(Whose house? KenFlo’s house.)

As MMA fighters go, Kenny Florian is as intelligent and articulate a guy as you can hope to find. He’s also a workaholic and an ever-evolving bad-ass in the cage, and his next test against the formidable Roger Huerta should answer any lingering questions as to who deserves to be the UFC’s top lightweight contender. Whether B.J. Penn will stick around to defend his 155-pound title, well, that’s another issue altogether.

In this exclusive interview with KenFlo we discuss training strategies, Roger Huerta’s apparent dissatisfaction with the UFC, being an ESPN MMA analyst, and more.

CagePotato.com: Hey Kenny, thanks for talking with me. How has your training for this fight been going?

Everything’s been going really well. My training camp was awesome. I really didn’t take too much time off. After the Lauzon fight I think I was back in the gym the following week and I wasn’t completely pleased, technically speaking, with my performance, so I wanted to get right back in the gym and improve on those things. With all the commitments I had before this fight, the traveling and all that, I’m glad I got a jump on it early.

What were you displeased with about your performance against Lauzon?

Joe Lauzon just shouldn’t have taken me down like he did. That was the main thing, was the wrestling angle of it. I just wanted to get back and get my hands on a quality wrestling coach so I could really improve in that area. It’s one thing to be able to do it in training, but it needs to be second nature in order for you to use it when you need it in a fight. So I found a great wrestling coach who’s just been a phenomenal addition to my team.

I’ve just been working on a lot of the fundamentals of wrestling, both defensively and offensively, and working on making sure I’m doing things right technically. With wrestling in particular you get a lot of people who will tell you ‘Oh, you should do it this way or that way,’ but having a world class guy to show you this is the way it should be done and here’s why, it gets it into your muscle memory and makes you a stronger fighter.

What do you think Roger Huerta’s greatest strength is as a fighter?

Dana White has told The Canadian Press that the UFC hopes to return to Montreal in November or December:

“I literally just left a meeting where we were talking about that,” UFC president Dana White told The Canadian Press on Tuesday. “We’re looking to come back to Montreal.”

The UFC’s Canadian debut — “Serra vs. St. Pierre 2″ in April — was a record-breaking event, drawing 21,390 fans to Montreal’s Bell Centre for a gate of $5 million. With a superfight between hometown boy Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn being discussed for the end of the year, it may be wise to begin making arrangements; if GSP beats Jon Fitch on Saturday, we wouldn’t be surprised if White makes an announcement about the UFC’s next Montreal card shortly after. Said White: “Obviously B.J. is pulling for GSP because he wants to fight him.”

In the same article, White discussed the condition of beleaguered former light-heavyweight champ Quinton Jackson, telling The Canadian Press that Rampage is A-OK:

“It wasn’t psychiatric at all, it was physical,” said White. “He had a physical condition — exhaustion, dehydration that caused delirium.”

White said Jackson, a California native, had remained in Las Vegas for a week after the fight and was fasting — living on energy drinks alone.

“Bad combination,” said White. “Physically and mentally he’s OK. Now he’s got some legal problems, obviously.”

Well sure, exhaustion and dehydration can cause delirium, but what could compel a person to fast and go on a Brawndo bender until they’re exhausted and dehydrated? Could it have maybe, possibly have been a psychiatric issue? See, you didn’t think about that, did you?

(Props: TKO Extreme)

Jon Fitch has a new blog entry up on UFC.com in which he discusses his training at AKA in preparation for the bout with Georges St. Pierre at UFC 87 next Saturday. Sounds like he’s none too pleased about all this GSP-B.J. Penn talk, as if it’s just a given that St. Pierre will walk though him en route to another meeting with “The Prodigy”:

Working like we do, when people are talking about how good certain fighters are, one of our first questions is, ‘who does he train with?’ That’s always a big question because I don’t care how good you are; if you don’t train with anybody at your level, you’re very limited in how good you can be and how good you actually are.

Outside of training, I’ve heard some talk over the last few weeks about BJ Penn moving up to 170 to fight GSP at the end of the year. Of course, they’ve forgotten that GSP has a fight with me first. But that just shows you where some people really are still in this sport and how they still have no idea what’s going on. There are a lot of so-called experts out there, but they know nothing about the sport. They’re spectators on the outside watching the sport through a telescope, and they think they’re on the inside and know everything, but they don’t. You can’t let that stuff bother you though. I think it’s funny and it’s just that little extra pleasure at the end of the day when you win and all those people are exposed.

