(Son’s mugshot [top] courtesy of TMZ.com; in retrospect, the abuse he took at UFC 4 was entirely deserved.)

This story is too bizarre and shocking not to pass along. You may remember Joe Son as the UFC/PRIDE fighter and practitioner of “Joe Son Do” who got his balls punched in by Keith Hackney at UFC 4 and had his groin abused further as Random Task in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Well, he might be facing 275 years in prison. TMZ caught it first:

Son pleaded guilty back in May to felony vandalism. The plea required him to fork over a DNA sample. Investigators ran his sample and found Son’s DNA connected him to an unsolved gang rape back in 1990, where a woman was pistol-whipped, raped, threatened with death and eventually blindfolded and released naked.

Son has been charged with five felony counts of rape, two felony counts of forcible sodomy, two felony counts of sodomy in concert by force, seven felony counts of forcible oral copulation, and one felony count of sexual penetration by foreign object by force.

Sherdog digs up more disgusting details:

Son, along with a second suspect, is accused of dragging the victim into the back of a car, pistol whipping her, threatening her life at gun point while he counted the bullets in his gun, and raping, sodomizing, and forcing her to orally copulate him repeatedly, according to a release from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. Son is also accused of sexually penetrating the victim with his firearm before she was released naked with her pants tied around her eyes.

God bless DNA. Son is being held on $1 million bail. His accomplice in the crime is still at large.

Related:
— Joe Son highlight reel
— ‘Just Bleed’ guy in prison until 2012 for receiving stolen property

Chris Leben’s first shot at Michael Bisping didn’t exactly go as planned. Soon after signing to fight “The Count” at UFC 85 in London, Leben was forced to return to Oregon to deal with an outstanding warrant resulting from a DUI arrest before he could leave the country. Though Leben and the UFC were hoping to resolve the matter quickly, the judge had other plans. Leben was sentenced to thirty-five days in jail, prompting the UFC to scratch him from the card.

With his legal troubles now behind him, Leben is getting a second chance at Bisping, this time at UFC 89 in Birmingham, England. In this exclusive CagePotato interview Leben discusses his maturation process as a fighter, his gameplan against Bisping, dealing with hometown judges, and more.

CagePotato.com: Hey Chris. Thanks for talking with me. We’re a few weeks out from the fight. How is your preparation coming?

Really good, really well. It’s been long and intense and I’m kind of just getting to the point now where I’m ready to go fight and get this thing over with.

It seems like things really changed for you when you moved to Hawaii. What has that move done for you?

You know, it’s great. Moving to Hawaii is definitely the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. I had the opportunity to be the head coach at Icon and there are a whole bunch of guys out here training with me who are just great. But besides the gym and the wonderful people out here you have the weather and everything that is Hawaii. It’s been really conducive to my training.

I hear a lot of people say you’re much more mature these days, no longer such a wild guy in and out of the cage. What do you think prompted that transformation?

Losing (laughs). You know, I got away with being a brawler for a long time. And it’s hard to change things when they’re working. But when I fought Anderson I realized, I might be able to beat 95% of the guys out there, but I’ll never be a world champion fighting this way. So I had to go back and change a lot of things. That was one part of it.

And the other part was, you know, coaching. Now that I have a team of amateur guys fighting, it’s hard to tell them to do something if you’re not doing it yourself.

(Photo courtesy of MMAFrenzy.com.)

We previously mentioned that UFC lightweight Melvin Guillard had to pull out of his UFC 90 bout with Spencer Fisher for undisclosed reasons. Well, now those reasons are disclosed — and it ain’t lookin’ good. Sherdog is reporting that the Young Assassin is in custody at the Harris County jail in Houston, due to an August 13th arrest for violating probation on a 2007 drug charge. Guillard will be released to a drug treatment facility “as soon as space becomes available per the terms of his recently amended probation.” And it probably won’t be one of those cushy drug treatment facilities that lets patients take days off to go fight in Chicago, so there you have it.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Guillard has had drug/legal trouble since his UFC career began in 2005. The New Orleans native was suspended for eight months after testing positive for cocaine following a submission loss to Joe Stevenson at UFC Fight Night 9 in April 2007. (Guillard admitted using the drug six days before the fight, thinking it would be out of his system within 72 hours.) Four months later, he was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, but got off with a fine and two years probation — which he has now violated.

