(Hardy says it’s either “kill or be killed” Sunday night against Lytle.)

Many critics are pointing to the welterweight scrap between Dan Hardy (23-9-0-1) and Chris Lytle (30-18-5) at UFC on Versus 5: Hardy vs. Lytle in Milwaukee on Sunday as being a a must-win match-up for the British striker, and by rights it very well will be considering he is 0-3 in his past three outings.

Hardy, who is cognizant of the high stakes of the bout, says that even though some might opt to play it cautious in his position, he’s still going to come out swinging and let the chips fall where they may, and he believes that Lytle will walk into the Octagon in the same frame of mind.

“That’s what I’m hoping for. Chris is an exciting fighter, and he always brings the fight,” Hardy explains. “I’m sure this fight won’t be any different. I’m always fine with trading punches until someone falls over…I like my odds in that gamble.”

Full betting lines for this Sunday’s UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle event have been released, which means it’s time to steal some money from your old lady’s purse and tell her you’re going for a walk. And if you follow our gambling advice very carefully, you’ll be able to return the cash before she notices and earn some extra cigarette-money in the process. (Ed. note: You’ll probably lose everything like usual. Are things ever going to change with you, Jim?) Check out the juiciest lines, via bestfightodds.com:

Main Card (Versus, 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT)
Chris Lytle (-107) vs. Dan Hardy (even)
Jim Miller (-145) vs. Ben Henderson (+145)
Charles Oliveira (-130) vs. Donald Cerrone (+130)
Amir Sadollah (-310) vs. Duane Ludwig (+273)

Preliminary Card (Facebook.com, 5:45 p.m. ET / 2:45 p.m. PT)
C.B. Dollaway (-250) vs. Jared Hamman (+222)
Joseph Benavidez (-231) vs. Eddie Wineland (+225)
Kyle Noke (-144) vs. Ed Herman (+145)
Karlos Vemola (-210) vs. Ronny Markes (+201)
Jimy Hettes (-350) vs. Alex Caceres (+313)
Cole Miller (-387) vs. T.J. O’Brien (+335)
Danny Castillo (-118) vs. Jacob Volkmann (+107)
Edwin Figueroa (-300) vs. Jason Reinhardt (+288)

Let’s get that money…

(“I’d rather lose the best fight of my life than win the worst.” Photo courtesy of Sherdog)

On August 14th, Chris Lytle will step into the Octagon for the 20th time in his career, when he squares off against Dan Hardy at the aptly-named UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It will be Lytle’s first-ever headlining bout for the UFC — as well as an opportunity to re-claim the title of “Most Bonus-Worthy Fighter in UFC History.” (He currently shares the honor with Anderson Silva and Joe Lauzon.) We recently spoke to “Lights Out” about some of his most memorable UFC fights, his upcoming scrap against Hardy, his crowd-pleasing style, and the tough lessons he’s learned along the way. Enjoy…

CHRIS LYTLE vs. BEN EARWOOD — Lytle’s UFC debut
UFC 28, 11/17/00
Result: Defeat via unanimous decision

“I’d been fighting for less than two years at the time, but as soon as I started training, I got really involved in watching the UFC. I knew who all the key guys were and I knew it was the pinnacle of the sport, so it was my goal to be there. We only fought two five-minute rounds [at UFC 28], and they’d started having fighters wear gloves not too long before, so it was just way different. Earwood was more of a wrestler — he just tried to hold me down. I don’t think they stood us up once.

Back then I was training with Jason Godsey and a few other guys maybe two or three times a week. Every one of us had real jobs, full-time jobs, and this was something we did for fun. I definitely felt like we were good fighters — Jason was King of Pancrase, and beat a lot of good guys — but we didn’t train every day. And after that fight I kind of realized…I didn’t feel like Earwood was any better of a fighter than me, I just felt like he had a better gameplan than I did, he stuck with it, and he trained more than I did.

(“A Chippendale is one of them roided-up nude dancers wif the bow ties. Funny, innit?” – Photo courtesy Getty Images)

Add Dan Hardy to the list of Nate Marquardt detractors alongside fighters like BJ Penn and Chael Sonnen (ironic?) who don’t buy the former UFC middleweight’s claims that he needs testosterone replacement therapy to compete. Hardy spoke with ESPN.com recently and touched on Marquardt’s recent firing by the UFC for his HRT debacle, and the former welterweight contender questioned the legitimacy of “The Great’s” affliction.

