(Sometimes winning and heart aren’t enough. Just ask Vince McMahon.)

During an appearance on Steve Cofield and Kevin Iole’s ESPNRadio1100/98.9 FM’s “The MMA Insiders” show on Friday, UFC president Dana White made it clear that in spite of the fact that Jon Fitch has not lost since dropping a decision to Georges St-Pierre three years ago, the American Kickboxing Academy captain won’t likely get a title shot anytime soon because the fight is a tough one to sell.

“Everybody is saying ‘Jon Fitch is one of the best in the world, when is he fighting GSP?’ The problem is he went in and fought GSP and got destroyed,” White explained like it happened a month ago. “I mean GSP completely dominated him from the first round to the fifth round and beat him up and dropped him and everything else…”

It’s funny, Kenny Florian keeps getting title shots and the UFC has been trying to put together a rematch between Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans despite how the last ones went.

But we digress.

Instead of scratching our heads over the UFC’s double standards when it comes to earning a title shot, we’ve come up with five suggestions for Fitch to get what he has coming to him since winning doesn’t seem to be enough.

Check out the gallery after the jump.

(Unlike the rest of us, the eye candy in the back decided to open her eyes for Cyborg.)

By Jason Moles

While suffering through The Change-Up this weekend, I started thinking about the hypothetical situation of MMA fighters switching bodies. Obviously, one fighter would get the short end of the stick, like in all relationships, but other than that, it’s all good news from there. Imagine the man with a warrior spirit and broken body upgrading for a newer model. Imagine the heavy-duty gas-guzzler being replaced by a tiny, eco-friendly, electric car. Imagine experience and youth joining forces to reign terror on anything that steps in its way. So who most deserves a cinematic body-swap? Read on and find out…

BJ Penn and Brock Lesnar

Advantage: Baby Jay

For years, Penn has been criticized for his lack of self-discipline and willingness to stay in shape. Switching bodies would solve that problem and create what might be the best heavyweight in UFC history. A Nova Uniao Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with explosive striking and a granite chin, Penn has everything that Lesnar wishes he had. The Prodigy would be a wrecking ball at heavyweight if he had Brock’s body — as long as the viking took the diverticulitis thing with him. If he had to keep the illness during the switch, then I guess we could all agree that we’d like to see Josh Koscheck trade bodies with Brock.

(Condit’s recent knockout of Dong Hyun Kim at UFC 132: I give it a 10 for brutality, and a 4 for originality.)

According to Carlos Condit’s manager Malki Kawa, the UFC is in the process of setting up a match between Condit and former lightweight/welterweight champ BJ Penn. It was assumed that Penn’s next fight would be a rematch with Jon Fitch, who he drew with at UFC 127 — if you’ll recall, the two were already scheduled for a second meeting at UFC 132 before Fitch pulled out due to injury — but it appears that the UFC has soured on the idea altogether. Or at least that’s how BJ tells it.

Yesterday, Penn tweeted at Fitch, “tried to make it happen but Joe Silva said ‘the fans don’t want it & I’m not interested’. Not much more I can do on my end.” Carlos Condit then swooped in, writing “The people have spoken @bjpenndotcom, they want to see us scrap, let’s give em what they asked for,” to which Penn replied, ”Yup. Let’s do it! October 29th.”

For the record, 10/29 is the date of UFC 137: St. Pierre vs. Diaz in Las Vegas, although the date of the Penn vs. Condit scrap hasn’t actually been confirmed for that event yet. So where does this leave Jon Fitch? In a word: Butthurt.

(Bruce Buffer and Wanderlei Silva)

One of our favorite online obsessions over the last month has been awesome people hanging out together, a tumblr photo blog devoted to celebrities mingling in unexpected combinations. (I mean, seriously: Dylan and Ali? Alice Cooper and Colonel Sanders? Epic.) Since there are aren’t any MMA fighters represented on the site, we decided to do some online crate-digging of our own and put together a CagePotato version of the “awesome people” photo-phenomenon. Enjoy these rare and classic MMA photos, which continue after the jump, and shoot us some links in the comments section if we’ve left out any of your favorites.

