(“Tell us again how you chased down that robber and held him until the cops came. That was awesome.”)

An undisclosed injury he is currently rehabbing coupled with a desire to get bigger, better, stronger and faster the next time he steps into the Octagon has prompted UFC light heavyweight prospect Phil Davis to take a brief hiatus from fighting until late 2011.

“Mr. Wonderful” told MMAJunkie recently that besides the nagging injury he is nursing, the other reason why he is stepping away from competing for the time being is to take a look at his last performance — a win over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira last month at UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis — and figure out how he could have performed better.

“I really want to make some huge gains inside the gym before I step back in. I’m ready to take one step back,” Davis said. “I’ve got three steps ahead of me. I’ve got one step back, then two forward. That might sound like the cha-cha. But pow – there it is.”

Way to make us all look like underachievers, Phil.

(Meanwhile, Christian Morecraft picked up $500 for “Freakishly Long Tongue of the Night.” / Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

The competitors at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 24: Nogueira vs. Davis card earned a total of $757,000 in disclosed salaries and bonuses, according to figures released by the Washington State Department of Licensing. Preliminary card fighter Johny Hendricks actually walked away with the biggest check of the night, earning $99,000 for 95 seconds of work against TJ Waldburger. Check out the full salary list below; keep in mind that the figures don’t include deductions for taxes, licensing fees, or insurance, or additional revenue from sponsorships and undisclosed “locker room bonuses.”

Phil Davis: $34,000 (includes $17,000 win bonus)
def. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: $90,000

Anthony Johnson: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
def. Dan Hardy: $25,000

Amir Sadollah: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
def. DaMarques Johnson: $14,000

Future champ? Pffff…Davis didn’t even have the courage to challenge a teammate after his victory.

Oh, fans, why do we do this to ourselves? We’ve been here so many times before, yet we never learn our lesson. We’ve declared the Brock Era, the Machida Era, and the Bones Era, but the only era we’re really in is one of unrealistic expectations. With his win over Lil’ Nog last night, Phil Davis extends his record to a perfect 9-0, with five of those victories coming in the past thirteen months, but it isn’t enough, is it? No, not when some of the most recognizable faces in the sport are created in 12 short episodes of reality tv. Not when Jon Jones violently takes the belt at the age of 23. Last night Phil Davis struggled with his takedowns. His standup still needs work. He failed to rag doll Nogueira and put him away with a freshly minted submission. He looked {gasp} like an evolving fighter.

Not long ago it would have been enough for an up and coming prospect just over two years into his career to take out a highly respected MMA veteran on the sport’s biggest stage, but that’s not the world we live in. Maybe there were just too many similarities between Davis and Jones to let the comparisons slide. They’re both young fighters with very impressive wrestling. They were both undefeated (yeah, screw that Hamill thing) headed into their last fight on short notice against a far more experienced Brazilian legend. Yeah, they even kind of look alike too. What we saw last night is that there’s only one Jon Jones, but that doesn’t mean “Mr. Wonderful” didn’t display the qualities that make a champion.

(Leonard Garcia [left] paid Tim Burton $3,250 for that custom-made zombie-head. And still, the crowd cheered harder for Dan Hardy’s ironic Charlie Sheen t-shirt. There’s just no accounting for taste. / Photos courtesy of the UFC Fight Night 24 Weigh In Pics gallery on CombatLifestyle.com)

Just think: If not for a completely unexpected injury, you’d all be watching Tito Ortiz‘s big comeback tonight — or not watching it, depending on your current interest level in Tito Ortiz. Instead, Phil Davis gets a shot at the big time, and Tito’s retirement fight is delayed until July. Anyway, we’ve got a solid lineup of free fights on Spike TV, kicking off at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT with Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung 2, Revenge of the Zombie. We’re excited, and we hope you are as well. Round-by-round results can be found after the jump; refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest. Thanks for coming.

“Torld witle…torld witle…no, something doesn’t sound right.”

It used to be that you could count on Tito Ortiz to show up on fight night, come up short, then cite an outrageous injury as the reason for his loss. Well, it looks like someone has taken our little ban to heart, as “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” disclosed yesterday via Twitter that he has suffered a serious concussion and received some 22 stitches, forcing him out of his bout with Lil’ Nog next month at UFC Fight Night 24.