“What is he, 31 or 32? I don’t want to kick a man when he’s down but what’s he doing needing testosterone therapy anyway at that age? I’m not that far behind him and I certainly don’t need any! The thing that annoyed me is that he has tested positive for nandrolone in the past, people are aware of that, and now he’s saying he needs Hormone Replacement,” Hardy points out. “Maybe he wouldn’t have needed Hormone Replacement if he hadn’t been using something in the first place. On the bright side, he’ll always have a job as a Chippendale.”

(Jim Miller viciously gnaws on Mac Danzig’s nipple at UFC 100.)

Following his seventh-straight Octagon victory — a third-round TKO over Kamal Shalorus at UFC 128 — Jim Miller will continue his arduous climb up the lightweight ladder at UFC on Versus 5 (August 14th, Milwaukee), where he’ll meet former WEC champ Ben Henderson. Henderson had his Octagon debut last month at UFC 129, scoring a unanimous decision victory over Mark Bocek, which helped wash away some of the shame from being one of MMA’s all-time greatest highlight-reel victims.

Fun fact: No fighter in the UFC has ever won eight fights in a row without earning a title shot. That would be an encouraging statistic for Miller, but the lightweight division is so clogged at the top right now — especially considering the delayed rematch between Edgar and Maynard, and Anthony Pettis being set up for a title shot if he beats Clay Guida in June — that Miller might have to keep winning for another full year before he gets the call.

(If only he put as much time and energy into choosing a barber. Hi-yo! Pic: Dan Hardy.org. Wait, Dan Hardy is an org?)

Well, this is getting pretty goddamned transparent. First everybody and their dog wants a coin-flip fight against Wanderlei Silva, then Ryan Bader responds to the first loss of his career by calling out Tito Ortiz and now – fresh off his own third consecutive defeat in the Octagon — Dan Hardy is suddenly very interested in fighting Chris Lytle. You know, just for the purposes of putting on “an old school shootout with a guy that wants to throw down” and stuff like that. We’re sure it has nothing to do with Hardy desperately needing a win.

“Screw the rankings, records are for DJs,” Hardy tweeted on Sunday, as part of a Twitter barrage expressing his frustration with losing a “boring” fight to Anthony Johnson at UFN 24. Once again the whole “mixed” part of mixed martial arts bit another standup-oriented fighter in the ass as Johnson first toppled Hardy with a head kick, then dominated him with his wrestling skills en route to a unanimous decision. After the trio of losses, Hardy’s job was saved only by the fact Dana White “fucking loves that kid” (his words) and now Hardy just so happens to fancy a matchup with one of the throw-downiest guys who ever threw down, yet doesn’t have a ton of knockout power. Must be coincidence.

Anyhow, after the jump we took the liberty of condensing Hardy’s irritation into one easily-digestible quote. Plus, find out what fights Johnson and Johny Hendricks also envision for themselves …

“What’s wrong? You’re not upset about that whole ‘stand and bang’ thing, are you?”

Odds are good that last night’s fights didn’t play out exactly as you’d envisioned them. Whereas many thought the headliner would be decided by a strict adherence to fundamentals like boxing and wrestling, the allure of the card’s other fights was their potential for wild, unrestrained fisticuffs . Whether we simply expected a couple of slugfests based on previous fights or due to outright lies, last night’s competitors exercised some unexpected caution and took a more thoughtful approach to victory.

(Leonard Garcia [left] paid Tim Burton $3,250 for that custom-made zombie-head. And still, the crowd cheered harder for Dan Hardy’s ironic Charlie Sheen t-shirt. There’s just no accounting for taste. / Photos courtesy of the UFC Fight Night 24 Weigh In Pics gallery on CombatLifestyle.com)

Just think: If not for a completely unexpected injury, you’d all be watching Tito Ortiz‘s big comeback tonight — or not watching it, depending on your current interest level in Tito Ortiz. Instead, Phil Davis gets a shot at the big time, and Tito’s retirement fight is delayed until July. Anyway, we’ve got a solid lineup of free fights on Spike TV, kicking off at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT with Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung 2, Revenge of the Zombie. We’re excited, and we hope you are as well. Round-by-round results can be found after the jump; refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest. Thanks for coming.