(Royce Gracie and Mirko Cro Cop)

(Matt Serra, Frankie Edgar, Jerry Springer, and Kimbo Slice. See also: Fighters and Random-Ass Celebrities)

(Video courtesy of YouTube/BJPenn.com)

BJ Penn has a simple answer to boring fights and skewed judges’ decisions: Get rid of the belts and get rid of the judges.

“I definitely think the way to make it exciting is get rid of the belts and get rid of the judges first thing, right off the bat. If anything goes to a decision, it should be an automatic draw. The only way you can win a fight is by finishing your guy and the only way you can lose is by getting finished.”

Sure, Beej may be tooting a different horn if he hadn’t lost the majority of his career pinnacle fights against guys like GSP and Frankie Edgar by decision, but he didn’t.

“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]

“My thoughts concerning the state of Wisconsin repealing the collective bargaining rights of public employees? I’m glad you asked…”

Several recent, seemingly unrelated news stories in the MMA world have shared a common theme- unions. It’s the lobbying efforts of one union, Dana White insists, to blame for the UFC’s failure to gain a foothold in New York. And some pessimists credit a fear of unionized fighters–more than simple altruism–for Zuffa’s decision to provide accident insurance for its fighters. With all of the talk about a potential MMA Fighters Union, we took a moment to ponder who’s likely to throw their hat in the ring for union president…

(The UFC Fighter Summit has a storybook ending. Congrats, Janitor.)

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…

- BJ Penn and Jake Shields Want to Fight Each Other (LowKick)

- Shane Carwin’s Cardio Under Microscope at UFC 131 (NBC Sports MMA)

- Rashad Evans Explains His Nightclub Altercation With Jon Jones; Insists ‘Bones’ Ducked Him (MMA Mania)

- Mac Danzig Out of Next Month’s Anticipated Clash With Donald Cerrone, Vagner Rocha to Replace (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Matt Mitrione: If Ortiz Is Still Upset After Confrontation, ‘Then We Can Scrap’ (MMA Fighting)

- Your Favorite Hooters Girl to Serve Ring Cards at ‘UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber II’ (5thRound)

- This Will Be the Strangest Seven-Second Knockout You Will See This Year (MiddleEasy)

- Mark Coleman ‘Would Drop Everything’ To Fight Herschel Walker (MMA Convert)

- Video: Hector Lombard Gets Pissed at Reporter After Bellator 44 (TheFightNerd)

- Going Medieval: MMA’s 20 Worst Beatdowns (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

When we first told you about the UFC’s plans to conquer the fitness market two and a half years ago, you may have expected the “fastest growing sport in the world” to become the “fastest growing fitness chain in the world”. Well, we’ve crunched the numbers and it looks like the franchise has fallen just short of that goal. Yesterday marked the grand opening of only their third location, all of which are located in California. Perhaps sensing that the brand could use a jumpstart, the UFC and BJ Penn have announced their partnership in the first of a new series of UFC Gyms to be headlined by the organization’s biggest stars.

From a business perspective, this makes perfect sense. BJ is an icon in the sport and a celebrity in Hawaii, and slapping his name up next to a UFC Gym sign will have people pouring in. But beyond BJ’s rabid fan base, is this pairing really the best fit?

(209 bros before French-Canadian foes.)

Jake Shields’ coach Cesar Gracie was on Sherdog’s The Savage Dog Show today and one of the topics he touched on was his disagreement with his cousin Renzo Gracie over his decision to help Georges St-Pierre prepare for his upcoming UFC 129 bout with longtime Gracie jiu-jitsu student and black belt Jake Shields this weekend.

According to Cesar, it was wrong for Renzo to help St-Pierre train as he is a relatively new student of the New York-based instructor and he feels that he should be looking out for his committed Gracie family members first and foremost.

