If there’s anyone that Dana White gets pleasure out of verbally tearing down in the media more than Roy Nelson, it’s Steve Mazzagatti, the (formerly) porn-stached, cool as a cucumber veteran UFC official who has given us such avant-garde decisions as “Eye Poke Equals a TKO,” “Flying Head Kick? 40 More Punches to Convince Me” and “Tap 10 Times For Assistance.” The Baldfather has stated on numerous occasions that he doesn’t think Mazzagatti should even be watching MMA — which is all the more astounding when you consider all the crazy shit DW has said and done to try and sell a pay-per-view before — and even gone as far as to unofficially dub Mazzagatti “The Worst Referee in the History of Fighting.” In a world where this was allowed to happen, that’s a pretty bold claim.

As it turns out, Mazzagatti found himself at the center of controversy once again last weekend when he basically handed over his reffing duties to Josh Burkman during his WSOF 3 clash with Jon Fitch. After clipping Fitch early (like somebody here predicted he would), Burkman locked in a tight guillotine that put Fitch to sleep just over 40 seconds into their headlining bout. Burkman then proceeded to roll his unconscious opponent over and stand over him triumphantly before Mazzagatti decided to step in. It was perhaps the first walk-off submission in MMA History, and for some reason, you all are pissed about it.

Although White and Fitch have been involved in a war of words ever since the AKA product was released from the UFC, at the end of the day, it’s safe to assume that White wishes no ill will towards the former title contender. And being that Mazzagatti is higher up on White’s hit list than Fitch, the UFC Prez recently laid into the veteran ref for nearly 10 straight minutes at the UFC 161 post-fight media scrum. It was, quite honestly, the harshest takedown we have seen since Neal Page’s “Chatty Cathy” criticism of Del Griffith.

We’ve placed the full video of Dana’s rant above. After the jump, we’re going flush our last remaining scrap of credibility down the toilet in an attempt to do the unthinkable: defend Steve Mazzagatti. We know, we know.

(“Hey, sorry I’m late, the beer line was crazy, did I miss anyth-OH SHIT.” — Steve Mazzagatti / Photo via Sherdog)

By Andreas Hale

July 13, 2002.

What’s so significant about that date? It was the last time that Jon Fitch lost via submission. The last time, until his World Series of Fighting debut in the main event of WSOF 3 on Friday night, where Fitch was swiftly put to sleep via guillotine choke by Josh Burkman. Yup, that Josh Burkman. The Josh Burkman who was little more than average during his UFC stint, going 5-5 with one of those losses from being choked out by who? You guessed it, Jon Fitch.

Even though the World Series of Fighting announcer called the Fitch vs. Burkman rematch “years in the making,” nobody who has watched MMA believed that nonsense. It was supposed to be Jon Fitch snuffing out Burkman and then grabbing the microphone and telling the UFC to kiss his grits. You know, with Jacob Volkmann lurking over his shoulder mumbling some nonsense about a fighter’s union. But, as they always say, there’s a reason why they actually fight.

Burkman, meanwhile, continued his surprising run of upending former UFC fighters in the WSOF, as he is now 3-0 in all three World Series of Fighting events with victories over Gerald Harris, Aaron Simpson and now Jon Fitch. But who the hell expected him to beat Jon Fitch? I’ll tell you, nobody…except Josh Burkman. And of that nobody percent, who thought that Burkman would choke Fitch to sleep in 41 seconds? Nobody…not even Josh Burkman.

“Who thinks they are going to choke out Jon Fitch?,” Burkman said through a wide smile after the shocking main event that capped off a fairly ho-hum third outing for WSOF.

Prior to the jaw dropping main event, WSOF trudged along with a string of relatively boring fights that yielded very little excitement for those in attendance at The Joint inside of the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. After the first few matches, most fans drowned themselves in spirits and had loud (mostly drunk) conversations that could be heard throughout the venue. The first five fights of the night are barely worth mentioning. Dan Lauzon beat up on a John Gunderson who looked lifeless in the cage. Carson Beebe earned a controversial unanimous decision despite being completely outclassed on the ground by Joe Murphy. The other disgruntled former UFC employee, Jacob Volkmann, put such a snoozer of a performance in a unanimous decision victory over Lyle Beerbohm that Ben Askren tweeted “That fight had less strikes than one of my fights!” So, you know, when Ben Askren pretty much calls your fight boring, you are in trouble.

No one saw this coming. Months after being released by the UFC despite being ranked in their own top ten and having one of the roster’s best overall records, Jon Fitch debuted at World Series of Fighting (WSOF) Friday night against Josh Burkman and got choked unconscious in just forty one seconds.

The fight was was a rematch of the pair’s 2006 UFC bout, which Fitch won via rear naked choke. Burkman was released by the UFC in 2008 but since that time has been on a tear.

After a few moments of feeling one another out, Fitch pressed forward with punches but got caught, first by a short right hand and then a left hook by Burkman. Fitch stumbled and then fell to the floor.