Are we supposed to take this to mean that Fitch thinks GSP is generally overrated? We certainly hope not. Fitch’s win streak and overall skills make him deserving of the respect he’s getting, but so is GSP. Of all the strategic errors you could make when facing the welterweight champ, underestimating him really shouldn’t be one of them. Even if you are right behind him in the all-important Cage Potato Power Rankings.

Watching this MMA Rated interview with Elite XC’s Jared Shaw where he answers questions as to where he’s been and what he’s doing for the company now (you should also check out their interview with a very drunk Tonya Evinger), I get the strange sense that he’s lying to me. What’s more, I feel like he knows how transparent he seems, but he’s just charging ahead with it anyway. In a strange way, I almost respect that. Almost.

But let’s talk for a moment about Elite XC’s decision of late to push Jake Shields as the world’s best welterweight, which Shaw also claims. Obviously, they like it because it allows them to call out Georges St. Pierre and the UFC, thus piggybacking on the success of their betters. But it also makes them seem a little desperate, and it’s not hard to tell that this is a strategy destined for failure.

It’s not that Jake Shields isn’t a good fighter. He is, but that isn’t the point. The point is that Elite XC has essentially just decided to proclaim him the number one welterweight because he is their number one welterweight, and because it’s the only way they can think of to get some of the UFC magic to rub off on them. Plus, they can be secure in the knowledge that the UFC will never actually take them up on the cross-promotional offer.

(Patrick Cote: Dead man.)

The UFC has informed the Chicago Sun-Times that UFC 90 (October 25th @ Chicago’s Allstate Arena) will be headlined by a middleweight title bout between Anderson Silva and Patrick Cote. Get a load of how retarded Cote is:

“This guy will need 10 punches to my face to knock me out, and I’ll just need one,” Cote said. ‘”I have a good chance. He won’t exchange with me, and I’m not scared of him.”

Absolutely nothing in the above statement is accurate. And if that 10/1 ratio thing that “The Predator” mentioned sounds familiar, it’s because James Irvin said something idiotically similar before getting his lights turned out — with one punch! ha! — in his fight against Silva. But don’t worry, because Cote knows that the secret to defeating Anderson Silva is head movement:

“If you want to know how not to fight Silva, just watch tape of [the Silva/Irvin] fight,” Cote said. “He was flat on his feet with no head movement. He threw a lazy kick against a world-class Muay Thai fighter, and that’s what happens. I’m not like James Irvin. I’m a better striker, and I’m faster.”

Translation: Cote isn’t making it past the first round. In other UFC news, Five Ounces of Pain is reporting that if Georges St. Pierre successfully defends his welterweight title against Jon Fitch next month, he’ll face BJ Penn on December 27th, at a yet-unnumbered UFC event that is also slated to feature the heavyweight title clash between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir. One theory making the rounds is that the Penn/GSP match will be a non-title affair that will be marketed as a “battle of the weight divisions.” As cheesy as that sounds, there’s a certain logic to it — assuming the fight is contested at welterweight, it would seem a little unfair for GSP’s belt to be on the line but not Penn’s. We just hope that the UFC has special “superfight rules” in place that would make Penn vs. St. Pierre five rounds instead of three. More to come…

…so said Silva’s manager Ed Soares, when asked by ProMMARadio about a potential Georges St. Pierre/Anderson Silva superfight:

“That sounds great, I think GSP is an incredible fighter. But I think GSP needs to prove himself. He still hasn’t had a successful title defense (at 170 lbs.). I don’t really feel that he deserves (a Silva fight) yet. Go defend your title a few times and then we’ll talk.”

The thing is, St. Pierre has proven himself many times over to be an elite-level fighter, and Soares is veering uncomfortably close to Juanito Ibarra territory, wild statement-wise. But what makes his dismissal of GSP particularly ironic is that Spider’s next fight is likely going to be against Patrick Cote, who doesn’t deserve to be in the same room as Silva or GSP. With Yushin Okami suffering a broken hand, Cote is really and truly next in line for a title shot; that little shitshow could happen at UFC 88 (September 6th, Atlanta).

