(Props: ‘Card’ on the UG)

Hey look, it’s another demo trailer for UFC Undisputed, which now has a 6/2/09 release date. I’m still not sold on the way faces look in this thing, particularly when Penn’s slapping himself in the mug or when Edith is blowing a kiss to the camera. But the gameplay looks solid, and we can only hope that the real action on Saturday night is as crazy as what we see here. Still, if this is all just a little too high-tech for you…

(Props: MMA Scraps)

…you may be interested in this remix of Georges St. Pierre‘s fight against Jay Hieron at UFC 48, done in the style of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! Hieron’s brief loss of consciousness at the 1:06 mark is even more entertaining with 8-bit sound effects.

After the jump: Nate Diaz explains why he stormed out of the press conference after UFC Fight Night 15 — like everything he says, it makes a lot of sense — and he and Clay Guida discuss pace and height difference for their matchup on Saturday. Also, complete footage of yesterday’s UFC press conference at the MGM’s Hollywood Theatre in Las Vegas, featuring Georges St. Pierre, BJ Penn, Lyoto Machida, and Thiago Silva.

("We could do this shit right here, if you want." Photo courtesy of FiveOuncesofPain.)

Though it was originally scheduled for this month’s TUF 8 finale, the bout between UFC lightweights Nate Diaz and Clay Guida was postponed when Guida injured his foot in training. Now, GracieFighter is reporting that the matchup has been added to UFC 94 (January 31st, Las Vegas), in the supporting card for the Georges St. Pierre/BJ Penn superfight; it should be mentioned that the pairing hasn’t yet been added to the official lineup on UFC.com.

Diaz has won all five of his matches in the Octagon, most recently a split decision against Josh Neer at UFC Fight Night 15 in September. Though Guida’s 4-3 record in the UFC is a bit spottier, his last performance (also at UFN 15) proved that he shouldn’t be overlooked, as he used dominating wrestling to neutralize all of Mac Danzig’s weapons and score the unanimous decision win.

In other UFC news…

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!

(Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Photo courtesy of MMA Mania.)

The UFC’s “Fight for the Troops” event — which airs free on SpikeTV on Wednesday, December 10th, at 8 p.m. ET — got a proper main event today, as it was confirmed that Josh Koscheck will be facing off against Yoshiyuki Yoshida in a welterweight contest. Koscheck has gone 2-0 since losing to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 74, and most recently pounded all the blood out of Chris Lytle at UFC 86 in July. Yoshida (10-2) easily won his UFC debut against War Machine in May, and was supposed to fight Karo Parisyan last month at UFC 88 but Parisyan pulled out at the last minute due to a back injury.

“Fight for the Troops” will be held at the 8,500-seat Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina, not at Fort Bragg as was originally reported. (Apparently the UFC announced the venue before getting official clearance from the U.S. Army; a medium-sized Fail.) The event is intended to raise funds for the construction of The National Intrepid Center of Excellence, and attendance will be free for members of the armed services. Other featured matches include Mike Swick vs. Jonathan Goulet, Frankie Edgar vs. Matt Wiman, Luigi Fioravanti vs. Brodie Farber, and Eddie Sanchez vs. Justin McCully.

One serviceman who won’t be fighting at the event is former Marine/WEC light-heavyweight champ Brian Stann, who was forced to pull out of his rubber match against Steve Cantwell due to a broken foot; no word yet on a replacement opponent for Cantwell. Luke Cummo is also out due to injury, and he will be replaced by Johnny “The Hater Hurter” Rees in his scheduled fight against Steve Bruno.

In other UFC news, MMA Training reports that the TUF 8 finale (December 13th, location TBA) will be headlined by a match between Clay Guida and Kurt Pellegrino, not Guida and Nate Diaz as was previously rumored.

(Why you so mad, Nate? By Stockton standards, you rich!)

Official salaries for last week’s Ultimate Fight Night 15 were released today by the Nebraska State Athletic Commission, and not surprisingly it was Nate Diaz who made off with the most cheddar (that’s what the kids call money these days, right?). Here’s the full breakdown. Each winning fighter’s salary represents a doubling of his base pay:

Nate Diaz: $40,000
Josh Neer: $9,000
Clay Guida: $26,000
Mac Danzig: $15,000
Alan Belcher: $26,000
Ed Herman: $16,000
Eric Schafer: $12,000
Houston Alexander: $13,000
Alessio Sakara: $34,000
Joe Vedepo: $3,000
Wilson Gouveia: $36,000
Ryan Jensen: $4,000
Joe Lauzon: $20,000
Kyle Bradley: $4,000
Jason Brilz: $6,000
Brad Morris: $4,000
Mike Massenzio: $6,000
Drew McFedries: $16,000
Dan Miller: $10,000
Rob Kimmons: $5,000

Some quick thoughts…

Alex Trujillo — Clay Guida’s coach and owner of the Midwest Training Center — does the best Mike Goldberg impersonation I’ve ever heard. He has it all just right. The hyperbolic enthusiasm, the local news weatherman voice inflection, the whole package.

