(We’re sorry, Tom, but it’s just not the same. Photo courtesy of MMAMania.)

Just a couple of hours ago, the UFC held a press conference in Shaw Court, Alberta, Canada, to promote UFC 149: Jose Aldo vs. Some Guy (it’s a joke, take it easy), which is expected to transpire on July 21st from Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Surprisingly absent from the conference was that of UFC President Dana White, who was in turn replaced by Director of Operations for UFC Canada, Tom Wright. Also absent was a hearty supply of French fries and gravy for the fighters involved, which was a real shame in our opinion.

In the co-main event of the evening, the most hated wanted man in the middleweight division, Michael Bisping, will square off against hard nosed slugger Tim Boetsch. Also expected for UFC 149 will be Antonio Rodrigo’s Nogueria’s return to the octagon for the first time since Frank Mir went all Paul Harris on his arm, the difference between their UFC 140 scrap and the average Paul Harris fight being that Nog waited until after Mir broke his arm to tap, not the other way around. Anyway, Big Nog will be squaring off against the inconsistent but always dangerous Cheick Kongo, who is coming off a knockout loss at the hands of Mark Hunt at UFC 144.

Check out the full video and lineup after the jump. 

(Fun fact: Nogueira’s body is composed mainly of replacement parts from grave-robbed corpses.)

UFC 149 (July 21st, Calgary) is picking up some heavyweight muscle in the form of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cheick Kongo. The Calgary Sun first reported the matchup, adding that the event will likely be headlined by the Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson light-heavyweight title fight.

Big Nog is coming off his gruesome kimura loss to Frank Mir at UFC 140 in December, a defeat that had many fans and pundits pleading for the legend’s retirement. Following that fight, Nogueira said he expected to return within nine months. Just seven months later, he’ll be taking one more kick at the cat against a tough striker in Kongo, who ate a first-round TKO loss against Mark Hunt in his last outing. Still, you can’t count either of these guys out (see: Nog vs. Schaub, Kongo vs. Barry). Are you happy to see Nogueira back in the Octagon? And who do you think will be left standing?

In other booking news…

CagePotato Roundtable is our new recurring column in which the CP writing staff and some of our friends all get together to debate an MMA-related topic. Joining us this week is former CagePotato staff writer Chad Dundas, who now writes for an up-and-coming blog called ESPN. If you have a suggestion for a future Roundtable column, send it to tips@cagepotato.com.

CagePotato reader Alexander W. writes: “The Demetrious Johnson vs. Ian McCall fight inspired my suggestion: Greatest robberies in MMA history. I’d be curious to hear the variety of opinions out there. Surely that fight was a top ten.”

Chad Dundas

There are a lot of things about Pride Total Elimination 2003 that don’t make sense when viewed with modern MMA sensibilities. How to even comprehend a world where a skinny, haired-up, suit jacket-wearing Dana White could bet Pride bigwigs $250,000 that Chuck Liddell was going to win that company’s 2003 middleweight grand prix? Or comprehend that a bizarrely dangerous and clearly-enunciating Liddell showed up in the first round of said tournament and KTFOed an impossibly svelte Alistair Overeem? Or that Overeem had an old dude in a robe and shriners hat accompany him to the ring while carrying a big foam hammer? Or that on this night somebody got tapped out with a sleeve choke? Or that Wanderlei Silva fought Kazushi Sakuraba and it didn’t just make everybody feel sad and empty?

No sense at all.

What does still sort of make sense is this: After watching Liddell sleep Overeem, there was no way on God’s green Earth that Pride judges were going to let another UFC emissary walk out of Saitama Super Arena with a win*, so they conspired to pull off one of the greatest screwjobs in MMA history when they awarded Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira a unanimous decision over Ricco Rodriguez. The indisputable fact is, Ricco whipped Big Nog good that night, taking him down, brutalizing him, shaking off his feeble submission attempts and controlling pretty much the whole affair. At least, that’s how I remember it. Unfortunately, due to Zuffa’s ongoing war on Internet piracy it seems their bout will only be remembered by history and by the creepy old man who answers the queries you submit to the Sherdog Fight Finder.

