC)
Lowdown: Stann became the WEC’s light-heavyweight champion in March 2008 when he knocked out Doug Marshall at WEC 33, but lost the title in his first defense when he was TKO’d by Steve Cantwell — who Stann had defeated in a previous fight. Stann and Cantwell were supposed to have their rubber match at UFC’s "Fight for the Troops" event last December, but Stann was forced to pull out with a foot injury; Cantwell went on to snap the arm of Razak Al-Hassan then brag about it. A former Captain in the U.S. Marines and Iraq war vet, Stann was awarded the Silver Star after saving the asses of his entire 42-man platoon following an unfortunate ambush-situation near Karabilah, which was later portrayed on the History Channel show Shootout! He hails from Scranton, Pennsylvania.

XAVIER FOUPA-POKAM (MW)
Experience: 20-9 record (18 wins by stoppage in the first two rounds) with multiple appearances in Cage Rage and Palace Fighting Championship.
Will be facing: Denis Kang (31-11-1, 0-1 UFC)
Lowdown: Currently riding a seven-fight win streak, the 26-year-old Frenchman describes his Muay Thai-based style as "very violent." Professor X splits his training time between Team Quest in Temecula, California — where he acted as an Anderson Silva-mimic when Dan Henderson was preparing for his middleweight title fight against the Spider at UFC 82 — and Cyrille Diabate’s Snake Team in Paris. Before devoting his life to fighting, Foupa-Pokam was a cameraman and director’s assistant, and calls filmmaking his "second passion." He has three DQ losses on his record, due to an ill-fitting mouthpiece that kept falling out (in a fight against Martin Kampmann), an accidental groin strike, and an illegal elbow on the ground during an event where they weren’t allowed. Canada will be the twelfth country he’s competed in.

(Ryan Magidan: The dude can kick.)

This week’s installment of "The New Guys" will be a brief one — there are only two Octagon first-timers on Saturday’s UFC 96 card. But both fighters are undefeated ass-kickers with the potential to shake things up in their divisions. So pay attention, because it’s time for us to drop some knowledge…

MARK MUNOZ (LHW)
?Experience: 5-0 record, with appearances in Gladiator Challenge and Palace Fighting Championship. Last two fights were in the WEC, where he scored first-round TKOs over Chuck Grigsby and Ricardo Barros.
Will be facing: Matt Hamill (5-2, all fights in the UFC)
?Lowdown: "The Philippine Wrecking Machine" comes from a decorated amateur wrestling background; while competing at Oklahoma State University as a 197-pounder, he scored two Big 12 titles and became the first Filipino-American to win a Division I National Championship. It was Munoz’s friend Urijah Faber who first convinced him to try his hand at MMA, and Munoz now trains out of Faber’s Ultimate Fitness gym in Sacramento. Jesus is his homeboy.

RYAN MADIGAN (WW)
?Experience: 5-0 record (all wins by stoppage within the first two rounds) in regional leagues including Gladiators Cage Fighting and Close Quarters Combat.
Will be facing: Tamdan McCrory (10-2, 2-2 UFC)
Lowdown: A ferocious striker, Ryan "The Lion" honed his kickboxing chops in Chuck Norris’s World Combat League, and is the current IKF East Coast middleweight champion. The Ohio-based fighter is a member (and striking coach) of the Jungle Fight Team, where he trains under Chris Chard, and is also an instructor at the Evolve Training Center in Medina, OH. According to his bio, his favorite TV show is The Bachelor. Seriously?

(Stefan Struve: Tall, young, and Dutch as fuck.)

From short-notice replacements, to submission specialists, to big-ass heavyweights, the UFC will be rolling the dice on a lot of new talent this Saturday at UFC 95, as six of the 20 fighters on the card have never fought in the Octagon before. So which ones will rise to the occasion and which ones are three days away from the most high-profile losses of their careers? Check out the brass-tacks briefing below and draw your own conclusions…

PAULO THIAGO (WW)
?Experience: 10-0 record (7 wins by submission) in Brazilian leagues including Jungle Fight and Storm Samurai.
Will be facing: Josh Koscheck (12-3, 10-3 UFC)
?Lowdown: Well, he’s a brave son-of-a-bitch, for one thing. Thiago is a member of BOPE (Special Police Operations Battalion), a Brazilian SWAT-style unit known for fighting the heavily armed drug gangs of Rio de Janeiro. Amnesty International has repeatedly accused the outfit of excessive force in their operations — and Paulo will need some of it when he goes up against one of the UFC’s top five welterweights in his Octagon debut. Thiago is undefeated, and looks great against scrubs, but the jump in competition here is massive. Still, it’s MMA, and a Dos Santos/Werdum-caliber upset is always a possibility.

