(Vitor’s shorts say “Jesus,” but his abs say “Nutella and banana on rye.”)

By Jonathan Shrager

Though he first landed on our radars as a competitor on TUF 7, fighter/trainer Mike Dolce has become much more famous for The Dolce Diet — the health and nutrition system he employs to help MMA stars hit their weight limits while retaining peak performance on fight-day. Fresh off his wizard-like guidance of Thiago Alves earlier this month, we decided to get the Living Lean author on the phone to find out exactly how he does it. Enjoy…

JONATHAN SHRAGER: Hi Mike, thanks for taking the time to talk with us. You are arguably the most renowned nutritionist in MMA nowadays.
MIKE DOLCE: Well, thank you. I prefer “performance coach” actually, but people often refer to me as a nutritionist because I’ve become synonymous with The Dolce Diet, so I understand why. I do quite a bit, including nutrition and Strength & Conditioning.

So who is the current crop of fighters that you’re working with?
Thiago Alves, of course, with whom I travelled to England. Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, Jake Ellenberger, Jay Hieron, Mike Pyle, and I started working with Jorge Masvidal in advance of his Strikeforce lightweight title fight with Gilbert Melendez. Jorge is a great guy and a super-talented athlete.

I recently interviewed Jorge, and he confessed his love of junk food including McDonald’s. Have you ever caught him attempting to eat any junk food behind your back? Is his love for McDonald’s difficult to contain?
Haha! No, Jorge is very committed to performing at the top of his potential. He is so dedicated to his craft, there is nothing to pull him off course. But he did admit his love of McDonald’s to me and we agreed that would be his victory celebration.

Post-fight, do you allow your fighters a little leeway to have a week off and eat what they want? Do you yourself ever celebrate with the fighters by eating some greasy or sugary foods?
Yes, I employ a principle of earned meals, a concept established to allow athletes or individuals to enjoy a meal that may not be consistent with their goals. For my athletes, I usually give them until Wednesday after the fight to ignore my phone calls before we start dialing their lifestyle back in. The great thing about guys or girls who follow The Dolce Diet, is that they lose the old cravings for junk and instead just look for larger portions of what we’ve been eating all camp. After a fight, I’ll usually indulge in a burger or slice of pizza with the team, but that’s usually because we don’t leave the venue until after midnight and our options are limited.

Following his fight with Frank Mir, Dana White suggested that Roy Nelson should try to make 205 lbs in an attempt to rejuvenate himself and his career. Roy subsequently claimed that this would require him to lose a limb, but now he says he’ll try to do it if he gets enough Facebook fans. Would you be the man to help Roy shed the belly?

In case you were looking for a self-help book to pick up to aid you in keeping your New Year’s resolutions this year, Victory Belt Publishing has one you’re probably going to want to check out.

Apparently Chael Sonnen kept busy during his one-year suspension from fighting and he penned a new book, titled, “The Voice of Reason: A V.I.P. Pass to Enlightenment,” which he says touches on “physics, politics, linguistics, history, and physiology.” Knowing Chael, he probably just put his dust cover over “The Rock’s” biography and called it his own.

Check out the description of the 320-page tome by Chael P. himself, after the jump.

(“Taking testosterone is no different than Flintstone vitamins. Ask Cris Santos.”)

Chael Sonnen made a stop by SPIKE TV last night and sort of addressed his TRT use exemption and the suspension he received following his UFC 117 title fight with Anderson Silva for failing to disclose to California State Athletic Commission officials that he took the hormone prior to the bout.

Host Craig Carton segued into the topic while they were discussing Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s recent revelation that he is on the youth tonic as well. Sonnen was quick to point out that there are plenty of other substances that are better performance-enhancing-wise, but then denied that testosterone was a performance enhancer. Classic contradictory and convoluted Chael.

“There’s two things there. Hold on. If you’re gonna associate the guy with TRT, make sure you also associate the fact that it’s legal and it’s not banned. Second thing with TRT is people are really getting confused. They look at TRT and they’re missing the stuff that really is good,” Sonnen explained. “TRT is eight, nine, 10 on the list of things that a person could take to help their careers go along. Secondly, any time a person says ‘performance enhancer,’ stop talking to them, because they don’t have the intellect to debate with you.”

