(The champ and Belty.)

Well, after all the hard work the strap is finally mine. It’s been a long time coming and I’m rather happy to have that belt. It’s almost like the ring from Lord of the Rings; it’s my precious. No, really. If it’s in the other room I have to get up and touch it. Sometimes when I’m talking to someone I’ll get distracted by it and have to pick it up. I had someone say, “Put that stupid belt down and talk to me,” and I whispered, “Shhhh. He’ll hear you.” I haven’t officially named him, but for now I’ve been calling him “Belty.” I think we should have a little contest. Feel free to leave a suggestion in the comment section for Belty’s new name.

Now down to the serious stuff… The head-butt. There was no head-butt. It was an overhand right with 3:58 remaining in the third round (you have to pause it because of the camera angle) Dwayne throws an inside leg kick then he comes forward with a left hook and I counter with a short overhand right. If you did somehow see a head-butt, then you are delusional and very open to suggestive hypnosis. I’ve watched the fight over 100 times and there is no head-butt. Now where this rumor started was Frank Trigg casually mentioned after the fight was stopped that “it might have been a head-butt,” and the rumor grew until people swore they could see it. It’s almost laughable. MUAHAHAHAHA!

(Jimmo is a full-time fighter and part-time Matthew McConaughey stunt double.)

Undefeated in the past four years, at 13-1 Ryan Jimmo is one of Canada’s most promising MMA prospects. The Big Deal is in the thick of training camp for a championship bout with fellow Canadian Dwayne Lewis at MFC 28 — a fight Sherdog.com has deservingly named one of this month’s 10 Tussles Worth Watching — on February 25 in Edmonton Alberta and has graciously offered to write about his preparations for the biggest fight of his career, via a weekly training blog published every week leading up to the fight right here at CagePotato.com.

Check out Ryan’s latest entry after the jump.

 ("It’s not pink, it’s blood-stained.")

Undefeated in the past four years, at 13-1 Ryan Jimmo is one of Canada’s most promising MMA prospects.

The Big Deal is in the thick of training camp for a championship bout with fellow Canadian Dwayne Lewis at MFC 28 on February 25 in Edmonton Alberta and has offered to write about his preparations for the biggest fight of his career via a weekly training blog published every week leading up to the fight here at CagePotato.com.

Check out Ryan’s latest entry after the jump.

("Instead of another grenade, I just wanted a huge pull-pin on this side to symbolize me blowing my own mind.")

Sometimes we get so caught up in our everyday lives that we forget about life’s little pleasures — like War Machine waxing poetically about the universe and his prison experiences.

It’s sad to say, but I’m almost more interested in reading his blog than I am watching him fight. Chalk it up to my ADHD and my fascination with Machine’s bizarre take on life, but I enjoy reading about his latest exploits behind bars.

In the latest double installment, the little scamp America fell in love with on TUF 6 when he still went by Jon Koppenhaver broaches a number of pressing issues like how he bridged his block’s racial gap, why he got thrown in segregation and couldn’t post last week and how he passes the time playing Scrabble with imaginary versions of past and present UFC fighters.

Nelson Mandela ain’t got nothin’ on War Machine.

Check out War’s latest deep thoughts and shenanigans after the jump.

(We feel pretty comfortable saying this is the best Oasis/Green Day/Footage-of-Matt-Hughes-blasting-wild-pigs-with-a-laser-sited-crossbow mash-up on the internet today. VidProps: YouTube/LaserLyte)

Here’s a subtle hint for all you aspiring writers out there: When referring in print to people of ethnicities other than your own, it’s probably not best to preface your description of their race/nationality with the word “the.” Doing so just makes you seem like 1,000-times more racist than you might normally appear. Case-in-point: Matt Hughes’ post-UFC 121 blog, in which he admits being baffled by the UFC’s choice to promote Cain Velasquez as the “First Mexican Heavyweight Champion,” but still feels happy for “The Mexicans” that Velasquez beat Brock Lesnar last weekend. Check it out:  

“I didn’t think Brock was going to lose like he did, but I knew there was a good chance Cain could get his hand raised,” Hughes writes. “UFC kind of made a big deal about it. I really don’t know why, but I’m glad that the Mexicans have a heavyweight champion.”

