(Griggs might not have had the best ground game in the biz, but he made up for it in pure funkatude.) 

It must be spring, Potato Nation, because in order to make room for their new batch of Strikeforce fighters, the UFC has been doing a little cleaning out of their roster as of late. In total, 9 fighters have been axed as of this morning, including everyone’s favorite muttonchops aficionado, Chad Griggs. MMA Opinion has the full list, so join us after the jump to find out which fighters will no longer be punctuating the undercards of FUEL and FX events.

Chad Griggs: 11-1 before entering the UFC, Griggs’ lack of a ground game was quickly exposed in his debut, where he was choked out by Travis Browne in under three minutes at UFC 145. After dropping to light heavyweight, Griggs returned at UFC 154 to face PRIDE veteran and feared striker Cyrille Diabate. Those who were expecting a slugfest left disappointed, however, as Griggs was choked out in the first round again, just 15 seconds later than his first fight.

Marcus LeVesseur: Despite being one of the more decorated wrestlers to enter the UFC in some time, “The Prospect” quickly showed that he was simply not well rounded enough to hang in the sport’s highest promotion. After dominating the beginning of his UFC debut against TUF 12 alum Cody McKenzie, LeVesseur became McKenzietine victim #11 at just over three minutes into the first round. After scoring a snoozer of split decision over Carlo Prater in his next fight, Levesseur was absolutely savaged by Abel Trujillo at UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz.

(Chad Griggs is making his 205-pound debut tonight, but his muttonchops will remain at super-heavyweight. / Photo via CombatLifestyle.com. For more photos from this set, click here.)

Before the UFC 154 main card fireworks kick off on pay-per-view, FX is presenting four bouts of preliminary action from Montreal’s Bell Centre, including a battle between fellow Canadian strikers Sam Stout and John Makdessi, and Patrick Cote‘s Octagon return against Alessio Sakara. Your good friend Anthony Gannon will be piling round-by-round results after the jump, starting at 8 p.m. ET. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest.

(So there we were, about to face off at the UFC 154 press conference when Georges finally decided to POP THE QUESTION!! ERMAGERD!!)

A fortune cookie wise man once told me that the frustrating thing about questions is that they do not always have answers. This Saturday night, Zuffa’s globetrotting MMA organization returns to the province of Quebec — the birthplace of the UFC in Canada — to answer the burning question: Who is the undisputed king of the 170 lbs division? GSP may be the PPV king of the UFC, but during his 20 month layoff due to reconstructive knee surgery, Carlos Condit has quietly and somewhat controversially asserted himself as the welterweight division’s top dog.

With a current record of 3-2 over the past 5 UFC PPV’s, the GAE’s back is against the wall and in need of another profitable evening if it is to be still considered as the champion of the odds breakers, bloggers and “professional gamblers” of the mixed martial arts world (which it totally is). So follow us after the jump as we highlight select bouts from the undercard and all contests on the main card in an attempt to save those who laid 1600 bucks on a Franklin to beat Le ticket from the man in the black trench coat. All odds courtesy of BestFightOdds.com.

(Mutton chops: Giving white people the confidence to shake their rump since the 1800′s.) 

It could just be our queasy stomachs, but we’ve begun to feel more and more trepidation when it comes to announcing a scheduled UFC contest these days, because the likelihood of said contest actually coming to fruition seems borderline impossible.

That being said, it will please all of the lumberjacks who happen to read CagePotato to learn that the man with the coolest facial hair in the biz this side of Casey “fagtastic flameathon of facial distortion” Oxendine, Chad Griggs, will be returning to UFC action on November 17th at UFC 154 in Montreal, Canada to face PRIDE veteran Cyrille Diabate. Griggs, who gained notoriety over the past couple years with his decimations of Bobby Lashley, Valentijn Overeem, and Gian Villante, is coming off a first round submission via arm-triangle loss to Travis “Don’t ask, don’t tell” Browne in his UFC debut at UFC 145. Shortly after the loss, Griggs announced that he would in fact be dropping to 205 lbs to face Phil Davis at UFC on FOX 4, but go figure, suffered an injury and was forced to pull out.

Diabate, on the other hand, is coming off a majority decision victory over late replacement Tom DeBlass at UFC on FUEL 2. “The Snake” has gone win-loss in his five fight UFC career and was originally set to face Fabio Maldonado at UFC 153, but again, an injury blah blah blah things are different now.