A relatively one-dimensional striker, Cote doesn’t bring any more to the table than James Irvin did, and their bout will almost certainly be another brief exhibition for Silva. The silver lining is that with this belt-defense obligation out of the way quickly, Silva will be free to “test the waters” at light-heavyweight again — and he does plan on fighting at least one more time before the end of the year.

Sort of related: “UFC Silva vs. Irvin” was a ratings smash. The broadcast averaged 3.1 million viewers, peaked at 3.8 million viewers, and according to SpikeTV, beat all basic cable and broadcast networks in that timeslot for the “males 18-49″ and “males/females 18-34″ demographics.

The MMA world was all a-flutter with the news that Georges St. Pierre had been nominated for an ESPY in the “Fighter of the Year” category. There were even brief efforts to get us all to band together and vote him in.

But in this recent interview with MMA Rated, “Rush” says he has no plans to attend the awards. Why? Because GSP ain’t in this to win awards, dammit.

He also talks about preparing for Jon Fitch, a possible fight with B.J. Penn, and what’s going on (or not) between him and Mandy Moore.

Dana White has confirmed what BJ Penn has been talking about since last week — a rematch between Penn and Georges St. Pierre could happen by the end of the year:

“If St. Pierre buzzsaws through (Jon) Fitch then yes, we’ll do Penn vs. GSP,” said White.

Though by no means guaranteed, GSP buzzsawing through Fitch is a likely scenario, and Penn would be granted an opportunity to avenge his UFC 58 split decision loss against St. Pierre. Which means, theoretically, Penn could become the UFC’s first two-division champion well before Anderson Silva, who will be attempting the same feat. A lot of “if”s there, I know, but the possibility is compelling. Who ya got on GSP/BJ 2?

In other UFC news…

— Early speculation points to UFC 90 being held on October 25th in Chicago. This would depend on a SpikeTV deal being locked down for UFC 89: Bisping vs. Lebven, which would be held just a week earlier.

— Medical suspensions for UFC 86 have been released, and Quinton Jackson, Marcus Aurelio, Justin McCully, and Jorge Gurgel could potentially be out of commission until January.

— The UFC wants you to know that you can watch all of Anderson Silva’s UFC and PRIDE fights on UFC.com for $9.99. I guess this is for people who don’t have Google?

(Is GSP having the best year ever?)

Georges St. Pierre is going up against boxers Kelly Pavlik, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Joe Calzaghe, and Holly Holm in the “Best Fighter” category of ESPN’s 2008 ESPY Awards. The ceremony — hosted by Justin Timberlake, of all people — will be broadcast on ESPN July 20th at 9 p.m. ET. Last year, Money Mayweather took home the statue, beating out Randy Couture and Quinton Jackson (as well as boxers Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao). This kind of snub must not happen again — head to the ESPY site, register and place your vote for the UFC’s welterweight champ. Obviously, Anderson Silva should be a nominee as well, but he already has that highly-prestigious SpikeTV Guys’ Choice Award, and ESPN probably figured it would simply be too much recognition for one man.

Clear your schedules for August 9th, people. Like UFC 84, the three headlining bouts at “Seek and Destroy” are worth the cost of admission and the rest is just gravy. So, GSP/Fitch, Lesnar/Herring, and Florian/Huerta…who ya got?

Sort of related: The UFC has confirmed what most of us already knew — Michael Bisping and Chris Leben will meet at UFC 89, which will be held at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England, on October 9th.

I’ve always said that broken English is the world’s universal language. So while I would need a translator to understand what the hell this Brazilian interviewer is saying, him and Georges St. Pierre understand each other perfectly — and the multi-lingual “Rush” also shows off some of the Portuguese he’s been learning. Impressive! In this Sherdog viddy, GSP talks about his upcoming matchup with Jon Fitch, but doesn’t want to reveal his strategy for beating him, which is understandable. Anybody think Fitch has a chance in this one?

Oh, by the way, the greatest martial arts movie in history is after the jump.

(Oh my God that looks fun!)

