("Get the fuck out of here, a movie with Christina Aguilera *and* Cher?!?!" PicProps: KTFOMMA.com)

Stephan Bonnar is a man of many talents, among them: Producing insane slugfests, being the subject of terrifying GIFs and offering fair-to-decent color commentary on broadcasts the UFC doesn’t deem too important. For a professional fighter, you might say dude is of above average intelligence. Smart, even.  Granted, over the last couple of years Bonnar’s talents have not necessarily included winning more fights than he’s lost, but even after going 1-3 during 2009-10 his job security has never truly been in doubt. Why? Because he’s done the UFC a couple of solids over the years and because he can always be counted on to turn in a good show for the fans.

But we have to ask: Isn’t being a guy the company and viewers consistently expect to sacrifice his own body in the name of their personal entertainment both a blessing and a curse? Doesn’t Bonnar ever worry that the bill for all of these wars in the cage might unexpectedly show up somewhere later in life in the form of, say, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and/or dementia? That he might become one of those tottering old men who insists on calling his grandson by the name of his long dead brother and spends his one hour a day away from the retirement home wandering aimlessly through the women’s underwear section at JC Penny? Why yes, Bonnar admits on Wednesday during this interview with MMA Fighting. Yes, he does wonder about that. 

In case you haven’t checked it out before, "The Aftermath" is a weekly online series hosted by Stephan Bonnar in which the winners, losers, and peripheral characters from The Ultimate Fighter discuss each episode’s events. In the latest installment, victorious Team GSP fighter Kyle "Old Balls" Watson talks about the maturity gap in the house, Sevak Magakian’s run-up on Bruce Leroy, and Josh Koscheck‘s constant harassment of Georges St. Pierre — which actually bothered GSP a lot more than he let on.

Team Kos’s grappling coach Dave Camarillo discusses his history with Josh Koscheck, the frustration of going on a losing streak in the house, and breaks down exactly what Andy Main did wrong in last night’s fight. He also shares a touching story about Paul Buentello barfing into a towel before a fight in New Jersey.

Plus, Stephan Bonnar describes John Danaher as "a cross between Dr. Phil and Criss Angel," which is apparently supposed to be a compliment, even though that combination would officially make Danaher the biggest douchebag in the history of the universe. Anyway, it’s interesting stuff, so give it a look…

(Gerald Harris: One finger for each of ‘em. Photo courtesy of CombatLifestyle.com)

The UFC paid out $1,373,000 in disclosed salaries and bonuses to the fighters at UFC 116, with Brock Lesnar taking home over a third of the total payroll with his $400,000 salary and $75,000 Submission of the Night bump. Chris Leben, Yoshihiro Akiyama, and Stephan Bonnar also cracked the six-figure mark after their Fight of the Night bonuses were factored in. The full payout list is below. Keep in mind that these numbers don’t include additional income from sponsorships, undisclosed "locker room" bonuses, or percentages of the pay-per-view gross that some of the UFC’s stars (i.e., Brock Lesnar) are entitled to.

Brock Lesnar: $475,000 (no win bonus; includes $75,000 Submission of the Night bonus)
def. Shane Carwin: $40,000

Chris Leben: $161,000 (includes $43,000 win bonus, $75,000 Fight of the Night bonus)
def. Yoshihiro Akiyama: $120,000 (includes $75,000 Fight of the Night bonus)

Chris Lytle: $52,000 (includes $26,000 win bonus)
def. Matt Brown: $10,000

(Chris Leben wades through punches at UFC 116 like a drunk man on steroids. Oh. Sorry, dude. Bad choice of words. / Photo courtesy of LasVegasSun.com)

Brock Lesnar already has a date with Cain Velasquez — potentially at UFC 119 in September — but the fates of all the other winners and losers from Saturday night are still up in the air. So let’s run down a few of the notables and try to determine who they should take on next. You’re really gonna have to start paying us, Joe.

Shane Carwin: Word on the street is that the winner of Junior Dos Santos vs. Roy Nelson at UFC 117 will receive the next heavyweight title shot after Velasquez, which means the loser could be a good opponent for Carwin’s return fight. Cigano and Big Country are both skilled enough to drag Carwin into round 2, where he’ll either crumble again, or prove to everyone that cardio is not his achilles heel.