Diabate has shown a susceptibility to submissions in the past (as well as an inability to last three rounds), so a matchup with a stand-and-bang aficionado like Griggs should be tailor-made for an exciting, if not winnable opportunity for everyone involved.

Who you got for this one, Potato Nation?

After the jump: A video of Griggs’ slugfest with Villante, because it’s arguably the greatest two and a half minute fight you will ever see.

(I gotta admit, the man knows how to fill out a singlet.)

Due to an undisclosed injury, Chad Griggs won’t be making his light-heavyweight debut against Phil Davis at UFC on FOX 4 in August, which is probably for the best. (Not trying to hate on you, Grave Digger; it was just a bad matchup, that’s all). Coming in for Davis is an Octagon newcomer who will probably be an even heavier underdog than Griggs would have been — undefeated Team Nogueira product Wagner “Caldeirao” Prado.

Prado’s 8-0 record (seven by KO/TKO) looks good on paper, but his competition has been entry-level at best; his last three opponents had a combined record of 1-4 at the time of their fights. Taking on a world-class fighter in your UFC debut after a couple years spent beating on local yokels is rarely a recipe for success. So, barring any Dos Santos vs. Werdum-caliber world-shocking, Mr. Wonderful should have this one in the bag.

After the jump: The full lineup of UFC on FOX 4, plus two videos of Prado doing work.

(Chad’s the dead guy in the background.)

After getting utterly demolished by the much-larger Travis Browne during his Octagon debut at UFC 145, heavyweight prospect Chad Griggs has decided to drop to 205 pounds for his follow-up UFC appearance. Griggs was only 228 pounds when he hit the scales before his UFC debut — about as heavy as Jon Jones’s walking weight — making this a wise career choice on paper. The question is: Will Chad’s decision turn out to be good, bad, or ugly?

The Grave Digger certainly won’t be getting an easy welcome in his new division. According to MMA Weekly, Griggs will be returning at UFC on FOX 4 (August 4th, Los Angeles) against light-heavyweight contender Phil Davis, who suffered the first loss of his career in a decision against Rashad Evans in January. Before that, Davis had used his wrestling and grappling skills to dominate such tough competition as Brian Stann, Alexander Gustafsson, Tim Boetsch, and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. In other words, Griggs’s takedown defense had better be airtight if he wants his puncher’s chance to be worth the fist it’s printed on.

UFC on FOX 4 is shaping up to be a real crowd-pleaser; the current lineup is after the jump…

(Above: Rashad Evans licks his hand and wipes his butt…
Below: …and pays dearly for it. / Props: )

We bid a final farewell to Saturday’s UFC event with a roundup of the 11 best GIFs from UFC 145, courtesy of The UG and IronForgesIron. Enjoy, and click here for previous MMA GIF coverage.

It’s finally almost time for UFC 145, which means we have some preliminary fights on FX to make snarky comments through. We have a fight between TUF champions turned gatekeepers Mac Danzig and Efrain Escudero, a matchup between Anthony Njokuani and John Makdessi, we find out if Matt Brown will live to fight another day against Stephen Thompson, and we get a heavyweight bout between Travis Browne and Chad Griggs to keep us entertained before the main card tonight. Grab a sammich and a bottle of the finest flavor of Night Train Express that the nearest gas station sells and join us for round-by-round results.

Live, round-by-round results from the UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans preliminary broadcast will be collecting after the jump starting at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, courtesy of CagePotato’s ultimate (weekend) warrior, Seth Falvo. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and let us know your thoughts in the comments section. Please stand by.

After compiling a 3-0-1 record in the UFC, heavyweight contender Travis “Hapa” Browne will welcome Strikeforce standout Chad Griggs into the Octagon at UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans (April 21st, Atlanta). CagePotato video-correspondent Sal Mora caught up to the undefeated slugger at the Jackson’s MMA camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to chat about his upcoming match — which will close out the UFC 145 preliminary card broadcast on FX — as well as Browne’s life outside of the cage. Check out the exclusive video after the jump, and let us know how you think this one will go down. Some highlights from the interview…

- On deserving a “step up” after four fights in the UFC: ”I can’t worry myself with that. Joe Silva lines ‘em up, I knock ‘em down. Whoever he decides to put in front of me, it’s none of my business. I’m just out there to put on a show and keep winning my fights. It doesn’t matter who I fight, or where I stand in the rankings. I’m not somebody who gets caught up in that. I don’t even know where I stand right now, actually.”