“Coming up next!” Trujillo shouts in his Goldberg voice, and it’s enough to get the whole dressing room cracking up. You can see how it helps to have guy like Trujillo around when you’re trying to stay relaxed before a fight. Soon the talk turns to what it would be like if Goldberg did commentary for porn movies. The consensus opinion? It would be awesome.

This is just part of what I was treated to last night as I shadowed Guida before and after his fight for this Si.com article. It was, to say the least, a unique experience. There are the guys who say that they just love to fight, and then there are the guys for whom it is obviously true. Clay Guida is the latter. Throughout his preparation there was never a hint of anxiety. Little leaguers have more nerves stepping up to bat.

As Guida sat in his dressing room having his hands taped referee Yves Lavigne came by to go over some basics. Just to clarify, Lavigne took out a sheet of paper that he had folded into thirds and held it up against the back of his own head to show Guida where not to strike. Through it all Guida could barely keep from smiling.

(For those about to get knocked the eff out, we salute you. Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly.)

FUCKIN’ HUSKERS!!! Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to business. “Ultimate Fight Night: Diaz vs. Neer” is going down in Omaha as we speak. But since it’s airing on tape-delay in most of the country, there might be some spoilers after the jump; feel free to come back when it’s 8 p.m. in your time zone. And please leave plenty o’comments now that leaving comments on this site isn’t such a pain in the ass. Click the “More” link when you’re mentally prepared, and refresh the page every few minutes to get all the latest from the Omaha Civic Center.

(P.S.: Stockton, son. Stockton California.)

(Photo courtesy of Combat Lifestyle.)

The BF half of the Cage Potato duo is in Omaha for tonight’s Ultimate Fight Night event. If you’re headed to the Civic Auditorium later this afternoon for the event, keep an eye out for the handsome devil with the laptop. I’ll be sitting behind that guy, scribbling my thoughts on a wax tablet. What? I just think all this new technology is a fad. It’ll blow over.

But if you can’t get to the fights tonight but want to find a way to make yourself sweat over the results anyway, allow me to suggest gambling. BestFightOdds.com has compiled all the lines for tonight’s event, and here’s what it’s looking like at the moment:

Nathan Diaz (-200) vs. Josh Neer (+200)
Clay Guida (-121) vs. Mac Danzig (+125)
Houston Alexander (-212) vs. Eric Schafer (+215)
Ed Herman (-220) vs. Alan Belcher (+215)
Joe Lauzon (-675) vs. Kyle Bradley (+500)
Drew McFedries (-200) vs. Mike Massenzio (+210)
Wilson Gouveia (-350) vs. Ryan Jensen (+326)
Alessio Sakara (-115) vs. Joe Vedepo (+128)
Jason Brilz (-209) vs. Brad Morris (+215)
Dan Miller (-110) vs. Rob Kimmons (+105)

Some thoughts…

(Photo courtesy of MMA Weekly.)

Ah, beautiful Omaha, Nebraska. Where any mention of the Cornhuskers is enough to work a crowd into a frenzy. I just returned from the Ultimate Fight Night 15 weigh-in, which was fairly uneventful except for the odd fact that every single fighter weighed in precisely on the mark. Every middleweight hit 185 on the button. Every lightweight, 155 exactly. You get the picture. It was eerie. Makes you wonder if the athletic commission here isn’t just phoning it in. One guy who seemed a bit nervous about the whole thing was Clay Guida, who stepped on the scale as if he were trying to sneak up on it. Maybe his brother’s troubles have him worried.

But the most interesting thing to happen at the weigh-in had nothing to do with the fighters on Wednesday night’s card. Before things got underway, Matt Hughes answered questions from the fans who arrived early. He talked at length about how good Robbie Lawler is, how he wouldn’t advise Lawler to fight Anderson Silva, but would like to see him face Georges St. Pierre, whose stand-up game is not as good as Lawler’s, according to Hughes.

“I know I want to see that fight,” he said. “I wouldn’t even want to corner Robbie. I’d just want to sit on the side and watch.”

But then, when the Q&A session was over, Hughes asked for a couple extra minutes on the mic. He said that he often gets asked about his most memorable story in the fight game, and then proceeded to share, unprompted, a tale from his “pre-Christian” days.

