(Props: truplya777)

As we learn in the above video interview from Aaron Tru, Strikeforce moneyweight contender Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal doesn’t really know who or when he’ll be fighting next, while Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi says he’ll probably be fighting King Mo in April. As soon as the news reaches Lawal, he should be thrilled, considering he wants that belt and already has Mousasi figured out. Strikeforce’s 4/17 event on CBS is also rumored to feature Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum, and Jake Shields vs. Dan Henderson.

Speaking of the Armenian Assassin, Mousasi has accepted Firas Zahabi’s invitation for him to train with UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre. According to a report on Sherdog, Gegard and GSP have been working out together in Miami this week, helping St. Pierre get ready for his March 27th meeting with Dan Hardy. It’ll be the first time that Mousasi has been part of a training camp in the U.S.:

(Can one gym even hold that much badass?  Magic eightball says, ‘Outlook not so good.’)

As UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre puts on more weight and continues to dominate every 170-pounder in his path, finding sparring partners who can push him is apparently becoming more of a problem.  In a talk with Heavy.com, Tristar Gym owner and longtime GSP trainer Firas Zahabi says that he can’t even put him up against other fighters his own size in training anymore, adding "It’s getting scary.  Georges is getting better and better, believe it or not." 

That’s why he’s looking to add a new face to St. Pierre’s training camp: Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Gegard Mousasi.

Since he mentioned it no less than twice in the interview, we’re assuming Zahabi is serious about getting "The Last Gypsy" in the gym with GSP.  If it happens, we can only hope that the cameras are there to capture it for "UFC Primetime."  Though who are we kidding, St. Pierre-Mousasi is a sparring session worthy of pay-per-view.  Maybe they should just film it and keep it in the can.  That way, if GSP runs through Dan Hardy too quickly, they can go ahead and add it to the broadcast to make the fans feel like they got their money’s worth.  As an added bonus, it seems like the kind of thing that would really, really piss off M-1 Global.

(Props: MMA Share)

If you’re feeling a little down today and are considering taking a long hot bath with a clock radio to top off the evening, you aren’t alone.  Today is what many have come to call "Blue Monday."  It’s officially the most depressing day of the year.  In an effort to help you soldier through it, we found some fun videos that only sort of have to do with MMA. 

Those of you who read Neal Taflinger’s excellent profile piece on Fedor Emelianenko in the October ’09 issue of Fight Magazine may recognize this little scene on the M-1 Global tour bus.  Those of you who didn’t read it will have to live with that decision for the rest of your sad lives.  Taffy is the guy with the bright orange hair in the back of the bus trying to conduct an interview via Fedor’s interpreter.  Fedor is the Russian dude grinning from ear to ear after shoving some ice down the back of Gegard Mousasi‘s trousers.  Some things transcend all language and cultural barriers, and ice in somebody’s pants is undoubtedly one of those things. 

More MMA-related pick-me-ups await you after the jump.

When I was in Tokyo for the New Year’s Eve Dynamite!! show, I couldn’t help but notice that Gary Goodridge seemed like a man who didn’t really want to be fighting.  He was added to the card at the last minute, matched up against Gegard Mousasi in a fight the promoters obviously didn’t intend for him to win.  His last MMA fight was in November of 2008.  He hadn’t won one since his 2007 K-1 Heroes bout against Jan Nortje.  So what was he doing fighting "Sweet Sassy" on a few days’ notice?

The answer, Goodridge told me when I spoke to him for an SI.com article this week, is surviving.  He was getting paid the only way he knows how, though he wishes he didn’t have to.

"I’m trying to get a job, period," said Goodridge. "My background is in security, police, corrections. I went to school for four years at a college level to learn how to beat people properly. I would love to be a bodyguard, whatever. I’m just looking for a job."