Emphasis ours, of course. But, see what we mean? There’s just something about the above sentence that makes the author sound like an old man in plaid pants peering hesitantly out from behind lace curtains while he complains to his wife, “Goddamn it, Margaret. What are the blacks up to now?” Nobody is accusing Matt Hughes of knowingly being culturally insensitive. Just, you know, for future reference …

("Screw you, society. Jail ain’t so bad after all.")

Considering I also picked Chael Sonnen to win Saturday night, I got an eerily similar empty feeling when I read War Machine’s latest "Big House Blog" and learned that my proclamation that he wouldn’t get through three weeks without getting into some kind of tomfoolery didn’t come to fruition.

I thought for sure that  alcohol+War Machine = spitbag and handcuffs, but apparently the fighter formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver has matured behind bars and instead of scrapping anyone and everyone after consuming his IQ in Jagerbombs, he has taken to sipping his toilet wine while engaging in stimulating conversation with murderous Somalian Muslims.

Who knew jail would have such a good influence on War?

(And here’s where things took a turn down Queer Street, which is located dangerously close to TKO Way.)

Josh Koscheck commented on his somewhat controversial upset loss at UFC 95 on his website, and – surprise! – he argues that the ref should have let it go on a little longer.  To his credit, however, Koscheck doesn’t lay the blame for the loss at the ref’s doorstep.  Instead he puts it squarely on his shoulders, right where it belongs:

As for UFC 95. . . YES, I would have liked to see the ref let the fight go on a little bit more because we are all fighters and we fight until the end. Yes, I got hit hard, but felt as though I could have recovered if I had the chance. As for next time, my message to all the ref’s would be to, please let the fight go until I’m put out to sleep. . . Just so I don’t have the thought of what if, going through my mind and probably the minds of all of you, my fans.

…I could be like a lot of other people and cry about it for weeks and months and make a big deal about it, but it’s now when the true character and discipline of a person is tested.

Then he goes on to quote Martin Luther King Jr. and apply it to his current situation, that of having lost a fight he was supposed to win.  Nice.

The most interesting part of this UFC 94 video blog comes at around the 9:50 mark, when Dana White becomes clearly upset over the Georges St. Pierre greasing incident and remarks, “Georges is in trouble.”  Well, maybe not Georges so much as the cornerman who rubbed him down, though I’m inclined to believe Greg Jackson’s explanation, and also inclined to agree with Dana’s assertion that a little Vaseline did not change the outcome of this fight, one way or another.  Still doesn’t make it a good idea, though.

Other moments worth seeing here: Dana consoles a distraught Stephan Bonnar, Joe Rogan and Eddie Bravo gush over Jon Jones, and Dana watches Akihiro Gono and his camp rehearse their elaborate Octagon entrance, which was truly a thing to behold.  When Gono and his boys walked out in those matching evening gowns, pausing every few steps to get their dance on, you could feel the crowd going through a range of emotions.  First came shock, then slight amusement, then genuine appreciation.  Honestly, it was the best entrance in the history of MMA.

In the post-fight press conference a reporter asked Dana what he thought of a guy who came out in drag and got his ass kicked.  Dana pointed out that a) a lot of people are going to get their ass kicked against Jon Fitch, and b) he loves Gono and what he brings to a UFC event.  Then he conceded: “But if you’re going to wear a dress you probably better win.”

I know some people will make the argument that Gono would have been better served focusing more time and energy on his preparation for the fight than on his entrance, but let’s be real.  Gono was going to get beat up with or without the awesome, cross-dressing entrance.  Might as well have some fun before the pain begins.

(Okay, so this isn’t funny. Unless you count C.B.’s back tattoo.)