Chris Leben: He called out Wanderlei Silva following his unbelievable submission victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama, and the Axe Murderer is down with it. Seems like a no-brainer to us. Who wouldn’t want to see two of the UFC’s most beloved brawlers beat the stuffing out of each other? Dana White says he wants to have Leben fight again soon rather than have him sit out the rest of the year while Silva’s knee heals up. But after two fights in two weeks (and $100,000 in bonus money), we think Leben could use a nice vacation.

Losing isn’t always the end of the world. Sometimes, taking an ass-kicking — or getting screwed out of a well-deserved victory — can be the best thing for a fighter’s career. Don’t believe us? We’ll start with one that should still be fresh in your minds…

#7: Jason Brilz‘s split-decision loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
UFC 114, 5/29/10

(Early front-runner for Punch Face of 2010. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

What happened: Lil’ Nog was originally supposed to face Forrest Griffin at UFC 114, until Griff was struck down by a shoulder injury three-and-a-half weeks before the event. The UFC had to book a replacement, and fast, so they called up wrestling specialist Jason Brilz. Like a true warrior, Brilz put down his beer, blew off his 10-year wedding anniversary, and stepped up to the plate. On paper, he should have been destroyed by the sharp hands and top-flight experience of Nogueira. Instead, Brilz nearly choked Nog out with a guillotine in the second round, wobbled him with strikes, out-wrestled him, and arguably controlled the majority of the fight. But after the last horn sounded and the scores were added up, only one judge saw it his way.

Victory in defeat: If you didn’t know who Jason Brilz was before last weekend’s show, you do now. Brilz picked up even more classy-points by not bitching about the decision: "I’m not upset. Sure, I’d have liked to win. Everybody likes to win. I think I went out there and I proved to people, but more importantly I proved to myself, that I can compete with the top dogs. That’s sort of what I’ve been aiming for my whole career.” We don’t know exactly what Jason’s future holds, but it’s looking a lot brighter now. The $65,000 bonus check probably doesn’t hurt either.

#6: Jon Jones‘s disqualification loss to Matt Hamill
TUF 10 Finale, 12/5/09

(Yager went a bit overboard with the pranks by soaking Kyacey’s boxers in Alpo)

In the latest installment of The Ultimate Fighter 11 "The Aftermath" post-episode interview series Kyacey Uscola revealed that he was attacked by pit bulls while on a stroll outside the confines of the TUF house following his loss to Kris McCray and they nearly turned him into Cris Cyborg.

(And just like that Bonnar’s dreams of being a forehead model went up in smoke.)

We’re not exactly sure what the Combat Sports Authority of New South Wales actually did between the time Stephan Bonnar submitted his appeal and the time they ruled to deny it. One would assume that at some point their decision-making process would have led them to actually view a tape of the fight at UFC 110, which is when they would have seen the accidental headbutt from Krzysztof Soszynski that led to the fight-ending cut. Only somehow it didn’t happen that way. Somehow, even after “a review was held,” the officials reported that they “did not seek to interfere with the referee’s decision.” Which means that loss is as permanent on Bonnar’s record as the k-shaped scar probably is on his forehead.

As anyone who’s seen the tape knows, this is the wrong decision. The cut was clearly caused by a headbutt and not a punch, as the referee initially ruled. The ref can be forgiven for making that mistake. The action’s moving pretty fast in the Octagon, as perhaps you’ve noticed, and he didn’t have days to sit around looking at the video and thinking it over. The Combat Sports Authority did, and they still decided to do nothing. Why? Probably because doing nothing is usually easier than doing anything at all, and it’s a hard habit to break for a regulatory body.

(I’m not going to lie to you Stephan, that’s probably going to leave a mark.)

Though he appeared to be headed for a loss anyway, Stephan Bonnar is not happy with the way his fight against Krzysztof Soszynski ended at UFC 110, and it’s hard to blame him.  After an accidental headbutt caused a nauseating cut on his forehead which lathered the mat with blood, the fight was stopped and K-Sos was awarded the TKO victory with just minutes left in the fight.  Ideally, a fight that’s stopped due to a headbutt should go to the scorecards rather than being declared a loss for the fighter who was just fouled, but hey, what do you expect in Australia?  No place that produced Hugh Jackman and Errol Flynn is going to play by your silly rules.