Despite being offered a four-fight contract extension before his bout with Lyoto Machida last Saturday, and despite his vague statements during the post-fight interview, Tito Ortiz confirmed last night that he’s absolutely not coming back to fight in the UFC. “Me going to somewhere else is 100% happening,” Ortiz said, like some sort of caveman, or Indian chief, or Yoda. “The way [Dana White] treats me, I can’t continue on with them. He’s a monster and I’m going to go elsewhere where they respect me.”

Ortiz will now begin a three-week tour in support of his autobiography This Is Gonna Hurt, and will then go about deciding where to fight next. He hopes to compete again this fall, and according to MMAWeekly, he’s considered starting his own MMA organization.

In other UFC news you can use…

— The Ultimate Fighter 7‘s resident psycho Matt Brown (6-6), who was out-hustled by Amir Sadollah on last night’s episode, will be taking on TUF 6 castmember Matt “No Regard” Arroyo (3-1) in a welterweight match at the TUF 7 Finale (June 21st; Las Vegas, NV). Brown and Arroyo previously met at an RFC event in November 2006, where Brown won by TKO. At this point, Brown is only the fifth TUF 7 fighter expected to have a spot on the finale card, in addition to the show’s two finalists, and an all-but-confirmed match between Matthew Riddle and Dante Rivera.

Our beloved content partners at MMARated have some new shots of Georges St. Pierre and Roger Huerta training together at Greg Jackson’s camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Jackson is known as a game-plan master, and hopefully Huerta is picking up some solid tips on how to deal with Kenny Florian’s style when they meet on August 9th. (Our game-plan would be to stay as far away from Florian’s elbows as humanly possible.) Click here for the full set, and while you’re there, we recommend checking out Ariel Helwani’s interview with one of our favorite ring girls, Nicole Craner.

By the way, if any of you knuckleheads think “those are the gayest pictures I’ve seen all day,” we have but one thing to say…

The Terror gets slaughtered, Chainsaw says “no mas,” and Demian Maia unleashes the Submission of the Night in the second round of his undercard fight against Ed Herman. Get ‘em while they’re hot; for more UFC 83 vids, hit up MMALinker.

(Respect the fleur-de-lis. Photo courtesy of MMAWeekly.)

The final tally from last night’s action:

Main Card
Georges St. Pierre def. Matt Serra via TKO (knees to the body), 4:45 of round 2
Rich Franklin def. Travis Lutter via TKO (strikes), 3:01 of round 2
Nate Quarry def. Kalib Starnes via unanimous decision (high-stepping and goofy-punches)
Michael Bisping def. Charles McCarthy via TKO (unable to answer bell), 5:00 of round 1
Mac Danzig def. Mark Bocek via submission (rear naked choke), 3:48 of round 3

Undercard
Jason MacDonald def. Joe Doerksen via TKO (strikes), 0:54 of round 2
Jason Day def. Alan Belcher via TKO (strikes), 3:58 of round 1
Demian Maia def. Ed Herman via submission (triangle choke), 2:27 of round 2
Rich Clementi def. Sam Stout via split decision
Cain Velasquez def. Brad Morris via TKO (strikes), 2:10 of round 1
Jonathan Goulet def. Kuniyoshi Hironaka via TKO (strikes), 2:07 of round 2

All three Best of the Night bonuses went to undercard fights, and they came in at a whopping $75,000 each. As we saw in a brief clip at the end of the broadcast, Demian Maia picked up the Submission of the Night bonus for his mounted triangle choke of Ed Herman. Jason MacDonald earned the Knockout of the Night for beating down Joe Doerksen (we’ll get the video up soon), and somewhat surprisingly, Jonathan Goulet and Kuniyoshi Hironaka each got the Fight of the Night windfall for their match, which didn’t strike us as all that exciting when they showed it after the main event. It’s too bad they couldn’t give Nate Quarry a few bucks for “Best Humiliation of a Cowardly Opponent of the Night,” but we’ll just have to console ourselves with the fact that Kalib Starnes is probably getting his UFC contract torn up as we speak.

As Ferrall might say, this “beautiful matchup of warriors and freaks ready to dance” is about to pop off, so pour yourself some iced tea or red wine and settle in. Click the “MORE” link and refresh the page every few minutes for round-by-round updates. Montreal residents, let’s get ready to riot!