I don’t know if Forrest Griffin is conducting workshops in self-deprecating humor down at Xtreme Couture, but it seems to be the favorite style of comedy for fighters these days, or at least it’s a close second to the physical, shot-to-the-groin type humor that both Alistair Overeem and "America’s Funniest Home Videos" both love so dearly.

Reading through Amir Sadollah’s first blogging effort for Spike.com, which is loaded with these Griffin-like quips, you want to hate him.  He’s doing the same self-deprecating act he did on “The Ultimate Fighter,” and a part of you just wants to tell him to stop trying so hard.  Then you read on and are eventually forced to admit that, especially for a fighter, he really is pretty funny:

Hi everyone, my name is Amir Sadollah. You may remember me from my starring roles in some great television such as, The Hundred Thousand Dollar Pyramid, Parker Lewis Can’t Lose, and the actual Moon landing film. More recently however, you may recognize me from season seven of The Ultimate Fighter. When Spike initially contacted me about doing a blog, I didn’t answer the phone because I thought it was either a collection agency or another 1-900 number that had somehow tracked me down. After the confusion cleared up and they explained what they wanted, I immediately thought it was a great idea and told myself now is definitely the time to learn to read and write.

See what I mean?  It’s hard to hate him after the reference to “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose,” which really pisses me off because I love hating stuff.

Where Sadollah actually makes a useful insight is when he gives his take on the strange type of fame brought on him by TUF:

In this edition of Dana White‘s video blog he prepares for UFC 91 by going to the THQ headquarters to get a look at the upcoming “UFC 2009: Undisputed” video game. Does it look totally sweet? It does. The designers attempt to explain some of their revolutionary methods in creating this game, but Dana doesn’t care. He just wants to play as Brock Lesnar. And if you’re going to try and tell me that the THQ dudes didn’t let him win, don’t bother.

This video blog also has the strangest ending we’ve seen yet. After Dana gets done swearing his way through an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he responds to a critic on YouTube who wondered why a rich guy like the UFC prez would listen to music on regular earphones like the rest of us plebes. Well, problem solved, because now he’s got the Dr. Dre Beats headphones, bitch! You happy now?! Well, probably not, no.

Seriously, is Dana White going through and reading the YouTube comments on his video blogs? Because that is not the best use of his time.

Michael Bisping’s UFC 89 Vlog – Watch more free videos

Here’s Michael Bisping‘s UFC 89 video blog from yesterday, following him through the weigh-ins and the aftermath. Since much of this video is just Bisping sitting around and talking with his British friends, I understood very little of what was going on. Still it seems interesting that Bisping does his own video blog for this event, is basically the impetus for the whole card and its location, and has already been named as the next TUF coach regardless of his performance tonight.

At least one fighter thinks all the attention is undeserved. In Sherdog’s “pros pick” article for this fight, Clay Guida not only sides with Chris Leben but calls Bisping “the most overrated TUF winner in UFC history.” Daaaaaamn!

(Somehow, even in these bleak economic times, this man still has a job.)

Houston Alexander has apparently heard internet rumors to the effect that he’s been dropped from the UFC or has fired his entire coaching staff or desperately needs to learn the ground game. Oh, wait. That last part’s not a rumor. Anyway, the point is, he’s sick of it. So to clear the air and talk directly to fans without the filter of the MMA media, he turned to the Fight Magazine MMA blog:

People keep asking me what my plans are, they have read things all over the internet about my future with the UFC and how I am firing my coaching staff. So I thought I would address the rumors and my upcoming plans.

NO – I have not lost my UFC contract.

NO – I have not fired my coaching staff.

NO – I am not going to step down and fight for smaller organizations.

The loss last month was tough, but life goes on. People need to remember that I have only been fighting professionally for a year and a half. I have made great strides during that time, as well as faced some setbacks. My training will continue and we are looking at visiting some of the larger camps for additional training and strategy for my next fight. I have a lot to learn and am hoping to have everything straightened out before I enter the cage next time.

