(Props: FilmDrunk)

I know what you’ve all been thinking this week. You’ve been thinking “This whole pissed off and angry Anderson Silva is a frightening change of pace, and the press conference was fun I guess, but damn it, I need to know how Steven Seagal will take credit for all of this!” Well don’t worry, person who doesn’t exist – you won’t have to wait until after the fight to find that out.

Ariel Helwani caught up with Cockpuncher to discuss Anderson Silva’s upcoming rematch with Chael Sonnen. After appearing reluctant to give the mere mortal an interview, Seagal explained how Silva’s intense new attitude is entirely his doing. And those concerns you may be having over The Spider’s emotions affecting his performance? Don’t worry, Seagal has an answer for that, too.

Videos (Yes, multiple) after the jump.

(Guys, seriously, you gotta stop this or I’m gonna have a harder time hiding this erection than Jean-Claude Van Damme.) 

By George Shunick

This weekend, the MGM Grand Garden Arena will host the most highly anticipated fight this year when middleweight champion Anderson Silva faces off against, err, “middleweight champion” Chael P. Sonnen. As we all know, Sonnen was the man who almost took Silva’s title at UFC 117, dismantling the champion through punishing ground and pound and even rocking MMA’s greatest striker on the feet before succumbing to a triangle choke after winning the previous 23 minutes of the fight. Following the fight, it was revealed Silva fought with a badly injured rib and Sonnen had a testosterone to epitestosterone ratio of 16.9 to 1. Regardless, due to Sonnen’s trash talk and how close their last fight was, this fight has the potential to be one of the best fights of the summer.

However, will this be the “biggest rematch in the history of the business,” as Sonnen claims? Maybe, but I doubt it. You could argue Lesnar-Mir II is more likely to be successful financially, or that Liddell-Ortiz II or Liddell-Couture II/III were more culturally significant for a burgeoning sport, but virtually all lacked such a compelling narrative or contained the level of talent featured here. Moreover, in hindsight, they were rather one-sided matchups. Edgar-Maynard II and III were probably of a higher caliber that Silva-Sonnen II will be, simply by virtue of being two of the greatest fights in the history of the sport, but lacked the hype and context that this matchup possesses.

This matchup has the potential to rank alongside Fedor-Nogueira III, which saw the two greatest heavyweights in MMA history – and the two top-ranked heavyweights at that time – fight for the Pride heavyweight title; both fights possess a historic air about them, feature top level talent, and take place within the narrative framework of a rivalry. But I still think the gold standard for a rematch will remain Jackson-Silva II, which had every ingredient you could wish for in a rematch turned up to 11. It had two of the greatest fighters in MMA history, in one of the greatest rivalries in MMA history, in one of the greatest fights in MMA history, culminating in one of the greatest knockouts in MMA history. Suffice it to say, Sonnen-Silva II has a lot to accomplish to validate Sonnen’s comments.

(Its a trap.)

Some of Chael P. Sonnen’s recent statements in advance of UFC 148 this Saturday almost make sense. Almost. Speaking to the media about the rash of recent injuries and subsequent match-up shuffling in the UFC, Chael said that he believed any fighter that pulls out of a fight because of injury should have it counted as a loss on his or her professional record.

“I think there should be forfeiture,” he told MMA Junkie. ”It’s not realistic with the architecture that we have, but we’re the only sport where you can just not show up. Every event is set. The Super Bowl for 2015. The kickoff time, the venue — it’s set. If one team doesn’t want to show up, a Super Bowl champion will be crowned that day.”

On one hand, it’s worth examining if the recent wave of UFC injuries is the result of fighters pulling out of scheduled matches simply because they feel their health is less than 100%, and they might be more competitive at a later date. The reality is, everybody fights injured, and pulling out of a fight just because you’re a little banged up is a way of gaming the system, and screws the fans out of fights they already paid to see.

On the other hand, Sonnen’s analogy falls apart almost immediately. Athletes can and do pull out of competition due to injury in every single sport on the planet. This includes the aforementioned Super Bowl, where players on teams that have made it to the big game often miss out because of injuries they’ve sustained. And just as the Super Bowl still goes on when players get injured, UFC title bouts still happen when an opponent pulls out. It just might not be the title fight that was originally scheduled.