(Tom couldn’t handle constantly being asked if the guy he was with was the dude that f*cked Kimbo)

As fans and pundits of the sport, sometimes we forget that the fighters we love and hate to watch in the ring and cage are normal human beings like we are. They have bills to pay, mouths to feed and wives and girlfriends that *most* of them go home to every night.

We’ve been introduced to many of the W.A.Gs of fighters by UFC countdown shows, porno movies, arrest reports and through their own contributions to the sport as managers and fighters in their own right. Regardless of what they do, they support their men through the good and the bad and keep the home front running smoothly while their husbands and boyfriends are away for training camps or competing.

They don’t get a lot of mention by us media types, so we figured we would pay them tribute by posting a gallery of some of the lesser-known ladies behind the well-known fighters in the sport.

(“When I was a teenager and I was having problems in West Linn, my mom sent me to live with my Auntie and Uncle in Bel Air. I’ll never forget how bad the cab driver smelled that took me to their house.”)

It appears the Gangster from America is back to his old tricks copping material and claiming it as his own.

You might recall that Chael “borrowed” his post-fight UFC on Fox 2 speech from former pro wrestler “Superstar” Billy Graham. Now it seems, as pointed out by several of our astute readers, that the number one UFC middleweight contender has claimed artistic license on a bit made famous by Emilio Estevez in the 1988 movie Young Guns.

Check out the videos and transcriptions for comparison after the jump.

(I smelled bullshit as soon as he said “I wrote this myself.” Everybody knows that Jeff Ross ghost-writes all of Chael’s material. / Props: fueltv)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere…

- Junior Dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem Official For UFC 146 (FightLine)

- Exclusive: Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney Talks Counterprogramming, Eddie Alvarez and Hector Lombard Negotiations (MMA Mania)

- Brittney Palmer: “I Plan on Being in the UFC for Many Years to Come and Riding This Wave.” (Five Ounces of Pain)

- MiddleEasy’s Guide to the Top Ten Memes in MMA (MiddleEasy)

- Strikeforce: Why American Society NEEDS Ronda Rousey (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- Gilbert Melendez Says He’s Fighting May 19, But Doesn’t Know Who His Opponent Is (MMA Convert)

- Junior Dos Santos Signs With Sports Marketing Agency; Reveals He Spent $100K to Train for Cain (MMA Payout)

- Al Iaquinta Not “Feeling Too Much Pressure” Heading to TUF on FX (The Fight Nerd)

- Georges St. Pierre: Marijuana Is Not a Performance-Enhancing Drug (Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com)

- Dana White: Ronda Rousey Is a Star, But She’s Going to Need Help (5th Round)

- Would Testosterone Exemptions for Zuffa Fighters Be Approved Using USADA standards? (Fight Opinion)

CagePotato Roundtable is a new recurring column in which the CagePotato writing staff (and some of our friends) share their opinions on an MMA-related topic, and hopefully inspire some discussion among our readers as well. For the inaugural installment, we took inspiration from Joe Rogan’s enthusiastic crowning of last weekend’s Tim Boetch vs. Yushin Okami fight as “the greatest comeback in the history of the UFC.” That’s debatable, to say the least — but isn’t everything? So what *was* the greatest comeback fight in MMA history?

Seth Falvo
When Joe Rogan first called The Barbarian’s victory the greatest comeback in UFC history, my first thought was “Come on, Joe, are you seriously the only MMA fan who hasn’t seen Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Bob Sapp?” That comeback exposed Sapp for the overhyped freak that he was while establishing the legend of Big Nog and his ability to come from behind to win fights. Hell, we at Cagepotato consider it to be the best freak show fight to ever come out of Japan. But in fairness to Joe Rogan, that fight didn’t take place in the UFC. So my second thought was “Come on, Joe, are you seriously the only UFC fan who hasn’t seen Mike Russow vs. Todd Duffee?”

What makes this comeback so great was the fact that Todd Duffee and Mike Russow were essentially photo negatives of each other. Before this fight, Duffee was destined to be the next big thing in the UFC’s heavyweight division, having just tied the record for the fastest knockout in UFC history in his promotional debut against Tim Hague. Duffee was on the cover of Muscle & Fitness, the poster boy for Muscletech and seemingly in every men’s magazine on the planet — no matter how loosely the content was related to sports. Meanwhile, Russow was quietly coming off of a unanimous decision victory over Justin McCully in his UFC debut and had more fat in his left bicep than Todd Duffee had in his entire body. Everything about this fight seemed like it was a squash match.