First off, some serious questions. What the hell could have done such damage to that magnificent dome? Did the boys at NASA discover some new super-alloy? No, not likely. The clear answer here is that Tito contracted some sort of communicable skull-softening disease, likely from close contact with a known carrier. While Tito’s fellow scientists race for a cure, Dana White wasted no time in naming his replacement for the bout.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira interview – Watch more Funny Videos

If the recent reports are accurate, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will take on Tito Ortiz in a light-heavyweight feature at UFC 128 (March 19th, Newark). Lil’ Nog will be looking to bounce back after Ryan Bader handed him his first loss in three-and-a-half years at UFC 119. Meanwhile, Ortiz hasn’t tasted victory in over four years. (Seriously. We can’t believe he’s still around either.) Despite the career tailspin of the HBBB, Nogueira isn’t taking him lightly. As he tells our Brazilian correspondent Brian D’Souza:

"I think he’s a very tough guy. He’s an ex-champion, he [was] undefeated for many years. I think he’s a very good wrestler…he has very good Muay Thai. I think he’s dangerous, but I’m gonna do my best for sure. I want to make a better fight from last time. I’ve had two or three fights with wrestling guys, I think I’ve proven my wrestling…I want to do a very good fight with Tito. I can do better."

Nogueira also discusses his new gym in San Diego, and his training partner Anderson Silva’s upcoming bout with Vitor Belfort. It will not surprise you to discover that Lil’ Nog has his money on the Spider.

Related: Win or lose, Tito Ortiz vows that the Nogueira fight won’t be his last.

(Brazilian Vinny, Mauricio Rua, and Brazilian Steve-O celebrate their big moment. Photo courtesy of the Las Vegas Sun)

According to a new report from Sportsnet, the UFC light-heavyweight title fight between Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Rashad Evans is expected to headline a March 19th event at the Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey. Tito Ortiz’s last-last chance against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is also slated for the show. Both fights had been previously tied to a March return to Abu Dhabi, leading to speculation that the event might not happen at all. As UFC U.K. president Marshall Zelaznik said back in November:

"I know there’s been talk of March 19 potentially happening. While we’re looking at delivering a pay-per-view (event) around that time, nothing’s been defined in terms of whether Abu Dhabi gets it or someone else."

March 2011 is already a busy month for the UFC, with UFC on Versus 3 slated to take place on 3/3 and a possible UFC Fight Night event on 3/26. In March 2010, Newark hosted UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy, which drew a passionate East Coast fan contingent. Until New York gets its head out of its ass, this might be the closest thing to an annual NYC event that we’ll get.

(Because “Dana is the Architect of my Untimely Demise” wouldn’t really fit on the shirt. PicProps: Combat Lifestyle)

Maybe the UFC thought firing Tito Ortiz would have just been too easy. Or maybe it wants to be extra, extra sure that when THBBB finally does leave the organization, he’ll do so without a scrap of personal dignity or promotional capital left. Whatever the reason – and really, who knows what’s going on in Dana White’s head from moment to moment – the loveable/erratic UFC president confirmed on Friday that the recent rumors of Ortiz’s dismissal were greatly exaggerated. Instead, he’ll fight Antonio Rogerio Nogueira next March, possibly at UFC 128 in the Middle East where my reactionary conservative friends assure me they love a good public execution.

Remember when we said after UFC 121 that the Tito Ortiz show was about to get really sad? Yeah, this seems about right. Anyway, we now have conclusive proof that White will only force you into retirement if he likes you. If he thinks you’re kind of an a-hole, he has no problem putting you on the fast track to early onset Alzheimer’s.

 
(If only…)

Our talented UFC 119 photographer and comment section regular Jason "J-Dog" Wright was back at the Conseco Field House in Indianapolis Saturday night to snap some exclusive photos for us.

Except for one scary incident prior to the Mitrione-Beltran fight (which Ariel Helwani touched on in this interview with Meathead) that nearly cost us some danger pay, J-Dog made it home in one piece with some wicked shots and some great stories to tell the grandkids some day.

Jason was situated by one of the Octagon doors and as such was able to get some candid shots before, during and after each of the fights.

Check out part one of our exclusive UFC 119 photo gallery after the jump.