But the best part about this story – or the worst part, if you’re Bonnar – is that he now has a scar on his forehead shaped oddly like a ‘K.’  As in, the first letter of K-Sos’s name.  It’s like he was branded by his enemy in defeat.  From now until the day he dies, when his body will presumably be blasted into space because, hell, that’s what we do with everything in the future, at least in my imagination, he will bear the mark of K-Sos. 

And yet, because Bonnar is not the type of guy to give up just because it’s probably the smart thing to do, he wants another go-round with the sharp-skulled K-Sos.  Soszynski says he’s up for it "if the UFC wants it and the fans want it."  I guess this is where we turn it over to you.  Any interest in Bonnar/K-Sos II?  If so, what are the odds that Bonnar can somehow even the score by carving an ‘S’ into K-Sos’s head?  Follow-up question: Do you think he should opt for the ‘B’ instead, just to make it clear that the ‘S’ doesn’t stand for Soszynski?  Short of a custom made signet ring that he sneaks into the Octagon, how would he even accomplish that?

(Oh. Snap. Image courtesy of twitter.com/johnhowardufc)

— As first mentioned on John "Doomsday" Howard‘s Twitter page, a scrap between Howard and frequent eye-poke recipient Anthony "Rumble" Johnson is nearly set for UFC Fight Night 21 (March 21st, Denver), which will be the UFC’s first broadcast on the Versus network. According to an MMA Junkie report, the matchup was originally planned for last June at the TUF 9 finale, but Howard’s management reportedly turned it down because they didn’t want Doomsday facing such a tough test so early in his career; Johnson has since publicly criticized Howard for the ducking. Howard (13-4) is currently 3-0 in the UFC, and most recently scored a last-second knockout over Dennis Hallman at the TUF 10 finale in December. Johnson (8-3, 5-3 UFC) had a three-fight win streak snapped in November when he was submitted by Josh Koscheck at UFC 106.

— Speaking of welterweights, Ricardo Almeida and Matt Brown are set to get it on at UFC 111 (March 27th, Newark). Following back-to-back decision victories over Matt Horwich and Kendall Grove, Almeida was slated to take on Jon Fitch at 106, but had to withdraw due to a knee injury. He’ll now face off against "The Immortal," who has stopped his last three opponents, most recently TUF 9 winner James Wilks at UFC 105.

Is steroid use an epidemic in MMA? Or are most of the fighters who have tested positive simply the victims of inept athletic commissions, shady nutritional supplements, and tainted goat meat? After Josh Barnett’s latest chemical misadventure took down Affliction, we decided to round up every steroid bust in the sport since early 2002, when the Nevada State Athletic Commission began testing MMA fighters for performance-enhancing drugs. The results…may shock you.

***

JOSH BARNETT (Pt. 1)
Caught: 4/22/02, following his TKO victory over Randy Couture at UFC 36.
Tested positive for: Boldenone, Nandrolone, and Fluoxymesterone
Punishment: A six-month suspension from the NSAC and the loss of his UFC heavyweight title. Barnett fought the steroid charge, and didn’t compete again in the U.S. until PRIDE 32, four and a half years later. (See: Belfort, Nastula)
In his own words: “I am a fighter, not a lawyer. I am innocent, and I should be fighting right now.”
Repeat offender: Barnett actually tested positive once before, for two different anabolic steroids, following his submission via strikes victory over Bobby Hoffman at UFC 34 in November 2001. Josh was let off with a warning (which went unheeded, apparently) and the incident was never officially reported — but according to Sherdog’s Mike Sloan, Barnett’s first positive steroid test is what inspired Nevada to begin regularly testing UFC fighters for performance enhancing drugs.