It has barely been a fortnight since Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria had his arm snapped into a thousand pieces compliments of a first round Frank Mir kimura at UFC 140. Besides being perhaps the most shocking, or at least unpredictable, finish in UFC History, it was a loss that to many signaled the end of the road for the former UFC Interim Heavyweight champ and PRIDE star. But leave it to a man who was run over by a Mac truck as a child to prove us wrong once again.

Yes, the above video serves as undeniable proof that “Minotauro’s” bones are made from some form of otherwordly carbon based material, or possibly the liquid metal that flows through Wolverine’s veins. Where most of us would still be at home trying to figure out the reverse monkey grip, Big Nog has already resumed training, and looks to be coming along nicely in his rehabilitation. The question is, who should he face next?

DISCUSS.

-J. Jones

(These things have been passed around more than Arlovski’s ex-girlfriend.)

Although the UFC only had five weight classes at the time, four years ago today it had seven champions and only two still hold a strap.

BJ Penn (155), Matt Serra (170), Anderson Silva (185), Quinton Jackson (205) and Randy Couture (265) held titles in their respective weight divisions, while Georges St-Pierre (170) and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (265) were the anointed interim champions.

Fun Fact: Anderson Silva is the only champ who still holds the same belt he did then.

Who is Milton Vieira, you ask? Well, other than a second degree black belt under Murilo Bustamante and a 13-7 veteran of such promotions as Deep, Strikeforce, and PRIDE, Vieira is also widely considered to be the inventor of the anaconda choke. A Brazilian Top Team standout who trains with the likes of Rousimar Palhares, “Miltinho” is credited as the creator of the submission popularized by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria in his early PRIDE days, specifically in his back-to-back victories over Hirotaka Yokoi and Heath Herring. Big Nog claims that he was taught the maneuver by Vieira back when he used to train at BTT in the early 2000′s.

Coming off a successful first round Brabo choke victory over Sterling Ford at Strikeforce Challengers 18, Vieira will be making his featherweight debut for his first UFC contest, though a date and opponent has yet to be named.

This sculpture, made entirely of toothpicks and modelling clay, took first place at the Granger Elementary Art Fair. Congratulations to 3rd Grader Sarah M.

(Props to @robnashville for the tip on this story)

Brazilian MMA website Portal Do Vale Tudo is reporting that Antonio Silva already has a dance partner lined up for his UFC debut. “Bigfoot” will allegedly face former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez in an April clash. A poorly translated version of their report credits Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira with breaking the story in his weekly newspaper column [ed. note: please let it be the Portuguese version of “Dear Don”].

Silva has been recovering from a shoulder surgery that took place following his knock out loss to Daniel Cormier in the Strikeforce HWGP last September. It looks like the promotion’s heavyweight castoffs won’t be handled with kid gloves upon their arrival in the Octogon. This will be Cain’s first fight since his 64-second drubbing at the hands of Junior Dos Santos.

The match has not yet been announced or confirmed by the UFC. Silva’s manager, Alex Davis, initially denied the report, but somewhat changed his tune when he learned that “Minotauro” was the source of the rumor. According to Google Translate, he threatened Nogueira thusly: “Gee, I have to stick your ass it!”. Though we’re not exactly certain what that means, it sounds much more painful than any punishment John Dodson received for revealing Team Mayhem’s match-ups.

(Will Lesnar vs. Overeem bash out a place on the list, or will it inevitably fall short of the hype?)

Between Junior Dos Santos’s knee injury, Strikeforce phasing out their heavyweight division in 2012, and the general lack of UFC heavyweight fights lately (just three in their last five events, to be exact), it seems like MMA’s big-man scene is in hibernation mode.