STEFAN STRUVE (HW)
?Experience: 16-2 record (12 wins by submission), fighting all over Europe. Holds submission wins over UFC vets Colin Robinson and Mario Neto, and has never gone past the second round in any fight.
Will be facing: Junior Dos Santos (7-1, 1-0 UFC)
?Lowdown: Nicknamed "The Skyscraper," Struve stands 6’8" and weighs just 220 pounds. As if his beanpole frame doesn’t make him enough of an anomaly in the UFC’s heavyweight class, he’s also a submission whiz, which will put him at odds with the division’s big wrestlers and strikers. The 21-year-old (as of today) Holland native has been competing professionally since he was 17, and now calls Team Schrijber his home. As Struve told Fighters Only: "I think I can beat most of the guys [in the UFC]. They have five or six really good heavyweights. The other guys…not so good, I think."

(Denis Kang: There can be only one. Photo courtesy of PrideFC.com.)

From international stars to local yokels, this Saturday’s UFC event in Dublin will feature another crop of fighters who will be scrappin’ in the Octagon for the first time. Read on, and you’ll know just as much as Mike Goldberg…

DENIS KANG (MW)
?Experience: 31-10-1 record, with 15 wins by submission and 12 by KO/TKO. Is the reigning Sprit MC heavyweight (80kg+) champion and was a finalist in PRIDE’s 2006 welterweight grand prix. Holds notable victories over Murilo Rua, Amar Suloev, Akihiro Gono, and Marvin Eastman.
Will be facing: Alan Belcher (13-5, 4-3 UFC)
?Lowdown: Chances are, you’re already familiar with “The Super Korean.” Kang became a consensus top ten middleweight (and superstar in Asia) after going on a 22-1-1 run from April 2003 to March 2007, but his momentum was stalled following back-to-back losses to Yoshihiro Akiyama and Gegard Mousasi. Still, the Canadian BJJ black belt is a huge acquisition for the UFC, and the most credible threat to Anderson Silva’s middleweight title since Dan Henderson. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time that the UFC has tried to bring Kang aboard; he was offered a spot on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, but turned it down in order to compete in Korea. Kang had previously trained with American Top Team in Florida, but has recently been working out in Montreal with Georges St. Pierre due to some visa issues which are close to being settled.

ALEXANDRE BARROS (WW)
?Experience: 13-5 record, primarily in Brazilian leagues like Heat FC, Meca, and the International Vale Tudo Championship. Currently on a nine-fight win streak. ?Ten of his 18 fights have gone to decision; one of those decisions was a loss to Matt Hughes in 2000.
Will be facing: Martin Kampmann (13-2, 4-1 UFC)
?Lowdown: Who knows, maybe “Baixinho” could pull a Junior Dos Santos, and score a dramatic win over an established UFC vet after being plucked from Brazilian obscurity. But most likely he’s just being brought in to give Kampmann a relatively easy first fight at welterweight. Judging from this highlight reel, the Gracie Barra Combat Team member is aggressive with his hands and likes to throw the head kick. Still, he hasn’t beaten anybody close to UFC caliber. We don’t predict big things.