TIM SYLVIA
Caught: 10/7/03, following his first-round knockout of Gan McGee at UFC 44.
Tested positive for: Stanozolol
Punishment: $10,000 fine and a six-month suspension from the NSAC. Sylvia voluntarily vacated his heavyweight title following his positive steroid test.
In his own words: “[A]fter I fought Ricco [Rodriguez], I was in for a long layoff. I decided to try some things and maybe change my physique a little bit and get in better shape. But whatever I used, it came back positive. I don’t know how that happened. I did it so long ago and I was way off it before I fought McGee. I think they found it in my fat cells. I guess it stays in there for a while, huh?…I heard what Josh [Barnett] had used, so I used something different and I was only using it to trim my physique. I thought that what I was using, it was going to be out by the time I fought McGee. I fought Gan and apparently it wasn’t out.”

(Props: MMA Fanhouse)

Win or lose, you can always count on Mark Coleman to give up the emotions after a fight. Taking home his first win in over three years against Stephan Bonnar on Saturday, the Hammer was elated. In the video above, Coleman tells us that he can’t stand being called an old man, and guarantees he’ll be a factor in the UFC light-heavyweight division now that he’s changed his mindset and the way he trains. He also denies gassing out at UFC 100: "I always look tired, I’m playing possum…I was fresh, I got better as the fight went on." You can watch the fight here to see just how fresh he looked.

(Now all he needs to do is fight CB Dollaway with one boxing glove. Photo courtesy of the UFC 100: Weigh Ins set on Combat Lifestyle.)

Spoilers after the jump…

According to Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza’s manager, they’re planning on a fight “for the title” at Dream.9 on May 26.  Nothing is confirmed yet, Jacare’s manager told Tatame, but right now it looks like it will be a rematch between Jacare and “Mayhem” Miller for Gegard Mousasi’s vacated middleweight belt.  If true that would make for a tight turnaround for Miller, who’s slated to take on Kala Hose in Hawaii at Kingdom MMA on April 18.  Call it making up for lost time.  Or maybe he’s just assuming that it won’t take much out of him to whup on Hose in front of his Hawaiian peeps.

– As we saw earlier today, Dana White’s threats to step back from the limelight might be the slightest bit hollow, but ESPN plans to actually make him talk on video when they send their E:60 crew to Montreal for a story on his recent video blog controversy.  The piece will allegedly seek to compare White to the heads of other major sports organizations, asking what would have happened to them had they gone all nasty on a female sports reporter and her anonymous sources.  We just hope E:60 has learned from their past mistakes.  If they ask him about steroids, the interview’s over.

– Spike TV sent out another ‘in your face!’ press release today to announce that Saturday night’s replay of UFC 94 was the “#1 program among Men 18-34 in all of television (cable and broadcast) during its time period.”  The replay peaked at 2.4 million viewers for the main event and averaged 1.9 million over the three-hour broadcast, which, as Spike is kind enough to point out, bested HBO’s Winky Wright/Paul Williams bout, which drew a measly 1.5 million viewers.  What you’re wondering is, did they mention how it compared to Strikeforce’s viewership?  They did not.  But they know you’re thinking about it anyway.

– Remember the rumored bout between Mark Coleman and Stephan Bonnar?  The UFC made it official for UFC 100 today, but relegated it to the “may not be broadcast” prelims.  On one hand, that’s a hell of a place to end up after such a great career (talking about Coleman, obviously. I said great career, not one great fight).  On the other hand, if there’s one UFC card where you can feel okay about being pushed to the prelims, it’s that one.

(Mark Coleman — master of kino escalation. Photo courtesy of Combat Lifestyle.)

— An oddly appropriate light-heavyweight matchup may be in the works for UFC 100 (July 11th, Las Vegas). According to MMA Mania, bout agreements have been offered for Mark Coleman to face Stephan Bonnar at the milestone event. That’s right: The UFC’s first official heavyweight champion and early star of the SEG era will likely be taking on the man who helped take the UFC mainstream in the Zuffa era with his epic TUF 1 finale battle against Forrest Griffin.