(Four badasses…and Tim Tebow. / Click for full-size version. Props: TerezOwens)

- Michael Bisping Says Chael Sonnen Will Defeat Anderson Silva at UFC 148 (BleacherReport/MMA)

- Mike Tyson Says MMA Fighters Should Be Paid More, But Warns of Predatory ‘Scumbags’ (MMAFighting)

- Britney and Arianny’s Exclusive 4th of July Photo Shoot (The Chive)

- Video: Chael Sonnen Watches Himself Lose to Anderson Silva at UFC 117 (MMAMania)

- Chad Mendes Says Loss To Jose Aldo Helped Him, Discusses Aldo vs. Koch (Fightline)

- Strikeforce Champ Rousey Enlists Lucia Rijker as Striking Coach Ahead of Kaufman Bout (MMAJunkie)

- The Top 5 UFC Rematches Of All Time (HeavyMMA)

- Chael Sonnen Says He’ll Die Without TRT (FightersOnly)

- The Sickest Athletes of the 2012 NBA Draft (MensFitness)

- DV Hottie of the Week: Genevieve, a Gorgeous Blonde (DoubleViking)

- How Will Scientology Assassinate Katie Holmes? A Screen Junkies How-To (ScreenJunkies)

- 7 Reality Shows That Could Be the Best Shows Ever (HolyTaco)

(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

Yes, Anderson Silva initiated contact. Yes, he appeared to lunge in for a kiss at the 1:05:35 mark. Yes, it took Dana White and two other dudes to hold him back. By comparison, Chael Sonnen was cool as a cucumber during the climactic staredown at today’s UFC 148 press conference. Congrats, buddy, you’re in his head. Now what?

Update: An edited version with audio is after the jump, courtesy of MMAFighting.

(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

If you’re a stats geek, this new UFC 148 promo clip will give you a raging nerd-boner. In dissecting the rivalry between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen, we learn the following:

- Before his first fight with Sonnen at UFC 117, Anderson Silva had been hit a combined 166 times by his previous 11 UFC opponents. Sonnen landed on him 320 times. (Each of these must have counted as two.)

- Sonnen has actually out-landed all of his opponents in the UFC and WEC. Unfortunately, he’s also allowed 18 serious submission attempts during his UFC fights, which places him 3rd on the all-time list. We’re guessing he’ll never catch up to Melvin Guillard.

- Silva’s triangle/armbar submission of Sonnen 23:10 into their fight was the latest stoppage in UFC history.

- Sonnen’s 34 takedowns in the Octagon place him at #1 among middleweights.

- Sonnen is the “World’s Best Trash Talker,” which has been scientifically proven by the researchers at CompuTrash.

After the jump: Sonnen discusses the training camp support he gets from his mother/co-conspirator, and the full video of Sonnen’s UFC 136 smashing of Brian Stann.

We’re about to win at IRONY!

TOP SCORE!!!

We should probably feel sad about the fact that we live in a country where people get more passionate about voting for the winner of a reality show than they do for voting for their school board representatives. Or that many of you have probably quoted “the Founding Fathers™” inaccurately in a typo-ridden Facebook rant at some point in your lives. Or that many of you don’t know when this year’s presidential election is, yet have already voted for the awards we’re about to shamelessly plug.

But if we did that, then we might miss out on one of these fighters winning an ESPY. We wouldn’t want that, would we? Didn’t think so.

(Props: UFCAndersonTheSpider via IronForgesIron)

Following up our presentation of Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen 1, here’s the other UFC fight where Anderson Silva looked less-than-invincible, at least momentarily. This was Silva’s third middleweight title defense, back at UFC 82 in March 2008, and Dan Henderson dominated the opening round, taking Silva down about two minutes into the fight and grinding down on him with punches for the rest of the frame. Henderson also puts a good deal of effort into covering Silva’s mouth and nose with his hand, a cheap breathing-obstruction trick that occasionally bleeds into gouging/fish-hooking territory. (Side note: Skip to the 14:07 mark, and you’ll see the rough draft of the front kick that Silva used to dummy up Vitor Belfort.)