Burkman pounced and locked up a guillotine choke on Fitch, rising back to his own feet to crank on the neck. Fitch, his neck still locked to the right side of Burkman’s torso in the choke hold, worked for a take down instead of immediately defending the submission.

Fitch got Burkman to his back but the underdog held on to the guillotine choke from his half guard. A moment later, Fitch went limp, Burkman let go of his prone body and stood over the former number one title contender with his arms raised in the air.

Check out the stunning video above. What do you say, nation? Does beating a top ten fighter like Fitch now thrust Burkman into the global welterweight top ten rankings?

Should Burkman get a call back to the UFC? Where does Fitch go from here?

Interview with Burkman about the huge win after the jump.

(Buy the entire collection of CagePotato staff fights on VHS today!)

With a veritable buffet of fights going down this weekend in UFC 161 and World Series of Fighting 3, we here at CagePotato decided to dust off a rivalry older than Paraguay vs. Uruguay in attempt to break it all down. CP staff writers Jared Jones and Seth Falvo were more than willing to step up to the plate (and over the bones of their past victims) to wage war on a variety of topics relating to this weekend’s action, so read on and let us know how you think either event will play out in the comments section.

What’s the over-under on Rashad Evans’ “50 takedowns” claim? Also, have you ever heard a worse hook to draw PPV buys? 

Jared: Call me crazy, but I’m taking the under here. Specifically, 4. As Henderson recently stated, Evans has looked a little “shy” on the feet ever since he was knocked out by Lyoto Machida in the midst of delivering one epic tongue-lashing at UFC 98. My prediction is that this fight goes down in a similar, albeit less dominating fashion as Evans vs. Davis. Rashad was able to nail 3 takedowns in that fight, and that was against a guy he was absolutely eating up in the standup department.

A fear of Henderson’s patented H-Bomb is going to result in a Rashad Evans who is timid on the feet (like he was against Lil’ Nog) and who will look to wear out his older foe with his superior speed until Hendo tires out around the 3 minute mark of the second round. It is then when Rashad will truly start looking to impose his will on the ex-Strikeforce champ in the form of the takedown. Truthfully, I hope it doesn’t ever come to that, as I am using the precedent set forth by Vitor Belfort to predict that Hendo lands a TRT-fueled flying knee to Evans’ dome as he shoots for his first takedown.

(Fitch vs. Burkman face-off video via YouTube.com/MMAWorldSeries. Skip to the 2:10 mark to see Burkman zip his entire body inside a jumpsuit. Wow. He is just the *master* of mind games, isn’t he.)

The 18 fighters competing at tonight’s World Series of Fighting 3: Fitch vs. Burkman event successfully weighed-in yesterday at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The main card — which also features Jacob Volkmann‘s promotional debut against Lyle Beerbohm, and undefeated prospect Justin Gaethje facing off against Brian Cobb — will be broadcast on the NBC Sports Network starting at 11 p.m. ET. Check out the weigh-in results below (via MMAJunkie), click past the jump for a WSOF 3 “Countdown” feature on Jon Fitch, and let us know if you’ll be watching tonight.

MAIN CARD
Josh Burkman (170) vs. Jon Fitch (171)
Steve Carl (169.5) vs. Tyson Steele (170)
Lyle Beerbohm (155.5) vs. Jacob Volkmann (155.5)
Brian Cobb (155) vs. Justin Gaethje (156)

PRELIMINARY CARD
Jerrod Sanders (146) vs. Jeff Smith (146)
John Gunderson (154.5) vs. Dan Lauzon (156)
Carson Beebe (135) vs. Joe Murphy (135.5)
Kendrick Miree (185) vs. Krasimir Mladenov (185.5)
Brenson Hansen (146) vs. Josh Montalvo (145)

(Knocks out a former UFC star, still can’t get his friends backstage passes. No respect, I tells ya. Photo via Dave Mandel of Sherdog.) 

On the heels of a successful second event in March, upstart promotion World Series of Fighting has officially announced the date, location, ticket dates, and TV lineup for WSOF 3 earlier today. Featuring a main event rematch between Josh Burkman and Jon Fitch for the promotion’s inaugural welterweight title (a ballsy decision considering Fitch’s somewhat…ahem…polarizing style of fighting), WSOF 3 is set to transpire Friday, June 14th from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tickets for the event are set go on sale April 19th and start at just $29.00.

At this point, you’re probably thinking, “Thirty bucks for a rematch between to mid-tier UFC castaways? My mom will never float me the money for such nonsense!” Well, tell those shyster parents of yours that WSOF 3 will also feature the likes of Tyrone Spong, Rolles Gracie, and Justin Gaethje as well.

On the heels of a straight vicious performance in his MMA debut at WSOF 1, Spong will face off against Angel “The Dream” (Author’s note: Uh-oh…) DeAnda, an 11-2, 5’8″ light heavyweight currently riding a four-fight win streak over a bunch of guys you’ve probably never heard of. DeAnda’s last loss dates back to 2010, where he was knocked out by one-time XARM competitor (and former UFC fighter, we’re being told) James “Why Me?” Irvin in under two minutes. Expect something similar to happen to this poor bastard here as well.