(Seriously Mirko, you didn’t miss much. We’ll tell you about it later. PicProps: Vancouver Sun)

There were times during UFC 119 when it felt like everyone involved spent Saturday afternoon chugging tons of codeine cough syrup. Everybody looked just a little slow, a little out of it. It sure didn’t help that the two main eventers were totally sleepwalking during the first 14 minutes of their fight before Mirko CroCop ended things with his vicious head butt to Frank Mir’s knee. The “co-main event” was also entirely forgettable, as Ryan Bader outpointed Roger Nog to reportedly win the Jon Jones Sweepstakes. Guess we’ll have to check in with him in six months, find out how that worked out for him …

This was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a great effort from the world’s largest MMA promotion. It also wasn’t quite as bad as a lot of people are saying. We’re not talking “worst show of all time” territory here. Credit local boys Matt Mitrione, Sean McCorkle and Chris Lytle for salvaging what they could of the day. Also, Evan Dunham and Sean Sherk’s back-and-forth battle was by turns exciting and totally bizarre. Too bad it was marred by a shaky judges’ decision. And hey, the good news is, if you liked UFC 119 you’re gonna love Oct. 16’s UFC 120, which looks just as terrible on paper but at least airs for free on SpikeTV.

(Well, now I’m going to have nightmares. That’s great. Thanks for nothing, Joe Rogan. PicProps: UFC.com)

Look, we’ve been trying to think of a good way to tell you this. In the end, maybe it’s best if we just come right out and say it: UFC 119 isn’t a great PPV card. Your main event features two guys just trying to cling to life in the heavyweight division, while the rest of the card is kind of … meh. Not saying it’s terrible, but if you wanted to save your money for, say, UFC 121 and just follow the live blog for this baby, we’d understand. We got you, player. That’s what we’re here for. And if you’re some big swinging dick who has money out the yaz (even in these tough economic times) and you’re ordering the thing, but for some reason still feel compelled to follow along online – maybe as a respite from how empty and shallow your life really is, maybe just to toss out sweet zingers in the comments section — that’s fine too. We don’t discriminate. Except against fat people. And the old.

We’ll be going live just after 10 p.m. EST, 7 p.m. PST. Remember to hit refresh early and often to get the latest updates.

(Video courtesy YouTube/WandFightTeam)

*Editor’s note: Turn down your volume before pressing play or Burt Watson will scare the shit out of you.

If you’ve never watched any of the episodes from Wanderlei Silva’s video blog series, you’re missing out. It gives a rare and uncut glimpse into Wand’s life and his thoughts on the sport and his career.

The latest one takes place during the pre-fight media blitz ahead of Ultimate Fight Night 22 in Texas last week, but the best part is something that happened behind the scenes during a limo ride from one event to another. At around the 3:53 mark the usually quiet and cordial in person "The Axe Murderer" confronts Chael Sonnen about his recent bashing of Brazilian MMA luminaries Antonio Rogerio and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira when he said that earning a black belt from the two is like getting a Happy Meal toy from MacDonald’s.

After an unsuccessful stint in rehab, the Gambling Addiction Enabler has returned to do what it does best — make large, ill-advised wagers simply for the thrill of gambling. We’re not saying you should follow our betting advice, necessarily, but there are plenty of opportunities to beat the bookies at UFC 119, which goes down this Satuday in Indianapolis. The betting lines are below, courtesy of bestfightodds.com. If you can’t afford to waste real money, please hit up MMA FightPicker and throw down some virtual PotatoChips on the fights. And if you don’t know what these numbers mean, please read this first.

MAIN CARD
Frank Mir (-220) vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (+215)
Ryan Bader (-165) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (+155)
Chris Lytle (-125) vs. Matt Serra (+120)
Evan Dunham (-204) vs. Sean Sherk (+190)
Melvin Guillard (-150) vs. Jeremy Stephens (+140)

SPIKE TV PRELIMS
CB Dollaway (-295) vs. Joe Doerksen (+270)
Matt Mitrione (-140) vs. Joey Beltran (+136)

UNAIRED PRELIMS
Thiago Tavares (-290) vs. Pat Audinwood (+240)
Steve Lopez (-115) vs. Waylon Lowe (-115)
T.J. Grant (-150) vs. Julio Paulino (+145)
Mark Hunt (-215) vs. Sean McCorkle (+200)

And away we go…

(Video courtesy megavideo/UFC)

With Sonnengate taking the piss out of the fact that there’s a UFC event this weekend, a lot of us (myself included) forgot that he UFC 119 countdown show was on last night.