(Feel. The. Intensity. Photo courtesy of UFC.com)

Whoo-hoo! Unlike his epic fail at UFC 67, Travis Lutter hit 185 right on the button at today’s weigh-ins for UFC 83. Serra and St. Pierre both played it safe, coming in at half a pound under, while the combined weight of UFC newcomers Brad Morris and Cain Velasquez is less than that of any other heavyweight bout we can remember; not that we blame 225-pound Morris for choosing the soft ripples of the UFC’s heavyweight pool over the Class 6 rapids of the 205 division.

Boos for Matt Serra at the Bell Centre were as loud as expected — Serra responded to the crowd with “If you’re pissed right now, wait until Saturday night” — while Michael Bisping and Charles McCarthy bumped heads and swapped obscenities during their face off. Full scale results are below:

MAIN CARD
Matt Serra (169.5) vs. Georges St. Pierre (169.5)
Rich Franklin (185.5) vs. Travis Lutter (185)
Nate Quarry (185.5) vs. Kalib Starnes (186)
Michael Bisping (185.5) vs. Charles McCarthy (186)
Marc Bocek (154.5) vs. Mac Danzig (154.5)

PRELIMINARY CARD
Joe Doerksen (184.5) vs. Jason MacDonald (185)
Rich Clementi (155) vs. Sam Stout (155.5)
Alan Belcher (185) vs. Jason Day (183.5)
Jonathan Goulet (169.5) vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka (170)
Ed Herman (185.5) vs. Demian Maia (184.5)
Brad Morris (225.5) vs. Cain Velasquez (235.5)

As we approach the big showdown on Saturday night, here’s some lesser-known Georges St. Pierre fights to get you in the mood. First, it’s St. Pierre’s second Octagon appearance at UFC 48, where he beats down current IFL welterweight champ Jay Hieron in under two minutes. Next, it’s GSP’s first pro fight, where Rush staves off the scrappy Ivan Menjivar to score a very questionable TKO via verbal tapout at the end of the first round. And finally, it’s the “GoldenPalace.com” TKO fight against Dave Strasser, which St. Pierre took after his first career loss (vs. Matt Hughes at UFC 50); lovely half-guard to side-control pass at 5:11 and the fight-ending kimura is just as slick.

(GSP vs. Jay Hieron, UFC 48, 6/19/04)

(GSP vs. Ivan Menjivar, UCC 7, 1/25/02; fight starts at the 4:06 mark)

(GSP vs. Dave Strasser, TKO 19, 1/29/05; fight starts at the 3:57 mark)

Props: MMAScraps

For us, it really comes down to which goofy accent you find less annoying:

(Scene from The Pink Panther)

Or…

(Scene from Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story)

We hope that helps. Let us know in the comments, or by taking our new poll. WAR hilarious regional dialects!

The UFC sent out an e-mail today reminding us all to watch Countdown to UFC 83, which premieres tonight at 11 p.m. ET/PT on SpikeTV, and will focus on the welterweight title match between GSP and Matt Serra, as well as the middleweight feature between Rich Franklin and Travis Lutter. Below is the show’s official preview clip.

We’re very curious to see the differences in the headliners’ training camps. Will days spent tossing around Luke Cummo and Pete Sell in Long Island really be adequate preparation for Serra to face GSP, who has been training with stars like Denis Kang, Nate Marqurdt, Keith Jardine, and Rashad Evans? Should GSP have been training against guys who are actually Serra’s size, rather than guys two weight classes above him? I mean, rolling with Jardine and Evans is impressive and all, but how much practical application does that have? I’m just saying, St. Pierre’s going to be way out of his element when Serra somersaults through his legs then leaps, chimp-like, on top of his shoulders. And then the crowd lets out that collective “Awwwwww!”, which totally throws you off your game? You can’t train for these things…

(“Adrian!”)

By CagePotato Guest Contributor Brian Knapp

Matt Serra had never finished a fight with his fists until April 7, 2007. Talk about perfect timing. On that night, Serra shook the mixed martial arts world to its foundation, as he overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to topple a man who had been universally received as the planet’s premiere 170-pound fighter.

A full year has passed since the 33-year-old Long Island, N.Y., native clubbed Georges St. Pierre and stopped the favored French Canadian by first-round TKO to capture the welterweight championship at UFC 69 in Houston. Goliath had met his match inside the hallowed Octagon, and the sport sat in stunned silence.