The rest of the announced lineup for WSOF 3 is after the jump. 

(Burkman bombs out on Aaron Simpson at WSOF 2 last weekend. Photo via Rick Albrecht for CagePotato)

World Series of Fighting’s third event is slated for June 14th in Las Vegas (venue TBA), and will be headlined by Jon Fitch‘s promotional debut against Josh Burkman. MMAFighting.com first confirmed the news with WSOF president Ray Sefo, adding that the fight will be a non-title bout.

It’ll be the second meeting for Fitch and Burkman, who previously faced off in April 2006 at UFC Fight Night 4, with Fitch scoring a second-round victory by rear-naked choke. Burkman was cut by the UFC following an 0-3 skid in 2008, and has since gone 7-1 outside of the Octagon, including impressive wins over Gerald Harris and Aaron Simpson at World Series of Fighting’s first two events.

Fitch vs. Burkman represents a very different strategy for WSOF compared to the headliner of their last event. Instead of putting on another moneyweight freak-show, the promotion is simply fielding the two best welterweights they have under contract — which makes sense in theory, though it does lack Arlovski vs. Johnson‘s novelty value. And if you were a Fitch-hater before he was released from the UFC for being too expensive, your opinion probably hasn’t changed much since.

So what do you think? Is Fitch vs. Burkman 2 a compelling main event, or should WSOF just stick to “fun” fights to draw viewers in?

Right before Josh Burkman and Aaron Simpson locked horns last night in New Jersey at the World Series of Fighting event, the organization’s President Ray Sefo announced that the winner of the bout would get Jon Fitch in June for his promotional debut. Fitch is the former #1 UFC welterweight title contender that was recently released by the top promotion and snatched up by Sefo and WSOF.

Both Burkman and Simpson are also UFC veterans. Fitch was ring side last night in Jersey and appeared ready to make good on Sefo’s plan.

Burkman, however, may not be. After knocking Simpson out in the first round and stringing together his fourth straight win, Burkman balked at fighting Fitch next. Burkman believes that he has earned a shot at the organization’s vacant welterweight title and that Fitch has yet to.

(Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)

Following his controversial dismissal from the UFC, top-ten welterweight Jon Fitch has found his next home with World Series of Fighting. WSOF’s senior executive vice president Ali Abdel-Aziz revealed last night that Fitch has agreed to a four-fight contract, and will likely make his debut at the fledgling MMA promotion’s third event on June 14th. Fitch confirmed the news on twitter, saying that he’ll be officially signing contracts today.

Fitch’s opponent for the 6/14 card has not been determined yet, despite Gerald Harris‘s admirable efforts to troll his way into the booking.

In a related story, former UFC lightweight Jacob Volkmann — who was also recently fired during the UFC’s ongoing mass executions — will be making his World Series of Fighting Debut at WSOF 3 against former Strikeforce standout Lyle Beerbohm. “Fancy Pants” left Strikeforce following back-to-back losses to Pat Healy and Shinya Aoki, but has racked up five straight wins since then.

World Series of Fighting’s next event — headlined by Andrei Arlovski vs. Anthony Johnson — takes place March 23rd at the Revel Casino in Atlantic City. The full lineup for that card is after the jump.

(The relevant ranting starts around the 20 minute mark, but scroll back to the 12:40 mark if you want to see White basically have a mental breakdown when discussing Jon Fitch.) 

When the UFC announced that their latest batch of mass firings included none other than former #9 ranked welterweight Jon Fitch, the MMA community responded somewhat alarmingly to say the least. When Dana White stated that the decision came as a result of Fitch’s price tag being too high — at a paltry 66K no less — it revealed a bigger problem that could be looming on the horizon for the UFC: Overspending. As BG pointed out, multiple television deals and decreasing pay-per-view buys could at least be partly to blame for the UFC’s recent string of…let’s just call them frugal decisions.

But as it turns out, Fitch & Co.’s departure is just the beginning. Oh yes, a great deluge of firings is headed our way, Potato Nation, one consisting of up to 100 UFC fighters. And if you think the first name that Dana White would place on the potential chopping block would be one of the Shane Del Rosarios, Keith Wisniewskis, or Leonard fucking Garcias* who are currently winless in the promotion, well you just don’t know how The Baldfather thinks. Believe it or not, former WEC champion Urijah Faber was the first to be mentioned as in danger of losing his job with a loss at UFC 157. When asked if his “down the ladder” argument in relation to Fitch applied to guys like Faber, White was characteristically frank (24:50):

Could be Saturday [that he's cut]. You never know, There’s over 100 guys. We’re heavy. 

The argument to cut Faber instead of Fitch already makes sense when considering both fighter’s records in the promotion (Fitch: 13-3-1, Faber: 2-2), and that argument only gains more momentum should Faber lose to Ivan Menjivar — who he is currently a 3-to-1 favorite over — tomorrow. But from a business standpoint, releasing as hot a commodity as Faber (or fighters like him) into the arms of “Viacom MMA” seems like promotional suicide, does it not?