Silva got even in the second round, brawling a bit with Hendo before letting his precision striking take over. At the 21:16 mark, Silva nails Henderson with a knee, kick, and punches that the challenger is never able to recover from. Silva gets on top of Henderson and works his jiu-jitsu until he sinks a particularly nasty rear-naked choke. After the fight, Silva takes a moment to explain that Henderson was good, but he’s no Rich Franklin. A real…class act? Anyway, the Ohio fans loved it.

After the jump: Silva’s UFC 134 title defense against Yushin Okami, which also ended violently in the second round.

(Props: sports.yahoo.com)

If you work in an office, you probably spend the first half-hour of your day drinking coffee, reading blogs, and lamenting the bad decisions you’ve made in your life that led you to this point. So make this morning a special one by watching the entire five-round battle between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen at UFC 117, which went down back in August 2010 in Oakland.

Sonnen may have a tendency to “talkee too muchee,” as the Brazilians might say, but you have to give him credit — he came to fight that night. Sonnen showed no signs that he was psyched out by the aura of the Spider, and aggressively pursued the champ for all five rounds. When it was all over, Sonnen had out-struck Silva by a stunning 320-64. Unfortunately, the judges were not well-versed in the Stockton scoring system, and awarded the fight to the guy who didn’t get choked out at the end. Still, it was a hell of a fight — can the sequel possibly live up to the original?

After the jump: A fan-made ‘Silva vs. Sonnen 2‘ hype video from Bruthamuzone, which is pretty killer despite the use of Limp Bizkit.

(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

According to master-pitchman Joe Rogan, the upcoming UFC 148 rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen (July 7th, Las Vegas) is “more anticipated than any of the previous fights that we’ve called ‘the most highly-anticipated fight’.” It’s also a re-do of what was in my opinion the greatest comeback fight in MMA history, and the champion is promising an absurd level of punishment. But at this point, you’re either going to watch this thing or you’re not. I think we’ve passed the point of “anticipation,” and crossed over into “for God’s sake, can we get this thing over with already?”

UFC 148′s co-main event is the not-nearly-as-anticipated rubber match between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin. “In this third one, there has to be a convincing winner,” Ortiz says, “and that’s gonna be me.” No matter what the outcome of the fight, July 7th will mark Ortiz’s transition from UFC star into retired Hall of Famer. So how will he perform in the last three rounds of his career? And if he manages to carve out a victory, what does that mean for Forrest Griffin?

(“Well, this little red-and-white number is my killing shirt, and if you see it, that usually means this is your last day on earth.”)

The UFC held a conference call today hyping UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen 2 (you can listen to the full audio here), and somebody replaced the normally composed and respectful Anderson Silva with a murderous, rage-fueled psychopath. Fed up with all of Chael Sonnen‘s bullshit over the last couple years, Silva unleashed a torrent of chilling threats during the call that went beyond the usual boundaries of trash-talk, and were totally out-of-character for the smooth Burger King pitchman. Here are the highlights:

“First of all, Chael is a criminal. He’s been convicted of crimes. He doesn’t deserve to be inside the Octagon. And when the time is right, I’m going to break his face and break every one of his teeth in his mouth.”

“The playtime is over. I’m gonna beat Chael like he’s never been beat before. There’s no more talking. I know he’s on the line listening, and the game’s over. I’m going to beat his ass out of the UFC. He’s never gonna want to fight again after I’m done with him.”

“It doesn’t matter if I’m on the bottom, the side, the top, it doesn’t matter. Chael Sonnen’s gonna get his ass kicked like he’s never gotten his ass kicked before. What I’m gonna do inside the Octagon is something that’s gonna change the image of the sport. I’m gonna beat his ass like he’s never been beaten before. I’m gonna make sure that every one of his teeth are broken, his arms are broke, his legs are broke. He’s not going to be able to walk out of the Octagon by himself. I can guarantee that. And I know that he’s listening. The game’s over. No more shit-talking. It’s on now.”