(Props: FightersOnlyMagazine)

"I’m hoping in April I get a chance to fight Mousasi next. That’s the fight I want…I know I’ll put on a show and I’ll win that fight…Anything can happen in MMA when you’re dealing with two guys that train hard and want it. So, I’m not worried about the fans [doubting me] ’cause the fans ain’t fighters. They’re fans, they just watch. So they should just sit back and watch in April and see what happens. King Coker, I hope he can give me that fight…I don’t know if I deserve it yet, but if the fight makes sense, let’s make it happen…

When I had the opportunity to fight Travis Wiuff, I watched his footage twice and I was like ‘got him.’ And I have that feeling right now. I’ve watched Mousasi’s fights, a lot of his fights, and he’s been fighting for a while, and I think he’s hit his peak. He won’t improve too much…I think he’s been winning off of just being a smart fighter and more technical than other fighters. I want it ’cause I know I’mma win it."

— Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal invites the haters to keep hating in this recent video interview, where he makes his intentions known regarding Gegard Mousasi‘s Strikeforce light-heavyweight strap. With a record of 6-0 over mostly uninspiring competition, it seems like Mo should have to complete an intermediate step between fighting Mike Whitehead and fighting the Last Gypsy. But with Strikeforce’s 205-pound class as thin as it is, Mo’s personality could make him marketable enough to sell the fight. Still, I wonder what Lawal could have possibly seen in Mousasi’s fight tapes that would make him think "got him." For the record, Mo’s Wikipedia page currently lists his division as "Moneyweight."

From today’s epic New Year’s Eve card. Props to Watch Kalib Run.

(Shinya Aoki vs. Mizuto Hirota)

(Alistair Overeem vs. Kazuyuki Fujita)

From today’s Dynamite!! 2009 event in Saitama. Videos to come later...

- Masato def. Andy Souwer via unanimous decision (K-1 MAX bout)

- Hidehiko Yoshida def. Satoshi Ishii via unanimous decision
– Gegard Mousasi def. Gary Goodridge via TKO, round 1

DREAM vs. SRC
– Shinya Aoki def. Mizuto Hirota via injury stoppage (Aoki’s armlock snaps Hirota’s arm), round 1 (Channeling Nick Diaz and BJ Penn, Aoki followed up the gruesome submission by flipping Hirota the Tokyo Heybuddy, then telling the crowd to visit ShinyaAoki.com, which doesn’t even exist. What an asshole!)
– Alistair Overeem def. Kazuyuki Fujita via KO (knee), round 1
– Masanori Kanehara def. Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto via unanimous decision
– Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Kazunori Yokota via unanimous decision
– Hideo Tokoro def. Jong Man Kim via unanimous decision
– Melvin Manhoef def. Kazuo Misaki via TKO, round 1 (this fight, along with Minowa/Sokoudjou were arguably early stoppages)
– Akihiro Gono def. Hayato Sakurai via submission (armbar), round 2
– Michihiro Omigawa def. Hiroyuki Takaya via TKO, round 1
– Hiroshi Izumi def. Katsuyori Shibata via unanimous decision
Final score: DREAM (5), Sengoku (4)

– Ray Sefo def. Yosuke Nishijima via unanimous decision (K-1 bout)

DREAM Super Hulk Final
– Ikuhisa Minowa def. Rameau Sokoudjou via TKO, round 3

K-1 Koshien Tournament:
– Masaaki Noiri def. Shota Shimada via unanimous decision (final)
– Shota Shimada def. Katsuki Ishida via majority decision (semi-final)
– Masaaki Noiri def. Hiroya via unanimous decision (semi-final)

(Gegard Mousasi tells reporters that training for the Gary Goodridge fight was "not good," and it was difficult to stay motivated. That’s the spirit. Video courtesy of YouTube.com/DREAM.)

We’re about 12 hours away from Fields Dynamite!! 2009 (3 a.m. ET, HDNet), which means it’s time to take whatever disposable income you have left after the holiday season and throw it all away on ill-informed sports betting. Check out the official fight lineup below courtesy of MMA Junkie, and the odds courtesy of Bodog, which seems to be the only major online bookmaker taking wagers on this mess. You ready to see some squash matches?