With less than a week to go before their rematch at UFC 83 on Saturday night at Montreal’s Bell Centre, pundits lend little credence to Serra’s flawless performance 12 months ago. Many consider it a fluke, a stroke of luck, a hiccup in the space-time continuum. A coaching stint on The Ultimate Fighter and a back injury have kept Serra out of the eight-sided cage since his historic upset, and St. Pierre has been nothing shy of impeccable in back-to-back wins over welterweight contender Josh Koscheck and future Hall-of-Famer Matt Hughes. Serra’s odds are long, but he embraces them nonetheless.

“They can look at it any way they want,” he says. “I know I’m the underdog, and I feel very comfortable in that role.”

St. Pierre, the thoroughbred who had all but cleaned out the UFC’s 170-pound division, never got out of the gate the first time the two met. Rocked repeatedly by Serra’s heavy hands, he wound up on his back, where he ate punches in jackhammer-like succession and was unable to mount a defense. Even so, Serra’s respect for St. Pierre’s physical capabilities runs deep.

“He’s dangerous on all fronts,” Serra says. “Georges is very well-rounded. He’s got very good wrestling besides the striking. Standing up, off my back … everywhere, basically, I have to be on my A-game.”

Having long compared himself to the lead character in the Rocky series, Serra figures to be confronted by the most hostile of crowds as he ventures into St. Pierre’s backyard in Montreal. His support will likely be limited to his cornermen.

“I don’t expect to get cheered walking out,” Serra says. “It’s not a problem. I think I’m finally going to feel what Tim Sylvia feels when he fights anywhere.”

In advance of the May 31st debut of EliteXC’s Saturday Night Fights, CBS has enlisted referee Herb Dean as well as star fighters Nick Diaz and Jake Shields to make a video focusing on what you won’t be seeing during the broadcast. Watch as Diaz demonstrates a textbook soccer kick and piledriver, while Shields contributes a downward elbow and some fence-grabbing. As the announcer says, “Now you’re ready for ‘CBS Saturday Night Fights’.” If you say so, buddy! More must-see videos after the jump.

Georges St. Pierre on moving up to middleweight to fight Anderson Silva:

“I’ve been thinking about it. It’s going to depend on the scenario. I have a lot of training partners at 185 and my weight class is 170…if one day, I have the opportunity, the way is clear, and I did everything I had to do in my division, of course I will (fight Silva).”

Rush vs. Spider would be a fantastic fight, but by the time GSP cleans out the welterweight division, Silva will already be at 205 making Rampage and Wanderlei his bitches.

Quote of the Day Runner-Up — Matt Serra to the people of Montreal:

“So boo me. Boo me you drunks!”

Oh come on, Matt, have some class. Is that what Rocky said to the Russians?

If you have nine minutes free, check out this video preview of the two headlining fights at UFC 83 on April 19th: Serra vs. St. Pierre 2 and Franklin vs. Lutter. In a recent CagePotato poll, 82% of you thought St. Pierre will win the main event (a full 60% had him winning specifically by KO/TKO), though we’re pulling for our New York homeboy to keep the belt in the States.

I don’t think I’ve sat through a fight-flick since Ong-Bak (Jaa ftw!), but this is straight-up historic — Jackie and Jet on the same set, battling for cinematic kung-fu dominance. The Forbidden Kingdom hits theaters on April 18th, but you can get a taste right now by watching the fight scene above and the official trailer here.

More must-see video goodness after the jump.

Well, some of you sons-of-bitches are going to be pissed after this one. With the last signed copy of Iceman: My Fighting Life up for grabs, over 150 captions were submitted, and you guys were throwing straight fire. Unfortunately, less prizes + more entries = disappointment. Will you agree with our choice? Probably not. But with so many awesome captions, we had to pick the one that gave us the most unexpected laugh. Check out the honorable mentions below, and the winner after the jump. Special bro-grabs to Dutton Books for making this whole thing possible!

Frank: GSP taking the bitches out for a walk

Dudeman: Josh Koscheck…The Ultimate Pooper Scooper

BG75: The odd couple 2: Napoleon and Sisqo

dleacock: Ultimate Fancy Championship

SikSik6: No really Josh, seriously, your gameplan against GSP was a good one……for me to poop on.