If you happened to miss it and you were looking for something to do at work today instead of finishing up putting the new cover sheets on your TPS reports, we got you covered. 

We won’t spoil it for you, but the first thing that becomes clear in the latest episode is that they have switched up the format which gives the show a David Fincher movie feel to it.

I’m a fan of the new style, but then again the frenetic pace and non-stop jittery transitions seem to mimic my ADHD-controlled thought pattens, so it could just be me.

A few notes on the show after the jump:

(Go ahead, write untruths about this man. See what happens …)

Almost by definition, the media conference calls that fight companies stage before major events are pretty tedious affairs. On rare occasions, the stars align and they can turn into total shitshows where something interesting actually happens, but usually you just end up sitting on the phone for 45 minutes while different writers ask the same questions over and over and the athletes repeatedly mumble the same prepared responses.

Unfortunately, last week’s reporter cattle call for Sunday’s UFC Live on Versus event was no different. In fact, it was perhaps even more monotonous after first being interrupted by a fire alarm at the conference center (seriously) and then when Jon Jones and Vladimir Matyushenko spent the whole time trying to out nice-guy each other. The only halfway illuminating or unexpected exchange occurred nearly 35 minutes in, when a reporter from Fox Twin Cities-Minneapolis asked Jones about reports a couple months back that he had balked at the chance to fight Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 114.

("No no you backed me in a corner so just shut up and listen / I’ve got a long list of complaints and a shit-ton of suspicions.") 

Y’know, if this fighting thing doesn’t work out, Chael Sonnen could have a future in humiliating his enemies through long-winded online essays. (There’s money in that, right?) The UFC’s #1 middleweight contender used FightMagazine.com as a venue for an "open letter to fans" published yesterday, in which he discussed his infamous interview with hapless journalist Jon Lane, and called out Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, who recently claimed that Anderson Silva will beat Sonnen like a child. But Sonnen saved most of his bile for Ed Soares, criticizing the prominent manager for not being able to control his star client. Read on for another unvarnished glimpse into the possibly-deranged mind of the UFC’s greatest anti-hero…

*****

“Hi, everybody! Remember me? Your ol’ buddy Chael? Y’know I spend most of my time fightin’, which doesn’t leave much time for writin’, but things being what they are, I’ve decided to take a moment or two, and fire up the ol’ Olivetti typewriter, put in a fresh ribbon, and share some of my recent thoughts with you….

Firstly, I’ve gotten a significant amount of feedback regarding my “correspondence” with MMA…..”Journalist” Jon Lane…So….To any and all members of the media: I’m always happy to talk and share my time and ideas with you. And I appreciate your efforts in contacting me, and instead of ‘circling the wagons’ around a “fellow journalist”, for applauding my efforts to….FIX things. Do me a favor, guys. Don’t be so hard on JonJon. He’ll get it. Bring him along, help him out here & there. I kinda like him. And Jon…..No hard feelings. Really. If you re-read our correspondence in the cold, hard, light of day, you’ll see I was trying to….HELP you.

I never expected you to be Umberto Eco; but those questions… guy! I mean COME ON. So buck up, little soldier. If you fall off, just get right back on – even if it’s only a keyboard you’re getting on.

And Lil’ Nog…..I read your appraisal of the upcoming fight betwixt your pal Anderson and yours truly and, I’ll be damned, you are one sharp dude…. about as sharp as a bag of wet mice.

(Always be specific when you order "Brazilian twins" from the local escort service. You could get badly burned. Trust me guys, *badly* burned…)

Sherk vs. Dunham? Who cares! Lots more UFC 119-related news just came over the wires, and it looks like the people of Indianapolis are going to be in for a wild night, even if the main event is somewhat lacking in importance. Here’s what we’re dealing with…

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir: This will reportedly be the evening’s headliner. Hmm. If you’ll recall, the two former champions coached against each other on TUF 8, then Mir shocked our asses by TKO’ing Nogueira at UFC 92. Nogueira blamed his weak performance on a staph infection, so maybe this fight will turn out differently, but basically we’re being given another UFC main event where both guys are coming off losses, and the winner doesn’t even become the division’s #1 contender. Personally, I was more interested in a Big Nog vs. Cro Cop rematch. 

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Ryan Bader: Now we’re talking. Lil’ Nog needs to redeem himself after nearly getting beat by late replacement Jason Brilz at UFC 114, while Ryan Bader is looking sharper every time out, most recently knocking out Keith Jardine at UFC 110. If Bader can out-hustle the Brazilian vet, he’ll land directly in the light-heavyweight title mix.