(I repeat…not a winner. / Props: w9 and MiddleEasy)

Chael Sonnen has a rather unique relationship with the people of Brazil. He brutally mocks them for being uncivilized savages, and they get so angry that they just want to make his sweet little ass pay, you know? This bizarre dynamic reared its ugly head again at UFC 147 on Saturday night, as a local fan unrolled a photoshopped poster that seemed to imply that…well, I don’t think this really needs any further description. Thank God for that UFC belt, or Shane Diesel would be suing for trademark infringement right now.

As Joe Rogan explained on the UG, “Someone from the crew looked up at that one, and said ‘Did you see that poster? Anderson is holding Sonnen like a baby!’ I looked up at it, and I was like, ‘What the fuck do you do with babies that makes you think that’s a baby?’”

Good question. So can any of you make an even more insulting photoshopped poster for UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen 2? If so, send it to contest@cagepotato.com and God help us, we might post the best ones next week.

After consulting with the big-wigs at Roots of Fight and Black House, we’re pleased to announce the three winners of our recent fan-art contest. So who will be taking home ROF’s limited edition Black House apparel line, which includes the Black House Tee and Black House Insignia Sweatshirt shown above? First, a pair of honorable mentions, which were deemed worthy enough to win t-shirts:

“Battle Scars,” by yellow wrkahlc

“Spider and Dragon,” by Ryan G. (click for larger versions)

And now, the top three…

(You mean to tell me that this man *isn’t* number one? UNBELIEVABLE.) 

Regardless of where you stand on the whole “pound for pound” rankings debate, FightMatrix recently released a list of what they referred to as ‘Division Dominance’ rankings, which rank fighters according to how impressively they’ve fared against the fellow members of their respective weight divisions. Where you’d think that Anderson Silva would be a the top of this list by about a million points, being that he has never lost a fight in the UFC, it might surprise you who topped him.

Here’s the description FightMatrix provided along with the list of criteria that led them to their conclusion:

The division point dominance list debuted on 3/16/08, and is comparable, but not identical to a pound-for-pound list.  While a pound-for-pound list factors in divisional tenure and the ability to transcend weight divisions while remaining successful, this list does not.  This list ranks fighters based on their point level superiority over those in the division in which they are currently ranked.

This is done by averaging the point level which encompasses the typical transition between the elites and top contenders of the division, then compares this average to the fighter’s current point level. The higher a fighter’s division dominance points, the more “dominant” they are over their divisional peers.

One important thing to note is that there are two important factors that comprise a fighter’s division dominance rating. The strength of the division’s top fighters and the fighter’s own current rating. A fluctuation in the fighter’s rating, division strength, and/or division assignment can all result in changes to a fighter’s division dominance rating.

As of 8/28/2011, we have added further requirements:
Fighter must have a win, draw, or quality performance in the previous 360 days (450 if currently in “inactive decay”).
Fighter must have at least two wins in their listed division within the past 900 days OR be ranked #1 in their division.

Check out the list after the jump and express your agreement or outrage in the comments section.

(Props: Rolling Stone Brazil via sportv.globo.com)

From his funky dance moves, to his adoring fans, to his surprisingly feminine voice, Anderson Silva is the closest thing MMA has to the King of Pop. Silva pays tribute to his hero in the June 2012 issue of Rolling Stone‘s Brazilian edition, which features two Michael Jackson-flavored covers and a Jacko-themed pictorial. Our sources indicate that the July issue will feature Junior Dos Santos dressing up as his own musical idol, Stevie Nicks. Pick it up now on a newsstand far, far away from you!

After the jump: Two more photos from the Anderson Silva Rolling Stone shoot, and a full-size version of the red-jacket cover.

(The current front-runner: This awesome variation on a Shepard Fairey classic, by ‘Stubbsy’)

In case you missed it last week, we’re currently running a fan art contest with Roots of Fight, and giving away their limited edition Black House apparel line to the top three finalists. The short version: Create a piece of art paying tribute to any Black House fighter or the camp itself, and send it to contest@cagepotato.com by Monday, June 18th, at midnight ET. We’ll announce our three favorites the next day, who will be picking up the t-shirt and sweatshirt. Now get hustlin’, people…

Related: Black House Tribute Video by Roots of Fight – Featuring Rener Gracie, Mark Munoz, and Bas Rutten

(I got winner.)