(Fitch finds himself on the wrong end of a Fitch’ing against Demian Maia at UFC 156. Photo via Getty Images)

In the wake of Jon Fitch‘s surprise firing during the Great UFC Bloodletting of February 2013, even die-hard Fitch-haters criticized the move. As the general argument goes, how the hell are you going to cut a fighter who’s one of the ten greatest welterweights in the world by your own rankings, and whose last victory over Erick Silva was a Fight of the Night performance that proved he still has greatness left in him?

UFC president Dana White explained the decision to media yesterday at the UFC 157 press-conference in Anaheim, calling Fitch “super f—ing expensive,” then laying out exactly why he’s not worth the money:

“Jon Fitch was ranked number nine, OK, however you want to look at that, he’s ranked number nine, whether it’s right or wrong or the rankings are bullshit or whatever. Ranked number nine right now. Now, this isn’t a case where Jon Fitch was ranked No. 9, No. 7, No. 6, No. 4, No. 2 and then we cut him. He was ranked No. 1, fought for the title and then he was ranked No. 2. He was ranked No. 3, 6, 7, and now he’s 9. That’s called the downside of your career. He’s on the downside…

“He had a draw, then a loss, right, then a win, then a loss. It’s good, he got more money. He got Fight of the Night because it takes two guys to do that. Right? If Erick Silva’s wrestling wasn’t right there, that wouldn’t have been Fight of the Night. At the end of the day, when you really break it down, who did Erick Silva beat? This was Erick Silva’s first real big fight and big test. And it was a damn good fight. That’s called the downside. He’s not buzzsawing through guys, he’s not doing a [Johny] Hendricks. So it’s not like Jon Fitch was on this incredible fucking winning streak and ‘the greatest fucking welterweight in the history of the world and a fucking Hall of Famer. The guy’s never won a fucking title in his life.”

In other words, Fitch is #9 with a down-arrow, and Erick Silva was never that accomplished to begin with, though Silva nevertheless deserves all the credit for how good that fight was. [*I promise this is not a Scanners gif*] But let’s get back to the more important issue: That Jon Fitch, who makes $66,000 to show, is “super fucking expensive.” Please take a moment to realize what an absolute joke your favorite sport is. Ben Fowlkes puts it best on MMAJunkie:

(You think it would be damn near impossible to sum up an 18-fight UFC career in one image, yet here we are.) 

Wow.

When we announced just hours ago that Jacob Volkmann had been cut from the UFC as part of a vast, government-led ploy to disarm the public following a 1-2 run in his last 3 fights, little did we know that his termination was just the precursor for one of the largest mass firings in UFC history. But that appears to be the case, as it was recently made public that Volkmann was but one of 16 fighters to be cut from the UFC today.

Among the dead are a few guys you probably wont recognize (C.J. Keith, Motonobu Tezuka (?), Simeon Thoresen), a few guys who probably had it coming (Vladimir Matyushenko, Mike Russow, Mike Stumpf) and a couple of guys who couldn’t find a win in the UFC if they sold their souls to Dana White Satan (the continuously underwhelming Jorge Santiago and poor, poor Jay Hieron).

However, if you were to continue looking over said list, you would find a couple inclusions that would not only make you scratch your head, but possibly shave your head, eyebrows, body hair, and nipples off in a hallucinogenic stupor. After the jump, we’ve compiled our own list of the most shocking entries.

Photo via Getty Images

“I don’t think that was supposed to happen.”

That was the text I received this morning from a friend who is very much a casual MMA fan regarding last night’s UFC 156. Even though I assumed that my friend was talking about the end result of Bigfoot vs. Overeem, that statement could just as easily apply to almost any other fight on the card. We’re all familiar with the cliché that any fighter can beat anyone else on any night at this level, but we rarely see the underdogs win as frequently – and as convincingly – as they did last night. Simply put, it was an awful night for the guys who were supposed to win.

So let’s start off with the fight that went exactly as we all assumed it would: Jose Aldo defeated Frankie Edgar by a close, yet unanimous decision. Naturally, Edgar grew stronger as the fight went on. And naturally, the fight was close enough to justify an immediate rematch if one were to be booked (it probably won’t but who knows), because that’s just how Frankie Edgar fights work.

It’s impossible to be disappointed with Frankie Edgar’s effort in any given fight, and last night was no exception. Edgar provided Aldo with his stiffest challenge to date – after the champion returned from the longest layoff in his career, mind you – but Aldo was simply the better fighter.

(“The name’s Frankie. I fight dudes twice.” Photo via MMAFighting)

Tonight at UFC 156 in Las Vegas, Jose Aldo goes for his fourth-consecutive UFC featherweight title defense, while former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar attempts to become the third fighter in UFC history to pick up a belt in two different weight classes. And that’s just the cherry on top of a stacked Super Bowl Eve card, which is loaded with big names and high stakes from start to finish.

