(Incredible falling tree knockout of the day, via Reddit MMA)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere…

- UFC on FX 2 Open Media Workout Photos Gallery for ‘Alves vs. Kampmann’ in Australia (MMA Mania)

- Manager: Frankie Edgar Wants Ben Henderson Rematch, Not A Move To Featherweight (MMA Convert)

- Georges St-Pierre Gets Schooled in Japanese Martial Arts (The Fight Nerd)

- Forgotten Champion: Tim Sylvia’s Desperate Ploy to Get Back in the UFC Octagon (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- King Mo Back In The Hospital In Severe Condition (FightLine)

- Dan Henderson Has Harsh Words for Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson (5th Round)

- Todd Duffee vs. Neil Grove Booked for Super Fight League 2 (MiddleEasy)

- UFC Japan: A Wonderful Show & A Pyrrhic Victory? (Fight Opinion)

- Pat Healy: The Road to Columbus (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey: Greatest Hits (Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com)

- UFC 144: Payout Perspective (MMA Payout)

(Video courtesy of Sapo/IronForgesIron)

Nick Diaz has been out of the public eye since his close UFC 143 loss to Carlos Condit and subsequent announcement by the Nevada State Athletic Commission that he had tested positive for marijuana metabolites, so when we heard he was going to break his silence on SPIKE’s new MMA Uncensored show last night, we tuned in to hear what he had to say.

Unfortunately we were disappointed since he did not address the positive test or retirement and really didn’t say much about the Condit fight except that he thinks the judges in the sport choose their favorites to win and that he still feels he won the fight.

“Well, I never said anything about pursuing boxing. I [haven't] really said much about anything about what I’m gonna be doing in the future. I’ve had what feels like a week or so to think about any of this, but I haven’t really put much thought into it, ” he explained. “It just feels good to get some workouts in and just try to act normal, I guess.”

(“Don’t look yet, but tell me if she’s looking at me.”)

It looks like Muhammed Lawal’s positive  steroid test  may have netted him a much bigger punishment than the fine and one-year timeout levied on him by the Nevada State Athletic Commission; he may also have missed out on a chance at redemption against the only fighter to beat him as well as a chance to regain the Strikeforce light heavyweight title.

(Dan Henderson vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira highlights, via DJIL PROD)

Fun fact: Alexander Gustafsson only got the UFC on FUEL 2 headlining spot against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira because Dan Henderson turned the fight down first. As Ariel Helwani reported on UFC Tonight and via Twitter, ”the original plan was if [Rashad] Evans beat [Phil] Davis, he would face [Jon] Jones. The winner of Hendo/Nog would then fight for the #1 contender. Now, since Hendo turned down the Nog fight, his status is unclear.”

Henderson says he had several good reasons for passing on Lil’ Nog, who previously submitted him by armbar at Pride Total Elimination 2005. As he explained on Clinch Gear Radio:

“I was under the impression that [UFC President Dana White] still kind of was on the fence whether he was going to put me in front of Rashad or not, that’s assuming Rashad wins. [White] did offer me a fight with ‘Little Nogueira.’ I didn’t think the fans would be interested in that fight, and not as much time as I would like to prepare for a five-round fight. So I told him I would wait to see what happened with the Rashad fight. I would like to fight Jones now rather than if I took that fight with ‘Little Nog,’ I wouldn’t be fighting Jones until another eight-nine months…

(Tom Lawlor by Flaskpost.)

We’ve seen some bad, bad MMA fan art in our time. (Like, really bad.) So it came as a relief when we recently stumbled upon MMAFanMade, a tumblr account that showcases the best MMA-themed art and artists on the Internet. We decided to cherry-pick some of the site’s highlights, mix in a few old classics, and put ‘em all together in the gallery after the jump. Check it out below, and if you’ve done any MMA-themed artwork yourself, please share links in the comments section. We promise that our criticism will be mostly constructive.

(Great, like we need another reason to hate this guy. IT’S RUDE TO POINT, JON.)

The March 24th UFC 145 card in Montreal still lacks a main event — but if the timing works out, a light-heavyweight superfight could take the headlining spot. As we already know, Jon Jones has decided to scrap his vacation and start fighting again ASAP. Here’s UFC president Dana White speaking on the subject to ESPN 1100:

“[Jones] called up four days ago and said ‘okay, let’s go I’m done with vacation.’ He said he wanted to take all this time off and then they were calling me four days ago saying he wants to fight as soon as possible. He’s ready to go…What could end up happening is Dan Henderson fights Jon Jones first, and then it would be close to the time that Rashad (Evans) fights. Or we see how things go with Rashad and Rashad fights him first.”

(Props: TMZ via MMAMania)

A: Two, which doesn’t sound so impressive, but when you include Dan Henderson himself and husky MLB pitcher Brad Penny, it’s still something of an accomplishment. Yes, Hendo and Brad are bros, and this is how bros roll on a Monday night in Hollywood. In a related story, paparazzi photographers are the cockroaches of humanity.

(Smiling in the presence of a woman? Automatic one-point deduction. / Photo via Sherdog)

As sort-of hazily defined by Nick Diaz back in January 2010, the Unified Rules of Stockton is an alternate MMA scoring system in which the winner of the fight is the guy who would have won if the match had continued indefinitely, and the loser is the guy who looks more fucked up afterwards. Under Stockton Rules, only the final round is scored, and holding onto top position without doing damage actually counts for negative points.

The more commonly used ten-point-must system keeps things nice and uniform, and doesn’t require judges to predict the future. But as we’ve seen time and time again, the fighter who has more points on the scorecards isn’t always who you would call the “winner.” So which notable UFC fights would have different results if the scoring system was a little more gangster? Let’s get an obvious one out of the way first…

DAN HENDERSON vs. MAURICIO “SHOGUN” RUA
UFC 139, 11/19/11

(Dear fist-posing douchebag: You were not supposed to be part of this picture.)

The UFC paid out nearly $2 million in disclosed salaries and bonuses to the fighters who competed at UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson, according to figures released yesterday by the California State Athletic Commission.

Though we don’t know what kind of undisclosed “locker room bonuses” were thrown around after the fights, Cung Le was officially the biggest earner of the night, making over $400,000 for his second-round TKO loss to Wanderlei Silva. Seriously. On paper, that’s almost twice what Shogun took home. Then again, Le’s a local hero in San Jose (which made him particularly valuable for this event) with a movie career to attend to (which puts his time at a premium these days). For the record, Dana White isn’t sure if he’ll be back.

The full list of disclosed UFC 139 payouts is below…

Dan Henderson: $320,000 (includes $70,000 Fight of the Night bonus; no win bonus)
def. Mauricio Rua: $235,000 (includes $70,000 Fight of the Night bonus)

(The winner of the rematch: the fans)

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua walked out of the Octagon Saturday night feeling like he got ripped off for the second time in his past five bouts.

According to Rua, he feels that his UFC 139 bout with former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Dan Henderson should have been declared a draw and says that he’d like a do-over.

“It certainly was a great fight. I do not know how the judges scored the final round. It should have been 10-8 for me. But that takes nothing away from Dan Henderson,” Rua told UOL after the bout. “He is a legend and one of those fighters who have created a legacy, but I want revenge. I think [a rematch] would be another great battle and the public wants to see it.”

Henderson, on the other hand, feels that he clearly took the fight and will be adding the judges who concur to his Christmas card list this year.

“I won four rounds.” he told Joe Rogan after the bout, noting that he felt one of the rounds could have been scored a 1-8 in his favor.