If you’ve been keeping score, that’s three strikes. Unfortunately, Guillard’s not nearly valuable enough to the UFC for them to keep giving him chances; we’d expect a semi-official announcement of his dismissal sometime this week. Guillard is still an exciting-enough fighter to continue to get work in smaller shows, but we’re more concerned about his health and well-being at this point. Let’s hope his latest incident compels him to clean up for good…

In this video interview with CBS, Rampage Jackson discusses some of the wacky goings-on in his mind around the time of his arrest, and does his best to explain it. You see, he didn’t think he was God. He thought he was a God. That is, until the police took the opportunity to be total jerks to him, thus reminding him that he was indeed mortal. Because a God wouldn’t have taken no lip off no cops.

It’s somewhat reassuring to see that there was a type of logical process at work in Rampage’s mind — God is his father, he is God’s son, so he must also, through hereditary processes, be a God himself. That actually makes some degree of sense in a Grecian myth kind of way. Think Zeus and Hercules and all that. And if Hercules were alive today, wouldn’t he be an MMA fighter? I’d like to think so.

The fact that it took the cops being assholes to him for Rampage to realize how crazy this all was is probably the strangest aspect of the story. He seems to have been genuinely affected by that. It’s got to be the first time in history that the cops did something good by mocking people in a vulnerable state who were in their custody. Also probably the last time.

Here’s the rambling, bizarre CBS interview, where Rampage details more potential mistreatment at the hands of the police and talks about what led to his eventual breakdown. He claims the police were calling their friends on their cell phones to brag that they had him in the car, while also “chastising” him for trying to preach to them. He also admits that he doesn’t completely remember what he was saying, and sounds at times like he might not be all the way back from his bout with delirium.

(“The Athlete” is ready to get back after it.)

- Jason “Dooms” Day has been forced to pull out of his UFC 88 bout with fattie-turned-middleweight Jason Lambert because of a biceps injury, but those of you who are fans of seeing Lambert’s man-boobs in the Octagon needn’t worry. Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald is stepping in as a replacement for Day, despite the fact that he just went three rounds in a losing effort against Demian Maia at UFC 87. Good move for MacDonald. If you can’t win ‘em all, the next best way to keep the UFC happy is to fight ‘em all, especially when called upon on short notice.

- Poor Nate Quarry just can’t catch a break. After coming back from a nearly career-ending back injury only to be forced to chase Kalib Starnes in circles, Quarry has now been sidelined with an eye injury that is strangely not related to fighting. Apparently Quarry was at a party where people were hitting golf balls into the woods — like you do, just for kicks — and he accidentally walked into someone’s backswing. Despite breaking the Orbital Floor bone in his eye, Quarry is not seriously hurt, though he will be kept out of action for at least a few more months.

- American Top Team coach Andrei Benkei is leaving the squad due to “ideological disagreements” with head coach Ricardo Liborio. Benkei told Tatame that he’ll still work with several high profile ATT fighters like Thiago Alves and “Bigfoot” Silva, among others, but it’s been reported that Benkei disapproved of the way Liborio was turning ATT into “a big McDonald’s” by selling its name to karate gyms. For shame, Ricardo. Karate gyms? That’s the MMA gym equivalent of giving hand jobs in the Wal-Mart parking lot. You never need money that badly.

- It’s not MMA news, but it’s worth mentioning: Sumo wrestling has been rocked by a drug scandal. A totally lame drug scandal. Russian Sumo wrestler (they exist?) Soslan Aleksandrovich Gagloev was arrested for possessing a third of a gram of weed. According to CNN, it’s “enough to land him in prison on a diet of forced labor for five years if he’s convicted.” Five years for a third of a gram in Japan? Nick Diaz should really be informed about that before returning to fight for Dream again.