– Masato (-175) vs. Andy Souwer (+145) (K-1)
– Gegard Mousasi vs. Gary Goodridge — odds not listed on Bodog, likely due to the lateness of the booking, though the line is reportedly -1100/+600.
– Shinya Aoki (-500) vs. Mizuto Hirota (+300)
– Alistair Overeem (-1100) vs. Kazuyuki Fujita (+600)
– Satoshi Ishii (-325) vs. Hidehiko Yoshida (+250)
– Norofumi "Kid" Yamamoto (-550) vs. Masanori Kanehara (+350)
– Tatsuya Kawajiri (-525) vs. Kazunori Yokota (+325)
– Hideo Tokoro (-215) vs. Jong Man Kim (+175)
– Kazuo Misaki (-180) vs. Melvin Manhoef (+150)
– Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (-205) vs. Akihiro Gono (+165)
– Hiroyuki Takaya (-135) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (+105)
– Katsuyori Shibata (-135) vs. Hiroshi Izumi (+105)
– Hiroya/Noiri winner vs. Ishida/Shimada winner (K-1 KOSHIEN final)
– Ray Sefo (-600) vs. Yosuke Nishijima (+400) (K-1)
– Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (-325) vs. Ikuhisa Minowa (+250)
– Katsuki Ishida vs. Shota Shimada (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal)
– Hiroya vs. Masaaki Noiri (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal)
– Tsukasa Fuji vs. Ryuya Kusakabe (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal reserve)

Now then…

(‘Wait, this Mousasi? The dude that’s been beating the hell out of everybody, that’s the guy ya’ll want me to fight? Gentlemen, I think there’s been a misunderstanding.’)

Greetings from the City of the Rising Sun, Potato Nation.  Yours truly is spending New Year’s in Tokyo to attend the Fields Dynamite!! show (you’ll be able to read all about the experience in a future Fight Magazine issue), and already it’s been quite a learning experience.  For instance, I just got back from the press conference where I was surrounded by a horde of teenage girls who waited for over an hour just to fawn over Masato.  Alistair Overeem, Gegard Mousasi, and Shinya Aoki?  To these girls they barely seemed worth the effort to flip open their trinket-laden cell phones and snap a photo.

The event organizers expect to draw at least 35,000 fans to the Saitama Super Arena for the show, and representatives from both Dream and Sengoku did their best to pump up the lukewarm rivalry between the two organizations, though without much apparent interest from the fans.  A couple things worth noting:

(Bisping, Arlovski, Griffin, and Swanson: Four of the year’s most unfortunate victims.)

#25: Vitor Belfort sends Matt Lindland into convulsions at Affliction: Day of Reckoning (1/24/09).

#24. Gegard Mousasi makes his presence known in America by pounding Renato Sobral flat at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg (8/15/09).

#23: Matt Hamill unleashes his inner Cro Cop against Mark Munoz at UFC 96 (3/7/09).

(DREAM vs. SRC video trailer. Props to YouTube.com/DREAM and Led Zeppelin.)

With less than a week to go until the show, more matchups have been announced for Dynamite!! 2009, building on the event’s DREAM vs. Sengoku Raiden Championship theme. In middleweight action, veteran knockout artist Melvin Manhoef (23-6-1 overall, 2-2 in DREAM) will face Japanese mainstay Kazuo Misaki (22-9-2 overall, 3-1 in Sengoku). Though Manhoef had five kickboxing matches this year, his only MMA appearance in 2009 was a first-round submission loss to Paulo Filho at DREAM.10, in which he succumbed to an armbar after whipping Filho for the first two minutes of the fight. Misaki is coming off a submission victory over Kazuhiro Nakamura in August, followed by a brief athletic suspension for talking on his cellphone while driving, which resulted in him smashing into a police car.