(Video courtesy of YouTube/NicktheFace2)

If you’ve never heard of NicktheFace, first of all, what’s wrong with you, and second of all, do yourself a favor right now and check out some of his body of work and then ask yourself how you enjoyed MMA without him.

Okay, that’s a bit of a stretch, but why the hell isn’t this dude working for the UFC.

The impassioned fan/highlight video master craftsman is at it again and this time the results might just be the best Anderson Silva-Chael Sonnen promo video we’ll see before they square off at UFC 147 this summer and that’s including the inevitable “fan-made” clip of Chael inserted into a clip of “American Gangster.” We’re on to you and you’re grassroots guerilla campaigns, UFC marketing department.

Anyway, there’s not a hell of a lot more we can say about this masterpiece, other than we dare you to watch it and say you aren’t looking forward to this fight. We double-dog dare you, even.

After the jump:

NTF’s Shogun vs. Hendo highlight and his Diaz-GSP promo.

“This is a historic moment,” remarked Wanderlei Silva in broken English when attempting to describe the groundbreaking, upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter set to take place entirely in Brazil. And indeed, it is pretty amazing to see how far the reality show, and therefore the UFC, has come in the past few years; UFC 144 really sent this notion home. A sport once considered a passing trend by its critics has now grown to the point that it can simultaneously broadcast two different reality shows from two different countries, folks, so let’s join in on the celebration.

Set to air on March 25th, The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil has already made huge waves in the Mecca of mixed martial arts, receiving overwhelming support from the country as documented in the above video. Set to coach opposite Vitor Belfort, “The Axe Murderer” recently made one of several appearances to plug the upcoming show, and was greeted with open arms and cries of “When are you going to kill Chael Sonnen?” by the legions of fans lined up around the block. Man, those dudes carry a grudge. Never a man of many words, Silva could only reply, “SOON.”

As we know, TUF Brazil will feature featherweight and middleweight classes doing battle (unfortunately, not against one another) over the course of a twelve episode season, with the rematch between Silva and Belfort to transpire on a separate PPV card, likely in June. Being that this season will feature up and coming Brazilian talent, we would imagine MMA fans will be paying especially close attention, because we are likely looking at future champions in their respective divisions.

Join us after the jump for some more TUF video hype.

(“I would not fight anyone here. These are my friends.”)

Anderson Silva made a stop on the Max & Marcellus show on ESPN 710 radio this morning and made some interesting comments about some of his potential future fights.

Although he mentioned his upcoming rematch with Chael Sonnen, who he says ” no respect nothing,” “The Spider” named injured welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre as his most apt opponent out of anyone in the UFC right now.

(“And then he had the nerve to say that we all probably dance around an effigy in grass skirts praying to our pygmy gods. Talk about clueless.”)

Anderson Silva appeared in the latest episode of the Brazilian “Sports Spectacular” series over the weekend as part of a promotional appearance for one of his sponsor’s brands, Amazoo Açaí.

During the segment, Silva fought by the Amazon tribe’s “huka-huka” rules, losing when his back was taken by his opponent, but when the tables were turned and he was allowed to employ his Brazilian jiu-jitsu techniques, the UFC middleweight fighter put on a submission clinic for the Kamayura people.

(“Medium rare? What the f*ck is that supposed to mean and why is that your answer to every one of my questions?”)

With all of his WWE-esque posturing the past few years it’s been tough to discern who the real “Chael P. Sonnen” is. Thankfully we have Dr. Phil to get to the bottom of things.

Check out Chael in his most candid interview like you’ve never seen him before being open and honest with Oprah’s BFF after the jump.

By now, you know the deal when it comes to Dana White’s videoblogs, and today’s “episode” is no different. Taking a behind-the-scenes look at the aftermath of the UFC’s second Fox event, the UFC 143 videoblog contains the familiar mix of upper and downer moments, with an emphasis on the downer. Especially tough to watch is Joey Beltran’s realization that his Zuffa career may have reached a temporary standstill in the wake of his first round KO loss to Lavar Johnson. Keep your chin up, “Mexicutioner.”

Let’s get right to the highlights.

(0:45) - Jon Jones, seen here for the last time before disappearing into a thicket of notes from which he has yet to emerge.

(1:22) – God damn it, will someone give Beltran a hug and tell him that everything is going to be alright?

