Do this again some time? Sure…

The bookings just keep coming in. The UFC has announced yet another fight for an already stacked UFC 136 card, as well as a pair of very interesting fights to UFC 137. Who said Sundays are for resting?

The UFC has announced that former WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and Jeremy Stephens have agreed to fight at UFC 136. Anthony Pettis is looking to rebound from a loss in his UFC debut, where he was on the wrong end of a unanimous decision to Clay Guida at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale in June. That fight was less than exhilarating, but by no means due to a lack of effort from the dynamic lightweight. Meanwhile, Jeremy Stephens is riding a two fight win streak into the cage, with wins over Danny Downes at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale and Marcus Davis at UFC 125, earning him Knockout of the Night honors. The craziest part of this booking? Due to the stacked nature of this card, it’s currently listed on the prelims. Yeah, UFC 136 is shaping up to be an outstanding card.

Check after the jump for the latest additions to UFC 137, as well as current fight cards for both events.

(“When you lose one fight it’s a bad night, but when you lose three it’s a shitty night.” – Wittman on what’s at stake this weekend.)

One of the most respected striking coaches in the game, Trevor Wittman, will have his hands full on March 19th, with three of his fighters competing at the long anticipated UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones event in Newark, New Jersey. Eliot Marshall will look to make a successful return to the UFC against Luiz “Banha” Cane, Nate Marquardt will square off against Dan Miller, and Brendan Schaub will face the toughest challenge of his career against the legendary Mirko Cro Cop.

Wittman is a head coach at the Grudge Training Center, which is located at the City of Wheat Ridge, suburbs of Denver, Colorado. Grudge Training Center is represented by top ranked MMA fighters such as Nate Marquardt, Brendan Schaub, Gerald Harris, Shane Carwin and many others. Here’s what Trevor Wittman had to say about the upcoming UFC 128 fight card, the evolution of Mixed Martial Arts, ZUFFA’s purchase of Strikeforce and much more.

Read the interview at Lowkick.com

(The toughest guys are always the most sensitive. Pic: UltimateFighter.com)

Last year in the aftermath of the epic clusterfuck that was that “Nemesis” fight card in the Dominican Republic we remember remarking that the saddest quotes of all came from UFC castaway Eliot Marshall. Unlike the other wronged parties involved, “The Fire” Marshall (see what he did there?) didn’t sound so much worried about getting paid for dispatching some dude named Chris McNally via first-round arm bar as he did making sure the result counted on his official record so he could show it to Joe Silva as evidence he was now a more exciting fighter; all the better to convince the UFC to take him back. Yeah, given that Nemesis went down in December and Marshall hasn’t fought since, we’re not sure that strategy worked.

What did work, according to a new story out from MMA Fighting, was Marshall lurking around the on internet until he noticed that the UFC kind of desperately needed someone to fight Luiz Cane after Karlos Vemola pulled out of their UFC 128 fight due to a GD’ed mouth infection. Gross, right? Anyhoo, Marshall took a page out of the UFC’s own playbook and jumped on the opportunity when it seemed Zuffa might be weakest.

(“Nemesis MMA” was the worst thing to happen to Keith Jardine since … well, whatever the last thing that happened to Keith Jardine was. PicProps: EstherLin/SharkFights)

If you were paying attention to our report on Tuesday – or following Ben Askren on Twitter, which we can only assume you absolutely are – then you had an inkling that last weekend’s independent “Nemesis MMA” show in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic was something of a disaster. Truth is, “disaster” doesn’t even begin to cover it. From accusations that Keith Jardine was greased-up in the main event to reports that paychecks started bouncing as soon as the athletes returned to the First World, it was clear from the get-go this thing was gonna be a mess. Brother, we had no idea.

MMA Weekly gets the scoop straight from Paul Buentello and Eliot Marshall, who were both “winners” at the event. Now, we know what you’re thinking: Shady independent MMA promoters stocking a show in the DR with semi-recognizable talent and promising a “four-day, all-inclusive, world-class experience in paradise?”  What could possibly go wrong, right? Well, tons of shit actually, when you don’t have an athletic commission (or anyone at all) looking after health and safety issues. Get a good look Libertarians, this is the world you want to live in …

(Momma said there’d be days like this. Photo courtesy of Spike.)

Well, this is never easy, but unfortunately we have to deliver some bad news — the services of TUF 8 veteran Eliot Marshall and Shannon Gugerty will no longer be needed in the Octagon. Though both fighters suffered defeats on the preliminary card of Sunday’s UFC on Versus event, Marshall’s firing is somewhat surprising, since his split-decision loss to Vladimir Matyushenko followed three straight wins over Jules Bruchez, Vinny Magalhaes, and Jason Brilz. But his loss to the Janitor isn’t the first time that Marshall has put in a dull performance, and he could have been released simply because he isn’t exciting enough. Naturally, Marshall isn’t happy about it:

As for Gugerty, his submission loss to Clay Guida was his second straight loss, and dropped his overall UFC record to 2-3. Have Chase Gormley and Paul Buentello somehow escaped this round of layoffs, or will we be hearing about their firings in the near future? Stay tuned.

Speaking of UFC on Versus…

(Photo courtesy of this set on CombatLifestyle.com)

Spoilers after the jump…

(Mark Coleman — master of kino escalation. Photo courtesy of Combat Lifestyle.)

— An oddly appropriate light-heavyweight matchup may be in the works for UFC 100 (July 11th, Las Vegas). According to MMA Mania, bout agreements have been offered for Mark Coleman to face Stephan Bonnar at the milestone event. That’s right: The UFC’s first official heavyweight champion and early star of the SEG era will likely be taking on the man who helped take the UFC mainstream in the Zuffa era with his epic TUF 1 finale battle against Forrest Griffin.

Kind of an interesting way to pay tribute to the Octagon’s history. But for the fighters themselves, the matchup will be all business. Coleman most recently put in a shambling wreck of a performance against Mauricio Rua at UFC 93, eventually losing by TKO in the third round, while Stephan Bonnar was out-hustled by Jon Jones at UFC 94, losing by unanimous decision. Both men need a win here to remain relevant. UFC 100 will also reportedly feature fights between Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar (for the unified heavyweight title), Georges St. Pierre and Thiago Alves (for the welterweight title), and Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson (for the right to get their ass kicked by Anderson Silva at some point in the future).

— TUF 8 lightweight winner Efrain Escudero has fallen prey to the Amir Sadollah curse. Due to a rib injury suffered in training, he has been forced to pull out of his first post-TUF fight, which was scheduled to be against Jeremy Stephens at UFC Fight Night 18 (April 1st, Nashville). Taking Escudero’s place will be Gleison Tibau, the American Top Team fighter who snapped a two-fight losing streak at last month’s UFC Fight Night 17 card with his first-round submission of Rich Clementi. Unfortunately for Stephens, his bout may now be relegated to the undercard in favor of the Tyson Griffin/Rafael Dos Anjos match.