Also on the menu: Alistair Overeem returns from suspension to clinch his heavyweight title shot with a win over Antonio Silva, while a victory for Rashad Evans over Lil’ Nog could set him up for a middleweight title fight against Anderson Silva for some reason. Plus, Jon Fitch and Demian Maia look to continue their recent surges in the welterweight division, while Joseph Benavidez and Ian McCall square off at flyweight because honestly, who else are those guys going to fight?

Round-by-round results from the Aldo vs. Edgar pay-per-view card will be stacking up after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, courtesy of George “Bigfoot” Shunick. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and please toss your own thoughts into the comments section.

(Click the image for a full size version.)

Our buddies over at Fightnomics continue to crank out the finest in UFC-related empirical data. They’ve given us a breakdown of everything from how fights end by division to submission success rates by technique, and now they’ve released a statistical compilation of every single significant strike thrown in UFC history. And in even better news, it appears that the average pace at which significant strikes are thrown has nearly tripled since the promotion’s inception, even with Jon Fitch’s seventeen fights taken into account:

Since 2007, UFC fighters average 6.8 significant strikes per minute (SSpM) of fight time. Again, this is not just while standing, but also from dominant clinch and ground positions.  Significant strikes do damage, score knockdowns, set up submissions, or cause referees to jump in for the save.  Significant strikes generally define the action in a fight, and as the analysis shows, fighter output by this metric has changed drastically since the early years of the UFC.

Through the 1990’s, UFC fighters attempted an average of only 2.8 significant strikes per minute.  Averages for UFC fighters then more than doubled to 6.9 SSpM after the sport matured under Fertitta’s Zuffa umbrella.  Modern UFC fighters also score more knockdowns and throw a slightly higher percentage of power strikes than the old guard, further suggesting greater endurance. In terms of accuracy, about 42% of these significant strikes land on target.

My main question, of course, is whether or not those girly leg kicks Carlos Condit used to outpoint Nick Diaz at UFC 143 were factored into these figures. If so, this graph is therefore invalidated by the gold standard for significant strike measurement: The Unified Rules of Stockton. Obvious trolling attempts aside, this data should at least hinder the notion that lay-n-pray is the fastest rising trend in MMA, despite that scared bitch Georges St. Pierre’s endless attempts to prove otherwise.

After the jump: Fightnomics breaks down the most active and least active strikers in the UFC. And somehow, Jon Fitch is nowhere to be found.

(Demian Maia’s neck-crank of Rick Story — it just never gets old, does it? / GIF via Fightlinker)

With Jon Fitch coming off a redemptive Fight of the Night victory over Erick Silva at UFC 153 — his first win in over two years — the Indiana-bred wrestler is suddenly a factor again in the welterweight division. And so, the UFC will be giving him another opportunity to cement his contender status at UFC 156: Aldo vs. Edgar (February 2nd; Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas), where he’ll face off against Brazilian grappling specialist Demian Maia. The promotion confirmed the booking last night.

After hitting a wall at middleweight, Maia dropped to 170 earlier this year, debuting with a fluke-ish TKO-via-muscle-spasm victory over Dong Hyun Kim. But against Rick Story at UFC 153, we finally saw flashes of the Old Maia, as he picked up his first submission victory since his triangle-choke of Chael Sonnen in February 2009. And man, was it nasty.

We all know that this is going to be a grapple-fest, and odds are that it’ll go the distance. But considering that Fitch has turned over a new leaf in his approach to fighting — and that Maia has located his jiu-jitsu again — it could be an entertaining scrap. Who y’all got?

Props: mmafanmade.tumblr.com

By George Shunick

If there’s a word that sums up UFC 153, it’s got to be “wow”. Anderson Silva gave another performance indicating that we do indeed live in the Matrix. Jon Fitch was in the most exciting fight of the night, and one of the best of the year. Big Nog submitted a man impervious to jiu-jitsu. Demian Maia choked/neck-cranked a man so hard he had a mini-hemorrhage and blood spurted out of his nose. And perhaps most impressive of all, Wagner Prado actually stopped a hat thief.

The bottom line is UFC 153 was an amazing card that delivered from top to bottom. Could it have been better if it had Frankie Edgar square off against Jose Aldo? Probably. But I’ll take another transcendental show from Anderson Silva any day of the week. And that’s exactly what his fight with Stephan Bonnar was. After a slip, Bonnar pressed Silva into the cage, presumably looking to wear the smaller fighter down. Silva wasn’t having any of it, offering a few knees, shoulder shrugs and nothing else. Bonnar backed away and then things got weird. Silva remained on the fence, hands down, encouraging Bonnar to hit him.

Now, I know Stephan Bonnar isn’t the world’s greatest striker. He’s never shown serious knockout power, and his technique has never been the best. But he’s still a 230 pound man who’s spent the majority of his adult life learning how to hurt people. He’s a professional fighter. And for about 4 minutes and 40 seconds last night, those facts didn’t amount to jack shit. Silva dodged, deflected or simply absorbed Bonnar’s offense for about two minutes, demonstrating what a black belt in Tae Kwon Do is worth against a man who seems to know what you’re going to do before you do. Then, Silva decided to end the fight. He tripped Bonnar, established some separation, and then connected with a debilitating, pin-point knee to the solar plexus. Bonnar – who had never been stopped with strikes before – collapsed and waited for the end to come. Mercifully, it did.