But starting with Friday night’s UFC 141 main event of Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem — promoted as the “biggest” fight of the year — and continuing on to Josh Barnett vs. Daniel Cormier in March, the action among 265′ers is about to start heating up. With that mind, we decided to pay tribute to the greatest and most important heavyweight MMA fights from this past year. Enjoy, and let us know if we left out any of your favorites…

#6. DANIEL CORMIER vs. ANTONIO SILVA
Strikeforce World Grand Prix: Barnett vs. Kharitonov, 9/10/11

What happened: The smaller man fought like a giant. Cormier landed his punches at will and easily shrugged off Silva’s attempts to take the fight to the ground. Entering the tournament as an alternate, Cormier punched his ticket to the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix finals with a hook/uppercut combo that stiffened the Brazilian Frankenstein.
What we learned: Undersized doesn’t always mean outgunned — and a big chin doesn’t always mean a strong chin.

Now that we’ve all officially finished binge-eating/drinking our way through Christmas, our good pal DW is back and with a late gift of his own – the gift of heartbreak. In typical fashion, this week’s Danavlog focuses on the aftermath of UFC 140, giving us a behind the scenes look at the pre and post-fight moments of Tito Ortiz, Jon Jones, and perhaps most importantly, Krzystof Soszynski, who, after suffering a 35 second knockout at the hands of Igor Pokrajac, informs us that he has fought his last MMA contest. Whether he is just pulling a BJ Penn on us or is truly sincere about his decision remains to be seen, but if we really have witnessed the last of “The Polish Experiment,” we here at CP would just like to thank him for all the great fights and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Join us after the jump for the rest of the highlights.

(Nog with his new bionic arm.)

Two days after UFC president Dana White was shaking his head during the UFC 141 conference call wondering aloud what ever possessed Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira to opt to try to choke out a rocked Frank Mir rather than finish him up on the ground with punches during their UFC 140 bout a week and a half ago, and “Big Nog” has offered an explanation. According to the former PRIDE star and one-time interim UFC light heavyweight champion, referee Herb Dean made him switch gears when he told him his punches were illegal.

(I see trouble a brewin’ on the horizon.) 

Given their frequency within the sport, we oft discuss the rematch here at CagePotato: we’ve mentioned a few that we’d like to see, we’ve mocked the possible occurence of others, and we’ve even gone as far as to predict how future ones would go down. And with 2011 featuring over 10 in the UFC alone, we decided to take a look back at at a year that both showcased and disgraced the awesomeness that is the rematch. Join us on this trip down memory lane, won’t you?

The Ones We Needed to See 

#5 – Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami at UFC 134

(Silva v. Okami, though this image could be from just about any of Silva’s fights.) 

Why it had to happen: Because the first fight marked the last time Silva had lost…at anything, and even if it was by way of illegal upkick DQ, it was enough to convince some people that Okami had his number. Plus, Okami had earned his shot by this point, and we were getting pretty damned tired of debating this old issue.

How it happened: Absolute. Domination. In typical fashion, Silva toyed with Okami like he was wrestling with his 4 year old nephew, letting the audience know that the fight would end when he decided it would. A head kick that rocked Okami at the end of the first round reinforced this belief, and Silva mercifully finished him off in the second. Cut. Print. TKO.

What it proved: That, outside of Chael Sonnen, there are no threats left in the UFC’s middleweight division for Anderson Silva. As with Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion Christiane “Cyborg” Santos, Silva must journey to another weight class if he desires a true challenge. Even DW is coming around to the idea, sort of.

(And here we have Ronda Rousey dumping Karo Parisyan on his head. Props: DantheWolfman)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere…

- The Great ‘Must Retire’ List of 2011 (MMA Convert)

- Bellator’s 10 Best Fights of 2011 (The Fight Nerd)

- Photo Gallery: Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos Training for Hiroko Yamanaka (Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com)

- The 25 Most Outrageous MMA-Related Videos on YouTube (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- Spike TV to Counter-Program ‘UFC on FOX 2′ With ‘UFC Unleashed: Evans vs. Davis’ (MMA Payout)

- Arianny Celeste: Chael Sonnen Is Very Polite To Me Backstage (FightLine)

- Keith Kizer: Urine Is ‘Obviously’ Better Than Blood for Steroid Testing (Fight Opinion)

- Dana White Sees Jon Jones as #2 Pound-for-Pound Fighter in the World (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Joseph Benavidez Inspired to Become a Great Champion in New UFC Flyweight Division (MMA Mania)

- Demian Maia: I Know I Can Submit Michael Bisping (MMAFighting)

- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Avoids Surgery on Broken Arm (5th Round)

- Can Someone Please Help Felice Herrig With Her Wardrobe Malfunction? (MiddleEasy)

What a couple of weeks it has been for the avid Jiu Jitsu fanatic. Diego Brandao scored a brilliant last second submission over Dennis Bermudez to walk away with a UFC contract and a down payment on his momma’s new house, Frank Mir added the most prized arm of all to his collection (a feeling that Mir would later refuse to go into detail about, but we imagine felt something like this), and Jon Jones used his Stretch Armstrong genetics to choke out a Jiu Jitsu black belt in Lyoto Machida with relative ease. And with each beautiful, gruesome, or eye opening technique that graces the octagon, Ryron and Rener are here to make sense of it all.

Today, the Gracie brothers touch on Tony Ferguson’s slick omaplata attempt from his unanimous decision victory over Yves Edwards at the TUF 14 Finale as well as Brandao’s glass plaque-earning effort before breaking down possibly the most shocking submission finish in MMA history, Frank Mir’s come from behind kimura over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria that absolutely destroyed the Brazilian’s arm, a picture of which can be seen after the jump:

There’s a time for fightin’, and a time for dancin’! Nog breaks out “The Robot“, Mir shows off the “Smooth Criminal“. (Photo: UFC.com)

I’m not sure what sort of pre-fight pep talk was given to the fighters in their locker rooms last night, but I hope somebody recorded it to play at all future events. “Never leave it in the hands of the judges” doesn’t begin to capture the sentiment that most of the fighters carried with them to the Octagon. Last night’s finishes were emphatic and extraordinary. Knocking your opponent out wouldn’t do—it would have to tie for the quickest KO in UFC history. Subbing the previously untapped wasn’t enough—you had to break them or render them unconcious.

We’ve already broken down the Jones-Machida bout, so we’ll just say the champion definitely gave us something to Skype about. Now, onto the rest of the card.

(Photo via @ufc)

The fighters for tomorrow night’s UFC 140 event just finished weighing in at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, with 23 of the 24 competitors coming in at or below their contracted limits. The sole fuck-up was Dennis Hallman, who was scheduled to make his lightweight debut against John Makdessi. Instead, he crushed the scales at 158.5, and was granted some extra time to get down to 156. And he’d better make it happen, considering that he’s already on the UFC’s bad side due to his unfortunate wardrobe choice in his last fight. Update: Hallman has been fined 20 percent of his purse for failing to make weight.

The other item worth noting is that Frank Mir weighed in 21 pounds heavier than Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for their heavyweight rematch. Three years ago, their size difference was only five pounds. The full list of “Jones vs. Machida” weigh-in results is after the jump. Come back to CagePotato.com tomorrow night at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT for our liveblog of the pay-per-view main card, and catch up on our previous UFC 140 coverage on the Main Event page.

(The CagePotato HR Department: Boldly squashing inter-office disputes since 2007.) 

Just like pictures of hot womens and irresponsible opinions, pre-UFC event bickering has become a fixture here at CagePotato. In advance of this weekend’s card in Toronto, we locked Danga and ReX in a miniature Octagon with energy drinks, a blow-up doll, and a set of questions. We were dubious about the doll, but ReX insisted that hilarity would ensue, and he assures us that it did. It wasn’t mentioned in the final article, but some things you just don’t want to ask about.

Come on in past the jump and witness the confusion of two men discussing MMA while being distracted by said hot womens, touching on the subjects of likability, MMA Math, and the potential importance of fashion choices.

Just a friendly reminder that we’ll have the UFC 140 pre-fight press conference stream here starting at 1:00 pm ET. At the event, which will take place at the Toronto International Film Festival Lightbox,  will be main card participants Jon Jones, Lyoto Machida, Antonio Rodrigio Nogueira, Frank Mir, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Tito Ortiz.

Will Tito keep shoving his self-invented, “The People’s Champion” moniker down everyone’s throats?

Will Frank Mir tell everyone how much better he is than the Nogueiras?

Wil Jon Jones explain why he will always be the betting favorite in his future fights?