It seems Hughes was down in New Orleans and on Bourbon Street with Pat Miletich and some of the boys after a fight. He and Miletich got into a drinking contest, chugging beers out on the street with both fists. They had just finished slamming a couple and were walking down the street when Miletich stopped and bent over to puke in the street. Then he walked a couple steps, puked some more, then kept going, stopped, and puked some more. At some point, Miletich looked over at Hughes and pointed to the gaping space where his false teeth should be. Pat Miletich, MMA great, had just realized that he puked out his false teeth.

So what did he do? He walked back and sifted through each pile of vomit until he found them. And when he found them? He poured beer on them, put them back in his mouth, and kept going.

If you still care about the official weigh-in results after that, they’re after the jump:

(‘I came to chew bubblegum and represent the 209. I am all out of bubblegum.’)

No one can see the future, but as long as we’re going to speculate as to how things will turn out in Omaha on Wednesday (and let’s face it, we are), we might as well go all the way with predictions so specific they can’t possible come true….or can they?

Nate Diaz vs. Josh Neer

Despite his impressive performances since coming off “The Ultimate Fighter,” the UFC doesn’t seem interested in moving Diaz up in competition. Instead they move him laterally, pitting him against the journeyman Neer, who Nate’s big bro already beat. It’ll be no easy task for Diaz to top his double-birdie performance against Kurt Pellegrino, but he’s a showman. Diaz will get bullied around the Octagon by Neer early on, but at some point he’ll remember he’s the better submissions fighter. The thought will dawn on him all at once and he’ll jump on Neer’s back, lock in a standing rear-naked choke, and extend his middle fingers on either side of Neer’s head as he submits.

When will it happen: 3:17, round two.

What to watch for: the look on Joe Rogan’s face when he has to interview Diaz after the bout and ask him to talk us through the Bud Light replay. What isn’t bleeped out will be completely unintelligible.

Mac Danzig vs. Clay Guida

This is the kind of fight worth getting excited about. The stoic, cerebral Danzig takes on Enkidu, the wild man of the woods (officially known as Clay Guida). It’s the classic highly-technical vegan vs. tough-but-crazy caveman battle. Danzig will start overly cautious and be initially overwhelmed as Guida wades into him with reckless abandon. But as the fight wears on Danzig will start to figure things out, striking and circling and wearing Guida out with knees to the body. Then Guida will freak out, charging right into a triangle choke, and his face will be blocked by his hair as it changes colors before he finally consents to tap.

When will it happen: 2:03, round three.

What to watch for: Guida’s brother, who failed to make weight for his first “Ultimate Fighter” bout and was reportedly kicked off the show for it, will appear on camera at some point looking sad and not eating.

“UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Neer” goes down this Wednesday at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska. You can watch the action on Spike TV beginning at 8 p.m. ET/PT — conveniently, right before the premiere of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir. To begin the psyche-up process, here are the fighters from the card’s three key fights, discussing their matchups. Diaz/Neer is above, Danzig/Guida and Alexander/Schafer are below; props to BloodyElbow. The full lineup for the event is after the jump.

(Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

From a recent blog post on MacDanzig.net:

Forget what you heard! Mac is NOT fighting at UFC 87, or in August at all! Mac will most likely fight in September, and the fight has not yet been signed.

It’s possible that Danzig’s reported matchup with Clay Guida at “Seek and Destroy” (August 9th, Minneapolis, MN) will simply be moved to a later event. We’ll update you when we know more. In the meantime, another compelling lightweight matchup may be added to the card that would take a bit of the sting off the Danzig/Guida loss.

NBC Sports is reporting that exiled former #1 contender Hermes Franca will return to the Octagon at UFC 87 against Frankie Edgar. Due to a positive steroid test, Franca was given a one-year suspension after his lightweight title fight against Sean Sherk at UFC 73; the suspension ends on July 5th. Franca resigned from the UFC in order to make money fighting outside of the U.S. — though decided against competing when he learned that doing so could jeopardize his chances of getting licensed here again — so it’s interesting that the UFC is welcoming him back with open arms. Could Dana White be planning a steroid-free rematch between Franca and Sean Sherk sometime in the future?

In other UFC 87 news, Karo Parisyan says he’s been booked to fight at the event. He was expected to face George Sotiropoulos, but the TUF 6 semi-finalist was forced to pull out of the match due to injury, and a replacement hasn’t been found yet. Parisyan was most recently defeated by Thiago Alves at UFC Fight Night 13 in April.