(How about dropping to your knees and begging for a swift death? Would that work? / Photo via MMAFighting.com)

The matchup between UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and light-heavyweight non-champion Stephan Bonnar has been called everything from a “fun fight,” to a mother’s worst nightmare. Tonight at the HSBC Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, we’re going to find out what this weird freak show will actually look like. Our only prediction is that Griffin Bonnar‘s first image of his father will be a bruised and lumpy one.

Luckily, there are plenty of far-more-legitimate matches on the UFC 153 main card, including Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Dave Herman, Erick Silva vs. Jon Fitch, and Glover Teixiera vs. Fabio Maldonado. And as with previous shows in Brazil, the local fans will make sure that the show is just as entertaining outside of the cage.

Round-by-round results from the UFC 153 pay-per-view broadcast will be stacking up after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT, courtesy of CagePotato liveblogger-supreme Anthony Gannon. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and be sure to tell us how you feel in the comments section. Thanks for stopping by.

(If only the fight were held under West Coast Pose-Down rules, Bonnar would actually have a chance. / Photo via MMAFighting.com, click for full-size image.)

- Cops: Jeremy Stephens’ Alleged Victim Beaten Unconscious, Stopped Breathing Twice (MMAFighting)

- UFC 153: Bonnar vs. Silva, Tex Cobb vs. Larry Holmes and Courage Through Standing in Front of a Locomotive (BloodyElbow)

- Erick Silva Talks Twilight Series, Fighting Jon Fitch (HeavyMMA)

- Jon Fitch: Getting Title Shots Is A ‘Popularity Contest’ (Fightline)

- VADA Offers Drug Testing for TUF Finale Main Event, Carwin’s Camp Says That’s News to Them (MMAWeekly)

- Bellator 76′s Rad Martinez Out to Prove He’s no ‘Charity Case’ (MMAJunkie)

- Emily Ratajkowski Gets Saucy with Sara Underwood in Carl’s Jr Ad (MensFitness)

- 30 Hilarious Animal Photobombs (Complex)

- The Ultimate Faceplants Compilation (WorldWideInterweb)

- Chefs of Anarchy: New York’s Best Fries (MadeMan)

- Christopher Walken Reads “Honey Boo Boo” (ScreenJunkies)

- Russian Soldiers Flee Exploding Ammunition Stockpiles (EgoTV)

- B*tch, Get Off My Bus: Uppercut Edition (WorldStar, Baby)

(Well, at least the poster is as half-assed as the main event.) 

By Dan “Get Off Me” George

I’ll be honest, when I first heard of the new main event for UFC 153, I thought we were all the victims of some intricate ruse on the UFC’s part. Surely the head honchos at Zuffa didn’t consider a “fun” squash match on the level of Joe Lauzon vs Jens Pulver to be the best possible option for a country that was recently denied the biggest fight of all time, right? But I guess when an injury curse on the level of 2012′s hits, you do what you can to simply stay afloat, and in that sense the UFC has succeeded.

Luckily for us, the UFC has also succeeded in putting together a card that provides plenty of opportunities to prosper from a wagering perspective as well. This time around, I will attempt to follow the lead of Jared “Money Bags” Jones, who provided both the gift and the curse for UFC on FX 5: Browne vs. Silva with his parlay picks, so follow me as I highlight a few names on the preliminary cards for Facebook and FX and breakdowns of all fights on the PPV portion of UFC 153. All betting odds come courtesy of BestFightOdds.

Facebook + FX prelims

Reza Madadi stands out in the two FB fights; Sweden has been hot in the octagon lately and I think “Mad Dog” (not Anthony Macias) at around -200 has the right combination of size and all around ground advantage to deal with Marcello’s submissions game and win his second straight UFC fight.

Gleison Tibau hovering around -160 should be able to stifle fellow Brazilian Francisco Drinaldo and find a way back into the UFC win column after dropping a hard fought loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 148. Tibau has fought solid competition throughout his lengthy UFC career and I do not think Francisco has the right tools to win this fight. An underdog that may be worth a look is Renee Forte at around +200 against Sergio Moraes, who dropped a unanimous decision last time out due in part to his in-ring demeanor, which did not seem to go over well with the judges.

(Once again proving our theory that you could make a badass highlight reel based on *anybody.*)

Throughout his seven year career in the UFC, Jon Fitch has been one of the most consistent fighters in the sport. He rarely diverges from his grinding, top-control based gameplan. He usually goes the distance in his fights — including one stretch when he went to the judges in nine consecutive contests. And like him or not, the vast majority of his fights have ended with his hand raised.

