(You see, kids, this is why we don’t break the fourth rule of Project Mayhem. Photo via Complex)

By Jason Moles

As is customary, nay tradition, around these parts, we’re hitting the eggnog early and often this week — thus, the obligatory Top 10 list to close out another year in the world of mixed martial arts. It’s not all fluff, though: Last year we predicted a champion would test positive for a banned substance and Brock Lesnar would retire. Not bad, huh? So grab a seat while we break out the crystal ball and see what 2013 has in store for us.

1.) Showtime stays in the MMA biz, will announce deal with Invicta FC and others.

MMA is just too popular to completely wash your hands of. Showtime may finally be done with Strikeforce, but that only means they’re now free to partner up with the likes of all-female Invicta FC or the World Series of Fighting, both of which could be looking for more permanent homes after their early success in 2012. Don’t let the Invicta PPV news fool you; they can’t win that battle. No matter who inks the deal, expect Showtime to counter-program at least one UFC event.

2.) A Ronda Rousey loss brings about the swift execution of women’s MMA in the UFC.

(What has 2 thumbs and can muffle a fart on the first date?)

By Nathan Smith

Dan Henderson’s knee injury and the refusal by Jon Jones to fight his chosen replacement, Chael P. Sonnen on 8 days notice, forced the first UFC event cancelation in history and the infamous Dana White conference call to announce the goings-on took the MMA world by storm. DW chastised and spewed vitriol towards JBJ’s unwillingness to step up to fight Sonnen which infuriated the UFC brass as a whole. Likewise, it enraged the Bones nuthuggers and haters who in turn inundated the CP comment section for more than a week with well-reasoned arguments but mostly sophomoric jabs involving nipples.

Now Lyoto Machida Vitor Belfort has been named JBJ’s next opponent but that is not stopping Sonnen from getting ready to fight the man that turned down his challenge. The American Gangster expects to walk to the octagon and go mano y mano with Bones next weekend.

Dana White told mmajunkie.com:
“Chael Sonnen is in full training camp right now. He’s been training since he got offered the Jones fight. He said, ‘I’m in full camp right now because Vitor will get hurt and pull out, and it will be Jones vs. Sonnen, anyway.’”

(Too obvious?)

Friends, Romans, countrymen, welcome to the most star-studded — and foolishly ambitious — CagePotato Roundtable in history. This week’s topic is “Who’s the Baddest Motherfucker of All Time?” and we have two very, very special guests to help us out. They are…

- Ben Fowlkes, the former CagePotato senior editor who abandoned us in April 2010 and has been writing incredible features for MMAFighting.com ever since. Last month, he and fellow CP veteran Chad Dundas launched a hilarious and thought-provoking weekly MMA podcast called The Co-Main Event. Do yourself a favor and subscribe to the show on iTunes right here, right now.

- Jason Ellis, the professional skateboarder, author, MMA fighter, truck racer, boxer, singer, and actor who hosts The Jason Ellis Show on weekday afternoons on Sirius XM Radio’s Faction channel. Jason’s best-selling autobiography — the appropriately titled I’m Awesome — details his triumph over drugs, personal tragedy, and being Australian, en route to becoming “the new voice of action sports in America”? Go buy it.

I’m sure some of you have already passed out from shock and excitement. As for the rest of you, pack a canteen and follow us into the abyss. Warning: It’s gonna get weird…

Ben Fowlkes

You want to talk old school badasses? I mean really, really old school? Like pre-Rickson Gracie old school? Look no further than Julius Caesar, son. Right about now you’re all like, ‘Who, dude with the cheap pizzas?’ First of all, that’s Little Caesar’s, which sucks. Second of all, shut up. I’m trying to teach you something here.

(Cyrus Fees: The Genki Sudo of MMA announcers. / Props: MMAInsidetheCageTV. R.I.P. Adam Yauch)

- UFCs Dana White Talks Jon Jones DWI Meeting, Draws Comparisons With ‘Professional’ Anderson Silva (MMA Mania)

- Roy Nelson: If Brock Lesnar Deserves to Be in the Hall of Fame, So Do I (MMAFighting)

- Bleacher Report Hangs Out With Stefan Struve (BleacherReport/MMA)

- Mayhem Miller Wants to Show You How Hard He Prepared for CB Dollaway at UFC 146 (MiddleEasy)

- Junior Dos Santos: “When My Fists Talk For Me, Everybody Understands” (MMA: Inside The Cage)

- Ben Fowlkes and Chad Dundas Have a New Podcast (The Co-Main Event)

- Dana White Talks Retirement After UFC-FOX Deal Finishes (Fightline)

- Build the Upper Body of an MMA Champ (MensFitness)

- 5 Cliches That Stand Up Comedians Need to Retire (HolyTaco)

- Speakeasy, Episode 2: Paul F. Tompkins Interviews Weird Al (MadeMan)

- Wes Anderson’s 10 Awesomest Characters (ScreenJunkies)

- Sony Greenlights ‘Shadow of the Colossus’ Movie (GameFront)

(“You and I were long friends; you are now my enemy, and I am yours. – Ben Franklin)

By Jason Moles

Friendship is, and always will be, one of life’s trickiest puzzles. It is also one of the most rewarding and enriching experiences a person will ever have. But despite all of the wonderful joys that come from having a friend, not all friendships are made to last the sands of time like Fred and Barney. How could they? Ego, pride, and the opposite sex often reduce the strongest of bonds to mere ashes. And we wouldn’t want it any other way because some guys make good friends, but much better enemies. Here’s a look at five classic friendships gone awry…

Jon Jones – Rashad Evans

In a time when instant gratification is king, the world is still awaiting the showdown between former friends and training partners, ‘Suga’ Rashad Evans and Jon ‘Bones’ Jones. Jackson’s MMA used to be a place where the two sweat and bled together, side by side, day after day — as friends. These two were more like brothers than Ken and Frank, so much so that they vowed never to fight each other, suggesting someone would fake an injury to avoid the confrontation at all costs.