- On what his sons think of their dad’s MMA career: “I think right now it’s not something that they have fully grasped. Before I came to camp, my last dinner with my kids…we’re all sitting down to dinner, and the waiter comes over and says, ‘Can I get you guys anything to drink?’ and my son stands up on the bench that he’s sitting on and says, ‘Hey! My dad’s in the video game!’…It was really cool to see my son happy about that. I just want my kids to be proud of me, and I think I’m doing that.”

(Travis Browne makes Stefan Struve do his fainting cat impression at UFC 130. / Photo via MMAFighting)

A little update to our “Hell yeah, Chad Griggs is coming to the UFC” story from last week: The UFC has announced that Griggs’s Octagon debut will come against Travis “Hapa” Browne, the towering up-and-comer whose 3-0-1 UFC record includes first-round knockouts of Stefan Struve and James McSweeney, and a recent decision win over Rob Broughton. (He also had that ugly draw against Cheick Kongo, but the less said about that fight the better.) Griggs and Browne will meet at UFC 145, March 24th at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.

In other words, Griggs won’t be developed slowly against hand-picked opponents — it’ll either be sink or swim against one of the most talented heavyweights coming up the ranks. Then again, Griggs made his name in Strikeforce by beating up guys who were supposed to be better than him, so really, who knows. As of now, the only other fight slated for UFC 145 is a welterweight feature between Rory MacDonald and Che Mills.

(Chad Griggs: Funkiest white man alive. / Photo by Esther)

Two of Strikeforce’s hardest-hitting heavyweight prospects are getting some good news this Christmas* season. According to new reports, Chad Griggs and Lavar “Big” Johnson have inked contracts with the UFC, meaning that they’ll still have jobs after Strikeforce disbands its big-man division next year.

Though he’s perhaps best known for his incredible muttonchops, Chad “The Grave Digger” Griggs (11-1) has gone on a three-fight tear under the Strikeforce banner, beating up Bobby Lashley last August at Strikeforce: Houston, then scoring back-to-back first-round stoppages against Gianpiero Villante and Valentijn Overeem in Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix reserve bouts this year. The Arizona native hasn’t lost a fight since April 2007. The date and opponent for his next fight are still TBA, but Griggs is expected to make his Octagon debut in early 2012.

(Now if SF could just convince Batista to sign on the dotted line, the circle would be complete.)

It looks like Shark Fights has a new big draw.

According to a Fox Sports report, the Amarillo, Texas- based organization has signed former WWE champion Bobby Lashley to a three-year deal and he will likely make his promotional debut in November. The event, which will be aired on Fuel TV, will likely take place in Missouri where Lashley attended college.

(M-Bone is Dougie’ing in his grave right now. Props: Ariel Helwani)

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…

- Team Gina Carano Updates Strikeforce on Health Condition via Vague Email (5thRound)

- Pete Sell Returns to Competition After Two-Year Absence, Wins Ring of Combat Welterweight Title (TheFightNerd)

- The New CEO of ProElite Explains to Us How the Company Plans to Be the Number Two MMA Organization in the World (MiddleEasy)

- Werdum and Gloom: The Politics of Pulling Guard (NBC Sports MMA)

- Chad Griggs vs. Daniel Cormier Could Be ‘Logical Next Step’ for Strikeforce (MMA Fighting)

- Ring Girls Round-Up: Ashleigh Marley (LowKick)

- 28 Reasons We’d Love to Have Dana White’s Job (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- ‘UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber 2′ Conference Call Highlights (Five Ounces of Pain)

- UFC 133: Jorge Rivera Is Too Old to Keep Getting Punched in the Head (MMA Mania)

- Fedor Emelianenko: ‘Two Mistakes In A Row Cannot Be Coincidence’ (MMA Convert)

Yeah, we were praying for something to happen in that fight, too.

Heading into last night’s Strikeforce card, there were a lot of potential storylines. There was Werdum continuing to clean out Strikeforce’s heavyweight division. There was Overeem avenging his loss to Werdum five years ago in devastating fashion. There were the returns to relevance of Josh Barnett and Jeff Monson, the rise of Daniel Cormier and “Othereem” getting the fans to learn his name. Yet after the event was over, the most compelling thing we can take from it is that Dallas has some educated MMA fans. While your average Affliction clad meathead was booing from the start of Cormier vs. Monson until the end of the night, Dallas fans only booed during Overeem vs. Werdum.