But after a controversial draw against BJ Penn, a 12-second knockout loss to Johny Hendricks, and a series of injuries, Fitch is the most precarious position of his career, both financially and competitively. Temporarily bumped out of the welterweight title “mix,” Fitch has no idea when his next title shot will come — especially since fans aren’t exactly clamoring to see him get that chance. Here’s what he said about his situation recently, in a rant session with FCFighter.com:

“There’s no system for picking number one contenders. There’s no order, there’s no lineup, there’s no point system. It’s just whoever they feel they’re going to make the most money off of. That’s who gets the title shot. It kind of sucks, because in other sports there’s kind of a clear path; you do this, this and this, and you get this. That’s just not the way combat sports work I guess. It doesn’t work that way with boxing or the UFC. It comes down to showmanship. I have to be a better showman to get a title shot. I don’t have to be a better fighter I just have to be a better showman.”

(“Nothing comes between me and my Baconator. Nothing.”)

By Jason Moles

In the ever-competitive world of professional mixed martial arts, the men and women are fighting for more than just the fans and their next paycheck; they’re fighting for survival. When you barely have enough money left for yourself after paying your training partners, coaches, and buying nutritional supplements, it’s time to find another source of income. Most do this in the way of sponsorships — you know, like the Nike deal Jon Jones recently signed, or Anderson Silva’s relationship with Burger King. And if more of these well-known mainstream companies would sponsor a few fighters, the smaller companies that currently sponsor fighters could move to guys and gals who are still making their way up the ranks without anyone losing out. Let’s look at the companies that best suit MMA, how they should be involved, and why it makes sense.

Company: Old Spice
Ideal fighter to sponsor: Cheick Kongo, Alistair Overeem

Why it makes sense: Standing 6′ 4″ and weighing 230 pounds, and 6′ 5″/263, respectively, the Frenchman and the Dutchman are the most physically imposing fighters in the UFC’s heavyweight division. Old Spice is known for their funny commercials targeting the same audience watching PPV’s on a Saturday night. In the past, Old Spice has used NFL players Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis as spokesman for their ‘Swagger’ line of men’s body products, as well as jacked Expendables cast-member Terry Crews. And if those guys can do it, why not Kongo and Overeem? In particular, “The Demolition Man” is the type of guy you want your customers to think they’ll be more like by using your product. Alistair could even make his commercial debut by eating the horse the original Old Spice Guy rode in on.

“Did I stutter?! I said you’re a lay-and-pray artist who will NEVER beat Georges St. Pierre!”

It appears we weren’t the only ones surprised by Donald Cerrone’s recent comments for UFC lightweight Anthony Pettis. Anthony Pettis, who claims that he’s always been cordial with Cerrone in the past, recently attempted to make sense of the whole ordeal on “The MMA Hour.” Spoiler alert: He ain’t too keen on being told to “grab his purse and dance,” brother.

As transcribed by MMAMania.com:

“It’s comedy. This is the first news to me that I have heard of Cerrone calling me out or that he has been calling me out or he wanted to fight me. I talked to my manager about it and I think it’s just him trying to get his name out there and trying to get to my spot, trying to get to that title shot, to try and get closer to a title shot. But, for him to do it the way it did, just pissed me of, so. If he gets passed with his fight with Melvin, and it makes sense for me to fight him and then fight for a title shot, then I will do it. If he is in my way, I will take him out. (I’m)100 -percent (pissed off). I am super pissed. I am not the guy to talk or the type of guy to be out there and talk shit about anyone, but for him to call me out and put it the way he put it, pretty much saying that I am afraid to fight somebody, that is never the case. I am never afraid to fight anybody. I want to be the best lightweight in the world and if he is in my way, then I will take him out too. He wanted to fight in August, I wasn’t going to be ready until October or November and I openly said it on Twitter and I openly said it everywhere, so it’s not a matter of me ducking him, if he wants to fight in November, let’s do it, I will gladly take that fight and I will be so motivated to whoop his ass.”

I don’t always go to weddings. But when I do, I am almost interesting.

When it was announced that Rory MacDonald had suffered an injury and pulled out of his upcoming bout with BJ Penn at UFC 152, Penn seemed content to sit out and wait for MacDonald to heal. Because the fight against MacDonald was Penn’s motivation to come out of retirement, BJ Penn appears to be, dare I say, determined to fight the heir apparent to Georges St. Pierre. Yet despite Penn’s plans to wait for MacDonald, both Jon Fitch and Siyar Bahadurzada have volunteered to step in on short notice to fight BJ Penn.

It’s not hard to figure out why either man wants this fight, yet it’s doubtful that we’ll be still seeing BJ Penn across the cage from one of them any time soon.

Perhaps the more transparent – and also less likely to come to fruition – callout of the two is Jon Fitch’s casual suggestion that he should be fighting BJ Penn at UFC 153. I say this because Jon Fitch already has an opponent for UFC 153, and it is none other than Brazilian wrecking ball Erick Silva. As we’ve pointed out when the fight was booked, Silva is anything but a rebound fight for the thirty four year old AKA product. Considering that Fitch hasn’t won a fight since he beat Thiago Alves two years ago, a loss to Silva – which is certainly not outside the realm of possibility – can easily end his hopes of ever earning another title shot in the UFC.