The weigh-in official found Davis’s ticklish spot. Pic: MMA Junkie

Heading into tonight’s bouts, it feels strangely like we’ve been here before… we’ve got drama surrounding Anthony Johnson’s weight, fighters promising to eschew their full range of talent in favor of standing and banging, and of course the redo of Garcia and Jung’s epic battle. With all of the variables that unfold in a fight it’s practically impossible to predict how a fight will go down, but that doesn’t mean we won’t irresponsibly try. Here’s a look at some of tonight’s fights and how history may play a role in their outcome.

("What in the bloody hell? That’s my victory pose, you wanker.")

A welterweight bout between Dan Hardy and Anthony Johnson has been verbally agreed to for March, however it isn’t clear which of the four events that month the fight will happen at.

Cagepotato.com learned of the bout from a source close to one of the fighters Sunday afternoon, but MMAFighting.com was the first to report the story.

An erroneous report surfaced earlier in the day yesterday that stated that the bout would happen at UFC 129 in Toronto, but according to our source, the Canadian date was not offered, but it could happen on one of the three other planned cards. UFC on Versus 3 is penciled in for March 3 in Louisville, Kentucky, an event is reportedly being planned for an undisclosed location for March 19 and Ultimate Fight Night 24 is slated for March 26 in Seattle.

(Hey guv’nah. Yer boy’s gonnna be drinkin’ his bangers and mash through a straw for a while.)

If you watched UFC 120 on Saturday, you may have noticed a brief shot of Robert Downey Jr. sitting alongside his Sherlock Holmes 2 director Guy Ritchie and co-star Jude Law.

For those of you who don’t know, RDJ is an avid martial artist who attributes his 180-degree life turnaround from drug addict to box office juggernaut to his study of the Chinese art of Win Chun, which he began training in a few years ago, so it’s no surprise that he’s a UFC fan.

What is surprising is that he’s apparently a huge Carlos Condit fan…either that or he was rubbing it in his British mates faces that their homeboy, Dan Hardy got KTFO. I’m thinking a few pounds might have been on the line.

MMACagedoor pictorially broke down a frame-by-frame series of events that took place outside the Octagon as Condit connected with Hardy’s jaw.

Check out the freeze-frame grabs and a video clip of Downey’s exuberant celebration after the jump.

Some more on-the-scene videos from our good friends at kimura.se: First up, Michael Bisping promises that Yoshihiro "Ironhead" Akiyama would have eventually gone down if it were a five-round fight, but says there’s no shame in not being able to put him away. He calls Mark Kinney the best boxing coach he’s ever worked with, and feels that he’s finally putting Mark’s lessons into practice. As for his future, the Count still has his eyes on the prize. "I’ve been around for a long time now, I’m not getting any younger," Bisping says. "Now it’s time to do it, it’s time to put in a run for a title and hopefully get the gold."

After the jump, Dan Hardy reflects on his knockout loss against Carlos Condit, and our BFF Dana White discusses educating new markets on MMA, the question of "morality" that jackass politicians bring up around the world, and the new "GSP is bigger than Gretzky" talking point he’s been testing out recently. For lots more UFC 120 interviews, check out youtube.com/kimurase.

(“Free porridge for everyone!” PicProps: UFC)

We hope Dana White didn’t have to make any profane and vaguely threatening phone calls on Saturday night after several of his athletes ignored his well articulated desire for them not to let their fights go to the judges at UFC 120. Michael Bisping was among the offenders, claiming a clear-cut (and fairly compelling) unanimous decision over Yoshihiro Akiyama. Mike Pyle’s grinding upset win over John Hathaway also went the distance, as did wins for undercarders Claude Patrick and Spencer Fisher. Oh, and Cheick Kongo and Travis Browne fought to a frickin’ draw (which Big DW actually joked about on yesterday’s video blog) after Kongo got a little grabby with Browne’s shorts.