Kind of an interesting way to pay tribute to the Octagon’s history. But for the fighters themselves, the matchup will be all business. Coleman most recently put in a shambling wreck of a performance against Mauricio Rua at UFC 93, eventually losing by TKO in the third round, while Stephan Bonnar was out-hustled by Jon Jones at UFC 94, losing by unanimous decision. Both men need a win here to remain relevant. UFC 100 will also reportedly feature fights between Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar (for the unified heavyweight title), Georges St. Pierre and Thiago Alves (for the welterweight title), and Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson (for the right to get their ass kicked by Anderson Silva at some point in the future).

— TUF 8 lightweight winner Efrain Escudero has fallen prey to the Amir Sadollah curse. Due to a rib injury suffered in training, he has been forced to pull out of his first post-TUF fight, which was scheduled to be against Jeremy Stephens at UFC Fight Night 18 (April 1st, Nashville). Taking Escudero’s place will be Gleison Tibau, the American Top Team fighter who snapped a two-fight losing streak at last month’s UFC Fight Night 17 card with his first-round submission of Rich Clementi. Unfortunately for Stephens, his bout may now be relegated to the undercard in favor of the Tyson Griffin/Rafael Dos Anjos match.

I talked to Jon Jones for this week’s SI.com column, in which he discusses what it was like growing up with two brothers who both now play defensive line at Syracuse (with the eldest headed soon to the NFL) and how he learned to strike by watching YouTube videos:

The gym I train at is a really small gym, a lot of wrestlers, so I didn’t have a striking coach until this last fight.  I had to teach myself how to strike.  I would study a lot of videos on YouTube, or go to different websites where I could watch old Pride fights.  I just became obsessed with MMA and watched videos over and over again.  I learned the moves and took them to practice and started using them.  Before I knew it I was considered a pretty good striker. 

YouTube videos can really teach you a lot.  It depends how you search for them.  If you look really hard, you can find videos of seminars from some of the best fighters in the world.  It’s just a matter of taking them seriously.  You have the Bas Rutten’s and the Anderson Silva DVD’s, but you can find most of that stuff on the internet for free, so that’s what I was doing.  I was basically teaching myself with them.  Now I can honestly say I’ve been taught by some of the best teachers in the world because I’ve watched some of the greatest seminars online. 

Obviously, Jones is a freakish athlete who can simply do things other people can’t, such as watch YouTube videos and then beat up UFC veterans.  But what struck me was his humility and obsession with improving as a fighter.  Check this quote, for example, on what went through his mind after the UFC offered him the fight with Bonnar:

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

The most interesting part of this UFC 94 video blog comes at around the 9:50 mark, when Dana White becomes clearly upset over the Georges St. Pierre greasing incident and remarks, “Georges is in trouble.”  Well, maybe not Georges so much as the cornerman who rubbed him down, though I’m inclined to believe Greg Jackson’s explanation, and also inclined to agree with Dana’s assertion that a little Vaseline did not change the outcome of this fight, one way or another.  Still doesn’t make it a good idea, though.

Other moments worth seeing here: Dana consoles a distraught Stephan Bonnar, Joe Rogan and Eddie Bravo gush over Jon Jones, and Dana watches Akihiro Gono and his camp rehearse their elaborate Octagon entrance, which was truly a thing to behold.  When Gono and his boys walked out in those matching evening gowns, pausing every few steps to get their dance on, you could feel the crowd going through a range of emotions.  First came shock, then slight amusement, then genuine appreciation.  Honestly, it was the best entrance in the history of MMA.

In the post-fight press conference a reporter asked Dana what he thought of a guy who came out in drag and got his ass kicked.  Dana pointed out that a) a lot of people are going to get their ass kicked against Jon Fitch, and b) he loves Gono and what he brings to a UFC event.  Then he conceded: “But if you’re going to wear a dress you probably better win.”

I know some people will make the argument that Gono would have been better served focusing more time and energy on his preparation for the fight than on his entrance, but let’s be real.  Gono was going to get beat up with or without the awesome, cross-dressing entrance.  Might as well have some fun before the pain begins.

Fight-day installments of the Danavlog tend to be a lot more interesting than other episodes from the previous week, and the 1/17 video was no exception. It opens with DW chatting with Michael Bisping before they do a demonstration of UFC Undisputed in Dublin. Bisping reminisces about the days when he was unbeatable at Street Fighter II. He’s also pleased with the U.K. team that he’ll be coaching on TUF, and very psyched to be a part of it. During the video game demo, Dana White plays as Quinton Jackson, while the Count plays as himself. The simulated fight goes pretty much how it would if Bisping were to actually fight Rampage.