Today on the CagePotato Roundtable, we’re taking a trip through the magical world of make-believe! Which MMA fighter would you scrap with if reality was no object? Would it be a hated heel? A personal idol? An undersized Japanese lady who you might actually have a puncher’s chance against? Joining us this week is Vince Mancini, the esteemed editor of FilmDrunk.com and occasional CP commenter. Follow his shit @FilmDrunk, and if you have a topic idea for a future Roundtable column, please send it to tips@cagepotato.com.

Chris Colemon

Saying that I could fight any MMA fighter implies that I also have the option not to do so, and I would exercise that option. You see, I’m what scientists call “a pussy.” I don’t like my chances in a scrap against anyone, trained or not. In that way I’m kind of like the anti-Krazy Horse: I’ll back down from men, women, children, retarded people…

But if I had to throw down with an MMA fighter of my choosing, it’s going to be Bob Sapp, all day. The reasons are plentiful. As stated earlier, any trained fighter is going to wreck me, badly, so I’m certainly not going to pick someone smaller than me or a female — why give my detractors [friends] more to mock? No, I’m going to pick an intimidating juggernaut, and few fit that bill better than Bob Sapp. If I lose the fight — which is pretty much the only possibility — non-MMA fans [again, my friends] will look at pictures of him, then back at my unimposing frame, and accept the loss as a forgone conclusion while giving me eternal props for climbing into the cage with such a monstrosity.

Actual MMA fans tuning into the fight will already be expecting to see someone turtle-up and play dead before the first punch connects, so they won’t be disappointed if I take a page out of “The Beast’s” own playbook and hit the canvas prematurely. All of Sapp’s recent battles have been farces, so at least no one will be expecting a real fight; I’d hate to disappoint the crowd.

(This one is for The Number 23, and the next one is for that God damn penguin movie!) 

Yep, that’s right. None other than former middleweight champion Rich “Ace” Franklin will be the man to fill in for Vitor Belfort against Wanderlei Silva in the main event of UFC 147. The fight will be contested at a catchweight of 190 pounds. Sound familiar? That might be because these two met at UFC 99 back in June of 2009 at a catchweight of just five pounds heavier (a.k.a Rumbleweight, Franklinweight, Moneyweight, or 195 lbs.). The fight was an action packed affair that saw “Ace” emerge victorious by way of unanimous decision.

As you may recall, Franklin was originally expected to take on Cung Le at UFC 148, who has now been left without an opponent. After Vitor was forced to withdraw from his rematch with Silva due to a broken hand, however, everyone from Alan Belcher, who also injured himself in the meantime, to Michael Bisping, who Wanderlei already defeated by UD in his UFC middleweight debut back at UFC 110, were being pegged as potential opponents, even in light of Bisping/Boetsch already being announced.

Though this matchup will more than likely make for an exciting fight (being that their first scrap took home FOTN honors), we may be looking at the possibility of UFC 147 being demoted from a pay-per-view to a free card at this point. And here’s why.

(Sources indicate that Silva’s knee buckled during an intense set of supermodel-lunges.)

According to Tatame, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has confirmed that he suffered a minor knee injury in training, about six weeks out from his rematch with arch-rival Chael Sonnen at UFC 148 (July 7th, Las Vegas). Silva later tweeted that his knee is feeling fine and it won’t stop him from settling his obligation with Sonnen.

Silva’s injury brings a discomforting sense of deja vu. After Chael inexplicably won the first four-and-a-half rounds from Silva during their first meeting in August 2010, Silva’s manager Ed Soares blamed his lackluster performance on a recent rib injury. Silva vs. Sonnen 2 originally held such promise for the champ; if Silva was 100% healthy and fighting in front of his countrymen, Sonnen was a dead man walking, guaranteed. Then the fight was moved, and this knee thing happened. Will we be looking at another tough five-round grind for the Spider?