(Props: StrikeforceFilms)

Discussing his quick-’n’ easy win over Mike Whitehead at Strikeforce: Evolution on Saturday, Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal stated the obvious — maybe Mike would have done better if he didn’t come in so fat. Without speed on his side, Whitehead was a sitting duck for Mo’s attacks. Though Lawal says he’ll fight anybody Scott Coker puts in front of him, a king needs a crown, and his ultimate goals are to fight Strikeforce light-heavyweight champ Gegard Mousasi and #1 heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko.

Hey, it’s good to have ambition. Still, we can all agree that Mo needs to face some tougher competition before he starts prepping for title fights. One of the few names that come to mind is Renato "Babalu" Sobral, who previously held Strikeforce’s light-heavyweight belt before Mousasi beat the fuck out of him. Strikeforce may want to give Lawal one more fight to develop him before making that matchup, but if you want to fast-track Mo to contendership, Babalu is probably the way to go. And with Coker’s 205-pound class as thin as it is, there may not be any other options that make sense.

As expected, Lawal’s royally pimpin’ cage-entrance was almost as entertaining as his fight, though it was unfortunately left out of the Showtime broadcast. Check out some fan-shot video and pictures of King’s "queens" after the jump…

(Dan doesn’t usually pick up hitchhikers, but you got such a pretty mouth…)

After months of speculation from the media and a healthy dose of smack talk from Dana White, Dan Henderson has finally signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce, reports MMA Fanhouse.  There’s no word yet when he’ll make his official debut in the organization, or whether he’ll compete primarily as a middleweight or a light heavyweight, but at least one thing is for certain — that chubby British kid who demanded that DW resign Hendo is going to be pissed.

Now that we know where Henderson is going to compete, it’s time to play matchmaker.  Say you’re Strikeforce’s Scott Coker.  You’ve just signed one of the best middleweights in the world, so you could toss him in the mix with guys like Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler, "Mayhem" Miller, Cung Le, so on and so forth.  Or, you might decide that you’ve got enough talent at 185 pounds, and shuffle him into your light heavyweight class so that Gegard Mousasi finally has someone worthwhile to fight. 

There are positives and negatives to either decision, but the pressure’s on.  The board members want answers and the Captain is tired of defending your crazy antics to the Comissioner.  You’ve gotta make the call and make it soon.  So what do you do, hot shot?  What do you do!?

(Props: DementedRants via adrenochrome)

Dan Quinn, you have competition. The new up-and-comer in the YouTube Crackpot division is a 51-year-old dude calling himself Damian Demento, who releases talk-radio-style blowhard rants on MMA, pro-wrestling, and marijuana. He’s a very angry person, and his latest hostility-target is Fedor Emelianenko. Despite the fact that Demento didn’t watch the fight on Saturday, he wasn’t too impressed by Fedor’s performance, or the predictable head-hunting style of Brett Rogers. For the benefit of all us stupid MMA fans, he explains how he’d be able to defeat the fighter that he knows as "Feedor Emelenkio." Basically, generations of Soviet inbreeding have produced Fedor’s trademark dwarfed head and thick skull, and what you really need to do is put the boots to his belly. And Fedor would fall for it, because he’s no smarter than Brock Leznahr or Chuck Little. If you enjoyed this rant, please check out "HOW I CAN BEAT BROCK LESNAR and "PROOF UFC IS FAKE." I tell you, after a few hits of PCP, this guy begins to make a lot of sense.

Speaking of shit that makes me laugh…

(Props: Genghis Con on Vimeo)

The latest film from MMA auteur Genghis Con focuses on two of the world’s most exciting fighters — Nate Marquardt and Gegard Mousasi — taking us through their early careers, their high-profile losses, and their current paths of success. As usual, the editing and music are pitch perfect, so give it a look if you have 20 minutes free. Otherwise, you can just check out the eight-second head-kick KO after the jump.

(Time to fill out those work visa applications, girls.)