(Where’s your stand-up now, playboy?)

According to Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira’s boxing coach, Luis Carlos Dórea in an interview with TATAME today, his charge will likely be back in action in September against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

“It’s set that he’ll be back in September, and rumors point that his opponent might be Quinton Jackson. It’d be a great fight for Rogério, he’s a former UFC champion and a victory over him will move us pretty close to the title. The UFC only has top athletes and Quinton Jackson is really dangerous. It’d be a great fight, but the UFC didn’t confirmed anything yet”, Dórea said.

("This is bullshit, I’ll be in my trailer. Somebody come get me when craft services arrives." / Photo courtesy of the ‘UFC 114 Photos’ gallery on MMAFighting.com.)

Before Rashad Evans restored order to the universe by outmaneuvering and out-grappling Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the main event, UFC 114 turned out to be a surprisingly good night for guys sporting what might charitably be described as the “man on the street” build. A dumpy Mike Russow and a doughy Jason Brilz each turned in the evening’s most interesting performances, for different reasons.

Brilz, who stepped in on short notice for an injured Forrest Griffin, got flat-out screwed in dropping a split decision loss to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira after clearly winning at least two rounds of their fight. Russow, on the other hand, spent almost three full periods letting Todd Duffee use his face for target practice before he calmly clicked Duffee’s off switch with a lucky right midway through the final round.

It’s a shame the UFC doesn’t award a bonus for “Most Obvious Post-Fight Comment,” because the winner certainly would’ve been Russow, who (without a hint of irony) told Joe Rogan: “I need to get back in the gym,” during their in-ring interview, after Rogan called his KO of Duffee “the best come-from-behind, one-punch knockout in (MMA) history.”

Uh, dude, you need to get back in the gym?

("I dare you to open your mouth, Rashad. Just give me one reason to tell you yo breff stank." Photo courtesy of the UFC 114: Weigh In Pics gallery on CombatLifestyle.)

It’s been a long time coming. Tonight in Las Vegas, after sixteen-and-a-half years of promoting fights, the UFC is putting on its very first event headlined by two African-American competitors. It’s a historic moment that’s sure be the talk of MMA news and speaks volumes about the development of the sport in this country, as well as the shifting attitudes toward…oh, who the hell am I kidding, THERE’S GONNA BE SOME BLACK ON BLACK CRIME!!!!!

Tonight’s lineup features the grudge-iest of grudge matches between TUF 10 rival coaches Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Rashad Evans, in a fight that will most likely determine the UFC’s next light-heavyweight title contender. Also: Michael Bisping battles Dan Miller in the co-main, Todd Duffee gets his long-awaited second course, Lil’ Nog toys with late-replacement Jason Brilz, and Diego Sanchez returns to familiar welterweight haunts against tough British prospect John Hathaway. But first, Spike TV gives us a couple of guaranteed bangers in their Prelims broadcast. Round-by-round UFC 114 results will be piling up after the jump, beginning at 9 p.m. ET. Hit refresh every few minutes for all the latest, and pass the wings, bitch, because it’s about to pop off…

(There’s only one song that can put Rashad Evans in the proper headspace before a fight: Lee DeWyze‘s cover of "Beautiful Day." Photoprops: allelbows.)

We’re going to try a little something different for this week’s H2H column. Instead of going through all the MMA FightPicker questions for UFC 114, we’re just going to cover a handful of them, and pepper in a few questions that Mike Russell has generously pulled out of his ass. (By the way, have you joined a FightPicker pool yet for this weekend? Because you really should. No, really. No, seriously.) Check out our analysis of Saturday night’s card below, and make sure to come back tomorrow for our always-entertaining liveblog of the fights, starting with the Spike TV prelims broadcast at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. And let’s begin…

Quinton Jackson vs. Rashad Evans @ UFC 114: Who will win?
MR: I’m picking Evans. I just think that Rashad’s wrestling and conditioning will be too much for Rampage. The fact that we never saw Quinton without a shirt on, that it’s rumored he was smoking like a chimney while on the set of The A-Team and that his face looks like Anthony Anderson’s makes me bet against him.
BG: Yeah, I have Evans by decision for this one. Besides the conditioning disadvantage, Rampage has become such a one-dimensional boxer in his last fights. He could always catch Rashad with a knockout punch, but he’s not going to present anything that will surprise Evans.