“Renzo’s like a brother to me. You gotta understand, we grew up together. We really did. So nothing’s gonna change [between us]. People try to make a big thing about it. I did have a talk with Renzo and I said, “Renzo, you’re training a guy that doesn’t represent your academy, he represents another academy, to fight against a Gracie Academy. It doesn’t make sense to me. It just doesn’t Georges is a great guy.From al accounts, he’s respectful and a decent human being from what I’m understanding. And I said to Renzo, ‘If you had a talk with Georges St-Pierre and said, you’re one of our black belts, you’re going to have to represent us,’” Gracie said. “I think he would do it in a heartbeat.I did have that discussion with him, but I really don’t know what came about with it. People try to make a big thing about it, but I’m an old school guy. I really am. When Georges St-Pierre was training at Renzo’s to fight Matt Serra, who I think was the first black belt Renzo gave out in the U.S… I couldn’t imagine a guy coming in and training with me to beat one of my black belts. I just couldn’t do it. I don’t know exactly what they’re doing over there with that, but it’s just not my way. I’m old school and I’m gonna die old school. That’s just how I am. So I made my feelings known to Renzo about it and I don’t think my guys appreciate it. Frankie Edgar’s there too and he’s a really great kid. He came out to my place and he’s a really hard worker. He came out to train for the BJ Penn fight. I refused to have my guys train with BJ for that fight and they had trained with him for the Florian fight and maybe one fight before that fight when BJ needed help and was trying to get his career back on track. Nick Diaz was training with BJ Penn and there was good sparring. They called us up to train with him for the last Edgar fight and we said no, because he was fighting a kid who represented the Gracie Academy in New York. I’m old school, but now with this fight…It’s not about teaching a guy, because they’re professional athletes and they’re gonna have to fight. They didn’t grow up together or nothing like that. But me being an old school guy, I just look at it like you gotta carry our flag to battle and if you can’t carry our flag to battle, you aren’t training with us. It’s just how I look at it.”

(Phil Davis looking to steal Rashad Evans’s #1 contender status, says he “might have to use a little bit of craziness” to beat him. Props: philmrwonderful)

- UFC 129: Georges St. Pierre and the 10 Most Dominant Title Runs in MMA History (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- Video: Mark Hominick, Sean Pierson Get Early Look at Rogers Centre (Versus MMA Beat)

- B.J. Penn: ‘Teammates Have to Fight Each Other’ (MMA Fighting)

- M-1 Global Insists They Aren’t Holding Up Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson Signing (MMA Convert)

- The Evolve MMA Chronicles: Day 1 (MiddleEasy)

- Dave Batista’s MMA Career Over Before it Begins (5thRound)

- Tom Lawlor vs. Maiquel Falcao likely for UFC: Rio in August (LowKick)

- UFC Live 5 Starts to Take Shape With Ludwig vs. Sadollah, “Magrinho” vs. O’Brien (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Mauricio Shogun Rua Goes Back to His Old Trainer at King’s MMA (MMA-Scraps)

- MMA Welterweight Rankings (Fight Magazine)

(Video Courtesy of YouTube/TheGarv)

Kevin Garvey from TheGarv.com caught up with Frankie Edgar over the weekend at Lou Neglia’s Ring of Combat and he touched on a number of topics with the UFC lightweight champ.

One of the most interesting tidbits came when “The Garv” asked the New Jersey native if he has ever thought of dropping down to featherweight considering he’s a relatively small 155-pounder. Edgar replied that he would probably have no problem making the 145-pound weight limit as he typically walks around at 160, but his focus is on clearing out the lightweight division right now.

With the announcement yesterday that BJ Penn had to pull out of UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber, the leading candidate to fill in against “The Prodigy,” Carlos Condit (26-5) has now been matched up with durable South Korean fighter Dong Hyun Kim (14-0-1 1NC).

The UFC announced the pairing today.

(Hurt? Nah, I just wanted to have some time to surf.)

A week after news broke that Jon Fitch had pulled out of UFC 132 due to a shoulder injury, the American Kickboxing Academy fighter’s opponent for the event had reportedly been removed from the July 2 card as well.