(This face describes the situation better than any words truly can.) 

We guess when you are able to knockout a guy in the most devastating fashion possible in front of millions of people, you can pretty much call him whatever you want to afterward. If you don’t believe us, just ask Chuck Liddell, or for that matter, UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva. After front kicking Vitor Belfort into hyper-sleep in the first round of their highly anticipated grudge match at UFC  126 and subsequently trouncing Yushin Okami at UFC 134, “The Spider” spent most of 2011 rehabbing his injured shoulder and judging nude body-painting contests like the boss that he truly is. When word got out that he would in fact be rematching world-renowned shit talker Chael Sonnen at UFC 148, the war of words began once again. And per usual, 99.9% of it came from the challenger.

But don’t let the completely falsified percentages fool you, the champ can talk trash with the best of them. Just check out the clip below, in which Anderson offers Wanderlei Silva a little bit of advice on “The Axe Murderer’s” opposing coach/upcoming opponent, Vitor Belfort, after Wanderlei brings it up. Apparently unaware that he still has a microphone on, Silva makes a mistake of Frank Drebian proportions, calling the Phenom “a coward” before realizing what he has done.

Nathan “The12ozCurls” Smith

With recent events involving a UFC fighter and alcohol grabbing the spotlight, we at CP figured we’d lighten the mood a tad with this new Budweiser commercial. From a stare down between Anderson Silva and Steven Seagal to Lyoto Machida making a cameo as he flees the scene, this commercial has it all. When I say it has it all, I mean they also mixed in a midget little person as well as Bruce Buffer and Dan Miragliotta. Much to the surprise of Chael Sonnen (because, we assume, he was unaware that the country has such technological advances like television), it has been rumored that the commercial will only air in Brazil.

(This tender moment is brought to you by the word: clownshoe.) 

As we mentioned earlier this week, Chael Sonnen is basically the living reincarnation of the legend of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He has the capability to come off as a reasonable individual, but more often than not, he chooses to drink that devilish potion, the proceeding surge of bravado almost always coming at the cost of his sanity. Where as Dr. Jekyll becomes a prostitute murdering madman upon drinking said potion, Sonnen reverts into a compulsive liar on such a ridiculous level — spouting claims of certain cycling legends and PED use — that he all but but erases the belief that he is one of the more intelligent figures in the sport today.

Take his recent interview with Jim Rome, in which he discussed his upcoming title fight with Anderson Silva, set for UFC 148 on July 7th. As he did while on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Sonnen talked about the perceived danger of accepting the rematch in Brazil (as was the original plan) as well as his claims that Silva is a “fake Brazilian.” But you don’t start to smell the fish, so to speak, until his UFC 117 loss to Silva is brought up. After Rome gives the viewers a quick recap of the fight, Sonnen drops this beauty on us:

I am so happy you brought that up for the viewers who may not have seen this…what had happened was an absolute misunderstanding and misapplication of the rules by me. We’re in the fifth and final round, he locks on a submission, and I acknowledge that he has it tight by slapping my hand on his leg.

I tapped. So what I thought is you go to the cards. I win four rounds, he wins that round. Apparently, if you tap, it ends the entire contest, which I was not ever made privy to.

Jesus f’ing Christ. Words cannot even begin to describe the amount of facepalm that is necessary for that aneurysm-inducing bit of drivel. It is as if he is having a four-year old with a inoperable brain tumor scribble out his interview answers in crayon, knowing damn well that the child does not posses the ability to spell “inoperable” or “crayon.” Bill Clinton could not dream up a more ham-fisted response if you were to give him the third runner-up of Miss Plus America, an empty hotel room, and all the time in the world.

Join us after a jump for a play-by-play of the rest of the interview and a full video. 

(How ignorant we were.) 

Chances are, if Chael Sonnen is not training for an upcoming fight or doing battle inside the octagon itself, he is sitting down in front of a camera and ranting about whatever is on his mind, be it Anderson Silva or the irresponsibility of Canadian reporters. As far as he’s concerned, these rants are meant to provide his audience with a higher understanding of the world around them, and are in the general public’s better interest. Thankfully, Sonnen was able to fight off the schizophrenia that will inevitably overtake his brain for long enough to jot down a collection of these rants into a “self help” book subtly titled “The Voice of Reason.” To say that it is the greatest collection of words and sentences ever committed to paper would be an understatement, so Sonnen opts to call it “A V.I.P pass to enlightenment” instead.

