(‘Yes, now finish him you fool.  Finish him!  Mwahahahaha!’ Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

The Canadian no-accounts over at Fightlinker went looking through the UFC’s Fight Night photo gallery and found some pretty interesting shots, like this one of matchmaker Joe Silva getting all riled up about Rafael Dos Anjos’ weirdo thigh compression move on Tyson Griffin.  We’ve previously taken note of Silva’s tendency to lose his freaking mind when somebody does something cool, and we love to see a man with this kind of fire in the belly, but what do you think is going on with him here?  Is that the look of a man who is pumped up about the chance for a crazy upset, or a man who just realized that he forgot to close the garage door when he left home.  Oh God, the cats will get out!!!!

Dana Whites Fight Night 18 video blog – Watch more free videos

Ho. Lee. Shit. Dana White is upset with Sherdog’s Loretta Hunt.  Like, really upset.  So much so that he spends the final three minutes of his Fight Night 18 video blog bashing her with language that would make Nixon blush.  Not that it’s surprising to hear the UFC prez throw around a handful of f-bombs (though it’s kind of funny since he just warned tonight’s fighters against swearing on Spike TV), but to hear him call a female reporter a bitch…wow.  If his mother is anything like mine, there’s going to be a very stern voicemail message on his phone tonight.

Apparently Hunt’s article about some managers being stripped of backstage credentials really touched a nerve.  White says it’s all crap and offers an explanation for why this is a non-story, while also pausing to go off on a tangent about Hunt’s comments in that Matt Lindland documentary.  Clearly some old hurts are rising to the surface here.  You can’t keep those feelings bottled up forever.  It isn’t healthy.

I don’t know if all this means we should pay more attention to the allegations in the article (made by anonymous sources, who are apparently pussies for not wanting to bring the Danawrath upon themselves) or less, but either way it’s kind of a bizarre accomplishment to get your name mentioned so much in one of D.W.’s video blogs.  Kind of like getting punked in a Jay-Z song.  At least people know who you are afterwards, right Prodigy?

(It gets a little heated at the 1:30 mark, and believe it or not it’s Cole Miller who escalates things.)

Those of you who were looking forward to the Steve Steinbeiss/Ryan Jensen fight that you probably weren’t going to see aired on Spike TV anyway are sure going to be…disappointed, I guess?  According to Cage Writer, the fight was scrapped when Jensen tested positive for Adderall, the ADHD drug also known to help fighters who are trying to cut weight or cram for that biology midterm.  So that explains that.

In other Fight Night 18 weigh-in news, check Cole Miller getting all up in Junie Browning‘s business.  It looks like Miller’s mouth is working hard too, though we can only guess what he was saying (something about Junie setting a bad example for the impressionable youth of Kentucky, we assume).  Oddly, Browning is the one who appears to remain calm throughout the encounter.  He even gives Miller a friendly, go-get-em butt slap.  Such a nice boy he turned out to be.  So supportive.

Apparently Cole Miller’s mother never told him that if you don’t have something nice to say about someone, you shouldn’t say anything at all.  Talking to Steve Cofield (it doesn’t get remotely interesting until a little after the six-minute mark), Miller responds to a question about what he thinks of Junie Browning on a technical level by saying: “Nothing.  I don’t think he’s technical at all.”

Miller then goes on to point out that Browning has never tapped out or knocked out anyone who matters, before then comparing him to past opponents like Andy Wang and concluding that Browning is the worst fighter he’s faced in the UFC, next to Allen Berube (ouch!).  

So is Miller right about Browning?  Maybe.  We don’t really know for sure, since all we’ve really seen of him comes from his “Ultimate Fighter” antics and his submission victory over Dave Kaplan, who’s not exactly top-level competition.  But even if he is right, I’m not sure it’s such a great idea to go around talking about how almost-comically bad your next opponent is.  If you manage to get people to believe that he’s one of the worst fighters ever to step into the Octagon, then it’s not enough to just beat him.  You have to beat him quickly and effortlessly, otherwise you look like a punk.

(You didn’t think Martin Kampmann’s eyebrows always looked so perfect by accident, did you?)

When last we left the Gambling Addiction Enabler, a mathematical error had left him mistakenly believing that he suffered a net loss at UFC 96 rather than a gain of $30.  So now that he’s realized his error, you might be wondering, does that mean he has an extra thirty bones to throw around at UFC Fight Night 18?  Sadly, no.  That event was several weeks ago, so he’s already spent the money on a bunch of Snoop Dogg posters from Hot Topic.  That’s the bad news.  The good news is that his home office now looks straight-up gangsta.