Will anyone ask Lyoto about drinking piss?

Will Lil’ Nog be asked any questions?

All of these questions and more will be answered after the jump at 1:00.

Our good buddies at Victory Belt are about to release The Grappler’s Manifesto: The Guide to Strangling, Torquing, & Bludgeoning Your Way to Victory in The Cage [Ed. note: My God this title], in which some of the world’s greatest grappling instructors and MMA fighters — including Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Greg Jackson, Dave Camarillo, Randy Couture, and Neil Melanson — share their secrets for winning fights on the ground. Compiled by writer/trainer Lance Freimuth, the 272-page tome is packed with never-before-published techniques, and we’d like to give a copy to a lucky CagePotato reader in a test of fight-picking expertise.

This Saturday at UFC 140, Jon Jones will attempt to make his second light-heavyweight title defense against ex-champ Lyoto Machida. Plus, Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira rematch in the heavyweight division, and Tito Ortiz returns to action against Big Nog’s slightly-smaller twin. Submit your predictions for these three fights in the comments section below, including the winner’s name, the method of victory, and the time/round of stoppage, if any. Your entry should be in this format:

Last week, we let none other than The Great Potato step in and give you guys some gambling advice for the TUF 14 Finale. He went spuds out, gambling his son Tater’s future college fund on a parlay that included Jason Miller and T.J. Dillashaw. He has since gone into hiding and refused to answer any of our calls. Now that UFC 140 is on the horizon, we bring you some saweet betting lines, courtesy of BestFightOdds, along with our advice, in order to ensure his children receive the education they deserve.

Main Card
Jon Jones (-440) vs. Lyoto Machida (+350)
Frank Mir (-250) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria (+210)
Antonio Rogerio Nogueria (-225) vs. Tito Ortiz (+175)
Brian Ebersole (-125) vs. Claude Patrick (-105)
Mark Hominick (-380) vs. Chan Sung Jung (+290)

The Main Event: The fact that Lyoto Machida is listed with a slightly better chance to beat Jones than Rampage Jackson, a.k.a the last person to beat Machida, is intriguing to say the least. We all know Lyoto has stepped up his training camp for this bout, and packed on an incredible 21 pounds of muscle to try and deal with the size and strength of Jones, but will this weight gain hinder the Dragon’s renowned elusiveness? And despite Jones’ near immortal stature among the UFC’s light heavyweight division, there is still one huge facet of his game that has yet to be tested, his chin.

(Props: mmapain)

Once in a while, a singular talent will arise and utterly dominate this sport. He comes out of nowhere, immediately starts whipping top-ranked fighters with years’ more experience, and leaves both fans and his opponents in awe of his abilities. Jon Jones is that guy right now. And nobody knows how fleeting that moment is better than Lyoto Machida, whose invincible aura (and “era“) went up in smoke as quickly as it arrived.

That’s what gives Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida such a great storyline for their meeting on December 10th in Toronto. Besides Machida’s unorthodox style, which could be an effective counter to Bones’s own funky attacks, the Dragon stands as a living reminder that nobody is invincible — seriously, not even Jon Jones — and defeat is simply a matter of running into the wrong guy on the wrong night.

(“Do you need a manager?”)

Anderson Silva wants Ed Soares to take his name out of his mouth — at least when talking to reporters about the career decisions of his marquee client.

Silva took exception to Soares’ recent interview with GLOBO recently during which he explained that Silva will likely retire after competing four more times in the Octagon. The usually jovial Brazilian fighter refuted Soares’ assertion and hinted that he may split with his longtime manager as a result his insolence.

“Not true. As one of my coaches, I still have many bottles to sell. I think we keep fighting for another six, seven years. Four years ago, I was a little stressed,” Silva explained in an interview with GLOBO this week. “I decided with my teacher Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira that after another year I would stop. He said he had no reason to, and then I stopped to think, I had one more fight, and then said, ‘I will postpone my retirement for some time.”