At the fights, Alistair Overeem stops by to to say hello to the UFC prez; giddy as a schoolgirl, Dana starts squeezing his muscles. Overeem points out that he’s not as big as Brock Lesnar. Dana asks him if he’s ready to fight in the UFC, and Overeem says he is if management can work it out. K-1 super-heavyweight champ Semmy Schilt is also in attendance, and Dana makes it clear that he’d be welcome in the Octagon too. Later, Joe Rogan brutally mocks a Dana White superfan directly behind her back, Mauricio Rua is offered the Chuck Liddell fight, and Dana calls Dublin "pound-for-pound the best fuckin’ place we’ve ever been."

After the jump: The trailer for Ultimate Champion, another underground cage-fighting flick starring master thespian Stephan Bonnar. One day, the Wayans Brothers are going to make a parody of these movies and call it Never Submit, Surrender, or Back Down While Fighting Your Redbelt in the Confessions of a Pit Fighter. Hey, if Paul Blart can be the #1 movie in America…

Above is the trailer for Fighting Politics, a new documentary about Matt Lindland‘s path from collegiate wrestler to mixed martial artist, his questionable dismissal from the UFC over an unapproved sponsor, and his life’s second act as a politician in his home state of Oregon. Notable MMA journalists Loretta Hunt and Josh Gross appear in interviews, suggesting that Lindland was actually fired to make room for poster-boy Rich Franklin as middleweight champion, while Keith Evans (formerly of the UFC and IFL) says “Dana White is not the same guy that I knew back then.” The release date is still TBA, but I think it’s safe to say that Dana won’t be there on opening night.

Speaking of the Baldfather, Dana White was recently shot for ESPN: The Magazine, along with everyone’s favorite Octagon Girl Arianny Celeste and fighters Randy Couture, Forrest Griffin, and Stephan Bonnar. Watch as the ESPN photo editor becomes visibly freaked out by Randy’s ear, Stephan is brought in just so Arianny can have something to sit on, and Dana has to keep his t-shirt on while entering the pool. After the jump: A fairly sick highlight video of PRIDE’s 2006 Open-Weight GP; props to CREzja1.

(UPDATE: Are you also not getting sound on this crappy video embed? Then watch the episode here.)

Props to CagePotato reader Jeremy T. for giving us the heads up on the new episode of ESPN.com’s MMA Live, in which host Jon Anik credits CagePotato.com’s reporting regarding Paulo Filho’s release from his Zuffa contract. (The shout-out happens at the -20:54 mark.) First ESPN.com…next, THE-WORLD.COM.

Elsewhere in the episode, Anik, Kenny Florian, Stephan Bonnar, and Franklin McNeil discuss Brock Lesnar‘s recent achievement in the Octagon and his future prospects in the UFC, Ken-Flo gives his full analysis of his win over Joe Stevenson, and the gang runs down tonight’s Strikeforce card. Bonnar’s delivery is still a little shaky, but he’s trying, and trying used to count for something.

Speaking of ESPN, the network’s Spanish-language arm ESPN Deportes will be broadcasting the Bellator Fighting Championships, a new MMA league that will debut in April 2009. Twelve two-hour episodes will air on Saturday nights, featuring tournaments in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, and middleweight divisions. Rumored participants include Paulo Filho, Hector Lombard, Eddie Alvarez, and Jorge Masvidal.

Healthy again after a knee injury forced him to withdraw from an April match against Matt Hamill, TUF 1 finalist Stephan Bonnar is set to return to the Octagon for the first time since last October. Five Ounces reports that the American Psycho will likely face Team Bomb Squad’s Jon Jones at UFC 94 (January 31st, Las Vegas). Jones began his professional MMA career in April of this year, and racked up six straight victories, including a unanimous decision over Andre Gusmao in his August UFC debut. With his amateur wrestling background and unconventional striking, Jones may prove to be a tough welcome-back fight for the newly-rehabbed Bonnar. UFC 94 will be headlined by the welterweight fight between Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn.