But tomorrow night is a brand new opportunity to turn MMA knowledge and a taste for reckless financial risk into cold hard cash.  Here are the best lines on the internet, courtesy of BestFightOdds.com:

Carlos Condit (+102) vs. Martin Kampmann (-110)
Ryan Bader (-400) vs. Carmelo Marrero (+360)
Tyson Griffin (-385) vs. Rafael Dos Anjos (+355)
Junie Browning (+120) vs. Cole Miller (-125)
Gleison Tibau (-145) vs. Jeremy Stephens (+145)
Ricardo Almeida (-275) vs. Matt Horwich (+245)
Brock Larson (-450) vs. Jesse Sanders (+400)
Tim Credeur (-117) vs. Nick Catone (+110)
Jorge Rivera (-135) vs. Nissen Osterneck (+140)
Rob Kimmons (-255) vs. Joe Vedepo (+230)
Tim McKenzie (+145) vs. Aaron Simpson (-167)
Steve Steinbeiss (+165) vs. Ryan Jensen (-195)

Thoughts…

(Your daughter’s prom date is here…)

When I called Junie Browning to see how he was feeling a week before his first UFC fight since “The Ultimate Fighter” finale, he was out shopping for video games.  It might not seem like it at first, but this is apparently a sign of how much his life has changed since moving to Las Vegas to train at Xtreme Couture and getting serious about his fighting career.  Now he trains full-time.  Despite living in Sin City, he doesn’t go out much.  Instead he stays home and plays Killzone or Resident Evil 5 in between training sessions.  It occupies his time.  And it keeps him out of trouble.

“All I do is train now,” he said.  “I’m in awesome shape right now.  Better than I’ve ever been, training harder than I ever have.  I’ve done more for this than I have for any other fight.”

At next week’s Ultimate Fight Night in Nashville Browning takes on former TUF contestant Cole Miller, who has vowed to “expose” and “smash” him.  You’d think that kind of language would get a reaction out of the volatile kid from Kentucky we saw on TUF, but oddly, you’d be wrong.

On April 1 Ryan Bader makes his first UFC appearance since knocking out Vinny Magalhaes to win the last season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”  The former Arizona State wrestling standout now has to live up to his billing with a victory in his first post-TUF bout against experienced vet Carmelo Marrero.  But as Bader told us in our exclusive talk with him, he’s aware that winning is necessary, though it isn’t enough by itself.  He also has to entertain, and therein lies a difficult conflict for a wrestler trying to dazzle knockout-happy crowds.

CagePotato.com: Thanks for talking with us, Ryan.  Now that you’re the TUF winner and getting ready to start your UFC career, is it how you though it would be when you first started on the show?

I went into the show and set high goals for myself.  My goal was to make it to the finale.  That was as far as I thought.  Then I did that and there was six months until the finale, and obviously my goal was to win the whole show.  But I set little goals for myself and accomplished them one at a time, and then set bigger goals.  After I won the show, my goal became to keep winning the fights in front of me, and that’s where I am now.  Eventually my goal is to have the belt.  I don’t want to be just another fighter.  I want that belt.  I know it’s going to take a long time.  I need to grow as a fighter and that’s all a long way off, so my immediate goal is to win each fight and chip away at the division.

I read recently where you said you thought too many wrestlers were taking unnecessary risks to win fights in exciting fashion.  When you fight, do you struggle with trying to be exciting and also not taking too many chances?

(Ah, the good old days…)

New rules regarding cornermen and the application of Vaseline will be on display at tonight’s UFC Fight Night 17, and they’re thought to be permanent.  If anybody doesn’t like it they have George St. Pierre’s crew to blame.  

MMA Weekly reports that the UFC has decreed “that cornermen associated with the fighters will no longer be allowed to handle the Vaseline used in between rounds to treat and prevent cuts.”  Instead, the UFC will provide a cut man to each corner, and he’ll be the only one allowed to apply Vaseline or work on a cut.  

Since only two people are allowed in the Octagon at a time, one of a fighter’s trainers has to stay out if they need the UFC-sanctioned cut man to do his work.  And since you pretty much always want to put Vaseline on your fighter’s face between rounds, the effect of this new rule will probably be to limit corners to one trainer inside the cage.

Two things on this new rule…

(God help the man who tries to get away with a little extra grease on this fight card.)

It’s been a while since we’ve made predictions for a fight that are so incredibly detailed and specific that they can’t possibly be accurate (or can they?), but with UFC Fight Night 17 just a day away it seems like the perfect time to a little prognosticating.  

The fighters weighed in this afternoon, so now all that’s left is to find some way of making people forget about Vaseline and Strikeforce for just a couple of hours.  Coincidentally, “Forget About Vaseline and Strikeforce” is also the title of my forthcoming tell-all memoir.  I think it’s going to do well.  I really do.