Normally I hate when fans boo fighters, but to say Overeem vs. Werdum was boo-worthy doesn’t begin to capture what a disappointment the main event was. We expected fireworks, and instead were given an even less relevant version of Silva vs. Leites (at least that fight was for a title). If that fight was under the UFC banner, Dana White would have immediately issued an apology to the fans and a threat to fire Werdum over another performance like that. To say the least, Werdum’s chances of getting back into the UFC were more than likely squashed by that fight three round Thales Leites impression.

(Where’s your creepy joker-smile now, playboy?)

The latest installment in Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Grand Prix Tournament goes down tonight at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, featuring the long-awaited rematch between Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum, and Josh Barnett’s promotional debut against Brett Rogers. Plus, KJ Noons and Jorge Masvidal jockey for #1 contendership in the lightweight division, and 14-year veteran Jeff Monson collides with rising heavyweight star Daniel Cormier.

Handling the play-by-play for this evening will be the Shemp Howard of CagePotato’s liveblog-rotation, Matt Kaplan, so let him know you care in the comments section. Live results from the Showtime broadcast of “Overeem vs. Werdum” will be stacking up after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET; refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest.

(Sign on the dotted line, or continue to get steamrolled by guys who look like ‘Spitting Image’ puppets. Your choice, pal.)

As first reported by MMAWeekly, Strikeforce is looking to make its pay-per-view debut sometime in July; date and venue are TBA at this point, though July 2nd is already booked for UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber. In an attempt to give the Strikeforce PPV some superfight muscle, the promotion has reached out to Fedor Emelianenko’s camp to offer the Last Emperor a fight against reigning light-heavyweight champ Dan Henderson. The fight wouldn’t necessarily be for Hendo’s belt — it could take place at a catchweight or at heavyweight, depending on how negotiations shake out.

Emelianenko vs. Henderson makes even more sense in light of Saturday’s controversial draw between Gegard Mousasi and Keith Jardine. Mousasi was originally supposed to face Mike Kyle, in a bout that was thought to be a 205-pound title eliminator. Instead, Mousasi faced late-replacement Jardine and was unable to secure a victory, which makes the LHW contender picture a little more complicated. Strikeforce’s July card is also rumored to feature the return of former light-heavyweight champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal taking on 4-0 submission whiz Roger Gracie.

In other news…

(Leave it to Strikeforce to try to kill the momentum of a promising prospect.)

CagePotato has learned that immediately following his impressive heavyweight grand prix reserve bout win over Gian Villante at Strikeforce’s Fedor vs. Silva event two-and-a-half weeks ago, Chad Griggs was offered a slot on this weekend’s Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson card. A source we spoke to revealed that “The Gravedigger” turned down both bouts he was offered with fellow tournament reservists Valentijn Overeem and former Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier as there simply wasn’t adequate time for the full-time paramedic-firefighter to prepare for such a pivotal potential bout.

(In an alternate universe, Lashley gets the TKO against Chad Griggs, enters the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament, and defeats Fedor Emelianenko by flying armbar in the quarterfinals. Shane Del Rosario still goes on to win the whole thing. / Photo courtesy of Showtime)

We haven’t heard much from Bobby Lashley since he quit on the stool against Chad Griggs at Strikeforce: Houston last August. But a press release sent out this morning by Kansas City-based promotion Titan Fighting Championships has answered an important question — Bobby’s days of real fighting aren’t quite over yet.

Now 5-1 in MMA, Lashley will return to action in the headlining bout of Titan FC 17, which will go down March 25th at the Historic Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas. His opponent will be James Jack, a heavyweight out of Missouri who’s either 6-2-1 or 5-4-1, depending on who you ask. In the press release, Titan Fighting CEO Joe Kelly did his best to explain why you should care:

(Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Silva)

(Sergei Kharitonov vs. Andrei Arlovski)

(Valentijn Overeem vs. Tengiz Tedoradze @ Pancrase Fighting Championship 2, 4/17/10)

You’ll be seeing all these guys on tomorrow night’s Showtime broadcast of “Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva” — and maybe subbing in for one of the main competitors later if they should fall victim to broken hands or licensing issues. So give ‘em a look and enjoy…

(Ray Sefo K-1 knockout highlight.)