Only Carlos Condit and Alexander Gustafsson were good for televised stoppages and Zuffa even fudged that by adding Gustafsson’s choke out of Cyrille Diabate by the magic of tape delay. On the whole – and despite its overly judgy nature – UFC 120 was the kind of card that proved a bit better in practice than on paper. Still, we’re sure glad we didn’t have to pay for it.

 
(Confidence is believing in yourself, cockiness is believing everyone else sucks)

Fair disclosure: if you’ve forgotten that the replay for UFC 120 is on tonight starting at 8:00 pm ET and you make a few wagers at the bar tonight and lose, don’t say we didn’t try to help you out.

For everyone else who is on the up-and-up and managed to avoid all of the spoilers today, we’re going to be liveblogging the replay after the jump.

Get your beverages and snacks ready and let’s get down to business.

(Props: caposa)

In case you missed it, all fighters made weight for tomorrow’s UFC 120 event; the numbers are after the jump. Remember to come back to CagePotato.com tomorrow night at 8 p.m. ET for our tape-delayed "live"-blog of the Spike TV broadcast.

One notable absence from today’s weigh-ins was light-heavyweight Steve Cantwell, who ripped a knee ligament in training yesterday and was forced to withdraw from his fight. The general consensus on this week’s installment of The Bum Rush Radio Show was that Cantwell — on a two-fight losing skid and slated to face scary Bulgarian Stanislav Nedkov — was in serious danger of getting fired after Saturday. So maybe this is for the best…

We just remembered that the weigh-ins for UFC 120 start in a couple minutes, so please excuse the lack of humorous anecdotes on this post.

Check out Akiyama, Bisping, Hardy, Condit and a bunch of other dudes hugging and mean-mugging in their underwear  after the jump.

(Props: YouTube.com/UFC)

We know that times are tough. So when you have a chance to bet fake money on an event that’s being broadcast for free on basic cable, you have to jump on it. This week, MMA Fightpicker presents questions related to Saturday’s UFC 120 event in London (Spike TV, 8 p.m. ET/PT). Will Bisping vs. Akiyama go the distance? Will the main card’s heavyweight feature end with a dude getting his ass KTFO? Out of the seven British fighters in the lineup, how many will actually win? Check out the full list of pool questions after the jump, and throw down your predictions at fightpicker.cagepotato.com or apps.facebook.com/fightpicker…

(VidProps: UK Telegraph)

The UK Telegraph posted part two of its video interview with Dan Hardy this week, leading up to Hardy’s clash with Carlos Condit on Saturday night at UFC 120. Though the video is titled “My secret weapon after losing to Georges St. Pierre,” Hardy doesn’t mention anything about GSP or his secret weapon here. Hopefully, that’s coming in part three. What Hardy does do in the above video is a bit of clarification about what he meant to say while he was ripping into wrestlers in a recent column he penned for his hometown newspaper. Once again – as we’ve already discussed –  Hardy seems far more sensible when you hear the words come out of his mouth than when your read them on paper.

The five-time UFC vet explains that even though he actually wrote the words, “the problem is there’s beginning to be too much wrestling in UFC Octagon,” he didn’t mean it as an insult to wrestlers, per se. Like, what would give you that idea?

CagePotato.com Interviews Carlos Condit – Watch more Funny Videos

Five days before his UFC 120 showdown with Dan Hardy, welterweight contender Carlos Condit swung through New York yesterday for a media tour, which ended with an evening workout session at The Wat. After Kru Phil Nurse put him through a few grueling rounds of pad work, Carlos was kind enough to give us a brief interview, in which he discussed his matchup with the Outlaw this weekend, his dramatic win over Rory MacDonald at UFC 115, and why he’s become a loyal follower of Greg Jackson. Some highlights…

(Video courtesy Amoeba Records)

Dan Hardy always comes off as a dude I’d like to hang out with, and not just because we’re both 10th Planet Jiu-jitsu guys and have a penchant for mohawks and punk music.

As Ben pointed out earlier, he can pretty much make anything sound cool by saying it with a slick Nottingham accent that makes him sound like a cross between James Bond and Johnny Rotten.

Hardy stopped by Amoeba Music in L.A. recently and revealed what he had purchased for a segment of their "What’s in my bag?" series and some of his buys were a bit surprising.