(1:40) – Eric Wisely, still in awe of the calf-slicer Charles Oliveira was able to pull on him. The pain was apparently so incredible that Wisely has trouble explaining to the backstage physician where exactly the strain was.

(2:48) – Jon Jones explains how Cub Swanson is one of the “nastiest dudes” on Team Jackson. He makes a good point.

(Little did Eric Wisely know just how quickly a game of Twister could spiral out of control when he spun “left foot blue.”) 

Simply put, Saturday’s second UFC on Fox event saw its fair share of ups and downs. Chris Weidman was able to score the biggest win of his career over Demian Maia on just 11 days notice (which leads us to believe that the Vegas bookies knew something about Maia the rest of the world didn’t), and both Rashad Evans and Chael Sonnen managed to punch their tickets to a title shot against the men they despise the most. And though the future is set for two contenders, the fates of many still remain unsure. That’s why we are here to right the ship that misplaced NFL theme music and Jon Jones’ “commentary” threatened to sink. So join us as we determine the best match-ups for last weekend’s biggest winners and losers.

Phil Davis: Although he started off strong (or at least held his own) in the striking department in the early going, the championship rounds saw Davis overwhelmed by “Suga’s” speed and stamina, content to throw weak, pawing jabs that were anything but wonderful. My older brother, who is by no means a huge MMA fan, summed it up best when he said, “What does he expect to accomplish with that kind of offense?” Davis undoubtedly has a bright future ahead, but needs to round out his game a little more before he takes on a top contender like Evans again. Matching him up against the resurgent Stephan Bonnar, or, depending on how he fares against Rampage Jackson, Ryan Bader would make sense. Forrest Griffin is also a big light heavyweight coming off a loss, so that could make for a great fight as well.

(Props: foxsports)

Of the many painful moments during Saturday’s UFC on FOX 2: Evans vs. Davis broadcast, the worst were the two appearances by Chael Sonnen‘s pro-wrestling heel character, which didn’t exactly help MMA’s reputation as a serious sport. Before the fight, Sonnen compared himself to a pack of cigarettes then leered directly into the camera, in a promo that would have gotten him immediately eliminated from WWE NXT.

After the fight, Sonnen launched into a self-aggrandizing monologue that had nothing to do with the battle he just had with Michael Bisping. If it reeked of low-budget wrasslin’ trash, there’s a reason for that. Sonnen was actually doing his own version of a 1975 post-match interview by “Superstar” Billy Graham, from a World Wide Wrestling Federation show. Watch the video above, then watch the video after the jump, and you’ll see what we mean…

Swanson vs. Roop provided an early candidate for Side-Punchface of the Year. Props: UFC.com

Remember how last night, you invited your non-MMA fan friends over to introduce them to our sport? You spent the past week talking about how Chael Sonnen is one of the best trash talkers in professional sports, and how technical and talented these fighters were. You figured that after three fights that were guaranteed to be exceptional, your friends would be won over to MMA fandom. Then you’d continue to drink and be merry all night, and we’d all meet up here today for our traditional post-UFC event GIF party where we all high five over how awesome the fights were.

Well, it didn’t quite work out that way. Instead, you found yourself doing damage control as you watched three fights worth of sloppy brawling, wall and stall and Chael Sonnen’s blatant swaggerjacking of homage to “Superstar” Billy Graham. You tried to convince them that the fights are usually nothing like this, and that these guys gassing out and the end of the first round are world class athletes. Eventually, one of your friends said “I bet Pacquiao would destroy ANY of these guys” as the rest of your friends grabbed their coats and said they’d call you next time they wanted to watch the fights.

Okay, so last night sucked. But we’ve been planning this party all week, and we’ll be damned if we cancel it at this point. So grab an alcoholic beverage, put on your gaudiest Affliction shirt and join us for our traditional post-UFC event GIF Party.

As always, praise be to Zombie Prophet at IronForgesIron.com for the GIFS.

Totally illegal in NCAA competition. (Photo: UFC.com)

“It’s usually not like this.” With that text I found myself apologizing to a UFC-virgin for the first time in a long time. My friend had just told me that she was at home watching the the show on FOX, without any provocation from me mind you. “This is that fighting you like, right???”. I assured her that the event had yet to capture the energy and excitement indicative of the sport. “I’m going back and forth between this and figure skating,” she replied. I can’t really say I blame her, either.