Niceguyeddie:

John-01: Matt Serra never saw his dog again….

The BOOG: Anything less.. would be uncircumcised.

Wyatt: F*cking French Canadians…

So far, we’ve given away nine autographed copies of Chuck Liddell’s Iceman: My Fighting Life, and we’re going to put this thing to bed with one last caption contest. And here’s a curveball — Chuck’s not even in the pic this time. But I just came across this breathtaking photo of Josh Koscheck and GSP dressed to the nines and walking their dog, and the CagePotato reader who can provide the best caption in the comments section gets the last book. There will be no multiple winners this time, so bring your A-game, and feel free to enter more than once. The winner will be announced Friday, as is the custom.

(Photo props: Maxim)

(Poutine: French for “Devil’s Diarrhea.”)

In a press conference held yesterday at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Dana White confirmed that Patrick “The Predator” Cote will be joining the card of UFC 83 — currently titled “Serra vs. St. Pierre 2″ — against an opponent to be named later. With Cote’s addition, the official UFC 83 lineup looks like this:

MAIN CARD
Matt Serra vs. Georges St. Pierre (welterweight championship match)
Travis Lutter vs. Rich Franklin (middleweights)
Charles McCarthy vs. Michael Bisping (middleweights)
Nate Quarry vs. Kalib Starnes (middleweights)
Mark Bocek vs. Mac Danzig (lightweights)

PRELIMINARY CARD
Ed Herman vs. Demian Maia (middleweights)
Joe Doerksen vs. Jason MacDonald (middleweights)
Rich Clementi vs. Sam Stout (lightweights)
Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. Jonathan Goulet (welterweights)
Patrick Cote vs. TBA (middleweights)

Out of the 19 (so far) scheduled fighters, eight are Canadian — St. Pierre, Starnes, Bocek, Doerksen, MacDonald, Stout, Goulet, and Cote. And man that’s a lot of 185-pounders. Unfortunately, many Canuck fight fans might be left out in the cold. As of yesterday, UFC Fight Club members had already purchased more than 13,000 tickets in the 21,273-seat Bell Centre; tickets don’t go on sale to the general public until Thursday. Maybe there will be some seats left in the nosebleeds by then, but if you’re planning on attending, there may be a scalper in your future.

(GSP, comin’ atcha.)

According to MMA Mania, the UFC’s April 19th card in Montreal — which we’ve been referring to as UFC 84 up to this point — has been re-numbered as UFC 83 in light of the March 8th/Manchester event being scrapped. The Montreal event will still feature the welterweight championship fight between Matt Serra and Georges St. Pierre, and is rumored to feature Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Rich Franklin, and Mac Danzig as well. Although UFC 83 isn’t yet listed on the UFC’s Ticketmaster page, the word is that tickets will be made available to UFC Fight Club members this Sunday (2/3), to newsletter subscribers on 2/6, and to the general public on 2/8. If you’re planning on going, please be a doll and bring us back some cheap prescription meds.

Additional note: According to the blog on George St. Pierre’s official site, the UFC will be holding a press conference on Monday to make a formal announcement about UFC 83, and St. Pierre will participate. Rush’s blog also tells us that he had a great time at the Affliction commercial shoot with “Rampage Jackson and Dave Mustang from Megadeth.”

(Where did Randy and Rush land in our pound-for-pound top ten?)

Hawk-eyed CagePotato readers may have noticed a new link on the right side of the page — POWER RANKINGS (!!!), our list of the world’s ten best fighters in each weight class, from heavyweight to featherweight. Well, featherweight only gets a top five because they’re half the size of normal fighters, and fans only care half as much about them. But we also have a “Pound-for-Pound” list, which ranks the ten best fighters in terms of talent, regardless of weight class.

In creating these rankings, we took into account not just recent fight history, but past accomplishments and our own opinions on how each fighter would perform against other elite fighters in their division. Of course, all of this is open for debate, and we’ll soon be building separate pages for each weight class that will allow you to comment on them individually. In the meantime, check out the rankings and use the comments section on this post to give us your own thoughts. Stay tuned for more updates on our Power Rankings, which will be updated after most major fight cards. Let’s get it on!