(When Mendez refused to kiss Koscheck’s boo-boo and make it all better, a rivalry had officially been started.) 

There are few things that are simply a given in the MMA world, and they are:

1. The ref cam is fucking awesome.

2. People will always hate Jon Jones, regardless of how great a fighter he is.

3. Bruce Buffer is fucking awesome.

4. Octagon > Ring (THIS IS NOT UP FOR DEBATE.)

5. Pat Barry and everyone he knows or comes into contact with is fucking awesome.

6. Knees to the head of a downed opponent and soccer kicks should be allowed.

7. Michael Bisping and Josh Koscheck are *not* awesome.

With that in mind, take a look at this video, in which Kos has a casual conversation with friend and former training partner Jon Fitch, and discusses the beef with former camp American Kickboxing Academy (specifically, coach Javier Mendez) that he apparently just can’t let go of. In the video, he admits that he hopes AKA “burns to the ground” with “maybe one person” in it. Hint: Mendez is the person he’s hoping for. To be fair, Koscheck also openly admits to being a D-I-C-K dick, so at least he’s willing to man up about that whole issue.

See Javier’s response, courtesy of MMAFighting, after the jump.

(“Come on! Stop *trying* to tickle me, and tickle me!“)

Jon Fitch‘s first fight of 2012 will come against one of the most dangerous up-and-comers in the welterweight division. As first reported by Ariel Helwani, Fitch will meet Brazilian prospect Erick Silva at UFC 153: Aldo vs. Koch (October 13th, Rio de Janeiro).

Previously one of the most dependable fighters in the UFC, Fitch hasn’t won a fight since he outpointed Thiago Alves two years ago. Since then, he’s suffered through a draw against BJ Penn, a shoulder injury, and a 12-second knockout loss against Johny Hendricks. Fitch was originally slated to return against Aaron Simpson at UFC on Fuel TV 4 earlier this month, but was forced to withdraw due to a knee injury.

(No, really Clay. Make yourself comfortable. Props: @JoeLauzon)

The UFC’s annual Fighter Summit — in which every fighter under the Zuffa roster is forcibly brought together for a series of lectures meant to educate and inspire — went down earlier this week in Las Vegas, and judging from this epic Sherdog thread, it was a nightmarish endurance test of boring presentations and insane guest speakers.

Browsing through the photos, you can just feel how uncomfortably warm the room was, how early the start-times were, how soul-crushingly dull some of those presentations turned out to be. (Anybody who’s suffered through an 8 a.m. Intro to Philosophy course in college can certainly relate.) The fighters coped as best as they could — mostly by napping and doodling. We’ve hand-picked some of our favorite photos that were tweeted out during the ordeal, and put them in the gallery below. Enjoy.

Just beneath the picture: Heineken Light.

Depending on how you feel about UFC welterweight Jon Fitch, UFC on FUEL TV 4 either just became much more interesting or just suffered a massive blow.

As initially reported by WrestlingObserver.com and confirmed by MMAFighting.com, Jon Fitch has suffered a knee injury and has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming bout against Aaron Simpson at UFC on FUEL TV 4. At this time, a replacement opponent for Aaron Simpson has not been announced.

(Sadly, the fight between Penn and Jon Fitch was ruled a draw and the puppy was left without a home)

UFC President Dana White continues to say that future hall of famer BJ Penn will indeed return to the Octagon, despite Penn’s coyness. But Thursday, White provided more details to MMA Junkie on what weight the pound for pound great will fight at, and revealed that Penn declined a bout with Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez.

“I tried to do [Melendez vs. Penn], but it was at the time when B.J. was like, ‘Yeah, I’m not fighting for a while,’” White told Junkie.

Apparently, he didn’t say if that match up would have meant Penn going to Strikeforce or Melendez going to the UFC.

(Jon Fitch is proudly sponsored by Dr. Remus’s Old-Timey Follicular Fertilizer and Invigorator for Males. / Photo courtesy of @jonfitchdotnet)

As first reported by MMAWeekly, UFC welterweight contender Jon Fitch will make his next Octagon appearance against ex-middleweight Aaron Simpson, who will be dropping to 170 for the first time in his career. The fight, which hasn’t been officially announced yet, is rumored to take place at UFC 149, July 21st in Calgary.

The formerly rock-solid Fitch has seen victory elude him in his last two fights. Most recently he was on the wrong end of a 12-second knockout against Johny Hendricks at UFC 141 in December, which followed a disappointing draw against BJ Penn. As for Simpson, the former ASU wrestling star lost a split-decision to Ronny Markes in February — which snapped a three-fight winning streak — and is now looking to relaunch his career in a division where he might enjoy a size advantage over his opponents.

So what you do think: Is this a rebound fight for Fitch, or the best decision that Simpson could have made? And are you psyched to see this matchup?