But just in case you didn’t pick up “The Voice of Reason” at your nearest bookstore (or in today’s society, on your Kindle), Sonnen recently locked himself in a dark and dreary basement to elaborate on everything from John McCain’s attempt to crush MMA before it got its sea legs to the conspiracies behind Area 51 and professional wrestling. Are these three things somehow related? Is Chael Sonnen some rogue government agent who has access to this kind of information? Is the Oregonian truly the UFC middleweight champion of the world, and we just don’t know it yet? To put it simply; no, maybe, and DUH.

Join us after the jump for the videos. 

UFC President Dana White says that Bellator import, Hector Lombard, might just get a middleweight title shot if he beats Brian Stann in his UFC debut. “When you talk about cleaning out a division, there’s always another guy who comes up, even for a guy like Anderson…We just brought in Lombard. (If) Lombard beats Stann. … that (title) fight makes sense,” Sergio Non reports White as saying, for USA Today.

And, oh yeah, Stann vs. Lombard will headline UFC on Fox 4, according to MMA Fighting ace Mike Chiappetta. When a fan asked Chiappetta, via twitter, if the fight was set to be the main event for Fox’ fourth UFC installment, he replied in the affirmative.

(Photo provided by Corissa Furr/Keith Selle)

By Jason Moles

It’s not every day you get twenty minutes alone with a professional model, so when you get the opportunity, you make damn well sure you spend your time wisely. That’s exactly what I did earlier this week when I interviewed former Strikeforce ring card girl, Corissa Furr. You’ve probably seen her on Entourage, MANswers or gracing the pages of FHM and Maxim. Most recently, she hosted an ‘MTV Cribs’-esque segment on The Ultimate Insider when she took you through the luxurious home of UFC welterweight Josh Koscheck. We discussed her favorite fighter, women’s MMA, and the lamest thing to be shouted at her while cage side. Enjoy the interview and the new pics Corissa sent us.

CagePotato.com: Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk with me. First things first, how in the world does a smart girl from small town Maryland find herself parading around a cage in a bikini while holding up a round card for money?

Corissa Furr: I don’t know. You know, it’s not something I ever thought was going to happen. I was never one of those girls who was like, you know, “I wanna be a model.” I kind of got into it accidentally. My roommate at the time was doing a photo shoot and then the photographer was like, “Let me take some head shots of you.” And that was the beginning of it I guess. I started traveling for different companies, doing tours nationwide and I’ve always been a fan of MMA and boxing and stuff like that so when opportunities came my way, of course I took advantage of them. Who wouldn’t want to be sitting cage side watching the fights and getting paid?

CP: What’s the lamest thing a guy has yelled out at you while you’re up there holding cards?

(He only points at the ones he loves. / Photo via Sherdog)

According to an Oglobo report (translated by FightersOnly), a 75-minute backstage argument between Dana White and Anderson Silva is what led to the hour-long delay of Tuesday’s “Silva vs. Sonnen” press conference in Rio. The short version: Silva initially refused to fight anywhere other than Brazil, owing to his desire to beat Chael Sonnen‘s ass in front of his countrymen. Eventually, dollars spoke louder than words. Now here’s the long version:

Anderson Silva didn’t lash out publicly at Dana White when the UFC president declared he wanted to move the rematch with Chael Sonnen to Las Vegas, USA — but on the quiet he was very upset. It took the UFC president 75 minutes to convince him to fight Chael Sonnen in Las Vegas instead of Rio de Janeiro and this was the reason for the press conference delay yesterday, reports Gustavo Noblat of OGlobo.com.

The talk was heated — initially Anderson refused to change the venue of what could be the rematch of the century…The upcoming confrontation was set to occur at Stadium Engenhao in Rio, and would have been the biggest show of UFC history with 80 thousand tickets to be sold. But the date coincided with international events in the city and White alleged Rio would not have the infrastructure to hold the fighting event.