Give Strikeforce credit, now that they’ve become a major player in the MMA scene they’re busy filling the holes in their roster as quickly as they pop up.  Their most recent addition is All-American wrestler and flamboyant Sengoku terror, Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal.  Strikeforce has reportedly signed Lawal on to compete in their 205-pound division – also known as the weight class Gegard Mousasi is currently dominating – but he’ll also be able to keep fighting in Japan.  Does this mean Strikeforce is inviting another Alistair Overeem scenario, should Lawal some day become light heavyweight champ?  We’re going to go ahead and say no, based purely on the unfounded assumption that, as an attention-hungry American, King Mo would probably rather hold it down on the domestic scene than run off on a study abroad hiatus for two years. 

No word yet on who Lawal might face in his Strikeforce debut, but he could be ready to fight by December.  Maybe “Babalu” Sobral will be recovered from his own nightmare scenario at the hands of “The Dreamcatcher” by then?

("I came here to catch dreams and chew bubblegum, and I’m all out of bubblegum." Photo courtesy of URdirt.com.)

According to a new post on M-1global.com, Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi has confirmed that he will be participating in a title fight at the upcoming "Fedor vs. Rogers" event on November 7th:

Yes, they’re referring to steroid-using donkey-man Paulo Filho, who was recently engaged in a war of words with Mousasi. We’re hoping that Filho is booked for this fight, because while Sokoudjou has been kicking ass in the highly competitive Super Hulk division, he hasn’t beaten a top-level light-heavyweight in two-and-a-half years. (As you might recall, Sokoudjou’s last fight at 205 pounds ended in him getting choked out by Strikeforce’s previous LHW champion, Renato Sobral.) At least Filho poses a threat on the ground, even if he’d probably get the snot knocked out of him in the standup exchanges. The Reward Hunter most recently took a light-heavyweight tune-up match at last month’s Bitetti Combat event, where he won a decision over TUF 1 vet Alex Schoenauer. In other Strikeforce news…

(Props: flexwheelR via CRE)

Some heart-pumpin’ MMA compilations to chase away the Monday blues. Above is a tribute to GSP that’s so cool it almost makes us forgive the use of French rap music. After the jump, #4-ranked featherweight Jose Aldo‘s greatest hits; Aldo takes on WEC champ Mike Brown in November. Also, a Gegard Mousasi career overview that features a bunch of early fights that you probably haven’t seen before.

(Sapp gets embarrassed by Ikuhisa Minowa at the DREAM Super Hulk Tournament’s opening round in May.)

With Gegard Mousasi out of DREAM’s freaky-deaky Super Hulk tournament due to a Fedor-related shoulder injury, DREAM went back to the well to find a replacement. Unsurprisingly, they’re bringing back Bob Sapp to take on Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in the GP’s second round, which goes down at DREAM.11 (October 6th, Yokohama, broadcast in North America on HDNet). During the Super Hulk quarterfinals at DREAM.9, Sokoudjou snapped a two-fight losing skid by wrecking Jan Nortje, while Bob Sapp got leglocked by Minowaman. The following month, Sapp tapped to strikes against Bobby Lashley at "Ultimate Chaos."

Tangling with Sokoudjou could bring Sapp yet another painful loss, and incredibly, he has a kickboxing match in Hong Kong scheduled for the next day, and may have another MMA fight slated for the next week in Texas. Said Sapp:

(Props: CagePotato reader "David D.")

There are some things in this mad, mad world that we’ll never fully understand. Like, for example, why the movie Legally Blonde had to be adpated into a musical. Or why UFC play-by-play man Mike Goldberg took a singing role in a low-rent production of that musical. Skip to the 1:59 mark of the above video for Goldie’s star turn as the lead character’s argyle-socked father. Seriously, WTF? Did Mike lose a fight-picking bet to Joe Rogan? Does he direct community theatre on the weekends, and did the actor who was actually supposed to play the role call in sick that night? Did Guffman ever show up? We need answers, and the Internet is giving us nothing.