In other UFC fight-booking news…

— TUF 7 finalist CB Dollaway (7-1, 1-1 UFC) will be making his third appearance in the Octagon on December 27th, as he’ll be facing Mike Massenzio at UFC 92. Dollaway is coming off his “Peruvian Necktie” submission of Jesse Taylor at UFC Fight Night 14 in July, while Massenzio is coming off his successful UFC debut last month at UFC Fight Night 15, where he caught Drew McFedries in a kimura early in the first round.

— Speaking of McFedries, the Miletich fighter will be stepping in to face Thales Leites at UFC 90 (October 25th, Chicago), replacing undefeated Croatian fighter Goran Reljic, who recently had to withdraw from the fight due to a back injury.

(Amir Sadollah could be part of Couture/Lesnar’s supporting cast.)

— UFC lightweight Gleison Tibau has been forced to pull out of his UFC 90 match against Hermes Franca due to a shoulder injury; replacing him will be Franca’s longtime friend Marcus Aurelio. Franca and Aurelio trained together at American Top Team before Franca left the camp, which led to a feud between Franca and ATT.

— During an appearance at Combat Sports Challenge 26 in Colonial Heights, Virginia, TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah revealed that he expects his next fight to be at UFC 91 in November. His opponent should be announced in the near future.

— UFC 91 will also reportedly feature a heavyweight bout between Gabriel Gonzaga and UFC newcomer Josh Hendricks. Gonzaga is coming off a first-round submission win over Justin McCully at UFC 86 in July, which snapped a two-fight losing streak. Hendricks is a vet of various regional promotions who’s 9-0 with one no-contest in his last ten fights.

— Michael Bisping thinks that Quinton Jackson’s next fight will be in December, against either Wanderlei Silva or Mauricio Rua: “[E]ither way, revenge is the dish that’ll be served up on the night! I’m sure whoever he gets in December, everyone at the Wolfslair will be behind him 100 per cent and fingers crossed he’ll get his revenge.”

— The UFC recently reunited eight castmembers from The Ultimate Fighter‘s first season to film an upcoming TV special. MMA Junkie provides some advance highlights, like when Joe Rogan asked the cast how much better they did with the women after being part of the show:

“If you’re in a relationship you want out of, now is the time to speak up,” Stephan Bonnar shouted, laughing.

When no one was willing to talk, Rogan called them “a bunch of (expletives).”

Forrest Griffin, now the UFC’s light heavyweight champion, broke the tension by shouting, “Hey, I don’t know about you guys, but I was doing pretty good with the women before.”

Our 16 favorite noms de guerre, and our favorite photos found through Google-image-searching those words/phrases. High concept, we know, but stay with us and click on the links.

16. Jeremy “Gumby” Horn

15. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

14. Bret “The Angry Hick” Bergmark

13. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos

12. Rameau Thierry “The African Assassin” Sokoudjou

11. Don “The Predator” Frye

(“Oh shiiiiiiiiiit!”)

We’re not the only website trying to claim credit for this prediction, but basically we called it: It’s been confirmed that Tim “The Heath Killer” Boetsch will step in for the injured Stephan Bonnar to face Matt Hamill at Ultimate Fight Night 13. No word yet if the fight will be on the main card, but the official lineup with be announced shortly.

And there’s even more good news, as a tenth match has been added to the card: UFC.com now shows that TUF 6 castmembers George Sotiropoulos and Roman Mitichyan will meet in the Octagon. Sotiropoulos was the Australian Team Serra standout who rolled his way into the semis where Tommy Speer poked him in the eye then GnP’d him to sleep. Mitichyan was the dude who broke his elbow in episode one and then freaked out when he wasn’t allowed to fight through it. Both men are coming off of wins at December’s Ultimate Fighter 6 finale.

(Griffin and Bonnar: Enemies 4-eva.)