While we expected plenty of grappling in the bouts themselves, the wrestling theme seemed to carry on throughout the production at large. The usually-charismatic Jon Jones wrestled with his notes, relying on them not just for in-depth fight analysis but for simple things like his thoughts on fighting Rashad. The opening act wrestled with fatigue, leading to a performance as exhausting for fans as it was for the competitors in the cage. And once again, FOX wrestled with an underwhelming broadcast that left the most exciting action behind in the prelims.

Enough belly aching about the show itself, let’s take a look at what made such a promising event so forgettable for the masses.

“Is it too soon to talk about Sandusky, or should I wait ten years, like Paterno?” Props: MMAJunkie.com

“The House that Jordan Built” is sold out for the UFC’s return to Fox, which features three times as many televised fights as its Fox debut. Can Chris Weidman make a name for himself against Demian Maia? Will Chael Sonnen challenge Anderson Silva to a casket match after tonight’s fight? Does Phil Davis establish himself as a contender at light-heavyweight, or does Rashad Evans set himself up to get overlooked for yet another title shot? We’ll answer all this and more as it unfolds.

Handling liveblogging duties tonight is Seth Falvo, who will be watching the event with some old friends. Please direct all complaints about spelling and grammar, comments about the liveblogger’s sexual preference and unrelated conspiracy theories directly at him. Spoilers after the jump.

“Forget all about that belt tomorrow, son.” (Video: YouTube/UFC)

Last night’s weigh-ins in the bag and we are officially one step closer to go-time. While these events are a mere formality in the fight business—I mean, who would show up unprepared, right?–they do give one more opportunity for fans to cheer or boo the fighters of their choice, and one more opportunity for fighters to win the mental war. With those assignments in mind, the men on stage and those in the bleachers made the most of the evening.

Though Michael Bisping and Chael Sonnen have taken second billing on this evening’s card, they’ve more than pulled their own weight in the promotions department. While Chael has drawn plenty of hype for this bout, he’s largely focused the spotlight on himself with little attention paid to his opponent whatsoever. Bisping on the other hand has been in full heel mode in recent interviews, embracing his role as the bad guy and verbally attacking his foe whenever possible. Last night he responded to a chorus of boos by brandishing the ‘Stockton Heybuddy‘, a move that seemed to cost him a sponsor, at least momentarily. If these two jawing in the staredown didn’t get you amped for their bout, there’s little I can do for you.

Despite the main event being a mixed martial arts bout, much of the back-and-forth between Rashad Evans and Phil Davis has centered on wrestling credentials. “Mr. Wonderful” was undoubtedly the more decorated of the two during their NCAA careers, though Evans feels his in-cage ability will expose Davis’s “trash technique”. Upping the ante once more before they glove up, Davis sported a Penn State singlet as he hit the scales. Face to face, both men exuded incredible confidence and not a shred of intimidation.

Full weigh-in results and a video of the Evans-Davis face-off after the jump.

Just a friendly reminder that the weigh-ins tomorrow night’s UFC on Fox 2: Evans vs. Davis event will go live at 5:00 pm ET and we’ll have the stream of the festivities for you right here.

Will Chael Sonnen weigh in with his belt on? Will Arianny go bananas over Phil Davis and Rashad Evans like she did Alistair Overeem? Will Dana White wear an “I Love Nerds” t-shirt?

All of these questions and more will be answered soon.
Check out the stream after the jump.

(Always with the forehead contact, eh Mike?)

Staredown gif via ‘unfilter’ on the UG. The full UFC on FOX 2 press conference video is after the jump, in which Dana White clarifies that Chael Sonnen is not actually the middleweight champion, nor will he be challenging for the light-heavyweight or heavyweight titles after this fight.

(UFC on Fox 2: Evil Twins.)

Just a friendly reminder that you can watch the Chael Sonnen Show UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis pre-fight press conference live right here starting at 2:00 pm ET sharp.

The smack talk between Sonnen and Bisping will likely be taken to the next level when the two of them are seated within ten feet of each other, so it’s definitely worth checking out.

Let us know your picks for Saturday night in the comment section while we wait for this thing to start.

The video feed is after the jump.

(“Welcome my friends to the show that never ends. I’m serious. I’m gonna ride this money train until the wheels fall off.”)

Even when it’s someone else’s turn in the spotlight, it seems that Chael Sonnen has a way of stealing some of their thunder.