(Fight starts at the 4:22 mark. Props: MMA Linker)

As expected, Muhammed Lawal‘s pimpin’ ring entrance took longer than his actual fight against Mark Kerr last night at M-1 Breakthrough in Kansas City, with the flashy Team Quest product needing just 25 seconds to steamroll the fighter formerly known as "The Smashing Machine." King Mo pounced for a single-leg as Kerr tried to throw a leg kick, then took his 263-pound opponent to the canvas and started slugging him in the head until Kerr was knocked out. I guess the oddsmakers know how to do their jobs after all.

Also on the card, Fedor Emelianenko and Gegard Mousasi went through the motions with their "sparring exhibition," which never came close to looking anything like a real fight, except for the end when Fedor won by armbar. That video and complete results from the event are after the jump…

(Just like armbarring a bike: Filho emerges from an eight-month hiatus to take out Melvin Manhoef at DREAM.10 last month.)

In all our hand-wringing about the lack of challenges for Gegard Mousasi, we may have overlooked one formerly fearsome recovering addict — and Paulo Filho wants you to know that he will not be ignored. From Tatame.com via WatchKalibRun:

(How do you say "Don’t be scared, homey" in Armenian? Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

Following recent action in the UFC, Strikeforce, and Sengoku, we’ve updated the lightweight, welterweight, light-heavyweight, heavyweight, and pound-for-pound lists in our Power Rankings section. First, a word about the P4P top ten…

Can we all agree that Anderson Silva, Fedor Emelianenko, and Georges St. Pierre are the three best fighters in the world right now, and any attempt to rank them is completely subjective, and therefore meaningless? Instead of creating a three-way tie at the top (which I briefly considered), we’re going to do it like this until further notice: Whoever has the most recent awe-inspiring, damn-near-inhuman performance gets to be #1.

Find more videos like this on BJPENN.COM

The latest maddeningly brief video from BJPenn.com shows the Prodigy hanging out at his gym with Fedor Emelianenko and Fedor’s constant road-dog Gegard Mousasi. But when and why did Fedor fly to Hawaii? [Ed. note: Right, he's in California this time. And so is Fedor. Got it.] As usual, there are no answers, and the mystery of BJ grows. Still, the idea of Fedor and Gegard joining Penn’s already stacked training camp should give Kenny Florian fans the heebie-jeebies. Assuming, of course, that BJ actually trains with these people. All we know is, directly after this fight, Emelianenko jumped out of BJ’s pool. And he was at the bottom of the deep end at the time. And he was standing on one leg.

(In light of this fight being moved from a ring to a cage, "Babalu" would now like to amend his statement about where Mousasi will be peeing.)

Good news, fight fans.  Attempts at salvaging the wreckage of the cursed S.S. Affliction have already resulted in the resurrection of one main card bout.  The scheduled fight between Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Gegard Mousasi has now officially been picked up by Strikeforce for their August 15 event in San Jose.  Strikeforce sent out a press release announcing the addition this afternoon, and confirming that Sobral’s Strikeforce light heavyweight championship will be on the line.  Naturally, this puppy has been added to the televised portion of the card, so the outlook just got a little brighter for Strikeforce despite some recent holes appearing in the lineup.

So there’s one good fight we’ll still get to see.  Now Strikeforce’s big question is what to do about Nick Diaz, who lost his scheduled opponent when Joe Riggs had to pull out.  At least two good welterweights just had their calendars free up when the Affliction cancelation left Jay Hieron and Paul “Semtex” Daley without a place to beat each other up.  Might one of them swoop in to try their luck against Diaz?  We’re expecting to hear something on that one soon, so don’t wander off…

(Props: youtube.com/afflictionvideos via MMA Fanhouse)