We’ve had multiple in-cage showdowns, a twitter beef or two, and a minor club incident since the moment the young rising star confirmed that he would indeed fight the former TUF 2 winner if Dana White really wanted him to. Fast forward a year and the two have still yet to fight thanks to injuries, both real and imagined. Some would argue that “Good things come to those who wait,” but patience is not a virtue most of us possess. We want to see these dudes throw down now! All we are concerned with at this point is who the teacher is and who is the student.

(Judging by this uncanny drawing, I guess it’s safe to say Luke Cummo hasn’t made much of a life for himself outside the Octagon)

While browsing through the morning newspaper a couple of weeks ago, I came across a story about a man who attacked a disabled woman in a park in Tacoma and the composite sketch looked strikingly like someone I’d seen before. I just couldn’t place the face.

After a few moments, it dawned on me: It was Ben Fowlkes. I’d recognize that dead stare anywhere.

“Doc comes back and says, ‘Nate, you have the testosterone levels of a 35 year old man,’ and I just broke down. ‘Doc,’ I told him, ‘I’m only 32! Is there anything you can do to help me?’”

You have to hand it to the team at MMAFighting for nailing down the exclusive with Nate Marquardt yesterday. Everybody wanted to talk to him, but it was Ariel Helwani who welcomed Marquardt and manager Lex McMahon to the microphone for a heart to heart. Mike Chiappetta provided the Cliff’s Notes version of the interview to get the ball rolling on Twitter, and the discussion quickly took off.

The short interview was dissected and commented upon in real time on Twitter, and the reactions continued throughout the evening. What follows is only a *small* sampling of Twitter’s response to Nate’s release and the subject of Hormone Replacement in MMA. Keep in mind that Marquardt already has a Twitter dedicated to getting him back in the UFC, and a matching hashtag #BringNateBack that saw plenty of use yesterday as well.

It was also interesting to note that a lot of Zuffa fighters were unwilling to touch the subject. Usual Tweeting suspects were strangely silent on the hot topic; take from that what you will. On the other hand, there were a few fighters who had some choice words on the subject, and they did not beat around the bush.

Go ahead and wade through this collection of Tweets from yesterday, and then share your expert analysis and vital opinion in the comments. Is Nate a good guy that has made some bad choices? Is he a nefarious schemer looking to get any advantage he can? What about the larger issue of HRT/TRT/PEDs in MMA? Should Dana continue to clean house until fighters learn to stay away from anything questionable? Should athletic commissions just legalize everything from horse steroids to heroin?

After all, PRIDE was awesome, right?

[RX]

(Left: The poster for this Saturday’s WEC event. Right: Proof of BG’s FightPicker superiority.)

Props to Jeremy Hill for winning the MMA fan package in last week’s MMA FightPicker prize pool — and special props to myself for taking first place in my final head-to-head pool against BF, despite getting four of the questions wrong. It was that kind of week, I guess. (What happened, Dan Quinn’s Tramp Stamp? Put all your eggs in the Tim Stout basket?) Anyway, I hope this eases the rest of your concerns about the sound leadership of CagePotato.com, in the absence of you-know-who.

There’s no prize pool in effect this week on MMA FightPicker, but every week presents new opportunities to claw your way up the leaderboard and challenge the dominance of Aaron Rampey, who frankly seems to be getting a little too comfortable in first place. Perennial contender surf_finland trails him by just 437 PotatoChips at the moment, while nismo17, herbaliser, and Nick Allen TheBrave round out the FightPicker top 5. Take a look at this week’s WEC 48-related questions after the jump, then head over to fightpicker.cagepotato.com to make your picks!

Antonio McKee Highlights – Watch more Funny Videos

I think I’ll just leave this here…

(BG)

Unrelated reminders:
– Have you voted for your favorite design in the Six Deuce MMA poster contest yet? The poll actually works now, so go for it.
– Come back tomorrow night at 9 p.m. for our liveblog of Strikeforce: Nashville!

At the “Affliction: Banned” weigh-ins, MMA Rated‘s Ariel Helwani caught up with our own Ben Fowlkes to discuss the fights, Tim Sylvia’s chronic unpopularity, and BF’s strong personal connection with Ben Rothwell. Props to Fowlkes for resisting the urge to grab the mic from Helwani and shout out his long list of sponsors.

On a sadder note, it’s looking like my home base of Brooklyn, NY, is one of the many (or so I’m hearing) markets that’s not carrying the Affliction undercard live on Fox Sports Net. Total freakin’ bummer; holler if that’s happening to you too. In any event, I’ll still be posting live results for those first three fights, starting at 8 p.m. ET — I just won’t be able to do a play-by-play. But hey, Aleks isn’t fighting now, so who cares anyway?