Dave Meltzer reported earlier today via his Wrestling Observer subscription newsletter that Penn had apparently sustained an injury this week while training for the event in anticipation of the UFC finding him a viable replacement opponent.

Now MMAJunkie is saying that Penn has opted out of the event for undisclosed reasons and will instead look at a future card for his next bout.

(When Carlos Condit asked how bad you wanted to see him fight BJ Penn, he meant that shit rhetorically. Pic: Sherdog)

This week’s revelation that Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber will headline July’s UFC 132 with their bantamweight title scrap (and for some reason, apparently not coach “TUF 14″) doesn’t necessarily mean bad things for those of us who still want to see BJ Penn included in some way. It just means that – in the wake of Jon Fitch tearing up his shoulder during training – the UFC doesn’t know who to match him up against yet. As we told you last week, former WEC champ Carlos Condit has been publicly campaigning to fight Penn, but the UFC has so far been mum about that idea. At this point, it sounds like Condit is going a little OCD on it.

“I’m not really sure what’s holding it up right now,” Condit manager Malki Kawa told MMA Weekly. “Hopefully Condit’s the guy they call to do it. I don’t know if there’s a better fight than Condit for him, but we’re excited about the opportunity and hopefully, if Joe Silva, B.J. Penn, and the UFC feel like it’s something they want to do, Carlos is itching. He texts me every day, ‘Any word on B.J.?’ I’m hoping that’s what happens for him.”

(Come on, Jon. A real man takes “prohibited injections” and fights through that shit. Photo courtesy of Zimbio)

Bad news for fans of immediate rematches and mouthpiece-chewers. As first reported by MMAWeekly, Jon Fitch has withdrawn from his upcoming fight with BJ Penn at UFC 132 (July 2nd, Las Vegas) due to an undisclosed injury suffered in training; according to ESPN, it’s shoulder-related. A replacement opponent for Penn has not yet been named.

Fitch and Penn met in the main event of UFC 127 last month and fought to a majority draw, in a match that saw Penn take a slight edge in the first two rounds before getting clobbered in round three. UFC 132 is currently slated to feature the bantamweight title fight between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber.

(The question is, which weight class will Royce fight under?)

CagePotato.com received word over the weekend from a source close to the situation that Royce Gracie has cancelled the European leg of his spring seminar tour and that the official reason given to the group organizing his UK appearances (NJM promotions) is that the UFC Hall-of-Famer has accepted an offer from the promotion to fight on its August 27 card in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

According to NJM, Gracie’s manager, Mike Kogan revealed the news to them, which was relayed to the seminar host gyms in an effort to explain why the 44-year-old UFC 1, 2 and 4 tournament winner would not be able to make his scheduled appearances in England.

It looks like Ryan Bader will getting the fight he wants for his next bout.

Bader mentioned last month in an interview with ESPN on the heels of his UFC 126 loss to Jon Jones that before he retires, he would like to square off with Tito Ortiz and according to MMAWeekly he will get his wish.

“I would want to fight Tito Ortiz,” Bader told ESPN.com. “Just because I grew up watching him. I want to have one of those guys on my résumé like a Randy Couture or Chuck Liddell. Purely out of respect, he’s one I’d like to fight before my career is over.”

Both fighters confirmed the bout was a go on Twitter today, but did not name a date or venue. The MMAWeekly report states that the pair will square off at UFC 132 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV.

(“FINISH HIM!” shouted the spooky narrator from Mortal Kombat, who had clearly never seen Jon Fitch fight before. Props: MMAConvert)

After their UFC 127 main event ended in a frustrating majority draw, BJ Penn and Jon Fitch have been re-booked for an immediate rematch at UFC 132 (July 2, Las Vegas). The UFC confirmed the news late last night. Both fighters were initially disappointed in their performance, but have since come around to the idea that they both should have won and a rematch is the only logical option. The fight will lead off the live Facebook-stream portion of the evening. (Kidding. It’ll probably be on the main card somewhere.) Maybe this match is a good time to test out the UFC’s proposed use of five-round fights for non-title features. No? Terrible idea?