(Mustapha Al-Turk vs. Mark Kerr, Cage Rage 20, 2/10/07)

There are so many marquee names on the UFC’s year-end card (December 27th, Las Vegas) that the three heavyweights who will be stepping into the Octagon for the first time could get lost in the shuffle. So let’s take a quick look at the dudes who will be fighting for a slice of recognition during their UFC debuts at #92…

MUSTAPHA AL-TURK (HW)
Experience: 6-3 record, with all wins by first-round stoppage due to strikes. Last seven fights were in the now-defunct Cage Rage, where he won their British heavyweight title. Most recently defeated James McSweeney via TKO at Cage Rage 27 in July.
Will be facing: Cheick Kongo (12-4-1, 5-2 UFC)
Lowdown: Al-Turk was originally supposed to be fed to Cain Velasquez, but a knee-injury forced Velasquez to pull out of the bout. A member of the London Shootfighters camp, Al-Turk won the ADCC European Trials in 2005, but lost his first-round match at the World Championships to Gabriel Gonzaga. His solid takedowns and ground-and-pound could create serious problems for Kongo, a standup fighter without a strong ground game.

MIKE WESSEL (HW)
Experience: 8-1 record in various midwestern/southern regional leagues (15-1 including amateur fights). Most recently submitted Aaron Winterlee at a Subzero Fighting event in August.
Will be facing: Antoni Hardonk (7-4, 3-2 UFC)
Lowdown: A late replacement for Mark Burch, who had to pull out of his fight against Hardonk due to undisclosed reasons, Wessel trains with TUF 8 footnote Roli Delgado at Westside Kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Little Rock, Arkansas. He’s a former strength and conditioning coach for the University of Arkansas; his website also says he’s a former pro football player. We’ll see if that’s enough to stand up to Hardonk’s notoriously brutal leg-kicks.

(Josh Hendricks steamrolls Rick McChristian at GFS: Caged Vengeance in February 2006; the destruction begins at the 1:47 mark.)

Amir Sadollah’s leg infection means we won’t get to see what this Nick Catone dude’s all about, but there will still be two Octagon first-timers trying their luck in Las Vegas on Saturday. Here’s what you need to know in order to sound smart around your friends…

JOSH “HEAVY” HENDRICKS (HW)
Experience: 15-4 record in various midwestern promotions, with 13 wins by 1st-round stoppage. Has gone 10-0 with one no-contest in his last 11 fights.
Will be facing: Gabriel Gonzaga (9-3, 5-2 UFC)
Lowdown: Randy Couture hand-picked this former two-time All-American wrestler to help him prepare for his bout against Brock Lesnar (you might have caught a glimpse of him in the Countdown to UFC 91 special on Spike). At 6’2″, 246 pounds, Hendricks isn’t quite as big as Lesnar, but he’s got plenty of speed and power, and very few opponents have made it out of the first round against him. Ring rust may be an issue, however; his last fight — a 50-second submission-by-strikes victory over Braden Bice — took place a year ago.

RAFAEL DOS ANJOS (LW)
Experience: 11-2 record with multiple appearances in the Brazilian fight clubs Fury FC and XFC. He has won his last nine fights, and has never lost by stoppage.
Will be facing: Jeremy Stephens (13-3, 2-2 UFC)
Lowdown: The reigning lightweight champ of Fury FC, UFC 91 marks Dos Anjos’s first appearance in North America. Most of his wins come via submission, which is no surprise considering he’s a student of BJJ greats Aldo “Caveirinha” Januário and Roberto “Gordo” Correa. He’s also a member of the Gracie Fusion fight team, and used to train under the late Ryan Gracie. Two of his fights are after the jump…

(Can Dan “Viking” Evensen conquer the UFC’s heavyweight division?)

“Seek and Destroy” is just four days away, and like most UFC shows, there will be a crop of Octagon newbies given a chance to sink or swim against high-level competition. Let’s take a look at the fresh meat…

DAN EVENSEN (HW)
Experience: 10-2 record (5 wins by 1st-round KO/TKO), with multiple appearances in Gladiator Challenge and BodogFight. Notable wins over Ruben Villareal and Jeremiah Constant; losses to Christian Wellisch and Dan Bobish. Last fight was a decision win over Konstantin Gluhov last November.
Will be facing: Cheick Kongo (11-4-1, 4-2 UFC)
Lowdown: Evensen is a 6’3″, 250-pound Norwegian, who “hates all wrestlers worldwide.” He briefly competed in K-1 and was associated with Master Toddy‘s Muay Thai Camp.