Joe Lauzon vs. Jeremy Stephens

J-Lau seems like he might be setting himself up for a fall by talking about how quick and easy this fight is going to be.  At least, that’s how it would happen if life were like sports movies.  It isn’t, though.  In real life the Bad News Bears remain a rag-tag group of losing rapscallions all season long and Coach Buttermaker ends the season as a sex offender with ten percent liver function.  Sorry, but that’s the reality, people.  Lauzon wins this with his superior jiu-jitsu, catching Stephens in a rear naked choke after mounting him and punishing him with a few bony elbows.

When Will It Happen: 3:51 of round 1.

What to Watch For: The post-fight interview, where Lauzon calls out Hermes Franca for his UG comments and picks a much tougher fight for himself in the process.

(Watch out for the uppercut, Joe)

Give the UFC this much, they don’t wait until the last minute to secure a replacement when someone goes down with an injury.  Earlier today we told you about Hermes Franca pulling out of his main event bout with Joe Lauzon and then starting a bizarre internet rivalry.  This afternoon UFC.com announced that Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens would be taking Franca’s place on Feb. 7.

You might remember Stephens as the guy who was on his way to losing a decision against Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC 91 before he unfurled a murderous uppercut in the third round that knocked Dos Anjos out cold (see above).  It was an exciting finish that made us remember him and the totally sweet nickname "Lil’ Heathen" (even though it rhymes with his last name and we kind of hate that), but Stephens vs. Lauzon still feels like exactly what it is: a replacement bout.

(You just hate to see a guy like Franca sidelined for anything other than a steroid suspension or drunk-driving arrest.)

UFC lightweight Hermes Franca has been forced to pull out of his scheduled bout with Joe Lauzon at Fight Night 17 on Feb. 7 due to a torn ACL, according to a post by Franca on the UG.  Franca said he injured the knee last Saturday and will now have it repaired.  He added:

Thank you UFC,my fans, friends for the support, i was training hard and i was so excited ,but there’s      nothing i can do, (could be worse), so Hermes franca will take a break for some recovery,and come back  stronger than ever like i always do!!!!

Nothing like referring to yourself in the third person to remind everyone that you are a professional athlete.  This is the second time in the last week that a scheduled opponent of one of the Lauzon brothers has had to pull out of a fight due to injury.  First Chris Horodecki failed his physical exam prior to a fight with Dan Lauzon, which meant “The Upgrade” had to face “Frantic” Bobby Green and get his testicles jostled.  Now Franca is hurt and the UFC will have to find a replacement to take on Joe Lauzon.

Lauzon, replying to Franca’s post, expressed his disappointment at the news and wished Franca a speedy recovery, real gentleman-like.  Then things got a little weird on the ol’ internets, with this remark from Franca:

(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…

(Courtesy of MMA-Core.com)

In case you’re wondering what a TKO via eye poke really looks like, here’s a close-up view from the Anthony Johnson-Kevin Burns debacle that you can watch again and again. Notice how, after the poke and the ensuing uppercut, the left hand that Burns comes back around with also has the fingers extended outward in poke-ready mode. I would suggest refining his punching technique, but it did result in him getting the win. As my grandfather used to say, if it ain’t broke, why not poke?

In other UFC Fight Night news, check out the below video of the post-fight press conference. Skip to 6:45 to hear Dana White give his take on Affliction and their fighters. Then he goes ahead and bashes the IFL one more time, mostly out of habit.

(Brad Blackburn is moving on up.)

The UFC has been busy this week. Between throwing together the July 19 Anti-Affliction show and preparing for the TUF 7 Finale on Saturday, someone in the Zuffa offices has definitely earned themselves a vacay (don’t worry, Anderson Silva will fill in for you while you’re gone).

For Saturday night’s show, Tim Credeur vs. Cale Yarbrough has been officially added, bringing the total number of scheduled bouts to eleven. They won’t all fit into the three-hour broadcast, but that might just mean we get spared having to sit through another Marvin Eastman joint.

For the July 19 show, former IFL fighter Brad Blackburn has reportedly been signed to take on fellow UFC newcomer James Giboo. As previously reported, another former IFL fighter, Reese Andy, will make his UFC debut as he welcomes Brandon Vera to the light heavyweight division.

While a lot of fans may not be familiar with Andy, he’s a former college wrestling standout at the University of Wyoming who could potentially give Vera some problems on the mat. He’s also competed at heavyweight before, so he probably won’t be giving up too much weight.

Also expected on this card — which is officially titled UFC Fight Night 14 — is Frankie Edgar squaring off with Hermes Franca, Jake O’Brien and Cain Velasquez, and Kevin Burns against Anthony Johnson.

Oh, and that Anderson Silva guy will be taking on James Irvin. If that sort of thing interests you.