According to Yahoo! Sports, Stephan Bonnar tore ligaments in his knee during training last week and will be out for six months. As a result, he’ll be unable to fight Matt Hamill at Ultimate Fight Night 13 on 4/2. Said Bonnar: “I was doing nothing out of the ordinary, just working on my (jiu-jitsu) getting ready for my fight. I heard a pop and I thought, ‘Damn, what is this?’ I walked around on it a little, but when I got home, it was really stiff and swollen.” The American Psycho will have surgery soon in Los Angeles, where a ligament from a fucking cadaver will be placed into his knee. By the time his recovery period is over, Bonnar will have been inactive for 10 months (his last fight was a TKO victory over Eric Schafer at UFC 77 in October).

This blows, completely. Out of all the big fights at UFN 13, the Bonnar/Hammil match is the one we were most looking forward to. We hope the UFC can find a solid opponent for Matt Hammil so he’s not dropped from the card. In case Joe Silva is reading this, two possibilities come to mind:

Tim Boetsch: UFC fans want to see more of this guy after he kicked/slammed/punched the shit out of David Heath at UFC 81. With another fight or two at that same level of intensity, he’ll earn a place in the light-heavyweight division’s mid-range mix.

Wilson Gouveia: He’s been 4-0 in the UFC since losing to Keith Jardine at the Ultimate Fighter 3 finale, including his highlight-reel knockout of Jason Lambert at UFC 80. One more credible win and he’ll be ready for top-ten-caliber competition.

So, here’s something I’ve noticed while going through the massive pile-up of previews and miscellaneous hype for tomorrow’s UFC 79: Both Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva are convinced that they’re going to win. Which is totally strange, right? Because technically one of them has to lose. But it’s like…ah fuck, I just lost my train of thought.

Anyway, here are two more “Nemesis”-related videos, because you should be thinking about nothing else until tomorrow night. First off, Chuck Liddell’s appearance on ESPN’s Hot List yesterday: There’s nothing you haven’t heard him say before, but it’s worth it just for the moment at the 4:58-remaining mark where Chuck is clearly struggling to remember where he is and why the man in the suit is asking him questions. Still, it’s nowhere near the worst interview that the Iceman has done; whatever the cough syrup equivalent to methadone is, it seems to be working.

And then we have a segment from RawVegasTV, where Stephan Bonnar, Arianny Celeste, and professional BMX rider T.J. Lavin discuss their predictions for UFC 79 — or as the screen graphic calls them, “FIGTH PICKS.” (Speaking of typos, MMAFightline has an awesome one today.) Not sure what makes Lavin qualified to be on the panel — it surely isn’t the energy he brings to the discussion — but the gang gives a unanimous nod to Liddell and St. Pierre, and splits on Sokoudjou/Machida.

Just because every MMA blog has to make an official prediction, we’ll stand by our earlier claim and say that Sokoudjou, Silva and (the long-shot pick) Hughes are going home with victories tomorrow night. That’s right — the option we picked in the current CagePotato poll is sitting comfortably in last place. But we’re prepared to go 0-3, because honestly, who knows?

Fine, we’ll be the first ones to say it — the scheduled card for January 23rd’s Ultimate Fight Night isn’t exactly turning our cranks. No disrespect to Swick, Cote, et al., but we have seriously low hopes for that mess. Luckily, the next UFN could be a killer, with two sure-to-excite bouts rumored to go down.

As MMA Junkie reports, Ultimate Fight Night 13 will air live on Spike TV on April 2nd, directly before the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 7. Lightweights Kenny “Ken Flo!” Florian and Joe “J-Lau!” Lauzon have agreed to a bout that will serve as the night’s main event, while Stephan Bonnar and Matt Hamill have also been discussed as a possible co-headlining bout.

The Florian/Lauzon fight could have major significance to the UFC’s lightweight picture, as the winner could possibly face Roger Huerta for the slot of #1 contender, and eventually face the winner of Penn/Stevenson vs. Sherk. As for Bonnar/Hamill, I have shameless schoolboy crushes on both the soft-spoken “American Psycho” and that big lovable deaf lug, so I know I’d be watching with a bag of Fritos, a bottle of hand-lotion*, and a mile-wide smile.

* Are anybody else’s knuckles drying out in this damned weather? What, you didn’t think I meant…oh come on, grow up!I totally LOVE WOMEN!