RYAN THOMAS (WW)
Experience: 9-1 record (all wins by stoppage), with multiple appearances in Extreme Challenge and Courage Fighting Championships. Is one of 27 fighters to have defeated MMA punchline Kenneth Allen. Has already competed five times this year, most recently submitting John McElroy in 36 seconds on July 17th.
Will be facing: Ben Saunders (5-0-2, 1-0 UFC)
Lowdown: A part-time student at Eastern Illinois University, Thomas accepted the Saunders fight on just 12 days notice, filling in for Jared “J-Roc” Rollins, who had to pull out of the card suddenly. According to Thomas, he was brought on under a four-fight contract.

Before I was a writer here at CagePotato, some of my favorite columns to read were the “New Guys” features devoted entirely to familiarizing us with the unfamiliar faces sprinkled throughout the average UFC card. It made the preliminary action far more exciting in my opinion, and more importantly made me look like less an MMA fan, more a prophet when making picks against my friends on fight night. I would of course plead ignorance after I had successfully transferred their money into my wallet, but hey, that’s what they get for saying “This Cyprus Diabetes guy is going to get straight up murdered by Luiz Cane.”

So to begin a year in which 95 or so percent of scheduled UFC fights will likely be cancelled due to injury, we figured we would brush off this old feature moving forward, if only to brief you on the no-namers who will inevitably be stepping in on short notice to replace our plagued MMA stars. Today’s edition focuses on the upcoming UFC on FX 7 card headlined by Michael Bisping vs. Vitor Belfort, and features a pair of dangerous, well-rounded sluggers hailing from, you guessed it, Brazil. Funny how that always seems to be the case.

Props to MMA Weekly, UFC.com, The Sun, and the “UFC 95: The Aftermath” set on Combat Lifestyle.                       

No caption needed, really.

Well people, hopefully you are enjoying a day off with some barbecued animal carcass and a nice cold beer (or some grilled zucchini and tofu scramble, whatever scratches your itch).  Join us as we look back on the action from UFC 132 and what we can take away from a card as wild and unpredictable as this one.  If a story comes out that some guy hit an eleven fight parley, we’re going to track him down and burn him as a sorcerer.  Seriously, there’s playing a hunch, and then there’s invoking demons to influence the reality on our plane of existence.

First, some things must not be spoken of.

Like Wanderlei Silva losing, or Tito Ortiz winning.  Sometimes, great reflection is required to glean the lessons of life from events that at first seem incomprehensible.  Sometimes, understanding must elude us forever.

Come on in and let’s talk five things.

(The last time Big Daddy got paid on time and in full.)

By Cage Potato contributor Chris Colemon

Only 17 years removed from its inaugural bout, the UFC is just now exiting its awkward teen years and developing into a suave, sophisticated adult. After an extended bout of growing pains that at times threatened the sport’s very existence, MMA is finally coming into its own. Today’s fans witness seemingly daily achievements and milestones that speak to the sport’s rapid expansion. In 2010 alone, the UFC held its first events in Abu Dhabi and Australia, opened offices in China, set a new North American attendance record for an MMA event, crowned its first Mexican heavyweight champion, and launched their first attack in the Battle for New York.

But the UFC’s epic tale is not unlike any other in that each chapter begins where another one ends. For every historic first, there is an all but forgotten last.

Here is a short list of some of the UFC’s important lasts – the rules and regulations sacrificed in the fight for our sport’s survival.

Check them out after the jump.

Photos courtesy of The Las Vegas Sun, UFC.com, Sherdog, and MMA Weekly. Click all for larger images; lots more after the jump.

Internet video savant Lookoutawhale has done it again.  Here we get a chance to see what it might have looked like if the production teams from both Pride and the UFC had gotten drunk together and engaged in an orgy of fight hype.  The result is a beautiful and slightly comical love child.  It really makes you grateful for the wonders of technology and the things it can be used for when people have too much time and not enough of a social life.  The special appearance by Bruce Lee at the end is what takes this from mere tomfoolery and carries it into the realm of genius.  Bravo, Mr. Whale.

Props to UFC.com, MMAWeekly, Sherdog, and CombatLifestyle.

Props to the Las Vegas Sun, UFC.com, MMA Weekly, Combat Lifestyle, and MMA Fanhouse.