Will they quash their beef after the fight?
MR: No. If anything, I can see them having to be restrained by their corners when it’s all over. If Rashad wins, he’ll likely not be respectful on the mic, but if Rampage has his hand raised he’ll go off about how Rashad pissed him off and he had to teach him a lesson.
BG: For the most part, Rashad has that Team Jackson martial-artist-respect thing going on. If he wins, I think he’ll shout out Rampage as a great fighter who he has a ton of admiration for — even if it’s just to make himself look like the bigger man.

(Care to share what’s so funny, girls?)

Kevin Iole reveals in latest Yahoo!Sports mailbag that up-and-coming UFC light heavyweight star John Jones declined a slot on the upcoming UFC 114 card as a fill-in for Forrest Griffin against Antônio Rogério Nogueira because he didn’t feel that one month was enough time to prepare for the fight. Jones explained that he hadn’t been in the gym since his win over Brandon Vera a month and a half ago at UFC LIVE: Vera vs. Jones in Broomfield, CO.

(Jason desperately tries to defend the unpredictable mucous attacks of Eliot Marshall. / Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

Sorry guys, it won’t be Jon Jones. Not long after word came out that Forrest Griffin had to withdraw from his UFC 114 fight against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira due to injury, wrestling specialist Jason Brilz has reportedly stepped up in Griffin’s place; bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly. 

Brilz (18-2-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has been quietly heating up as a light-heavyweight prospect, most recently scoring a unanimous decision win over Eric Schafer at UFC on Versus: Vera vs. Jones. His only loss in his last 15 fights was a decision against Eliot Marshall last September, and he also holds career wins over Tim Boetsch, Brad Morris, Jason MacDonald, and Alex Schoenauer. Of course, holding his own against a world-class 205′er like Lil’ Nog on less than a month’s notice will be a tall order, but at the very least, Brilz is tough enough to avoid being steamrolled. As long as Nogueira stays on the card, we can’t really complain…

("Well, that’s the last time I let Fred do my makeup.")

As first reported by TMZ and later confirmed by more reputable sources — not that TMZ isn’t reputable, particularly when it comes to MMA fighters getting arrested in California — Forrest Griffin recently injured his shoulder, and will not be able to take his scheduled match against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC 114 (May 29th, Las Vegas). At this point, the extent of Griffin’s injury is unclear, and a replacement opponent has not yet been found for Nogueira, who hasn’t competed since his impressive Octagon debut at UFC 106.

The loss of Griffin vs. Nogueira is an unfortunate hit for UFC 114, which coincides with the UFC’s second Fan Expo — but the lineup is still nicely-stacked; you can check it out after the jump. We’ll update you when we know more on Forrest’s injury, and if a replacement steps up to face Lil’ Nog. 

(I know 114 is more than a month away, but this fan-made pre-fight video by KirbyLovesTacos got me excited for two reasons: A) The fight between Forrest and Lil’ Nog is going to be a slugfest and B) he used Hendrix in the clip)

-Despite ending up 16th in online voting, UFC president Dana White fails to make Time’s 100 Most Influential People list. (Cagewriter)

-Kongo injured; not likely for Nelson bout (Riddum)

-Jose Pele Landi Jons leg break vs. Brian Gassaway at TKO 32 (YouTube)

-Chris Clements’ fastest (2 second) MMA knockout (YouTube)

-Chuck Liddell gets beat (at Wii tennis) and interviewed by Asylum reporter (Asylum)

(‘Lastly, I’d like to thank the good people at Fisher-Price for finally making an award that isn’t a choking hazard. I’m just saying, it’s about time, you know?’)

The date of UFC 113 have shifted just a bit, but the fight card keeps getting better.  As Tatame.com reported earlier today, a light heavyweight scrap between Forrest Griffin and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira has been added to the Montreal event.  Griffin’s coming off his decision victory over Tito Ortiz at UFC 106, and Little Nog smoked Luis Cane in his UFC debut on the undercard of the same event, so these two are both on the upswing with exactly the same amount of rest time, give or take an hour.