Sometimes an MMA fight is so close — or controversial — that matching the fighters up again a few months later is the only logical option. In honor of the upcoming immediate rematches between Leonard Garcia and Nam Phan (at UFC Fight Night 24 on March 26th), and Edgar vs. Maynard 3 at UFC 130, we decided to round up our favorite “do-over” fights of all time…

6. STEPHAN BONNAR vs. KRZYSZTOF SOSZYNSKI
UFC 116, 7/3/10

Why it was necessary: A clash of heads during their first fight at UFC 110 opened up a nasty gash on Bonnar’s forehead; the referee didn’t see the illegal impact, and awarded a TKO victory to Soszynski due to cuts. Furious at taking his third-straight loss in such an unjust manner, Bonnar filed a formal appeal with the Combat Sports Authority of New South Wales. Unfortunately, it fell on deaf ears, but the UFC hooked Bonnar up (as they often do) by giving him an immediate rematch with K-Sos on the blockbuster “Lesnar vs. Carwin” card.
What happened: Bonnar/Soszynski 2 turned out to be a meat-and-potatoes brawl reminiscent of Bonnar’s first war with Forrest Griffin. The American Psycho and the Polish Experiment both appeared to gas out by the middle of the second round, but Bonnar was able to keep throwing and landing until he overwhelmed K-Sos with strikes at the 3:08 mark. The fight netted both men $75,000 Fight of the Night bonuses, and produced one of the greatest victory poses in UFC history.

5. FRANKIE EDGAR vs. BJ PENN
UFC 118, 8/28/10

Winning — it feels good, man. Lots more fighters enjoying the moment, after the jump.

(What has four arms and four legs and is convinced he kicked ass at UFC 127? This guy! Pic: MMA Weekly)

So, maybe it’s time we all just concede that we have no fucking clue who won BJ Penn’s and Jon Fitch’s main event bout at UFC 127 and, ultimately, making it a draw was probably the right call, huh? I mean, Dana White thought Penn won; the only judge able to make up his mind on Saturday night thought Fitch won and Fitch agreed; Penn originally thought Fitch won, too, but given some time to think about it, he’s has changed his mind. No more acting sad-sack and giving praise to the MMA gods for “The Prodigy.” No sir, he thinks he won after all.

(Ryan Jimmo‘s epic victory-robot from Friday night. Props: Card)

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…

- Tongue Wrestling: The 25 Greatest Trash-Talking Affairs in MMA History (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- Kampmann Looks to Correct Mistakes of the Past at UFC Live (Versus MMA Beat)

- Compustrike: UFC 127 by the Numbers (LowKick)

- Chris Lytle to Consider Retirement After Secret Surgery, UFC 127 Loss (MMA Fighting)

- Now You Can Train MMA — Inside Your Local Wal-Mart (MiddleEasy)

- Michael Bisping’s Camp Points Finger At Jorge Rivera’s Boxing Coach For UFC 127 Incidents (MMA Convert)

- Gracie Breakdown: BJ Penn vs. Jon Fitch (MMA-Scraps)

- Strikeforce Title Contender Liz Carmouche: “Jitters Aren’t Something That You Can Have When You’re Out in Iraq With Your Weapon.” (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Dana White: “Fedor Emelianenko Looks Old and It’s Over” (5thRound)

- FIGHT! RANKINGS: Penn Proves Ranking Correct, Siver & Bisping Enter Top 10 (FightMagazine)

Jon Fitch has gotten used to the fact that he may never get a title shot. He’s been promised one for a while now, but the UFC seems to keep yanking the opportunity away right before Fitch can grab it.

The problem isn’t that the American Kickboxing Academy fighter isn’t winning fights (he’s undefeated since 2009), it’s that he hasn’t finished an opponent in nearly four years, and for the UFC to base a pay-per-view on a main card fight between a round-winner like Fitch and an a decision-centric fighter like UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre who hasn’t stopped a fight since 2009 would be a major gamble.