Just when you thought things had settled down, TMZ.com is reporting that former UFC light heavyweight champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has been picked up by police. Again. It’s just getting ridiculous now:

Sources say last night an Irvine police car was waved down by people near the place Rampage was staying who said he was acting weird. This, of course, following the insane chase the day before in which the UFC fighter hit several cars in his monster truck and was arrested at gunpoint.

We’re told Irvine cops saw Rampage, deemed him a danger to himself and others, and took him to a hospital for observation.

Cops won’t officially confirm if it’s a psychiatric hold.

This is getting weird. Dana White told radio host Steve Cofield that he was in Southern California dealing with the situation, but apparently even he was unable to keep Rampage under wraps. He did make this cryptic statement about the situation though:

So, here’s the mugshot from Quinton Jackson’s arrest on Tuesday, courtesy of TMZ (the Andy Dick booking photo is there just for comparison, I think). The Press-Telegram reports that Jackson’s court date is scheduled for August 15th at Harbor Justice Center in Laguna Niguel, and that he was cooperative with police from the time of his arrest to his release.

Unfortunately, there’s no word yet on why Jackson was shirtless in his mugshot — though one can’t help but see it and think “erratic behavior.” Speaking of which, a source semi-close to Jackson, who asked to remain anonymous, told CagePotato.com the following:

Close friends of Rampage had been very concerned about him the past few days [before the arrest]. He was very depressed and acting increasingly strange. There is something wrong with his mental well-being. They do not believe it is drugs or another substance. I have heard from others who said they’ve been concerned about his mental state for the past year. When he was in custody yesterday his blood pressure was sky high which is why they hospitalized him. Personally, I think he is out of touch with reality.

For now, treat that only as speculation, and pray to your Higher Powers that Rampage pulls out of this. More to come…

UPDATE (9:06 a.m. ET): Rampage may have sideswiped a pregnant woman during his little adventure:

[Holli] Griggs was taken to the hospital for minor injuries, [California Highway Patrol officer Jennifer] Hink said. In an e-mail sent to the Daily Pilot, Griggs said she and her unborn baby, 16 and a half weeks along, were injured but was not sure to what extent.

Griggs said Jackson was acting “violent and reckless” and “had no regard for my life or anyone else’s for that matter.”

(He’s out now. Photo courtesy of TMZ.)

According to TMZ, Quinton Jackson was taken to the Orange County Jail after his arrest, but was determined “medically unfit” to be booked, and was temporarily taken to an O.C. hospital instead; no word yet on what Jackson’s exact condition was at the time of the arrest. Steve Cofeld points out that there was no record of a Quinton Ramone Jackson being booked yesterday on the Orange County Jail website.

Yahoo! Sports reports that the pursuit originally began when a Costa Mesa officer observed Jackson driving with a flat tire and talking on his cell phone (which recently became illegal while driving in California) and attempted to pull him over. Jackson ignored the officer and continued driving with the officer in pursuit, and hit at least three cars while “weaving in and out of traffic, including at one point driving on the wrong side of the road and even on a sidewalk, scaring pedestrians.”

Yahoo! also says that Dana White flew to Orange County upon learning of the arrest, with the intention of posting bail for Jackson. FiveOunces has confirmed that Jackson did indeed make bail and was released from police custody late yesterday. BloodyEblow passes along this video interview that Jackson did with MMA Throwdown the day before the arrest, where Rampage admits to being depressed after the fight, laments getting so fat during The Ultimate Fighter, reveals that an elbow injury interrupted his training, and starts sounding a little kooky around the 8-minute mark.