Look Houston, you seem like a nice guy so it’s hard not to feel some sympathy for you, but maybe the part about firing your coaching staff isn’t so crazy. If three straight losses isn’t a sign that something needs to change, I don’t know what is. And as for strategy, it should probably include either getting really good at jiu-jitsu really fast, or at least developing a top notch takedown defense. After what we’ve all seen in your last few fights, you can bet that everyone you face will be intent on getting the fight to the ground until you prove that it’s a bad idea.

Every Thursday morning, Team Nogueira member Efrain Escudero will give his reactions to each new episode of The Ultimate Fighter on CagePotato.com. Here’s what he had to say about last night’s installment, from the team-picking to the drunken drama.

***

After Dana sent the losing fighters home, we piled into the vans and made our first trip into the house. This was a great moment not only for me but also for the other 15 guys. When we walked into the house we were jacked. This isn’t some ordinary house — this place is LEGIT. We all took a look around and then rushed to pick our beds. I must say we were pretty slick to get a room on the bottom floor so when we’re tired from training or a night of boozing we don’t need to be struggling up a bunch of stairs. At this point I was still very happy, because I was a big fan of The Ultimate Fighter from the beginning and now I’m in the house where it all started. At this point we start bonding with one another — people start talking shit, joking around, just trying to break the ice and get a feel for each other.

After touring the house we go to the training center where Dana kicks Karn and Brian out due to injury. Brian’s injury was unexpected; on the other hand Karn was an idiot because he wanted to go to the doctor after they told him “Hey, your hand is ok!” He asked for a second opinion, and now he gets kicked out. GOOD JOB BUDDY, NEXT TIME THEY SAY IT’S OK THEN THAT MEANS IT’S OK. After that they brought back Kyle Kingsbury, and I was glad because he had a tough fight to get into the house. I really like Kyle — he’s a nice guy who loves to have fun, so why wouldn’t I like him? Now I have to thank Karn because if it wasn’t for him and his second opinion Kyle wouldn’t be with us in the house.

The second time we went to the training center for the team picks, Frank Mir was talking to Bader and I, telling us that he’ll be taking his team out to the river to go shooting and all these cool things, so at that point I wanted to be in his team; it sounded like fun. Ryan and I ended up getting picked by Nogueira, but I really didn’t care because I was ready to get after it.

(Photo courtesy of Spike)

Spike.com has posted the last blog entries from Evan Tanner before his death in the southern California desert two weeks ago. If nothing else, the sentiments expressed in his last entry should effectively put to rest any suicide rumors, such as those put forth by the always-idiotic War Machine. The night before Tanner leaves on his journey into the desert, he seems anything but suicidal:

It’s Tuesday night. Tomorrow I go out into the desert. It has taken over a month to get all the gear together. The preparation for this adventure took far longer than I had expected. I’ve never done this before, so I took my time reading books, studying the land, and researching gear. A few weeks of solitude in the deep desert, and then back to civilization, and back to training.

Clearly, that’s a man who planned on coming back. The MMA world remains saddened that he didn’t.

As a reminder, a memorial service for Tanner is planned for this Saturday, Sept. 27 at 2 pm in the Amarillo Civic Center in Amarillo, Texas, for those of you who might be in the area and are interested in paying your respects. When they hold your memorial at a civic center, you know you’ve had an impact on people.

(Say what?!)

Oh, “Mayhem” Miller. You so crazy. You manage to turn what would normally be a boring blog post about a bad haircut into a saga of misadventure. We can only imagine what it must be like to be you on a full-time basis.

Miller’s recent blog entry diverges into a blend of social commentary and possible mental illness when he wanders into a barber shop and begins battling it out with the voices in his head:

“This place looks legit.” I thought, in the way that schizophrenics hear in stereo. “It has a rotating pole, a cruddy sign with the owners name on it, and smells like chemicals,” the voice in my head then paused to let me enter. Inside was a cute black chick about my age and an older black dude, kinda pudgy and wearing fubu or something else unfashionable. The chocolate bunny mustve had something better to do, so she left the moment I looked like I was staying.