Both the UFC’s president Dana White and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta have long proclaimed that they don’t care if their contracted fighters win every bout as long as they come to fight and perform their best. Fitch seems more content with doing what he needs to outpoint his opponents and coast to a victory, which doesn’t bode well with the promotion’s brass, the fans or the media as it makes for a boring and formulaic fight. THAT’S why White rescinded a proclamation that the winner of Fitch’s UFC 124 bout with Thiago Alves would get the next crack at St-Pierre after Fitch took the decision and THAT’S why he has now said that neither fighter involved in the main event majority draw Saturday night at UFC 127 will likely be next in line for the winner of April’s GSP vs. Jake Shields bout.

(It turns out “No Rules, Just Right” is more of a slogan than actual Aussie law)

Strange walkout masks, chest hairrows, random laughter from the audience, a grudge match marred by an illegal knee, and a majority draw in the main event. UFC 127 “Fight for the Convicts 2” provided a night of entertaining bouts and more than its share bizarre moments. While the card might have lacked the star-power and championship fights of some larger events, the UFC loudly trumpeted its significance in deciding future title contenders and challengers alike. In the end little roadway was paved and talks of title runs were shelved for now.

The only thing certain at the top of the welterweight division is uncertainty. Leading up to this event Dana White announced that the winner of Fitch-Penn would advance to challenge the winner of GSP-Shields for the 170lb title. For much of the fight it looked like the same terror that ruled the lightweight division had found his way back to the Octagon. Penn followed up a hefty dose of cross-cage eye-fucking with an immediate shot off the opening bell. While his initial takedown attempt failed, he would out-wrestle the wrestler halfway through the first round and score a takedown. Once it hit the mat we saw shades of the “Old” BJ Penn, who quickly took Fitch’s back and worked for the same rear naked he’s employed in countless fights before. But Fitch proved just as tough to finish as always, and a reversal allowed him to land a little offense of his own on the ground. Round two saw a vintage Fitch try to wear on BJ against the cage. The two exchanged takedowns, with Penn again taking his back and threatening the choke before Fitch escaped to land some punches from the guard. Round 3 more closely resembled the fight many were expecting. Fitch followed up a solid punch with a takedown in the opening seconds of the round. BJ would kick him off shortly, only to be taken down again with just under four minutes left in the round. From BJ’s guard, Fitch was relentless with punches, giving BJ no room to adjust or counter for the remainder of the bout. That last round, scored 10-8 by two judges, would end this fight in a majority draw and add a little disarray to the welterweight picture.

(Hit refresh early and often to stay, uh, abreast of the latest updates … Pic: CombatLifestyle)

In the main event of UFC 127 tonight, a laidback vegan ragamuffin fights a bloodthirsty Hawaiian cannibal to determine some sort of vague No. 1 contender status for a welterweight title which could soon be very much in flux. Will Jon Fitch’s strategy of nonviolence win the day? Or will the night end with BJ Penn licking Fitch’s green, iron-deficient blood off his gloves? Either way, will it ultimately mean anything? There’s really only one way to find out: Sit somewhere thousands of miles from the show’s point of origin and follow this website’s second-hand textual analysis of the high definition moving pictures we’ll be watching on the TV. If that doesn’t work, well, try Twitter or something.

Also, imagine our pleasant surprise this afternoon when we discovered our ridiculously inclusive satellite package actually does carry the Ion Network. In light of that, we’ll probably be posting short-ish recaps of the three televised prelims beginning at 9 p.m. EST. When the PPV itself kicks off an hour later, we’ll be live with updates and uninterrupted snark for the duration. Thanks in advance for your attention in this matter …

(“Whiter than a band-aid? You’re out of order, Jorge!”)

Everyone’s doing their part to bolster interest in this card. Dana’s doling out title shots again, Rivera’s gone to Broadway, even the mostly-beloved Octagon girls are pitching in. But beyond loose promises and tight bikinis, this card has meaning. Many of tonight’s combatants are fighting for far more than just another notch in the win-column. Let’s take a look at what’s really on the table tonight in Australia.