(Props: BloodyElbow)

By CagePotato Special Contributor Brian Knapp

Clay Guida had Roger Huerta reeling. Up two rounds to none in their main event showdown at the Ultimate Fighter 6 live finale in December, Guida could have taken his foot off the gas and coasted to a decision victory. No one would have blamed him. Instead, he hit the throttle.

Early in round three, Huerta rocked a shooting Guida with a jarring left knee, and the pendulum swung in his favor. Huerta took his dazed opponent’s back soon after and secured a rear-naked choke for the tapout. Their memorable bout — a strong candidate for best fight of the year — ended 10:31 after it began. Huerta was reduced to tears afterwards. Guida went back to the drawing board.

“It was an honor to be a part of that fight; Roger’s a warrior,” Guida says. “I think he and I are very similar. He fights with a lot of heart and passion, and people know when they come to watch us, they’re not going to see a lackluster fight.”

As has been his custom, Guida made certain he had nothing left to give inside the cage. The free-spirited Chicagoan vows to learn from the mistakes he made.

“I was up 2-0 and got clipped,” he says. “I learned from every exchange, from every opportunity I missed. It’s not always about the outcome. I missed six or seven chances to end that fight.”

Guida returns to the Octagon on Wednesday, when he meets French UFC newcomer Samy Schiavo at Ultimate Fight Night 13 at the Broomfield Event Center in Broomfield, Colo. The lightweight tilt will take place on the preliminary portion of the 12-fight card, which airs on Spike TV (7pm ET/PT) and leads into the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 7.

“I want to start off the year right with a decisive victory,” Guida says. “He’s coming into my cage, and I’m going to send him back to the doghouse. We’ll see how I bounce back. We’ll see on Wednesday what I learned from my fight with Roger.”

(Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, who has knocked out fourteen men with his razor-sharp dreads in unsanctioned no-holds-barred matches in Cameroon, trains to kick L(R?)yoto Machida’s ass at UFC 79.)

“I was hurt. He rocked me, man. I was slightly knocked out but I knew what was going on. I just heard this ringing, and it was the weirdest thing, all I saw was all this hair, I didn’t know if it was a human being or a lion attacking me, then after about 10 seconds I was like ‘Hey Clay’ and it was back on.” — Roger Huerta, to Yahoo! Sports

Hey CagePotato fans, this is Greg Clark from MMA Fever, I’ll be filling in for Ben as he recovers from his breast-reduction surgery, so let’s dive into The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale shall we…

Ben Saunders vs. Dan Barrera

The first fight of the Spike TV televised card set the tone for the rest of the night: Brutal, nasty, and damn entertaining.

Saunders defeated Barrera in Episode 6 by majority decision, so this bout was a true grudge match for both fighters to showcase their talent to the UFC and its fans.

Ben Saunders started round 1 demonstrating his superior striking skills, complemented by his leg kicks from his 6’3″ frame that connected on Barrera at will.  The fight was filled with back-and-forth action, but Barrera, who had been coached by Matt Hughes, showed that he was way out of his league against the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist when the fight went to the ground.

At one point, Saunders had Barrera’s back and put him in a body lock which set up the rear naked choke attempt.  As both fighters were dripping with sweat, Barrera was able to escape the bout ending submission.  Saunders stuffed Barrera’s takedowns easily which appeared to be the only weapon he had during the fight.  He also dominated on the ground and clearly won rounds 1, 2 and 3 for the unanimous decision victory against the battle worn Barrera.

Ben Saunders def. Dan Barrera via unanimous decision

Next up: Rogan’s Matt Hughes interview

For all the attention we’ve been giving to the Danzig/Speer matchup at Saturday’s TUF Finale, we haven’t shown much love to the Roger Huerta (19-1-1, 5-0 UFC) vs. Clay Guida (22-8-0, 2-2 UFC) lightweight bout that’s actually headlining the card. Many fans have been questioning Huerta’s impressive record, arguing that the UFC has given him easy matchups to protect its Hispanic poster-boy. But as tough as Clay Guida is, he has trouble finishing fights, and it’s not like he’s been tested by the best either; he’s certainly lost to talented fighters, but he hasn’t really beaten any. Personally, I think the Guida love among fans is a little unwarranted (maybe they just want to see him destroy something beautiful). I’m going to pick Huerta in a unanimous decision. But hey, feel free to come to your own conclusions. You can start by watching this clip from the UFC 79 press conference, then Huerta and Guida’s most recent fights…

(Roger Huerta vs. Alberto Crane, UFC 74, 8/25/07)

Click here to download Clay Guida/Marcus Aurelio at UFC 74 (221 MB), courtesy of MMALinker.