Your presence at this website suggests that you’re probably enough of an MMA fan (or misguided potato fetishist) that we don’t have to tell you this, but this is an excellent fight.  Griffin is still trying to erase the memory of the drubbing he received from Anderson Silva, and Nogueira is trying to continue a win streak that is six fights long and counting, so both these guys have plenty at stake.  In a perfect world they could both have their way.  Ours is not a perfect world, my friends, but it is an interesting one at times.

Due to a fractured ankle, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira has been forced to withdraw from his co-headlining bout against Brandon Vera at UFC 109 (February 6, Las Vegas). Shortly after the news broke, Vera posted (then quickly removed) the following message on his Twitter page: "just found out I’m firing Jon Bones Jones on March 21st in Denver Colorado. hope u heard it here first!!!!"

We can only assume that Vera meant "fighting Jon Bones Jones," and that he won’t be flying out to Denver to terminate Jones from his contract, Clooney-style. And the March 21st date may also be a misprint: MMA Junkie and MMA Weekly both report that the yet-unsigned fight is actually slated for March 31st, and will headline an Ultimate Fight Night card just four days after UFC 111 (March 27, Newark). The 3/31 Fight Night show will lead directly into the premiere of TUF 11.

With Vera losing a close decision to Randy Couture at UFC 105, and Jones coming off his unfortunate DQ loss against Matt Hamill earlier this month at the TUF 10 Finale, both men will come into this fight with a lot to prove. Jones certainly has the wrestling advantage — as well as the spinning-elbow advantage — but will Vera’s rangy kickboxing cause problems for young Bones?

(If you ask us, that’s worth 50 grand right there. Photo courtesy of the Toronto Sun via Fightlinker.)

We’ve already passed along the headliners’ payouts from UFC 106, but now the complete salary list has been released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, so we figured hey, why not share them with you people? The UFC paid out $1,301,000 in disclosed salaries and bonuses, with 57% of that total going to Forrest Griffin, Tito Ortiz, and Josh Koscheck. Check out the pay scale below, and keep in mind that the figures don’t include income from sponsorships, undisclosed "locker-room bonuses," and cuts of the pay-per-view, or deductions for taxes, insurance, licensing fees, and tanning salon memberships.

– Forrest Griffin: $250,000 (includes $150,000 win bonus)

– Tito Ortiz: $250,000

– Josh Koscheck: $246,000 (includes $53,000 win bonus, $70,000 Fight of the Night bonus, $70,000 Submission of the Night bonus)

– Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: $170,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus, $70,000 Knockout of the Night bonus)

(Tito Ortiz complains about not getting UFC 106‘s Fight of the Night bonus, and disputes the scoring of his match against Forrest Griffin. Koscheck’s expression at 2:34-2:36 pretty much sums it up. Props: Cagewriter)

— Though Josh Koscheck and Dana White have reportedly butted heads in the past, it’s clear that Kos is back on DW’s good side. For his second-round submission of Anthony Johnson at UFC 106 last night, Koscheck picked up both the $70,000 Submission of the Night bonus, and a $70,000 Fight of the Night bonus (which Johnson also received). As Dana White explained, "I have to publicly say that [Koscheck] always steps up, always wants to fight, fights the best in the world, and I’m blown away with his performance tonight." Still, is that enough justification to reward the chaotic mess that Koscheck vs. Johnson turned out to be?

Koscheck’s $140,000 bonus take adds to the $106,000 in show/win money he earned from the fight, meaning he came up just short of headliners Ortiz and Griffin, who were paid $250,000 in disclosed salary. UFC 106′s Knockout of the Night bonus went to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, who needed just under two minutes to run over Luis Cane.

(Bruce Buffer is fairly confident that Griffin will outstrike Ortiz to a unanimous decision. Joe Rogan is peaking on a DMT trip and is desperately trying to keep his shit together as Tito’s head explodes into a screaming ball of golden phosphorescence. / Photo courtesy of the UFC 106: Weigh In Pics set on CombatLifestyle.com.)

After an ancient curse claimed Brock Lesnar, Mark Coleman, Ricardo Almeida, and Karo Parisyan — and even threatened the velvet voice of Mike Goldberg — we’ve finally arrived at tonight’s bedraggled UFC event, which will be headlined by a do-over between Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin. Guiding us through the action this evening is special guest liveblogger Chad Dundas; please make him feel welcome. Round-by-round results from the UFC 106 pay-per-view broadcast are after the jump, beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and say a little prayer that Josh Koscheck doesn’t accidentally gouge his eye out in the locker room while putting on his cup.