Jeremy Jackson was already a footnote in MMA history for his appearance on The Ultimate Fighter 4, where he was kicked off the show for leaving the TUF house to meet a woman. Unfortunately, it now looks like he’ll be remembered for something far more disturbing — a sex-fueled crime spree late last month that resulted in an arrest and charges of forcible rape (two counts), kidnapping to commit another crime, first-degree residential burglary, assault with a firearm, dissuading a witness by force or threat, and criminal threats.

MMA Junkie confirmed the charges last night, reporting that the 26-year-old is being held in a Ventura County jail, with bail set at $1 million; Jackson is due in Ventura County Superior Court on Wednesday, where he’ll enter pleas to the charges. For more details, you can check out his entry on the Ventura Country Sheriff’s website. (Ed. note: Link appears to be effed up. Go here and search by his name.)

After being kicked off TUF 4, Jackson was invited back for the finale card where he suffered a neck injury in a loss to Pete Spratt. He’s only competed once since then, winning a TKO over Hector Carrilo at Total Combat 19 in March 2007. A month later, the Ventura County Star published a profile on the journeyman fighter, which detailed his traumatic childhood, the death of his brother, and his battle with alcoholism.

Former IFL fighter and Team Quest member Devin Cole was arrested for rape in Oregon over the weekend. Sherdog reports that Cole was picked up at 7:40 am on Saturday morning and charged with two counts of first-degree sexual penetration and two counts of first-degree sodomy and is being held on $5 million bail.

Needless to say, this is very bad news for the MMA community. The former All-American wrestler at Southern Oregon University left Team Quest recently and defeated Vince Lucero in the Palace Fighting Championships in May.

(Victor Valenzuela and Krazy Horse.)

Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett — the unhinged lightweight journeyman who is scheduled to fight at EliteXC’s “Street Certified” event on February 16 — was arrested yesterday for domestic assault. His arraignment is scheduled for today, and he has already been replaced on a King of the Cage card that will happen this Thursday; Bennett was booked to fight Victor Valenzuela, who will now be facing Matt Ver Halen. Bennett was supposed to fight Valenzuela at an EliteXC/Strikeforce event in June of last year, but that fight was also canceled after Bennett was arrested on charges of assault and false imprisonment. His status for next month’s “Street Certified” card has not yet been determined.

Bennett has actually been arrested many, many times before on drug and assault charges. But no matter how times cuffs are slapped on the Horse, his happily-go-lucky spirit is never broken. For proof, check out this compilation of all his smilin’ mugshots (skip past the first 0:28), and watch ’til the end for his special message to the kids:

The good news for EliteXC is that they’ve found an opponent for heavyweight rising star Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva on the “Street Certified” card. Silva — who EliteXC live events prez Gary Shaw has claimed “could knock out any heavyweight in the UFC” — will face former UFC champ Ricco Rodriguez; both men have previously fought as super-heavyweights. Speaking of drugs, Rodriguez makes his first appearance on VH1′s Celebrity Rehab this Thursday at 10 p.m. ET.

MMA veteran and TUF 4 alum Din Thomas was arrested yesterday for allegedly running un-sanctioned MMA bouts at his gym in St. Lucie West, Florida. (You can see the police report here.) An undercover police officer at the scene observed “a large caged octagon ring with two men inside fighting. There was a third male in the octagon acting as a referee. Around the octagon there were several people (approx. 150 men, women and minors) sitting and standing on make shift stands and chairs facing the octagon cheering while watching the two men fight. Both fighters wore gloves but did not have any protective headgear on. At the front door to the location there was a table with a small sign stating ‘$10.00 per person.’ Also located on the table was a roll of raffle tickets*.”

This sounds like a common shakedown to me. MMA fights in the state of Florida are regulated by the Florida Boxing Commission, an organization that is no doubt frustrated over the fact that no one gives a shit about boxing anymore. Thomas can’t hold an amateur MMA exhibition in his own gym without getting an OK from these jokers? Recockulous. It’s MMA persecution, and we should all be pissed about it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to make an iron-on “Free Din Thomas” t-shirt.

*There was no word on who won the raffle.