Jon Fitch: A legend on his decision-list and a title shot, maybe. Fitch is a good fighter, no doubt, and his victories over tough competition reflect that. What you won’t find on his record, however, is a win over a legend. If Fitch is able to capitalize on his size advantage and use his wrestling skills to wear on Penn, that could change tonight. Win streaks are nice, but every fighter wants a trophy head for their mantle, and few have a name as respected in this sport as BJ Penn. Regarding that title shot, as Fitch has learned before, those things are somewhat fickle. An exciting win could very well earn him a five-rounder, but–as affectionate nicknames like “Smoke Break” and “Yaaaawn Fitch” allude—exciting fights can be hard to come by.

(Vid: YouTube/OfficialJonFitch)

In the final days leading up to UFC 127, a fair amount is being written (much of it by the fighter himself) about Jon Fitch’s new, surprisingly not-that-disgusting-sounding vegan diet. About a month ago, Fitch posted the above video to his official YouTube channel showing him pouring hemp milk and raw agave into his oatmeal, casually mentioning that sometimes he “opens up a coconut” to drink with lunch and that he only eats nuts when they’re “raw and organic.” Insert your own joke about that last part. For a fairly standard “fighter blog” the vid actually has some pretty high production values – dig that scene at 2:19 of Fitch opening the cupboard … shot from inside the cupboard. Also, judging by the easy tenor of Fitch’s voiceover narration (and the soft guitar soundtrack), we’d wager there are a couple of Bright Eyes CDs kicking around somewhere in the guy’s condo.

“I like my oatmeal lumpy,” Fitch says at one point, apparently without irony. Meanwhile, every other 32-year-old man in America snickered and then said, “Hey fat girl, c’mere, are you ticklish?”

Predictably, in an MMA subculture that seems by turns very accepting and/or totally intolerant of quirky lifestyle choices, some eyebrows were raised. Fitch responded by penning a further explanation of his diet as part of the pre-UFC 127 “Fight Journal” he wrote for MMA Fighting.com. Sure, choosing to minimize your “meat intake to at least five percent or less of your overall calories” doesn’t sound like it’s for everybody but if that’s what Fitch wants to do, no harm done, right? Well, maybe not. As Kenny Florian told SBNation this week, there are some concerns that the diet may have cost Fitch some of his natural size advantage over BJ Penn this weekend. Check it out, then let the rampant speculation begin:

(Fight begins at the 9:35 mark. Props: Yahoo! via BloodyElbow)

To help promote tomorrow’s UFC 127: Penn vs. Fitch card, the UFC and Yahoo! have posted the video of BJ Penn and Matt Hughes‘s 21-second rubber match at UFC 123. Yahoo! is also hosting the full UFC 120 fight between Michael Bisping and Yoshihiro Akiyama, and one of Dennis Siver’s infamous spinning back kicks, so check ‘em out. After the jump: The Countdown to UFC 127 hype show, in which Jorge Rivera discusses his car-thief past and the tragic death of his daughter.

(This one ain’t no beauty pageant.)

It’s that old gambler’s dilemma: There are a bunch of fairly big time dogs on the card at this Saturday’s UFC 127 … which means there are also a bunch of guys who are probably not going to win their fights. The numbers are what they are (read: juicy) precisely to make our betting fingers itchy, to make us consider throwing down on dudes we normally wouldn’t give a second look. When it’s all said and done though, what good is an underdog if he doesn’t have a chance to actually win? At times like this, it’s imperative that we don’t let our own greed so cloud our mindbrains that we lose sight of reality. Wheat from chaff, people, wheat from chaff.

Luckily for you (and our many, many creditors) we wouldn’t even be having this conversation if deep down we didn’t believe we were smarter than the bookies. At least in the weird, fringe backwater that is MMA betting. Yep, we’ve pretty much got UFC 127 dialed in. After the jump, we share our get-rich quick scheme. All listed odds are from Sportsbook.com. Why? Because those dudes might actually pay you if you win.