Take yesterday’s open workouts for Saturday night’s UFC on Fox 1 event in Chicago. Though Sonnen wasn’t in front of the camera delivering his best Ric Flair impersonation, he was still attracting most of the attention behind the scenes.

The Sonnen Circus was in full gear as MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani interviewed Chicago-based heavyweight Mike Russow. Putting on a tumbling clinic for the media, who lapped it up while snapping photos and rolling camera to catch the display for posterity, Sonnen demonstrated why he’s one of the most polarizing personalities in MMA.

Check out the GIF goodness after the jump.

(Rashad Evans: He’ll put those hands on you worse than…well, you know. / Photo via MMAFighting.com)

The UFC returns to FOX this Saturday with a three-fight main card that could produce the next title contenders in two different divisions. It’s also packed with betting opportunities that will generously reward the risk-takers. And you’re not a chicken, are you? Huh? Bawk bawk bawwwwwk?? Yeah, that’s what we thought. So consider our UFC on FOX 2: Evans vs. Davis gambling advice after the jump, and be sure to come back for our liveblog, which kicks off at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. But first, the complete odds lineup, via BestFightOdds.com:

MAIN CARD (FOX)
Rashad Evans (-165) vs. Phil Davis (+175)
Chael Sonnen (-400) vs. Michael Bisping (+394)
Chris Weidman (-140) vs. Demian Maia (+128)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FUEL TV)
Evan Dunham (-314) vs. Nik Lentz (+300)
Shane Roller (-218) vs. Michael Johnson (+200)
Mike Russow (-150) vs. Jon Olav Einemo (+152)
Cub Swanson (-136) vs. George Roop (+125)
Charles Oliveira (-458) vs. Eric Wisely (+400)
Joey Beltran (-204) vs. Lavar Johnson (+183)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FACEBOOK.com/UFC)
Chris Camozzi (-170) vs. Dustin Jacoby (+160)

Let’s get started…

(Video courtesy of YouTube/FightHubTV)

Our friend Marcos Villegas over at FightHubTV caught up with Michael Bisping ahead of his UFC on Fox 1 middleweight contender match-up this weekend and the brash Brit is not surprisingly confident of his chances Saturday night against Chael Sonnen, who he has been preparing to fight his whole life apparently.

“Well, you know…um… it’s a difficult match-up. There’s no two ways about it. Chael Sonnen is widely regarded as the number one contender and he’s closing in on a match with Anderson Silva. I was training for Demian Maia, who himself is a very, very dangerous opponent. He actually holds a very good win over Chael Sonnen. Demian Maia submitted Chael Sonnen. I’ve been training hard — as hard as humanly possible, to be honest, for my fight with Demian Maia. A fight with Chael Sonnen, there’s a lot of people out there who don’t want to take that fight,” he explained. “I didn’t think about it for a second. I jumped at the opportunity. I’m a fighter. This is what I do and I want to have the title. A lot of people said, ‘Oh, you’ve only got a week to prepare.’ I disagree. I’ve been preparing for this my whole life. I’ve been training in martial arts since I was about nine years old; I’ve been training hard for this fight. It doesn’t mean anything. At the end of the day, I don’t care about the style, we’re gonna get in there and fight and it’s gonna be who’s the better fighter. I believe I’m the better fighter, but we’ll see what happens…I believe this is my destiny to be world champion and Chael Sonnen’s in my way.”

(Today’s required viewing: “Fight Factory” goes deep inside the world of American Kickboxing Academy. Props to nuvoTV via BloodyElbow. Skip to the 12:43 mark to see Phil Baroni’s infamous bodybuilding video get a different reaction than he was looking for.)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere…

- Daniel James Miller’s Kidney Transplant on Hold (MMA Fighting)

- It’s a Wonderful Life: Phil Davis UFC on FOX 2 Interview Exclusive (MMA Mania)

- Will the Real Chael Sonnen Please Stand Up: Inside the Contender’s Training Camp (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- Demian Maia Talks Silva vs. Sonnen, Says Chris Weidman Is “The Real Deal” (Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com)

- The Karate Hottie Pulled Off a Slick Rear-Naked Choke Last Night and Here’s the Video (MiddleEasy)

- Jon Jones: “Rashad’s Chin Sucks” (Five Ounces of Pain)

- UFC Issues Statement Regarding UFC.com Hackers (5th Round)

- Great Wrestling Moments in MMA History (MMA Convert)