(VidProps: UK Telegraph)

Just a tip, P-Nation: Next time you need to make an important first impression – whether on a first date or a job interview or that guest spot on The Bum Rush you’ve been hoping for — give some serious consideration to affecting an English accent. Essentially, sounding like you’re from across the pond is guaranteed to add a few points to your IQ and hey, it’s working for Dan Hardy. I know this sounds shallow, but something about listening to Hardy break down his upcoming UFC 120 opponent Carlos Condit in his lilting, Nottingham-art-school accent makes me think: “I’d definitely hire this guy.”

Now, we already know this is an illusion. We know that Hardy’s thin veil of smarts falls away in short order when he has to commit his thoughts to pen and paper. In fact, if I had to throw out a blind guess (and you know I will) I’d say Condit would probably best Hardy in most any battle of wits. Unfortunately, the battle of sounding cool when you say shit is already a totally one-sided slaughter in favor of the Englishman.

(A megamix of every amazing thing Chael Sonnen said at yesterday’s UFC 117 press conference. Listen to all of it. You will never be the same. Props: MiddleEasy)

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…

– Famed Ref ‘Big’ John McCarthy to Return to Octagon at UFC on Versus 2 (MMA Fighting)

– Top 5 UFC Fighters Who Never Became Champions (LowKick)

– Mark Munoz Preparing for Three Round Battle Against Yushin Okami (Versus MMA Beat)

– Machida upcoming, Rampage eliminates key part of gameplan (Watch Kalib Run)

– John Howard, His 1994 Accord, And Sleeping Under A Ring (Heavy.com/MMA)

– At home with Dan Hardy and his cute, tatted-up girlfriend. (FIGHT! Magazine)

– Top Secret Ubereem: Public Misconceptions of MMA Fighters (MMA Scraps)

– Video tour of Fedor Emelianenko’s "Palace of Sport" (MMA Convert)

– Grappling With Issues: Jake Shields’s title prospects, Brock Lesnar’s star power, and Ken Shamrock’s legacy (Five Ounces of Pain)

(Video courtesy BJPenn.com)

BJPenn.com caught up with Dan Hardy recently to talk about his upcoming October 16 showdown with former WEC welterweight champ Carlos Condit and to get his thoughts on his Team Jackson-trained opponent.

"I think he’s a gamer; I think he’s tough. I enjoyed watching his fights in the WEC. Obviously, I’ve been keeping an eye on him since he came to the UFC. Just watching his fights, paying attention, making sure I’m aware of who’s in the division. He’s had a couple of tough fights but you know, he’s shown a lot of heart. I think he’s a good opponent. He comes to finish and that’s what I want. He’s not gonna be the kind of guy that’s gonna try and grind out a decision; he wants to either get a submission or a stoppage. Perfect  opponent for me because we can have a tear-up and entertain the fans."

(Photo courtesy of travisthehurricane.com)

Bellator announced yesterday that they have signed 14-2 prospect Travis "The Hurricane" Reddinger for their upcoming bantamweight tournament. You can’t miss him — he’s the guy with the enormous "BELLATOR" tattoo on his stomach. So did Reddinger get the piece done in a fit of excitement after he learned of his signing? Nope. It turns out it was just a strange coincidence. As Travis explained, he got the tat four-and-a-half years ago, long before Bellator Fighting Championships even existed: 

"For me it just symbolizes perseverance and the never-say-die mentality that I strive for. I know that Bellator stands for the warrior mentality as well, so it’s a great honor for me to be a part of the organization.”

Makes sense to us, though it’s still going to to look strange when he gets picked up by the WEC. Reddinger’s Bellator-ink earns him a spot in MMA’s Weird-Stomach-Tattoo Hall of Fame. You can check out the other members after the jump…

("I recommended Gus Johnson as my replacement. I heard he trains twice a week.")

Eddie Bravo contacted Cage Potato last night to expound on the news reported by Gareth Davies Wednesday that he had resigned from his post as an analyst with the UFC.

Although he confirmed he has indeed left the organization, he says his departure was an amicable one and that the move was necessary to allow him to focus more on his growing number of schools and students and will not restrict him from cornering his fighters in the Octagon.