(Video courtesy of YouTube/TwisterEddie)

Renato Laranja is back with another one of his instant classic interviews. This time around our hero sits down with M-1 light heavyweight champion Vinny Magalhaes and the interview goes well until the former TUF 8 finalist starts to get a gay vibe from the 27-time Mundials champion. Magalhaes accuses Laranja of becoming “weird” since he moved to the U.S. and hints that he may have picked up some homosexual tendencies — not that there’s anything wrong with that, right Vinny?

First Big Nog’ and now Vinny. What’s next? Is Anderson going to stop wearing pink shirts and dancing with Justin Bieber?

(Look into my crystal ball Kenny, and ye shall see thine future.) 

There is a lot on the line at UFC 136. Not just the two titles and the future title match implications, but a chance for two men to finally capture the gold that has long eluded them. I’m speaking of Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard of course, who’ve both been chasing UFC gold for the better part of their careers, only to fall inches short of the finish line. For Gray, who many people felt deserved a title shot over current champion Frankie Edgar in the first place, it was the resilience of the champ that proved to be his undoing. And for Florian, it was just a terribly unlucky spell when it came to title fights. But come Saturday, both men will have a chance to erase our doubts and finally move up to that deluxe apartment in the sky.

Unfortunately, Florian and Maynard are not the only men who have felt the repercussions of looking directly into the belt. There are a few guys out there who just seem destined to be number 2 in a company that loves to fuck with the number 2. Anyway, we thought we would awkwardly point out six of them, excluding “Kenflo” and “The Bully,” from across the room for your reading pleasure. And we’re going by Brock Lesnar rules here, so interim belts don’t count. Enjoy.

Well it looks like Dennis Hallman’s wardrobe malfunction at UFC 133 won’t cost him his job with the UFC.

“Superman” Tweeted last night that he will be dropping back down to lightweight for the first time in 10 years to take on undefeated Canadian prospect John Makdessi at UFC 140 in December in Toronto.

A true moneyweight fighter, Hallman who is 50-12-1 (1 NC) in 64 professional fights as a light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight and lightweight, defeated Matt Hughes at 155 at UFC 23, earning him a shot at then-lightweight champ Jens Pulver at UFC 33, but fell short, losing to “Lil’ Evil” by unanimous decision. That was his last fight at 155.

(Like two little Fonzies. Photo via CombatLifestyle)

Coming off his redemptive knockout of Brendan Schaub at UFC 134, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira‘s next fight will give him a chance to settle an old score. The UFC announced yesterday that Big Nog will rematch Frank Mir at UFC 140, December 10th in Toronto.

The two heavyweights first met at UFC 92 in December 2008 following a shared stint on TUF 8. Despite coming in as a 3-1 underdog, Mir shocked fans by outstriking Nogueira en route to a second-round TKO. Then, Nogueira pee-peed on Mir’s parade by revealing that he was fighting with a staph infection and injured knee, which didn’t exactly sit well with Mir. Nogueira has wanted a rematch ever since, and re-called-out Mir following his big win last month.

(Anderson Silva is brought to tears by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s win at UFC 134. Props: Gesias)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail feedback@cagepotato.com for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…

- Dana White Still Open to Signing Alistair Overeem (NBC Sports MMA)

- Ryan Jimmo predicts a TKO against Sokoudjou at MFC 31 on Oct. 7 (MMA Mania)

- Exclusive Photos From Fight Rehearsals on “Warrior” Film (TheFightNerd)

- Postcards From Rio, Part III: Fight Night Musings From Beer-Soaked Press Row (MMA Fighting)

- Exclusive Interview With Cult MMA Documentarist Genghis Con (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- Sanchez Says he Is a New Man and His Partying Days Are Over (MiddleEasy)

- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Won’t Retire, Says He’d Love to Fight Frank Mir Next (LowKick)

- ProElite 1 Fight Videos: Grove vs. Riggs, Arlovski vs. Lopez (5thRound)

- Dana White on Insensitive Comments & Gay Slurs Said by Fighters: “This Is the Fight Business, Man.” (FightOpinion)

- The UFC on Fox: It’s All About the Benjamins, Baby (MMA Convert)

- Strikeforce GP Semifinals Conference Call Highlights (Five Ounces of Pain)

- UFC 134 Rio – Payout Perspective (MMA Payout)

By Jason Moles

After a spectacular night of fights at UFC 134 in Rio, we’re going to try to make sense of it with a little game called ‘Buy, Sell, or Hold’. I’ll take a fighter and either buy, sell, or hold him like a stockbroker would. (It’s kind of like the real stock market, except you won’t want to throw yourself off a building afterwards.) Take my advice and you’ll end up with a nice MMA portfolio. Without further ado…

Anderson Silva: Buy! Buy! Buy!