- Culinary Union Attacks UFC on Fox 2 Show With New Anti-MMA Website (The Fight Nerd)

- ESPN’s John Barr on UFC Pay Report Blowback: “It’s Not Our Charge to Do Your Public Relations” (Fight Opinion)

- Diego Sanchez Predicts All-Out War With Jake Ellenberger (FightLine)

- HDNet to Be Rebranded as AXS TV (MMA Payout)

(Video via IronForgesIron)

During a guest spot on Inside MMA last night, Michael Bisping took his anti-Sonnen trash-talk to new, anatomical levels:

“Let’s start with the obvious. One, he’s not the middleweight champion. He’s been beaten many, many times. He’s been submitted more times than I care to mention…the last time he lost a fight by submission, there was some issue involving performance enhancing drugs. Now, I don’t know what the deal is, you know, apparently he has one testicle. One testicle. This is why he uses performance enhancing drugs. I’m sorry…that’s not enough balls to fight me next week!”

Okay, can we set the record straight? Chael Sonnen has two testicles, just like anybody else. It’s just that Sonnen’s testicles never developed properly, which is why he has to undergo hormone replacement therapy and wear special underwear. The question is: How much impact will Sonnen’s genitals have on his UFC on FOX 2 meeting with Bisping this Saturday?

(Video courtesy of MSN/Fox)

- The 30 Funniest Moments In Cross-Dressing History (WorldWideInterweb)

- Our Bros at BREAK Are Giving Away Cold Hard Cash (BREAK)

- We Tumblforya: Modified Youth (Stewed, Screwed and Tattoed) (Complex)

- In Honor Of Double-Vagina-ed Hazel, Here Are Our 7 Favorite Film Mutants (ScreenJunkies)

- LOL Clip Of The Day: Unintelligible English (TuVez)

- 10 Video Games to Look Out for in 2012 (Guyism)

- Signs You Have a Cheating Wife (AskMen)

- Beavis and Butt-Head Sculptures Are So Lifelike, So Horrifying (Clutch.MTV)

- Resident Evil: Retribution Trailer (TheRugged)

- Woman With Two Vaginas Rejects Offer for $1 million to Do Porn (FilmDrunk)

- Kobe’s Wife Gets $75 million in Divorce Settlement (TerezOwens)

- Newt Gingrich Just Showed Up At Our Swingers Party (HolyTaco)

- Vitor Denies Giving Brazilian Reporter Incendiary Quotes About Wanderlei (FightersOnly)

- 25 Fighters Who Held On Too Long (BleacherReport)

(“So that’s where all of my remote controls went.”)

Mark Munoz underwent surgery yesterday to repair damage he thought he sustained in training for his upcoming UFC on Fox 2 fight with Chael Sonnen, but it turned out the pain he was feeling in his elbow was caused by a combination of bone spurs on and bone chips he’s had floating around in the joint for a while. Munoz’s surgeon removed a total of 24 combined spurs and chips. Luckily for all of us sick bastards who’ve watched “Two Girls One Cup” or spent countless hours on PopThatZit.com, Mark posted some disgusting photos of the shrapnel that resemble artifacts found during an archaeological dig.

For the rest of you Nancies, don’t travel past the jump, lest you might throw up on your keyboards, which is a real bitch to clean up. Trust us.

(“NOW, MIKE! GO FOR THE HEEL-HOOK!”)

We’re just nine days away from the greatest inter-continental Villain vs. Villain match in UFC history, as Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping square off for a shot at the middleweight title at UFC on FOX 2. The short-notice nature of the bout means that we won’t be getting as much memorable-trash talk as we could have. But Bisping is doing his best to build some heat, telling FightersOnly:

“Chael’s biggest weapon is his mouth – but this ain’t no kissing contest and he isn’t going to talk me to death. Unlucky for him he can’t hurt me with his mouth in the Octagon and I am going to crush him. I’m in my prime and this is my time…

[H]is wrestling skills will be on point, I’m going to get the best Chael Sonnen possible, I know that. But his jiu-jitsu wont be too slick. Chael Sonnen can take me down if he likes, because I know I can submit him off my back. I know I can. That’s his big weakness. I may not have a black belt, but I consider myself a black belt. I’ve been rolling with Jake Shields, Dean Lister and a wash of other world champions. Believe me, if Chael Sonnen takes me down he better be prepared to get submitted.