It’s a small comfort in light of the canceled main event, but at least Affliction: Trilogy (if it is indeed still happening) will feature an important light-heavyweight bout between Renato "Babalu" Sobral and Gegard Mousasi. The above video promo paints the two fighters as polar opposites: Sobral is the hardy veteran who’s fought everybody and seen it all; the dangerous grappler who’s just as interesting outside of the ring. Mousasi is the young and confident striker who responds to every interview question with a deadpan shrug. It’s a clash of styles that will either solidify Sobral’s status as one of the best 205-pounders in the world, or prove that Mousasi can be dominant in a new weight class. "I’m the guy who wants to hurt him," Mousasi says, "[Sobral] only wants to submit me." Babalu responds with some of his trademark craziness: "If he talks shit, he gonna pee in the ring. If he doesn’t, he’s gonna pee anyway." Yikes. Gegard’s Bladder, you’ve just been put on notice…

After the jump: A preview of the middleweight bout that might not happen anymore — Vitor Belfort vs. Jorge Santiago.

(In the animal kingdom, playing dead can be considered an intelligent defense. In an MMA fight, not so much. Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

Yesterday’s event may have been low on spectacle, but DREAM plans to come back strong for their next show. Here’s what’s on the card for DREAM.11 (October 6th, Yokohama):

— The long-awaited rubber-match between Shinya Aoki and Joachim Hansen. The two top-ten lightweights first met at PRIDE Shockwave 2006, where Aoki took out Hellboy via gogoplata. But Hansen got revenge last July, scoring a brutal TKO over Aoki at DREAM’s lightweight GP finals. Hansen has been inactive since that fight, while Aoki has gone 4-1, earning victories over Eddie Alvarez and Vitor Ribeiro, with his only loss to Hayato Sakurai in an ill-advised welterweight match.

(His mouthpiece says "DEATH." His shorts say "CONDOM DEPOT." Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

With Gegard Mousasi and Vitor Belfort‘s weight-related bitch-fest producing nothing positive, Affliction has scrapped the match and moved on. MMA Weekly has now confirmed that Mousasi will be instead be taking on #6-ranked light-heavyweight Renato "Babalu" Sobral at Affliction’s third MMA event (August 1st; Anaheim, California). Not exactly an easy first fight at light-heavyweight for the Young Vagabond, but he’s already 1-0 in the highly competitive Super Hulk division, so don’t count him out. At any rate, the fight against Babalu should tell us a lot about how Mousasi will fare as 205-pounder.

(It’s time you and Vitor had a talk about that investment portfolio he’s been managing for you. You better sit down for this.)

Just a day after former Dream middleweight champ Gegard Mousasi told everyone that he was fighting Vitor Belfort at Affliction III this summer, Belfort has responded by saying that Mousasi needs to put down the fork if the two of them are to have any shot of getting it on. Talking to those clever translators at Tatame who can make any foray into the English language an adventure, Belfort said he hasn’t gotten any confirmation from Affliction regarding his next fight, but added:

(The flannel is coming back, bitches.)

Fresh off this morning’s Dream.9, which we’ll go ahead and call a success in the sense that no one died during the “ridiculously stupendous” freak show portion of the evening, Dream already has some plans for their next event, predictably titled Dream.10.  The organization announced that WAMMA lightweight champion (that’s still a real thing, right?) Shinya Aoki will face Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro in what will be Aoki’s first actual MMA fight since his TKO loss to Hayato “Mach” Sakurai.

Also at Dream.10, Melvin Manhoef will take on mercurial former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho in a fight that could be an awesome clash of styles or a complete mess.  I think we can all agree that Filho stands a good chance if he shows up in shape, focused, and not with one foot in the spirit world, but will get absolutely decapitated if he wigs out like he did against Chael Sonnen in his last fight.  Either way, it’s a strong addition to the July 20th fight card, which also includes the semi-final and final rounds of the Dream welterweight grand prix tournament, and possibly even the return of Kazushi Sakuraba.  Because hey, he’s not dead yet, and he’d prefer that the end come in the ring in front of a silent arena of Japanese fans.

In other bookings news…