‘The Spider‘ has everything you’d want from a blue chip stock: an x-factor that makes people want to see him fight, major corporate sponsors, and hilarious commercials. Oh yeah, and his fighting isn’t that bad either. Silva’s complete and utter domination of Yushin Okami at UFC 134 just reinforces what we already knew — we are witnessing the greatest fighter of all time every time he steps inside the Octagon™.

Yushin Okami: Dump it like your autographed picture of Carrot Top.

He is currently ranked as the #3 best Middleweight and yet it seems all for naught. Okami showed up to a gunfight with a pair of flip-flops and a bag of Skittles against Silva. Despite working with the only man to dominate the champion, he never once came close to showing a spark in Brazil. I have a feeling he’ll face the same fate as Jon Fitch while his stock becomes more cursed than Monster.

I know this hurts right now, Big Nog, but it will all be worth it in a minute. (Pic: UFC.com)

UFC 134 was the outfit’s first return to Brazil in thirteen years, and with plans for four more Brazil-based events in 2012, Zuffa needed to make a lasting impression. The fighters delivered, big time, and for their efforts three of them walked away with a cool $100,000 bonus in their pockets. That’s a lot of Bony Acai.

Much was made of the homecoming to Rio, Royce Gracie’s home, the birthplace of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Yet in the land that helped transform hyper-extending limbs into an art form, there wasn’t a single submission landed. Brazilian fighters have evolved just like the rest of them, and last night they chose to showcase their fists.

(Props: epwar. Click for larger version.)

Every time I see a photo of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, it freaks me out that the dude is only five years older than me. I mean, yeah, I haven’t spent my life traveling overseas to be punched in the face by some of the baddest heavyweight MMA fighters in history, but I like to think that my skin care regimen is paying off. (Pumpkin seed oil and placenta, all day. Trust me, guys.)

The mere sight of Nogueira and Brendan Schaub standing next to each other is just one of the reasons why the legendary Brazilian is coming in as more than a 2-1 underdog for their main card bout at tomorrow night’s UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami event. Plus, he’s had surgeries on both knees and his hip since his knockout loss to Cain Velasquez last February, and admits that his rehab was rushed in order for him to compete in his home country for the first time.

Saturday night will determine if Big Nog still has a future as a top-level competitor. Can he pull it off?

By Anton Gurevich

Brendan Schaub currently holds a professional MMA record of 8-1, with five consecutive victories inside the Octagon. “The Hybrid” was knocked out by Roy Nelson at the TUF 10 Finale, but bounced back with convincing performances against Chase Gormley and Chris Tuchscherer. Schaub then moved up the ladder, adding prestigious victories over Gabriel Gonzaga and Mirko Cro Cop to his record.

On August 27th, The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 finalist will look to solidify his place in the heavyweight title mix with a victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The fight will be a part of the UFC’s stacked UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami fight card, and will mark Nogueira’s MMA debut in his homeland.

Speaking exclusively to LowKick.com, Brendan Schaub shared his thoughts about the fight with Big Nog, competing in Brazil, and a shot at Cain Velasquez’s UFC Heavyweight title. You can follow Schaub on Twitter @BrendanSchaub.

You have a big fight coming up next weekend against Minotauro Nogueira. Is this the biggest fight of your career so far?
Yeah, without a doubt. I think it’s a toughest test for me, and you know, Nogueira is one of the best Heavyweights of all time. It’s a monumental fight of my career. He never fought in Brazil, so it would be a great thing to say after August 27th “Hey, I beat Nogueira in Brazil.”

CONTINUE READING THIS INTERVIEW ON LOWKICK.BLITZCORNER.COM