“Its an older black dude, and you want a short haircut, perfect, they always know how to hook it up” my brain said but then retorted “that’s fucking racist dude, you’re judging his haircutting on his skin tone- ‘haircut profiling’ if you will.” The voice came back again, “yes, yes I am but I am just drawing from my experience, and how many good short haircuts have we got from older black dudes, as compared to the child molester/Nicholas Cage looking guy on melrose?” Touche’ voice 1, touche’.

“Have a seat. I can take ya now.” Pudgey Older Black Man says, “What can I do for you?” in a tone that was nice enough. “Trim it up man. I want to get it faded down to the skin, maybe keep some of the top.” (For future installments of the strip of doom.) I guess I shouldn’t have said the word “skin” because that is all he heard and before I could look up I had half a bowl-cut. “Aw damn, man.. I, aw..”

You know, I never thought about it before, but Nicolas Cage does look an awful lot like a child molester. Well put, “Mayhem.”

(The stuff you find under Tommy Speer’s mattress.)

Former UFC welterweight champ Matt Hughes has been taking some heat for his remarks about the Georges St. Pierre-Jon Fitch bout, which he admitted to walking out on during UFC 87. But in a rare response to the media and the fans, Hughes updated his blog to address the criticism and set the record straight. Kind of:

I usually don’t do this, but I’m going to break my rule this time. There’s been so much talk about my last blog entry that it’s amazing. Some of it is legitimate thinking, some of it is just from idiots. I never said the GSP fight was boring, the reason I walked out was because I wanted to beat the crowd. I didn’t think Fitch was going to get back in the match and the fight wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be. If you want, you can go look at my last blog entry and see that this is basically what I said. So people criticized me for leaving the fight early and said that was disrespectful to GSP, I disagree, I just wanted to get out of there.

Hughes also responded to a Yahoo! Sports blog entry by Steve Cofield that interpreted his ‘GSP-looked-small’ remarks to mean that Hughes was implying St. Pierre had been on steroids for previous bouts. While that might have been a little bit of a stretch, and Cofield admits as much, Hughes’ attempts at backtracking on his ‘boring’ remarks are hindered by the wonders of modern technology.

His exact words to interviewers with PWB Podcast: “I gotta be real honest though, I was kinda bored with the match.”

Woop. There it is.

(Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly)

From his Spike.com blog:

It was a long walk back to the dressing room after the fight. The doctor was there waiting on me, telling me I had to go to the hospital to get a CAT scan and stitches, letting me know they were giving me a medical suspension of 45 days. I was in no mood for that, and I know I was rude about it. I’ve known him for a while, but I don’t think I ever got his name. If he happens to read this, I would like to offer him my sincerest apology for my disrespectful behavior.

I was pissed off about the fight, f**king sad, f**king raging, on edge, all of it heavy with me, trying to maintain, trying not to explode. Camera men in my face, corner men, doctors, security, paramedics, friends, journalists, too many bodies crowding me, too many hands pulling me too many ways. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe, standing there afraid of the man that would come out if I lost control…

Losing sucks. It’s been pretty tough the last couple of days. I’ve been keeping to myself. I haven’t felt like talking with anyone. I haven’t seen anything about the fight. I know I looked really bad. I don’t need to see it, or hear about it to know that. I’ve been having some serious health problems for a while now. They’ve caused me some problems in my daily life and have seriously affected my training. I obviously haven’t been the same guy in the ring.

I’m going to be taking a little time off to see a doctor. If we can’t get this health issue figured out, I’m done, I’m retiring. I don’t want to step back into the Octagon unless I’m 100%, and I can give the fans the type of fight they deserve to see.

There’s only one thing that can bring a man like Evan Tanner out of a funk this deep: A cross-country motorcycle trip.