(Oh man. 1:00-1:10 is just too much. Props: ix3623vault)

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…

– Manager: “Chael Sonnen’s Career is Far From Over” (5thRound. Welcome to the club, guys!)

– UFC to Announce Formal Intent to Bring Event to New York (MMA Fighting)

– MMA Hot List: Fights Booked, Careers Put on Hold (Versus MMA Beat)

– Watch Nam Phan’s Guide to Judging in MMA (MiddleEasy)

– Jacob Volkmann on Fox News. You Figure Out the Rest. (the all-new MMA-Scraps.com)

– Bellator Signs Top 50 Middleweight Joe Riggs (FightMagazine)

– Dan Henderson In Talks For Title Shot Against Rafael Feijao On March 5 (MMA Convert)

– Jon Jones: I Would Definitely Take a "Right Fight" at Heavyweight (LowKick)

– Chad Griggs Taking on Regional Prospect in Final Strikeforce Grand Prix Reserve Bout (Five Ounces of Pain)

– UFC And Strikeforce Situations Make Heavyweight The Division To Watch In 2011 (SBNation.com/MMA)

(How did Bobby Lashley go from wrestling at a svelte 177-pounds in college to owning a Herculean physique and a head big enough to have its own zip code? Certain events, playa. PicProps: Heavy.com)

So, it was either the lingering effects of mononucleosis, that pesky bout of dehydration (possibly owing to the mononucleosis) or pressure from the haters that caused Bobby Lashley to shit the bed against Chad Griggs at Strikeforce: Houston last month. So said Lashley during an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s "The MMA Hour" yesterday. We’d be able to pin it down further for you, but reports make it seem like the WWE-wrestler-turned-MMA-heavyweight was still being kind of vague about the whole thing.

(Paul Thatcher shoots model Jade Bryce for FIGHT!’s July 2010 issue. She enjoys camping, Roger Huerta, and covering her boobs with boxing gloves. Props: FIGHT! Magazine)

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…

– Bold MMA Predictions For The Second Half Of 2010 (Heavy.com/MMA)

- Chad Griggs: Lashley Is Strikeforce’s Golden Child, But Very Beatable (MMA Fighting)

– The Most Ridiculous Nick Diaz T-Shirt Ever Printed (MiddleEasy)

– Community Interview: WEC Featherweight Contender Josh Grispi Answers Questions From Fans (LowKick)

– After TUF Loss, DaMarques Johnson Still Climbing the UFC Ranks (Versus MMA Beat)

– Mitrione vs. Beltran, Dollaway vs. Doerkson set for UFC 119 Prelims on Spike TV (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Brock Lesnar Makes it Rain, PPV Buys That Is (Watch Kalib Run)

– Knockout of the Day: Segio Junior vs. Thiago Gomes da Silva (MMA Scraps)

(That’s Chad. Take a look at those belts, tough guy. You think anybody wants a roundhouse kick to the face while he’s wearing these bad boys? Didn’t think so. Props: myspace.com/chadgriggs) 

Bobby Lashley (5-0) has long made it clear that he’ll only take fights against two kinds of opponents — champions, and random scrubs. Competing against the kind of mid-level competition that would actually gain him some cred in the MMA world? Forget it, he’s just not interested. And even though the former WWE star would make a minor exception by fighting Fedor Emelianenko — who’s not a champion but, y’know, still pretty high up there — Strikeforce is going to set him up with another low-value opponent for his next fight. No, it’s not Dave Batista…at least not yet.

MMA Mania reports that Lashley will return to the cage at "Strikeforce: Houston" (August 21st), where he’ll take on Chad "The Grave Digger" Griggs (8-1), a Tucson-based heavyweight whose most notable experience came during a 1-1 stint in the IFL back in 2007. Griggs is employed as a firefighter/paramedic, so his nickname isn’t a reflection of his line of work; more likely, it’s a tribute to his love of monster trucks. All of Griggs’s eight wins were earned via stoppage, six of which came in the first round, all against guys you’ve probably never heard of.

It will be Lashley’s first cage appearance sinch his first-round TKO over Wes "The Body" Sims at Strikeforce: Miami.