"Yes, I quit to focus on cornering George [Sotiropoulos] and [Dan] Hardy. It was an amazing seven years with Zuffa," Bravo explained via text message. "I owe Dana, Lorenzo and Frank to the death."

(Video courtesy YouTube/Zuffa)

Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin have really stepped up the trash talk in the week leading up to their heavyweight title clash Saturday night at UFC 116.

Prior to this point, Lesnar has been uncharacteristically sedate in his pre-fight posturing and seemed almost respectful towards Carwin during a conference call two weeks ago.

Well, apparently Brock got the itch to flip the script and went "WWE" on Shane in the above video.

"I feel no threat by him whatsoever. I don’t feel any threats by anybody."

Considering Carwin has yet to be defeated and has never fought outside of round one in any of his bouts, he may want to consider him a threat.

Cognizant that Lesnar is likely speaking out of his ass, Carwin calls him on the remark as well.

"Brock can talk all the garbage he wants for this fight. When they close that cage and I see Brock across from me, I want to tear him apart."

I know one thing: Somebody is getting hurt in this one.

(Y’know, if you two got to know each other, you’d realize you aren’t so different after all.)

As first reported by MMA Weekly, Dan Hardy will return to the Octagon at UFC 120, tentatively slated for October 16th at the O2 Arena in London. After getting slept on for five rounds in his unsuccessful welterweight title grab against Georges St. Pierre in March, Hardy will look to rebound against Carlos Condit, who’s coming off a dramatic third-round TKO over Rory MacDonald at UFC 115; the stoppage came with seven seconds left in the final frame, and Condit would have likely lost the fight on points. No other fights have been reported for UFC 120, although the event is rumored to host the UFC’s first U.K. Fan Expo.

In other booking news, Tyson Griffin has stepped up to face Takanori Gomi at UFC on Versus 2 (August 1st, San Diego), replacing Joe Stevenson who suffered a knee injury in training. Griffin was most recently outworked by Evan Dunham at UFC 115, losing by split-decision. Gomi might be facing a must-win situation against Griffin, as he was choked out by Kenny Florian in his Octagon debut in March.

(That about sums it up. Props: MMA TKO)

With so much MMA action packed into so few days, the Potato Index supercomputer is a bit overworked. It’s even been making a weird whirring sound lately. It sounded like it was overheating late last night, so we poured a bucket of water on it. Haven’t heard the whirring sound since. And to think there are some idiots out there who actually throw money away on an IT staff.

Let’s see who’s up, who’s down, and by how much after UFC 111.

Georges St. Pierre +137
A successful title defense in which he wins every single round, takes virtually no damage, and nearly snaps his opponent’s arm? Sorry, but even without a finish, we can’t find anything to complain about.

Dan Hardy -18
As far as offense, he had nothing for GSP. We expected that. What we didn’t expect is that he’d prove so difficult to put away. The kid has guts, even if he doesn’t have much of a takedown defense.

("Please, Dan, I used to fuck guys like you in prison. Coincidentally, I used to fuck guys like you before I went to prison. The guys I fucked after I got out of prison were different from you in certain fundamental ways, but I don’t have time to get into that right now." Photo courtesy of the UFC 111: Weigh In Pics gallery on CombatLifestyle.com.)

Armpit of America? No, ladies and gentlemen, tonight New Jersey will be super classy. UFC 111 is now underway at Newark’s Prudential Center, and will culminate in two thrilling title fights: Heavyweights Frank Mir and Shane Carwin do battle for a make-believe belt, and welterweight king Georges St. Pierre tries to avoid a shock upset against massive underdog/red-eyed freak Dan Hardy. Live UFC 111 results from the Spike TV prelims and pay-per-view broadcast are after the jump; refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest.

(Photo courtesy of the UFC 111: Weigh In Pics gallery on CombatLifestyle.com.)

Now that, my friends, is INTENSITY. Either that, or PINKEYE. Come back to CagePotato.com tonight starting at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT for our liveblog of the festivities — beginning with the prelim broadcast on Spike — and find out if Georges St. Pierre will even be able to step into the cage with such a terrifying human being.

After the jump: Pics of guest Octagon Girl Rachelle Leah looking a little…different. Did she do something to her hair? Or her face?