The champion was frustrated and insisted on fighting in Brazil. Anderson told Dana that Sonnen had been disrespectful with him, his family and all the Brazilian. “He deserves to taught a lesson here, I owe this to my people”, repeated Silva. But Dana was adamant. “If there is no way to make the event in a stadium, it has to be in Las Vegas,” said the company president.

(Click for full-size version.)

“Two grudges will end” at UFC 148, you guys. After the main event, Chael Sonnen is going to pull Anderson Silva aside and personally apologize for that wife-groping steak-cooking stuff, in addition to his general lambasting of the Brazilian people, and Silva will be like, “I understand about the trash-talk, baby bubba, but we’re still friends.” And then Urijah Faber will catch up to Dominick Cruz backstage and explain that when Cruz signed his name over Faber’s face on a poster five years ago, it didn’t really bother him, because really, who would actually hold a grudge over something like that, you know? And then they’ll hug. And hug. And keep hugging. These are things that will happen.

By Elias Cepeda

(The Silva/Sonnen staredown nuzzledown from today’s press-conference, via MMAMania.)

The good news? Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen will indeed rematch one another this summer. The bad news, at least for Brazilian fans, is that the mega bout will not take place in Brazil as originally planned, but rather in Las Vegas.

UFC President Dana White convened a press conference in Rio this morning, breaking the news alongside middleweight champion Silva and #1 contender Sonnen. White said he wanted to secure a soccer stadium in either Sao Paulo or Rio de Janiero for UFC 147, with Silva vs. Sonnen headlining, but that “everything that could go wrong, went wrong.” That included a United Nations conference being scheduled in Rio during the weekend UFC 147 was originally scheduled for, creating an insurmountable logistical nightmare for the promotion.

Silva vs. Sonnen II will now be moved to UFC 148 on July 7th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Vegas. UFC 147 will still take place in Brazil, though White said a venue has yet to be secured. The event is scheduled to feature the rematch between Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva, as well as the middleweight and featherweight finals of TUF Brazil. White said that the UFC is also working on moving Jose Aldo to that card from his UFC 149 engagement, against an opponent to be named later.

(Photo via ESPN)

Update: The press conference has been delayed an hour, and is now scheduled to start at 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT.

With the venue for UFC 147 in jeopardy because of some United Nations bullcrap, UFC president Dana White, middleweight champion Anderson Silva, and champion-in-his-own-mind Chael Sonnen will be hosting a press conference in Rio de Janeiro this morning to announce where and when Silva vs. Sonnen 2 will be taking place. Rumor has it the fight will be bumped to UFC 148, July 7th in Las Vegas, but you’ll just have to watch and see. The presser starts at 10 a.m. ET / 7 a.m. PT; check it out after the jump, courtesy of YouTube.com/UFC, and come back to CagePotato later for our recap of the important points.

By Elias Cepeda

(Jon Jones successfully defended his UFC belt against Rashad Evans Saturday night)

For my money, Saturday night’s UFC 145 main event between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans was exactly what I’d want from a high-level grudge match. A quick stoppage could have led of talk of “luck,” or controversy and perhaps an immediate rematch.

Instead, the former training partners got to see each other from many different angles over the course of five long rounds. In so doing, each man passed tests they had yet to before, each got their licks in and we still had a clear winner.

In only his second career loss, Rashad Evans proved that he could get seriously hurt in a fight and keep going. The young champion Jones showed us much as well in going to a decision.

We know that Jones has the conditioning to go the distance. Perhaps more important than that, we now know that Jones, who recently steamrolled Lyoto Machida, Mauricio Rua and Quinton Jackson, won’t necessarily get frustrated when an opponent doesn’t quickly crumble under his onslaught.

Jones stayed patient, measured and effective throughout the fight with Evans, even when the challenger refused to quit after getting rocked. Jones also has a chin on him.

It would have been easy to miss because of how little he reacted to them, but Jones took some heavy single shots from Evans, right to the chin, temple and neck. And he didn’t even flinch.